Clipmarks | Naomi-K's 'solar energy' clips

Solar Energy in India and the Rise of Global Awareness

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 23:59:33 GMT

clipped by: Naomi-K
clipper's remarks: Very interesting: "per capita emissions." Does this mean that in the future, you could be taxed differently than your neighbour depending on what car you drive, how far you commute, how much you recycle.

It's already slightly that way, for instance you can get tax rebates for buying solar panels.

If it was broken down into 'per capita emissions' though, this would be a very different story.

Clip Source: www.newkerala.com

New Delhi, June 30 : India will put solar energy generation at the forefront of its battle against climate change, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced here Monday while releasing the national action plan on climate change.

Emphasising the primacy of developing solar power, Manmohan Singh promised to "pool our scientific, technical and managerial talent, with sufficient financial resources, to develop solar energy as a source of abundant energy to power our economy and to transform the lives of our people".

He felt success in developing solar energy "will change the face of India. It would also enable India to help change the destinies of people around the world. The plan intends to go beyond government to draw upon these assets".

"Every citizen of this planet must have an equal share of the planetary atmospheric space. Long-term convergence of per capita emissions is, therefore, the only equitable basis for a global compact on climate change.

Solar News Roundup

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 21:56:59 GMT

clipped by: Naomi-K
clipper's remarks: It appears solar and renewable energies are inching closer into the main stream economy. Especially in the building and housing industry.

Clip Source: communicate.usgbc.org

Congress Has Yet to Extend Crucial Tax Incentives

In May, the U.S. House approved critical extensions of several renewable energy and energy efficiency tax credits that recently lapsed or are set to expire at the end of 2008.

$18 billion tax package that would extend: the tax deduction for energy efficient commercial buildings, the tax credits for production of and investment in renewable energy, and the tax credit for energy efficient appliances, among other provisions.

House Committee Considers Incentives for Energy-Efficient Homes and Mortgages

seeks to promote consumer access to energy efficient homes by providing incentives to lenders and banks that offer low-interest mortgages and other benefits.

Maryland Enacts Landmark Green Building Law for Public Facilities and Schools

green building legislation requiring large public buildings and K-12 school projects using state funds to achieve LEED Silver certification or a comparable green building certification system

Tags: solar news

Grid Parity

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 08:53:43 GMT

clipped by: Naomi-K
clipper's remarks: Indeed the 'holy grail' of solar energy. As solar becomes more commercially viable, the speed of its development will also increase.

Clip Source: www.citywire.co.uk

The solar industry is inching towards the holy grail of ‘grid parity’ as solar companies invest aggressively in building capacity, according to sector analyst Dean Cooper.

ReneSola announced a US initial public offering last Friday (29 May) to raise money by selling 8.15 million shares. It will use the $70 million of the money raised to expand its solar wafer manufacturing facilities and a further $100 million to invest in polysilicon manufacturing over the next two years, Cooper said.

Solar Energy Speed to Market

Fri, 30 May 2008 08:11:34 GMT

clipped by: Naomi-K
clipper's remarks: A Nuclear Energy Plant takes 10 years to build. Solar Energy is very fast.
This installation: 2.25 kilowatts' worth (enough to power half a home) of their proprietary Lumeta PowerPly modules on a roof in San Leandro in just under 35 minutes.

Clip Source: www.triplepundit.com

The key innovation in the Lumeta PowerPly is the use of standard roofing adhesives to affix the modules to the roof, rather than traditional racking systems. There are two advantages here - one, roofers everywhere work with these adhesives, and so are familiar with their performance and how to use and install them; and two, by eliminating the drilling and bolts associated with a racking system, the contractor not only saves a ton of time (did I mention this installation went up fast?), but also saves the integrity of the roof system: the last thing you should want to pay for is to have someone go up on your roof and put a bunch of holes in it.

