Archive for the ‘Greencon Solar Technology Update’ Category
April 21st, 2010 | 
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South Africa’s first large-scale solar-water heater project, whereby 200 000 solar geyser systems will be installed nationwide, will be launched next week, Department of Energy (DoE) acting deputy director-general Ompi Aphane said on Tuesday.
Speaking to journalists in Cape Town, Aphane elaborated that the project was an extension of State-owned enterprise Eskom’s solar water geyser installation programme, under which 3 000 solar water systems had been installed over the past three years.
The idea was to start “massifying” the roll-out, Aphane said, indicating that the 200 000 target had been set for the end of the current fiscal year.
The project was due to be formally launched by President Jacob Zuma in Winterveldt, north-west of Pretoria, on April 28, where 7 000 units would be installed.
Energy Minister Dipuo Peters told journalists that the DoE was working together with the South African Bureau of Standards to ensure that the technology, which had been flooding into the country over the past few years, was up to standard.
It was also stressed that the DOE was working with the Department of Trade and Industry to promote solar geyser local content.
“We believe that by next year we would have localised the solar water heater technology so that we do not have to import systems,” said Peters
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I always believe it is best to examine what is happening internationally, especially in countries that are years ahead of us in this solar thermal sector (basically everybody). This may help us predict what trends may slowly develop here in South Africa.
Solarthermalworld wanted to investigate why the Australian Government decided to discontinue its Solar Water Heater Rebate Programme and conducted an interview with Stephen Cranch, Sales and Marketing Manager of Solahart Industries Pty Ltd Australia.
Cranch provided a short overview of the current market and support scheme situation. Since 2005, the solar water heater expert has been part of the Solahart Team, an Australian flat plate collector and tank manufacturer. Before that, he had been General Marketing Manager at Heatcraft Australia, a major supplier for the refrigeration and air-conditioning sector.
Solarthermalworld: We have recently reported that the Federal Solar Water Heater (SWH) Rebate has been discontinued. What caused this abrupt end?
Cranch: There has been a lot of market turmoil here. Around September last year, the heat pump rebate was reduced to AUD 1,000, because people were installing for free and the market was massively overheated. As a result, REC prices plummeted, which made solar less attractive and the demand started to drop off. The peak for the SWH market was around June till November. In January, the New South Wales rebate was reduced from up to AUD 1,200 to AUD 300.
At the same time, the insulation program had been plagued with some real problems. And therefore, the Federal Government decided to suspend the program on 19 February 2010 and to reintroduce it in June this year. However, for SWHs, which as you know were part of the programme, a new scheme was immediately launched called the Renewable Energy Bonus Scheme and the rebate amount reduced from AUD 1,600 to AUD 1,000, effective from 20 February 2010.
Solarthermalworld: In 2009, market volume almost doubled and reached its peak around June/July 2009. Was the market volume pushed by the Federal Solar Water Heater Rebate?
Cranch: In February 2009, the Federal Government increased the national solar hot water rebate from AUD 1,000 to AUD 1,600 and removed the requirement for means testing, which was previously only available to householders earning a combined income of AUD 100,000 or less. This was bundled up with free home insulation as part of the federal government stimulus package in the midst of the global financial crisis.
Solarthermalworld: Insulation and solar water heaters are not usually combined in one and the same incentive programme. How did that work?
Cranch: You could only claim the SWH rebate when replacing an electric water heater and proving that you had not had free insulation installed. For instance, householders could have free insulation up to AUD 1,600 or the AUD 1,600
SHW rebate. Insulation was provided free to householders without money changing hands, whereas with SWHs, the householder still had to pay the up-front cost and wait 2 to 3 months for the rebate to come back after sending the paperwork in.
This was on top of the Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs), which are linked to the 20 % renewable energy target by 2020. 1 REC is 1
MW of electricity generated or displaced over a 10-year period. The value of each REC is determined by market factors, for instance: the current value around 33 AUD/ REC, multiplied by the number of RECs per system – lets say 30 – is AUD 990. Additionally, some other state rebates where available, such as the New South Wales rebate, which was up to AUD 1,200. Those rebates and RECs are available for heat pumps and solar water heaters.
Solarthermalworld: How would you assess the current state of the SWH market?
Cranch: Now, it’s significantly down from the numbers in 2009. In summary, the market is a lot tougher now than 12 months ago. It peaked at around 200,000 SWH systems, including a large number of heat pumps, but has come back significantly from these numbers.
The interview was conducted by communication specialist Hanna Schober based in South Africa.
The government has set the target of 10 000 GWh of renewable energy generation by 2013 and Eskom is expecting its Solar Water Heating Programme to contribute up to 23% of this target. According to Cedric Worthmann, the Solar Water Heating Programme manager at Eskom, the programme has delivered an average of 6.4 GWh per annum to date.
Worthmann says that the significant increase of the rebate was calculated in order to allow a five-year payback period. “This calculation is done taking into account the average cost of systems, average savings per system, average electricity tariff rate and cost of capital at prime interest rate per system size,” says Worthmann.
Solar by law?
James Shirley, General Manager at Kayema Energy Solutions, says that although the Eskom rebate increase has caused a significant increase in solar water heater sales, he doubts that the government’s target will be reached.
“The rebate is definitely helping the solar water heating industry, but I doubt that government will be able to achieve such significant market penetration,” says Shirley. “Eskom have raised the rebate in order to make solar water heating systems financially viable for the public, but unless government is going to make solar water heating systems compulsory for all new buildings, I don’t see how we will achieve 10 000 GWh of renewable energy generation by 2013.”
Barry Bredenkamp, operations manager at NEEA (National Energy Efficiency Agency), says that he doesn’t think it will be necessary or practical for government to make solar water heaters compulsory. “In some instances, solar water heaters are just not practical,” says Barry before explaining that if a building’s orientation doesn’t lend itself to the optimal use of the technology, or for example, where indigenous trees provide a natural barrier between the building and the sun and where an alternate technology, such as a heat pump, may provide a better solution for the application.
“However, with the rising price of electricity, the increase in subsidies and the reduction in the price of solar water heaters as more competitors enter the market, I believe we will see a natural evolution from conventional electrically-operated geysers to more efficient solar water heaters, without legislation being introduced,” says Bredenkamp.
