Displaced Tortoises for Solar in Mojave Roils Environmentalists

Construction of such large-scale green-energy projects has splintered environmental groups. When concern over global warming was at a peak, national organizations such as the Sierra Club and the Natural Resources Defense Council threw their support behind industrial-scale wind and solar installations on public land. Now some smaller conservationist groups object to what they consider an environmentally destructive gold rush.

"Of course we need to do solar, but it should go on rooftops or in appropriate places, not the pristine desert," says April Sall, director of the Wildlands Conservancy in Oak Glen, California, operator of the state's largest nonprofit preservation system. "We need to tackle warming — but not forget that there are other things at stake."

Priorities Clash

The Mojave solar project embodies the clash of environmental priorities. The $2.2 billion installation being built by closely held BrightSource Energy Inc. of Oakland, California, is designed to power 140,000 homes without emitting greenhouse gases. But it threatens the tortoises. That's why the Western Watersheds Project conservationist group of Hailey, Idaho, sued to stop it in a Los Angeles U.S. court. (For an interactive graphic of the project, click here.)

The 120-year-old Sierra Club, which calls itself "America's largest and most influential" environmental group, also lobbied for changes to the project's design to protect the tortoises. Yet the 1.4 million-member organization chose not to try to block the plant, says Barbara Boyle, a Sierra green energy specialist.

"Ultimately, we need to jump-start renewables to combat climate change, and large-scale solar has to play a big part in that," Boyle says. However, as it became clear the project was rooting out many more tortoises than projected and as some California chapters urged action, the organization joined a coalition that sued the Department of the Interior in March to block another long-planned Mojave solar project that it says threatens wildlife.

Climate Change

Similar disputes are playing out elsewhere and show a growing concern among green groups and willingness to block large-scale solar and wind projects when the cost to wildlife and habitat seem to outweigh the benefits of fighting climate change. A surge in supplies of cheap, clean-burning natural gas has also begun to undercut demand for more costly green energy.

The green backlash against sacrificing habitat and wildlife to curb global warming parallels polls finding that the public rates climate change low on a menu of environmental problems and has doubts whether it can be fixed. In a March Gallup survey, the issue ranked last among seven environmental concerns, with just 30 percent saying they worried about it "a great deal."

A Washington Post-Stanford University poll in July found that while most Americans believe the earth is warming, 60 percent said little could be done to stop it, and more than 70 percent opposed energy taxes to address it.

Lethal Blades

Near the northern Florida Everglades, the Audubon Society has fought a 200-megawatt wind farm on 10,000 acres (3,900 hectares) of private sugar land, saying its 475-foot tall turbines and spinning blades will form a death corridor for migratory birds and the endangered snail-eating Florida Kite. The project, proposed by closely held Wind Capital Group LLC of St. Louis, was approved by the Palm Beach County Commission and could produce energy for 60,000 homes, the company says. It still needs state and federal permits.

In the southern Sierra Nevada of California, Defenders of Wildlife sued in federal court to block the proposed North Sky River wind-power project. It would be built by NextEra Energy Inc., based in Juno Beach, Florida, next to an existing wind farm where turbine blades killed eight golden eagles this year.

The American Bird Conservancy accused the U.S. government in a lawsuit in Washington of suppressing information about the threat that wind energy projects pose to migratory birds and other wildlife. The government denied the allegation.

26 Projects

Including the Mojave project that is relocating desert tortoises, the Interior Department has accelerated construction approval for 26 large-scale solar plants on public lands since 2009, including nine that it cleared in August. The Obama administration has steered $9 billion in stimulus funds from the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to 23,000 solar and large-scale wind installations, according to the Department of Energy.

Conservationist and Native American groups sued to halt five other Mojave solar projects. The organizations argue that federal and state authorities conducted inadequate environmental reviews and failed to consult with tribes on sacred sites. The Bureau of Land Management, the solar companies and the state deny the allegations.

Dozens more solar plants could arise across the American desert West. A July BLM plan allocates 285,000 public acres to 17 solar zones. An additional 19 million acres — an area almost the size of West Virginia — may be approved for solar projects. The goal is to produce 23,700 megawatts, enough to power 7 million homes, according to the BLM. Solar power now provides less than 1 percent of U.S. electricity, amounting to 5,700 megawatts, or enough for about 1 million households.

