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World record for wind power goes to Denmark, yet again

wind-turb-smflag-Denmark1Denmark just broke its own wind power record for the second year in a row http://inhabitat.com/denmark-breaks-its-own-wind-power-production-record-two-years-in-a-row/ by , 18 Apr 16, VIEW SLIDESHOW 

 In Denmark, the wind is strong and the people are smart. They must be, because Denmark just beat its own wind power generation record—again. According to a new report issued last week, wind power now makes up 42.1 percent of total electricity consumption in the country, which is the highest share anywhere in the world. Energinet, the agency responsible for Denmark’s power grids, released the final figures for 2015 after tallying up all of the wind hours for the year. Experts say the increase over the previous year’s energy generation means Denmark is on target to reach its future goals for renewable energy.

This time last year, Denmark celebrated the world record achievement of generating 39.1 percent of the nation’s electricity from wind power in 2014. This means that, for two years running, Denmark has generated more electricity from wind power than any other country on Earth. Wind power also makes up a larger share of electricity sources there than in other nations. Essentially, Denmark is blazing the trail for other European countries to push forward with renewable energy projects.

Related: All Netherlands Railways trains will be 100% wind powered by 2018

“It’s not unusual that we have hours where the wind production is greater than the actual consumption. But in the western part of the country, it has sometimes been 16 percent more, and that illustrates that with a volatile electricity production, we are able to import and export across our borders,” Energinet’s Carsten Vittrup said in a statement. Indeed, wind power generation has been known to peak as high as140 percent of the country’s electricity needs on particularly windy days.

Danish parliament aims to get at least half of the country’s electricity from wind by 2020, and that seems easily achievable given the current upward trend. A corresponding goal is to rely on renewable energy for 90 percent of the electricity and heating throughout the nation, which also seems likely. Currently, Denmark is exporting some of its wind power to Norway, Sweden, and Germany, while buying hydropower from Norway and solar power from Germany. Mixing energy sources is important to ensure a consistent supply to the power grid, regardless of weather conditions, so coal and biomass power plants are still being used as a safety net. However, it’s logical to expect a decline in those sources as renewable methods continue to take over.

April 25, 2016 Posted by | Denmark, renewable | Leave a comment

Impressive solar panel array on Port Alberni hospital, Vancouver Island, Canada

sunflag-canadaPort Alberni hospital has Vancouver Island’s largest array of solar power Solar power could help with high hydro rates during peak hours on hot days By Liam Britten, CBC News  Apr 23, 2016  

Who loves the sun? — turns out West Coast General Hospital in Port Alberni does. That building is home to 400 solar panels — the largest power-generating array on Vancouver Island, in fact.

The panels will be doing their work in the weeks and months ahead to see how much money Island Health Authority can save by using the power of the sun.

“When it’s really hot and sunny and we’re using a lot of power to keep the hospital cool, the rates get very high with BC Hydro,” Deanna Fourt, director of energy efficiency and conservation with Island Health Authority told All Points West host Robyn Burns.

“So it’s going to work very nicely with the solar. This is what we’re thinking, because it’s going to be offsetting those really high-rate days or high-rate times.”……..http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/vancouver-island-solar-power-1.3550022

April 25, 2016 Posted by | Canada, decentralised | Leave a comment

USA wind energy investment – over $128 Billion

green-collarBy staying on track to supply 20 percent of U.S. electricity by 2030, wind energy could support 380,000 well-paying jobs, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. That number could grow to 600,000 by supplying 35 percent by 2050

More Than $128 Billion Dollars Invested in U.S. Economy by New Wind Power Projects,Wind Systems, 25 Apr 16  Building new wind farms in the U.S. added $13 billion per year on average to the American economy over the past five years, according to information recently released by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA).

“By building new wind farms across the country throughout the past decade, wind companies have invested $128 billion into the U.S. economy,” said Tom Kiernan, CEO of AWEA. “Over this time, wind has rapidly scaled-up. Now, there is enough wind power installed to reliably produce electricity for more than 19 million American homes. Continuing to invest in world-class wind resources here at home will help keep our lights on, grow state economies, and keep more money in the pockets of homeowners and businesses.”

Wind energy was the number-one source for new electric capacity additions in 2015 with 8,598 MW installed. That number translates to $14.7 billion dollars in wind project investments in one year — a 73-percent increase over the $8.5 billion invested in new projects in 2014 and a more than seven-fold increase over investments by wind in 2013……..

