Brazilian-made Plastic Solar Panels

       Brazilians emphasize upon increasing their knowledge in terms of green technology research and have concluded to discover and develop plastic solar panels, which can help revolutionize power generation from such an amazing source of energy.

Tiago Maranhao Alves holding a strip of newly developed plastic solar panel

      This solar panel may seem like it is a thin sheet of plastic, but it is actually a solar panel covered with photovoltaic cells, which converts sunlight into electricity. Unlike other heavy and costly silicon-based solar panels commonly used in society today, this plastic solar panel was created by scientists at CSEM Brazil, a research institute in the southeastern state of Brazil, Minas Gerais.
      These solar panels are similar to transparent sheets of plastic with stripes where they printed with carbon-based organic polymers, in that they were made by incorporating organic photovoltaic cells into common polymers. The technology to produce the organic photovoltaic cells has been studied in Europe and the United States, but Brazil has made further development usage pertaining to the technology.
      "While the capacity for power generation is almost the same, its small size means that it can be given uses that are impossible for silicon panels," said Tiago Maranhao Alves, chairman of CSEM Brazil and physical engineer who directly participated in the research. This material is able to power electrical components of automobiles and in electronic devices such as mobile phones, wireless keyboards and mice. "A panel with a surface of two or three square feet meters can be sufficient to generate the energy needed in a house lived by a family of four," Alves also remarked.
       Transportation is also an advantage of the solar panels, compared to the common silicon-based panels. "Because they are easy to transport, logical costs are lower. In addition, people can take them with them when they move to a new home," Alves noted. The plastic solar panel is able to be used in covering buildings and venues like airports and sports stadiums, avoiding the need to set aside an area for installation of the silicon panels.

Latin America is Focused on Solar Energy!

     Argentina and Venezuela, which are the least renewable energy countries in Latin America, is planning on expanding on solar capacity as the government is willing to support their finances with a few incentives. International developers have actually been helping Argentina by planning plants, which gets as twice the solar radiation of Germany, which is the largest solar market at this time.
     According to Marcelo Alvarez, head of solar for trade group Camara Argentina de Energia Renovable (CADER), he claims that in 2012, Argentina has applied to build 11 projects of 20 megawatts each. By doing so, this would be helping President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner's administration in meeting 8% of Argentina's power by 2016, in which the present time in 2013, it is now 2%.
     Argentina plans to build 3,000 megawatts in clean-energy capacity, of which approximately 10% may come from solar energy. About 625 megawatts are mainly in operation, which most of them are small hydropower projects and solar energy reigns only 6.2 megawatts.
     In 2011, regulation has been passed that allows developers to negotiate premium tariffs with the government and grid operation without relying on clean-energy tenders arranged by Energia Argentina SA, the state energy company. Officials have been concentrated on organizing and developing long-term contracts for power from the plants, bringing an interest from companies residing in Spain to China.
     However, Argentina has granted long-term contracts for 895 megawatts in 2010, whereas it included 20 megawatts awarded towards Genneia SA for Argentina's first large solar parks, enabling the energy to be enough to power 30,000 homes. In this, Energia Argentina SA has been backing five companies in starting the projects before the government is able to sign off the tariffs that will support the renewable energy industry.
    In reference to a report by the Inter-American Development Bank and New Energy Finanace, Brazil has been leading Latin America in installed renewables capacity. Latin America and the Caribbean have more than 6,000 megawatts of solar sites under development, which includes about 2,800 megawatts in Chile and 1,400 in Brazil.

Argentina builds Most Powerful Solar Energy Park in Latin America!

      In the Argentinan province of San Juan, the government has authorized to develop what will be the most powerful solar energy park in Latin America. Already Brazil, Germany, and Spanish companies have been expected to invest in the project, which has an estimated price tag of $120 million, in which the provincial government of San Juan has agreed to invest $15 million to $20 million in the project.
      According to a Spanish news source Cronista, the solar park has been producing between 1500 and 2400 megawatts of energy, making it the biggest single producer of solar energy throughout all South American and Latin American countries.
       There is a landmark in Argentina that is also remarkable to many tourists; it is known as the Bueno Aires landmark, the solar-powered Floralis Generica. This landmark is a large metallic sculpture that opens its petals with the sun at morning and closes them at night. For a country that has not exploited its solar power potential to any great extent, it seems there is a promising future in terms of renewable energy for Argentina.

A Bueno Aires landmark, the solar-powered Floralis Generica