Did you know?

Our mother Earth receives more energy from the sun in an hour than is used in the entire world in one year. 

Did you know Leonardo da Vinci predicted a solar industrialisation back in 1447 Makes you wonder knowing  it is only in recent years that the world has turned to solar power systems. 

Did you know that Shell Oil now predicts that 50% of the world's energy will come from renewable sources by 2040.

Solar Energy from Green Energy WA - Truly the way forward 

Visit us today - WA's No1 Solar Company 

Chinese Solar In Disarray

BEIJING — China in recent years established global dominance in renewable energy, its solar panel and wind turbine factories forcing many foreign rivals out of business and its policy makers hailed by environmentalists around the world as visionaries.

But now China’s strategy is in disarray. Though worldwide demand for solar panels andwind turbines has grown rapidly over the last five years, China’s manufacturing capacity has soared even faster, creating enormous oversupply and a ferocious price war.

The result is a looming financial disaster, not only for manufacturers but for state-owned banks that financed factories with approximately $18 billion in low-rate loans and for municipal and provincial governments that provided loan guarantees and sold manufacturers valuable land at deeply discounted prices.

China’s biggest solar panel makers are suffering losses of up to $1 for every $3 of sales this year, as panel prices have fallen by three-fourths since 2008. Even though the cost of solar power has fallen, it still remains triple the price of coal-generated power in China, requiring substantial subsidies through a tax imposed on industrial users of electricity to cover the higher cost of renewable energy.

The outcome has left even the architects of China’s renewable energy strategy feeling frustrated and eager to see many businesses shut down, so the most efficient companies may be salvageable financially.

In the solar panel sector, “If one-third of them survive, that’s good, and two-thirds of them die, but we don’t know how that happens,” said Li Junfeng, a longtime director general for energy and climate policy at the National Development and Reform Commission, the country’s top economic planning agency.

Mr. Li said in an interview that he wanted banks to cut off loans to all but the strongest solar panel companies and let the rest go bankrupt. But banks — which were encouraged by Beijing to make the loans — are not eager to acknowledge that the loans are bad and take large write-offs, preferring to lend more money to allow the repayment of previous loans. Many local and provincial governments also are determined to keep their hometown favorites afloat to avoid job losses and to avoid making payments on loan guarantees, he said.

Mr. Li’s worries appear to be broadly shared in Beijing. “For the leading companies in the sector, if they’re not careful, the whole sector will disappear,” said Chen Huiqing, the deputy director for solar products at the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products.

The Chinese government also wants to see the country’s more than 20 wind turbine manufacturers, many of which are losing money, consolidate to five or six. “Wind does not need so many manufacturers,” said Mr. Li, who in addition to drafting renewable energy policies is the president of the Chinese Renewable Energy Industries Association.

Chinese solar company executives blame their difficulties partly on the United States’s decisions last spring to impose antidumping and anti-subsidy tariffs on solar panel imports, and on the European Union’s recent decision to start its own antidumping investigation of imports from China.

“It is not a Chinese industry problem, it is a global solar industry problem,” said Rory Macpherson, a spokesman for Suntech Power, one of the largest Chinese solar panel manufacturers. “It is primarily the result of an imbalance between supply and demand, and the U.S. and E.U. trade investigations.”

Mr. Li said the solar industry’s problems were the result of overcapacity in China, and not the fault of trade restrictions.

Yet he insisted that if the Chinese government could turn back the clock and revisit past renewable energy decisions, it would not do anything differently.

The problem lies in the eagerness of Chinese businesses to rush into any new industry that looks attractive and swamp it with investments, he said. Chinese companies and their bankers are then far more reluctant than Western companies to admit defeat for investments that prove unprofitable.

Mr. Li added that banking regulators had not yet decided what to do about banks’ exposure to the solar sector. The central government tried without success to learn from local and provincial government agencies how much of the solar industry’s bank debt they have guaranteed, Mr. Li said.

Chinese solar power companies are making some cutbacks. Suntech, based in Wuxi, is temporarily closing a quarter of its solar cell capacity. It will transfer a majority of the 1,500 affected workers to other operations and provide severance payments to the rest.

