Solar ... In the news

Martyn1981

The 12th quarterly survey is now out. Once again support for renewables is strong, support for nuclear and fracking is low.

And, as always, solar tops the chart as most popular with 81% supporting it, whilst only 5% oppose it.

Public attitudes tracking survey: wave 12

Summary of key findings

Mart.

Martyn1981

More of an advert, and a little thin on details, but some info on battery storage.

Cable TV installer network could put ‘30MWh of electricity storage in UK homes a month’

The head of a company selected by the UK government to deploy residential energy storage under a pilot scheme believes that his network of installers could deploy 10,000 units, equivalent to 30MWh of storage per month.

Simon Daniel of Moixa Technology said that his company, which produces systems between 2kW and 5kW capacity, has contracted an installation company which previously put satellite and pay-per-view television systems in homes across the UK to fit Moixa’s Maslow energy storage system. Given the right market conditions, through both financial and non-financial support, it would be feasible for Moixa to scale up their installations significantly, Daniel claims.

Mart.

KevinG

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/6d366fc2-bb5b-11e4-b95c-00144feab7de.html?siteedition=uk#axzz3SfYWudYv

An eclipse of the sun next month could disrupt Europe’s power supplies because so many countries now use solar energy, electricity system operators have warned.

(You need to register to read the article)

Martyn1981

Solar energy emerging as cheapest power source in many parts of the world

By 2025, solar power in sunny regions of the world will be cheaper than power from coal or gas, according to a new Fraunhofer report for German think tank Agora Energiewende, which stresses that success depends on stable regulatory conditions.

Could solar be the cheapest power source for the UK within a decade?

There is no end in sight to recent reductions in the cost of solar power, which have already taken the technology to a position where it can undercut fossil fuels in many parts of the world.

That is the conclusion of a major new report from the Fraunhofer Institute commissioned by Agora Energiewende, a German think tank that specialises in researching the country's high profile transition towards low carbon energy sources.

The report details how "solar photovoltaics is already today a low-cost renewable energy technology" and predicts solar power will "soon be the cheapest form of electricity in many regions of the world".

Mart.

KevinG

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/news/releases/archive/2015/sunniest-winter-on-record

I'm well down on 2011/12 for generation.

Martyn1981

This news relates to Australia, but given that the UK buys loads of Chinese panels too, it may be relevant to us ..... maybe?

In case anyone missed this, there was some recent news about the market being inundated with 'cheap and dodgy' panels in Australia:

Australian government orders solar install quality investigation

But the follow up article is interesting:

Australian audits uncover no unsafe solar panels

Australia’s Clean Energy Regulator has uncovered no unsafe modules in more than 13,000 tests, despite media reports that the market was inundated with “cheap and dodgy” panels.

A series of stories by Fairfax Media, publisher of the Sydney Morning Herald, have covered alleged safety and performance issues and a subsequent request by environment minister Greg Hunt for the industry to investigate.

According to the paper one in four people with solar installations had experienced problems while headline referred to “cheap and dodgy panels”, “shoddy solar systems” and “wasted subsidies”. No evidence of safety problems was presented but an “explosion of cheap, mainly Chinese-produced solar panels” was alluded to.

But at a parliamentary committee meeting this week, Mark Williamson, acting executive general manager at the Clean Energy Regulator, said that in 13,000 tests, not one safety issue with a panel had been uncovered.

Mart.

Martyn1981

A fun way to sum up some interesting news, or perhaps to 'hook' people with a 'combo' of hits:

pv magazine weekly news digest

The week in solar has been a real humdinger, with the fleet-footed industry gearing up to land a telling blow on its energy rivals – many of which have already dropped their guard and are ready to throw in the towel.

Mart.

Martyn1981

I was surprised at this article, both the overall support for solar, and the extremely low support for nuclear in the younger age groups:

Poll: 74% of Americans favour continuation of tax incentives to spur PV growth

The report, conducted by national polling firm Zogby Analytics, revealed that a wide swath of Americans support the continuation of these tax incentives, including 82% of Democrats, 67% of Republicans and 72% of Independents.

As a whole, 87% of Americans noted that renewable energy is integral to the country’s future, with solar (50%) taking the top spot in terms of which energy source would be the most important for the nation going forward. Other sources of energy in the poll included wind (42%), natural gas (33%), energy efficiency (25%), nuclear power (14%) and coal (8%).

Solar was the most popular choice amongst many demographics, including Democrats, Republicans, Independents, conservatives, liberals, city and rural dwellers, the elderly and younger generations.

Support for both natural gas and nuclear power has also dropped amongst younger generations. While 40% of Americans over the age of 70 support natural gas, just 27% of Americans between the ages of 18-24 support the same energy source. In terms of nuclear power , just 8% of Americans aged 25-34 support it, while only 1% of Americans aged 18-24 are in favor of it.

Mart.

ed110220

That's very encouraging news Mart! I think it shows that the agitation against solar and renewable energy in general by certain sections of the press and politicians is largely 'astroturf' and what actually exists is largely a older demographic.

ed110220

Interesting article which says the National Grid has predicted peak demand this summer will be 900 MW lower than last year because of solar PV: http://www.solarpowerportal.co.uk/news/solar_contributes_to_lowest_ever_peak_national_grid_demand_6193

Ed