Bob Goozner's Solar Review

$4,000 + Tax Credit For Plug-in Hybrids

I was perusing the Energy Bill (HR 5351) posted on the Congressional Record and found a $4,000 + tax credit for plug in hybrid vehicles. It reads as follows:

SEC. 30D PLUG-IN HYBRID VEHICLES

(a) Allowance of Credit.--There shall be allowed as a credit against the tax imposed by this chapter for the taxable year an amount equal to the sum of the credit amounts determined under subsection (b) with respect to each qualified plug-in hybrid vehicle placed in service by the taxpayer during the taxable year.

    (b) Per Vehicle Dollar Limitation.—
          (1) In general.--The amount determined under this subsection with respect to any qualified plug-in hybrid vehicle is the sum of the amounts determined under paragraphs (2) and (3) with respect to such vehicle.
          (2) Base amount.--The amount determined under this paragraph is $4,000.
          (3) Battery capacity.--In the case of vehicle which draws propulsion energy from a battery with not less than 5 kilowatt hours of capacity, the amount determined under this      paragraph is $200, plus $200 for each kilowatt hour of capacity in excess of 5 kilowatt hours. The amount determined under this paragraph shall not exceed $2,000.

If this provision passes, I will be trading my old '03 Prius for a new plug in vehicle, which the automobile companies may start selling soon, if properly motivated.

For more on plug-in vehicles see The California Cars Initiative.

Robert E. Goozner - February 29, 2008

Publication Day

     The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues publications once a week, on Thursday. Today, the USPTO issued 5,754 publications.

    Of the 5,754 publications issued today,

    26 contained the word "photovoltaic". Click Here;

    33 contained the phrase "solar cell". Click Here;

    111 contained the term "nano" (as in "nanotechnology"). Click Here; and

    1,101 contained the word "semiconductor". Click Here.

    My favorite publication for today is from Mark Blumenkrantz et al. of Roger Cleveland Golf Co., Inc., who developed a golf bag having a fluid delivery system powered by a solar cell. This is ideal for golfers who can't wait for the 19th hole or for the lady with the drink cart to come by.
See: U.S Publication 20080047857.

    In other news, the House of Representatives voted on the energy bill yesterday, including provisions against subsidies for the oil companies. Also, a $4,000 tax credit for home solar cell arrays is on the table.

    Robert E. Goozner - February 28, 2008

Patent Day

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents once a week, on Tuesday. Today, the USPTO issued 3,804 patents.

Of the 3,804 patents issued on Tuesday,

    11 contained the word "photovoltaic", Click Here;

    12 contained the term "solar cell", Click Here;

    74 contained the term "nano" (as in "nanotechnology"), Click Here; and

    610 contained the word "semiconductor", Click Here.

    My favorite patent for today is that of Simon N. Richmond of Princeton, NJ, who developed an illuminated wind indicator incorporting a solar cell.
See: USP 7,336,157.

* * * * *

Solar Power Versus Trees

When one person's trees blocks access to sunlight for a neighbor's solar cells, the result can be a lawsuit even in eco-friendly California, where a man asked prosecutors to file charges against his neighbors because their towering redwoods blocked sunlight to his backyard solar panels. Terence Chea of the Associated Press reports it here.

* * * * *

I'm Moving

Over the next few days I will be moving to a nice new office in old city Alexandria, VA, where I will have a fifth floor view of the Potomac river. I'll be very busy with the move, and there may be some delays in updating my web page.

Robert E. Goozner - February 26, 2008

WSJ Names Solar Stock Best Performer

    Today the Wall Street Journal named First Solar (FSLR) as the best one year performer. The Phoenix, Arizona based manufacturer of solar modules posted an annual average return of 795.2%.

    First Solar went public in 1996 selling at $20 per share. On Friday, the price was $211 per share. First Solar manufactures solar modules in the United States and Germany, and is building 4 new plants in Malaysia.

    The Abstract of the Wall Street Journal article can be found here.

    Robert E. Goozner - February 25, 2008

2007 Good Year in Germany

    The German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung published a 2007 summary of solar energy in Germany as part of an article covering German solar cell manufacturer Solarworld.

    If you can't read German, I've translated a few highlights below.

Solar Energy Sector 2007

2007 was a record year for photovoltaics in Germany. The number of roof-mounted solar energy systems increased by about 130,000 to about 430,000. The additional 1,100 peak megawatts has set a new record for Germany.

This was good for German manufacturing concerns, installers and workers. The net of photovoltaic manufacturers climbed 23% in 2007 to about 5.5 billion Euros. 10,000 new jobs were created in 2007 to bring the total German employment in solar energy to about 40,000.