The new investment figures made by wind come shortly after a new accord that was announced by a bipartisan group of 17 governors who made the pledge to accelerate clean energy growth, including wind power, as a way to build “a new energy future.” The accord said that creating this new energy path will result in a “more durable and resilient infrastructure and [will] enable economic growth while protecting the health of our communities and natural resources.”

Wind power costs two-thirds less than it did six years ago because of American innovation and improved domestic manufacturing, with more than 500 factories across 43 states building wind turbine parts and materials, and those savings are being passed on to U.S. consumers. Wind power saved consumers $1 billion over just two days across the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic states during the 2014 Polar Vortex event.

Wind energy in the U.S. produces enough electricity for more than 19 million American homes, and American wind power supports 73,000 well-paying jobs across every state, including nearly 20,000 manufacturing jobs.

By staying on track to supply 20 percent of U.S. electricity by 2030, wind energy could support 380,000 well-paying jobs, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. That number could grow to 600,000 by supplying 35 percent by 2050.  http://www.windsystemsmag.com/article/detail/1167/more-than-128-billion-dollars-invested-in-us-economy-by-new-wind-power-projects

April 25, 2016 Posted by | business and costs, renewable, USA | Leave a comment

Indian govt announces highly ambitious solar energy target

sunflag-indiaIndia Sets Target Of 48 GW Solar Power Capacity By March 2019, Clean Technica April 23rd, 2016 by   Originally published on PlanetSave.

Highly ambitious annual solar power capacity addition targets have been announced by the Indian Ministry of New & Renewable Energy.

With a target to have an operational solar power capacity of 100 GW by March 2022, the Indian government has announced annual capacity addition targets for the next few years. The Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) plans to add 15 GW and 16 GW solar power capacity in the financial years 2017-18 and 2018-19, respectively.

In the current financial year, the government targets an addition of 12 GW solar power capacity. If this target is achieved, India’s installed solar power capacity will cross 17 GW by the end of March 2017. By early March this year more than 5.7 GW of solar power capacity was operational in India…….

India is also in talks with development banks like the Asian Development Bank, International Finance Corporation, KfW, the Japan International Cooperation Agency, and the New Development Bank to access cheap debt finance for setting up solar power projects. https://cleantechnica.com/2016/04/23/101231/

April 25, 2016 Posted by | India, renewable | Leave a comment

Denmark’s solar energy growth – way ahead of schedule

sunflag-Denmark1  Denmark Hits 200 Megawatt Solar Capacity Goal 8 Years Ahead of Schedule, inhabitat, by Molly Cotter 18 Apr 16 “….. VIEW SLIDESHOW

Lets face it – its rare we see a government goal reached on time, let alone early. Not too long ago, the Danish Government announced an ambitious goal to reach 200 megawatts of solar capacity by 2020, and as of last week, they have already met it! The country is currently installing an average of 36megawatts of solar panels each month. At this rate, their resulting capacity by 2020 will be over five times the original goal. Denmark‘s power is currently 20% supplied by renewable sources, and the nation has set a goal of sourcing 100% of its energy from renewable sources by 2050.

Solar panels are a hot commodity in Denmark, saving energy costs and giving homeowners the possibility of storing extra energy in the public grid. Building owners and communities alike have taken advantage of government-funded incentives and benefits of grid connectivity, solidifying the importance of renewable energy sources for the entire country. This national strategy has paid off big time for countries such as Denmark, Germany, Japan, and Spain who have all set solar goals and are moving toward a greener energy system. Lets hope in the light of this fantastic news, more countries jump on board the green train! http://inhabitat.com/denmark-hits-200-megawatt-solar-capacity-goal-8-years-ahead-of-schedule/

April 25, 2016 Posted by | Denmark, renewable | Leave a comment

Saudi Arabia may turn to solar power, as low oil prices hit finances

Is the fear of bankruptcy forcing oil-rich Saudi turn to solar power? Wait for 25 April http://www.firstpost.com/business/is-fear-of-bankruptcy-forcing-oil-rich-saudi-turn-to-solar-power-wait-for-25-april-2744388.html   Apr 22, 2016 In March 2016, Saudi Arabia stunned the world with an unusual announcement. Its oil minister Ali al-Naimi stated the following at a Berlin conference: “I don’t think there is a more ideal country for renewables than Saudi Arabia, given its abundant sunshine, available land and plentiful sand, which is needed for making solar panels”. Of course, this won’t happen overnight, he added by way of clarification. He expects consumers to continue using fossil fuel for the next 50 years. But his statement that Saudi Arabia would make a foray into solar power was the last thing investors had on their minds.

