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Online Internet Business(e-commerce)

Online Business


Figure: E-commerce


The global business is integrating with the online systems. They operate business activities from their online system and servers. Large number of activities can be performed through their online servers. Google, Amazon, EBay, Alibaba are the huge range online business companies. They are based on the online activities. Now , the Alibaba group of company is contributing new concept through the participation of small business. Now the Alibaba has the largest customers in the world. The Alibaba's concept is creating ecology in the business environment. They sell almost all things which is accepted by legal authorities.

Electronic commerce, commonly written as e-commerce, is the trading or facilitation of trading in products or services using computer networks, such as the Internet. Electronic commerce draws on technologies such as mobile commerce, electronic funds transfer, supply chain management, Internet marketing, online transaction processing, electronic data interchange (EDI), inventory management systems, and automated data collection systems. Modern electronic commerce typically uses the World Wide Web for at least one part of the transaction's life cycle, although it may also use other technologies such as e-mail.


How e-commerce operate their activities

Online shopping web sites for retail sales direct to consumers

Providing or participating in online marketplaces, which process third-party business-to-consumer or consumer-to-consumer sales

Business-to-business buying and selling

Gathering and using demographic data through web contacts and social media

Business-to-business electronic data interchange

Marketing to prospective and established customers by e-mail or fax (for example, with newsletters)

Engaging in pretail for launching new products and services employ some or all of the following:
Online shopping web sites for retail sales direct to consumers

Providing or participating in online marketplaces, which process third-party business-to-consumer or consumer-to-consumer sales

Business-to-business buying and selling

Gathering and using demographic data through web contacts and social media

Business-to-business electronic data interchange

Marketing to prospective and established customers by e-mail or fax (for example, with newsletters)

Engaging in pretail for launching new products and services

Online advertising, also called online marketing or Internet advertising or web advertising, is a form of marketing and advertising which uses the Internet to deliver promotional marketing messages to consumers. It includes email marketing, search engine marketing (SEM), social media marketing, many types of display advertising (including web banner advertising), and mobile advertising. Like other advertising media, online advertising frequently involves both a publisher, who integrates advertisements into its online content, and an advertiser, who provides the advertisements to be displayed on the publisher's content. Other potential participants include advertising agencies who help generate and place the ad copy, an ad server which technologically delivers the ad and tracks statistics, and advertising affiliates who do independent promotional work for the advertiser

Types of Ecommerce

Business to Business Ecommerce (B2B Ecommerce)

In this type of ecommerce, both participants are businesses. As a result, the volume and value of B2B ecommerce can be huge. An example of business to business ecommerce could be a manufacturer of gadgets sourcing components online.
Business to Consumer Ecommerce (B2C Ecommerce)

When we hear the term ecommerce, most people think of B2C ecommerce. That is why a name like Amazon.com pops up in most discussions about ecommerce. Elimination of the need for physical stores is the biggest rationale for business to consumer ecommerce. But the complexity and cost of logistics can be a barrier to B2C ecommerce growth.
Consumer to Business Ecommerce (C2B Ecommerce)

On the face of it, C2B ecommerce seems lop-sided. But online commerce has empowered consumers to originate requirements that businesses fulfil. An example of this could be a job board where a consumer places her requirements and multiple companies bid for winning the project. Another example would be a consumer posting his requirements of a holiday package, and various tour operators making offers.
Consumer to Consumer Ecommerce (C2C Ecommerce)

The moment you think of C2C ecommerce eBay.com comes to mind. That is because it is the most popular platform that enables consumers to sell to other consumers. Since eBay.com is a business, this form of ecommerce could also be called C2B2C ecommerce (consumer to business to consumer ecommerce).

That is not all. Employees can be regarded as a special type of consumer. That would give rise to a new type of ecommerce: B2E (Business to Employee ecommerce).

Likewise if we consider Government to be separate entity, as also Citizens, we can come up with many more types of ecommerce: B2G (Business to Government), G2B (Government to Business), G2E (Government to Employee), G2G (Government to Government), G2C (Government to Citizen), C2G (Citizen to Government).