Jiangsu province, where Suntech has its headquarters and most of its factories, issued an unusual appeal to state-owned banks several weeks ago to continue lending money to the company, a step that Mr. Li criticized as inappropriate. Mr. Macpherson of Suntech wrote in an e-mail that the Jiangsu government had not guaranteed any of the company’s debt, which totaled $2.26 billion at the end of the first quarter, including some convertible bonds in addition to bank loans. Trina Solar, one of its biggest rivals, also has said it will “streamline its operations” and shrink its work force, but did not provide details.

Trina shares have dropped 85 percent in the last three years and Suntech shares have fallen more than 98 percent in the last five years. Both trade on the New York Stock Exchange.

The modest cutbacks in production barely put a dent in China’s overcapacity problem. GTM Research, a renewable energy consulting firm in Boston, estimates that Chinese companies have the ability to manufacture 50 gigawatts of solar panels this year, while the Chinese domestic market is on track to absorb only 4 to 5 gigawatts. Exports will take another 18 or 19 gigawatts.

The enormously expensive equipment in solar panel factories needs to be run around the clock, seven days a week, to cover costs.

“You want to be up at 80 percent, so they’re half of what they need,” said Shayle Kann, the head of GTM Research, which is a unit of Greentech Media.

Chinese companies have struggled even though a dozen solar companies in the United States and another dozen in Europe have gone bankrupt or closed factories since the start of last year. The bankruptcies and closures have done little to ease the global glut and price war because China by itself represents more than two-thirds of the world’s capacity.

To reduce capacity, foreign rivals have clamored for China to subsidize the purchase of more solar panels at home, instead of having Chinese companies rely so heavily on exports. But the government here is worried about the cost of doing so, because the price of solar power remains far higher than for coal-generated power.

The average cost of electricity from solar panels in China works out to 19 cents per kilowatt-hour, said Mr. Li. That is three times the cost of coal-fired power. But it is a marked improvement from 63 cents per kilowatt-hour for solar power four years ago.

China’s official goal is to install 10 gigawatts of solar panels a year by 2015, using 20-year contracts to guarantee payment for electricity purchased from them. If costs stay where they are now, the subsidies would be $50 billion over 20 years for every 10 gigawatts of solar power installed, based on figures supplied by Mr. Li.

Even if solar power costs fall by a third, as the government hopes, he said, “it’s big money.”

Global view by Green Energy WA
Fully Story NYTIMES 

WA In The News

Scientists have for the first time identified a number of WA sites capable of producing large quantities of commercial biofuel from microalgae.

They say the best sites for big-scale algal biofuel plants include stretches of land south of Geraldton, south-east of Exmouth and large areas near Karratha and Port Hedland.

Professor Michael Borowitzka from Murdoch University’s Algae Research and Development Centre and Assistant Professor Bryan Boruff from the School of Earth and Environment at The University of Western Australia used Geographical Information Systems (GIS) technology to study more than 2250km of WA coastline from Lancelin to Broome and 170km inland.

Their report, Identification of the Optimum Sites for Industrial-scale Microalgae Biofuel Production in WA using a GIS Model, was prepared for the WA Government-funded Centre for Research into Energy for Sustainable Transport (CREST) and is the first WA-wide study of its kind.

Professor Borowitzka, a leading world authority on algal biofuel production, said WA had several key advantages for suitable sites: abundant sunshine, extensive land unsuitable for agriculture and plenty of water in the Indian Ocean.

“But not all of WA is ideal for such plants, so we examined sites scientifically by assessing land suitability, access to infrastructure and workforce, carbon dioxide availability − along with nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus − and climate,” Professor Borowitzka said.

Assistant Professor Boruff added: “Commercial success depends on economically viable, large-scale production, which is why this study is so important.”

Professor Borowitzka said more research and development was needed to find the most energy-efficient and economically feasible way to extract and convert algal biomass into renewable bioenergy.

Limited world fossil fuel resources and an ever-increasing global demand for energy have prompted substantial interest in renewable biofuels. Professor Borowitzka has been at the forefront of research into producing biofuels from algae.

Algal biofuels − especially liquid fuels produced from algae oils − are seen as an important component of a future clean biofuels mix, he said.

Its fast growth rate and high oil content appears to make microalgae particularly well-suited to renewable biodiesel production and offers an attractive sustainable alternative source to other compounds such as carotenoids, polyunsaturated fatty acids and polysaccharides.

