3M-Columbia Missouri- Produces Ultra Barrier Solar Film

3M to Begin High-Volume Production of 3M(TM) Ultra Barrier Solar Film

Business Wire
October 13, 2010

3M today announced the expansion of its manufacturing facility for its 3M Ultra Barrier Solar Film. As a key component supplier to the solar industry, this expansion will support the growing demand for high efficiency flexible PV modules. The majority of the facility expansion, located in Columbia, Missouri, is scheduled to be completed in 2011.

"3M once again demonstrates the value it brings to the rapidly expanding renewable energy sector by bringing our high-performance Ultra Barrier Solar Film to commercial-scale production," said Derek DeScioli, Business Development Manager for the 3M Renewable Energy Division. "3M is a recognized leader in ultra barrier film technology, and we are committed to accelerating our efforts to support the scale-up of our thin film manufacturing customers."

Designed to address the needs of flexible thin film solar manufacturers, 3M Ultra Barrier Solar Film acts as a replacement for glass with high light transmission, superb moisture barrier performance, and excellent weatherability. Compared with glass-glass modules, large area, light weight flexible PV modules manufactured with 3M Ultra Barrier Solar Film can achieve significantly lower balance of systems (BOS) costs by requiring less installation time, removing the need for metal racking, and reducing logistics expenditures. 3M Ultra Barrier Film also enable lower module manufacturing costs by allowing manufacturers to commercialize large area modules, effectively reducing fixed costs associated with module manufacturing, assembled in a continuous roll-to-roll process.

3M's Renewable Energy Division offers a robust portfolio of new and existing products, bringing more than 100 years of combined expertise in coatings, film, tape, adhesive and optical technologies to the rapidly expanding renewable energy and energy efficiency markets worldwide. In addition to the company's world-class R&D facilities, 3M works closely with leading national labs to develop and refine its energy generation and energy conservation technologies. 3M has expanded its global manufacturing capabilities for Renewable Energy Division products several fold in recent years to bring key products to commercial-scale production to meet customers' growing needs.

Visit 3M at Solar Power International: 3M will be displaying the Ultra Barrier Film and additional solar component technologies at booth #407.

About 3M

A recognized leader in research and development, 3M produces thousands of innovative products for dozens of diverse markets. 3M's core strength is applying its more than 40 distinct technology platforms - often in combination - to a wide array of customer needs. With $23 billion in sales, 3M employs 75,000 people worldwide and has operations in more than 65 countries. For more information, visit http://www.3M.com or follow @3MNews on Twitter.

Copyright 2010 Business Wire, Inc.

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90% of Americans want more solar energy

>90% of Americans want more solar energy: Red and blue see green future

(October 12, 2010) -- On the eve of Solar Power International, North America's largest solar energy trade show, a new national poll shows that the vast majority of Americans overwhelmingly support development and funding of solar energy, and their support for solar has remained consistent over the last three years. These and other findings were reported in the 2010 SCHOTT Solar Barometer, a nationally representative survey conducted by independent polling firm Kelton Research.

• 94% of Americans think it is important for the nation to develop and use solar energy. This was consistent across all political party affiliations.
• 80% of Americans agree that Congress should consider reallocating federal subsidies from fossil fuels to solar. Also read: US solar market, led by CA, will grow tenfold by 2014
• Over half (51%) the country would choose to work in the solar industry if they were to start working in renewable energy.
• Nearly half (49%) of Americans considering solar for their home or business plan to make a decision to adopt solar in less than one year.
• Nearly half (49%) of Americans are willing to pay more for clean, reliable solar energy.

Strong support for solar remains unchanged since Americans were asked the same questions in the August 2009 SCHOTT Solar Barometer (92% of Americas want solar developed now) and June 2008 SCHOTT Solar Barometer (94%). The difference is within the margin of error for these polls.

This support for solar power is consistent across political party affiliation with 92% of Republicans, 98% of Democrats and 94% of Independents agreeing that it is important for the U.S. to develop and use solar power.

Furthermore, four out of five (80%) Americans feel that Congress should reallocate federal subsidies away from fossil fuel towards renewable energy industries. Broken down by party affiliation, 86% of Democrats, 69% of Republicans and 81% of Independents feel this way. Americans understand the urgency of growing the solar industry themselves; nearly half (49%) of Americans currently considering solar power options for their home or business plan to make a decision in less than one year.