Some big e-commerce companies


1.Google

Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. Our company has packed a lot into a relatively young life. Since Google was founded in 1998, we’ve grown to serve millions of people around the world. Founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin met at Stanford University in 1995. By 1996, they had built a search engine (initially called BackRub) that used links to determine the importance of individual webpages.
Larry and Sergey named the search engine they built “Google,” a play on the word “googol,” the mathematical term for a 1 followed by 100 zeros. Google Inc. was born in 1998, when Sun co-founder Andy Bechtolsheim wrote a check for $100,000 to that entity—which until then didn’t exist.
In 2000, we introduced AdWords, a self-service program for creating online ad campaigns. Today our advertising solutions, which include display, mobile and video ads as well as the simple text ads we introduced more than a decade ago, help thousands of businesses grow and be successful


The first “Google doodle” in 1998 was intended to let visitors to the homepage know that Google’s minders were offline at the Burning Man Festival in Nevada. There’s now a team of “doodlers” and we’ve posted more than 2,000 different doodles on homepages worldwide.
We acquired digital mapping company Keyhole in 2004, and launched Google Maps and Google Earth in 2005. Today Maps also features live traffic, transit directions and street-level imagery, and Earth lets you explore the ocean and the moon.
On April Fools' Day in 2004, we launched Gmail. Our approach to email included features like speedy search, huge amounts of storage and threaded messages.
In 2006, we acquired online video sharing site YouTube. Today 60 hours of video are uploaded to the site every minute. Cat videos, citizen journalism, political candidacy and double rainbows have never been the same.
Amidst rumors of a “Gphone,” we announced Android—an open platform for mobile devices—and the Open Handset Alliance, in 2007.

Word got out about Google Chrome a day ahead of schedule when a comic book introducing our new open source browser was shipped earlier than planned. We officially launched on September 2, 2008.

Larry Page, Google’s original CEO until 2001, took up the title again in April 2011. Eric Schmidt, now our executive chairman, served in the role for 10 years

Source: www.google.com


2. Alibaba group of Company


Alibaba Group’s mission is to make it easy to do business anywhere.

We operate leading online and mobile marketplaces in retail and wholesale trade, as well as cloud computing and other services. They provide technology and services to enable consumers, merchants, and other participants to conduct commerce in our ecosystem.

Vision

They aim to build the future infrastructure of commerce. They envision that our customers will meet, work and live at Alibaba, and that we will be a company that lasts at least 102 years.

Alibaba Group was founded in 1999 by 18 people led by Jack Ma, a former English teacher from Hangzhou, China. Our founders started our company to champion small businesses, in the belief that the Internet would level the playing field by enabling small enterprises to leverage innovation and technology to grow and compete more effectively in the domestic and global economies.


Meet @ Alibaba

We enable millions of commercial and social interactions among our users, between consumers and merchants, and among businesses every day.

Work @ Alibaba

We empower our customers with the fundamental infrastructure for commerce and data technology, so that they can build businesses and create value that can be shared among our ecosystem participants.

Live @ Alibaba

We strive to expand our products and services to become central to the everyday lives of our customers.

102 Years

For a company that was founded in 1999, lasting at least 102 years means we will have spanned three centuries, an achievement that few companies can claim. Our culture, business models and systems are built to last, so that we can achieve sustainability in the long run.

source: alibaba.com

3. Amazon

Amazon Fulfillment Network

We're extremely proud of our U.S. fulfillment network, which includes more than 50 fulfillment centers, over 15 sortation centers, and more than 50,000 full-time Amazon employees. All our fulfillment centers feature cutting-edge technology, and we recently unveiled our eighth generation fulfillment centers, which use Amazon robotics, vision systems and almost 20 years' worth of software and mechanical innovations. We've also recently created thousands of full-time jobs across our fulfillment centers—and we're still hiring.

Fulfillment Center Pay

Median pay inside our fulfillment centers is 30 percent higher than that of employees in traditional retail stores. And, in addition to highly competitive wages, we offer comprehensive benefits starting on day one, bonuses and stock awards.
As a way of finding high-quality permanent employees and to manage variation in customer demand, we also employ seasonal associates. On average, seasonal associates earn 95 percent of Amazon permanent starting wages. During the holidays, seasonal associates play a critical role in helping meet increased demand from customers. In 2013, we hired more than 20,000 employees into full-time jobs at our U.S. fulfillment centers and more than half of them started as seasonal employees.

