In what has to be very painful to Detroit and Ontario, the new Canadian Budget, proposes to provide rebates of upto $2000 for the purchase of hybrid vehicles and to levy fees from $1000-$4000 on vehicles that don’t meet fuel standards.  There will be no levy on pick up trucks. 

While moves such as these should help reduce the production of greenhouse gas, the pale compared to zero emission solar and wind.  It was disappointed that a Conservative government that wants to look green would do more to promote wind power and even solar. Given the country’s huge oil reserves, using and creating clean, renewable energy and equipment, could eliminate most of Canada’s oil use.

Last week 2 german solar manufacturers opened US offices, with a goal of participating in the US market. The first to announce, SolarMarkt, of Freiburg Germany: A subsidiary based in Oakland California to help bring there solar cell products to the US.  The second German solar company to announce a new US presence, CENTROSOLAR from Munich will establish a subsidiary based in Phoenix Arizona, to mark its entry into the US market.

The market for photo electric generation is rapidly expanding and even accelerating as fear of both global warming and rising prices for hydrocarbon fuel sources, combines with expanded and improved manufacturing to spur growth in demand.

The Germans are Coming - Welcome to America, come soak in the sun.

For anyone into Photovoltaics and from the midwest, it’s not surprising to hear that there is a solar soul in Detroit.  The Solar Soul of Detroit is none other than Stan Ovshinsky, founder and leader(he recently stepped down as president) of Engery Conversion Devices, now Ovonics of Rochester Michigan. Today Ovonics and Ovshinsky are focused on battery, fuel cell and hydrogen storage technology.

Energy Conversion Devices was once, best known as the company that built a nearly $1 billion solar panel manufacturing for a consortium of oil companies, who later abandoned the project, leaving ECD as sole owner of this new breakthru for manuafacturing an “endless” ribbon of flexible solar panels, at the lowest prices yet.

 Less well know is that Ovshinsky patented the materials and process of applying the photosensitive metalic coatings used in laser printer drum to capture output, collect toner and deposit onto the paper where heat fuses the toner and paper. This technology was licensed by Canon Corp. and used to create the first cartridge based laser printer offered to consumers, in the early 1980s.

Though originally from Akron Ohio, Stan Ovshinksy, now 85, never finished school and was trained as a machinist and earned his first patent in that field.  Since then he’s become a force in materials, electricity and more.  Britain’s Economist Magazine asked if he was “The Edison of Our Age”.  He is the Solar Soul of Detroit.