Back in 2011, when the Volt was first announced. I admired the boldness of GM to bring out a range-extended plug in electric vehicle (PEV) in the midst of such economic uncertainty.  In accord with the automotive reviews at the time, I thought the Volt was too expensive.

Doug Elbinger poses with his Chevy Volt at the new solar electric car charging station at the City Market in Lansing, Michigan. April 2013.

My previous automotive experience has been with Audi. I’ve had five different Audi’s over the last fifteen years. Before that I drove Oldsmobile. One of the reasons I got Volt last year is that the Chevy dealer offered me so much more for my trade in than other dealers, I thought I’d better sign a deal before they change their mind.  The Volt was the only car on the lot that intrigued me.  It turns out they have very affordable three year lease plans that have improved considerably in the last year. I recommend a two-year lease because if you upgrade, I’m sure the 2016 Volt will be much improved in terms of electric crusing range and performance. I like to think of my Volt as the Model-T of electric cars.

Not having driven an American car in nearly 15 years I took a test drive and was immediately impressed. The very knowledgeable and patient sales person taught me how to drive it and understand all the dashboard displays that are slightly different from a gas powered vehicle.

Included in the deal is the installation of a 240V in home charging station. The retail value for the home charging units are $490. plus installation costs. The home-charging unit is a 240-volt (Level II) charger, and, according to General Motors, can replenish the Volt’s batteries in about four hours. Consumer Reports has advised buyers to budget up to US $2,000, which I believe to be true, as many older homes, including mine, may need a substantial electrical upgrade because the U.S National Electrical Code requires that the charger have its own dedicated 220-volt, 30-amp circuit. The whole process took about two months before the inspector approved the installation and turned on the power. In the meantime, I use the 120V charger that came with the car.

What people really want to know is …does it save you money? That being asked, I’ll just bring the bottom line right to the top. Yes and no, but mostly no. You can purchase a car with equal power, performance and style for much less money. Other than that …the Volt has many redeeming performance characteristics, technology and value added features that far exceeds saving a few bucks on gas or car payments. Let me summarize based on real life data. I have a daily round trip commute of approximately 44 miles, from Telegraph & Maple in Bloomfield Twp, to the David Stott building in downtown Detroit. On a full charge, when the temperature is above say 50 degrees F (battery range is less in cold weather …you are also running the heater and fan which takes up almost all your electric charge), I get an electric range of 36 miles per charge that covers 80% of my daily commute. At 24 miles per gallon, approx $4/gal based on my actual results, I save about $40. per month. I should mention here that the gas tank only holds 11 gallons and takes premium. With a full tank and full charge I have a driving range of about 330 miles, before fill up. If I don’t do any long distance driving I only need to fill up once a month. In the first couple months of ownership, I almost forgot how to use a gas pump.

According to Edmunds.com, the price premium paid for the Volt, after discounting the US$7,500 U.S. federal tax credit, takes a long time for consumers to recover in fuel savings, often longer than the normal ownership time period. Edmunds compared the Volt (priced at US$31,712) with the same-size gasoline-powered Chevrolet Cruze (priced at US$19,656) and found that the payback period for the plug-in hybrid is 15 years for gasoline prices at US$3 per gallon, 12 years at US$4 per gallon, and drops to 9 years with gasoline prices at US$5 per gallon. EPA rating considers a conversion factor of 33.7 kW-hr of electricity being the energy equivalent of a gallon of gasoline. With special utility rates (I have a separate meter installed with my charger) for charging during off peak hours, the cost of electricity is almost negligible. My mileage results vary greatly (on the down side) from the Chevy Volt data published in Wikipedia, but I’m still pretty impressed.

The next thing everyone wants to know is how does it perform?  For me, the true test of any car is how it handles in the worst weather …and we had plenty of that last winter. Compared to the Audi I felt comply safe driving in white out blizzards, freezing rain and icy roads. It has the most responsive braking and steering system comparable to any luxury car you may be driving.  The Chevrolet Volt is packed with standard safety features that include 4-wheel anti-lock brakes with traction control; Stabili-Trak electronic stability control system with brake assist; tire-pressure monitoring system; and 8 total airbags: dual-stage frontal, side-impact and knee for driver and front passenger, and roof-rail side-impact for front and rear outboard seating positions, with a passenger sensing system. A safety cage, built of ultra high-strength steel, surrounds the passenger compartment to keep the space intact in the event of a crash. Crush zones framing the trunk and the engine crumple to absorb crash energy before it reaches occupants

One of my most pleasant discoveries is how quiet this car is. It is so quiet I often leave the radio and telephone off to just drive and relax in peace and quiet. The other discovery is great ‘pick-up’. You don’t have to worry about having enough power or speed to pass other cars driving in heavy aggressive traffic.