"For the third consecutive year, the SCHOTT Solar Barometer highlights Americans' wide and growing support for solar energy," said Dr. Gerald Fine, president and CEO of SCHOTT North America. "We're dedicated to delivering clean reliable energy and have created hundreds of green jobs manufacturing solar products here in the U.S. These findings show that the vast majority of Americans share our goal of promoting and growing the new green industry in the U.S."

"The message from the public is very clear: We want more solar energy! According to this poll, solar energy is more popular than puppy dogs or ice cream. It is time for policymakers to listen to their constituents and enact measures to rapidly increase our use of solar," said Rhone Resch, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association. "As we debate many crucial social and economic issues during this midterm election, lawmakers should consider solar, not as an issue, but as an industry they can count on to create jobs, improve U.S. competitiveness, bolster our national security and reduce harmful pollution. It's time for Congress to see what most Americans already see; that solar is working for America today."

Scotts Contracting is available for all your Green Projects around the House or at your Business.  Click Here to email Scotty for a Free Green Site Evaluation.

When asked to choose one energy source to financially support if they were President, 45% of Americans would opt for solar over other sources such as wind (19%), natural gas (12%), nuclear (12%) and coal (2%).

Americans also understand the growing impact the solar industry is having on the U.S. economy and job creation. More than half (51%) of Americans said they would choose a job in the solar industry if they were to start working in the renewable energy sector. This was more than wind (20%), geothermal (9%), biofuels (9%) or hydropower (8%).

Nearly half (49%) of Americans indicated they would be willing to pay more for solar energy. In fact, the cost of solar is already on par with traditional fossil fuel options in several markets, and continues to drop as the industry scales up.

The SCHOTT Solar Barometer Survey was conducted by Kelton Research between September 27 and October 4, 2010 using an email invitation and an online survey. SCHOTT Solar and the Solar Energy Industry Association (SEIA) commissioned the survey. Quotas are set to ensure reliable and accurate representation of the total U.S. population ages 18 and over. Results of any sample are subject to sampling variation. The magnitude of the variation is measurable and is affected by the number of interviews and the level of the percentages expressing the results. In this particular study, the chances are 95 in 100 that a survey result does not vary, plus or minus, by more than 3.1 percentage points from the result that would be obtained if interviews had been conducted with all persons in the universe represented by the sample.

SCHOTT Solar produces important components for photovoltaic applications and solar energy power plants.

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Robin's Carnahan vs Roy Blunt Debate News

On Thu, Oct 14, 2010 at 5:48 PM, Mindy Mazur, Campaign Manager <no-reply@robincarnahan.com> wrote:

Dear Scotts,

This morning was the first of only two debates between Robin and Congressman Blunt. And she hit it out of the park!

Those of you following the race know that Congressman Blunt dragged his feet, kicking and whining every step of the way, when we finally locked him into debating at all.

Now we know why.

During his 14 years in Washington, Congressman Blunt has been up to no good.

On September 25th of last year at an event in Hannibal, MO, Blunt told a crowd: "We've had Medicare since 1965, but Medicare has never done anything to make people more healthy."

You'll see when the debate airs on TV tonight that when Robin directly asked Congressman Blunt about whether he really believed these things, he claimed he never said anything like that.

Don't let a Congressman who doesn't keep his word to us or to our seniors get a promotion to the Senate. Make an urgent donation now.

He also denied that he's the number one recipient of lobbyist contributions in the entire House of Representatives. But it's true. Why won't Congressman Blunt just be honest?

We all "know" that Congressman Blunt is the kind of career politician who will flat-out say anything to get elected -- but today he gave undeniable proof.

Donate today and tune in tonight - at a watch party or on our website. Robin did an amazing job and I think you will like what you see!

Best regards,
Mindy

P.S. We're going to have the video available on our website -- watch it at http://RobinCarnahan.com/Debates

Paid for and authorized by Robin Carnahan for Senate

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New discovery paves way for pollution-free electricity production

Hindustan Times
October 11, 2010

London, Oct. 11 -- Scientists have identified new properties in a material that could result in efficient and inexpensive plastic solar cells for pollution-free electricity production.

