President Aquino has thumbed down proposals to avail of the expensive but long-term benefits of solar energy following the Philippines’ recent conflict with China – which now produces cheaper solar panels – to address the power crisis in Mindanao.
“If we go solar, they (China) are the cheapest producer. They will have another entry into controlling our economy. I think, it is not the wisest decision at this point,” he told Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, who is advocating the renewable energy source.
“You already know that we are in disagreement with China on one particular issue which actually hasn’t been resolved as of today. There have been other instances that they have not been very friendly,” Aquino pointed out, citing the West Philippine Sea issue.
He related that there is an ongoing debate between the US and China over the use of solar energy.
“As you know there is an ongoing fight between America and China with regard to subsidies allegedly being given by the Chinese government that make the production of solar panels, and the costs that much cheaper,” Aquino explained further.
He made the pronouncements during the April 13 Energy Summit held at the Waterfront Hotel in Davao City, that was attended by key government officials like Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras and Mindanao Development Authority chairperson Lualhati Antonino.
Malacanang hinted earlier that shifting to renewable energy sources is already part of the Aquino government’s long-term plan to address the energy problem in the country, particularly in Mindanao.
Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said that while the government looks at adopting renewable sources of power, it may come at a premium and may have an impact on consumers’ electricity bills.
Some of the government critics have been calling on the government to carry out short-term and immediate solutions to the Mindanao power crisis by resorting to renewable energy.
“That is part of the long-term plan: to include more and more projects that involve renewable energy. Remember the Department of Energy (DOE) is also advocating alternative and renewable sources of energy. So that is already part of the plan,” Valte said over state-run dzRB.
Valte also said the government is already accelerating the rehabilitation of hydropower plants in Mindanao, particularly the Agus and Pulangi plants.
Those plants were designed to work for 30 years but have been operating for about 59 years, way beyond their original life span, Valte said. The rehabilitation of Agus plant will take about 30 months, while the Pulangi plant will take one month, she said.
2012年4月15日星期日
2012年2月23日星期四
Oklahoma tribe developing solar panel business
A dozen years after carpeting manufacturer Hollytex closed its former warehouse the facility has never looked so massive.
Maybe it is because new owner, the Delaware Tribe, spent $1 million last year upgrading and expanding it, or maybe it just appears that way now because it's empty. But a walk through its corridor with Jerry Kennedy, executive director of the tribe's economic development group, shows the warehouse is swollen with potential.
"We're trying to make it where it's kind of an incubator center for start-up businesses that are hopefully focused on green technology or at least a business that can't destroy the planet and can employ people," Kennedy said. "It's kind of the heritage with Mother Earth and all that kind of stuff — to help with the planet as well as to help here with employment in Anadarko."
The tribe shelled out $3 million for the new Green Tech facility in 2009. It's 250,000 square feet of covered concrete floor, and Kennedy envisions it will soon be bustling with activity from several manufacturing and assembling companies that will be producing products to be distributed nationwide.
Last year, with a $250,000 federal grant matched by the tribe, a solar array was installed on top of the Delaware tribal complex in Anadarko. The solar panels knocked off about a third of the complex's daily energy use, but its impact was more demonstrative than anything.
The goal, Kennedy said, is to start assembling these same panels from within the confines of the Green Tech warehouse.
Already the tribe owns a solar power developer in New Jersey, Unami Solar, he said, and a feasibility study is planned for this summer that will bring several coastal solar panel manufacturers to the Anadarko facility with the hopes that one of them will be sold on the idea of assembling them here. In Oklahoma, Kennedy said, these corporate executives will find a progressive business climate with a solid transportation infrastructure and free trade incentives — not to mention a facility in the middle of the country.
"Oklahoma is one of the states that is really providing manufacturing jobs," Kennedy said. "There are all kinds of different agencies a business can use through the Oklahoma Manufacturing Alliance to get tax benefits and employee benefits."
Other prospective clients include a Utah company the tribe recently bought out which manufactures LED, or light-emitting diode, lighting and a group that markets urinal cakes for waterless urinals.
Kennedy said the Delaware Nation Economic Development Authority is projecting 150 employees at the Anadarko complex within three to five years and another 300-500 in a decade.
The tribe adopted renewable energy as its platform for economic development in 2008, two years after Kerry Holton became its president. Holton's goal was to diversify and get away from being grant- or casino-dependent, Kennedy said. By bringing these new technologies to Anadarko the tribe would also be providing career opportunities for its younger generation.
"There aren't a lot of opportunities here in Oklahoma, so they move off to other states where there's a little more opportunity," he said. "We're wanting to create opportunity here, so they won't move off and so some of these people can come back home and have a job or career they're proud of."
