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Mannvit acquires shares in GTN Latin America in Chile

Mannvit, a leading geothermal energy consulting company, becomes a shareholder in GTN Latin America, founded by Fundación Chile and GTN from Germany, to service the Chilean geothermal market.
Mannvit’s acquisition of shares in GTN Latin America (“GTN LA”) is a part  of the company’s strategic international growth plan and one that will provide needed geothermal industry expertise to Chile and the region as a whole. The acquisition of shares also allows Mannvit to expand its service offerings in renewable energy to South and Central America countries, while helping to pave the way for this growing industry in Chile. With over four decades of experience, the Iceland-based Mannvit has participated in development and construction of projects producing over 1000 MW in geothermal power and heating, adding to GTN LA’s capacity. GTN LA is a company founded by Fundacion Chile and GTN of Germany. The company offers innovative solutions for the direct use of geothermal energy.  Recent Chilean projects include geothermal heating and cooling systems.
“GTN LA’s range of services increases with the entrance of Mannvit, at a time when we can see a definite increase in the development of geothermal energy in Chile,” says Marcela Angulo, Head of Energy and Climate Change at Fundación Chile. “The services they offer is quite distinguished, and integrates decades-long experience in utilizing geothermal energy. For the Chilean market, we foresee the need to utilize their geothermal expertise for direct heat, electricity production and combined heat and power applications, all done with a strong emphasis on the sustainability of the geothermal resource, which we are confident will contribute to a greater acceptance of geothermal energy by communities and the general public,” she added.  Mannvit’s Deputy CEO, Runolfur Maack added, “We see a tremendous potential for geothermal energy in Chile and by becoming a part of GTN LA, Mannvit can contribute to the development of this growing industry in Chile and in South America”, adding that “because Mannvit offers technical services ranging from exploration and engineering of power plants to project management in every phase of geothermal projects, we can service the entire geothermal market”.
Geothermal energy has recently emerged as one of the best options to supply Chile’s growing economy with locally-sourced energy. Geothermal energy is clean, renewable energy that has proven itself to be highly competitive with traditional sources of power.  Further, geothermal is a proven technology with a high capacity factor and minimal impacts to the environment and neighboring communities.
Source: www.renewableenergy.com

$25 million to a joint solar research effort by Stanford and UC-Berkeley

The U.S. Department of Energy’s SunShot Initiative recently awarded $25 million to a joint research effort by Stanford and UC-Berkeley. The team, called the Bay Area Photovoltaics Consortium (BAPVC), will work to address technical barriers to the solar power industry and reduce the cost of solar installations.
BAPVC will fund research and development that aims to produce cost-effective solar modules in high volume. It will look closely at new materials, device structures and production methods.
BAPVC co-director Yi Cui, an associate professor of materials science and engineering, was optimistic about these efforts.
“The future of solar is clearly in cheaper, better performing photovoltaics,” Cui said to the Stanford News Service. “The SunShot funding and the exciting collaborative approach between the universities and national labs guided by industrial perspectives will advance all the components of solar modules that will bring down the dollar-per-watt cost dramatically.”

Source: www.stanforddaily.com

Two Environmental Events on Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy, Waste Management and Recycling for South East Europe to be held on 13-15 April, 2011

The Institute for Sustainable Waste Management and Technology is the official partner of Waste Management & Recycling Conference for South East Europe. Via Expo has started a new partnership in October this year with the organizer of DepoTech, the largest waste management conference in Austria. The contemporary and up-to-date issues, the presentations quality, and the organizational general set-up have established its reputation far beyond the Austrian borders.
The Waste Management & Recycling Conference will be held on 13-15 April 2011 in Sofia, Bulgaria. ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, Turkish-Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, German-Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Bulgarian-Slovenian Chamber of Commerce and Industry are also partners of the event.
Two local municipality organizations partner the Conference as it supports the know-how transfer of good practices in waste management and high level environmental technologies which will help the ecological development of the Region.
Some of the Conference topics are: Advanced waste treatment technologies; Landfills – design, construction and monitoring; Composting; Waste management – Laws and regulations; Construction and demolition waste; Electrical waste; Trends in Recycling Technologies; Packaging Recycling. Parallel to the Conference there will be an exhibition for waste management and recycling technologies.
Special attention will be paid on the Waste-to-Energy topic which will be included in the Program of the 7th South East European EE & RES Congress, organized during the same period. Over 50 speakers are due to speak at the event next year. Other Congress sessions are EE & Renewable Financing – International & Local Incentive Programs; RES Electricity; Smart Grid; Renewable Heating & Cooling; Electric vehicles, etc.
In 2011 the parallel expo for EE & renewable energy will have more than 200 stands including leading service providers such as: Enercon, Germany; Fronius, Austria; Global Wind Power, Denmark; Phono Technologies, Switzerland; Franki Grundbau, Eurosol, Germany and many others as well as Spanish national participation, group participations from Austria, Germany, Finland, Slovenia, Czech Republic and China.
Source:www2.viaexpo.com

