This article first appeared on the Lenz Blog

From this tweet by the always excellent Energiewende Germany I learned about an article titled “Hydrogen plant starts storing wind energy in Germany“.

As is clear from the title, this is another project to use wind energy in times where demand can’t keep up with supply to make some hydrogen from water. That is the future for storage of surplus renewable energy, since the existing infrastructure can store massive amounts of hydrogen gas.

The German existing gas infrastructure could handle storage of up to 200 TWh, which is much more than the about 30 TWh an electricity system of 100% renewable would need. But to get that capacity, people need to start building these kind of plants that store electricity from wind or solar as hydrogen. We still have a decade or two to go until renewable gets to 100%, but it is still a good idea to start early.

Enertrag has opened the first plant like this in 2011. At the time with a capacity of only 500 kW. The new plant reported on in that article has 2 MW. And it is operated by E.ON, one of the “big four” German utilities that used to show no interest in renewable energy and leave the investment in the sector to citizen projects.

As the article notes, only about 50% of the energy from the surplus electricity can be stored in hydrogen.

But that is of course not a problem. In the many time slots where demand can’t keep up even now, the electricity would be wasted anyway. And in the few time slots without wind and solar available (the occasional cold November night) that stored energy will have a very high value on the market.

Over this weekend, many countries in Europe saw negative electricity prices, with France and its inflexible nuclear plants reaching minus 4 cent per kWh. People were paid good money if they used electricity, helping to reduce the supply overload. In such a time slot it doesn’t matter that only 50% of the energy will be stored. There is too much available in the first place.

And while the technology for making hydrogen may still be somewhat expensive (that 2 MW plant cost around $2 million), there is only a need to store around 5% of yearly demand. Spread that cost over all electricity over a feed-in tariff or some such policy, and it won’t matter much. Let’s also note that gas plant capacity is by far the cheapest to build of all power plants at only about EUR400 a kW, which helps save money on the cost of the whole system as well.

Germany Opens Another Hybrid Wind Power Plant was originally published on: CleanTechnica. To read more from CleanTechnica, join over 30,000 others and subscribe to our free RSS feed, follow us on Facebook (also free!), follow us on Twitter, or just visit our homepage (yep, free).

The Department of Defense has been aggressively pursuing alternative energy both as the key to future national security and as a means of reducing troop casualties in the field, and a new Army solar project provides a perfect illustration of the two entwined goals. The project involves integrating solar power with the Army’s new “Firefly” sniper detection system, which somewhat ironically has been exposing Soldiers to enemy fire when they have to install fresh batteries to power the equipment. That risk has now been practically eliminated, thanks to solar power.

Firefly by art farmer.

First Things First: What Is Firefly?

Before we get into details about the solar array, let’s take a look at that critical weak point in the Firefly sniper detection system.

As described by Edric Thompson of CERDEC (the Army’s Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center), Firefly refers to the new Hostile Fire Detection Sensor, a portable surveillance system that can be carried in a backpack or mounted at forward operating bases. Initially deployed in Afghanistan last spring (around May 2012), Firefly is designed to proved 360-degree detection and location of enemy shooters, using a hybrid system of acoustics and short wave infrared detectors.

Firefly is so sophisticated that it can detect hostile firepower both in and out of line-of-sight, and classify it according to scale (small arms, machine gun or rocket/mortar).

So, what could possibly go wrong?

The problem, according to Thompson, basically boils down to deploying 21st century technology while relying on 20th century energy. Firefly’s best-use scenario involves untethering it from generators and other stationary energy sources, which means that it is dependent on batteries. However, when deployed along perimeter walls at sites in Afghanistan, Firefly was exposing Soldiers to additional risks from enemy attacks whenever they had to get above the wall line to change the batteries.

The Army Solar Power Solution

The Department of Defense has been pushing for more utility scale solar installations to power permanent bases for several years now, and more recently it has begun ramping up its efforts to press portable and transportable solar power (and wind power) into service at temporary camps, forward operating bases and even field operations.

To that end, CERDEC has developed a renewable energy microgrid system called RENEWS for the Reusing Existing Natural Energy, Wind & Solar system. It includes solar panels, a wind turbine, and a rechargeable battery unit featuring advanced, lightweight BB-2590 batteries developed by CERDEC.

The system can produce about 300 watts of power and it is silent and self-sustaining, meaning that it is free of two key operational drawbacks suffered by conventional diesel generators: noise and refueling.

Integrating RENEWS with Firefly was a joint effort by the Army Research Laboratory, the Aviation and Missile Research, Development and Engineering Center, and private sector partners.

The result is a silent, refueling-free power system with practically no routine maintenance issues that would pile on risks for Soldiers. There is no need to change the batteries, and the solar panels can easily be located below the wall line where they can be cleaned regularly without exposure to enemy fire.

In addition to reducing risks on site, the RENEWS/Firefly combo also eliminates the need to use diesel generators for recharging batteries, which helps to reduce risks related to fuel convoys.

Several of the RENEWS/Firefly kits have already been deployed, and in addition to their immediate use they are also providing the Army with the opportunity to get additional feedback on logistics and load reduction.

Reducing Risks To Soldiers And Civilians, Too

For the Department of Defense, the bottom line for renewable energy is all about reducing risk and improving effectiveness (Navy Secretary Ray Mabus has a great speech hitting those points). In the case of the RENEWS/Firefly project, for example, it “provides better technical solutions for Soldiers and it enhances the Army’s ability to be more flexible and adaptive against asymmetrical threats.”

As the Army and other branches of the Armed Services transition to renewable energy, what is also emerging is a broad environmental stewardship platform for future national security, as embodied by the Army’s Net Zero initiative, which links renewable, locally sourced energy  with public health and well being.

That brings us to a situation in which the Department of Defense is using renewable energy to reduce risks, improve well being and create new efficiencies, while here in the civilian world local communities are dealing with increased threats related to fossil fuel dependency.

Forget climate change, just add up the growing pile of local impacts and potential risk related to natural gas fracking, wastewater disposal from oil and gas fracking, mountaintop coal mining, coal ash disposal, coal transportation, and tar sands oil transportation (and a related issue, petroleum coke) among other issues, and you come away with the distinct impression that fossil fuel harvesting has created a siege situation here in the US.

Now consider that as the US reduces domestic dependency on fossil fuels, more of these impacts and risks are going to support the export market, as neatly illustrated by the proposed Keystone XL tar sands oil pipeline.

Personally, I’d much rather support our troops…

Follow me on Twitter and Google+.

Lifesaving Solar Power For Army’s “Firefly” Sniper Detection System was originally published on: CleanTechnica. To read more from CleanTechnica, join over 30,000 others and subscribe to our free RSS feed, follow us on Facebook (also free!), follow us on Twitter, or just visit our homepage (yep, free).

Planetsolar, the world’s largest solar-powered boat, arrived safely in New York on June 17, 2013. She has been transformed into a scientific platform as part of the “PlanetSolar DeepWater” expedition, and has joined by a team of researchers from the University of Geneva (UNIGE), led by Professor Martin Beniston, climatologist and director of the Institute of Environmental Sciences at the University of Geneva (UNIGE). Even though the crew and scientists aboard had to adjust their schedule to avoid tropical storm “Andrea,” they were able to accomplish a substantial portion of the intended mission objectives by taking measurements in the air and water. Their goal is to study the key parameters of climate regulation, especially atmospheric aerosols and phytoplankton. This sun-powered vessel is uniquely qualified to gather the information because it does not emit any polluting substances that could distort the data collected. The following is from the PlanetSolar press release.

Planet Solar Arrival in New York | 17 June 2013 | ©All rights reserved PlanetSolar

The MS Tûranor PlanetSolar, the largest solar boat in the world, continues her US tour, and yesterday reached New York City. As part of the “PlanetSolar DeepWater” scientific expedition carried out by the University of Geneva, the MS Tûranor PlanetSolar—transformed into a scientific platform—is enabling a team of researchers to take advantage of her exclusive features in order to conduct a campaign of physical and biological measurements along the Gulf Stream.

The navigation between the states of Florida and New York constitutes the initial phase of this unprecedented data collection on the Gulf Stream, an important regulator of European and North American climates. With the support of the Swiss Consulate General in New York, the solar vessel and her crew, consisting of both sailors and scientists, moored in the North Cove Marina in southern Manhattan around 12.00 noon (local time)

Planet Solar Arrival in New York | 17 June 2013 | ©All rights reserved PlanetSolar

After being forced to remain in Miami for a few days to avoid “Andrea,” the first tropical storm of the season in the Atlantic, the solar catamaran left the coast of Florida on June 8 to begin the scientific expedition studying the Gulf Stream. “Now we are in the thick of the scientific expedition. We have been travelling along the Gulf Stream since we left Miami, so we were already able to take the first measurements. A strong and favorable current enabled us to sail at over 8 knots at times!” explains Gérard d’Aboville, captain of the boat. However, another disturbance forced the ship to move away from the current during the second part of the trip. “A violent depression passed through the northeastern United States. We had to find shelter in Chesapeake Bay to let it pass. To avoid losing time, we traveled up the bay and passed through a canal into Delaware,” said the captain.

