September 2013 – Solar Magazine

The retailer IKEA will sell solar panels in all UK stores

Ikea will sell solar panels

The Swedish furniture retailer is going to sell solar panels in all 17 of it’s U.K. chain store in the up coming 10 months pursuing a succesful pilot within 10 months following a successful pilot business in one Essex store.

IKEA is responsible for a big amount of potency for the solar industry by deciding to sell solar panels into 17 British stores over the next ten moths.

This sale is going to be a premiere as it is the first time the world’s biggest furniture retailer is selling solar panels on a wide scale. This comes after the store tried a pilot scheme at the IKEA store at Lakeside, Essex (just east of London) that sold a PV system almost daily.

Customers have to give from thei pockets at least €6,800 for 18 panels, the cost of a thin-film PV panels made by China’s Hanergy Holding Group Ltd. An IKEA case study shows that homeowners that put money in this investment will recover the expenses in seven years.

“We know that our customers want to live more sustainably and we hope working with Hanergy to make solar panels affordable and easily available helps them do just that,” reported Joanna Yarrow , IKEA’s head of sustainability in the U.K. and Ireland,.
Like an in-store consultation sugests, customers will also beneft of installation and maintenance of the German-made panels.

This sale is part of IKE’s plan to gain a greener image. The sweedish retailer has a plan to gain a clean energy target and to recieve 70% of the energy the stores need fronm solar and wind power until 2015 it self.

The move is a further step by IKEA towards a greener image. The Swedish company has set its own ambitious clean energy target – to source at least 70% of the energy it needs from solar and wind power by 2015, and all of it by 2020.

The company already has solar panels on its factories, warehouses and stores, and owns some wind farm in Europe.

Greek municipalities decided to go solar

Greek Pv will be installed in municipalities

A program of which purpose is to bring up to date the local governments’ infrastructure and also the installation of solar photovoltaic systems in building throughout municipalities in Greece was approved by the Greek Ministry of the Interior

This ministry will take use of European Union funds for the upgrade of the local government infrastructure and management practices. The purpose of the project is to help local governments to have better services but also to reduce their cost and boost their income.

The ministry also chose the areas of action in need of reform. Throughout these areas are is renewable energy and environmental protection also. With the project of installation of PV in municipalities the governments intends to minimize reduce the environmental impact of the local government and provide income by selling the extra generated power.

When funding the project the ministry announced that €6 million and will come specifically through the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF), the reference document used for the security of European Union funds at the national level.

In the meantime, the capital of Elis in western Peloponnese, the Pyrgos municipality, said that solar PV systems are to be installed on over 200 bus stops.

The project is estimated at €301,305, a sum which includes the supply and the installation of solar systems, and is going to be auctioned in the next weeks. At the funding will also participate NSRF funds via the Environment and Sustainable Development Program, managed by the Greek Ministry of Energy. The cumulated capacity will be 6 KW. Another purpose of the project is to increase public awareness.

A new record was set by a cell structure

The four-junction solar cell set a new record

New efficiency record was set by a solar cell

A solar cell structure with four sub-cells has set a new world record efficiency regarding solar sunlight conversion. The cell succeeded to set a new record efficiency hitting 44.7% and it is the creation of researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, Soitec, CEA-Leti and the Helmholtz Center Berlin.

The German-French team from the mentioned associations made the announce of a a 43.6% efficiency for the german-french solar cell in this year’s May. But they managed to develop that groundwork and succeeded to expand the efficiency of the solar cell to 44.7%. This efficiency was measured at a concentration of 297 suns. This means that 44.7% of the solar spectrum’s energy, from ultraviolet through to the infrared, is transformed into electricity.

This four-junction solar cells have a utility in concentrated PV or CPV and are formed by several cells made out of different III-V semiconductor materials(composed of elements from III-V groups of the periodic table) one on top the other. The single sub-cells attract absorb different wavelength ranges of the solar spectrum.

“This four-junction solar cell contains our collected expertise in this area over many years. Besides improved materials and optimization of the structure, a new procedure called wafer bonding plays a central role. With this technology, we are able to connect two semiconductor crystals, which otherwise cannot be grown on top of each other with high crystal quality. In this way we can produce the optimal semiconductor combination to create the highest efficiency solar cells,” as Frank Dimroth, Department Head and Project Leader in charge of the development work at Fraunhofer ISE describes the success.

Soitec’s CEO and Chairman André-Jacques Auberton-Hervé thinks that with the accomplishment of this record this four-junction solar cell design based on Soitec’s bonding techniques and expertise can actually be a part of the competitiveness of Soitec’s own CPV systems.

The Indian government plans to build the biggest power plant in the world

India to built the biggest power plant in the world

4 GW of solar capacity is to be built as part of the world’s biggest power plant in the world. The plant will be situated in India, in the Rajasthan province to be precise. This announcement was made by the Indian government and the project has a long timeline.

