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Baseload solar energy is here

The dawn of baseload solar energy, 6 Jul 2011, Climate Spectator, Giles ParkinsonSolar energy and baseload power are not usually two words that detractors of renewable energy allow to be included in the same phrase, unless it is accompanied by the word “not.” From now on though, they may become indelibly linked. Continue reading →

July 6, 2011 Posted by | 2 WORLD, renewable | Leave a comment

Decentralised solar energy boom taking off in India

 solar technology presents an elegant and immediate solution to powering everything from light bulbs and heaters to water purifiers and pumps…….most new grid capacity will be sucked up by industry, leaving little for the poor who live in off-grid desert outcrops, mountain hamlets and jungle villages like Nada. For them, the surest way to get electricity anytime soon may be to get a solar panel and make it themselves.

Fuel for solar boom could come from rural India, where thousands give up on grid, buy panels, Washington Post, 2 July 11 “……….Across India, thousands of homes are receiving their first light through small companies and aid programs that are bypassing the central electricity grid to deliver solar panels to the rural poor. Those customers could provide the human energy that advocates of solar power have been looking for to fuel a boom in the next decade.

With 40 percent of India’s rural households lacking electricity and nearly a third of its 30 million agricultural water pumps running on subsidized diesel, “there is a huge market and a lot of potential,” said Santosh Kamath, executive director of consulting firm KPMG in India. “Decentralized solar installations are going to take off in a very big way and will probably be larger than the grid-connected segment.”…… Continue reading →

July 3, 2011 Posted by | decentralised, India | Leave a comment

Push for decentralised renewable energy to meet the needs of rural India

“The centralised grid based approach of RGGVY has not been able to meet people’s aspirations. Rural areas have always been neglected in this energy hierarchy. Decentralised renewable energy can break this hierarchy and provide quick, reliable and sustainable power to people. 

Decentralised renewable energy holds the key to rural electrification, Business Standard, India, July 01, 2011,  National consultation on RGGVY demands revamp of scheme Continue reading →

July 2, 2011 Posted by | decentralised, India | Leave a comment

Financial start for renewable energy, energy efficiency, in 10 Spanish regions

Spain Launches Fund To Promote Energy Efficiency And Renewables In 10 Regions,  by: Eurasia Review, July 2, 2011 The European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Spanish Energy Saving and Diversification Institute (IDAE) have concluded a finance agreement to launch a JESSICA holding fund designed to finance energy efficiency and renewable energy projects in an innovative use of EU structural funds. …… http://www.eurasiareview.com/spain-launches-fund-to-promote-energy-efficiency-and-renewables-in-10-regions-02072011/

July 2, 2011 Posted by | renewable, Spain | Leave a comment

Decentralised solar energy racing ahead in Bangladesh

  One Million Households Powered by Solar Energy – in Bangladesh  ENN June 18, 2011 The number of households powered by solar energy in Bangladesh has passed the one million mark — the fastest expansion of solar power in the world, according to Bangladeshi officials. Aided by non-governmental organizations that provide low-cost loans to install solar panels, Bangladesh’s rural households — most of which are off the electricity grid — have driven a dizzying expansion of solar power in recent years. In 2002, only 7,000 households were using solar panels.

The country reached the 1 million-household milestone 18 months ahead of schedule, and by 2014 Bangladeshi officials are aiming to power 2.5 million homes with solar energy. “It’s the fastest expansion of solar energy anywhere in the world,” said Nazmul Haq, of Bangladesh’s Infrastructure Development Company.

An estimated 60 percent of Bangladesh’s 150 million people have no access to reliable electricity, and a World Bank report last month said that solar panels had “changed the face of the remote, rural areas of Bangladesh.” Bangladesh had gotten a World Bank loan in 2009 for solar energy in the country.  The results are impressive!  In 2002, just 2000 homes had solar systems, and now there are more than one million.  Bangladesh now aims to have 2.5 million on solar by 2014…..: One Million Households Powered by Solar Energy – in Bangladesh

June 20, 2011 Posted by | ASIA, decentralised | Leave a comment

UN assisting renewable energy development in Nigeria

UN, Bank Of Industry to invest in renewable energy in Nigeria, NEXT, By Bassey Udo June 20, 2011  The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Bank Of Industry (BOI) are to invest about $4.48 million in renewable energy projects in the next three years to boost the productive capacities of micro- small- and medium-scale enterprises (MSMEs) in the country’s rural and urban areas.Renewable energy projects in volve the utilisation of wind, biomass, small hydro, and solar energy options to generate electricity. The Access to Renewable Energy (AtRE) project package unveiled yesterday in Abuja at the formal launch of the partnership, is expected to facilitate access to affordable and reliable energy supply alternatives independent of the current supply from the national grid, which has been a source of national concern in recent times.  …..UN, Bank Of Industry to invest in renewable energy in Nigeria

June 20, 2011 Posted by | Nigeria, renewable | Leave a comment

Google’s move into renewable energy – a commercial and environmental plus

By developing or investing in the technology that makes that goal achievable, Google gets in at the ground level of an industry that’s likely to generate significant revenue in the coming decades. 