The MS Tûranor PlanetSolar has therefore launched the practical stage of her second life, and her arrival in the New York metropolis marks the passage of the first phase of this novel research campaign on one of the most important regulators of European and North American climates. Shortly after the ship’s arrival, Ambassador François Barras, Swiss Consul General in New York, enthusiastically declared, “Switzerland is proud to welcome PlanetSolar to New York. She is a great platform for promoting the spirit of Swiss innovation. The University of Geneva’s DeepWater scientific expedition demonstrates the high quality of research in Switzerland, and the boat raises public awareness about the use of renewable energies. All in all, PlanetSolar is an ideal ambassador!”

Headed by Professor Beniston, climatologist and director of the Institute of Environmental Sciences at the University of Geneva (UNIGE), the onboard research team began taking measurements with advanced instruments in order to study the key parameters of climate regulation, namely aerosols and phytoplankton. This unique campaign requires researchers to “navigate along the Gulf Stream and collect scientific data in the water and in the air in order to improve our understanding of the complex interactions between the ocean and the atmosphere, as well as the role these interactions play in climate change,” says Professor Beniston. In parallel, a pedagogical team has developed educational activities and resources designed to make young people aware of climate change and its impact.

The interdisciplinary team of scientists from the University of Geneva will sail along the Gulf Stream, passing through Boston, St. John’s (Canada), and Reykjavik (Iceland), and will disembark in Bergen (Norway) in August. The study of this ocean current will take the ship to the northernmost point of the Atlantic for the first time. The MS Tûranor PlanetSolar’s exclusive features are a major asset for the researchers: given the absence of polluting emissions, the atmospheric measurements won’t be distorted by residues associated with fuel combustion.

The MS Tûranor PlanetSolar and her crew will remain moored in the heart of the Big Apple from June 17—20. With the support of the Swiss Consulate in New York, events dedicated to the public and local authorities will be organized onboard.

High-tech instruments aboard the largest solar boat in the world

In order to collect a continuous series of physical and biological measurements in the water and in the air, the ship is equipped with 6 advanced instruments, including the “Biobox”, an instrument that was specifically developed by the Applied Physics Group at the University of Geneva for the study of aerosols at the interface between the atmosphere and the ocean. It is the only instrument to date capable of determining instantaneously the identity of aerosols using laser technology. It will be used aboard the MS Tûranor PlanetSolar for the first time.

About PlanetSolar

The MS Tûranor PlanetSolar, built in Kiel, Germany, is a catamaran powered exclusively by solar energy. On May 4, 2012, after sailing for 584 days and travelling over 60,000km, the MS Tûranor PlanetSolar completed the first solar-powered trip around the world.

For her 2013 expeditions, the MS Tûranor PlanetSolar underwent major maintenance operations. The most significant optimization was related to the propulsion system—the surface propellers were replaced by a completely immerged system.

For 2013, the MS Tûranor PlanetSolar’s crew is comprised of: Gérard d’Aboville (Captain), Andrew Mikkelsen (Second), Antoine Simon (electrical engineer), Hugo Buratti (seaman and steward), and Vincent Brunet (steward). During the “PlanetSolar DeepWater” expedition, the UNIGE scientific team will round out the crew.

After leaving Las Palmas (Spain) on April 26, 2013, the largest solar boat in the world reached Marigot, St. Martin (French Caribbean) 22 days later. The MS Tûranor PlanetSolar therefore broke her own world record speed for a solar-powered transatlantic crossing, set in 26 days during her trip around the world. In order to fund the 2013 campaign, PlanetSolar SA is supported by the University of Geneva, Ciel électricité, Switcher, the Swiss AOC-IGP Association, Younicos, Plantbacter, Actides, GoPro, Jean-René Germanier SA, BCCC Attorneys-at-Law, Tempur, Hempel, Présence Suisse, Energissima, l’UIM, YELLO, and Waste Free Oceans.

About the University of Geneva

Founded in 1559 by Jean Calvin and Théodore de Bèze, the University of Geneva (UNIGE) is now the second largest “Haute École” (institute for higher learning) in Switzerland, and ranks among the top 100 universities in the world. Crown jewel of the Calvin community, the institution enjoys a privileged international reputation and cultivates its openness to the world. UNIGE welcomes approximately 16,000 students each year to its eight colleges, dedicated to the study of the following key disciplines: science, medicine, literature, economics and social sciences, law, theology, psychology, and education, translation and interpretation sciences. UNIGE has three missions: education, research, and service to the community. Additionally, UNIGE has been a member of the League of European Research Universities (LERU) since 2002.

The University of Geneva would like to thank the Wright Foundation, the Henri Moser Foundation, and a generous anonymous donor for their support for the PlanetSolar DeepWater scientific campaign.

Author’s note: The next stop for Planetsolar is Boston, Massachusetts, scheduled for June 20. Education days are planned for the stopovers in both New York and Boston. The Gulf Stream tracking will continue as the boat continues to travel to the Far North, where she will put into port in St. John’s, Canada, Reykjavik, Iceland, and Bergen, Norway. You can follow the voyage of the solar-powered boat at: www.planetsolar.org/follow-us/itinerary-2013

PlanetSolar, World’s Largest Solar Boat Arrives in New York was originally published on: CleanTechnica. To read more from CleanTechnica, join over 30,000 others and subscribe to our free RSS feed, follow us on Facebook (also free!), follow us on Twitter, or just visit our homepage (yep, free).

If you’re placing bets on which sector of the clean energy industry is primed for the strongest growth, you may want to slide a few more chips toward the smart grid.

Smart grid market revenue growth chart via Navigant Research

Smart grid technology is already a “colossal market” with $33 billion in global revenue in 2012, but it’s set to more than double by the end of this decade and hit $73 billion in annual revenue by 2020, according to a new Navigant Research report.

While any industry would gladly take a 10% annual growth rate, Navigant’s outlook may even underestimate smart grid market growth, because both the $73 billion annual revenue and 10% growth rate estimates don’t include Africa or the grid needs of its 1 billion people.

Unlike many other clean energy industries, smart grid’s growth underscores the diversity of its applications, which empower different technologies to lead different geographic markets depending on local energy network needs. Even in a single region, individual countries may have different local conditions, leading to a different smart grid application leading that market.

North America, Asia Pacific Lead On Transmission Growth

Navigant predicts the two largest smart grid technology markets will be located in North America and Asia-Pacific, spurred on by the drive to increase transmission infrastructure. Global transmission upgrades will represent nearly $250 million in revenue by 2020, more than half the overall market.

High voltage transmission lines image via Shutterstock

In North America, for instance, a substantial increase in high-voltage direct current transmission lines are boosting overall grid spending as a way to integrate large amounts of renewable electricity from remote generation locations onto the grid and reach large demand load centers like cities or industrial areas. North America is also expected to dominate microgrid growth through 2020.

An opposite trend is happening in many developing countries, where the focus is on building high-voltage transmission to get energy from newly built generation assets to new load centers that simply didn’t exist until recently. This trend is seen in India, China, Brazil, and Chile, where governments are trying to keep up with economic and population growth in areas accustomed to low electrification rates.

Smart Meter Market Volatility Belies Benefits

Beyond the overall increase in transmission projects, smart meters will also be an industry driver, but with much more volatility and uneven growth rates. Navigant notes North America’s smart meter market “has entered a valley” because US stimulus funds spending has ended and the next anticipated wave of meter spending from small utilities has not yet begun.

Residential smart meter image via Shutterstock

However in Europe, smart metering is growing strong. Western European countries are focusing on smart meters as a way to meet clean energy mandates like those in the European Union’s 2020 climate goals, while Eastern European countries are investing in smart meters as a way to reduce high energy theft rates.

Boosting Smart Grid Revenue And System Reliability?

Add it all up, and Navigant predicts smart grid technologies will generate $461 billion in cumulative revenue from 2013 to 2020. But even all this growth still won’t saturate the market – many countries with populations greater than 100 million have seen little or no smart grid market growth, meaning as one market matures another will open up for investment.

Perhaps most promising though, is the potential for smart grid technologies to enhance existing energy systems to make them cleaner and more efficient while lowering the overall price tag. “Smart grid technologies improve the reliability and efficiency of the power grid via the application of modern IT capabilities alongside, or in place of existing utility assets and networks,” said Bob Lockhart of Navigant.

Smart Grid Market Revenue Will Hit $73 Billion Annually By 2020 was originally published on: CleanTechnica. To read more from CleanTechnica, join over 30,000 others and subscribe to our free RSS feed, follow us on Facebook (also free!), follow us on Twitter, or just visit our homepage (yep, free).

The top electric car city in the US… San Francisco? LA? New York? Portland? What do you think?

