New Mexico’s huge solar energy farm goes ahead
New Mexico’s Largest Solar Farm To Proceed, http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=3781 7 June 13, New Mexico’s largest solar energy plant, the 50-megawatt Macho Springs Solar Project, will go ahead after a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) was signed by the New Mexico Public Regulator and El Paso Electric Power.
Under the arrangement, El Paso Electric – which services almost 390,000 customers in West Texas and the Rio Grande valley – will purchase the entire output from the solar farm for the duration of the PPA.
Construction of the plant is set to begin in July and will be completed in 2014. Sited on about 500 acres of state land in Luna County, New Mexico, Macho Springs is expected to generate enough power to provide electricity for around 18,000 homes.
The project will avoid 40,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions, the equivalent of taking 7,500 cars off the road, and save up to 340,000 tons of water each year.
The Macho Springs project will create 300 new jobs during its year-long construction phase and three full-time maintenance and operation positions. State Land Commissioner Ray Powell said in a statement that the lease payments from the solar plant could generate as much as $40 million for state land trust beneficiaries over the 40-year term of the lease.
The Macho Springs Solar plant is another addition to First Solar Inc’s stable of utility-scale solar power plants, including California’s massive 550-megawattTopaz and Desert Sunlight solar farms.
“We are very pleased to support El Paso Electric’s efforts to provide clean, reliable, renewable power to its customers, and contribute economic benefits and green jobs created by utility-scale solar development to Luna County,” said Michael Hatfield, First Solar Director of Project Development.
Mongolia plans to become a renewable energy hub
Mongolia eyes renewable energy as climate warms SMH June 5, 2013 Mongolia, which is banking on a mining-led investment boom to develop its economy, is aiming to turn itself into a regional renewable energy hub as it tries to fight off the pressures of global warming, the country’s president said.
“We have some ideas of how Mongolia can be Asia’s super grid for wind power and solar power, and other renewable energies. If we use all the wind power (potential) in the country, we can enhance the energy supply of China and all over Asia.”
Mongolia was chosen to host the U.N.’s World Environment Day on June 5, and at a news conference to mark the occasion, officials said the country also planned to better regulate a mining sector that is polluting an already fragile environment……..
Achim Steiner, head of the U.N. Environment Programme told Reuters during a visit this week that Mongolia had seen average temperatures rise 2.1 degrees Celsius (3.8 F) in the past 60 to 70 years – about three times faster than the global average.
Its high altitude and sparse vegetation in many regions made the nation vulnerable…..
Spain’s increasing solar radiation
Solar Radiation Increasing In Spain Red Orbit, June 6, 2013 FECYT – Spanish Foundation for Science and TechnologySolar radiation in Spain has increased by 2.3% every decade since the 1980s, according to a study by researchers from the University of Girona and the Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich. This increase is linked to the decreased presence of clouds, which has increased the amount of direct radiation reaching us from the Sun.
“The mean annual G series over Spain shows a tendency to increase during the 1985-2010 period, with a significant linear trend of + 3.9 W m-2 [2.3% more] per decade.” This is the main conclusion of a study published in the magazine ‘Global and Planetary Change‘ by researchers from the University of Girona and the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH, Switzerland).
The season-by-season data show the same “significant” increase in solar radiation impacting the nation: + 6.5 W/m2 per decade during the summer, + 4.1 W/m2 in autumn, + 3.2 W/m2 in spring and + 1.7 W/m2 in winter.
“These data relate to global solar radiation, in other words the increase in direct radiation reaching us from the Sun plus diffuse radiation which is scattered previously by clouds, atmospheric gases and aerosols,” explains one of the authors, Arturo Sánchez-Lorenzo, currently a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Girona…… According to the scientists, this increase may also go hand in hand with more ultraviolet rays, an excess of which presents a health risk, potentially leading to skin cancer.
More global brightening
The increase in global solar radiation is a phenomenon that has been observed in other parts of the world for almost 30 years, especially in developed countries, and it has been named “global brightening”. The fall in the diffuse component has also been observed in Central European and Eastern countries.
The team behind the study has not yet analyzed the solar radiation data for 2011-2013 provided by the Spanish State Meteorological Agency, but the data from other European weather stations suggests that this brightening is still on the rise.
“Studies such as these may be of interest to the solar energy industry, especially in countries like Spain, where not only do we already have a lot of direct solar radiation but now we are getting even more,” affirms one of the other authors, Josep Calbó, who is a professor at the University of Girona. http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1112866837/solar-radiation-increasing-spain-060613/
Rapidly increasing popularity of solar panels, in Japan
Japan’s post-Fukushima solar boom SMH, June 2, 2013 Domestic shipments of solar cells and modules in Japan leapt by their most in at least 30 years last fiscal year as government efforts to spur clean energy after the 2011 Fukushima disaster began to pay off.
