If ever there was a story at the intersection of big theoretical science and applied engineering, this is it.
CERN, the international Swiss physics lab renowned for hunting the elusive Higgs boson, smashing subatomic particles, unravelling the mysteries of antimatter, toying with faster-than-light neutrinos and so forth, has something much more pedestrian to tell the world: It has developed and commercialized a solar panel, and installed a few hundred of them on the roof of the Geneva International Airport.
But this is no ordinary solar panel. CERN built it using technology first developed for its particle colliders - in case you’ve been sleeping these last few months, CERN has been busy operating its 17-mile underground circular particle accelerator and collider to try find the Higgs boson, a sub-sub atomic particle that would help confirm what’s known as the Standard Model of particle physics. We won’t digress onto that.
“The panels emerged from vacuum technologies that were developed for fundamental physics purposes, and it is highly gratifying to see them put to use for renewable energy,” says CERN scientist and the panel’s inventor Cristoforo Benvenuti, in a press release.
The thin film solar panel deploys a vacuum with ”getter” strips, which CERN describes as “a material which attracts residual gas molecules like bugs to flypaper.” CERN first used getter strips in the 1980s in its Large Electron-Positron Collider, a predecessor to the Large Hadron Collider which it uses today.
In the solar panels, the strips presumably attract photons that then transform into electricity via a photovoltaic process. But CERN won’t tell me. They fobbed off that question and others I posed, referring me to their commercial partner, a Spanish company called SRB.
My journalistic instincts tell me it’s going to take a while to receive meaningful responses, so I’m posting this now, before the news gets too stale. CERN announced it on March 9.
The panels’s vacuum chamber provides excellent insulation according to the CERN press release, which says that they have maintained internal temperatures of 80 degrees C when covered in snow.
The panels make use of thin film technology rather than conventional silicon solar cells. Most solar panels in the market today are based on silicon, although some, like those from First Solar and Solar Frontier, use thin film.
I tried to get CERN to tell me what thin film material they use, but see the account of the brush-off a few paragraphs above. First Solar uses cadmium-telluride, and Solar Frontier uses copper-indium-gallium- selenide (CIGS).
None of this sounds like the sort of thing the common man could afford. In an era when solar panel prices are plunging, I can’t imagine that a “getter” stripped, vacuum-chambered solar panel could come to Main Street without a sizable bank loan.
I applaud CERN for putting its heady technology to practical use. It’s not the first time something with everyday potential has emerged from the Swiss wonderama land. Tim Berners Lee conceived the World Wide Web while at CERN.
But until I get some more answers, this one feels a little like CERN is trying to show a practical side to offset its critics who complain that it spends tons of public money on big science machines and experiments.
2012年3月20日星期二
2012年2月1日星期三
Biogas stations fastest growing renewable energy source in 2011
Biogas stations were developing at the fastest pace from all domestic renewable energy sources last year and their installed output for which the Energy Regulatory Office (ERU) issued licences rose by 63 megawatts in the year - to 168 megawatts, according to ERU data.
On the other hand, the output of solar power plants increased by only 6 megawatts to 1,959 megawatts.
Installed output of solar power plants in 2010 more than quadrupled to 1,953 megawatts. The state then toughened conditions for investors into photovoltaic plants, which slowed down their development last year.
Only 158 photovoltaic power plants were built last year, while in 2010, nearly 7,000 new photovoltaic sources were built.
High subsidies pulled the growth by biogas stations last year when their number rose by 84 to 264. The government began to fear that there could be the same problem like by the solar power plants whose development has caused higher energy prices.
The Agriculture Ministry and Industry and Trade Ministry therefore abolished programmes of subsidies for biogas stations last year. Under new minister Petr Bendl, the Agriculture Ministry renewed the subsidies in November.
Installed output of wind power plants also grew very slowly last year - by 3 megawatts to 218 megawatts. The situation was similar by small hydroelectric plants whose installed output increased by only 1.5 megawatts to 142 megawatts last year.
ERU expects the output of solar power plants to grow only moderately in the coming years. Power distributing companies recently allowed again connection of new solar panels on the roofs of buildings.