WA already has the world’s biggest commercial microalgae production plant at Hutt Lagoon, north of Geraldton.

US biofuel producer Aurora Algae and Australian biofuel start-up company Muradel Pty Ltd − a joint venture between Murdoch University, Adelaide Research and Innovation Pty Ltd and SQC Pty Ltd − have also built pilot plants in Karratha.

http://www.energycareer.com.au/news/wa-sites-located-for-algae-to-biofuel-extraction

8MW deal for Canadian Solar

Canadian Solar has supplied more than 8MW of solar modules to groSolar for three utility and commercial photovoltaic projects in the United States.

All three projects use Canadian Solar’s CS6p module. The largest project is a 6MW plant currently under construction in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Once completed, it will be the largest solar installation in the state, supplying around 7.5mn kilowatt hours of energy annually under a 15-year power purchase agreement.

The two other groSolar projects have already been completed: a 1.8MW solar project at Camden County Municipal Utility Authority’s (CCMUA) wastewater treatment plant in Camden, New Jersey, and a 1.5MW installation at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. groSolar serves the 1-20MW commercial and utility markets with complete EPC, financing, and development support.

Don't forget you can buy the latest from Canadian Solar At Green Energy WA. Your solar hot water and solar energy centre in Perth WA

Who is Alex? The Solar Wave Glider

Alex is one of about 100 Wave Gliders built so far by the company Liquid Robotics. Solar panels on the top of the Wave Glider provide renewable energy to power its data collection equipment, which includes a standard weather station as well as a thermistor chain for measuring below-surface water temperatures up to seven meters deep (thermistor refers to an electrical device for sensing temperature).

Without the need for refueling or resupply, the Wave Glider can remain in continuous action for months at a time.

Solar power is just one part of the secret to the Wave Glider’s mobility. Its platform basically consists of two parts connected in a type of hinge, which enables it to harvest the energy from ocean waves and convert it into forward thrust.

Many Jobs for a Green Robot

Saving human life through more accurate storm and tsunami prediction is just part of the Wave Glider’s job. Earlier this month, CleanTechnica described the launch of Stanford University’s Wave Glider, which will integrate with a network of stationary buoys to improve ocean health monitoring.

Tracking fish populations, monitoring individual sea creatures and collecting data on unusual events such as algae and phytoplankton blooms are a few of the jobs under way for the Wave Glider.

As for durability, Wave Gliders have already encountered and survived hurricane conditions during a Pacific Ocean crossing this summer, which Liquid Robotics is chronicling on its PacX blog, so weathering a bit of bluster from our friend Rush should be a piece of cake.

Green Energy WA - No1 for Solar Energy WA, Solar Hot Water Perth WA, Solar News and Environmental Information www.gewa.com.au

Clean Technica (http://s.tt/1lU0P)

Aussies Lead The Way

Australian households installed more residential rooftop solar power systems last year than any other nation.
  
Approximately 392,500 new home solar systems were activated in 2011 according to data from the Clean Energy Regulator and the International Energy Agency.
  
A fact sheet released by REC Agents Association (RAA) based on data from the Clean Energy Regulator states Australians had installed nearly 1.5 million solar hot water and solar panel systems to the end of June.
   
As at 30 June, 2012, renewable energy certificates had been created for 753,844 solar panel systems; representing 1,671,489 kW capacity. A further 743,842 solar heat pump and solar hot water systems had been installed.
  
Close to 18% of all Australian families now has one or the other or both installed - 9% of households have solar electricity generation systems.
 
"Recognition must go to the Howard Government for having the vision to establish a world leading Renewable Energy Target, to the Rudd Government for increasing that target four-fold and to the Gillard Government for delivering on the promise of the Renewable Energy Target," says Ric Brazzale, President of RAA.
 
"Whilst four million Australians now have solar on their roofs, many more Australians are keen to get on board. The Renewable Energy Target must be maintained, expanded and extended over time to help deliver solar to all Australians."
  
Some corners of industry have called for the scrapping of the Renewable Energy Target due to the introduction of a carbon price. However, last month, Australia's Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency Greg Combet stated this would "fail to deliver the transformation needed in our energy sector and only increase the cost of that transformation in later years."
  
