President Obama has announced in his weekly video address that DOE has offered a conditional commitment for a $1.45 billion loan guarantee to Abengoa Solar, Inc. The loan will support the construction and start-up of Solana, a 250 net megawatt (MW) concentrating solar power (CSP) plant in Arizona.
"After years of watching companies build things and create jobs overseas, it's good news that we've attracted a company to our shores to build a plant and create jobs here in America," said President Obama.
Solana will include six hours of molten salt thermal energy storage capability, which will allow energy to be dispatched as needed during cloudy periods and after sunset. With this capability, Solana will be able to generate electricity well into the evening to help meet the summer peak demand.
The plant will be located 70 miles southwest of Phoenix, near Gila Bend, Arizona. Solana will produce enough energy to serve 70,000 households and will prevent the emission of 475,000 tons of CO2 per year compared to a natural gas burning power plant.
DOE's Title XVII Loan Guarantee Program was created to support the deployment of innovative clean energy technologies pursuant to Section 1703 of Title XVII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Title XVII).
Title XVII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 was amended by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to create Section 1705, a new program for the deployment of renewable energy and electric power transmission projects. Solana is eligible for a loan guarantee under both sections of Title XVII.
Santiago Seage, CEO of Abengoa Solar, said that "this conditional guarantee could allow us to start construction of Solana this year. I want to recognize the leadership and effort of the DOE in making Solana possible through this guarantee."
Mr. Seage also added that Solana is in a very advanced stage of development and permitting, having received most of its authorizations from local, county, and state authorities. Recently, DOE conducted an Environmental Assessment study and issued a finding of no significant impact (FONSI) for the project.
"What the project needs now is for Maricopa County and the state to continue their support and work expeditiously on the last remaining permits needed for construction to begin," said Abengoa Solar's Seage.
The construction and operation of Solana will bring many economic and environmental benefits to Arizona and will support the nation's goals for energy independence through a "green" economy. The plant will create significant tax income for local communities and the state over the life of the project.
Abengoa Solar's Arizona Vice President Kate Maracas stated that "the building of Solana will also create between 1,600-1,700 new construction jobs, and operation of the plant will add another 85 permanent jobs. These construction and operating jobs will create a few thousand additional indirect jobs.
Taken together, 98% of the jobs created by Solana will be American jobs - primarily from Arizona, and a smaller portion from neighboring states."
Abengoa Solar signed a power purchase agreement with APS, the state's largest electric utility, to sell the energy produced by Solana for a period of 30 years. "APS has demonstrated a strong commitment to solar energy and has shown leadership in moving solar energy toward the mainstream," said Maracas.
Abengoa Solar has made it a priority to utilize U.S.-made components wherever possible for the Solana plant. More than 75% of the equipment and supplies required to build Solana will be manufactured in the U.S. These include steam generators, heat exchangers, power equipment, glass, steel, concrete and other construction materials.
As a direct consequence of the construction of Solana, a mirror manufacturing factory will be built in Surprise, Arizona. The mirror factory will employ almost 180 people, adding to the number of direct jobs created by Solana. This new facility will provide Arizona with the foundation upon which to expand its solar energy technology manufacturing capabilities and to support future CSP projects.
From an environmental perspective, Solana will provide Arizonans with clean, pollution-free and greenhouse gas free energy while, at the same time reducing Arizona's need for fossil fuel based generation facilities, eliminating the emission of nearly a half-million tons of carbon dioxide per year.
These reductions will contribute to state goals for renewable energy deployment as well as national targets for climate change abatement.
In late 2009 Abengoa Solar signed a power purchase agreement in California to supply electricity generated by a 250 MW CSP trough plant located in the Mojave Desert, 100 miles northeast of Los Angeles. The company also has several projects under development in the Southwest.
Abengoa Solar is currently building 350 MW of solar plants worldwide, and with an additional 142 MW already operating, it is the only company worldwide building and operating both trough and power tower CSP plants. The Solana plant will be Abengoa Solar's tenth CSP plant worldwide.
Source - Solar Daily
Showing posts with label solar energy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label solar energy. Show all posts
Thursday, 8 July 2010
Wednesday, 5 May 2010
German solar energy real estate investments being offered in UK
There is an increase in interest among property investors for German solar energy investments as a feed-in tariff cut approaches, it is claimed.
Germany is one of the world leaders in solar energy but a cut off up to 16% is expected for most solar photovoltaic installations from 1st July 2010, significantly reducing the incentive for investment.
Solar photovoltaic (PV) panel manufacturers have been inundated with orders not only from domestic homeowners but also from businesses and investment groups with larger roof spaces and qualified installers have been working around the clock to fit the panels in time.
‘With the 1st July deadline fast approaching we are sourcing additional roof space in order to meet the serious demand for solar energy investments in Germany. Investors know that plugging in by this date will maximise their returns over the next 20 years,’ explained Steven Worboys, managing director of Experience International who is marketing solar energy investments in Germany in the UK for the first time.
Feed-in tariffs (FIT) was first introduced into Germany in 1990 and required utilities to connect renewable energy generators to the grid and buy the electricity produced at a rate of 65 to 90% of the average tariff charged per unit to end-users. The model has been so successful in supporting the development of the renewable energy industry that is has been replicated all over the world, including the UK.
However, some 20 years later, the German government has decided that the feed-in tariff, currently at 32 to 43 eurocents/kWh, is over-subsidizing the renewable energy industry and costing the consumer too much so the FIT rate is to be reduced. The fall of up to a third in the production of solar panels and growth in cheaper imports, especially from China, has also influenced the decision.
By their very design FITs are intended to reduce over time and the cut is not unexpected, even if the double-digit nature is deemed somewhat severe by some. ‘The feed-in tariff has been integral in turning Germany into the largest and most successful solar energy producer in the world. It has installed 9 GW of PV capacity with government targets for 66 GW by 2030. The industry has a turnover of some €1.7 billion per annum, employs 20,000 people and analysts predict that solar energy can provide 25% of the nation’s electricity by 2050, said Warboys.
With such marked progress to date and new government targets for renewable energy production being made, the imminent cut in FITs is certainly not the end of Germany’s solar success story, he believes. ‘There remains a window of opportunity for investors to see returns of €21,501 net income in year one and 17% net ROI for years one to 20. Investment is from €50,000 and 90% non-recourse finance is available,’ he added.
Source - Property Wire
Germany is one of the world leaders in solar energy but a cut off up to 16% is expected for most solar photovoltaic installations from 1st July 2010, significantly reducing the incentive for investment.
Solar photovoltaic (PV) panel manufacturers have been inundated with orders not only from domestic homeowners but also from businesses and investment groups with larger roof spaces and qualified installers have been working around the clock to fit the panels in time.
‘With the 1st July deadline fast approaching we are sourcing additional roof space in order to meet the serious demand for solar energy investments in Germany. Investors know that plugging in by this date will maximise their returns over the next 20 years,’ explained Steven Worboys, managing director of Experience International who is marketing solar energy investments in Germany in the UK for the first time.
Feed-in tariffs (FIT) was first introduced into Germany in 1990 and required utilities to connect renewable energy generators to the grid and buy the electricity produced at a rate of 65 to 90% of the average tariff charged per unit to end-users. The model has been so successful in supporting the development of the renewable energy industry that is has been replicated all over the world, including the UK.
However, some 20 years later, the German government has decided that the feed-in tariff, currently at 32 to 43 eurocents/kWh, is over-subsidizing the renewable energy industry and costing the consumer too much so the FIT rate is to be reduced. The fall of up to a third in the production of solar panels and growth in cheaper imports, especially from China, has also influenced the decision.
By their very design FITs are intended to reduce over time and the cut is not unexpected, even if the double-digit nature is deemed somewhat severe by some. ‘The feed-in tariff has been integral in turning Germany into the largest and most successful solar energy producer in the world. It has installed 9 GW of PV capacity with government targets for 66 GW by 2030. The industry has a turnover of some €1.7 billion per annum, employs 20,000 people and analysts predict that solar energy can provide 25% of the nation’s electricity by 2050, said Warboys.
With such marked progress to date and new government targets for renewable energy production being made, the imminent cut in FITs is certainly not the end of Germany’s solar success story, he believes. ‘There remains a window of opportunity for investors to see returns of €21,501 net income in year one and 17% net ROI for years one to 20. Investment is from €50,000 and 90% non-recourse finance is available,’ he added.
Source - Property Wire
Dutch SolarNow program wins EU award for renewable energy
Today the Dutch Rural Energy Foundation received the prestigious EU Sustainable Energy Award 2010 for its SolarNow program from EU Energy Commissioner Gunther Oettinger.
Rural Energy Foundation facilitated during the past three years access to solar energy to 330.000 off-grid Africans. Access to energy is an important condition for development. People save a considerable amount of oil, batteries and candles, while their productivity increases and children can do homework after sunset.
The foundation is praised because of the high cost-effectiveness and sustainability of its approach. The costs related to providing access to solar energy to an off-grid African are only EUR 4.
Most rural households in Africa largely depend on kerosene lamps. Besides poor quality of light, this is expensive and polluting. Most people have not heard of solar energy; there are hardly any shops selling and servicing solar home systems in rural areas.
The SolarNow program supports local entrepreneurs to start a business in solar energy household solutions. The program thus far supported 200 entrepreneurs in nine sub-Saharan African countries.
In addition, the program organizes awareness campaigns to promote the use of solar energy. Finally, as many households do not have the cash available to meet the upfront investment, SolarNow facilitates access to end-user credit schemes.
Director Willem Nolens reacts enthusiastically: "Great that the EU recognizes that small-scale renewable energy solutions in Africa are more efficient than large-scale infrastructural energy projects.
Africa faces an attractive opportunity to leapfrog the carbon-intensive development path that industrialized countries followed". The Foundation receives financial support from the Dutch Postcode Lottery and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Source - Rural Energy
Rural Energy Foundation facilitated during the past three years access to solar energy to 330.000 off-grid Africans. Access to energy is an important condition for development. People save a considerable amount of oil, batteries and candles, while their productivity increases and children can do homework after sunset.
The foundation is praised because of the high cost-effectiveness and sustainability of its approach. The costs related to providing access to solar energy to an off-grid African are only EUR 4.
Most rural households in Africa largely depend on kerosene lamps. Besides poor quality of light, this is expensive and polluting. Most people have not heard of solar energy; there are hardly any shops selling and servicing solar home systems in rural areas.
The SolarNow program supports local entrepreneurs to start a business in solar energy household solutions. The program thus far supported 200 entrepreneurs in nine sub-Saharan African countries.
In addition, the program organizes awareness campaigns to promote the use of solar energy. Finally, as many households do not have the cash available to meet the upfront investment, SolarNow facilitates access to end-user credit schemes.
Director Willem Nolens reacts enthusiastically: "Great that the EU recognizes that small-scale renewable energy solutions in Africa are more efficient than large-scale infrastructural energy projects.
Africa faces an attractive opportunity to leapfrog the carbon-intensive development path that industrialized countries followed". The Foundation receives financial support from the Dutch Postcode Lottery and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Source - Rural Energy
Friday, 2 October 2009
Has China kick started the solar panel revolution
In recent years China, and in particular the capital Beijing, have become synonymous with heavy air pollution with carbon emissions a natural result of being the largest manufacturing base in the world.
The Olympic Games held in Beijing in 2008 highlighted to the world the problems that China is having with pollution in urban areas where population density and heavy road traffic has contributed to a situation where on some days visibility is severely reduced.
The televised images of the Beijing skyline obscured by a murky cloud of smog offered a grim reminder of the contamination which is of course an inevitable by-product of a rapidly industrialising economy. However, China has embraced the concept of renewable energy with a massive shift towards solar energy. Legislation introduced by the Chinese government has been designed to spark investment in renewable energies and has so far, proved to be successful.
