Here comes the sun: Huntsville changing rules to encourage solar panels

The world's oldest energy source could become the newest way for Huntsville residents to save on their utility bills.

A proposal working its way through City Hall would permit the use of solar panels in all residential and business zones. They could be mounted on the ground, on poles or on rooftops.

However, homeowners would not be able to stick solar panels in their front yard. Also, the panels could reach only as tall as the maximum allowable building height in each zoning district. And any glare has to be directed away from the neighbors.

"This is very much in line with what other cities have," urban planner Lisa Leddo said Thursday.

But Morton Archibald, president of the Alabama Solar Association, worries the proposed rules are too restrictive.

"It's better than nothing," Archibald said Friday. "But it's a long way from a good ordinance."

Archibald said the most glaring weak spot is that the city is going to allow solar energy systems only strong enough to power the attached home or business. People would have the option of selling a portion of their solar-generated electricity to Huntsville Utilities for use in TVA's Green Power Switch program.

The problem with capping the size of home and business systems, said Archibald, is that people won't be able to generate excess power for use elsewhere.

Archibald's own yard in south Huntsville is too shady for a solar system, he said, "but I'd love it if one of my neighbors had a system that could help generate the electricity I need for my home."

He said the city should follow the Tennessee Valley Authority's lead and allow solar systems up to 50 kilowatts. That's enough to run about 10 energy-efficient homes.

"To me, this ordinance is solar-tolerant, but it's not solar-friendly," said Archibald.

Four other solar advocates who spoke at Thursday's City Council meeting agreed with Archibald that the proposal does not go far enough.

"We're a technology city," said Douglas Elgin. "We should be leading the way in all technology."

The solar panel ordinance grew out of Mayor Tommy Battle's Green 13 task force, which recommended steps the city could take to become more environmentally friendly.

Battle called the proposal "a good starting ordinance" that will give more people the option of using solar panels. The handful of systems around the city now required special variances.

Battle said limiting the height and placement of solar panels allows people to have solar systems while also respecting the property rights of others.

"We support solar, we want to see solar throughout this community," the mayor said Friday. "But it's got to be done in a responsible manner."

City Councilman John Olshefski, an outspoken advocate of solar power, said he agrees solar panels should not be allowed in front yards for aesthetic reasons. But he said he is willing to sponsor sensible changes to make the ordinance better.

The council will hold a second public hearing on the issue at its Aug. 23 meeting.

"Is it perfect? No," Olshefski said Friday. "But up until now, if you wanted solar you had to go through the whole variance process."

"I think this is a step in the right direction."

The proposed ordinance also allows solar energy production facilities of up to 5 acres in commercial and industrial districts. Redstone Energy Group recently opened the area's first solar power energy demonstration center near the corner of the Parkway and Airport Road.

The company, led by retired Army Lt. Gen. James Pillsbury, has said the project will generate enough electricity to power 487 homes and ultimately cut more than 163,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions from the environment.

Archibald said he expects a rush on solar systems once the city ordinance passes. He said his solar installation company is getting more calls each week than it used to get in a year.

Going solar isn't cheap. Archibald said a 5-kilowatt system capable of powering a typical 1,800-square-foot house costs about $20,000.

However, federal tax credits and grants can cut that amount almost in half, he said.

Source:http://blog.al.com/breaking/2012/07/here_comes_the_sun_huntsville.html

Solar powered farm

As you look over the field of corn and other crops on Our Farm in the town of Cazenovia, and than look up at the roof on the barn, you realize that it's solar power at work. This 45 panel solar system on the roof of the barn has been working smoothly for nearly a year. Owner Jimmy Golub said mechanical problems are unlikely since there are so few moving parts.

"There's not much to it, unlike wind, where you have bearings and moving parts. Once it's installed, it pretty much takes care of itself," said Golub.

The solar panels are wired to an inverter inside the barn. The inverter converts the DC power to AC power, and then it goes into the net metering system for distribution. The big question is, is it enough to power their household?

"Over the course of a year, it is yes. We also installed a solar hot-water system since last fall, in the spring, and that really contributes quite a bit. Hot water can use up to thirty percent of your electrical bill if you have an electric hot water heater, so the two things together are really doing the job for us," Golub explained.

The solar-powered system performed well in September and October but efficiency decreased in the winter, then surged in the spring.

"Than came April and the days lengthened, we got a lot more sun. We produced a lot more power," said Golub.

They are encouraging others to install similar systems.

Golub said, "Absolutely, absolutely in farming or even a homeowner. Really it can work for anybody. The grants and incentives are really tremendous, and it works.

Source:http://centralny.ynn.com/content/features/593330/going-green--solar-powered-farm/

bSolar launches innovative double-sided solar panels

Solar cells and panels have been around for decades, but researchers are still trying to develop affordable double-sided panels – able to capture both direct and reflected sunlight.

bSolar, an Israel-based startup, says it has developed bifacial solar panels that can boost energy yield by up to 50 percent.

bSolar believes it has overcome the technical challenges that stand in the way of producing them cheaply and claims to offer a high-power, yet still affordable, alternative to traditional panels. The company’s panels were launched in April. Moshe Fink, CFO of bSolar, tells NoCamels that the company is currently the only one offering inexpensive bifacial panels.

According to Fink, the USSR space program first developed this technology for use on satellites. Until now these Photovoltaic (PV) cells were too expensive to produce for any commercial use. The scientists who founded bSolar, with previous experience in the solar panel industry, re-developed the production method and final product to minimize costs.

According to the company, bSolar’s cells can generate significantly more power per area compared to monofacial standard panels: ten to 30 percent higher energy yields (kWh) in standard applications like flat rooftops, and up to 50 percent higher energy yields (kWh) in vertical installations such as facades.

Yossi Koffman, co-founder and CEO, said that bSolar engineered special silicon wafers, the principle components of solar panels, that have the ability to capture reflected light on both their sides. This means that the backside of the solar cells can also absorb light. After sunlight is absorbed, electrical conductors, called electrodes, ferry the electricity out of the cell.

The key to double-sided absorption in this case is boron. This material is the ingredient that allows the silicon wafers to capture reflected light, and it is used to prevent the deterioration of electrodes when sunlight is converted to electricity. Traditionally, aluminum is used in wafers to absorb light, but it has a tendency to stress and break thinner silicon wafers.

This increases cost because thinner wafers are cheaper. Boron on the other hand does not cause this problem. Unfortunately boron is hard to source and hard to use in production, which can explain the fact that bifacial cells are not widely available in the industry.

Like other PV solar cells, bSolar’s panels can be placed almost anywhere – but not all locations will offer the same return. “If you have a roof painted white, preferably an industrial roof of a certain size, this is the ideal location,” Fink explains. “You can get 15 percent in reflected energy in a normal field, as opposed to 25 up to 30 percent on a flat rooftop.”

A sun-powered future

bSolar only manufactures the cells and partners with local companies that will market, sell and distribute its product. Panels are sold largely for industrial uses, but bSolar wants to expand into the private sector as well.

To date, all of the company’s panels are produced in Heilbronn, Germany, at a converted solar cell production plant. It will be at full capacity by the end of 2012 and Fink says the major advantage of producing there, rather than more cost-efficient countries like China, is “the know-how the people have there.”

bSolar plans to significantly expand its production over the course of 2012 and 2013 worldwide. “We are aiming for the entire world and we’re very limited in resources to decide where to invest the time. You have to find the right partners everywhere,” adds Fink. “So that’s the right strategy: to find the right partners – local partners – everywhere in the world.”

Shahar energy, an Israel-based company that offers sales and installation of photovoltaic systems, has partnered with bSolar to market their panels in Israel. bSolar’s other big market is Japan, where the company has won a 730 kWp project from Tokyo Solar Building Materials Corp (TSBM).

There are a number of other solar companies that are planning to incorporate bSolar’s bifacial cells, including Aleo Solar, asola Solarpower and Solar-Fabrik.

A growing number of believers?

Indirectly, bSolar competes with companies that produce high-efficiency solar cells. Fink declined to comment on the price of the bifacial cells, but said that it “is based on the amounts placed, the efficiency, the type of customer, the manufacturer…it’s not necessarily the market price of the solar cells.”

Currently, the main shareholder of the company is the Israeli venture capital fund Genesis Partners. They have contributed $3 million out of the $10 million bSolar has already raised.

“The typical investor,” says Fink, “has to be a risk taker interested in new technologies with an understanding in the solar market. We found that it’s very difficult for outsiders to see the differentiation of the product we offer. For some investors, the solar industry is just one thing and it’s too dangerous and too risky at the moment.”

The venture-backed bSolar was founded in 2007 and now employs 50 people in Israel and Germany. The company showcased its new solar cells at a trade show in Germany last month, and more recently at CleanTech 2012, the Tel-Aviv based green technology conference.

