Solar Technology and Policy Around The World

My Undergraduate Years Come to a Close

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On Monday, March 12, 2012, I defended my ASU Barrett Honors College Senior Thesis, a research report based upon the findings of my summer 2011 circumnavigation of the globe in which I studied the development and deployment of solar energy technology and its relationships to differing national energy policies and levels of economic development. The report is entitled "Solar Energy Technologies: a Comparative Study of Commercial Applications and Government Policies" and is available for download here: http://www.mediafire.com/?ktsvwr98z66yuyp The presentation based upon this report which I put together for my thesis defense contains additional information about the state of PV-related policy in the United States and is available for download here: http://www.mediafire.com/view/?uitdjfqqwfl6cy2 A condensed, poster-formatted version of this information which I presented at the ASU/UoA Student Renewable Energy Science Conference on April 19th and 20th of 2012 can be downloaded here: http://www.mediafire.com/?2a6z8fasc7ca6sz A paper based upon my research findings in Bangladesh has been accepted for publication and poster presentation at the 38th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference in Austin, TX this summer and I look forward to posting it after the completion of the conference.

On Tuesday, March 27, 2012, I learned that I had been selected as the recipient of the 2012 US Fulbright Climate Change and Clean Energy Scholarship. With this scholarship, I intend to study and conduct photovoltaic research in Australia at the University of New South Wales School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering during the 2013 Australian academic year. There is no doubt in my mind that the learning experiences which I had and the professional connection which I made as a Circumnavigators Club Foundation Scholar were integral to the success that I have had in my Fulbright application. Once again, I would like to extend my gratitude to the Circumnavigators Club for enabling my summer of travel and research, and providing me the opportunities which are shaping my academic and career path.

Back at Home

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On Wednesday, August 10th, I boarded a plane in Melbourne, Australia bound for Los Angeles, California. My research travels had come to an end and my circumnavigation of the globe was nearly complete. After the 15 hour flight to LA and an extended 10 hour layover in LA due to canceled connection flights, I took my final plane ride of the summer and traveled from LA back to Phoenix, Arizona, where my circumnavigation journey had begun three months ago.

Sitting at my computer in my newly setup apartment, I reflect on the experiences that I have had this summer in awe. All the places that I have visited, all the people that I have met and all of the adventures that I have undertaken have changed me. My perspective have been broadened, my knowledge has been deepened and my ability to solve problems has been exercised and enhanced. My mind is swimming with all that I have learned about the global solar energy technology industry during my travels, and I look forward to compiling this information into my research paper in the coming months.

I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to the Circumnavigators Club and its member for making this unforgettable and life changing summer trip possible for me. Thank you so very much. I look forward to my continued involvement with the Circumnavigators Club and to the further travels that I am sure my future will hold. Although one might think that my wanderlust would have been satiated by the travels of this summer, I have found just the opposite to be the case. My travels have only intensified my desire to explore the many different areas of this globe, meeting people and engaging in the never-ending quest for greater understanding.

In Australia,

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I visited Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne. In Sydney, I enjoyed a tour of the University of New South Wales School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering and a meeting with its director, Dr. Richard Corkish. I desired to visit the University of New South Wales because it is a world renowned institution in the field of solar energy technology, having offered the first specialized degree in that area and having set a number of world records with its technology. My time there was very informative and provided insight into the history and current state of solar energy technology research in Australia. Additionally, in Sydney, I took time to explore the famous architecture, coastline and wildlife of the area, visiting such places as the Sydney Opera House, Bondi Beach and Featherdale Wildlife Park.

In Canberra, I visited the Australian National University Solar Energy Research group and met with its director, Dr. Andrew Blakers. Additionally, to learn a little bit about Australian history and culture, I visited the Australian War Memorial, the National Film and Sound Archive, and the Canberra Museum and Gallery. The honorary installations and informative exhibition of the Australian War Memorial were particularly moving.

Finally, in Melbourne, I enjoyed a few days of beach walks and city excursions with travelers from the United Kingdom, Ireland, France and Sweden before packing up my things for the last time in order to fly back home. The evening before I was to leave, the hostel I was staying at hosted an Open Mic Night. Having seen me carrying around my trumpet case, the staff asked if I would be interested in opening up the event with a song. Plugging my iPhone into the speaker system and turning on the rhythm section accompaniment, I hopped up on stage and performed Clifford Brown's composition "Joy Spring", a jazz standard off of the 1955 album Clifford Brown and Max Roach. The many assembled travelers and hostel staff seemed to enjoy the performance very much. I was honored to be given the opportunity to finish off my travels and start off their evening with a performance of one of my favorite pieces.

After my visit to Japan,

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I took a few day stopover in New Zealand before continuing on to Australia. Having been traveling in the northern hemisphere for the past two and a half months, I was not prepared for my crossing of the equator. Whereas a t-shirt or polo had been perfectly comfortable attire in Spain, Germany, Qatar, India, Bangladesh and Japan, that was not the case in New Zealand. My first question upon arriving at my hostel was regarding where I could find a store at which to buy warmer clothing. Fortunately, Auckland's central business district was only a short bus ride away from the hostel and within a few hours of my arrival in the country, I was the proud new owner of a New Zealand sweatshirt. Following an afternoon of shopping in Auckland, I enjoyed a meal of steamed green-lipped New Zealand mussels.

The next day, I hiked up Mount Eden, an extinct volcano that was only a five minute walk from the hostel at which I was staying. Mount Eden is the highest natural point in Auckland and the peak at the top of its volcanic cone affords a beautiful view of the city and surrounding water.

