INDUSTRY – Solar Magazine

World’s largest offshore wind farm approved by the UK Government

The world’s biggest wind farm will be built off the coast of Britain after it got the green light on Tuesday. Source.

The Hornsea Project Two offshore wind farm – set to be the largest in the world – received the green light from the U.K. government on Tuesday after it was granted development consent by the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Secretary Greg Clark.

According to CNBC, the wind farm will consist of “up to” 300 turbines and will be situated 89 kilometers off the coast of Yorkshire, northeast England. The government added that if built to full capacity, total investment will amount to roughly £6 billion ($7.79 billion).

The project, when finished, could potentially provide as much as 1,800 megawatts of electricity to more than a million homes in the U.K., and generate nearly 2,000 construction jobs and 580 operational and maintenance positions.

“The U.K.’s offshore wind industry has grown at an extraordinary rate over the last few years, and is a fundamental part of our plans to build a clean, affordable, secure energy system,” Clark said in a statement.

“Britain is a global leader in offshore wind, and we’re determined to be one of the leading destinations for investment in renewable energy, which means jobs and economic growth right across the country,” he added.

The project is being developed by SMartWind, which is owned by DONG Energy. In a statement on Tuesday, Denmark-headquartered DONG Energy said it welcomed the decision and would now review the details of the development consent order.

“Hornsea Project Two is a huge potential infrastructure project which could provide enough green energy to power 1.6 million U.K. homes,” Brent Cheshire, U.K. country chairman for DONG Energy, said in a statement.

“A project of this size will help in our efforts to continue reducing the cost of electricity from offshore wind and shows our commitment to investing in the U.K.,” he added.

The U.K. government said it expected that 10 gigawatts of offshore wind would be installed by the end of this decade.

The world’s first “Tesla Town”: solar roofs and Powerwalls

The world’s first ‘Tesla Town’ is coming to Australia. Image source.

It’s been less than 6 months since Australia received its first shipment of the highly anticipated Tesla Powerwalls, but the country’s developers are already gearing up for big changes, announcing plans to build the world’s first Telsa-powered town in Melbourne.

According to D’Marge, the mini-suburb located on the outskirts of Melbourne’s CBD, has been dubbed “YarraBend” after the river that runs through it and will feature brand new houses, all fitted out with a solar roof and built-in Tesla Powerwall.

Hailed as one of the most environmentally sustainable developments in Australia, YarraBend’s 2500 houses will apparently see water use reduced by 43%, landfill contributions reduced by 80%, and will give residents the ability to recharge their electric cars for free.

The homes, designed, developed and built by property group Glenvill, will be made up of a combination of single-family homes, townhouses, and apartments, solar powered and containing energy efficient lighting and appliances.

If you’re interested in jumping on the Tesla bandwagon and minimising your impact on the environment you better be quick with the first 60 homes going on sale this week at prices between $1.48 million and $2.1 million.

Solar energy will be mainstream by 2020, says new report

Analysis predicts the cost of solar cells is to fall dramatically over next five years but the loss of subsidies will be a setback for the technology in Europe. Image source.

Solar power is reaching maturity as a global energy source, with solar power systems for both residential and utilities in line to reach grid parity by 2020, at which point the cost of electricity generated by the sun will be the same as that from other sources, according to new research from industry analysts Frost & Sullivan.

“Pro-solar incentives and the recently made pledges at the COP 21 summit will ensure that the market for solar [photovoltaic cells] continues to grow exponentially over the next five years,” said Frost & Sullivan energy and environment research analyst Pritil Gunjan.

Raw material suppliers, solar cell manufacturers, solar module manufacturers, and equipment suppliers and installers are all positioned to benefit, says the report.

According to Science Business, the growth will happen mainly in China, India and Japan, which together will account for more than 80 per cent of all solar installations planned over the next five years.

It will be a less prosperous period for Europe’s solar industry which, “will suffer a setback due to withdrawal of subsidies and incentives,” the analysis says.

Huge overcapacity, coupled with a fall in the price of solar components, will see European suppliers struggling to turn a profit.

By contrast, solar panel manufactures will see strong growth in North America, largely thanks to the extension of investment tax credit eligibility for solar generators until 2019.

Solar panel revenues stood at $113.75 billion in 2015 and will grow to $179.13 billion in 2020.

IRENA: Solar energy boosts food production and fights poverty

“Solar sharing”= agriculture and sunshine brings new prosperity to farmers around the world. Image source.

A new paper from IRENA, launched at InterSolar Europe in Munich, highlights the way solar technology is being used to power food production and empower communities to escape poverty.

