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on December 3rd, 2011% ![]()
BrightSource Energy said Monday that it has struck a deal to add energy storage systems to three massive solar thermal power plants it will build to supply electricity to utility Southern California Edison.
Energy storage will allow the plants to operate into the night, meaning that BrightSource can now forgo building one 200-megawatt solar station that previously was needed to meet its obligation to generate 4 million megawatt-hours of electricity annually for the utility.
“It’s a huge advantage,” John Woolard, BrightSource’s chief executive, said in an interview Monday. “We came out very strongly with what I believe is the largest solar storage deal in the world.”
BrightSource spokesman Keely Wachs said in an e-mail that only six of the seven planned solar “power tower” stations will need to be built, saving some 1,280 acres of desert land. if approved by state regulators, the amended contracts with Southern California Edison will also result in lower costs for utility customers, the company said.
Both issues have come to the forefront as some environmentalists increasingly object to industrializing swaths of California’s Mojave Desert for solar power plants. Solar thermal developers, meanwhile, compete against ever-cheaper photovoltaic power plants as the price of solar modules continues to fall.
When four of the nine big solar thermal power plants approved by the California Energy Commission last year changed ownership, the new developers announced they would switch to solar panels like those found on residential rooftops and which convert sunlight directly into electricity.
Earlier this month, the staff and some members of the California Public Utilities Commission objected to the high cost of utility Pacific Gas & Electric’s contract with Abengoa Solar to supply electricity from a power plant that will use an older solar thermal trough technology.
BrightSource, on the other hand, has developed a new solar thermal technology that deploys vast arrays of mirrors called heliostats that focus the sun on a water-filled boiler that sits atop a tower. the intensive heat creates steam that drives an electricity-generating industrial turbine. Such solar thermal plants produce electricity more efficiently and consistently than photovoltaic stations, which are subject to fluctuations caused by passing clouds and other weather conditions and thus have less capacity to generate power.
For Southern California Edison, BrightSource will install a molten salt system called SolarPLUS that can store solar heat so it can be released to create steam after dark or when electricity demand spikes. the systems, which will come online in 2016 and 2017, will extend the operating time of the power plants by at least two hours, according to Woolard.
“It’s good from an environmental perspective and it lowers capital costs and permitting costs,” Woolard said, adding that he expected most solar thermal power plants completed after 2016 to feature energy storage.
Last year, the California Legislature passed a bill that requires regulators to determine if they should set energy storage targets and require the state’s three big investor-owned utilities – Pacific Gas & Electric, San Diego Gas & Electric and Southern California Edison – to meet such a mandate by 2015.
on December 3rd, 2011% ![]() Posted: Friday, 2nd December, 2011 | Author: Tania | Filed under: News & Media, Solar photovoltaics, Solar thermal | Tags: ASI, gillard, obama, USASEC |Leave a comment »
So what was discussed by Prime Minister Julia Gillard and US President Barack Obama during the President’s visit last month? CSIRO solar research of course.
On 16 November, the successful United States-Australia Solar Energy Collaboration (USASEC) projects were announced in a joint statement by the White House and the Australian Government. the funding is dedicated to accelerating the widespread rollout of solar energy technologies in both countries and totals $32 million for seven projects.
The Australian Government’s Australian Solar Institute manages the funding as part of their overall remit to keep Australia at the forefront of solar innovation.
Congratulations to the Research Exchange awardees and the team members that led the successful bids for the CSIRO projects.
CSIRO Research exchange awardee
Jacek Jasieniak, Research Scientist, Materials Science and Engineering, will work with 2000 Nobel Prize winner, Professor Alan Heeger, at the University of California Santa Barbara for 12 months. they will work on a project to overcome barriers to increasing the efficiency of organic solar cells and therefore increase the cost-competitiveness of solar energy.