In addition to the GreenTech project, the tribe is also working with the City of Anadarko and several local schools and agencies to develop an energy conservation and recycling program.
Kylah McNabb, renewable energy development specialist with Oklahoma Department of Commerce, said the state has provided funding to develop that project through a Community Energy Strategic Planning grant. It's a program adopted in several other Oklahoma Cities, including Sand Springs and Wilburton, and should eventually help the tribe, city and other organizations qualify for additional green energy grants.
"It's not a great deal of money, but it's a funding stream that enables the Delaware Nation to take an in-depth look at what they would like to do in partnership with the community of Anadarko when it comes to basically holistic energy planning, to figure out what makes sense and what the community would like to see done," McNabb said. "The point is to actually pull all these things together and make it one cohesive strategy for the community as a whole."
These programs are mostly in their infancy, but local leaders have reason to believe they will make a significant economic impact in the near future.
Carla Hall, executive director of the Anadarko Chamber of Commerce, said sometimes all a community needs to do is get the ball rolling, especially when it comes to forging partnerships.
She said she has full faith that both the GreenTech project as well as the tribal-community energy partnership will mean jobs for Anadarko.
"I'm very confident that the Delaware Nation is going to bring the jobs they are working toward and their goals for that facility — and it is going to be an economic boost that is likely to have a domino effect," Hall said.
"I'm already receiving calls from area supply companies, like packaging companies, who are already interested in talking to them about their lighting company. With that will come more housing — which is one of our big drawbacks: lack of housing — and then retail will follow and possibly other manufacturing and that type of industry."
Maybe it is because new owner, the Delaware Tribe, spent $1 million last year upgrading and expanding it, or maybe it just appears that way now because it's empty. But a walk through its corridor with Jerry Kennedy, executive director of the tribe's economic development group, shows the warehouse is swollen with potential.
"We're trying to make it where it's kind of an incubator center for start-up businesses that are hopefully focused on green technology or at least a business that can't destroy the planet and can employ people," Kennedy said. "It's kind of the heritage with Mother Earth and all that kind of stuff — to help with the planet as well as to help here with employment in Anadarko."
The tribe shelled out $3 million for the new Green Tech facility in 2009. It's 250,000 square feet of covered concrete floor, and Kennedy envisions it will soon be bustling with activity from several manufacturing and assembling companies that will be producing products to be distributed nationwide.
Last year, with a $250,000 federal grant matched by the tribe, a solar array was installed on top of the Delaware tribal complex in Anadarko. The solar panels knocked off about a third of the complex's daily energy use, but its impact was more demonstrative than anything.
The goal, Kennedy said, is to start assembling these same panels from within the confines of the Green Tech warehouse.
Already the tribe owns a solar power developer in New Jersey, Unami Solar, he said, and a feasibility study is planned for this summer that will bring several coastal solar panel manufacturers to the Anadarko facility with the hopes that one of them will be sold on the idea of assembling them here. In Oklahoma, Kennedy said, these corporate executives will find a progressive business climate with a solid transportation infrastructure and free trade incentives — not to mention a facility in the middle of the country.
"Oklahoma is one of the states that is really providing manufacturing jobs," Kennedy said. "There are all kinds of different agencies a business can use through the Oklahoma Manufacturing Alliance to get tax benefits and employee benefits."
Other prospective clients include a Utah company the tribe recently bought out which manufactures LED, or light-emitting diode, lighting and a group that markets urinal cakes for waterless urinals.
Kennedy said the Delaware Nation Economic Development Authority is projecting 150 employees at the Anadarko complex within three to five years and another 300-500 in a decade.
The tribe adopted renewable energy as its platform for economic development in 2008, two years after Kerry Holton became its president. Holton's goal was to diversify and get away from being grant- or casino-dependent, Kennedy said. By bringing these new technologies to Anadarko the tribe would also be providing career opportunities for its younger generation.
"There aren't a lot of opportunities here in Oklahoma, so they move off to other states where there's a little more opportunity," he said. "We're wanting to create opportunity here, so they won't move off and so some of these people can come back home and have a job or career they're proud of."
In addition to the GreenTech project, the tribe is also working with the City of Anadarko and several local schools and agencies to develop an energy conservation and recycling program.
Kylah McNabb, renewable energy development specialist with Oklahoma Department of Commerce, said the state has provided funding to develop that project through a Community Energy Strategic Planning grant. It's a program adopted in several other Oklahoma Cities, including Sand Springs and Wilburton, and should eventually help the tribe, city and other organizations qualify for additional green energy grants.