This should be taken as a sign that the Indian government wants solar to be the source of energy needed for generating the electricity that the population needs. The initial plans for a 4 GW project were announced on Friday.

Still during the time the the staggering scale of the project will attract the attention of the Indian PV industry, its achievement is going to be a long term deal. Only the first stage of the project will be finished in 2016, as it is reported by the Indian government’s press information bureau.

The Rajasthan province, is the one in which the project will be situated. Ths means the construction will be located at , approximately 75 km away from the city of Jaipur. The minister of heavy industries and public enterprises, Praful Patel was the one who initiated the process to develop the vast project and has pointed to a 23,000 acre piece of land in the region. The project is named Sambhar Ultra-Mega Green Solar Power Project.

A joint venture company wil be the one who will proceed with the development of the phase of the project, having the equity from various partners as well as the Solar Energy Corporation of India and Power Grid Corporation of India.

The government statement suggests that India is willing to set a global example with the great project. “Being the first project of this scale anywhere in the world this project is expected to set a trend for large scale solar power development in the world,” today’s statement reports.

EIB will help Indian renewable energy project by loaning EUR 80 million

EIB loans India €80 milion for renewable pojects

India gets a €80 milion loan for renewable energy

The European Investment Bank (EIB), helped Italian export credit agency SACE S.p.A, signs EUR 40 million loans as first instalment to SREI Infrastructure Finance Limited (SREI) for financing green energy programs in India.

The EIB and Italy’s SACE S.p.A signed a €40 million long-term loan agreement with India’s SREI for helping with the finance of some investments which have the role of mitigating climate changes in the country.

This triplet cooperation is the first movement within an €80 million pledge and it was created to promote Italian exports, help with India’s renewable energy objectives and benefit economies in the European Union.

Some parts of the loan is dedicated to renewable energy projects in India, that are mostly under the wing of private sector companies. To be precise, the loan will help electricity and heat generation schemes, meaning photovoltaic energy and wind power.

The loan is a bid made by all the parts to help India with it’s struggle for environmentally sustainable power. Moreover, it will help stimulate portions of the Indian economy although there is a development of domestic energy resources, improved energy efficiency and a reduction in airborne pollutants and carbon emissions.

This loan is a part of the EIB’s largest nergy Sustainability and Security of Supply Facility (ESF) fund, that has, until now contributed with more that €4.9 billion regarding a long term investments programs in the Asian continent, and €2.2 billion of that has been ploughed into the energy sector.

Sol Voltaics will get $9.4 million funding for developing nanotech

A sweden company will recieve 10 milions for nanotech development

Norwegian investor Umoe and others investors were convinced to put their money, almost $10 million, to help the Sweden company work on nanotechnology which can be used for 25% more efficient solar cells.

A solar technology startup based in Lund, Sweden named Sol Voltaics made a deal to get more funding, over $9.4 million, because the initial sum of 6.2 million from a Swedish government agency is for the pilot production.

The company’s Solink nanomaterial may increase the energy output of the solar cells by 25%. The company got finanacial backing of a Norwegian investment company Umoe AS and other investor like including Industrifonden, Nano Future Invest, and Foundation Asset Management. Besides, a former chief technology officer at REC Solar named Erik Sauer has also invested.

The company managed to get the biggest loan in the history of Sweden offered by a government agency. The agency hopes that Sol Voltaics’ technology can provide green energy in a more affordable and efficient way.

“The combination of shortage of energy in the world and global warming trends presents a unique long-term opportunity of capitalizing on a trend towards alternative energy,” announced Jens Ullveit-Moe, Umoe’s CEO and former chairman of REC Solar. “The technology that Sol Voltaics is developing promises to be disruptive in the solar market.”

David Epstein, CEO of Sol Voltaics, says: “With this closing we now have the resources to take the company to pilot production. Together with strategic partners, we plan to demonstrate Wave Concentrated Photovoltaics using large quantities of nanowires on commercially viable solar cells.We are tremendously gratified to add the support oft he Swedish Energy Agency and Erik Sauer”

“We have two goals: to make solar more profitable for solar manufacturers and developers, and to lower the price of solar energy for consumers, utilities, and businesses. We look forward to demonstrating our technology later this year,” continued Epstein.

The Japanese market is overflow by foreign-made cells and module

Domestic-made product levels in Japan are dominated by a huge amount of foreign-made imports in a time when Japanese solar cells and module manufacturers are willing to export globally.

Although Japan is considered to be a solid market for foreign solar developers to turn down, statistics from the country’s solar industry say that show cells and modules made outside Japan are enjoying a great success since onset of the world’s most generous FiT regime.