Career Choice Program

We also offer our employees innovative programs like Career Choice, where we pre-pay up to 95 percent of tuition for courses related to in-demand fields, regardless of whether the skills are relevant to a career at Amazon. Since the program's launch, employees are pursuing degrees in game design and visual communications, nursing, IT programming and radiology, to name a few. Top chosen fields of study for Amazon employees are computer and information technology, health and sciences, and


Kaizen & Defect Reduction



We continuously work to streamline our processes and eliminate defects. Doing so drives a better customer experience, including faster delivery and lower costs that enable us to lower prices for customers. We use many systematic methods to make work processes easier and more efficient, including the "Kaizen" program, named for the Japanese term meaning "change for the better."

Through the Kaizen program, employees participate in small teams to identify waste and streamline processes. In 2014, more than 2,300 associates participated in 725 Kaizen activities. For example, a team at Amazon's Las Vegas, Nevada fulfillment center streamlined the customer returns process improving productivity 34 percent, eliminating excess walking distance by 128,000 ft. per day, and reducing work in process by 46 percent.

We strive for continuous improvement, and we understand that our progress depends on good execution and good judgment from thousands of employees. Together, we're working hard to make sure that we are better tomorrow than we are today.



In December 2014, Amazon unveiled its eighth generation fulfillment centers, which include robotics, vision systems and almost 20 years' worth of software and mechanical innovations to fulfill our customers' orders.

The technology in our eighth generation FCs include:

  • More than 15,000 material-handling robots that automatically bring customer orders to our employees to pack and ship;
  • Robo-Stow, one of Earth's largest robotic arms moving large quantities of inventory for customer order fulfillment;
  • New vision systems enabling the unloading and receipt of an entire trailer of inventory in as little as 30 minutes instead of hours; and
  • New, high-end graphically-oriented computer systems for employees to use while


source: amazon.com



3. EBay


For 20 years, we've been working to create more economic opportunity for everyone. And we're just getting started.

Whether you are buying new or used, plain or luxurious, commonplace or rare, trendy or one-of-a-kind – if it exists in the world, it probably is for sale on eBay. Our mission is to be the world’s favorite destination for discovering great value and unique selection.
We give sellers the platform, solutions, and support they need to grow their businesses and thrive. We measure our success by our customers' success.
After spending Labor Day weekend at home writing code on his personal computer, eBay founder Pierre Omidyar launches Auction Web, a site "dedicated to bringing together buyers and sellers in an honest and open marketplace.

Canadian Mark Fraser purchased the first item that eBay founder Pierre Omidyar listed on the site in 1995 -- a broken laser pointer.A story is circulated that Pierre created eBay to help his wife collect Pez candy dispensers. Later, it’s revealed that the story was a fabricated one.
Pierre hires employee #1, Chris Agarpao, to help coordinate the fast-growing company’s online operations. Twenty years later, Chris is still an eBay employee.

The total value of merchandise sold on AuctionWeb reaches $7.2 million.Pierre quits his day job to devote himself fulltime to his innovative auction website and brings Jeff Skoll on board as President.
Pierre and Jeff rent a small suite (250) at 1025 Hamilton Avenue in San Jose, CA, in what’s now known as Building 6 (Music) on the current eBay campus.We introduce Feedback Forum, allowing our members to rate their transactions and create a virtual community of openness and confidence.We sell our millionth item! A Big Bird jack-in-the-box toy from PBS’ Sesame Street.


Since our founding, we've understood our opportunity to drive both strong business performance and positive social and environmental change. We continue to challenge ourselves to innovate, build great partnerships, and apply the full breadth of our assets toward achieving lasting impact. Our Social Innovation work centers on Powering Giving and Enabling Greener Commerce, as well as creating economic opportunity through our core business and eBay Foundation's strategic grant making.
Throughout the Global Impact section, we outline our current Social Innovation work as well as our efforts to affect industry-shifting policy change through our Government Relations and our Responsible Practices. Historical information on our Social Innovation efforts can be found in the A

Our approach to charitable giving is grounded in what we do best – technology-enabled commerce. We’re building new solutions that take advantage of our unique assets to rally our customers in support of charitable causes. Through our people, technology, and scale, we foster powerful connections, which result in critical support for non-profits around the world. Below is a glimpse of our efforts in 2014.

source: ebay.com

The global trade is now becoming as a part of e-commerce. Online sales, purchase, facilitations directly involves with the customers and suppliers. The networking between the seller and buyer through e-commerce company generates a virtual network of business. The advanced business system software performs various transactions efficiently and effectively with customers. 