"It's not a great deal of money, but it's a funding stream that enables the Delaware Nation to take an in-depth look at what they would like to do in partnership with the community of Anadarko when it comes to basically holistic energy planning, to figure out what makes sense and what the community would like to see done," McNabb said. "The point is to actually pull all these things together and make it one cohesive strategy for the community as a whole."
These programs are mostly in their infancy, but local leaders have reason to believe they will make a significant economic impact in the near future.
Carla Hall, executive director of the Anadarko Chamber of Commerce, said sometimes all a community needs to do is get the ball rolling, especially when it comes to forging partnerships.
She said she has full faith that both the GreenTech project as well as the tribal-community energy partnership will mean jobs for Anadarko.
"I'm very confident that the Delaware Nation is going to bring the jobs they are working toward and their goals for that facility — and it is going to be an economic boost that is likely to have a domino effect," Hall said.
"I'm already receiving calls from area supply companies, like packaging companies, who are already interested in talking to them about their lighting company. With that will come more housing — which is one of our big drawbacks: lack of housing — and then retail will follow and possibly other manufacturing and that type of industry."
2012年1月12日星期四
Solar energy finds a home on Iron Range
The sun continues to shine on Minnesota’s fledgling solar panel industry even as high-profile bankruptcies in the business capture headlines and as China muscles in on markets.
More than 100 contractors, renewable energy experts, civic leaders and local residents toured Silicon Energy’s new solar panel manufacturing plant here on Wednesday to see how the Iron Range’s newest industry is growing. The event was sponsored by the Northeast Region Clean Energy Resource Team, an organization that promotes renewable and sustainable energy.
The Silicon Energy plant here started production in earnest in November and now employs 15 people assembling solar panels designed for homeowners, the military, small businesses and schools.
Silicon Energy started in 2007 with a home office and production plant outside Seattle and chose the Iron Range for their first expansion. So far they have weathered a slow economy and intense competition from inexpensive Chinese solar panels by promoting quality over cost.
While the race to produce the cheapest solar panels helped bankrupt three big U.S. manufacturers last year, Minnesota’s two panel makers say they have a plan for the long haul.
“Most of the (solar panel) industry is going down the road of cheaper, cheaper, cheaper. But we’re going in another direction,” said Gary Shaver, Silicon Energy president, at Wednesday’s event. “You can call it a niche market, if quality is a niche. But we’re trying to sell quality to everyone because in the long run it makes better economic sense.”
The company’s hallmark is durability, with the guts of the sunlight-to-electricity system sealed between two panels of glass. The panels are virtually unbreakable, withstand severe weather and shed snow faster than competitors’ units. The company claims to have the only 40-year durability rating in the business, with no exposed metal parts to rust or plastic to crack.
Their target market is the Twin Cities, but they also are shipping across the Iron Range and as far as Indiana.
“It’s the highest-quality, best looking panel on the market,” said Rebecca Lundberg, a Twin Cities solar installation contractor. “You’ve got a local company that makes a beautiful product, and that’s good for Minnesota.”
Shaver said he’s pleased with the slow but sure startup to the company’s Minnesota expansion and vowed to expand the company at a sustainable rate, adding additional lines and workers as demand picks up.
Silicon Energy received ample public incentives to build the 25,000-square-foot plant here. The Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board offered a $1.5 million loan. The IRRRB also approved a $3.6 million loan to the Economic Development Authority of Mountain Iron to construct the plant for the company. Silicon Energy is the first tenant in the city’s Renewable Energy Park.
The Mountain Iron plant is the second solar manufacturer in the state, behind TenKsolar that opened in Bloomington in August 2010.
Joel Cannon, CEO of TenKsolar, said his business continues a “lumpy” pattern of growth despite an industry shakedown last year that saw Solyndra of California, Evergreen Solar of Massachusetts and SpectraWatt of New York all file for bankruptcy, with Solyndra’s $527 million federal loan package spurring public outcry.
Those companies may have been hardest hit because of the growth of low-cost Chinese panels, but also because their products didn’t stand out in the crowd, Cannon noted.
“The companies that saw problems, I think, didn’t really have a panel that differentiated them from anyone else. They also had very high capital costs and couldn’t compete with their high cost profile,” Cannon said. “This is a $60 billion industry globally and the growth is still there. It’s only going to get better for companies that have a product that stands out.”
TenKsolar had more than $10 million in sales last year and has grown from 50 to 140 employees in the Minneapolis suburb. The company specializes in compact units for rooftops of businesses and institutions. And TenKsolar officials say their system can produce 50 percent more energy per square foot of rooftop than conventional solar panels.
“We really don’t compete with Silicon at all. Our niche is flat-roof installations and they focus on residential,” Cannon said.