Since prime minister Shinzo Abe launched a JPY42/kWh (US$0.42/kWh) FiT payment in July 2012, the Japanese solar market has become one of the biggest global draws, a fact reflected in figures released by the Japan Photovoltaic Energy Association (JPEA) that show the amount of cells and modules shipped in Japan has trebled year on year.

After that, in the first part of the financial year total shipments went from 613.5 MW to 1.7 GW in the year’s first quarter, although FiT payment was being reduced to JPY37.8/kWh since April 1st.

On the other hand, shipment to Japan to Japan quadrupled from 445 MW to 1.65 GW the expense of cell and modules exports to the rest of the world that went down from 168 MW in April-to-July 2012 to 35.2 MW in this fiscal quarter.

As a matter of fact, -made cells and modules rose 313 MW to 521 MW is being shared as good news for Japanese solar manufacturers. Manufactured cells and modules outside Japan, that gathered 132 MW in the first quarter, went up to 1.13 GW this year.

French Pv industry is in need of a growth in the solar sector

The French PV system is in need of a boost

The French union of solar energy professionals named Enerplan demands the French government to come up with new measures to increase the solar sector as a result of the latest publication of disappointing results.

The redesign of the solar PV support system, new tariffs for photovoltaic installations in buildings, or allowing for net metering were part of the list of proposals made to the French government by Enerplan. Moreover, Enerplan also asked for a new tender to be introduced to the public until the end of 2013, as the goal is to reach 1000 MW of installations per year.

A recent report was revealed to the public opinion by the French general office for sustainable development (CGDD) announcing that only 207 MW of solar PV capacity was installed during the first half of the year, which means a 73% decline from the former year. This means that France has a total of 4.26 GW of installed solar PV power.

Enersplan warns the public opinion about the so-called “emergency” measures announced by Delphine Batho, previous Energy Minister, in last year’s fall the were proven to be inadequate to rise up the sector, the necessity for new Energy Minister Philippe Martin to undertake new measures.

Scatec Solar in charge of South Africa’s first solar independent power project connected to the grid

First independent renewable project was conected to the grid

A new PV plant in Africa was conected to the grid

Scatec Solar, an European PV professional, connected a 75 MW solar plant to South Africa’s grid with three months in advance of the deadline. This connection is the first green energy independent power procurement program (REIPPPP) in the country.

The PV system is situated in Kalkbut in South Africa’s Northern Cape region. The project will create over 500 jobs for the locals. Because of the good location, the project is said to produce 135 kWh extra per year. This amount is more that enough for 30,000 houses. Moreover the plant will save 115, 000 tons of carbon emissions per year.

The bank the provided the finances for the project is Standard Bank, South Africa’s biggest commercial bank. Scatec Solar will sell the energy eith the help of South Africa’s national utility company, Eskom with the help of Power Purchase Agreement.

”I am very proud of our staff and contractors who have been able to complete this substantial project three months ahead of schedule, demonstrating how swiftly utility-scale solar energy plants could be built and put into operation” announced Scatec Solar’s CEO, Rayond Carlsen.

The before schedule construction is responsible for a major boom in the local job market. The over 500 employees were trained by the company. 16% of them are women.

”South African authorities are committed to implementing an ambitious renewable energy program, and we find great satisfaction in being able to contribute to its success through our own projects which we have actively been developing in South Africa over the last four years. This country boasts some of the best conditions for solar power in the world and the annual output of 135 million kWh produced at the Kalkbult plant will benefit both the region and the local community in which we operate” in Carlsen’s words.

An EU report with worldwide restrictions does not mention Chinese solar manufactures

None of the Chinese solar manufacturers are mentioned in the almost 200 page report. Taking care of the green energy industry from 2011 onwards is the closest form of criticism in the report.

The EU has an ongoing anti-subsidy investigation related to Chinese solar projects, but a report made by the European Commission’s directorate-general for trade into restrictive trade measures worldwide does not mention explicitly any pleas for the Chinese government who has dishonest subsidies for its solar manufacturers.

The Tenth EU report on potentially possibly prohibitory trade measures was made before the G20 summit of world leaders in St Petersburg, Russia.

The almost 200-page report shows some possibilities of maybe restrictive measures that include also ‘behind-the-border’ restrictions such as measures “to stimulate domestic industry or exports at the expense of competing foreign economic players.”

Inceptive measures condemned hold subsidized interest rates about export credits in India, US$1.5bn of state grants by the G20’s Russian host for luxury goods retailers, preferential government loans and insurance for South Korean retailers and a JPY200bn (US$2bn) Japanese subsidy to cover up to half the costs of retail firms. Still, China is noticeable by absenting from the recap of displayed stimulus measures applied this year until May 31.

The closest approach of the EU to the mentioning of the pleas by solar manufacturers of subsidized loans from Chinese-state-owned banks is in a mention of China’s 12th five-year plan – to govern industrial policy from 2011 to 2015 – that reported an intention to take care of seven strategic industries that ‘green energy.’