May 2012 – Solar Magazine

Solar energy project in Arizona

Kyocera,a Japanese multinational company is going to shipp solar panels for the 127MW Arlington Valley Solar energy II power project.

Till the year 2013, the company will continue to manufacture PV panels at its San Diego plant.

It isn’t for sure if Kyocera will be the only one supplier of PVs because no details of the deal have been released as yet.

The Arlington solar energy project, located in Maricopa County, sits on an area of 1,160 acres and will supplement the energy needs of residents and businesses alike.

With Europe deeply involved in renewables, countries across the globe are gearing up to establish wind farms and solar parks to meet power requirements.

Kyocera has begun shipping 34MW of modules and will continue to provide more in future.Earlier, the corporation had announced that it wanted to increase multicrystalline PV production to 1,000MW every year by March 2013.

The solar project received funding to construct the $550 million plant. The energy power that’s generated from the project will be sold off to San Diego Gas & Electric.

Endesa Pavilion is adapted to maximum renewable energy potential

Solar House 2.0, is a rare structure that adopts to maximize the renewable energy potential of its location.

Made by the Institute of Advanced Architecture for Catalonia (Iaac), it has a modular facade covered with protrusions that support additional solar panels.

Protrusions are designed to creatively maximize the use of energy, also they absorb the sun’s energy independent of the seasons.

The building is capable of generating almost 100kWh of electricity and its average daily consumption stands at 20kWh.The roof alone features 150sq m of photo voltics.

During summers, the protrusions form a barrier when the sun tracks higher across the sky, whereas during winters it allows the sun’s rays to directly penetrate.

The house has been constructed from wood due to the fact that wood is an inexhaustible material that is soft and easy to work with and also it can be molded and adapted to provide warmth and insulation.This building looks more like a huge log cabin, suitable to belong to the Scandinavian woodland.

Underwater turbine tested to harness tidal power in Scotland

Scottish Power Renewables (SPR) has conducted a test on an immersed turbine which can be utilized to harness tidal power to produce electricity.

The test has successfully completed in northern isles of Orkney,in the island of Eday. The turbine known as Hammerfest Strom HS1000, is already a source of electricity for many homes and businesses on Eday.

Hammerfest can be monitored underwater, with help of engineers based out of the European Marine Energy Center.

This HS1000 comes with integrated blades that spin in the direction and flow of tides which helps generate power.The structure of Hammerfest has been inspired from a tri-pod.

Scotland is exploiting all modes of clean energy which will help in generating electricity and reducing their carbon footprint share.

Nevada benefits from first hybrid solar geothermal power plant

When it comes to the benefits of renewable sources of energy like solar energy, wind energy and more, many companies are focusing on developing products and mechanisms that help tap these forms of energy.

Nevada’s Stillwater geothermal plan is one such example.This world’s first hybrid Solar-Geothermal plant is great option for all the eco-friendly construction companies.

The capacity is about 59 MW of clean energy and is capable of fueling more than 50,000 homes.Both solar and geothermal forms of energy complement each other as both these sources of clean energy are available in abundance.

By installing this Hybrid Solar Geothermal power plant, Nevada can ease the gaps of solar energy and also utilize both sources of power.

The carbon footprint of Nevada will be reduced and also the greenhouse gas emissions from the region.

The Department of Energy has given this hybrid project tax support $40 million through the Recovery Act.

Tis project is one of the fourteen geothermal sites in the Nevada. It will also help in accelerating geothermal power development.

Innovative wind prospecting system power plant discovered by University of Barcelona

University of Barcelona has discovered an innovative wind prospecting system.

It is specially designed for marine environments and it is based on a hot air balloon that has a module with the meteorological sensors.The sensors help keep track of the magnitude and strength of the wind.

Andriy Lyasota, a Russian aeronautical engineer developed the concept.The balloon can withstand wind speed of 150km/h, thanks to its design and it rises to a height of 150 meters with the help of a cable that hold 600 kilos.

We strongly believe that wind energy will mainly be developed for marine environments in the future.

The system of a floating balloon proposed will significantly reduce costs, thus it become the more particle choice for tomorrow.

Wireless sensors based on solar cells

During the exhibition , The European Energy Harvesting & Storage Exhibition which was held in Berlin on 15-16 May, 2012, Solar Print, the company behind the next generation printable solar cell knowledge had announced they will showcase its independently motorized wireless temperature and humidity sensor.

Innovative minds of Solar Print have shared its Dye Sensitized Solar cell (DSSC) technology. Simultaneously, Gas Sensing Solutions has provided its low-power CO2 sensors which are based on COZIR technology.

