Silver demand for Solar Cell will soar in the years ahead!!!

[Tejon]

Against the backdrop of massive fiscal stimulus packages. Obama announced that he is planning to invest massive in the renewable energy sector notably wind and solar. He states, that he is planning to douple solar installations
Also Britains fiscal policies consist in investing a huge sum in the solar industry sector.
So demand for silver in this sector will certainly soar.

The silverbook states that they expect the solar industry to triple by 2012. http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page32?oid=70524&sn=Detail

Conservative figures suggest an annuanl silver demand from 432t in 2007 to 1,111t by 2012.
Aggressive figures estimate a silver demand of 4,446t annually by 2012.

I guess the governments see the depletion rate of crude oil and want to diversify their energy portfolio. I also think that the trend is to technology which is less crude oil dependent thus more electrical components and therefore in a sum more silver applications.

The overall picture of silver be it monetary or industrial looks great.

[MikeJ]

Solar energy is a fraud and a totally inefficient form of energy. 200w per square meter is all you get.

[valerb@bellsouth.net]

Solar energy is a fraud and a totally inefficient form of energy. 200w per square meter is all you get.

It that stat still valid, they keep talking about making advancements all the time? Just curious

[MikeJ]

It that stat still valid, they keep talking about making advancements all the time? Just curious

I don't know but thats the latest I've heard. We need nuclear power-much more efficient and clean. But the mainstream would make you believe its too hazardous.

[Kayaker]

Maybe solar power is alot of hype, but Dow Corning is involved in a joint venture that just invested $3.2B in solar technology in the U.S. That's a big chunk of change to invest on hype, and in the U.S. to boot, so someone sees an opprotunity.

http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/ticker/article.aspx?symbol=US:GLW&feed=AP&date=20081215&id=9451931

[research24]

I'm sure they will be selling lots of solar cells during this depression. Along with cars, boats and swimming pools and $1.60 gasoline and even cheaper Nat gas.

[prahudka]

I'm sure they will be selling lots of solar cells during this depression. Along with cars, boats and swimming pools and $1.60 gasoline and even cheaper Nat gas.

LOL!

I dont exactly know how the solar energy thing proves much about the future price of silver.

But, show a little optimism nonetheless .....

Ted Butler is entitled to his 2 cents. There might be one or two who really believed him and have leveraged everything or sold the house to buy silver. But, i doubt it. I dont think any is really as nuts as you think.

[and(EU)]

Solar energy is a fraud and a totally inefficient form of energy. 200w per square meter is all you get.

This statement is true only if it's meant using traditional PV cells. If you're using CPV technology you get 500W/sqm. If you have vacuum heat tubes (for heating) you can get 1000w/sgm.
Material used in vacuum tubes (heat conducter) is Ag45CuZn (45% Ag).
There are also big solar power plants (Ag mirrors) or solar steel plants (there's one in France: melting steel only with solar!!).
Is this fraud for you too? I think solar is one of most important energy sources for mankind and us silverbugs! ;)

[strongman shelford]

I don´t think Google strategists think solar energy is a "fraud".
I believe more the Google Strategists words about solar energy rather than a John Doe in this forum.
No offense. Fundamentals are growing for solar energy and it is undeniable.

[goldragon]

Many friends here in silverseek.com are talking about the silver usage for the development of clean solar energy. I think technically there are different methods for different purposes. If you really want to know them briefly you can refer to
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_power#Electrical_generation
after you read this paragraph, you will not make too many mistakes in this field technically.

Solar concentrating technologies such as parabolic dish, trough and Scheffler reflectors can provide process heat for commercial and industrial applications. The first commercial system was the Solar Total Energy Project (STEP) in Shenandoah, Georgia, USA where a field of 114 parabolic dishes provided 50% of the process heating, air conditioning and electrical requirements for a clothing factory. This grid-connected co- generation system provided 400 kW of electricity plus thermal energy in the form of 401 kW steam and 468 kW chilled water, and had a one hour peak load thermal storage.

Concentrating solar power (CSP) technologies use mirrors to reflect and concentrate sunlight onto receivers that collect the solar energy and convert it to heat. This thermal energy can then be used to produce electricity via a steam turbine or heat engine driving a generator.

One way to classify concentrating solar power technologies is by how the various systems collect solar energy. You can learn about basic CSP operations of the three main technology systems, as well as thermal storage related to CSP technologies, in the following links:

* Linear Concentrator Systems
* Dish/Engine Systems
* Power Tower Systems
* Thermal Storage

The U.S. Department of Energy's Solar Energy Technologies Program researches and develops this clean, utility-scale solar thermal technology to foster our nation's energy security. Our CSP research and development focuses on the three CSP technologies mentioned above, as well as thermal storage and advanced components and systems related to CSP.

In order to collect the solar energy and send it into the electricity generator, we need a lot of parabolic dish, trough and Scheffler reflectors. These reflectors need to have high reflectivity in order to rise their efficiency. Coating films on these reflectors containing silver can satisfy such kind of requirement. This is the reason why in the future we need large amount of silver for our cleaning energy projects.

[goldragon]

Some Photos
From these photos, you can image how much silver will need for a solar power station. Of course, I believe, in the future, people may use other materials to replace silver, but till now I think silver is the best material.

[mick silver]

i would not be running to the bank on this , soon people well be losing money faster then there are now , i do not see a lot of people buying solar power till it alot cheaper an better an that still years off

[goldragon]

mick silver
you are probably correct. At this moment, there are many solar stations all over the world like what I presented in this thread. Most of them are only for concepts, even if they are in operation. A lot of scientists, engineers and all kind of people, they are working very hard to rise efficiency, make these systems practically feasible. Our storage of crude oil, coal, and gas are being used off sooner than later. We have no other choice. We have to use solar energy, atomic energy, and other kind of energy. This is the problem that affects the the future of human beings.
Therefore I am very optimistic, and also I would support such kind of projects. I think the success in these projects are not far from us!

[goldragon]

A solar cell, or photovoltaic cell (PV), is a device that converts light into direct current using the photoelectric effect.

The high cost of solar cells limited terrestrial uses throughout the 1960s. This changed in the early 1970s when prices reached levels that made PV generation competitive in remote areas without grid access. Early terrestrial uses included powering telecommunication stations, off-shore oil rigs, navigational buoys and railroad crossings. These off-grid applications have proved very successful and accounted for over half of worldwide installed capacity until 2004. Building-integrated photovoltaics cover the roofs of the increasing number of homes.

Since the mid-1990s, leadership in the PV sector has shifted from the US to Japan and Germany. Between 1992 and 1994 Japan increased R&D funding, established net metering guidelines, and introduced a subsidy program to encourage the installation of residential PV systems. As a result, PV installations in the country climbed from 31.2 MW in 1994 to 318 MW in 1999, and worldwide production growth increased to 30% in the late 1990s.

Germany has become the leading PV market worldwide since revising its Feed-in tariff system as part of the Renewable Energy Sources Act. Installed PV capacity has risen from 100 MW in 2000 to approximately 4,150 MW at the end of 2007. Spain has become the third largest PV market after adopting a similar feed-in tariff structure in 2004, while France, Italy, South Korea and the US have seen rapid growth recently due to various incentive programs and local market conditions.

PV Solar Power is a very piratical energy source in many countries now!