China is displaying surprising progress in renewables, more than many outsiders might expect. For example: China trails only Germany and Japan in solar photovoltaic cell output. Another: Unlike the US, China wisely halted the approval of new ethanol projects using food crops. These are just two of 10 examples that bely the cliches that circulate about China’s [...]

  Solar company Konarka wants to bring plastics to life with the sun. Konarka has developed technology to create rolls of plastic that can convert light to electricity–a design that will result in solar power being embedded in everything from flashing Coke bottles to wireless sensors, the company claims. Earlier this month, Konarka said that it has demonstrated [...]

  Researchers at a Dutch university have devised a method of ’substantially improving’ the production of relatively inexpensive dye-sensitised solar cells. Long touted as a cheap alternative to high-cost silicon solar cells, dye-sensitised cells imitate the natural conversion of sunlight into energy by plants and light-sensitive bacteria. Annemarie Huijser, from the Delft University of Technology, noted that [...]

  Mitsubishi Electric Corp. is planning to invest $70 million in a major expansion of capacity to make photovoltaic (PV) cells and modules, to meet what it says is huge growing demand worldwide. Mitsubishi (Tokyo) will boost production at two plants in Japan, aiming to boost capacity from 150 megawatts last year to 500 megawatts by [...]

  High Efficiency Polycrystalline Modules Kyocera’s advanced cell processing technology and automated production facilities produce a highly efficient multicrystal photovoltaic module. The conversion efficiency of the Kyocera solar cell is over 16%. These cells are encapsulated between a tempered glass cover and a pottant with PVF back sheet to provide efficient protection from the severest environmental conditions. The entire [...]