Solar power and the push for green

David Guggenheim’s movie An Inconvenient Truth catalyzed the need to minimize carbon emissions (i.e. greenhouse gases). In the movie, Al Gore presented the need to avert the dire consequences of greenhouse gas emissions. 

Alternative energy sources, especially solar power, are becoming attractive green alternatives compared with coal and gas-fired electric plants, with their high carbon emissions. It has been said that a solar (i.e. solar thermal) plant occupying eight percent of the land area of Nevada could satisfy the electric grid needs of the United States, likewise three percent of the land area of Morocco could satisfy the electric grid needs of the European continent.

Solar power systems can be classified into two general categories — Photovoltaic (PV) and Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) systems. Photovoltaic systems enjoy many benefits, such as unattended operation, small-scale feasibility and non-dedicated land deployment, but remain relatively more expensive as a source of large-scale power versus improved CSP systems. Moreover, current PV systems are governed by the supply considerations similar to those of the semiconductor industry (i.e. 94 percent of the PV market is composed of bulk silicon cell production), and shortages have appeared in the past. Having said this, PV panel cost has been moving steadily down through new process and manufacturing technologies. Currently, China is quickly making up for this lag in supply with Japan and Germany still providing the lion’s share of manufacturing.

One particular example of how process and manufacturing technologies are changing the PV landscape is Nanosolar. Funded in the United States by Google founders, Benchmark Capital, MDV and others, Nanosolar has pioneered the development of thin-film printing roll-to-roll high yield solar cell panel production. Unlike previous bulk silicon counterparts which are less efficient and require thick and fragile solar cells, the thin-film roll-to-roll manufacturing process provides scalable PV cells for the energy market. Other notable PV players with Philippine links include SunPower Corp. with its large 400-MW cell manufacturing and design facility in Batangas. SunPower is a major PV manufacturer, with various design-INS of existing solar parks, home and business panel units around the world. Also of note is Solaria, a technology and supply chain PV startup in the San Francisco Bay Area, which has developed flows which allow for 2-3x manufacturing efficiencies and associated panel cost reduction. Solaria’s COO is Alelie Funcell, a 27-year-old veteran of the semiconductor industry. Most recently, Alelie, a graduate of UST, served as VP for worldwide supplier management of Xilinx Inc.

In the United States, Google’s philanthropic arm, in association with Idealab and Oak investment partners, has also sponsored a CSP systems startup called eSolar — a solar thermal startup. Esolar has garnered more then $10 million in government contracts and $48 million in venture capital. Vinod Khosla (Sun founder and venture capitalist), in conjunction with Kleiner Perkins, where Al Gore is a partner, has funded Asura, which has received more than $40 million in venture funding. Asura founder Dr. David Mills has pioneered a more cost-effective CSP technology called “Compact Linear Fresnel Reflector” technology, which sustainably brings down the cost of regular CSP systems. This, coupled with an innovative heat storage system, allows for day and night power generation to a distribution grid. Other notable CSP developments are Abu Dhabi’s Masdar; a clean-tech funded thermal company called Torresol; Spain’s Abengoa Solar, which recently signed a $4-billion deal with Arizona Public Utilities; and Brightsource which recently landed a 900-MW deal with California’s PG&E.

Solar power technologies, which include PV and CSP systems, are strong green alternatives to coal-fired and gas-operated energy systems. James Hansen, NASA chief climate scientist, and director of NASA’s Goddard Institutes for Space Science, has argued that the Earth has already “reached a tipping point at 380 parts-per-million of atmospheric carbon” and added that corrective measures are well needed. Indeed, with proper government green incentives taking root in the United States and Europe, the trend of higher carrying cost when contemplating new coal and gas-fired plants will most probably increase due to public policy. These policy changes and the opening of the energy distribution markets within these geographies will accelerate the economic viability of such solar-powered energy technologies. It would be good to see similar incentives pioneered by the local government, opening up distribution alternatives, allowing for the growth of private sector initiatives, and funding of small to mid-sized energy companies within the country.

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The author is currently an advanced technology director engaged in the development and design of IP and technologies for the cellular and mobile market.