On my last full day in New Zealand, I took a ferry ride from Auckland out to Rangitoto island. Rangitoto is a volcanic island a few kilometers off the coast of New Zealand's North Island which was formed through a series of eruptions beginning approximately six to seven hundred years ago. Rangitoto was covered in a variety of foliage which sometimes seemed to grow magically out of barren fields of volcanic rock. The island was home to a plethora of avian wildlife and featured a number of lava caves. At the top of the island, there was a spectacular view of the surrounding ocean and some other islands near to the coast of New Zealand's North Island.

The hostel proved to be a wonderful place to meet other world travelers and I greatly enjoyed the chance to talk to backpackers from Germany, China, Canada and the United States about their time in and motivations for coming to New Zealand before I continued on my way to Sydney, Australia.

My visit to Japan

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was facilitated by Mrs. Akiko Imaizumi and Mr. Tetsuo Takehara, International Coordinators at the University of Tokyo to whom I had been introduced by Dr. Ryuji Oshima. Dr. Oshima was previously a visiting researcher from the University of Tokyo at Arizona State University and was kind enough to meet with me many months ago in order to discuss my desire to visit Japan as I began planning my circumnavigation itinerary. Mrs. Imaizumi and Mr. Takehara arranged accommodations at a University of Tokyo lodge for international research students and set up two weeks full of solar energy technology related meetings and Japanese cultural experiences for me. I cannot thank them enough for the time and energy which they put into making my stay in Japan such an exceptional experience.

On my first full day in Japan, I explored the Hongo campus of the University of Tokyo and walked about a beautiful koi pond in the center of campus.

After this enjoyable experience, I attended The Global Solar+ Initiative, a day-long seminar in which Japanese solar industry stakeholders addressed the question “Is It Feasible to Build Civilization Based on Solar Power as The Main Source of Energy?”. Such individuals as Mikio Katayama, the President of Sharp Corporation, and Koichi Kawana, President of JGC Corporation gave presentations at the seminar. During the second day of my visit, I met with Professor Yoshiaki Nakano, Director of the University of Tokyo Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology (RCAST) and its Solar Quest initiative, and Professor Yoshitaka Okada, an expert in the area of quantum dots and intermediate band solar cells. Our multi-faceted discussions were very enlightening and proved to be excellent introductions to solar energy technology research in Japan. The third day of my visit found me on the train with Mr. Takehara to Hokuto, a town approximately 90 miles west of Tokyo where a 1 MW demonstration solar power plant project was jointly organized by the Japanese government body The New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), the Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT) and the city of Hokuto. The plant has proved a successful venue for the comparative evaluation of various types of solar energy technology in Japan and as a research environment in which issues pertaining to the grid connection of a large solar power plant could be studied. Tours of the plant are given regularly and a surprising number of people were there to learn more about the use of solar energy technology. It was a very tangible expression of the popular Japanese interest in renewable energy technologies.

The popular Japanese interest in renewable energy technologies was a common theme to many of the discussions that I had in Japan. Having arrived in Japan only four months after the Tohuko earthquake and tsunami of March 11 which ravaged eastern Japan and initiated the still ongoing Fukushima nuclear reactor crises, the “energy question” was on the everyone’s mind. In fact, during my visit, the prime minister of Japan, Naoto Kan, announced that Japan must reduce its reliance upon nuclear power and move towards the greater utilization of renewable energy technologies. Though this idea has almost unanimous public support, many people that I talked to were unsure of how such a plan would play out. Since many of Japan’s nuclear power plants have been temporarily closed in response to the Fukushima disaster and many fossil fuel plants in northern Japan were damaged by the earthquake and tsunami, Japan continues to face serious power shortages. During my stay, I observed Japanese citizens and organizations working together to reduce power consumption in order to not exceed the reduced power production of the nation. Air conditioners were turned off, elevators and escalators were shut down, laboratories were temporarily closed and factory schedules were rearranged in attempts to avoid the rolling blackouts that would result from exceeding the reduced production capacity.

The day after my visit to the Hokuto solar power plant, I met with Professor Makoto Konagai of the Tokyo Institute of Technology to discuss his work in the area of multijunction thin film solar cells and then traveled to the offices of NEDO in order to talk to Mr. Kohsuke Ohba and Mr. Atsuhiko Kiba about the Japanese government’s funding programs for solar energy technology research. Finally, to conclude my first week in Japan, on Friday, I returned to the University of Tokyo to visit the laboratories of Professor Hiroshi Segawa and the JX Nippon Oil and Energy Corporation, and to discuss the research on organic solar cells that is taking place at RCAST with Associate Professor Takaya Kubo. The contrast in the equipment of the organic solar cell laboratories and the crystalline solar cell laboratories was quite shocking. While they both utilized largely the same cell characterization equipment, the cell fabrication equipment was entirely different. While the crystalline solar cell laboratories contained a variety of expensive crystal growth equipment, the organic solar cell labs contained merely a screen printer, glass substrates and a few flasks of chemicals. Having previously had little experience with organic solar cells, Professor Kubo’s introduction to the area was very informative for me.

Over my first weekend in Japan, I enjoyed many unique Japanese cultural experiences. On Friday night, Mr. Takehara took me out to a delicious tempura dinner. The meal consisted of a number of small portions of lightly fried local vegetables and seafood. Each item was prepared in front of us by the chef and then placed at our table setting. A few of the courses which were particularly unique in my experience were the raw octopus and the eel bone.