Local shipments rose to 3,809 megawatts in the 12 months ended March 31 from 1,404 megawatts the previous year, the Japan Photovoltaic Energy Association said today on its website. The increase was the largest since 1981 when the figures were compiled for the first time.
The data underscore the popularity of solar in Japan as pressures mount to boost energy supplies after the Fukushima Dai-Ichi accident led to the shutdown of almost all the nation’s nuclear reactors. Japan started offering above-market rates in July for renewable sources such as solar and wind. Continue reading
South African renewable energy investment by Google
Google Is Investing in the Next Hotspot for Renewable Energy: South Africa By Todd Woody, Quartz | National Journal 30 May 13, There’s a place where a developer can propose, finance and build a big solar power project in a matter of months. That place is notCalifornia, Germany or China. It’s South Africa. And the country’s embrace of renewable energy has attracted investors like Google, which today said it is helping finance a 96 megawatt (MW)photovoltaic power plant in the Northern Cape province.
South Africa had “the highest growth in clean energy investment in the world last year,” Rick Needham, Google’s director of energy and sustainability, noted in a blog post about the Jasper Power Project. Google has put more than $1 billion into renewable energy, but this is only its second overseas venture. (The company put $5 million into a German photovoltaic power plant in 2011.) The search giant’s stake in Jasper is relatively small—103 million rand, or $12 million of the $260 million total cost—but the solar power station will be one of Africa’s largest, supplying enough electricity to power 30,000 homes.
Latest from Quartz: South Africa aims to install 20,000 MW of renewable energy over the next 15 years. That’s attracted SolarReserve, a California-based startup, which is developing the Jasper project as well as two other 75 MW photovoltaic power plants. …… http://news.yahoo.com/google-investing-next-hotspot-renewable-energy-south-africa-132603943.html
Good evidence for a high renewable energy future
power industry structure includes hefty and durable fossil fuel subsidies, which amount to $1.9 trillion per year or more, according to a report from the International Monetary Fund earlier this year. Those fossil fuel subsidies far outweighed the smaller and more transient subsidies offered to renewables, according to the International Energy Agency’s World Energy Outlook 2012.
Is a high renewables future really possible? REneweconomy, By Peter Bronski 27 May 2013“……..Renewables’ track record shows that they continue to outpace skeptics’ expectations. “People thought that maybe renewables would get to two percent. When they did that, people said maybe five percent. Then 10 percent,” says Hutch Hutchinson, managing director at RMI. “Renewables have been fighting and scratching the entire way. Now, there’s good analytical evidence that with some creativity and customary levels of reinvestment in our energy system, we can get to a high renewables future.” Continue reading
Nuclear phaseout proving to be a success in Germany
We can let fission fizzle out in a renewable world, New Scientist, 20 May 2013 by Jochen Flasbarth If Germany can phase out nuclear power and still thrive, why would other nations pursue a uranium-fuelled future? AT THE start of this year Germany officially entered the Dark Ages again – at least according to its state weather service. A mere 22.5 hours of sunshine were recorded in January – a 60-year low. Despite this, the country’s power supply, which has a world leading input from solar panels, firmly stood its ground, even without the eight nuclear reactors that were switched off in 2011.There was sufficient energy for charging smartphones, running dishwashers and the like – and enough for slightly more essential things such as industry or life-support systems in hospitals. And people in need of a fake tan could easily get one.
Such good news probably did not go down well with the pro-nuclear lobby. Grim and cold spells of this type had been their favourite doomsday scenario. Talk of a Stromlücke, or electricity gap, made headlines after the 2011 decision to shut nearly half of Germany’s 17 reactors in the wake of Japan’s Fukushima disaster.
The fear ran rampant that, without a nuclear backbone, blackouts might push German industry out of business – or at least out of the country. This proved groundless. Continue reading
Germany meeting the challenges of intermittent renewable energy
We can let fission fizzle out in a renewable world, New Scientist, 20 May 2013 by Jochen Flasbarth“……One of the most pressing challenges of a 100 per cent renewable world is how best to use energy sources that by their very nature do not run constantly. Your average German wind turbine operates for 1600 hours of the year. Equally, there are times when wind turbines or solar panels produce too much electricity. How to store this excess? This can be done conventionally by pumping water to fill a reservoir during the day, and using it to produce hydroelectric power at night.
More sophisticated is power-to-gas: carbon dioxide and water are combined in a series of steps to produce methane. Renewables will supply the electricity and the methane can be fed into the gas network to heat homes, fuel cars or generate electricity. The technology has yet to mature. But firms such asAudi are trying to get it off the ground commercially.
Another challenge is to transport power from the wind-rich north to the more populous southern and central Germany. That will mean building hundreds of kilometres of new power lines. Opposition is predicted. But this could be tackled by offering locals a financial share in mid-scale, private solar power installations or wind farms.