Image Credit: Nissan

Indianapolis, the capital city of the US state Indiana and home to approximately 800,000 people, is interested in having all of the city’s fleet of cars replaced with electric and plugin hybrid (PHEV) ones. This could soon make it the #1 electric car city in the US.

After hearing about the announcement, this gave the CEO of Energy Systems Network, Paul Mitchell, the idea to put into motion a plan to purchase 500 US-built electric vehicles — possibly the Ford Focus or Nissan Leaf — and also to construct charging stations to support them.

Bolloré is now investing $35 million to launch this program by next year. It will purchase the 500 electric vehicles and also the kiosks required for check in.

There will be 1,200 level-2 charging stations (more charging stations than cars) installed in 200 locations. Level-2 charging stations charge vehicles at 240 volts, and they provide vehicles with 10–20 miles of range for every hour that they are charged. They are the second-fastest chargers today.

“This program provides a great opportunity for downtown workers, residents and visitors to get around town in a car without owning one,” said Mayor Ballard. “This service allows a person, government or company to only pay for a car when they need and want it. They aren’t paying for fuel, insurance, maintenance and parking costs when the vehicle is not in use.”

Sounds pretty awesome. And I think this is a great move towards claiming the top US electric car city title. What are your thoughts?

Top US Electric Car City Could Soon Be… (You’re Never Gonna Guess It) was originally published on: CleanTechnica. To read more from CleanTechnica, join over 30,000 others and subscribe to our free RSS feed, follow us on Facebook (also free!), follow us on Twitter, or just visit our homepage (yep, free).

This post first appeared on San Diego Loves Green
by Roy Hales

A week ago, Maxwell Technologies announced they had been “been awarded a $1.39 million contract by the California Energy Commission’s Research and Development program to fund design and integration of an ultracapacitor-based energy storage system with Soitec’s CPV system located on the campus of University of California, San Diego—one of the nation’s greenest universities— and a second commercial scale system at Soitec’s solar power plant in Southern California.” This project was to start immediately and run through November 2015.

I seized upon the opportunity to email Maxwell some questions about the future of energy storage. Shaw Lynds, the senior systems engineer at Maxwell,  responded. Note that Mr Lynds says that while small micro-grid solar systems may soon be able to operate without a back-up system, it is still too expensive to develop an adequate energy storage system that would allow the grid to run 100% on solar energy. That is why they are focusing on ironing out “fluctuations of up to 5 minutes.” Yet it would seem almost inevitable that some year, in the not too distant future,  solar energy will be able to supply all of our power needs.

Q.  To what extent will the technology that you and Soitec are working on compensate for the fluctuations in solar energy?

Our goal is to completely eliminate output fluctuations of less than 30 seconds and provide significant smoothing of fluctuations of up to 5 minutes.  The goal of this demonstration is that show that solar can achieve high penetration in the grid without need of large amounts of spinning reserve to keep the grid stable.

Q. Do either solar or wind energy have problems with power surges and does your technology eliminate this problem?  

Both of these technologies are vulnerable to power surges, however this is outside the scope of what this project plans to demonstrate.

Q. What part of the work will be done of the UC San Diego campus? 

Our partner Soitec currently has a 22kW CPV tracker system located on the UCSD campus that has been running for several years now. Under this project we plan to add 2.5 kWh of ultracapacitor energy storage to that system to demonstrate the large benefits that even a small amount of energy storage can add to a solar installation.

Q. Can you give an a guesstimate of how long it will be before solar energy can be stored for weeks? (Two years? Five years? Ten years?) 

5-10 years at minimum before it is economically viable to store energy on these kind of time scales.  This is why we are focusing on shorter time scale firming where we believe energy storage can do the most good in the near term.

Q. Can you see a day when, as a result of the development of energy storage technologies, there will be no need for a back-up to solar energy? 

For small micro-grid in remote locations, I believe this day is at hand. However for the rest of us who are not willing to pay such a high price for our power, it is still decades away.

Q. Are you presently working on this problem?  

Our focus is on helping solar integrate with the rest of the grid as it starts supply a larger power of the power demand, we are still years away from working on 100% solar solutions.

Q. How extensively are Maxwell’s ultracapacitor-based energy storage system used with renewable technologies? (I have read about it being used with wind, solar & EV’s) 

Maxwell has made a name for itself providing highly reliable, and long life back up power.  Our 16V modules have become an industry standard for backup power for wind turbine pitch control.  If you have ever seen a video of what happens when a wind turbine loses pitch control in a wind storm, then you have an idea of just how critical reliable power is in that application.

Interview With Maxwell Technologies: Ultracapacitor-based Energy Storage System was originally published on: CleanTechnica. To read more from CleanTechnica, join over 30,000 others and subscribe to our free RSS feed, follow us on Facebook (also free!), follow us on Twitter, or just visit our homepage (yep, free).

Three Key Features Of Los Angeles’ New Local Solar Program was originally published on: CleanTechnica. To read more from CleanTechnica, join over 30,000 others and subscribe to our free RSS feed, follow us on Facebook (also free!), follow us on Twitter, or just visit our homepage (yep, free).

Are you interested in doing your own wind project? Let the Clean Energy Project Builder and CERTs help you get started with 4 steps!

Step 1: Do your research!

Knowing information about wind (what it is, how it works, how to get it) is a key component in your project’s success. Lucky for you, we have already done the hard part! Follow the link to see a list of helpful wind studies.

Step 2: Site assessment

It is important to be familiar with both the purpose of your wind project, and site specific details before moving into the implementation and financing of a project. Here you will find some tools to help assess your site in order to understand its unique potential in conjunction with your energy needs and budget.

Step 3: Find companies

Once you have identified the primary objective of your wind project, and have an idea of the strengths and limitations of your site, it is important to find the right product and installer for your project. In this section you will find tips and useful links on how to refine your search on the Clean Energy Project Builder to find the right companies for you.

Step 4: Funding & financing

Like any investment, it’s important to understand the financial commitment of a solar or small wind project before you begin. This piece should be integrated into every step of the planning process. It is important to know things such as initial costs, ROI, as well as tax and utility incentives.

The Clean Energy Project Builder is an online directory aimed at helping citizens and businesses gain information and plan renewable energy projects. The website hosts information on Minnesota solar and wind companies and also allows non-registered companies apply to become a part of the directory. Whether you are a homeowner, small business owner, or corporation manager, the Clean Energy Project Builder has resources for your renewable energy projects. The Clean Energy Project Builder is a partnership between Southwest Initiative Foundation, Clean Energy Resource Teams, The Minnesota Department of Commerce Division of Energy Resources, Positively Minnesota, Minnesota Solar Energy Industries Association, Minnesota Renewable Energy Society, Windusty, and The Minnesota Project.

Work The Wind! 4 Steps To Get Your Project Started was originally published on: CleanTechnica. To read more from CleanTechnica, join over 30,000 others and subscribe to our free RSS feed, follow us on Facebook (also free!), follow us on Twitter, or just visit our homepage (yep, free).

If Chancellor Angela Merkel comes to power after elections in September, Germany may become the latest European country to curb support for renewable energy infrastructure. Amidst the poor economic environment in Europe, a number of countries have pulled back support for the renewable energy sector by either reducing subsidies or introducing taxes on revenues from renewable energy projects.

Angela Merkel has promised that she would reduce the $24 billion per year subsidies being provided to renewable energy projects after the September elections as she feels that the sector is now mature enough to support the cost of grid upgrades.

The share of renewable energy sources in the electricity generation in Germany has ballooned over the last few years. According to data available at Eurostat, the electricity generated by renewable energy sources in Germany was over 20% of the gross electricity consumed in 2011.

There is no doubt that the renewable energy sector, especially solar photovoltaics, has blossomed tremendously under the liberal and supportive renewable energy policies of Germany. Over the past couple of years, we have had numerous record generation days for the Germany solar power sector. The most recent was on 6 June when solar power met 39% of Germany’s entire peak electricity demand. On 6 June 2013, Germany’s solar power production touched a new high of 23.4 GW surpassing the earlier record of 22.68 GW achieved in April 2013.

Renewable Energy To Strengthen Its Own Future

Germany has announced that it would retire all its nuclear power capacity by 2022, a decision taken after the Fukushima nuclear disaster. Moving to fossil-fuel based power generation, as Japan has down, would be very short-sighted. Japan currently has no international obligations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and may not adopt any targets until at least 2020 when the next climate change treaty, the one that would replace the Kyoto Protocol, comes into effect.

Germany has a direct obligation to reduce emissions under the EU Emissions Trading Scheme as well as under the Kyoto Protocol as part of the EU. Moving to fossil-fuel based generation would only undermine the standing of one of EU’s largest and most powerful members as a crusader in the fight against climate change.

By the end of April 2013, Germany had a total solar PV installed capacity of 33.5 GW. The country also witnessed a 20% increase in wind energy capacity in 2012. With renewable energy the only plausible future for Germany’s electricity sector, it seems fair that solar and wind energy sectors contribute to strengthen the power sector.

