New low cost battery promises to provide solar energy storage
Startup Thinks Its Battery Will Solve Renewable Energy’s Big Flaw, Technology Review, By Kevin Bullis on January 23, 2014 Aquion has started production of a low-cost sodium-ion battery aimed at making renewable energy viable. A former Sony TV factory near Pittsburgh is coming to life again after lying idle for four years. Whirring robotic arms have started to assemble a new kind of battery that could make the grid more efficient and let villages run on solar power around the clock.
Aquion, the startup that developed the battery, has finished installing its first commercial-scale production line at the factory, and is sending out batteries for customers to evaluate. It recently raised $55 million of venture capital funding from investors including Bill Gates. The money will help it ramp up to full-speed production by this spring…….
Most importantly, by providing an affordable way to store solar power for use at night or during cloudy weather, the technology could allow isolated populations to get electricity from renewable energy, rather than from polluting diesel generators. Combining solar power and inexpensive batteries would also be cheaper than running diesel generators in places where delivering fuel is expensive (see “How Solar-Based Microgrids Could Bring Power to Millions”).
The batteries could allow the grid to accommodate greater amounts of intermittent renewable energy. As Aquion scales up production and brings down costs, the batteries could also be used instead of a type of natural gas power plant—called a peaker plant—often used to balance supply and demand on the grid. When recharged using renewables, the batteries don’t need fuel, so they’re cleaner than the natural gas power plants…….
The battery is made of inexpensive materials including manganese oxide and water. In concept, it operates much like a lithium-ion battery, in which lithium ions shuttle between electrodes to create electrical current. But the new battery uses sodium ions instead of lithium ones, which makes it possible to use a salt water electrolyte instead of the more expensive—and flammable—electrolytes used in lithium-ion batteries.http://www.technologyreview.com/news/523391/startup-thinks-its-battery-will-solve-renewable-energys-big-flaw/
Madhya Pradesh. India, takes to renewable energy in a big way
Renewable energy projects worth Rs 30,000 crore being implemented in Madhya Pradesh Economic Times India By Shreya Jai, ET Bureau | 23 Jan, 2014 NEW DELHI: Renewable energy projects worth Rs 30,000 crore are being implemented in Madhya Pradesh, which have quietly reached out to companies and attracted GE, Reliance Power, Spanish wind major Gamesa and others, giving tough competition to Gujarat in the sector.
Solar power for Pakistan’s Parliament House will save $millions
Pakistan Parliament House Going Solar, Renewable Energy News, 23 Jan 14 A 1.8 megawatt (MW) solar farm is being installed at the Parliament House building in Pakistan’s capital city Islamabad.
According to Trust.org, the USD $60 million project has been funded by the Chinese government; which also recently assisted in the preparation of a solar park project on over 10,000 acres that could ultimately host 1,000 MW of solar panel capacity.
The Parliament House project will not only save Pakistan’s government around a million dollars a year in electricity costs, it’s hoped the high profile array will also spur on broader adoption……http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=4138
Solar energy’s 1 $billion boost in New York State
New York Governor Announces $1 Billion For Solar Energyhttp://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/01/09/3139091/cuomo-big-solar/ BY KILEY KROH
ON JANUARY 9, 2014 NEW YORK GOVERNOR ANDREW CUOMO DELIVERED HIS STATE OF THE STATEADDRESS ON WEDNESDAY AND ANNOUNCED AN EVEN GREATER COMMITMENT TO CLEAN ENERGY, INCLUDING $1 BILLION IN NEW FUNDING FOR SOLAR ENERGY PROJECTS.
Launched in 2012, Cuomo’s NY-Sun Initiative has already been a tremendous success, with almost 300 megawatts (MW) of solar photovoltaic capacity installed or under development, more than was installed in the entire decade prior to the program.
Now with another major financial boost, Cuomo aims to install 3,000 (MW) of solar across New York. “That’s enough solar to power 465,000 New York homes, cut greenhouse gas emissions by 2.3 million tons annually — the equivalent of taking almost 435,000 cars off the road — and create more than 13,000 new solar jobs,” according to the Natural Resources Defense Council.