Grid operator CEPS said that solar power plants and wind farms with total output of 65 megawatts could be safely connected to the grid this year.
According to the National Action Plan for renewable sources, these "green energy producers" are to cover 13.5 percent of total energy consumption in 2020. The plan sets limits on the individual kinds of renewable energy sources.
However, by photovoltaic power plants the limit has already been reached and so the Industry and Trade Ministry prepares to redraw the action plan.
Data on the share of renewable energy sources in total energy consumption for last year are not yet available. Their share in 2010 stood at roughly 8.5 percent.
In particular photovoltaic power plants are being criticised for taking up the biggest part of support for renewable energy sources and thus contributing most to the increase in electricity prices.
Of the total annual costs of renewable energy sources worth Kc36bn, more than Kc22bn goes to photovoltaic plants. The state provides a subsidy worth less than Kc12bn to prevent even higher electricity prices.
Over 60 percent of the contribution to renewable energy sources is for solar power plants, according to ERU data. However, solar power plants have only a 11.5 percent share in electricity produced by renewable sources.
On the other hand, the output of solar power plants increased by only 6 megawatts to 1,959 megawatts.
Installed output of solar power plants in 2010 more than quadrupled to 1,953 megawatts. The state then toughened conditions for investors into photovoltaic plants, which slowed down their development last year.
Only 158 photovoltaic power plants were built last year, while in 2010, nearly 7,000 new photovoltaic sources were built.
High subsidies pulled the growth by biogas stations last year when their number rose by 84 to 264. The government began to fear that there could be the same problem like by the solar power plants whose development has caused higher energy prices.
The Agriculture Ministry and Industry and Trade Ministry therefore abolished programmes of subsidies for biogas stations last year. Under new minister Petr Bendl, the Agriculture Ministry renewed the subsidies in November.
Installed output of wind power plants also grew very slowly last year - by 3 megawatts to 218 megawatts. The situation was similar by small hydroelectric plants whose installed output increased by only 1.5 megawatts to 142 megawatts last year.
ERU expects the output of solar power plants to grow only moderately in the coming years. Power distributing companies recently allowed again connection of new solar panels on the roofs of buildings.
Grid operator CEPS said that solar power plants and wind farms with total output of 65 megawatts could be safely connected to the grid this year.
According to the National Action Plan for renewable sources, these "green energy producers" are to cover 13.5 percent of total energy consumption in 2020. The plan sets limits on the individual kinds of renewable energy sources.
However, by photovoltaic power plants the limit has already been reached and so the Industry and Trade Ministry prepares to redraw the action plan.
Data on the share of renewable energy sources in total energy consumption for last year are not yet available. Their share in 2010 stood at roughly 8.5 percent.
In particular photovoltaic power plants are being criticised for taking up the biggest part of support for renewable energy sources and thus contributing most to the increase in electricity prices.
Of the total annual costs of renewable energy sources worth Kc36bn, more than Kc22bn goes to photovoltaic plants. The state provides a subsidy worth less than Kc12bn to prevent even higher electricity prices.
Over 60 percent of the contribution to renewable energy sources is for solar power plants, according to ERU data. However, solar power plants have only a 11.5 percent share in electricity produced by renewable sources.
2011年10月20日星期四
Solar cos that eschewed silicon step up their game
From start-ups such as Miasole and eSolar to industry heavyweights like First Solar Inc, solar companies that use raw materials other than polysilicon are working to preserve both their competitive positions and their survival.
"We've stepped up our game," said Jim Lamon, senior vice president for engineering, procurement and construction at First Solar, the world's most valuable solar company.
Though First Solar makes the lowest-cost solar panels in the world using cadmium telluride as its raw material, Lamon said the company is nevertheless squeezing out costs for other system components. And because its in-house construction teams use the same products in every project, Lamon said that gives them an efficiency edge over other solar project developers.
"We are hell-bent on keeping that wide margin," Lamon said in an interview.
It is the goal of solar manufacturers to bring down the price of solar power so that it can be more competitive with dirtier energy sources. However, this year's dramatic fall in the price of silicon-based panels has squeezed their profits and margins even while it made their products more affordable and competitive with other technologies.