REC Agents Association represents businesses creating and trading in Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs); the mechanism behind Australia's Renewable Energy Target and the basis of the Solar Credits Scheme. Often referred to as a solar rebate, Solar Credits is an initiative that subsidises solar panel systems. 

Story supplied by Energy Matters

PM Gillard on surging power prices

As Prime Minister Julia Gillard addressed the Energy Policy Institute of Australia (EPIA, she likened the surging costs of household power bills to petrol prices..

Ms Gillard accepted that prices of energy had increased at unprecedented levels, and acknowledged that the runaway power bills often seemed ‘beyond our control.’

But Ms Gillard assured her audience that the Government was in a better place to counter growing energy costs as it prepares for the release of its new Energy White Paper, as well as introducing price determinations next year.

Ms Gillard also outlined planned COAG reform that would see action before the end of the year.

The Prime Minister failed to resist taking a swipe at the NSW and Queensland Governments, who’s publically owned utility companies are continuing to reap growing profits.

“Meanwhile, some states, like New South Wales and Queensland, are doing very well out of this financially and their revenue from some electricity assets is growing much faster than in the private sector,” Ms Gillard said.

“So it is also very clear that the States can, and should, do more to cut future price rises.”

Ms Gillard also acknowledged that reforming the sector would take a herculean effort, and that the mixed public/private nature of the sector would make reform complex and diffuclt to deliver.

"And of course, there’s the pragmatic, patchwork design of National Electricity Market itself – a complex mix of co-ordination and competition, public and private ownership, national and state regulation,” Ms Gillard said.

“But, recognising that complexity, appreciating the conflicting objectives and incentives, and taking into account the long-term factors at play, I want to say very clearly: the last four years’ price rises cannot continue.”

 The Clean Energy Council (CEC) has called for extensive reform to the country’s consumer energy market in the wake of the Prime Minister speech on energy reform.

Clean Energy Council Chief Executive David Green said consumers currently had very little control over their energy bills, and that needed to change.

“Electricity prices are a difficult issue which require governments to put aside politics and act in the public interest. The Prime Minister’s speech today has helped to move the discussion in the right direction, calling for urgent action by state governments to enact reforms to stop the run of power price rises,” Mr Green said.

Power pricing surge

Charges 70 per cent higher than the American average
A figure that will grow to 160 per cent in two years
Exposes myth that Australian electricity is relatively cheap
AUSTRALIANS pay 130 per cent more for electricity than Canadians, according to new research – a power premium to rise to 250 per cent once the carbon tax and locked-in price increases take effect.

The research, which will be made public today, claims household charges are already 70 per cent higher than the American average, a figure that will grow to 160 per cent in two years. Japanese, British, French, Irish and New Zealanders all pay less than we do.

The research forms the basis of a report to the Energy Users Association of Australia – which represents 100 big power users including BHP, RailCorp, Coles, the Commonwealth Bank and Brisbane City Council – and argues the way power prices are set must be urgently reformed.

The EUAA will also use the research to claim it exposes as a myth that Australian electricity is relatively cheap.

Energy Minister Martin Ferguson recently said Australians pay less than the OECD average, relying on a document called Energy In Australia 2012, which his department’s Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics (BREE) published three weeks ago. The document uses electricity prices from 2009-10.

“That data is old,” EUAA executive director Roman Domanski told The Daily Telegraph last night. In 2010-11 alone the national price rose by 16 per cent; the NSW jump was 23 per cent. The numbers used to compile the document Mr Ferguson relied on put the NSW average at 18.55c/kWh. But in the real world, households are paying regulated rates as high as 28c/kWh.

The average New South Wales household’s annual cost for electricity would fall from $1700 to less than $700 if our prices were the same as in Canada.

Mr Domanski said: “Add in the carbon tax from July, further network price increases and renewable energy subsidies and inevitably our prices are pushed to the point where they are challenging Denmark and Germany as the most expensive in the world.” The report to the EUAA, produced by Carbon Market Economics, found Australian power prices had risen about 40 per cent since 2007 and would rise by another 30 per cent over the next two years.