Minnesota now has more than 700 solar electric systems installed across the state, up from just 50 in 2002, according to the state Department of Commerce. But the move to solar has been slow. The problem isn’t our weather. Minnesota has about as much solar energy as many southern cities when averaged across the year. And solar panels actually work better on cold, sunny days then on hot days, Shaver said. Snow also makes a good reflector.
Solar’s big drawback has been high startup costs and competition against Minnesota’s relatively cheap electricity rates. With most of Minnesota’s electricity coming from older coal-fired and nuclear plants, our electricity costs as little as 6 or 8 cents per kilowatt hour for businesses, Cannon said. That compares to as much as 18 cents in eastern states, 35 cents in Hawaii and as high as $1 in Los Angeles during peak times, Shaver noted.
“We’re competing well down into the low teens without subsidies. And we hope to have that down to about 8 cents by 2013,” Cannon told the News Tribune.
But when federal and state subsidies are included, solar can make sense even now. There’s a 30 percent federal tax credit for solar systems, and accelerated depreciation adds to the tax benefits. Moreover, Twin Cities’ based Xcel Energy offers a 60 percent rebate for made-in-Minnesota solar systems that helped lure both manufacturers to the state.
Other smaller utilities also offer lesser incentives that help bring the cost down, including Minnesota Power, which offers a $2 per watt incentive up to $2,000.
With zero emissions, local jobs and financial incentives, both companies say Minnesota is poised for solar growth.
“We think we can compete right now,” Shaver said. “Especially when you look at all the benefits of solar.”
More than 100 contractors, renewable energy experts, civic leaders and local residents toured Silicon Energy’s new solar panel manufacturing plant here on Wednesday to see how the Iron Range’s newest industry is growing. The event was sponsored by the Northeast Region Clean Energy Resource Team, an organization that promotes renewable and sustainable energy.
The Silicon Energy plant here started production in earnest in November and now employs 15 people assembling solar panels designed for homeowners, the military, small businesses and schools.
Silicon Energy started in 2007 with a home office and production plant outside Seattle and chose the Iron Range for their first expansion. So far they have weathered a slow economy and intense competition from inexpensive Chinese solar panels by promoting quality over cost.
While the race to produce the cheapest solar panels helped bankrupt three big U.S. manufacturers last year, Minnesota’s two panel makers say they have a plan for the long haul.
“Most of the (solar panel) industry is going down the road of cheaper, cheaper, cheaper. But we’re going in another direction,” said Gary Shaver, Silicon Energy president, at Wednesday’s event. “You can call it a niche market, if quality is a niche. But we’re trying to sell quality to everyone because in the long run it makes better economic sense.”
The company’s hallmark is durability, with the guts of the sunlight-to-electricity system sealed between two panels of glass. The panels are virtually unbreakable, withstand severe weather and shed snow faster than competitors’ units. The company claims to have the only 40-year durability rating in the business, with no exposed metal parts to rust or plastic to crack.
Their target market is the Twin Cities, but they also are shipping across the Iron Range and as far as Indiana.
“It’s the highest-quality, best looking panel on the market,” said Rebecca Lundberg, a Twin Cities solar installation contractor. “You’ve got a local company that makes a beautiful product, and that’s good for Minnesota.”
Shaver said he’s pleased with the slow but sure startup to the company’s Minnesota expansion and vowed to expand the company at a sustainable rate, adding additional lines and workers as demand picks up.
Silicon Energy received ample public incentives to build the 25,000-square-foot plant here. The Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board offered a $1.5 million loan. The IRRRB also approved a $3.6 million loan to the Economic Development Authority of Mountain Iron to construct the plant for the company. Silicon Energy is the first tenant in the city’s Renewable Energy Park.
The Mountain Iron plant is the second solar manufacturer in the state, behind TenKsolar that opened in Bloomington in August 2010.
Joel Cannon, CEO of TenKsolar, said his business continues a “lumpy” pattern of growth despite an industry shakedown last year that saw Solyndra of California, Evergreen Solar of Massachusetts and SpectraWatt of New York all file for bankruptcy, with Solyndra’s $527 million federal loan package spurring public outcry.
Those companies may have been hardest hit because of the growth of low-cost Chinese panels, but also because their products didn’t stand out in the crowd, Cannon noted.
“The companies that saw problems, I think, didn’t really have a panel that differentiated them from anyone else. They also had very high capital costs and couldn’t compete with their high cost profile,” Cannon said. “This is a $60 billion industry globally and the growth is still there. It’s only going to get better for companies that have a product that stands out.”