Google Takes Aim At Renewable Energy, Wired, By Duncan Geere   June 8, 2011  Google’s founder and CEO, Larry Page, has announced that the company has tasked an R&D team with making renewable energy cheaper than fossil fuels.  Continue reading →

June 11, 2011 Posted by | renewable, USA | 1 Comment

Concentrated Solar Power easily outcompetes nuclear power

 Concentrated Solar Power CSP easily out competes nuclear, providing some of the safest energy applications we have today – a technology that’s more quickly deployed, comparatively very cost effective, creating jobs, while promoting a healthier future.

CSP – The Solar Alternative That Rivals Nuclear, June 7, 2011 by Anja Atkinson, The Energy Collective “….Creative applications in Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) specifically are providing energy solutions that accomplish what nuclear does – transfer heat, using the sun as fuel.  Continue reading →

June 9, 2011 Posted by | 2 WORLD, renewable | Leave a comment

Egypt could prosper with solar energy, not nuclear

why is there this insistence on neglecting calls that we should depend more on solar energy for producing electricity, which could be the base for the country’s development, not only for producing the requisite amount of electricity for local consumption but also for having surplus for export? 
   It seems silly to hear some officials justify dropping this option because of its initially high expenses, forgetting the enormous costs of creating and maintaining a nuclear power plant. 
   Furthermore, a solar energy project in particular could be set up through partnership deals between Egypt and some European countries, such as Germany, to produce sufficient electricity for the two countries’ needs that could be transferred via a unified grid.

The costs of nuclear energy By Manal Abdul Aziz – The Egyptian Gazette, June 6, 2011  CAIRO – The difference between humankind, homo sapiens, and other animals is that human beings have experience and learn from their mistakes, while other animals behave according to instinct. For this reason, human beings are the only creatures that have a civilisation.

Therefore, if we come today to seek the development of Egypt, we should review the experience of other nations and learn from them, beginning where they ended and not following the same path from its start to its finish.
   Accordingly, when we consider establishing a nuclear project for generating energy, we should review the nuclear programmes of other countries and clearly assess their positive and negative aspects. …. Continue reading →

June 7, 2011 Posted by | Egypt, renewable | Leave a comment

General Electric finds nuclear, fossil fuels, soon costlier than solar

new technology breakthroughs are making it possible for solar generated electricity to be the most economical choice within the next three to five years.

Report: GE says fossil fuels, nuclear soon costlier than solar power, SmartPlanet,  By David Worthington | May 27, 2011  General Electric is forecasting that solar power could soon be a more affordable than fossil fuels and nuclear power, the company’s global research director told Bloomberg. Continue reading →

May 28, 2011 Posted by | renewable, USA | Leave a comment

Small scale renewable energy is challenging big utilities

Small-scale renewable energy is more accessible to new entrants compared with the forward purchase of huge amounts of baseload generation from burning fossil fuels, which is the routine business of big utilities.

Change so far is happening slowly and from a tiny base but the cost of small-scale renewable technologies is falling.

Micro-Power Presents Slow-Burn Threat to Utilities  Planet Ark: 27-May-11 SPAIN AND U.K. : Martin Roberts and Gerard Wynn  A wide rollout of small-scale renewable energy poses a long-term challenge to utilities as households switch to home generation and the supply market opens, executives at green specialists and independents say. Continue reading →

May 28, 2011 Posted by | decentralised, Spain, UK | Leave a comment

Offshore renewable energy innovation centre for UK

UK Government invests in offshore renewables innovation centre | Energy Efficiency News, 28 May 11, The UK Government yesterday announced plans to invest in an offshore renewable energy technology and innovation centre to help businesses commercialise wind, wave and tidal power. Continue reading →

May 28, 2011 Posted by | renewable, UK | Leave a comment

Around the world in solar-powered boat

World’s largest solar boat to arrive in Brisbane  cnet AustraliaBy   May 27, 2011  The MS Tûranor PlanetSolar, the world’s largest solar boat, is circumnavigating the globe and will arrive in Australia this weekend. 

According to PlanetSolar, it is attempting to break the world record by travelling around the world (approx 27,000 nautical miles) to show that renewable energy technologies are effective and can be relied upon, as well as to demonstrate the potential of environmentally friendly modes of transport…..World’s largest solar boat to arrive in Brisbane – Travel Tech

May 28, 2011 Posted by | 2 WORLD, renewable | Leave a comment

Renewable energy makes good economic sense forAustralia

Renewable energy will only get cheaper: study, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, By Michael Edwards    May 26, 2011  A new study has found the future prices of wind, thermal and solar power will only keep falling as more alternative power sources are switched into the energy grid. Researchers say it proves the widespread adoption of renewable energy sources makes good economic sense. Continue reading →

May 27, 2011 Posted by | AUSTRALIA, renewable | Leave a comment

Solar panels plan for all new buildings in Japan

Japan ‘plans solar panels for all new buildings’, Google News, (AFP) – 23 May 11TOKYO — Japan is considering a plan that would make it compulsory for all new buildings and houses to come fitted with solar panels by 2030, a business daily said Sunday.The plan, expected to be unveiled at the upcoming G8 Summit in France, aims to show Japan’s resolve to encourage technological innovation and promote the wider use of renewable energy, the Nikkei daily said……
AFP: Japan ‘plans solar panels for all new buildings’

May 23, 2011 Posted by | decentralised, Japan | Leave a comment

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