Solar Pumping for Irrigation: Improving livelihoods and sustainability, details how solar technology is being used to improve farming efficiency and agricultural output, highlighting successful examples from across Africa and Asia.

A growing need for change

According to the United Nations, more than 40% of the world’s population makes a living in the agriculture sector — many of whom live in poverty. Socio-economic development is strongly linked to agricultural productivity, and as climate change continues to disrupt rainfall patterns, developing irrigation is becoming a vital tool to combat poverty. Given that only 5% of sub-Saharan African farmland irrigated, and that the continent is home to one of the fastest growing populations on the planet, the need to produce more food and energy is becoming critical.

Some countries are now exploring solar-based solutions (e.g. water pumps powered by solar panels), which provide reliable, cost-effective, and environmentally sustainable energy for decentralized irrigation services. These solutions are even cost-competitive with diesel powered pumps in many cases.

For example, Solar Pumping for Irrigation highlights a case in India, where diesel-powered water pumps on salt-pan farms were replaced with solar-powered pumps. The change resulted in a life-changing 161% increase in annual monetary savings for the farmers, in addition to reduced air pollution and CO2 emissions.

Solar-pumps and other solar technologies are proven to positively affect the lives of both men and women. For example, the installation of three solar-powered drip-irrigation systems in the Kalale district of northern Benin helped a co-operative of 35-45 women free themselves from four hours of labor a day. The increased time and more reliable income from the irrigation system helps the women to feed, educate, and provide medical care for their families.

Adopting a ‘Nexus Approach’

Water, energy, and food are intimately interlinked. Within this nexus, actions taken in any areas affects the others. In Solar Pumping for Irrigation, IRENA calls for a holistic approach with regards to policy, which recommends to:

foster innovation and flexibility when delivering solar pumping solutions;
take into account target groups and the long-term sustainability of markets when considering financial instruments to support solar pumping;
focus on after-sales support and capacity building: providing support for regular operation and maintenance;
package energy and water-efficient solutions in water-stressed areas;
assess the direct and indirect impacts on water resources;
monitor performance and gather data;
consider the influence of availability and cost of energy on the choice of crops grown;
and adopt an integrated approach to programme design: solar pumps can also bring electricity to poorly connected communities and contribute to the achievement of multiple Sustainable Development Goals.

IRENA: Solar energy boosts food production and fights poverty

“Solar sharing”= agriculture and sunshine brings new prosperity to farmers around the world. Image source.

A new paper from IRENA, launched at InterSolar Europe in Munich, highlights the way solar technology is being used to power food production and empower communities to escape poverty.

A growing need for change

Adopting a ‘Nexus Approach’

foster innovation and flexibility when delivering solar pumping solutions;
take into account target groups and the long-term sustainability of markets when considering financial instruments to support solar pumping;
focus on after-sales support and capacity building: providing support for regular operation and maintenance;
package energy and water-efficient solutions in water-stressed areas;
assess the direct and indirect impacts on water resources;
monitor performance and gather data;
consider the influence of availability and cost of energy on the choice of crops grown;
and adopt an integrated approach to programme design: solar pumps can also bring electricity to poorly connected communities and contribute to the achievement of multiple Sustainable Development Goals.

World’s largest coal supplier to build one of world’s largest solar power plants

SolarReserve is building one of the world’s largest solar thermal power plants. Image source.

SolarReserve has signed an agreement with the Shenhua Group of China to build one of the world’s largest solar thermal 24-hour a day power plants. This contract is part of the 13th Plan of Five-year National Development by China that outlines installing 10,000MW of Concentrated Solar Power.

According to electrek.co, SolarReserve’s technology is unique in the solar power industry because it offers electricity from the sun at night. The Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Plant in Nevada is SolarReserve’s largest power plant and offers 10 hours of full-load energy storage, making it the world’s first utility-scale facility to feature advanced molten salt power tower energy storage capabilities.

More importantly though, with China now emitting close to 30% of the world’s CO2 emissions, China’s total coal use is falling – by 3.7% in 2015 and 2.9% in 2014 (it is a controversial claim in some corners). Just one month ago China made an emergency ruling:

“The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the National Energy Administration (NEA) have ordered a halt to construction of coal-fired plants in 13 provinces where capacity is already in surplus, including major coal producers such as Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, and Shaanxi. A further 15 provinces will be required to delay construction of already-approved plants.”

This ruling probably has something to do to The China Central Television Headquarters in Beijing constantly being hidden with smog and an estimated 1.2 to 2 million deaths a year from air pollution. It also has to do with China pledging to be a player in the Paris Climate Agreement.

