Pegasus Research Consortium

Greetings:
Seems like an eternity since we worked with Jane Fonda on a video entitled: "Sunpower - The Force Is With Us"... if memory serves correctly, Jerry Brown introduced us to Tom Hayden way back when (early '70's SDS days, about a decade before the "Hell No, We Won't Glow/No Diablo Over Me" occupations...THE ORIGINAL OCCUPY... :P, during the time we wuz researching quite heavily while conceptualizing the Trans-High Market Quotations and couching them in a slick magazine featuring interviews with such luminaries as the 14th Dalai Lama (our 36th Twitter follower) - High Times...hazy, smoke-filled days of "soulful socialism" (no 'keyboard activism' then)...and years before CED, SolarCal, Cannabis Nation, Laurel Springs, New Energy Magazine (Bob Cato, Art Director; Isaac Asimov, Senior Editor; Lowell Ponte, Science Editor; John Hills, Photo Editor; Dr. Christopher Hills, Advisor), AlTranEx, Marijuana Monthly, Laurel Canyon exploits and the darling of the Stone Ponies coming to dine...but that's another story, for another time.

According to the USEIA, nuclear power and renewable energy sources (including solar, wind, biofuels, geothermal, and hydropower) make comparable contributions to US energy, and both are dwarfed by fossil fuels: According to the US Energy Information Administration, in 2012 nuclear and renewables each provided between 8 and 9 percent (http://www.eia.gov/energy_in_brief/article/major_energy_sources_and_users.cfm) of all energy used in the United States. Petroleum, natural gas, and coal together provided 81 percent.

So, let's talk solar:



Walmart Completes Solar Power Projects in Maryland with SolarCity (http://www.solarcity.com/newsroom/press/walmart-completes-solar-power-projects-maryland-solarcity)

Jun 25, 2013
BELTSVILLE, MD, June 25, 2013 – Walmart and SolarCity today announced the completion of projects at eight Walmart stores and two Sam's Clubs across the state of Maryland that will generate clean, renewable electricity. The energy produced by the new solar installations will generate approximately 4.1 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity annually – enough energy to power nearly 370 homes – and are expected to supply between 5-20 percent of each store's overall electricity use.



"Building a clean energy economy creates new jobs and provides affordable, reliable clean energy choices for businesses," said Abigail Ross Hopper, director of the Maryland Energy Administration. "The partnership between SolarCity and Walmart shows that we're taking the right steps."

With over 13,400 panels, the Walmart stores in Arbutus, Berlin, California, Cockeysville, Fallston, Hagerstown, Laurel and Severn, along with Sam's Clubs in Salisbury and Severn will provide over 3.1 megawatts (MW) of generation capacity.

"Walmart is a leader in clean energy here in Maryland and across the country," said SolarCity CEO Lyndon Rive. "Walmart is setting an example for companies in Maryland to follow; it's possible for many Maryland businesses to pay less for solar power than they currently pay for electricity."




SolarCity Announces New Solar Power and Energy Storage Projects with Walmart (http://www.solarcity.com/newsroom/press/solarcity-announces-new-solar-power-and-energy-storage-projects-walmart)

Nov 20, 2014
SAN MATEO, Calif., - SolarCity (Nasdaq: SCTY) today announced it has entered into contract with Walmart for the installation of new solar projects at facilities in up to 36 states over the next four years. SolarCity has completed more than 200 solar projects at Walmart locations since 2010.

SolarCity has also installed and tested energy storage projects co-located with solar power generation at 13 Walmart facilities since early 2013, and will be incorporating ten additional storage projects in the next year.

