Turn off lights for Earth Hour 2009

On Saturday, March 28, 2009, Earth Hour invites people around the world to turn off their lights for one hour – from 8:30pm to 9:30pm in their local time zone. The initiative is organized by the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) and aims to reach as many people as possible. This year, close to 1 billion people from over 2,000 towns and cities in 84 countries are expected to join, switching off their lights.

This event, known as the "Earth Hour", began in Sydney in 2007 when the city turned off its lights to highlight the world's environmental problem. In 2008, the event turned into a global campaign that has drawn the participation of hundreds of towns and cities worldwide.

The "Earth Hour" aims at arousing the public awareness of energy conservation, and cutting emissions of greenhouse gas and other pollutants, thus minimizing the negative effects of climate change.

Of course, turning off the lights for one hour has very limited effect on climate change, but its significance is not just symbolic because the event is gaining greater attention and spreading far and wide.

Solar-Powered Movie Premiere in London

The world’s first entirely eco-friendly film premiere was screened in March 15, 2009 in London, England. "The Age of Stupid" is a new film warning about the negative effects of climate change. It was shown in a solar-powered cinema tent in the middle of Leicester Square and broadcast live in more than 60 cinemas all over the UK by satellite.

Every part of the event – from power sources, to transport, food, and clothing was green. Firefly Solar provided renewable power at the screening of movie.

An independent audit was carried out to monitor all CO2 emissions caused by the flagship premier and it resulted in just 1% of the usual carbon emissions seen at an average Hollywood premier.

"Obviously solar power was the main feature," said Firefly's MD Andy Mead. "We also used other methods to ensure the event had the lowest carbon footprint possible. The outside broadcast unit used for the satellite link-up was powered by bio-diesel, and all lighting on-site was the very latest in LED technology."

The 15000 lumin HD projector, all the house lighting and PA in the cinema were run entirely on solar power.

The stars arrived by solar car, bike, or rickshaw. Oscar-nominated British actor Pete Postlethwaite arrived at the premiere in a solar-powered car before posing for the paparazzi on the green carpet. In the film, Postlethwaite plays the last man alive on Earth in a devastated 2055. He looks back on archive footage of 2008 and asks why no-one acted to stop climate change.

American actor Gillian Anderson and designer Vivienne Westwood both turned up on bicycles. Britain's Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband also attended the event.

"The Age Of Stupid" took three-and-a-half years to make and had a budget of just $957,000 provided by 228 investors.

All profits from the premiere ticket sales go to the Not Stupid climate campaign, which is an initiative by environmental groups to recruit new activists to make their views felt at the UN Climate Change Conference in December 2009 this year.

Sun Jar

I came upon information about this simple but very interesting and charming solar-powered gadget - Sun Jar, and decided to share it with all my readers. Voted "Gift of the Year 2007", I think that this is a wonderful gift idea for any occasion.

The Sun Jar, designed by Tobias Wong, is made from a traditional Mason jar with a frosted glass container, vacuum-seal latch lid, and energy-efficient lighting. Sun jar collects and stores sunshine so you can use it at night. Inside the jar are a highly efficient solar cell, rechargeable battery and low energy LED lamps. When the jar is placed in direct sunlight the solar cell creates an electrical current that charges the battery over a few hours. This energy is then used at night to power the three LED lamps inside. There is no switch on the Sun Jar - a clever light sensor inside automatically activates the light when it gets dark or the light turns out. The amazing Sun Jar can produce up to 5 hours of lighting when bathed in 3 hours of Sun light.

Sun Jar is beautiful, completely waterproof and it is a great for use indoors or outside as a garden or patio light.

You can buy one from Suck UK.

World's Leading Photovoltaic Companies

Sharp Solar is the world's largest photovoltaic module and cell manufacturer, with an overall capacity of 600 megawatts. It manufactures in Japan, in the UK - near Wrexham, and recently opened a large manufacturing facility in Memphis. Sharp Solar produces both single and multi-crystalline solar cells which are used for many applications. Sharp began its development of solar cells in 1959, with mass production first beginning in 1963. In 1980, it was one of the first companies to introduce calculators powered by solar cells.

Established in 1999, Q-Cells is the world's second largest cell manufacturer, based in Thalheim, Germany (Q-Cells AG was the single largest producer of solar cells in 2007 according to industry data). Its core business is the development, production and marketing of high-quality (mono- and multi-) crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells.

Based in Wuxi, China, Suntech Power is the world's third largest producer of photovoltaics in 2007. Suntech Power manufactures solar cells and modules and it is a global leader in solar energy as measured by both its production output and the capacity of its solar cells and modules.

Headquartered in Kyoto, Japan, the Kyocera Corporation is a pioneer in the solar energy market and began to develop solar cells in 1975. Today Kyocera is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of solar cells and modules, with a highly controlled mastery of all the production steps from wafer and cell fabrication to module assembly.

The Phoenix, Ariz.-based First Solar is a leader in the development and manufacture of high quality thin film solar modules. They manufacture photovoltaic solar modules developing advanced, thin film semiconductor deposition and high volume manufacturing processes, based on Cadmium Telluride (CdTe).

