World's Largest Solar Power Plant is Now Online

         After three years and $2.2 billion of construction, California has just flipped the switch for the planet's largest solar thermal plant, the 392 megawatt Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System. Ivanpah's 300,000 heliostatic mirrors, which reflect and concentrate light around a central molten salt-filled tower, rather than convert light to electricity like photovoltaics, sit on 3,500 acres of federal land in Mojave, California. The project has received major funding not only for the DoE but also Google, NRG Energy, BrightSource Energy and Bechtel.
         While only the first of they system's three central towers has begun operating, it's already feeding power back into the PG&E (Pacific Gas & Electric) grid. And when the remaining two will be activated in the coming weeks, Ivanpah is expected to produce enough energy at peak to power 140,000 homes while reducing carbon emissions by some 400,000 tons per year over its 30-year service life.

Elliot City Home Supports Solar Energy

        Starting in 2007, Dan and Margo Duesterhaus had 32 solar panels installed on their Elliot City home 12 years ago, in which it was placed on three sections of the roof, two additional panels for their solar water heater and another smaller panel for a solar attic fan. They added solar daylight tubes at three locations on the main floor of their rancher, two small heat pumps and large windows with extensive insulation.
        Over 5 years, the Duersterhauses transformed their 1950s-era home into a model of energy-efficiency. "It was a long-term desire," said Margo Duesterhaus, an IT consultant for the Baltimore-Washington firm Triple TeQ. "We were interested in the long-term cost savings, and obviously we had a concern for the environment."
        This weekend, the Duesterhaus home is one of the stops on the Metropolitian Washington Tour of Solar and Green Homes, which features 50 solar-powered homes in Maryland, the District of Colombia and Virginia. The Duesterhauses expect to greet at least 25 visitors when they opened their house Saturday; other houses in the area will be open Sunday as well.

Margo Duesterhaus' house is on a tour of solar homes. South facing windows were added to the kitchen area, which are double-paned with argon in between. EIFS, exterior insulation and finishing system is on the walls on the back of the house.

There are three sections of solar panels on the roof that provide 90-95% of the home's electricity.

Graphene Paint Helps Solar Power Homes and Electronics

      Scientists from University of Manchester have discovered the potential of Graphene, which is a one-atom thick layer of graphite, with the combination of transition metal dichalcogenides, a material that is able to react in light, holds the capacity to create a product that can generate electricity from sunlight. They can form thin sheets of the product which can be placed on buildings to harvest sunlight and convert it into electricity.

       The product can give solar panels a run for their money, but the scientists don't plan to stop there. They intend to discover a way to use the technology to produce a paint that can be used for homes as well as other objects. However, Professor Kostya Novoselov, one of the scientists whom had discovered Graphene, stated that the development of the paint will not be established until much later on in the future.
       The Graphene paint can be used to power a variety of devices, establishing an emphasis on mobile cellular devices. The scientists also hold the belief that Graphene paint would bring in a "new generation" of mobile phones that are solar-powered and are ultra-thin. Not only can Graphene paint be used to power objects, but scientists believe that they will be able to make it change colors on-demand as well.
       The scientists are optimistic for the development of the Graphene paint as the material is harder than a diamond, able to conduct electricity and holds many possible opportunities for it. Professor Novoselov stated that they would be able to use Graphene to develop different types of products with a variety of properties other than producing solar powered energy. He states, "We have been trying to go beyond Graphene by combining with another one-atom thick materials. What we have been doing is putting different layers of these materials one on top of the other and what you get is a new type of material with a unique set of properties. It is like a book -- one page contains some information but together the book is so much more. The implementations would go much further than simple solar-powered cells."