In addition to the ten-year financial boost for NY-Sun, Cuomo announced a new program entitled K-Solar, which will incentivize the deployment of solar energy by using the state’s 5,000 schools as “demonstration hubs” to increase the number of solar energy projects in their surrounding communities.
The governor also unveiled the $40 million NY Prize competition, which will bolster community microgrids in the state, helping to make the electrical grid more resilient in the face of increasing extreme weather like Superstorm Sandy. Additionally, Renewable Heat NY will seek to utilize private sector investment to boost biomass heating as a cheaper, renewable alternative to home heating oil.
As Cuomo’s impressive commitment to clean energy pays off in the state’s rapidly growing solar industry, NRDC notes that not only is NY-Sun expanding the marketplace, it has also served to “to drive down the cost of installed solar power by establishing new, cost-effective and efficient practices and technologies.”
Thanks to this suite of forward-thinking policies, New York has skyrocketed through the U.S. solar rankings. According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, “with enough solar to power more than 30,900 homes, New York currently ranks 12th in the country for installed solar capacity. There are more than 411 solar companies at work throughout the value chain in New York, employing more than 3,300 people.” And those figures are on the rise. An analysis of clean energy jobs created in the third quarter of 2013 ranked New York third in the U.S., behind only California and Nevada.
“Solar sharing”= agriculture and sunshine, brings new prosperity to Fukushima farmers
Renewable village offers lifeline to Fukushima farmers New Scientist. 06 January 2014 by Rob Gilhool It seems the most unlikely place to try to put a utopian blueprint into practice. Yet a patch of land in Fukushima, the Japanese prefecture contaminated by nuclear fallout in 2011, holds the foundations of a model village of the future.
The prefecture was affected by the meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, following the earthquake and subsequent tsunami in March 2011. Now construction has started on a community-run project in the coastal city of Minamisoma to reuse farmland contaminated by fallout. About two-thirds of the city’s farmland lies within the nuclear evacuation zone.
So far the Renewable Energy Village (REV) boasts 120 photovoltaic panels, generating 30 kilowatts of power which is sold to a local utility. Plans are afoot to put wind turbines on some of the land. Recreational and educational facilities as well as an astronomical observatory will also be built if further funding can be secured.
Solar sharing Central to the project is what the Japanese call “solar sharing” – growing crops beneath raised solar panels. One crop that has already been planted, namely rapeseed, was chosen, say project organisers, because its oil is free of contaminants even though the plants themselves take in some radioisotopes such as those of caesium. Generous feed-in tariffs set by the government support the project……..http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn24816-renewable-village-offers-lifeline-to-fukushima-farmers.html#.UsyZe9JDuik
Strong case for decentralised renewable energy: minigrids for rural areas
Rural Energy Access: The Case for Renewable Energy Mini-Grids http://www.huffingtonpost.com/evan-scandling/rural-energy-access-mini-grids_b_4549777.html
Evan Scandling, 6 Jan 14 Head of Communications, Sunlabob Two of the heaviest hitters within the international development world — the United Nations and the World Bank — recently came together to underscore their efforts to activate financing dedicated to delivering modern energy access by 2030 to the 1 in 5 people globally currently living without electricity.
World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim made it clear that an additional $600-$800 billion a year between now and 2030 will be needed from government, international agencies, civil society and the private sector to achieve universal electrification, as well as double renewable energy adoption and energy efficiency.
What hasn’t yet been made clear is how that financing will be targeted. Historically, donor aid and financing has spent hundreds of billions of dollars on energy infrastructure — but oftentimes the rural poor don’t reap the benefits. Only 8 percent of the World Bank’s energy financing in 2012 targeted the poor.
Emphasizing decentralized energy Continue reading
Kerala, India can meet energy demand with 95% renewable sources
Renewable Energy Prospects Bright: Report By Express News Service THIRUVANANTHAPURAM1st January 2014 Kerala can meet over 95 per cent of its energy demand using renewable energy sources by the year 2050, according to a report released the other day.