As the largest manufacturer of photovoltaic (PV solar) components, China has been a market leader in developing new products for markets elsewhere. Certainly, the Spanish market which experienced its own boom following the introduction of a feed-in tariff in 2007 relied massively on Chinese PV imports with the market experiencing a glut of Chinese produced PV solar panels plant when the Spanish industry went through its downturn and failed to install the solar plant which had been ordered. However, in a bid to alleviate some pollution problems and help meet climate change targets, the Chinese government has recently sought to increase the number of solar installations within the country.
In order to do this the government introduced a feed-in tariff system. Essentially, the feed-in tariff (FIT) was designed to attract investment in the new solar industry by offering financial incentives to investors. The FIT mechanism operates on the basis that the law guarantees a fixed, premium rate for units of electricity fed-in to the grid by solar energy generators. The utility companies are obliged by the legislation to purchase the solar electricity at above market prices, the costs of which are passed on to the consumers. In China this mechanism which has been successful in areas such as Germany, Spain and California has also proved successful in China. In July 2009, the New York Times ran with the headline, “Green Power Takes Root in China” heralding the arrival of the Chinese PV market on the world stage.
The arrival of the Chinese PV solar industry has come in the form of a national renewable energy law which decrees that utilities must generate 8 per cent of their energy by renewable means by 2020. The fact that this 8 percent figure does not include hydroelectric power adds to the importance which the Chinese are now placing on green energy. The growing awareness of the lack of long-term sustainability in traditional coal energy sources has prompted the Chinese government to take action to maintain China has a major industrial power well in to the future. There has also been somewhat of a frenzy among private companies seeing the opportunities that will undoubtedly present themselves in the Chinese renewable industry, with a growing activity particularly in sectors such as wind and photovoltaic solar panels technology which will inevitably boom in China in the near future.
The New York Times was keen to use this Chinese government action to make comparisons with the comparatively weak efforts being made in Washington to spur the renewable sector in the United States. Indeed, in the United Kingdom, with the recent feed-in tariff legislation, members of the green energy industry will be hopeful that government action in the UK will have the same effect it has had on the Chinese market.
The New York Times asserted its almost neurotic view of Chinese renewable growth compared to that of the US by warning,
“You won’t just be buying your toys from China, you’ll be buying your energy future from China.”
China has a target in place to produce 8000 megawatts of energy by wind energy by 2010 which they are set to smash. If China continues apace to move towards solar energy, they will surely shame efforts currently being made in the West to develop their own sustainable renewable industries.
Source - Official Wire
The Olympic Games held in Beijing in 2008 highlighted to the world the problems that China is having with pollution in urban areas where population density and heavy road traffic has contributed to a situation where on some days visibility is severely reduced.
The televised images of the Beijing skyline obscured by a murky cloud of smog offered a grim reminder of the contamination which is of course an inevitable by-product of a rapidly industrialising economy. However, China has embraced the concept of renewable energy with a massive shift towards solar energy. Legislation introduced by the Chinese government has been designed to spark investment in renewable energies and has so far, proved to be successful.
As the largest manufacturer of photovoltaic (PV solar) components, China has been a market leader in developing new products for markets elsewhere. Certainly, the Spanish market which experienced its own boom following the introduction of a feed-in tariff in 2007 relied massively on Chinese PV imports with the market experiencing a glut of Chinese produced PV solar panels plant when the Spanish industry went through its downturn and failed to install the solar plant which had been ordered. However, in a bid to alleviate some pollution problems and help meet climate change targets, the Chinese government has recently sought to increase the number of solar installations within the country.
In order to do this the government introduced a feed-in tariff system. Essentially, the feed-in tariff (FIT) was designed to attract investment in the new solar industry by offering financial incentives to investors. The FIT mechanism operates on the basis that the law guarantees a fixed, premium rate for units of electricity fed-in to the grid by solar energy generators. The utility companies are obliged by the legislation to purchase the solar electricity at above market prices, the costs of which are passed on to the consumers. In China this mechanism which has been successful in areas such as Germany, Spain and California has also proved successful in China. In July 2009, the New York Times ran with the headline, “Green Power Takes Root in China” heralding the arrival of the Chinese PV market on the world stage.
The arrival of the Chinese PV solar industry has come in the form of a national renewable energy law which decrees that utilities must generate 8 per cent of their energy by renewable means by 2020. The fact that this 8 percent figure does not include hydroelectric power adds to the importance which the Chinese are now placing on green energy. The growing awareness of the lack of long-term sustainability in traditional coal energy sources has prompted the Chinese government to take action to maintain China has a major industrial power well in to the future. There has also been somewhat of a frenzy among private companies seeing the opportunities that will undoubtedly present themselves in the Chinese renewable industry, with a growing activity particularly in sectors such as wind and photovoltaic solar panels technology which will inevitably boom in China in the near future.
The New York Times was keen to use this Chinese government action to make comparisons with the comparatively weak efforts being made in Washington to spur the renewable sector in the United States. Indeed, in the United Kingdom, with the recent feed-in tariff legislation, members of the green energy industry will be hopeful that government action in the UK will have the same effect it has had on the Chinese market.
The New York Times asserted its almost neurotic view of Chinese renewable growth compared to that of the US by warning,
“You won’t just be buying your toys from China, you’ll be buying your energy future from China.”
China has a target in place to produce 8000 megawatts of energy by wind energy by 2010 which they are set to smash. If China continues apace to move towards solar energy, they will surely shame efforts currently being made in the West to develop their own sustainable renewable industries.
Source - Official Wire
Will local authorities introduce solar panels
The government’s proposed “clean energy cash back” scheme (or feed in tariff) when introduced, will guarantee a set price for every unit of green electricity generated for 25 years. If all housing association properties had a solar photovoltaic (PV) system, which can generate 2,100 units of electricity a year, they could earn an income of around £20 thousand per home over 25 years.
The scheme would also pass on thousands of pounds of electricity savings to tenants – many of whom are suffering from fuel poverty.
Faced with a shortfall of £260 million due to the government’s recent decision to cut social housing rent in 2010, some housing providers are taking advantage of the financial benefits that investing in solar power brings. As well as a much needed income boost for the organisations, solar power helps low-income families cope with the financial hardship caused by rising fuel prices.
Brent Housing Partnership (BHP) is an Arms Length Management Organisation (ALMO) working with Solarcentury, a UK solar energy company, to generate a guaranteed income from clean electricity. Solarcentury has begun to install solar electric roof tiles, designed to suit the majority of housing associations at a low cost, on over 80 existing homes on the Brentfield Estate in Brent. This will provide residents with approximately a third of the electricity they need for free – a saving of £120 every year.
Shaun Gillam, Senior Project Manager, Brent Housing Partnership said: “Solar power is a great way of investing in the future for our tenants. It is a way for us to reduce our residents’ expenditure on energy and meet energy efficiency targets whilst making a profit at the same time. With over 13000 BHP homes in Brent, we’re able to make a real difference to the quality of our tenants’ lives.”
Housing providers own an estimated 2.4 million homes across the UK. Many of these tenants live in fuel poverty, spending more than 10 per cent of their household income on heating and powering their homes
Town & Country Housing Group, in Kent, is another housing provider helping their tenants out of fuel poverty with solar PV.
Paul White, Innovation, Design & Quality Manager said: “Solar power is already playing a key role in the greening of our estates, 160 of our households have solar so far. It is reducing tenants’ electricity bills and helping us to deliver low energy homes that are affordable, functional and easy to live in.”
According to campaign group National Energy Action, more than five million households across the country are affected by fuel poverty.
A typical size solar PV system for a household is a 2.5kWp system and costs an average £12,500. On average, this system will generate 2,125 units (kilowatt hours (kWh)) of electricity a year. The Energy Saving Trust says this will produce about 50% of the electricity a household uses in a year.
This size of system will result in bill savings of £245 a year based on the average cost of electricity at 13p per unit and 50% electricity generated used. The income received from exporting 50% is £50 per year, with total generation annual income an additional £730 for 25 years with the feed-in tariff scheme.
Each property in the Brent scheme will produce 1,062 kWh a year – approximately one third of their electricity, saving approximately £120 each year for the tenant. This income figure is based on the system generating the number of units stated above and applying the government’s proposed generation tariff of 36.5p per unit generated. The figure also assumes that on average tenants will consume 50% of the solar electricity in the property and export the remainder and it assumes a top up payment of 5p for each unit exported and energy savings of 13p per unit.
Source - Green Building Press
The scheme would also pass on thousands of pounds of electricity savings to tenants – many of whom are suffering from fuel poverty.
Faced with a shortfall of £260 million due to the government’s recent decision to cut social housing rent in 2010, some housing providers are taking advantage of the financial benefits that investing in solar power brings. As well as a much needed income boost for the organisations, solar power helps low-income families cope with the financial hardship caused by rising fuel prices.
Brent Housing Partnership (BHP) is an Arms Length Management Organisation (ALMO) working with Solarcentury, a UK solar energy company, to generate a guaranteed income from clean electricity. Solarcentury has begun to install solar electric roof tiles, designed to suit the majority of housing associations at a low cost, on over 80 existing homes on the Brentfield Estate in Brent. This will provide residents with approximately a third of the electricity they need for free – a saving of £120 every year.
Shaun Gillam, Senior Project Manager, Brent Housing Partnership said: “Solar power is a great way of investing in the future for our tenants. It is a way for us to reduce our residents’ expenditure on energy and meet energy efficiency targets whilst making a profit at the same time. With over 13000 BHP homes in Brent, we’re able to make a real difference to the quality of our tenants’ lives.”
Housing providers own an estimated 2.4 million homes across the UK. Many of these tenants live in fuel poverty, spending more than 10 per cent of their household income on heating and powering their homes
Town & Country Housing Group, in Kent, is another housing provider helping their tenants out of fuel poverty with solar PV.
Paul White, Innovation, Design & Quality Manager said: “Solar power is already playing a key role in the greening of our estates, 160 of our households have solar so far. It is reducing tenants’ electricity bills and helping us to deliver low energy homes that are affordable, functional and easy to live in.”
According to campaign group National Energy Action, more than five million households across the country are affected by fuel poverty.
A typical size solar PV system for a household is a 2.5kWp system and costs an average £12,500. On average, this system will generate 2,125 units (kilowatt hours (kWh)) of electricity a year. The Energy Saving Trust says this will produce about 50% of the electricity a household uses in a year.
This size of system will result in bill savings of £245 a year based on the average cost of electricity at 13p per unit and 50% electricity generated used. The income received from exporting 50% is £50 per year, with total generation annual income an additional £730 for 25 years with the feed-in tariff scheme.
Each property in the Brent scheme will produce 1,062 kWh a year – approximately one third of their electricity, saving approximately £120 each year for the tenant. This income figure is based on the system generating the number of units stated above and applying the government’s proposed generation tariff of 36.5p per unit generated. The figure also assumes that on average tenants will consume 50% of the solar electricity in the property and export the remainder and it assumes a top up payment of 5p for each unit exported and energy savings of 13p per unit.
Source - Green Building Press
Wednesday, 10 June 2009
China launches green power revolution to catch up on west
China’s ambitious wind and solar plans represent a direct challenge to Europe’s claims of world leadership on cutting carbon emissions.
China is planning a vast increase in its use of wind and solar power over the next decade and believes it can match Europe by 2020, producing a fifth of its energy needs from renewable sources, a senior Chinese official said yesterday.
Zhang Xiaoqiang, vice-chairman of China's national development and reform commission, told the Guardian that Beijing would easily surpass current 2020 targets for the use of wind and solar power and was now contemplating targets that were more than three times higher.
In the current development plan, the goal for wind energy is 30 gigawatts. Zhang said the new goal could be 100GW by 2020.
"Similarly, by 2020 the total installed capacity for solar power will be at least three times that of the original target [3GW]," Zhang said in an interview in London. China generates only 120 megawatts of its electricity from solar power, so the goal represents a 75-fold expansion in just over a decade.
"We are now formulating a plan for development of renewable energy. We can be sure we will exceed the 15% target. We will at least reach 18%. Personally I think we could reach the target of having renewables provide 20% of total energy consumption."
