Solar ... In the news

Martyn1981

Cardew wrote: »

Preserved for posterity!

Who's watching your bridge while you are out?

PS I thought you'd take the bait!

Martyn1981

PV could be generating 7% of the world's leccy by 2030:

Solar PV could increase six-fold by 2030 – IRENA

Global solar PV capacity could increase six-fold by 2030 and account for as much as 7% of worldwide power generation, according to the International Renewable Energy Association (IRENA).

The combined effects of low-cost equipment, ease of installation and technology developments led IRENA to forecast that PV capacity could reach 1,760GW in 2030, which would require an average annual growth capacity of 15%.

Martyn1981

Government accused of trying to kill off UK solar industry before it can become cheapest form of electricity

The Government has been accused of trying to kill off Britain’s solar energy industry just as it is about to become one of the cheapest suppliers of electricity – with no need for any kind of state subsidy.

In fact, according to the Government’s own projections, only onshore windfarms could provide cheaper power within the next decade or so – and the Conservatives pledged in the party’s election manifesto to “halt their spread”.

Amid ongoing concern about rising energy prices, the industry expressed disbelief that the Treasury is about to impose a swingeing business tax on firms with rooftop solar schemes, which could increase the bill by up to eight times. Domestic installations could also be hit by a VAT increase from five to 20 per cent.

And large-scale solar has been excluded from Government auctions of contracts to supply electricity to the grid for the lowest guaranteed price, effectively a form of state subsidy.

Renewable energy companies, large and small, criticised the Government.

Dale Vince, founder of leading renewable energy firm Ecotricity, accused the Government of trying to kill off the solar industry for political reasons.

“There’s not a massive amount of it left, but there was a kind of renaissance of something happening,” he said.

“Everyone thinks within a year or two the fall in the cost of equipment will more than make up for what the Government has done.

“[But the new business tax] is like kicking the solar industry when it’s down … they don’t want to give it a chance to get up.

“If the focus is on the cheapest kinds of energy for the public, then it is a mistake to exclude the cheapest forms of energy available to us, which is wind and solar.

Mr Barrett’s criticism of the Government was that it had cut the feed-in tariff “a year too early and too much”.

“They should have staged it out, then they would have kept an industry going,” he said.

Martyn1981

"PV'ers of the world unite, you have nothing to lose but your import bills."

Aussie system to unite PV'ers who have batteries.

Australian consortium launches world-first digital energy marketplace for rooftop solar

Pilot program will allow homeowners to tap into a network of ‘virtual’ power stations made up of smart grids of rooftop solar and batteries

Australian homeowners with solar panels and batteries could soon trade their electricity in a digital marketplace developed by a consortium of electricity providers, energy tech startups, energy retailers and energy agencies.

The Distributed Energy Exchange – or deX – was launched on Thursday with the promise to “change the way energy is produced, traded and consumed at a local level in Australia”.

Phil Blythe, founder and CEO of GreenSync – an energy tech startup and partner in deX – says the project reflects a shift in energy production from a centralised model of large-scale power plants to a decentralised model of rooftop solar.

NigeWick

Martyn1981 wrote: »

Government accused of trying to kill off UK solar industry before it can become cheapest form of electricity

The tax goes on schools and hospitals too. Written to my MP complaining about it.

Martyn1981

No it's not April 1st ...... I think?

US start-up creates chameleon solar panels that can “display any image”

A US start-up called Sistine Solar has created customisable solar panels that, it says, can display any image.

Sistine’s panels can be customised to blend in with a building’s roof, by adopting the image of tiles, cedar, shingle, clay, sand or terracotta.

The panels can also display other images, such as grass, water, artwork, flags and custom designs. Sistine says firms can use the panels as advertising, and that panels in the countryside can be configured to blend in with the scenery.

Martyn1981

Grid PV and storage arrives in the UK with a small 500kWp and 500kWh solar farm:

Tesla Powerpack to enter FFR market with Open Energi technology

The 500kWh battery storage system, which is co-located with a 500kWp solar farm, will be able to automatically store and discharge energy in response to electricity supply and demand across the UK.

Open Energi’s Dynamic Demand technology optimises the system’s operating profile to maximise revenue opportunities throughout the day, applying designed management techniques, while limiting the degradation of the battery lifetime.

Martyn1981

Australia supporting household PV:

Victoria doubles solar FiT for homes and businesses

The Australian state of Victoria has more than doubled the feed-in-tariff (FiT) rates for small-scale renewables, in a move widely praised by PV advocates.

Independent regulator the Essential Services Commission (ESC) has set a FiT of AU$0.113/kWh (US$0.09) to be paid from 1 July this year, significantly up from the current level of AU$0.05/kWh. Homes and businesses that feed power from solar, wind, hydro or biomass systems of less than 100kW size are eligible.

All electricity retailers with more than 5,000 customers must offer at least the new minimum rate, but they may offer different packages and terms and conditions.

In most other states, rates for feeding electricity from rooftop solar back to the grid are set far lower at AU$0.06-0.05/kWh. Campaign Group Solar Citizens said this is just a quarter of the price that utilities charge for electricity from the grid.

This works out at roughly 9p/kWh in the UK v's the current 4p/kWh FiT rate for a similar sized (kWp) PV system.

Martyn1981

Stirling Council celebrates 1,500th solar install as battery storage pilot commences

Stirling Council completed the 1,500th installation of solar PV on its housing stock earlier this week and paved the way for battery storage to follow its lead.

The install was completed on a new build bungalow in Bannockburn earlier this week as part of a wider renewable investment scheme launched to alleviate fuel poverty and reduce the council’s carbon footprint.

To date more than £8 million has been spent on delivering the solar rollout, and the council has now committed to invest an additional £4.25 million over the next two years to install solar on an additional 1,200 homes.

And battery storage technologies could also feature in future installs should the results of an initial pilot scheme in 50 homes be deemed a success.

Martyn1981

Solar panels for world’s first combined hydro & floating PV project installed in Portugal

The project came about as the result of a pilot tender to add PV generation to the hydroelectric dam in Northern Portugal, in which Ciel & Terre was chosen as EPC provider. The solar panels are installed on a floating island, and will allow the plant to save hydropower to compete at peak demand times.

If I'm understanding this correctly, they are saying the PV generation allows them to reduce hydro generation. The hydro generation can then be used at peak (selected) times instead.

So this simple combination means the PV gen is being stored for later, without 'technically' requiring any pumping or additional storage, or any storage losses. I think?

Perhaps a few wind turbines round the edge would help too.