Solar Developments to Watch in 2012

2011 has been a big year for the Solar industry with massive projects being finalised and equally massive companies going bust due to the fierce competition and changing politics combined with a stagnant economy. Some of the trends we have noticed are sure to continue over the coming year.

More large commercial Solar installations.

Watch this year as Japan comes into it’s own. The political environment is ripe for the wholesale adoption of solar across the nation. Other countries like India are also following suit with a sudden shift in political strategy due to the drop in prices over the past year of Solar panels made almost entirely in China. Expect to see a major push from the Middle East too as they absorb the excess quantity from China at prices that make sense to them as they ween themselves off oil leaving more for them to sell to foreign addicts.

The relentless march of small scale installations.

2012 will see an even greater adoption of small scale solar as consumers from household to industrial seek to ensure their energy supply and lock in the price of electricity for the coming energy crunch. With Solar PV prices at an all time low and a glut of panels on the market due to the drop in overall demand from Europe the manufacturers are seeking to move stock as fast as possible so that just means things get cheaper for consumers. It’s not so great for companies that bet big on more expensive technology but the research done over the past few years on the various options will still be useful at a later date as the price of energy increases due to the dwindling reserves of fossil fuel.

Solar Thermal Plants come into their own.

2012 is the year of Solar Thermal. Concentrated Solar Thermal Towers will be the flavour this year as big energy producers like Areva seek to solidify their positions as the main energy providers in the solar economy. Salt towers which can hold the heat of the sun of 14 hours will be very big business in the coming year. This will provide sorely needed jobs for the construction industry and electrical cables will need to be laid to transport the power to the grid.

DC is the electrical output of choice.

This coming year will see more attention being paid to the use od Direct Current over Alternating Current with massive data centers being designed to run exclusively on DC thereby saving on the wasted energy lost in converting between DC and AC.

Solar Shingles will make a big splash this year.

Several companies have been getting in on the Solar Shingle bandwagon with technologies maturing over the past year and smaller companies being absorbed into larger manufacturers. The marketing push will be much stronger this year as the construction industry sees the value of getting homeowners to completely reshingle their ageing roof’s using the modern and fashionable Solar Shingles.

Solar paint will see a big media push in 2012.

The idea of painting your house or vehicle with a solar paint that can absorb photons and convert them into electrons to charge a battery is a big idea which is gaining some serious momentum. Major leaps in the technology required to manufacture quantum dots of carbon nanotubes at a scale that can be suspended in a paint mixture to act as an antenna that receive the full spectrum of light waves will make a big difference to the pace of prototyping this advanced technology.

Thin film will come into it’s own in 2012.

This year the Thin Film industry will make a major manufacturing and marketing push into the mainstream consciousness. With the price of thin film dramatically cheaper than baked Silicon PV the Thin Film industry will become competitive this year and start to roll out the next big advance in solar technology. Fabrics that fully integrate Thin Film into the design will start to appear on shelves as the fabric industry tries to make it’s impression on the market place. We can expect tents, sails, collapsable light weight canopies and clothing to incorporate Thin Film as a standard. The idea of turning up at a campsite and unfolding the solar sails on the back of the Caravan will become a normality rather than a sci-fi dream.

Expect to see a big push for Solar Thermal Desalinisation in 2012.

As the world wakes up to the lack of resources due to the ever increasing population and dwindling supply of fresh water to feed the population there will be a big push by the French to construct massive desalinisation plants using of Concentrated Solar Thermal power stations. The excess heat will be used to desalinise salt water which will be pumped into the regional water supply. Coastal areas with a lot of sun are the prime targets. Expect Israel to get in on this effort as they seek to increase their independence from instable regional players.

More large business deals will be made for recently constructed energy projects.

The big investment empires will seek to dominate the Solar Energy market just as they do every other energy market. They will tighten their grip around any publicly traded and recently completed energy project they can get their hands on. This is not as much about making money as about ensuring that no one else does. The last thing they want is to allow a small energy company to become a big player simply by reinvesting their profits into bigger and more efficient energy projects. They will absorb any project that looks like it could get ahead.

Using water to cool concentrated Solar receivers.

This is a new industry but sure to see some pickup in 2012. The idea of floating concentrated solar receivers that use water to absorb the excess heat that is the by product of absorbing photons from the infra red and UV spectrums. This technology has the potential to increase efficiency of high performance Solar Photo Voltaic panels.

The rise of Hybrid Solar collectors.

2012 will see a major push from companies that make hybrid solutions for collecting Solar energy. Combining concentrated solar with high performance Photo Voltaic, water heating and air conditioning this technology promises to achieve upto 85% efficiency which will be a major win for households and small commercial installations. Expect to see these contraptions sprouting up at malls and schools as an efficient way to lock in power prices for the next 50 years and guarantee a steady energy supply.

More and more portable and DIY kits.

With all the options above the DIY and portable market is going to boom this year as people seek to ensure their backups are in place in case of blackouts and emergencies. The range of portable solutions and DIY home installation kits will become a common fixture at malls, super markets and home improvement stores. Expect to see whole sections devoted to Solar construction and materials.

Cellular Providers becoming Solar Energy Providers

Cellular providers are well placed to become the defacto solar energy providers for rural and poor people across the globe. They already have the infrastructure and systems in place for distributed networks and adding in the capacity for providing distributed solar energy solutions to their customers is a no brainer. After all it is in their interest if their customers have enough energy to keep using their phones. Expect to see all the big names in mobile tech jumping on this band wagon in the coming year as they seek to lock down every possible market opportunity for portable solutions in the cellular and mobile tech industry.