Nuclear Energy

Nuclear Energy





Nuclear Plant


Nuclear energy generates from the radioactive elements. Radium, Uranium, Polonium are used in the nuclear plant to produce energy. The radio active elements decay its electron which can convert in the nuclear energy. It causes harmful effects for human body. It travels from solid surfaces penetrating one place to other. So it is risky and complex source of energy. The nuclear plant is generally constructed away  from the human habitat. Developed countries are using nuclear energy but it is so expensive.




Everything around you is made up of tiny objects called atoms. Most of the mass of each atom is concentrated in the center (which is called the nucleus), and the rest of the mass is in the cloud of electrons surrounding the nucleus. Protons and neutrons are subatomic particles that comprise the nucleus.
Under certain circumstances, the nucleus of a very large atom can split in two. In this process, a certain amount of the large atom’s mass is converted to pure energy following Einstein’s famous formula E = MC2, where M is the small amount of mass and C is the speed of light (a very large number). In the 1930s and ’40s, humans discovered this energy and recognized its potential as a weapon. Technology developed in the Manhattan Project successfully used this energy in a chain reaction to create nuclear bombs. Soon after World War II ended, the newfound energy source found a home in the propulsion of the nuclear navy, providing submarines with engines that could run for over a year without refueling. This technology was quickly transferred to the public sector, where commercial power plants were developed and deployed to produce electricity


Nuclear technology uses the energy released by splitting the atoms of certain elements. It was first developed in the 1940s, and during the Second World War to 1945 research initially focussed on producing bombs by splitting the atoms of particular isotopes of either uranium or plutonium.
In the 1950s attention turned to the peaceful purposes of nuclear fission, notably for power generation. Today, the world produces as much electricity from nuclear energy as it did from all sources combined in the early years of nuclear power. Civil nuclear power can now boast over 16,500 reactor years of experience and supplies almost 11.5% of global electricity needs, from reactors in 31 countries. In fact, through regional grids, many more than those countries depend on nuclear-generated power.Many countries have also built research reactors to provide a source of neutron beams for scientific research and the production of medical and industrial isotopes.


Electricity Power form Nuclear plant


Today, only eight countries are known to have a nuclear weapons capability. By contrast, 56 countries operate about 240 civil research reactors, over one third of these in developing countries. Now 31 countries host some 440 commercial nuclear power reactors with a total installed capacity of over 380,000 MWe (see linked table for up to date figures). This is more than three times the total generating capacity of France or Germany from all sources. About 65 further nuclear power reactors are under construction, equivalent to 18% of existing capacity, while over 150 are firmly planned, equivalent to nearly half of present capacity.


In electricity demand, the need for low-cost continuous, reliable supply can be distinguished from peak demand occurring over few hours daily and able to command higher prices. Supply needs to match demand instantly and reliably over time.Sixteen countries depend on nuclear power for at least a quarter of their electricity. France gets around three-quarters of its power from nuclear energy, while Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, Slovenia and Ukraine get one-third or more. South Korea and Bulgaria normally get more than 30% of their power from nuclear energy, while in the USA, UK, Spain, Romania and Russia almost one-fifth is from nuclear. Japan is used to relying on nuclear power for more than one-quarter of its electricity and is expected to return to that level. Among countries which do not host nuclear power plants, Italy and Denmark get almost 10% of theirpower from nuclear.In electricity demand, the need for low-cost continuous, reliable supply can be distinguished from peak demand occurring over few hours daily and able to command higher prices. Supply needs to match demand instantly and reliably over time.






There are number of characteristics of nuclear power which make it particularly valuable apart from its actual generation cost per unit – MWh or kWh. Fuel is a low proportion of power cost, giving power price stability, its fuel is on site (not depending on continuous delivery), it is dispatchable on demand, it has fairly quick ramp-up, it contributes to clean air and low-CO2 objectives, it gives good voltage support for grid stability. These attributes are mostly not monetised in merchant markets, but have great value which is increasingly recognised where dependence on intermittent sources has grown.