Moore's Law and the Cost of Solar Energy

Tue, 27 May 2008 00:22:23 GMT

clipped by: Naomi-K
clipper's remarks: Interesting. I like to see patterns emerging in technology trends.
This one makes sense, but the fact is that there are many different types of solar panels, including solar thermal and solar hot water, that are already competitive.

Clip Source: www.fanboy.com

Photovoltaic Moore's Law Will Make Solar Competitive by 2015

"In recent years, global PV production has been increasing at a rate of 50 percent per year, so that accumulated global capacity doubles about every 18 months. The PV Moore’s law states that with every doubling of capacity, PV costs come down by 20 percent. In 2004, installing PV cost about $7 per watt, compared to $1/W for wind, which at that time was beginning to stand on its own feet commercially, Last, year, as recently noted in this blog, average global solar costs had come down to between $4 and $5 per watt, right in line with the PV Moore’s law. Extrapolate those gains out six or seven years, and PV costs will be below $2/W, making photovolatics competitive with 2004 wind."

Tags: solar cost, photovoltaic cost

Cheaper than Coal...

Sat, 24 May 2008 10:37:43 GMT

clipped by: Naomi-K
clipper's remarks: Several solar companies have announced that they can produce solar panels that have a cheaper dollars per watt price tag than coal.

While these don't seem to have reached the domestic market yet, it's and interesting development.

Clip Source: www.solartradingpost.com

I think that’s probably the first question that comes into people’s minds when considering buying solar panels for their home.

How much will it cost? And will it save me more than it costs?

To know this, you will need to calculate the photovoltaic cost per kilowatt for a home.

Because the cost of photovoltaics, or any solar panel, is not just the initial cost. It’s calculated over its lifetime. It’s rather like buying a house. You could say ‘is this an expensive house?’

Similarly, solar energy prices are relative. As other energy prices change (like coal, gas or hydro-electric,) solar energy becomes relatively more or less expensive. So at the moment oil prices are rising. That makes solar electricity a bit cheaper compared with oil. However coal is still relatively less per watt than solar.

Solar Panel Performance Testing

Sun, 11 May 2008 23:29:03 GMT

clipped by: Naomi-K
clipper's remarks: This a very good idea. Lack of an across-the-board standard for solar panels has hindered its adoption.
Having panels tested independently by the government will boost consumer confidence. Solar tiles are also an example of integrated technology. They are not as noticeable as panels. Their price is also slightly offset by the fact that they replace the need for roofing tiles where they are installed.

Clip Source: www.technologyreview.com

The government tests cars for gas mileage. Now it's testing roof tiles for wattage.

Around 500 square feet of PV tiles can produce three kilowatts of electricity, according to Subhendu Guha, president and chief operating officer of United Solar Ovonic, a maker of PV shingles in Auburn Hills, MI -- and most roofs are several times that size. His company's version is dark blue and can blend with ordinary shingles of a similar shade. Or a builder might devote an entire sunny section to PV materials.

"A south-facing roof on a three-bedroom home could supply 20 to 30 percent of the home's electrical needs," says Paul Maycock, a consultant and head of PV Energy Systems in Williamsburg, VA.

Photovoltaics - How they Work

Fri, 09 May 2008 11:30:20 GMT

clipped by: Naomi-K
clipper's remarks: It'd be nice to see a video of this....
The photovoltaic effect was first discovered in 1839.
The first photovoltaic cells were made in 1918.

Since then Einstein developed photovoltaics. There was a lot of research and development during the 1960's Space Race, when satellites were powered by solar panels.

The 1970's saw the beginning of residential solar use. For houses living far off the electricity grid, photovoltaics made financial sense.

Prices have since fallen from $30 a watt down to $7 a watt for residential installations.

Now due to technology advancing and power costs rising, the price of solar energy is still falling. The future of solar energy looks bright indeed.

Clip Source: solartradingpost.com

To understand how photovoltaics work, you first need to understand a bit about solar energy. Basically, sunlight is loaded with photons. Think of these as little packages of solar energy. Photovoltaics are panels that turn this sun power into electricity. They are usually made from silicon and small amounts of boron.