Analog Devices Incorporated complimented their efforts by contributing the long-range, effectual and wireless networking technology

DSSC delivers substantial cost savings by reducing the need for wired networks along with reduced battery related replacement needs when integrated for harvesting energy into wireless sensors in buildings.

This gives a platform to tune solar cells in a way that increases and maximizes their performance under interior lighting capacities.

This sensor comes along with maintenance free and cost effective wireless networks. These networks possess qualities like increased reliability which gives superior flexibility in consuming the sensors.

This next generation technology provides integrated customer solutions to meet the needs of wireless sensor applications.

New York’s largest on-farm biogas generates renewable energy for nearly 1,000 homes

In New York, USA, was opened one of the largest on-farm, co-digestion biogas power plants.

The project under the name Synergy Biogas LLC is built by the US company CH4 Biogas LLC.Also is one of the state’s first biogas projects specifically designed for the co-digestion or processing of animal and food wastes.

The biogas created in the 120,000-gallon co-digester is fueling a 1.4 MW CHP plant to generate renewable electricity.

The project is expected to reduce the dairy farm’s baselood greenhouse gas emissions by about 8,500 tons of CO2 annually, which is equivalent to the CO2 emissions of 1,700 automobiles.

The facility also will produce an estimated 17,500 cubic yards of bedding material for livestock while reducing manure odors and helping the farm manage nutrients applied to cropland.

National Grid is supporting the project as part of its broader strategy to help upgrade New York state’s energy infrastructure, promote further economic growth in the region and encourage the development of renewable energy resources

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority is providing US$ 1 million.

Homes can have access to solar power in Mid Atlantic

In the area of Mid Atlantic sun’s power is available in abundance and this was the reasons for switching over to solar power.

The government is willing to extend all possible support and policy makers are also devising methods to encourage large scale production of the same.

The capacity to generate solar energy has almost doubled in this region.Presently it stands at one gigawatt capacity, equivalent to power one million homes.

Along with the expansion of government tax breaks and extension of incentives, the factors that encourage the use of solar power include, better financing options and lower technology cost.

This power serves thirteen states of the Mid Atlantic, including Washington D.C. Both Virginia and D.C. are currently dependent on oil burning for electricity production, and this is one of the major pollutants that taint the quality of air.

Solar power will benefit the environment, the health of the people and also safer for the wildlife of the region.

Chinese solar panel dumping is now in

The verdict is now in. And it’s not good for Chinese solar manufacturers.

Although the official pronouncement has not been made, we’ve learned from sources close to the case that the Commerce Departments’s preliminary decision on SolarWorld’s solar dumping petition against China has been handed down in a case that had the potential to rock the U.S. solar market’s status as an emerging growth market.

China solar manufacturers have been accused of unfair trade practices in subsidizing solar panel manufacture and selling panels in the U.S. below their cost.

Cheaper Chinese solar panel pricing has been a boon for consumers and solar installers, but a competitive challenge for the few crystalline solar manufacturers in the U.S.

SolarWorld accuses Chinese firms of dumping. Others suggest that China has a legitimate cost advantage.On March 20 of this year, The Department of Commerce’s preliminary verdict on unfair subsidies for Chinese solar panels was handed down, along with what amounted to low tariffs for the Countervailing Duties (CVD).

The preliminary determination indicated the DOC’s intention to impose a duty of 4.73 percent on U.S. imports from Trina Solar, 2.9 percent from Suntech, and 3.59 percent from all other remaining Chinese manufacturers.

Approval for the first stage of offshore connector on the East Coast

Alternate energy options are growing every day and the most popular form seems to be solar power.Also wind energy is catching up fast with latest developments.

Modern wind turbines and new ways to tap into off-shore wind energy and even high altitude wind power means that it is no longer undependable and can produce energy that is close to being a constant power source.

A group of researchers projected a stimulating plan that would take the wind energy and convert it into an alternate source of power.

The main step of this research would be to take all collectively all the wind farms off the East Coast and convert them into one colossal generating system.A local source of wind power is dependent always on the weather conditions prevailing in the region.

If the weather remains tranquil, the chances of rousing up things in the vicinity will be good.The researchers thought of spreading wind generators up and down the coast, which would always be producing power.

The grids in only some areas will be receiving wind power, while the rest will again be striving for some pother source of power generation. This project, which was proposed in the last few years, planned of connecting them all together, through a single conduction system, and supplying that into a restricted number of areas.

The East coast is also looking forward to an offshore wind construction area, though this dream is far from reality but it has already attracted a large number of enthusiastic investors.