PV Gap

Chester Said:

How much oil is used to manufacture batteries and solar panels?

We Answered:

50 years ago, casings for automotive batteries were made from asphalt, a waste byproduct of crude oil refining. modern automotive casings are made of plastic. these and the other plastics are made from oil, but not necessarily crude oil (fossil fuel). plastics can also be made from plant oil with soya being the most common.

Casey Said:

How can I find an eco-friendly company to buy shares in? (And how do I go about buying shares?)?

We Answered:

Dear Maria,

Open an account with Zecco.com
They have a great tutorial on buying & selling shares!
http://www.bargaineering.com/articles/is… Is Zecco a Scam or Legit? Blueprint for Financial Prosperity

After you acquaint yourself with their website you can trade right over your computer. My favorite in the GREEN or eco-friendly sector company is Capstone Turbine Corporation:>(CPST)
http://finance.google.com/finance?q=CPST
CPST - Capstone Turbine Corporation - Google Finance
Manufacturer of low-emission microturbine systems with primary applications in the stationary power and automotive markets, including hybrid electric vehicles.
www.microturbine.com
You can also try Green Century Equity (GCEQX) or Balanced (GCBLX) funds. As with most funds, you can look at their holdings and do some cherry-picking if you don't want the baggage of everyone else in the fund.

Solar power is still in its infancy so I'd wait a while until it matures; in the meantime they just burn through a lot of cash & I would prefer to save my cash.

If you really want to research Solar Power Cos. check out:
http://www.sunwize.com/index.htm?utm_sou…
SunWize -A Solar Power System Company manufactures Solar PV Panel and Sun Solar Energy products -
----------------OR--------------------…
http://www.suntech-power.com/ <Click here to see how Suntech is changing the face of our globe. About. Solar ... Us. Copyright ©2005 - 2007. SunTech. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy ...
www.suntech-power.com

GOOD LUCK & STAY GREEN !!!

Clifton Said:

How can I be part of the solar panel industry?

We Answered:

Manufacturing your own electrical solar panels is out of the question. They are built much like computer chips and setting up a plant to do this would cost millions of dollars.

You could become a solar system installer. These businesses install solar systems on homes and are paid for this service. You will need a significant amount of technical training to do this though, I would guess at least two years (the last thing you would want to do is damage someones home or design a system that is dangerous).

I would suggest that you go into business making energy improvements to homes that do not involve solar energy. Most people can get the best value for their money by improving the "air tightness" of their homes (several tubes of well placed caulk). Other things you could offer would be the upgrading of door, Windows and electrical box seals. Insulation jackets around hot water heaters is also something a small firm could offer home owners. Other energy improvement are also possible and you could offer a whole "shopping list" of improvements to a customer.

Good luck

Herbert Said:

Is the production/manufacturing of solar panels un-environmentally friendly?

We Answered:

One of the major problems for solar manufacturers to overcome has been the use and neccessity of silicon in panels..... This is a rare metal, this is why it is said to be environmentally hazardous.
However solar manufacturers have gotten around that and are starting to develop other types of solar panels that dont require silicon or much of it.

Jimmy Said:

How much would manufacturing solar equipment cost ?

We Answered:

You have to decide how vertically-integrated you want your company to be.

I suggest that a better proposition for the purposes of your project would be to buy ready-made solar cells from any one of dozens of vendors, and put them into your product. That sort of business is scalable, and you can do calculations for a small one.

Making solar cells from scratch needs economy of scale. There will be many more considerations such as proximity to shipping for raw materials, availability of cheap but educated labor, local tax structure, and environmental impact. With a small boutique business, you could absorb some of these costs if they are non-optimal, by just raising your price. A big commodity business like solar cells must have absolute lowest cost, and is usually on the brink of taking a loss.