Changing the rebate requirements
Shirley also says that the requirements that enabled consumers to qualify for a solar water heating rebate (i.e added cost of installed equipment) were too high, and offset the previous rebate amount, and the administrative work around claiming the rebate was laborious. “Eskom had a lot of prerequisites concerning not only the heating system, but also the installation, putting a lot of consumers off the process of installing these systems because, it was too difficult to claim the rebate,” says Shirley.
According to Shirley, there is a lot of paperwork involved in claiming your solar water heating rebate from Eskom, but it isn’t difficult. “You generally wait about eight weeks to get your money back. This is not an extremely long time, but I’m thinking that people are a bit strapped for cash when they are waiting for their claim to be processed, which is deterring them from getting a solar water heating system.”
“The new process for claiming is very simple: the reason people think it is difficult is that generally, people do not read instructions, and are being misled by suppliers that are not prepared to join the programme,” says Worthmann.
www.eskom.co.za/dsm states the rebate system is not in anyway exclusive. The current requirements of a supplier to sell systems that qualify for rebates are the following:
• Be able to offer a five year guarantee
• Submit documents, including public liability and company details
• Have system tested and passed at the SABS for the following:
o Safety
o Mechanical
o Thermal
The actual rebate claiming process
The ten step program on reclaiming a rebate (according to the Eskom-system), can be summed up as follows:
• Thoroughly research the solar water heating system.
• Call EEDSM Help or visit www.eskom.co.za/dsm to get an approved supplier.
• Get an Eskom approved installer to install the (Eskom approved) system.
• Make sure an (Eskom approved) timer is installed by an ECB registered electrician.
• Get your supplier, installer and electrician to fill out the relevant details on your claim form.
• Complete the rest of the details and attach the relevant documents (original invoice, copy of ID, copy of utility bill and/or electricity bills are listed as examples).
• Post the claim to the facilitating auditors (Deloitte) in a self addressed envelope or drop it off in a designated drop box within six months of installation.
• Wait for a SMS notification that a) the facilitating auditors have received your application and b) when your application is processed and queued for electronic funds transfer/your form is incomplete.
• Payment is made within eight weeks of receipt.
• Random technical audits will be carried out on some systems to ensure installation quality and operation.
Types of solar water heating systems
According to Shirley, there are two main types of solar water heating system; the closed loop and the open loop heating systems. “A closed loop system uses heat exchanger fluid and an open loop means that your actual drinking water goes through a tube through the solar panel.” Shirley says that South Africans have three general solar water heating categories to consider when choosing a system:
1. Thermo-siphon systems. This solar water heating system works like a heating suction where the tank sits above the solar panel of tubes. Water temperature and density are used to create the heat cycle of the system.
2. Pumped or split system. The tank of a pumped or split system is separate from the collector (the tank is usually in the roof in this case).
3. Retrofit. Although a bit of money will be saved when retrofitting an electric geyser to work as a solar water geyser, Shirley believes that this is not the correct way of installing a solar water heating system if the current geyser is more than three years old and an entirely new system should be installed instead of retrofitting an existing geyser.
Proven technology – the problem is money and public buy-in
The value of Eskom’s solar water heating rebate is based on the capability of the system to replace the use of electrical energy and all solar water heating systems included in the programme will have a SABS test conformity report rating their efficiency (www.eskom.co.za/dsm). Based on these test results, a system will qualify for a rebate ranging typically between ZAR1 500 and ZAR5 000.
www.eskom.co.za/dsm states that electrical geysers use between 30% and 50% of a household’s monthly electricity bill and replacing a conventional geyser with a solar powered system will reduce that percentage of electricity consumption by up to 70%.
“The technology is proven internationally and people now trust the technology in South Africa. The only problem is funding. Even though the solar water heating rebate has made the payback period more viable, the general public still has to be convinced to spend the initial capital on purchasing a system. The client then needs to recover the subsidy from a third party, which means that they are burdened with the administrative issues involved,” says Shirley.
The deadlines
“The important thing is that the rebate won’t last forever and it has been put in place to encourage people to switch now rather than later,” says Shirley.
Worthmann confirmed that there is in fact a deadline for Eskom’s programme. “The Solar Water Heating Programme will continue until 2014 as per an agreement with the Minister of Energy, or when the first million units are installed,” says Worthmann. “Eskom is engaging with various financial institutions and insurance companies, to increase the uptake of SWHs in the programme. People don’t want to spend money on replacing a system that is functioning, which is why we are engaging with the insurance companies to replace damaged geysers with solar. We are also focusing on working with the municipalities to assist them to help their consumers to convert. This rebate will be offered to all qualifying persons and installations as long as funds are available.”
Electrical geysers – who is losing?
“In the solar water heating industry, almost all geyser manufacturers have either completely switched to solar water heating systems or they are including solar ranges into their product offerings,” explains Shirley. “The industry knows that solar water heating is the future and everyone is adapting. I don’t think there are any suppliers who truly believe that selling only electrical geysers is a financially viable option – power is getting too expensive and that situation is not going to change. We need to change the way we heat water.”
Bredenkamp comments that although solar water heating systems are more widespread today, there are still people selling electrical geysers. “Like I’ve said before, there are certain applications where there is no choice but to install an electric geyser. Many solar water heaters are installed in parallel with an electric geyser, which serves as a back-up for when there are extended periods of inclement weather, so we can’t just do away with electrical geysers,” says Bredenkamp.
Solar water heating life cycle
Shirley says that, “the life cycle of electric geysers and solar water heating systems are more or less the same”. “Electric geysers generally have a five year guarantee, some have a ten year guarantee, and the design lifetime of a good solar water heating system is around 20 years.
Although www.eskom.co.za/dsm states that most systems are guaranteed for five years, the expected life of the equipment is between ten and 15 years and that each piece of equipment has a different profile, which depends on various elements such as geographical area, water usage profile, number of users and the size of the system.
Bredenkamp explains that even if you had to replace a relatively more expensive solar water heating system approximately every ten years, the energy savings that one receives is still worth the more expensive initial costs.
“The energy savings will definitely make up for the initial costs of the system, but there are some instances where it would not be worth it, such as a holiday home that is only used for one month of the year. It is not really a good idea having a ‘un-utilised’ solar water heater installed, as the pressure build-up can lead to problems with various components of the system, such as the rubber seals,” says Bredenkamp.
“Although in principle, we would like to see as many solar water heaters on roofs as possible, one has to do a realistic assesment of the situation and a simple calculation, to determine the sheer economics of the specific application.”