Source:http://www.jpost.com/Sci-Tech/Article.aspx?id=279185

How Secure Are Green Jobs?

It's been an article of faith among advocates of "green jobs" from expanding renewable energy deployment that wind and solar installation jobs are secure because they can't be sent offshore, even as the manufacturing of wind turbines and solar equipment increasingly shifts to Asia. A story in MIT's Technology Review casts doubts on that assumption, for reasons that have much to do with recent reductions in the cost of solar photovoltaic (PV) cells, modules and panels. Green jobs, which in any case shouldn't be viewed as the main selling point of renewable energy, turn out to be much like other jobs in facing competition from automation, as well as from globalization.

Why would it suddenly make sense to consider installing utility-scale solar panels using the robots highlighted in the article? PV module costs have declined dramatically in the last two years. As I've noted in other postings, this trend reflects the expected experience curve effects--such goods become cheaper as you produce more of them--but also the fierce competition resulting from enormous over-building of global PV manufacturing capacity as countries competed with each other to offer generous subsidies for this industry. One consequence of these PV hardware price declines is to increase the share of "non-module" costs in the total installed cost of solar panels. Because the power produced by PV is still more expensive than conventional energy in most markets, that tends to shift the focus of innovation toward ways to reduce the costs of the mounting hardware, inverters, and labor used to put these arrays in place.

The article makes it clear that only certain parts of the solar installation trade are currently threatened by robotic installation. Robots apparently aren't suited to rooftop and small ground installations, yet. However, with politicians busily blurring the distinctions between outsourcing and offshoring, while neglecting the ongoing transformation of work by automation, computing and telecommunications, it's worth recalling that energy remains a capital-intensive commodity business. Keeping costs down is crucial for both energy providers and their customers, and thus for the entire economy they energize. When labor is involved in producing energy, its productivity must be very high, or it naturally becomes a target of innovation and process reengineering. That needn't mean low wages, but it does imply fewer workers working smarter, with more automation.

The energy industry offers excellent opportunities in many sectors, especially those that are growing rapidly because of new technology or the removal of artificial constraints. Yet we shouldn't fool ourselves that these jobs are any more protected or permanent than any others, especially in segments that aren't yet cost-competitive.

Source:http://theenergycollective.com/node/97451

Glass, the solar energy industry and the latest trends

Glass already plays a role in solar power, as it is the material most often used to create a protective shell for photovoltaic and solar hot water panels. However, research from universities in California and Massachusetts, among other locations, may be changing how glass gets used in the solar PV process.

Turning windows into solar panels
Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles have developed a new transparent solar cell that would work in place of household windows.

The panels use two transparent conductors instead of darker colored metals, meaning they would work as a replacement for the glass windows typically found in buildings. Another key feature is that these windowpane replacements capture infrared radiation as opposed to visible light, according to a release.

The panels, known as polymer solar cells, let in about 70 percent of available light. This makes them look in appearance like tinted windows, according to Time Magazine.

"Our new PSCs are made from plastic-like materials and are lightweight and flexible," Yang Yang, the study's leader and a UCLA professor of materials science and engineering, said. "More importantly, they can be produced in high volume at low cost."

The main issue with this glass window replacement is that it is relatively inefficient at turning sunlight into electricity, converting about 4 percent of what passes through into power, according to Time.

The UCLA research team are not the first ones to think of such a concept, as the 3M company last October announced a product that turned glass into solar panels. The 3M idea used adhesive strips that went on a window to capture sunlight for energy. The adhesive strips are only about 20 percent as efficient as traditional photovoltaic arrays at capturing sunlight. Plus, the strips block 80 percent of visible light and 90 percent of all infrared waves, according to IDG News.

“The 3M solar cell has a light-green color, whereas ours is nearly fully transparent,” Yang said to Time.

Glass magnifies the sun's rays
Beyond windows, glass has also found itself involved with solar power as a means of magnifying the sun's rays. So-called mirror augmented photovoltaic systems seek to use glass mirrors to concentrate more solar power onto a photovoltaic cell.

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have found a way to cheaply concentrate available light using glass. Scientists there developed a system that uses a number of differently colored glass panels that go on top of an existing installation. The panels absorb some of the visible light, leaving just infrared radiation to go through onto the PV cell, according to Wired.

Since the glass panels also concentrate light at their edges, they can increase the efficiency of an existing PV installation "by a factor of over 40," Marc Baldo, the study's leader and an MIT associate professor of electrical engineering, said.

Additionally, mirror-based installations can also work as a solar water heating system. In this type of installation, mirrors concentrate available sunlight onto a nearby water source. This heats up the water, which then powers a turbine. According to the Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory, these types of solar water heating installations using mirrors to concentrate sunlight can generate anywhere from 25 kilowatts to 80 megawatts of power.

Thermata, a Pasadena, California-based startup company, takes the idea even further by using mirrors that track the sun through the sky thanks to cameras. This way, the mirror is always in the perfect position to reflect the most amount of sunlight, according to CNET.

Source:http://www.getsolar.com/News/Solar-Energy-Facts/General/Glass-the-solar-energy-industry-and-the-latest-trends-800827544

Westerly to consider solar energy park

Westerly zoning officials are taking up a proposal from a company that wants to build a solar energy park as part of the town's green energy initiative.

The Weserly Sun reports a hearing on the proposal from Middletown-based rTerra has been scheduled for Aug. 1.

The company, already designated as the town's solar energy partner, wants to build a 1 megawatt solar array with 3,500 photovoltaic panels on White Rock Road, next to the town's Water Department building.

The company would lease the property to rTerra, which would sell the electricity produced to National Grid.

The company would initially pay Westerly $15,000 a year, an amount that would increase after 15 years. The town also would have the right to purchase energy produced at the plant.

Source:http://www.wpri.com/dpp/news/local_news/south_county/westerly-to-consider-solar-energy-park

China solar makers decry trade spat, urge dialogue

Chinese solar panel makers are urging Beijing to seek talks with the European Union over a dispute they say threatens to escalate into a trade war.

Four big solar panel manufacturers issued a joint statement Thursday appealing for both sides to resolve the disagreement over allegations they receive illegal subsidies and dump their products in the European market.

"The Chinese government should immediately seek high-level dialogue with the EU to find a way to improve the situation," said the statement by Yingli Green Energy Holdings Co., Suntech Power Holdings Co., Trina Solar Ltd. and Canadian Solar Inc.

It also urged Beijing to take any measures needed to protect the "legitimate rights and interests" of the Chinese industry.

Trade conflicts are gaining momentum as the dismal economic climate has countries sparring over jobs and business.

Germany's SolarWorld AG and other European solar panel makers filed a complaint this week seeking import tariffs on Chinese-made products.

China also faces trade sanctions from the U.S., which has imposed tariffs on Chinese made solar panels. China has fought back by investigating U.S. support for its solar industry.

The Chinese companies urged the EU to seriously reconsider its anti-dumping investigation, saying the spat could escalate into a trade war over photovoltaic products as solar panels are also known.

The group stoutly denied China was providing any illegal subsidies to its own manufacturers, but noted that the industry is in the midst of a transition as the cost of panels drops.

"This is an extremely serious problem," Zhang Qian, head of the Beijing office for Canadian Solar, one of the country's biggest solar makers, said in a phone interview. "If the anti-dumping complaint goes through it will be impossible for Chinese companies to export to Europe anymore. That would be a disaster for the Chinese solar industry."

Nearly 60 percent of China's $35.8 billion in exports of solar products went to Europe last year. Many of some 300,000 solar industry-related jobs in Europe are linked to Chinese manufacturers, the statement said.

Apart from the potential political and economic ramifications of a prolonged trade standoff, disputes could hinder progress toward global energy saving, it said.

"The EU should be very clear that any kind of limit on market liberalization may destroy the balanced development of the photovoltaic industry," the companies said.

In May, SolarWorld's U.S. subsidiary persuaded the U.S. Commerce Department to levy tariffs against Suntech, Yingli and other Chinese manufacturers, alleging they illegally sold their products below cost.

Source:http://www.telegram.com/article/20120726/APF/307269934/1002/business

Green Energy Is Growing Fast In Maryland

How would you like to turn the tables and let the utility to pay YOU for electricity?

Some utility customers are doing just that with solar, wind, and geothermal energy in Maryland.

John Sasser of Baltimore County can watch his electric meter spin backwards on sunny days. That means that as the electrons are going into the BGE system, money is basically flowing back into his pocket.

Which is nice, since, he laid out about $30,000 dollars for the panels and this system that was funded by nearly half through varied state and local green energy grants and a 30% federal tax credit.

"When do I get $30,000 back?" Sasser said. "I don't know, I think it's at least a 10 percent investment if its a seven year payback. Right now I could put my money in the stock market instead of solar panels and lose 40 percent. I think it's a safe investment."