It found that, even using 2007 currency exchange rates, Australian households still paid more than those in Japan, US, Canada and the average of the EU. Carbon Market Economics comparison of prices in 92 jurisdictions – including more than 35 countries, American states and all Australian states and territories – found NSW ranked fourth behind Denmark, Germany and South Australia. Victoria was fifth and Western Australia was sixth. The ACT was 21st.

In explaining why BREE used figures dating back to 2009, energy manager Allison Ball said Australian Energy Market Commission data wasn’t available until late 2011 and global 2011 statistics from the International Energy Agency were still not available.

However, The Telegraph understands Carbon Market Economics used 2011 IEA figures published before Mr Ferguson claimed Australian prices were below the OECD average.

Melrose Park mother-of-two Leanne Imbro said her family’s last bill had jumped to about $700. She said she has been reassessing her children’s extra-curricular activities.

An Overview Of Solar Energy And Other Renewable Energy Sources

When we talk about renewable energy we are referring to power that delivers energy from resources that will not be depleted because of our use of them. Renewable energy is an alternative to non-renewable fossil fuel energy for reasons other than the factor of non-depletion.

One basic benefit of renewable energy, and the reason environmentalists all over the globe are advocate its use, is that it does give off greenhouse gases and other harmful pollutants as do the by-products of burning fossil fuel for energy. Renewable energy such as solar power, water power and wind power, while the widespread discussion of which is new, are anything but new.

In both newly developing and highly developed countries wind, sun and water have long been used as power sources, though not to the extent of providing the primary energy source for large metropolitan communities.

The mass production of such renewable energy is become commonplace in recent years as more and more people come to realise how climate is changing due to the pollution of fossil fuel gases, due to the exhaustion of the availability of these fossil fuels and the political and social concerns of energy sources such as nuclear power.

Many countries and non-profit environmentally-conscious organisations are encouraging the use of renewable energy sources by passing legislation on tax incentives for their use and subsidies to offset the added expense of converting from fossil fuel to renewable energy.

The flow of renewable energy involves phenomena that occur naturally in our world. Tides, sunlight, wind and heat derived by geothermal occurrences all provide renewable energy. Each of these energy sources is unique both in where we can use them and how.

Most technology that converts renewable energy into power sources we can use are powered at least in part by the Sun if not directly at least indirectly. The earths atmospheric system stays in such equilibrium that the heat that it gives off radiates into space to an amount equal to the radiation that comes to earth from the sun.

The result of this energy level within the atmosphere is roughly translated to the climate of the earth. The water of the earth, also referred to its hydrosphere, absorbs a lot of the radiation that comes to us from the sun.

Most of the radiation gets absorbed at the lower latitudes of the earth that exist around the equator. This energy gets dissipated all around the globe, however, in the form of ocean and wind currents.

The motion of the ocean waves might have a role in transference of mechanical energy between the ocean and the earths atmosphere by way of wind stress. Solar energy also provides the means by which precipitations is distributed and then tapped by hydroelectric energy projects as well as plant growth that then creates biofuels.

story brought to you by - Green Energy WA

Night Time Solar

In the solar Gemasolar central, a cloudy sky is no reason for depression: thanks to the aunique technology, the energy stored during the sun shines is used to produce electricity at night or on rainy days.

The site has been operational since May 2011, has not gone unnoticed in the plains of Andalusia, in southern Spain.

From the motorway between Seville and Cordoba, you can observe the tower within which 2650 solar panels of 120 square meters each lit up, arranged in a huge circle of 195 hectares.

“This is the first plant in the world who works 24/24, a solar power plant that operates day and night!” says Santiago Arias, technical director of Torresol Energy, which manages the facility.

“Its mechanism is very easy to explain,” he promises, “the panels that reflect the sun’s rays towards the tower generate an amount of energy that’s equivalent to 1000 times of what we have on the ground.”

The energy is stored in a tank filled with molten salt at a temperature greater than 500 degrees. Salts are used to produce steam to turn a turbine and produce electricity as well as in a conventional thermal plant.

Basma – International Green Energy Correspondent – 06/04/2012

French Urban Solar Parc

The Largest French Urban Solar Parc, Coming Soon...

In May, the city of Bordeaux will have the largest solar energy park in France located in the urban areas. With its 61,500 solar panels and its 20 hectares of surface, the central Bordeaux-Lac saves 1,700 tons of CO2 emissions.

