Bob Goozner's Solar Review

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.

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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

Energy Futures

    The January 2008 Scientific American featured an article by Ken Zweibel et al. that envisioned a big future for alternative energy, where solar power plants could supply 69 percent of the U.S.’s electricity and 35 percent of its total energy by 2050.   READ IT HERE.

    On the other hand there are less sanguine views, such as the 2008 Annual Energy Outlook from the U.S. Department of Energy, which predicts only 6.7 quadrillion Btu from renewables in 2030 compared to about 50 quadrillion Btu from "liquids" and about 30 quadrillion Btu from coal. READ IT HERE.

    However, even ExxonMobil predicts a growth rate of about 10% per year for wind and solar energy at page 21 of their report: The Outlook for Energy - A View to 2030. READ IT HERE.

    Current trends do predict big growth in alternative energy. Solar cell production increased 50% in 2007 (see here) and U.S. Wind power capacity increased 45% in 2007 (see here). If this growth rate approaching 50% represents a long term trend, then both the Department of Energy and ExxonMobil will end up being very wrong.

Robert E. Goozner - January 25, 2008

Publication Day

     The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues publications once a week, on Thursday. Today, the USPTO issued 5,827 publications.

    Of the 5,827 publications issued today, 36 contained the word "photovoltaic". Click Here;

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

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

    1,091 contained the word "semiconductor". Click Here.

    My favorite publication for today is from Sam-Shajing Sun et al., under NASA contract, who developed a photovoltaic device from block copolymers.
See: U.S Publication 20080017244 .

Robert E. Goozner - January 24, 2008

Solar Cell Production Jumps 50% in 2007

    The Earth Policy Institute reports a dramatic increase in solar cell production in 2007, stating:

    Production of photovoltaics (PV) jumped to 3,800 megawatts worldwide in 2007, up an estimated 50 percent over 2006. At the end of the year, according to preliminary data, cumulative global production stood at 12,400 megawatts, enough to power 2.4 million U.S. homes. Growing by an impressive average of 48 percent each year since 2002, PV production has been doubling every two years, making it the world’s fastest-growing energy source.

    The entire report by Jonathan G. Dorn can be read here.

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Silicon Prices Reach Record High

The price for polysilicon on the spot market has reached record highs, breaking through the $400 per kilogram ceiling. The price pressure seems to be coming from the Chinese market, as is reported in the January issue of the German magazine Sonne, Wind & Waerme.

Polysilicon is an important raw material for silicon-based solar cells. The increasing price pressure on silicon will probably spur thin film technologies that no not depend on silicon.

Robert E. Goozner - January 23, 2008

Patent Day

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents once a week, on Tuesday. Today, the USPTO issued 2,224 patents.

Of the 2,224 patents issued today,

    9 contained the word "photovoltaic", Click Here;

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

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

    371 contained the word "semiconductor", Click Here.

    My favorite patent for today is that of Harjit Mann of West Midlands, England, who developed a wind powered streetlight including solar cells.
See: USP 7,321,173.

Robert E. Goozner - January 22, 2008

Schott Solar to Build Production Facility in New Mexico

On January 14, 2008, Schott Solar, a subsidiary of German glassmaker Schott, announced the construction of a new solar energy technology production facility in the Mesa del Sol region of Albuquerque, NM. A picture of the Schott solar thermal technology is below.

Schott will construct a 200,000 square-foot facility, which is expected to begin production in 2009 and immediately create 350 jobs. The investment in New Mexico by Schott Solar will be on the order of $100 million. Long term plans call for the building to expand to 800,000 square feet with 1,500 employees, representing a total investment of $500 million.

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U.S. WIND POWER CAPACITY SURGED 45% IN 2007

The Americal Wind Energy Association (AWEA) reports that the U.S. wind energy industry installed 5,244 megawatts (MW) in 2007, expanding the nation’s total wind power generating capacity by 45% in a single calendar year and injecting an investment of over $9 billion into the economy.

