- Kevin O'Farrell
- Caitriona Walsh
- Timothy O'Leary
- Keith Sunderland
Derek Kearney
- Lacour Ayompe
Look forward to seeing you all there!
Monday, June 29, 2009
29/06/09: Dublin Energy Lab seminar series continues on July 7th @ 3pm
The Dublin Energy Lab seminar series continues on July 7th at 3pm in Meeting Room 1 in the Focas Institute with Group 2 presenting
Friday, June 26, 2009
26/06/09: Round-the-world Solar Powered Plane!
Swiss adventurer Bertrand Piccard has unveiled a prototype of the solar-powered plane he hopes eventually to fly around the world.
The initial version, spanning 61m but weighing just 1,500kg, will undergo trials to prove it can fly at night.
Dr Piccard, who made history in 1999 by circling the globe non-stop in a balloon, says he wants to demonstrate the potential of renewable energies.
He hopes to fly a later version of the plane across the Atlantic in 2012.
The flight would be a risky endeavour. Only now is solar and battery technology becoming mature enough to sustain flight through the night - and then only in unmanned planes.
But Dr Piccard's Solar Impulse team has invested tremendous energy - and no little money - in trying to find what they believe is a breakthrough design.
"I love this type of vision where you set the goal and then you try to find a way to reach it, because this is challenging," he told BBC News.
For more information see
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
03/06/09: 2 Post Doctoral Fellowships & 2 PhD Scholarships available *APPLY NOW*
Two Arnold F Graves Post Doctoral Fellowships and two PhD Scholarships available within the Solar Energy Group in DEL.
Closing date for Post Doctoral positions: 29th June
For further information see Opportunities
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
02/06/09: EU researchers achieve €1/Wp and module efficiencies of 16.4%
European photovoltaic research project achieves new world record in efficiency
Researchers of the European funded project CrystalClear have successfully developed innovative technologies for silicon solar modules to be manufactured at €1 per watt-peak of power. Moreover they have achieved world-record efficiencies for modules with multicrystalline silicon solar cells. Their full-size solar modules have achieved a premium aperture area conversion efficiency of 16.0 to 16.4%.
The previous world-record was held by Sandia National Laboratory (USA), at 15.5% aperture-area efficiency. This means that the main project target of reducing the costs of PV modules by more than 50% (if produced in large volumes) has been achieved.
The low-cost technologies developed in the consortium are all characterised by the use of very thin silicon wafers, advanced solar cell designs and processing, innovative module assembly, and high efficiencies. An important common feature is the very effective reduction of conversion losses that normally occur at the surfaces of the cells.
The world record was achieved using industrial-scale equipment for interconnection and encapsulation of rear-contact cells. The new module design and manufacturing process is based on interconnection of the cells using conductive adhesives and a patterned conductive foil. The 16.0% efficient module was built with 36 cells of 120 micron thickness only (the 16.4% module had 160 micron cells), much thinner than the 180-200 micron thickness used by industry. All modules were made without any cell breakage, underlining the potential for cost reduction and the feasibility for use in production
For more info see http://ec.europa.eu/research/index.cfm?pg=newsalert&lg=en&year=2009&na=na-290509
02/06/09: Guest lecture today by Assistant Professor Soteris Kalogirou entitled ‘A Solar Energy Future’
Assistant Professor Soteris Kalogirou will give a guest lecture today on ‘A Solar Energy Future’ by Dr. at 2pm in Room 227 in
Assist. Professor Kalogirou lectures in Mechanical Engineering at the Higher Technical Institute in
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
13/05/09: New European record of 19.6% for thin film CIGS solar cells
| 11.05.2009: This latest achievement will accelerate the further progress of thin-film photovoltaics. The Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research, Baden-Württemberg, Germany (Zentrum für Sonnenenergie- und Wasserstoff-Forschung, ZSW) has successfully transferred a more efficient coating technology, which was previously only possible at the laboratory level, to a pilot production line. By utilising an inline multistage process in its automated coating plant, the institute has set a new European record by achieving an efficiency of 19.6 percent for thinfilm solar cells from copper-indium-gallium-diselenide (CIS or CIGS for short). … Source: Zentrum für Sonnenenergie- und Wasserstoff-Forschung (ZSW) http://www.zsw-bw.de/info/press/090507-Presseinfo-05-2009/pi05-2009-ZS |
Monday, April 27, 2009
28/04/09: EurObserv’ER consortium releases their Renewable Energy Barometers
28/04/09: EurObserv’ER consortium releases their Renewable Energy Barometers
See link to download Barometers for Renewable Energy Technologies
PHOTOVOLTAIC BAROMETER
9 533,3 MWc in the EU
Spain and Germany set the pace for the world photovoltaic market in 2008, which grew to more than twice its 2007 size. The European Union continued to drive photocell installation with an additional 4 592.3 MWp in 2008, or 151.6% growth over 2007. However, European growth prospects for the photovoltaic market in 2009 are being dampened by the global financial crisis and the scheduled slow-down of the Spanish market.
