Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Monday, June 28, 2010
Solar PV installations to hit 17GW in 2011, research says
Solar PV installations to hit 17GW in 2011, research says
Global solar photovoltaic (PV) installations are forecast to reach 13GW by the end of this year and 17GW by 2011 on production growth and declining prices, a research paper shows.
“We expect a virtuous cycle of falling production costs and module average selling prices (ASPs) to stimulate demand further,” says Goldman Sachs Gao Hua, an affiliate of China-based Gao Hua Securities Investment Research.
The Goldman Sachs Global Clean Energy team bases its installation forecast on supply forecast of 20GW and 28GW in 2010 and 2011 respectively.
Supply is likely to come from lower cost producers such as thin-film makers and Chinese crystalline module makers, the research paper says.
“We think demand may arise where government mandates for increased renewable energy remain strong, finance is readily available, and where domestic and utility scale demand are expected to rise,” it says.
“We expect module production to increase as ASPs decline, enabling PV installation at reasonable internal rate of returns (IRRs).”
Germany “should remain the largest and most important solar market globally for the next two years.”
PV installation in Germany is predicted at 6.5GW and 7.5GW in 2010 and 2011 respectively, and 18GW to 22GW in 2012.
The German market’s feed-in-tariff (FIT) will likely be cut given the lower trend in ASPs by 15% and 12% in the second-half of 2010 and full year 2011 respectively, for European module prices.
The research also believes that both Chinese crystalline module makers and thin-film makers will continue to gain market share due to their 30% lower cost advantage over European and Japanese manufacturers.
“This should encourage more installations so as to optimise production capacity and return on capital,” the paper says.
“We expect the ASPs of Chinese solar modules to fall by 27% and 15% in 2010 and 2011, in line with other regional players.”
Current cost reduction targets also suggest that cost parity between solar energy and conventional energy is within reach between 2012 and 2014, depending on the market.
Published: Monday, June 28 2010
Sunday, June 27, 2010
BP to Proceed With Costner Centrifuge Devices to Cleanup Gulf Oil Spill
British Petroleum signed a letter of intent with Ocean Therapy Solutions to deploy thirty-two centrifuge machines to assist in the cleanup of oil in the Gulf of Mexico. BP agreed to use the technology after testing machines during the past week.
In testimony yesterday before the House of Representatives' Science and Technology committee, Ocean Therapy Solutions partner Kevin Costner told the panel about the challenges he faced bringing the technology into industrial use, including his own personal investment of over $20 million developing the technology. He urged committee members to legislate that oil rigs be required to have mitigation equipment onsite. ”We've legislated life preservers. We legislated fire extinguishers,” Costner said. ”We legislated lifeboats and first aid kits. It seems logical that as long as the oil industry profits from the sea, they have the legal obligation to protect it, except when they find themselves fighting for life and limb.”
Just one of the company's V20 machines can clean up to 210,000 gallons of oily water per day. There are 3 V20 centrifuge machines currently operational in the Gulf. Ten more should become operational within weeks. ”Once production at our factory in Nevada ramps up in July, OTS will be able to produce 10 machines a month,” said Pat Smith, Chief Operating Officer for OTS. ”We are currently ramping up production of new machines with a goal toward deploying the machines along the entire coast,” he said.
”We have chosen teaming partners that are at ground zero and understand the challenges we face, including Edison Chouest Offshore, the largest offshore supply company in the Gulf of Mexico,” said John W. Houghtaling II, Chief Executive Officer of Ocean Therapy Solutions.
The centrifuge machines are sophisticated centrifuge devices that can handle a huge volume of water and separate oil at unprecedented rates. Costner has been funding a team of scientists for the last 15 years to develop a technology which could be used for massive oil spills.