Imports not designed for our climate or resources
www.eskom.co.za/dsm states that although solar water heating technology is not new to the industry in South Africa, it is still characterised by high manufacturing costs and low sales volumes.
“Although the market for solar water heating systems in South Africa is certainly growing, the biggest concern for local suppliers is reputable companies being bombarded by people overseas bringing back cheap goods,” says Shirley. “The problem is not only that overseas solar water heating suppliers don’t have a proper working knowledge of our national codes of practice or that they can not offer a back up service, the problem is that these products are not always designed for South Africa’s climate or resources. Our ambient temperature and solar radiation levels are not the same as many overseas countries, meaning that there needs to be corrective design at the factory level to ensure correct water temperature limits are met for imported systems.
Bredenkamp says that although there will always be the problem of cheap imports, South Africa has standards and procedures in place to protect consumers from the majority of poor quality solar water heaters.
“There will always be cases where opportunistic individuals see a business opportunity and start importing ‘cheap’ products from various countries abroad. We in South Africa are lucky in this respect, since all products that want to qualify for a subsidy, need to be tested and passed by the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS). There is a national standard with which the products need to comply and the SABS and the Tshwane University of Technology have the equipment to test products according to this standard,” says Bredenkamp.
“However, we must caution the public against purchasing solar water heaters that may initially appear to be cheaper (even without any subsidy), than those who have been tested by the SABS. In most cases, these products will not withstand the test of time and the supplier or distributor may not be around in future to honor any given guarantees. It is therefore imperative that the public insist on seeing a SABS test report of the specific product, before making a purchase decision.”
Engineering precision of commercial solutions
Shirley says that commercial solar water heating systems are very different from the types of solar water heating systems that home owners use. “Commercial solar water heating systems are an entirely different story,” says Shirley. “A lot of engineering work is involved and the costs are obviously higher. Instead of installing one or two panels, you may need over 100 panels with large storeage tanks in the case of a hospital or hotel where a lot of hot water is consumed. But even though this is expensive, the electricity savings does make it financially viable.”
According to Worthmann, Eskom will have a programme in place for commercial applications this year. “We are busy formalising a commercial sector solar programme which we hope to launch mid-year. There are many competent companies that can design and install these large systems, and have being doing so for many years,” says Worthmann.
“The way I see it, solar water heating systems for commercial applications are about reducing a company’s carbon footprint and lowering your operating costs. A solar water heater should be seen as an investment, not a product. When you buy a solar water heating system, you are buying hot water for the next 15 – 20 years and you are using a lot less energy for this hot water,” concludes Shirley
Some 150 years after the French mathematician Augustin Mouchot began generating steam from concentrating solar energy, the father of CSP technology would no doubt be delighted to see his prodigy growing up fast. Mouchot’s vision is at last becoming a reality, given the evidence of the past year or so.
Use of solar energy steam generators connected to fairly standard conventional power islands – steam turbine and generator – is a technology that is now well understood and while the various designs of solar collector may present some novelties, CSP installations share many common traits with their fossil-fired cousins. It is perhaps for this reason that CSP has attracted the interest not only of utility companies keen to expand on their renewable portfolios, but also original equipment manufacturers which have traditionally supplied the utility market.
Certainly, one of the clearest signs that the CSP sector is maturing came from the autumn 2009 acquisition of CSP technology company Solel by Germany engineering colossus Siemens.
Siemens acquired the remaining 63% stake in Israel-based Solel Solar Systems which it didn’t own from London-based investment firm Ecofin Ltd. for US$418 million.
The company produces solar parabolic troughs and has been involved in the manufacture and installation of solar fields since its 1992 launch by former Luz International staff, after Luz went bankrupt. Explaining its decision, Siemens said that it is projecting annual double-digit growth rates for CSP plants by 2020 and that it expects the market to reach a volume of more than €20 billion ($27 billion) by then. It is backing its convictions with acquisitions. The Solel deal followed a March 2009 acquisition of a 28% stake in Archimede Solar Energy, an Italian company which manufactures solar receiver tubes.
With a stake in two key parabolic trough-type CSP technologies and considerable expertise in the engineering of the conventional power island, Siemens appears well placed to exploit a growth market. And, in order to support its ambitions, the company has also announced at least one capacity addition in the months following the acquisitions. In January 2010 Archimede, the joint venture between Angelantoni Industrie Spa and Siemens, began construction at a new receiver production facility in the Italian town of Massa Martana.
Starting in early 2011, the plant has a planned annual production capacity of approximately 75,000 solar receiver tubes, which will be ultimately be increased to 140,000 per year. These solar receivers will use molten salt for heat transfer medium instead of oil, which the company says can significantly increase efficiency.
A first commercial plant is currently under construction in Sicily, the Priolo Gargallo project, which will use 1500 solar receivers with molten salt as the heat transfer medium and is expected to go operational early in the summer of 2010.
Peter Löscher, Siemens’ president and CEO, emphasised that the move followed the company’s promise to expand its solar thermal activities earlier in 2009, noting: ‘After the rapid and highly successful expansion of our wind power business, we now want to continue this success story in the solar sector.’ Löscher added, ‘We now have complete control of all solar thermal components.’
No doubt the company’s interest in Solel was in no small part down to a landmark 2007 agreement with Californian utility groupPacific Gas and Electric Company(PG&E), which signed a power purchase agreement for the 553 MW Mojave Solar Park. Planned for construction in California’s Mojave Desert, when operational in 2011 the installation will cover up to 6000 acres (2428 ha) use 1.2 million mirrors and 317 miles (507 km) of vacuum tubing. Over the past 20 years, Solel technology has installed nine operating solar power plants generating 354 MW in the Mojave Desert.
Of course, for PG&E and other utility groups, Solel and Siemens are hardly the only game in town. During 2008 and 2009 PG&E, for example, signed power purchase agreements (PPAs) for more than 1900 MW of CSP capacity with groups including subsidiaries of FPL’s NextEra Energy Resources, Abengoa Solar, NRG Energy and BrightSource Energy, which also has links to Israel’s Luz.
NextEra’s proposed Genesis Solar Energy Project consists of two 125 MW units scheduled to come on line in two phases, the first in 2013 and the second in 2014. It is expected to deliver about 560 GWh annually. Meanwhile, Abengoa Solar’s proposed 250 MW Mojave Solar project is to be located at Harper Lake in San Bernardino County and is expected to deliver more than 600 GWh per year. The project is scheduled to become fully operational by late 2013.