Up-and-coming solar companies that lack the scale of either First Solar or the leading silicon-based panel makers are under even more pressure to finally bring a product to market that can compete with ever-cheaper traditional modules. At the same time, weak capital markets have made fundraising for companies with unproven technologies more challenging than ever.
"The market in general is resistant to new technologies that don't have a strong balance sheet behind them," said John Van Scoter, chief executive of eSolar Inc, which makes modular solar thermal power plants.
PRICE CONUNDRUM
Many small, privately held solar companies were founded when the price of polysilicon was in the hundreds of dollars per kilogram and the industry was looking for alternatives that would bring down the cost of renewable power more quickly.
Today, however, the rise of China as a major player in solar has helped send the price of solar-grade silicon to about $40 per kg, while prices on traditional solar modules have slumped as much as 40 percent this year alone.
"Trying to differentiate on technology in an industry that is focused on price is tough," said Chaim Lubin, an associate in investment bank Lincoln International's solar practice.
The likes of Evergreen Solar Inc and Solyndra learned that lesson the hard way. Both companies had been scaling up production of silicon-light solar products and were caught flat-footed when the price of silicon-based panels collapsed this year. Both filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the last two months.
At Miasole, a photovoltaic solar startup that uses copper indium gallium selenide as its raw material, a "cultural shift" is under way to transform the company -- which until recently was laser-focused on developing its technology -- into a nimble and efficient manufacturer, according to its vice president of marketing, Rob DeLine.
Miasole earlier this year struck a deal with Intel Corp under which the chipmaker provides training and expertise to help the solar company improve manufacturing and lower costs. Then, about a month ago, former Intel manufacturing chief Bob Baker joined Miasole as its president.
With Intel's help, Miasole produced record quantities of its product in the third quarter, DeLine said, and its output has become more predictable.
"Technology guys like to turn the knobs on a machine and discover stuff, and manufacturing guys like to freeze the dial on that same machine and run it day in and day out and have predictability," DeLine said in an interview.
Another venture-backed startup -- with an entirely different technology -- said it prepared early for an increasingly tough competitive climate.
"We saw it coming," said eSolar's Van Scoter.
That's because last year, NRG Energy Inc switched to solar projects that had intended to use eSolar technology to cheaper photovoltaic panels, spurring Van Scoter to action.
First, eSolar made a strategic shift to develop power storage capabilities for its power plants using molten salt technology. Then, this year it secured General Electric Co as a strategic investor. GE is also incorporating eSolar's technology into a hybrid solar and natural gas power plant offering.
As more of eSolar's technology is deployed, costs will come down and the company will build stand-alone power plants that are competitive with fossil fuels, Van Scoter said.
"We've stepped up our game," said Jim Lamon, senior vice president for engineering, procurement and construction at First Solar, the world's most valuable solar company.
Though First Solar makes the lowest-cost solar panels in the world using cadmium telluride as its raw material, Lamon said the company is nevertheless squeezing out costs for other system components. And because its in-house construction teams use the same products in every project, Lamon said that gives them an efficiency edge over other solar project developers.
"We are hell-bent on keeping that wide margin," Lamon said in an interview.
It is the goal of solar manufacturers to bring down the price of solar power so that it can be more competitive with dirtier energy sources. However, this year's dramatic fall in the price of silicon-based panels has squeezed their profits and margins even while it made their products more affordable and competitive with other technologies.
Up-and-coming solar companies that lack the scale of either First Solar or the leading silicon-based panel makers are under even more pressure to finally bring a product to market that can compete with ever-cheaper traditional modules. At the same time, weak capital markets have made fundraising for companies with unproven technologies more challenging than ever.
"The market in general is resistant to new technologies that don't have a strong balance sheet behind them," said John Van Scoter, chief executive of eSolar Inc, which makes modular solar thermal power plants.
PRICE CONUNDRUM
Many small, privately held solar companies were founded when the price of polysilicon was in the hundreds of dollars per kilogram and the industry was looking for alternatives that would bring down the cost of renewable power more quickly.
Today, however, the rise of China as a major player in solar has helped send the price of solar-grade silicon to about $40 per kg, while prices on traditional solar modules have slumped as much as 40 percent this year alone.