Sasser added, "It's good for the environment, and I Iike watching that meter go backwards."

Sasser's system helped him through the recent week-long outages from the derecho storm. He said that he has a battery system that provided electricity for lights and a few ceiling fans. "It won't run the air conditioner," he said.

Sasser also has a geothermal unit, or ground water heat pump, on his property.

It doesn't replace the oil burner completely, but, his house was warmed with the energy from the 52 degree water enough for all but two of the coldest days last winter, he said.

Twin Ridge Apartments off of Old Pimlico Road added solar panels last November at the rental office.

Source:http://www.wbal.com/article/92107/21/template-story/Green-Energy-Is-Growing-Fast-In-Maryland

Forget the blame and focus on the promise of green energy

As news broke last week that the Amonix solar panel manufacturing plant in North Las Vegas would close, political campaigns jumped into action.

U.S. Sen. Dean Heller's campaign spokeswoman immediately fired a broadside at the campaign of Rep. Shelley Berkley, blaming her vote for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for wasted tax dollars and a lack of jobs in Nevada.

"Congresswoman Berkley, when you voted for the trillion-dollar stimulus, you promised it would create 34,000 jobs in Nevada. Nevada lost jobs," spokeswoman Chandler Smith wrote. "Congresswoman Berkley, you pushed $6 million in funding to a company that has created zero long-term jobs for Nevada. Congresswoman, it's time. It's time for you to admit the stimulus - and your policies - aren't working."

Well, maybe not quite time yet.

As it turns out, Amonix never saw a dime of that $6 million in tax credits, because the company never realized any taxable income.

But taxpayers did lose out in an even bigger way: Amonix received a total of $15.6 million from the Department of Energy in grants under the Solar America Initiative. But those grants were approved back in 2007, when the Energy Department was run by the administration of President George W. Bush. The former Republican president's men gave out $8.2 million in grants to Amonix, with an addition $7.4 million handed out by the department after President Barack Obama took over.

So if anybody is angry at $6 million in tax credits that were never used, they ought to be twice as mad at $15.6 million in grant funds that were. But anybody so irked should take it up with the Republicans.

Berkley's campaign responded with an outrage-laden release of its own, accusing Heller of "cheering" the loss of jobs at the plant. (Most jobs were eliminated in May, when the plant was idled.) And Berkley made sure to note that no less a Republican than Gov. Brian Sandoval supported the opening of the Amonix plant as a bright point on the state's rough-hewn road to economic development.

What Berkley didn't say, but could have, was this: Stuff happens. (Feel free to play with the wording.)

If we've made the policy decision in this country that renewable energy is desirable (and we have) and further that there's a role for the government to play in the research and development of that energy (and we have), then we also have to be prepared to deal with the consequences. Sometimes, those consequences will be the failure of a business and the loss of tax dollars.

What that should do is make us more dedicated to ferreting out the riskier prospects and avoiding those investments. What that should not do is send us into a paroxysm of criticism, finger-pointing and political blame.

Ask Rhone Resch, president and CEO of the Solar Industries Association in Washington, D.C. Resch told the Review-Journal's Hubble Smith last week that the Amonix failure was not a reason to give up on subsidies for clean energy.

"America can't afford to cede yet another high-tech industry and its jobs to China, Europe or elsewhere while we waste time with political arm-wrestling," Resch said.

Amen to that.

There are some who will say there is no market for green energy. But what that really means is there is no market - yet. Someday, there will be. And when we look back and see how it happened, the government will have played a prominent role in the success. There will be failures along the way, of course, just as there were failures along the way to building the Internet.

Today, we pretty much take it for granted.

Source:http://www.lvrj.com/opinion/forget-the-blame-and-focus-on-the-promise-of-green-energy-163517086.html

Green jobs promise proved to be costly

We'll invest $15 billion a year over the next decade in renewable energy, creating 5 million new green jobs that pay well, can't be outsourced, and help end our dependence on foreign oil," candidate Barack Obama pledged on Nov. 1, 2008.

Three years and eight months later, as unemployment has exceeded 8 percent for 41 straight months, Obama seems incapable of keeping this promise.

Consider three key programs of the U.S. Department of Energy.

DOE's website boasts that its "clean energy" initiatives loaned $34.7 billion and launched "nearly 60,000" jobs. This totals a staggering $578,333 per position.

According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, private employers pay average workers $62,757 in wages and benefits.

So, Obama is "creating jobs" at 922 percent of the private sector's cost.

Obama touts green-energy "investments," even though this is not Obama's money to invest.

Rather than choose winners and losers, which would be bad enough, Team Obama picks losers. It subsidized at least 10 "clean" companies that went kaput.

Abound Solar of Loveland, Colo., consumed $70 million of its $400 million Energy Department loan guarantee.

The company blamed Chinese subsidy payments and European subsidy cuts for falling prices in its thin-film-panel sector. On July 2, Abound Solar filed for Chapter 7 liquidation and prepared to lock shop and fire its 125 employees.

Solar Trust envisioned the earth's largest solar-power plant. DOE enthusiastically offered it a $2.1 billion loan guarantee in April 2011, provided that it raised private capital.

Solar Trust missed DOE's benchmarks, however, and announced Chapter 11 bankruptcy last April 2.

Source:http://www.newschief.com/article/20120723/NEWS/207235015

Green power failure

The Amonix solar manufacturing plant in North Las Vegas went belly-up last week, closing its 214,000-square-foot facility just a year after it opened and becoming the latest tax-subsidized alternative energy operation to go bust.

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., and Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval were among those who expressed high hopes that the Amonix plant would help Nevada develop a vibrant clean energy economy. But the business never would have opened if not for political muscle, public money and renewable portfolio mandates on utilities.

It's clearer than ever that no amount of government coercion will make this industry pencil out anytime soon.

Amonix received a $15.6 million grant from the Bush-era U.S. Department of Energy in 2007 for research and development. Last year, California-based Solyndra filed for bankruptcy after receiving $535 million in federal loan guarantees from the Obama administration. Colorado-based Abound Solar, which received $70 million in loan guarantees, filed for bankruptcy in June. Closer to home, Nevada Geothermal Power, which has received nearly $100 million in federal loan guarantees, has operated at a loss for years.

Taxpayers have been hit with another loss. These aren't job-creating investments. They're debt-growing giveaways. And while the Obama administration is married to its empty promises of millions of green jobs, plenty of Republicans have backed these failed enterprises, too.

If the American economy is to recover and prosper, it needs plentiful, inexpensive energy. Solar energy shows promise, yet it still costs three times as much as power produced by natural gas or coal. Those who wish to work at making solar power more efficient and affordable should be welcomed here. But they should perform that work with private capital. And if they can't find private capital, that tells you all you need to know.

Politicians of both parties have proved again why governments that run electrical utilities as political honey jars keep collapsing around the world. Private utilities should be left free to maximize return for their investors while offering consumers the cheapest possible power with the cheapest energy that can be produced within reasonable environmental standards - regardless of which happen to release harmless carbon dioxide. Tax subsidies for green energy don't cut it.

Source:http://www.lvrj.com/opinion/green-power-failure-163325956.html

Train station solar panel row

The new train station in Vienna will have a 1,200 square meter solar roof to collect electricity.

The high tech roof was set to be part of the "energy efficient art work" that the finished station will eventually be, according to Austrian railway (ÖBB) boss Christian Kern.

The electricity provided is enough to provide the needs of 30 medium sized family homes, but will end up providing energy for the lighting of the train station.

The ÖBB did not get a grant for the project as the energy generated will not end up in the national grid but will be used at site.

But the news of the green development was soured after the ÖBB boss refused to rule out that the solar panels would be bought in China instead of in Austria.

It was also revealed that the ÖBB had saved on the project after a report they commissioned had originally said that 3,200 square meters could have been covered - but costing a million Euros.

Kern however defended the smaller project saying: "We don't want the entire building covered with solar cells."

The station will also use geothermal energy to provide a quarter of the heating costs.