Other European countries too have decided to reduce subsidies for the renewable energy sector. The Czech government has decided to retroactively levy tax on revenues of solar power projects while Romania plans to reduce the number of green certificates issued to renewable energy projects, thereby reducing the revenue these projects can earn from selling these certificates.

Merkel Promises To Cut Renewable Energy Subsidies Post-election was originally published on: CleanTechnica. To read more from CleanTechnica, join over 30,000 others and subscribe to our free RSS feed, follow us on Facebook (also free!), follow us on Twitter, or just visit our homepage (yep, free).

Following my article on a GBI Research report about the Global Energy Storage Market to 2020 (April 2013), below is a teaser on another GBI Research report — a “Solar Photovoltaics Power Market to 2020” report (published in October 2012) that it recently just shared with me. (Note: CleanTechnica has a partnership with GBI Research*.)

Again, we don’t get to see any of the important numbers from the report (without purchasing it), but there are numerous interesting sample charts from the report that I get to share with you all below.

US Solar Grid Parity

First of all, here’s a fun one that shows that solar PV power should hit grid parity in the US (on average) between 2014 and 2017:

The distributed solar power revolution is on its way.

Global Solar PV Market To Boom

Naturally, with solar power prices dropping so fast and electricity prices rising (as well as government policies to combat global warming and promote clean energy), solar power’s fast growth is projected to increase around the world. As the following charts indicate, the global solar PV market in 2015 is projected to be more than double what it was in 2011, with strong growth going up through 2020 as well:

Thin-Film Solar To See Growing Share Of Solar PV Market

Interestingly, GBI Research also projects that thin-film solar models will see strong growth in market share again (following steep drops in conventional solar module prices related to massive oversupply and Chinese manufacturing), as well as some emerging solar technologies (e.g. CPV):

Solar Power Splits In Germany & Spain

The GBI Research report also delves into the solar PV markets in numerous leading countries. As a sample of that, here’s a sample chart of the 2011 German solar PV market segment split (residential vs commercial/industrial vs utility-scale solar):

And here’s one of the off-grid versus on-grid solar power split in Spain 2005–2011:

Yes, I’d also love to see the projections for such splits, as well as all the other country data and charts included in the report. Alas, investing in such a report isn’t warranted by my work needs and budget. However, if such an investment fits your needs, go ahead and buy the report!

*The partnership works as follows: you get a 10% discount on GBI Research’s cleantech market research reports, GBI Research sells more reports, and CleanTechnica gets a small cut of these report sales.

US Solar To Hit Grid Parity 2014–2017 (+ More Solar PV Charts, Sort Of…) was originally published on: CleanTechnica. To read more from CleanTechnica, join over 30,000 others and subscribe to our free RSS feed, follow us on Facebook (also free!), follow us on Twitter, or just visit our homepage (yep, free).

CleanTechnica has a partnership with GBI Research to help get more cleantech market research reports into more people’s hands*. GBI Research recently published a new report on the Global Energy Storage Market to 2020 (in April 2013) and passed this one on to me to share with you all.

Unfortunately, the company doesn’t reveal too many details in the sample reports, which is all that even we get to view, so I don’t have exciting numbers from these reports to share with you. However, some of the sample charts definitely give a good sense of where the market and specific sectors of the market are projected to advance, according to GBI research. Regarding this global energy storage report, here are three interesting charts:

1. The advanced batteries market – which consists of Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries, Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) batteries, and Nickel Cadmium (NiCd) batteries in the report — is projected to explode in the coming years, and that strong growth has already begun.
2. The fuel cell and ultracapacitor markets are still very nascent, but they are projected to grow to a decent size by 2020.
3. The flywheels market isn’t projected to do much of anything.

Regarding the fuel cells market, which we don’t cover very often here on CleanTechnica, the report states: “Fuel cells are one of the most promising energy storage technologies, and currently attract the highest amount of investor interest among power supply technologies. Driven by the need to compensate for the ill-effects and inconveniences of lead-acid batteries, stationary fuel cells are primarily used for backup power applications. Fuel cells are considered low maintenance, environmentally friendly storage solutions with long life spans for long periods of back-up power. Since the market is in its developmental stage, it is characterized by highly restricted sales volumes, with the consequence that prices fall due to a lack of adequate demand. Nevertheless, the potential of fuel cells is being actively explored by power supply players across the value chain.”

I think the future of fuel cells is much less certain than that of advanced battery technologies, but GBI Research does make some interesting and valid points.

Notably, energy storage technologies the report does not cover include: Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) and flow batteries.

Again, you can go ahead and purchase the report here.

Global Solar PV Market to 2020

GBI Research also has a “Solar Photovoltaics Power Market to 2020” report (published in October 2012) that it just shared with me. It’s a good match for the energy storage market report discussed above. Again, we don’t get to see any of the important numbers from the report (without purchasing it), but there are numerous interesting sample charts from the report that I’ll discuss a bit in my next article.

*The partnership works as follows: you get a 10% discount on GBI Research’s cleantech market research reports, GBI Research sells more reports, and CleanTechnica gets a small cut of these report sales.

Global Energy Storage Market To 2020 (Charts, Sort Of…) was originally published on: CleanTechnica. To read more from CleanTechnica, join over 30,000 others and subscribe to our free RSS feed, follow us on Facebook (also free!), follow us on Twitter, or just visit our homepage (yep, free).

The 6 MW Port Victoria Wind Farm just launched on Mahé Island in the Republic of Seychelles. The wind farm consists of eight turbines provided by Masdar and the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD). It is the first large-scale renewable energy project in the Seychelles.

Image Credit: Masdar

The 6 MWs provided by the wind farm represent a full 8% of Mahé Island’s total energy capacity — and it will displace an estimated 5,500 tons of carbon dioxide every year, provide electricity to more than 2,100 homes, and reduce fuel use by about 1.6 million liters a year. Mahé Island is the main island of the republic, and is home to about 90% of its population.

Before this wind farm went up, the Seychelles were almost entirely dependent upon diesel generators for electricity — in addition to being quite expensive, these generators also produce a lot of air pollution. A full 25% of the country’s total net imports were diesel fuel. That’s quite a high percentage. As a result, the diversification of its energy mix has been a goal of the country for some time now.

This new project — developed by Masdar and funded by the ADFD — was created to address this — helping to cut down on costs, reduce imports, and reduce air pollution and carbon emissions.

“Access to sustainable, clean sources of energy is vital to our long-term economic development,” said James Michel, president of the Republic of Seychelles. “The addition of wind power is a major step toward meeting our clean energy targets and reducing our dependency on imported sources of power. We look forward to further opportunities to assess our wind power potential and continue to diversify our energy mix.”

As renewable energy technologies become more affordable, they are more and more becoming an economically viable way for countries like the Seychelles to improve energy security — ensuring access and also dampening the effect of market fluctuations. With the price of fossil fuels likely to continue rising over the next couple of decades, such a strategy is likely a smart one.

“The Seychelles wind project is an example of how access to energy can serve as a pathway for economic development and social opportunity,” said H.E. Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE minister of state and CEO of Masdar.

In particular, for remote island nations, the integration of sustainable energy can deliver an immediate economic and tangible impact. Today, Seychelles can redirect fuel savings into investments in infrastructure development, social programs and to spurring economic growth.

This project builds on Masdar’s commitment to demonstrating the economic and environmental advantages of renewable energy

With prices falling and new advancements in technology, renewable energy is reaching grid parity in many parts of the world. With energy demand expected to double by 2030 – putting a further strain on our natural resources – renewable energy is a viable solution to power future growth.

A couple of interesting things to note about the Port Victoria Wind Farm include:

• The 8 wind turbines were constructed on two different islands and connected via 3 kilometers of subsea cables.
• The turbines used are designed to work effectively in low-to-medium wind speeds, and are built so as to be resistant to corrosion from the salt and humidity of the location.

Masdar’s involvement in the Port Victoria Wind Farm isn’t an isolated circumstance — it currently has numerous other similar projects in development around the world. These include: A 15 MW solar PV power plant in the Islamic Republic of Mauritania (the largest solar PV power plant in Africa), a 500-kilowatt solar PV power plant on the island of Vava’u in the Kingdom of Tonga, and an off-grid solar PV project in Afghanistan that will provide about 600 residences with electricity.

1st Renewable Energy Project In Republic Of Seychelles — 6 MW Wind Farm was originally published on: CleanTechnica. To read more from CleanTechnica, join over 30,000 others and subscribe to our free RSS feed, follow us on Facebook (also free!), follow us on Twitter, or just visit our homepage (yep, free).

Solar Powered LED Lights change the way people live, work, and learn in Africa and around the world. Approximately 1.6 billion people in the world today have no access to electricity, something a lot of us take for granted. The folks at Philips are using the power of the sun to change this. They plan to install 100 Philips Community Light Centers across Africa by 2015. The following is a news release from Philips about this work.

