Secure Futures Solar

Pollution and Noise Free Energy

Lorna Saunders — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 22:21:39 +0000

Every hour the sun beams onto Earth more than enough energy to satisfy global energy needs for an entire year. Solar energy is the technology used to harness the sun’s energy and make it useable. Today, the technology produces less than one tenth of one percent of global energy demand.
Many people are familiar with so-called photovoltaic cells, or solar panels, found on things like spacecraft, rooftops, and handheld calculators. The cells are made of semiconductor materials like those found in computer chips. When sunlight hits the cells, it knocks electrons loose from their atoms. As the electrons flow through the cell, they generate electricity.
On a much larger scale, solar thermal power plants employ various techniques to concentrate the sun’s energy as a heat source. The heat is then used to boil water to drive a steam turbine that generates electricity in much the same fashion as coal and nuclear power plants, supplying electricity for thousands of people.
In one technique, long troughs of U-shaped mirrors focus sunlight on a pipe of oil that runs through the middle. The hot oil then boils water for electricity generation. Another technique uses moveable mirrors to focus the sun’s rays on a collector tower, where a receiver sits. Molten salt flowing through the receiver is heated to run a generator.
Other solar technologies are passive. For example, big windows placed on the sunny side of a building allow sunlight to heat-absorbent materials on the floor and walls. These surfaces then release the heat at night to keep the building warm. Similarly, absorbent plates on a roof can heat liquid in tubes that supply a house with hot water.
Solar energy is lauded as an inexhaustible fuel source that is pollution and often noise free. The technology is also versatile. For example, solar cells generate energy for far-out places like satellites in Earth orbit and cabins deep in the Rocky Mountains as easily as they can power downtown buildings and futuristic cars.

PV Pricing

Lorna Saunders — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 14:39:02 +0000

In recent years, the global price of PV modules has undergone a rapid and sustained period of decline. In light of scaled back policy in key markets and recent bankruptcy announcements, the questions remain: How exactly is Chinese PV module pricing affecting the European market? And how best should European governments and solar companies react?
The general consensus among many industry observers is that the ongoing decline in global PV module prices is largely driven by a combination of oversupply and growing production overcapacities, coupled with ongoing cost reduction as a result of technological progress and innovation. According to some, there is no question that this trend has emerged as a direct result of the seemingly unstoppable rise of Chinese PV module manufacturers.
What is less clear is the extent to which this rise is fuelled by Chinese government subsidies. European PV manufacturers, developers and installers are watching the case very carefully. Some observers point out that investment into PV capacity has historically been a global phenomenon, with all manufacturers having to follow downward price pressures to maintain market-share.

Solar Homes

Lorna Saunders — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 00:29:26 +0000

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon is a high-profile international competition in which 20 collegiate teams design, build and showcase solar-powered houses. Since the inaugural competition in 2002, each event has expanded the knowledge of solar living worldwide, through innovative and breathtaking designs.
Homes are designed to be a fully functional yet practical net-zero-energy home for a typical homeowner. They feature commercially available, high-efficiency systems and sustainable design, without sacrificing modern comforts and amenities. An open floor plan creates a large, comfortable and inviting space.
Only seven houses in the competition reached net-zero, which was accomplished with help from an 8.6-kilowatt SunPower photovoltaic array. The homes also featured mechanical systems that performed exceptionally well in the humid Washington, D.C., weather. The homes will be monitored to support ongoing research into the long-term performance of cost-effective net-zero-energy homes.

Japan’s Solar Energy

Lorna Saunders — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 22:41:14 +0000

Solar energy is gaining momentum in Japan, where the solar market is experiencing a period of rapid growth. Japan has long been interested in alternative energy because of its economic and environmental implications. The country is home to one of the most ambitious and powerful hydrogen energy systems and has been using geothermal energy for decades.
In 2009, Japan sought to revitalize a subsidy program to boost the residential solar power industry. Support for alternative energy has been booming throughout the country. Much of this support was sparked by the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear crisis of March 2011. The Japanese government chose to pursue alternatives to nuclear power in light of the catatstrophe, which threatened the health and safety of millions of Japanese citizens. Since that time, much of the government’s focus in terms of energy has been concentrated on hydrogen, geothermal and solar power. The government is looking to make solar power even more viable and attractive to citizens by revamping its feed-in tariff program.
The new feed-in tariff plan is scheduled to take effect July 1, 2012. According to the plan, the Japanese government will not only buy excess energy generated through renewable means, but all energy from solar installations that exceeds a 10 kilowatt standard.

Solar Panel Industry in China

Lorna Saunders — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 20:12:19 +0000

China’s solar panel industry has become the world’s biggest thanks to a simple formula; Produce in China, sell in Europe. Benefiting from generous financial backing at home, which the U.S. Department of Energy says amounted to $30 billion in state support in 2010, Chinese manufacturers have spent years boosting capacity. Since the domestic market for buying and installing solar power systems was small, the Chinese focused on exports, especially to Germany and other European countries where subsidies helped fuel demand for panels.
Given Europe’s debt crisis, the Continent is losing its appetite for solar subsidies that benefit China. The U.S. market isn’t promising either. Mainland companies are looking for alternatives as well. The Chinese government has started spending more money to make solar power more affordable.
For years, solar took a back seat to wind as China’s preferred form of renewable energy. Solar was less efficient and cost about four times as much per kilowatt hour of production. As raw materials costs for panels have fallen, that gap has narrowed. Today, producing a kilowatt hour of solar power costs about 17¢ vs. 12¢ for wind, and prices are falling fast.