Source:http://austriantimes.at/news/Business/2012-07-22/43058/Train_station_solar_panel_row

Solar farm decision under fire

THE decision to grant permission for nearly 28,000 solar panels on over 40 acres of land at Marley Thatch Farm, near South Brent, was made through delegated planning powers.
The company in charge of the solar panels is Glasgow-based The Green Company Renewables.
TGC has drawn up the plans and says it hopes the site will be producing electricity by the end of the year.
The completed solar farm should provide enough electricity to power about 2,500 homes.
But some local people have questioned the decision to grant the application through delegated powers.
Richard Howell, said: ‘Recently Teignbridge Council met to consider a similar application on a site less than 30 miles to the north to build a solar farm on 40 acres of farmland next to the A30 at Goldcross Hill, just to the west of Tedburn St Mary, again overlooked from Dartmoor National Park.
‘While acknowledging there would be some negative impacts from the proposed development, council officers again felt these would be sufficiently localised that the benefits of the scheme would be overriding and recommended permission be granted.
‘Significantly, the officers concluded the impacts on the wider landscape would be quite limited.
‘However, like both North Huish and Diptford parish councils in the case of Marley Thatch Farm, the Tedburn St Mary Parish Council disagreed.
‘Consequently the application was referred to the democratically elected members of the planning committee for consideration.
‘By 15 votes to five, councillors refused permission, giving as their reason the adverse impact on an area of great landscape value.
‘An impact many might consider no less severe than that which is about to be inflicted on the northern skyline of the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natu-ral Beauty at Marley Thatch Farm.’
A spokesman for South Hams Council, said: ‘Delegated powers are used by councils all over England to decide planning applications, including those where there are some objections.
‘In this case, the decision was made by officers in consultation with the ward member and the vice-chairman of the planning committee. The application was widely publicised and local people were encouraged to give their views.
‘There was a full debate at South Brent Parish Council and no objections were raised. Dartmoor National Park Authority and Harberton Parish Council also raised no objections.
‘Concerns about the proposal were expressd by North Huish and Diptford parish councils and their views were considered.
‘A report on the decision is available on the South Hams Council website.’

Source:http://www.ivybridge-today.co.uk/news.cfm?id=25441&headline=Solar%20farm%20decision%20under%20fire

Good Energy reveals plans to build UK's largest solar PV farm

Good Energy has confirmed preliminary plans to construct the UK's biggest solar farm, which would cover nearly 225 acres of farmland.

Details of the huge project are still at the enquiry stage but if given the green light the solar farm would consist of 135,000 solar panels in countryside near the village of Week St Mary in Cornwall.

Official planning application has not yet been submitted but Good Energy confirmed they have held initial discussions with council officials and now wish to consult with local residents.

If built, the solar farm, which would be built across 15 fields of five separate farms, could have the capacity to generate around 25 megawatts of electricity.

Good Energy, which owns and operates Delabole - the UK’s first commercial wind farm – confirmed it is currently in the 'early stages' of the planning process.

In a statement, the company said: “Good Energy has submitted a request for a scoping opinion to Cornwall Council regarding a possible 25MW solar farm near Week St. Mary. This potential project is at a very early stage, and we have not yet made any decision to submit a formal planning application.

“However, engaging with the community is at the heart of all our renewable developments, and if we do decide to take this project forward we will consult extensively with local residents and businesses about our plans.

“In particular, we always want to ensure that people living nearby have the opportunity to share the benefits of any renewable projects we develop and we are very interested in hearing their views on this.”

Source:http://www.clickgreen.org.uk/news/national-news/123633-good-energy-reveals-plans-to-build-uk%5Cs-largest-solar-pv-farm.html

Tariff hits solar firms says green energy boss

A GREEN energy boss says further Government cuts to payments for homeowners installing solar panels could damage the industry.

Reductions to the feed-in tariff - a payment for individuals or companies generating their own electricity from photovoltaic (PV) panels - will be brought in on August 1.

Originally generous payments encouraged a gold rush of firms installing panels, which prompted the Government to halve the feed-in tariff to the current 21p/kWh, hitting order books.

Now rates will be reduced further, and will change every three months based on how many PV panels have been installed nationally - the more panels installed, the lower the rate received by consumers will be.

Wayne Richardson, managing director of Aycliffe company Revolution Power, said the Government’s “moving targets” made it difficult to develop business.

He said firms had been reluctant to talk about redundancies, so the true scale of the job losses caused by the feed-in tariff changes was not known.

“The scheme attracted the wrong type of people, the Government should have stopped the free solar brigade - people installing panels for free - because it wasn’t in the spirit of the scheme. We lost four people.
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“By cutting the FITs, they’ve actually slashed the number of installations.”

He said the Government’s review of tariffs on a three-monthly basis would continue to make things difficult. “You can’t develop a business based on that.”

He added: “It was going well, and they’ve decimated the industry. There has been more job losses over this than were created when the feed-in tariffs were introduced in the first place.”

The Government is also set to reduce the tariff lifetime for new PV installations from 25 years to 20.

The export tariff - payments for supplying energy back to the grid - will rise from 3.2p/kWh to 4.5p/kWh

Source:http://www.nebusiness.co.uk/business-news/latest-business-news/2012/07/18/tariff-hits-solar-firms-says-green-energy-boss-51140-31419861/

Micromax launches X259 solar phone for Rs.2,499

The Indian manufacturer Micromax has announced to launch a green phone X259. The phone with a built-in solar panel will allow users to charge their phones using solar energy. Priced at Rs.2,499, it will be the first solar phone from the company.

The phone will automatically be charged through solar power on exposure to sunlight, informed the company.

The phone with built-in solar panel will target rural consumers, who constantly grapple with power cuts over long durations. Three hours of solar charge provides 1.5 hours of talk time on the phone, the company said.

Micromax X259, which also supports Bluetooth connectivity, has a 2.4-inch QVGA screen with a resolution of 240x320p, 1000mAh Li-ion battery and dual-SIM dual-standby feature.

The phone has expandable storage upto 4GB. Micromax X259's multimedia features include audio and video player and FM radio with recording.

"We have been at the forefront of innovation. We have introduced many categories into this competitive Industry be it long battery life phones or dual SIM phones. With the introduction of this our intent is to get rid of the mobile phone charger by including a solar panel on the device itself," said Rahul Sharma, co-founder, Micromax.


Source: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/micromax-launches-x259-solar-phone/1/208735.html

Are solar panels still a good investment?

Until the end of last year, solar panels - otherwise known as PV or photovoltaic panels - were subsidised in several ways: 40 percent of the investment could be written off for tax purposes; owners could sell the excess energy they produced (so-called green certificates); and they were allowed to run their electricity meters backwards. The tax deductions enjoyed by anyone investing in a solar panel in Belgium are now a thing of the past, while the value of green certificates is being progressively reduced by the country's different governments.

STILL WORTH IT

Given the less generous regime, the consumer magazine Test-Achats still considers solar panels worth the expense.

"If we base our calculations on an average installation with a capacity for 5 kilowatts that faces southeast or southwest - you still benefit - for a price of €3,000 per kilowatt - from a return of 4.5 percent to 5 percent over 20 years," the magazine says. That is better than leaving money in Belgian government bonds. "Solar panels are still a profitable investment," the magazine states.

By getting rid of the tax deductions it will now take consumers longer to recoup their investment - about seven to 12 years, whereas before they could have had their money back in five to eight. But if the technology keeps improving, the price per kilowatt could drop further still, meaning that PV panels could in fact turn out to be a canny investment.

TRAPS TO AVOID

As always there are traps to avoid. Experts frown upon the leasing deals offered by certain companies in Wallonia in particular. Rather than be tied to a company which reaps the benefits of the green certificates, why not take out a loan and take control yourself? Choose the installer with care: there are many cowboys out there who have no experience of PV. And don't be tempted to try it yourself: PV panels work on dangerous direct current, rather than alternating current. If you touch a wire running direct current, your hand will clasp around it and you won't be able to let go.

That said, provided the government continues to allow them to keep running electricity meters backwards, solar panel users are likely to be in the money over the longer term.

Source:http://www.expatica.com/be/news/news_focus/Green-policy-reversal_237726.html

St Leonards school goes green with new solar panels

A PRIMARY school has gone green and embraced solar power.

West St Leonards School, in Harley Shute Road, has 120 solar panels installed on its roof and is already seeing the benefits with a drop in its electricity bill and its pupils learning about environmentally friendly methods of generating power.

The school was one of a number of schools across East Sussex that were approached by the company RenewTech with the offer to install the panels at no cost.

West St Leonards School has a 25-year lease on them and RenewTech looks after their maintenance, while the school gets free electricity.

Chris Parker, the school’s site manager, said within the first two weeks after the panels were put up they had generated 2,500 kilowatts of power.

He added that the system does not need the sun fully out to work but the panels work best on sunny days with no clouds.

Mr Parker said he believed the solar power will save anywhere between £2,500 to £5,000 a year.

He added: “We are now saving more money and this is allowing the school to concentrate on buying resources rather than using more money on electricity bills.

“It’s a big saving, as the panels were installed free of charge as well.

“Electricity rates will be going up over the coming years and having solar panels is part of the school’s push for renewable technology.

“It’s great for the children and their parents as they realise you can get power from the sun, and at the same time help the environment.”

Frances Robinson, headteacher at West St Leonards School, said: “The school site manager and our eco-warriors have been working all year to reduce our energy costs and make us a more eco-friendly school.

“Mr Parker managed to secure a grant to have the solar panels fitted and we are already making considerable energy savings. We are using the money we have saved to buy resources and currently are looking at getting 20 iPads for pupils to use in class.”

