Photosynthesis, the ability of plants to create food from water and carbon dioxide with the help of the sun, has drawn the interest of scientists, who have wished to ape the process, for a long time. Now they may have done it. Late last week the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory announced that it made a breakthrough in creating artificial photosynthesis by creating a nanoforest.
SunEdison aims to grow its South American presence with a 50-megawatt solar farm in Chile’s Atacama Desert.
The proposed project is expected to cost $120 million to develop and the power could be sold at prevailing electricity prices, according to a proposal from the company.
When Green Mountain Power merged with Central Vermont Public Service a year ago, they vowed to make Rutland, Vermont, the “solar capital of New England.”
There are a lot of companies out there with photovoltaic solar parking canopies, and plenty of others that have EV chargers, in fact there are plenty that offer both. But they’re pretty much all systems that require new construction. ProtekPark Solar this week launched a new, modular PV system with an electric vehicle (EV) charger, REVIVE. The system is designed to integrate into existing structures like canopies and shopping cart corrals.
The solar photovoltaics market is poised for a major comeback that could surge to $155 billion by 2018, according to a report from Lux Research.
“Right now, the solar industry is in a kind of dire situation,” said Ed Cahil, Lux Research analyst and author of the report, Solar’s Great Recovery. “The capacity grew to twice the demand, which resulted module prices dropping to the price of producing them or below.”
