On-Site Renewables

Conergy to build two PV plants in Germany

Wed, 16 May 2012 15:38:00 GMT

Conergy AG (CGYK), a German solar-panel maker, has won orders to develop two solar photovoltaic power plants in the Trier area of Germany.

The Trier municipal utility commissioned Conergy to build a 1.2 MW plant near the A1 highway and a 1MW facility between Trier and Bitburg, the Hamburg-based company said in an e-mailed statement.

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David Miliband MP tours social housing biomass installation

Tue, 15 May 2012 11:02:00 GMT

David Miliband MP, attended the unveiling of the latest installation in South Shields, UK of leading international manufacturer of heating systems, Viessmann.

Viessmann was tasked to revamp the heating for 31 flats which make up Bents Cottages in Mowbray Road, South Shields, reports Propel Technology.

Originally built in the early 1980s, the flats were previously heated by a plant room containing gas boilers as much as thirty years old, as well as an aging control board of limited capabilities.

It is predicted that the various energy improvements installed in the redevelopment will lead to a 90 per cent reduction in the heating system’s CO2emissions, with cost savings of around £12,000 per year, which equates to savings of £384 per property.

With the support of a back-up gas boiler and also with solar thermal panels, a Vitoligno 300-P pellet biomass boiler now provides around 75 per cent of the annual heat load for the buildings, equating to approximately 243,000 kWh per year.

The pellet store is sunk into a geothermal unit underground to maintain the appearance of the residential area. In addition, a solar PV system generates 8,200 kWh electrical energy per year, saving on electricity bills and 4,300 kg of CO2annually.

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Renewables company breaks £6m barrier

Tue, 15 May 2012 10:53:00 GMT

Leading renewable energy company Eco Environments has seen its turnover grow to more than £6m ($9.6m) – compared to £1.3M last year.

The company, which has its head office in Liverpool, has also seen its headcount increase from 12 to 50 during the past 12 months.

A combination of high take up of solar panels by domestic customers and a number of significant commercial contract wins saw the company achieve turnover of £6.4m, exceeding its forecasted revenue expectations.

However, with the Government’s feed-in-tariff incentives being slashed again from July 1, Eco Environments’ plan moving forward is to put greater focus on the commercial side of its business and the wide range of renewable energy technologies offered by the company.

Mike Clarke, Eco Environments’ Managing Director, said: “Solar PV and feed-in-tariffs have dominated the news agenda for the last couple of years, but the focus going forward will be far more about energy efficiency in the face of ever rising energy costs.

“Eco Environments is not a provider of solar panels; it is a business which offers customers the full range of renewable energy solutions of which solar panels happens to be one.”

The company designs, installs and commissions technologies including solar PV, wind turbines, solar thermal, air source heat pumps and energy efficient lighting.

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German solar sector boosted after regions block government

Fri, 11 May 2012 14:27:00 GMT

Germany’s troubled solar energy sector has won some breathing space after the country’s regional government blocked subsidy cut plans tabled by Berlin in the upper house of parliament, leading to hope for solar companies that they might avoid the full force of cuts being proposed.

The FT reports that a majority of states voted to send the bill to an arbitration conference with the lower house, the Bundestag, arguing that big cuts to electricity price guarantees threatened thousands of the sector’s estimated 130,000 employees in Germany.

“We simply can’t accept that Berlin says, ‘the Chinese are cheaper now, so goodbye,’” said Reiner Haseloff, the Christian Democrat state premier of Saxony-Anhalt, adding there would be “a national outcry” if the car sector were so treated.

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government wants to cut subsidies for solar-power installations by up to 30 per cent – backdated to April – to reform a support system that has run haywire and left consumers footing a rising bill for evermore sun-powered generation.

Solar energy last year received 60 per cent of price supports, leaving €6bn to be divided among the five other renewable forms.

The chancellor’s spokesman on Friday stressed that Ms Merkel continued to believe that price guarantee cuts – of between 20 and 40 per cent depending on the size of the solar plant – were the only way to reform the system.

But Merkel’s government may have to compromise now that the states have voted otherwise.

