Highly transparent solar cells in windows can generate electricity

Daily Sun 30 July 2012

Researchers have developed a new transparent solar cell that is an advance toward giving windows in homes and other buildings the ability to generate electricity while still allowing people to see outside. Their study appears in the journal ACS Nano.

The UCLA team describes a new kind of polymer solar cell (PSC) that produces energy by absorbing mainly infrared light, not visible light, making the cells nearly 70 percent transparent to the human eye. They made the device from a photoactive plastic that converts infrared light into an electrical current.

“These results open the potential for visibly transparent polymer solar cells as add-on components of portable electronics, smart windows and building-integrated photovoltaics and in other applications,” said study leader Yang Yang, a UCLA professor of materials science and engineering, who also is director of the Nano Renewable Energy Center at California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI).

Yang added that there has been intense world-wide interest in so-called polymer solar cells. “Our new PSCs are made from plastic-like materials and are lightweight and flexible,” he said. “More importantly, they can be produced in high volume at low cost.”

Polymer solar cells have attracted great attention due to their advantages over competing solar cell technologies. Scientists have also been intensely investigating PSCs for their potential in making unique advances for broader applications. Several such applications would be enabled by high-performance visibly transparent photovoltaic (PV) devices, including building-integrated photovoltaics and integrated PV chargers for portable electronics.

Previously, many attempts have been made toward demonstrating visibly transparent or semitransparent PSCs. However, these demonstrations often result in low visible light transparency and/or low device efficiency because suitable polymeric PV materials and efficient transparent conductors were not well deployed in device design and fabrication.

A team of UCLA researchers from the California NanoSystems Institute, the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science and UCLA’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry have demonstrated high-performance, solution-processed, visibly transparent polymer solar cells through the incorporation of near-infrared light-sensitive polymer and using silver nanowire composite films as the top transparent electrode. The near-infrared photoactive polymer absorbs more near-infrared light but is less sensitive to visible light, balancing solar cell performance and transparency in the visible wavelength region.

Another breakthrough is the transparent conductor made of a mixture of silver nanowire and titanium dioxide nanoparticles, which was able to replace the opaque metal electrode used in the past. This composite electrode also allows the solar cells to be fabricated economically by solution processing. With this combination, 4% power-conversion efficiency for solution-processed and visibly transparent polymer solar cells has been achieved. —ACS Nano

Govt mulls over rice export

Daily Sun, 30 July 2012

Finance Minister AMA Muhith Sunday said the government is planning to export rice to boost the price of the staple food for ensuring fair price to the growers.

The export list includes normal rice along with aromatic variety.

The government took the decision as Bangladesh now turned into a ‘rice-surplus’ country and the prices of rice were on the decline, Muhith told journalists after an inter-ministerial meeting held at his secretariat office.

The finance minister said, “The farmers are deprived of fair price as the market price of rice is lesser than production cost.”

The market price of rice is Tk 25 while the production cost stands at Tk 26.50, he pointed out to justify the government move for rice export.

He said the government is pondering over allowing the export of aromatic rice throughout the year instead of a particular period of the year.

The minister said the government had 1.3 million tonnes of food in stock and was collecting another 500,000 tonnes.

He said a decision on export of both aromatic and normal rice would take around six months and will be finalised by the Food Planning and Monitoring Committee (FPMC).

He assured that the planned export would not affect prices on the local market.

When asked whether price of rice sold under OMS will be reduced, Muhith said there were plans to cut OMS rice price which, he said, would be finalised by the FPMC.

Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury, Commerce Minister GM Quader, Food and Disaster Management Minister Abdur Razzaque, and Health Minister Dr AFM Ruhal Haque, among others, were present at the meeting.

BD Finance to raise paid-up capital

Daily Sun, 30 July 2012

The board of directors of BD Finance has decided to raise the paid-up capital of the company by issuing rights shares among existing shareholders.

The company will offer rights shares at a ratio 1: 1, meaning one rights share for holding share of Tk 10 each at an issue price of Tk 25 per share, including a premium of Tk 15 each.

The proposed rights shares issue is subjected to approval of shareholders, SEC and regulatory authorities.

Tk 125b subsidy needed if power tariff not hiked

Daily Sun, 30 July 2012

Power Division has sought Tk 125 billion as subsidy from the current month to make up the financial losses it has been incurring for selling power at a price lower than the production cost.

“If the tariff is not increased from July 2012, budgetary support of Tk 125 billion will be required to recoup the loss,” Power Division Secretary Md Abul Kalam Azad informed the Finance Division during a meeting at Bangladesh Secretariat last week.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith, Prime Minister’s Economic Affairs Adviser Moshiur Rahman and State Minister for Power and Energy Muhammed Enamul Huq were also present at meeting.