Following our dinner, we visited a Japanese jazz club, The Pit Inn, to catch a few sets of originals by local players. Mr. Takehara said that he had been there over thirty years ago and thought that it might be a good place to listen to some Japanese players. He was absolutely right. The concert was fantastic and further highlighted for me the fact that jazz has spread around the globe. It is exciting for me to think that great local players can be found in almost every major metropolitan area in the world. On Saturday, I visited the surroundings of the Imperial Palace in downtown Tokyo and spent hours admiring the area’s gardens and waterways.

Sunday, I explored a number of areas in downtown Tokyo, walking about the Shinjuku, Shibuya and Akihabara districts. Everywhere I looked there were densely packed and brightly lit buildings full of all manner of wares and entertainment. I tried my hand at Pachinko, a unique Japanese game combining elements of pinball and slot machines, and found some old videogame favorites in the arcades. Though people seemed to be having a wonderful time in the many karaoke bars, I did not feel particularly inclined to share my vocal stylings with the other citizens of Tokyo. The final day of my weekend in Japan was on Monday since the third Monday of July is the national Japanese holiday, Marine Day. I took this opportunity to visit the Senso-ji Buddhist temple, the oldest temple in Tokyo. Between the gates leading up to the temple, vendors in small stores decorated with flags and lanterns sold every imaginable type of Japanese snack food and souvenir. At the temple, the many visitors were busily engaged in lighting incense, washing their hands in tsukubai (ceremonial washbasins) and learning about their fortunes at wooden omikuji cabinets. At the omikuji cabinets, one would shake a small hexagonal metal cylinder and then draw from it one of many thin sticks which each had a unique character sequence written upon it. The stick-drawer would then open the drawer of the cabinet upon which the corresponding character sequence was written to receive a piece of paper detailing their fortune. I found it somewhat ironic that when I attempted this, my fortune advised me that I currently had very bad luck and that I should cancel any trips that I had been planning. Needless to say, I did not take this advice.

My second week in Japan consisted of visits to a number of cities outside of Tokyo. On Tuesday, I took the train to Tsukuba, a city northeast of Tokyo which is home to the University of Tsukuba and the National Institute for Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST). In Tsukuba, I met up with Dr. Oshima. Dr. Oshima showed me around the University of Tsukuba (where he had worked upon his undergraduate and graduate degrees) and then took me to visit his new place of employment, AIST. At AIST, Dr. Koji Matsubara, gave me a thorough presentation on the many areas of solar energy technology currently being researched there and I toured the photovoltaic research laboratory facilities before engaging in an educational discussion with Dr. Oshima and his colleague Dr. Takeyoshi Sugaya on their current work in the area of quantum dots and intermediate band materials and solar cells. On Wednesday, I took the Shinkansen (commonly known as "the bullet train") to Nagoya in order to visit Professor Masafumi Yamaguchi and his solar energy technology research laboratory at the Toyota Technological Institute. Following my informative visit with Professor Yamaguchi, I continued on by train to Kyoto. On Thursday, I traveled from Kyoto to Nara in order to visit one of Professor Yamaguchi’s former doctoral students, Dr. Tatsuya Takamoto, who is currently working on multijunction solar cells and concentrated photovoltaics at Sharp. Dr. Takamoto gave me a presentation regarding Sharps solar energy technology business activities and had a number of interesting things to say regarding the relationship between academic and industrial work in the area of solar energy technology in Japan, and regarding the international solar energy technology marketplace. Following my morning visit with Dr. Takamoto, I took the afternoon to visit some of the historic temples in Nara, an ancient Japanese city that was the capital of the country between 710 and 784 AD. Historically, the deer surrounding the temples of Nara were considered sacred and today, they are a protected species which roam free and tame around the town. Herds of deer could be found grazing on the grass in front of office buildings, walking across the streets when the crosswalk sign turned green, and approaching temple visitors for a snack or a pat on the head.

On Friday, I walked around Kyoto, taking in the sights and sounds of more ancient temples before returning to Tokyo to pack my things and ready myself for my departure to New Zealand on Saturday.

Visiting Bangladesh

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was an experience unlike any that I have previously had.

In Dhaka, I stayed with Jeremy Wendte and two other American Fulbright Fellows, Sloan Kulper and Holly Battelle. Jeremy was a fellow student research assistant at the Arizona State University Solar Power Laboratory until he graduated last December and left the United States to begin his study of solar energy technology usage in Bangladesh. Without the help of these knowledgeable three, I would have been lost in the dirty, wet and overcrowded cityscape in which I found myself.

Never had I been so grateful for the basic infrastructure which I enjoy in the United States as I was during my stay in Bangladesh. Trash piles lay in smelly heaps on the side of the street. Poorly managed, continually honking traffic congested roads at all hours of the day and night. Electrical and telecommunications wiring was strung up haphazardly in a tangled and indecipherable mess. Power to entire neighborhoods of the city was shut off for hours at a time in order to compensate for insufficient production.

And more shocking than all of these somewhat superficial urban unpleasantries was the fact that 100 million Bangladeshi citizens do not even have inconsistent power to complain about. They have no electrical grid connection at all.

This unfortunate situation has created a very large market need which a number of organizations are attempting to meet. Grameen Shakti and BRAC are two non-profit organizations which offer a variety of micro-financed energy products to this market. Grameen Shakti's product line includes solar power systems, biogas plants and improved cooking stoves. Visiting Grameen Shakti's corporate headquarters in Dhaka and their regional and branch offices the Phulpur region gave me a unique opportunity to learn about the operation of their organization and see how they are meeting the needs of the Bangladeshi people through solar power.