Abandoned Mines

Conservationists say it is wrongheaded to rip up the public desert and destroy wildlife habitat when millions of already-degraded acres are available. The Environmental Protection Agency last year identified 80,000 to 250,000 abandoned mine sites that could be used for solar and other renewable energy projects, according to Janine Blaeloch, director of the Seattle-based Western Lands Project, a watchdog group.

20 Sep, 2012

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Cost Cutting: Is QBotix the BOS Innovation Solar Needs?

Watch Bokhari discuss the QBotix technology at Solar Power International, along with an animated demonstration, in the video below:

Balance of systems (BOS) accounts for about 50 percent of the installed cost of a solar system. A traditional tracking system, whether single or double axis, consists of a pair of motors installed on many trackers in the system. This creates many failure points throughout the system, which can be very difficult to maintain and ultimately reduces efficiency. 

The QBotix system consists of 200 trackers, which equal about 300 kilowatts (kW), and two robots, one primary and one backup, which travel on a steel monorail to each tracker. The monorails also contain two charging points for the robots. A robot travels along the rail every 40 minutes to adjust each tracker individually throughout the day. The steel rail also carries the system's wiring, which eliminates the need for trenching.

Because QBotix is streamlined with a robot, the entire system uses less steel – a major price driver for tracking systems. According to Bokhari, the QBotix system is roughly half the cost of double-axis trackers and the same cost as single-axis. "And because of that price parity of the single-axis trackers, we are able to achieve an LOC reduction of up to 20 percent compared to fixed systems," explained Bokhari. 

The robot itself is made of water- and dust-resistant components. "You can put [the robot] under a high-pressure water hose for 30 minutes and no waste will get in," explained Bokhari. "Or you can put it in a high-pressure chamber with very fine talcum power and nothing will get in." 

The system is also weather-resistant. The steel system is designed to withstand high wind loads for the life of the project, about 20 to 25 years, while the robot can withstand temperatures as low as -30 degrees Celsius and as high as 60 degrees Celsius. 

The robot collects performance and reliability data that allows it to optimize the performance of each tracker, and ultimately the entire system. It also contains built-in GPS sensors, memory capabilities and wireless communications. "It is almost like a doctor going from patient to patient that is able to assess the critical data from every patient," said Bokhari. 

As for maintenance, if the robot malfunctions the backup immediately takes its place, which means there is no tracking loss. The robots are also easily replaceable, which does not require skilled labor. "The robot is like a black box traveling on the rail, so it can easily be swapped out just like a spare tire," said Bokhari.

The system comes preassembled and can be used with any standard foundation and solar panel. And because it is much lower to the ground heavy machinery is not necessary for installation. It can be installed on ungraded land, sloped land, curved land, which, according to Bokhari, is not possible with other systems.

So is QBotix what the solar industry needs to move forward? Can it truly lower system costs enough for people to notice?

Bokhari said the target market is distributed generation, and then move on to utility-scale. "We will start with deployments going up to a few megawatts. Because our system is modular we can easily put together a larger system," said Bokhari. "After that, our customers can use our system as they start building larger power plants."

20 Sep, 2012

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Source: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/09/cost-cutting-is-qbotix-the-bos-innovation-solar-needs?cmpid=rss
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Green Tech States Are Not Necessarily Democratic

Most people would expect blue Democratic states to be eager to embrace clean tech and green jobs, the authors assert, with red Republican states resolutely declining to join in the action. However, according to the report, in the 10 states where clean tech jobs are growing the most quickly, only two can be considered traditionally Democratic – Hawaii and New York. Many of the remaining states are decisively Republican, including North Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming and Alaska. Additionally, among Top 10 states where green jobs make up the biggest percentage of the labor force, only three – Washington, Oregon and Vermont – are Democratic.

