Trina Has Independent Certification of Solar Technology with Conversion Efficiency of 24.4%
April 25th, 2014No prices or release date have been indicated, but, “Currently in pilot production,” sounds a lot more promising than most radical developments in this area, which seem to be perpetually five to twenty years away.
Make no mistake about it, 24.4% is a big deal—if the price is right.
Via: Trina Solar Press Release:
Trina Solar Limited, a global leader in photovoltaic (PV) modules, solutions and services, today announced that its State Key Laboratory of PV Science and Technology has developed a new high-efficiency Honey Ultra solar module.
Trina Solar’s Honey Ultra monocrystalline silicon module reached a new record of 326.3W, which has been independently certified by TUV Rheinland, a leading authoritative certification institution. This result sets a new world record for p-type monocrystalline silicon modules. The monocrystalline silicon module is composed of 60 high-efficiency Honey Ultra monocrystalline silicon cells of 156mm x 156mm, fabricated with a technology developed by Trina Solar and currently in pilot production.
Honey Ultra marks the second generation of Trina Solar’s Honey module technology and this new high-efficiency record significantly extends the previous milestone of 284.7W attained by Trina Solar’s first generation of Honey modules.
The module integrates core technologies including back surface passivation technology and low-resistance connection technology, each of which have been researched and developed by Trina Solar.
…
This new Honey Ultra module marks a key milestone for Trina Solar’s State Key Laboratory of PV Science and Technology since its accreditation in November 2013 and follows the Company’s development of a new Interdigitated Back Contact (“IBC”) cell capable of delivering an industry-leading efficiency of 24.4%.
This demonstrates Trina Solar’s world-class monocrystalline silicon module and that the technology behind these high-efficiency modules is suitable for rapid roll-out to large-scale production.
Pentagon: Russian Warplanes Violate Ukraine’s Airspace
April 25th, 2014Via: USA Today:
Russian warplanes have entered Ukrainian airspace several times in the last 24 hours, the Pentagon announced Friday.
U.S. officials called on Russia to cease the operations, said Army Col. Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman.
“We call upon the Russians to take immediate steps to de-escalate the situation,” Warren said.
Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, spoke with his Russian counterpart on Thursday, but details of their conversation were not released. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has tried, without success, to contact Russia’s defense minister.
Ukraine’s air defenses are old but still potent enough, under the right circumstances, to take down Russian aircraft, said Michael O’Hanlon, a military analyst at the Brookings Institution. In fact, drawing fire might be Russia’s intent by entering Ukraine’s airspace.
“I don’t put a deliberate provocation, in order to create a pretext for response and invasion, past Putin at this point,” O’Hanlon said.
The U.S. response to such a move, O’Hanlon said, would be limited, perhaps the sale of arms or sharing intelligence.
The violation of Ukraine’s airspace follows war games that Russian troops began near the border. About 40,000 Russian troops have massed there, according to the Pentagon. Last month, Russian troops seized key facilities on the Crimean peninsula and annexed it.
The End Of Net Neutrality
April 25th, 2014Via: Huffington Post:
The new rules would allow companies like Netflix to pay Internet providers to stream their videos and other content more quickly. That could create two lanes on the Internet, fast super-highways that big tech companies can afford and a bumpy backroad where less fortunate websites dwell, consumer advocates say.
Verizon, which sued the FCC for the right to cut such deals, said Thursday that it had no intention of preventing customers from viewing certain sites.
Verizon and other Internet providers “have always made clear that we support an open Internet and we have publicly committed to ensuring that customers can access the Internet content they want, when they want and how they want,” the company said in a statement.
The FCC said these deals would still be fair because Internet providers would be required to reveal how they handle traffic, how much they charge companies for access to fast lanes, and whether they’ve given preferential treatment to their own content.
That last part could become especially important as Internet providers are increasingly becoming entertainment companies. AT&T said this week it plans to launch a new online video service. Comcast owns NBC Universal, which includes 30 cable networks, 26 local TV stations and part of the streaming service Hulu.
Research Credit: CP
Apple, Google to Pay $324 Million to Settle Conspiracy Lawsuit
April 25th, 2014Via: Reuters:
Four major tech companies including Apple and Google have agreed to pay a total of $324 million to settle a lawsuit accusing them of conspiring to hold down salaries in Silicon Valley, sources familiar with the deal said, just weeks before a high profile trial had been scheduled to begin.
Tech workers filed a class action lawsuit against Apple Inc, Google Inc, Intel Inc and Adobe Systems Inc in 2011, alleging they conspired to refrain from soliciting one another’s employees in order to avert a salary war. They planned to ask for $3 billion in damages at trial, according to court filings. That could have tripled to $9 billion under antitrust law.