And, under the terms of a series of contracts with BrightSource Energy Inc, PG&E has signed PPAs for seven CSP projects and a total of 1310 MW of capacity since April 2008. Collectively the projects are expected to produce some 3.7 TWh annually. The first of these solar power plants, 100 MW in Ivanpah, California, is scheduled to be operating in 2012 and is expected to produce 246 GWh annually, PG&E says.
In a separate agreement with NRG Energy subsidiary Alpine SunTower LLC, PG&E will also be purchasing output from a 92 MW solar tower installation using technology from eSolar and scheduled for completion in 2012. The project will be located near Lancaster, California, and will produce approximately 192 GWh annually.
The project is part of eSolar and NRG’s previously announced plans to develop up to 500 MW of CSP capacity in California and across the Southwestern United States.
eSolar’s CSP projects feature a proprietary combination of optics and software in a pre-fabricated modular form, each unit with a capacity of 46 MW.
Commenting on the strategy Fong Wan, vice president of energy procurement at PG&E, observed: ‘Solar thermal energy is an especially attractive renewable power source because it is available when needed most in California – during the peak mid-day summer period.’
California law requires each investor-owned utility to increase the share of eligible renewable generating resources in its electric power portfolio to 20% by 2010 and while PG&E has made contractual commitments to have over 20% of its future deliveries from renewables it is not alone.
In 2009, for example, Southern California Edison and BrightSource Energy signed a deal for 1300 MW of CSP installations across seven projects which is expected to deliver some 3.7 TWh per year.
BrightSource Energy will use its proprietary Luz Power Tower 550 (LPT 550) system which uses air-cooling condensers, minimising water consumption, an important factor in the typically arid environments suited to CSP applications.
A different CSP technology comes from Stirling Energy Systems (SES) and Tessera Solar, which unveiled their new dish-engine system at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 2009 and plans commercial-scale deployments beginning in 2010. Each dish can generate up to 25 kW and the proprietary technology will be deployed in two of the world’s largest solar generating projects in Southern California with San Diego Gas & Electric in the Imperial Valley and Southern California Edison in the Mojave Desert, in addition to a previously announced project with CPS Energy in West Texas. Bob Lukefahr, Tessera Solar North America CEO commented: ‘Our projects will break ground next year [2010], with the goal of producing 1000 MW by the end of 2012.’
Beyond California, Florida’s FPL Group and associated companies reportedly remained the market leader at the end of 2009 in terms of installations. The group, which includes – NextEra Energy Resource and Florida Power & Light (FP&L) – is expected to maintain its overall leadership position by combining NextEra’s 147 MW net ownership in California and FP&L’s Martin 75 MW integrated solar combined cycle (ISCC) facility in Florida, which is due to come online in 2010 and which will be the world’s first hybrid solar energy plant combining a solar-thermal field with a combined-cycle natural gas power plant. Construction commenced in December 2008 and the plant, the largest solar thermal installation outside of California, has an annual estimated generation of about 155 GWh.
Over in Europe – where evidence of utility engagement is less obvious via PPAs and directed more into joint project development – Spain is the central focus of CSP activity with a number of installations commissioned or under development. For example, in June 2009, Abengoa Solar’s first high-temperature power tower, Eureka, was unveiled as a platform to test a new type of high temperature receiver. This experimental plant occupies a 16,000 square foot (1486 m2) portion of the Solúcar Platform, a 300 MW solar thermal and photovoltaic solar installation complex scheduled for completion in 2013. Eureka uses 35 heliostats and a 164 foot (15 m) tower which houses the experimental superheating receiver. Capacity of the plant is approximately 2 MW and the facility includes a thermal energy storage system.
With this new development Abengoa Solar now has three solar power towers in operation, two in commercial use, and began operation of the world’s largest solar power tower plant, the 20 MW PS20 installation in April of 2009 at the Solúcar Platform, near Seville in Sanlúcar la Mayor. PS20 consists of a solar field made up of 1255 mirrored heliostats with a surface area of 1291 square feet (119 m2) and a receiver at the top of a 531 foot (131 m) high tower.
In addition to 31 MW already operational, in December 2009 Abengoa entered 13 plants in the CSP pre-allocation registry in Spain with a combined capacity of 650 MW. The new plants, each with a capacity of 50 MW, are grouped into five solar platforms: Solúcar, where construction is being completed on three plants included in the registry; Écija, where two plants are under construction; Ciudad Real, where construction will begin on two plants in 2010; Carpio Complex (Córdoba), where construction of two plants will commence in 2010; and, Extremadura Complex in Logrosán (Cáceres), where four plants will be built in different stages.
CSP market leader Acciona Energia, also of Spain, has received pre-allocation for five CSP projects, totaling 250 MW, with a capacity of 50 MW each: Alvarado (also called ‘La Risca’); Palma del Río I and Palma del Río II (in Andalusia), and Orellana and Majadas (in Extremadura). The 250 MW have been included in Phase 1 of the four established by the Spanish Cabinet in November 2009, which means that the facilities can enter service as soon as their construction is completed. They represent 28% of the CSP capacity preallocation in this first phase and 11% of the total preallocated capacity.
The Solúcar Platform, which features a research and development area that is building several demonstration plants for new technologies, contains installations employing practically every type of solar technology available, whether in commercial use or under demonstration. However, Abengoa is also working on a similar development in Aurora, Colorado known as the Solar Technology Acceleration Center (SolarTAC), which announced its start-up in October 2009. Abengoa Solar, one of the six developers of SolarTAC, will set up a parabolic trough collector experimental site linked to an assembly plant located within the facility for testing and validating the company’s new designs. The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the City of Aurora, the Colorado Renewable Energy Laboratory, the US Midwest Research Institute (MRI), SunEdison and Xcel Energy have also signed up to join SolarTAC.
Elsewhere in Europe, alongside Abengoa, other players include Schott Solar AG, which significantly expanded its CSP production capacity to 400 MWe, compared with the previous year’s 200 MWe, in 2008/2009. Schott says It has 1 GWe of CSP capacity planned.
And, at January’s World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi, Ferrostaal AG announced an order for the Andasol 3 parabolic trough CSP plant in southern Spain. Another CSP plant is also planned, the parabolic trough Ibersol in Extremadura, which like Andasol 3, is scheduled to have a capacity of 50 MW and to be completed in 2013. Andasol 3 is slated to begin supplying power in 2011. Both Andasol 1 and Andasol 2, each of which has an output of around 50 MW, have already been connected to the power grid and started test operation. And, like Andasol 1 and 2, Andasol 3 will have a thermal storage which will enable power to be generated reliably for up to eight hours at night or in cloudy weather. Ferrostaal is implementing Andasol 3 together with RWE Innogy, RheinEnergie, Solar Millennium and Stadtwerke München (Munich City Utilities).
