Easy to install solar panel roof shingles-from Dow Chemical Company, coming in 2010

The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW) today unveiled its line of DOW™ POWERHOUSE™ Solar Shingle, revolutionary photovoltaic solar panels in the form of solar shingles that can be integrated into rooftops with standard asphalt shingle materials. The solar shingle systems are expected to be available in limited quantities by mid-2010 and projected to be more widely available in 2011, putting the power of solar electricity generation directly and conveniently in the hands of homeowners.

Groundbreaking technology from Dow Solar Solutions (DSS) integrates low-cost, thin-film CIGS photovoltaic cells into a proprietary roofing shingle design, which represents a multi-functional solar energy generating roofing product. The innovative product design reduces installation costs because the conventional roofing shingles and solar generating shingles are installed simultaneously by roofing contractors. DSS expects an enthusiastic response from roofing contractors since no specialized skills or knowledge of solar array installations are required.

"This is just one example of how Dow's $1.5 billion annual R&D investment is allowing us to deliver practical solutions for some of the world's most critical challenges," said Dow Chairman and CEO Andrew N. Liveris. "These types of innovative products not only showcase our deep scientific and technical expertise but also demonstrate how our commitment to R&D is fueling Dow's future growth agenda around the world."

DOW™ POWERHOUSE™ Solar Shingle arrays are being showcased today at an event at Dow's Michigan Operations in the Company's headquarters city of Midland, Michigan.

"Making Michigan a leader in manufacturing green energy products continues to be a key part of our economic plan to grow the economy and create jobs," said Michigan Governor Jennifer M. Granholm. "Dow's solar shingles are another example of local research and development helping grow our green economy, and I applaud Dow's ongoing commitment to developing green energy solutions right here in Michigan."

Jane Palmieri, Managing Director of Dow Solar Solutions, noted that Dow's technology addresses two of the biggest challenges associated with solar power – cost and acceptance. "Consumers reap the benefits of our innovation. This is about providing roof protection and electricity generation all from one product, with lower costs, improved aesthetics, easier installation and long-lasting performance," she said.

Today's announcement is the latest milestone in Dow's solar energy strategy following the formation of its Dow Solar Solutions business unit. In 2007, the Company received $20 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop "building integrated" solar arrays for the residential and commercial markets.

Dow's commitment to solar innovation extends beyond the DOW™ POWERHOUSE™ Solar Shingle arrays:

Dow Performance Fluids is a leading supplier of heat transfer fluids that enable concentrated solar power for parabolic, trough-based solar systems. DOWTHERM™ A collects heat energy from the sun and transports it to a power generating station that converts water into steam, which in turn drives turbines to make electricity.
Dow Adhesives and Functional Polymers is a leading global supplier of adhesives for photovoltaics, with exceptional performance in new backsheet substrates, as well as game-changing innovations in materials such as liquid encapsulants.
Dow Electronic Materials recently introduced its new line of ENLIGHT™ photovoltaic products, which increase solar cell efficiency and yield.
Dow Specialty Packaging & Films offers innovative polyolefin-based films used in the protective encapsulant layer and the structural backsheet of photovoltaic modules. The use of these films can improve productivity when the module is produced, and help increase its service life and reliability.
Dow Corning, a joint venture equally owned by The Dow Chemical Company and Corning, Incorporated, is also participating in the solar photovoltaic sector, applying its expertise in silicon-based materials to improve the cost efficiency, durability and performance of solar modules and photovoltaic devices. Dow Corning recently began construction on a facility that will manufacture monosilane gas, a key material used to manufacture thin-film solar cells and liquid crystal displays. Via its Hemlock Semiconductor joint venture, Dow Corning is also a leading provider of polycrystalline silicon and other silicon-based products used in the manufacturing of semiconductor devices, and solar cells and modules.
DOW™ POWERHOUSE™ Solar Shingle is the latest in a series of investments Dow has made to build upon its leadership position within the building and construction industry. Dow supplies a wide range of systems and solutions designed to help improve the energy efficiency and overall performance of buildings. This innovative technology also expands the ability for solar energy to be incorporated beyond roofing systems into applications such as exterior sidings, fascias and more.