Solar Panels Covering 7,000 Parking Spaces
This park  is installed in the parking lot of the Exhibition of the city of Bordeaux. It thus covers 7,000 parking spaces. In general, there are 78,500 m2 of installed panels. This project, which lasted 10 months will cost a whopping € 55 million, all financed by EDF EN.

A Production Of 13,000 Mwh Per Year
The solar panels will produce 13 000 MWh per year which is an average power generation for 5000 homes. Ultimately, the goal of the city of Bordeaux is to use 23

Basma – International Green Energy Correspondent – 06/04/2012

Cloud cover and solar panels

Some interesting facts from Green Energy WA

Solar sections hold a money of advantages, both for individuals and for the community at huge. Financially, solar energy sections promise to lower the cost of your. Environmentally, solar energy sections can give us cleaner energy, maintainable energy will not require further damage to the environment. Solar energy can reach remote areas. It can carry education, or quickly needed medical information.

The results of atmosphere on a screen, though, might reduce those and other pro...

Keywords:

effects of atmosphere,solar section,solar park,solar panels

Article Body:

Solar sections hold a money of advantages, both for individuals and for the community at huge. Financially, solar energy sections promise to lower the cost of your. Environmentally, solar energy sections can give us cleaner energy, maintainable energy will not require further damage to the environment. Solar energy can reach remote areas. It can carry education, or quickly needed medical information.

The results of atmosphere on a screen, though, might reduce those and other promising advantages.

The results of atmosphere on a screen might make it far less efficient in certain parts around the globe and at certain seasons.

For that reason, people who are considering solar energy sections for their homes are often heard to ask: will atmosphere impact my solar energy panels?

Will Clouds Affect My Solar Panels?

Clouds do impact solar energy sections. The quantity of your your solar energy sections can generate is directly dependent on the level of lighting they receive.

In complete, bright natural light, solar energy sections receive maximum levels of lighting. During those "peak" natural light hours, your solar energy sections will generate energy at their maximum capacity.

When atmosphere protect the sun, lighting levels are reduced. This does not shut down wind turbine, however. If there is enough lighting to cast a shadow, regardless of the atmosphere, your solar energy sections should operate at about half of their complete capacity. Thicker reasoning protect will reduce operations further. Eventually, with heavy reasoning protect, solar energy sections will generate very little useful energy.

The Good News!

The results of atmosphere on a screen can be surprising good, however. Incredibly, your solar energy sections will put out their ultimate quantity of peak energy during dark weather!

As the sun moves into a hole between the atmosphere, your solar energy sections will see something wonderful. They will see complete natural light "plus" reflected lighting from the clouds! They will drink in more energy than they could on a cloudless day!

The results of atmosphere on a screen could then generate peaks at or above 50 percent more than its direct-sun output!

Meeting the Challenge

There are ways to meet the reasoning challenge.

1. If you often have atmosphere in the afternoon, but mornings are clear, aim your solar energy sections slightly toward the east.

2. Be sure you use a huge enough battery system to maximize the quantity of your stored for use when the atmosphere arrive.

3. Make sure your controller has plenty of headroom over the rated section result energy so that it can absorb the surges when the sun reflects off the atmosphere.

Those tricks and more are practiced in dark regions around the globe where people have sprinted far ahead of the United States in their use of screen energy.

Effects of Clouds on a Solar Screen in Germany

Germany is typically a very dark country. Read about the environment of Malaysia, and you will find that it is "temperate and marine; cool, dark, wet winters and summers; occasional warm mountain (foehn) wind" according to Nation Master's website.

In revenge of its dark environment, though, Malaysia is by far the world's biggest user of solar energy sections. If you lived in Malaysia, you could sell back to the main energy all of the excess electricity produced by your solar energy sections. Why would I even care in such a dark climate? If atmosphere impact my solar energy sections too much, I would not worry about selling back to the main lines.

In 2006, Malaysia opened the largest solar energy park on the planet. Malaysia also has Europe's most modern solar energy housing project a solar energy village of 50 solar energy houses that generate more energy than they use!

Will atmosphere impact my solar energy panels? Even if I lived in Malaysia, the effect would not be enough to forego solar energy.

Some interesting facts from Green Energy WA

Green Energy WA Solar Hot Water

Why Green Energy WA

Options.