Considering 400 power reactors over 150 MWe for which data are available: over 1980 to 2000 world median capacity factor increased from 68% to 86%, and since then it has maintained around 85%. Actual load factors are slightly lower: 80% average in 2012 (excluding Japan), due to reactors being operated below their full capacity for various reasons. One quarter of the world's reactors have load factors of more than 90%, and nearly two thirds do better than 75%, compared with about a quarter of them over 75% in 1990. The USA now dominates the top 25 positions, followed by South Korea, but six other countries are also represented there. Four of the top ten reactors for lifetime load factors are South Korean.
US nuclear power plant performance has shown a steady improvement over the past twenty years, and the average load factor in 2012 was 81%, up from 66% in 1990 and 56% in 1980. US capacity factors have been over 90% in five of the seven years to 2013. This places the USA as the performance leader with nearly half of the top 50 reactors, the 50th achieving more than 94% in 2012. The USA accounts for nearly one third of the world's nuclear electricity.
In 2012, ten countries with four or more units averaged better than 80% load factor, while French reactors averaged 73.6%, despite many being run in load-following mode, rather than purely for base-load power.




Some of these figures suggest near-maximum utilisation, given that most reactors have to shut down every 18-24 months for fuel change and routine maintenance. In the USA this used to take over 100 days on average but in the last decade it has averaged about 40 days. Another performance measure is unplanned capability loss, which in the USA has for the last few years been below 2%.

Why Nuclear Energy??

Low Greenhouse effect

As per the reports in 1998, it has been calculated the emission of the greenhouse gas has reduced for nearly half due to the popularity in the use of nuclear power. Nuclear energy by far has the lowest impact on the environment since it does not releases any gases like carbon dioxide, methane which are largely responsible for greenhouse effect. There is no adverse effect on water, land or any habitats due to the use of it. Though some greenhouse gases are released while transporting fuel or extracting energy from uranium.


High range of electricity 

The other main advantage of using nuclear energy is that it is very powerful and efficient than other alternative energy sources. Advancement in technologies has made it more viable option than others. This is one the reason that many countries are putting huge investments in nuclear power. At present, a small portion of world’s electricity comes through it.

Affordable 

Unlike traditional sources of energy like solar and wind which require sun or wind to produce electricity, nuclear energy can be produced from nuclear power plants even in the cases of rough weather conditions. They can produce power 24/7 and need to be shut down for maintenance purposes only.
Low Cost

 The cost of uranium which is used as a fuel in generating electricity is quite low. Also, set up costs of nuclear power plants is relatively high while running cost is low. The average life of nuclear reactor range from 4.-60 years depending upon its usage. These factors when combined make the cost of producing electricity very low. Even if the cost of uranium rises, the increase in cost of electricity will be much lower.

Low Fuel Cost 

The main reason behind the low fuel cost is that it requires little amount of uranium to produce energy. When a nuclear reaction happens, it releases million times more energy as compared to traditional sources of energy.

Transmission

There are certain economic advantages in setting up nuclear power plants and using nuclear energy in place of conventional energy. It is one of the major sources of electricity throughout the nation. The best part is that this energy has a continuous supply. It is widely available, has huge reserves and expected to last for another 100 years while coal, oil and natural gas are limited and are expected to vanish soon.

Easy Transportation

Production of nuclear energy needs very less amount of raw material. This means that only about 28 gram of uranium releases as much energy as produced from 100 metric tons of coal. Since it’s required in small quantities, transportation of fuel is much easier than fossil fuels. Optimal utilization of natural resources in production of energy is a very thoughtful approach for any nation. It not only enhances the socio-economic condition but also sets example for the other countries.


The nuclear energy is a source of electricity which can be highly produced continuously. But in the developing countries cant formulate the nuclear plants. The nuclear plants are high cost project and needs experts . Although there are high risk with human health due to the emission of the radio active substances, there are many advantages of the nuclear energy. So the nuclear energy is one of the major source of electricity in the world.





Solar Energy

What  is Solar Energy


Solar Panel




Solar energy is, simply, energy provided by the sun. This energy is in the form of solar radiation, which makes the production of solar electricity possible.Electricity can be produced directly from photovoltaic, PV, cells. (Photovoltaic literally means “light” and “electric.”) These cells are made from materials which exhibit the “photovoltaic effect” i.e. when sunshine hits the PV cell, the photons of light excite the electrons in the cell and cause them to flow, generating electricity.Solar energy produces electricity when it is in demand – during the day particularly hot days when air-conditioners drive up electricity demand.In use, solar energy produces no emissions.