Amsterdam, The Netherlands – Royal Philips is proud to announce that its Community Light Center solution has been recognized as one of the 100 most innovative sustainable solutions globally for positive social, economic and environmental impact on local communities by Sustainia100. Sustainia100 is an annual guide to global sustainable innovation by international institute Sustainia.

Business and trade prospers even after the sun goes down in Africa thanks to Philips solar-powered LED lighting. © Royal Philips

Philips’ Community Light Centers are areas of 1,000 square meters, about the size of a small soccer pitch and are lit by a new generation of highly efficient solar powered LED lighting systems. This enables life after dark for communities disadvantaged by lack of power and light. The Philips solution is now a nominee for the Sustainia Award later this year.

Philips Community Light Centers for Africa

“About 20% of all people across the globe don’t have access to reliable lighting. Sustainable innovation in solar-powered LED lighting in Africa enables social and economic development in such areas to continue after dark, whether education, healthcare, community activity such as sports, or business and training. In essence access to lighting opens up the pathway to a better quality of life. We are very proud that our Community Light Center solution has been nominated to the Sustainia100 list.” comments Harry Verhaar, Head of Global Public Affairs at Philips Lighting.

Philips Community Light Centers enable schoolwork to continue after dark across Africa. © Royal Philips

Philips’ Community Light Center is a highly sustainable solution that requires no investment in costly grid infrastructure and utilizes the latest technology to minimize the solution’s carbon footprint. For example, batteries for the solar-powered lighting will last 4-5 years and are buried underground. Intelligent controls maximize the efficiency of the batteries while the LED lights offer high quality light (up to 20 LUX).

Former Governor of California and Honorary Chair of Sustainia Award, Arnold Schwarzenegger comments, “Congratulations to the Sustainia100 for 2013. They are the true action heroes of sustainability. From Canada to Kenya to Guatemala to India, these solutions are proving that we can build communities that are both environmentally and economically sustainable today and for generations to come.”

During the next two years, Philips’ goal is to install 100 Philips Community Light Centers across 12 countries in Africa. Philips’ Community Light Centers bring many benefits to local communities by enabling community life after dark. For example, businesses are able to extend their trading hours; increasing profitability. Communities are able to host local events and children are able to play soccer after the sun has gone down. In schools, evening classes can take place and in hospitals, solar-powered lighting enables delivery of healthcare.

Philips Notes: Philips is currently in the midst of its 4th annual Cape Town to Cairo Road Show, where Philips will raise awareness on sustainable healthcare and lighting solutions that help to enhance the quality of life in Africa.

Author’s Note: The Sustainia100 award is a highly respected annual international award given to a solution, technology, or project with a noteworthy potential to help build a more sustainable future. The following is from Sustainia:

Sustainia is a vibrant community of citizens, organizations and companies from all over the world. We believe that change is created bottom-up which is why we listen, discuss and develop our mission in a dialogue with our community.Sustainia100 is an annual guide to 100 innovative solutions from around the world that presents readily available projects, initiatives and technologies at the forefront of sustainable transformation.

Our 2013 edition of Sustainia100 came out on June 9^th. Sustainia received 500+ submissions from 79 countries for this year’s guide. The final 100 solutions are deployed in two thirds of the world’s countries – including Kenya, India, Mexico and South Africa, making the Sustainia100 guide reflect innovation from the traditional western hubs as well as parts of the world that are normally not well covered.

The Power Of The Sun Changes Lives In Africa (Video) was originally published on: CleanTechnica. To read more from CleanTechnica, join over 30,000 others and subscribe to our free RSS feed, follow us on Facebook (also free!), follow us on Twitter, or just visit our homepage (yep, free).

Editor’s Note: Volvo and the city of Gothenburg in Sweden, as well as several other partners, are developing a pretty wicked electric bus and renewable energy initiative. Check it out in this EV Obsession repost:

Buses that are silent, energy efficient, and don’t release exhaust — sounds good, doesn’t it? Just such a bus service is now in development in the Swedish city of Gothenburg — it’s currently set to launch in 2015. The new “ultramodern” bus service will be entirely electric and powered entirely by renewable energy sources.

Image Credit: Volvo/ElectriCity

The project — ElectriCity — is the result of a partnership between the Volvo Group, the Swedish Energy Agency, the City of Gothenburg, Västtrafik, Lindholmen Science Park, and Johanneberg Science Park. Volvo will provide the new electric buses, which will be accompanied by trial runs of new types of bus stops, improved traffic routing systems, and improved energy supply systems.

“Like something out of a vision of the future, but which is already a reality here and now, buses powered entirely by electricity from renewable sources will become a part of Gothenburg’s public-transport system. The buses will be extremely fuel-efficient, silent and completely emissions-free. Passengers onboard will have access to new technologies and at least one of the bus stops will be located indoors.”

“This represents an entirely new mode of travel and will allow for the public-transport system to contribute to a more pleasant urban environment. A silent and emissions-free public-transport system will enable the inclusion of locations in the city that are currently off limits. It is immensely satisfying to be able to launch this in our hometown, in cooperation with Region Västra Götaland and the City of Gothenburg,” states Olof Persson, President and CEO of Volvo.

“The electric bus service entails a new mode of public-transport system usage, which is highly positive for Gothenburg. It will highlight Gothenburg as a progressive city in terms of city planning. This is also in line with our prioritized objective of having Gothenburg reduce its climate impact to become a climate-neutral city, and of increasing sustainable travel,” says Anneli Hulthén (Social Democrat), Chairman of the Municipal Board.

The project will likely clear the way for similar programs throughout the rest of the Västra Götaland region of Sweden. And hopefully elsewhere in the world. The city that I live in could certainly do with some electric buses… would be a big improvement over breathing diesel exhaust.

ElectriCity — Ultramodern Electric Bus Service Launching In Gothenburg In 2015 was originally published on: CleanTechnica. To read more from CleanTechnica, join over 30,000 others and subscribe to our free RSS feed, follow us on Facebook (also free!), follow us on Twitter, or just visit our homepage (yep, free).

India and the US-based National Space Society have finally announced the launch of a space-based solar power initiative that plans to market the idea of economically (and certainly technically) viable space-based solar power infrastructure to government leaders around the world.

Credit: NASA | Public Domain

India’s renowned space and missile technology expert, and former Indian President, Dr APJ Adbul Kalam and the NSS started discussions on this out-of-the-world venture in November 2010 just before President Obama’s maiden visit to India.

These discussions were prompted by a study by the Institute of Defense Studies and Analyses, an Indian Defense Ministry think tank. The study was conducted by Peter Garretson, a US Air Force lieutenant colonel. Gerrestson urged the Indian and American governments to work together to make space-based solar power generation a commercially viable business by 2025.

Gerrestson was able to propose such an ambitious plan only after the US administration lifted technology sharing restrictions from Indian agencies like the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). The study proposed three stages for the implementation of the space-based solar program.

Expanding on the three-stage plan, Garretson says an initial five-year $10-30 million programme will develop contributing technologies and build a competent work force culminating in a roadmap for a demonstration prototype.

A second, $10 billion, 10-year phase will see the formation of an international consortium to construct a sub-scale space solar power system that can directly be scaled up by industry. The final stage will entail India-US leadership to set up an international for-profit consortium along the lines of the INTELSAT model to address energy security and carbon mitigation concerns.

This partnership between India and the US is significant for several reasons: they are among the top five greenhouse house emitters in the world; they are among the largest solar energy markets in the world; and they are among the handful of nations with proven space technology and active space programs. Other countries, organisations, and research institutes are working on similar programs with a goal to get governments around the world to work towards a massive space-based solar power network.

If the NSS manages to convince the G8/G20 nations to devote financial and technological resources for this ambitious program it could work wonders for the energy sector, help create hundreds of thousands of jobs across the world and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

National Space Society Will Pitch Space-based Solar Power To G8 Nations was originally published on: CleanTechnica. To read more from CleanTechnica, join over 30,000 others and subscribe to our free RSS feed, follow us on Facebook (also free!), follow us on Twitter, or just visit our homepage (yep, free).

In partnership with the INCAE Business School, the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN), and the Energy and Environment Partnership with Central America (EEP), the Worldwatch Institute has published a “roadmap of roadmaps” for renewable energy in Central America. Check out the news below.

Washington, D.C.—Nearly 22 percent of the world’s electricity is now supplied by renewable energy, and Central America is part of this global transition. The region is a worldwide leader in hydropower and geothermal energy, and most Central American countries are developing wind power projects. Yet the region is far from harvesting its enormous renewable energy resources to their fullest potentials, according to a new report from the Worldwatch Institute, The Way Forward for Renewable Energy in Central America.

“Central America is at a crossroads,” said Alexander Ochs, Director of Climate and Energy at Worldwatch and a co-author of the study. “As the economies of Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama expand, regional use of fossil fuels is growing quickly, while the use of traditional fuelwood, primarily for cooking, remains unsustainably high. These developments come with significant health, societal, and economic costs, including rising greenhouse gas emissions and worsening air and water pollution. Central America has the potential to meet 100 percent of its electricity needs with sustainable renewable energy, but the proper policies and measures need to be put in place now.”