TenKsolar had more than $10 million in sales last year and has grown from 50 to 140 employees in the Minneapolis suburb. The company specializes in compact units for rooftops of businesses and institutions. And TenKsolar officials say their system can produce 50 percent more energy per square foot of rooftop than conventional solar panels.
“We really don’t compete with Silicon at all. Our niche is flat-roof installations and they focus on residential,” Cannon said.
Minnesota now has more than 700 solar electric systems installed across the state, up from just 50 in 2002, according to the state Department of Commerce. But the move to solar has been slow. The problem isn’t our weather. Minnesota has about as much solar energy as many southern cities when averaged across the year. And solar panels actually work better on cold, sunny days then on hot days, Shaver said. Snow also makes a good reflector.
Solar’s big drawback has been high startup costs and competition against Minnesota’s relatively cheap electricity rates. With most of Minnesota’s electricity coming from older coal-fired and nuclear plants, our electricity costs as little as 6 or 8 cents per kilowatt hour for businesses, Cannon said. That compares to as much as 18 cents in eastern states, 35 cents in Hawaii and as high as $1 in Los Angeles during peak times, Shaver noted.
“We’re competing well down into the low teens without subsidies. And we hope to have that down to about 8 cents by 2013,” Cannon told the News Tribune.
But when federal and state subsidies are included, solar can make sense even now. There’s a 30 percent federal tax credit for solar systems, and accelerated depreciation adds to the tax benefits. Moreover, Twin Cities’ based Xcel Energy offers a 60 percent rebate for made-in-Minnesota solar systems that helped lure both manufacturers to the state.
Other smaller utilities also offer lesser incentives that help bring the cost down, including Minnesota Power, which offers a $2 per watt incentive up to $2,000.
With zero emissions, local jobs and financial incentives, both companies say Minnesota is poised for solar growth.
“We think we can compete right now,” Shaver said. “Especially when you look at all the benefits of solar.”
2011年12月22日星期四
Plug pulled on Harlow Council's solar panel scheme
PLANS to fit solar panels to hundreds of council homes in Harlow will not see the light of day after the Government slashed funding for the project.
The Harlow Council-backed initiative was originally launched in July when the authority announced photovaltic panels would be fitted to 1,200 properties across the town.
All installation and maintenance costs over the 25-year life of the programme were to be met by Kier Harlow, which planned to recoup its outlay through the Government’s Feed In Tariff (FiT) scheme.
But the entire project has now ground to a halt after ministers announced plans to cut back FiT payments by 50 per cent – potentially leaving Kier out of pocket and hundreds of council tenants disappointed.
Council leader Andrew Johnson said the "unforeseen" funding reduction had left the authority no alternative but to shelve the programme less than half way through its first phase.
"Following the Government’s sudden proposed changes to subsidies, we have had to scale back the programme to 280 homes," he said. "We share our tenants’ disappointment.
"I hope the Government would consider allowing existing schemes to continue and I have lobbied our MP about this.
"In the meantime, the council and Kier Harlow are examining other ways in which we can help residents reduce their energy bills."
Harlow MP Robert Halfon said he had already raised the issue with energy minister Gregory Barker in the hope of securing additional funding to see the project through to completion.
He said: "As winter approaches we urgently need to help Harlow families and pensioners with the soaring cost of heating bills.
"I have met personally with the energy minister about this, urging the Government to finance these solar panels for our town. He is looking at this now.
"In the meantime there will be other measures to help, like the Green Deal, where Harlow households will be able to insulate their home for free.
"This will support at least 65,000 insulation and construction jobs by 2015"
But Labour group leader Mark Wilkinson said the Government had "badly let down" residents who had opted in to the scheme.
"I think it is important that this situation is put right," he said. "After bragging about helping everyone and helping to bring bills down the Government have pulled the plug overnight.
"A lot of residents were looking forward to cheaper utility bills which they will no longer receive.
"I would hope Mr Halfon will do all he can to turn this decision around and fight for the people of this town because his government has badly let down residents."
The Harlow Council-backed initiative was originally launched in July when the authority announced photovaltic panels would be fitted to 1,200 properties across the town.
All installation and maintenance costs over the 25-year life of the programme were to be met by Kier Harlow, which planned to recoup its outlay through the Government’s Feed In Tariff (FiT) scheme.
But the entire project has now ground to a halt after ministers announced plans to cut back FiT payments by 50 per cent – potentially leaving Kier out of pocket and hundreds of council tenants disappointed.
Council leader Andrew Johnson said the "unforeseen" funding reduction had left the authority no alternative but to shelve the programme less than half way through its first phase.
"Following the Government’s sudden proposed changes to subsidies, we have had to scale back the programme to 280 homes," he said. "We share our tenants’ disappointment.