About Dow

Dow is a diversified chemical company that combines the power of science and technology with the “Human Element” to constantly improve what is essential to human progress. The Company delivers a broad range of products and services to customers in approximately 160 countries, connecting chemistry and innovation with the principles of sustainability to help provide everything from fresh water, food and pharmaceuticals to paints, packaging and personal care products. In 2008, Dow had annual sales of $57.5 billion and employed approximately 46,000 people worldwide. The Company has 150 manufacturing sites in 35 countries and produces approximately 3,300 products. On April 1, 2009, Dow acquired Rohm and Haas Company, a global specialty materials company with sales of $10 billion in 2008, 98 manufacturing sites in 30 countries and approximately 15,000 employees worldwide. References to "Dow" or the "Company" mean The Dow Chemical Company and its consolidated subsidiaries unless otherwise expressly noted. More information about Dow can be found at www.dow.com.

but it may be going too far to say that's it's freedom from utility companies. This will probably supplement what you receive from the utility company and reduce your bills but I doubt that it will replace it.

that allows you to install as much solar generating capacity as you can afford (every shingle, every other shingle, or maybe just one line of shingles on each slope of the roof).

This system will be tied into the grid so that whatever you don't use goes back out to the grid and you get credit for it (watch your meter run backwards!).

On nice, bright days the utility company will minimize the amount they have to generate at the plant, but at night and on overcast days everyone will be glad that the utility company has lots of generating capacity.

Unfortunately, as we still have to have the utility company, when their income declines appreciably, they will go to the govt. and have a tax passed (on electricity generated by your photovoltaic panels) to subsidize them. Great if your utility company is a non-profit Co-Op (many rural ones are) but not so great if your tax dollars subsidize the incomes of rich investors at Gulf South.

You put into the utility during the day and take out at night. If you put in more than you take out, you have a $0 bill (they don't pay you).

It is something worth looking into if you are a homeowner. Helps to have the slope of your roof facing south.

That is what needs to change! In Germany, the power companies are required to pay citizens who produce excess power more than the current 'retail' price of electricity (though the new party is talking about cutting subsidies - http://www.solarpowerrocks.com/solar-trends/germany-reconsidering-their-awesome-solar-subsidy-program/). There are PV 'farms' and tens of thousands of homes producing electricity that is funneled into the grid as a result of this incentive.

That could have made a difference when I was deciding whether or not to invest in a PV system. The tax breaks and rebates were not enough, but if I could know that I would actually have a chance to make back my original investment, I would have been more interested. Sure, I could put in a system (the estimate in 2006 was $30,000) and not have to pay any or as much out of pocket for my electricity, but that would not recoup the interest paid on a loan (or dividends lost if I took it out of investments).

I got a quote last year for a rooftop net-metered system. My house is long and single story, so can accommodate a LOT of panels. Even with the fed/state tax credits, it wasn't worth the interest for the loan when I realized that it is a zero sum game to the electric company.

They can figure out how to read our kwh remotely, but apparently don't have the technology to recognize incoming.

Just a matter of time though. I plan to go net-metered and eventually off-grid once it all matures to the point where it is feasible.

they passed a state law where you can get paid for the excess you create, but at a commercial rate. So we pay at a rate 10x more that what we get when we generate excess. Plus the bill never actually gets to $0 because there is always a line charge. But we get a quarterly check for between $25 and $100 depending on how much we generated. And 5 or 6 months out of the year we have a bill that's less than $10. A 3.2 kWh system, 1300 sf home, 3 person family, light energy users... all in all we spend around $250 per year on electricity.


:shrug:

What I don't get is we are members of an electric cooperative that has to purchase their power from larger electric utility companies. You'd think they would be all over encouraging members to generate electricity to reduce what they have to purchase. Heck, if enough people in the coop put in solar panels, the coop could SELL electricity to the utilities.

Plus, we're in Florida - our peak loads are on hot sunny days when solar panels would be at their peak production. It just does not make sense.

smog and haze(in reference to humidity) reduce the efficiency of Solar panels by up to 10%. My "Aunt", after much investigating, decided against Solar panels (she lives in Tampa) based on the reduced efficiency and lack of grant funding. She decided to insulate her house and paint her roof white instead. Her payback period would've been around 15 years whereas mine might be around 8.

It's still not "affordable", but it's getting closer. I think weather sealing and insulating are just as important as alternative energy. And there are funds and 0% loans to do work that makes homes more efficient.

:shrug:

But I made a similar decision as your aunt. When we were building, since the PV was out of our budget, we built the best envelope of a house we could - tightly sealed with great insulation and a silver-colored metal roof to reflect as much sunlight as possible. Now our biggest problem is humidity. The house stays at a pretty constant temperature without heat or air, but we have to run one or the other to get the humidity to a decent level. It is a bitch to have to run AC to drop the temp below what I would want it to get the humidity below 80-90%!