Source:http://www.hastingsobserver.co.uk/news/local-news/st-leonards-school-goes-green-with-new-solar-panels-1-4053239

Windsor struggles to cash in on Ontario’s solar program

This is big,” Sandra Pupatello, then minister of economic development and trade, declared when WindTronics, a maker of small wind turbines, opened in the fall of 2009, one of the first manufacturers to set up as a result of the Liberal government’s green energy program. “[It’s] a real page turner for the local economy.”

A page has turned, just not the one expected. United Solar, WindTronics and a plant built by Spain’s Siliken SA have all shuttered their Windsor operations within the past eight months.

With the trio of closings, the promise of 480 jobs has evaporated, a major setback for a city with the country’s highest unemployment rate. Their speedy demise is also a blow to the province’s bid to become a green energy powerhouse, and industry experts expect more factory shutdowns and slowdowns are around the corner.

“The market hasn’t been there for anybody,” said Paco Caudet, general manager of Siliken Canada Corp. “We’ve been losing money for a lot of months and there’s no real prospect of things getting better.”

The key problem is this: Despite the provincial government setting domestic content rules to bolster manufacturing and offering to pay some of the most lucrative prices in the world for green power, the markets for solar and small wind are nowhere near what the industry expected.

There has been a flood of proposals, but many projects have been stymied, waiting for administrative approval or connection to the electricity grid. The glut of solar panels worldwide hasn’t helped manufacturers, either, significantly pushing down prices for their product.

“It’s flawed policy architecture, and now it has come home to roost,” said Jatin Nathwani, executive director of the Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Energy at the University of Waterloo.

After Siliken’s closing, Ontario Energy Minister Chris Bentley acknowledged that the job losses were unfortunate, but he maintained that the province’s future in renewable energy production and manufacturing is bright.

The government completed a review of its feed-in tariff program in April and this week the minister issued a directive to the Ontario Power Authority to finalize rule changes and lower prices for green power. The minister expects the backlog of power projects will soon ease.

“Any industry in the early stages, there are companies that set up and then decide to move elsewhere and there are companies that set up and flourish,” Mr. Bentley said. “That is the nature of a fast-growing and fast-moving industry.”

Despite the recent closings, Ron Gaudet, executive director of Windsor-Essex Economic Development Corp., remains optimistic. With a skilled labour force and empty factories to fill, municipal and business leaders have been aggressively promoting Windsor to solar and wind companies in Canada and overseas.

Several other green energy firms plan to open in the region or have already, such as CS Wind Corp., which has a deal to make wind turbines for South Korean giant, Samsung C&T Corp.

“Renewable energies are not a shot in the dark. It’s not going to fizzle out. It’s a reality,” Mr. Gaudet said.

But the region had expected 1,000 green energy jobs by now, not the 400 or so that exist today. Mr. Gaudet wants the government, utilities and industry to work together and fix the program’s glitches.

“We don’t need more closures to show that this is a real issue,” he said.

Source:http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/windsor-struggles-to-cash-in-on-ontarios-solar-program/article4416361/

Solar panel plan for Brighton hospital

A health trust is spending £100,000 on installing solar panels at a hospital.

Sussex Community NHS Trust says the move will save it £15,000 a year and it will be able to recoup the cost of the investment in ten years.

The panels will be installed on three south-facing roof slopes in three blocks at Brighton General Hospital and should be up and running by the end of next month.

The trust provides a range of community services, including medical, therapeutic and nursing care, across Brighton and Hove and West Sussex.

The move comes as NHS trusts across the county battle to save millions of pounds a year to keep their finances under control.

The installation will allow the trust to generate its own renewable, green electricity and will reduce its reliance on the National Grid. It will also help the trust meet its 2015 carbon reduction target to generate on-site electricity, saving 20 tonnes of CO2 a year.

Trust environmental manager Will Clark said: “We’ve already reduced our energy consumption and carbon emissions through conventional methods and this project demonstrates our commitment to invest in new, low-carbon technologies, helping us to save money and stay at the forefront of sustainability within the NHS.”

The trust is using the government’s feed-in tariff scheme, which means it will get paid to generate its own energy. The tariffs are guaranteed for 25 years, meaning once the investment is recouped, the trust will have 15 years of free energy.

Source:http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/9816082.Solar_panel_plan_for_Brighton_hospital/

Voltaic Solaire, Sharp, Samsung Unveil NYC 100% 'Green' Energy Building

Green developer Voltaic Solaire will next week unveil the first building in New York City to power itself. The mixed-use private development, called the Delta, was built in conjunction with Samsung, Sharp, IKEA and other partners. It combines solar and wind energy to meet 100% of its energy needs — generating its own electricity, hot water and heat.

“The Delta fulfills the promise of Mayor Bloomberg’s PlaNYC, whose goal is to reduce New York's carbon emissions by 30% by 2030,” says Voltaic Solaire CFO Ron Faia.

From its Sharp and Samsung solar panels to its solar skin, from its Kingston Block & Masonry Supply aggregate building materials to its window treatments and Eemax tankless water heaters, the Delta is a case study in sustainability and energy independence. Renewable energy is projected to see 40% growth per year for the foreseeable future, according to Voltaic Solaire.

The Delta is comprised of one triplex residence and one studio residence, with attached restaurant and retail. It will be maintained as a bed and breakfast, in order to facilitate ongoing educational visits for schools, tour groups and others.

Source:http://www.solarnovus.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5306:voltaic-solaire-sharp-samsung-unveil-nyc-100-green-energy-building&catid=41:applications-tech-news&Itemid=245

Solar power to the people

Think of it as a chance to buy shares in the sun.

A Hamilton group is seeking residents interested in joining the city’s first renewable energy co-operative.

The goal is to pool enough cash to install a 55-kilowatt solar project — enough to power four or five homes — on one or more rooftops above the city.

“Lots of people like the idea of solar panels … but not a lot of people can afford to do it on their own,” said Beatrice Ekwa Ekoko, project co-ordinator for the Hamilton Halton Energy Awareness Team. “This is a chance to make green power accessible for the community.”

The upfront cost of the project could range between $275,000 and $300,000, she said. Solar panels vary in size and efficiency, but Ekoko said early research suggests the project might need more than 200 panels, each as tall as a person. Co-op organizers are still calculating the “minimum investment” needed to join the co-op, but Ekoko said a successful effort probably requires 200 members.

So far, the group has around 50 people who have expressed interest in taking part. All co-op members would share in decision-making as well as any profits, Ekoko said.

“We think we can make money from it, but it’s primarily attractive for people who want to make a personal investment in a sustainable future,” she said.

Ekoko said organizers estimate they can pay back the capital cost over eight years — provided the province keeps paying top dollar for electricity from small green projects through the Feed-in Tariff (FIT) program.

A revamped FIT program, which provides cash incentives for renewable energy projects such as solar, wind and hydro power, is scheduled to be launched by the Ontario Power Authority later this year with extra priority placed on community projects, said spokesperson Tim Butters. Under draft rates published online by the OPA, rooftop projects like Hamilton’s would earn nearly 55 cents per kilowatt-hour by feeding the provincial power grid.

“We do really depend on the FIT program to make a venture like this possible,” said Ekoko, who estimates the project could produce $34,000 worth of power every year.

Organizers hope to nail down a large, structurally sound south-facing host rooftop in time to apply for an anticipated round of new FIT contracts.

The local group grew out of a partnership between Environment Hamilton and the Halton Environmental Network.

A similar effort dubbed Bright Sky Power is also heating up in Burlington, while several Hamilton-area churches are already reaping the benefits of a sunnier outlook on life, including projects at Laidlaw United, Central Presbyterian and Melrose United.

Source:http://www.thespec.com/news/local/article/758603--solar-power-to-the-people

West Midlands Fire Service installs solar panels on station roofs.

WEST Midlands Fire Service is steaming ahead with its plans to “go green”.

The fire authority has been granted planning permission to install solar panels on the roof of its training centre in Smethwick.

The photovoltaic panels are part of a wider £2.5 million scheme by the brigade to reduce its carbon footprint.

As well as installing solar panels on roofs, inefficient boilers are also being replaced.

Work has already started on the green measures at Handsworth’s station with the alterations expected to shave £1,300 off its energy bill. Seven other suitable sites have been identified. These are: the fire HQ in Duddeston, Smethwick, Bournbrook, Fallings Park and Bickenhill stations and the technical rescue building on the same site.

The seventh site is education centre Safeside in Duddeston, which is having additional panels fitted.