When the photons from sunlight hit a silicon molecule, they knock loose one of its free-floating electrons. This electron hits another silicon molecule, shunting it's electron out of it's molecule. This starts a chain reaction, rather like one domino striking another, which knocks over another, and another....

The final result of this chain reaction is what is known as an flow of electrons, or an electrical current.

Solar Stocks

Thu, 08 May 2008 01:42:00 GMT

clipped by: Naomi-K
clipper's remarks: It's interesting the connection between oil and electricity.
Part of it is psychological. On the other hand, oil prices do effect electricity, especially coal based electricity. Oil is used in the transport and extraction of coal.
And also, oil is so central to all our commerce that its price has multiple side effects on our economy.

Clip Source: www.forbes.com

Solar Sector Sucked Into Oil's Wake

The gains though were not limited to the oil industry or rational behavior. Even though oil accounts for 2% of electricity production in this country--a negligible amount--the high-flying solar sector rallied on the back of black-gold's gains.

"It's more psychological than operational as the price of oil has no direct bearing on the price of electricity," said Michael Carboy of Signal Hill Group. "What happens though is rising oil prices are equated to rising energy prices and solar gets a good tailwind as a result."

Where the Real Power Lies- in the Distribution Network

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 10:14:00 GMT

clipped by: Naomi-K
clipper's remarks: This article touches on one of the great strengths of solar energy - the ability to produce power in many de-centralized locations and distribute it widely with very little loss.

And as in the spread of telephones, electricity, tv and railway, the real power is held by those who own the distribution network.

What's especially interesting here is that you can draw parallels between solar power and the biggest network around at the moment - the internet.

The way in which both these mediums are alike is that they inherently resist centralized control.

While you can build giant solar power stations, there is still the capability for a homeowner to have their own mini-power station on their roof.

This democratization, of information by the internet, and electricity by solar power, is, I think ,a good thing. Both for the environment and for the individual.

Clip Source: www.cleantechblog.com

Mr. O’Donnell made the point that building roads in the U.S. was a local phenomenon subject to a patchwork of regulations and constraints – until President Eisenhower broke down the barriers with the creation of the Interstate Highway System in the 1950’s. He further noted that high voltage DC technologies now readily available – such as those offered by ABB (NYSE: ABB) – could transmit large blocks of power across the whole continent with losses of only about 11% (excluding the conversion facilities at each terminal).

We in the cleantech community haven’t talked much about it, instead focusing on the sexy/cool generation/storage/consumption technologies, but maybe it’s time to ratchet the discussion about the so-called “smart grid” up to another level.

Built-in Obsolescence in Solar Tariffs Creates Growth

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 00:45:16 GMT

clipped by: Naomi-K
clipper's remarks: By removing the major obstacle to solar energy - high start-up costs - solar has grown tremendously in Spain.

Phasing out this tariff gradually over time is also wise. This decreases dependence on these tariffs - which could destabilise the solar energy market

Clip Source: www.azcentral.com

But the scene is even more unworldly: 624 giant mirrors surround the tower, focusing the sun's radiation at the very top.

The heat there reaches almost 500 degrees, making steam to run an electric turbine. The 11-megawatt system can produce enough power for 6,000 homes.

The tower, which just completed its first year of regular operation, is part of a major solar-electric complex that Abengoa is building near Seville.

One reason for the big push into solar, Fernandez says, is long-term self-interest: "Spain has no natural energy sources."

But the real story here isn't the staggering technology.

It's the financial tool that made it possible - and one that we could adopt here.

Spain has a "feed-in tariff ": Utilities must buy a certain amount of electricity at a guaranteed price from companies that produce electricity from solar and other renewable sources.

The price is designed to cover the extra expense of renewables. But it declines over time, so the crutch is only temporary.