We figured that right now investing in a tight house was a better use of our money than a PV system that was "old technology" and would be inefficient and expensive by standards in ten years. On the other hand, the tight house will pay for itself for the life of the building.

The other environmentally responsible choice we made was to use building materials that will last the life of the house, partly because I am allergic to many building materials such as vinyl and carpet. So we have wood and tile floors, ceramic porcelain counters, etc. If as we plan we live in this house the rest of our lives, we will never have to replace any of those materials and the new owners will only have to if they want to change the style.

Hopefully, solar electric will advance to an affordable level soon. I would love to be more energy independent!

I just wonder about solutions for the winter (snow cover and how that might damage them) in northern areas. Other than that, this sounds great!

when it comes time that I need a new roof, I hope to replace some shingles with solar ones.

Solar panels on the roof making DC power every moment the sun shines. OK, now what? What do you do with it? How do you store the energy? How do you convert the energy to AC power? If you plan to sell it back to the power company how do you synchronize it to the system (60hz +/- 3%) and how much is the additional equipment going to add to the price of the total home and is that price increase even possible in a market glutted by foreclosed homes in overbuilt markets from sea to shining sea?

Makes me wonder about stock options.

to sell excess. This is being done, already, by many people. The only thing new here is that these are shingles instead of panels. I would like to go off-grid for a house I'm planning to build that's far away from power lines (cheaper than running power lines a mile), but banks don't want to touch an off-grid house in terms of lending, unfortunately. They're still fairly uncommon.

Work quite well. A sample is here

http://www.wholesalesolar.com/products.folder/inverter-folder/fronius_invert_4000.html

lots of people already have solar panels, and are 'selling' their excess power to their local utility companies.
and as with everything else- volume will bring down the per-unit costs.
every journey starts with the first step.

The most hands on practical demonstration of the solar shingles was written several years ago on a personal page by a man who installed his own solar shingle system - http://www-personal.umich.edu/~bgoodsel/solar/blog.htm

To begin with, he used batteries to store excess power. I believe he was working on getting net metering which would allow him to "sell" his excess electrical production to the power company. He has solid information on exact products he used, the installation and hook up details, and the amount of power he was producing.

This was a project begun in Spring 2005 - newer technology should have made it slightly more advantageous by now.

I found that page while planning the house we build 2007-2008. I considered having photovoltaic panels put in but the estimate to have a system installed was too high for my budget. We put on a metal roof, so the solar shingles were not something I wanted to use. I put half that estimate amount into improving the insulation and tightness of the basic house envelope, and did install a solar water heater. Someday I hope to use solar electric but want to see how the technology improves. And of course, my budget has to recover before it is feasible for me to do.

Equipment to interface with the grid also exists, though it's likely the most expensive part of the puzzle IIRC.

:hi:

This is welcome news, indeed.

Does anyone have a link to a product demo? I see lots of press releases and perhaps a white paper, but no pics of the product...

just look up dow solar shingles on google images

Since you're new, here are our posting rules:

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2) Copy and paste no more than 4 paragraphs maximum to a DU post.

3) Nice to have, but not required, is links to other supporting info like video or other similar announcements.

I was actually looking for a YouTube or something similar. I've known about solar shingles for a while now because I want them, but they have been cost prohibitive for the mass market. If Dow is making something that is a much better price point, then that is news.

The $/watt is expensive compared to regular PV systems and its much more labor intensive to install. One is better off with standard PV panels today in terms of cost and performance.

This *may* mature into a suitable roofing surface, but I would not get all excited about them yet.

I have PV solar, space heating, and water heating. Its not for everyone in all locales, but where appropriate is a good thing

I live in an area where one of the local contractors was doing demonstration/trial installations of this product for the past couple of years. Cost of the product per watt, along with installation was no more expensive than current PV systems.

I've seen these work up close and personal, and they are great. I imagine that within ten years, if not sooner, they will become the norm and PV systems will go the way of other dinosaur technologies.

- Many more field connections, which is labor intensive.
- More training and care required by the roofer
- Wholesale cost per watt is higher
- More surface area required (lower yield).
That said, they may be a potential solution for houses with hip roofs etc.

Since the shingles are PV I assume you mean that discrete panels will be obsolete, however, that seems unlikely given the cost and technical advantages they have.

I live in the desert in prime solar country and have a 5kw ground mount installation. I don't pay anyone for energy. That not going to be possible in higher latitudes, but it could offset some cost.

In a revolutionary leap that could transform solar power from a marginal, boutique alternative into a mainstream energy source, MIT researchers have overcome a major barrier to large-scale solar power: storing energy for use when the sun doesn't shine.