Source: http://www.birminghammail.net/news/top-stories/2012/07/10/west-midlands-fire-service-installs-solar-panels-on-station-roofs-97319-31358758/#ixzz20DwzQqEE

India Solar Power Disruption

India’s Green Companies are seeing tremendous growth backed by the nation’s massive energy demand increase. However, it is a known fact that India’s power situation is abysmal, with both the supply and quality of electricity being quite pathetic in most parts of the country. India’s power generation companies are hampered by lack of land, fuel, payment delays, high cost of capital etc.

Even when the power is generated most of it is stolen and the rest sold at below costs by the state owned power distribution companies who have accumulated losses in billions of dollars. The regulators are puppets in the hands of the politicians who won’t allow a realistic price of power. Residential customers and farmers are sold electricity at heavily subsidized prices or even for free.

This has created a situation where electricity customers can’t buy power at even high prices despite there being power producers who can sell at those costs as the government controls the distribution and pricing. This has led to a proliferation of industries and home owners using pollution generating, high cost oil based power generation sets. The economies of scale which is essential in fossil fuel power generation is not utilized by the dysfunctional system.

Solar Energy does not require any fuel like other Renewable energy (Wind Energy) and the operation and maintenance costs are extremely low. Industrial and commercial customers in India have to pay very high prices for power at around 15-20c/Kwh in order to subsidize the power sold to residential customers and farmers.

In fact most of the revenues of the state distributors are derived from this segment. However with solar power cost going down drastically in cost, it has become viable without subsidy for these customers. Solar power can be produced these days at Rs 8-9/ Kwh in large scale compared to the prices of Rs 10-12/ unit being paid currently. Industries can now easily generate 20-40% of their requirement by putting solar panels on their roofs.

This will sharply cut the revenues and profits of the state distributors. As solar panel costs keep going down by around 10% each year, these utilities will eventually have to lower their tariffs or go out of business altogether.

Solar Energy Cost Curve Declining Continuously

As you can see Solar Energy costs have decreased continuously over the past decades and continue to do so at even a faster pace with powerful global companies like TSMC, GE, Samsung, Hyundai, Siemens, Toshiba, AUO, Honda etc entering the field. Solar Energy can already compete with other forms of energy in high radiation, high electricity places like Italy.

By 2015, expect Solar Energy to compete with Fossil Fuel Energy in most places on Earth. Solar price decline of 10% annually in the next few years, are considered as a base case by large solar companies in their business models. Note I think PV and CPV Technology will beat Solar Thermal Technology in the future because of a variety of reasons.

Why Solar Energy is Being Underestimated

I am surprised by the extent that solar energy growth is being underestimated by analysts and policymakers. Solar Demand has exceeded forecasts by a wide margin in the last 3 years. While this is on a low base, you have to factor in that solar energy is still being subsidized.

Think of the growth possibility when solar energy costs decline another 50%. While all countries have underestimated the penetration of Solar Energy, I am taking the example of India which had been praised for its ambitious plan of generating 22 GW by 2022. I think solar energy will easily be 3-4x of that capacity by that time as India has a huge potential in solar energy.

Bloomberg one of the most respected analysts in the Green Space has forecast 4.2% of US Energy Demand from Solar by 2020. This again is too low in my view. Once Solar Energy reaches low enough costs, then energy demand as a whole will expand just at the advent of LED lighting will expand the whole lighting market.

The Potential of Solar Energy is not restricted to the Global Electricity Demand, it is much higher because it will expand that Capacity.

Source:http://www.greenchipstocks.com/articles/india-solar-power-disruption/2038

Solar Energy Corp to Develop India-centric Technology and Products

The state-run Solar Energy Corporation of India is planning to set up small, pilot power plants with strong linkages with research and academic institutions to develop technologies and products relevant for India.

"We need to put up demonstration solar power units, say, of five MW of two or three configurations in a solar park and collect the data for scaling them up. The solar park will be close to R&D (research and development) units and academic institutions," Anil Kakodkar, chairman of the corporation, told IANS in an interview.

He, however, declined to disclose the probable locations where such parks would come up.

Kakodkar said the corporation would put up solar power plants on its own.

"We are looking at concentrated photo voltaic plants while there are other options also," said the former chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission.

He said there is a possibility of having large solar collectors that would move the sun's rays to be finally collected into a photovoltaic module. Another technology is having a combination of a tower and photovoltaic mirrors. The mirror would reflect the sunlight on a tower which would beam the rays back to a photovoltaic panel on the ground.

Kakodkar said India should have a long-term strategic plan for sustainable development of the solar power sector while being conscious of the need to do value addition within the country.

One of the elements of such a strategic plan is to reduce the cost by developing technologies and products that are India-centric.

"For example in India the dust load on solar panels are high. In Rajasthan, the sand particles on the panels are high. We have to see how the dust load on panels could be minimised," Kakodkar said.

On the products side, he said the country should look at the possibility of taking solar lantern manufacturing to the cottage industry level that would generate jobs in rural areas.

"With rooftops solar power being looked at, schools in rural areas can have them. The students can bring the solar lanterns to school for recharge and use at home in the evening. Like the mid-day meals scheme the rooftop solar power panels can attract students to schools."

Similarly, the option of having a hybrid micro power grid comprising solar-biomass or solar-wind could be looked at in rural areas. A hybrid of solar-biomass will reduce the battery cost of the solar power plant as the biomass plant can be operated at will, he said.

Asked about stipulating local content in solar power projects, Kakodkar said the regulations should not result in creating uncompetitive domestic sector while there should be clarity on the way in which the Indian market should grow.

He said the growth of solar technology in India will be similar to the growth of nuclear reactor in the country, that is, choosing relevant technology for the country and bringing down its cost.

Source:http://www.daijiworld.com/news/news_disp.asp?n_id=142842

Judge rules for Clarkson Valley couple over solar panels Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/judge-rules-for-clarkson-valley-couple-o

Jim and Frances Babb are free to put solar panels on their roof, and Clarkson Valley can't stop them, a judge says.

Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Green ruled on June 29 that the city's failure to issue the Babbs a special-use permit for their solar project was "arbitrary, capricious, unreasonable and an abuse of discretion."

The decision could impact cities all over the state as they grapple with how to regulate the growing number of residents who want to use solar energy to power their homes.

The Babbs had been fighting since December about the project with Clarkson Valley city leaders, who maintained that solar panels didn't adhere to the community's aesthetics. In January, the city enacted an ordinance restricting the use of solar panels in reaction to the Babbs' proposal.

In April, the Babbs sued the city, as well as the Missouri Public Service Commission. The suit was filed in Cole County because the state agency is situated there.

Green said state law gives "a legally protectable right to the Babbs to use solar energy at their property." He also said the city's ordinance conflicts with Missouri Public Service Commission regulations. Communities all over the St. Louis area have struggled with solar panels, as some residents complain they are unsightly. Some cities have prohibited placing panels on street-facing roofs. The Missouri Solar Energy Industries Association was also a plaintiff in the case. The organization's president, Dane Glueck, has complained in the past about the lack of clear statewide standards regarding solar energy.

It's uncertain to what extent Green's ruling will affect other municipal ordinances, but the Babbs' attorney, Stephen G. Jeffery of Clayton, said, "I think this definitely has potential statewide impact."

Source: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/judge-rules-for-clarkson-valley-couple-over-solar-panels/article_06bccc24-bb14-5da9-b798-0aceabd425dc.html#ixzz1zwOn1FXL

Solar, wind energy a missed opportunity for Cuba

The sleepy country setting that farmer Juan Alonso calls home hasn’t changed much since he was born 74 years ago, with the two rustic wooden houses nestled among palm trees against a backdrop of green hills and clear skies.

Incongruously perched atop the homes are the only visual clues that his 150-acre (60-hectare) farm inhabits the 21st century: the gleaming solar panels that revolutionized the lives of Alonso and his family.

“Just imagine, you toil all day in the field and then when you get home you have to grope around doing things with a gas lantern, with a torch to illuminate the patio at night,” Alonso said, describing life during decades past. Now his family has electric lights, a television and a DVD player. “It’s a change as radical as night to day.”

Cuba is proud of its success in using alternative energy to bring electricity to isolated hamlets like Ramon Gordo, 90 miles (150 kilometers) west of Havana. Some 2,000 schools and at least 400 hospitals are lit up by solar panels in rural areas not plugged into the national grid. But scientists say the island, blessed with year-around sunshine and sea breezes but plagued with chronic energy shortages, could be doing much more on the national level, and that its communist government is missing a golden opportunity to reduce its dependence on subsidized oil from uber-ally Venezuela, where President Hugo Chavez is sick with cancer.

It is vital that Cuba expand its energy horizons “so it doesn’t remain at the mercy of political changes in the region that could affect it adversely,” said Judith Cherni, an alternative energy expert at the Imperial College London Center for Environmental Policy.

The urgency to find alternative energy sources was driven home last month when an exploratory offshore oil well drilled by Spanish company Repsol turned out to be dry, a setback to Cuba’s hopes for a big strike that could be a boon for the limping economy, though exploration continues.

