Solar Panel Mass Production Possibilities

[Jason]

I moved your thread to a different forum to encourage more discussion as you suggested.

Our country has a bit of debt too. The major factor driving the decision to go solar in the United States (as well as other countries) are the government incentives. Our government gives any home owner who buys a solar panel system a 30% tax incentive. On top of that some particular states give additional incentives. People are seeing on average of $10,000-$15,000 taken off the total cost of their system. If these government incentives didn't exist, there would be a lot less talk about solar.

I think mass production of solar energy is good, but I like the idea of having solar panels on individual homes more. With the mass produced energy, the energy is being sold to electricity companies for a profit, then the home owner still has to buy the electricity at a premium rate. When a homeowner has them on their home, they are directly benefiting from their very own solar panels. Not only that, but there would be really hefty costs for distributing all that electricity from the desert in the middle east to homes throughout.

[MarineLiner]

Solar Panel Mass Production Possibilities

I think mass production of solar energy is good, but ..... With the mass produced energy, the energy is being sold to electricity companies .....

Thanks for moving the thread here.
As i've found it, maybe we could change also the title such as: "Solar Panel Mass Production Possibilities" or anything else you think will be better.
Sorry again, i mean the solar panels prdction. not the electricity, as i was inspired by the news in gawaher.com:

Solar Power And Desalination: Gold Mines For The Middle East

If it possible, panel price can greatly be reduced. As what i heard, the most obstacle is the expensive price. Or, do you think it's already reasonable?
Sorry if i make you dizzy.

[MarineLiner]

some oil-rich sheiks are investing

'Wanderer, Apr 10 2009, 01:24 PM'



Solar Power and Water Desalination.

.... a news article the other day that stated some oil-rich sheiks are investing heavily in solar power research. ..... Since much of the Middle East is desert, it makes sense to invest in solar technology, as solar panels need silicon, which is abundant in sand. .....



Source: Page 1 : 27kB

[Jason]

prices of solar panels have been consistently declining. For example, in 1982 the prices of solar panels was at $27 per watt. Today it's between $4-$5. The reason why they've been declining is solar panel efficiency has been increasing, improvements in manufacturing technology, a growing demand, etc.

A major reason why solar panels are so expensive is because of the process to manufacture the solar cells. The silicon itself isn't expensive...its the 2nd most abundant element on the planet. It's a tedious process of refining the silicone and "doping" materials to create the solar cells.

There are some companies who are coming up with thin-film technology that don't have a complicated process like the silicon cells. These type of panels are much cheaper, but the problem right now is that they are not that efficient as far as capturing the sunlight and converting it into electricity. an example of such a company is http://www.nanosolar.com

[MarineLiner]

100 x Thinner - 100 x Faster

.... in 1982 : $27 per watt. Today it's between $4-$5.

... expensive is because of the process to manufacture the solar cells. The silicon itself isn't expensive...

... with thin-film technology ... These type of panels are much cheaper, but the problem right now is that they are not that efficient as far as ... an example of such a company is NanoSolar

Thanks a lot.

I visited that nano and read their words: 100 x Thinner - 100 x Faster

Well, could you tell me what can i do to implement solar energy upto the widest as we know Indonesian govmnt. don't have stimulous yet. Could we get investors?

[Jason]

yeah, i've been keeping up with nano by reading their blog. I believe they are close to having a breakthrough that will bring down the price of solar to be competitive with current electricity rates.

honestly I wouldn't know where to start to find out about getting investors in indonesia for solar. are you talking about finding investors for solar on individual residential homes? if there isn't any talk from the government about helping, maybe you could start an organization to start pushing the government to help out? I'll keep an eye out if I come across anything and let you know.

[unixmd5crypt]

I'm excited about the nano technology. It would work wonders for energy harvesting. I'm honestly surprised that the US government hasn't taken the idea under their wings and developed it faster. They are so worried about getting nuclear energy going that it seems like they've been blinded to the ideas of using solar power. It's rather dissappointing.

[MarineLiner]

1) ... to find out about getting investors in indonesia for solar.
2) ... for solar on individual residential homes?
3) ... start an organization to start pushing the government to help out?

1) No, i meant investor from America.
2) we can try both, individual and company, with giving priority to the most possible one.
3) Yes, i will start an organization as we couldn't and shouldn't work alone for doing all the best toward our planet.
Could you help me by giving a forum board like this to start with? I mean to use it in Indonesian language for those who can't english at all. And for those who can english we should bring them here.

[MarineLiner]

... nano technology. It would work wonders for energy harvesting. ..... US government hasn't taken the idea under their wings and developed it faster. ..... to the ideas of using solar power.

[Jason]

I'm excited about the nano technology. It would work wonders for energy harvesting. I'm honestly surprised that the US government hasn't taken the idea under their wings and developed it faster. They are so worried about getting nuclear energy going that it seems like they've been blinded to the ideas of using solar power. It's rather dissappointing.

actually nanosolar got the largest amount of money ever given by the Department of Energy, $20 million. (http://www.nanosolar.com/blog3/?p=19) plus they are getting good size grants and tons of funding from other companies.

it will be interesting to see where they are a few years from now. lots of money is being dumped into the solar industry and I eagerly await whats in store.

[MarineLiner]

... nanosolar got ..., $20 million. (http://www.nanosolar.com/blog3/?p=19) plus ...
it will be interesting to see where they are a few years from now. lots of money is being dumped into the solar industry and I eagerly await whats in store.

[CindyLou]

i think it would be great if all the governments from countries around the world gave incentives to alternative energy like solar. The more demand, the lower costs will go. I could picture solar being very popular world wide to the point where everyone has solar panels.

[MarineLiner]

... The more demand, the lower costs will go. ...

Yes, until a time that can make: the more demand, the more expensive, depend on the supply.

[Jason]

[quote=MarineLiner;984]

[Jason]

here something else I found to add to my previous post.

"Want to Buy Panels? We are presently already sold out for the next 12 months. We are working hard to scale our production capacity as fast as possible. Please sign up above to be notified of availability."

http://www.nanosolar.com/products.htm