The discovery by physicists at Rutgers University reveals that energy-carrying particles generated by packets of light can travel on the order of a thousand times farther in organic (carbon-based) semiconductors than scientists previously observed.

This boosts scientists' hopes that solar cells based on this budding technology may one day overtake silicon solar cells in cost and performance, thereby increasing the practicality of solar-generated electricity as an alternate energy source to fossil fuels.

"Organic semiconductors are promising for solar cells and other uses, such as video displays, because they can be fabricated in large plastic sheets," said Vitaly Podzorov, assistant professor of Physics at Rutgers.

Podzorov and his colleagues observed that excitons - particles that form when semiconducting materials absorb photons, or light particles - can travel a thousand times farther in an extremely pure crystal organic semiconductor called rubrene. Until now, excitons were typically observed to travel less than 20 nanometers - billionths of a meter - in organic semiconductors.

"This is the first time we observed excitons migrating a few microns," said Podzorov, noting that they measured diffusion lengths from two to eight microns, or millionths of a meter. This is similar to exciton diffusion in inorganic solar cell materials such as silicon and gallium arsenide.

"Once the exciton diffusion distance becomes comparable to the light absorption length, you can collect most of the sunlight for energy conversion," he said.

Excitons are particle-like entities consisting of an electron and an electron hole (a positive charge attributed to the absence of an electron). They can generate a photo-voltage when they hit a semiconductor boundary or junction, and the electrons move to one side and the holes move to the other side of the junction. If excitons diffuse only tens of nanometers, only those closest to the junctions or boundaries generate photo-voltage. This accounts for the low electrical conversion efficiencies in today's organic solar cells.

While the extremely pure rubrene crystals fabricated by the Rutgers physicists are suitable only for laboratory research at this time, the research shows that the exciton diffusion bottleneck is not an intrinsic limitation of organic semiconductors. Continuing development could result in more efficient and manufacturable materials.

The scientists discovered that excitons in their rubrene crystals behaved more like the excitons observed in inorganic crystals - a delocalized form known as Wannier-Mott, or WM, excitons. Scientists previously believed that only the more localized form of excitons, called Frenkel excitons, were present in organic semiconductors. WM excitons move more rapidly through crystal lattices, resulting in better opto-electronic properties.

Podzorov noted that the research also produced a new methodology of measuring excitons based on optical spectroscopy. Since excitons are not charged, they are hard to measure using conventional methods. The researchers developed a technique called polarization resolved photocurrent spectroscopy, which dissociates excitons at the crystal's surface and reveals a large photocurrent. The technique should be applicable to other materials, Podzorov claims.

The discovery has been posted online and slated for publication in an upcoming issue of the journal Nature Materials. Published by HT Syndication with permission from Asian News International. For any query with respect to this article or any other content requirement, please contact Editor at htsyndication@hindustantimes.com

Copyright 2010 HT Media Ltd.All Rights Reserved

Hindustan Times

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R-Value Recommendations for Existing Buildings for the St Louis Area

R-Value Recommendations for Existing Buildings for the St Louis Area DOE/CE-0180 January 2008 Department of Energy Assistant Secretary Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

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Heating System: Natural Gas Furnace
Cooling System: Electric Air Conditioning
First 3 digits of ZIP code: 631
Location: Saint_Louis, MO

Insulation Location	R-Value*	Notes
Attic	49	-
Wood frame wall cavity	13	Blow insulation into any uninsulated exterior wall cavity.
Floor	30	Over unheated, uninsulated space.
Crawl space wall	25	Crawl space walls are only insulated if the crawl space is unvented and the floor above the crawl space is uninsulated.
Basement wall interior	11	-
Insulative sheathing on empty wall	5	Recommendation assumes that the exterior siding was removed for other purpose, i.e., does not include any consideration of the cost of removing and replacing the exterior siding.
Add insulative sheathing to R11 wall	5

^* R-values have units of F-ft²-h/Btu. The recommended R-values were produced using the ZIP-Code computer program. The recommendations are based on an analysis of cost effectiveness, using average local energy prices, regional average insulation costs, equipment efficiencies, climate factors, and energy savings for both the heating and cooling seasons.