That matches the European goal, and would represent a direct challenge to Europe's claims to world leadership in the field, despite China's relative poverty. Some experts have cast doubt on whether Britain will be able to reach 20%. On another front, China has the ambitious plan of installing 100m energy-efficient lightbulbs this year alone.
Beijing seeks to achieve these goals by directing a significant share of China's $590bn economic stimulus package to low-carbon investment. Of that total, more than $30bn will be spent directly on environmental projects and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
But the indirect green share in the stimulus, in the form of investment in carbon-efficient transport and electricity transmission systems, would be far larger.
HSBC Global Research estimated the total green share could be over a third of the total package.
China also believes the price reforms that will take place in its economic recovery programme will lead to more efficient use of resources and an increased demand for renewable energy.
"Due to the impact of global financial crisis, people are all talking about green and sustainable development," Zhang added. "Enterprises and government at all levels are showing more enthusiasm for the development of solar for power generation, and the Chinese government is now considering rolling out more stimulus policies for the development of solar power."
He said the government would also plough money into the expansion of solar heating systems. He said the country was already a world leader, with 130m square metres of solar heating arrays already installed, and was planning to invest more. The US goal for solar heating by 2020 is 200m square metres.
Zhang was speaking in London on a day China came under increased pressure from Washington to do more cut its emissions.
David Sandalow, the US assistant secretary of energy, said the continuation of business as usual in China would result in a 2.7C rise in temperatures even if every other country slashed greenhouse gas emissions by 80%.
"China can and will need to do much more if the world is going to have any hope of containing climate change," said Sandalow, who is in Beijing as part of a senior negotiating team aiming to find common ground ahead of the crucial Copenhagen summit at the end of this year.
"No effective deal will be possible without the US and China, which together account for almost half of the planet's carbon emissions."
Zhang said China was pursuing "a constructive and a positive role" in negotiations aimed at agreeing a deal in Copenhagen. As part of that agreement, he said developing countries would have to pursue "a sustainable development path", and said Beijing was open to the idea of limits on the carbon intensity of its economy (the emissions per unit of output).
"We have taken note of some expert suggestions on carbon intensity with a view to have some quantified targets in this regard. We are carrying out a serious study of those suggestions," Zhang said.
Zhang told the all-party parliamentary China group in Westminster yesterdaythat Beijing's stimulus package was already showing signs of re-energising the Chinese economy. He said it grew by 6.1% in the first quarter of this year, and growth in the second quarter would be stronger than the first. He predicted that China would meet its target of 8% growth this year.
Source - The Guardian
China is planning a vast increase in its use of wind and solar power over the next decade and believes it can match Europe by 2020, producing a fifth of its energy needs from renewable sources, a senior Chinese official said yesterday.
Zhang Xiaoqiang, vice-chairman of China's national development and reform commission, told the Guardian that Beijing would easily surpass current 2020 targets for the use of wind and solar power and was now contemplating targets that were more than three times higher.
In the current development plan, the goal for wind energy is 30 gigawatts. Zhang said the new goal could be 100GW by 2020.
"Similarly, by 2020 the total installed capacity for solar power will be at least three times that of the original target [3GW]," Zhang said in an interview in London. China generates only 120 megawatts of its electricity from solar power, so the goal represents a 75-fold expansion in just over a decade.
"We are now formulating a plan for development of renewable energy. We can be sure we will exceed the 15% target. We will at least reach 18%. Personally I think we could reach the target of having renewables provide 20% of total energy consumption."
That matches the European goal, and would represent a direct challenge to Europe's claims to world leadership in the field, despite China's relative poverty. Some experts have cast doubt on whether Britain will be able to reach 20%. On another front, China has the ambitious plan of installing 100m energy-efficient lightbulbs this year alone.
Beijing seeks to achieve these goals by directing a significant share of China's $590bn economic stimulus package to low-carbon investment. Of that total, more than $30bn will be spent directly on environmental projects and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
But the indirect green share in the stimulus, in the form of investment in carbon-efficient transport and electricity transmission systems, would be far larger.
HSBC Global Research estimated the total green share could be over a third of the total package.
China also believes the price reforms that will take place in its economic recovery programme will lead to more efficient use of resources and an increased demand for renewable energy.
"Due to the impact of global financial crisis, people are all talking about green and sustainable development," Zhang added. "Enterprises and government at all levels are showing more enthusiasm for the development of solar for power generation, and the Chinese government is now considering rolling out more stimulus policies for the development of solar power."
He said the government would also plough money into the expansion of solar heating systems. He said the country was already a world leader, with 130m square metres of solar heating arrays already installed, and was planning to invest more. The US goal for solar heating by 2020 is 200m square metres.
Zhang was speaking in London on a day China came under increased pressure from Washington to do more cut its emissions.
David Sandalow, the US assistant secretary of energy, said the continuation of business as usual in China would result in a 2.7C rise in temperatures even if every other country slashed greenhouse gas emissions by 80%.
"China can and will need to do much more if the world is going to have any hope of containing climate change," said Sandalow, who is in Beijing as part of a senior negotiating team aiming to find common ground ahead of the crucial Copenhagen summit at the end of this year.
"No effective deal will be possible without the US and China, which together account for almost half of the planet's carbon emissions."
Zhang said China was pursuing "a constructive and a positive role" in negotiations aimed at agreeing a deal in Copenhagen. As part of that agreement, he said developing countries would have to pursue "a sustainable development path", and said Beijing was open to the idea of limits on the carbon intensity of its economy (the emissions per unit of output).
"We have taken note of some expert suggestions on carbon intensity with a view to have some quantified targets in this regard. We are carrying out a serious study of those suggestions," Zhang said.
Zhang told the all-party parliamentary China group in Westminster yesterdaythat Beijing's stimulus package was already showing signs of re-energising the Chinese economy. He said it grew by 6.1% in the first quarter of this year, and growth in the second quarter would be stronger than the first. He predicted that China would meet its target of 8% growth this year.
Source - The Guardian
Sunday, 7 June 2009
Lasers Are Making Solar Cells Competitive
Solar electricity has a future: It is renewable and available in unlimited quantities, and it does not produce any gases detrimental to the climate. Its only drawback right now is the price: the electric power currently being produced by solar cells in northern Europe must be subsidized if it is to compete against the household electricity generated by traditional power plants.
At "Laser 2009" in Munich, June 15 to 18, Fraunhofer researchers will be demonstrating how laser technology can contribute to optimizing the manufacturing costs and efficiency of solar cells.
Cell phones, computers, MP3 players, kitchen stoves, and irons all have one thing in common: They need electricity. And in the future, more and more cars will also be fuelled by electric power. If the latest forecast from the World Energy Council WEC can be believed, global electricity requirements will double in the next 40 years. At the same time, prices for the dwindling resources of petroleum and natural gas are climbing.
"Rising energy prices are making alternative energy sources increasingly cost-effective. Sometime in the coming years, renewable energy sources, such as solar energy, will be competitive, even without subsidization," explains Dr. Arnold Gillner, head of the microtechnology department at the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology in Aachen, Germany.
"Experts predict that grid parity will be achieved in a few years. This means that the costs and opportunities in the grid will be equal for solar electricity and conventionally generated household electricity." Together with his team at the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT in Aachen, this researcher is developing technologies now that will allow faster, better, and cheaper production of solar cells in the future.
"Lasers work quickly, precisely, and without contact. In other words, they are an ideal tool for manufacturing fragile solar cells. In fact, lasers are already being used in production today, but there is still considerable room for process optimization."
In addition to gradually improving the manufacturing technology, the physicists and engineers in Aachen are working with solar cell developers - for example, at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE in Freiburg - on new engineering and design alternatives.
New production technologies allow new design alternatives
At "Laser 2009" in Munich, the researchers will be demonstrating how lasers can drill holes into silicon cells at breathtaking speed: The ILT laser system drills more than 3,000 holes within one second. Because it is not possible to move the laser source at this speed, the experts have developed optimized manufacturing systems which guide and focuses the light beam at the required points.
"We are currently experimenting with various laser sources and optical systems," Gillner explains. "Our goal is to increase the performance to 10,000 holes a second. This is the speed that must be reached in order to drill 10,000 to 20,000 holes into a wafer within the cycle time of the production machines."
The tiny holes in the wafer - their diameter is only 50 micrometers - open up undreamt-of possibilities for the solar cell developers.
"Previously, the electrical contacts were arranged on the top of the cells. The holes make it possible to move the contacts to the back, with the advantage that the electrodes, which currently act as a dark grid to absorb light, disappear. And so the energy yield increases. The goal is a degree of efficiency of 20 percent% in industrially-produced emitter wrap-through (EWT) cells, with a yield of one-third more than classic silicon cells," Gillner explains.
The design principle itself remains unchanged: In the semi-conductor layer, light particles, or photons, produce negative electrons and positive holes, each of which then wanders to the oppositely poled electrodes.
The contacts for anodes and cathodes in the EWT cells are all on the back, there is no shading caused by the electrodes, and the degree of efficiency increases. With this technique, it may one day be possible to use unpurified "dirty" silicon to manufacture solar cells that have poorer electrical properties, but that are cheaper.
Drilling holes into silicon cells is only one of many laser applications in solar cell manufacturing. In the EU project Solasys - Next Generation Solar Cell and Module Laser Processing Systems - an international research team is currently developing new technologies that will allow production to be optimized in the future. ILT in Aachen is coordinating the six million euro project.
"We are working on new methods that make the doping of semiconductors, the drilling and the surface structuring of silicon, the edge isolation of the cells, and the soldering of the modules more economical," project coordinator Gillner explains. For example, "selective laser soldering" makes it possible to improve the rejection rates and quality of the contacting, and so reduce manufacturing costs.
Until now, the electrodes were mechanically pressed onto the cells, and then heated in an oven. "But silicon cells often break during this process," Gillner knows. "Breakage is a primary cost factor in production." On the other hand, however, with "selective laser soldering" the contacts are pressed on to the cells with compressed air and then soldered with the laser.
The mechanical stress approaches zero and the temperature can be precisely regulated. The result: Optimal contacts and almost no rejects.
Laser technology means more efficient thin film cells
Laser technology is also helping to optimize the manufacture of thin film solar cells. The extremely thin film packages made of semiconducting oxide, amorphous silicon, and metal that are deposited onto the glass panels still have a market share of only ten percent.
But as Gillner knows, "This could be higher, because thin film solar cells can be used anywhere that non-transparent glass panels can be mounted, for example, on house facades or sound-insulating walls. But the degrees of efficiency are comparable low at five to eight percent, and the production costs are comparatively high."
The laser researchers are working to improve these costs. Until now, the manufacturers have used mechanical methods or solid-state lasers in the nanosecond range in order to structure the active layers on the glass panels. In order to produce electric connections between the semiconductor and the metal, grooves only a few micrometers wide must be created.
At the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft booth at "Laser 2009" the ILT researchers will be demonstrating a 400-watt ultrashort pulse laser that processes thin-film solar modules ten times faster than conventional diode-pumped solid-state lasers.
"The ultrashort pulse laser is an ideal tool for ablating thin layers: It works very precisely, does not heat the material and, working with a pulse frequency of 80 MHz, can process a 2-by-3 meter glass panel in under two minutes," Gillner reports. "The technology is still very new, and high-performance scanning systems and optical systems adapted to the process must be developed first. In the medium term, however, this technology will be able to reduce production costs."
The rise of laser technology in solar technology is just taking off, and it still has a long way to go. "Lasers simplify and optimize the manufacture of classic silicon and thin-film cells, and they allow the development of new design alternatives," Gillner continues. "And so laser technology is making an important contribution towards allowing renewable energy sources to penetrate further into the energy market."
Source - Solardaily
At "Laser 2009" in Munich, June 15 to 18, Fraunhofer researchers will be demonstrating how laser technology can contribute to optimizing the manufacturing costs and efficiency of solar cells.
