Bid to make solar cells cheaper

Last week I finally saw the documentary Here comes the sun on Dutch TV via Internet about Solar Energy. As Australia is the ideal country to go solar it's Germany who is leading the market. Click on the logo below to see the documentary, the commentary is in Dutch but all interviews are in English.

Bid to make solar cells cheaper
The CSIRO is developing new solar technology which could see plastic solar cell sheets printed like polymer bank notes.

The technology could mean solar generated power will be mass-produced in as little as four years.

Greens push solar tariff
A State Government panel is considering the establishment of gross or net "feed-in" tariffs to be added to the electricity bills of all households to cover payments made to people who generate surplus solar energy on their rooftops and sell it to power companies.

You can still sign the petition: Let's get Australia moving on solar feed in tariffs!


Tokyo Electric to build solar plant in California: report
Tokyo Electric Power Co. will build a solar power plant in the US state of California through its subsidiary Eurus Energy Holdings Corp., according to a report.

It plans to begin operations at the 1000 kilowatt plant by 2010 on a site yet to be selected, the Nikkei business daily reported.

Tokyo Electric is one of four Japanese corporate giants moving into the US renewable energy market with solar and wind power technologies, the daily said.



UPDATE:
New solar cells you can bank on
IF YOU thought there was big money in solar energy, you were closer to the truth than you might have imagined. Prototypes of a new generation of flexible solar cell have been produced using equipment built to print Australia's polymer banknotes.

The breakthrough, conceived by the CSIRO, has the potential to enable mass production of solar sheeting at a far lower cost than traditional silicon-based cells

Update 27-2: ACT solar feed-in tariff bill passed
and Greens want ACT solar feed-in tariff extended to large producers

Update 4-3: Solar credits a con, say greens
If cashed in, the phantom certificates — those issued for energy that has not been generated — will be counted towards the Federal Government's renewable energy target of 20 per cent of power coming from green sources by 2020.