filthy coal is cheaper and far nastier......but claim that solar pv makes another step forward....



http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/49680/story.htm
" CCS is untested for good reason. The technology will add about US$1
billion to the capital cost of a power plant, not including efficiency
losses which will demand a quarter more coal burn just to maintain
output, and extra water for steam to make up the lost power."
....
"In the United States utilities are building 28 coal-fired plants and
another 66 are in early planning, as gas price hikes motivate new
interest.

In Europe, Germany is building 16 new plants to come on line by 2012,
despite a European Union emissions trading scheme which penalises
greenhouse gases. In Italy, Enel is converting to coal from oil-fueled
power plants and Britain has endorsed new coal.

In developing nations, growth is rampant. Poor grid access coupled
with frequent blackouts, rapid economic growth and plentiful fuel are
driving a frenzy to build new power plants which take just 21 months
to build in China.

Over the past three years, China has added each year new coal plants
equivalent to Britain's entire electricity-generating capacity. India
has approved eight "ultra mega" plants which will add nearly half
again to its present generating capacity."

related item
http://www.abelard.org/briefings/fossil_fuel_disasters.php
http://www.abelard.org/briefings/energy-economics.php

###
###


the following type of technology in theory goes back nearly 50 years.
it is now making steady but slow progress over the past few
years....
as usual these advances tend to be over-hyped, this is not the first
such material arrangement under investigation....

http://environment.newscientist.com/channel/earth/dn14436-solarcell-material-can-soak-up-more-sun.html?feedId=earth_rss20
"Today's solar cells absorb only visible light, wasting the infrared
that makes up half of the Sun's output that reaches Earth. But a new
material developed in Spain can absorb infrared too, and should make
it possible to hike the power solar cells can produce, say
researchers.

Conventional solar cells are based on a semiconductor such as silicon.
But their inability to soak up infrared gives them a theoretical
absorption limit of just over 40% of solar energy. In practice, they
only absorb about 30%.

The new material, though, can harness both visible and infrared
photons, so it has a theoretical maximum efficiency of 63%, its
creators say, and should give significantly better real-world
performance."

diagram here
http://pubs3.acs.org/acs/journals/doilookup?in_doi=10.1021/cm801128b

original article available here for $25!
https://pubs.acs.org/secure/login?url=http%3A%2F%2Fpubs.acs.org%2Fcgi-bin%2Fasap.cgi%2Fcmatex%2Fasap%2Fpdf%2Fcm801128b.pdf


background briefings...
http://www.abelard.org/briefings/non-pv_solar_technology.php


http://www.jxcrystals.com/CPV%20Presentation%20at%20ORNL%20edit%202008.pdf
pdf page 15 see semiconductor table....

regards

--
web site at www.abelard.org - news comment service, logic, economics
energy, education, politics, etc 1,552,396 document calls in year past
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