Prof. Fritz Vahrenholt, chairman of RWE Innogy said: ‘Parabolic trough technology sets new benchmarks for solar electricity generation. It can be deployed on a large scale and generates electricity in a reliable and grid-friendly way even after sunset thanks to a huge molten salt thermal storage system. This allows the plant to generate electricity for almost twice the amount of hours as a solar power plant without the storage system. For us, this investment is therefore a further important step toward a sustainable and safe method of providing energy on the basis of renewable energies.’
Market Expectations
While still limited in terms of MW installed, CSP is clearly attracting considerable interest. According to EER’s January 2010 Power Advisory analysis – see figures 1 and 2 shown on page 70 and 71 – in 2009, CSP additions jumped 26% from the 2008 total of some 482 MW to 606 MW.
At the start of 2009, with around 480 MW of CSP installed globally and another 800 MW under construction in Spain, the CSP industry was gaining momentum – yet significant permitting and regulatory hurdles remain. Now, with close to 130 projects under development in Spain and over 50 projects in the US pipeline, the CSP sector is expected to demand as much as US$80 billion of investment over the next decade. And, though the market will be led by financially-sound first-movers with CSP plants under construction, a host of new entrants are now vying for CSP market share along the value chain.
In Europe Acciona Energía and Iberdrola Renovables added 50 MW each to their renewable portfolios in 2009. However, Iberdrola’s omission from Spain’s ‘pre-registration’ list indicates that it has abandoned a previously announced 600 MW Spanish pipeline, EER says. Acciona is expected, nonetheless, to add another 100 MW and 50 MW in 2010 and 2011, respectively
Elsewhere in Spain, independent power producers (IPPs) Abengoa Solar, Grupo Samca, and ACS Cobra are scheduled to add 100 MW each in 2010, collectively some 44% of total annual additions for 2010, placing them into the top five of EER’s CSP ownership rankings.
By the end of 2010, 59% of the 1292 MW of global installed capacity will be in Spain, compared to 30% at year-end 2008, overshadowing the US market’s projected total installed capacity of 493 MW by year-end 2010, EER forecasts.
In 2010, the US market is expected limited to FP&L’s 75 MW ISCC project, Chevron’s 29 MW enhanced oil recovery system by BrightSource in Coalinga, California, and two demonstration systems – Xcel Energy’s 4 MW ISCC and Tessera Solar’s 1.5 MW facility.
Parabolic trough technology leads, and is forecast to represent more than 93% of global installations, including 125 MW of ISCC applications in Algeria, Morocco, Italy, and the US by the end of 2010. However, in 2010 – with eSolar’s 5 MW direct steam-generating demonstration facility and 15 MW planned for 2010 by licensee ACME Energy in India – central receiver technology will receive a minimal boost in 2010.
David Appleyard is associate editor of Renewable Energy World.
In Hawaii, a power developer will soon find out if earth and sky mix.
Pacific Light & Power will build a 10-megawatt solar thermal plant that will combine a trough solar collector from Spain’s Albiasa with a turbine traditionally used in geothermal systems.
Why? Ten megawatts is unusually small for a solar thermal field. BrightSource Energy, by contrast, wants to build one in California that will produce 396 megawatts of power. Most solar thermal systems, however, collect heat from the sun to turn water into steam and then feed the steam into gigantic turbines. The heat requirements and the size of the solar thermal fields mean that solar thermal parks can only be built economically in places like North Africa or Arizona where the sun shines almost every day of the year, lots of empty land exists, and humidity remains almost nonexistent. Even the presence of a few clouds can depress the power output.
Geothermal turbines swap water and steam for organic fluids like butane, which turn to vapor at lower temperatures. Thus, geothermal turbines require less heat, which in turn allows for smaller solar fields in a wider range of climates and geographies. Like traditional solar thermal systems, excess heat can be stored and run through the system in the evening or when cloud cover descends.
Jesse Tippett, the managing director of Albiasa, likens it to thin-film solar panels. The underlying technology may not be as efficient but it can generate energy in a wider variety of circumstances.
When completed in 2011, the plant — located on the island of Kauai — will provide close to seven percent of the power needed on the island.
Alibasa and PLP describe it as a hybrid plant, but it’s more of an unusual concatenation. Generally, hybrid plants are power plants that combine renewable energy generation — like solar thermal systems or biogas burners — with gas turbines to provide more baseline-like power. Florida Power and Light and Abengoa are currently building hybrid plants.
Power from the plant will be “close to Hawaiian (grid) parity,” he said, which means expensive. Electric power in Hawaii costs around 25.78 cents a kilowatt hour, the highest rate in the U.S., according to the Energy Information Administration. Hawaii generates most of its power from diesel generators. But Albiasa will study ways to bring the cost down to make these systems feasible elsewhere.
We have also done some innovative work for the Legacy Group, and although we didn’t win this tender, we still want to promote the hotels ground breaking move towards renewable energy.
Israeli Ambassador to South Africa Dov Sergev-Steinberg and Public Enterprises Deputy Minister Enoch Godongwana on Monday inaugurated the 117 flat panel collector solar water heating installation above the rooftop of the Hotel Da Vinci, in Sandton.
The hotel is the latest development of the Legacy Group, which is also the developer, contractor and owner of the Michelangelo, the Michelangelo Towers and the Raphael Penthouse suites in Sandton.
The company responsible for the solar installation is Kayema Energy Solutions, and the Kayema international solar experts worked together with Legacy’s architects and design engineers to implement the solution.
The project is complete and commissioning of the system will start in the next two to three weeks.
The solar water heating system is capable of preheating 30 000 litres of water before it enters the hotel’s electrical heating system, which is expected to reduce the electricity usage by about 60%.
Kayema also introduced a remote monitoring system, which monitors flow rates, temperatures and water pressure and will allow an instantaneous view of this system’s efficiency and performance from any computer desktop at any time.
It was estimated that 500 000 kWh/y of electricity would be saved, while some 210 t of carbon-dioxide emissions would be mitigated.
The installation consists of 117 2-kWh flat plate collectors, which use Israeli technology, and are said to be reliable, and easy to maintain.