"I hope the Government would consider allowing existing schemes to continue and I have lobbied our MP about this.
"In the meantime, the council and Kier Harlow are examining other ways in which we can help residents reduce their energy bills."
Harlow MP Robert Halfon said he had already raised the issue with energy minister Gregory Barker in the hope of securing additional funding to see the project through to completion.
He said: "As winter approaches we urgently need to help Harlow families and pensioners with the soaring cost of heating bills.
"I have met personally with the energy minister about this, urging the Government to finance these solar panels for our town. He is looking at this now.
"In the meantime there will be other measures to help, like the Green Deal, where Harlow households will be able to insulate their home for free.
"This will support at least 65,000 insulation and construction jobs by 2015"
But Labour group leader Mark Wilkinson said the Government had "badly let down" residents who had opted in to the scheme.
"I think it is important that this situation is put right," he said. "After bragging about helping everyone and helping to bring bills down the Government have pulled the plug overnight.
"A lot of residents were looking forward to cheaper utility bills which they will no longer receive.
"I would hope Mr Halfon will do all he can to turn this decision around and fight for the people of this town because his government has badly let down residents."
2011年12月14日星期三
Solar panel blast triggers panic
Panic spread in the busy Sayajigunj area on Wednesday morning when a deafening blast rocked a lane opposite traffic police station. It took a while for locals to realize that the bang that travelled for quite a distance came from the terrace of Asopalav (Sharad) apartments.
One of the five huge solar panels installed on the terrace broke down after a blast occurred in it at 9.45 am. The hot water and glass pieces got strewn across the terrace.
Interestingly, the panels weighing thousands of kilos were being used for heating water that was used by Surya Hotel adjacent to the apartment. Residents of the apartment accused the hotel owner Hasmukh Shah of illegally installing the panels on their building terrace. Shah, however, refuted the charges and said that the panels were installed legally as he owns a flat in the building. "We had opposed Shah when he tried to install the panels the terrace in January this year. But, he went ahead and installed such heavy panels that are dangerous for our 35 year old building. The blast also shows how they can be hazardous for the residents," said Ketan Purohit, who stays on first floor.
"When we locked the terrace, the hotel authorities broke it. We immediately approached the police to register complaint. But, the cops just accepted our application. Instead of questioning Shah, the cops harassed us by incessant probing. We also approached the fire-brigade officials but they too didn't act. Instead, they told us that the building is technically fit to sustain weight of the panels," Purohit told TOI.
The residents had also a filed suit in February this year requesting that the panels be removed from their terrace. "We wrote to state principal secretary, energy and petrochemicals D J Pandian in March this year informing him about the illegal installation and trespassing. All the residents have been running from pillar to post but it has not yielded any results. What if someone would have suffered injuries or died during the blast?" questioned another resident Janak Pawar.
Shah, who owns the hotel, said, "The installation is legal and I have certificate from structural engineer stating that the building can support the solar panels. The suppliers are sending their technical team to know the reasons behind the blast. It is not such a big issue."
When asked whether he is contemplating to remove the panels, Shah said if the technical team advises, he may remove them.
One of the five huge solar panels installed on the terrace broke down after a blast occurred in it at 9.45 am. The hot water and glass pieces got strewn across the terrace.
Interestingly, the panels weighing thousands of kilos were being used for heating water that was used by Surya Hotel adjacent to the apartment. Residents of the apartment accused the hotel owner Hasmukh Shah of illegally installing the panels on their building terrace. Shah, however, refuted the charges and said that the panels were installed legally as he owns a flat in the building. "We had opposed Shah when he tried to install the panels the terrace in January this year. But, he went ahead and installed such heavy panels that are dangerous for our 35 year old building. The blast also shows how they can be hazardous for the residents," said Ketan Purohit, who stays on first floor.
"When we locked the terrace, the hotel authorities broke it. We immediately approached the police to register complaint. But, the cops just accepted our application. Instead of questioning Shah, the cops harassed us by incessant probing. We also approached the fire-brigade officials but they too didn't act. Instead, they told us that the building is technically fit to sustain weight of the panels," Purohit told TOI.
The residents had also a filed suit in February this year requesting that the panels be removed from their terrace. "We wrote to state principal secretary, energy and petrochemicals D J Pandian in March this year informing him about the illegal installation and trespassing. All the residents have been running from pillar to post but it has not yielded any results. What if someone would have suffered injuries or died during the blast?" questioned another resident Janak Pawar.
Shah, who owns the hotel, said, "The installation is legal and I have certificate from structural engineer stating that the building can support the solar panels. The suppliers are sending their technical team to know the reasons behind the blast. It is not such a big issue."