Click here for full version
WIND ENERGY BAROMETER
65 GW in EU
The globalisation of wind energy is on the move. Installed wind power worldwide raced past the symbolic threshold of 100,000 MW in the course of the year with an installed capacity estimated at 120,823.5 MW worldwide. The world has never known an energy sector develop so quickly. Although growth in the European Union market fell slightly in 2008 (- 1.8% at 8,447.1 MW), growth was spectacular in the United States (+ 59.4% at 8,358MW) and in China (+ 90.7% at 6,300 MW).
Click here for full version
SOLID BIOMASS BAROMETER
66.4 MTOE of solid biomass produced in the
european union in 2007
Primary energy production from solid biomass increased more slowly in the 27-member European Union in 2007. First available estimations evaluate production in the region of 66.4 Mtoe, i.e. only 0.7 Mtoe more than in 2006. While the exceptional climatic conditions of 2007 explain this slowdown, evolutions remain contrasted between the different EU countries and do not always reflect the same realities.
Click here for full version
SOLAR THERMAL BAROMETER
A 2 000 MWTH market
After two years of very strong growth, the solar thermal market (taking all technologies (including unglazed flexible collectors into account) marked time in 2007 with 6.9% less collectors being sold with respect to year 2006. In the end, this market reached 2.9 million m2 vs. 3.1 million m2 in 2006, i.e. an equivalent capacity of more than 2 000 MWth. This decrease is explained for a large part by a strong decline of the German market, the largest market of the European Union. Conversely, other countries are continuing to develop their markets and are showing double-digit growth rates.
Click here for full version
RENEWABLE MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE BAROMETER
6.1 MTOE RECOVERED IN 2007 IN EU
For the first time, EurObserv’ER is publishing a survey of renewable energy recovery from incineration of municipal waste. This sector of activity, which is entirely linked to the issue of municipal
waste treatment, represents a considerable portion of renewable energy production. According to the first available estimations, 6.1 Mtoe of energy was recovered in 2007 in the European Union, i.e., a growth of 6.3% in relation to 2006.
Click here for full version
BIOGAS BAROMETER
5.9 MTOE RECOVERED IN 2007 IN EU
The major increase in the price of fossil fuels has made biogas more attractive.The applications of biogas – which were once limited to recycling and/or recovering energy from waste – have widened with the use of energy crops. This has stimulated European production, which has now reached 5.9 Mtep, i.e., a 20.5% increase in relation to 2006.
Click here for full version
Biofuels barometer
7.7 Mtoe consumed in EU in 2007
Biofuels represent 2.6% of the energy content of all the fuels used in road transport in Europe today. Nearly half of the target of 5.75% for 2010 set by the directive on biofuels has thus been reached in four years time.
To achieve 5.75%, the European Union is going to have to increase its production and doubtless call even more on imports, at a moment when biofuels are found at the core of complex ecological and economic issues.
Click here for full version
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