Cadmium telluride is toxic, then again so are thousands of other manufacturing processes and materials. No alt energy source will ever be 100 percent environmentally benign but compared to fossil fuels they are ALL a step forward regardless. Your computer has cadmium telluride in it as well as hundreds of other semi and very toxic materials when raw or not encapsulated as components. E-waste is a serious environmental problem and we don't want to be throwing used cad/tel panels in the dump 30 years from now either but this looks like a significant development on the verge of mass production. Add this to the several other solar pv technologies being developed and it looks good to have truly cost effective pv within a few years. (I know, we've been waiting for 30 years but always an optimist...just a LLiiittle longer! ;)
regards tallex > -------Original Message------- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: Re: [Biofuel] New Low Cost Solar Panels Ready for Mass Production - > Sent: 10 Sep '07 15:59 > > Dear All, > > I'd like to know the relative weight of the new panels as well > as the environmental impact of the cadmium telluride from mines to landfills. > > Regards, > > Wendell > > > > >From: Dawie Coetzee <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >Date: 2007/09/10 Mon AM 10:37:01 CDT > >To: sustainablelorgbiofuel@sustainablelists.org > >Subject: Re: [Biofuel] New Low Cost Solar Panels Ready for Mass Production - > > >Don't you hate it when people talk about "100 times less"? How little was > it to begin with, if the littleness is now 100 times more? Logically, "100 > times less" means -99 times as much: x - 100x = -99x. Or do they mean 1% as > much? If so, this sounds promising. I'd like to have an idea of the > durability of these panels, though, compared to the conventional sort, not to > mention the wattage per unit of area one might reasonably expect. -D > > > > > >----- Original Message ---- > >From: AltEnergyNetwork <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >To: sustainablelorgbiofuel@sustainablelists.org > >Sent: Monday, 10 September, 2007 4:50:00 PM > >Subject: [Biofuel] New Low Cost Solar Panels Ready for Mass Production - > > > > > >New Low Cost Solar Panels Ready for Mass Production - > >Colorado's State Univ.'s panels will cost less than $1 per watt > > > >http://www.industryweek.com/ReadArticle.aspx?ArticleID=14932&SectionID=4 > > > >Sept. 10, 2007 -- Colorado State University's method for manufacturing > low-cost, high-efficiency solar panels is nearing mass production. AVA Solar > Inc. will start production by the end of next year on the technology > developed by mechanical engineering Professor W.S. Sampath at Colorado State. > The new 200-megawatt factory is expected to employ up to 500 people. Based on > the average household usage, 200 megawatts will power 40,000 U.S. homes. > > > >Produced at less than $1 per watt, the panels will dramatically reduce the > cost of generating solar electricity and could power homes and businesses > around the globe with clean energy for roughly the same cost as traditionally > generated electricity. > > > >Sampath has developed a continuous, automated manufacturing process for > solar panels using glass coating with a cadmium telluride thin film instead > of the standard high-cost crystalline silicon. Because the process produces > high efficiency devices (ranging from 11% to 13%) at a very high rate and > yield, it can be done much more cheaply than with existing technologies. The > cost to the consumer could be as low as $2 per watt, about half the current > cost of solar panels. In addition, this solar technology need not be tied to > a grid, so it can be affordably installed and operated in nearly any location. > > > >The process is a low waste process with less than 2% of the materials used > in production needing to be recycled. It also makes better use of raw > materials since the process converts solar energy into electricity more > efficiently. Cadmium telluride solar panels require 100 times less > semiconductor material than high-cost crystalline silicon panels. > > > >"This technology offers a significant improvement in capital and labor > productivity and overall manufacturing efficiency," said Sampath, director of > Colorado State's Materials Engineering Laboratory. > > > >Sampath has spent the past 16 years perfecting the technology. In that > time, annual global sales of photovoltaic technology have grown to > approximately 2 gigawatts or two billion watts -- roughly a $6 billion > industry. Demand has increased nearly 40% a year for each of the past five > years -- a trend that analysts and industry experts expect to continue. > > > >By 2010, solar cell manufacturing is expected to be a $25 billion-plus > industry. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >Get your daily alternative energy news > > > >Alternate Energy Resource Network > >1000+ news sources-resources > >updated daily > > > >http://www.alternate-energy.net > > > > > >Alternate Energy Resource Network Blog > >http://blog.alternate-energy.net/index.php > > > > > > > >Next_Generation_Grid > > > >http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/next_generation_grid > > > > > >Alternative_Energy_Politics > > > >http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/Alternative_Energy_Politics > > > > > >Tomorrow-energy > > > >http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/tomorrow-energy > > > > > >Earth_Rescue_International > > > >http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Earth_Rescue_International > > > > > > > >_______________________________________________ > >Biofuel mailing list > >Biofuel@sustainablelists.org > >http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainablelorgbiofuel > > > >Biofuel at Journey to Forever: > >http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html > > > >Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (70,000 > messages): > >http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/ > > > > > > ___________________________________________________________ > >Want ideas for reducing your carbon footprint? 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