Cell phones, computers, MP3 players, kitchen stoves, and irons all have one thing in common: They need electricity. And in the future, more and more cars will also be fuelled by electric power. If the latest forecast from the World Energy Council WEC can be believed, global electricity requirements will double in the next 40 years. At the same time, prices for the dwindling resources of petroleum and natural gas are climbing.
"Rising energy prices are making alternative energy sources increasingly cost-effective. Sometime in the coming years, renewable energy sources, such as solar energy, will be competitive, even without subsidization," explains Dr. Arnold Gillner, head of the microtechnology department at the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology in Aachen, Germany.
"Experts predict that grid parity will be achieved in a few years. This means that the costs and opportunities in the grid will be equal for solar electricity and conventionally generated household electricity." Together with his team at the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT in Aachen, this researcher is developing technologies now that will allow faster, better, and cheaper production of solar cells in the future.
"Lasers work quickly, precisely, and without contact. In other words, they are an ideal tool for manufacturing fragile solar cells. In fact, lasers are already being used in production today, but there is still considerable room for process optimization."
In addition to gradually improving the manufacturing technology, the physicists and engineers in Aachen are working with solar cell developers - for example, at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE in Freiburg - on new engineering and design alternatives.
New production technologies allow new design alternatives
At "Laser 2009" in Munich, the researchers will be demonstrating how lasers can drill holes into silicon cells at breathtaking speed: The ILT laser system drills more than 3,000 holes within one second. Because it is not possible to move the laser source at this speed, the experts have developed optimized manufacturing systems which guide and focuses the light beam at the required points.
"We are currently experimenting with various laser sources and optical systems," Gillner explains. "Our goal is to increase the performance to 10,000 holes a second. This is the speed that must be reached in order to drill 10,000 to 20,000 holes into a wafer within the cycle time of the production machines."
The tiny holes in the wafer - their diameter is only 50 micrometers - open up undreamt-of possibilities for the solar cell developers.
"Previously, the electrical contacts were arranged on the top of the cells. The holes make it possible to move the contacts to the back, with the advantage that the electrodes, which currently act as a dark grid to absorb light, disappear. And so the energy yield increases. The goal is a degree of efficiency of 20 percent% in industrially-produced emitter wrap-through (EWT) cells, with a yield of one-third more than classic silicon cells," Gillner explains.
The design principle itself remains unchanged: In the semi-conductor layer, light particles, or photons, produce negative electrons and positive holes, each of which then wanders to the oppositely poled electrodes.
The contacts for anodes and cathodes in the EWT cells are all on the back, there is no shading caused by the electrodes, and the degree of efficiency increases. With this technique, it may one day be possible to use unpurified "dirty" silicon to manufacture solar cells that have poorer electrical properties, but that are cheaper.
Drilling holes into silicon cells is only one of many laser applications in solar cell manufacturing. In the EU project Solasys - Next Generation Solar Cell and Module Laser Processing Systems - an international research team is currently developing new technologies that will allow production to be optimized in the future. ILT in Aachen is coordinating the six million euro project.
"We are working on new methods that make the doping of semiconductors, the drilling and the surface structuring of silicon, the edge isolation of the cells, and the soldering of the modules more economical," project coordinator Gillner explains. For example, "selective laser soldering" makes it possible to improve the rejection rates and quality of the contacting, and so reduce manufacturing costs.
Until now, the electrodes were mechanically pressed onto the cells, and then heated in an oven. "But silicon cells often break during this process," Gillner knows. "Breakage is a primary cost factor in production." On the other hand, however, with "selective laser soldering" the contacts are pressed on to the cells with compressed air and then soldered with the laser.
The mechanical stress approaches zero and the temperature can be precisely regulated. The result: Optimal contacts and almost no rejects.
Laser technology means more efficient thin film cells
Laser technology is also helping to optimize the manufacture of thin film solar cells. The extremely thin film packages made of semiconducting oxide, amorphous silicon, and metal that are deposited onto the glass panels still have a market share of only ten percent.
But as Gillner knows, "This could be higher, because thin film solar cells can be used anywhere that non-transparent glass panels can be mounted, for example, on house facades or sound-insulating walls. But the degrees of efficiency are comparable low at five to eight percent, and the production costs are comparatively high."
The laser researchers are working to improve these costs. Until now, the manufacturers have used mechanical methods or solid-state lasers in the nanosecond range in order to structure the active layers on the glass panels. In order to produce electric connections between the semiconductor and the metal, grooves only a few micrometers wide must be created.
At the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft booth at "Laser 2009" the ILT researchers will be demonstrating a 400-watt ultrashort pulse laser that processes thin-film solar modules ten times faster than conventional diode-pumped solid-state lasers.
"The ultrashort pulse laser is an ideal tool for ablating thin layers: It works very precisely, does not heat the material and, working with a pulse frequency of 80 MHz, can process a 2-by-3 meter glass panel in under two minutes," Gillner reports. "The technology is still very new, and high-performance scanning systems and optical systems adapted to the process must be developed first. In the medium term, however, this technology will be able to reduce production costs."
The rise of laser technology in solar technology is just taking off, and it still has a long way to go. "Lasers simplify and optimize the manufacture of classic silicon and thin-film cells, and they allow the development of new design alternatives," Gillner continues. "And so laser technology is making an important contribution towards allowing renewable energy sources to penetrate further into the energy market."
Source - Solardaily
Thursday, 4 June 2009
Satcon Powers Hawaii's Largest Solar Farm
Satcon has announced that their industry leading PowerGate Plus Spectrum micro grid solution has been selected to power La Ola Hawaii's largest solar photovoltaic (PV) farm and Micro-Grid on the island of Lana'i.
The 1.2 megawatt (MW) installation sits on a 10 acre site in south Lana'i on the Palawai Basin and is the first solar photovoltaic power plant to be controlled remotely by a utility, Maui Electric Company, Ltd. (MECO).
The micro grid developed, coordinated and operated by Lanai Sustainability Research, LLC, through its managing member, Castle and Cooke Solar Management, LLC, and designed and built by California-based SunPower, is expected to produce enough solar energy to supply up to 30 percent of the island's electric demand.
The advanced control capabilities and optimized power efficiencies of Satcon's Spectrum micro grid solution, combined with SunPower's solar tracking system, will increase the energy capture of the farm by more than 500,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) annually.
"Our goal of helping the state of Hawaii achieve energy independence has taken a significant step forward with the La Ola solar farm in Lana'i," said Harry Saunders, President of Castle and Cooke Solar Management.
"Satcon was the obvious partner choice for this project as we assembled a team of the industry's most innovative minds to pioneer our micro grid solution. The combination of their deep expertise within solar power conversion, their experience with successful large scale renewable to grid interconnection, and their proven PowerGate Plus solutions helped enable our team to solve the challenges that faced us as we constructed a stable and reliable island grid built on a solar energy framework."
The solar farm builds on the progress of Governor Lingle's Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative; an unprecedented state partnership launched in January 2008 with the U.S. Department of Energy which aims to have 70 percent of Hawaii's energy needs come from clean sources by 2030.
Satcon's Spectrum channels renewable power into the Maui Electric Company grid, resulting in an increase of 14.4 percent of installed electric generating capacity to the island. La Ola offers an offset equivalent to burning 202,400 gallons of diesel fuel, thereby avoiding 4.5 million pounds of carbon dioxide emission annually.
"We are honored to be a part of this best in class team of solar power innovators who are successfully supplying stable, high quality renewable power locally, at the point of demand," said Leo Casey, Chief Technology Officer of Satcon.
"What we have achieved with MECO and Castle and Cooke is a significant advancement in solving renewable energy challenges of intermittency and power storage and will ensure uninterrupted utility-grade renewable energy to deliver the energy security, reliability, safety, sustainability and cost effectiveness required for the island."
"The La Ola, Lanai's Solar Farm, will offer visibility to utilities around the world about how to successfully integrate solar PV power plants into the grid at high penetration levels," said Jean Wilson, Vice President and General Manager of Utilities and Power Plants at SunPower Corp.
"Satcon's inverters provide low voltage ride-through as well as the production and consumption of reactive power, both of which are crucial to grid operation in this application, as the solar farm will provide up to 30 percent of peak generation on Lana'i. We believe that the solar power plant solution Castle and Cooke, MECO, Satcon and SunPower jointly developed will be the foundation for planning rapid growth in deployment of solar PV power plants around the world."
Source - Solardaily
The 1.2 megawatt (MW) installation sits on a 10 acre site in south Lana'i on the Palawai Basin and is the first solar photovoltaic power plant to be controlled remotely by a utility, Maui Electric Company, Ltd. (MECO).
The micro grid developed, coordinated and operated by Lanai Sustainability Research, LLC, through its managing member, Castle and Cooke Solar Management, LLC, and designed and built by California-based SunPower, is expected to produce enough solar energy to supply up to 30 percent of the island's electric demand.
The advanced control capabilities and optimized power efficiencies of Satcon's Spectrum micro grid solution, combined with SunPower's solar tracking system, will increase the energy capture of the farm by more than 500,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) annually.
"Our goal of helping the state of Hawaii achieve energy independence has taken a significant step forward with the La Ola solar farm in Lana'i," said Harry Saunders, President of Castle and Cooke Solar Management.
"Satcon was the obvious partner choice for this project as we assembled a team of the industry's most innovative minds to pioneer our micro grid solution. The combination of their deep expertise within solar power conversion, their experience with successful large scale renewable to grid interconnection, and their proven PowerGate Plus solutions helped enable our team to solve the challenges that faced us as we constructed a stable and reliable island grid built on a solar energy framework."
The solar farm builds on the progress of Governor Lingle's Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative; an unprecedented state partnership launched in January 2008 with the U.S. Department of Energy which aims to have 70 percent of Hawaii's energy needs come from clean sources by 2030.
Satcon's Spectrum channels renewable power into the Maui Electric Company grid, resulting in an increase of 14.4 percent of installed electric generating capacity to the island. La Ola offers an offset equivalent to burning 202,400 gallons of diesel fuel, thereby avoiding 4.5 million pounds of carbon dioxide emission annually.
"We are honored to be a part of this best in class team of solar power innovators who are successfully supplying stable, high quality renewable power locally, at the point of demand," said Leo Casey, Chief Technology Officer of Satcon.
"What we have achieved with MECO and Castle and Cooke is a significant advancement in solving renewable energy challenges of intermittency and power storage and will ensure uninterrupted utility-grade renewable energy to deliver the energy security, reliability, safety, sustainability and cost effectiveness required for the island."
"The La Ola, Lanai's Solar Farm, will offer visibility to utilities around the world about how to successfully integrate solar PV power plants into the grid at high penetration levels," said Jean Wilson, Vice President and General Manager of Utilities and Power Plants at SunPower Corp.
"Satcon's inverters provide low voltage ride-through as well as the production and consumption of reactive power, both of which are crucial to grid operation in this application, as the solar farm will provide up to 30 percent of peak generation on Lana'i. We believe that the solar power plant solution Castle and Cooke, MECO, Satcon and SunPower jointly developed will be the foundation for planning rapid growth in deployment of solar PV power plants around the world."
Source - Solardaily
Wednesday, 27 May 2009
World's Largest Commercial Rooftop Solar-Powered Heating And Cooling System
ERS is currently working with Steinway and Sons to install the largest solar-sourced industrial heating/cooling system in the world at the renown piano maker's 11-acre manufacturing complex in Long Island City, NY. ERS conceived the design and approached Steinway with the project.
"ERS was instrumental in the development of this project, and they've played a key role in all phases including securing grants, conducting the technical and economic analyses, and participating in the design and implementation process. They will also conduct commissioning and analysis upon completion of the installation," said Bill Rigos, Facilities Manager at Steinway.
The system works by collecting the sun's rays with 38 rooftop solar concentrating troughs that reflect and focus the energy onto receiver tubes through which a thermal fluid circulates.