The Energy Report – Kerala, prepared by WWF-India and the World Institute of Sustainable Energy (WISE) Pune, is a state-specific report that provides a vision for a 100-per cent renewable and sustainable energy supply in another three decades.
After modelling energy demand scenarios for various sectors for the projected time period, the report analyses the potential of various renewable energy sources in the state.
One significant contributor to the future renewable energy mix – and for the moment unpopular, at least in the current political scene – is solar power.
The estimation of solar power potential in Kerala, as per the report, is around 44,456 MW.
Out of this, 31,145 MW alone can be got from rooftops of households and commercial establishments.
“This is after factoring in exclusion factors such as shaded areas of roofs and tiled roofs,” World Institute of Sustainable Energy director general G M Pillai said while presenting the report.
“Existing buildings in Kerala can also revamp their roofs to accommodate solar panels.”
Similarly, the report has come out with figures for wind (off-shore and onshore), small hydro, bio-energy and wave power potential…….http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/Renewable-Energy-Prospects-Bright-Report/2014/01/01/article1976387.ece
2013 saw 13 great breakthroughs in renewable energy
13 Huge Clean Energy Breakthroughs Of 2013 Clean Technica 27 Dec 13. Originally published on ThinkProgress. By Kiley Kroh. While the news about climate change seems to get worse every day, the rapidly improving technology, declining costs, and increasing accessibility of clean energy is the true bright spot in the march toward a zero-carbon future. 2013 had more clean energy milestones than we could fit on one page, but here are thirteen of the key breakthroughs that happened this year.
1. Using salt to keep producing solar power even when the sun goes down. Helped along by the Department of Energy’s loan program, Solana’s massive 280 megawatt (MW) solar plant came online in Arizona this October, with one unique distinction: the plant will use a ‘salt battery’ that will allow it to keep generating electricity even when the sun isn’t shining. Not only is this a first for the United States in terms of thermal energy storage, the Solana plant is also the largest in the world to use to use parabolic trough mirrors to concentrate solar energy.
2. Electric vehicle batteries that can also power buildings.Nissan’s groundbreaking ‘Vehicle-To-Building‘ technology will enable companies to regulate their electricity needs by tapping into EVs plugged into their garages during times of peak demand. Then, when demand is low, electricity flows back to the vehicles, ensuring they’re charged for the drive home. With Nissan’s system, up to six electric vehicles can be plugged into a building at one time. As more forms renewable energy is added to the grid, storage innovations like this will help them all work together to provide reliable power.
3. The next generation of wind turbines is a game changer. May of 2013 brought the arrival of GE’s Brilliant line of wind turbines, which bring two technologies within the turbines to address storage and intermittency concerns. An “industrial internet” communicates with grid operators, to predict wind availability and power needs, and to optimally position the turbine. Grid-scale batteries built into the turbines store power when the wind is blowing but the electricity isn’t needed — then feed it into the grid as demand comes along, smoothing out fluctuations in electricity supply. It’s a more efficient solution to demand peaks than fossil fuel plants, making it attractive even from a purely business aspect. Fifty-nine of the turbines are headed for Michigan, and two more will arrive in Texas.
4. Solar electricity hits grid parity with coal
5. Advancing renewable energy from ocean waves.
6. Harnessing ocean waves to produce fresh water.
7. Ultra-thin solar cells that break efficiency records
8. Batteries that are safer, lighter, and store more power……
12. Innovative financing bringing clean energy to more people……… http://cleantechnica.com/2013/12/23/13-huge-clean-energy-breakthroughs-2013/#QgkaljPusEZXPxzm.99
Hawaii’s largest solar energy park now in operation
Kalaeloa Renewable Energy Park Comes Online Renewables BIZ HONOLULU, Dec 23, 2013 — BUSINESS WIRE HONOLULU, Dec 23, 2013 Kalaeloa Renewable Energy Park, one of Hawaii’s largest solar energy generation facilities, ceremoniously opened today and will immediately begin generating electricity for Hawaiian Electric customers on Oahu. Following four years of development and construction, the 5MW, utility-scale solar park was successfully tested and commissioned on November 22.