"Trying to differentiate on technology in an industry that is focused on price is tough," said Chaim Lubin, an associate in investment bank Lincoln International's solar practice.
The likes of Evergreen Solar Inc and Solyndra learned that lesson the hard way. Both companies had been scaling up production of silicon-light solar products and were caught flat-footed when the price of silicon-based panels collapsed this year. Both filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the last two months.
At Miasole, a photovoltaic solar startup that uses copper indium gallium selenide as its raw material, a "cultural shift" is under way to transform the company -- which until recently was laser-focused on developing its technology -- into a nimble and efficient manufacturer, according to its vice president of marketing, Rob DeLine.
Miasole earlier this year struck a deal with Intel Corp under which the chipmaker provides training and expertise to help the solar company improve manufacturing and lower costs. Then, about a month ago, former Intel manufacturing chief Bob Baker joined Miasole as its president.
With Intel's help, Miasole produced record quantities of its product in the third quarter, DeLine said, and its output has become more predictable.
"Technology guys like to turn the knobs on a machine and discover stuff, and manufacturing guys like to freeze the dial on that same machine and run it day in and day out and have predictability," DeLine said in an interview.
Another venture-backed startup -- with an entirely different technology -- said it prepared early for an increasingly tough competitive climate.
"We saw it coming," said eSolar's Van Scoter.
That's because last year, NRG Energy Inc switched to solar projects that had intended to use eSolar technology to cheaper photovoltaic panels, spurring Van Scoter to action.
First, eSolar made a strategic shift to develop power storage capabilities for its power plants using molten salt technology. Then, this year it secured General Electric Co as a strategic investor. GE is also incorporating eSolar's technology into a hybrid solar and natural gas power plant offering.
As more of eSolar's technology is deployed, costs will come down and the company will build stand-alone power plants that are competitive with fossil fuels, Van Scoter said.
2011年8月7日星期日
Solar wind alternative power functioning in historic Bishop Hill
Green Winds, a local company offering SWAP (solar wind alternative power) has a functioning solar-power system in place at a business in this historic Henry County community. Gary Lay of Galesburg, owner of Green Winds, has plans to also install a wind turbine at The Summer Cottage, the business owned by his mother, Arlene Rigg.
The Summer Cottage sells hand-blown glass items for indoor and outdoor use. Rigg also shows off the SWAP system and lets customers look at brochures telling about the alternative energy project.
Rigg, who has a fused spine, does not divulge her age, even to her children, but the senior citizen may have more energy than even her son’s SWAP system produces. A couple of years ago, she lost a freezer full of handpicked fruit when the power went out.
“I didn’t know it,” she said of the power outage.
Lay has the solar portion of the system up and running. There is a battery back-up and a wind turbine is in the works.
He opened a door similar to those housing circuit breakers and showed the brains of the computer system that keeps the solar power running correctly.
“This is the electricity for the system,” he said. “It actually has a computer chip in it that controls the system.”
The system is fully automated, with the exception of a dimmer switch that Rigg can use to turn on and off a waterfall in back, as well as regulate the water flow.
“This thing never allows it to go over 14 volts for charging,” Lay said. “It never allows it to go below 11.5 volts.”
The digital read-out was 13.7 as Lay was displaying the brains of the system.
The battery could be damaged if it is charged too much, the energy consultant explained. Eventually the plan is to use gel cells, but Lay currently uses a lead acid truck battery. The battery is in a compartment outside the store. He said the battery gives off hydrogen as it charges, which is why it can’t be inside. He plans to one day use solar and wind power for his mother’s house and store, through the use of 16 gel cells.
There is a wooden structure that holds two solar cells, one a commercial product, one that Lay made from scratch using glass from Knox Glass in Galesburg. The individual cells come from Germany. The 13 acres Rigg’s house and store sit on are a peaceful combination of prairie grasses, gardens, large shade trees, pine trees just beginning to grow, as well as a large open area. The waterfall is surrounded by a large stone structure made out of fossilized stones.
Lay had a brother who passed away at a young age due to MS.
“So all of this is a monument to him,” he said. “It’s kind of a sanctuary for people and animals.”