Talk about connectivity! Blue tooth phone feature allows you to keep both hands on the wheel while using the voice-activated phone. I got to like this because the car is so quiet you can talk in a normal voice. On-star comes standard. I used it once when I was locked out and it worked. Satellite radio is a nice add on feature and the sound system is just a little better than OK. You will be emailed monthly performance reports, such details as the car monitor of tire pressure and it tells you when you need an oil chance …which isn’t very often.  The Volt features OnStar Mobile application for owners to access vehicle information without being in or near the car. This smart-phone application features the ability to check fuel efficiency as well as the vehicle’s current electric range. It also helps monitor the charging, giving owners key information about the current charge level and the amount of time it will take until it is fully charged. The application also is able to control features such as locking/unlocking doors, and acts as a remote starter. A three year OnStar Directions and Connections service was bundled into the 2012 Volt’s base price.

I could ramble on more about what this car is and isn’t, but on the whole, I very glad I got this automobile.  When I first started driving the Volt I didn’t see many on the road at first. Just the other day I saw three of them in one parking lot! Electric cars will really take off when two things happen; 1. The ‘energy density’ of the batteries improves to the point that you can get a range of over 300 miles or more, and 2. The price of gasoline goes above $5/ gallon.  Then you’ll see more electric cars on the road.

One last anecdote. Late on a freezing winter night I pulled into a gas station out side Ann Arbor. A young man at the gas pump next to me smiled and said “I though you didn’t need to fill those up?” I replied, “…that’s why I do it at night”.

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Michael Sharber, CEO, Greenlancer, discusses the advantages of being a startup entrepreneur in Detroit and the Greenlancer cloud based business model with Robin Schwartz of Fox News in the M@dison building

By Robin Schwartz / Fox News 2 / Detroit / May 15, 2013

Greenlancer is a web-based engineering company located in Detroit that designs green energy systems using cutting edge technology, the Internet and about 100 freelancers, who are experts in green energy.

“The name is Greenlancer, as in green energy freelancers, and we use it as a virtual network of green energy freelancers to engineer and design these systems,” said Michael Sharber.

We met the company’s young CEO at Bizdom in Detroit’s cool Madison Building. The nonprofit founded by Quicken Loans Chairman Dan Gilbert helps entrepreneurs launch, fund and grow innovative, web-based startups. It was the perfect place for Greenlancer to set up shop and get off the ground.

One of the local projects the company worked on was for a Jewish day school in Oak Park. Greenlancer has done work in 32 states, six countries and on three continents.

“Our business model is the same business model Henry Ford had when he introduced the world to the assembly line, and Ford’s whole model was instead of having a room full of mechanical engineers build a car from start to finish, he broke that process down into 84 steps,” Sharber said.

Greenlancer uses a four step approach to put solar systems together, including a feasibility study, concept design, financial analysis and permit drawings. As a result, they say they have made green engineering quick, easy and more affordable.

“We standardized the process, and we use experts that specialize in that process,” Sharber said.

The young company has hired several new team members, and they are already expanding. They say they are the only ones using this high tech approach.
See video interview http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/story/22265187/greenlancer-approaches-green-engineering-in-assembly-line-fashion#ixzz2U2CFXQLD

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Startup company GreenLancer might be located in downtownDetroit’s M@dison Building, but it does most of its work “in the cloud.” Launched in 2011, the business is an e-commerce platform that gives construction contractors the ability to develop and design solar energy projects anywhere in the world. In the short time it’s been around, GreenLancer has served clients in 32 states, six countries and four continents. “By doing this work in the cloud, GreenLancer is able to provide fast, easy, affordable and accessible engineering support that reduces the soft costs associated with developing solar energy projects, and we can do it more cost effectively than our vertically integrated, brick-and-mortar competitors,” CEO Michael Sharber says. The company, affiliated with entrepreneurship accelerator Bizdom and a member of the Rock Ventures and QuickenLoans family of companies, recently secured more than $275,000 in private funding from a syndicate of Michigan based investors. The offering was oversubscribed, and additional investors still are coming aboard. According to Sharber, GreenLancer does everything from feasibility studies, to determine whether a solar solution is right for a given business, all the way to full-system design and engineering for clients that include builders and electrical, roofing and general contractors.