Since the company's last announcement in 2013, SolarCity has installed nearly 50 solar projects for Walmart including:

   •   Arizona – 10 carport and 2 rooftop projects totaling more than 5 megawatts
   •   California – 12 rooftop and 3 carport projects totaling 6.3 megawatts
   •   New York – 4 rooftop projects totaling 1.6 megawatts
   •   Oregon – 3 rooftop projects totaling 283 kilowatts
   •   Puerto Rico – 13 rooftop projects totaling 2.9 megawatts
      
Walmart is also at the forefront of commercializing storage technology and was a pilot customer for SolarCity's energy storage system for businesses. Since early 2013, Walmart has tested 13 battery storage projects with solar installations across California to provide additional savings to Walmart by using stored electricity to lower peak demand charges. The next ten solar energy storage projects will each use a larger 200 kilowatt (400 kilowatt hour) battery, expanding battery storage capabilities as well as further reducing energy expense.

SolarCity has created 5,000 permanent American jobs since it initiated its first project with Walmart in 2010.

Walmart is the top commercial solar energy user in the United States according to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA (http://www.seia.org/news/new-report-leading-us-companies-make-big-investments-solar-energy)), and the largest on-site renewable energy user in America according to EPA's Green Power Partnership (http://www.epa.gov/greenpower/toplists/top30onsite.htm)

And that Top Ten be:
Wal-Mart
Apple
USDOE
BMW, Greer, SC
City of Philidelphia
Coca Cola
Kohl's Department Stores
University of Mississippi
SC Johnson & Son
City of San Diego



SolarCity and Bank of America Merrill Lynch Create Program to Finance Approximately $400 Million in Residential Solar Projects (http://www.solarcity.com/newsroom/press/solarcity-and-bank-america-merrill-lynch-create-program-finance-approximately-400)

Dec 11, 2014
SolarCity (Nasdaq: SCTY) today announced that it has created a new investment program with Bank of America Merrill Lynch (NYSE: BAC) to finance an estimated $400 million in solar power projects in 2014 and 2015. The new financing makes it possible for thousands of American homeowners to install solar panels with no upfront cost and pay less for solar electricity than they currently pay for utility power. The new residential program follows Bank of America Merrill's prior commitment to finance more than $200 million in commercial solar power projects with SolarCity, and continues the two companies' long-term partnership to deploy clean energy.

SolarCity is currently providing one out of every three new residential solar power systems in the U.S. The company supports its customers with the largest in-house service footprint in the industry—its 55 operations centers serve 15 states.

The new program is part of Bank of America's current 10-year, $50 billion environmental business goal to advance lower-carbon economic solutions through lending, equipment finance, capital markets and advisory activities, and investment advice and solutions for clients around the world. Since 2007, the bank has dedicated $31.7 billion to low-carbon and other environmental business activities.

SolarCity Announces Fund to Finance more than $350 Million in Residential Solar Projects with J.P. Morgan (http://www.solarcity.com/newsroom/press/solarcity-announces-fund-finance-more-350-million-residential-solar-projects-jp)

Jan 07, 2015
SolarCity (Nasdaq: SCTY) today announced an investment fund expected to finance more than $350 million in solar power projects with J.P. Morgan. The fund is the second created by the two companies, and a follow-up to a fund created to finance approximately $170 million projects in 2013. The financing makes it possible for thousands of American homeowners to install solar panels with no upfront cost and pay less for solar electricity than they currently pay for utility bills.

SolarCity, the nation's #1 solar service provider, is currently providing more than one out of every three new solar power systems in the U.S.1 The company supports its customers with the largest in-house service footprint in the industry—its more than 65 operations centers serve 15 states. J.P. Morgan is a global leader in renewable energy investment. Since 2003, the company has financed more than $1.4 billion of renewable generation capacity in wind, solar and geothermal projects.


About SolarCity
SolarCity® (NASDAQ: SCTY) provides clean energy. The company has disrupted the century-old energy industry by providing renewable electricity directly to homeowners, businesses and government organizations for less than they spend on utility bills. SolarCity gives customers control of their energy costs to protect them from rising rates. The company makes solar energy easy by taking care of everything from design and permitting to monitoring and maintenance. SolarCity currently serves 15 states and signs up approximately one new customer every minute of the work day. Visit the company online at www.solarcity.com and follow the company on Facebook & Twitter.