A quick word on prices: the financial support for renewables has taken some flak. Critics argue that ladling out money for solar panels has overheated the market and created too much capacity at too high a price. But this can be dealt with. Cuts to payments to panel owners for the electricity they generate, the feed-in tariff, have been made, more will follow. To put things in perspective: under the present system the average German is expected to pay €5 a month towards the feed-in tariff. This is a sound investment in clean technology, protecting us from the spiralling prices of conventional energy.
In a recent study we showed that in 2030, renewable electricity on average will cost 7.6 cents per kilowatt hour; electricity from gas or coal-fired power plants will probably be 9 cents. Onshore wind turbines already match prices of some fossil fuels…… http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21829170.200-we-can-let-fission-fizzle-out-in-a-renewable-world.html
As costs keep falling, solar energy at same price as grid, in 102 countries
Graph of the Day: Solar grid parity in 102 countries http://reneweconomy.com.au/2013/graph-of-the-day-solar-grid-parity-in-102-countries-39133 By Giles Parkinson on 24 May 2013 Here’s an interesting graph used by Suntech’s Stuart Wenham (sourced from Applied Materials) during a presentation at the Solar 2013 conference in Melbourne on Thursday. It highlights the extent of “grid parity” for solar PV across the world – it is now in 102 countries.
This definition of “grid parity” is the cost of rooftop solar versus the cost of electricity sourced from the grid – this is sometimes known as “socket parity”. Most of the countries – though not all – are those with good solar resources and relatively high electricity pricesAustralia reached “socket parity” several years ago.
Wenham says that solar PV will fall a further 50 per cent in costs up to 2020 – see our story today. He says that solar PV at a utility level will also challenge fossil fuels – as it already does in those with high gas and diesel costs, and will offer the cheapest avenue to countries which have little electricity infrastructure.
VIDEO: Award for solar wheelchair design
VIDEO Solar Powered Wheelchair Wins Award http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=3758 25 May 13 A team from University of Virginia’s School of Engineering and Applied Science recently won first place in a 2012 World Cerebral Palsy Day competition for their solar powered wheelchair design.
We first reported on solar wheelchairs back in 2010, when Haidar Taleb had just begun a journey to take him across the United Arab Emirates.
Inspired by roofs on convertible cars, the lightweight solar panels on the U.Va. team’s wheelchair are retractable and don’t significantly add to its length, width, height or weight when stored. A system of hinges on both sides of the chair controls the deployment of the solar panels. The three panels have a conversion efficiency of 15% and a capacity of 160 watts. When fully deployed, the custom solar panels cover an area of over one square meter. The wheelchair can operate for more than 4.5 hours at a speed of 8 kilometres per hour on a fully charged lead acid deep cycle battery, a range increase of more than 40 percent over batteries alone. At a speed of 1.6 km/h and suitable light exposure, the wheelchair and can run “indefinitely”; without needing to utilise battery power.
Built with lightweight materials, while the system may look fragile, it has been designed to operate under conditions more extreme than would be experienced in normal use. The panels and retractable mechanisms account for less than 15% of the completed wheelchair’s unoccupied weight.
Anyone with enough physical dexterity to use a joystick can operate the chair; including retracting and deploying the solar panels. In addition to standard features common to this type of wheelchair, USB power outlets are provided that can power a wide range of small devices.
In a wonderful display of generosity, the team will use their prize money to perform some final tweaks to the chair give it the individual in Turkey who submitted the initial suggestion for a solar-powered wheelchair.
The remaining prize money will be returned to United Cerebral Palsy in support of future World CP Day competitions.
Russia’s renewable energy subsidy program
Russia Approves Subsidy Program to Boost Renewable-Energy Output http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-24/russia-approves-subsidy-program-to-boost-renewable-energy-output.html By Marc Roca – May 23, 2013 Russia approved an incentive program to boost renewable-energy production, targeting almost 6 gigawatts of new capacity by 2020 and its first solar parks.
The government yesterday signed a decree that includes measures to support wind, photovoltaic and small hydropower projects across the country, Dmitry Babanskiy, a spokesman for the Energy Ministry, said today by e-mail.
The measures will increase the proportion of renewable energy to 2.5 percent of power generation by 2020 from 0.8 percent now, he said.
Germany’s post-nuclear vision is working, a practical transition to renewables
the sudden shutdown of seven nuclear power plants had no detrimental effect on security of supply, and was compensated for within the German energy infrastructure
Nuclear futures: renewables blossom in Germany’s post-nuclear vision .http://theconversation.com/nuclear-futures-renewables-blossom-in-germanys-post-nuclear-vision-14364 Erik Gawel, Sebastian Strunz 22 May 2013, When the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan was hit by a tsunami in March 2011, the disaster had a profound effect on German energy policy. Chancellor Angela Merkel reasoned that “Fukushima has forever changed the way we define risk in Germany.”