For complete story, follow this link: Detroit Free Press, May 2013          

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Patrick McCabe, co-founder and CTO, of Greenlancer, talks with industry insider, Ms. Leslie Hedrick about reducing soft costs for solar projects

An interview with Mr. Patrick McCabe, CTO, Greenlancer     By Leslie Hedrick

Just in the last year, the dramatic drop in solar panel prices has brought the ROI solar energy into acceptable levels, making solar energy a very affordable and attractive investment …which is great. Unfortunately, the soft costs—things like labor, sales, administration engineering and permitting—have gone up. Soft costs now account for about 60% of a typical solar project’s costs.

So how do we bring soft costs down to make the entire project more affordable? And is it possible to streamline the entire process of solar project development—reducing production time and price at once?

GreenLancer is a Detroit-based company that has answers to those questions—good ones—in the form of a new business model which creates an e-commerce platform for solar engineering services. GreenLancer has permits in all 50 states, and has worked in multiple countries overseas. I talked with Patrick McCabe, CTO of GreenLancer, to learn exactly how they’re revolutionizing the green engineering industry, and how their business model can help contractors work more efficiently.

LH: Hi Patrick. Can you tell me about GreenLancer? What’s going on here that’s so revolutionary?

PM: Sure! The business and production models have actually been around since the days of Henry Ford—but the way in which we’re applying the principles is pretty new.

We’re basically a platform connecting freelance green engineers—we call them GreenLancers—with contractors around the country. Here’s how it works, in a nutshell: A contractor or developer logs in to our site and orders from a set of predefined engineering services. It’s like they’re choosing from a set of boilerplates, or templates, which can be customized. Using our proprietary web site, the contractor knows exactly what they’re going to get, when they’re going to get it, and what they’re going to pay. No surprises.

Then our GreenLancers bid, and one of them picks up the project. What this GreenLancer does is predefined—it’s exactly what the contractor ordered—no more and no less. They know exactly what they’re doing, exactly how long they have to do it, and exactly what they’re going to get paid.

The great thing about this is that it’s all predefined. There are no surprises regarding turnaround time or pricing for either the contractor or the GreenLancer.

We accomplish all this in the Cloud, and that really allows us to keep costs low. It’s great.

LH: So from the front end—when a contractor logs in—they choose from a set of predefined services, such as feasibility study, concept design, financial analysis, and permit package. What’s the back end of your site like?

PM: Well, the back end of our site is like a virtual assembly line. 100 years ago, Henry Ford came up with a process that simplified manufacturing cars. A group of engineers in one room built the car from the ground up. The assembly line broke this up in to 84 predefined tasks. That meant the labor force could specialize in tasks. There didn’t have to be a single expert who knew how to build the car from the ground up. Everybody did what they were best at.

100 years later, we’re doing the same thing. Except our assembly lines aren’t on the ground. They’re in the Cloud. We call them “assembly swarms” instead of “assembly lines.” We have a lot of different specialists in our assembly swarms. Drafters, engineers, architects—all accredited professionals in various tech fields.

This gives us the freedom to take on a variety of national and international projects—both big and small—and turn out consistently high-quality, affordable work, without ever producing a single thing in our offices in Detroit.

LH: So GreenLancer is like a hub?

PM: A hub of specialists, yes.

LH: What kinds of services is GreenLancer most known for?

PM: We have a lot of services, but at the moment, there are four main things developers use our platform for:

• The first is feasibility studies. Contractors come to us analyze their project from all angles and tell them everything they need to know. We can do all this remotely, using satellite technology. It’s very efficient. It saves a lot of time and money, because the contractor doesn’t have to go out to the site and do the feasibility study personally. We can cover everything—from project specifications, to financial analysis, and even how much energy the proposed project would use or save the end client.
• The second thing we’re popular for is design—coming up with new materials and processes—so we can define all the necessary pieces going into a project, including their cost.
• Third, contractors often come to us for financial analysis. We take care of analyzing all the information for the investor. This includes ROI, the payback year, how much the project will save on monthly utilities—all things a CSO might want to know.
• Fourth, we handle permit packages. We’re permitted in all 50 states, and we can really streamline the permitting process. We’re like LegalZoom for engineering blueprints. So the contractor just fills out a small form, and we take care of the rest.