The renewable power plant, which sits on a 20-acre property adjacent to the Barbers Point Golf Course in the community of Kalaeloa, is expected to reduce the fossil fuel consumption on the island. ……
“In Hawaii, utility-scale projects like the Kalaeloa Renewable Energy Park provide direct benefits to all ratepayers through clean and low cost energy,” said Luigi Resta, CEO of Scatec Solar North America. “More than ever, solar power is able to provide utilities an efficient and cost effective way to both meet environmental goals and maintain a reliable power supply for consumers.”……. http://www.renewablesbiz.com/article/13/12/kalaeloa-renewable-energy-park-comes-online
Great potential of renewable energy for Michigan
We need to submit public comments to the EPA stating that we support the EPA’s new proposed strong standards to reduce power plant carbon emissions. When writing to the EPA, mention docket EPA-HQ-OAR-2013-0495, and remind them about the importance of increasing renewable energy as a way to cut carbon pollution.
If we work together, we can make a clean, energy-secure future possible.
| Michiganders Need Renewable Energy Now http://www.opednews.com/articles/Michiganders-Need-Renewabl-by-William-McMullin-Energy_Energy-Wind_Environment_Fracking-131225-956.html |
By William McMullin (about the author) We need to get to work on promoting clean energy. Clean energy is more sustainable and reliable than fossil fuels, requires the same daily planning for grid operators, and keeps energy prices stable.
Michigan predominantly gets its energy from coal and natural gas. Coal causes environmental harm from its mining to its burning. Pollution resulting from coal includes fly ash, bottom ash, mercury, and other harmful materials. The use of coal causes many negative health effects such as respiratory problems, asthma attacks, cancer, etc. Coal is believed to shorten the lives of about 24,000 Americans a year [“Thousands of Early Deaths Tied to Emissions,” June 9, 2004,nbcnews.com].
Hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” wastes exorbitant amounts of water from the Great Lakes and blasts chemicals into the environment and our drinking water. Michigan does not even require companies to disclose which chemicals they use. Fracking not only contaminates our groundwater, it also pollutes our air and causes surface contamination from spills.
Michigan is already on track to achieve 10% of its energy from renewable sources by 2015. A recent report by Michigan’s Public Service Commission concluded the state’s utility companies could get 30% of energy from renewable sources economically and reliably by 2035 [“Michigan Can Triple Its Wind, Solar Energy Production by 2035, Report Finds,” Detroit Free Press, September 20, 2013]. A study by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory shows it is possible for renewable energy technology that we already have today to make up 80% of our electricity generation by 2050 [nrel.gov].
While it’s true the wind isn’t always blowing and the sun isn’t always shining, all forms of energy — including fossil fuels and renewables — poses challenges to the energy grid. The grid operators have to be able to switch to other or additional power plants at a moment’s notice if there is a surge of power use, power outages, planned maintenance, etc. Renewable energy causes no more planning and spontaneous changes to the grid than coal or natural gas. In fact, renewable energy has its benefits. Coal-burning power plants are so large that they make the grid less flexible and more prone to cause blackouts when they do go offline.
To further improve reliability of renewable energy, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), a federal agency that regulates the transmission and wholesale sale of energy, is working on new ways to manage the grid. For instance, using different sources of renewable energy over a larger geographic area creates better balance on the grid. If the sun isn’t shining is one geographic area, it is in another. This can be achieved by upgrading our transmission lines to handle transmission over a greater geographic area. New lines would also increase energy transportation efficiency, allow the implementation of large scale use of renewables, and lower costs.
Renewable energy is also financially beneficial to consumers. Renewable energy prices are steadily dropping while prices of dirty fuels are rising and are very volatile. Rate stability would be very much welcomed by consumers in this economy.
Luckily, we as citizens can take action to promote renewable energy. We can contact our members of Congress to support the bipartisan Master Limited Partnerships Parity Act, which would give renewable energy companies the same low-cost financing and tax benefits that fossil fuel producers receive. If this passes, it would open the floodgate for private investment. We also need to ask Congress to extend the clean energy tax credits expiring at the end of the year.
We need to submit public comments to the EPA stating that we support the EPA’s new proposed strong standards to reduce power plant carbon emissions. When writing to the EPA, mention docket EPA-HQ-OAR-2013-0495, and remind them about the importance of increasing renewable energy as a way to cut carbon pollution.
If we work together, we can make a clean, energy-secure future possible.
New York State’s Solar Energy Initiative
More Solar Funding For New York State, Renewable Energy News, 24 Dec 13 Support for solar in New York State received a healthy boost last week, with an additional USD $108 million in funding announced for residential and commercial solar energy projects.
The extra cash will be provided over the next two years under the NY-Sun initiative. ”Solar power is critical to making our environment healthier and our energy system more resilient,” said New York governor, Andrew M. Cuomo. “The funding approved today will expand the use of clean, renewable power across New York State and ensure we continue to be a national leader in solar energy.”
Governor Cuomo launched the NY-Sun initiative last year and since its inception, 299 megawatts of solar photovoltaic capacity has been installed or is under development in the state. More solar has been installed in New York State since NY-Sun kicked off than had been installed in the entire prior decade. ….
Sharp rise in renewable energy consumption by European Union
EU reports sharp annual increase in renewable energy consumption 12.23.2013 The preliminary estimates put the renewable energy share of gross final energy consumption for the EU at 14.4% in 2012, compared to 13.1% in 2011, which is a 1.3 % increase. The Directive 2009/28 states that the EU 27 Member States should achieve an overall 20% share of renewable energy in gross final energy consumption across Europe. It has set a binding individual target for each country by 2020……
Renewable energy will change balance of power in the world
A Renewable Energy Thought Experiment Clean Technica 20 Dec 13, The role that renewable energy could play in changing the balance of power in the world is often overlooked. Rick Bosman of the Dutch Research Institute for Transitions (DRIFT) in Rotterdam and Daniel Scholten, Assistant Professor at Delft University of Technology, undertake a thought experiment with stunning implications for future consumer-producer relations. Must reading for energy market and political strategists.
……. what does the development of renewable energy sources and supporting technologies imply for energy-related patterns of cooperation and conflict between producer, consumer, and transit countries? Will a transition to a renewable energy system provide solutions to the geopolitical challenges associated with the use of fossil fuels or merely replace old challenges by new ones?
The sheer possibility of switching to domestic production gives consumer countries leverage on the bargaining table when push comes to shove……
- First and foremost, the availability of renewable sources of energy, especially that of wind and solar, far outstrips that of fossil fuels and uranium (graph)
- Second, every country has access to at least some form and amount of renewable energy, be it wind, solar, biomass, hydro, or geothermal, thereby all countries could become energy producers.
- Third, because renewable energy can be more efficiently harvested at certain locations than others, some countries can generate energy cheaper than others.
- Fourth, electricity is the energy carrier for most renewables and especially those with the most psotential (solar and wind), influencing the distance over which energy is transported and traded.
- Fifth, a great part of renewable energy production is of an intermittent nature and electricity generation may be distributed in a large number of small units……http://cleantechnica.com/2013/12/20/renewable-energy-thought-experiment/
Report: owners of renewable energy systems highly satisfied
Renewable energy system owners enjoy high satisfaction, finds report,PV Magazine 20 Dec 13, A report published by the NC Sustainable Energy Association (NCSEA)and the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School’s Center for Sustainable Enterprise has revealed a high level of satisfaction among renewable energy system owners in the U.S. state. BY: IAN CLOVER
The study from the NC Sustainable Energy Association suggests that rewarding policies helped bolster owners’ desires to “do the right thing” on energy…….http://www.pv-magazine.com/news/details/beitrag/renewable-energy-system-owners-enjoy-high-satisfaction–finds-report_100013765/
Renewables meet over 40% of Scotland’s electricity demands
19 Dec 13, Scotland’s renewable electricity output has reached record-high levels, according to official statistics released today. The figures, published by the Department of Energy and Climate Change, show that renewables met a record-breaking 40.3 per cent of gross electricity consumption in 2012, confirming that Scotland is on track to meet its interim target of 50% by 2015. http://www.enn.com/pollution/article/46805
1 This Month
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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