One megawatt hour of solar electricity offsets about 0.75 to 1 tonne of CO2.PV panels are being used increasingly, both in the city and in remote locations, to produce electricity for households, schools and communities, and to supply power for equipment such as telecommunication and water pumps. 

The majority of solar PV installations in Australia are grid-connected systems.Solar power is energy from the sun. "Solar" is the Latin word for "sun" and it's a powerful source of energy. Without it, there will be no life. Solar energy is considered as a serious source of energy for many years because of the vast amounts of energy that is made freely available, if harnessed by modern technology. 
Also, electricity for remote and regional Australian communities has been supplied by solar energy for many years.

Australia is one of the sunniest countries in the world and there is huge potential for solar PV to make a significant contribution to electricity generation.
Solar energy is not only sustainable, it is renewable and this means that we will never run out of it. It is about as natural a source of power as it is possible to generate electricity.

The creation of solar energy requires little maintenance. Once the solar panels have been installed and are working at maximum efficiency there is only a small amount of maintenance required each year to ensure they are in working order.
They are a silent producer of energy. There is absolutely no noise made from photovoltaic panels as they convert sunlight into usable electricity.
There are continual advancements in solar panel technology which are increasing the efficiency and lowering the cost of production, thus making it even more cost effective.

Factors of Solar Energy

Solar cells

Solar cells are devices that convert light energy directly into electrical energy. In these cells, there are semiconductors (silicon alloys and other materials). You may have seen small solar cells on calculators or some mobile phones. Larger arrays of solar cells are used to power road signs, and even larger arrays are used to power satellites in orbit around Earth. Solar cells are also called photovoltaic cells or PV devices.

Solar panels

Solar panels are different to solar cells. Solar panels do not generate electricity directly. Instead they heat up water directly. A pump pushes cold water from a storage tank through pipes in the solar panel. The water is heated by heat energy from the Sun and returns to the tank. They are often located on the roofs of buildings where they can receive the most sunlight.

Why Solar Energy


While a majority of the world's current electricity supply is generated from fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas, these traditional energy sources face a number of challenges including rising prices, security concerns over dependence on imports from a limited number of countries which have significant fossil fuel supplies, and growing environmental concerns over the climate change risks associated with power generation using fossil fuels. As a result of these and other challenges facing traditional energy sources, governments, businesses and consumers are increasingly supporting the development of alternative energy sources and new technologies for electricity generation. Renewable energy sources such as solar, biomass, geothermal, hydroelectric and windpower generation have emerged as potential alternatives which address some of these concerns. As opposed to fossil fuels, which draw on finite resources that may eventually become too expensive to retrieve, renewable energy sources are generally unlimited in availability.
Solar power generation has emerged as one of the most rapidly growing renewable sources of electricity. Solar power generation has several advantages over other forms of electricity generation.

Solar energy production does not require fossil fuels and is therefore less dependent on this limited and expensive natural resource. Although there is variability in the amount and timing of sunlight over the day, season and year, a properly sized and configured system can be designed to be highly reliable while providing long-term, fixed price electricity supply.

 Solar power production generates electricity with a limited impact on the environment as compared to other forms of electricity production.Solar energy can effectively supplement electricity supply from an electricity transmission grid, such as when electricity demand peaks in the summer.As the size and generating capacity of a solar system are a function of the number of solar modules installed, applications of solar technology are readily scalable and versatile.Solar power production facilities can be installed at the customer site which reduces required investments in production and transportation infrastructure.


A growing number of countries have established incentive programs for the development of solar and other renewable energy sources, such as (i) net metering laws that allow on-grid end users to sell electricity back to the grid at retail prices, (ii) direct subsidies to end users to offset costs of photo voltaic equipment and installation charges, (iii) low interest loans for financing solar power systems and tax incentives; and (iv) government standards that mandate minimum usage levels of renewable energy sources.
Despite the cost, an advantage of photovoltaic systems is that they can be used in remote areas. Anywhere a diesel generator is the technology of choice, many times a photovoltaic system is a much better life-cycle cost option.