Motech is the largest manufacturer of photovoltaic cells in Taiwan. For over 25 years, Motech Industries, Inc. (Motech) has been creating high quality products, from testing and measuring instruments to solar cells. Motech has now become one of the top 10 producers of solar cells and the 6th largest crystalline solar cell manufacturer in the world (2007).

SolarWorld is headquartered in Bonn, Germany, and purchased Shell Solar's crystalline silicon activities in 2006. SolarWorld is one of the three largest solar energy groups in the world. The SolarWorld Group of companies is involved in every step of the solar value chain from raw silicon to turn-key solar power systems and is active in growing solar markets around the world.

Japanese company Sanyo Electric has been manufacturing solar cells and panels since 1970s. In 1992, Sanyo Electric started the practical application of installing the first PV generation systems on individual houses in Japan. SANYO HIT (Heterojunction with Intrinsic Thin layer) solar panels are a leader in cell and module efficiency with models up to 16.2 Watts per sq. foot (17.4% module efficiency). On July 29, 2008 the company announced, that it achieved a cell conversion efficiency of 22.3% at the research level.

China-based Yingli Green Energy is one of the world's leading vertically integrated PV product manufacturers. Yingli Green Energy sells PV modules under its own brand name, Yingli Solar, to PV distributors located in various markets around the world, including Germany, Spain, China and the United States.

SunPower Corporation is a Silicon Valley based solar company, and is one of the largest in existence.The company designs and manufactures high-efficiency silicon solar cells and solar panels based on an all-back-contact "All-Black" design. They install them through their subsidiary PowerLight. Their Nellis Solar Power Plant is currently the largest PV installation in North America

Schott Solar Germany is among the world's leading fully integrated manufacturers of PV wafers, cells and modules. The company has more than 40 years of experience and offers reliable PV solar electricity modules for almost any kind of application. Schott Solar is also one of the leading companies in thin film technologies.

Renewable Energy Corporation (REC) is based in Norway, and was established in 1996. Over a relatively short period, REC has become the world's largest producer of poly silicon and wafers for PV applications. The company has seven production plants in three different countries and customers all over the world.

Mitsubishi Electric is one of the world’s largest manufacturers and providers of solar power technology, including PV cells, modules and inverters. The company’s eco-friendly photovoltaic systems are used throughout the world to bring clean, reliable energy to residences, business, power generation plants, schools, and factories.

BP has been involved in solar power since 1973 and its subsidiary, BP Solar, is now a major worldwide manufacturer and installer of PV solar cells, with production facilities in the United States, Spain, India and Australia. Headquarters for BP Solar are located in Frederick - a city in west-central Maryland, United States.

Isofoton is a Spanish company, the biggest solar panel manufacturer in Europe. The company designs and manufactures high-efficiency mono crystalline silicon cells (also the most expensive), and it is currently the largest mono crystalline producer worldwide.

Nanosolar was started in 2002 and is headquartered in Palo Alto, California. Nanosolar is a maker of thin-film solar panels and is a global leader in solar power innovation. Nanosolar Powersheet, a very thin film solar panel has won the Popular Science Innovation of the Year award. The company manufactures Powersheet by printing a solar absorbing “ink” onto a thin rolled metal sheet in a low-cost, fast, continuous process. The company has manufacturing operations in Silicon Valley, California, and the Berlin capital region, Germany.

Solar PV Power in Cold Climate

Many people interested in generating solar PV power for their household power needs are also interested to know how PV solar panels operate at colder temperatures or in cloudy conditions. Actually, PV solar panels work better at colder temperatures - some of the best efficiencies ever recorded were at the South Pole! This is because the solar cells in the panels are electronic devices that generate electricity depending on the amount of sunlight they receive, not heat. In cold climates, PV panels will generate less energy in the winter than in the summer, but this is due to the shorter days and less sunlight, not the colder temperatures.

Photo credit: altenergy.blog-city.com

PV solar panels continue to work even in cloudy conditions, although they do produce less electricity. On days with cloud cover or windblown snow, the PV panels' output power is reduced significantly. With sun angles approaching the highest limits and visibility being high, the PV panels reach their rated output power.

Many countries in the northwestern region of Europe, including Denmark and the rest of Scandinavia, make extensive use of solar power. Germany is the world's leading installer of photovoltaic (PV) solar cells, although its climate is mostly temperate. Japan is also a major installer of solar PV panels, and their climate is temperate.

An example of integrating PV technology in the daily life are solar powered parking meters which are fairly common in Germany and the Netherlands. The electricity which runs them is supplied by small solar panels on top of the parking meters, right there in the streets.

Canada is another cold-weather country where PV technology is quickly gaining ground. PV cells have been used in Canada over the last 20 years or more for many applications. Photovoltaic modules were used as standalone units, mainly as off-grid distributed electricity generation to power remote homes, telecommunications equipment, oil and pipeline monitoring stations and navigational applications. Over the last few years PV technology has also started to be introduced into urban areas, incorporated into the roofs and facades of homes, offices and factories. And the largest solar PV energy park in North America will be located on approximately 300 acres of land in the Township of Stone Mills, Lennox & Addington County, Ontario. The 19-megawatt project, known as First Light, is being built by SkyPower Corp and SunEdison Canada. The construction is anticipated to be completed by the end of 2009 and local communities will benefit from clean renewable energy sufficient to power more than 2,000 homes annually.