Solar Power Installations Jump to a New Annual Record (http://tdworld.com/renewables/solar-power-installations-jump-new-annual-record)

29 July 2014
The year 2013 saw record-breaking growth for solar electricity generation as the photovoltaic (PV) and concentrated solar thermal power (CSP) markets continued to grow. With over 39 gigawatts installed worldwide, the PV solar market represented one third of all newly-added renewable energy capacity, write Worldwatch's Max Lander and Climate and Energy Intern Xiangyu Wu in the Worldwatch Institute's latest Vital Signs Online trend (http://vitalsigns.worldwatch.org/vs-trend/solar-power-installations-jump-new-annual-total).

Solar PV installations nearly matched those of hydropower and, for the first time, outpaced wind additions. Even though photovoltaics continue to dwarf CSP capacity, the CSP market also had another year of impressive growth. By the end of 2013, a total of 19 countries had CSP plants installed or under construction...

For the first time, Asia overtook Europe as the largest regional market, capturing more than 56 percent of the market share, while Europe came in second with around 29 percent.

Despite the record growth in installations, global investments in solar electricity were down 20 percent, from $142.9 billion in 2012 to $113.7 billion in 2013, reflecting a significant decrease in costs.

In July 2014, global PV module spot prices reached an all-time low of 63 cents per watt, a 10 percent decrease from the previous year.

Back in 2004 when we were looking at building the theme park, we had solar panels planned for the roofs of the parking structures and other big buildings  (also darius wind turbines painted to look like medieval banners)

At that time there was a buzz here in Nevada about a new solar cell  one that was water cooled and the area of a Walmart roof could provide power for 25,000 homes.

We were in touch with investors involved in this. It was rumored that these cells were develpoed at the Nevada Test Center by the DOE and would be soon released  with programs in place to help consumers install them

To put it in perspective 3-4 of these super cells could power a single home...

Well when the park project got put on hold we didn't follow up on these. We even had a major architect involved, Wells Pugsley....

Today I cannot fins any info on these... it is like I stepped into another time line

Nevada Power put in a huge solar power plant...  then charged us an INCREASE in rates to cover the cost of installing this plant

NEVADA SOLAR ONE

(http://nevadasolarone.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/nevada_solar_one.jpg)

Nevada Solar One Powering America

Nevada Solar One is a solar power plant located in Eldorado Valley, near Boulder City. The 75 megawatt maximum capacity is distributed over 400 acres and it officially went into operation in the June of 2007. It is the largest solar thermal energy plant built in the world in the last two decades and the carbon dioxide emissions it avoids in a year are equal to 20,000 cars. The initial investment was $266 million. A number of companies combined their resources to bring the project to fruition, but the Spanish company Acciona soon brought a controlling stake in Solargenix, the company formerly known as Duke Solar and now owns 95% of the project.

The Nevada Solar One power plant was built in Boulder City's Energy Resource Zone. In order for a permit to be granted for a plant development in this zone, plans for renewable generation are required. The Nevada Solar One project was accepted as part of a larger project initiated by Duke's Energy, who hoped to build facilities which could generate 1 Gigawatt of electricity in the El Dorado area.

During peak hours it uses specialized technology to track the movement of the sun and adjust the mirrors to concentrate the rays accordingly. The amount of the technology used is astounding, with almost 200,000 mirrors reflecting the sun's rays onto approximately 20,000 tubes which lay at parabolic troughs. A liquid which transfers heat flows through the tubes and then is turned into steam which powers a turbine. This turbine is linked to a generator which produces the electricity.

Many hopes are held for the future. Nevada has an abundance of sun and land and, in theory, has the ability to generate around 600 gigawatts of electricity by using the same technology that Nevada Solar One uses. It has been enthusiastically theorized that, with a massive expansion of solar plants in the Energy Resource Zone, the area could provide enough electricity to power the whole of the United States of America. In comparison, similar facilities operating in the Mojave Desert have generated a capacity of 354 megawatts since 1984.

http://nevadasolarone.net/

Nevada Solar One uses big mirrors to focus the heat of the sun onto water pipes

(http://img.timeinc.net/time/daily/2008/0803/360_solar_one_0303.jpg)

