Green Energy WA Solar Energy News

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Sunday 29 January 2012

More than 20 000 jobs and an investment of over U.S. $ 3 billion


More than 20 000 jobs and an investment of over U.S. $ 3 billion, is the benefit to come from the solar energy project as announced the DACC Associates LLC MAMSKA Guinea-LTD and the utility of Guinea (EDG) announced on Tuesday, January 24 in Conakry.
The solar power project of 1000 MW is 100% funded by the U.S. partner DACC. In its activities, it will be assisted by international financial companies involved in the sector of renewable energy,said the president of Guinea Mamaska. This project, adds Mamady Kaba Sinkoun, will produce energy to sell to the EDG. After reaching the objectives of the project on an area of ​​about 6 to 7 years, plants and materials will return to the Guinean government.
However, the partner has set up a factory manufacturing solar panels with international standards to meet the demands at the country and export to the nearby regions. An ambition of size that is! In the future, we can see with how Guinea will become, if this project to be realized, the first African country to have a manufacturing facility on its soil.
In the first instance, or the pilot phase, the project wants to put in the Boke region a production of 50 MWC that will be distributed as follows: Boke 5 MWp with an annual production of 43,200 MWh, the village of Kamsar 5 MWp for annual production of 43,200 MWh and the mines 40 MWp for an annual production of 345,000 MWh.
Second, Mamska-DACC plans to install solar photovoltaic for all the mines in Guinea. Then, build solar power plants in the prefectures and Rural Communities Development (CRD). It should also notice that the power to be installed in each prefecture will vary between 3 MWp to 5 MWp, depending on the size of the region concerned and the needs of application.
The work on this project will soon begin to allow Guinea to have electricity 24/24 when we know that the electric current service, even in Conakry, remains to be desired.
Basma- International Green Energy News Correspondent – 25/01/2012.

Friday 20 January 2012

Alternative Energy: Close To The Floor?


Many European governments have recently faced unprecedented debt problems and low growth forecasts. Due to the increasing need to implement strict austerity measures, policy makers are willing to reassess the various expenses, including grant programs. If alternative energy sources are expected to bring many long-term benefits, a question arises in these turbulent times: the cost of subsidies for these technologies is it still affordable?

Subsidies For Renewable Energy Is Relatively Low


Before drawing any conclusions, let’s examine in detail the amounts allocated. According to the International Energy Agency, subsidies for renewable energy in the world amounted to 66 billion USD in 2010. A modest sum compared to 409 billion USD  allocated to fossil fuels. Compared to the total GDP of the euro area, the grants mentioned are a proportion of less than 0.4%. Given these figures, it is likely that cost-cutting measures are more effective in absolute terms in other areas.

Prices For Solar And Wind Power Rapidly Receding…


 Decline in the spot price of polysilicon (USD / kg)

In addition, prices of technologies to exploit renewable energy sources are rapidly receding. The most striking example is that of photovoltaic panels, whose prices have fallen 75% since 2008. According to EnergyTrend and PVinsights, the spot price of crystalline silicon solar cells is now at the order of $ 1/W.
This decrease is due to an imbalance between demand (which remains weak) and global production capacity, which are rising. Currently, the panel manufacturers are in fierce competition, especially with Chinese companies that benefit from more favorable cost structures and numerous funding opportunities. Italy, the UK and, more recently, Germany have reduced their subsidies for solar power to reflect the changes in prices and avoid a disproportionate return on investment.
Wind energy depends much less on public subsidies to the extent that it is a much more affordable in term of costs. Today, the wind industry is suffering mainly from financial difficulties and faced with overcapacity resulting in a rapid decline in the price of the facilities.

…While Fossil Fuel Prices Increase


 Cost of electricity: the competitiveness of renewable energy increases

The prices of electricity from fossil fuels, however, are rising. Since late 2010, coal centrals have witnessed the combustion materials’ prices increase significantly due to long-term constraints in terms of the offer. Consequently, the cost of electricity (leveled cost of Electricity, LCOE) of new power plants is now estimated at over $ 75 U/MWh, according to New Energy Finance. This resulted in increased costs by 36% over the past two years, against a decline of nearly 30% for solar. Electricity from renewable sources is becoming more competitive comparing to fossil fuel. Wind power already competes with coal and gas.

