...First Solar Case First Solar Case Analysis Due to consideration of rising energy demand, global warming and nature of solar power, the solar industry has experienced a rapid development these years. First Solar, as one of the dominant companies in the industry, is suspected and scrutinized by CFRA for aggressive accounting practices. CFRA’s investigation aims at identifying potential risks in several areas, including revenue quality and recognition, inventory levels, customer and geographic diversification, warranty policies, production capacity growth, and supply chain. This case focuses on whether CFRA should flag First Solar and add it to the “biggest concern” list. The stock of First Solar has always been popular among investors considering the company’s outstanding performance. The price-to-earnings ratios of First Solar from the last three years (2006 to 2008) were much higher than the industry average ratios. Therefore, it is reasonable to speculate that prospects for earnings in the future are great. Furthermore, positive opinions from the professional institutions, such as “outperform” and “buy”, gave investors much confidence. The analysts, as well as investors, believed that sustainable increasing earnings and new market expansion could provide solid growth prospects for First Solar. Business Environment Analysis – PEST Analysis Solar energy acting as a promising alternative energy marks a bright future of the solar industry. However, this emerging industry also...
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...Energy Solar and wind power 10/14/2012 [Type the abstract of the document here. The abstract is typically a short summary of the contents of the document. Type the abstract of the document here. The abstract is typically a short summary of the contents of the document.] Abstract This paper will review solar and wind energy as the alternative energy sources to replace fossil fuels and nuclear energy. Solar and wind energy has experienced phenomenal growth in recent years due to both technological improvements resulting in cost reductions and government policies supportive of renewable energy development and utilization. Fossils fuels and nuclear energy have been the world’s main source of energy for years but, with global warming and with a recent melt down at a Japanese nuclear plant many are questioning is it time to use other alternatives energy sources. Although both alternative energy sources are safer than fossil fuels and nuclear energy the world has been reluctant to switch power sources. The recent severe energy crisis has forced the world to develop new and alternative methods of power generation, which could not be adopted so far due to various reasons. Solar energy represents our largest source of renewable energy supply. The Sun is naturally Earth’s most abundant energy source and will be around for billions of years. This is a resource that essentially human beings won’t be worried about running out of anytime soon. Wind Energy, like solar is a free...
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...A P R I L 2 014 The disruptive potential of solar power David Frankel, Kenneth Ostrowski, and Dickon Pinner As costs fall, the importance of solar power to senior executives is rising. The economics of solar power are improving. It is a far more costcompetitive power source today than it was in the mid-2000s, when installations and manufacturing were taking off, subsidies were generous, and investors were piling in. Consumption continued rising even as the MAC Global Solar Energy Index fell by 50 percent between 2011 and the end of 2013, a period when dozens of solar companies went bankrupt, shut down, or changed hands at fire-sale prices. The bottom line: the financial crisis, cheap natural gas, subsidy cuts by cash-strapped governments, and a flood of imports from Chinese solar-panel manufacturers have profoundly challenged the industry’s short-term performance. But they haven’t undermined its potential; indeed, global installations have continued to rise—by over 50 percent a year, on average, since 2006. The industry is poised to assume a bigger role in global energy markets; as it evolves, its impact on businesses and consumers will be significant and widespread. Utilities will probably be the first, but far from the only, major sector to feel solar’s disruptive potential. Economic fundamentals Sharply declining costs are the key to this potential. The price US residential consumers pay to install rooftop solar PV (photovoltaic) systems has plummeted from nearly...
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...1002/pip.1255 PAPER PRESENTED AT 26TH EU PVSEC, HAMBURG, GERMANY 2011 Solar cell generations over 40% efficiency R. R. King*, D. Bhusari, D. Larrabee, X.-Q. Liu, E. Rehder, K. Edmondson, H. Cotal, R. K. Jones, J. H. Ermer, C. M. Fetzer, D. C. Law and N. H. Karam Spectrolab, Inc., 12500 Gladstone Ave, Sylmar, CA 91342, USA ABSTRACT Multijunction III-V concentrator cells of several different types have demonstrated solar conversion efficiency over 40% since 2006, and represent the only third-generation photovoltaic technology to enter commercial power generation markets so far. The next stage of solar cell efficiency improvement, from 40% to 50%-efficient production cells, is perhaps the most important yet, since it is in this range that concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) systems can become the lowest cost option for solar electricity, competing with conventional power generation without government subsidies. The impact of 40% and 50% cell efficiency on cost-effective geographic regions for CPV systems is calculated in the continental US, Europe, and North Africa. We take a systematic look at a progression of multijunction cell architectures that will take us up to 50% efficiency, using modeling grounded in well-characterized solar cell materials systems of today’s 40% cells, discussing the theoretical, materials science, and manufacturing considerations for the most promising approaches. The effects of varying solar spectrum and current balance on energy production in 4-junction, 5-junction...
