Câmaras de Torres Vedras e Peniche com programa de incentivo à instalação painéis solares
Os habitantes dos concelhos de Torres Vedras e Peniche que residam em moradias podem, a partir de hoje, candidatar-se a um programa de instalação de painéis solares para reduzirem custos energéticos (...) em parceria com um banco e uma empresa de instalação dos equipamentos. (...) Os interessados poderão concorrer até 31 de Janeiro de 2009.

Sunglasses
Semitransparent dye-sensitized solar cells on sunglasses, by Hyun-Joong Kim and Kwang-Seok Jeong, via EcoGeek

Segunda maior central solar do mundo começou hoje a funcionar em pleno no Alentejo
A Central Solar Fotovoltaica de Amareleja, que desde meados de Março produzia e injectava energia na rede eléctrica nacional de forma parcial, através dos primeiros 2,5 megawatts (MW) instalados, começou hoje a funcionar em pleno, disse Francisco Aleixo, director-geral da Amper Central Solar, empresa que instalou e gere a central e propriedade da Acciona (...) Com uma capacidade total instalada de 46,41 megawatts (MW) distribuídos por 2520 seguidores solares azimutais, equipados com 104 painéis solares cada um, a central de Amareleja situa-se num terreno de 250 hectares, perto daquela vila, considerada "a terra mais quente de Portugal", devido aos recordes de temperatura máxima no Verão.

First Solar Panels Piling Up?
[S]ix key First Solar customers aren't able to install the solar panels quick enough. Those customers, including EDF Energies Nouvelles, Conergy, Ecostream, Phoenix Solar and Colexon, might have an even tough time doing so in 2009, when First Solar is due to ship even more panels to them than it did in 2008. (...)
Moreover, we don't expect these modules to move out soon, given weakening economics, lower natural gas prices, higher interest rates, and tougher underwriting requirements," wrote Jonathan Hoopes, managing director of energy technology research at ThinkEquity. (...)
Hoopes estimated First Solar shipped about 208 megawatts worth of panels to the six customers between the second half of 2007 and 2008. He combed through company announcements and presentations and figured that roughly 105 megawatts, leaving 103 megawatts in their inventories.

Solar Fraud Could Eliminate Spanish Market
A government investigation has uncovered many incomplete projects that were reported as finished by a September deadline. Those projects could qualify for the new 500MW cap for 2009, blocking new project applications (...) The National Energy Commission, or CNE, began investigating these reports in late October (...) After checking 287 solar farms, investigators found that only 97 of the projects (roughly 44 percent) were legally completed by September.
(...)Spanish newspaper El Pais published a story on Dec. 7 about the government investigation, noting that six government workers resigned after evidence showed they gave solar energy development permits to relatives.

Gas supply challenges for PV
Strong solar and LCD panel growth is straining global supplies for silane, the most critical raw material , but most of the supply chain captive by polysilicon manufacturers. (...) Future solar applications will use more silane than any other application that demands silane today -- he estimates that the future requirements for silence will be ~67,000tons/year of silane, about double the amount used for semiconductors and LCD manufacturing (excluding polysilicon production). (...) "Due to economic issues, the ramps that were planned for 2009-2010 are slower than anticipated, so for now we've covered the (silane) gap," (...) but the long-term issue is whether production capacity can keep up with demand -- "How much confidence do we have in demand forecast[s] to invest $100M up-front in a silane manufacturing plant?"

Clouds over the Solar Power Industry
The economic crisis has weakened demand for everything from polysilicon to rooftop panels, just as manufacturers have spent billions expanding production. The overcapacity has caused prices to plummet and left the industry financially exposed. A number of companies—especially startups—may not survive a shakeout that could last 18 months or longer. (...) The causes of the downturn are complex and interrelated. As the price of oil plunged from its peak last summer, solar and other forms of renewable energy became relatively less cost-competitive—dampening demand from industrial, commercial, and residential customers. At the same time, the credit squeeze has made it harder for customers, whether power companies or energy-conscious homeowners, to finance solar projects. Some also are holding back in anticipation that solar equipment prices will fall even further.

Why we should let GM and Ford fail

"Our bailout of Detroit will be remembered as the equivalent of pouring billions of dollars of taxpayer money into the mail-order-catalogue business on the eve of the birth of eBay... into the CD music business on the eve of the birth of the iPod and iTunes... into a book-store chain on the eve of the birth of Amazon.com and the Kindle... into improving typewriters on the eve of the birth of the PC and the Internet." Tom Friedman

Vejam a explicação aqui

PV STATUS REPORT 2008:
Research, Solar Cell Production and Market Implementation
Europe's photovoltaic industry is growing rapidly and is now worth EUR 14 billion a year, according to the 2008 Status Report on Photovoltaics released by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) this week. The report reviews global research, development, industry and policy efforts in photovoltaics throughout 2007 and sets out some recommendations.
The status report indicates that solar photovoltaic production grew by an average of 40% annually since 2003, peaking at 60% growth in 2007. Germany was a clear leader in the European market with a EUR 5.7 billion turnover (more than 100,000 houses installed solar panels). Half of the world's photovoltaic-based electricity production, which totals 10 Billion KWh, comes from the EU.