The Solar And Wind Less Dependent On Subsidies


When solar energy reaches the “grid parity”, which means that when its price will be equal to or lower than those of conventional electricity out subsidies, the industry should show a strong and sustainable growth. Until then and during the transition period, the stock market exposure to renewable energy will likely have a high level of volatility. The new decisions on grants in several markets should significantly influence the performance of green values.

Favorable Prospects For Long-Term, But A Strong Short-Term Volatility


The current market situation has important implications for investors. The transition period will likely attract investment opportunities provided to choose the winners of the crisis. Technology firms protected by high technologies and benefiting from a greater power to impose their prices, are expected to overcome the current turmoil and win market share over time.

Basma Jalloul – International Green Energy Correspondent – 19/01/2012

Monday 9 January 2012

What now for the global solar boom?


Expectations cause a lot of problems — without expectations, we couldn’t be disappointed. However, it’s impractical not to have any expectations. So, the important thing is really just not to tie your happiness to your expectations too much. Work hard, be good, but also be flexible when it comes to the results. So, with that said, here are some expectations for solar energy in 2012 — hopefully, the good ones will come true (and you know that we’ll be doing what we can to help them along), but expectations are expectations, and only that.
1. Solar costs will continue to drop. It’s expected that solar costs haven’t hit their lowest point yet and that increasing deployment combined with technological improvements will keep the prices falling in 2012. That means solar hitting grid parity in even more places, even without subsidies that include their tremendous health and environmental savings.
2. Solar companies will merge, collapse, and be bought out. Competition is increasing in the solar industry. That doesn’t mean the industry is failing, as some would like to contend, but that it is maturing. The result, however, is that many companies will have to go. I think 2012 will be a year full of solar mergers, buy-outs, and even collapses. (We’ll be getting ready for the wonderful misinformation campaigns coming out of certain industries, media outlets, and political campaigns as that happens.)
3. Solar will continue to boom on rooftops and elsewhere in the U.SSolar leasinggroup purchasing and discount options, and good old solar incentives will continue to put record amounts of solar power on people’s homes and businesses in 2012. Additionally, huge utility-scale solar projects will keep moving forward and breaking new ground. Dropping solar costs, innovative technologies, and innovative business models make the clean energy option increasingly attractive, in numerous shapes and forms.
4. Attacks on the solar industry will get stronger. With solar’s increasing importance and growth, those in the fossil fuel industry or threatened by it will likely increase their attacks on the budding industry, I presume. Solyndra was just the start. How they will do this when solar remains one of the most popular things in the country (with about 95% of Americans in favor of government support for it and increasing deployment) remains to be seen.
5. More feed-in tariffs will drive fast installation of rooftop solar. In North America and around the world, I think we’ll see more governments moving forward with feed-in tariff policies to support solar. Why? Well, simply put, it’s been the most effective policy for driving solar power installation around the world.
6. PACE comeback. I think we’re finally going to see property-assessed clean energy (PACE) financing come back in the U.S. PACE financing was having tremendous success (with no harm to anyone) before Fannie and Freddie Mac inadvertently shut it down. It’s got a strong following of supporters and is a common-sense financing option that has no reason to be sitting on the sidelines.
7. China (& India?) to knock our socks offChina’s solar
ambitions have increased dramatically in the last year (more than once). It doesn’t take China long to act and I think we’re going to see tremendous implementation in 2012. India’s future doesn’t seem as certain, but it hastremendous solar power goals as well, solar is now cheaper than diesel there, and many are projecting that it will become a big solar player soon, perhaps in 2012.
“Global solar photovoltaic (PV) module shipments are forecast to grow from an estimated 22.7 GW in 2011 to 43.8 GW in 2015 according to IDC Energy Insights’ Worldwide Quarterly Photovoltaic Module Tracker,” IDC Energy Insights reports. “At the same time that module prices are declining at a record-setting pace, large markets like China and India have doubled down on future solar plans and adopted extremely aggressive targets.”
“According to IDC Energy Insights most recent PV Module forecast, Asia/Pacific (including Japan) will grow from 22.9% of global module shipments in 2011 to 49.3% in 2015. Europe, which is expected to receive 66.4% of PV shipments in 2011, will decline to just 38.7% in 2015 (see chart below).”
Any other thoughts on what 2012 will bring? I did leave some notable topics out, as I’m not sure what to expect from them. Those include the solar trade dispute between U.S. & German solar companies and China, and solar policies in the UK and other European countries.