The U.S. wind power fleet now numbers 16,818 MW and spans 34 states. American wind farms will generate an estimated 48 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of wind energy in 2008, just over 1% of U.S. electricity supply, powering the equivalent of over 4.5 million homes.

The report on the AWEA web site can be found here.

Robert E. Goozner - January 18, 2008

Publication Day

     The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues publications once a week, on Thursday. Today, the USPTO issued 5,883 publications.

    Of the 5,883 publications issued today, 28 contained the word "photovoltaic". Click Here;

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

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

    1,027 contained the word "semiconductor". Click Here.

    My favorite publication for today is from Ryne P. Raffaele et al., from the Rochester Institute of Technology, who developed a photovoltaic device that includes an array of quantum dots or quantum dashes.
See: U.S Publication 20080011349 .

Robert E. Goozner - January 17, 2008

Supreme Court to Hear Patent Licensing Case Today

    Today, the United States Supreme Court will be hearing oral arguments in Quanta Computer, Inc. v. LG Electronics, Inc.

    The issue arises from patent technology licensed by Intel from LG. Intel then sold products containing this technology to Quanta. LG is now trying to get additional monies by claiming that LG's patent rights were not exhausted. This is sometimes referred to as "reach through."

    LG is thus trying to overturn the traditional concept of "patent exhaustion," in which once a patent is licensed to a second party, the patent holder's rights are exhausted with regards to third parties buying the second parties products.

    Given the Supreme Court's recent propensity to weaken patent rights, I predict that LG will get a slap down on their lawsuit. LG could have negotiated any additional royalties in their original license with Intel. They had their chance. Now they are appearing greedy.

    Also, patent rights have traditionally fallen out of favor in difficult economic times, such as we are getting into now.

Robert E. Goozner - January 16, 2008

Patent Day

     The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents once a week, on Tuesday. Today, the USPTO issued 2,484 patents.

    Of the 2,484 patents issued today,

    8 contained the word "photovoltaic", Click Here;

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

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

    326 contained the word "semiconductor", Click Here.

    My favorite patent for today is that of John R. Tuttle of Daystar, who developed a thermal process for the in-situ creation of a junction layer in CIGS.
See: USP 7,319,190.

Robert E. Goozner - January 15, 2008

Scientific American Envisions Solar USA in 2050

The January Scientific American has published a majoir article that envisions a solar-powered America that is free from dependence on foreign oil by 2050. Authors Ken Zweibel, James Mason and Vasilis Fthenakis believe this goal can be attained by stressing the following key concepts, stating:

A massive switch from coal, oil, natural gas and nuclear power plants to solar power plants could supply 69 percent of the U.S.’s electricity and 35 percent of its total energy by 2050.
A vast area of photovoltaic cells would have to be erected in the Southwest. Excess daytime energy would be stored as compressed air in underground caverns to be tapped during nighttime hours.
Large solar concentrator power plants would be built as well.
A new direct-current power transmission backbone would deliver solar electricity across the country.
But $420 billion in subsidies from 2011 to 2050 would be required to fund the infrastructure and make it cost-competitive.

This article should be required reading for anyone interested in solar energy and the future of the United States. READ IT HERE.

Robert E. Goozner - January 14, 2008

WSJ Reports Lithium Battery Woes

On Friday the Wall Street Journal reported on the propensity of lithium-ion batteries to burst into flame, and the resulting safety issues of using these batteries in hybrid automobiles. These safety issues are being addressed by developing nano-forms of lithium compounds that lower the danger while maintaining battery performance.

The problem, at the most basic level, arises from the need to have a large amount of energy in a small package in order to propel an automobile. Gas tanks in conventional automobiles are also prone to explode or burst into f lame, but this danger is already known and accepted.

The article by Horihiko Shirouzu can be read without subscribing or paying here.

Robert E. Goozner - January 12, 2008

Publication Day

     The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues publications once a week, on Thursday. Today, the USPTO issued 4,892 publications.

    Of the 4,892 publications issued today, 25 contained the word "photovoltaic". Click Here;

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

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

    869 contained the word "semiconductor". Click Here.