Projects
Wes Stein, Energy Transformed Flagship: Solar driven supercritical carbon dioxide Brayton Cycle
This project aims to reduce the levelised cost of electricity by bringing together various advanced technology developments including high efficiency receivers, thermal storage and a carbon dioxide Brayton cycle. Partners include Sandia National Laboratories, National Renewal Energy Laboratory (NREL), University of Sydney, Queensland University of Technology, and Barber Nicholls inc. ($2.5 million funding for a $6.24 million project)
Chris Fell, Energy Transformed Flagship: Improving translation models for predicting the energy yield of photovoltaic power systems
This study will look at the way different solar cell technologies respond to changing solar conditions. A better understanding of the response to changing irradiance, spectrum, diffuse light and temperature will greatly improve yield predictions and improve confidence for investors in large-scale solar in Australia. Partners include NREL, CAT Projects (Desert Knowledge Australia Solar Centre), and Lend Lease. ($1.32 million funding for a $2.69 million project)
Alberto Troccoli, Marine and Atmospheric Research: Integrated Solar Radiation Data Sources over Australia
This project aims to develop Australia’s first comprehensive solar radiation data set, via a combination of ground station observations, satellite-derived data and atmospheric model output, that can be used to estimate solar power production. Partners include NREL and the Bureau of Meteorology. ($713 000 funding for a $1.43 million project)
For further information, read the Statement on clean energy cooperation [PDF 78KB].
on December 3rd, 2011% ![]()
Having your own home solar power system can be quite an advantage these days. Solar systems (a.k.a. Photovoltaic or PV systems) can give you protection from fluctuating and constantly rising energy prices. PV systems can also reduce your total electric bills significantly and need we mention the huge environmental benefits it offers?
Interested in setting up your own home PV system? Before you buy solar panel devices (a.k.a. photovoltaic or PV panels) and equipment do take note of the following six (6) important tips:
Tip No.1: do an Energy Audit on Your House
It pays to know how much power your house uses. this will help you determine the type of PV system that would work to meet your household power needs. Click here to learn how to do a comprehensive energy audit on your home.
Tip No.2: Consider Making your Home More Energy-Efficient
You should also think about making your own house energy-efficient. this includes using energy-saving appliances, replacing incandescent bulbs with CFLs, patching air-leakages and improving insulation to minimize air-conditioning and heating costs.
Tip No.3: Shop and Compare Suppliers
You can save hundreds when you buy solar panel components by shopping around and comparing suppliers. The Internet is a good resource to get you started.
Tip No.4: know the Type of Solar Panels that Suits You
The two most-commonly used types of solar or PV panels are Monocrystalline Panels and Polycrystalline Panels. The first is more expensive but has the highest sunlight-to-electricity conversion efficiency. The latter is cheaper but is slightly less-efficient. those with space-constraints can go with the first, while the latter is more budget-friendly.
Tip No.5: Government and State Incentives help Reduce Costs
Both the federal and state governments are actively promoting solar power technology. A lot of incentives are available when you buy solar panel systems. The Department of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency or DESIRE can help you find local, state, and government incentives available.
Tip No.6: Check for Certification and Warranties
Make sure you are buying from certified suppliers. this is necessary if you will claim for rebates and incentives on PV systems and other kinds of renewable energy alternatives.
on December 2nd, 2011% ![]()
The International Energy Agency is notoriously conservative on projections for renewable energy. the agency has embraced the need for more clean electricity and fuels to address climate change and peak oil, but its outlook for the future is usually far more conservative than how reality plays out.
So when an official at the IEA says we could get up to one third of our global energy supply from solar photovoltaics, concentrating solar power, and solar hot water by 2060, that’s a fairly big piece of news. But even that projection may be conservative.
Speaking to Bloomberg News, the head of IEA’s renewable energy unit explained said he thought the target is feasible:
“The strength of solar is the incredible variety and flexibility of applications, from small scale to big scale,” Paolo Frankl, the agency’s head of renewable energy, said in a telephone interview yesterday.
Economic activity will shift toward the sunnier zones around the equator by 2050, making solar energy a viable power source for most of the global economy, the report said. Those regions will be home to almost 80 percent of the human race by the middle of the century, compared with about 70 percent today, and their energy needs will be higher as living standards in countries such as Brazil and India approach those of the U.S. and Europe.
The IEA is clearly responding to the fast-changing world of solar energy. it has released a new publication, Solar Energy Perspectives, that mirrors one of its flagship research products, Energy Technology Perspectives.
But in its recent World Energy Outlook, IEA barely gave solar much attention. the organization predicted fairly modest growth in the solar PV and CSP sector through 2035, with a projection that it would only make up 4.5% of electricity supply.
While solar only makes up a fraction of the global electricity supply today, the downward cost curve of technologies is pushing it toward a breaking point. By sometime in 2012, the installed cost of a crystalline-silicon solar PV system over 1 MW in the U.S. could dip to around $2.50 a watt. at around 2$ a watt we could cost-competitively meet around 30% of global electricity supply, says solar expert and Carbon War Room CEO Jigar Shah.
Shah believes solar can reach a 5% penetration level in the U.S. by 2020, with cost reductions coming mostly from innovations in hardware and installation, not dramatic improvements in the lab.
While the IEA is far less ambitious in its projections, the agency seems to agree that a “systems-based approach” to manufacturing and installation will be the key driver to reaching high penetration levels of different solar technologies. and rather than focus on specific subsidies for solar in the long-term, IEA says the most important incentive will be a price on carbon.
Solar is clearly proving itself without a price on carbon. With an effective pricing regime in place, a 30% penetration would almost certainly be low.
JR: I’m not quite sure I agree with the IEA that “Economic activity will shift toward the sunnier zones around the equator by 2050.” they seem to have forgotten global warming, which is going to make many of those sunny areas increasingly uninhabitable by mid-century (see “An Illustrated Guide to the Science of Global Warming Impacts: how we Know Inaction Is the Gravest Threat Humanity Faces“). Fortunately, you can string high-voltage DC power lines from the deserts.
- Anatomy of a Solar PV system: how to Continue “Ferocious Cost Reductions” for Solar Electricity
- Utility CEO on Solar: In “3 to 5 Years You’ll be able to get Power Cheaper from the Roof of Your House than From the Grid”
- Solar is Ready now: ‘Ferocious Cost Reductions’ make Solar PV Competitive
on December 2nd, 2011% ![]() Weather for Leeds
Saturday 03 December 2011
Temperature: 5 C to 10 C
Sunday 04 December 2011
Temperature: 3 C to 7 C
Monday 05 December 2011
Temperature: 1 C to 6 C
Tuesday 06 December 2011
Temperature: 4 C to 6 C
Wednesday 07 December 2011
Temperature: 6 C to 9 C
on December 1st, 2011% ![]() This article has been viewed 15 times.
The power of the sun has been with us from the beginning and it will be here until the end of the world. Due to the high energy bills, there is increasing interest in alternative energy sources. Solar energy is an excellent option for many countries that get plenty of sunshine. More households are now using solar power because of the advances in technology, and improvements in the systems every year. your home can generate quite a bit of electrical energy even if you merely have severl solar panels and a small amount of sunlight.
One problem is that numerous dwellings are not built to take full advantage of sunlight. More efficient designs today, however, have made it easier to produce electricity without needing a lot of sunlight. the latest solar panel system are set up at a more steeper angle so houses that are not positioned to get a lot of sunlight can still produce electricity. A good number of solar panel systems these days use a rail system which allows the solar batteries to be set for optimal exposure. In addition, it is set up for expansion at al ater time if necessary.
Before installing a solar energy system, you need to be aware of your electricity requirements. once you know your average power bills, you will know the size your solar panel system needs to be. Depending on your abilities and resources, start out small, and make room to expand later on. once installed, you can expect to see a reduction by as much as 80% in your power bill within 12 months. with just a basic system, you can work on the outdoor lighting, and afterwards increase your system, and move up to the interior electricity.
The most important component in your system is the inverter. Since the inverter will be converting the DC into AC, you have to be sure that it is the correct size. If the size you pick is not correct, then your system isn’t going to work. It’s better to use a big inverter at the beginning so that expansion will be less complicated. the inverter has to be connected by a professional electrician, as electricity is dangerous, and you will need one to pass inspections. the most dangerous part of installing it is correctly connecting your solar energy system to your electrical system. it is not a good idea to do this yourself.
Now is a great time to have solar power for your home as state and federal governments are extending incentives. Helping to stay clean and efficient plus doing it without a lot of money should be incentive enough to put in a solar power system. This is a terrific start to living green.
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on December 1st, 2011% ![]()
For a long time, many a environmentalist and scientist has predicted the day when the entire home is powered by renewable sources of energy such as solar energy. although, technology has not progressed enough to power an entire home’s energy needs with the help of solar energy or other renewable energy if set up in an individual’s house, there are definitely many houses that are the typical “home solar power system” and have the potential to make build more homes that are powered by just solar energy. But there have been cases of large power plants set up by governments such as in the Mojave Desert which generates enough electrical energy to satisfy the energy needs of more than 500,000 people in California. But we are talking about small scale home solar power systems that are installed in individual houses to satisfy hat particular house’s energy needs. of course, a really immense growth in the field of solar energy has made it possible for home solar power systems to become a reality.
Of course, the advantage with home solar power systems is that you do not have to rely on just solar energy to produce electricity for your house. you can also use the traditional source of energy that you have been using until now in conjunction with the home solar power systems. Since almost any other type of energy can be got by using electrical energy these days, it is very versatile and flexible which suits solar energy just fine.
You may have already have heard of the fact that an hour’s worth of all solar energy that is falling on earth is equivalent to a whole year’s worth of energy required by the whole population on earth. although it is never practically possible to use all the solar energy that is falling on earth, there are ways to at least try and harness some parts of it so that it can be used efficiently.
Solar panels are basically made up of a lot of solar cells combined together. these solar panels are probably the ones you are going to use in your house for satisfying your energy needs. although, the idea sounds like it can be a fun project to work on, you have to be slightly aware of all the costs involved in building your own solar panel. As long as you have a place outside your house that is wide enough such that it receives the sun’s energy in a proper way, you can set up your solar panels there. of course, in some cases it is made sure that the whole system is oriented in such a way that it is angled towards the sun at all times. This can be incredibly useful and is sometimes achieved using mirrors. the mirrors can reflect the sun’s rays onto the home solar power system at all times of the day if set up properly.
“Net metering” is another tool invented by the US government that enables people to sell energy back to the utility company. Basically how it works is that when you have a solar powered unit generating electricity for you and you happen to generate extra electricity that you do not require, then you can store up this energy for usage later on. the meter that measures your electricity usage moves back and forth appropriately to make this adjustment and to send the correct bill to you.
Of course, when I was setting up a home solar power system for my house many years back, I was not that affiliated with the internet and did not have to the many do it yourself guides that exist today. however, I really wish that I did for I could have saved significant amounts of money in setting up my solar energy systems. however, you need not worry about this as you have sufficient resources on the internet that teach you the proper way to install solar panels in your home. Head over to my blog whose links are below to find
Andy Jerald is devoted to helping to save the environment and control pollution by using the renewable sources of energy. He generates his own electricity with the help of solar energy at his house. He blogs about his projects. Check it out at Home Solar Power Systems. Also check out a related blog post at Home Solar Power Systems.
on November 29th, 2011% ![]()
Watch in HD solartechtown.com I, Robert Smith, show you every step I take to building a custom made solar panel from scratch. I explain in detail about each item I use and why to use it, so the video is fairly long. I will be hosting the majority of the video on my own server so you can view it all in one take. it will take time to edit the video, but the more of you that subscribe to the video, the faster I’ll try to get it out to you guys as it just shows that people are interested and appreciate what I’m doing, as I’m providing this video for free unlike some videos you see on YouTube. the method I described in this video is just one way to go about it, however, there are many ways you can build a custom solar panel. some use aluminum or plastic frames, but I found for a beginner, working with wood would probably be easier and cheaper. Overall, building a solar panel can be fun, but there are many factors that play into building a solar panel, and I as well still have an extreme amount to still learn about it. so I hope that for those wanting to learn more about solar energy and wanting to take the adventure of building their own solar panel will find this video very useful. To watch to full video just video, just visit solartechtown.com again the video is fairly large, so to prevent from having to put 6 or 7 parts on youtube in 10 minute sections, I’m just going to host in on my server. If you all have ANY questions, feel free to leave a comment under the …
on November 23rd, 2011% ![]()
Engineering, procurement and construction firm ABB has launched a new concentrating solar power (CSP) technology that the company says uses considerably less material, land and water than other CSP plants. plus, it says, plants using the new technology are extremely easy to build and operate.
Instead of the curved mirrors of a parabolic trough, ABB-Novatec Solar’s patented “Fresnel-based CSP technology” uses flat glass mirrors to reflect solar energy into a water-filled receiver tube, super-heating the water to 500 degrees Celsius to generate steam. ABB says that the technology uses 70 percent less material, requires 40 percent less land and consumes 80 percent less water per megawatt (MW) of power than parabolic trough designs. By using components such as sheet plates and glass mirrors, which can be easily mass-produced locally, the cost of building and operating the plants is further reduced, the company says.
image via Novatec Solar
ABB-Novatec’s 1.4-MW Puerto Errado 1 demonstration plant in Murcia, Spain, has been generating power for the Spanish power grid since 2009. the company is also currently building Puerto Errado 2, the first commercial power plant to use the technology. With 28 rows of mirrors, the 30-MW power plant covers an area of 650,000 square meters and will produce about 50 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year—enough to power about 12,000 households. the technology can also be used in a hybrid system to increase the fuel efficiency of conventional power plants, in desalination and district cooling plants, or in any industrial process that requires steam. ABB said its 9-MW array in Liddell, Australia, will be the world’s first use of solar thermal technology to provide supplemental power to a gas power plant.
“I was really impressed by the technology and its simplicity,” Bennaceur Fateh, an Algerian engineer at Sonelgaz CEEG who recently toured the Puerto Errado plant, said in a statement released by ABB. “This cost-effective solution and the very low amount of water needed, make it particularly suitable for installations in Algeria and all African countries experiencing difficult climate conditions.”
Help Carbonfund toward their goal of planting 1,000,000 trees. Subscribe to Green Earthling Deals by Friday, Nov. 25, 2011, and EarthTechling will donate $1 for every new subscriber. See contest rules for details. Sign up in the upper right-hand corner at EarthTechling.com or right here.
on November 22nd, 2011% ![]()
I guess you are like me. we are all trying to lower our energy costs and pay a lower bill for electricity. The good news is that there are several ways to accomplish that. ever heard of Solar Panels? Well, I guess you have. but do you know what they do and how they work?
Solar Panels are regularly flat surfaces that are exposed directly to the sun. these panels convert sunlight to electrical energy that can be used just like the power that we get from the local utility company. if you live in sunny areas where there is lots of sunshine year round, you can benefit more from this technology. The power generated by a solar panel can be used to run the typical equipment that we all have, like water heaters, lighting systems, etc.
When you use this kind of power generating technology, you can take advantage of a few things. for start, you will decrease the amount you normally pay for electricity. you recurring monthly bill will be lower. if you use a water heater that runs on oil or gas, you can always change to a water heater that runs on electricity and use the power generated buy your solar panel to run it. That way, you will stop paying for oil or gas. Remember, solar power is costless.
Another advantage of using solar power is the fact that as time goes by, more and more people are changing to green energy that is also identified as clean energy in the way that producing this kind of power never hurts the natural environment. actually, if you are willing to use this kind of energy, governments from different countries will offer you special conditions and tax rebates. At the end, it pays to use solar power.
When you plan to buy a solar panel, please consider a few things. you should always do a complete check regarding the amount of power that you will need. of course, that will depend on the amount of devices that you plan to run on solar panel generated electricity.
What I suggest is that you write down all the appliances that you would like to run on solar power. then check and write the energy consumption for each of the appliances and add it. Remember to consider including those appliances that typically consume more power than others, or those that you run more often due to the nature of you location, like heating or air conditioning equipment. The goal is to save as much as possible.
Once you have the added amount, you can a much better idea of the system size that you will need in order to run all of you devices. when buying a solar panel, always give yourself at least 15% more power generation then the added amount of your appliances. this will ensure that you have enough capacity.
Where to locate you power panels? good question. The answer is that they must be placed in a way that they will be exposed to sunlight for the must part of the day. They have to be facing the sun and normally during the morning hours there is a more intense sunshine received.
What about the price? Well, that is pretty important. you have to always be sure that you investment equals or is lower than the savings you will have for the next 20 years. Solar panels with good maintenance work have a life of about 20 years. if you will save $2000 per year, you will save $40,000 over 20 years. That means that you should never spend more than that amount in purchasing your solar system.
Solar Panels are a great way to save, but they are expensive. There are some ways that you can use to manufacture all or parts of a solar system. anyway, it is always fun not to have to pay the power bill every month.
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