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African and Islander nations going for small scale, off-grid, renewable technology

Africa: First African Renewable Energy Confab in Accra All Africa, BY AYUUREYISIYA KAPINI ATAFORI, 8 JUNE 2012  “….Off-grid technology is extremely important throughout Africa with many of the continent?s inhabitants without access to the grid.

…….A pioneering role in renewable energy development in Africa has been taken by Cape Verde. The West African islands have set a goal of 50 per cent renewable energy by 2020. Abrao Andrade Lopez, Director General of the Ministry of Industry and Energy, announced that the country was currently running a study to explore how to achieve 100 per cent renewable energy.

In a related development, decreasing dependency on oil imports encouraged 39 of the small island developing states (SIDS) in Africa, the Caribbean, the Indian Ocean and the Pacific to meet in Barbados to work out energy efficiency plans.

Islands like Tonga and Tokelau plan to become fully energy independent by 2013, and others are following suit. The small island developing states are writing the stories of their future, said Veerle Vandeweerd, Director of Environment and Energy at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Continue reading →

June 9, 2012 Posted by | decentralised, OCEANIA | Leave a comment

India’s solar-powered buses

Apoorva Renewable Energy to make solar-electric buses for transport body Business Line, BANGALORE, JUNE 8: Buses in Bangalore may soon be powered by solar energy. The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) has placed orders with Apoorva Renewable Energy Products to design solar-electric hybrid buses, the company CEO, Mr Suresh Babu, said on the sidelines of the Global Investors Meet 2012.

“The BMTC has asked us to provide a sample hybrid vehicle and we have accepted the order and will start working on it,” Mr Babu said. Several other government bodies such as the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) are in talks with the company too, he said.

The company makes three-wheeled vehicles powered by electric and solar power, and customises products for Indian conditions. “Using a common technology, we design products as per customer requirements and outsource the manufacturing,” Mr Babu said.

EXPORTS Currently, the company’s vehicles are used in Delhi and parts of Karnataka and it will start exporting in two months from now….. http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/companies/article3505672.ece

June 9, 2012 Posted by | decentralised, India | Leave a comment

All Africa Renewable Energy Conference for October

Africa: First African Renewable Energy Confab in Accra All Africa, BY AYUUREYISIYA KAPINI ATAFORI, 8 JUNE 2012 The first conference in Africa solely focused on off-grid renewable energy technologies will be held in Accra in October this year with a special look at applications in rural communities of developing countries….. Continue reading →

June 9, 2012 Posted by | AFRICA, renewable | Leave a comment

Ambitious solar energy plans in Middle East and North Africa

Solar Power Rises in the Mideast, North Africa, CNBC, 7 June 12, ”….A number of recent developments highlight the push for renewable energy in the MENA region, from Saudi Arabia’s ambitious solar plans to Qatar’s first-ever polysilicon plant and massive concentrated solar power plants across North Africa. Continue reading →

June 8, 2012 Posted by | MIDDLE EAST, renewable | Leave a comment

Falling costs of renewable energy – International Renewable Energy Agency

Renewable energy costs falling: Agency http://finance.ninemsn.com.au/newsbusiness/aap/8479949/renewable-energy-costs-falling-agency  7 June 12, Power from renewable energy sources is getting cheaper every year, according to a newly-released study, challenging long-standing myths that clean energy technology is too expensive to adopt.According to the study by the Abu Dhabi-based International Renewable Energy Agency and released on Wednesday, the costs associated with extracting power from solar panels has fallen as much as 60 per cent in just the past few years.

The price of generating power from other renewables, including wind, hydro power, concentrating solar power and biomass, was also falling.

“One of the (myths) out there perpetuated by industry lobby groups is that renewable energy is too expensive,” said Adnan Amin, IRENA’s director general. The numbers tell a different story, however, as “costs are falling
exponentially … and will continue (to do so) in the future,” said Amin arguing that electricity generation “is now cost-competitive with many traditional fossil fuel technologies”.

According to Dolf Gielen, director of IRENA’s innovation and technology centre, investment in renewables is no longer a niche but rather represents the “bulk of investments in global power generation,” accounting for half of the total annual capacity additions worldwide. ”The markets are growing very fast… and further cost reductions are
very likely,” he said adding that in 2011, investments in the supply side of renewable energy sources reached about $US260 billion ($A267.70 billion).

A second IRENA study released on Wednesday estimates renewables will create a minimum of four million jobs just in the electricity sector in rural areas of the developing world. Today, there are five million jobs world-wide in the renewable energy sector and more than 1.3 billion people, mainly in Africa and Asia, who do not have access to electricity, according to IRENA. ”There is considerable employment potential,” said Amin.

Founded in 2009, IRENA is an intergovernmental organisation established to promote the widespread use of renewable energy sources. It has more than 155 member states and is headquartered in Abu Dhabi.