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More progress on Canadian biomass plant

Fri, 11 May 2012 13:53:00 GMT

Novia Scotia Power’s 60 MW biomass plant moved another step closer to completion this week in Canada, with the addition of a steam turbine and generator to the facility.

The $208m biomass cogeneration plant has reached a significant milestone with the arrival of the steam turbine generator that will produce electricity.

On operation the plant will provide enough energy to power about 50,000 homes, reports the Cape Breton Post.

The steam turbine generator was constructed by Mitsubishi Power Systems in Japan.

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On-site renewables to help regenerate London housing estate

Fri, 11 May 2012 13:16:00 GMT

Housing association Peabody has submitted plans for the regeneration of the St John’s Hill Estate, opposite Clapham Junction station in south London, England in an initiative that looks to utilise the best of on-site renewable energy.

Planning Resource Online reports that Peabody said plans for the site include 527 new homes and a new community ‘hub’ that will include a café, club room and crèche; 424 sq m of commercial space; and 13,600 sq m of open space.

Environmental measures would include solar photovoltaic panels and an on-site district heating system and combined heat and power unit.

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New Zealand’s largest solar plant operational

Fri, 11 May 2012 10:51:00 GMT

Engineering company South Auckland Forging Engineering (SAFE), is the owner of New Zealand’s largest solar power plant to date, with the opening of the new facility in the town of Drury.

The solar farm has been developed by Ramarama company. In total, the 68-KW solar farm is expected to meet 70 per cent of the company’s power needs, as well as the electricity needs of 12 houses, through the renewable energy gained from its solar photovoltaic panels. There are additional plans to sell back any power surplus.

The latest initiative is well in line with the New Zealand government’s carbon reduction target, which would see 90 per cent of the country’s electricity generated by renewable means by 2025.

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New innovation for Italian CHP company

Thu, 10 May 2012 11:58:00 GMT

A young Italian company that studies, plans and builds gasification and cogeneration systems has come up with a new innovation in combined heat and power technology.

Future Green has developed a system that can use wood chip with medium-high (< to 40÷50 per cent) moisture content.

These CHP systems find application in all those fields where wood-cellulose wastes can be found and can be profitably used with renewable energy CHP units with short ROI and extremely low maintenance costs.

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New York state’s largest on-site biogas project opens

Thu, 10 May 2012 11:05:00 GMT

New York state’s largest on-farm, co-digestion biogas power plant is set to open this week.

The on-site power facility will generate 1.4 MW of energy, reports Energy Efficiency News.

CH4 Biogas built and operates the plant at a dairy farm southwest of the city of Rochester, and the plant houses a 120,000-gallon co-digester to anaerobically digest local food waste and cow manure from the farm to fuel a GE (NYSE: GE) ecomagination Jenbacher J420 biogas engine.

The combination will generate enough electricity to power nearly 1000 homes and will reduce the dairy farm’s greenhouse gas emissions by around 8500 tons of CO₂ a year.

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Californian jail powered by on-site renewables

Wed, 09 May 2012 16:38:00 GMT

S&C Electric Company, a global leader in smart grid solutions and renewable energy integration, has the completion of an energy storage project at the Santa Rita Jail in California, US.

The new energy storage solution features S&C's PureWave® Storage Management System and helps integrate on-site renewable energy sources and storage at the facility.

The battery storage capabilities enable the jail to purchase power during non-peak hours from the local utility and store the reserves—a process that will end up saving the jail nearly $100,000 dollars per year.

The energy storage system is a key component of the jail's smart microgrid that was engineered and built by Chevron Energy Solutions. The microgrid serves a correctional facility that covers 113 acres and combines solar, wind, and fuel cell energy sources, along with emergency diesel backup, to generate electricity for the facility, which uses 3 MW of electricity daily.

During times when the facility is islanded from the local utility grid, the energy storage system balances the microgrid's load with the total power generated from on-site sources by automatically and instantly storing any energy generated in excess of the load requirements.

The energy storage system also supplies electricity if demand exceeds what the onsite generation sources are generating.

To add the needed energy balancing to the microgrid, S&C provided a 2-MW PureWave® Storage Management System to control the charging and discharging of lithium-ion batteries.