In fact, should Saudi Arabia put its money behind solar power, expect the pace of growth for solar to climb frenetically. Solar power is already expected to grow by 28% during 2016.

Already, last year was a scorcher. 2015 ended with around 59 GW (giga Watt or 1,000 MW) of solar installed capacity. This made it another record year in terms of solar PV installation, It represented a 700% increase from the 2008 annual demand. Clearly, the solar PV industry has grown exponentially and is worth more than $100 billion now.

2016 promises to be another double digit growth year . Various analysts put the growth of solar power in 2016 anywhere between 10-17%, to about 69 GW. Almost 93% of the demand will come from just three countries: India, China and the US. Saudi Arabia’s investments could cause this number to flare up further.

But why is Saudi Arabia moving away from oil? To understand its decision to begin looking to solar energy, it might be helpful to listen carefully to the utterances of Prince Mohammed bin Salman, grandson of the founder king of Saudi Arabia.

Just a few days ago, in an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek he pointed to the urgent need for his country to restructure its finances. He was of the belief that his country should change fundamentally. The alternative would be catastrophic.

It was only last year that the country’s managers discovered that thanks to rapidly falling oil prices, Saudi Arabia had witnessed a continuous (and precipitous) fall in its forex reserves. Analysts believed that bankruptcy would be just a couple of years away. The oil price crash had resulted in a budget shortfall of almost $200 billion. Historically, the country depended on oil for 90% of its budget requirements. Now that was fast evaporating.

That could also explain why all eyes are now set on 25 April (three days away) when Prince Mohammed is slated to present his “Vision for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.” That is when he is likely to unfold a plan incorporating widespread economic and social changes. According to BusinessWeek, it includes

1) the creation of the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, which will eventually hold more than $2 trillion in assets—enough to buy all of Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Berkshire Hathaway, the world’s four largest public companies.

2) an IPO that could sell off “less than 5 percent” of Saudi Aramco, the national oil producer, which will be turned into the world’s biggest industrial conglomerate (watch out, Mukesh Ambani!).

3) diversification into non-petroleum assets, hedging the kingdom’s nearly total dependence on oil for revenue.

According to BusinessWeek, these moves “will technically make investments the source of Saudi government revenue, not oil . . .[so that] within 20 years, we will be an economy or state that doesn’t depend mainly on oil.”

Expect solar power to be a major driver. And wait for April 25!

This is a two part series article on the solar fortunes. Read the second part tommorrow.

April 22, 2016 Posted by | renewable, Saudi Arabia | Leave a comment

First Major City to Require Solar Panels on New Buildings – San Francisco

solar-citySan Francisco Becomes First Major City to Require Solar Panels on New Buildings, Nation of Change, By Lorraine Chow – April 20, 2016 
San Francisco is one step closer to its goal of transitioning to 100 percent renewable energy after the city’s Board of Supervisors unanimously voted on Tuesday to mandate solarinstallations on new buildings. According to the San Francisco Examiner, starting Jan. 1 of next year, new commercial and residential buildings up to 10 stories high must install rooftop solar systems for heat or electricity. Buildings that are taller are exempt for now.

The famously green metropolis is now the first major city in the U.S. to legislate such a requirement. San Francisco follows the footsteps of the smaller towns of Lancaster and Sebastopol. The municipalities, which are also in California, passed similar mandates in 2013.

“This legislation will help move us toward a clean energy future and toward our city’s goal of 100 percent renewable energy by 2025,” supervisor Scott Wiener, who introduced the legislation, wrote on his Facebook page.

He added that San Francisco’s new rooftop solar law is an extension of an already established California law that requires all buildings 10 floors or less designate at least 15 percent of the rooftop for solar use.

“Solar ready” means that the roof is unshaded by the proposed building itself and free of obtrusions, Wiener explained on his website.