The soothing sound of the waterfall amidst all the nature makes for a peaceful place.
Plans are to extend one leg of the small pond and build a stream. Powering the waterfall with alternative energy was Rigg’s idea. Lay said his mother called one day and talked about building the waterfall.
“She said ‘why don’t you power the waterfall with your system?’ So it doesn’t cost as much for electricity,” he said. “It’s just the start of the system. I’m going to increase the solar and put up the wind system.”
Lay needs to find a spot for the 30-foot-tall wind turbine. He said the turbine has to stand at least that tall to be above the tree line.
“Where would that be, Mom?” he asked.
“On the hill, out on the prairie,” she answered without hesitating.
The Summer Cottage sells hand-blown glass items for indoor and outdoor use. Rigg also shows off the SWAP system and lets customers look at brochures telling about the alternative energy project.
Rigg, who has a fused spine, does not divulge her age, even to her children, but the senior citizen may have more energy than even her son’s SWAP system produces. A couple of years ago, she lost a freezer full of handpicked fruit when the power went out.
“I didn’t know it,” she said of the power outage.
Lay has the solar portion of the system up and running. There is a battery back-up and a wind turbine is in the works.
He opened a door similar to those housing circuit breakers and showed the brains of the computer system that keeps the solar power running correctly.
“This is the electricity for the system,” he said. “It actually has a computer chip in it that controls the system.”
The system is fully automated, with the exception of a dimmer switch that Rigg can use to turn on and off a waterfall in back, as well as regulate the water flow.
“This thing never allows it to go over 14 volts for charging,” Lay said. “It never allows it to go below 11.5 volts.”
The digital read-out was 13.7 as Lay was displaying the brains of the system.
The battery could be damaged if it is charged too much, the energy consultant explained. Eventually the plan is to use gel cells, but Lay currently uses a lead acid truck battery. The battery is in a compartment outside the store. He said the battery gives off hydrogen as it charges, which is why it can’t be inside. He plans to one day use solar and wind power for his mother’s house and store, through the use of 16 gel cells.
There is a wooden structure that holds two solar cells, one a commercial product, one that Lay made from scratch using glass from Knox Glass in Galesburg. The individual cells come from Germany. The 13 acres Rigg’s house and store sit on are a peaceful combination of prairie grasses, gardens, large shade trees, pine trees just beginning to grow, as well as a large open area. The waterfall is surrounded by a large stone structure made out of fossilized stones.
Lay had a brother who passed away at a young age due to MS.
“So all of this is a monument to him,” he said. “It’s kind of a sanctuary for people and animals.”
The soothing sound of the waterfall amidst all the nature makes for a peaceful place.
Plans are to extend one leg of the small pond and build a stream. Powering the waterfall with alternative energy was Rigg’s idea. Lay said his mother called one day and talked about building the waterfall.
“She said ‘why don’t you power the waterfall with your system?’ So it doesn’t cost as much for electricity,” he said. “It’s just the start of the system. I’m going to increase the solar and put up the wind system.”
Lay needs to find a spot for the 30-foot-tall wind turbine. He said the turbine has to stand at least that tall to be above the tree line.
“Where would that be, Mom?” he asked.
“On the hill, out on the prairie,” she answered without hesitating.
2011年6月14日星期二
Sustainability Board Holds Energy Forum
Members of the public were invited to learn about alternative energy at a forum hosted Monday night by the New Castle Sustainability Advisory Board.
The forum, held at the Chappaqua Library, was called “Save Money and The Environment," and hosted by board member Steven Wolk. It featured a panel of energy experts from Blueprint Energy Group, Earth to Air Systems and Mercury Solar Systems.
The focus of the meeting was to introduce and answer the public’s questions about three types of alternative energy being made available to homeowners. In presentations, the audience was given information about Geothermal Systems, Solar PV (photovoltaic) technology and micro CHP (Combined Heat and Power) systems.
“By being here tonight, you are saying you are interested in saving the environments for future generations,” said Wolk. “There is no such thing as clean coal.” He argued that fossil fuels cost taxpayers financially, in the way of health care
John Kulacz from Earth To Air Systems talked about geothemermal power.