The report assesses the status of renewable energy technologies in Central America and analyzes the conditions for their advancement in the future. It identifies important knowledge and information gaps, evaluates key finance and policy barriers, and makes suggestions for how to overcome both. The study serves as a “roadmap of a roadmap,” scoping the improvements needed to facilitate the transition to a sustainable energy system and establishing the necessary methodology and groundwork for comprehensive regional and national energy strategies.

“Central American countries have issued ambitious policy statements that express political will for the further advancement of renewables, and some of them have made significant progress. However, there is much room for improvement to reach the region´s full potential,” said Ana María Majano, Associate Director of INCAE Business School’s Latin American Center for Competitiveness and Sustainable Development (CLACDS) and a co-author of the study. “In many cases, countries lack binding long-term goals and a coherent development strategy to reach them. Concrete policy instruments are often missing or not working properly, and administrative ineffectiveness sometimes impedes full implementation.”

The report focuses on four “high-impact” areas for transitioning Central America’s energy systems:

Expanding access to sustainable energy in underserved communities through distributed renewable energy.

Across Central America, an estimated 7 million people have limited or no access to electricity services. Because many live in remote areas far from electricity grids, it is unlikely that centralized power systems will ever reach them, according to the report.

Slowing the region’s rapidly rising fossil fuel use for centralized power generation. 

Despite new investments in large-scale, grid-tied renewables-such as geothermal, biomass, wind, and solar-many Central American countries have plans to increase imports of oil, coal, and natural gas. “What is evident from our research is that the region pays an enormous socioeconomic price for its reliance on fuelwood and imported fossil fuels,” said Adam Dolezal, Worldwatch’s Central America Project Manager. “By integrating key externalities such as health and pollution costs, as well as lost economic opportunities such as job creation, into the costs of various energy technologies, the competitive advantage of clean energy solutions becomes even clearer.”

Addressing more aggressively the unsustainable use of fuelwood for cooking.

Traditional biomass, especially fuelwood for cooking, continues to account for more than a third of the region’s energy consumption. Several countries in the region are seeking to establish or expand production of biofuels for transportation. Alternative sources of biomass as well as better harvesting and consumption practices are one step; renewable energy technologies are another.

Tackling the region’s rapidly rising energy use for transportation, a sector that in some countries already contributes the highest share of carbon dioxide emissions.

The report notes that although Central American governments are undertaking measures to slow energy consumption and diversify fuels in the transportation sector, these efforts need to be scaled up enormously if climate and development goals are to be met.

The Way Forward for Renewable Energy in Central America draws on the latest available data to offer the most comprehensive study of renewable energy in Central America to date, providing key recommendations for moving forward and highlighting important knowledge gaps and action steps in the areas of technology, socioeconomics, finance, and policy. The report is the culmination of the first phase of Worldwatch’s Central America Sustainable Energy Initiative, launched in partnership with CLACDS, based in Costa Rica and Nicaragua, with funding from the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) and the Energy and Environment Partnership with Central America (EEP).

Renewable Energy Roadmap For Central America — Time To Develop One was originally published on: CleanTechnica. To read more from CleanTechnica, join over 30,000 others and subscribe to our free RSS feed, follow us on Facebook (also free!), follow us on Twitter, or just visit our homepage (yep, free).

Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg, the founders of Solar Impulse have successfully arrived in our nation’s capital with their solar-powered airplane. The welcoming community waiting on the tarmac when they landed gave them a flag. Bertrand and André have given a Clean Generation flag to each community in which they landed that was a scheduled stopover. This banner from the Washington DC community was a lovely reciprocal greeting. Today, the two founders of this highly successful and well received solar aircraft were presented the highest award the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) presents. US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz and Swiss Ambassador Manuel Sager were in attendance for the award ceremony. Details follow in the press release from SEIA.

Across America 2013, 4th leg Lambert St. Louis to Washington Dulles, Solar Impulse takes off from Cincinnati Lunken Airport 2013.06.15 | © Solar Impulse | Revillard | Rezo.ch

WASHINGTON, DC – In recognition of the first ever intercontinental flight by a solar-powered airplane – as well as its historic flight across the United States – the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) presented its 2013 Innovators-of-the-Year Award to Dr. Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg, co-founders and co-pilots of Solar Impulse.

The presentation was made today during a press conference at the National Air and Space Museum at Dulles Airport, which was attended by US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz and Swiss Ambassador Manuel Sager.

Solar Impulse arrived in the nation’s capital following a highly-publicized journey across the United States. Considered the most advanced solar aircraft in the world, Solar Impulse is the first airplane ever to fly day and night without fuel or polluting emissions. With its 12,000 silicon solar cells – designed, developed and manufactured by SEIA member SunPower of San Jose, CA – Solar Impulse is also equipped with state-of-the-art batteries that store power, allowing it to fly around-the-clock – something which has never been done before. In 2015, Solar Impulse will try to become the first solar plane to fly around the world.

Across America 2013, 4th leg Lambert St. Louis to Washington Dulle, André Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard greeting the public after Solar Impulse landing at Washington Dulles Airport 2013.06.16 | © Solar Impulse | Revillard | Rezo.ch

In presenting the 2013 Innovators-of-the-Year Award, SEIA President & CEO Rhone Resch told the winners, “Someone once said: ‘Your vocation in life is where your greatest joy meets the world’s greatest need.’ Without question, Dr. Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borshberg are living proof of that. Today, we are here to congratulate these two great adventurers in making both solar and aviation history. They are deserving winners of SEIA’s top innovation award for 2013.”

Dr. Piccard and Borschberg said they were honored to receive SEIA’s top innovation award, adding: “If we can make a solar airplane fly day and night without fuel, can you imagine how many other incredible things we could do in this world with solar energy?”

Today, solar is one of the fastest-growing industries in the United States, providing good-paying jobs for nearly 120,000 Americans at more than 5,600 companies, many of them small businesses. There is now more than 8,500 MW of cumulative solar electric capacity in the United States – enough to power 1.3 million American homes.  What’s more, in the first quarter of this year, solar accounted for 48 percent of all new electric capacity installed in the US.

About SEIA®:

Established in 1974, the Solar Energy Industries Association® is the national trade association of the US solar energy industry. Through advocacy and education, SEIA and its 1,000 member companies are building a strong solar industry to power America. As the voice of the industry, SEIA works to make solar a mainstream and significant energy source by expanding markets, removing market barriers, strengthening the industry and educating the public on the benefits of solar energy. www.seia.org

Author’s Note: Bertrand and André are thrilled to be in Washington DC with their prototype aircraft, which has exceeded their wildest expectations. From here, they will fly to New York to complete their Across America 2013 mission. André will pilot the solar plane for the last time on this final leg of their historic journey. The flight to Washington DC was Bertrand’s last flight in the cockpit of HB-SIA. Their next adventure is planned for 2015 when they launch the mission to become the first solar-powered airplane to circumnavigate the globe. We wish them well; God Speed and we’ll miss the excitement of their breathtakingly beautiful flights!

Solar Impulse Lands In DC, Solar Impulse Founders Presented Top Innovation SEIA Award was originally published on: CleanTechnica. To read more from CleanTechnica, join over 30,000 others and subscribe to our free RSS feed, follow us on Facebook (also free!), follow us on Twitter, or just visit our homepage (yep, free).

Editor’s Note: Yes, 3 GW (3,000 MW)! Yingli has apparently landed some huge solar power projects in China. Here are a few more details from this Solar Love repost:

3 GW of new solar photovoltaic power plants are now in the works in the Yunnan province of Southern China — thanks to an agreement between solar manufacturing giant Yingli, the Qujing city government, and the Honghe state government.

Solar power plant using Yingli solar modules.
Image Credit: Yingli Solar

During the recent announcement of the project, Yingli noted that the region possesses excellent potential for solar energy development. The company also noted that the region’s policies are helping to keep Yingli’s development and growth strong.

As per the new agreement — Yingli Solar will develop a full 3 GW of solar PV power plants by the year 2016. The project is especially geared towards advancing the agriculture industry of the region. The solar power plants are going to preferentially be developed in lands in agricultural areas that are too barren or hilly for much agricultural activity.

Further growth sounds good, and as of now it does look likely. Yingli Solar (aka Yingli Green Energy) has already grown quite a bit during the last couple of years. It is now the largest solar company in the world with regards to annual solar panel manufacturing, passing up Suntech in 2012. With projects like these noted above, the company shouldn’t have too much trouble retaining its top spot.

3 GW Of New Solar Photovoltaic Plants Being Developed In China By Yingli was originally published on: CleanTechnica. To read more from CleanTechnica, join over 30,000 others and subscribe to our free RSS feed, follow us on Facebook (also free!), follow us on Twitter, or just visit our homepage (yep, free).

Zero Motorcycles has developed a stealth motorcycle for the US Special Forces, touting its silence, acceleration, swappable battery, minimal heat signature, and ability to operate in deep water.