Thursday 5 January 2012

Solar Power move forward with new technology


To produce energy from sunlight, light can be converted directly via a photovoltaic cell, or the sun's heat can be used to boil water to drive turbines producing energy.

But a third way could be developed. This would be a more direct one. It would avoid us the constraints of the first method, with which the conversion can be done with certain frequencies of light. It would also avoid us a complicated process that results from the water boiling technique.

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed a kind of trap to direct sun; the device consists of a thin layer of tungsten (a very resistant metal). A surface of this layer is facing the sun, and is covered with microscopic traps. The other surface is facing a special type of solar cell and is carved in a structure called a photonic crystal. This crystal allows the structure to emit infrared radiation at a frequency with which they are best absorbed by the solar cell. These two surfaces are created by photolithography which is the same process that allows the manufacture of computer chips.

The tiny traps on the first layer capture the sun's rays, especially when they are aligned with it. The heated tungsten becomes much warmer than it would otherwise be. To be transformed into energy, the heat is directed to the solar cell through the photonic crystal, whose property is to modify the propagation of electromagnetic waves. 


Basma – Green Energy International Correspondent – 04/01/12

Monday 2 January 2012

The Guinea says it will invest $ 19 million


The Guinean government has launched Dec. 24, a lighting project of the cities of the country through solar energy.
The Guinea says it will invest $ 19 million in this project that lasts six months. A total of 7,000 street lights should be installed on city streets across the country.
Guinea, leading exporter of bauxite, also has a large hydropower potential estimated at 6000 MW of which only 2 are operated.
Electricity of Guinea, EDG, states that power generation has produced 385,964 megawatt-hours between January and September of 2011, against 450,318 megawatt hours over the same period in 2010, a decrease of 14.3%.
In August, the government signed with China International Water & Electric, a management agreement Kaléta hydroelectric dam at a cost of $ 526 million. According to the Minister of State for Energy and Environment, Papa Koly Kourouma, an output of 240.5 megawatts is expected to launch this infrastructure.
President Alpha Conde has promised to give the current 16 h/24 Guineans in 2012, based on the announced reforms. It recognizes that the final solution to the country’s electricity is in the construction of hydroelectric dams.
Basma – Green Energy International Correspondent – 01/01/12

Wind Turbine” was set up by the Senegalese.


To close the energetic gap that exists in Senegal and boost the solar industry, the “Association For The Promotion Of Solar Energy And Recovery Of The Wind Turbine” was set up by the Senegalese. 
People were a little disappointed because the authorities have made heavy investments in solar and outcomes were not achieved. This is the main reason why many people do not believe in solar energy,” said Abdul Aziz Ba member of the association. “But we believe in it because we know we have a strong potential and we would really like to clean up the area,” he said while adding, “And that’s why we created this association to boost the solar sector.” 
And also an appropriation of this tool is the only thing that can afford to absorb the energy gap in Senegal at the household level. “Stating that”, it was found that at the sector level, there are shortcomings in relation to managerial knowledge, human resources. 
The solar industry is also well organized from the point of view of legislation,” as Abdul Aziz Ba says “that’s why we want to provide training which will be complete. Our first targets are those that operate in the sector. There will be a module of law for people to understand how the sector is regulated, what you need to do and what not and how to engage
It also states that the work to clean the area has already begun. ”We are trying to convince the population level that the sun is only as a tool for their insights and their basic needs. We began to define lines to compensate for any problems.
Basma – Green Energy International Correspondent – 01/01/12