As the Examiner explained, the new legislation would give San Francisco’s solar capacity a big boost and help avert emissions:

To gauge the impact the mandate could have, the Department of Environment applied the proposal to construction projects in the pipeline in the third quarter of 2014 and found the 200 projects with solar installations would “avoid over 26,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year.”

The current 24.8 megawatt solar systems in place would increase by 7.4 megawatts. The 7.4 megawatts of solar energy can produce 10.5 gigawatt hours of electricity annually, which can power about 2,500 San Francisco homes, [Barry Hooper, the Department of Environment Green Building Coordinator] said Tuesday.

“The Better Roofs ordinance continues to push the city as a national leader on solar policy,” Josh Arce, former president of the San Francisco Commission on the Environment, and community liaison for Laborers Local 261, a labor organization that trains solar jobseekers, said in a statement. “This legislation will expand our efforts to cover San Francisco rooftops with solar panels and tackle climate change, while also creating good jobs for our community.”……
The legislation is similar to a mandate passed in France last year that all new buildings be covered in partial green roofing or solar panels…….. http://www.nationofchange.org/news/2016/04/20/san-francisco-becomes-first-major-city-require-solar-panels-new-buildings/

April 22, 2016 Posted by | renewable, USA | Leave a comment

Solar-powered Eco-City for Florida

solar-cityA Solar-Powered Eco-City for 50,000 Breaking Ground in Florida
The Babcock Ranch development will be primarily powered by a $300 million solar array,
Curbed, BY BARBARA ELDREDGE  @BARBARAELDREDGE APR 22, 2016, Construction is kicking off on a development hoping to become America’s first solar-powered city. Located in southwestern Florida just 13 miles from Fort Myers, the under-constructionBabcock Ranch development is slated to encompass 19,500 homes, 6 million square feet of retail, and 50,000 inhabitants by the time it’s fully finished in roughly 25 years.

And it’ll largely be powered by one of the country’s largest arrays of photovoltaic panels.

 When complete, the 400-acre, $300 million array will produce enough energy to run the town and feed excess power back into the electrical grid. Construction of the $300 million, 75-megawatt power plant started in October, and it should be operational and connected to the energy grid by the end of the year……..

Planned entirely from the ground up with sustainability and environmental conservation in mind, over half of city’s 17,608 acres will be set aside for parks, greenways, and lakes. The town is also bordered by two wildlife and nature preserves totaling nearly 150,000 acres of protected wilderness. http://www.curbed.com/2016/4/22/11480578/solar-power-babcock-ranch-city-florida-array-kitson-partners

April 22, 2016 Posted by | renewable, USA | Leave a comment

Massachusetts electricity customers will save money in shift to wind and hydropower

Study predicts shift toward wind, hydropower will save consumers money, MassLive,  By Matt Murphy STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, APRIL 21, 2016.…A new study on the impact large-scale hydro and wind power imports could have on the Massachusetts energy market predicts significant savings for consumers, challenging the narrative put forward by critics of Gov. Charlie Baker’s energy bill that hydropower would be a costly alternative to natural gas.

The economic analysis, conducted for the Massachusetts Clean Energy Partnership by Power Advisory, concludes that energy customers in the state would see a net benefit of $171 million a year from long-term contracts for hydropower or a combination of hydro and land-based wind from northern New England or Canada.

The Clean Electricity Partnership is a coalition of regional wind, hydro and transmission companies working with business and environmental groups to promote clean energy.

The report, written by Power Advisory President John Dalton, suggests the savings generated by driving down demand for natural gas would not only cover the costs of building the transmission and facility infrastructure to import the power, but also deliver 10 percent of the carbon emission reductions required by 2050 under state law.

“Our analysis shows that displacing natural gas-fired electricity generation with hydropower or a combination of hydro and wind results in substantial annual savings to Massachusetts energy consumers as well as dramatic reductions in greenhouse gas emissions,” Dalton wrote……..

The House is expected to release major energy policy legislation as soon as next month that is likely to address the idea of competitive procurement of both hydro and off-shore wind as a clean energy solution to meeting the region’s energy needs as sources such as Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station prepare to come offline.

Over a 25-year period, Dalton’s report estimates $603 million in savings a year in Massachusetts from the importation of Canadian hydropower before the cost of transmission lines and facilities are factored.