2013 Zero MMX Military Motorcycle.
Image Credit: Zero Motorcycles

Here are some of the vehicle’s key features:

• Specialized military dash for quick and centralized mainline controls.
• Keyless ignition engaged with dash toggle for quicker departure.
• Modular and quick-swappable power packs.
• Wet operational abilities in up to one meter submersion.
• Switchable headlight for night-time stealth.
• Integrated wiring to accommodate quick installation of front and rear infrared systems.
• Safety override and reserve power capabilities to extend range during extreme situations.
• Aggressive foot pegs and hand guards for optimal control.
• Tie down eyelets with integrated tow cable and rear seat strap.

I replied regarding the importance of heat signature. Since electric motors can technically operate at very low temperatures (even cool to the touch, depending on the design), they cause a very minor heat signature (unlike ICE vehicles).

Apart from that, these comments brought some thoughts to mind:

Motorcycle engines themselves are noisy, even if their exhaust systems are completely silent, and they generate so much heat that they would literally glow to infrared cameras.

His range argument is important. However, this is a reason to develop an extended range electric motorcycle. It can still operate silently in electric mode, and then switch on a gasoline engine to either recharge it or propel it whenever necessary. But I think the US Special Forces knows what it’s doing and will be using these for purposes that don’t require such long range.

These new US Special Forces motorcycles are built on Zero’s 2013 MX platform. They utilize the CHAdeMO charging standard.

More details can be found in the Zero Motorcycles news release.

Zero MMX Builds Stealth Motorcycle For US Special Forces was originally published on: CleanTechnica. To read more from CleanTechnica, join over 30,000 others and subscribe to our free RSS feed, follow us on Facebook (also free!), follow us on Twitter, or just visit our homepage (yep, free).

I’ve recently stumbled upon a number of articles by the Breakthrough Institute (BTI) that aimed at discrediting renewable energy on the one hand and on the other preaching about nuclear energy as the solution for the global energy crisis of the 21^st century. With their hearts and minds pre-set on pushing their narrative, that some kind of a nuclear salvation is being held back by leftish environmentalists (sinister!), the so called German “Energiewende” (Energy Transition) has apparently become a regular target of the Breakthrough Institute staff’s publications.

Public displays of ignorance and misrepresentation of facts are neither new nor rare when commentators try to discredit the feasibility of a shift to a renewable energy supply. This most regulary includes unscientific pandering to conventional wisdom. In the case of the Breakthrough Institute’s recent articles on Germany and solar energy, all of the above are certainly the case.

The Straw Men Army

As I mentioned at the top, I am writing this because I’ve recently stumbled upon a couple of Breakthrough Institute articles — I wasn’t too familiar with the “Breakthrough Institute” before that. In the middle of May, the Breakthrough Institute (BTI) published an article comparing the alleged costs of what its analysts call “the German solar program” and the costs of a Finnish nuclear project currently under construction and which is plagued by cost overruns. A couple of weeks later, Michael Shellenberger (BTI President) & Ted Nordhaus (BTI Chairman) published an article defending the previous article against unspecified criticism and making a couple of incredibly silly claims in the process.

Reason I wrote this post.

So here’s a roundup of a few straw men, dubious connections, distortions, and stuff that’s plain and simply silly.

#1 – Irrelevant “Cost” Comparison

Comparing the alleged gross-price tag of Germany’s solar policy with a Finnish nuclear project might seem like a very clever thing to do, but in reality it’s simply silly. The comparison suggests a non-existent equality in circumstances, goals, and preconditions that simply isn’t there.

What I am trying to say is, that if you want to judge two policies or projects, you should judge them foremost by their goals and motivations, not by an unrelated number game.

The motivation and the goals of Germany’s unprecedented solar policy are neither a secret nor hard to research (EEG 2004, Article 1). For decades, the main problem of solar had been identified as it being too expensive to deploy. But, at the same time, only deployment and mass production would lead to significant cost reductions. To overcome this barrier, the German parliament adapted the Feed-in-Tariff (FiT) in 2004 to incentivize the installation of solar PV systems, thus creating the first uncapped mass market for solar power. It was the goal to reduce the technology’s cost through deployment, innovation, and market forces within the solar industry. The plan has succeeded a lot faster than anticipated and the cost of PV is expected to decline by at least another 50% by 2020.

The developement of feed-in-tariff rates for solar power (actual production costs / kWh are abit lower).

In contrast, the goal of the Finnish nuclear power plant had been to have a fully operational 1.6 GW Generation III+ nuclear reactor by 2009 for $4.2 billion. Since the decision for the new nuclear plant was made in 2000, that would have been 5 years of planing and permitting and 4 years of construction. Since the current estimate is that it might enter commercial operation in 2015 — 10 years after construction began — and at a price of approximately $11.1 billion, it can with no doubt be considered a massive failure.

Everyone can judge for themselves what they want to think about the two political projects.

• On one side, a German policy that may have come with a price tag to consumers, but has successfully triggered the global commercialization and industrialization of an energy technology that sat dormant for far too long. (In addition, Germany’s solar industry — far more than solar cell manufacturing — still provides 100,000 high-paying jobs and is registering more patents than ever before.)
• On the other side, the newest commercial product of the veteran nuclear industry failing miserably at delivering what it promised.

But there’s no arguing about the outcome. In most places around the world (including Germany), installing solar technology onsite can now lower the bill for households, businesses, and even industries. It takes only a few weeks/months from making the investment decision to producing a relatively certain monthly amount of peak-load power.

For any new nuclear power project, there is no such certainty nor is there a similar market-driven investment incentive at the horizon — even after almost 60 years of commercial nuclear power. (This is all something the BTI didn’t care to mention.)

I won’t delve into how nuclear and solar operate in different technological and economic paradigms at this point, but it should be obvious to everyone that neither solar panels nor a nuclear reactor represent a complete energy system. 

#2 – A Dubious Source as the Main Witness

[Questionable Motives]

I was not surprised to find the “100 Billion Euro disaster” paper written by Dr. Frondel of the RWI at the heart of the the first BTI story. What’s amusing is the naïve sort of “a German wrote it, it must be true!” attitude that is rather prevalent in many articles/comments that quote his work. Rarely does any journalist follow the money or intentions, nor does the American press care about the criticism of Dr. Frondels’ work.

In reality, Dr. Frondels’ analysis is nothing more than a simple calculation of a price tag. He then chooses to equate the price tag with macroeconomic costs, by overly simplifying and ignoring the complexity of the economic reality. Basically, the study was written to give lazy journalists easy-to-copy-&-paste headlines and snippets in order to attack solar energy (which is controversial, of course, which brings in readers and makes the journalists look “critical” and “smart”).

Undoubtedly, those economic interests that have commissioned the RWI study and fund the work of people like Dr.Frondel are very pleased to see the BTI making such “good” and uncritical use of their investments.

I’ve created this little infrographic below to illustrate some background information on the history of Dr. Frondels’ study and other somewhat related information. See what you can find.

To give you an even better understanding of the general nature of Dr. Frondels’ work in recent years, I would just like to refer you to the RWI’s publication called “Positionen Nr. 45” from April 2011. The title of this particular RWI paper was, “The Cost Of Climate Protection – A Look At Electricity Prices.” In it, Dr. Frondel comes to the surprising (Who pays the piper, calls the tune) conclusion that German household electricity prices in 2011 could have remained at their 1998 levels if it wasn’t for all that nasty climate action!

I personally find it fascinating how the BTI chooses to utilize Dr. Frondels’ work to discredit renewable energy and attack people like Bill McKibben, while at the very same time, the whole Keystone XL decision is an increasingly important issue in the US.

Well, whatever reasons the BTI may have for its recent urge to make renewables look bad, it did choose not to mention the dubious connections of its main source on the alleged economics of Germany’s renewable energy policy. Its reasoning for withholding this relevant background information is obvious though: A study comissioned by the American Oil & Gas industry, written by a guy who is involved with a German version of the Heartland Institute simply isn’t a very convincing main witness when you are try to make a simplistic case against renewables in favor of nuclear energy.

#3 – The Emissions Blame Game

The good folks at the BTI love to foster the myth that less nuclear must lead to higher emissions, and that Germany’s decision to phase out nuclear will kill the climate. Unfortunately, there is no denying the fact that emissions did in fact rise in 2012.

However, not mentioning the colder-than-usual winter (including the related French electricity crisis in February 2012) and the increase of coal-powered electricity exports due to the collapse of the European emissions trading system is a willful choice.

For the record, with 317 Mio tons of CO2, the 2012 emissions from electricity generation are still well below the 5-year pre-recession average (2003-2007) of 330 Mio tons. If you consider that the German economy made a strong comeback after the global recession in 2009, with record-breaking employment and export levels, this becomes even more significant (i.e. energy productivity increased).