(http://www.acciona.us/getattachment/00c36a0d-990d-4c52-a99c-1caf4486dae1)

(http://geospatial.blogs.com/.a/6a00d83476d35153ef011572559ac5970b-320wi)

(http://www.acciona-energia.com/media/44195/solartermoelectrica.gif)

So someone has to keep them polished :D

(http://f00.inventorspot.com/images/Nevada%20Solar%20One.img_assist_custom.jpg)

Nellis AFB Solar Power

Even this huge plant only provides the base with 25% of what it needs and uses 140 acres of land. They are working on a second phase now. Good thing we have a lot of empty desert out here

(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/de/Nellis_AFB_Solar_panels.jpg/1024px-Nellis_AFB_Solar_panels.jpg)

The Nellis Solar Power Plant is located within Nellis Air Force Base in Clark County, Nevada, northeast of Las Vegas. The Nellis solar energy system will generate in excess of 25 gigawatt-hours (90 TJ) of electricity annually and supply more than 25% of the power used at the base. The system was inaugurated in a ceremony on December 17, 2007, with Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons activating full operation of the 14 megawatt (MW) array.

Occupying 140 acres (57 ha) of land leased from the Air Force at the northeastern corner of the base, this ground-mounted solar system employs an advanced sun tracking system, designed and deployed by SunPower. The system contains approximately 70,000 solar panels, and the peak power generation capacity of the plant is approximately 13 MW AC. This means the ratio of average to peak output, or capacity factor, of this plant is around 22%.

The energy generated will support more than 12,000 military and civilians at Nellis who are responsible for Air Force advanced combat training, tactics development and operational testing. Construction began on April 23, 2007, and operation of the first 5 MW began on October 12, 2007.

(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/45/Giant_photovoltaic_array.jpg/1024px-Giant_photovoltaic_array.jpg)

Aerial view showing how much space this covers

(http://assets.bizjournals.com/austin/print-edition/NellisAFB%20SolarFarm.jpg?v=1)

Kirtland AFB Solar Oven

This one is yet again different. While Nevada Solar One heats pipes along the entire length of the arrays and Nellis uses photo voltaic cells. this one focuses all the mirrors onto one focal point

(http://www.thelivingmoon.com/45jack_files/04images/Kirtland/Trestle/6odd5-001a.jpg)

(http://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/styles/borealis_article_hero_respondlarge/public/nsttf_power_tower.400x300.gif?itok=Tu6x-brt)

(http://static.panoramio.com/photos/large/37201558.jpg)

Nevada Power Amonix Solar Arrays

There are several of these in Las Vegas area... These are tracking single unit solar arrays. The University has one as well. If I had the money I would get one :D

(http://arzonsolar.alinco.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/8700_Solar_Power_Generator1.jpg)

The 8700 is the world's highest performance, highest efficiency utility scale CPV solar generator

The 8700 CPV Solar Generator is 30% lower cost and 10% higher power and energy performance then Amonix's former utility product, the 7700.  Over 60 MW DC of 7700 CPV systems were deployed from 2009 till 2012 and demonstrated the highest energy density of any project studied in a 2013 NREL land use report, needing only 2.8 acres per GWh per year.

The 8700 CPV system is robust and build to last.  At high temperatures, the high efficiency multi-junction solar cells used in the 8700 suffer only about 30% of the temperature induced performance loss suffered by silicon or thin film panels, so the 8700 stays closer to rated output even in very hot locations.

The 8700 is designed for easy field maintenance and replacement / future upgrade of key components, delivering maximum availability and driving higher customer returns. The 8700 requires no water for normal operation and cleaning frequency no more than other solar products.  Plus, since the 8700 CPV system is nearly 2x the efficiency of traditional solar panels, you only need 1/2 the total panel surface area!

Pricing of the 8700 CPV system varies depending on the number of systems purchased but is generally considered competitive with other commercially available PV solar generation in areas with appropriate DNI.

Please contact Arzon Solar directly for more information on pricing and availability.


http://arzonsolar.alinco.net/amonix-8700-solar-power-generator/