Powering Europe with Sunshine from Africa and Middle East
How To Power A Continent With Wind And Solar http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=3271 by Giles Parkinson, editor of RenewEconomy.com.au, 27 June 12 Of all the most ambitious renewable energy projects around the world, the European Desertec Industrial Initiative ranks right at the top- some would say fantastic in both the true and the modern sense of the word.The basic plan of Desertec is to harness the wind and solar power from north Africa and the Middle East and use it- along with similar resources from southern Europe- to help Europe cut 95 per cent of its emissions from its electricity grid by 2050, and to have renewables provide 90 per cent of its power needs.
A new report released by the initiative- which is a consortium of 21 industrial giants such as Siemens, E.ON, Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley, Enel, and Shell- says this can be done, at the same time as reducing electricity costs and making the grid more stable than it would otherwise be.
The 2050 Desert Power report released late last week, co-authored by the Fraunhofer Institute, says that by importing 20 per cent of its energy needs from the Middle East and north Africa (MENA), Europe can save €33 billion a year, or €30 for each megawatt hour of imported electricity. Continue reading
Growing interest in UK for farming the wind and the sunlight
UK: Concern about energy security ‘sparks rise in interest in developing renewable schemes’ EADT 24, UK , June 24, 2012 Growing concern about climate change and energy security has sparked the country-wide development of renewable energy facilities and commercial interest from landowners and developers, says surveyors’ organisation RICS. Continue reading
Bank assists Indian village communities by providing solar power
Using solar energy to create viable livelihoods The Hindu, V. K. RAKESH REDDY , 22 June 12, Andhra Pragathi Grameena Bank uses a centrally-sponsored scheme for people in Obulapuram and surrounding villages
The sun, which is the one resource that is abundant in Anantapur district, is creating viable livelihoods for the poor of Anantapur district with visionary banking by the Andhra Pragathi Grameena Bank (APGB). Continue reading
Clean energy pledges at Rio Conference
The commitments from the private sector totaled over $50 billion, according to the UN
Rio+20 summit: UN chief Ban Ki-moon unveils clean energy pledges, investments Economic Times, 22 June 12RIO DE JANEIRO: UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said on Thursday that more than 50 governments have launched new energy strategies, while private investors have pledged more than $50 billion to help carry out his goal to double the share of global renewable energy and the rate of energy efficiency improvement by 2030. Continue reading
Renewable Energy Report for USA – 80% of electrical energy by 2050
Renewable Energy to Power 80% of the U.S.
http://www.energyandcapital.com/articles/renewable-energy-to-power-80-of-the-us/2266 New Report Proves Renewable Energy’s Superiority By Swagato Chakravorty, June 22nd, 2012 The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) recently studied how renewable energy can respond to the electricity demands of the U.S. in the coming decades.
The report, titled Renewable Electricity Futures Study (RE Futures), looks at the effects of renewable electricity generation levels between 30% to 90%, envisioning 80% renewable electricity by 2050. It considers key factors such as physical geographies and output
fluctuation, things that could disrupt certain renewable sources.
The report concluded that 80% renewable electricity by 2050 is a viable option with existing renewable technologies, mainly requiring advances in the electric system to meet standard electricity demand per hour. Continue reading
Another long distance solar-powered flight
Solar plane makes successful flight over Moroccan desert Herald Sun, AFP June 22, 2012 A SOLAR-powered plane has completed a flight over the Moroccan desert to showcase renewable energy, as a key summit in Rio discussed “greening” the world economy. Continue reading
Indian Country communities to strengthen economies by hosting solar energy project
“Tribal lands hold great renewable energy potential, and smart development of these resources has the power to strengthen tribal economies, create jobs and generate clean electricity for communities across Indian Country,”
Solar energy project approved on tribal land near Las Vegas, Las Vegas Sun, By Conor Shine , June 21, 2012 The federal government on Thursday approved a massive 350-megawatt solar energy project to be built on land in Clark County belonging to the Moapa Band of Paiute Indians Tribe.
It would be the first utility-scale solar project on tribal lands. The project, covering about 2,000 acres, would be located 30 miles north of Las Vegas and occupy about 3 percent of the tribe’s land, which is held in trust by the U.S. government.
The operation would generate enough electricity to power 100,000 homes, the Department of the Interior said in a statement. Continue reading
Fukushima nuclear power to be replaced by big solar energy plant
Mixed Greens: Big solar to replace Fukushima nuclear, REneweconomy, By Sophie Vorrath 21 June 2012, Toshiba Corp has announced that it will begin building solar plants with a total generating capacity of 100MW on its northeastern coastline – the region that last year was devastated by an earthquake and tsunami, which then triggered a nuclear disaster – making it the biggest solar project in Japan.
Reuters reports that the Japanese electronics conglomerate will spend around ¥30 billion ($379.6 million) to build several large-scale solar plants in Minami Soma – located around 25km from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant. Continue reading
EBay’s revolutionary new renewable energy powered data centre
eBay Commits to Renewable Energy for Next Data Center PC Magazine, By Stephanie Mlot June 21, 2012 EBay is continuing its green business initiatives by building the next phase of the company’s data center primarily using renewable energy.
In partnership with Bloom Energy, eBay will build the country’s largest non-utility fuel cell installation. Though renewable energy typically supplements an electric grid, eBay is building the energy source into its core, incorporating 30 Bloom Energy servers into the
new center’s architecture.
