Category: Europe

The green certificates will be halved this year for all green energy projects that will be fulfilled after the first month of 2014. This means there will be three certificates per MW since now there are six per MW.

The Romanian government recently reported that it will reduce its support not only for solar PV, but also for wind and hydro energies by bringing down the number of green certificates. This measure is valid from today but is only valid for projects finished in February.

Unfortunately, solar PV is dealing with the biggest cut. This means that projects finished during next month will only get three green certificates per MW, as now they are getting six.

Romania is going with a measuring system for the support of renewables that says that the project developers get green certificates for every megawatt generated for 15 years after commissioning. Power suppliers and industrial users are obliged to purchase certificates based on an annual quota given by the energy regulator. So, the project developers are wining by selling certificates and also by selling electricity.

Still, a new study run by the National Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE) reveals that renewable power producers get way too many certificates for the generated energy and the investment they make in power plants is too small. So, the Romanian government was advised to cut the number of certificates per quota.

By these means, the Romanian government requested its efforts to be a struggle to minimize the effects of electricity high prices for households and industry.

The new contribution cuts, starting tomorrow, will have a purpose of obtaining a green certificate suspension approved in June by which the ministry ceases two out of six green certificates granted to PV energy producers per MWh put into the grid. These plans, however, will not be concerned in tomorrow’s policy.

Yet, the latest government policy is being regarded by many critics to be an attempt to put cuts in the investment flow into PV and other renewable techs, which have topped the initial national targets set by the energy manager bestowing to the country’s EU engagements.

Roxana MORARU

Scotland has got 106 MW of PV capacity installed, meaning the country overcame de 100 MW milestone with 36% growth in only one year.

Official data from British energy analysts, Ofgem, show that the new 106 MW of installed PV capacity bluster represents a growth of 36% in 2013.

Although in Scotland the radiation rate is low, positive political policies and the desire for solar energy has influenced the industry boost this year and the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) joined Scottish solar lobbyists in their cause to pursue the Scottish government to help the burgeoning industry develop.

Three years ago the country had only 2 MW of installed plants, 429 small-scale solar installations. This year over 28,000 homes, 56 communities, 22 industrial sites and 465 have solar modules installed, fact that encouraged the Scottish Solar Energy Group, WWF Scotland and the Energy Technology Partnership to ask the Scottish government to offer more political support for solar.

“Scotland might seem like an unlikely place for solar, but if you look at a solar radiation map, parts of Scotland receive about 80 to 90% of the solar energy of Germany, the world leader in solar deployment, with 35 GW installed to date,” said chairwoman of the Scottish Solar Energy Group, Anne-Marie Fuller. He also added that there is no reason for which significantly more solar could not be installed if people really wanted to.

The country also plans to have 100% green energy sources by 2020 taking into account the fact that offshore wind power is transitioning. Still, the country should not ignore the potential of solar PV power, especially the commercial and residential installations.

 Roxana MORARU

The U.K government is adapting EU’s Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive that will function starting from January 1, 2014, supported by PV Cycle.

U.K will take a step forward regarding the disposal of PV modules, and starting from January 1, 2014, the British government is going to announce their own interpretation of the European Union’s WEEE Directive in a move complimented by pan-European recycling organization PV Cycle.

By being placed before Parliament on December 10, U.K became the first EU member state that has ratified their national laws before the deadline on February 14 the upcoming year.

The WEEE Directive was brought up to date a year ago to include PV modules and the PV industry received a transition period for one and a half year within which all EU governments have to introduce new

The WEEE Directive was updated in August 2012 to incorporate PV modules, with the industry given an 18-month transition period within which all 27 EU governments must incorporate new intructions on PV waste into their own laws.

“While it’s unusual to see the introduction of new regulations take effect before the legal deadline, it makes sense in this instance as the new regulations come into force at the start of a new compliance year, which is defined on a calendar year basis, and to introduce changes part way through the year would have caused confusion and additional costs,” reported David Burton, PV Cycle U.K.’s country manager of producer compliance scheme.

As the new directive states, all PV modules that are no longer functional have to be disposed of correctly. PV Cycle, an organization that is responsible for the PV disposal, is taking care of some collection points for PV modules in Europe. The organization is also guiding PV producers to recycle theirs products as the law states.

“The regulations are traditionally focused upon ensuring collection and recycling of consumer PV products, but not necessarily on the very nature of PV panels with their long lifecycle and B2B character,” said Burton. “Thankfully, the U.K.’s Department of Businees, Skills and Innovation (BIS) have taken a pragmatic approach, in consultation with the PV sector, to ensure that the industry takes responsibility without damaging its long-term sustainability objectives.”

Roxana MORARU

UK start-up New Wave Energy is working on the UAV technology for aerial renewables to be built. The company’s plan includes raising $500,000 through crowd funding.

The project designers of the new technology that have in mind installation of solar farms on the unmanned aerial vehicles believe the project could bring a lot of opportunities for solar companies worldwide.

The director of UK start-up New Wave Energy UK, Michael Burdett, announced that the firm’s technology can offer a new capacity for solar and wind developers and manufacturers by means of the construction of renewables projects above the world’s oceans.

New Wave’s patent pending UAV technology will ‘allow for large solar farms to be constructed with ease over the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans,’ added Burdett.

New Wave wants the prototype to be useful in disaster relief efforts and to prove the technology’s viability.

The company is collaborating with Texas A&M University in the U.S. in order to work on the wireless transmission aspect of the technology, that has been developed transmit energy to Earth from satellites.

