San Diego-based Envision Solar, a manufacturer best known for its solar carports, announced two new products Wednesday that expand on the company's idea to utilize solar energy in unusual places.
The LifeVillage is a series of prefab structures framed with light-gauge steel that employ solar panel roofs and can be deployed quickly to disaster areas to provide temporary shelter and electricity, as well as purified water.
Think of LifeVillage as a low-budget version of a Huf Haus. Only instead of being built by German engineers in a pristine factory, the LifeVillage structures can be built on site by unskilled workers with the prefabricated materials arriving in two standard shipping containers.
One kit includes energy storage batteries, photovoltaic modules and corresponding roofing, a water pumping and purification system, inverters, and lighting. The light gauge steel frame enables the structures to meet international building codes, according to Envision.
A single LifeVillage structure offers 3,500 square feet of self-sufficient living or working space. They're also designed to be flexible and modular so that they can be used alone as a shelter, or in multiples for larger needs such as health clinics in areas with no available utilities. Each module can generate up to 50 kilowatts of power to be used for a combination of things like refrigeration, water purification, communications, or as a large-scale charging source for cell phones.
While the prefab solar building idea would obviously not work for every climate, Envision points out that it could be an ideal source of shelter and energy in areas like Haiti, India, and parts of Africa.
The other product announced Wednesday expands on Envision's existing solar carport structures.
The Envision SolarTree, a solar covered carport, has been coupled with a new tracking system called EnvisionTrak. It tracks sun movement to maximize the amount of solar energy that can be captured by solar panels on Envision carports beyond the peak hours of noon to 3 p.m.
Envision will begin offering Axion Power batteries with its carport systems to store solar-generated electricity for later use after the sun goes down.
"Axion's PbC batteries extend the capabilities of the Solar Tree by enabling it to charge a battery during the day and continue to generate power at night. The combination of these two innovations will drastically impact the capabilities of the SolarTree," Envision CEO Bob Noble said in a statement.
Carports, once largely abandoned in favor of open-air parking lots, have been making a comeback in recent years as solar companies look for underutilized places to put photovoltaic modules, and manufacturers of plug-in electric vehicles look for ways to offer convenient charging stations.
In addition to Envision Solar, SunDurance also does solar-covered carports, and recently announced a project at New Jersey's Mennen Arena. In March, it was announced that Sanyo would provide some of its facilities with solar carports for charging electric bicycles. And in April 2009, the city of Chicago installed tree-shaped solar carports that act as plug-in stations that can recharge two cars at a time. Even Google now has solar carports for its employees.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Thursday, July 15, 2010
California Wants Solar Program Back
Kurt Alexander -- Santa Cruz Sentinel
California Attorney General Jerry Brown filed suit Wednesday against Fannie May and Freddie Mac, claiming the mortgage giants have thwarted a home-energy improvement program that would have arrived in Santa Cruz County this fall.
The suit argues that opposition to the program by the mortgage companies - and a decision last week to not participate in it - has forced counties like Santa Cruz to suspend plans to finance home-efficiency upgrages, like solar panels and window insulation.
That position, said Brown at a press conference in San Diego, undermines California's efforts to boost energy savings and create green jobs.
Brown's suit was filed in a federal court in Oakland.
The program at issue, formally called Property Assessed Clean Energy or PACE, is a novel financing method that allows homeowners to pay for home improvements through a special property-tax assessment facilitated by the county.
Fannie May and Freddie Mac are cold to the idea because they fear homeowners who default on their mortgage would be obligated to pay the new tax assessment before making good on their home loan. The companies, with the blessing of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, say they'll no longer issue mortgages on properties that have PACE financing.
The two companies together own or guarantee about half the nation's mortgages.
Fannie May and Freddie Mac declined to comment Wednesday. But Edward J. DeMarco, acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, said California's energy program could put homeowners on shaky financial ground and increase the liability for the mortgage companies. He vowed to fight Brown's suit.
"Mortgage holders should not be forced to absorb new credit risks after they have already purchased or guaranteed a mortgage," DeMarco told The Associated Press.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency is also named in Brown's suit, which seeks to have the feds lift their directive to shun properties with PACE financing.