    My favorite publication for today is from Martin Bettge et al., under contract from the U.S. Department of Energy, who developed photovoltaic cells include a photoactive layer which includes an array of elongated vertically aligned nanostructures.
See: U.S Publication 20080006319 .

Robert E. Goozner - January 10, 2008

2007 Patent Review (part 3)
Nanotechnology Patents

Nonnotechnology is a very hot field that is producing materials, such as nanodots, that will have a great effect on solar energy. In 2007, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued 2,770 patents containing the word "photovoltaic". This indicates a rapidly increasing trend over the last ten years, as is shown in the chart below.

An indication of how many nanotechnology applications are being filed in the USPTO can be found by looking at the trend for publications shown in the chart below.

As can be seen, over 6,000 (6,275 to be precise) nanotechnology applications (that is, applications containing the phrase "nano") were published in 2007. Let's hope that the USPTO is allocating sufficient resources to examine these applications, especially in light of the total number of applications appearing to be flat.

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California News

The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission approved a new local subsidy Tuesday for residents and businesses to install solar power. The incentive plan (which still lacks final approval) would provide between $3,000 and $5,000 for a home installation and up to $10,000 for businesses. This development was reported by Charles Burress in the San Francisco Chronicle.

California's largest utility, PG&E is pushing a program for consumers to conserve energy by using more efficient light bulbs. This development was reported by Rebecca Smith in the Wall Street Journal (you must subscribe to read the whole article).

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I'll be at the Advanced Patent Law Institute at the USPTO on Thursday and Friday. So I may not find the time to post the next couple of days.

Robert E. Goozner - January 9, 2008

Patent Day

     The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents once a week, on Tuesday. Today, the USPTO issued 2,769 patents.

    Of the 2,769 patents issued today, 14 contained the word "photovoltaic". Click Here.

    Of the 2,769 patents issued, 9 contained the term "solar cell". Click Here.

    Of the 2,769 patents issued, 43 contained the term "nano" (as in "nanotechnology"). Click Here.

     Of the 2,769 patents issued, 421 contained the word "semiconductor". Click Here.

    My favorite patent for today is Benjamin P. Warner et al. of Los Alamos, who developed aprotic molten salts for solar energy applications.
See: USP 7,317,106 .

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Solar Energy Harvested From Hot Tarmac

    A Dutch company, Ooms Avenhorn Holding BV, is siphoning the heat from roads and parking lots to heat homes and offices. For example, solar energy collected from a 200-yard (180-meter) stretch of road and a small parking lot helps heat a 70-unit four-story apartment building in the northern Dutch village of Avenhorn. An industrial park of some 160,000 square feet (14,864 square meters) in the nearby city of Hoorn is kept warm in winter with the help of heat stored during the summer from 36,000 square feet (3,344 square meters) of pavement. The runways of a Dutch air force base in the south supply heat for its hangar.

    The full article (from Associated Press) can be read in the International Herald Tribune

Robert E. Goozner - January 8, 2008

Toyota Concept Car With Solar Cells

    Toyota plans to unveil their A-BAT hybrid concept car at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January.
    The A-BAT has solar panels mounted on the top surface of the instrument panel. These panels capture sunlight, convert it to energy, and use it to power accessories such as a portable power pack and navigation system.
    This is a start, but it would be nice to see a car covered with solar panels feeding electricity directly to the hybrid battery, thus reducing gasoline consumption.

    The A-BAT was reported by Nick Kurczewski in Car and Driver.

* * * * *

New Jersey Shore Town to Install Wind Turbine

Ocean Gate, a small seaside town near Toms River N.J., will be installing a wind turbine to help pay for municipal energy costs. The wind turbine has a permit to be mounted on a 200 foot tower. The new turbine will cost about $300,000 and will significantly reduce the town's $20,000 per year electric bill by producing about what the town uses: approximately 135,000 kilowatt-hours per year.