Solar Energy in Bangladesh

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 21:21:44 GMT

clipped by: Naomi-K
clipper's remarks: Large government investment in Bangladesh grows solar industry.

In remote rural areas, solar panel installations can rapidly improve living conditions. These reduce the urgency for large electricity infrastructures to be built.

Clip Source: energybangla.com

Bangladesh Govt. Goes All Out to Explore Renewable Energy Sources

He said, "As per declaration we plan to reach a 100 MW production target from hydro-sources. We are also keen to see the evaluation report on the Kutubdia wind pilot project as the fate of this project will say what we could do with our islands in so far as electricity is concerned.

The Power Cell in a study paper has said that around 2,200 MW of power could be generated by using alternative energy sources. It said that currently 4 MW of power is being produced by home solar systems and the future prospect of power generation by using solar energy is around 300 MW.

It has been learnt that different non-government organisations have helped to install 75,000 home solar systems in remote rural areas under a rural electrification and renewable energy development project.

Green Collar

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 20:02:58 GMT

clipped by: Naomi-K
clipper's remarks: A new term to indicate a new sector of our society. And a possible upheaval to come in this sector.

Clip Source: www.redorbit.com

Nearly 9 million new jobs and $970 billion in revenue were generated by the national energy industry in 2006, yet industry insiders are concerned that the growth will level off if Congress does not extend renewable energy tax credits.

Figures, and estimates, vary - the California Solar Energy Industries Association of Rio Vista says that up to 7,000 workers statewide are employed at solar energy companies, while some national organizations estimate that one out of four jobs in 2030 in the nation will be green-related.

Green Collar Workers

A Wikipedia entry defines green collar workers as "employed in the environmental sectors of the economy, or in the agricultural sector. Environmental green-collar workers satisfy the demand for green development."

The credits will expire in 2008. Navigant Consulting Inc., a consulting firm based in Chicago, reports that 116,000 jobs and $I9 billion in U.S. investment could be lost in a one-year span if the credits are not renewed.

Solar TPower in Africa

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 23:41:03 GMT

clipped by: Naomi-K
clipper's remarks: An interesting economic proposition . Countries that were previously disadvantaged by desert and arid land have the potential to become the main suppliers of solar energy.

Clip Source: www.bdafrica.com

David Mataen
March 19, 2008: Never in the history of modern civilisation was there so great need for energy like now.

Ironically, the most abundant, most renewable, most free of all renewable resources is the sun. Emerging every day unfailingly from the east, shinning all of 13 hours at the equator and discharging on average 300 watts per square metre.

A plant in Acciona in Las Vegas, United States, called “Nevada Solar One” can generate up to 64 megawatts, equal to the capacity of Olkaria II at Naivasha.

CSP provides an answer to PV’s main pitfalls, it does not involve expensive silicon wafers and wide, shiny, inviting panels open to abuse and vandalism.

Some designs provide power round the clock by storing energy in the form of molten salt. Undoubtedly, this is the solution that Kenya and in deed Africa has been waiting for.

A technological quantum leap, a classic revolution in energy affairs.

Free Enterprise and Solar Energy

Sat, 15 Mar 2008 00:14:51 GMT

clipped by: Naomi-K
clipper's remarks: Excellent argument for market generated solar development.

Clip Source: www.yumasun.com

While the idea of using solar energy is an attractive prospect in our state, what is unattractive about these proposals is the common theme of coercion and taxpayer-supported incentives rather than a reliance on choice.

In order for solar power to truly be successful, it must stand on its own merits. Consumers must want it because they see its value to them, just like any other marketplace option.

In fact, public incentives are likely to discourage the solar industry from developing less costly technology that would be accepted by consumers. Why bother when they know the taxpayers will help subsidize their more costly equipment?

The reality is that there are already market forces at work which are likely to encourage more affordable alternative energy sources, including solar power.

Given time, alternative energy sources will find a more prominent place through the marketplace rather than through coercion or government subsidies.