If you are interested in Green Building on an Investment Property Check out the Benton Gut Rehab Blog Series-Benton Gut Rehab Green Blog Series

Part 1: History

Part 2: Stone Foundation Repair

Part 3: Tuckpointing the Brick Walls pt 1

Part 4: Tuckpointing the Brick Walls pt 2

Part 5: What were they thinking?

Part 6: Paint Pro Tip #35

Part 7: Repairing Water Damage-Exterior Wall

Part 8: 1st Floor Weatherization

Part 9: See the Difference a Little White Paint Makes

Part 10: Interior Framing-Plumbing-Laundry Room

Part 11: Kitchen Framing Tip #36-Benton Rehab Project

Part 12: Water Main Repair- Benton Rehab

Part 13: Benton Rehab Project Drywall Installation and Tip: Number 1172

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Illinois Wind Farm Brings New Life to Local Businesses

VP 100: Illinois wind farm breathes new life into businesses

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September 23, 2010

• Project highlighted in the Vice President's report on 100 Recovery Act Projects That Are Changing America
• County board set aside $6 million from developer to spur economic growth
• County's economic council has helped a dozen business open or stay open

The Streator Cayuga Ridge South Wind Farm has 300 MW capacity of electricity. | Photo courtesy of Greater Livingston County Economic Development Council

A car dealership in Dwight, Ill., shut down this year, but recently reopened its doors and 29 people kept their jobs. 
Over in Collum, a grocery store that sat silent for three years recently awoke, creating six jobs.  And a new coffee shop is now open in downtown Pontiac, bustling with customers sipping lattes and eating muffins.
So what breathed new life into these Livingston County businesses?
Surprisingly, it was the opening of the Streator Cayuga Ridge South Wind Farm, a wind farm that has a 300 MW capacity made possible with the help of $170 million through the U.S. Department of Energy's 1603 grants-in-lieu-of-tax-credits program to the developer.
Recovery Act spurs growth
As a stipulation to build the $600 million, 150-wind turbine project, Iberdrola Renewables, a Spanish wind developer, paid the county $6 million.  That funding from the developer was set aside to spur economic development in the region.

The county board has started to hand over portions of that money—$500,000, so far—to the Greater Livingston County Economic Development Council. Through a revolving loan program and grants, the council has already helped a dozen businesses start up or stay afloat.
"We believe in economic gardening," says Larry Vaupel, director of the council.  "We try to grow our economy from within by nurturing businesses and providing financial assistance for start-ups and expansions."
Open for business
The Jeep and Chrysler car dealership in Dwight was about to go under, but the council was able to give them a revolving loan of $100,000 to keep its doors open, thanks to the Iberdrola payment.
Residents in Collum lost their community grocery store, so they created a corporation and sold shares in a community market. They needed $26,000 to purchase the building, and the council provided a grant for half of it.
"That created six jobs, but, more importantly," says Vaupel, "it created an opportunity to purchase essential groceries in their town, instead of driving 10 to 15 miles to the nearest one."
That coffee shop in Pontiac took advantage of the council's commercial building improvement grant. To attract new businesses, the council is investing money into building space to make it more "move-in" ready.
"We work for entrepreneurs that are starting a business," Vaupel says. "We are trying to keep their expenses low. Our grant has helped three or four new business get started."
Windy jobs
Businesses are benefiting from the allocated money, but the wind farm is creating jobs and revenue for county in other ways.
About 300 construction jobs were created because of the farm, which officially started generating power in May.
And for every 10 turbines, one full-time maintenance position has been created, says Livingston County board chairman Bill Fairfield.
The county also expects to bring in about $3.3 million a year in tax revenue from the wind farm.
"The biggest benefit is the economic benefits to the county," says Fairfield. "It's bought quite some money and jobs into the area."