LH: What kind of feedback have you guys gotten so far?

PM: Oh, the response has been overwhelming. We get feedback from a lot of different kinds of contractors, because this system makes it so easy for them to expand their offerings to include solar and other kinds of green technology. For instance, with GreenLancer, an electric contractor can start offering solar installation. They don’t have to bring on a full solar engineering staff. They turn to our energy freelance specialists, and get reliable work every time. Same deal for roofers, architects—you get the idea. The system lowers the barrier of expertise for solar installation, and it’s really democratizing green energy.

LH: How does working in the Cloud impact GreenLancer’s turnaround time?

PM: Enormously! In a traditional brick-and-mortar firm, there’s maybe one or two guys working on 20 projects. But our platform is based on crowd sourcing—collecting people in a network and mobilizing them. Now there’s 8 or more engineers working on one project. All accredited professionals. So you can imagine, this increases our capacity so much that contractors are never waiting around to get results.

LH: What green technologies does GreenLancer offer other than solar?

PM: We’re rapidly expanding to include things like geothermal, wind, advanced lighting, energy audits, and more. Right now, we’re really excited about our new Solar Site Design app. This is an app for your cell phone or tablet that lets contractors take pictures of a site or put in specifications, and then our GreenLancers analyze its solar potential—including financial feasibility and energy savings. This is another instance where satellite technology is really powerful. We’ll also be selling actual products—we’ve already started creating and building our own materials. So contractors will be able to buy from us and have materials drop shipped. The more convenient we can make it for contractors and developers to get quality work, the happier everyone will be.

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Mr. Elbinger, Energy Policy Analyst at Greenlancer, is an authority on energy conservation measures and renewable energy system design. He will give a presentation, “Finding Hidden Savings in Your Home or Business”. Elbinger will illustrate energy conservation methods using the ‘energy audit’ as a tool.  Elbinger maintains that, “When you consider that energy is one of the largest controllable cost in your home, you will be glad to take a closer look at the value of an energy audit”. Elbinger will also demonstrate many no cost or low cost ways to make incremental savings that add up to real bottom line impact. The presentation will take place on Saturday June 8. at 10AM. For more information see www.glrea.org

Doug Elbinger’s career spans over 35 years as an innovator in management and corporate communications. For many years, as an environmental journalist and producer for ENN.com, he focused his efforts on acquiring an in-depth knowledge of advances and investment opportunities in the renewable energy industry. For more information, comments or dialog, please contact Doug Elbinger at delbinger@greenlancer.com – Energy Policy Analyst, Greenlancer Energy Inc. Greenlancer is a renewable energy engineering and consulting firm in Detroit http://www.greenlancer.com

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And check out these views!

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James L. Newman, CEM, LEED AP BD+C, ASHRAE OPMP & BEAP, FESD
Owner/Managing Partner
Newman Consulting Group, LLC
Consultants for Energy-Efficient & Sustainable Buildings
Helping to Secure a Healthier Future – for People and the Planet – One Building at a Tim

Helping to Secure a Healthier Future – for People and the Planet – One Building at a Time

www.NewmanConsultingGroup.us

It’s hardly news that buildings use 40 percent of the natural resources and more than 70 percent of the electrical energy in the United States. And facility managers know there are plenty of ways to get buildings to use less energy — measures that send savings directly to the bottom line. By now, most facility managers have replaced magnetic ballast T12 lamps with electronic ballast T8s, or even more efficient lamps. Many have installed motion sensors. If the lighting retrofit was good enough, the organization might have received a tax deduction of up to $0.60 per square foot under the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005).

But what about the “heart and lungs” of a building: the HVAC system? The thermal energy plant and HVAC systems can go from “green” to “gray” in a very short time after they have been installed or retro commissioned. Nevertheless, implementing HVAC upgrades is far from easy in many organizations. Many companies put off having an energy audit by an outside team because they don’t want to spend the money on what the recommendations in the audit might cost. Fortunately, there are many ways to improve HVAC performance that do not cost a lot of money to implement. Some have more to do with the manner in which the building is operated than the actual HVAC system itself.