The director also announced that the company has spoken to solar companies to explore collaboration and the use of various generation technologies.

“We would prefer to use thin film technologies due to the weight limitations for a UAV but we are willing to consider silicon panels and CPV technologies as well,” added the New Wave director.

Burdett added New Wave’s technology could also be used to construct solar farms above the world’s desert regions and he would be happy to work with the Desertec project, which aims to generate solar energy from the world’s desert and transmit it long distances to global energy demand centres.

65 MW of PV energy was already inaugurated in Romania by the German company. This 65 MW of solar consist of two plants and along with the last project, Skytron gathers 115 MW.

The firm that operates in the development of monitoring, control and supervision systems for clean energy programs, Berlin-based skytron solar energy, reports that it has been given to it a a 50 MW PV project in Romania by local EPC company, LSG Building Solutions. The pant is delegated to be finished until the end of the year and comes after two successfully installed PV plants, plants situated in the Romanian Giurgiu district, and both put together by skytron and LSG Building Solutions.

Skytron was not chosen to take care of this project in vain, but because of its expert knowledge of the grid system in Romania. This comes as a quite difficult request as this system is not as typical as other systems are.

skytron’s power plant controller is able to accommodate the power that goes into the grid in response to any transformation in grid frequency and the load capacity the PV plant can manage at any given time.

For this thins to happen, skytron has to measure the available PV power based on data provided by the company’s real-time condition monitoring system. A frequency stabilization system like this is one of a kind because it put into action without the necessity for expensive energy storage facilities.

“We are now realizing our third major project with skytron energy,” announced LSG’s general manager for Romania, Gerhard Lipkovich. “Initial teething troubles were quickly solved by skytron’s dependable cooperation and willingness to provide all the support and training necessary.”

“skytron energy were able to complete the final commissioning of 50 MW, including the complex controllers, in just two days. All of this convinced us about skytron’s proficiency,” he added.

Roxana Moraru

Renewable energy contributes to Kings Lynn-based KL Technologies energy supply providing 80% of its power needs.

A U.K.-based subsidiary of juwi group, Renewable Energies Ltd, finished a ingenious clean energy program for KL Technologies last week.

The Kings Lynn company has put their money into juwi’s facility to create a hybrid solar and wind power plant that stands for 80% of its energy needs.

The full capacity was not reached from the beginning since the 1.5 MW wind turbine was added only recently. The hybrid now brings KL Technologies the joy of low energy costs.

Since last year, when the solar plant was linked to company’s power grid, has broght approximately 2,000 MWh of renewable energy. But now, with the new wind turbine, KL technologies have little to worry about energy costs since the majority of energy is renewable. Moreover, it gives everybody an example of how solar and wind can shake hands and help companies meet their goals of using both low-priced and renewable energy.

“We save money and secure jobs by stabilizing our energy costs. The plant provides a real financial benefit to the company. With energy price increases expected each year for the foreseeable future we have locked in an electricity rate that allows the project to pay for itself while fixing our electricity price at a level where we can operate without fear of untenable energy costs” as Mark Hamilton, KL Technologies‘ financial director, announced.

Juwi said that at first the project seems difficult to implement but since the company had experience in difficult situations, it helped KL Technologies accomplish it’s plan.”We had to work around an existing industrial facility and connect the plant to it while the business was in full operation. We constructed the plant with lower costs so we could run it economically even with the lower FIT,” Jan Sisson, juwi Renewable Energies Limited MD.

From the moment the plant was put into function, the employees responded in a good way. “Employees see the investment in a UK manufacturing plant as very positive for the sustainability of the site, Customers also like the idea that their product is made by using eco-friendly energy, and the profile of the site within the local community has also increased significantly” in Hamilton’s opinion.

The latest founding, Institut Photovoltaique d’Ile-de-France (IPVF), will be partially financed by France’s state-backed French National Research Agency (ANR) in order to provate solar R&D.

In France, in Paris to be precise, The Ecole Polytechnique has made an alliance with the government to leading energy firm to build the IPVF for solar R&D.

The government has focused on the country’s solar research and development industry and decided to put money into this. Thus the French National Research Agency (ANR) was announced this week that it will benefit from a €18.5 million financing deal for the Institut Photovoltaïque d’Ile-de-France (IPVF), a top priority project for the solar technology initiative.

IPVF is an alliance between the oil company Total, the energy giant EDF, the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), and Ecole polytechnique engineering school. It is run by ANR on behalf of France’s agency for investment policy, with its main purpose to help French cities encounter up coming renewable energy targets.

“The institute aims to make France a global leader in solar energy and to shape the future landspace of PV,” are Jean-François Minster, senior Vp of scientific development at Total’s words. “We must support the energy transition by speeding up the development of affordable, efficient solutions.”

The IPVF will concentrate on some types of research activities created to help with the creation and development of new concepts, and enhance existing technologies and widen the understanding of solar power’s environmental benefits. The R&D sector will have as priorities five scientific programs: materials for high-efficiency silicon cells, high-efficiency, thin-film solar cells made using chalcogenide materials, new concepts for a competitive PV industry, a multidisciplinary program on advanced characterization techniques, theory and modeling and a program dedicated to environmental impact studies.

The project is to rise starting at the beginning of the next year with a total budget of €150 million. The location for the new institute is Paris-Saclay campus. The institute will be a second home for about 200 researchers and scientists.