Santa Cruz County is one of 14 counties in CaliforniaFIRST, which would have been among country's largest renewable financing programs, coordinated by Santa Cruz-based nonprofit Ecology Action.
Though the position of Fannie May and Freddie Mac is likely to delay CaliforniaFIRST's planned launch this fall, coordinators say they're committed to making sure the program moves forward.
"There are still other financing mechanisms," said Margart Bruce, vice-president of Ecology Action's climate group. "It's analogous to if your car breaks down, there are other ways to get to work."
Bruce said while the preferred financing option remains the tax assessment, and she hopes Brown's lawsuit or possible Congressional action will force Fannie May and Freddie Mac to honor it, financing could also be offered through more traditional loans.
Other loans, though, don't have the ease and security that come with a property tax assessment, a debt that is passed on to the next homeowner should the property sell.
Supporters of the tax assessment, like Brown and Bruce, say the model comes with little risk to Fannie May or Freddie Mac.
CaliforniaFIRST got $16.5 million of federal stimulus funds earlier this year to get off the ground.
The program had planned for financing of up to $35,000 for homeowners and $75,000 for businesses, with interest rates around 7 or 8 percent over a 20-year term.
"We're going to start pulling out all the stops (to make sure this succeeds)," said Bruce.
California Attorney General Jerry Brown filed suit Wednesday against Fannie May and Freddie Mac, claiming the mortgage giants have thwarted a home-energy improvement program that would have arrived in Santa Cruz County this fall.
The suit argues that opposition to the program by the mortgage companies - and a decision last week to not participate in it - has forced counties like Santa Cruz to suspend plans to finance home-efficiency upgrages, like solar panels and window insulation.
That position, said Brown at a press conference in San Diego, undermines California's efforts to boost energy savings and create green jobs.
Brown's suit was filed in a federal court in Oakland.
The program at issue, formally called Property Assessed Clean Energy or PACE, is a novel financing method that allows homeowners to pay for home improvements through a special property-tax assessment facilitated by the county.
Fannie May and Freddie Mac are cold to the idea because they fear homeowners who default on their mortgage would be obligated to pay the new tax assessment before making good on their home loan. The companies, with the blessing of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, say they'll no longer issue mortgages on properties that have PACE financing.
The two companies together own or guarantee about half the nation's mortgages.
Fannie May and Freddie Mac declined to comment Wednesday. But Edward J. DeMarco, acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, said California's energy program could put homeowners on shaky financial ground and increase the liability for the mortgage companies. He vowed to fight Brown's suit.
"Mortgage holders should not be forced to absorb new credit risks after they have already purchased or guaranteed a mortgage," DeMarco told The Associated Press.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency is also named in Brown's suit, which seeks to have the feds lift their directive to shun properties with PACE financing.
Santa Cruz County is one of 14 counties in CaliforniaFIRST, which would have been among country's largest renewable financing programs, coordinated by Santa Cruz-based nonprofit Ecology Action.
Though the position of Fannie May and Freddie Mac is likely to delay CaliforniaFIRST's planned launch this fall, coordinators say they're committed to making sure the program moves forward.
"There are still other financing mechanisms," said Margart Bruce, vice-president of Ecology Action's climate group. "It's analogous to if your car breaks down, there are other ways to get to work."
Bruce said while the preferred financing option remains the tax assessment, and she hopes Brown's lawsuit or possible Congressional action will force Fannie May and Freddie Mac to honor it, financing could also be offered through more traditional loans.
Other loans, though, don't have the ease and security that come with a property tax assessment, a debt that is passed on to the next homeowner should the property sell.
Supporters of the tax assessment, like Brown and Bruce, say the model comes with little risk to Fannie May or Freddie Mac.
CaliforniaFIRST got $16.5 million of federal stimulus funds earlier this year to get off the ground.
The program had planned for financing of up to $35,000 for homeowners and $75,000 for businesses, with interest rates around 7 or 8 percent over a 20-year term.
"We're going to start pulling out all the stops (to make sure this succeeds)," said Bruce.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Kenyan Women Solar Light Up their Village
by Denis Gathanju, Contributor
Published: July 13, 2010
Kenya -- Let there be light. And thanks to the efforts of rural women in one of the most remote corners of the Kenyan republic, lights turn on as night falls at the end of a sunny day.