Energy Minister, Piyush Goyal, said in a recent press conference, “I think a new coal plant would give you costlier power than a solar plant. Of course, there are challenges of 24/7 power. We accept all of that – but we have been able to come up with a solar-based long-term vision that is not subsidy based.” Yesterday, from Dubai, we see an 800MW Solar PV plant being bid at $.0299/kWh – this price is very similar to the cheapest coal-based electricity in the world. Is coal starting to lose steam as the most prominent source of energy for the earth as a result of competitive pricing from Solar Power?

From the press release on SolarReserve’s website:

“SolarReserve, LLC, a leading global developer of utility-scale solar power projects with proprietary advanced solar thermal energy storage technology, and Shenhua Group Corporation, Ltd., a key state-owned enterprise in the People’s Republic of China, announced the companies have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to build 1,000 megawatts of solar thermal projects in China. SolarReserve’s solar storage technology solves the intermittency issues experienced with other renewable energy sources, enabling the delivery of 100% renewable baseload and dispatchable power with operational capabilities comparable to traditional fossil-fired and nuclear electricity generation methods.”

Alta Devices achieves 31.6% solar energy efficiency record

Alta Devices solar cells. Image source.

With its most recent solar efficiency record of 31.6%, Alta Devices continues to achieve solar efficiencies that are substantially higher than all other commercially available solar technologies.

According to Business Wire, this breakthrough, combined with its unique thinness and flexibility, redefines how solar technology can be used. In particular, Alta’s solar technology is of great interest in the UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) market. The increased power-to-weight ratio of Alta’s technology enables dramatically different possibilities for an aircraft using this technology versus any of the other solar power options.

As an example, on a typical HALE (high altitude long endurance) UAV aircraft, Alta’s solar material requires less than half of the surface area and weighs one-fourth as much while providing the same amount of power as competing thin film technologies. These savings open UAV designers to a variety of alternative design options. Additional batteries can be installed on the vehicle, providing longer operational life spans and flight times than originally considered. Alternatively, payload functionality can be tailored for higher speed or longer distance wireless communications. Either of these design optimizations translate into a considerable increase in economic value to the aircraft operator.

Our goal has always been to enable solar power to be useful in configurations and applications that have never before been possible,” said Rich Kapusta, Alta Devices Chief Marketing Officer. “The UAV application is an important example of how this happens.”

Alta Devices also provides solar technology for a variety of other applications including wearable devices and the Internet of Things (IoT) in order to eliminate the need for battery replacement or recharging.

31.6% efficiency certified by the NREL

Solar efficiency is measured and certified by the Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). According to NREL’s testing, Alta Devices’ new dual-junction solar cell is the world’s most efficient 1-sun cell at 31.6% efficiency. This is the seventh overall solar efficiency record that Alta Devices has set since 2010.

Alta has achieved this breakthrough by modifying its basic “single-junction” gallium arsenide (GaAs) material. The company’s dual junction technology builds on the basic GaAs approach but implements a second junction (or layer) with Indium Gallium Phosphide (InGaP). Because InGaP uses high-energy photons more efficiently, the new dual-junction cell generates more electricity from the same amount of light than a single-junction device. With this breakthrough, Alta currently holds both the dual-junction and single-junction records at 31.6% and 28.8%, respectively.

This power station can harvest kinetic wave energy and turn it into electricity

Wavestar, 4 years of continuous operation in the North Sea. Image source.

The Wavestar machine draws energy from wave power with floats that rise and fall with the up and down motion of waves. The floats are attached by arms to a platform that stands on legs secured to the sea floor. The motion of the floats is transferred via hydraulics into the rotation of a generator, producing electricity.

According to wavestarenergy.com, waves run the length of the machine, lifting 20 floats in turn. Powering the motor and generator in this way enables continuous energy production and a smooth output. This is a radical new standard and a unique concept in wave energy; it’s one of the few ways to convert fluctuating wave power into the high-speed rotation necessary to generate electricity.

“Environmental and climate issues, as well as uncertainty about energy supply, demand that we diversify our energy supply to multiple renewable and clean sources. With enough space for wave energy machines but little exploitation thus far, Wavestar is not just developing a wave power device, but energizing a whole movement.

Energy production with wave energy is more predictable than wind because waves come and go slowly and can be forecast 24 hours ahead. The Wavestar machine could also be installed together with a wind turbine which would further increase efficiency and reduce set-up costs. Wavestar understand that we need many renewable energy solutions, not just one, so it makes sense to harness the power of waves”, the team said.

Unique sea survivability

Survivability at sea is a big problem for wave energy devices. But unlike any other wave energy concept, the Wavestar’s sea survivability is guaranteed, and the concept has been proved during many years of continuous operation at sea. It can continue production in strong wind and waves, and automatically raises the floats out of the sea when the conditions become too stormy.