Kayema Energy commercial projects manager Dovi Finger explained that the installation took about six months to complete, and two months of that was dedicated to the engineering and planning phase of the project, while installation took about three months.
It was described as a challenging project because of the shape of the roof. Also, the fact that the roof is used as a fire escape meant that the panels needed to be raised above head height to allow movement under the panels. This required structural steel platforms for the panels, as well as having to take into account wind factors
Story: Thanks to Engineering News
I found an interest report from the Australian Scientific body CISRO. Have a read;
The CSIRO Energy Transformed Flagship report: Intelligent Grid: A value proposition for wide-scale distributed energy solutions in Australia, outlines the potential contribution distributed energy can make to significantly reducegreenhouse gas emissions in Australia and how these benefits can be realized.
Distributed energy is a term used to describe technologies and systems which provide local generation of electrical power, energy efficiency and management of when and how energy is used (demand management).
For example, a distributed energy system could include a solar panel on a home for electricity generation, more efficient heating and cooling systems, or devices that can balance out energy demand and supply to reduce energy infrastructure costs.
The report is the culmination of the Flagship’s three year Intelligent Grid project which examined the social, technological, environmental and economic value of widespread distributed energy use in Australia.
CSIRO project leader Anthony Szatow said the results provided a strong economic and environmental case for wider use of distributed energy in the Australian energy market with enormous benefits for all electricity users in Australia.
“Our modelling results reveal that under emission reduction targets consistent with the Garnaut scenario of global stabilisation at 450ppm atmospheric CO2, the present value cost savings (discounted by seven per cent) associated with wide-scale distributed energy use could be as great as $130 billion by 2050,” Mr Szatow said.
“We also found that water used for electricity generation can be reduced by as much as 75 per cent through a combination of distributed energy technology and large-scale renewables.
“Distributed energy technologies are available now and these low-emission local energy options offer an immediate and cost effective response to climate change.”
The 592-page report identifies important factors that influence the use of distributed energy relevant to key energy stakeholders including; policy makers, regulators, distribution companies, energy retailers, energy consultants, communities, academics and consumers.
Latest SA Gov movement in “Greener Technologies”, this info is gained from Engineering News, a Creamer Media Division:
The South African government has given strong signals that the country’s energy intensity is no longer sustain-able and has started to outline its low-carbon-economy vision.
To be sure, the move has as much to do with the prevailing electricity imbalances as it does with any international trends or pressures relating to climate change, or aspirations to exploit the so-called ‘green job’ possibilities. In other words, the programme is, arguably, a policy attempt at making virtue of necessity.
That said, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has taken “a serious first step towards the systematic promotion of green and energy efficient goods and services”, with the release of the second version of the Industrial Policy Action Plan (Ipap2), which outlines the direction in which the department wishes to push South Africa’s industrial capabilities.
“Increasing energy costs pose a major threat to manufacturing and render our historical capital- and energy-intensive resource-processing-based industrial path unviable in the future,” notes the DTI.
However, this is not viewed as entirely bad news, as the department also recognises that there are “significant opportunities to develop new ‘green’ and energy efficient industries and related services”.
Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies explains that, through the Ipap2, government intends to develop proposals to enhance access to concessional industrial financing for investment in Ipap priorities and other productive sectors on terms comparable to those of our major trading partners.
Science and Technology Minister Naledi Pandor has also noted that government’s economic sectors and employment cluster, which has been mandated to grow the economy and create jobs, will finalise a ‘green economy’ plan and present it to Cabinet by July 2010.
“Green jobs will grow both directly and indirectly in the transport, energy, building, manufacturing, agriculture and forestry sectors. There will be employment in the manufacture, installation and operation of clean energy for people like wind turbine engineers, insulation installers, recycling sorters and photovoltaic cell salespeople,” says Pandor.
“Indirectly, there will be jobs in the greener-goods supply chain – from solar cell manufacturers to green building-materials retailers to wind farm maintenance firms to recycling haulers to energy auditors. And, most importantly, there will be battery manufacturers with distribution centres at home and on the road,” she adds.
Government is reportedly already supporting clean energy research at universities, as well as investing in an electric car, and will soon launch the prototype of an ebike.
A recent report by international research organisation the Global Climate Network on the job potential of low-carbon tech- nologies indicates that, directly, some 36 400 jobs and, indirectly, 109 100 jobs could be created in the renewable-energy sector in South Africa by 2020.
Deloitte tax director Duane Newman says that the firm expects to see the emergence of government grants to incentivise business moves towards a low-carbon economy in South Africa.
The first cluster of key sectors identified in the 2010/11 to 2012/13 Ipap2 comprises “qualitatively new areas of focus”, and this is where the green and energy-saving industries are found, and, along with that sector, metal fabrication, capital and transport equipment and agroprocessing also feature.
Good Start, But . . .
“It’s a good start,” says Mainstream Renewable Power South Africa director Davin Chownof the green focus of Ipap2, “but we need something really bold and progressive, given the resource base we have”. “This is a first step in the right direction, but we need something that shows more confidence in the renewable-energy sector,” he tellsEngineering News.
Ipap2 highlights that, in 2007/8, the global market value of the low-carbon green sector was estimated at some $5-trillion, and this figure is expected to rise in light of climate change imperatives.
“Increasing concerns [about] carbon emissions and climate change will have a profound impact on our economic landscape, introducing both threats and opportunities,” cautions the department.
The DTI also touches on the emergence of what is being called ‘eco-protectionism’ – coming from advanced industrial countries in the form of tariff and nontariff measures such as carbon taxes and restrictive standards.
Solar Water Heating
The most attention, under the green and energy-saving industries section of Ipap2, was given to solar water heating, and the DTI notes the Department of Energy’s (DoE’s) commitment to installing one-million solar water heaters (SWHs) by 2014, increasing this goal to 5,6-million SWHs by 2020. This initial commitment will be funded through a mechanism that is currently being developed by the DoE, and is expected to draw on electricity tariffs and funds, such as the World Bank’s Clean Technology Fund (CTF).
The prospect of sustainable demand was expected to attract entrepreneurs to invest in domestic supply capacity.
“The international market, and particularly the African market, should be seen as a source of long-run demand that will outlast any short-term mass roll-out strategy,” emphasises the department.
The Key Action Programme for solar water heating was the roll-out of a national SWH programme and manufacturing and install-ation capacity, through a phased approach to SWH production to increase the local market size and allow long enough lead times for manufacturers to upscale.