Market openings in southern Europe and North America raised German solar exports about 4% to about 38%. The long term goal is to achieve about 70% exports, as is usual in other branches of German industry. The global market growth is expected to be 20-30% annually over the next few years.

In 2007 1.5 billion Euros was invested in Germany for solar energy. Never before has so much been invested in production, research and development. Fifteen new solar cell factories are under construction or being planned in Germany.

There is now about 3.8 peak gigawatts capacity of solar cells in place in Germany. The production of 3,000 gigawatt hours of electricity is sufficient to supply the entire city of Hamburg.

Robert E. Goozner - February 22, 2008

Publication Day

     The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues publications once a week, on Thursday. Today, the USPTO issued 6,216 publications.

    Of the 6,216 publications issued today,

    26 contained the word "photovoltaic". Click Here;

    27 contained the phrase "solar cell". Click Here;

    119 contained the term "nano" (as in "nanotechnology"). Click Here; and

    1,068 contained the word "semiconductor". Click Here.

    My favorite publication for today is from Dan O'Connell and Terry Born of hNUPHOTONICS, who developed a thinned solar cell having increased efficiency.
See: U.S Publication 20080041443 .

* * * * *

Jerusalem Post Opposes Proposed Patent Bill

The Israeli economy has a large high technology sector with a crucial interest in intellectual property, especially patents in the United States. Bernard G. Frieder has just published an op-ed piece in the Jerusalem Post noting that the anticompetitive aspects of the proposed patent reform bill before Congresswill raise transactional costs such that smaller high tech players will be penalized. Read it here.

Robert E. Goozner - February 21, 2008

Link of the Day

Technology Review, which is published by MIT, has a nice review page on solar energy called Special Reports Solar Power.

Robert E. Goozner - February 20, 2008

Patent Day

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents once a week, on Tuesday. Today, the USPTO issued 3,794 patents.

Of the 3,794 patents issued on Tuesday,

    18 contained the word "photovoltaic", Click Here;

    19 contained the term "solar cell", Click Here;

    63 contained the term "nano" (as in "nanotechnology"), Click Here; and

    604 contained the word "semiconductor", Click Here.

    My favorite patent for today is that of Arnold J. Goldman of Los Angeles Advisory Services Inc., who developed hybrid generation from both solar and non-solar energy sources.
See: USP 7,331,178.

Robert E. Goozner - February 19, 2008

Ignatius on Energy

In the Sunday Washington Post David Ignatius, in his eagerness to attack Barack Obama, finds the relative pittance Obama proposes for alternative energy and infrastructure to be extravagant. Ignatius writes:

Obama added more Edwardsian flourishes in a speech Wednesday at an auto plant in Wisconsin. He called for a $150 billion program to develop “green collar” jobs and new energy sources. Meanwhile, to fix all the highways and bridges of our automotive society, he proposed a National Infrastructure Reinvestment Bank that would spend $60 billion over 10 years. Obama should be pressed on whether these big programs are affordable for an economy that appears to be in a tailspin.

Affordable? Compared to what, the war in Iraq? The Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Senate estimates the cost for the war in

Iraq

to be $1.3 trillion. Since Obama plans to end the war in Iraq, maybe the money can be found.

On the other hand, don’t forget that the war in Iraq was started, in part, to secure energy supplies and to divert attention from the role of Saudi Arabia in promoting terrorism and remaining a key player in the global petro-economy.

But does Ignatius have any relationship with the Saudis? Well he is a Beltway insider who has vastly enjoyed partying with them, as Ignatius admits himself in his review of a book on Bandar al Sultan.

Of course, I have never smoked a cigar with a petro-oligarch. Maybe if I had, I would also find $15 billion per year for alternative energy (versus $1.3 trillion for war) to be a waste, at least to the oil interests.

Robert E. Goozner - February 18, 2008

Publication Day

     The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues publications once a week, on Thursday. Today, the USPTO issued 6,368 publications.

    Of the 6,368 publications issued today,

    29 contained the word "photovoltaic". Click Here;

    27 contained the phrase "solar cell". Click Here;

    146 contained the term "nano" (as in "nanotechnology"). Click Here; and

    1,075 contained the word "semiconductor". Click Here.

    My favorite publication for today is from Neil V. Placer et al. of BP America, who developed a solar roof tile with a frame system.
See: U.S Publication 20080035140 .

* * * * *

WSJ Attacks Obama

    In other developments, the Valentine's day Wall Street Journal editorial page contained two attacks on Barack Obama, including a cartoon of noticeably dark-skinned Barack Obama and Oprah Winfrey sharing a couch with Iran's president Ahmadinejad. I always thought that the WSJ would refrain from this type of racism, but I guess I was wrong. As the election proceeds, we can expect the caricatures of Obama in the WSJ to become increasingly darker.