Astenik Solar Announces Exclusive Partnership with Largest Solar Parts Manufacturer in China

Astenik Solar is pleased to announce an exciting partnership with Hangzhou First PV Material Co., the largest solar parts manufacturer in China, and a recognized global leader in providing superior quality PV materials for the solar industry.
The partnership recognizes Astenik Solar’s commitment to providing its clients with innovative solar products that have been developed after rigorous R&D and have achieved certification compliance.
“Our company is honoured to have been chosen as Hangzhou First PV Material Co.’s exclusive Canadian distributor,” said Marcus Lou, President of Astenik Solar. “This relationship will ensure that our customers have immediate access to the highest quality solar PV materials at affordable prices.”
Hangzhou First PV Material Co. was founded in 1994, and today, the company continues its rapid growth with three plants in China and a fourth under construction. Hangzhou First currently dominates 40% of the global solar EVA Film market with sales revenue of 6.6 GW in 2010. Over 600 panel manufacturers worldwide rely on Hangzhou for their solar product requirements.
“Entering the Canadian market is a natural extension of our global growth strategy,” said Mr. Lin JianHua, president of Hangzhou First PV Material Co. “Choosing the right distributor who is as committed to quality and service as our company is of critical importance. Astenik Solar is an excellent choice to be our valued partner, and we look forward to working together to provide the Canadian solar market with superior PV materials.”
Hangzhou First PV Material Co. received its UL, ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and QHSAS 18001 certifications which recognize the company’s commitment to excellence.
For its EVA film production capacity alone, Hangzhou is forecasting a doubling of its capacity over the next two years with 100 automated produced lines and 2000 workers by 2013.
Source: www.renewableenergy.com

Reports regarding wind market

America’s wind power industry grew 15 per cent last year, according to a new industry report which warned that the sector’s expansion was held back by weak electricity prices and unpredictable policies.
The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) yesterday unveiled its US annual report, showing that 5,116MW of new capacity was added last year, taking the total volume of US installations to 40,181MW, now generating enough electricity to power more than 10 million homes.
However, despite the increase in capacity, last year’s growth was significantly lower than the average 39 per cent growth rate recorded in the previous five years.
The sector blamed weak electricity prices and investor uncertainty caused by doubts over whether key federal tax incentives would be extended for the relatively sluggish performance.
The report follows recently released figures from the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) which show that in 2009 China overtook the US in terms of the volume of new installations and manufacturing of wind turbines for the first time.
Denise Bode, AWEA chief executive, remained optimistic that the US was on track to produce 20 per cent of America’s electricity by 2030 from wind energy, as predicted by the Department of Energy during the Bush administration.
“The American wind industry is delivering, despite competing with energy sectors that have permanent government subsidies in place,” she said. “Wind is consistently performing … adding 35 per cent of all new generating capacity since 2007- that’s twice what coal and nuclear added combined.”
On top of new construction starts, the industry brought 14 new manufacturing facilities online in 2010, consistent with 2009, meaning that wind energy now accounts for up to 20,000 manufacturing jobs across 42 states.
“Continued interest and investment by manufacturers in America demonstrates that the US continues to be a global powerhouse for wind development, today and in the future,” Bode added.
Meanwhile, a separate report released by GWEC has this week argued that India’s potential for wind power development is higher than previously calculated, and could reach 65.2GW by 2020, up from 13.1GW at the end of 2010.
According to the Indian Wind Energy Outlook 2011, published yesterday by GWEC,  the World Institute of Sustainable Energy and the Indian Wind Turbine Manufacturers Association (IWTMA), India’s potential for wind power development could exceed 100GW, reaching 160.7GW by 2030, if the potential of offshore wind power and repowering was fully exploited.
Achieving 65.2 GW of wind capacity by 2020 would attract around $10.4bn of annual investment to the sector and create 170,000 new jobs.
Source: www.businessgreen.com

Solar steam generation power plant opens in Spain

Concentrated solar power plants use lenses or mirrors to heat fluid – such as synthetic oil – which in turn is used to generate high-pressure steam to drive a conventional turbine. A new experimental solar steam generation power plant that opened last week in southern Spain is aiming to improve on the efficiency of existing systems by using water as the direct working fluid and incorporating novel methods for storing the energy, so it can be dispensed even on cloudy days or at night.
The pilot plant is located in the municipality of Carboneras, and is the result of a collaboration between the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, or DLR) and Spanish utility company Endesa. It was officially put into use on March 31st.
The water in the receiver tubes is kept at a pressure of up to 120 bar (1740 psi), which results in the creation of superheated 500C (932F) steam. That higher temperature allows the whole process to work more efficiently, bringing down the cost of solar thermal power generation and making it a more viable option.
Heat gathered by the plant can be stored in both sensible and latent forms, for use in creating energy when the sun isn’t brightly shining. In the sensible heat system, heat from the steam is absorbed by a concrete storage system, so it can later be released to create more steam and drive the turbine. In the latent heat system, the steam is used to heat salt, which absorbs energy when it reaches a temperature of 305C (581F) and changes from a solid to a liquid state. When the salt cools back down below 305 degrees and reverts to its solid form, that energy is released.