Stand-alone photovoltaic systems produce power independently of the utility grid. In some off-the-grid locations even one half kilometer from power lines, stand-alone photovoltaic systems can be more cost-effective than extending power lines. They are especially appropriate for remote, environmentally sensitive areas, such as national parks, cabins, and remote homes.

The solar power market has grown significantly in the past decade. According to Solarbuzz, the global solar power market, as measured by annual solar power system installations, increased from 427 MW in 2002 to 1,744 MW in 2006, representing a CAGR of 42.2%, while solar power industry revenues grew to approximately US$10.6 billion in 2006. Despite the rapid growth, solar energy constitutes only a small fraction of the world's energy output and therefore may have significant growth potential. Solarbuzz projects in one of its forecasts that annual solar power industry revenue could reach US$31.5 billion by 2011.


With a renewable energy source like solar, you only have to draw electricity from the grid when you need it. And since you’re only paying for what you use from the grid, you'll save on your electricity bill. Plus you'll generate power for years to come, sometimes, even decades.When your system generates more electricity than you need to use, that additional power is fed back into the grid. By doing this, you might even be eligible for a feed-in tariff.Renewable energy sources like solar can reduce your home's greenhouse gas emissions, which is a great help to the environment.Make the most of government incentives, which can help you save upfront on a solar panel system.

Manufacturers of  Solar energy devices



Sponsor CompaniesRegionNo. StaffProduction (MW)
2015/2014
Panel Technology
 JS Solar  China300Monocrystalline, Polycrystalline, Other
 Risen Energy  China3,200Monocrystalline, Polycrystalline
 Jiangsu Runda PV  China550150Monocrystalline, Polycrystalline, Roof Tiles and Shingles
 ECO PV  China3000500Monocrystalline, Polycrystalline, Transparent Solar Cell
 Dokio  ChinaMonocrystalline, Polycrystalline
 Luxen Solar Energy  China180Monocrystalline, Polycrystalline
 Chinaland  China500Monocrystalline, Polycrystalline
 Suncome Solar  China1,200Monocrystalline, Polycrystalline
 TN Solar  China2000Monocrystalline, Polycrystalline, Crystalline
 Resun Solar  China200Monocrystalline, Polycrystalline
 Anhui Daheng Energy Technology  China150Monocrystalline, Polycrystalline
 Jetion Solar (China)  China3,200Monocrystalline, Polycrystalline, CIGS
 Changzhou GS Energy and Tech  ChinaMonocrystalline, Polycrystalline
 Shine Solar  China400300Monocrystalline, Polycrystalline
 Infinity New Energy  China200Monocrystalline, Polycrystalline
 Tamesol  Spain120Monocrystalline, Polycrystalline
 CSG PVTech  China1,000800Monocrystalline, Polycrystalline
 SUNBEsolar  China108Monocrystalline, Polycrystalline
 AE SOLAR  GermanyMonocrystalline, Polycrystalline
 Ulica Solar  China500Monocrystalline, Polycrystalline, Crystalline
 Tripple Z  GermanyPolycrystalline, Monocrystalline
source; enfsolar.com


Solar equipment makers are gearing up to expand production again after many of them had to idle production lines or close factories. So who are the top 10 solar panel makers these days?
IHS released its ranking today that put Trina Solar as the top shipper of solar panels in 2014, followed by Yingli Green Energy. Both companies are based in China, which has dominated the solar equipment manufacturing business for many years now.
In fact, six of the 10 manufacturers ranked by IHS are Chinese (if you count Canadian Solar CSIQ +5.98% which, though based in Canada, has its manufacturing base in China). The two biggest American solar panel makers, First Solar FSLR +1.44% and SunPower SPWR +1.19%, also made the list.
The ranking reflected shipment figures, including estimates for the fourth quarter of this year. IHS noted that it didn’t count panels produced by these companies that are used internally for building solar power projects, from rooftop installations to big solar farms.

Top solar energy manufactures   (source: forbes.com)

1. Trina Solar
2. Yingli Green Energy
3. Canadian Solar
4. Jinko Solar
5. JA Solar
6. Sharp Solar
7. Renesola
8. First Solar
9. Hanwha SolarOne
10. SunPower and Kyocera

The companies on the list really haven’t changed in the past four years even though the solar manufacturing industry suffered through a downturn caused by an oversupply of solar panels. That glut prompted large companies to cut production or shelve factory building plans and forced smaller manufacturers to file for bankruptcy.