June 7, 2012 Posted by | 2 WORLD, renewable | Leave a comment

Enthusiasm for solar power in Japan

The recent rush by home owners to cover their roofs with panels and companies to build “mega solar” farms have made solar cells a hot commodity.

“We are almost at grid parity here. Think of what would happen if Japan allows things to run their natural course and solar reaches grid parity

That all of Japan’s 50 nuclear reactors lie dormant amid public concern in the wake of Fukushima is an added boost for solar power

Solar makers bet on Japan nuclear crisis being a game-changer  

* Solar power firms to get boost from feed-in tariff

* Foreign players looking to grab slice of Japan’s solar market

* Companies say FIT will encourage economies of scale

* Public faith in nuclear power still in tatters after Fukushima

By Shinichi Saoshiro TOKYO, June 5 (Reuters) – Solar power firms are betting that the nuclear crisis in Japan will become a game-changer for renewable energy in the world’s third largest economy, with new foreign entrants such as Canadian Solar looking to go toe-to-toe there with some of the biggest utilities in Asia.

They will be given a big helping hand next month when the government introduces a generous subsidy for renewable energy via a so-called feed-in tariff (FIT), in a bid to encourage alternative energy sources, which currently only generate about 1 percent of power in Japan.

The FIT, which excludes large hydro-electric schemes, will require utilities to buy electricity generated by renewable sources such as solar, wind and geothermal heat at a premium for 20 years.  Continue reading →

June 6, 2012 Posted by | Japan, renewable | Leave a comment

Distributed solar energy plan launched in the Philippines

Such facilities in the Philippines should be installed mostly on rooftops because there is a lot of arable and productive land which should be used for food production rather than for solar power generation,

Rooftop solar power project launched to prove viability, Business World, 5 June 12, THE ASIAN Development Bank (ADB) said yesterday it expects solar power capacity in the Philippines to reach up to 115 megawatts (MW) by next year, as it launched yesterday its solar rooftop facility to prove the viability of this renewable energy thrust.

The multilateral lender said it estimates most of solar projects in the country will consist of small clusters that generate lower capacities of electricity rather than large facilities. ADB installed 2,040 solar panels on its rooftop which can generate around 500 kilowatts of energy or around 613 MW a year. Continue reading →

June 6, 2012 Posted by | decentralised, Philippines | Leave a comment

First solar powered transcontinental flight

Pilot completes first solar-powered transcontinental flight from Madrid to Rabat THE AUSTRALIAN, AP June 06, 2012 AN experimental solar-powered plane has landed in Morocco’s capital after a 20-hour trip from Madrid in the first transcontinental journey by a craft of its type.

With the wing span of a Boeing 777, the plane appeared out of the pitch darkness over the runway, suddenly turning on its lights and gliding to a landing in Rabat, its four propellers already still. “It was perhaps the most beautiful flight of my life,” said pilot
Bertrand Piccard, who has already circumnavigated the world by balloon.
“I have dreamed since I was a child of flying without using fuel.”

The single-seat aircraft is fitted with 12,000 solar cells across its immense wings and but only weighs just as much as the average family car, according to organisers.  The plane is the first of its kind to fly both during the night and day as the solar panels charge the batteries for night flying….. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/pilot-completes-first-solar-powered-transcontinental-flight-from-madrid-to-rabat/story-e6frg6so-1226386003212

June 6, 2012 Posted by | EUROPE, renewable | Leave a comment

Summer days doubling solar electricity output in Britain

Weatherwatch: long days of sunshine double electricity output http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2012/jun/03/weatherwatch-sunshine-solar-power?newsfeed=true Paul Brown  3 June 2012  The last nine days of May saw a record production of solar power in Britain. The clear dry air meant sunlight was strong, more than doubling the daily average electricity output. Long hours of daylight are currently giving the thousands of households that invested in solar power under the original high level of subsidy considerable income. Continue reading →

June 4, 2012 Posted by | decentralised, UK | Leave a comment

Solar energy projects for India’s rural areas

Solar energy to be promoted in Varanasi   http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/varanasi/Solar-energy-to-be-promoted-in-Varanasi/articleshow/13767724.cms  Binay Singh, TNN | Jun 3, 2012,  VARANASI: With the announcement of a budgetary provision of Rs 100 crore for promoting solar energy projects particularly in the rural areas of the state the authorities of New and renewable Energy Development Agency (NEDA) are optimistic about further promotion and use of solar energy in the region. Continue reading →

June 4, 2012 Posted by | decentralised, India | 1 Comment

Solar panel that follows the sun

includes video  Heliowatcher allows solar panels to track the sun  http://www.earthtechling.com/2012/06/heliowatcher-allows-solar-panels-to-track-the-sun/   4 June 12, They’re called solar panels for a reason: they need the sun in order to generate electricity. Whether we’re talking about pocket-sized, portable solar chargers or massive rooftop arrays, direct sunlight is the must-have ingredient on which all other elements of solar-energy production depends.