We can provide you one of the best varies of Solar Hot Water Techniques in Perth. In doing company with most investors your option will be refined to one company, not always the company that actually matches your specifications. With Natural Power WA you are restricted only to your needs and funds. Access to major manufacturers of solar difficulties systems, with no trading constraints, means we can supply to your specifications not by what we permitted to offer you.

We service all the best manufacturers of Solar Hot Water systems, Rinnai, Solahart, Edwards, Conergy, Apricus, DUX, and provide a wide variety of both Gas and Electric storage area designs. Why go anywhere else?

So for your ideal solar set ups and home screen offers, contact your Solar Hot Water and Solar Power Professional.
Why Natural Energy?

What is a truth is, no one program can be right for everyone. Everyone has unique needs and requirements from their difficulties systems. At Natural Power, what you get is option. As opposed to most 'exclusive' or 'restricted' investors we provide a wide assortment and costs and can provide you open sincere assistance on each program, making sure you get what works, rather than only what the supplier can offer. We can also organize maintenance on all the shown items and more, so if you have the need, you need Natural Power WA. We can perform to a funds, we can perform to a need or both, the option is yours! Natural Power WA is a Western Australia managed company. In a ice area? No problem, Natural Power has a lot of options available to you. Give us a call today or visit our website www.gewa.com.au!

Solar Energy: The "Grandmothers" Who Decided To Illuminate 600 Households

After spending six months in India where they received training on solar energy techniques and technologies, "grandmothers" have decided to put their talents into local development. Thus on 1 March 2012, they launched the lighting projects of 600 households with solar energy. It was in the village of boala, about fifty miles of Kaya, in the Namentenga province.

The purpose of these six projects, costing a total of 375 million CFA francs, is to allow each willing household to supply solar energy for their fixed lamp, solar light lantern and a socket (for charging mobile phones) etc.., according to the Minister of the Environment and Sustainable Development, Jean Kouldiaty, head of the launching ceremony. The "grandmothers" union formed, will have to install and manage small units of solar energy in their villages while maintenance costs of solar equipment will be managed by communities. “This training allows these women to become role models for youth in the community, both girls and boys”. Added the Minister for Kouldiaty, "My wish is to see this event as a springboard to strengthen state efforts and technical and financial partners and promoting the use of alternative energy by creating a training in solar energy at schools.”

For Pascal Karorero, the Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Burkina Faso, "this initiative is of particular interest for our organization and the UN." He said the lighting of 600 rural households contribute to the preservation of biological diversity, children's education, promotion of income generating activities and reducing the rural exodus. "The initiative also aims to achieve three interrelated goals for 2030 which are universal access to modern energy services and doubling the rate of improvement of energy efficiency and the share of renewable energy in the energy mix, "said Mr. Karorero.

Basma Jalloul – International Green Energy Perth WA Correspondent – 07/03/2012

Charge Your iPhone With This Solar Powered Dock!

The A-Solar Company has a new dock for iPhone, the Power Dock, which recharges the phone via USB or externally by solar energy.

The Power Dock, presented by A-Solar, allows the recharging of the Apple phone, iPhone, via two distinct processes. The first is via a USB connection to a computer. The technique is classical. But outside, the most environment friendly solution, the Power Dock can also fill the phone's battery using solar energy.

The accessory is equipped with photovoltaic cells and a battery of 6000 mAh, able to fully charge the iPhone. The Power Dock, meanwhile, charges your iPhone in four hours, when connected to a computer and between 12 and 16 hours if it is placed face to natural light. A LED indicator indicates if the Power Dock Battery is fully charged or not, says Ubergizmo.

It also can, while charging, synchronize the contents deposited on iTunes, which offers the same time a mean that prevents the iPhone from being placed anywhere and getting unfortunate scratches.

The Power Dock is available at A-Solar for a suggested retail price of 79 euros (approx. $110). The accessory is manufactured on demand and will arrive within two to three weeks.

Basma – International Green Energy Correspondent – 28/02/2012

EDF Acquires Photowatt, French Pioneer Of Solar Energy

The Commercial Court of Vienna (Isère) confirmed Monday the takeover bid by EDF Photowatt. This avoids the liquidation of the only French manufacturer of photovoltaic cells.