Daniel Nocera describes new process for storing solar energy
View video post on MIT TechTV

Until now, solar power has been a daytime-only energy source, because storing extra solar energy for later use is prohibitively expensive and grossly inefficient. With today's announcement, MIT researchers have hit upon a simple, inexpensive, highly efficient process for storing solar energy.

Requiring nothing but abundant, non-toxic natural materials, this discovery could unlock the most potent, carbon-free energy source of all: the sun. "This is the nirvana of what we've been talking about for years," said MIT's Daniel Nocera, the Henry Dreyfus Professor of Energy at MIT and senior author of a paper describing the work in the July 31 issue of Science. "Solar power has always been a limited, far-off solution. Now we can seriously think about solar power as unlimited and soon."

Inspired by the photosynthesis performed by plants, Nocera and Matthew Kanan, a postdoctoral fellow in Nocera's lab, have developed an unprecedented process that will allow the sun's energy to be used to split water into hydrogen and oxygen gases. Later, the oxygen and hydrogen may be recombined inside a fuel cell, creating carbon-free electricity to power your house or your electric car, day or night.

The key component in Nocera and Kanan's new process is a new catalyst that produces oxygen gas from water; another catalyst produces valuable hydrogen gas. The new catalyst consists of cobalt metal, phosphate and an electrode, placed in water. When electricity --Â whether from a photovoltaic cell, a wind turbine or any other source --Â runs through the electrode, the cobalt and phosphate form a thin film on the electrode, and oxygen gas is produced.

Combined with another catalyst, such as platinum, that can produce hydrogen gas from water, the system can duplicate the water splitting reaction that occurs during photosynthesis.

The new catalyst works at room temperature, in neutral pH water, and it's easy to set up, Nocera said. "That's why I know this is going to work. It's so easy to implement," he said.

'Giant leap' for clean energy
Sunlight has the greatest potential of any power source to solve the world's energy problems, said Nocera. In one hour, enough sunlight strikes the Earth to provide the entire planet's energy needs for one year.

James Barber, a leader in the study of photosynthesis who was not involved in this research, called the discovery by Nocera and Kanan a "giant leap" toward generating clean, carbon-free energy on a massive scale.

"This is a major discovery with enormous implications for the future prosperity of humankind," said Barber, the Ernst Chain Professor of Biochemistry at Imperial College London. "The importance of their discovery cannot be overstated since it opens up the door for developing new technologies for energy production thus reducing our dependence for fossil fuels and addressing the global climate change problem."

'Just the beginning'
Currently available electrolyzers, which split water with electricity and are often used industrially, are not suited for artificial photosynthesis because they are very expensive and require a highly basic (non-benign) environment that has little to do with the conditions under which photosynthesis operates.
Â
More engineering work needs to be done to integrate the new scientific discovery into existing photovoltaic systems, but Nocera said he is confident that such systems will become a reality.
Â
"This is just the beginning," said Nocera, principal investigator for the Solar Revolution Project funded by the Chesonis Family Foundation and co-Director of the Eni-MIT Solar Frontiers Center. "The scientific community is really going to run with this."

Nocera hopes that within 10 years, homeowners will be able to power their homes in daylight through photovoltaic cells, while using excess solar energy to produce hydrogen and oxygen to power their own household fuel cell. Electricity-by-wire from a central source could be a thing of the past.

The project is part of the MIT Energy Initiative, a program designed to help transform the global energy system to meet the needs of the future and to help build a bridge to that future by improving today's energy systems. MITEI Director Ernest Moniz, Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Physics and Engineering Systems, noted that "this discovery in the Nocera lab demonstrates that moving up the transformation of our energy supply system to one based on renewables will depend heavily on frontier basic science."
Â
The success of the Nocera lab shows the impact of a mixture of funding sources - governments, philanthropy, and industry. This project was funded by the National Science Foundation and by the Chesonis Family Foundation, which gave MIT $10 million this spring to launch the Solar Revolution Project, with a goal to make the large scale deployment of solar energy within 10 years.

wondering what river or stream was polluted in the manufacture of the product.

My co-worker and I have be speculating about these for quite some time now. Once it gets cost-effective, he's definitely going solar.

Al they have even been interested in is profit and poisonimg people with their crap, I hope they fail and burn in hell.

What a surprise an huge death bent corporation now grabs the solar panel market only to hold onto profit and shut out small companies from getting a foot hold.

Dow , chemicals that have poisioned the planet with passion.

nt

but it's from DOW, so that must mean there's some kind of twist in the plot.