You might think that simply placing solar panels on a rooftop or balcony free from shade would be enough. Except there’s that small matter of Earth rotating on its axis. So throughout the day, the sun moves across the sky, cutting into the efficiency of fixed panels. But what if the panels could automatically change their position to follow the sun and enjoy an uninterrupted flow of direct sunlight? Two electrical engineering students at Cornell are currently testing just such a technology, and it looks promising.

Solar panel that follows the sun

As this review points out , HelioWatcher’s design is simple and effective: “The base is mounted like a Lazy Susan, able to pivot on the horizontal plane. The bottom edge of the solar panel is mounted with two door hinges, with a motorized screw jack used to raise and lower it.” Using a GPS module and magnetometer, the HelioWatcher  allows the user to place the system anywhere in the world without any calibration. The HelioWatcher then calculates what the sun’s current location is and orients the panel to the appropriate angle. It also utilizes a quadrature of light-detecting diodes to correct for short-term light obstruction, such as clouds or shade.

This system is a vast improvement over other solar tracking systems that adjust position based on either a predetermined algorithm or light detection. Instead HelioWatcher combines elements of both technologies to leverage the guaranteed accuracy of a geospatial algorithm while also correcting for local or short-term changes, such as cloud cover or shade. Here’s a video, prepared by the two students, that explains the system:

June 4, 2012 Posted by | decentralised, USA | Leave a comment

Rapid growth in renewable energy jobs

Renewable Energy Sector Employs Over 5 Million  http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=3234  4 June 12, by Energy Matters According to a recent UN report, the number of renewable energy jobs doubled globally between 2007 and 2011 and millions more will be employed in the sector over the next 20 years.

The shift to a greener global economy could see an additional 15 to 60 million additional job over the next two decades according to a study led by the Green Jobs Initiative; a UN International Labour Organization (ILO) project. Continue reading →

June 4, 2012 Posted by | 2 WORLD, employment, renewable | Leave a comment

Sun providing heaps of electricity for Massachusetts

Solar power hot all over Cape, state Jun 3 – McClatchy-Tribune Regional News – Patrick Cassidy Cape Cod Times, Hyannis, Mass. Solar in Massachusetts is on fire. Over the past two years, capacity from photovoltaic panels across the state has more than quadrupled from 25 to 115 megawatts, enough to power about 115,000 homes, according to figures provided by state energy officials and energy information websites. Continue reading →

June 4, 2012 Posted by | decentralised, USA | Leave a comment

Ways to make renewable energy competitive in USA

Two financial mechanisms that have driven investment in traditional energy projects — real estate investment trusts and master limited partnerships — could, with some help from Washington, be extended to renewable energy projects to lower their cost and make America’s energy future cleaner, cheaper — and more democratic

How to Make Renewable Energy Competitive, NYT By FELIX MORMANN and DAN REICHER June 1, 2012 STANFORD, Calif.Renewable energy needs help. Technological innovation has significantly reduced the cost of solar panels, wind turbines and other equipment, but renewable energy still needs serious subsidies to compete with conventional energy. Today, help comes mostly in the form of federal tax breaks.

These tax incentives, and the Congressional battle over extending them for wind projects beyond the end of this year, mean that other, more powerful policies to promote renewables are not getting the attention they deserve. If renewable energy is going to become fully competitive and a significant source of energy in the United States, then further technological innovation must be accompanied by financial innovation so that clean energy sources gain access to the same low-cost capital that traditional energy sources like coal and natural gas enjoy. Continue reading →

June 4, 2012 Posted by | renewable, USA | Leave a comment

Mainstream media waking up to Fukushima danger, and Germany’s renewables leadership

The second energy event of this past weekend was uplifting and extraordinary, due to an extremely sunny weekend, half of Germany’s electricity was generated by solar power two days. The decision to close down and eventually shut all of Germany’s nuclear reactors now appears to have been justified

Germany’s Solar Success and Fukushima’s Crisis: Intelligent Energy Priorities, HUFFINGTONPOST, Vivian Norris   06/01/2012 Last weekend, events took place which should make us think about the future of energy on this planet. Firstly, radioactive bluefish tuna was caught off the coast of California. The radioactivity, though in fairly small amounts, could be directly traced to the releases from the disasters at the reactors at Fukushima Daichi, following the devastating earthquake and tsunami.

And more importantly, the public finally received some answers from those supposedly in charge in Japan during the accident. Former Prime Minister Kan testified that the ties between regulators and TEPCO was so intertwined, and the accident so profound, that he called for Japan to stop all use of nuclear energy. For once, it appeared that mainstream media paid attention and published both Kan’s words, as well as articles on serious concerns about the status of fuel pools at Fukushima. Experts and more fringe elements on the internet had been publishing good information for over a year. It is to the New York Times’ credit that they acknowledged the role that the pressure from these groups played in forcing TEPCO and the Japanese government to admit they had not been forthcoming. Continue reading →

June 2, 2012 Posted by | Germany, renewable | 1 Comment

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