The power secretary informed the meeting that the budgetary support requirement would be around Tk 37 billion if power tariff is hiked by 50 percent of the amount proposed by Bangladesh Power Development (BPDB).

The Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) earlier placed a proposal before Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) to increase bulk tariff of power by Tk 2.01 per unit to Tk 6.03 from existing Tk 4.02.

“In case of 35 percent increase in power tariff from July 2012, the requirement will be around Tk 64 billion,” Abul Kalam Azad told the meeting.

Electricity production cost currently stands at around Tk 6.87 per unit against a bulk tariff of Tk 4.02, Azad said, adding “The Tk 2.85-gap needs to be mitigated by tariff increase and budgetary support,”

During the meeting, the power secretary also said the average power purchase rate from rental plants hovers between Tk 15 and 18 per unit.

He informed the meeting that the prices of diesel and furnace oil have jumped to Tk 61 and 60 per litre respectively in February this year, up from Tk 42.71 and Tk 26 per litre respectively in March 2009.

“Besides, gas and coal prices currently stand at Tk 79.82 per 1000 cubic feet and $105 per tonne, up from Tk 73 per 1000 cubic feet and $71.5 per tonne in 2009,” he added.

Earlier on July 16, The BERC arranged a public hearing on the PDB’s proposal to increase power tariff by 50 percent at wholesale level.

During the hearing, consumers’ rights groups opposed the proposal to raise bulk power tariffs and suggested forming a committee to level the electricity price using the subsidy to the sector.

However, BERC was supposed to announce the power tariff hike on July 26. But the announcement did not take place as the PDB’s proposal was said to be failed to provide accurate data on power production costs.

Meanwhile, power customers across the country expressed their resentment over double power tariff due to the withdrawal of slabs facilities in paying bills.

BB cautions banks against fake notes ahead of Eid

The Daily Star, 30 July 2012

Bangladesh Bank (BB) has asked its branch offices and all commercial banks to be cautious against fake notes, especially ahead of Eid.

The central bank has also sought cooperation from the law enforcement agencies in this regard. Besides, fake-note resistance committees comprising representatives from banks, police and local administration have been asked to remain alert at district level.

The central bank fears that forgers will try to release fake notes ahead of Eid as cash transactions increase significantly.

“The commercial banks have been cautioned to thwart the entry of fake notes in the banking system,” Ashim Kumar Dasgupta, BB executive director, said yesterday.

The banks have been instructed to ensure the use of modern fake-note detecting machine at all their branches. “We want to eliminate fake notes from the market completely. The fake note resistance committees have been made more active,” he added.

According to the BB, the central bank releases a huge amount of new notes of different denomination against torn or soiled notes or as per demand, especially ahead of Eid every year. Forgers try to take advantage of the situation and slip fake notes into the system.

Govt to set up 483 ‘Palli’ banks

The Daily Star, 30 July 2012

The government has a plan to set up 483 Palli (rural) banks across the country as part of its ‘Ekti Bari, Ekti Khamar’ (One Farm, One Homestead) project.

This was disclosed at the first meeting of the steering committee of the ‘Ekti Bari, Ekti Khamar’ (One Farm, One Homestead) project held with State Minister for LGRD and Cooperatives Jahangir Kabir Nanok in the chair on Monday.

The meeting was told that an initiative is underway to set up 483

Palli banks across the country — one in each upazila — to facilitate the transaction of the beneficiaries of ‘Ekti Bari, Ekti Khamar’ and thus cut the poverty rate by half by 2015.

Secretary of the Rural Development and Cooperatives Division Dr Mihir Kanti Majumder and members of the steering committee were present at the meeting.

JS body for banning fish export

The Daily Star, 30 July 2012

Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce Ministry ABM Abul Qashem on Monday said they will recommend the commerce ministry to halt exporting fishes during Ramadan to ensure its sufficient supply in the market.

“We’ll suggest the ministry today to stop fish export… hope the fish export will stop,” he told reporters after visiting two kitchen markets in the city.

On Sunday, the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) urged the government to halt the export of fish during the holy month of Ramadan.

It said the monitoring cell of the FBCCI found that the prices of all kinds of fish have shot up with the start of Ramadan due to short supply.

Abul Qashem has expressed satisfaction over the market situation after visiting the Karwan Bazar kitchen market.

The JS body chief talked to the buyers and sellers regarding the prices of fishes, edible oil, rice and other commodities. “I’m very happy to hear that the prices of essentials remain at tolerable level though the prices were higher on the eve of Ramadan,” he said.

The monitoring team also visited the Mohammadpur kitchen market at noon Monday.

On the eve of Ramadan, consumers started feeling the pinch of soaring prices of essentials, especially edible oil, onion, gram and lentils.

Senior officials of the commerce ministry, FBCCI director M Helal Uddin, magistrates and police personnel were also present during the visit.