Despite recent essays by revolutionary hero Fidel Castro on impending global catastrophe due to climate change, Cuba gets just 3.8 percent of its electricity from renewables, a pittance even by regional standards and far behind global leaders.

In the nearby Dominican Republic, where a 2007 law establishes tax breaks for investment in alternative energy, renewables account for 14 percent of electrical generation. Germany, the gold standard for high-tech green energy, gets 20 percent of its considerably larger electrical consumption from renewables, mostly from wind.

The reality in Cuba today is that wind and solar energy sources are almost exclusively for local consumption and there has been little attempt to expand them to augment the national grid, which is powered mostly by fossil fuels. Scientists say the country lacks the investment and expertise for such a move.

Around the region, examples abound for Cuba to emulate. Central American nations are using hydroelectric facilities to harness the power of rivers. Caribbean islands are passing laws stimulating foreign investment in renewables. Wind and solar farms are popping up where viable. Faraway in Europe, and nearby in the United States, individuals with solar panels can get paid for any extra energy they generate that goes back into the grid.

“Possessing apt natural resources to generate energies is a tremendous boon, but that alone is not enough to create energy,” said Cherni.

Another obstacle to boosting renewable energy is a stubbornly fixed mindset that equates development with oil.

Memories are still vivid here of the “Special Period” of the 1990s, when the island’s economy tanked with the dissolution of the Soviet Union, ushering in years of hunger, prolonged blackouts and fuel shortages. People thumbed rides to work on the back of bicycles as cars sat idle and empty-tanked.

To cope, Cuba began installing its first solar panels, building small hydroelectric plants, restoring old windmills and extracting gas from animal waste.

But after Chavez’s election in 1998 in oil-rich Venezuela, Cuba once again embraced fossil fuels wholeheartedly with the appearance of a new benefactor and ideological ally willing to help keep the lights on. Today Caracas provides nearly half Cuba’s petroleum needs, shipping about 100,000 barrels of oil a day to the island on beneficial terms while Cuba sends doctors and technical advisers to Venezuela.

“Cuba is a nation that is dependent on oil, yes, but in addition the culture of its leaders and technicians, of its common citizens, is one of fossil fuels,” said Alejandro Montesinos, director of Cubasolar, the island’s chief NGO for sustainable energy.

In Havana, the fear is that the oil spigot could be turned off if Chavez is forced to leave office due to health problems or electoral defeat. Cuba has pinned its hopes on offshore oil deposits in the Gulf of Mexico that could hold between 5 billion and 9 billion barrels, but those have yet to be quantified, an initial exploration well came up dry and production is still years out in a best-case scenario.

“In the imagination of the people, there is this idea that oil is going to appear in the Gulf of Mexico and this country’s problems will be solved,” said Montesinos, who says that Cuba and its leaders must embrace the idea that expensive investments in solar and wind will pay off over the long run.

A push for green energy would also match well with the ecological leanings of the Castro brothers. Current President Raul Castro said June 21 at a summit in Rio de Janeiro that there is an urgent need for “a transcendental change” and a shift to sustainable development if the planet is to be saved.

Cuba began an alternative energy program in the 1980s and ramped it up the following decade. It has installed 9,000 solar panels and built four experimental wind farms, according to Manuel Mendez, director of renewable energy at the Ministry of Basic Industry. It also burns biomass from sugarcane, currently the island’s largest source of renewable energy in Cuba, and officials plan an expansion.

Cuban authorities say that in recent months they have completed a study of the best places to install wind generators and made plans to inaugurate a wind farm on the island’s north coast next year. Details have not been released. Around the turn of the year a new solar farm with a one-megawatt capacity should come online on the Island of Youth.

“What has been done is a little or a lot?” Mendez asked rhetorically during a recent TV appearance. “The answer is that … more is required.”

He added that officials aim to boost renewable electrical production to 16.5 percent of demand by 2020.

Alonso, the farmer in Ramon Gordo, said solar energy transformed his family’s life and he believes in green energy’s potential to work similar miracles on a national level.

“The sun is what gives the world energy, and it can power industry,” Alonso said. “I think we lack strength, but we’re on our way.”

Source:http://fuelfix.com/blog/2012/07/06/solar-wind-energy-a-missed-opportunity-for-cuba/

Race to meet deadline for energy saving solar panels

Time is running out for the chance to maximise the benefit from energy saving solar panels.

From August 1 the Feed-in Tariff (what the government pay you to buy back your unused energy) will drop from 21p per kWh to 16p per kWh.

The Eco Experts, promoters of sustainable living and green technology, advise you to invest well before August 1, pointing out the benefits of solar PV systems: "Not only do solar users not have to pay someone else for electricity, they actually make money from energy production, and increase the value of their property."

But the race really is on. To benefit from the higher rate a valid application must be received before the deadline, and an application is only valid once a system has been installed.

The reduction in the FiT is not the only change being introduced. The length of the incentive is being reduced from 25 years to 20 years, meaning those who fit solar panels after the deadline will earn less money and for not as long.

The Eco Experts point out that the incentive was intended to be attractive to early birds, saying: "That era is drawing to a close, and although from August it will still represent an investment, it will no longer be the tempting 21p deal it is at the moment."

Source:http://www.biggreensmile.com/green-news/biggreensmile/Race-to-meet-end-of-month-deadline-for-energy-saving-solar-panels$11876.aspx

Bankrupt Colo. solar firm sticks taxpayers for $68 million

Despite glowing press clippings in which the CEO of Colorado-based Abound Solar claimed seven months ago that his company was the “anti-Solyndra,” the green-energy firm has filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation. It is terminating all 125 workers at its Loveland, Colo. headquarters, and is blaming China for its failure.

The U.S. Department of Energy awarded Abound Solar a $400 million loan guarantee in December 2010, funds that the then-three-year-old startup said it would use to compete with solar panel industry leader First Solar.

The company had tapped into about $70 million of those funds by August 2011 when the DOE unplugged it from the taxpayers’ cash stream, around the same time the more famous Solyndra went bankrupt. That company ate through $535 million in loans guaranteed by the federal government before it failed.

While cheap imports from China have crippled much of the U.S. solar panel market, Abound’s problems appear to have been rooted in the quality of its own products, the competitiveness of its business model and its inability to retain top talent.

In May, the Colorado Watchdog blog published an internal Abound Solar email revealing that in November 2010, the company dispatched an engineering technician to remove an entire rooftop of defective solar panels from the investment headquarters of wealthy Democratic benefactor Pat Stryker. Bohemian Companies, Stryker’s investment firm, was among the early investors that brought Abound approximately $300 million in startup capital.

The email directed the technician to retrieve “two unused” panels for “FA” [Failure Analysis], suggesting that their construction — not a hailstorm or other natural event — was to blame for their malfunction.

This rooftop-wide solar panel failure occurred just one month before Abound inked its deal with the Department of Energy.

In January, the firm outlined its goals for 2012, including reaching an energy cost of $1 per watt “ASAP.” But Abound’s competitors had already reached that gold standard of solar production efficiency, in some cases more than two years earlier.

A recent House Oversight Committee report on the Department of Energy’s green energy loan program highlighted concerns raised by credit rating agencies that vetted potential recipients of green-energy grants and loan guarantees. The Fitch Ratings company, the committee reported, “described Abound as lagging in technology relative to its competitors, failing to achieve stated efficiency targets, and expecting that Abound Solar will suffer from increasing commoditization and pricing pressures.”

Trade journals have chronicled Abound’s difficulty to keep top management on board. And in February the free-market Independence Institute reported that Weld County, Colo. officials lost sufficient faith in Abound to revoke 2012 tax incentives they had previously extended to the solar energy company.

In March, another Colorado blog published an internal Abound Solar email showing that the company had shut down production, without advance warning, in December and January. Employees were instructed to use their paid time off, and then to take days off without pay.

The email told employees that the shutdown represented “best of class employer actions,” but warned against “let[ting] the purpose for this shutdown get the rumor mill started.”

GreenTech Media reported in March that insiders had disclosed Abound’s burn rate – the rate at which the company spent its operating capital – as “$2 million per week.” In its statement of its 2012 goals, Abound told company insiders that it intended to “stretch payables,” putting off paying creditors as long as possible.

Abound laid off 200 workers in February with an eye toward ”retooling” its factory for a new product, drawing criticism from industry journalists who complained that “[a] successful manufacturing operation shouldn’t stop running the lines all together in order to switch to new equipment.”

Source:http://www.wwntradio.com/news/news.php/displayType/article/10586/2012/07/bankrupt-colo-solar-firm-sticks-taxpayers-for-68-million

Church's solar panels spare planet, earn cash

The Rev. Cathy Miller has a passion for green and for the Marks of Mission, especially the fifth mark, to safeguard the integrity of creation and renew the life of the earth. The two come happily together in the Green Team, an initiative led by Miller, associate priest at 160-year-old All Saints’ Anglican Church in Collingwood, Ont., a skiing and resort town near Georgian Bay.