    On the other hand, while the WSJ's new sweetheart John McCain has no energy plan, Obama has a very good one that will go a long way towards reducing the amount of evil that petrodollar-fueled tinpots like Ahmadinejad can perpetrate.

    Robert E. Goozner - February 14, 2008

Obama on Energy

    Since Barack Obama beat Hillary Clinton by about 2 to 1 in the Potomac primaries, it may be useful to look at Obama's stand on energy issues. Obama promises to:

    o reduce carbon emissions by 80% by 2050
    o invest $150 billion over ten years in clean energy
    o support biofuels
    o reduce oil consumption by 35% by 2030
    o improve energy efficiency by 50% by 2030
    o reengage for climate change.

    Obama's platform can be found here.

    On the other hand, this is pretty much the same as Hillary Clinton's platform, which can be found here.

    Also, Curtis Brainard posts some sour grapes about Obama's energy record in the Columbia Journalism Review. However, Obama does represent a coal state, and coal and nuclear are better alternatives than Middle Eastern oil.

    Personally, I find any form of energy preferable to Middle Eastern oil, where you pay a tithe for terrorism every time you pull up to a gas pump.

Robert E. Goozner - February 13, 2008

Patent Day

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents once a week, on Tuesday. Today, the USPTO issued 3,173 patents .

Of the 3,173 patents issued on Tuesday,

    17 contained the word "photovoltaic", Click Here;

    4 contained the term "solar cell", Click Here;

    51 contained the term "nano" (as in "nanotechnology"), Click Here; and

    505 contained the word "semiconductor", Click Here.

    My favorite patent for today is that of Gary D. Roberts et al. of Novastron Corporation, who developed an aerodynamic hybrid vertical axis wind turbine that can incorporate photovoltaic cells.
See: USP 7,329,965.

Robert E. Goozner - February 12, 2008

World Solar Cell Production

The German magazine Photon has published figures for 2006 solar cell production by country on their website. An English version of their graph is below.

    Numerically, Japan produced 36.4%, Germany produced 20%, China produced 15.1%, the USA produced 6.8%, Taiwan produced 6.7%, and 15% was produced in other countries.

    Interestingly, Korea, which has a large semiconductor industry (which uses silicon, a big component of solar cells) is not present. Also note the large German presence, which stems from the German Government's support of solar.

Robert E. Goozner - February 11, 2008

Solar Town In Abu Dhabi

    The Arabian Gulf shiekdom Abu Dhabi is planning to build a solar town named Masdar on a strip of desert next to the Abu Dhabi airport. The groundbreaking was reported in a puff piece by Andrew Revkin in the New York Times.

    However, it should be noted that the real business of the Gulf shiekdoms is oil, and this town is merely a Potemkin village to cover their extremely non-green activities.

    Also, don't plan to visit if you hold an Israeli passport because they won't let you in. On the other hand, it may be fun to watch all the solar technology in the company of the usual Arabian Gulf scrum of European hookers, shady businessmen and jihadis-in-transit.

Robert E. Goozner - February 8, 2008

Publication Day

     The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues publications once a week, on Thursday. Today, the USPTO issued 5,965 publications.

    Of the 5,965 publications issued today, 28 contained the word "photovoltaic". Click Here;

    34 contained the phrase "solar cell". Click Here;

    114 contained the term "nano" (as in "nanotechnology"). Click Here; and

    971 contained the word "semiconductor". Click Here.

    My favorite publication for today is from Daniel McGlynn et al. of Emcore Corporation, who developed a terrestrial solar power system using III-V semiconductor solar cells.
See: U.S Publication 20080029151 .

Robert E. Goozner - February 7, 2008

Patent Day

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents once a week, on Tuesday. On Tuesday, the USPTO issued 3,762 patents.

Of the 3,762 patents issued on Tuesday,

    16 contained the word "photovoltaic", Click Here;

    12 contained the term "solar cell", Click Here;

    62 contained the term "nano" (as in "nanotechnology"), Click Here; and

    615 contained the word "semiconductor", Click Here.

    My favorite patent for today is that of J.S. Rastegar et al. of Omnitek Partners, who developed a method and device for generating energy from photovoltaic and temperature differentials.
See: USP 7,326,850.

Robert E. Goozner - February 6, 2008

Where The Candidates Stand

    Super Tuesday is tomorrow, so it is a good time to take a look at where the candidates stand on altenative energy.

    Hillary Clinton: Calls for getting 25% of U.S. electricity from renewables by 2025. Proposes a $50 billion, 10-year fund that would invest in renewables and other energy sources.