Source: www.gizmag.com

Gujarat, India – ready for solar

The state policy of Gujarat in India, with a population of 50 million, is one of the drivers in Indian solar. Gujarat has the fastest growing economy in the country. Another driver is the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission with an initial feed-in tariff structure, which is already under fire from opponents. That plan, in three phases, looks for one gigawatt to be commissioned by 2013, half of which will be CSP (see diagram below). The state of Rajasthan proposes 550 megawatts in a reverse bidding process.
Julian Hawkins,Senior VP of Sales and Marketing at Abound Solar, who had just returned from a long trip to India, sees a number of factors in India’s favor: There’s a lot of sun and a market for power in the country. In Abound’s case, India’s hot weather makes thin film’s temperature coefficient a better fit than crystalline silicon. Gujarat is a dusty place, according to Hawkins, and the diffused light in that environment is also better suited for their thin-film modules. Hawkins sees Gujarat as a “very business focused state,” that is “making sure that the grid is ready for solar.”
Gujarat has a target of installing one gigawatt by the end of 2012 and three gigawatts by 2016 under a fixed tariff structure.
Source: www.greentechmedia.com

Blue Sky Energy Unveils Universal Communication Module

Blue Sky Energy, Inc., a leading manufacturer of photovoltaic (PV) battery charge controllers introduces the Universal Communication Module (UCM) for its Solar BoostTM family of Maximum Power Point Tracking solar charge controllers. Blue Sky Energy’s IPN network based charge controllers coordinate their activities and share resources over the proprietary IPN network. The new UCM provides is a full featured communication bridge or gateway between IPN network based charge controllers and external system, including remote access over the Internet.
According to Melanie Cullen, V.P. of Operations and Marketing, “We are excited to bring the UCM’s web enabled capability to the charge controller market place. The UCM is compatible with all of Blue Sky Energy’s IPN compatible charge controllers and provides multiple standard communication interfaces including RS-485 Modbus, Ethernet based Modbus/IP, FTP data upload, and a built in web site server. Unlike other web enabled products the UCM’s built in web site server allows remote access to all charge controller data and setup parameters over the Internet without a subscription. If an IPN-ProRemote display is present on the IPN network it’s full featured battery system monitoring functionality and associated setup become available as well. The UCM also provides 128 days of data logging of key performance parameters which may be downloaded from the UCM’s web site.”
Source: www.renewableenergyworld.com

SolarCity sees U.S. panel prices tumbling in 2011

Solar panel prices in the United States are likely to drop by 20 cents per watt this year, according to the head of SolarCity, one of the nation’s largest photovoltaic solar service companies.
That drop would put the price of the panels that convert sunlight into electricity at about $1.40 per watt on average, or about 12.5 percent below prices quoted at the beginning of 2011.
Chief Executive Officer Lyndon Rive said the decline will help privately held SolarCity, which buys the panels from manufacturers and installs them for homes and businesses, to reach its cost-cutting target of 5 to 8 percent this year.
Prices for solar panels have dropped by about 75 percent in the past decade, and make up less than half the total cost of installing a rooftop system.
Most major solar manufacturers are increasing their output capacity of solar panels this year in a bid to grow their market share, even as key markets in Europe trim spending on the subsidies that are crucial to the fast-growing industry.
That could lead to a glut of solar panels on the market, squeezing margins at companies such as Trina Solar, First Solar Inc and SolarWorld AG.
However, market experts say those price declines are necessary to help the renewable power source compete with other sources of energy such as natural gas and coal, as well as reduce its dependence on government supports.

Source:  www.reuters.com

Renewable energy based on the principle of entropy

In nature, the diffusion of river water into salty seawater leads to a slight rise in temperature, and this energy could be captured to generate electricity. The conventional means of capture has been through osmotic power. Fresh water and salt water are separated by a membrane, and the salt water draws fresh water through the membrane, causing an increase in pressure. The pressure can then be used in a variety of ways, for example to turn a turbine. The Norway-based company Statkraft is testing one such osmotic power facility.
A team of researchers from Stanford University  approached the problem from a different angle and came up with a more compact system. As reported by Andy Extance at the Royal Society of Chemists, the Stanford system uses a battery to draw energy through a crystal lattice made of manganese dioxide nanorods, which pack a large surface area into a small space.

Source: www.cleantechnica.com