“We believe the future of commerce can be greener,” eBay president and CEO John Donahoe said in a statement. The six-megawatt Bloom installation is being designed and engineered
as part of eBay’s expanded data center in Utah, and will be installed a few hundred feet from the building. Expected to be fully functional by mid-2013, each of the 30 energy servers will generate 1.75 million kilowatt hours of electricity annually, a press release said….. http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2406136,00.asp
Boost for solar power in Japan
Odawara, a city of 200,000 south of Tokyo, is setting up its own power company that will install solar panels at public facilities and sell electricity to Tokyo Electric Power Co
Residents who want to install panels on their homes will also get subsidies..
Japan approves renewable subsidies in shift from nuclear power, Malaysian Insider, TOKYO, June 18 — Japan approved today incentives for renewable energy that 
could unleash billions of dollars in clean-energy investment and help the world’s third-biggest economy shift away from a reliance on nuclear power after the Fukushima disaster.
Industry Minister Yukio Edano approved the introduction of feed-in tariffs (FIT), which means higher rates will be paid for renewable energy. The move could expand revenue from renewable generation and related equipment to more than $30 billion (RM90 billion) by 2016, brokerage CLSA estimates. Continue reading
Progress in renewable energy across Europe
Renewable sources account for nearly 50 percent of energy consumption in Sweden, the overall EU leader in this field.
Latvia, Finland and Austria each use energy that is more than 30 percent renewable, and Portugal’s share is nearly 25 percent,according to Eurostat.
EU Is Embracing Green Energy, Report Shows http://www.courthousenews.com/2012/06/19/47606.htm By WILLIAM DOTINGA (CN) – More than 12 percent of the energy consumed in the European Union comes from renewable sources, a new report shows. The report from Eurostat, the EU’s statistical office, compiles data from 2006 to 2010, the latest year for which data is available.
Three of the EU’s 27 member states – Belgium, France and Hungary – did report 2010 data. Lawmakers passed a directive in 2009 to derive 20 percent of final energy consumption in the EU from renewable sources by 2020. Each member state received a target to reach the aggregate 20 percent target. The individual goals take into account each country’s different
starting points, renewable energy potential and economic performance, according to Eurostat. Continue reading
Rapid growth of solar power in USA
In January, Macon’s Felton Homes public housing complex replaced 10 percent of its energy demand with renewable energy, using a combination of solar panels and solar hot water heaters.
Falling prices are making solar energy an economical energy choice for U.S. homeowners and businesses.
U.S. solar installations grow 85 percent in first quarter,http://www.macon.com/2012/06/17/2063556/us-solar-installations-grows-85.html, June 17, 2012 By EHREN GOOSSENS — Bloomberg News Developers installed 85 percent more solar panels in the United States in the first quarter than a year earlier, led by strong growth in commercial projects and demand, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association. Continue reading
Solar street lights for Indian city
Solar power for streets, Deccan Chromicle, June 16, 2012 By Kiran Tom Sajan | Smitha T he city’s roads will be soon dotted with solar and wind energy powered street lights. The city corporation is in talks with a private agency for installing street lights using solar and wind energy.
To begin with, plans are afoot to install energy-efficient lights on the Edappally railway overbridge (RoB) and on Chathiyath Road….. The corporation has adopted a policy in favour of energy saving and measures like installing solar street lights will be taken for energy conservation, the mayor added.
According to experts, wind could be a potential energy source that could be used to power even homes and businesses. Earlier, the civic body has decided to install energy-efficient street lights on selected stretches of the roads in the city. It has invited tenders for installing energy saving LED lights along the MG Road and Marine Drive.
The ministry of new and renewable energy has recently included the city in its ‘solar city’ programme, which aims at promoting the use of renewable energy in urban
areas.http://www.deccanchronicle.com/channels/cities/kochi/solar-power-streets-028
Storage of solar energy at home
In a test building, they were able to increase “own consumption” – solar power used directly within the household without being exported to the grid
Home Solar Power Storage — Another Option Clean Technica, JUNE 15, 2012 BY ZACHARY SHAHAN In addition to the home storage option recently announced by Panasonic, below is another story about a some storage option that could greatly benefit those with cheap solar power on their rooftops in Germany (and some other locations). This is a full repost from the awesome site Renewables Continue reading
Renewable energy pledge of the small Pacific island nations
Pacific pledge to switch to renewable energy, June 15, 2012 http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-06-15/pacific-ministers-commit-to-renewable-energy/4006638 Pacific Island nations have pledged to dump diesel and similar fuels they use to produce energy and replace them with renewable power sources.
Tuvalu, Tokelau and Cook Islands’ leaders outlined their renewable energy targets this week. The Deputy Prime Minister of Tuvalu, Kausa Natano has told Pacific Beat the implementation of renewable energy schemes in small island states is very important. ”I think everyone’s supported the idea of energy efficiency as it will save a lot of funds from their budgets and could be used for other social developments in respective countries,” he said.
“We had some donor partners – Denmark, Norway, the United Kingdom – that actually also made the commitment to support these small island states as they move forward to try and support the transformation of their societies.”
He says donor partners – Denmark, Norway and the United Kingdom – have committed to support the small island states in their transformation.
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