"With the stored energy system, the Santa Rita Jail can use on-site renewable generation to power the facility in the event of a power disruption on the utility grid," says Jim Sember, S&C Vice President—Power Quality Products.

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Carmanah awarded $1.3m rooftop PV contract

Wed, 09 May 2012 15:08:00 GMT

Carmanah Technologies Corporation (TSX: CMH) is working with PowerStream Inc. to provide and install a 300kW solar photovoltaic (PV) system for a community centre in Markham, Ontario, Canada.

The $1.3m (CAD) project will begin installation in May and has a target completion date for July 2012.

PowerStream’s solar division, a leading PV developer in Ontario, has completed several installations through the Ontario Power Authority’s Feed-In Tariff (FIT) program.

Leveraging their experience in custom rooftop systems and partnerships with sophisticated technology providers, Carmanah’s engineering team collaborated with Schletter Canada Inc. to propose an innovative design for the building’s requirements.

Carmanah and Schletter adapted a standard racking product that would minimize the necessity for physically anchoring the solar generating array, allowing for the bulk
of the system to be ballasted.

The system also features Heliene PV modules, selected again for their high performance and successful installation on last year’s Thornhill project.

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Haiti agrees on $250m waste to energy power plant

Tue, 08 May 2012 11:17:00 GMT

The Haitian Government has signed a $250m partnership agreement with the "International Electric Power Company"for the construction of a 30 MW waste to energy plant in the capital city of Port - au-Prince to power the city and its environs.

Karl Jean Louis Director of Centre for Facilitation of investments (CFI) explained, "we have an investor who wants to invest in this sector; it is the Phoenix project. They have signed a contract with the Government of Haiti and the project will start shortly, they will collect household waste, and convert them into energy and they will do so with a Haitian partner Boucard Pest Control."

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Exeter’s first waste-to-energy power plant

Fri, 04 May 2012 15:43:00 GMT

DP CleanTech has been awarded the contract to supply the Flue Gas Treatment system for Devon County Council’s first waste-to-energy power plant in Exeter.

The company will design, manufacture, install and commission the complete Flue Gas Treatment system and was awarded the contract by EPC contactor Groupe Tiru SA, who are responsible for the overall delivery of the plant. DP CleanTech opened its specialized Flue Gas Cleaning Division in Wolverhampton, UK at the end of 2011.

Simon Parker, CEO DP CleanTech stated that: ‘“This project represents the next step in our growth strategy - flue gas cleaning being an increasingly important constituent of producing true clean energy. Our decision to focus on the UK is validated with the award of this significant project, and we look forward to increasing our presence further in the UK as it looks to embrace a clean energy future”.

David Ryan, Engineering Manager, DP CleanTech commented: “Historically, a major hindrance to the growth of the waste-to-energy industry is public misconception of the associated emissions and health risks. We are confident that we will significantly exceed the most stringent EU standards, and in so doing drive a real change in attitude towards Municipal Solid Waste as a practical and desirable alternative source of energy.”

DP CleanTech continues to expand its scope in waste-to-energy and sees an enormous potential in the UK both in this sector, and also in biomass to heat and power.

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US state governor argues passionately for cogeneration

Fri, 04 May 2012 12:01:00 GMT

The governor of the US state of Ohio, John Kasich has criticised the renewable-energy lobby in the state for an irresponsible self interest in objecting to cogeneration.

The Chicago Tribune reports that Gov. Kasich offered a most-passionate defence of his proposal to include cogeneration as an acceptable form of renewable energy in Ohio’s energy mix.

He singled out wind and solar power lobbyists as particularly culpable.

"All those who are in alternative energy and renewable standards believe in a cleaner environment, and that's just fantastic," Kasich said. "But don't lobby for your own industry to keep other industries out that result in a cleaner environment. And that happens.

So if I'm in the wind or the solar industry, I'm not so excited about waste heat or cogeneration because I get a nice big fat subsidy. OK.

That's just not the way it ought to be, because our goal ought to be a cleaner environment, and whatever moves us to a cleaner environment ought to be a part of it.