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...© Copyright 2013, First Solar, Inc. Key Messages • PV power plant is a cost-effective energy resource • Well designed “Grid Friendly” PV plant actively stabilizes grid and enhances its reliability • PV variability can be managed with existing grid infrastructure through forecasting and site diversity with minimum impact © Copyright 2013, First Solar, Inc. 2 First Solar — Utility Scale PV Plant Leader Over 3GW Completed or In Development (10MW AC – 550MW AC Plants) © Copyright 2013, First Solar, Inc. 3 Utility Scale PV Power Plant Overview PV Module Arrays Combiner Boxes 300 to 690V (AC) 1000V (DC) Inverters Transformers Photovoltaic Combining Switchgear Substation 34.5kV (AC) Typical 69 to 525kV (AC) Gen Tie-line Power Grid © Copyright 2013, First Solar, Inc. 4 PV Module PV Module Arrays 1000V (DC) © Copyright 2013, First Solar, Inc. 5 Combiner Box Combiner Boxes • Aggregates DC wiring from multiple strings (80KW-160KW) • Provides single dc output to inverter 1000V (DC) © Copyright 2013, First Solar, Inc. 6 Utility Scale Solar Plant Inverters Inverters • Converts DC power to AC (low voltage) • Grid Management Functions (LVRT, Reactive Power, etc.) 300 to 690V (AC) 1000V (DC) • UL1741 and IEEE1547 compliant © Copyright 2013, First Solar, Inc. 7 Transformer • Increases low AC voltage to medium Transformers 300 to 690V (AC) AC voltage for Collection System 34.5kV (AC)...
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...that Sherlock Holmes was no longer going to be written. Derleth wrote Doyle asking permission to keep alive the spirit and style of Doyle’s work. Derleth wanted to do a pastiche of Sherlock Holmes called the Solar Pons series. Derleth got the go ahead to write the Solar Pons series using the same characters with different names, a plot location one block away, and the same writing style as Doyle’s. Sherlock Holmes’ character is named Solar Pons in Derleth’s work. The Solar Pons mysteries are among the closest imitations of Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories. The series has enjoyed critical and popular success. Mirroring Doyle’s style, Derleth uses dialect, flashback, and foreshadowing to interact and entertain the reader with the Solar Pons character in Mr. Fairlie’s Final Journey to solve the case. The book concerns the investigation into the death of Jonas Fairlie, who was murdered on a train while on his way to consult Solar Pons. To solve the mystery, Solar Pons and his companion, Dr. Lyndon Parker, travel to Fairlie's home town of Frome, Somerset and from there to Scotland, Cheltenham in Gloucestershire and finally to a remote area on the coast of Wales. Pons and Parker work together to retrace the last days of Jonas Fairlie’s life to solve the murder case. The first method that Derleth uses to show the reader the setting of the book and the nationality of characters is dialect. The method of dialect is the language used by the people of a specific area, class, district...
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...Solar Photovoltaic System: An Alternate Source of Energy Introduction Despite enormous hydropower potential (theoretically 83,000 MW), only about 40 percent of the population of Nepal has access to electricity and this percentage even drops down in the remote areas. Since the rural energy demand is basically for lighting, Government of Nepal (GoN) has its dedicated energy policy to promote Renewable Energy Technologies (RETs) including Solar Home Systems (SHS) which follows the principles of Solar Photovoltaic Systems. Photovoltaic are best known as a method for generating electric power by using solar cells to convert energy from the sun into a flow of electrons. Solar cells produce direct current electricity from sun light, which can be used to power equipment or to recharge a battery. The first practical application of photovoltaic was to power orbiting satellites and other spacecraft, but today the majority of photovoltaic modules are used for grid connected power generation. Due to the growing demand for renewable energy sources, the manufacture of solar cells and photovoltaic arrays has advanced dramatically in recent years. Solar photovoltaic is growing rapidly from a small base to a total global capacity of 40 GW (40,000 MW) at the end of 2010. More than 100 countries use solar PV. Some 24 GW of solar was projected in November 2011 to be installed in that year, pushing...