It was a happy ending for the employees of Photowatt. The Commercial Court of Vienna, near Grenoble, has selected the offer presented by EDF on Monday that aims to maintain the activity of this company as it is.

Of the 425 people currently employed by Photowatt, EDF offers to 345 employees and over 10 apprentices to continue their activity in the company. The other 70 will be offered redeployment within the EDF Group.

"This operation is part of the Group's strategy to be a leader in renewable energy, including photovoltaics, thereby contributing to the development of better technologies," said EDF in a statement.

Photowatt was placed in receivership after filing for bankruptcy in November. The sole French manufacturer of photovoltaic cells has undergone in recent years the rise of Chinese manufacturers. In 2011, the decrease in tariffs for solar electricity in France has exacerbated the difficulties of SMEs, which showed a net loss of 80 million euros.

EDF has agreed to inject 75 million euros as part of the recovery of the company. "This transaction will enable the Group, through its subsidiary EDF, to take over the assets of Photowatt and 100% of its subsidiary PV Alliance2 and get an exclusive worldwide license to the heterojunction technology, currently under development, "said the electrician in a statement.

Basma – International Green Energy Correspondent – 28/02/2012

Solar Energy: Germany's Sudden Drop In Tariffs

Usually presented as a consultative model, the German method surprises us this time by its brutality and magnitude of the cuts announced.

After Italy and France, and while the British government is fighting to impose a similar measure, it is Germany’s turn to announce an imminent and sharp decline of its feed-in tariffs for electricity from photovoltaic origin. Announced for March 9, or within two weeks and four months ahead of schedule, this fall will be at 20-29%, depending on the facilities, two times larger than initially planned.

As a consequence, it will be 13.5 cents per kilowatt/hour (kWh) for ground stations up to 10 megawatts (MW) and between 1 and 10 MW. Beyond 10 MW, no central recorded after July 1 will receive any subsidy. Installations on roofs less than 1 MW will be paid 16.5 cents per kWh and those below 10 KW will receive 19.5 cents per kWh. In addition, the tariffs reduction will be spread spaciously over time, on a monthly basis.

German Industrialists Vulnerable

Usually presented (including French manufacturers) as a model of anticipation and cooperation for the development of these tariffs, the country seems to take this time a step back. About fifty of them, including Solarworld and inverter manufacturer SMA, has also demonstrated Friday, the day after the announcement, brandishing the threat of thousands of job losses. And stock prices of major industry players have lost 5% to 10%.

Faced with these protests, ministers argue that the previous rate cuts did not prevent the country to install 7.5 GW per year in 2010 and 2011, for an additional cost of nearly $ 8 billion in the bill of consumer.

Basma – International Green Energy Correspondent – 28/02/2012

Solar Expo “ACTUS” In Morocco

Solar Expo “ACTUS” In Morocco
The first edition of the Solar Expo “ACTUS” was held this weekend in Marrakech. The show brought together some fifty national and international exhibitors led by Rachid Bouguern initiator and director of this appointment.
Solar energy (photovoltaic, hydro, wind, and biomass) has become an essential resource during the past recent years. Cost control, environment preservation, promoting economics and energy saving are the reasons why people start replacing their old energy resources with renewable ones. And during these days, a widespread enthusiasm concerning renewable energy in Morocco is being witnessed. The Solar Living Expo was therefore necessary, by itself. Many expert exhibitors, gathered at the convention center for four days, with several projects: facilitating national and international agreements, making the show a major center of growth, enhancing the Moroccan offer, to relate the various operators in the sector … The show provides a platform of solar energy in Africa and a place to meet and exchange between developers and consumers. For a country like Morocco, solar energy is a part of the future. The Kingdom has, according to Rashid Bouguern enormous potential thanks to the great sunshine this time of year. Moreover, it is a significant economic asset, given the soaring price of crude.

Success for a first

Several conferences were held during the show. Their goal was to educate operators and consumers on different topics: energy saving, environment protection, sustainable development, security, and development of solar energy in Maroc. The solar Living Expo also educates visitors about the latest technology updated in this area. The future should be bright for this show since solar energy is an inexhaustible wealth.

Basma – International Green Energy Correspondent – 23/02/2012

Guinea To Produce Solar Panels

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.