Three days after the news of meltdown in three of Fukushima’s reactors, Chancellor Merkel drew a line under German nuclear power. The seven oldest nuclear power plants in Germany were immediately taken off the grid, and two months later the government made this permanent. The remaining German nuclear power plants, it was decided, would be shut down by 2022.
This decision was a spectacular policy U-turn, as the same conservative government had only recently overturned an earlier attempt to ban nuclear power in Germany. In 2010, Chancellor Merkel’s coalition had argued that nuclear power was a “bridge technology” ecessary to pave the way towards a carbon-free energy system. The prolonged use of nuclear power would be indispensable in order to guarantee security of supply, it was claimed.
This raises two questions: did removing seven power plants endanger the security of supply to the German national grid? And what convincing long-term strategy is there in place to manage the shift to carbon-free energy without nuclear power? Continue reading
Large scale batteries for renewable energy storage now growing in use
Large Scale Energy Storage Roundup http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=3755 23 May 13,
As the world increasingly moves towards renewable energy; it will need many individual energy storage locations distributed across the grid to address issues of variability in electricity production. The idea of a battery being a relatively small device or a series of small boxes cobbled together with wiring is changing fast. Batteries capable of storing huge amounts of energy are being developed using all sort of materials and technologies.
The following are just a few we’ve reported on in the past; some of which are have now been deployed in commercial applications: Continue reading
European countries can save €45bn by co-operative renewable energy
Siemens: Europe can save €45bn by optimising renewable energy generation 22 May 2013 http://www.renewableenergyfocus.com/view/32558/siemens-europe-can-save-45bn-by-optimising-renewable-energy-generation/ Siemens – which is hosting six Round Table discussions around the globe to discuss levers for optimising energy systems worldwide – says if regional characteristics were given higher priority when investments were made in renewable energy installations, Europe could save billions of Euros. The European energy system is inefficient to the point of damaging the continent’s competitiveness, it adds.
The company estimates that building and expanding renewable energy installations in the wrong locations is costing Europe around €45bn in unnecessary investment – the preliminary findings come via an ongoing studySiemens is conducting with the Technical University of Munich to examine energy systems worldwide. Significantly, the €45bn figure includes associated extension of the power grid.
In Germany alone, the potential savings are possible on a magnitude of 4-5 times the annual investment in solar and wind power plant construction, the firm says. The crux, according to Siemens, lies in the choice of location: installations must be built at the sites in Europe that offer the highest power yields. Continue reading
Renewable energy – Germany’s impressive export of electricity
Germany Continues to Export Power Despite Nuclear Exit http://climatecrocks.com/2013/05/21/germany-continues-to-export-power-despite-nuclear-exit/ Climate Denial Crock of the Week with Peter Sinclair May 21, 2013
They said it couldn’t happen. They keep trying to trash the EnergieWende – Germany’s planet-leading transformation to renewable energy. But the pesky Germans keep perking along. Wall Street Journal:
FRANKFURT–Germany exported more electricity than it imported for the seventh consecutive year in 2012, despite an accelerated exit from nuclear-power generation that included the immediate and permanent shut-down of nearly half of the country’s atomic reactors in 2011.
Germany exported about 22.8 terrawatt-hours of electricity more than it imported in 2012, the Federal Statistics Office, Destatis, said Tuesday in a written statement.
The main destinations for German-produced electricity were the Netherlands, Switzerland and Austria, said the statistics office, citing data supplied by Germany’s four power transmission grid operators. The main sources of power imports into Germany were France, Denmark and the Czech Republic, it said.
The statistics office didn’t provide any reasons for the continued power exports, despite the fact that Germany shut down eight of 17 nuclear reactors in the wake of the Fukushima disaster in Japan in March 2011.
The rapid expansion of solar- and wind-power installations are seen as the main reason for continued German electricity exports, as well as the erosion of wholesale power prices under which many of Europe’s utilities are presently suffering.
1 This Month
petition to oppose the rapid increase of space-military industry threatening Jeju Island and the region.
[Petition by April 19th (KST)] Stop the joint military-Hanwha Systems-Jeju Provincial Government Sea Launch!
World Nuclear Power. Reactors 1951-2026, 75 Years of Nuclear Power.
Interactive Map– https://dv.worldnuclearreport.org/
Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes – A good documentary on Chernobyl on SBS available On Demand for the next 3 weeks– https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/tv-program/chernobyl-the-lost-tapes/2352741955560
of the week–London Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
Tell the Ukrainian Government to Drop Prosecution of Peace Activist Yurii Sheliazhenko
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity – go to https://nuclearinformation.wordpress.com
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