The machines are taken out into the spill area via barges, where they can separate the oil and water. The machines come in different sizes, the largest of which, the V20, can clean water at a rate of 200 gallons per minute. Depending on the oil to water ratio, the machine has the ability to extract 2,000 barrels of oil a day from the Gulf. Once separation has occurred, the oil is stored in tanks. The water is then more than 99% clean of crude.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Friday, June 25, 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Batteries included: California passes energy storage bill
Batteries included: California passes energy storage bill
June 22, 2010 by Todd Woody
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
SOLAR THERMAL COOLING - A POSSIBLE ANSWER TO RISING AC DEMAND STILL NEEDS A MARKET
SOLAR THERMAL COOLING - A POSSIBLE ANSWER TO RISING AC DEMAND STILL NEEDS A MARKET
BY HARRY TOURNEMILLE ON JUNE 21, 2010
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With the ever-increasing demand for air conditioners expected to rise dramatically in the next few years, solar thermal cooling could be a plausible, energy-smart solution.
That is if the market would catch on.
Approximately 500 solar cooling installations were completed last year -- and that's globally, with the majority being done in Europe. A clear indication that while the idea has been around for some time, it is still very much a niche market in need of a significant boost. A work in progress, as the saying goes.
David Appleyard, associate editor for Renewable Energy World International Magazine, recently looked at some of the major players who have designed and created "sorption chillers" with small and medium-scale cooling capacity.
A Few of The Players:
SorTech AG - manufactures and distributes adsorption chillers for cooling and air-conditioning applications in the small and medium scale performance range up to 75 kW cooling capacity. Suitable for air-conditioning and cooling of one- or multi-family houses as well as smaller commercial and office buildings, the machines use water as refrigerant.
Solar Next AG - The firm offers its SolarNext chillii Technology and chillii System Controller for the optimized heat management of modern heating systems as well as services such as the measuring and evaluation of ab- and adsorption chiller systems of up to 105 kW of cooling capacity.
Yazaki Corporation - Today, well over 100,000 of the company's units are in operation worldwide, with more than 2000 installations in the EU alone. The installations offer capacities from 17.5 kW to up to 700 kW for such diverse projects as offices, hotels, hospitals and industrial facilities.
AIL Research Inc. - AIL's solar specific SOA Series – the end product of a seven year, US$5 million initiative funded by theDepartment of Energy's SBIR program and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory – uses patented low-flow technology and, in addition, requires lower activation temperatures than absorption chillers or solid desiccant systems, the company says.
With the technology available, the question then becomes, why isn't it catching on? High costs? Problematic installations? Lack of a useful acronym (STC doesn't ring the same as AC does)? Perhaps all of the above.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Friday, June 11, 2010
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Monday, June 7, 2010
Friday, June 4, 2010
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Electronics giant Panasonic sets out its stall in the solar market
Electronics giant Panasonic sets out its stall in the solar market
Panasonic has formally laid down the gauntlet to rivals Sharp and Kyocera as it angles to become the leading solar-energy firm within the reinvigorated Japanese market.
Panasonic, which entered the solar business with a splash in late 2009 with its majority purchase of Sanyo, has set 1 July as the launch date for its hotly anticipated ‘HIT-215 Series Home Solar System’.
It marks the first time the two companies have collaborated on a product.
Panasonic has put the HIT-215 at the heart of its strategy to pivot away from consumer electronics and remake itself as the world’s leading integrator of photovoltaic and energy-saving technologies within homes and buildings.
Using Sanyo’s solar panels and rechargeable lithium-ion batteries and Panasonic’s energy-management technologies, the system gives homeowners an unprecedented level of control over their energy consumption and carbon emissions.
Initially it will be sold through 18,000 retail outlets across Japan with a sticker price of ¥156,450 ($1,704) per panel.
Panasonic’s more holistic solar strategy cuts a stark contrast with Chinese firms focused on commoditising wafers, cells and modules.
“You will be living with virtually zero carbon emissions through creating, saving, storing and managing energy,” says Panasonic vice president Toshihiro Sakamoto.
Sakamoto bluntly states Panasonic’s ambition to overtake Sharp and Kyocera within the Japanese solar market by 2012, with plans to jump its domestic market share from 20% to 35%.
Last year Sharp, the world’s third largest solar-module maker, held 40% of the Japanese market, followed byKyocera with 26.5%, according to market researcher RTS.