The volume of energy from the new renewable resources would drive down demand for natural gas and reduce the price of gas used to produce electricity on peak demand days. The result would be savings of approximately $219 million a year for Massachusetts customers, he wrote. http://www.masslive.com/politics/index.ssf/2016/04/study_predicts_shift_toward_wi.html

April 22, 2016 Posted by | renewable, USA | Leave a comment

In Tanzania, distributed solar power not only for home lighting, now for business, too

sunSolar panels power business surge – not just lights – in Tanzania BY KIZITO MAKOY  UKARA, Tanzania (Thomson Reuters Foundation) 19 Apr 16

“………SOLAR STEPS UP

Around the world, as the costs of solar energy plunge, it is increasingly being used to power industry and businesses, a huge step forward from simply supplying lighting and basic electrical power in places like Tanzania, experts say.

Nyakalege, for instance, now uses solar power to operate his three milling machines simultaneously. He has employed three people to help him and has seen his customerbase rise to 600 a day…….

The solar system at Bwisya is part of a project to provide reliable and affordable electricity to the nearly 2,000 households and more than 200 businesses on Ukara, in order to boost opportunities to earn an income.

It is the first of 30 such systems JUMEME plans to install over the next two years. They are expected to supply power to around 100,000 people, company officials said.

The company has even bigger plans for the longer-term, they said.

“Our goal is to set up 300 systems and serve up to 1 million people in rural areas across Tanzania by 2022, making JUMEME the largest mini-grid operator in the country,” said Thadeus Mkamwa, one of the company’s directors.

The project, jointly funded by the European Union and private investors with political support from the Tanzanian government , has a total budget of 38.4 billion shillings ($17.6 million), Mkwama said.

PRE-PAID SOLAR POWER

In Bwisya, the largest village on Ukara, 250 customers are due to be connected to a hybrid power station consisting of a 60-kilowatt (KW) solar photovoltaic system and a 240 KW-hour battery bank. A diesel generator provides back-up.

The system will be extended in the second half of this year to connect the other villages on the island, Mkamwa said.

The installation charges for individual homes and business are repaid by customers in installments. Consumers pre-pay for their power, with costs per unit depending on the amount of electrical equipment they use…….http://www.reuters.com/article/us-tanzania-solar-energy-idUSKCN0XG1VX

April 22, 2016 Posted by | AFRICA, decentralised | Leave a comment

World’s wind energy industry set to nearly double in next five years

A wind farm in Marshalltown, Iowa. Photographer: Timothy Fadek/BloombergGlobal wind capacity to nearly double in next five years: GWEC, http://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-windpower-idUSKCN0XG1UA Nina Chestney, 19 Apr 16  Global wind energy capacity will nearly double in the next five years, largely led by further market growth in China, but also as a stronger industry emerges in the United States, the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) said on Tuesday.

In its annual report on the status of the global wind industry, GWEC said cumulative windenergy capacity was 433 gigawatts (GW) at the end of 2015, a 17 percent rise from the year before.
That should nearly double to around 792 GW by the end of 2020 as countries develop more renewable energy to comply with emissions cut targets, prices continue to fall and policies to support wind power in the United States stabilize, the wind industry association said in the report.
Wind energy installed in 2015 reached 63 GW, a 22 percent increase from the previous year. China alone installed nearly half of that new capacity – 30.8 GW.

In December last year in Paris, almost 200 countries agreed a landmark deal to cut greenhouse gas emissions from 2020 with the aim of limiting global average temperature rise to below 2 degrees Celsius.

“The Paris Agreement requires a fully decarbonized power system by 2050 if not before, if we are keeping temperatures below 2 C above pre-industrial levels,” Steve Sawyer, GWEC Secretary General, said in a statement.

New markets in Africa, Asia and Latin America are also emerging which will be sources of growth in the next decade.

Outside of China, the Asian market will be led by India but new markets in Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Pakistan and Mongolia are also developing quickly, the report said.

April 22, 2016 Posted by | business and costs, renewable | Leave a comment

Blowing away the dishonest spin of the nuclear lobby against renewable energy

highly-recommendedDiesendorf-MarkRenewable energy versus nuclear: dispelling the myths http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_analysis/2987577/renewable_energy_versus_nuclear_dispelling_the_myths.html Mark Diesendorf 19th April 2016 

Don’t believe the spurious claims of nuclear shills constantly doing down renewables, writes Mark Diesendorf. Clean, safe renewable energy technologies have the potential to supply 100% of the world’s electricity needs – but the first hurdle is to refute the deliberately misleading myths designed to promote the politically powerful but ultimately doomed nuclear industry.