Jacqueline L. Urgo reported this development in an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Robert E. Goozner - January 7, 2008

2007 Patent Review (part 2)

Photovoltaic Patents

In 2007, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued 636 patents containing the word "photovoltaic". This indicates a steadily increasing trend over the last ten years, as is shown in the chart below.

An indication of how many photovoltaic applications are being filed in the USPTO can be found by looking at the trend for publications shown in the chart below.

Well, it seems that the USPTO should be allocating extra recources into examining solar energy applications.

Another thought is that, since oil has gone up to $100 per barrel in the past year, there is going to be substantial research in alternative energy. I think the next few years are going to see a very large, i.e, logarithmic, increase in the number of photovoltaic patent applications.

Robert E. Goozner - January 4, 2008

Publication Day

     The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues publications once a week, on Thursday. Today, the USPTO issued 5,821 publications.

    Of the 5,821 publications issued today, 46 contained the word "photovoltaic". Click Here.

    Of the 5,821 publications issued, 119 contained the word "solar". Click Here.

    Of the 5,821 publications issued, 131 contained the term "nano" (as in "nanotechnology"). Click Here.

     Of the 5,821 publications issued, 1,120 contained the word "semiconductor". Click Here.

    My favorite publication for today is Barry P. Rand et al., under contract from the U.S. Department of Energy, who developed an organic double-heterostructure photovoltaic cell having a reciprocal-carrier exciton blocking layer.
See: U.S Publication 20080001144 .

Robert E. Goozner - January 3, 2008

2007 Patent Review (part 1)

In 2007, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued 182,937 patents of all types. However, this does not represent an increase over patent production in previous years, as is shown in the chart below.

That is, with some variation, the number of patents being issued yearly from the year 2000 is remaining fairly steady.

Another indicator is to look at how many applications enter the system. One indication of this is to look at the number of publications (which are published regardless if a patent is issued). The 2001-2007 publications are set forth in the chart below.

    Now this is interesting. In 2007, the USPTO issued 300,197 publications. However, the number of publications, which gives an indication of how many applications are entering the system, is leveling off at a plateau of about 300,000 per year.

    So, if the number of patents issued is staying constant, and the number of publications has leveled off, where is the crises that requires drastic changes to the patent rules and the organization of the USPTO?

    In comparison, the USPTO predicts about 400,000 patents filed in 2007 at page 11 of their 2007-2012 Strategic Plan. However, the actual trend (which I obtained by mining the USPTO patent database) does not bear out this prediction.

Robert E. Goozner - January 2, 2008

Patent Day

     The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patents once a week, on Tuesday, even on New Years day. Today, the USPTO issued 2,783 patents.

    Of the 2,783 patents issued today, 8 contained the word "photovoltaic". Click Here.

    Of the 2,783 patents issued, 39 contained the word "solar". Click Here.

    Of the 2,783 patents issued, 34 contained the term "nano" (as in "nanotechnology"). Click Here.

     Of the 2,783 patents issued, 439 contained the word "semiconductor". Click Here.

    My favorite patent for today is Stephen Forrest et al. of Princeton University, who developed low resistance thin f ilm organic solar cell electrodes.
See: USP 7,314,773 .

Robert E. Goozner - January 1, 2008

NEW YEARS THOUGHTS

In January, I'll be reorganizing the site so that more entries, hopefully on a daily basis, will be on the main page. My Tuesday and Thursday reviews of patents and publications will also be moved to the main page.

The IP page will be more closely directed to the specifics of intellectual property for working scientists and engineers. This means the ins and outs of patents and trade secrets. I am also planning to cover other topics of interest, such as licensing, contracts, employment agreements, etc. as they pertain to working scientists and engineers. Hopefully this will one day mature into a book on the subject.

SOLAR COOKER PROJECT

As a final thought for the year, remember that all alternative energy is not necessarily high tech. Even low tech solutions may have a great impact on people's lives.

For example, you may wish to consider the Solar Cooker Project, which aids Darfur refugees. Happy New Year!

Robert E. Goozner - December 31, 2007

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