The DTI’s SWH milestones are:
• By the second quarter of the 2010/11 financial year (ending March 31, 2011), the DoE will introduce a subsidy programme covering one-million units by 2014.
• By the end of December 2010, the DTI and the National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications will publish amended national building regulations to make it compulsory for new buildings and upgrades to homes to install SWHs and other energy efficiency building requirements, from March 2011.
• By the end of September 2010, the DTI will ensure that legislation is enacted to make it compulsory to install a SWH when an existing geyser is replaced.
• Between 2010/11 and 2012/13, DTI incentives and Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) industrial financing will be leveraged to support investment and increasing manufacturing and installation capacity in the SWH value chain.
Sustainable Energy Society of South Africa SWH division head Dylan Tudor-Joneswelcomes the initiatives and looks forward to cooperating with authorities with relevant inputs where needed.
With regard to increasing manufacturing capability, Tudor-Jones warns against premature investment until the demand has been created to justify significant investment, but adds that once the demand is visible, he is “fully behind” incentives to increase manufacturing capability.
The programme hopes to increase SWH installation from 35 000 to 250 000 units a year over the next three years, and to increase manufacturing from 20 000 to 200 000 units a year.
The DTI also recognises that poor-quality products could give the entire industry a bad name, thus the requirement for clear standards for the industry, and the need to unblock the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) testing bottlenecks is vital.
Concentrating Solar Thermal
Concentrating solar thermal (CST) power is viewed as “the most promising renewable- energy generation option in South Africa” and, therefore, should receive priority support, even though wind and biomass should also be explored and developed, says the DTI.
The department notes that the IDC is currently investing in a CST demonstration plant, near Upington, in the Northern Cape, which aims to leverage the renewable-energy feed-in-tariff. This requires that Eskom expedite its Power Purchase Agreement.
The successful demonstration of the viability of the pilot plant will contribute to a broader roll-out of this technology and associated manufacturing opportunities. As CST is a new technology in South Africa, it requires demonstration of commercial viability and broader economic linkages.
In its most recent tariff increase application, State-owned utility Eskom said that it was in advanced discussion with the World Bank to secure a $3,7-billion loan for its capital programmes, including $500-million for a CST project, which would also draw on funds from the CTF extended to South Africa by the World Bank.
“Eskom and [the IDC] have been engaging to find mutually beneficial areas of cooperation, and the solar project is one of a number of possibilities. Our forecast is that there will still be a funding gap after the World Bank funding, and the IDC will be well positioned to close that funding gap,” IDC head of Public Private Partnerships Lindi Toyitells Engineering News.
The IDC says it is “very keen to fund electricity generation” and, since the world is moving towards clean energy generation, solar is one of the IDC’s many clean electricity generation technologies of focus to deliver green jobs throughout the value chain.
With regard to wind technologies, biomass and waste management, Ipap2 merely notes that further work will be done to unpack the potential of these sectors. The DTI expects wind energy generation, biomass and recycling strategies and action plans to have been developed by the fourth quarter of the current financial year.
“From a wind point of view, it is very disappointing, because we have substantive evidence that there is a very strong wind resource – sufficient for a large-scale industry,” adds Chown.
Industrial Energy Efficiency
The DTI states that an industrial energy efficiency programme will be developed by the fourth quarter of the current financial year, including consideration of more attractive financing models and the scaling up of the National Cleaner Production Centre.
This will counteract higher energy prices and lower emissions targets, and create new goods and services. The major outcomes will be more attractive financing options for the introduction of industrial energy efficiency improvements.
A particular area that has been high- lighted as having the potential for significant increases in energy efficiency is the adjustment or replacement of industrial motors. This already falls under Eskom’s demand-side management programme.
Although much attention has been given to energy efficiency after the power crisis caused electricity blackouts in 2008, South Africa is also a water-scarce country, an issue that has also been receiving more attention of late.
Thus, the strengthening of standards related to water efficiency in building and industrial applications has been included in Ipap. This could also lead to industrial and service opportunities, such as the manufacturing and installation of rainwater collection tanks, notes the DTI.
The DTI seeks to strengthen building and commercial water efficiency standards and, to this end, the SABS has been tasked with reviewing and strengthening building and commercial water efficiency standards by the end of March 2011.
At this stage, the DTI will also scope and identify economic opportunities associated with improved water efficiency.
Energy Efficient Vehicles
Initiatives to commercialise a domestically developed electric car, which forms part of the automotive sector intervention in the Ipap2 second cluster, will have broader spillover effects, such as the creation of a legislative and regulatory environment to enable the operation of electric vehicles, relevant testing infrastructure for electric vehicles, local manufacturing for domestic and global markets, initiation of charging infrastructure and electric vehicle educational campaigns.
The DTI notes that the automotive sector will be “profoundly affected” by the long-term shift from the internal combustion engine to cleaner technologies, such as electric vehicles.
By the end of December 2010, the DTI wants approval of investment support measures in place for the manufacture of the electric vehicle and components, as well as the development of a government position on the purchasing, demand stimulation and infrastructure for charging, testing facilities and public education regarding electric vehicles.
Roll-out of public education on electric vehicles is expected by the end of June 2011, while commissioning of the plant will take place in the second quarter. Development of testing facilities is expected by the third quarter, and start of plant construction in the fourth quarter.
By the end of the March 2014 financial year, production of the electric vehicle will start.
The DTI further states that an estimated 160 000 direct jobs will be created in the electric vehicle industry in the next ten years, while investment levels exceeding R20-billion are expected in the next four years, with a further R3-billion a year for the following six years. Greater localisation of componentry will also lead to an improvement in the trade balance.
Higher Targets Needed
“The general sentiment is positive,” says World Wide Fund for Nature living planet unit head Saliem Fakir of the green points of Ipap2. “However, the proof of the pudding is in the detail of how this will unfold. The industrial leg is very dependent on the demand, or push factors, that are driven through the energy complex,” he adds.
None of the green energy benefits, from an industrial point of view, will materialise without the energy complex, particularly the electricity sector driving demand and supply. The crucial issue is scale. Ipap2 needs to identify the scale that is necessary to catalyse investment, or justify investment of scale in the creation of industrial value chains, notes Fakir.
“With no clear long-term renewable- energy target, it is probably going to be hard for the Ministry and the DTI itself to develop an industry off the back of a 10 000-GWh target by 2013. You need a bold renewable- energy strategy and target and, off the back of that, your industrial plan will grow,” says Chown.