Tags: 1603, Stories, Top Recovery Act Projects, Wind Article By: Stephen Graff

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Google.org-backed Drilling Geothermal Technique

September 22, 2010

• Company founded by geothermal legend Bob Potter
• Potter Drilling seeks to make geothermal exploration and development cheaper and more efficient
• $5 million in Recovery Act funds awarded for water-based thermal drilling technology

Jared, left, and Bob Potter founded Potter Drilling in 2004. The company has received financial backing from Google.org to develop innovative geothermal technologies. | Photo courtesy of Potter Drilling

Few start-ups are founded by retirement-aged scientists – and even fewer have Google.org backing.
That's the unique position of Potter Drilling, a start-up founded in 2004 by a pioneering now-90-year-old and his son.
With funding from Google.org and a Recovery Act grant, Potter Drilling is developing innovative technologies aimed at making geothermal energy exploration and development cheaper, more efficient and widely available.
"All the people that work here believe if we are successful in developing this technology, we will have a significant impact on how power is generated in the U.S and how it is consumed," says Mark Hankowski, Potter Drilling's vice president of business development.
 
"And the end game is that it will benefit the environment," he says.

Drilling with water
In August, the company began testing a new geothermal drilling method - called hydrothermal spallation – in Raymond, Calif., by using superheated water to break through rock, boring a four-inch hole 1,000 feet into the ground.  The Redwood City, Calif.-based firm seeks to drill three wells at the site.
Since the technology requires superheated water instead of diamond drill bits, it's more cost effective and efficient than traditional drilling.

A hydrothermal spallation system developed by Potter Drilling is shown during a lab trial. The technology is currently being tested in Raymond, Calif.  

 

In rotary drilling, bits can wear out as fast as they grind against jagged edges of hard rock and may need to be replaced as little as every 100 feet, adding time and costs to the process.
Hydrothermal spallation drilling relies on a jet of superheated water to bore into the earth's subsurface. This system reduces wear on equipment and in the laboratory has demonstrated penetration rates of at least three times the industry standard. "Because it's non-contact, we can do some things that are extremely hard to do in traditional drilling," Hankowski explains.

From Los Alamos to Redwood City
The technology's mastermind is Bob Potter, who started his scientific career by working on the Manhattan Project developing the atomic bomb during World War II. During his time at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in New Mexico, Potter discovered new ways to drill for materials found in the subsurface, which laid the foundation for his career in geothermal technology.

"My work at Los Alamos gave me exposure to energy and climate change problems long before they were debated on the national stage," Potter says.

"As I learned about geothermal power, I began to appreciate its potential to solve almost every problem I had come across. Problems like capacity and availability; CO2 emissions and pollution; and use of domestic resources are all solved by geothermal power," he adds.

In 1974, Potter developed a groundbreaking solution to fix another energy problem. "The one issue that isn't easily solved is the availability of geothermal resources on a nationwide scale, which is why I came up with the concept of Hot Dry Rock, which is available anywhere in the country."

The Hot Dry Rock concept - or Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) - involves injecting water into hot, crystalline rock deep beneath the Earth and returning it to the surface where heat can be extracted to create power.
Potter's passion for geothermal exploration continued well after retirement from LANL. In 1984, he teamed with MIT professor Jefferson Tester to patent hydrothermal spallation.  He co-founded Potter Drilling with his son, Jared, in 2004 with the goal of developing and commercializing this technique.

Potter is the "creative genius"  of the clean energy firm and inspires team members to think of new solutions to problems.  "My career has been based on my insatiable scientific curiosity. At Los Alamos, I found that I was good at coming up with innovative ideas. After several were implemented and successful, I became hooked," Potter says.  "I have applied this same curiosity and skill for innovation at Potter Drilling."

Investing in geothermal
As Potter's ideas for geothermal technology grow, so does the company. In 2008, Potter Drilling received $4 million from Google.org  towards the nonprofit's goal of generating renewable energy cheaper than coal.

Drilling's projects and enabled the company to expand from a handful of workers to 16.  "Financially, we wouldn't be here without them," Hankowski says. 

The company won a $5 million American Reinvestment and Recovery Act grant earlier this year through the Department of Energy's Geothermal Technologies Program to help pay for the hydrothermal spallation project currently underway in Raymond.

Enabling commercialization
The goal of the project - and all of Potter Drilling's work - is to "improve [geothermal] resources and lower costs," Hankowski explains.  "This is something we are passionate about."

Potter says his company will continue to find new approaches to clean energy, just as he has done throughout his prolific career. "The technologies - such as hydrothermal spallation being developed at Potter Drilling - are enabling technologies that will allow EGS to move closer to commercialization," he says.

"I believe that EGS has the potential to greatly impact America's energy future."

Tags: Geothermal, Stories Article By: Paul Lester

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