Distribution Automation

Lorna Saunders — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 23:14:04 +0000

With utilities investing a significant amount of capital into infrastructure, communications, and software for the distribution grid, GTM Research publishes an in-depth analysis on the requirements, technologies and strategies that are ushering in the new age of distribution automation (DA).
Current utility DA upgrades are just beginning to scratch the surface of what will be required to support the proliferation of distributed renewables and electric vehicles. New capacitor banks, voltage regulators, and load tap changers, along with the retrofit of older units with monitoring and control modules to allow for feeder, substation, or system-wide coordination will be crucial for the next-gen grid.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act helped 32 utilities fund $43 million in automated switch purchases from the first quarter of 2009 through the second quarter of 2011. These investments are just the beginning, as GTM Research forecasts the annual DA market in the U.S. to reach roughly $3 billion per year by 2015.

Solar in North Carolina

Lorna Saunders — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 12:18:48 +0000

A new report offers the latest evidence of solar energy-generated electricity’s approach to cost parity with other forms of generation that send power to the grid. The data comes from over 10,000 solar PV system installations in North Carolina from 2006 to 2011 whose owners, per a state regulation, reported installation costs to the Public Utilities Commission.
North Carolina’s installed renewable capacity has expanded significantly since it became the first state in the U.S. Southeast to institute a renewable energy portfolio standard (REPS). System life was assumed to be twenty years, however the typical life is 30 years.
For many of the utilities, the LCOE of solar PV systems over 10 kilowatts (with federal and state tax credits) were at grid parity or cost-competitive with commercial retail electricity prices in North Carolina in 2011. For all North Carolina electric utilities, solar PV systems greater than 500 kilowatts will achieve grid parity or become cost-competitive with commercial retail electricity prices in 2015 (with federal and state tax credits). For all North Carolina electric utilities, solar PV systems from 10 kilowatts to 500 kilowatts will achieve grid parity or become cost-competitive with commercial retail electricity prices in 2018 (with federal and state tax credits). For the majority of North Carolina electric utilities, solar PV systems smaller than 10 kilowatts (rooftop solar) will achieve grid parity or become cost-competitive with residential retail electricity prices in 2020 (with federal and state tax credits). For many electric utilities, solar PV without federal and state tax credits will be at grid parity or cost-competitive with retail electricity prices in North Carolina in 2020.
Many in North Carolina and other Southeastern states where the solar resource is comparable, Quinlan said, are unaware that the LCOE (even with Renewable Energy Credits and tax credits) has come down so far so soon. The Southeastern states could be a massive emerging market.

Harvesting Solar in the Valley by CAAV

tonysmith — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 04:24:03 +0000

Clean Action Alliance of the Valley (CAAV) sponsored Harvesting Solar in the Valley on Feb 28 to a capacity crowd, including a presentation (see link below) on the EMU and W&L University solar projects. On March 27 CAAV will sponsor Green Power in Virginia: Bridges and Barriers 6:00 pm at Massanutten Regional Library in downtown Harrisonburg, featuring Ivy Main, Vice President for Legislative Affairs for the Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club, and Hugh Stoll, Chief Technology Officer of Secure Futures.

Secure Futures solar PV presentation-CAAV 2-28-12 slides

Green Power March press release – March 27 event

Taxpayer Savings Through Solar

Lorna Saunders — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 00:07:27 +0000

On February 28th, 2012 Skyline Innovations LLC and WGL Holdings Inc. announced plans to finance and install solar water heating systems on 11 public housing buildings in the U.S. state of Maryland.

“This clean, reliable system will save funds for the HACA by providing a fixed discount on its utility rate for water heating,” said Skyline Innovations CEO Zach Axelrod.

Savings are being created for taxpayers while helping members of the community who are in need.

Skyline will build the solar water heating systems on the public housing developments Harbor House and Glenwood High-rise in Annapolis, Maryland. The company will also provide monitoring and maintenance services for the plants over the 10-year contract term.

Skyline notes that its sales model is unlike a traditional power purchase agreement since is does not provide electricity at a specific price per unit of energy delivered, but instead provides energy at a fixed 30% discount to utility rates.

In 2011 Maryland extended the eligible technologies in its renewable portfolio standard to solar thermal technologies, which will allow the system to also earn renewable energy credits.

Peak Demand

Lorna Saunders — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 01:52:09 +0000

Peak demand for electricity in the United States typically hits between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m., which doesn’t quite line up with the sun’s schedule. It’s fortunate that the sun is high in the sky during many of the hours when the air conditioning is in demand. But in summer, people tend to need air conditioning during the dinner hour and beyond, when kitchen appliances are whirring, lights are on, and TVs are blaring.
To the rescue comes concentrating solar power (CSP), a technology being tested and deployed by utilities in America’s deserts and southern Spain.
New analysis at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has found that CSP, with its greater grid flexibility and ability to store energy for as long as 15 hours, can enhance total solar power generation and actually give photovoltaic (PV) systems a greater presence on the grid.
PV panels convert photons from the sun directly into electrons for electricity — and are grabbing real estate on rooftops across the Americas, Europe, and Asia.
CSP technologies use mirrors to reflect and concentrate sunlight onto receivers that collect the sun’s heat. This thermal energy can then be used to drive a steam turbine that produces electricity for utilities.
Think of power from PV as a roller coaster of highs and lows, and power from CSP, via thermal energy storage, as a gently rolling train.
PV panels and wind turbines contribute electricity to the grid, but without the ability to store that power, they cannot supply the grid after the sun sets, or after the wind dies. Even passing clouds can cause drops in the amount of solar energy that gets on the grid.
Large fossil-fueled and nuclear power plants can’t be quickly stopped or started to accommodate variable energy sources such as solar and wind energy.
CSP can even out these ebbs and flows because it can store power and ramp up output when the amount of direct wind or solar power drops.