Nuclear energy and renewable energy (RE) are the principal competitors for low-carbon electricity in many countries.

As RE technologies have grown in volume and investment, and become much cheaper, nuclear proponents and deniers of climate science have become deniers of RE.

The strategies and tactics of RE deniers are very similar to those of climate science deniers.

To create uncertainty about the ability of RE to power an industrial society, they bombard decision-makers and the media with negative myths about RE and positive myths about nuclear energy, attempting to turn these myths into conventional wisdom.

In responding to the climate crisis, few countries have the economic resources to expand investment substantially in both nuclear and RE. This is demonstrated in 2016 by the UK government, which is offering huge long-term subsidies to nuclear while severely cutting existing short-term subsidies to RE.

This article, a sequel to one busting the myth that we need base-load power stations such as nuclear or coal, examines critically some of the other myths about nuclear energy and RE. It offers a resource for those who wish to question these myths. The myths discussed here have been drawn from comments by nuclear proponents and RE opponents in the media, articles, blogs and on-line comments.

Myth 1: Base-load power stations are necessary to supply base-load demand. Continue reading

April 20, 2016 Posted by | 2 WORLD, Reference, renewable, spinbuster | Leave a comment

Clean water for 10 million people, due to London’s new floating solar farm

flag-UKWorld’s Largest Floating Solar Farm to Provide 10 Million People with Clean Water, Luminary Daily,  By  / 20 March 2016 The solar farm will span 57,500 square meters (or about eight soccer stadiums) of the Queen Elizabeth II reservoir and will consist of 23,000 solar panels, covering about a tenth of the reservoir. It is slated to be completed by the end of March.

Solar floating farm London copy

Utility company Thames Water runs the reservoir, while Lightsource Renewable Energy — a private solar energy company based in London — is responsible for the funding and operation of the revolutionary farm.

“This will be the biggest floating solar farm in the world for a time — others are under construction,” Angus Berry, energy manager for Thames Water, told The Guardian. “We are leading the way, but we hope that others will follow, in the UK and abroad.”………

Similar floating solar farms are under construction, or have already been completed, both in England and around the world. Recently, a 45,500 square meter solar farm opened in Greater Manchester, England and water company United Utilities, also in Manchester, is currently constructing a similar project that will have about half the capacity of the Thames Water project. In Japan, solar company Kyocera is in the process of building an 180,000 square meter floating solar farm (see featured image at the top) that is set to be completed in 2018.

For their dedication to providing clean, renewable energy, for their innovation, and for helping to lead the charge in the energy revolution we are happy to name the folks at Lightsource and Thames Water our Luminaries of the Week. http://luminarydaily.com/worlds-largest-floating-solar-farm-to-provide-10-million-people-with-clean-water/

April 20, 2016 Posted by | renewable, UK | Leave a comment

Solar city makes more 4 times more electricity than it consumes

flag_germanyRevolutionary: Germany Builds A Solar City That Produces Four Times More Energy Than It Consumes   http://thelogicalindian.com/environment/germanys-revolutionary-solar-city-that-produces-four-times-more-energy-than-it-consumes/Abhishek Mittal 14 Apr 16We have known cities to be great power-guzzlers, having a huge appetite for consuming electricity to power its homes and buildings. To generate electricity for such cities through renewable sources like solar becomes a difficult task given the vast amount of area required to place the solar panels. But a city in the heart of Germany has achieved something more incredible. It not only has made itself self-sufficient in energy, but in fact has become a net producer of energy – all thanks to a localized approach for adopting solar power.

solar citiy Frieburg Germany


The Solar cities of Germany:

The Sonnenschiff and Solarsiedlung cities located in Freiburg, Germany are modern, planned habitations that were worked upon with solar power in mind. Literally meaning Solar Ship and Solar Village, the Sonnenschiff and Solarsiedlung cities were specifically designed and built to be solar cities, balancing size, accessibility, green space, and solar exposure. Each of the fifty-two homes along with some commercial buildings is fitted with large rooftop solar panels that double-up as sun shades. The panels are perfectly aligned to point in the right direction of the sun, and the buildings follow the Passivhaus standards of green building technology.