In the Phulpur region, Holly and I visited a rural market in which a number of Grameen Shakti's solar power systems have been installed. Store owners were excited to speak to us about their systems. Among the many benefits which they enjoyed were extended hours of business at night, improved quality of lighting in comparison to the burning of kerosene, increased income from the renting out of one or more of their lights to fellow shopkeepers and reduced operating costs (after full payment for the system) due to the elimination of their need to purchase kerosene.

A number of solar panels can be seen atop the shops in the market below.

Word of the solar power system's benefits appeared to be moving quickly through town and we were fortunate enough to observe the installation of a new system for a small dry goods store.

Our visit seemed to be the talk of the town. People gathered around to listen to our conversations with store owners as we sat sipping the tea which they had so kindly given us. Before we left, everyone gathered in front of the town tailor's shop for a group photo.

Following our visit to the market, Holly and I visited a number of residences which had Grameen Shakti systems installed. We observed the full spectrum of the Grameen Shakti product line including improved cooking stoves which greatly reduce biomass fuel consumption and indoor air pollution

and biogas plants which create methane which can be used for cooking and heating.

Everywhere we visited, owners were enthusiastic about the benefits of the systems, proudly showing off their new lights, small fans, cell phone chargers and televisions.

One of Grameen Shakti's unique organizational features is the Grameen Technology Center. Throughout Bangladesh, 44 Grameen Technology Centers train and employ women in the construction and repair of the lamp shade and charge controller circuits which are part of the Grameen solar power systems. Holly and I visited the Phulpur region Technology Center and spoke to a few of the women who worked there. Although they found the work repetitive, they expressed great satisfaction that they could work from home and that they could make substantial contributions to their families' incomes due to the work opportunity which Grameen Shakti provided them.

Even in grid connected areas in Bangladesh, the market for solar energy technology is substantial. A growing number of people view distributed solar power generation as a viable solution to cities' power shortages. New legislation encourages the installation of solar panels onto newly constructed buildings and photovoltaic integration was a substantial topic of discussion at the first meeting of the Bangladesh Green Building Council which Jeremy, Holly, Sloan and I attended.

In a fortuitous turn of events, a 1 kW solar power plant was installed on the top of the apartment building in which I was staying only a few days before I left Dhaka, Bangladesh for Tokyo, Japan.

I thought it would be the perfect place for a picture.

Inspired by the unfamiliar surroundings, I stayed up one night to compose this song:

Bengali Bangup by Steve Limpert

In Mumbai,

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I stayed at a guesthouse on the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) campus by Powai Lake. Since my flight landed at 3:20am, the management was asleep when I arrived at the guesthouse and so I decided to wander around campus for a few hours. Since the campus lies in a heavily forested area, the wildlife on campus is quite diverse. Over the couse of my time at IIT, I saw crabs, monkeys, cattle, dogs, lizards, swans and all manner of other types of birds. Here's a short video I took at sunrise on Lake Powai on the morning of my arrival and a few pictures of some of the creatures that I saw during my stay at IIT.

My visit to IIT Bombay was prompted by my desire to talk with Professor Chetan Solanki about his work in the area of silicon solar cells and about the many projects going on at IIT in the broader area of solar energy technology. As part of the Indian National Solar Mission, the National Center for Photovoltaic Research and Education has been established at IIT Bombay for the purpose of assisting in achieving the national goal of 20 GW of installed solar energy systems by 2020. Towards this end, research across the full spectrum of solar energy technology is being pursued at the center. Additionally, courses are offered to current university students as well as to professionals of all levels of expertise and certification programs for technical workers are being developed. As part of this large research endeavor, the IIT Bombay Department of Energy Science and Engineering is collaborating with government and industry partners to build at 1 MW solar thermal power plant in Delhi which will serve as a technology evaluation and testing ground.

On the first of my sight-seeing days in Mumbai, I visited Sanjay Gandhi National Park. The park is located north of downtown Mumbai and lies between the eastern and the western city suburbs. With an area of 104 square kilometers, it holds the world record for the largest park within a city boundary. In the park, I took a seven kilometer motorbike ride into the forest in order to see the Kanheri Caves. The Kanheri Caves are Buddhist dwellings and religious spaces which were carved into basaltic mountain rock between the 1st century BCE and the 10th century CE. The caves feature carvings of Buddha and other religious figures, ancient inscriptions and stupas, mound-like structures which often contain Buddhist relics. Below are a few photos and a video that I took while exploring some of the 109 caves.

After exploring the caves, I visited the park's information center. The center contains a number of displays about local flora and fauna, as well as about climate change and the importance of the conservation of resources and wildlife habitat. A short hike from the information center is a memorial to Mahatma Gandhi which features a central pavilion and surrounding gardens as can be seen below.

The following day, I took a tour of Mumbai in order to explore the jungle of the innercity. During my tour, I visited a temple of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, a beach upon which a large ship had been forced to make an emergency landing, a public laundry, the Hanging Gardens of Mumbai which feature a variety of animal-shaped carved hedges, Gandhi's residence, Victoria Station and the Gate of India. Below are some pictures from my urban adventures.

After the completion of my time in Mumbai, I flew to Ahmedabad, a city in the northern state of Gujarat, in order to visit Dr. Omkar Jani at Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University (PDPU) and the Gujarat Energy Research and Management Institute (GERMI). While both institutions were established through the Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation, their work does not focus exclusively on oil and natural gas. In fact, GERMI has an entire solar research wing which works in solar energy policy, technology and education. Seeing as Gujarat is the most progressive Indian state in its pursuit of renewable energy usage and established substantial state solar energy goals and subsidy programs before the national government did, GERMI is in prime position to have a very significant impact. Currently, GERMI is partaking in a number of exciting projects including a 1 MW photovoltaic test facility on the campus of PDPU and a city-wide rooftop installation program.