Once the liquid reaches 340 degrees Fahrenheit, the system pumps it to a high performance 100-ton double-effect absorption chiller that uses the superheated water to develop a chilled water supply through a highly specialized process.
The chilled water will be used to provide cool air and dehumidification to help maintain the consistent environment required for Steinway's piano manufacturing.
Another unique facet of this solar-powered system is that when cooling/dehumidification is not needed, the solar hot water can be converted to steam for process or space heating purposes in the factory. "You don't see many renewable projects targeted at the industrial sector," says Mark D'Antonio, Vice President of ERS.
"However this type of system makes great sense when you can utilize the solar energy year-round. Steinway has seasonal loads for both heating and cooling/dehumidification, and they always have process loads. Anytime the sun shines, they can put the energy to good use."
Since this sustainable project is being installed in New York City - not typically considered a premier solar location - innovative features have been used to optimize the system. The collectors automatically track the sun across the sky, ensuring a maximum amount of sunlight collection. And for those cloudy days when there is very little direct sunlight, the dual-fuel chiller can use natural gas power instead of solar to operate.
"Although one might not consider New York City to be the sunshine capital of the U.S.," D'Antonio says, "there are adequate solar resources for this type of system. Couple this with high regional energy costs, available funding sources, and tax benefits, and this system becomes a good business proposition."
The project is being partially funded by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and federal tax benefits, which, combined with Steinway's cost share, result in a simple payback of less than 5 years.
ERS and NYSERDA will study the performance of this innovative system in order to advance and promote the technology with hopes that it will be suitable for wide adoption and implementation at other commercial and industrial facilities.
Source - Solardaily
"ERS was instrumental in the development of this project, and they've played a key role in all phases including securing grants, conducting the technical and economic analyses, and participating in the design and implementation process. They will also conduct commissioning and analysis upon completion of the installation," said Bill Rigos, Facilities Manager at Steinway.
The system works by collecting the sun's rays with 38 rooftop solar concentrating troughs that reflect and focus the energy onto receiver tubes through which a thermal fluid circulates.
Once the liquid reaches 340 degrees Fahrenheit, the system pumps it to a high performance 100-ton double-effect absorption chiller that uses the superheated water to develop a chilled water supply through a highly specialized process.
The chilled water will be used to provide cool air and dehumidification to help maintain the consistent environment required for Steinway's piano manufacturing.
Another unique facet of this solar-powered system is that when cooling/dehumidification is not needed, the solar hot water can be converted to steam for process or space heating purposes in the factory. "You don't see many renewable projects targeted at the industrial sector," says Mark D'Antonio, Vice President of ERS.
"However this type of system makes great sense when you can utilize the solar energy year-round. Steinway has seasonal loads for both heating and cooling/dehumidification, and they always have process loads. Anytime the sun shines, they can put the energy to good use."
Since this sustainable project is being installed in New York City - not typically considered a premier solar location - innovative features have been used to optimize the system. The collectors automatically track the sun across the sky, ensuring a maximum amount of sunlight collection. And for those cloudy days when there is very little direct sunlight, the dual-fuel chiller can use natural gas power instead of solar to operate.
"Although one might not consider New York City to be the sunshine capital of the U.S.," D'Antonio says, "there are adequate solar resources for this type of system. Couple this with high regional energy costs, available funding sources, and tax benefits, and this system becomes a good business proposition."
The project is being partially funded by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and federal tax benefits, which, combined with Steinway's cost share, result in a simple payback of less than 5 years.
ERS and NYSERDA will study the performance of this innovative system in order to advance and promote the technology with hopes that it will be suitable for wide adoption and implementation at other commercial and industrial facilities.
Source - Solardaily
Wednesday, 20 May 2009
Solar Modules Installed On European Court Of Justice
Kyocera has announced that the European Court of Justice, officially known as the Court of Justice of the European Communities, has installed Kyocera solar modules on its new building.
As one of the leading manufacturers of photovoltaic systems for more than three decades, Kyocera produces its solar modules without procuring any semi-finished components in its fully integrated production process, thus ensuring quality at every stage of manufacturing.
Quality was the decisive factor in installing a photovoltaic system composed of Kyocera solar modules at the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg. The roof of the new building will be lined with 2,262 KC175GH-2P modules with a total capacity of 400 kWp, and the system is expected to generate an estimated 360,000 kWh annually.
By using this environmentally-friendly energy source the court facilities will be contributing to the reduction of CO2 emissions. The installation of the system was completed in December 2008.
"We are proud that the roof-mounted system at the European Court of Justice will be equipped with Kyocera modules," stated the President of Kyocera operations in Europe, Mitsuru Imanaka.
"The confidence shown in our products adds further impetus in our continual pursuit for superior quality. While aiming to achieve this, we are driven by our resolve to develop environmentally-friendly products and technologies that provide both environmental and economic advantages."
Kyocera is a pioneering company in the solar energy industry which first began developing solar cells in 1975. Over 30 years of experience have allowed the company to master all stages of production at the highest level - from processing raw materials, making wafers and solar cells to module installation.
The result of Kyocera's years of experience and fully integrated production process is superior quality and long product life.
Kyocera has also started construction of a new production facility for solar cells in Shiga Prefecture, Japan, which will contribute to achieving plans to increase the cell production output from the current 300 Megawatts per year to 650 Megawatts per year by 2012.
Source - Solardaily
As one of the leading manufacturers of photovoltaic systems for more than three decades, Kyocera produces its solar modules without procuring any semi-finished components in its fully integrated production process, thus ensuring quality at every stage of manufacturing.
Quality was the decisive factor in installing a photovoltaic system composed of Kyocera solar modules at the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg. The roof of the new building will be lined with 2,262 KC175GH-2P modules with a total capacity of 400 kWp, and the system is expected to generate an estimated 360,000 kWh annually.
By using this environmentally-friendly energy source the court facilities will be contributing to the reduction of CO2 emissions. The installation of the system was completed in December 2008.
"We are proud that the roof-mounted system at the European Court of Justice will be equipped with Kyocera modules," stated the President of Kyocera operations in Europe, Mitsuru Imanaka.
"The confidence shown in our products adds further impetus in our continual pursuit for superior quality. While aiming to achieve this, we are driven by our resolve to develop environmentally-friendly products and technologies that provide both environmental and economic advantages."
Kyocera is a pioneering company in the solar energy industry which first began developing solar cells in 1975. Over 30 years of experience have allowed the company to master all stages of production at the highest level - from processing raw materials, making wafers and solar cells to module installation.
The result of Kyocera's years of experience and fully integrated production process is superior quality and long product life.
Kyocera has also started construction of a new production facility for solar cells in Shiga Prefecture, Japan, which will contribute to achieving plans to increase the cell production output from the current 300 Megawatts per year to 650 Megawatts per year by 2012.
Source - Solardaily
Monday, 18 May 2009
Cost of solar panels will match fossil fuels by 2013
Solar energy will fall in price to match the cost of conventional fossil fuel electricity far sooner than previously expected, the UK’s largest solar company has claimed in a new report. Solarcentury said British homeowners will see solar achieve “grid parity” – the point where solar electricity rivals or becomes cheaper than conventional nonrenewable electricity – by 2013. Most predictions suggest that technological innovation will not bring the price down far enough until 2020 or later.
The company suggested falling production costs for solar panels and increasing conventional electricity costs have brought parity closer. Prices for solar and grid electricity in residential homes are expected to crossover at around 17p to 18p per unit of electricity (kWh) in 2013, followed by parity for commercial solar electricity in 2018.
Last December, the renewable energy analysts New Energy Finance predicted silicon costs – a key material for much solar panel technology – would fall by 31.5% in 2009 compared with 2008 levels. Energy consultants Element Energy, under commission from the government, have also forecast solar PV costs will fall by around half between now and 2020.
Derry Newman, CEO for Solarcentury, said: “When you reach grid parity, you have a watershed moment where the perceptions of investors and consumers shift. People have been programmed to believe solar is expensive and takes a hundred years to pay back, but when parity arrives people realise it takes 8-10 years to payback, and they can then be making money out of it.”
Jeremy Leggett, executive chairman of Solarcentury said, “The feed-in tariff that the government has said it will bring in from April 2010 is vital. A burst of premium-pricing for solar energy, of the kind now on offer in 18 European countries, will stimulate a very fast-growing market.”
Experts said the projections were based on significant assumptions in future energy prices, which have been extremely volatile over recent years – last year saw gas and electricity prices double, but now household bills are falling again.
Ray Noble, solar PV specialist at the Renewable Energy Association, said: “The predicted grid parity by 2013 could be possible if all of the predictions, both in terms of grid electricity prices increasing and reductions in the cost of solar PV, come through. However that’s a big if – any slight changes in the pricing can add further years to this date.” He added that the important message is that even if grid parity slipped to 2016, the moment when solar can compete on cost is not far off.
Chris Goodall, Green party parliamentary candidate and author of Ten Technologies to Save the Planet, warned the grid parity predictions were based on unrealistic price assumptions. “This projection of residential grid parity depends crucially on continually increasing prices of conventional electricity, but I just don’t see any evidence that residential electricity will cost 17-18p a kWh in 2013. The ‘underlying’ retail price of electricity at the moment is no more than 11p per kWh,” he said.
Newman argued that China will continue to take more fossil fuel and believes peak oil will begin to bite in 2013, which will both contribute to rising prices in fossil fuel electricity.
Source - Heatmyhome
The company suggested falling production costs for solar panels and increasing conventional electricity costs have brought parity closer. Prices for solar and grid electricity in residential homes are expected to crossover at around 17p to 18p per unit of electricity (kWh) in 2013, followed by parity for commercial solar electricity in 2018.
Last December, the renewable energy analysts New Energy Finance predicted silicon costs – a key material for much solar panel technology – would fall by 31.5% in 2009 compared with 2008 levels. Energy consultants Element Energy, under commission from the government, have also forecast solar PV costs will fall by around half between now and 2020.
Derry Newman, CEO for Solarcentury, said: “When you reach grid parity, you have a watershed moment where the perceptions of investors and consumers shift. People have been programmed to believe solar is expensive and takes a hundred years to pay back, but when parity arrives people realise it takes 8-10 years to payback, and they can then be making money out of it.”
Jeremy Leggett, executive chairman of Solarcentury said, “The feed-in tariff that the government has said it will bring in from April 2010 is vital. A burst of premium-pricing for solar energy, of the kind now on offer in 18 European countries, will stimulate a very fast-growing market.”
Experts said the projections were based on significant assumptions in future energy prices, which have been extremely volatile over recent years – last year saw gas and electricity prices double, but now household bills are falling again.
Ray Noble, solar PV specialist at the Renewable Energy Association, said: “The predicted grid parity by 2013 could be possible if all of the predictions, both in terms of grid electricity prices increasing and reductions in the cost of solar PV, come through. However that’s a big if – any slight changes in the pricing can add further years to this date.” He added that the important message is that even if grid parity slipped to 2016, the moment when solar can compete on cost is not far off.
Chris Goodall, Green party parliamentary candidate and author of Ten Technologies to Save the Planet, warned the grid parity predictions were based on unrealistic price assumptions. “This projection of residential grid parity depends crucially on continually increasing prices of conventional electricity, but I just don’t see any evidence that residential electricity will cost 17-18p a kWh in 2013. The ‘underlying’ retail price of electricity at the moment is no more than 11p per kWh,” he said.
Newman argued that China will continue to take more fossil fuel and believes peak oil will begin to bite in 2013, which will both contribute to rising prices in fossil fuel electricity.
Source - Heatmyhome
Wednesday, 29 April 2009
Bright Future With Solar Lanterns For India's Poor
Solar energy has the potential to improve the living conditions of poor rural households in India as well as contribute to the country’s future energy security, according to Professor Govindasamy Agoramoorthy from Tajen University, who is Tata-Sadguru Visiting Chair, and Dr. Minna Hsu from the National Sun Yat-sen University in Taiwan.
