“Solar panels are starting to die. What will we do with the megatons of toxic trash?”
Solar panels are an increasingly important source of renewable power that will play an essential role in fighting climate change. They are also complex pieces of technology that become big, bulky sheets of electronic waste at the end of their lives — and right now, most of the world doesn’t have a plan for dealing with that.
“Solar Real Estate Is Hiding in Plain Site on Europe’s Rooftops”
Europeans can massively expand low-cost solar generation just by tapping the space over their heads.
That’s the conclusion of researchers who used satellite imagery, electricity prices and lending data to assess the untapped energy potential of Europe’s buildings. Rooftop area three times the size Luxembourg is available and could economically supply almost a quarter of the bloc’s power, according to a paper published in Elsevier’s October edition of Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews.
“Solar Panels Now So Cheap Manufacturers Probably Selling at Loss”
Solar manufacturers led by China’s Trina Solar Ltd. are probably selling at a loss after prices fell to a record low this week.
The global spot market price for solar panels fell 2.4 percent to an average of 36 cents a watt on Dec. 28, according to PVinsights.
“Introducing The First-Ever World Cup Stadium Powered By Solar”
Complete with 6,000 solar panels, Mineirão is the first World Cup stadium ever powered by solar energy. The plant’s installed capacity of 1,600 megawatts-hour per year (1.4 MW) is enough to power 1,200 households, according to the Brazilian federal government’s World Cup website.
While initial goals included fitting all 12 of the event’s stadiums with solar photovoltaic (PV) panels or some other form of green energy, ultimately, only a few could be completed in time.
“Solar Farmers in Japan to Harvest Electricity With Crops”
Japan’s campaign to boost renewable power supplies since the Fukushima nuclear disaster is producing some unlikely winners: vegetable farmers.
Makoto Takazawa and his father Yukio earned 1.7 million yen ($16,700) last fiscal year selling electricity from solar panels that hang in a giant canopy above their farm east of Tokyo. The cash was almost nine times more than they made from the crops growing in the soil below.
Under pressure from trade partners to reduce agricultural subsidies, Japan has found a way round this by giving clean energy subsidies to farmers instead.
“Clean Energy Investment Rises 9%, Led by Solar Power”
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-04-16/clean-energy-investment-rises-9-led-by-solar-power.html
Clean energy investment rose by 9 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier on surging demand for rooftop solar panels from the U.S. to Japan.
New investment in renewable power and energy efficiency rose to $47.7 billion in the first three months of the year from $43.6 billion, Bloomberg New Energy Finance said today in an e-mailed statement.
“China Panel Makers Turn Solar Farmers to Counter Glut”
China’s solar-panel makers are investing more in building their own power projects, expanding sources of revenue and soaking up some of the manufacturing capacity that depressed panel prices.
“Half a million UK homes have solar panels”
http://touchstoneblog.org.uk/2014/01/half-a-million-uk-homes-have-solar-panels
Amazingly, considering the government’s shale gas blast and huge cuts in solar panel tariffs, 500,000 homes have now installed small scale rooftop solar panels. About 1,900 installations are being carried out every week, helping to sustain a skilled workforce. Despite government policy, a combination of massive international production volumes and efficiencies achieved by UK installers have helped offset the 65% cut in the government’s feed in tariff – from 49p per unit of power in 2010 to 14.9p/kWh today.
The big (65%) cut in Government subsidies means that it will take longer to get paid back the cost of installing solar panels. Production and installation costs have to fall even further to make it attractive to the rest of the UK to install solar panels.
Alternatively, if energy prices keep rising this will force people to install solar panels to reduce their bills even without a Government subsidy!!!
My Trip To The Amazon 
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