Staying in the university dormitories at PDPU, I had the opportunity to meet some of the students who had remained on campus for the summer in order to do internships with the Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation. It was fascinating to chat with my new friends, Larsika and Swastika, about their work and about the differences between American and Indian culture while exploring the areas surrounding campus.

Following the conclusion of my visit to Ahmedabad, I flew back to Mumbai and prepared to depart for Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Following my time in Munich at Intersolar Europe,

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I took the train back to Berlin and prepared to depart for Doha, Qatar.

I knew that with this next flight, I would be departing from familiar territory. While western Europe is most assuredly very different than the United States, I anticipated that it would be much more similar to what I was familiar with than Qatar, India and Bangladesh would be.

My instincts did not prove me wrong. My time in Doha, Qatar was a fascinatingly foreign experience. Stepping off the plane and into customs, I was surrounded by people dressed very differently than me. While in the United States, I blend into the crowd with my t-shit and jeans, here I stood out like a sore thumb amongst the many men in thawbs and women in burqas. After passing through customs, I walked outside to see if I would be able to find a taxi to take me to the hostel I had booked for myself. It was almost midnight and I was ready to have a place to sleep.

After waiting for twenty minutes in the lengthy line of people queued for taxis, it was finally my turn to get into a cab. The cab pulled up. I placed my trumpet and my backpack in the trunk and slid into the passenger seat. "I would like to go to the Doha Youth Hostel at 17 Al Rayhan Street," I said. The cab driver responded with a quizzical look and broken English that was difficult for me to understand. Hmmm, no GPS, I noticed as I looked around the dashboard of the car. Perhaps the map with the hostel location marked that I've saved for just such an occasion will be of use, I thought. I pulled out my phone and displayed the map with the location that I desired to go to clearly marked. The cab driver appeared puzzled. After a few more attempts to communicate my desired destination, I stepped out of the cab. The cab driver had indicated that he was interested in taking a different customer, someone who was looking to travel to a destination with which he was more familiar. Perhaps another taxi driver would have a better knowledge of where I wanted to go, he said.

Ok. Sure, I thought. Maybe someone else will have a better knowledge of where I want to go.

Unfortunately, that was not the case.

This scene repeated itself two more times before the airport official in charge of directing people at the front of the taxi line to their car became tired of having to refill my cab and redirect me to another vehicle. Stepping in to assist, he assured my third driver that the Doha Youth Hostel was behind the American Embassy, a landmark with which my driver seemed familiar. Excellent, I thought.

We were off.

That's funny, I noted, looking at the map on my phone as we drove away from the airport. It doesn't have the American Embassy marked on here. A strange omission. Perhaps security concerns...

Sure enough, upon our arrival to the neighborhood behind the American Embassy, there was no youth hostel.

After making a few phone calls and stopping to ask the locals for advice, my driver continued on. Apparently, two years ago, the hostel changed locations, he explained to me.

What? Two years ago!?! Had nobody gone there from the airport since then?

Another ten minutes of driving down dusty, poorly lit streets and we arrived in front the new location of The Doha Youth Hostel where the seven foot tall entry gates had been securely locked for the night. Having brought me this far, my driver was not deterred. He incessantly rang the door bell until the manager of the hostel was raised from bed and came to open the gate.

I had finally arrived! They had a room for me and I could finally sleep! I thanked my driver profusely and went immediately to bed.

Checking back in the morning, my faith in myself and in technology was affirmed. The hostel was exactly where I had stated it would be and where Google Maps had shown it to be: 17 Al Rayhan Street.

The Doha Youth Hostel and Al Rayhan Street:

That same morning, after another troubling transportation experience in which I waited approximately two hours for a bus which never arrived, I hailed a cab to try my luck again in an attempt to get to the Museum of Islamic Art at the Doha port. This time, I found much more success and after a pleasant drive through the city during which my driver pointed out a number of interesting local landmarks, I arrived at my destination.

The museum was beautiful. It was designed by famed architect I. M. Pei and was stunning to behold. The collections which it housed where equally amazing and I very much enjoyed my chance to learn more about Islamic arts and culture by visiting there.

Below are a few pictures and videos highlighting the museum and its collection:

The entranceway of the Museum of Islamic Art

An exterior panorama of the Museum of Islamic Art and its surroundings

The interior of the Museum of Islamic Art

A solid gold falcon encrusted in rubies, emeralds, diamonds and sapphires

(I want one.)

The following day, I visited Mike Farshchi at the Chevron Center for Sustainable Energy Efficiency (CSEE) at the Qatar Science and Technology Park. The goal of the Chevron CSEE is to educate the decision makers of Qatar about energy efficient building practices and to evaluate the performance solar energy systems in the gulf climate. Currently at the offices of the Chevron CSEE is an engaging interactive display explaining different lighting options and building temperature control schemes. The main purpose of the display is to communicate that by making energy efficient choices in the construction of buildings and public structures, the nation of Qatar will need to produce significantly less electricity and thus will have a greater amount of natural gas to export. Currently in the early stages of construction outside of the Chevron CSEE offices is the test ground for solar energy systems. Mr. Farshchi anticipated that by mid-2012 the test ground would be up and running, and a number of installed photovoltaic systems would be being actively evaluated for performance in the local hot, humid, windy and dusty climate.

After three nights in Doha, it was time for me to leave Qatar for Mumbai, India. I packed my things, checked out of the hostel and marveled at the fact that during the four days that I had been at the hostel, I had not seen a single other traveler.

Had I been the only person staying there?