The case has been closely watched due to the potentially high damages award and the opportunity to peek into the world of Silicon Valley’s elite. The case was based largely on emails in which Apple’s late co-founder Steve Jobs, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and some of their Silicon Valley rivals hatched plans to avoid poaching each other’s prized engineers.
In one email exchange after a Google recruiter solicited an Apple employee, Schmidt told Jobs that the recruiter would be fired, court documents show. Jobs then forwarded Schmidt’s note to a top Apple human resources executive with a smiley face.
Another exchange shows Google’s human resources director asking Schmidt about sharing its no-cold call agreements with competitors. Schmidt, now the company’s executive chairman, advised discretion.
“Schmidt responded that he preferred it be shared ‘verbally, since I don’t want to create a paper trail over which we can be sued later?'” he said, according to a court filing. The HR director agreed.
North Dakota Finds More Radioactive Oil Waste
April 24th, 2014Via: AP:
North Dakota confirmed Thursday the discovery of a new radioactive dump of waste from oil drilling, and separately a company hired to clean up waste found in February at another location said it removed double the amount of radioactive material originally estimated to be there.
The Canadian company hired to clean up the largest dump found so far, located at an abandoned gas station in Noonan, also said that it suspects the soil at the site is contaminated and that samples were being analyzed.
The twin disclosures highlight a growing problem from North Dakota’s booming oil development — illegal disposal of oil filter socks, which are tubular nets that strain liquids during the oil production process and contain low amounts of radioactive material. Health officials have said that radioactive filter socks increasingly are being found along roadsides, in abandoned buildings or in commercial trash bins — sometimes those of competing oil companies.
‘Militia’ Groups Fear Infiltration by Feds at Bundy Ranch
April 24th, 2014Via: KLAS:
Militia groups are still surrounding the Bundy ranch days after the BLM ended its roundup of cattle. There is concern among some of them that they have been infiltrated by undercover federal agents.
Similar: Federal Agents Disguised as Supporters Arrest Ed and Elaine Brown
Feds Beg Supreme Court to Let Them Search Phones Without a Warrant
April 24th, 2014Via: Wired:
American law enforcement has long advocated for universal “kill switches” in cellphones to cut down on mobile device thefts. Now the Department of Justice argues that the same remote locking and data-wiping technology represents a threat to police investigations–one that means they should be free to search phones without a warrant.
In a brief filed to the U.S. Supreme Court yesterday in the case of alleged Boston drug dealer Brima Wurie, the Justice Department argues that police should be free to warrantlessly search cellphones taken from suspects immediately at the time of arrest, rather than risk letting the suspect or his associates lock or remotely wipe the phone before it can be searched.
Smart Wind and Solar Power
April 24th, 2014Via: MIT Technology Review:
Big data and artificial intelligence are producing ultra-accurate forecasts that will make it feasible to integrate much more renewable energy into the grid.
FBI Adds People to No Fly List for Refusing to Become Informants
April 23rd, 2014Via: The Guardian:
Naveed Shinwari hasn’t seen his wife in 26 months. He suspects it’s because he refused to become an informant for the FBI.
In February 2012 Shinwari, who has lived in the US since he was 14, flew to Afghanistan to get married. He says that before he could get home to Omaha, Nebraska, he was twice detained and questioned by FBI agents who wanted to know if he knew anything about national security threats. A third FBI visit followed when he got home.
The following month, after Shinwari bought another plane ticket for a temporary job in Connecticut, he couldn’t get a boarding pass. Police told him he had been placed on the US no-fly list, although he had never in his life been accused of breaking any law. Another FBI visit soon followed, with agents wanting to know about the “local Omaha community, did I know anyone who’s a threat”, he says.
“I’m just very frustrated, [and I said] what can I do to clear my name?” recalls Shinwari, 30. “And that’s where it was mentioned to me: you help us, we help you. We know you don’t have a job; we’ll give you money.”
Shinwari is one of four American Muslims in a new lawsuit who accuse the FBI of placing them on the no-fly list, either to intimidate them into becoming informants or to retaliate against them for declining.
Washington State School District Sets Up ‘Homeland Security Class’
April 23rd, 2014Via: Storyleak:
The Department of Homeland Security is partnering with a Washington state school district to recruit future employees through a new high school curriculum.
An employment application posted by Evergreen Public Schools this weekend requests a certified “Homeland Security Instructor” to steer young students into a career with the agency.
“Instruct high school juniors and seniors in skills and knowledge leading to entry-level employment or further education in Homeland Security occupations,” the job description reads. “In-depth instruction will include theory, application and work based learning activities. The instructor will work closely with the Skills Center and administrative staff and the program advisory committee to continually upgrade the program curriculum and skills competencies (outcomes) needed by students for employment.”
Research Credit: almaverdad2