Their study, looking at the benefits of solar lanterns on the livelihoods of village communities in Western India, as well as sustainable use of the environment, has just been published online in Springer’s journal Human Ecology.
In India, approximately 70 percent of rural areas lack electricity and over 60 percent of rural households use kerosene lamps for lighting. Kerosene lamps are not only expensive, they are also inefficient, potentially dangerous and a major source of greenhouse gases. Interestingly, the average number of sunny days in India ranges from 250 to 300 days a year, with a solar energy equivalent greater than the country’s total energy consumption. Energy efficiency is critical to nations such as India with large and growing populations. Solar lanterns, which make the most of the country’s natural and abundant sunshine, could be a practical and clean energy alternative to kerosene lamps in village communities.
Sadguru Foundation, a non-profit agency specializing in natural resources management in India, supplied 100 solar lanterns to socially and economically disadvantaged households in 25 villages in the Dahod District of the Gujarat State between January 2004 and December 2007. Agoramoorthy and Hsu studied the effects of using solar lanterns on energy usage, household savings in terms of kerosene and electricity costs, as well as the family’s quality of life. The women in the households were interviewed a month before and again a month after the introduction of the solar lanterns.
Overall, expenditure on kerosene and electricity dropped significantly in all households, after the solar lanterns were introduced. On average each household made important savings ranging from 150 to 250 US dollars annually. Whereas both households above and below the poverty level used a similar amount of electricity before the lanterns were introduced, after their introduction households below the poverty level used significantly less electricity than those above the poverty level.
The researchers also found that the solar lanterns particularly benefited school-aged children and women. Although 70 percent of the villages are connected to the power grid, they do not receive power early in the morning or in the evening because the state power company redirects electricity to major towns and cities. However, with the six hours of light supplied daily by the solar lanterns, study hours increased which had a positive influence on the children’s performance at school. Women were also able to perform their routine household work both indoors and outdoors during power outages.
The authors conclude that “the use of solar energy will contribute to India’s future energy security, particularly in rural areas where the technology that converts sunlight directly into electricity offers a decentralized alternative to uncertain electricity supplies. If implemented efficiently, renewable energy projects could not only improve the quality of life for India’s rural poor but also enhance sustainable use of the environment.”
Source - Sciencedaily
Their study, looking at the benefits of solar lanterns on the livelihoods of village communities in Western India, as well as sustainable use of the environment, has just been published online in Springer’s journal Human Ecology.
In India, approximately 70 percent of rural areas lack electricity and over 60 percent of rural households use kerosene lamps for lighting. Kerosene lamps are not only expensive, they are also inefficient, potentially dangerous and a major source of greenhouse gases. Interestingly, the average number of sunny days in India ranges from 250 to 300 days a year, with a solar energy equivalent greater than the country’s total energy consumption. Energy efficiency is critical to nations such as India with large and growing populations. Solar lanterns, which make the most of the country’s natural and abundant sunshine, could be a practical and clean energy alternative to kerosene lamps in village communities.
Sadguru Foundation, a non-profit agency specializing in natural resources management in India, supplied 100 solar lanterns to socially and economically disadvantaged households in 25 villages in the Dahod District of the Gujarat State between January 2004 and December 2007. Agoramoorthy and Hsu studied the effects of using solar lanterns on energy usage, household savings in terms of kerosene and electricity costs, as well as the family’s quality of life. The women in the households were interviewed a month before and again a month after the introduction of the solar lanterns.
Overall, expenditure on kerosene and electricity dropped significantly in all households, after the solar lanterns were introduced. On average each household made important savings ranging from 150 to 250 US dollars annually. Whereas both households above and below the poverty level used a similar amount of electricity before the lanterns were introduced, after their introduction households below the poverty level used significantly less electricity than those above the poverty level.
The researchers also found that the solar lanterns particularly benefited school-aged children and women. Although 70 percent of the villages are connected to the power grid, they do not receive power early in the morning or in the evening because the state power company redirects electricity to major towns and cities. However, with the six hours of light supplied daily by the solar lanterns, study hours increased which had a positive influence on the children’s performance at school. Women were also able to perform their routine household work both indoors and outdoors during power outages.
The authors conclude that “the use of solar energy will contribute to India’s future energy security, particularly in rural areas where the technology that converts sunlight directly into electricity offers a decentralized alternative to uncertain electricity supplies. If implemented efficiently, renewable energy projects could not only improve the quality of life for India’s rural poor but also enhance sustainable use of the environment.”
Source - Sciencedaily
Thursday, 12 March 2009
Study: Solar water heating good investment
Scientists in India say they have analyzed the engineering and economics of a solar water-heating system and determined it is a good investment.
Vivek Khambalkar, Sharashchandra Gadge and Dhiraj Karale at the Deshmukh Agricultural University in Maharashtra, India, determined the 264,172-gallon (1,000 liter) solar water-heating system at a university hostel had a payback period of only two years.
The researchers evaluated the various costs and benefits involved in solar hot-water production.
"Solar energy is the only renewable energy source that has a wide range of uses with commercial viability," they said. "Solar energy provides water heating, air heating and electricity through various modes of applications. The use of solar energy for thermal purposes is the most cost-effective way of utilizing the resource."
The team estimated the solar water-heating system will effectively pay for itself five times over, given an estimated working life of about 20 years.
The research appears in the International Journal of Global Energy Issues.
Source - Solar daily
Vivek Khambalkar, Sharashchandra Gadge and Dhiraj Karale at the Deshmukh Agricultural University in Maharashtra, India, determined the 264,172-gallon (1,000 liter) solar water-heating system at a university hostel had a payback period of only two years.
The researchers evaluated the various costs and benefits involved in solar hot-water production.
"Solar energy is the only renewable energy source that has a wide range of uses with commercial viability," they said. "Solar energy provides water heating, air heating and electricity through various modes of applications. The use of solar energy for thermal purposes is the most cost-effective way of utilizing the resource."
The team estimated the solar water-heating system will effectively pay for itself five times over, given an estimated working life of about 20 years.
The research appears in the International Journal of Global Energy Issues.
Source - Solar daily
Monday, 2 February 2009
7% of power will come from solar panels sources by 2020
Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, crown prince of Abu Dhabi, has decreed that 7% of power will come from solar panels sources by 2020.
The Middle East nation holds around 8% of the world’s oil reserves and derives the vast bulk of its national income from fossil fuels, but while other OPEC oil cartel members see renewables as a threat, it has taken a different view.
Sultan Al Jaber, chief executive of the state-owned future energy company Masdar, which will oversee the green drive, said at the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi that it was natural tomove into this new sector. By doing so Masdar would “provide a comprehensive solution to the world’s energy challenges and maintain Abu Dhabi’s position as a leading supplier of energy to the world.” The Gulf state, a part of the United Arab Emirates, also wants to differentiate itself from neighbour Dubai, and diversify its economy, believing a “green” infrastructure will help its image as a new tourist destination.
Abu Dhabi has already put itself forward as a possible location for the headquarters of a planned International Renewable Energy Agency being promoted by Germany. “Many [Opec members] see renewables as a threat but the crown prince sees them as an opportunity,” said a source close to the Abu Dhabi state. “He knows that the oil will eventually run out and he wants to ensure there is something left for future generations,” he added.
Prince Charles, who has close links to the Gulf royals, has been actively encouraging the green initiative behind the scenes, the source added, explaining that the Masdar executives had been invited to Buckingham Palace last year.
Prince Charles is already a patron of the Masdar City project which aims to build the world’s first carbon-neutral city in Abu Dhabi. He made an appearance by holographic video link at the first World Future Energy Summit held in the Gulf state last year. Prince Andrew has also become involved and was present at the meeting in the throne room at Buckingham Palace.
Masdar expects to mainly use solar energy to reach its 7% targets but is also looking at wind and even geothermal power, where heat from the ground is used as a power source. Masdar has already built links to Britain by investing with E.ON of Germany and DONG of Denmark in the London Array wind farm project of the coast of Kent which is tipped to be the biggest of its kind in the world.
The Abu Dhabi state stepped in when Shell pulled out of the £1bn project. The Anglo-Dutch oil group said it was concentrating its wind investment in the US, a move followed by BP. Masdar has $15bn worth of state-funding and has already started to build up its solar power business through a joint venture with Germany, a leader in the photovoltaics field. A new company, Masdar PV, will build manufacturing plants in both Germany and Abu Dhabi that will serve the growing demand for solar panels, which is beginning to compete on a cost basis with traditional energy sources, even without subsidies.
Dutch solar firm Econcern claimed today at the summit that prices of solar panels would half in the next five to six years. It claimed the global industry had already met the International Energy Agency’s target of 10GW of installed solar power by 2020.
Source - The Guardian
The Middle East nation holds around 8% of the world’s oil reserves and derives the vast bulk of its national income from fossil fuels, but while other OPEC oil cartel members see renewables as a threat, it has taken a different view.
Sultan Al Jaber, chief executive of the state-owned future energy company Masdar, which will oversee the green drive, said at the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi that it was natural tomove into this new sector. By doing so Masdar would “provide a comprehensive solution to the world’s energy challenges and maintain Abu Dhabi’s position as a leading supplier of energy to the world.” The Gulf state, a part of the United Arab Emirates, also wants to differentiate itself from neighbour Dubai, and diversify its economy, believing a “green” infrastructure will help its image as a new tourist destination.
Abu Dhabi has already put itself forward as a possible location for the headquarters of a planned International Renewable Energy Agency being promoted by Germany. “Many [Opec members] see renewables as a threat but the crown prince sees them as an opportunity,” said a source close to the Abu Dhabi state. “He knows that the oil will eventually run out and he wants to ensure there is something left for future generations,” he added.
Prince Charles, who has close links to the Gulf royals, has been actively encouraging the green initiative behind the scenes, the source added, explaining that the Masdar executives had been invited to Buckingham Palace last year.
Prince Charles is already a patron of the Masdar City project which aims to build the world’s first carbon-neutral city in Abu Dhabi. He made an appearance by holographic video link at the first World Future Energy Summit held in the Gulf state last year. Prince Andrew has also become involved and was present at the meeting in the throne room at Buckingham Palace.
Masdar expects to mainly use solar energy to reach its 7% targets but is also looking at wind and even geothermal power, where heat from the ground is used as a power source. Masdar has already built links to Britain by investing with E.ON of Germany and DONG of Denmark in the London Array wind farm project of the coast of Kent which is tipped to be the biggest of its kind in the world.
The Abu Dhabi state stepped in when Shell pulled out of the £1bn project. The Anglo-Dutch oil group said it was concentrating its wind investment in the US, a move followed by BP. Masdar has $15bn worth of state-funding and has already started to build up its solar power business through a joint venture with Germany, a leader in the photovoltaics field. A new company, Masdar PV, will build manufacturing plants in both Germany and Abu Dhabi that will serve the growing demand for solar panels, which is beginning to compete on a cost basis with traditional energy sources, even without subsidies.
Dutch solar firm Econcern claimed today at the summit that prices of solar panels would half in the next five to six years. It claimed the global industry had already met the International Energy Agency’s target of 10GW of installed solar power by 2020.
Source - The Guardian
Monday, 12 January 2009
Perpetual Energy Systems Activates Largest Solar Energy Installation At US Winery
Perpetual Energy Systems (PES), comprehensive financier and developer of solar powered renewable energy systems, and Foster's Wine Estates Americas (Foster's), a subsidiary of Foster's Group in Australia, today announces the activation of four solar installations including the largest solar energy system hosted by a United States winery.
Beringer Vineyards hosts a 1,341,200 W DC solar energy system, the largest operational solar installation at a winery in the country. Additionally, Beringer's sister winery at Asti, home to brands Souverain and Cellar No. 8, hosts the third largest system of its kind, producing 1,152,144 W DC. All four active rooftop installations, including Etude and Stags' Leap Winery, will generate 3.85 million Kilowatt hours (KWh AC) of energy annually.
