Category: Market News

Tata Steel is investing in solar paint

Tata Steel has said it is investing around £10m in a trio of Welsh research projects working to commercialise emerging low carbon building technologies, such as paint on solar cells that could turn homes, offices and factories into mini power stations.
Tata yesterday cut the ribbon on the £6.5m Sustainable Building Envelope Centre at Shotton in North Wales, where it will test new integrated heating, energy and ventilation systems on the fabric of buildings, including pioneering dye solar cell technology.
Earlier this week, Tata also said it would expand an £11m photovoltaics project, also at Shotton, to develop a manufacturing process for Dyesol’s dye solar cells. The decision allows the project to enter a second phase in June, meaning that Tata will expand the workforce from 30 to 50, at a cost of about £3.5m a year, with further investments yet to be determined.
Peter Strikwerda, managing director of Tata Steel Colors, said that Dyesol technology is at the heart of its plan to develop a new range of coated steel products capable of generating renewable energy for use on the roofs and walls of buildings.
Source: businessGreen

Japan’s Kyocera to build second solar panel plant in Čzech Republic

Kadan, March 31 (CTK) – Japanese company Kyocera has launched the construction of its second solar panel plant in the industrial zone in Kadan in the Usti nad Labem region, northern Bohemia, Stepanka Filipova of the government agency CzechInvest told CTK Thursday.
Kyocera is going to invest Kc700m in the new plant.
At present it employs around 600 people in the region. In the autumn it is going to hire another 400 employees.
Usti nad Labem is a region with the highest employment in the country. In February it registered 60,612 jobless people.
According to the Kyocera management, the Kadan enterprise is its base for the European market.
The new plant is to have a capacity of 360 MW. Kyocera’s total solar panel production in both Kadan plants should reach 560 MW annually.
The Kadan company supplies solar panels to the entire Europe. Besides the Czech Republic, Kyocera has plants in Japan, China, Mexico and the USA.

Source: http://praguemonitor.com/2011/04/01/japans-kyocera-build-another-solar-panel-plant-%C4%8Dr

Vestas has plans for building a giant turbine in UK

Vestas has hinted it is considering building a new manufacturing facility in the UK, after unveiling the long-awaited design for its first wind turbine designed specifically for the next generation of offshore North Sea projects.
The world’s largest wind turbine manufacturer today launched the new V164-7.0MW turbine, which is 1MW larger than anticipated – and 1MW larger than the offshore turbines planned by rivals Siemens and General Electric.
Speaking at the launch of the turbine design in London today, Vestas chief executive Ditlev Engel said the company will require a new production facility for the 7MW machine at an undecided coastal location if it secures enough orders.
“This is an investment we are ready to make, but only if we see firm commitment from our customers,” he said. “A commitment that is backed by the political framework.”
Vestas Offshore president Anders Søe-Jensen confirmed the company’s Isle of Wight research and development centre will produce the V164’s 80 metre blades, each weighing 35 tonnes.
He also hinted the UK would be a strong contender for any new manufacturing site for the remaining components.
“[In order to lower costs] we need to build offshore where the wind resources are best, and that happens to be right here at our doorstep in the North Sea,” he said. “The ambitions and the volume definitely seem to be in the UK, but it is vital for the UK not to lose the first-mover momentum. Not least to address the energy gap at the end of the decade, but also to maximise possible job creation benefits.”
Weighing about 800 tonnes and standing at 187 metres high, the giant turbine constitutes Vestas’ largest ever research and development investment. It is expected to be able to produce enough electricity in one hour to supply one and a half households for a year.
The first prototypes are slated for construction in the fourth quarter of 2012, with serial production expected to start during the first quarter of 2015.
Source: www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2038728/vestas-manufacture-giant-7mw-wind-turbine-uk

Geothermal projects get started in USA

The United States’ geothermal industry is cautiously celebrating the return of investors to hot projects that had cooled off with the recession.
The Geothermal Energy Association (GEA) expects at least a half-dozen idled projects to finally begin construction in the next three years thanks to $6 billion in renewed investments, including a $96.8 million U.S. Department of Energy loan guarantee announced last week for the 23 MW Neal Hot Springs power plant in Eastern Oregon.
“There are probably more geothermal projects under development today in the United States than there has ever been in U.S. history,” said GEA Executive Director Karl Gawell.
The GEA hopes to release better estimates at the end of the month, so it is still unclear how many projects will actually get enough funding for completion. For now, Gawell says he has accumulated anecdotal evidence that more investors are picking up where they left off in 2008 and 2009.
Though exploration has all but stopped, the industry is hopeful that the extension of the Section 1603 Tax Credit program could provide a cash incentive for new development. Some say federal grants could also help jump-start investment in rapidly advancing low-temperature technology, creating the potential for a new wave of next-generation projects.
Some of the biggest geothermal developers are not yet convinced that 2011 will be the time to invest in the costly drilling of new exploration wells. Since the U.S. has become mired in the politics of climate change, there are no guarantees that cash grants through a one-year tax credit extension will sustain growth beyond 2011.
Yes even amid all the uncertainty in the U.S., Ormat and other developers are focusing attention overseas, where developing countries view geothermal resources as less expensive alternatives to coal power plants.
“When things are slow in the U.S. … our sales folks are developing projects in the ring of fire region in places with prolific geothermal resources, like Indonesia,” said Ormat spokesman Paul Thompson.
GEA estimates the addition of at least 1,000 MW of U.S.-based geothermal projects in the next three years.

Source: www.renewableenergyworld.com