Most low- and no-cost items fall into four categories:

· Equipment Scheduling. HVAC equipment running when not required is a major source of energy waste. HVAC equipment running when it’s not needed, along with plug loads for chargers, computers, copiers and printers, task lights and other items that are on when not necessary, can account for as much as 10 percent of electricity use. Chargers typically use more energy when left plugged in 24/7 than the equipment they charge.

· Sensor Error. Sensors are seldom calibrated after installation, yet over time they drift from their set points. Or use of the area has changed but location of the sensor or its set point has not.

· Simultaneous Heating and Cooling. To make working spaces more comfortable, many older HVAC systems use some form of reheat. That in itself is an energy hog, but if the cooling and heating setpoints are incorrect, more energy will be used than is necessary.

· Outdoor Air. The amount of outdoor air brought into a building to provide proper indoor air quality (IAQ), usually mandated by code, is a function of the number of people, area of the space and type of work. Issues like outside air dampers that are stuck in the open position or artificially held open (or closed), sensors that aren’t working properly — or are incorrectly wired to the return and the outside air damper so that the damper is wide open, instead of being at minimum position during extremes of hot or cold temperatures — contribute probably more than almost anything to increased energy use, as well as potential comfort problems.

There are many ways to reduce energy costs by addressing these four areas without spending a lot of money. Equipment Scheduling HVAC equipment often operates during hours it is supposed to be off, even though the building automation system (BAS) says it is off. Checking the BAS to make sure it is operating properly does not take an extraordinary amount of time but can save an extraordinary amount of money. Don’t stop with HVAC if the goal is to find low-cost ways to reduce energy use. Put plug loads on a power strip that sits on people’s desks and teaching them to turn off the toggle switch when they leave at night. There are also power strips that automatically turn off after a period of time where there’s been no load. Of course, occupants must be taught to save the work on their computers before they leave their desks. Education of occupants is an important part of a successful energy program, as is getting buy-in before the program begins and consulting them throughout the planning process. Close Attention To Sensors Problems with sensors are another common source of energy waste. Many “I’m too hot” and “I’m tm too cold” complaints are because people are reading numbers on thermostats as opposed to how they really feel — and the thermostats are reading incorrectly. Frequent travelers know there are many times when the hotel thermostat has to be set up or down well beyond what it reads to get the HVAC unit in the room to turn on. Also, look at where the thermostat is placed in the area. Is it now just above a microwave oven or a coffee maker? Or has it been closed in by shelving and boxes so it’s sitting in a dead air space where it cannot possibly be sensing correctly? Being aware of where the thermostats are and recalibrating them on a regular basis is another low-to no cost fix to conserve wasted energy and save money. Another area of energy waste lies in enthalpy (humidity) sensors, typically used in air-side economizers. While newer designs maintain sensitivity for longer periods, older ones need to be checked and re-calibrated at least once a year; otherwise, they might bring in excess outside air when the outdoor humidity in warm weather is higher than that indoors.

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Douglas Elbinger, Energy Policy Analyst, Greenlancer

While scanning the horizon in sea of mostly grim economic news, I found three gems …news reports or economic indicators, if you will, that point to solid and profitable growth in the renewable energy sector of the economy in the 3-5 year term.

These indicators point toward a shift in the financing, production, consumption and distribution of alternative energy, predicated on advances in technology that will bring the productions costs down to a competitive plateau with conventional fossil fuels. I suspect the time it takes from ‘innovation in the laboratory’ to diffuse into the commercial market place has to be reduced from years to months or less, in order for this to work. When investors like General Electric, Google, and MIT, direct research and investment on this scale …it just might tip the balance.

1. The cost benefit ratio of ‘coal fired’ electricity vs ‘solar’ will equalize or fall in favor of solar. In a recent report from Bloomberg news, Mr. Mark M. Little, the global research director for General Electric Co., predicts that solar power may be cheaper than electricity generated by fossil fuels within 3-5 years. A combination of rising energy prices with lower production cost and higher efficiency will make solar cost competitive with conventional coal fired electric generation. General Electric (GE) plans to invest in ‘advanced’ solar panel manufacturing and expects to open a plant in 2013, employing over 400 people and make enough solar panels to power 80,000 homes. If this business plan unfolds as predicted, watch for explosive growth on all fronts the Solar industry. See full report: www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-05-26/solar-may-be-cheaper-than-fossil-power• in-five-years-ge-says.html

2. Major advance in battery technology will change the automotive playing field. The ‘energy density’ ratio of stored battery power vs liquid fossil fuel will get closer giving the battery powered automobile the range you’d expect from a tank of gas …with much faster re charging time. In a press release from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology dated June 6, 2011, researchers announced they have devised a radical new approach to battery construction that provide an inexpensive, smaller and lighter, alternative to existing battery technology. This is the ‘breakthrough’ technology needed to make electric vehicles affordable and practical. To see the technical details and read full press release go to; http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2011/flow-batteries-0606.html

3. New financing models from GOOGLE brings solar to roof tops Google recently announced a $280 million partnership with California installer, Solar City, (www.solarcity.com) to set up a financing model that offers residents a roof top solar system for no money down. In exchange, customers agree to pay a set price for the power produced by the panels. This is largest solar initiative of its kind in US that will facilitate cost competitive utility scale power generation and distribution to thousands of homes. To date, GOOGLE has invested over $680 in renewable energy projects, with the goal of making the company a ‘net zero’ user of electric power. This corporate philosophy is based on the bottom line premise that solar will cost the consumer less than conventional fossil or nuclear. We will all be watching this project to see how it plays out, both in KWh generated and return on investment. If this investment model works for GOOGLE, then maybe other corporate investors will follow. See full press release; http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110614/ap_on_hi_te/us_google_solar

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High Efficiency Solar Panels

In recent years research in the solar industry has been focused on creating high efficiency solar panels. Right now, the standard solar module has a 17% efficiency rate at the high end, and roughly 15% or lower efficiency for other modules. The maximum efficiency for the most common solar panels is a theorized 33%. New high efficiency solar panels are on track to have an efficiency of over 60%.

Scientists have identified the causes of inefficiency in the conventional silicon based modules. Most solar energy is lost because it is reflected off the solar panels. More energy is lost in the form of heat, and solar cells become less efficient when overheated. High efficiency solar panels negate at least one of the aforementioned problems, making them a lot more efficient, and in some cases, cheaper.

There are three ways in which the efficiency has been increased; reducing the reflectivity of solar panels, increasing the number of wavelengths that can be transformed into electricity, and concentrating sunlight. These can be achieved by changing the materials used in solar cells, and how the solar cells are constructed. The most efficient solar panels are nanomesh solar cells, Andreas Bett’s solar cells, and (in the near future) quantum dot solar cells.

ground mount solar array

Nanomesh Solar Cells

The nanomesh solar cells created by a team at Princeton University is by far the most efficient solar cell, with an efficiency of about 96%. Led by Stephen Chou, the team has made two dramatic improvements: reducing reflectivity, and more effectively capturing the light that isn’t reflected. This is achieved by the holes in thin gold mesh on top of the solar cell being smaller than the wave lengths of light that it captures. Not only is it the most efficient, but it is also cheaper and smaller than traditional PV modules.

Andreas Bett’s Solar Cells

Andreas Bett created a solar cell that uses semi-conductors gallium-indium-phosphide, gallium-indium-arsenide and germanium instead of silicon. The cell is constructed in three layers, where the top layer absorbs the shortest, blue wavelengths, the middle absorbs green, and the bottom layer absorbs the red wavelengths, effectively gathering energy from the entire rainbow. This leads to an efficiency of over 41%, and is made affordable by being small and having an inexpensive lens that focuses the light over 500 times onto the surface of the solar cell.

Quantum Dot Solar Cells

As of now, quantum dot solar cells have an efficiency of only 7%, but researchers suggest that the cells will have an efficiency of about 65% in the future. What makes quantum dot solar cells interesting is the ability to change where in the light spectrum the cells collect from by changing the size of the quantum dots. Different materials can be used to manufacture the quantum dots, making costs about the same as conventional solar panels. Quantum dot solar cells are still in the pre-commercialization stage of development but should be available in the next few years.

The Market

High efficiency solar panels are going to be both very efficient and take less resources to make. The most efficient solar panels are not yet ready for mass production, but will be within the next couple of years. Solar energy is becoming more affordable and will make switching to clean energy more appealing.

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