PES combined conventional financing, construction and permanent debt and equity, with the federal energy tax credits program to fund the entire installation without capital investment from Foster's. As the financier, PES retains ownership of the solar panels as well as the renewable energy certificates and carbon credits determined by the system's actual kilowatt hour output.
"Partnering with Foster's to host the largest solar energy project at a U.S. winery is an honor for us," says Laurance Friedman, co-chair of Perpetual Energy Systems. "The importance of renewable energy is gaining momentum in the corporate arena. Through this collaboration, Foster's gains a reduction in energy costs and elevates its role as a responsible corporate citizen."
Foster's will host the system for a 25-year term and will have access to renewable energy at a reduced rate for each of the sites for the duration of the relationship.
"This is a smart way for us to do the right thing for the environment," commented Scott Weiss, Managing Director of Foster's Americas. "By hosting the solar energy systems at our wineries, we're helping to leverage the beautiful climate that grows world-class wine grapes to also generate clean energy. This is a great example of Sustainability at work - it's good for the environment, our community, and our business."
The combined system occupies 400,000 square feet of total rooftop structures and will eliminate 2.0 million pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per year from the environment equating to:
+ The removal of 183 passenger cars from the roads each year (per www.pge.com).
+ More than 150,000 trees needed to eliminate this amount of CO2 from the environment per year (www.coloradotrees.org).
In conjunction with Perpetual Energy Systems, The Bright Group, Inc. and Stellar Energy Solutions served as co-developers for planning and construction of the project. The Bright Group, which specializes in integrated solar energy generation and innovative roof applications, founded Foster's Wine Estates solar initiative in March of 2007. The company conducted pre-development engineering, system design including building allocation and roofing specifications.
Source - Solardaily
Beringer Vineyards hosts a 1,341,200 W DC solar energy system, the largest operational solar installation at a winery in the country. Additionally, Beringer's sister winery at Asti, home to brands Souverain and Cellar No. 8, hosts the third largest system of its kind, producing 1,152,144 W DC. All four active rooftop installations, including Etude and Stags' Leap Winery, will generate 3.85 million Kilowatt hours (KWh AC) of energy annually.
PES combined conventional financing, construction and permanent debt and equity, with the federal energy tax credits program to fund the entire installation without capital investment from Foster's. As the financier, PES retains ownership of the solar panels as well as the renewable energy certificates and carbon credits determined by the system's actual kilowatt hour output.
"Partnering with Foster's to host the largest solar energy project at a U.S. winery is an honor for us," says Laurance Friedman, co-chair of Perpetual Energy Systems. "The importance of renewable energy is gaining momentum in the corporate arena. Through this collaboration, Foster's gains a reduction in energy costs and elevates its role as a responsible corporate citizen."
Foster's will host the system for a 25-year term and will have access to renewable energy at a reduced rate for each of the sites for the duration of the relationship.
"This is a smart way for us to do the right thing for the environment," commented Scott Weiss, Managing Director of Foster's Americas. "By hosting the solar energy systems at our wineries, we're helping to leverage the beautiful climate that grows world-class wine grapes to also generate clean energy. This is a great example of Sustainability at work - it's good for the environment, our community, and our business."
The combined system occupies 400,000 square feet of total rooftop structures and will eliminate 2.0 million pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per year from the environment equating to:
+ The removal of 183 passenger cars from the roads each year (per www.pge.com).
+ More than 150,000 trees needed to eliminate this amount of CO2 from the environment per year (www.coloradotrees.org).
In conjunction with Perpetual Energy Systems, The Bright Group, Inc. and Stellar Energy Solutions served as co-developers for planning and construction of the project. The Bright Group, which specializes in integrated solar energy generation and innovative roof applications, founded Foster's Wine Estates solar initiative in March of 2007. The company conducted pre-development engineering, system design including building allocation and roofing specifications.
Source - Solardaily
Sunday, 28 December 2008
Japan launches first solar cargo ship
The world's first cargo ship partly propelled by solar power took to the seas on Friday in Japan, aiming to cut fuel costs and carbon emissions when automakers ship off their exports.
Auriga Leader, a freighter developed by shipping line Nippon Yusen K.K. and oil distributor Nippon Oil Corp., took off from a shipyard in the western city of Kobe, officials of the two firms said.
The huge freighter capable of carrying 6,400 automobiles is equipped with 328 solar panels at a cost of 150 million yen (1.68 million dollars), the officials said.
The ship will initially transport vehicles being sent for sale overseas by Japan's top automaker Toyota Motor Corp. The project was conceived before the global economic crisis, which has forced automakers to drastically cut production as sales dwindle.
Company officials said the 60,213-tonne, 200-metre (660-foot) long ship is the first large vessel in the world with a solar-based propulsion system. So far solar energy has been limited to supporting lighting and crew's living quarters.
The solar power system can generate 40 kilowatts, which would initially cover only 0.2 percent of the ship's energy consumption for propulsion, but company officials said they hoped to raise the ratio.
The shipping industry has come under growing pressure to take part in efforts to curb global warming, which is blamed on carbon emissions.
Estimates say maritime transport accounts for anything from 1.4 percent to 4.5 percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions. But the industry remains largely unregulated due to its international nature.
Nippon Yusen, Japan's largest shipping company, has set a goal of halving its fuel consumption and carbon-dioxide emissions by 2010.
Resource-poor Japan has been looking for ways to reduce its dependency on foreign oil.
Source - Solardaily
Auriga Leader, a freighter developed by shipping line Nippon Yusen K.K. and oil distributor Nippon Oil Corp., took off from a shipyard in the western city of Kobe, officials of the two firms said.
The huge freighter capable of carrying 6,400 automobiles is equipped with 328 solar panels at a cost of 150 million yen (1.68 million dollars), the officials said.
The ship will initially transport vehicles being sent for sale overseas by Japan's top automaker Toyota Motor Corp. The project was conceived before the global economic crisis, which has forced automakers to drastically cut production as sales dwindle.
Company officials said the 60,213-tonne, 200-metre (660-foot) long ship is the first large vessel in the world with a solar-based propulsion system. So far solar energy has been limited to supporting lighting and crew's living quarters.
The solar power system can generate 40 kilowatts, which would initially cover only 0.2 percent of the ship's energy consumption for propulsion, but company officials said they hoped to raise the ratio.
The shipping industry has come under growing pressure to take part in efforts to curb global warming, which is blamed on carbon emissions.
Estimates say maritime transport accounts for anything from 1.4 percent to 4.5 percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions. But the industry remains largely unregulated due to its international nature.
Nippon Yusen, Japan's largest shipping company, has set a goal of halving its fuel consumption and carbon-dioxide emissions by 2010.
Resource-poor Japan has been looking for ways to reduce its dependency on foreign oil.
Source - Solardaily
Sunday, 16 November 2008
LA's First Solar-Powered, All-Green Urban Community Premieres In Hollywood
Utility costs may be rising, but utility rates will remain at an all-time low at one eco-friendly Southern California community. The Gatsby Hollywood has announced it will be Metro L.A.'s first all solar-powered, all-green urban community.
The enclave is now under construction on the corner of Hollywood's Fountain and Wilcox Avenues. A first for the area, the all-new, single-family-home community offers premier sun-powered features and a Certified California Green Builder stamp of approval.
This collection of 34 detached homes will reduce each resident's carbon footprint, while lowering monthly utility bills by as much as 60%.
The Gatsby Hollywood is planned and developed by MasterCraft Homes. Energy-saving features include solar roof panels that generate clean energy from the sun. The solar panels collect sunlight, which is channeled to an inverter and converted to electricity for household use.
Any unused electricity is fed back into the energy grid and the local utility company may give credit for the unused energy. The captured solar energy actually turns the home's electric meter backwards. This reliable power generation also comes with an included warranty and free internet-based solar panel monitoring for 10 years.
Other home features include Energy Star appliances that reduce green house emissions and Bosch Tankless Electric Water Heaters, which provide water and energy conservation as well as an 82% thermal efficiency rating with up to a 50% reduction in water use.
The Gatsby homes are warm during the winter and cool during the summer, thanks to the benefits of modern technologies, including dual-pane windows with Low-E coating. The homes' environmental insulation maintains even temperatures throughout the residence while cutting heating and cooling costs.
The energy-efficient interior and exterior lighting also conserves energy and reduces electric bills. Other thoughtful green building technologies used throughout the community range from drought-resistant California native plant landscaping and low-emitting building materials to recycled construction waste and lumber culled from managed forests.
The Gatsby Hollywood's all-new California Brownstones offer Southern California homebuyers single-family residences made possible through the Small Lot Subdivision Ordinance.
Adopted by the Los Angeles City Council in 2004, the ordinance allows developers to build new homes on a single land parcel in areas zoned for multifamily housing, which ultimately encourages community development in existing neighborhoods near job centers.
This crucial legislation helps enable builders meet the demand of California's increasing infill housing need.
Source - Solar Daily
The enclave is now under construction on the corner of Hollywood's Fountain and Wilcox Avenues. A first for the area, the all-new, single-family-home community offers premier sun-powered features and a Certified California Green Builder stamp of approval.
This collection of 34 detached homes will reduce each resident's carbon footprint, while lowering monthly utility bills by as much as 60%.
The Gatsby Hollywood is planned and developed by MasterCraft Homes. Energy-saving features include solar roof panels that generate clean energy from the sun. The solar panels collect sunlight, which is channeled to an inverter and converted to electricity for household use.
Any unused electricity is fed back into the energy grid and the local utility company may give credit for the unused energy. The captured solar energy actually turns the home's electric meter backwards. This reliable power generation also comes with an included warranty and free internet-based solar panel monitoring for 10 years.
Other home features include Energy Star appliances that reduce green house emissions and Bosch Tankless Electric Water Heaters, which provide water and energy conservation as well as an 82% thermal efficiency rating with up to a 50% reduction in water use.
The Gatsby homes are warm during the winter and cool during the summer, thanks to the benefits of modern technologies, including dual-pane windows with Low-E coating. The homes' environmental insulation maintains even temperatures throughout the residence while cutting heating and cooling costs.
The energy-efficient interior and exterior lighting also conserves energy and reduces electric bills. Other thoughtful green building technologies used throughout the community range from drought-resistant California native plant landscaping and low-emitting building materials to recycled construction waste and lumber culled from managed forests.
The Gatsby Hollywood's all-new California Brownstones offer Southern California homebuyers single-family residences made possible through the Small Lot Subdivision Ordinance.
Adopted by the Los Angeles City Council in 2004, the ordinance allows developers to build new homes on a single land parcel in areas zoned for multifamily housing, which ultimately encourages community development in existing neighborhoods near job centers.
This crucial legislation helps enable builders meet the demand of California's increasing infill housing need.
Source - Solar Daily
Sunday, 28 September 2008
Solar panels are new hot property for thieves
Glenda Hoffman has an answer for the thieves, should they choose to return to her home in Desert Hot Springs, California. "I have a shotgun right next to the bed and a .22 under my pillow."
Hoffman was the victim of a theft that one industry professional has dubbed "the crime of the future". Another observer has come up with the term "grand theft solar" to describe the spate of recent burglaries in sunny California.
In May Hoffman lost 16 solar panels from her roof in three separate burglaries, one while she slept below. Happily for Hoffman her insurers have agreed to pay the $95,000 (£48,000) cost of replacing the panels. But as energy prices soar, and solar power takes off - at least in California - so opportunistic thieves have turned to the lucrative, and complicated, business of dismantling solar panels.
"I wouldn't say it's pervasive, but it's going on," California Solar Energy Industries Association executive director Sue Kateley told the Valley Times.
California is the leader for solar installations, with 33,000 across the state. Unsurprisingly, it is also the market leader for thefts of solar installations, although figures are hard to come by.
"The solar panel thing is pretty new," said Contra Costa county sheriff's office spokesman Jimmy Lee. "We're seeing an increasing number of cases."
One night in late August, 26 solar panels with a value of $20,000 were stolen from California's first certified organic farm, Star Route Farms in Bolinas, 20 miles up the coast from San Francisco.