When asked whether he is contemplating to remove the panels, Shah said if the technical team advises, he may remove them.
2011年11月30日星期三
Carillion warns of job cuts due to slashing of solar energy subsidies
Construction company Carillion has warned 4,500 staff their jobs are at risk because of government plans for a dramatic cut in solar energy subsidies.
The company has begun a statutory 90-day consultation period in its energy services division prior to the anticipated slashing of feed-in tariffs.
The tariffs, known as FITs and paid by energy companies to households and communities who produce electricity via solar panels on their roofs, would be more than halved under government proposals.
Ministers are also proposing cutting the subsidies by 12 December instead of April 2012, the date the solar industry is calling for.
It is feared the changes could pose problems for Carillion, whose business includes a project to install and manage 30,000 solar panels for local authority and social housing. It is understood that the number of redundancies at the firm, which employs 50,000 staff worldwide, will be well below 4,500, but Carillion said it was too early to speculate on what the final figure would be.
The company said in a statement: "As a result of the government's changes to feed-in tariffs for solar photovoltaic installations, Carillion Energy Services proposes to accelerate and widen [its restructuring] programme.
"Our solar business was growing strongly, but we expect the government's plans for much larger and earlier than expected cuts to feed-in tariffs to reduce the size of the solar PV market significantly. In order to react to the effects of this on our business, we have launched a statutory 90-day consultation process with our people on how we can reshape our business.
"Until the consultation process is complete it is too early to speculate on how many people will be affected, especially as we will explore all opportunities for redeployment."
The plans to slash financial incentives for installing solar panels has provoked anger from green groups, with Friends of the Earth planning to mount a legal challenge.
The Department of Energy and Climate Change acknowledged the proposed changes would be "very difficult" but insisted it wanted an enduring future for the solar industry.
"If we left things as they are, the FIT budget would be eaten up entirely, and that would be even worse for those in this sector and those working on other technologies too," a spokesman said.
"We believe solar PV can have a strong and vibrant future in the UK and we are proposing changes to ensure a lasting FITs scheme to support that future."
The company has begun a statutory 90-day consultation period in its energy services division prior to the anticipated slashing of feed-in tariffs.
The tariffs, known as FITs and paid by energy companies to households and communities who produce electricity via solar panels on their roofs, would be more than halved under government proposals.
Ministers are also proposing cutting the subsidies by 12 December instead of April 2012, the date the solar industry is calling for.
It is feared the changes could pose problems for Carillion, whose business includes a project to install and manage 30,000 solar panels for local authority and social housing. It is understood that the number of redundancies at the firm, which employs 50,000 staff worldwide, will be well below 4,500, but Carillion said it was too early to speculate on what the final figure would be.
The company said in a statement: "As a result of the government's changes to feed-in tariffs for solar photovoltaic installations, Carillion Energy Services proposes to accelerate and widen [its restructuring] programme.
"Our solar business was growing strongly, but we expect the government's plans for much larger and earlier than expected cuts to feed-in tariffs to reduce the size of the solar PV market significantly. In order to react to the effects of this on our business, we have launched a statutory 90-day consultation process with our people on how we can reshape our business.
"Until the consultation process is complete it is too early to speculate on how many people will be affected, especially as we will explore all opportunities for redeployment."
The plans to slash financial incentives for installing solar panels has provoked anger from green groups, with Friends of the Earth planning to mount a legal challenge.
The Department of Energy and Climate Change acknowledged the proposed changes would be "very difficult" but insisted it wanted an enduring future for the solar industry.
"If we left things as they are, the FIT budget would be eaten up entirely, and that would be even worse for those in this sector and those working on other technologies too," a spokesman said.
"We believe solar PV can have a strong and vibrant future in the UK and we are proposing changes to ensure a lasting FITs scheme to support that future."
2011年10月31日星期一
SolarWorld modules power Phipps Conservator solar project in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh’s Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Garden Centre for Sustainable Landscapes, located in Schenley Park, is being powered by solar panels from SolarWorld. Energy Independent Solutions has installed 125kW worth of SolarWorld’s 250W Sunmodule solar panels across three-quarters of the centre’s roof and a quarter of the modules on the ground.
The US$24 million Phipps project will be combining solar hot water, natural light capture and geothermal heating and cooling, along with solar, to power the centre. SolarWorld noted that the mounting systems for the solar panels were provided by US-based Solar FlexRack. The Phipps project is anticipated to be completed by next spring.