In a geothermal system, the Earth’s crust is used as a heat transfer. During the summer, your house would be cooled by sending heat down into the ground, while in the winter, heat would be brought up in a closed loop system that requires no water, anti-freeze or water pumps. It can be hooked up to your current heating system.
“Al Gore chose Geothermal over any other system in the world," Kulacz said. “It’s the least understood technology.”
It was explained that a geothermal system can reduce heating and cooling costs by 80 percent and can last 25 or more years. In addition, this system can raise your home’s value and comes with a 30-percent tax credit from the Federal government. However, a geothermal system is not cheap to install. It is estimated that a newly installed system with all new duct work would cost around $60,000. However, according to Kulacz, the system will pay itself back with energy savings in three to five years.
According to Ben Waller from Mercury Solar Systems, the Solar PV system, out of the three presented had the biggest tax incentive with a 30-percent tax credit from the Federal government and a 25-percent tax credit from the state. Solar energy is so popular that there is a push to get The New York Solar Jobs Act of 2011 finalized before the end of the legislative session.
In a Solar PV system, solar panels take light from the sun and convert it to energy. However, the energy from the sun converts into direct current (DC) energy so it is sent down to a converter to change it into alternating aurrent (AC) that is used in the house. In the solar PV system, you would still be connected the power grid for times when there is no sunlight.
The weakness, however, of a Solar PV system in the Westchester area is the multitude of trees and shade.
One audience member was concerned about a strong storm blowing the solar panels off the roof.
“The house will blow away before the panels will,” responded Waller. The panels are rated for 120mph strong winds, those equal of a category 4 hurricane.
The last presentation came from Matthew Fairy of Blue Project Energy Group about micro CHP or Co-Gen systems. In a CHP system, heat and energy are generated in one process, by using the heat generated by making the energy, rather then letting it go to waste. In essence, a CHP system is like a personal power plant. It was stated that these systems have an 85-percent efficiency rate.
“Transmission wastes about 50-70 percent of the energy produced at the power plant.” Fairy said. “Grand Central Station has been using a Co-Gen [CHP] system for years now.”
The meeting was very informative and members of the community like Rick Waller enjoyed it.
“I will be honest, I was expected to be bored and I wasn’t," said Rick Waller, who is Ben Waller's father. "It was really interesting stuff."
He added, “If I was a young home owner and I had a payback period, I would go for it.”
The forum, held at the Chappaqua Library, was called “Save Money and The Environment," and hosted by board member Steven Wolk. It featured a panel of energy experts from Blueprint Energy Group, Earth to Air Systems and Mercury Solar Systems.
The focus of the meeting was to introduce and answer the public’s questions about three types of alternative energy being made available to homeowners. In presentations, the audience was given information about Geothermal Systems, Solar PV (photovoltaic) technology and micro CHP (Combined Heat and Power) systems.
“By being here tonight, you are saying you are interested in saving the environments for future generations,” said Wolk. “There is no such thing as clean coal.” He argued that fossil fuels cost taxpayers financially, in the way of health care
John Kulacz from Earth To Air Systems talked about geothemermal power.
In a geothermal system, the Earth’s crust is used as a heat transfer. During the summer, your house would be cooled by sending heat down into the ground, while in the winter, heat would be brought up in a closed loop system that requires no water, anti-freeze or water pumps. It can be hooked up to your current heating system.
“Al Gore chose Geothermal over any other system in the world," Kulacz said. “It’s the least understood technology.”
It was explained that a geothermal system can reduce heating and cooling costs by 80 percent and can last 25 or more years. In addition, this system can raise your home’s value and comes with a 30-percent tax credit from the Federal government. However, a geothermal system is not cheap to install. It is estimated that a newly installed system with all new duct work would cost around $60,000. However, according to Kulacz, the system will pay itself back with energy savings in three to five years.
According to Ben Waller from Mercury Solar Systems, the Solar PV system, out of the three presented had the biggest tax incentive with a 30-percent tax credit from the Federal government and a 25-percent tax credit from the state. Solar energy is so popular that there is a push to get The New York Solar Jobs Act of 2011 finalized before the end of the legislative session.