Tucked away in the remote villages of Olando and Got Kaliech in rural Kenya, residents in this poor outpost in south-western Kenya today have light after darkness falls. The light is thanks to Phoebe Jondiko, Joyce Matunga and Phoebe Akinyi, the three solar “women engineers” who have literally switched on the lights in the two villages with a view to lighting up more villages in the remote Gwassi Division in Suba District.
Blessed with year-round sunshine, Kenya is quickly waking up to the realization that it can successfully tap into one of the vast natural resources on the planet – the sun. Solar energy has for a long time remained largely untapped in Kenya due to a combination of factors with the single biggest obstacle being the hugely expensive solar kits.
But with the Kenyan government desperately looking for new avenues through which it can turn Kenya’s energy greener, this year it lowered the importation taxes levied on solar energy kits so as to encourage corporations and individuals to use solar to power domestic and industrial operations.
Solar Energy Empowers Rural Women
Victor Ndiege is the project manager of Green Forest Social Investment Trust (GFSIT), a Kisumu-based non-governmental organization (NGO) that is geared towards empowering women in rural areas through the provision of renewable power, easing domestic chores, especially when night falls and helping village women come up with income generating activities.
According to research conducted by GFSIT, village women spend between Kenya Shillings (Kes) 850 and 1,200 [approximately US $10 to $15] every month on lighting alone. The women, notes Ndiege, use various sources such as paraffin and firewood to light up their homes after dark and to cook food.
“This has negative effects on the environment as they have to cut down trees for firewood, while paraffin poses health risks to the women and their families on inhalation of the harmful fumes from paraffin lamps,” said Ndiege. “In that case, we identified solar energy as the most affordable alternative energy source that we could use in the villages. We partnered with the Barefoot College in India, which trains semi-illiterate rural women to fabricate, install and maintain solar lighting systems in the villages.”
Ndiege said that the women acquired vital solar engineering skills that they are currently applying in the remote villages of Olando and Got Kaliech. Under the Village Solar Committees (VSCs) program, village folks will contribute between Kes 500 and 800 [approximately US $7 to 10] in monthly subscriptions from each household to keep the program running.
“The village women have also started income generating activities that include a posho mill that is powered by solar energy to generate some income for the women groups and a small workshop where local youth can gain skills and eke out a living while supporting the village solar program as well,” explained Ndiege.
According to Ndiege, the GFSIT is importing a new batch of solar kits from India to be installed in other villages within Gwassi Division. This is largely to take advantage of the reduced importation taxes levied on solar kits by the Kenyan government as well as a means through which more rural villages can now switch on to solar energy.
Lighting Africa
Phoebe Jondiko, one of the women involved with the program, said that the solar project is a welcome relief for the rural folks in her village because its remote location and hilly terrain make it difficult to access energy from the national grid system under the Kenyan government-led initiative dubbed rural electrification program (REP).
Currently, only 20 percent of Kenyan households are connected to the national grid. Patrick Nyoike, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Energy, said it is virtually impossible to connect every Kenyan household to the national grid system by 2030 due to the huge capital investments needed. This is in spite the fact that the Rural Electrification Authority (REA), the government agency mandated to connect rural areas to the national grid, has so far pumped more than $552 million over the last four decades into the program.
Said Nyoike: “National power grid connections require huge capital investments with the scattered nature of rural settlements that require off grid stations making this unattainable in the near future.”
According to Zachary Ayieko, the CEO of REA, solar energy offers a huge power potential for the nation since solar energy in Kenya could potentially generate up to three times the current daily national grid requirements. Because of this the REA has entered into a partnership with the International Finance Corporation to spearhead a new initiative called “Lighting Africa.”
Ayieko said that this ambitious project is currently running on a pilot basis in Kenya and Ghana, with a view to lighting up more than 2.5 million households in the next two years and an estimated 250 million households across Africa.
Though the initial costs of a solar kit are higher as compared to kerosene lamps, the overall cost of the solar kits is lower because there are no operational costs attached to them.
“Prices range between $10 and $93 for the solar kits depending on their capacity as compared to the monthly average of $10 spent by each household on kerosene,” said Arthur Itote, the project manager at the Lighting Africa Private Enterprise Partnership for Africa (LAPEPA).