I'm a little disappointed when people lobby, and totally in self-interest."

The newspaper speculates that Kasich might have been referring to ongoing testimony related to Senate Bill 315, which would allow cogeneration --essentially the capture of waste heat --to be used to meet the state's energy-efficiency requirements.

A previous Senate-passed bill would add cogeneration to the definition of renewable energy, making it eligible for renewable-energy credits.

Last month, Columbus lobbyist Terrence O'Donnell testified before a Senate committee on behalf of wind-farm builder EDP Renewables of Houston against the "unqualified inclusion of cogeneration in the renewable-energy standard."

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IKEA Italy goes for on-site solar power

Thu, 03 May 2012 11:54:00 GMT

Q.CELLS has received an order for 7 Megawattpeak (MWp) of solar modules in Italy by IKEA.

In a statement Q.CELLS announced that their CIGS thin-film modules, known as Q.SMART, will be installed on the roof-top of the main warehouse of IKEA in the Northern Italian town of Piacenza within the coming months.

The project was developed together with the Italian companies F.lli Zaffaroni and GreenPowerTech.

'We are very proud of this order, which not only emphasises on our strong Italian footprint but shows, that leading brands like IKEA identify themselves with the high-quality and long-performing products of Q.CELLS”, said Ciro Ahumada, Senior Vice President of Q.CELLS Europe. 'Our Q.SMART thin-film modules engineered-in-Germany convince by their strong output especially in the hot climate of Italy as well as by their fine black aesthetics.”

Q.SMART holds the world record for thin-film modules in serial production since 2009 with efficiencies of up to 14.7% (aperture area) out of series production.

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Columbian renewable push advances with $48m cogen plant

Thu, 03 May 2012 11:05:00 GMT

Columbia's largest sugar producer has announced that its board of directors approved a proposal that would allow the company to build a 35 MW biomass cogeneration plant at a cost of around $48m.

Riopaila Castilla’s facility, to be powered by a fibrous sugar cane processing byproduct called bagasse, will be built in Zarzal, a town of about 50,000 in the western part of the country known for its sugar operations and access to expansive cane fields.

News of the project comes at a time when Columbia is pushing to develop renewables like biomass and biofuels.

The plant is expected to be operational sometime in 2014.

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Turkey launches first biogas power plant

Tue, 01 May 2012 13:23:00 GMT

Swiss developer and constructor firm Zorg Biogas have constructed the first biogas power plant in Turkey.

The biogas plant project is located in Cicekdagi village, and is the first functional biogas plant on the territory of Turkey.

The plant will process 50 tonnes of cow and sheep manure daily to produce 3000 m3 of biogas. A Jenbacher co-generation unit will convert the biogas into electricity (249 kW) and heat (200 kW).

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On-site solar powering Wolverhampton Science Park

Tue, 01 May 2012 12:43:00 GMT

The University of Wolverhampton Science Park has completed a landmark solar photovoltaic project, which will help the UK-based facility drastically reduce its emissions.

Caplor Energy designed, installed and commissioned a solar array in order to make the science park become more self-sufficient.

Caplor Energy designed a 49.59kWp solar PV array consisting of 261 solar panels and covering the equivalent of two tennis courts.

The solar company estimates that the array will produce over 40,000kWh of electricity each year and save over 20 tonnes of CO2 in the process.

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Bloom confirmed as fuel cell provider for Apple

Tue, 01 May 2012 12:15:00 GMT

It has been confirmed that California-based Bloom Energy will be supplying fuel cells to Apple to power Apple's North Carolina data centre.

The company will provide 4.8 MW of biogas fuel cells, what the company calls Bloom Boxes, powering the data centre’s servers.

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Biomass cogeneration plant for Croatia

Tue, 01 May 2012 11:56:00 GMT

Croatian company Lika Energo Eko plans a 1 MW biomass fired cogeneration power plant in the Lika-Senj county region, according to data from the country's energy regulator.

The planned annual output of the power plant, which will run on agricultural and wood biomass, is 7.6 GWh, the Croatian Energy Regulatory Agency said in a decision that grants the project promoter the status of eligible power producer.

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