In a Solar PV system, solar panels take light from the sun and convert it to energy. However, the energy from the sun converts into direct current (DC) energy so it is sent down to a converter to change it into alternating aurrent (AC) that is used in the house. In the solar PV system, you would still be connected the power grid for times when there is no sunlight.
The weakness, however, of a Solar PV system in the Westchester area is the multitude of trees and shade.
One audience member was concerned about a strong storm blowing the solar panels off the roof.
“The house will blow away before the panels will,” responded Waller. The panels are rated for 120mph strong winds, those equal of a category 4 hurricane.
The last presentation came from Matthew Fairy of Blue Project Energy Group about micro CHP or Co-Gen systems. In a CHP system, heat and energy are generated in one process, by using the heat generated by making the energy, rather then letting it go to waste. In essence, a CHP system is like a personal power plant. It was stated that these systems have an 85-percent efficiency rate.
“Transmission wastes about 50-70 percent of the energy produced at the power plant.” Fairy said. “Grand Central Station has been using a Co-Gen [CHP] system for years now.”
The meeting was very informative and members of the community like Rick Waller enjoyed it.
“I will be honest, I was expected to be bored and I wasn’t," said Rick Waller, who is Ben Waller's father. "It was really interesting stuff."
He added, “If I was a young home owner and I had a payback period, I would go for it.”
2011年6月12日星期日
Tax cut on solar panels to light up more homes
Players in the solar energy market last week won a reprieve when the government removed tax on imported raw materials for the manufacture of solar panels.
The move is also expected to reduce the cost of acquiring the units for consumers, eliminating one of the stumbling blocks against adoption of green energy. It will also reduce demand on the national electricity grid which is currently under pressure from increased investments especially by the manufacturing sector.
“To encourage local manufacturing, I propose to grant duty remission on inputs for the production of solar panels,” said Finance minister Uhuru Kenyatta in last week’s Budget statement.
Solar panels are duty free while the imported raw materials for the manufacture of the same attract duty at 25 per cent and 10 per cent which in effect makes local manufacture unattractive. This comes as a boost to solar equipment dealers who are gearing up to boost supplies in anticipation of high demand thanks to policy changes that require property developers to install the systems on housing units.
Growing demand
Builders had shied away from the expensive installation costs that range from Sh100,000 for low energy consuming homes to Sh500,000 per unit for high consumers, especially units fitted with water heating systems.
Market players said demand will grow as prices of raw materials go down, inclining producers to expand operations.
“This will boost production as capacity to produce still remains,” said Guy Jack, the managing director of Chloride Exide, a solar solutions vendor.
The tax remission is also expected to impact positively on institutions such as schools, hospitals and other institutions, greatly reducing the burden on the national grid.
However, local companies involved in the trade will have to raise their production capacities to match the new opportunities.
Total Electricity consumption grew 6.0 per cent with the number of connections under the Rural Electrification Programme rising by 22.3 per cent to stand at 251,056 nearly a year ago as at June, last year.
Among the players in the solar energy sector are Kenital Solar Energy, All Solar, Solargen Power, and Think Solar Technics.
The measure is aimed at managing the rising demand for electricity whose least cost option, hydro power, requires heavy capital investment while renewable alternatives like wind and geothermal are too expensive to set up.
Water heating systems take up to a quarter of power in homes, while solar provides a cheaper alternative in the first three to five years after investment, depending on the technology used.
Last year, water heating used 1,254 Ghw of electricity or 24 per cent of Kenya’s total power consumption of 5,155 Ghw.
The move is also expected to reduce the cost of acquiring the units for consumers, eliminating one of the stumbling blocks against adoption of green energy. It will also reduce demand on the national electricity grid which is currently under pressure from increased investments especially by the manufacturing sector.
“To encourage local manufacturing, I propose to grant duty remission on inputs for the production of solar panels,” said Finance minister Uhuru Kenyatta in last week’s Budget statement.
Solar panels are duty free while the imported raw materials for the manufacture of the same attract duty at 25 per cent and 10 per cent which in effect makes local manufacture unattractive. This comes as a boost to solar equipment dealers who are gearing up to boost supplies in anticipation of high demand thanks to policy changes that require property developers to install the systems on housing units.