In order to make the solar kits readily available and affordable to the rural poor, LAPEPA is working on starting a microfinance business model that will allow poor village folks make small payments over time until they have fully paid off the kits.
Joyce Matunga says that the solar energy kits can also be used to power irrigation pumps. This, she said, would be a big step forward as the farm produce would then generate income for poor households and the ripple effects across the villages will be poverty alleviation as a long-term benefit.
The Barefoot College is located in Tilona, India and is the brainchild of Indian-based social-entrepreneur Bunker Roy. This is the first time the college is partnering with a Kenyan-based community organization. The college has so far trained more than 100 semi-illiterate rural women and electrified more than 5,500 households in about 72 remote villages in 15 third-world countries.
And while Kenya is racing to adopt green energy technologies to power its booming economy into a middle-income economy in less than 20 years’ time, solar energy will play a pivotal role in Kenya’s green energy policy. This has been exemplified not only in the solar energy lighting program in rural Kenya, but in the new data center coming up in Nairobi.
With Kenya being the regional ICT hub, the Kenya Data Networks (KDN), a Nairobi-based internet service provider, has plans to build the first ever solar powered data center in Nairobi. The data center will be the only one of its kind in Africa. Building cost estimates are around Kes 600 million [US$ 7.5 million].
According to CEO Kai Wulff, KDN is also planning to use solar energy to power most of its digital villages spread in remote parts of the country under the Green Solar Power initiative. Wulff said that the initiative will be a two-pronged project that will take technology closer to the village folks through the provision of fast and cheap internet connections, while at the same time, providing cheap power to power the rural ICT centers.
Denis Gathanju is a freelance journalist based in Africa.
Published: July 13, 2010
Kenya -- Let there be light. And thanks to the efforts of rural women in one of the most remote corners of the Kenyan republic, lights turn on as night falls at the end of a sunny day.
Tucked away in the remote villages of Olando and Got Kaliech in rural Kenya, residents in this poor outpost in south-western Kenya today have light after darkness falls. The light is thanks to Phoebe Jondiko, Joyce Matunga and Phoebe Akinyi, the three solar “women engineers” who have literally switched on the lights in the two villages with a view to lighting up more villages in the remote Gwassi Division in Suba District.
Blessed with year-round sunshine, Kenya is quickly waking up to the realization that it can successfully tap into one of the vast natural resources on the planet – the sun. Solar energy has for a long time remained largely untapped in Kenya due to a combination of factors with the single biggest obstacle being the hugely expensive solar kits.
But with the Kenyan government desperately looking for new avenues through which it can turn Kenya’s energy greener, this year it lowered the importation taxes levied on solar energy kits so as to encourage corporations and individuals to use solar to power domestic and industrial operations.
Solar Energy Empowers Rural Women
Victor Ndiege is the project manager of Green Forest Social Investment Trust (GFSIT), a Kisumu-based non-governmental organization (NGO) that is geared towards empowering women in rural areas through the provision of renewable power, easing domestic chores, especially when night falls and helping village women come up with income generating activities.
According to research conducted by GFSIT, village women spend between Kenya Shillings (Kes) 850 and 1,200 [approximately US $10 to $15] every month on lighting alone. The women, notes Ndiege, use various sources such as paraffin and firewood to light up their homes after dark and to cook food.
“This has negative effects on the environment as they have to cut down trees for firewood, while paraffin poses health risks to the women and their families on inhalation of the harmful fumes from paraffin lamps,” said Ndiege. “In that case, we identified solar energy as the most affordable alternative energy source that we could use in the villages. We partnered with the Barefoot College in India, which trains semi-illiterate rural women to fabricate, install and maintain solar lighting systems in the villages.”
Ndiege said that the women acquired vital solar engineering skills that they are currently applying in the remote villages of Olando and Got Kaliech. Under the Village Solar Committees (VSCs) program, village folks will contribute between Kes 500 and 800 [approximately US $7 to 10] in monthly subscriptions from each household to keep the program running.
“The village women have also started income generating activities that include a posho mill that is powered by solar energy to generate some income for the women groups and a small workshop where local youth can gain skills and eke out a living while supporting the village solar program as well,” explained Ndiege.
According to Ndiege, the GFSIT is importing a new batch of solar kits from India to be installed in other villages within Gwassi Division. This is largely to take advantage of the reduced importation taxes levied on solar kits by the Kenyan government as well as a means through which more rural villages can now switch on to solar energy.
Lighting Africa
Phoebe Jondiko, one of the women involved with the program, said that the solar project is a welcome relief for the rural folks in her village because its remote location and hilly terrain make it difficult to access energy from the national grid system under the Kenyan government-led initiative dubbed rural electrification program (REP).
Currently, only 20 percent of Kenyan households are connected to the national grid. Patrick Nyoike, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Energy, said it is virtually impossible to connect every Kenyan household to the national grid system by 2030 due to the huge capital investments needed. This is in spite the fact that the Rural Electrification Authority (REA), the government agency mandated to connect rural areas to the national grid, has so far pumped more than $552 million over the last four decades into the program.
Said Nyoike: “National power grid connections require huge capital investments with the scattered nature of rural settlements that require off grid stations making this unattainable in the near future.”
According to Zachary Ayieko, the CEO of REA, solar energy offers a huge power potential for the nation since solar energy in Kenya could potentially generate up to three times the current daily national grid requirements. Because of this the REA has entered into a partnership with the International Finance Corporation to spearhead a new initiative called “Lighting Africa.”
Ayieko said that this ambitious project is currently running on a pilot basis in Kenya and Ghana, with a view to lighting up more than 2.5 million households in the next two years and an estimated 250 million households across Africa.
Though the initial costs of a solar kit are higher as compared to kerosene lamps, the overall cost of the solar kits is lower because there are no operational costs attached to them.
“Prices range between $10 and $93 for the solar kits depending on their capacity as compared to the monthly average of $10 spent by each household on kerosene,” said Arthur Itote, the project manager at the Lighting Africa Private Enterprise Partnership for Africa (LAPEPA).
In order to make the solar kits readily available and affordable to the rural poor, LAPEPA is working on starting a microfinance business model that will allow poor village folks make small payments over time until they have fully paid off the kits.
Joyce Matunga says that the solar energy kits can also be used to power irrigation pumps. This, she said, would be a big step forward as the farm produce would then generate income for poor households and the ripple effects across the villages will be poverty alleviation as a long-term benefit.
The Barefoot College is located in Tilona, India and is the brainchild of Indian-based social-entrepreneur Bunker Roy. This is the first time the college is partnering with a Kenyan-based community organization. The college has so far trained more than 100 semi-illiterate rural women and electrified more than 5,500 households in about 72 remote villages in 15 third-world countries.
And while Kenya is racing to adopt green energy technologies to power its booming economy into a middle-income economy in less than 20 years’ time, solar energy will play a pivotal role in Kenya’s green energy policy. This has been exemplified not only in the solar energy lighting program in rural Kenya, but in the new data center coming up in Nairobi.
With Kenya being the regional ICT hub, the Kenya Data Networks (KDN), a Nairobi-based internet service provider, has plans to build the first ever solar powered data center in Nairobi. The data center will be the only one of its kind in Africa. Building cost estimates are around Kes 600 million [US$ 7.5 million].
According to CEO Kai Wulff, KDN is also planning to use solar energy to power most of its digital villages spread in remote parts of the country under the Green Solar Power initiative. Wulff said that the initiative will be a two-pronged project that will take technology closer to the village folks through the provision of fast and cheap internet connections, while at the same time, providing cheap power to power the rural ICT centers.
Denis Gathanju is a freelance journalist based in Africa.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Italy Reasses Solar Rates
By Marc Roca
July 12 (Bloomberg New Energy Finance) -- The Italian government introduced legislation that would cut feed-in tariffs paid for power from solar photovoltaic plants beginning in 2011.
The proposal, which must be approved by parliament, maintained the terms in a draft bill circulated June 1 calling for the tariff to decline by 6 percent every four months next year and another 6 percent in the two years thereafter, the Ministry of Economic Development said in a statement.
The decision leaves the rates Italian utilities pay for solar power among the most attractive in Europe and may trigger a rush by developers to build solar plants in Italy just as in Spain and Germany in recent years, said Francesco D’Avack, a solar analyst at Bloomberg New Energy Finance in London.
“The Italian market risks entering a dangerous boom and bust cycle,” D’Avack said. “All this could lead to unsustainably fast growth and a belated reaction by the government to keep costs in check. There are a couple of fat years ahead for developers.”
The new law would also establish a 3-gigawatt cap in solar capacity by the end of 2013 in addition to 200 megawatts for PV projects integrated into buildings and 150 megawatts in concentrated PV projects, which use mirrors to focus the sun’s rays on solar panels.
The ministry reached an agreement on the final shape of the law at a conference last week including representatives from the state, regions and local authorities following several postponements of the meeting since the beginning of this year.
Permission Process
“The main obstacle to even faster growth, namely a byzantine and regional permitting process, has been removed through simplified, national planning guidelines,” D’Avack said.
Officials at the ministry were not available to comment.
The new solar energy bill, or Conto Energia, will come into effect on Jan. 1 and substitute the 2007 version, which led to about 1.13 gigawatts in PV capacity being installed by the end of 2009, according to figures from grid regulator GSE. The government aims for solar capacity to reach 8 gigawatts by 2020.
“The Conto Energia and the new guidelines for renewable projects, long-awaited by sector’s players, provide a decisive push to the government’s renewable energy strategy,” Stefano Saglia, under-secretary for energy at the ministry, said in a statement. “These measures boost innovation in a key sector for growth and competitiveness of the country and allow the harmonization and simplification of national and regional procedures.”
Along with regions and local authorities, the ministry also approved new administrative guidelines for projects in all renewable energy sectors based on a single model for all the country. The new guidelines will be sent within 90 days of the text’s publication to regional and local authorities, which are the entities that approve projects in the country.
--Editors: Reed Landberg
To contact the reporter for this story: Marc Roca in London at mroca6@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Angus McCrone at amccrone1@bloomberg.net
July 12 (Bloomberg New Energy Finance) -- The Italian government introduced legislation that would cut feed-in tariffs paid for power from solar photovoltaic plants beginning in 2011.
The proposal, which must be approved by parliament, maintained the terms in a draft bill circulated June 1 calling for the tariff to decline by 6 percent every four months next year and another 6 percent in the two years thereafter, the Ministry of Economic Development said in a statement.
The decision leaves the rates Italian utilities pay for solar power among the most attractive in Europe and may trigger a rush by developers to build solar plants in Italy just as in Spain and Germany in recent years, said Francesco D’Avack, a solar analyst at Bloomberg New Energy Finance in London.
“The Italian market risks entering a dangerous boom and bust cycle,” D’Avack said. “All this could lead to unsustainably fast growth and a belated reaction by the government to keep costs in check. There are a couple of fat years ahead for developers.”
The new law would also establish a 3-gigawatt cap in solar capacity by the end of 2013 in addition to 200 megawatts for PV projects integrated into buildings and 150 megawatts in concentrated PV projects, which use mirrors to focus the sun’s rays on solar panels.
The ministry reached an agreement on the final shape of the law at a conference last week including representatives from the state, regions and local authorities following several postponements of the meeting since the beginning of this year.
Permission Process
“The main obstacle to even faster growth, namely a byzantine and regional permitting process, has been removed through simplified, national planning guidelines,” D’Avack said.
Officials at the ministry were not available to comment.
The new solar energy bill, or Conto Energia, will come into effect on Jan. 1 and substitute the 2007 version, which led to about 1.13 gigawatts in PV capacity being installed by the end of 2009, according to figures from grid regulator GSE. The government aims for solar capacity to reach 8 gigawatts by 2020.
“The Conto Energia and the new guidelines for renewable projects, long-awaited by sector’s players, provide a decisive push to the government’s renewable energy strategy,” Stefano Saglia, under-secretary for energy at the ministry, said in a statement. “These measures boost innovation in a key sector for growth and competitiveness of the country and allow the harmonization and simplification of national and regional procedures.”
Along with regions and local authorities, the ministry also approved new administrative guidelines for projects in all renewable energy sectors based on a single model for all the country. The new guidelines will be sent within 90 days of the text’s publication to regional and local authorities, which are the entities that approve projects in the country.
--Editors: Reed Landberg
To contact the reporter for this story: Marc Roca in London at mroca6@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Angus McCrone at amccrone1@bloomberg.net
Monday, July 12, 2010
California Edison Enters 20 year Solar Power Agreement
GetSolar Staff
The utility Southern California Edison got approval from state regulators at the California Public Utilities Commission to buy almost 500 megawatts of solar power from Solar Millennium's solar-thermal facilities in a 20-year contract.
The solar thermal facilities, in Blythe, California, are expected to be online and operational by 2014. Each one will generate 242 megawatts of power.
Solar thermal technology is a modern re-imagining of an old and simple concept. Just as conventional coal, gas, and oil-fired plants rely on heat to create steam which spins turbines, solar thermal power facilities use thousands of mirrors to heat liquids and create steam.
By doing so, they bypass some of the technical limitations of solar photovoltaic panels, which have only reached approximately 20 percent efficiency under the best circumstances. Solar thermal solutions, on the other hand, have reached conversion efficiencies of over 30 percent.
The state of California has passed a law requiring that all of its utilities buy or generate 20 percent of their power from renewable sources by the end of 2010, although some have been struggling to meet that goal.
The utility Southern California Edison got approval from state regulators at the California Public Utilities Commission to buy almost 500 megawatts of solar power from Solar Millennium's solar-thermal facilities in a 20-year contract.
The solar thermal facilities, in Blythe, California, are expected to be online and operational by 2014. Each one will generate 242 megawatts of power.
Solar thermal technology is a modern re-imagining of an old and simple concept. Just as conventional coal, gas, and oil-fired plants rely on heat to create steam which spins turbines, solar thermal power facilities use thousands of mirrors to heat liquids and create steam.
By doing so, they bypass some of the technical limitations of solar photovoltaic panels, which have only reached approximately 20 percent efficiency under the best circumstances. Solar thermal solutions, on the other hand, have reached conversion efficiencies of over 30 percent.
The state of California has passed a law requiring that all of its utilities buy or generate 20 percent of their power from renewable sources by the end of 2010, although some have been struggling to meet that goal.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
US Department of Energy Doing Solar Project in Nevada
by Andrew Herndon - Jul 8, 2010
The U.S. Departments of Energy and the Interior have picked a former nuclear site in Nevada to be transformed into a zone for testing “cutting-edge” solar energy technologies.
The research will take place on 25 square miles of land owned by the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management, an area larger than the size of Manhattan, the Energy Department said today in a statement.
The area lies in the southwest corner of the Nevada Test Site, about 65 miles (104.6 kilometers) northwest of Las Vegas, where the U.S. military used to detonate atomic weapons. The Energy Department’s National Nuclear Security Administration will oversee the project, according to the statement.
The DOE said it selected the Nevada site after evaluating 26 possible locations in terms of solar conditions, suitable terrain and other infrastructure needed for solar development.
Projects developed on public land “can significantly reduce the costs and environmental impacts of utility-scale solar power facilities and demonstrate the commercial viability of these facilities,” Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said today at a press conference announcing the plan.
“The Nevada Test Site can and should be a proving ground for new ideas and for attracting new clean energy industries that will help our state and country compete globally,” Harry Reid, Nevada’s senior senator and the Senate majority leader, said at the press conference.
Environmental Reviews
The DOE said it will collaborate with the Interior Department to fund required environmental reviews and complete infrastructure planning. The agencies also will work with the U.S. Air Force to identify and address potential problems with locating the demonstration zone in the chosen location, which is near other military installations.
Detailed design is scheduled to begin in September, including determinations concerning number, size and technology for individual demonstration projects. All necessary environmental reviews are expected to be completed by June 2011, and construction is slated to start as soon as September 2011, according to an interagency memorandum of understanding released today.
To contact the reporter responsible for this story: Andrew Herndon in Washington at aherndon2@bloomberg.net.
The U.S. Departments of Energy and the Interior have picked a former nuclear site in Nevada to be transformed into a zone for testing “cutting-edge” solar energy technologies.
The research will take place on 25 square miles of land owned by the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management, an area larger than the size of Manhattan, the Energy Department said today in a statement.
The area lies in the southwest corner of the Nevada Test Site, about 65 miles (104.6 kilometers) northwest of Las Vegas, where the U.S. military used to detonate atomic weapons. The Energy Department’s National Nuclear Security Administration will oversee the project, according to the statement.