“A few years ago, we were bumping along with a couple of us interested in greening the church,” says Miller. “We talked about solar panels as a pipe dream in the distant future.” Luckily, the green campaign was galvanized by the arrival of two new parishioners, Rob and Sara Wilkinson, who were committed to greening All Saints quickly. The effort was further galvanized when Sara died unexpectedly of cancer this past January. “At her funeral people donated money and gave us the push we needed,” says Miller.

In the process of reroofing All Saints the previous summer, the group had providently applied to the local power authority, which issued them a contract. If they could install the panels, they would receive payment for the energy they produced under Ontario’s microFit program.

The panel project received another prodding when, on March 22, the Ontario government informed them that they would have to complete the work by May 18 in order to capitalize on their existing contract. “As you know, the church doesn’t move very fast,” says Miller, who was suddenly faced with getting heritage and other permits very quickly. “Fortunately, our incumbent priest, Heather Gwynne-Timothy, was very supportive and caring.”

When it seemed that the slow-moving diocesan process was not going to be much help in pushing the project through in time for the deadline, the wardens of All Saints wardens stepped in. They contacted Bishop George Elliot to help make it happen at the diocesan office and he did. “The Green Team is grateful to the wardens who took this on and to the Bishop for agreeing to champion it at the diocesan office, “ Miller says.

Now, in addition to supplying immediate power to surrounding neighbours with minimal loss of power in the lines, All Saints will also earn about $1,000 a month 10 months a year for the power it supplies to the grid. That will help ease its own annual electricity bill of $20,000, and soon offset the $47,000 it cost to install the panels. Such renewable-energy projects are also expected to create technology and maintenance jobs.

“This is about caring for creation and respecting the earth that God gave us a gift,” says Miller. “This is a win-win situation for churches. I’d like to see dioceses across the country set up processes to make it easy for churches to do this.” At present, there are obstacles at every turn. “You can’t borrow money to install them and you can’t put up property as collateral,” she says. “But this should not be treated as a regular loan because it makes money for the church.”

Beyond the panels, All Saints has had an energy audit whose recommendations are being implemented by church members. “We are working toward zero waste, so that groups who rent the church must take away any garbage that is not recyclable or compostable, “Miller says. “And our snacks at church functions are organic and made from local fare.”

This fall, All Saints will also welcome the Otesha Project, a group of young cyclists visiting Ontario cities from Kitchener to Ottawa and performing a 40-minute play about the environment, sustainability and social justice. Parishioners will accommodate them in their homes.

Source:http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acns/digest/index.cfm/2012/7/2/Churchs-solar-panels-spare-planet-earn-cash

Why Pinda Supports Use of Solar Energy

IN the year 2000, a total of 189 nations made a promise to free people from extreme poverty and multiple deprivations. This pledge became the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to be achieved by 2015.

In September 2010, the world recommitted itself to accelerate progress towards these goals.

The goals include eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, achieving universal primary education, promotion of gender equality, women empowerment and reduction of child mortality. Other goals were aimed improving maternal health, combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, ensuring environmental sustainability, and lastly, to develop a global partnership for development.

If we look back and assess critically at what Tanzania has achieved so far, we may be compelled to conclude that a lot of things ought to be done, to enable the country achieve the eight MDG goals, especially in rural areas where poor infrastructure still retards development plans. One of the Companies dedicated to providing solar energy in the country is Baraka Solar Specialist.

Mr Ansi Mmasi, the Managing Executive of Baraka Solar Specialist says that his strong company which deals with solar energy can provide light for offices, schools, residential houses, dispensaries, gardens to mention a few. According to Mr Mmasi, his company is ready to collaborate with different municipal and district councils in providing products like solar mobile and laptop chargers, Baraka mobile batteries, solar household lamps and garden lamps.

"We can provide sustainable energy solutions and services to underserved institutions, households and businesses and empower its customer by providing a complete package of products and services," says Mr Mmasi. Baraka Solar Specialist intends to become a dominant force in the provision of clean, safe and renewable energy in East Africa, and also generate and supply solar energy in the most cost effective, competitive and sustainable ways that will add value to energy consumers. This company has evolved a high performance work culture in which staffs operate in a fast paced and challenging environment that encourages creativity and commitment and if applied in districts, the country could attain some of the MDG goals.

Baraka solar specialist staff is ready to offer free education and training to councils and municipalities before they accept a Solar system. After system installation the company will offer free training on how to use the system for the best benefits for three months. The country can hardly achieve MDG goals, if reliable source of energy is not available to help the people access better health care and other services vital in their day to day lives.

The Tanzania Electric Supply Corporation (TANESCO) has been struggling tooth and nail to render services but sadly enough, over 75 per cent Tanzanians do not have reliable power supply to enable them lighten their house, leave alone providing other services.

Winding up estimates for his office in Dodoma last week, Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda urged district and municipal councils countrywide to use solar system where TANESCO services are not available, or they may not reach there any soon.

Pinda has always been insisting that his office struggle to make sure lives of people especially in rural areas are improved to make the people get better social services. Solar power is the conversion of sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV), or indirectly using concentrated solar power (CSP) or to split water and create hydrogen fuel using techniques of artificial photosynthesis. Concentrated solar power systems use lenses or mirrors and tracking systems to focus a large area of sunlight into a small beam.

Health Centres, Dispensaries, and secondary schools in rural areas urgently need solar energy to enable them render services in a rather simplified way. Rukwa region (where the Premier hails from) has already started using solar power in different ways. The advantage of using such a utility might have prompted Mr Pinda to ask other districts emulate such success stories. Generally, District Commissioners countrywide are determined to see to it that ward secondary schools, Health Centres and dispensaries get solar panels.

For example, Handeni District Commissioner (DC) Mr Muhingo Rweyemamu has lauded the Prime Minister for insisting usage of solar power in areas where TANESCO does not provide such services. 'We can hardly develop if we don't have electricity. In Handeni we have schools and dispensaries located in remote areas and to facilitate their service delivery, we need solar system' says Mr Rweyemamu. He adds that as a media professional, he would like the people he serves to watch television news, as well as listen to different radio programmes. All these can be possible, where solar power has been installed.

This District Commissioner says that he has a very efficient manpower working under him, and he would soon discuss the matter of using solar power in Handeni in the next fiscal year. Mr Rweyemamu is not alone in this line of thinking. Simanjiro District Commissioner Mr Peter Toima supports the idea of using solar power in remote villages of his area. He says that dormitories of Ward Secondary Schools in his district, especially those of girls need solar energy to guarantee them with light for studies. Joseph Mkude, who is Same District Council Director in Kilimanjaro region says solar energy is no longer a story but a reality in his place.

'Dormitories of Umali and Kilangale Secondary Schools have been installed with solar panels and students are able to study before going to sleep at 10.00 p.m. We want to continue with the same plan in other schools and dispensaries,' says Mr Mkude. Some schools and dispensaries in Nachingwea district, Lindi region have also started using solar energy, affirms Ms Regina Chonjo, Nachingwea District Commissioner.

She says that Prime Minister's insistence on the use of energy should be adapted by all districts in the country because the utility has improved education and health services in his district. 'We can now use our laboratories effectively to store our medicines. This is because we have solar energy in some areas. I encourage my fellow District Commissioners to go for this alternative energy that indeed reduce problems that our people face. Solar power even enables our people to watch their TVs. People need information to understand what is happening in the world. Says Ms Chonjo.

Solar energy production in Tanzania with a strong emphasis on cost reduction and an abundant supply of high quality silicon is provided by Baraka Solar Specialist. Baraka solar specialist has evolved a high performance work culture in which staffs operate in a fast paced and challenging environment that encourages creativity and commitment. The company currently employs about 14 employees in Dar es Salaam and Arusha, spread across two energy service centres.

Since 2009, it has sold, and serviced over 100 solar systems to our customers. Baraka Solar Specialist adheres to the principles of Tanzania Rural Energy Authority (TAREA) to develop and promote rational use of solar energy. TAREA encourages research and education in solar energy, disseminate knowledge and information in the field of solar energy, creating opportunities in Tanzania for persons interested in the application of solar energy and related technologies to meet the common ground.

Heavy consumers of electricity at domestic and industrial levels in Kenya are now required to use solar energy to heat water. This, according to the regulator, Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), is meant to relieve the national power grid currently under pressure from an escalating demand for energy. The regulator has been carrying out audits on heavy energy users with an aim of encouraging prudent use when regulations being worked on become effective. The solar PV regulations are also being formulated in Kenya to guide development of this green power source.

Source:http://allafrica.com/stories/201207021259.html