"It's probably easier to steal a $20,000 car," Rob Erlichman, president of Sunlight Electric, which sold the panels to the farm in 2006, told the Point Reyes Light. "To steal that many panels you need a truck and you need guys."
A few miles inland, in Lafayette, a truck and some guys is just what the thieves had. A resident came home during the day to find three men on the roof of his house and five of his solar panels in the back of a rented truck. The men fled, leaving behind the truck and the panels.
Ken Martin, who runs a real estate company in Santa Rosa, California, found one day this spring that thieves had removed 58 panels with a value of $75,000 from an office building he owns. His proposed solution is to paint his solar panels bright pink. "At least if someone comes across them and they're painted, they'll know that's my colour," he said.
Law enforcement and the solar industry suggest other approaches to crime prevention.
Many companies now sell secure fastenings for solar panels, while some police departments are urging solar power users to inscribe their driving licence number on the panels.
But some warn that the thieves are too sophisticated to be troubled by such primitive deterrents. Tom McCalmont, who runs Regrid Power in Campbell, close to California's Silicon Valley, said that the sophistication shown by thieves suggests that industry insiders are behind many of the thefts, a suspicion bolstered by supply difficulties with new solar panels.
McCalmont has experience of solar panel thefts: his own company lost $30,000-worth of panels to burglars this summer. "They knew which wires to cut, which not to cut," he said. "This showed a level of expertise that indicated that whoever did it was from the solar industry."
Source - The guardian
Hoffman was the victim of a theft that one industry professional has dubbed "the crime of the future". Another observer has come up with the term "grand theft solar" to describe the spate of recent burglaries in sunny California.
In May Hoffman lost 16 solar panels from her roof in three separate burglaries, one while she slept below. Happily for Hoffman her insurers have agreed to pay the $95,000 (£48,000) cost of replacing the panels. But as energy prices soar, and solar power takes off - at least in California - so opportunistic thieves have turned to the lucrative, and complicated, business of dismantling solar panels.
"I wouldn't say it's pervasive, but it's going on," California Solar Energy Industries Association executive director Sue Kateley told the Valley Times.
California is the leader for solar installations, with 33,000 across the state. Unsurprisingly, it is also the market leader for thefts of solar installations, although figures are hard to come by.
"The solar panel thing is pretty new," said Contra Costa county sheriff's office spokesman Jimmy Lee. "We're seeing an increasing number of cases."
One night in late August, 26 solar panels with a value of $20,000 were stolen from California's first certified organic farm, Star Route Farms in Bolinas, 20 miles up the coast from San Francisco.
"It's probably easier to steal a $20,000 car," Rob Erlichman, president of Sunlight Electric, which sold the panels to the farm in 2006, told the Point Reyes Light. "To steal that many panels you need a truck and you need guys."
A few miles inland, in Lafayette, a truck and some guys is just what the thieves had. A resident came home during the day to find three men on the roof of his house and five of his solar panels in the back of a rented truck. The men fled, leaving behind the truck and the panels.
Ken Martin, who runs a real estate company in Santa Rosa, California, found one day this spring that thieves had removed 58 panels with a value of $75,000 from an office building he owns. His proposed solution is to paint his solar panels bright pink. "At least if someone comes across them and they're painted, they'll know that's my colour," he said.
Law enforcement and the solar industry suggest other approaches to crime prevention.
Many companies now sell secure fastenings for solar panels, while some police departments are urging solar power users to inscribe their driving licence number on the panels.
But some warn that the thieves are too sophisticated to be troubled by such primitive deterrents. Tom McCalmont, who runs Regrid Power in Campbell, close to California's Silicon Valley, said that the sophistication shown by thieves suggests that industry insiders are behind many of the thefts, a suspicion bolstered by supply difficulties with new solar panels.
McCalmont has experience of solar panel thefts: his own company lost $30,000-worth of panels to burglars this summer. "They knew which wires to cut, which not to cut," he said. "This showed a level of expertise that indicated that whoever did it was from the solar industry."
Source - The guardian
Saturday, 14 June 2008
New German Renewable Energies Law Strengthens Sector Investment
The German parliament (Bundestag) has agreed to new laws that strengthen conditions for renewable energies investments. The laws are part of the government's "Climate Package," the goals of which are saving 250 million metric tons of CO2 by 2020, with renewable energies contributing to 30% of electricity production by the same year.
These legal changes strengthen Germany as an investment location for renewable energies and energy efficiency technologies.
One element of the reform is an amendment to the Renewable Energies Sources Act (EEG). This change calls for a higher "feed-in tariff" for wind energy.
The feed-in tariff is the compensation paid to owners of renewable energies systems when energy from their systems is sold to the public grid. The new law raises the feed in tariff for wind energy to a range of 9.2-15 EURcent/KWh.
The parliament also reformed the EEG for electricity from solar energy. Photovoltaic (PV) systems will receive a feed-in tariff of 33-43 EURcent/KWh, depending on the amount of electricity sold to the public grid. According to the new law the tariff will decrease between 8 and 10% in 2010 and then 9% annually after 2011.
These two reforms are important for investors. For wind energy, the increased tariffs provide further incentive for wind energy companies to enter the world's largest market in wind energy (measured in accumulated capacity).
The falling tariffs in PV energy are evidence to investors that Germany is making significant progress in reducing the cost of electricity generation from PV sources, therefore making subsidized prices less necessary to attract investment.
This progress has been made thanks to highly qualified workers in the PV sector in Germany, the location of top research institutes, and leading suppliers. These conditions make Germany an attractive location for production or R and D in the PV sector.
Germany's legal reforms also promote biomass. Investors in this sector can receive feed-in tariffs of 7.79-11.67 EURCent/KWh for electricity from biomass. There are also bonus incentives to encourage the use of sustainable raw materials, or the simultaneous use of biomass in a combined heat and power (CHP, or co-generation) plant.
The legal reforms further add to Germany's attraction to investors in the biomass sector. An increased domestic demand for biomass technology and products is bringing major investors to Germany.
The climate package also calls for the promotion of heat from renewable sources. These laws require that new buildings have heating systems deriving heat from renewable sources.
Financial incentives will be made available to equip older buildings with such technologies. These laws provide a ready made market, plus EUR500 million of available funding, for investors in energy efficient heating technologies such as solar thermal heating.
Germany is already Europe's largest market for solar thermal technologies and offers foreign investors many possibilities.
Investors in heat-producing technologies also have growth possibilities in CHP systems. Here the federal government has made EUR750 million available annually to support CHP projects. The government has set the specific goal of having 25% of energy and heat coming from efficient parallel-production technologies by 2020.
All of these legal reforms, plus others that encourage energy efficient technologies, e.g. "intelligent electricity meters," make it clear that Germany is consolidating its position as world leader in renewable energies and offering many possibilities for foreign investors to enter its growing market.
Invest in Germany is the inward investment promotion agency of the Federal Republic of Germany. It provides investors with comprehensive support from site selection to the implementation of investment decisions.
Source - Solardaily
These legal changes strengthen Germany as an investment location for renewable energies and energy efficiency technologies.
One element of the reform is an amendment to the Renewable Energies Sources Act (EEG). This change calls for a higher "feed-in tariff" for wind energy.
The feed-in tariff is the compensation paid to owners of renewable energies systems when energy from their systems is sold to the public grid. The new law raises the feed in tariff for wind energy to a range of 9.2-15 EURcent/KWh.
The parliament also reformed the EEG for electricity from solar energy. Photovoltaic (PV) systems will receive a feed-in tariff of 33-43 EURcent/KWh, depending on the amount of electricity sold to the public grid. According to the new law the tariff will decrease between 8 and 10% in 2010 and then 9% annually after 2011.
These two reforms are important for investors. For wind energy, the increased tariffs provide further incentive for wind energy companies to enter the world's largest market in wind energy (measured in accumulated capacity).
The falling tariffs in PV energy are evidence to investors that Germany is making significant progress in reducing the cost of electricity generation from PV sources, therefore making subsidized prices less necessary to attract investment.
This progress has been made thanks to highly qualified workers in the PV sector in Germany, the location of top research institutes, and leading suppliers. These conditions make Germany an attractive location for production or R and D in the PV sector.
Germany's legal reforms also promote biomass. Investors in this sector can receive feed-in tariffs of 7.79-11.67 EURCent/KWh for electricity from biomass. There are also bonus incentives to encourage the use of sustainable raw materials, or the simultaneous use of biomass in a combined heat and power (CHP, or co-generation) plant.
The legal reforms further add to Germany's attraction to investors in the biomass sector. An increased domestic demand for biomass technology and products is bringing major investors to Germany.
The climate package also calls for the promotion of heat from renewable sources. These laws require that new buildings have heating systems deriving heat from renewable sources.
Financial incentives will be made available to equip older buildings with such technologies. These laws provide a ready made market, plus EUR500 million of available funding, for investors in energy efficient heating technologies such as solar thermal heating.
Germany is already Europe's largest market for solar thermal technologies and offers foreign investors many possibilities.
Investors in heat-producing technologies also have growth possibilities in CHP systems. Here the federal government has made EUR750 million available annually to support CHP projects. The government has set the specific goal of having 25% of energy and heat coming from efficient parallel-production technologies by 2020.
All of these legal reforms, plus others that encourage energy efficient technologies, e.g. "intelligent electricity meters," make it clear that Germany is consolidating its position as world leader in renewable energies and offering many possibilities for foreign investors to enter its growing market.
Invest in Germany is the inward investment promotion agency of the Federal Republic of Germany. It provides investors with comprehensive support from site selection to the implementation of investment decisions.
Source - Solardaily
eSolar To 245 Megawatt Solar Power Tower
Southern California Edison (SCE) has signed a contract to procure an additional 245 megawatts of solar power for its customers with Pasadena, Calif.-based eSolar in the nation's first commercial effort using power tower solar thermal technology.
The project, which will be built in the Lancaster area of California, is expected to begin delivering energy in 2011, with a total of 105 megawatts of renewable solar power by 2012, ramping up to 245 megawatts by 2013. SCE is currently the nation's leading purchaser of solar energy, buying more than 90 percent of U.S. production.
"Solar is the great untapped energy resource for California - it's renewable and plentiful," said Stuart Hemphill, SCE vice president, Renewable and Alternative Power.
"We rely on innovative companies such as eSolar to help expand our industry-leading portfolio and to secure access to the most promising technology solutions."
Each pre-fabricated module consists of several solar towers each associated with thousands of heliostats, or mirrors. The mirrors precisely track the sun over the course of the day and reflect light to a receiver at the top of each tower.
The concentrated light boils water in a central receiver, routing the steam to a traditional turbine to produce electricity.
eSolar's solar thermal technology is unique in that it uses shorter towers, small mass-manufactured mirrors and advanced tracking software, achieving economies of scale within a minimal footprint and easy connection to transmission lines.
Source - Solardaily
The project, which will be built in the Lancaster area of California, is expected to begin delivering energy in 2011, with a total of 105 megawatts of renewable solar power by 2012, ramping up to 245 megawatts by 2013. SCE is currently the nation's leading purchaser of solar energy, buying more than 90 percent of U.S. production.
"Solar is the great untapped energy resource for California - it's renewable and plentiful," said Stuart Hemphill, SCE vice president, Renewable and Alternative Power.
"We rely on innovative companies such as eSolar to help expand our industry-leading portfolio and to secure access to the most promising technology solutions."
Each pre-fabricated module consists of several solar towers each associated with thousands of heliostats, or mirrors. The mirrors precisely track the sun over the course of the day and reflect light to a receiver at the top of each tower.
The concentrated light boils water in a central receiver, routing the steam to a traditional turbine to produce electricity.
eSolar's solar thermal technology is unique in that it uses shorter towers, small mass-manufactured mirrors and advanced tracking software, achieving economies of scale within a minimal footprint and easy connection to transmission lines.
Source - Solardaily
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