In fact, 2012 emissions per kWh were almost 10% lower compared to 2002, which was the year with the highest nuclear output in Germany. More info on total GHG emissions (not only the 30% caused by electricity generation) is included below.

#4 – Renewables have had no impact!

[Clown Territory Loss of Reality Disorder(?) / Pandering to conventional wisdom]

In their opinion piece titled “No Solar Way Around It,” Shellenberger and Nordhaus get carried away and make the following remark:

“In reality, there’s little evidence that renewables have supplanted — rather than supplemented — fossil fuel production anywhere in the world. Whatever their merits as innovation policy, Germany’s enormous solar investments have had little discernible impact on carbon emissions.” – No Solar Way Around It, BTI

This statement is a showcase example of the the smartass microcosm the BTI president has chosen to populate with his fact-free wisdom. I don’t know what he was trying to say, but the only thing he could have hoped to accomplish is to reinforce anti-renewable mythology. By doing so, he obviously disqualified himself as a reasonable member of the energy debate. But I am hopeful that he’ll correct his claim….

Here are the facts, plain and simple, for you to judge:

Impact of Renewable Energy on the Energy Supply and GHG-Emissions. Source: UBA, AGEB, BMWi

During the first 12 years of this century, the final energy supplied by renewable energy sources has more than tripled. Final energy is what is left of primary energy after conversion and transmission losses. At the same time, efficiency increases have reduced the overall final energy demand, despite a growing economy. Both developments did not only compensate for the decline of the marginal nuclear contribution, but they also supplanted about 9.3% fossil fuel final energy consumption since the year 2000.

The Decline of Fossil Energy. Source: AGEB

Fossil primary energy consumption (energy content of the fuel input of a countries energy system) declined by 11.5% since 2000 and by 18%  since 1990. Which in turn explains the decline of greenhouse gas emissions by 10.5% over the same period and a decline of 25.5% compared to 1990.

It’s important to keep in mind that the German “Energiewende” (energy policy portfolio) is about improving energy efficiency (since the late 1970s) and increasing the share of renewable energy sources (proactively since 2000) at the same time. While the growth of renewables in the electricity sector gets a lot of attention, it’s by no means the only aspect of the “Energiewende”.

Considering this and the facts mentioned before, it’s only fair to notice that the “Energiewende” has accomplished significantly more during just the last 12 years, than the quite substantial nuclear program did since its inception.

These small details (easy-to-access facts) are a good transition to my next and final point in this post.

#5 – The Germans don’t know what they are doing!

“What that means is that if Germany doubled the amount of solar, as it intends to do, there might be a few hours or even days every year where the country gets 100 percent of its electricity from solar, even though solar only provides 10 percent of its annual electricity needs.

What happens beyond that is anyone’s guess. Some say Germany could sell its power to other countries, but this would mean other countries couldn’t move to solar since Germany would provide electricity at the same hours it would seek to unload it on their neighbors.” — No Solar Way Around It, BTI

Suggesting that the German long-term energy strategy is somewhat irrational is a very common thread of most BTI attacks on the “German Energiewende.” They want you to believe that Germany – the fourth largest economy of the world and the country that is excessively proud of its engineering art and long history of industrial innovation — is wandering into some kind of fantasy land. In my opinion, this claim alone should make even uninformed readers pause and question what the BTI is suggesting.

Unfortunately, the BTI is probably somewhat successful in reinforcing conventional wisdom on renewable energy and its “green hippies are naïve” narrative, simply because most people usually don’t get quality information about these rather complex issues. This tilts the game in favour of people voicing simplistic messages (e.g. if you care about climate change => go nuclear!).

The BTI might also be successful in confusing the public because it works so hard to misrepresent Germany’s energy strategy (one of the world’s leading positive examples of strong renewable energy policy), arguing almost exclusively against its little straw men army instead of discussing reality. Is it doing so out of ignorance or because reality is infringing on its late 1980s-style nuclear-salvation narrative? I don’t know.

What I do know is that it spends a lot of time, energy, and money suggesting that Germany’s game plan is to simply go solar (with a little wind added in) or that Germany hasn’t run the numbers.

Obviously all those German scientists and engineers, policy leaders, and business leaders didn’t check the numbers, because they didn’t come to the conclusion that there has to be a nuclear component. It can’t be what must not be!

So what’s the takeaway from all this?

In my opinion it’s very simple. Unless you choose to believe all the comfortable conventional wisdom that comes along, you don’t have to be a Raketenwissenschaftler to notice that the Breakthrough Institute is producing a lot of hot air. If you come to that conclusion, the next legitimate question should be to consider its motives. Why has it chosen to walk down a partisan disinformation alley?

My Humble Opinion

I strongly believe that an informed public is crucial for confronting the global energy crisis so I am obviously kind of disgusted by narrow-minded messages of ignorance being delivered as if they were wisdom from enlightenment. Still, I can not help finding the BTI’s attempts to discredit Germany’s energy vision as quite amusing and at the same time intriguing (more on that at the end).

Why amusing, you wonder?

While there are definatly worse anti-renewable advocates in the US, addressing some of the BTI’s claims gives me the opportunity to relive some of the more ridiculous energy debates that happened 10-40 years ago in my country. In Germany, I can only read and ask people about how previous generations struggled to overcome certain mental barriers. However, due to the internet and the rather asynchronous state of the energy debate globally, I can now experience those struggles firsthand — which is exciting!

Nationwide print campaign by the German power industry back in 1993

Don’t get me wrong, there is still a lot of anti-renewable and anti-Energiewende advocacy going on in Germany, but it has gotten a lot more sophisticated and insidious in recent years due to an overwhelming pro-renewable public opinion.

In Germany, the goal of anti-renewable advocates has long been to suppress the rise of ambitions within the civil society. There are significant vested interests that profit from the status quo, so they fear any challenge of the current structure of the energy industry. De-activating society by feeding it no-future scenarios or by telling it that meaningful action requires technological breakthroughs that are decades away are just two of the common themes. Pretty standard anti-enlightenment stuff. 

In my opinon, the BTI tries to apply the above-mentioned tactics. There is no way for me to prove that opinion or know what the BTI’s intentions or motivations truly are. Perhaps its staff members just sing and dance to the “Status Quo” crowd’s song out of pure personal convictions. What I do know is that they are currently very obviously promoting their upcoming overly emotional pro-nuclear “documentary” Pandora’s Promise. This in mind, I can understand their desire to shoot in all directions, desperately trying to stir up a debate* and get as much attention for their message as possible. (*damn it! it worked on me…)

I can understand it from a PR point of view. Though, I think they are shooting themselves in the feet in the process by attacking renewable energy deployment increasingly often.

A Brave New World

In any case, the Breakthrough Institute is one of America’s first more prominent organizations exercising phase 3 of anti-renewable advocacy designed to discourage those who have realized that there is an alternative, but who are not yet convinced that a rapid transition to renewable energy is feasable or how it might work.

The surprisingly large amount of media coverage which the BTI enjoys — compared to so many institutions and people who are actually having an impact around the world — reinforces my belief that the powerful “Status Quo” crowd wants you to hear their message. This is fact is intriguing because it would mean that somebody is starting to get worried about a long-overdue, massive energy democracy spill on US soil.

Typical phases of resistance to renewable energy, as descriped by Dr. Herman Scheer are as follows:

• Phase 1 – Belittle & Deny the Renewable Energy Option
• Phase 2 – Denounce & Mobilize Against the Renewable Energy Option
• Phase 3 - Spread Doubt & Misrepresent the Challenges in the Disguise of General Support

(Note: reaching Phase 3 doesn’t mean that Phase 1 & 2 will disappear.)

Today, basically every assault on the transition to renewable energy in Germany comes in the disguise of general support. Whether it’s the current German federal government trying to discourage renewable energy investments or the conventional energy industry that builds coal power stations rendered unprofitable by the rise of renewable community power — everyone is officially 120% in favor of the “Energiewende“.

The common use of such phase 3 tactics by the “Pro–Status Quo” crowd is also the reason why many international analysts and journalists fail miserably at understanding the current developments over here. There is a naïve tunnel vision when it comes to looking at the actual front lines of the German energy debate.

This lack of quality by international commentators is also the reason why partisan criticism by people like Dr. Frondel of the RWI and INSM is so often quoted throughout the international press, while all those numerous other German experts promoting the energy transition are hardly ever heard of — despite the fact that they have obviously shaped the country’s policy.

“Clearly we will win, because we got the better arguments. We are on the right track, the Energiewende is a successful model. We have created great markets, we are leading the world in energy efficency.” – Prof. Dr. Claudia Kemfert, Head of the Energy Department at the German Institute for Economic Research, during a TV debate in reply to the question “Who will win this “battle” of pro & con arguments — the US (shale gas) or us (German Energiewende)?”

The Breakthrough Institute – Why The Hot Air? was originally published on: CleanTechnica. To read more from CleanTechnica, join over 30,000 others and subscribe to our free RSS feed, follow us on Facebook (also free!), follow us on Twitter, or just visit our homepage (yep, free).