The cities have been designed by architect Rolf Disch. Together with the latest photovoltaic technology for the panels that make them highly efficient, and use of phase-change materials and vacuum insulation for the walls of the buildings that provide optimum thermal performance, the cities are able to generate four times the power which they consume.

Solar Vs Nuclear:

The success of solar as an alternative to the polluting coal-fired power is not limited to these twin-cities. The entire area of Freiburg has been leading the country into a solar revolution since a long time. It was once on the crossroads of choosing between solar and nuclear as the preferred alternative source. Infact a nuclear power plant had already begun construction near Freiburg in early 1970s, amid protests from students and farmers who saw nuclear as a dangerous and polluting source of energy.

A major change in mindset of the local population came when an engineer Dieter Seifried started an institute to research into alternative forms of energy and popularized solar as a safe, reliable and efficient source. Seifried said regarding nuclear power in an interview to CBC news, “you will see first that it is not clean at all, second that it is expensive and third that we have a lot of unsolved problems like where do we deposit the waste.” Gradually more and more residents started to install rooftop solar panels on their houses and ditched the conventional power from grid. In 2000, Germany tabled a clean energy bill that forced power-companies to pay a set fee called a feed-in tariff to anybody providing power to the grid. This gave an impetus to the efforts of Seifried and others, and today, 30% of Germany’s electricity comes from renewable sources, mainly wind and solar. The nuclear plant being built in Freiburg was shut down soon after the protests, and after the unfortunate Fukushima meltdown in Japan in 2011, Germany has committed to phase out all 17 of its nuclear reactors by 2022.

The examples of Freiburg and the solar cities show how people themselves can own up the process of transitioning from conventional methods of energy generation to cleaner alternatives. The role of government in incentivizing renewable energy and providing access to technology is also very important. The Logical Indian gives a big thumbs-up to the residents of Freiburg for kickstarting the solar revolution in their country, and hopes that similar initiatives are taken up by people across the world.

April 20, 2016 Posted by | decentralised, Germany | Leave a comment

Western Kenya’s solar minigrids – a rural electricity solution

A solar minigrid for 100 villages in Western Kenya, Clean Leap by    DAVID KARIUKI  Mar 19th 2016, Scalable solar mini grids will continue to play a major role in the rural electrification agenda in developing countries in the future. This will be fueled by the increased entry of private players into the field, and the change of regulations in respect to generation and supply of power from scalable mini grid solutions. These two are already being witnessed in Kenya. This year, Kenya is witnessing a major solar micro-grid project expected to demonstrate exactly how these power solutions can fit in rural electrification agenda now that the country is targeting 100% electricity access by 2030. The project is notable as it marks the first scalable community micro grid project since last year’s granting of the first utility concession for off-grid power supply…….

solar minigrid
The project, which is an investment between U.S-based Powerhive and Enel Green Power (EGP) seeks to build and develop solar mini-grids in 100 villages in the Western part of Kenya, in the counties of Kisii and Nyamira. The solar mini grids will have an installed capacity of 1MW and will bring clean power to households, small businesses, schools, and healthcare centers and serve a total of 90,000 people. The micro-grids will be powered by First Solar’s solar PV technology and operated with Powerhive’s control technology. Francesco Venturini, CEO of EGP indicated the micro grid rural electricification solution will be linked with advanced mobile payment or billing systems, meaning it will adopt a mobile phone prepayment application. The system will use solar power panels, battery storage, and local distribution facilities……….
In conclusion, micro grids will play a major role in developing country’s rural electrification agenda as regulators make it easy for their penetration. At the same time, this will be accelerated by the entry of more private companies into the field. American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE), a non-profit membership organization that provides a common educational platform for the renewable energy community, said energy regulators in this region need to seek electricity distribution concessionssince concessions incentivize suppliers and make projects bankable for purposes of expanding them. Regulators also, according to ACORE, can establish cost-reflective tariffs as opposed to fixed tariffs that limit rural electrification by putting a price ceiling. In addition, they need to boost private financing by offering investors risk-reflective rates of return, planning for future by prioritizing preference to appliance-compatible systems that support economic activities and systems that have potential to grow over time, as well as streamline regulations in the energy sector.  http://cleanleap.com/solar-minigrid-100-villages-western-kenya

April 20, 2016 Posted by | decentralised, Kenya | Leave a comment