In Berlin,

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I met up with Gustav by the Brandenburg Gate, a prominent Berlin landmark built in the late 18th century which was the site of Ronald Reagan's famed Cold War speech in which he demanded "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"

Following our introduction, Gustav proceeded to give a fact-filled tour of the surrounding area's major landmarks as we walked by the Reichstag building (home of the German parliament) and the Bundeskanzleramt (home of the German chancellery),

across the line where the Berlin wall had once stood and down Unter den Linden, a street where many building from the Prussian period still stand. Neue Wache, that is "New Guard House", a Prussian guardhouse from 1816, which is now the "Central Memorial of the Federal Republic of Germany for the Victims of War and Tyranny", was a particularly moving site.

Following a traditional Bavarian lunch of weisswurt, ein brezel und weissbier, and a visit to the Akademie der Kunste, the official arts council to the German government (of which Gustav is one of five hundred members chosen from throughout the German arts world), we retired to Gustav's apartment to chat about his work as a newspaper editor, journalist and author of historical books.

The following day, thanks to the much-appreciated assistance of Mr. Tymen DeJohn, First Solar's vice president of global manufacturing, I visited the offices of First Solar in Berlin and their manufacturing plant in Frankfurt an der Oder, a city east of Berlin, near the German-Polish border. First Solar is a global leader in the manufacturing of thin film photovoltaics and it was a fantastic learning experience to visit them. In Berlin, I received a presentation from Max Junghanns which gave a broad overview of the company, and in Frankfurt, I received a tour from Mr. Burghard von Westerholt of the manufacturing facilities where 9,000 photovoltaics panels are made each day on lines that operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The scale, precision and rapid growth of their operation was truly stunning.

At both the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE) in Freiburg and the offices of First Solar in Berlin, I had been informed that it might interest me to adjust my travel plans in Germany in order to attend Intersolar Europe, the largest solar energy industry exposition in the world, in Munich from June 6 to June 10. I gladly accepted this advice and purchased a train ticket for myself in order to travel to Munich. While conference tickets were of the order of €1000, the Fraunhofer Institute, as an organizing partner, was kind enough to help me get into the conference free of cost.

At the conference, I attended a number of informative talks given by industry representatives, market analysts, national politicians and academics. The presentations which I attended were on a wide variety of topics including "India's PV Market Development", "Balance of Systems" (an analysis of the power electronic devices used in connecting photovoltaic power plants to the grid), "Concentrating PV" and "PV Energy World" (a presentation by representatives of Fraunhofer ISE and Siemens on the progress made by and the future prospects of renewable energy technologies). In addition to conference talks, I attended the industry exposition and strolled through hall after hall of industry exhibitors, marveling at the number of players in the market and listening to sales pitch after sales pitch.

A few pictures from my time at Intersolar Europe:

A sign outside the convention center entrance commemorating the 20th year of Intersolar Europe.

Quick Fact:

In 1991, five companies presented their products at the one day exhibition.

In 2011, approximately 2,200 exhibitors presented their products and 75,000 visitors attended the week-long event.

The information desks and ticket booths at the entrance to the industry exposition on its opening day.

Exposition Scale Assistance:

There were 16 halls of this size filled with companies presenting their products.

Mr. Stryi-Hipp of the Fraunhofer ISE presenting at The PV Energy World Booth

On June 1,

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I arrived in Moselkern, a tiny village on the edge of the Mosel river. The purpose of my visit to this quaint setting was to visit Burg Eltz, a 12th century castle about an hour's hike through the woods surrounding the town. And so, once again I wandered through a beautiful German forest in search of a castle taking photos along the way.

Success!

Having achieved what I had set out to do in Moselkern, it was time to move on.

My next destination was Bad Neustadt, a city near the northern border of the German state of Bavaria. In coming to this area, it was my intention to visit the lands of my ancestors.

My grandmother, Sarah Limpert, has done extensive research into my family's history and one of her greatest findings is a ship's log documenting the immigration of Bernhard Limpert and his wife, Dorothea Schublein, to the United States in the mid-19th century from Nickersfelden and Brendlorenzen, Germany, respectively. On today's map, one will find that the once independent village of Brendlorenzen has become a district within the larger city of Bad Neustadt, but that the village of Nickersfelden remains very much as it may have been over a hundred years ago, a small rural farming village of only a few hundred inhabitants.

Renting a bike, I set out from Bad Neustadt towards Nickersfelden and the other surrounding villages in search of churches and graveyards were hints of my family history might be hiding. Upon my arrival in Nickersfelden, I recorded a short video while walking into town and had a picture taken of me at the city sign.

While my search of churches and graveyards did not turn up any 19th century familial connections, I did find this:

a small church and graveyard high atop a wooded foothill honoring local soldiers who lost their lives during the battles of World War II. Walking through the rows of grave markers, I found out that, while my grandparents had made it through the war unscathed, perhaps not everyone in my larger family circle had been so lucky.

From Bad Neustadt, I set off for Berlin, where I was to visit both my father's old friend, Gustav Seibt, a leading German historian, journalist and literary critic, and the offices of First Solar, a world leader in thin film photovoltaics manufacturing.

My first day in Freiburg, Germany,

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I decided to take a walk through the Black Forest. I had been told that deep in the woods, there was an observation tower from which one could look down upon the entire city. I set off in search of the tower and as I walked, I recorded these images.

Success! I found the tower!

Now, to climb the tower:

And record the view from the top:

With that video taken, I climbed down the tower and wended my way through the woods back toward civilization as the sun set and the forest dimmed.