Panasonic president Fumio Ohtsubo unveiled a three-year business plan in May to move away from consumer electronics, where it has been losing market share for years to Korean rivals Samsung and LG.
In a marked changed of language, Ohtsubo began referring to Panasonic’s energy-systems division as its “flagship business”, while calling renewables “the biggest business chance of this era”.
The HIT-215 relies on Sanyo’s heterojunction with intrinsic thin-film solar cells, which use one layer of monocrystalline silicon and one of thin-film amorphous silicon.
The hybrid technology allows the panels to achieve an average conversion efficiency of 16.8%.
Published: Wednesday, June 2 2010
Panasonic, which entered the solar business with a splash in late 2009 with its majority purchase of Sanyo, has set 1 July as the launch date for its hotly anticipated ‘HIT-215 Series Home Solar System’.
It marks the first time the two companies have collaborated on a product.
Panasonic has put the HIT-215 at the heart of its strategy to pivot away from consumer electronics and remake itself as the world’s leading integrator of photovoltaic and energy-saving technologies within homes and buildings.
Using Sanyo’s solar panels and rechargeable lithium-ion batteries and Panasonic’s energy-management technologies, the system gives homeowners an unprecedented level of control over their energy consumption and carbon emissions.
Initially it will be sold through 18,000 retail outlets across Japan with a sticker price of ¥156,450 ($1,704) per panel.
Panasonic’s more holistic solar strategy cuts a stark contrast with Chinese firms focused on commoditising wafers, cells and modules.
“You will be living with virtually zero carbon emissions through creating, saving, storing and managing energy,” says Panasonic vice president Toshihiro Sakamoto.
Sakamoto bluntly states Panasonic’s ambition to overtake Sharp and Kyocera within the Japanese solar market by 2012, with plans to jump its domestic market share from 20% to 35%.
Last year Sharp, the world’s third largest solar-module maker, held 40% of the Japanese market, followed byKyocera with 26.5%, according to market researcher RTS.
Panasonic president Fumio Ohtsubo unveiled a three-year business plan in May to move away from consumer electronics, where it has been losing market share for years to Korean rivals Samsung and LG.
In a marked changed of language, Ohtsubo began referring to Panasonic’s energy-systems division as its “flagship business”, while calling renewables “the biggest business chance of this era”.
The HIT-215 relies on Sanyo’s heterojunction with intrinsic thin-film solar cells, which use one layer of monocrystalline silicon and one of thin-film amorphous silicon.
The hybrid technology allows the panels to achieve an average conversion efficiency of 16.8%.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Sun Edison's Venture could lead to $1.5 billion in new projects
By Dan BeyersMonday, May 31, 2010
SunEdison, a Beltsville firm that develops solar energy plants around the world, is teaming with one of the industry's largest private-equity companies in a joint venture that could generate up to $1.5 billion in new projects.
The deal with First Reserve comes as the price of manufacturing photovoltaic cells has dropped sharply in the past 18 months, making new projects much more affordable. At the same time, a growing number of governments around the world are requiring utilities to generate more power from renewable sources -- helping to kick up demand for solar.
Rhone Resch, president and chief executive of the Solar Energy Industries Association, said the deal could be a harbinger of what's to come in the industry.
"The biggest challenge we have faced in recent years is project financing," Resch said. "This starts to free up capital and allow the industry to begin to scale up."
With 350 projects built or underway, SunEdison is already one of the world's largest developers of solar energy projects. The company has a healthy backlog of plants going through the permitting process and waiting for funding.
SunEdison specializes in developing projects in areas near existing portions of the electrical grid in order to avoid large transmission costs. Its plants range from big, utility-scale operations to smaller rooftop systems feeding power to everything from Kohl's retail stores to Montgomery County school buildings. Any excess is typically sold back to utilities.
SunEdison employs about 100 people at its Beltsville offices. Last November, the company was bought by MEMC, a St. Peters, Mo.,-based manufacturer that sells silicon wafers to the semiconductor and solar industries.
