GreenEnergy.gs
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Green Energy InformationBiodiesel
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Solar PanelsCurrently, the use of solar power is more of an anomaly than a real life occurrence. There are specialized applications that are economic enough to have solar panels make sense. For example, rural areas without a grid are ideal places for solar economically. In developed nations, only around 2% of energy produced is solar. Scientists expect the percentage to increase in a lot in the next decade. Some energy engineers claim that solar will gain up to and around 10% within 10-12 years. There are fundamental dynamics in place that all point towards solar becoming a high growth industry with great expectations. The fundamentals are rising fossil fuel prices due to the balance of supply and demand shifting in favor of demand. In addition, solar is improving steadily and quickly due to the green movement and the introduction of nanotechnology. Some marketing experts believe solar will quickly become a dominant player in the energy field.The main competitor to solar panels is coal fired technology. Coal is still a very abundant resource in the world. The supply is so great that it is more difficult for solar technology to really gain a foothold in the market. Since communities are becoming more interested in green technology, solar is gaining a stronger foothold than it ever has. Here are the four main players in solar. Sharp Solar PanelsSharp is located in Osaka, Japan. They have the record for the solar panel with the highest conversion ratio. They used a material called indium-gallium-arseni. The efficiency rate was 35.8%. A new company from MIT claims that they can produce solar panels with rates over 40%, but the results have not been verified yet.Sharp is so well known because their panels are well made and have high efficiency ratios. Sharp currently produces about 20% of the worlds solar panels. BP Solar PanelsBP has manufacturing plants near major solar hubs. There are manufacturing plants in Australia, United States, Spain, China, and India. BP sell around 20% of the solar panels used in the world. They are a major solar player with about 30 years of experience.Kyocera Solar PanelsKyocera is from Kyoto, Japan. Kyocera focuses on off grid systems for private homes in developing countries. One of the marketing arms of Kyocera is United Solar Systems. One of their main advantages is that they can make laminate solar panels that are flexible. Kyocera is responsible for the largest solar rooftop located at General Motors in the United States.Shell SolarShell solar produces about 5% of the worlds solar panels. Shell is an American company that is heavily into gas and oil. They also invest into solar so that they will have the opportunities that solar will offer as it becomes more popular. Shell does not want to be left in the dust and is spending a lot of money to develop proprietary solar technologies.SanyoSanyo is mostly known for makings consumer electronics. However, they created some solar panels that had poor quality and many were recalled. The company created a solar ark with it. You can view the ark here: http://www.inhabitat.com/2008/01/14/solar-ark-worlds-most-stunning-solar-building/Look at These Two CompaniesThere are two solar companies to keep an eye on. They are Covalent Solar and Nanosolar. Covalent Solar is claiming high efficiency ratios at a low cost with the use of plastic films and dyes. Nanosolar claims to have a nanotechnology ink that can print out solar panels for a very low cost.
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