Having spent my first day in Freiburg exploring nature, I wanted to spend my second day exploring the city. I was particularly interested in visiting the Vauban Quartier, a portion of the city home to an innovative sustainability focused community. The most notable buildings in the quarter are the fifty-nine PlusEnergy homes designed by the German architect Rolf Disch. These homes have a positive net energy balance due to their low energy consumption and solar energy utilization. In fact, not only are these houses ecologically beneficial, but they are economically beneficial. The homes' owners are paid by the utility company for every kWh of electricity that is produced by their solar panels and put onto the electricity grid for use by others.

The day following my exploration of the Vauban Quartier, I walked across the city to visit the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems. I began my visit by meeting with Mr. Gerhard Stryi-Hipp, the director of energy policy. Mr. Stryi-Hipp gave me a presentation regarding the institute’s structure and its many areas of endeavor, and then discussed Germany’s solar energy technology subsidy programs. Following this, I received a tour of the institute’s solar thermal system test facilities from Mr. Stefan Fortuin.

Everyone at the institute was quite excited at the news of the previous day: Germany would be phasing out the use of nuclear power and shutting down all of its nuclear power plants by 2022. At lunch, this was the talk of the table. Mr. Stryi-Hipp, Mr. Fortuin, Mr. Gerhard Willeke, Coordinator of PV, and Mr. Stephan Schindele, a master’s student working on a comparison of the energy policies of California and Germany, all commented on how they could not believe that it had actually happened. In a shocking move, the conservative government had altered its stance on the issue and made its decision on the matter in the wake of the Fukushima disaster.

Finally, all of these posters that I had seen throughout the city could be taken down.

The decision to shut down Germany’s nuclear power plants was yet another in a series of policy decisions which have made and will continue to make Germany a world leader in the use of renewable energy in general and in solar energy specifically. Everyone at the institute was, understandably, very pleased about this.

Following lunch, Mr. Schindele gave me a presentation regarding his masters thesis, "Photovoltaic dissemination regulations in California and Germany: Why the German PV market developed remarkably faster than the one in California". It was a fascinating analysis of the effects of different incentive programs on the development of renewable energy technology markets. According to Mr. Schindele, renewable energy portfolio standards, as implemented in most US states, will tend to grow the market for the cheapest renewable energy sources and will have little effect on the market for more expensive renewable energy sources. In contrast, feed-in tariffs, as implemented in Germany, if structured properly, can be used to grow the markets for renewable energy resources across the full cost spectrum. One of the results of the US renewable energy portfolio standards has been a tremendous growth in the wind energy market. However, the US has experienced very little growth in the photovoltaic market. As a result of its feed-in tariffs, Germany has successfully become a global leader in the development and use of solar energy technology and has brought down its cost significantly in the process, while simultaneously making great strides in the use of wind power.

My final meeting of the day was with Dr. Eicke Weber, the director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems. Dr. Weber emphasized the urgency of the work being done on renewable energy technologies at Fraunhofer ISE and around the world. According to Dr. Weber, the development and application of these technologies is key to humanity's continued success on this planet. As our conversation came to a close, Dr. Weber expressed his hope that the US would begin to play a greater leadership role in the use of renewable energy technologies and in dealing with the real global problems of the 21st century.

Dr. Eicke Weber, Myself and Mr. Gerhard Stryi-Hipp

After a brief tour of a laboratory investigating systems for intelligent automated management of residential electrical generation and load supply, my visit to the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems came to a close and I returned to the hostel to pack for my departure from Freiburg the next day.

Unlike in Madrid,

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upon my arrival in Barcelona, I was on my own to make new friends and find my way about the city. Fortunately, this was no problem.

Having mentioned to Christina’s friend, Ian, that I was interested in learning about the Barcelona jazz scene, I arrived in town with a list of clubs to check out. JazzSi was top on the list and so, on Tuesday night, I and a new friend from the hostel, Thomas, ventured out to see what sort of show would be happening. To my great surprise, the night’s show was a tribute to one of my favorite jazz bassists and contemporary composers, Dave Holland, performed by a quintet of university music students from Barcelona. The show was phenomenal. The band had transcribed two full sets of Holland’s original compositions and performed them excellently. For the first time, I got to hear one of my favorites songs on record, “Prime Directive”, played live.

If you’ve got a few minutes to listen to a fantastic quintet chart, check out the Dave Holland original: "Prime Directive"

After the show, Thomas and I stuck around to chat up the band. Upon learning that I was a musician myself, our new friends Vitalik, Philippe, Marc and Laura were eager to talk and it was determined that we should go out for drinks. Discussing our favorite players and records and the ups and downs of music school and life as a professional musician, we barely noticed as the restaurant’s clientele slowly dwindled down to just us. With closing time upon us, numbers were exchanged to facilitate future musical adventures and everyone went their separate ways.

Laura had mentioned that on Wednesday there would be a jam session in a small club near her apartment and that she would show it to Thomas and I if we would like. Embracing this fortuitous development, I showed up to the session with trumpet in hand eager to play. After introducing myself to the guitarist leading the session and explaining my musical background, he invited me to sit in for a tune. And, after the trio burned through a number of standards, I sat in for a blues. Following the conclusion of the night, the session leader invited me to comeback anytime. It was unfortunate, I had to tell him, that I would be leaving Barcelona in just a few short days.

The following day, I attended the internationally acclaimed popular music festival Primavera Sound which I had learned was taking place in Barcelona upon my arrival at the hostel from the many travelers who had come from all over North America and Europe to attend.

The festival was held in Parc del Forum, a large public gathering place on the coast of the Mediterranean which was originally built for the “Universal Forum of Cultures” exhibit in 2004. One of the park’s many fascinating architectural features is a gigantic sculpture of a solar panel made up of solar panels.