Moura: Aposta no termo-solar
Foi assinado (...) pela Câmara Municipal de Moura, a Sky Energy, a Tom, Lda e a Lógica, um memorando de entendimento [que] visa a construção de uma central termo-solar com capacidade até 10 MW. O investimento previsto ronda os 40 milhões de euros e deverá assegurar a criação de 25 novos postos de trabalho. (...) A estrutura de financiamento deverá ficar concluída até final de Agosto de 2010, para permitir o início da obra, logo que sejam emitidas as respectivas licenças e autorizações.

Inauguração fábrica Solar Plus em Oliveira do Bairro
Cavaco Silva deslocou-se ontem à Zona Industrial de Vila Verde (Oliveira do Bairro) para presidir à inauguração da “Solar Plus” – Produção de Painéis Solares SA, que é a primeira unidade fabril de produção integral de painéis solares com tecnologia de película fina. A empresa representa um investimento de 18 milhões de euros e já permitiu a criação de 150 postos de trabalho directos e mais de meio milhar indirectos. (...) A Telcabo, Net Plan, Eurico Ferreira e a Energy Photovoltaics (New Jersey), constituem a Solar Plus, que tem como objectivo produzir cerca de 140 mil módulos anuais, e que poderão gerar aproximadamente 9.310.000 Kwh por cada ano de funcionamento e assim permitir a redução de 3500 toneladas de CO2 por ano em Portugal.

Agreement on the new EU Directive on Renewable Energy
EU Parliament delegation, EU Council and European Commission agreed today on the EU Directive on Renewable Energy.(...) The Renewable Energy Directive sets the goal of increasing renewable energy's share of the market to 20% by 2020, from around 8.5% today, by means of binding national targets. For all countries, 10% of energy used in transport will have to come from renewables. Member states will have to clearly set out how they will meet those targets through detailed national action plans. The EU Commission will have full power to monitor these plans and launch infringement procedures against member states not implementing the directive.

Projecto da FCUL finalista do EDP University Challenge
O projecto "Aplicação de Novas Tintas Coloridas em Painéis Solares Térmicos Tradicionais e Estudo da sua Eficiência Energética" desenvolvido [por uma] equipa da FCUL foi considerado pelo júri do concurso universitário um dos cinco melhores [da edição 2008 do EDP University Challenge].
As concorrentes [estudantes do mestrado em Química Tecnológica, Salomé Vieira e Maria João Figueiredo e a aluna de doutoramento, Ana Paula Ribeiro] explicam que “este projecto tem por base demonstrar a importância e a performance dos revestimentos por pintura na eficácia da conversão da energia solar, o processo de fabrico de uma tinta a nível laboratorial e a sua caracterização morfológica, estrutural, química e metrológica”(...) “é de prever a substituição de alguns produtos actualmente perigosos por outros mais inócuos e simultaneamente a aplicação da nova tinta para camuflagem/valorização do visual da paisagem superior às tintas existente no mercado”.
O projecto vencedor “Plano de Comunicação sobre Energias Renováveis” foi realizado por um grupo de alunos do Instituto Português de Administração e Marketing (IPAM), que recebeu uma bolsa de estudo no valor de 6000 euros a par da possibilidade de realizar um estágio de três meses na EDP, em Portugal, Espanha ou Brasil. O professor que orientou os estudantes do IPAM foi contemplado com uma bolsa de investigação no valor de 2500 euros.
A nova edição do EDP University Challenge já foi lançado.

Distributed computing: the Clean Energy Project
World Community Grid and the Clean Energy Project are assembling a virtual laboratory to build thousands of organic compounds in order to discover those that are the best candidates for future solar cell research. With the aid of World Community Grid, new molecular materials with specific properties will be designed in software, instead of having to actually synthesize and test the molecules in an actual chemical experiment. Thus rather than measuring the response of the molecules to sunlight, scientists from the Aspuru-Guzik group at Harvard University will be able to look at their calculated molecular properties and estimate their performance as solar cells. To be successful, they will need to achieve the highest levels of accuracy available with current computational chemistry methods - and must do so for tens of thousands of molecules.

Nova central solar já funciona em Mértola
Propriedade do grupo português de energias renováveis Cavalum, a Central Fotovoltaica de Olva, com uma capacidade instalada de quase 2,4 MW e 14.870 painéis solares, situa-se num terreno de seis hectares, na Herdade das Pereiras, freguesia de São Miguel do Pinheiro. (...) A Central Solar Fotovoltaica de Olva é a segunda instalação do género no concelho de Mértola, depois da Central Fotovoltaica da Corte Pão e Água [750kW], também do grupo Cavalum [da Jayme da Costa].