Growing demand
Builders had shied away from the expensive installation costs that range from Sh100,000 for low energy consuming homes to Sh500,000 per unit for high consumers, especially units fitted with water heating systems.
Market players said demand will grow as prices of raw materials go down, inclining producers to expand operations.
“This will boost production as capacity to produce still remains,” said Guy Jack, the managing director of Chloride Exide, a solar solutions vendor.
The tax remission is also expected to impact positively on institutions such as schools, hospitals and other institutions, greatly reducing the burden on the national grid.
However, local companies involved in the trade will have to raise their production capacities to match the new opportunities.
Total Electricity consumption grew 6.0 per cent with the number of connections under the Rural Electrification Programme rising by 22.3 per cent to stand at 251,056 nearly a year ago as at June, last year.
Among the players in the solar energy sector are Kenital Solar Energy, All Solar, Solargen Power, and Think Solar Technics.
The measure is aimed at managing the rising demand for electricity whose least cost option, hydro power, requires heavy capital investment while renewable alternatives like wind and geothermal are too expensive to set up.
Water heating systems take up to a quarter of power in homes, while solar provides a cheaper alternative in the first three to five years after investment, depending on the technology used.
Last year, water heating used 1,254 Ghw of electricity or 24 per cent of Kenya’s total power consumption of 5,155 Ghw.
2011年5月5日星期四
Sunset nears on solar heater subsidies
THE Federal Government is to wind back generous subsidies for home solar electricity panels in a move welcomed by the industry as providing long-term certainty.
Climate Change Minister Greg Combet said the level of subsidy would be reduced faster than previously planned in response to an escalating take-up of solar panels.
That will take the level of subsidy from a peak of about $6200 up to June 30 this year, to about $1200 for a basic 1.5kw system after July 1, 2013.
Mr Combet deemed the move necessary because soaring demand for panels was pushing up power prices and reducing demand for other clean-energy technology.
Australian Solar Energy Society CEO John Grimes welcomed this move: "Solar companies have had enough of the roller-coaster ride brought about by constant policy changes. The roller coaster ride needs to slow down and stop."
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Prices still too low, says Alumina
ALUMINA says that despite a 28 per cent jump in alumina prices over the past year, prices are still too low.
It also says the strong Australian dollar and higher energy prices are constraining group performance.
Chairman Don Morley said margins for the commodity were tighter than they should be and its price did not reflect the economics of producing and selling it.
He said China had been able to expand alumina and aluminium production capacity to meet demand, which had limited price increases.
Alumina chief John Bevan told shareholders global demand for aluminium was expected to expand by 12 per cent this year due to China-fuelled growth.
The company has a 40 per cent stake in Alcoa World Alumina and Chemicals, the world's biggest alumina business. Alumina shares were up 2c at $2.28.
Climate Change Minister Greg Combet said the level of subsidy would be reduced faster than previously planned in response to an escalating take-up of solar panels.
That will take the level of subsidy from a peak of about $6200 up to June 30 this year, to about $1200 for a basic 1.5kw system after July 1, 2013.
Mr Combet deemed the move necessary because soaring demand for panels was pushing up power prices and reducing demand for other clean-energy technology.
Australian Solar Energy Society CEO John Grimes welcomed this move: "Solar companies have had enough of the roller-coaster ride brought about by constant policy changes. The roller coaster ride needs to slow down and stop."
Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar.
End of sidebar. Return to start of sidebar.
Prices still too low, says Alumina
ALUMINA says that despite a 28 per cent jump in alumina prices over the past year, prices are still too low.
It also says the strong Australian dollar and higher energy prices are constraining group performance.
Chairman Don Morley said margins for the commodity were tighter than they should be and its price did not reflect the economics of producing and selling it.
He said China had been able to expand alumina and aluminium production capacity to meet demand, which had limited price increases.
Alumina chief John Bevan told shareholders global demand for aluminium was expected to expand by 12 per cent this year due to China-fuelled growth.
The company has a 40 per cent stake in Alcoa World Alumina and Chemicals, the world's biggest alumina business. Alumina shares were up 2c at $2.28.
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