The DOE said it selected the Nevada site after evaluating 26 possible locations in terms of solar conditions, suitable terrain and other infrastructure needed for solar development.
Projects developed on public land “can significantly reduce the costs and environmental impacts of utility-scale solar power facilities and demonstrate the commercial viability of these facilities,” Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said today at a press conference announcing the plan.
“The Nevada Test Site can and should be a proving ground for new ideas and for attracting new clean energy industries that will help our state and country compete globally,” Harry Reid, Nevada’s senior senator and the Senate majority leader, said at the press conference.
Environmental Reviews
The DOE said it will collaborate with the Interior Department to fund required environmental reviews and complete infrastructure planning. The agencies also will work with the U.S. Air Force to identify and address potential problems with locating the demonstration zone in the chosen location, which is near other military installations.
Detailed design is scheduled to begin in September, including determinations concerning number, size and technology for individual demonstration projects. All necessary environmental reviews are expected to be completed by June 2011, and construction is slated to start as soon as September 2011, according to an interagency memorandum of understanding released today.
To contact the reporter responsible for this story: Andrew Herndon in Washington at aherndon2@bloomberg.net.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Solar Plane Flies 26 Hours
By BNO News
PAYERNE, SWITZERLAND (BNO NEWS) – The Solar Impulse HB-SIA, a Swiss solar-powered plane, completed the first non-stop flight on solar energy after flying 26 hours and 9 minutes. It was the longest flight at the highest altitude in aviation history, Solar Impulse announced on Thursday.
The Solar Impulse HB-SIA has a huge wingspan in equal proportions of an Airbus A340 with 63.4 meters. It includes approximately 12,000 photovoltaic cells, most of them ion the wing and around 880 on the horizontal stabilizer.The plane took off on Wednesday morning from the Payerne airbase with André Borscherg, CEO and co-founder of the Solar Impulse project, at the controls. The HB-SIA flew at an altitude of 8,500 meters until 11:00 p.m., when the sun rays stop being enough to supply the solar cells.
During the night, the airplane continued flying using the energy stored in the solar cells. It landed at 7:00 a.m., on Thursday. At its highest, the Solar Impulse surpassed the 8,500 meters intended and reached 8,700 meters of altitude.
"This is a highly symbolic moment: flying by night using solely solar power is a stunning manifestation of the potential that clean technologies offer today to reduce the dependency of our society on fossil fuels!," Bertrand Piccard, initiator and President of Solar Impulse.
The project was financed by Solvay S.A., Omega and Deutsche Bank. It cost 100 million Swiss francs.
(Copyright 2010 by BNO News B.V. All rights reserved. Info: sales@bnonews.com.)
PAYERNE, SWITZERLAND (BNO NEWS) – The Solar Impulse HB-SIA, a Swiss solar-powered plane, completed the first non-stop flight on solar energy after flying 26 hours and 9 minutes. It was the longest flight at the highest altitude in aviation history, Solar Impulse announced on Thursday.
The Solar Impulse HB-SIA has a huge wingspan in equal proportions of an Airbus A340 with 63.4 meters. It includes approximately 12,000 photovoltaic cells, most of them ion the wing and around 880 on the horizontal stabilizer.The plane took off on Wednesday morning from the Payerne airbase with André Borscherg, CEO and co-founder of the Solar Impulse project, at the controls. The HB-SIA flew at an altitude of 8,500 meters until 11:00 p.m., when the sun rays stop being enough to supply the solar cells.
During the night, the airplane continued flying using the energy stored in the solar cells. It landed at 7:00 a.m., on Thursday. At its highest, the Solar Impulse surpassed the 8,500 meters intended and reached 8,700 meters of altitude.
"This is a highly symbolic moment: flying by night using solely solar power is a stunning manifestation of the potential that clean technologies offer today to reduce the dependency of our society on fossil fuels!," Bertrand Piccard, initiator and President of Solar Impulse.
The project was financed by Solvay S.A., Omega and Deutsche Bank. It cost 100 million Swiss francs.
(Copyright 2010 by BNO News B.V. All rights reserved. Info: sales@bnonews.com.)
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