“This new feat of green building will stand as a model to prove we possess the know-how to construct buildings that do not drain the planet’s energy resources,” said Kevin Kilkelly, president of SolarWorld Americas. “Solar power provides a perpetual, clean source of power on the site, exactly where energy demand will rise. Solar technologies, energy efficiencies and engineering innovations work together to show how we can better use the resources already abundantly available at this site and in much of the rest of the world.”
The US$24 million Phipps project will be combining solar hot water, natural light capture and geothermal heating and cooling, along with solar, to power the centre. SolarWorld noted that the mounting systems for the solar panels were provided by US-based Solar FlexRack. The Phipps project is anticipated to be completed by next spring.
“This new feat of green building will stand as a model to prove we possess the know-how to construct buildings that do not drain the planet’s energy resources,” said Kevin Kilkelly, president of SolarWorld Americas. “Solar power provides a perpetual, clean source of power on the site, exactly where energy demand will rise. Solar technologies, energy efficiencies and engineering innovations work together to show how we can better use the resources already abundantly available at this site and in much of the rest of the world.”
2011年5月18日星期三
Highly efficient solar product
A University of Missouri engineer has developed a flexible solar sheet that captures more than 90 per cent of available light, and he plans to make prototypes available to consumers within the next five years. Efficiency is a problem with today's solar panels; they only collect about 20 percent of available light.
The device his team has developed — essentially a thin, mouldable sheet of small antennas called nantenna — can harvest the heat from industrial processes and convert it into usable electricity. Their ambition is to extend this concept to a direct solar facing nantenna device capable of collecting solar irradiation in the near infrared and optical regions of the solar spectrum, according to a University of Missouri press release.
Patrick Pinhero, the team leader, an associate professor in the MU Chemical Engineering Department, says energy generated using traditional photovoltaic (PV) methods of solar collection is inefficient and neglects much of the available solar electromagnetic (sunlight) spectrum.
Working with his former team at the Idaho National Laboratory and Garrett Moddel, an electrical engineering professor at the University of Colorado, Pinhero and his team have now developed a way to extract electricity from the collected heat and sunlight using special high-speed electrical circuitry. This team also partners with Dennis Slafer of MicroContinuum, Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., to immediately port laboratory bench-scale technologies into manufacturable devices that can be inexpensively mass-produced.
“Our overall goal is to collect and utilize as much solar energy as is theoretically possible and bring it to the commercial market in an inexpensive package that is accessible to everyone,” Pinhero said. “If successful, this product will put us orders of magnitudes ahead of the current solar energy technologies we have available to us today.”
The second phase
The second phase features an energy-harvesting device for existing industrial infrastructure, including heat-process factories and solar farms.
Within five years, the research team believes they will have a product that complements conventional PV solar panels. Because it's a flexible film, Pinhero believes it could be incorporated into roof shingle products, or be custom-made to power vehicles.
Once the funding is secure, Pinhero envisions several commercial product spin-offs, including infrared (IR) detection.
These include improved contraband-identifying products for airports and the military, optical computing, and infrared line-of-sight telecommunications. — Our Bureau
The device his team has developed — essentially a thin, mouldable sheet of small antennas called nantenna — can harvest the heat from industrial processes and convert it into usable electricity. Their ambition is to extend this concept to a direct solar facing nantenna device capable of collecting solar irradiation in the near infrared and optical regions of the solar spectrum, according to a University of Missouri press release.
Patrick Pinhero, the team leader, an associate professor in the MU Chemical Engineering Department, says energy generated using traditional photovoltaic (PV) methods of solar collection is inefficient and neglects much of the available solar electromagnetic (sunlight) spectrum.
Working with his former team at the Idaho National Laboratory and Garrett Moddel, an electrical engineering professor at the University of Colorado, Pinhero and his team have now developed a way to extract electricity from the collected heat and sunlight using special high-speed electrical circuitry. This team also partners with Dennis Slafer of MicroContinuum, Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., to immediately port laboratory bench-scale technologies into manufacturable devices that can be inexpensively mass-produced.
“Our overall goal is to collect and utilize as much solar energy as is theoretically possible and bring it to the commercial market in an inexpensive package that is accessible to everyone,” Pinhero said. “If successful, this product will put us orders of magnitudes ahead of the current solar energy technologies we have available to us today.”
The second phase
The second phase features an energy-harvesting device for existing industrial infrastructure, including heat-process factories and solar farms.
Within five years, the research team believes they will have a product that complements conventional PV solar panels. Because it's a flexible film, Pinhero believes it could be incorporated into roof shingle products, or be custom-made to power vehicles.
Once the funding is secure, Pinhero envisions several commercial product spin-offs, including infrared (IR) detection.
These include improved contraband-identifying products for airports and the military, optical computing, and infrared line-of-sight telecommunications. — Our Bureau
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