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...Solar power as away of providing heat and electrical energy from heat The Sun the heat of the sun is about equivalent to burning a billion trillion tons of coal an hour. Even though only a small fraction of that heat ever reaches the earth it is still more then enough to power the whole world. People seemed to realize the importance of the sun around 30,000 BC. This was when people first started planting crops of wheat. They realized plants did better when planted in the sun over the shade. This caused them to worship the sun as a God. Many cultures built large and extravagant temples to worship the sun in. Other cultures built places to observe the sun in, such as Stonehenge in England. Different Types of Solar Panels There are three main types of solar panels. They are flat plate collectors, focusing collectors, and solar cells. The first kind is a flat plate collector. Flat plate collectors are fastened on the top of the roof of a house. They usually either heat the house or its water. A flat plate collector consists of a black rectangular frame, two or three sheets of glass, and copper plumbing. A flat plat collector uses the greenhouse affect. The sun rays go through the glass but can’t get out through the glass. The sun rays heat the water-filled copper tubes. Then the water is used to heat the home or water. Another type of a solar panel is a focusing collector. They consist of a mirror or mirrors...
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...------------------------------------------------- HISTORY OF JAPANESE SOLAR ENERGY A. The Beginning i. The Boom of Solar Power One of the most significant and perceptible booms in the country of Japan recently is one that will probably broaden and remain an enduring fixture, unlike other technological booms that are going on in Japan. Utilizing solar energy from the sun’s rays to heat water has long been frequent in Japan for some time. Nevertheless, in the last decade a collection of photovoltaic cell panels have began to appear mostly everywhere, via the rooftops of homes, businesses, airport terminals, large factories and schools. The most interesting thing about this obvious growth though has been the large number of new homes having solar energy being incorporated into their designs. It’s amazing to see houses being retrofitted with solar panels on their rooftops across Japan. A decade ago, Japan took the lead as the nation producing the majority power from solar energy, a lead which has expanded during the years with production passing 1.13 million kilowatts during the year of 2005. Similar to the case during the 1960s, it’s the exports that are obtaining the headlines, although it’s domestic demand that is actually countersigning the “Solar Boom”. The number one market leader in solar energy in Japan is Sharp Corporation, this industry have reinvested deeply into their production capacity, other manufactures of solar energy are mobilizing into the business as high demand...
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...Solyndra's demise. Will this story become a parable for America's waning competitiveness? With its clever combination of solar and cylinder, the "O" with rays striking it, and the tag line, "The new shape of solar," marketing for Solyndra's unique tubular module design was at the top of the class. It is reminiscent of making oats cereal in small toroids, the shape of the letter O. We need to determine if there was more to Solyndra than just good public relations. Figure 1: Solyndra's elegant design is evident in this 200 series panel with well-spaced cylindrical modules and simple mounting system. Tubular module design The design for Solyndra panels was based on a series of tubular modules mounted parallel to each other inside a frame. The generously spaced tube structure allowed airflow through the panel thereby reducing wind loading. Where large-area flat panels might fly off a roof in strong winds, Solyndra claimed its panels could withstand 130-mph winds without specialized mounting. With no need to physically anchor the panel to the roof, Solyndra certainly delivered on the promise of simpler installation. On the other hand, the danger of strong winds pulling flat panels off a roof is more of an issue for the partially upright mounts typical of panels angled to the optimum azimuth for the particular geographic location. As topical and "green" as solar panels are, they are a...
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...Nanosolar, Inc. - Case Solution Case Problem Martin Roscheisen, CEO of Nanosolar must decide on the market they are going to focus, whether it’s Europe which has feed-in tariff plans with long term commitment (20 yrs) or jump-start into the nascent but high potential US market. The other problem plaguing him is the pricing and sales strategy to be employed. A low-pricing strategy is imperative for the US market as there are many players in it, as for Europe having a reliable pricing schedule- it’s all about pricing vis-a-vis its major competitor First Solar. Sales Strategy The major markets for Nanosolar is going to be Europe and US, and in the long-run they have to go for the emerging economies which promises immense potential. First Solar the major player in thin-film panel category is a major competitor and must be kept in mind while deciding on the strategy. European Market Germany * Germany is having a stable pricing schedule, with feed-in tariff plan starting at $0.57/kWh (for free field systems) and $0.72/kWh (for residential) * It then declines at 6% annually, so assuming a 20 year commitment by the germen government we have a minimum price of $0.176/kWh in the 20th year * So the average price comes out to be $0.337/kWh * Profit is thus 0.261 ( assuming LCOE of $0.076/kWh without including the cost of capital) * With the total solar demand of Germany expected at 1.86 GW, there is enough potential in this market * In all, with a long-term...
