Solar ... In the news

Martyn1981

Irony at its worse! Still, at least China can expect a double whammy later on, as air pollution reduces - PV gen will increase.

Severe Chinese Air Pollution Cuts Solar Energy Potential As Much As 35%

China is currently on track to install close to 50 GW worth of solar energy in 2017, nearly half of total global demand, but new research from Princeton University has concluded that China’s severe air pollution is “significantly reducing” the country’s solar energy output because the pollution is blocking light from the sun reaching solar installations.

Martyn1981

Three little stories, but together I thought them worth posting, progress is progress, and innovation is innovation.

Solarport brings new ‘ground-anchored’ mounting system to market

Solarport Systems has released a new solar mounting system to the market which it says enables solar to be installed on slopes steeper than 30 degrees.

The system has been designed and manufactured entirely in the UK and Solarport Systems’ Dave Tattershall labelled it a “another design and engineering success story” for UK solar.

Queensland to offer no-interest loans for solar systems

As part of the $2 billion affordable energy plan, the Queensland Government has announced it will invest $40 million in schemes to improve access to both solar energy and storage systems.

Kaua’i to get its biggest solar and storage system to date

The island which has been called a ‘postcard from the future’ for its high levels of solar and energy storage is getting ready for 28 MW more solar and 20 MW of batteries [edit -100MWh].

When other solar projects either under construction or being planned are completed, including customer-site rooftop PV, solar could meet more than 40% of Kauai’s electric demand – well more than solar’s capacity factor even in desert climates. This would put Kaua’i’s municipal utility on a solid path for renewables to exceed 70% of its power by 2025, well ahead of its 2030 goal.

Martyn1981

New high for public support of renewables as fracking plumbs fresh depths

Earlier this year public support for renewables set new records. In May 79% of those surveyed within the public attitudes tracker said they generally supported renewables with just 1% strongly opposed.

But this has now climbed once again. The government’s newest tracker, published earlier today, revealed that now 82% of those surveyed supported renewables, putting other generation technologies in the shade.

And solar was once again the most popular technology in the UK. Around 85% of those surveyed said they were in favour of solar PV, more than any other renewable technology including offshore wind, wave and tidal (79%) and onshore wind (74%).

“We now need the government to see what the public have seen and take the brake off this sector. Cheap forms of power such as onshore wind, solar, and biomass remain blocked to market whilst nuclear, diesel, and gas are still receiving government support,” he said.

Energy and Climate Change Public Attitudes Tracker: Wave 23

Martyn1981

News update on the small (trial) solar village in Wales, and the plans to build more.

Two new solar villages ‘just the beginning’ for Western Solar

Western Solar’s low energy Ty Solar Home design is being utilised for two news social housing villages in North Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire in Wales.

Glen Peters, CEO at Western Solar, told Solar Power Portal that it was “just the beginning”, with the firm setting its sights on developing 1,000 properties over the next five years.

Martyn1981

Green houses see red!

Solar greenhouses generate electricity and grow healthy crops

The first crops of tomatoes and cucumbers grown inside electricity-generating solar greenhouses were as healthy as those raised in conventional greenhouses, signaling that "smart" greenhouses hold great promise for dual-use farming and renewable electricity production.

Reducing the energy consumed by greenhouses has become a priority as the global use of greenhouses for food production has increased six-fold over the past 20 years to more than 9 million acres today - roughly twice the size of New Jersey, according to Loik. "It's big and getting bigger," he said. "Canada relies heavily on greenhouses for vegetable production, and their use is growing in China, too." Plastic greenhouses are becoming popular for small-scale commercial farming, as well as for household food production, he added.

Greenhouses use electricity to control temperature and power fans, lights, and other monitoring systems. "This technology has the potential to take greenhouses offline," said Loik, who specializes in climate change, plant physiology, water resources, and sustainable technologies. Cost per panel of WSPV technology is 65 cents per watt - about 40 percent less than the per-watt cost of traditional silicon-based photovoltaic cells.

"If greenhouses generate electricity on site, that reduces the need for an outside source, which helps lower greenhouse gas emissions even more," said Loik. "We're moving toward self-sustaining greenhouses."

michaels

Martyn1981 wrote: »

Green houses see red!

Solar greenhouses generate electricity and grow healthy crops

I love the bit about 'reducing greenhouse gas emissions' in a story about greenhouses

silverwhistle

Even 5+ years ago I remember seeing extensive panels on greenhouses on the Po plain to the west of Turin; Cavalermaggiore rings a bell but that might have been the name of the football team whose ground we were trying to find!

Martyn1981

South Australia has really been bitten by the renewables + storage bug, there's no stopping them now:

South Australia Eyes Big Wave of New Solar, Storage

The projects endorsed by the ZEN Energy board in the Upper Spencer Gulf region about 300km north of Adelaide include:

• 200 MW of solar PV, comprising 80 MW in the Whyalla Council industrial area, expanded by 120 MW on adjacent land owned by Liberty OneSteel;
• 100-MW/100-MWh battery at Port Augusta;
• 100MW of demand response at the Whyalla Steelworks and other South Australian sites;
• 120-MW/600-MWh pumped hydro storage facility at a disused iron ore mine pit in the Middleback Ranges.

ZEN Energy plans to install an additional 480 MW of solar capacity to support the expansion of industrial capacity in Whyalla and industrial loads elsewhere in South Australia.

Martyn1981

Early days, but in a few years we could possibly see a massive solar farm in Kent, a monster of 350MW.

It will also include batteries and provide balancing services, so would aim to be subsidy free.

Hive Energy, Wirsol announce plans for huge, ‘pioneering’ 350MW solar farm in Kent

Developers propose 350 MW PV+storage project in UK

Martyn1981

A news item that is very significant when you consider some of the facts. I've tried to separate one or two major points per quote:

Energy Watch Group: 100% renewable electricity is both feasible and cost effective

A joint study by Finland’s Lappeenranta University of Technology and Energy Watch Group presented on the sidelines of the COP23 talks in Bonn demonstrates that a global transition to 100% renewable electricity could be achieved by 2050, and would be more cost effective than the current electricity system.

The study’s key overall finding is that a global shift to 100% renewable electricity is feasible with current technology, and would be more cost effective than the current system led by fossil fuels and nuclear generation.

The study found that in a projected scenario for energy demand in 2050, 100% could be met by current renewable technologies, at a global average LCOE of €52/MWh, compared with 2015’s average LCOE of €70.

In EWG’s 2050 scenario, solar PV covers 69% of electricity demand, wind 18%, hydro 8% and bioenergy 2%. The study predicts that wind will briefly overtake solar in the 2020s, before further price drops put solar back in the lead.

Storage is outlined as the key supporting technology for solar, with around 31% of total demand covered by storage technologies. 95% of this is projected to come from short term storage provided by batteries, with power to gas conversion providing seasonal storage.

“There is no reason to invest one more dollar in fossil or nuclear power production,” exclaims EWG President Hans Josef. “All plans for a further expansion of coal, nuclear, gas and oil have to be ceased. More investments need to be channeled in renewable energies and the necessary infrastructure for storage and grids. Everything else will lead to unnecessary costs and increasing global warming.”

The full study is huge, but the key findings and executive summary are worth a read. See link at bottom of article.