    Barack Obama: Calls for getting 25% of U.S. electricity from renewables by 2025. Calls for 30% of the federal government's electricity to come from renewables by 2020. Investing $150 billion over 10 years in R&D for renewables, biofuels, efficiency, and other clean tech. Obama has also issued a detailed energy plan.

    John MCain: Supports renewables, but has not offered a specific target. McCain does support photo-ops a solar plants, as noted below.

    Mitt Romney: Supports renewables, but has not offered a specific target.

    Mike Huckabee: Calls for getting 15% of U.S. electricity from "alternative" energy sources by 2020, which would include "clean coal" and nuclear power in addition to renewables.

    Of all the candidates, Barack Obama seems to have the best handle on energy issues and, it is hoped, the will to act on his platform.

    If you're a Republication, the obvious choice is Mike Huckabee.

    For more, there is a good comparison chart at Grist.

Robert E. Goozner - February 4, 2008

McCain's Solar Photo-Op

    Yesterday, Republican presidential candidate John McCain toured a solar plant in Califiornia accompanied by former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and California Governer Arnold Schwartzenegger. The solar plant is British-owned Solar Integrated Technologies. This event was also covered by Jennifer Kho at Greentechmedia.

    On the other hand, I looked through John McCain's website and couldn't find anything about what about what he would do to promote solar energy. Under Schwartzenegger, California's commitment to alternative energy has languished, as reported by Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times.

    So nice photo-op. But where's the beef? I don't see any true commitment for promoting solar energy here.

Robert E. Goozner - February 1, 2008

Publication Day

     The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues publications once a week, on Thursday. Today, the USPTO issued 6,060 publications.

    Of the 6,060 publications issued today, 36 contained the word "photovoltaic". Click Here;

    37 contained the phrase "solar cell". Click Here;

    112 contained the term "nano" (as in "nanotechnology"). Click Here; and

    1,060 contained the word "semiconductor". Click Here.

    My favorite publication for today is from Lianbing Hu et al., who developed a solar cell with a nanostructure electrode
See: U.S Publication 20080023067 .

Robert E. Goozner - January 31, 2008

Wal-Mart Goes Solar

    Wal-Mart, a notorious penny pincher, has looked into the future and found that the future is solar. The Arkansas-based retailer has launched an aggressive program to run its stores using solar energy.

    Last May, Wal-Mart announced that it was purchasing solar energy equipment from three sources: BP Solar (BP) , SunEdison LLC, and SunPower Corp. The 22 stores to be equipped with solar power will generate 20 million kilowatt-hours per year, the company said. Each solar power generating system can provide up to 30% of the power for the store in which it is installed. See Here.

    Just this week, Wal-Mart completed a 390 kilowatt solar power system at the Sam's Club store in Chino. See Here.

    Wal-Mart additionally announced this week the completion of the first of four solar power systems in Hawaii as part of a previously announced pilot program on the islands. The 283 kilowatt solar power system is at the Sam's Club on Keeaumoku Street in Honolulu. See Here.

    Let's hope that may more businesses follow Wal-Mart's example.

Robert E. Goozner - January 30, 2008

Patent Day

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents once a week, on Tuesday. Today, the USPTO issued 3,755 patents (notice the jump, almost a thousand more than in recent weeks).

Of the 3,755 patents issued today,

    12 contained the word "photovoltaic", Click Here;

    8 contained the term "solar cell", Click Here;

    55 contained the term "nano" (as in "nanotechnology"), Click Here; and

    565 contained the word "semiconductor", Click Here.

    My favorite patent for today is that of K.G. Chittibabu et al. of the University of Massachusetts, who developed a photovolatic cell on a flexible substrate.
See: USP 7,323,635.

* * * * *

In other news, the mainstream media is starting to appreciate the potential of thin film solar cells, as is indicated by an article by Richard Dobson in the Los Angeles Times.

On the other hand, California can't seem to get its act together to develop proper incentives for solar energy, as reported by Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times.

Robert E. Goozner - January 29, 2008

AACHEN GEOTHERMAL ENERGY

The Goozner Solar Review arises from my long standing interest in all forms of alternative energy. This not only includes solar energy, but all kinds of energy that are non-carbon based. Above, you see me in front of the geothermal project at the University of Aachen (Germany). The geothermal energy is obtained by sinking a shaft about 1km straight into the ground, and exploiting the temperature gradient between the abyss and the surface. This shaft will supply most of the energy used by the University.

LINKS

Solar Decathlon	Department of Energy	Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy	National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
United States Patent And Trademark Office	Gooznews	Young & Thompsom