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...------------------------------------------------- University of Ottawa School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) ELG 4913 Final Report Project Title: Solar Panel Enhancement System Executive Summary The project is to enhance the functionality of the solar panels. Our project is divided onto three main parts. Snow and dust can prevent the solar panels to receive direct sun light. This can decrease the amount of power received. First part is preventing high voltage by detecting high very high temperature and humidity. Second part is cleaning project that clean what’s blocking the light from the panel by reading power measurement. The last part is detecting damage by reading the power measurement coming from the panel and the battery. Home photovoltaic system must be cleaned regularly to achieve maximum efficiency. To achieve this, surface of the solar panels must be free from dust, sand, snow, and more. Dirty solar panels lower power generation efficiencies and the solution for this is to design and create a brush that can be activated to clean unwanted substance from the panel. Table of Contents: 1- Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 4 2- Design Objectives ................................................
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...Title: SOLAR ENERGY: “SUNLIGHT into USEFUL ELECTRICITY” >Introduction< In today's climate of growing energy needs and increasing environmental concern, alternatives to the use of non-renewable and polluting fossil fuels have to be investigated. One such alternative is solar energy. Solar energy is quite simply the energy produced directly by the sun and collected elsewhere, normally the Earth. The sun creates its energy through a thermonuclear process that converts about 650,000,000 tons of hydrogen to helium every second. The process creates heat and electromagnetic radiation. The heat remains in the sun and is instrumental in maintaining the thermonuclear reaction. The electromagnetic radiation (including visible light, infra-red light, and ultra-violet radiation) streams out into space in all directions. Only a very small fraction of the total radiation produced reaches the Earth. The radiation that does reach the Earth is the indirect source of nearly every type of energy used today. The exceptions are geothermal energy, and nuclear fission and fusion. Even fossil fuels owe their origins to the sun; they were once living plants and animals whose life was dependent upon the sun. The sun is an inexhaustible source of energy. Solar energy is radiant energy from the sun caused by nuclear fusion in the sun’s core. The sun’s radiant energy reaches the earth in rays of sunlight. Solar energy in the form of heat and light sustains life on earth. Solar energy can...
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...BUSINESS PLAN: SOLAR PANELS INSTALLATION SITUATION B Report of Project 1 – Microeconomic Analysis Keller School of Management – DeVry University ECON 545 – BUSINESS ECONOMICS Prof. John Hinrichs January 28, 2015 1. Introduction This is a business report to evaluate the profitability and success of starting a contracting company for installing solar panels in 2015. The report was asked by Miss Cindy B. and it’s purpose is solely to provide Miss Cindy B. the most detailed and informed advice possible. In order to contextualize the type of business Miss Cindy B. wants to begin, the article “US boosts ‘game-changer’ solar technology in bid for global market share” – page 374 of the textbook – was studied and will be cited several times during this paper. Industry Overview The solar energy industry is growing in America, as can be seen by the increase in global demand for solar cells. The US Department of Energy is investing hard on the industry, offering over $12 billion dollars in loans to solar projects. A particular company called 1366 Technologies received a $150 million loan guarantee due to it’s new technology that promises to reduce drastically the costs of production of wafers for solar cells. Studies show that ‘1366’s machines simplify the traditional manufacturing process into one step, slashing costs by more than half. That’s important, since silicon wafers account for about 40 percent of the cost of today’s solar panels, and manufacturers...
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...Asteroids are airless and rocky bodies that revolve around the Sun but are too small to be classified as planets. Within the inner Solar System, there are more than 150 million asteroids whose diameters are longer than 100 metres. But the number is much larger if smaller ones are counted. In fact, thanks to the advanced telescopes, around 5000 new asteroids are discovered by astronomers per month. Asteroids come in various compositions, shapes and sizes. Some are solid, some are complex mixtures of metals while others are ‘rubble piles’ bound together by the force of gravity. Nearly all asteroids are irregularly shaped (some even have moons of their own or have various tails), but a few possess enough gravity and pull into nearly spherical...
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