"Our model has not changed," said SunEdison President Carlos Domenech. The joint venture "serves as an accelerator."
SunEdison and First Reserve have agreed to put $167 million into their new venture, which they say should be enough to attract additional debt financing to fund as much as $825 million in new projects. First Reserve may raise an additional $150 million of equity, which can be leveraged to bring the total amount of projects funded to $1.5 billion, the companies said.
"We're looking for a way to invest in solar projects and a way to do it on an economical scale," said Mark Florian, managing director of First Reserve Energy Infrastructure.
First Reserve has $20 billion under management and invests exclusively in energy projects. It has offices in Houston, London and Greenwich, Conn.
Demand for solar power is projected to grow. At least 24 states have adopted rules requiring utilities to generate power from renewable sources, and federal climate legislation contemplates a national standard. Maryland and D.C. have adopted portfolio standards, as they are known, and Virginia has established nonbinding goals, according to an Energy Department summary.
In addition, the federal government has adopted tax credits, grants and loan guarantee programs to create incentives for new solar projects.
The cost of manufacturing solar cells has fallen 40 percent in less than two years, which many attribute in part to a decision by several countries to curb incentives. Spain, in particular, moved to cap the size of its market, shrinking the opportunities there by roughly 75 percent, Resch said. Many manufacturers that ramped up production in anticipation of new orders suddenly found themselves with a glut of supply.
SunEdison, a Beltsville firm that develops solar energy plants around the world, is teaming with one of the industry's largest private-equity companies in a joint venture that could generate up to $1.5 billion in new projects.
The deal with First Reserve comes as the price of manufacturing photovoltaic cells has dropped sharply in the past 18 months, making new projects much more affordable. At the same time, a growing number of governments around the world are requiring utilities to generate more power from renewable sources -- helping to kick up demand for solar.
Rhone Resch, president and chief executive of the Solar Energy Industries Association, said the deal could be a harbinger of what's to come in the industry.
"The biggest challenge we have faced in recent years is project financing," Resch said. "This starts to free up capital and allow the industry to begin to scale up."
With 350 projects built or underway, SunEdison is already one of the world's largest developers of solar energy projects. The company has a healthy backlog of plants going through the permitting process and waiting for funding.
SunEdison specializes in developing projects in areas near existing portions of the electrical grid in order to avoid large transmission costs. Its plants range from big, utility-scale operations to smaller rooftop systems feeding power to everything from Kohl's retail stores to Montgomery County school buildings. Any excess is typically sold back to utilities.
SunEdison employs about 100 people at its Beltsville offices. Last November, the company was bought by MEMC, a St. Peters, Mo.,-based manufacturer that sells silicon wafers to the semiconductor and solar industries.
"Our model has not changed," said SunEdison President Carlos Domenech. The joint venture "serves as an accelerator."
SunEdison and First Reserve have agreed to put $167 million into their new venture, which they say should be enough to attract additional debt financing to fund as much as $825 million in new projects. First Reserve may raise an additional $150 million of equity, which can be leveraged to bring the total amount of projects funded to $1.5 billion, the companies said.
"We're looking for a way to invest in solar projects and a way to do it on an economical scale," said Mark Florian, managing director of First Reserve Energy Infrastructure.
First Reserve has $20 billion under management and invests exclusively in energy projects. It has offices in Houston, London and Greenwich, Conn.
Demand for solar power is projected to grow. At least 24 states have adopted rules requiring utilities to generate power from renewable sources, and federal climate legislation contemplates a national standard. Maryland and D.C. have adopted portfolio standards, as they are known, and Virginia has established nonbinding goals, according to an Energy Department summary.
In addition, the federal government has adopted tax credits, grants and loan guarantee programs to create incentives for new solar projects.
The cost of manufacturing solar cells has fallen 40 percent in less than two years, which many attribute in part to a decision by several countries to curb incentives. Spain, in particular, moved to cap the size of its market, shrinking the opportunities there by roughly 75 percent, Resch said. Many manufacturers that ramped up production in anticipation of new orders suddenly found themselves with a glut of supply.
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