Solar ... In the news

Martyn1981

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.

BBC News:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-21839938

China's Suntech Power Holdings, the world's biggest solar panel maker, has defaulted on its debt.

The firm said it had failed to repay $541m (£360m) worth of bonds due on 15 March. That triggered cross-default clauses on its other loans as well.

The failure to make payments on the bonds could lead to potential lawsuits against Suntech.

However, the firm said it was in talks with the bondholders and was unaware of any legal proceedings being initiated.

Mart.

rogerblack

http://www.solarnovus.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6386:bosch-leaving-the-solar-pv-business&catid=37:business-news&Itemid=241

Bosch announced that it will discontinue its activities in crystalline photovoltaics, ceasing production of ingots, wafers, cells, and modules at beginning of 2014. In addiition, all development and marketing activities are likewise to be ended and its module plant in V!nissieux, France, is to be sold. Not surprisingly the company is also scrapping Plans to construct a manufacturing facility in Malaysia. Bosch plans to sell its shares in aleo solar AG.

The reduction in silicon supply - them stopping making ingots - will definitely cause supply to tighten, as it basically takes a given amount of silicon to make a panel.

Pera_2

I'm from South East Asia (Philippines) and our government haven't started any PV projects. But there are lots of individual that installed private solar panels in their roof.

rogerblack

Pera wrote: »

I'm from South East Asia (Philippines) and our government haven't started any PV projects. But there are lots of individual that installed private solar panels in their roof.

Why?
As part of a system with batteries to reduce the reliance on an unreliable or unavailable grid?
Because they get paid for exporting electricity to the grid?
To counteract the needs of daytime AC?

spgsc531

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-21949758

Martyn1981

spgsc531 wrote: »

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-21949758

That's an interesting article, but I think the message will be lost because:

1. It talks about bills being lower than they otherwise would be, so people will see energy tariffs adding to bills and rising bills. Few will note the net effect.

2. This is all about investment, investing in lower consumption and future bill capping - not sure if this is a particularly British thing, but investment and forward looking don't seem too popular here anymore (maybe the concept is too complex!).

Mart.

Martyn1981

Some surprisingly positive news for UK PV in all segments:

http://www.solarpowerportal.co.uk/guest_blog/uk_exceeds_0.5_gw_pv_demand_in_q113_grabs_almost_10_global_share

In fact, by the end of 2013, the UK should have passed the 3GW cumulative level, and the widely adopted 20GW-by-2020 mantra may indeed become a distinct possibility.

By having a strong ground-mount PV segment driving future growth, the UK has just moved one step closer to global PV industry participation. Globally, the ground-mount segment is forecast to account for over 45% of cumulative global PV demand of 230GW between 2013 and 2017.

It now just boils down to some type of amendment of FiTs that will give the <250 kW rooftop segment a lifeline. Then, the UK could become one of the few countries globally that has a strong and balanced PV industry for small-scale and large-scale, and rooftop and ground-mount.

Getting these changes in place before the national elections in May 2015 could now become the key deliverable from the collective voice of the UK PV industry and DECC. And at this point, phase five of UK PV activities are certainly likely to challenge for headline energy coverage with any future nuclear or fracking announcements from the Treasury.

Edit: Associated article:

http://www.solarpowerportal.co.uk/news/weekly_solar_installations_hit_2000_despite_automatic_degression_concerns

Mart.

Martyn1981

Some interesting news on storage. This isn't specifically PV, but it's in the right ballpark:

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

"National distribution network operator (DNO), Western Power Distribution (WPD), has announced that it will install a number of energy storage systems later this year.

WPD will install five of General Electric’s Durathon 100kWh energy storage systems as part of the Ofgem-funded ‘Project FALCON’ (Flexible Approaches to Low Carbon Optimised Networks)."



Some info on GE Durathon here:

http://geenergystorage.com/backup

"Durathon Battery technology maximizes system flexibility through its modular design and parallel architecture. Unlike traditional lead-acid battery systems that must be oversized from the outset to compensate for battery degradation or expansion needs, Durathon Batteries are readily scalable to match load requirements, which allows customers the opportunity to purchase only what’s required. As the demand for backup power increases, additional modules can be added easily without a complete system redesign or an interruption of service. Durathon Battery modules can be added or replaced as needed, as old and new modules work together without negatively impacting system performance."



Edit - Shame to do a new post, as this is on the same issue of storage:

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

"The development of efficient storage technology is seen as a critical next step in the roll out of renewable energy, particularly with feed-in tariffs facing cuts in many countries.

Recent studies have suggested the global energy storage market will grow rapidly in the coming years, driven by increasing amount of renewable generation coming online."

Mart.

Martyn1981

"New figures from local electricity retailer Synergy have shown that a second residential solar boom is taking place in the state of Western Australia (WA). With 2,500 customers each month installing photovoltaic arrays, the installation rate is many times higher than it was when now-defunct generous subsidies were in place."

http://www.pv-magazine.com/news/details/beitrag/post-subsidy-pv-boom-in-western-australia_100010811/#axzz2PtnMlWB9

"In terms of demographics, the latest photovoltaic installation figures confirm a previously observed trend (**) that installations are not concentrated around high-income areas. Figures show that outlying suburbs, with lower to middle-income families, are installing the highest number of arrays. These suburbs tend to be expanding with higher levels of new-home builds, indicating that solar arrays are becoming a standard part of home construction in WA."

(**)

http://www.pv-magazine.com/news/details/beitrag/pv-on-the-campaign-trail-down-under_100009085/#axzz2PrANsvRJ

"New residential solar market research in Australia was released yesterday, challenging the oft-repeated claim that photovoltaic support programs like FITs are "middle class welfare," and are taken up by middle or upper income households."

Mart.

tunnel

Actually Mart, On my journey to work in Sheffield there's a new housing estate being built from scratch at Catcliffe. As far as I can see every new build property on there has some sort of solar, Its mostly PV but there is some thermal too.
Makes me wonder about the planning of it though as they've put panels on near north facing 60 degree pitch roofs(what a waste), hope they got a good deal on the panels

Do you think it could become standard to include some sort of solar on new builds in the UK. Makes sense to us PV's but could put some people off, people like my brother who "doesn't like the look of them"