According to some sources, this panel of panels is the largest solar panel in the world.

After purchasing my ticket to the festival, I was fortunate enough to be chosen by raffle to attend the most anticipated and exclusive event of the festival, the performance of Sufjan Stevens at the Museu Blau natural science museum next to the park. Sufjan Steven’s work has been an inspiration to me since high school and I firmly believe that the his compositionally sophisticated, emotionally gripping, genre-bending, 2010 album, The Age of Adz, is a modern musical masterwork. Apparently other people like his songs quite a bit as well.

Needless to say, the show was one of the most amazing performances that I have ever seen.

Closing out my week in Barcelona, I took the metro to Plaça Catalunya on Friday afternoon only hours after police forces had stormed the square to clear protesters.

The New York Times report on the breaking up of the protests by riot police (which includes videos of the event itself) can be found here: "Police Clash with Protesters in Barcelona"

It was apparent that the police efforts had been in vain as the square was filled with thousands of people carrying signs, rebuilding shelters and chanting slogans by the time I arrived in the early evening.

I guess it is only time that will tell what the effects of their committed efforts will be.

Below are a few of my favorite photos that I took at the protest gathering.

A protest sign featuring the "Nuclear? No Gracias!" logo.

The communal kitchen assembled in the square by the camped-out protesters.

A wall covered in notes posted by protesters.

The raising of hands in a moment of silence before cheers and chants.

On Sunday, May 15,

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I arrived in Madrid. After dropping my backpack off at the hostel at which I was staying, I met up with Christina and her friends.

It was fortunate that I had arrived when I did, they told me. The 15th of May is the Feast Day of San Isidro, the patron saint of Madrid, and throughout the city celebrations of the holiday were underway. In addition, a Manifestacion (demonstration) had been organized to coincide with the celebrations and we were going to see it.

Traditionally, crowds gather to celebrate the holiday in Puerta del Sol (the Gate of the Sun), a large plaza in the center of Madrid where the gate of the city once stood. This year, in addition to the celebratory gathering, there was to be a march into the square by the young and disenfranchised of Spain.

My first day in Spain and I was already in the midst of a national political protest.

I knew this was going to be a good trip.

Leaving the tumultuous uproar of the city square, we walked south to the river where a firelight display had been installed in celebration of the holiday. We gazed at the flames floating on the river until it was too late to stay up any longer.

On Monday, I spent the day walking about the city - first on my own and then with a walking tour. While walking about, I saw my first solar powered piece of Spanish infrastructure:

If only I’d been able to read the manual…

After the walking tour, I visited the Reina Sofia with two new friends that I had met that day, Billy from Holland and Iyad from Germany. The museum’s collection was stunning. To gaze upon the masterworks of Dali and Picasso in Spain was an experience that I will not forget.

After a day trip to Toledo, the former capital of Spain, on Tuesday with Billy, I had my first solar energy technology meeting on Wednesday with Tomas Diaz of the Asociacion de la Industria Fotovoltaica, a private non-profit organization that serves to lobby for and promote the growth of the Spanish photovoltaic industry.

The discussion with Mr. Diaz was very illuminating and was a fantastic chance to discuss the current state of the Spanish photovoltaic industry.

After another day of walking about in Madrid on Thursday, on Friday I visited Carlos del Canizo Nadal, the director of the Instituto de Energia Solar at the Polytechnic University of Madrid.

The Institute’s building had solar panel window shades

and was surrounded by testbed projects such as a solar powered home and various types of solar concentrator panels.

Meeting with Professor Canizo was a great opportunity to learn about the history and accomplishments of the oldest photovoltaic research center in the world and to hear about its current areas of endeavor.

Later on Friday night, my time in Madrid came to a close as it had begun, at the protests in Puerta del Sol.

Unexpectedly, some of the marchers from Sunday evening had decided to camp out in the square on Sunday night and by Monday had begun setting up temporary shelters. On my walking tour that day, I pondered how things would develop.

A few television stations were curious as well, apparently.

By Thursday, thousands had gathered in support, and by Friday night, tens of thousands had gathered in the streets and squares surrounding Puerta del Sol despite the potential ban on political gatherings as a result of the elections on Sunday, May 22.

Symbolic of the generation’s breaking from their previous political apathy, the crowd took a moment of silence before midnight and then shouted out at the stroke of twelve.

Every few minutes, chants would ring out from the crowd expressing distaste for the current politicians and for the way in which the financial crisis has been handled.

I was honored to have the opportunity to observe and participate in such a gathering.

After a short night's sleep, I checked out of the hostel in Madrid and boarded a train to Barcelona.

Tomorrow I Leave

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on the trip of a lifetime.

My bags are packed and my tickets are purchased. Some meetings are set up and some are yet to be set up. I will have to embrace this uncertainty; learn to live with it and thrive off it.

I have learned so much already just by preparing myself for this journey. I can only imagine how much I will learn by actually taking the trip.

My first stop is Madrid. Upon my arrival, I will be meeting up with Christina Clancey, an old friend from the Arizona State University Epsilon Beta chapter of Eta Kappa Nu, the electrical and computer engineering honors society, to obtain my introduction to the city and culture. By the end of the week, I will have visited the Solar Energy Institute at The Polytechnic University of Madrid and the headquarters of Asociación de la Industria Fotovoltaica. Hopefully, I will have picked up enough Spanish phrases to get me through the following week in Barcelona on my own.

Travel successes of the day include:

my first international phone call
the attachement of my trumpet case to the back of my backpack

Have a look:

And with that, I'm ready to go.