Award winning design

The Wavestar machine’s efficiency is being continually increased. The design was recently modified to reduce the cost by 40 per cent, while energy harvesting capacity and other aspects of the machine are being constantly improved for better efficiency. The Wavestar machine is less visible and quieter than wind turbines, and it also has a positive impact on wildlife below the machine, creating a sanctuary enhanced by the limits on nearby fishing.

The aesthetic profile of the machine won the prestigious Biennale Prize at the Biennial of Crafts and Design in 2009. The machine was nominated for the “highly original and striking sculptural design of a wave power machine, which in one single image symbolizes and clarifies the huge potential of this renewable energy resource … the wave power machine constitutes a beautiful counterpart to the clear form expression of the modern windmill.”

With the 500 kW machine in development, the company has claimed a position among the leading alternative energy developers in the world. Wave Star aim to make it the first series-produced 1 MW machine for big oceans, ready for sale in 2017. Wave Star is not stopping there though. The machine will then be doubled in size, capable of handling twice the wave height. This will increase each machine’s output to 6 MW, enabling a single machine to provide energy for 4,000 homes.

More info and details below:

Scotland generated more than half its electricity from renewables last year

Whitelee Wind Farm, Scotland. Image source.

Scotland has reached an ambitious renewable energy milestone by generating 57.7 percent of its gross electricity consumption. It also made up about 26 percent of total UK renewable generation last year.

According to Ars Technica UK, the government’s department of energy and climate change has released provisional numbers of renewable energy generation in 2015, which revealed that renewable electricity generated in Scotland last year totalled 21,983 GWh, with around 64 percent of that figure coming from wind turbines, and another 27 percent from hydro generators. Both sources showed a year-to-year increase in generation—of 21 percent and 7 percent, respectively.

Scotland now appears to be on track to fulfil its 2020 goal of having all of the country’s electricity consumption supplied by renewables. However, plans for the next four years might prove more difficult, given the significant cuts in renewable energy subsidies announced by the UK government in late 2015.

Scottish clean energy campaigners are predictably unhappy and have attacked UK prime minister David Cameron about the reductions to renewable energy subsidies.

“This is great news and an important step in creating a fossil-free Scotland,” said Dr. Richard Dixon, Friends of the Earth Scotland director. “Despite the UK government’s ideological assault on renewable energy Scotland is storming ahead, smashing through our 50 percent target for 2015. Well done to all those in this vital industry who have helped produced a big increase from the 2014 figures.”

“Clean, green energy is essential in the fight against climate change, and Scotland needs to continue to be a champion of renewables while David Cameron continues to chase the nuclear dream in England.”

New world record set in renewable energy investments

Record renewable energy investment in 2015. Image source.

All investments in renewables, including early-stage technology and R&D (Research and Development) as well as spending on new capacity, totalled $286 billion in 2015, some 3 per cent higher than the previous record in 2011, said the 10th edition of United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) annual report — Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment 2016.

According to Gulf News, a total of 134 gigawatts (GW) of renewable power was added worldwide in 2015 compared to 106GW in 2014 and 87GW in 2013, the report said.

It highlighted that the green investments had broadened out to a wider and wider array of developing countries, helped by sharply reduced costs and by the benefits of local power production over-reliance on imported commodities.

“Renewables are becoming ever more central to our low-carbon lifestyles, and the record-setting investments in 2015 are further proof of this trend. Importantly, for the first time in 2015, renewables in investments were higher in developing countries than developed,” said Achim Steiner, executive director at UNEP, in an official statement.

In 2015, for the first time, investments in renewable energy in developing and emerging economy nations ($156 billion, up 19 per cent compared to 2014) surpassed those in developed countries ($130 billion, down eight per cent from 2014).

Much of these record-breaking developing world investments took place in China (up 17 per cent to $102.9 billion, or 36 per cent of the world total).

Other developing countries showing increased investment included India (up 22 per cent to $10.2 billion), South Africa (up 329 per cent to $4.5 billion), Mexico (up 105 per cent to $4 billion) and Chile (up 151 per cent to $3.4 billion).

Among developed countries, investment in Europe was down 21 per cent, from $62 billion in 2014 to $48.8 billion in 2015, the continent’s lowest figure for nine years despite record investments in offshore wind projects.

Investments in the US were up by 19 per cent to $44.1 billion, and in Japan investment was much the same as the previous year at $36.2 billion.

The report was launched by the Frankfurt School-UNEP Collaborating Centre for Climate & amp; Sustainable Energy Finance and Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF).