Solar ... In the news

spgsc531

I wonder how much of that is 'we took profit over investment over previous years, let's use renewable energy projects as an excuse to get others to fund investment in the future'

labp04

Re http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-21753854

Aye, and maybe it's just the kind of excuse they're looking for!

PeterZ_2

spgsc531 wrote: »

I wonder how much of that is 'we took profit over investment over previous years, let's use renewable energy projects as an excuse to get others to fund investment in the future'

The DNO's did exactly that, as did the water companies. Take profits and get consumers to pay for upgrades that should have come from their profits.

As it is the DNO charges large sums of sums for large projects to connect. I've heard of farmers having to pay £45k for new transformers so they can connect their wind turbines - the DNO are happy as they get shiny new transformers and network upgrades for free.

Martyn1981

zeupater wrote: »

.... ......

I particulary like the quote from Greg Barker ... "But we need 21st century connections to get that energy out of Cornwall and into the rest of the country." .... now, where have we had a discussion on that in the past? ..... :cool:

Z

Yep, it's all coming back to me, but if I remember correctly, our ill informed friend then made his way out of Cornwall (not an easy thing to do when pedaling backwards), and suggested a larger number of smaller installs nearer to demand.

I was so inspired I (and 400,000 others) did exactly that! :rotfl:

Mart.

Martyn1981

Thought this sounded interesting, with some new / different benefits:

http://www.solardaily.com/reports/UK_Welcomes_First_Solar_Glass_Petrol_Station_Canopy_999.html

UK Welcomes First Solar Glass Petrol Station Canopy

Polysolar director Alastair Gadney added: "Unlike other renewable energy sources, our product is completely free from heavy metals and rare earth metals. While it is at the cutting edge of green technology, it is also a truly green product."


Another article, bringing 'power to the people':

http://www.solarpowerportal.co.uk/news/london_solar_projects_could_benefit_from_better_market_rates_2356

London solar projects could benefit from better market rates

The London Assembly estimates that in the short term, the move could attract more than £300 million worth of investment for 22 heat and power projects already in the pipeline. In the longer term, it could help generate over £8 billion of investment and around 850 jobs a year until 2025.

Mart.

Martyn1981

Some bad news for PV prices at the moment:

http://www.pv-tech.org/news/solar_module_supply_chain_shifts_in_europe

Exclusive: Crunch in module availability as EU hardens stance against China

AND

High-purity polysilicon, notably used in monocrystalline wafer production, is in short supply as producers cut production to reduce pricing pressure and potential losses.

Mart.

zeupater

Hi

What an interesting idea from Boris .... they need to buy vast amounts of electricity from somewhere, so why not directly from those who generate instead of a third party intermediary who makes a considerable profit just for a little administration ....

Probably be quite popular with the electorate too ....

HTH
Z

Martyn1981

Gone to post this story a few times, but bottled it, as it's 'only small'. However, I think it's a good reminder that the effects of both FITs and CO2 don't respect national borders.

Plus, this is a 'Green and Ethical' forum:

http://www.solardaily.com/reports/Solarsis_Helps_Beat_Power_Outages_for_Schools_999.html

"With the increase in power tariff, unpredictable power outages and responding to the global warming, Prema Samajam an NGO has solarized their Orphanage Schools and old age homes through Solar Power."

Mart.

WestonDave

Haven't got a specific link at the moment - picked it up on Twitter - Suntech are apparently in trouble having defaulted on bonds on the 15th - some reports suggest bankruptcy, but its not clear what that means in China so it may well re-emerge without its debts as companies do here.

rogerblack

WestonDave wrote: »

Haven't got a specific link at the moment - picked it up on Twitter - Suntech are apparently in trouble having defaulted on bonds on the 15th - some reports suggest bankruptcy, but its not clear what that means in China so it may well re-emerge without its debts as companies do here.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/536335fe-9221-11e2-a6f4-00144feabdc0.html

When Suntech announced on Wednesday that its primary subsidiary in China was facing insolvency, it became the most prominent foreign-listed Chinese company to end up in bankruptcy court.


What comes next – as the court and Suntech’s creditors work out a restructuring plan – will prove to be a major test of how the law is applied and whether it can fairly protect the interest of lenders, bondholders and shareholders, both inside and outside of China.

Is an extract from the Financial Times story above.

It seems likely that the company may emerge in some manner.
But foreign investors will lose most, if not all of their money.