The DTI does note that industrial policy and Ipap2 form part of a larger set of interrelated policies and strategies to generate a new labour-intensive and value-adding growth path. Thus the need for a process – led by the Economic Development Department (which sits at provincial level) for stronger articulation and integration of a fuller range of policies to ensure coherence among them, notes the DTI.
Fakir states that many government programmes will have to be coordinated for the effects to translate into the creation of a new industrial base around the green sector.
A scale of demand in renewables and energy efficiency is critical in creating private-sector interest in the development of an industrial or manufacturing base. For instance, around wind, there probably needs to be a demand for between 2 GW and 3 GW of power to incentivise investment from original-equipment manufacturers.
And South Africa’s demand will enable an industrial base that can supply the region, notes Fakir.
There are roughly 85,000 supermarkets in America. Generally speaking, they are artificially lit boxes surrounded by dark asphalt and contain row upon row of doorless display refrigerators. There is, to say the least, room for improvement. Hannaford, which has about 160 supermarkets in the northeast, decided to try something completely new and on July 25th opened the first LEED Platinum certified supermarket, which is located in Augusta, Maine. With Maine’s governor, John Baldacci, in attendance, the plaque was personally awarded at the opening by Rick Fedrizzi, president of the USGBC.
The project began two and a half years ago, and Hannaford (owned by the Belgian Delhaize Group) knew that they would have to go outside of their traditional competencies. Fore Solutions was hired to help facilitate the integrated design process.
Creating strategies to meet sustainable goals offered some surprises. The use of ice to display fish turned out to be a huge source of energy and water waste. Fore Solutions principal, Gunnar Hubbard, said, “the ice takes a lot of energy to create, then, after a day of having fish lie on the ice, you have to get rid of it, so you take hot water and melt it away. There’s the energy to create the ice, the water to make the ice and the energy and water for the hot water to get rid of the ice at the end of the day.“ Using ice-less display cases takes that out of the equation and the fish still look good enough to eat.
The finished product is a grocery store that will serve as a laboratory for sustainable improvement at other Hannafords — and possibly industry-wide. It will use 50% less energy than a typical supermarket and 38% less water. Green features include:
- 7,000 square foot green roof;
- Highly reflective asphalt in the parking lot to reduce heat island effect;
- Low-flow toilets and faucets and waterless urinals;
- 41 kW solar array (the largest in the state of Maine);
- Ice-less cases in the seafood department;
- Geothermal heating and cooling;
- Over 70% of the wood used is FSC certified;
- Reclaimed heat from GreenChill refrigeration system provides interior heating;
- Interior surfaces made from recycled materials;
- Windows, a clerestory, skylights and solartubes provide natural light;
- An advanced recycling program for store cardboard, plastics, paper, light bulbs, and batteries, as well as a recycling center for shoppers;
- Almost all freezers and coolers have doors, which creates a consistent indoor temperature; and
- When daylighting is at its maximum, most of the electric lighting automatically turns off.
In addition, 96% of the demolition debris and 99% of the contents of the building (a closed high school) was recycled or reused.
Source: Jetson Green
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Is India on the brink of becoming a solar superpower?
Not quite yet. But, significantly, the government is pondering a massive energy transition that could deliver 20,000 MW of solar power by 2020 and 200,000 MW by 2050, according to a long-awaited draft strategy leaked to The Hindu.
The 200,000 MW goal is 30 percent more than India’s current installed power generation capacity across all energy sectors, which stands at nearly 150,000 MW. Solar makes up just 3 MW of that.
If the government’s “National Solar Mission” moves forward, it would be the most ambitious solar scheme of any nation, by far. At the very least, it deserves strong consideration.
India, the world’s sixth largest energy consumer, is in dire need of a ramp up of generation capacity. By 2020, the nation will require 400,000 MW of electricity. Currently, efforts are in the works to make good on the government’s pledge of “Power for All by 2012,” which promises to provide electricity to all rural households. Just fulfilling that would require 50,000 MW of additional capacity over the next three years.
The fact that India must build, and not rebuild, its entire energy infrastructure puts it in a unique position to establish a green economy. And solar seems a no-brainer choice to focus its investments.
Its potential in India is off the charts. With 250 to 300 clear sunny days a year, India’s solar resource capacity is a thousand times greater than the nation’s likely electricity demand by 2015.
Tapping a tiny fraction of that could turn India into a global renewables powerhouse, and an engine for growth and green jobs.
The government’s solar mission would be implemented in three phases. Phase one, from 2009-2012, would target 1,000 MW of new capacity. From 2012 and 2017, the nation would focus on developing utility-scale concentrating solar plants to accelerate the ramp up. Finally, between 2017 and 2020, the aim would be grid parity, the point at which solar becomes as cheap as fossil fuels, to get to the 20,000 MW mark. By 2050, the full infrastructure would be in place.
So what would it cost? Around $18 to $22 billion over 30 years, according to The Hindu.
What a bargain – and a giant underestimate.
A March 2009 Greenpeace report, which analyzed a broader energy scenario, found that wealthy nations could help enable a massive renewable energy uptake in India by 2030 through an international Feed-in Tariff Support Mechanism. Specifically, for a cost of $195 billion in international financing spread out over 20 years (not including capital costs), India could add 310,000 MW of new renewable energy capacity. Around 45 percent of that would come from solar.
A December 2007 report by the The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) concluded that it would cost $5.4 trillion for India to get to a 75 percent “renewables” share, includng nuclear.
Whatever the costs, most of it will be in up-front investments. As Sven Teske, author of the Greenpeace report, told the WorldWatch Institute:
“Over 30 years, India would make money.”
And the truth is, any delays in realizing a big solar vision are not merely about cash but rather political will, he said. In fact:
“If India leveraged 1 paise, or one-hundredth of a rupee, on every kilowatt hour generated by coal-fired utilities, we would have enough money to implement all renewables here in India.”
India is well known for rhetoric over its renewable pledges. There’s still a scarcity of real targets and goals in its vague climate plans, and you won’t find dollar commitments. V. Subramanian, who CEO of India’s Wind Energy Association, explained why:
“The government of India does not currently have the machinery to implement such a strategy at a national level. This has to be done by state governments, and as yet the engagement between the two on this is not strong.”
What will it take to get this solar mission accomplished?
Source: Solve Climate Blog
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