Solar Power Advances: MIT Research Breakthrough and Duke Energy Initiative

The following two brief articles summarize some interesting recent events related to solar power.  First is an article that focuses on a basic science research breakthrough that could effectively marry the potential of solar power and hydrogen fuel cell power.  Following that is an article that recaps an interesting solar power initiative by Duke Energy Carolinas.

 

MIT’s Solar/Hydrogen Research Breakthrough

 

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) announced last summer that it had made a “revolutionary leap that could transform solar power from a marginal, boutique alternative into a mainstream energy source.”  

 

The MIT research did not focus directly upon solar power generation; instead the researchers may have overcome a major barrier to large-scale solar power: storing energy for use when the sun doesn't shine.  This was accomplished in the laboratory by development of a unique catalyst that is used to generate oxygen gas from water.  Note that the search for a cheap, efficient oxygen catalyst has lagged far behind the development of hydrogen catalysts.

 

The generation of hydrogen and oxygen via solar power effectively combines solar energy during the day and hydrogen fuel cell power at night, or during cloudy daylight hours when the sun isn’t shining at a sufficient intensity to generate solar electricity.  Here’s a simplified breakdown of the process as envisioned by MIT:

 

1. Electricity is generated via the normal solar power route -- the sun’s energy strikes solar panels, which generates an electrical current.
2. Part of the solar-generated electricity is diverted to electrodes in a water tank, which then generate oxygen and hydrogen gases.  One of these electrodes is coated with a novel cobalt-phosphate catalyst coating developed by the subject MIT research, which makes possible the generation of oxygen.  Hydrogen gas is produced by the other electrode, with its conventional platinum catalyst coating. 
3. The oxygen and hydrogen are captured, compressed and stored in cylinders for later use. 
4. The oxygen and hydrogen can be recombined inside a fuel cell, creating carbon-free electricity, day or night, rain or shine. 

Note that this same concept could also be coupled with wind power generation, as a means to continue electrical power generation when the wind does not blow.

 

Is this truly a breakthrough?  Yes, absolutely it is, according to MIT’s lead researcher:

 

"This is the nirvana of what we've been talking about for years," said MIT's Daniel Nocera, the Henry Dreyfus Professor of Energy at MIT and senior author of a paper describing the work in the July 31 issue of Science.  "Solar power has always been a limited, far-off solution. Now we can seriously think about solar power as unlimited and soon."

 

For further details on MIT’s solar energy research, see the following web sites:

http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/oxygen-0731.html

http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/energy_digital/4276071.html

 

Duke Energy’s Rooftop Solar Initiative

Duke Energy Corporation must satisfy 12.5 percent of its North Carolina customers' power needs with renewable energy or through energy efficiency by 2021.  As part of its effort to achieve that directive, their Duke Energy Carolinas subsidiary has proposed to rent the rooftops of  North Carolina businesses, homeowners and schools for solar power installations, if the plan wins regulatory approval.  The proposal awaits approval from the North Carolina Utilities Commission.

 

Duke Energy Carolinas is proposing to invest $50 million over a two-year period for up to 425 solar energy arrays to be placed on the rooftops of homes, schools, and businesses (or in some cases on the ground) to establish a solar distributed generation program of renewable, carbon-free power.

 

To be eligible, the prospective sites for these solar power installations must:

·        own the home or property,

·        have a roof under consideration that is no more than 5 years old, and

·        the roof or ground-level property cannot be shaded from the sun by trees or other obstructions.

 

Some key aspects of the proposed arrangement are:

• the utility company would install, own, operate and maintain all equipment related to the solar array,
• the utility company would own and use the electricity produced, and
• the home/property owner receives rent paid for using the rooftop or land, and the compensation is based on the size of the solar installation. 

The proposed program is expected to generate eight megawatts of electricity.  Funding for the program would come as a result of increased electricity power rates -- adding an estimated eight cents a month to the average residential bill, 42 cents a month to commercial users and $4.25 a month to industrial customers.

 

For further details on Duke Energy’s rooftop solar power initiative, see the following web sites:

http://www.greenerbuildings.com/news/2008/12/15/duke-rooftop-solar-power

http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/stories/2008/12/08/story10.html?b=1228712400^1742649

 

This article was excerpted from publically available information, and was authored by Rick Wilson, Acacia Environmental Group LLC. For more information on the author see here.