"What's more, many of the governors working the hardest to bring clean tech jobs to their home states are not only Republican, but are usually regarded as leaders of their party," according to the report. This demonstrates that clean tech and green jobs are only contentious inside Washington D.C., the authors conclude. "Outside of the capital, where governors (and mayors) are more concerned with creating jobs than scoring debate points, there is no controversy about the impact of clean tech." 

"(Clean tech) is almost universally appreciated as the important engine for job development and economic growth that it is," the authors say. "Disregarding the partisan bickering in Washington, these local officials are using clean tech to bring high-quality jobs to their states, in the process reviving communities and winning the support of local voters in both parties."

Zooming out even further, the report reveals that seven of the top 17 states with the most rapid growth in the clean tech sector are considered swing states for the 2012 presidential election. "Numbers like these suggest we are entering an era in which politicians who unfairly criticize or otherwise ignore clean tech run the risk of alienating a bedrock constituency: job holders, most of whom vote," the authors say.

A copy of the report is available here.

Lead image: Divided flag via Shutterstock

20 Sep, 2012

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The Demonization of Clean Tech: The Five Biggest Myths

As a longtime analyst at clean-tech research firm Clean Edge and contributor to the recently published book Clean Tech Nation (coauthored by Clean Edge colleagues Ron Pernick and Clint Wilder), I should be on the front lines defending the clean-tech moniker. But given the noticeable intensifying of false debates surrounding clean tech in the last year, it's worth taking a moment to examine ways in which the industry's far-reaching identity has opened the door to some misplaced antagonism.

#1: Energy Sources as Sports Teams

Unless you are employed in a particular sector of the energy industry, as long as the car runs, the lights are bright, the showers hot, and the beer cold, it makes little sense as a consumer to root for one specific energy source against another, as if they were sports teams. Solar power isn't the Miami Heat, and – as much as T. Boone Pickens would like you to believe it – natural gas isn't the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Of course, it's imperative to evaluate energy sources based on availability, affordability, and environmental impact. But blind support of identifiers like traditional energy, alternative energy, renewables, or clean energy – which aggregate many dissimilar resources and technologies – can quickly create an "us versus them" culture. And that's exactly what seems to be playing out on the national political stage in this election season. When the failure of one longshot solar startup (that shall not be named) can be used to demonize all aspects of a multi-hundred billion dollar industry, perhaps the umbrella is too large.    

#2: The Misrepresented History (and Current Reality) of Energy Subsidies

Government has always played an important role in energy innovation. Nuclear power plants are offshoots of nuclear submarines, which themselves are derivative of atomic bombs developed by the Manhattan Project – the ultimate embodiment of government-funded R&D. Less understood is that today's shale gas boom also owes much to government involvement, as recent technological advances are fruits of decades of public-private research and commercialization efforts, as the Breakthrough Institute detailed well in a recent report. 

Unabashedly ignoring this history, The Wall Street Journal's editorial team recently used a snapshot of 2010 federal subsidies to argue that renewables don't merit government support because right now "wind and solar get the most taxpayer help for the least production" – an argument that only makes sense if 2010 was the lone year subsidies were ever available. Surprisingly, the universe did exist prior to January 1, 2010, so we don't have to rely on such disingenuous analysis. A report by DBL Investors' Nancy Pfund and Yale University graduate student Ben Healey, which looked into the historical role of U.S. federal energy subsidies, found that annual federal support for oil, gas, and nuclear has averaged 22 times the amount of subsidies available to renewables.

This extreme imbalance is one reason why Clean Tech Nation's Seven-Point Action Plan suggests phasing out all energy subsidies over the next decade. We know that's a controversial proposal, but let's debate the future of subsidies based on facts, not myths.

#3: The False Promise of Energy Independence

"Lobsters are cheap in Maine because storing and shipping live lobster is hard, but globally traded commodities aren't like that," says Slate's Matthew Yglesias in what might be the most effectively concise dismissal to date of the U.S. energy independence delusion. 

Yes, U.S. reliance on foreign oil has fallen amidst an Obama-era domestic production boom – allowing for fewer direct imports from petro-dictator nations. But unlike lobsters, oil is easily stored, shipped, and traded across borders, so America's oil fate will forever be linked to conditions defined by the global free market.

And if American energy "independence" was truly a top concern, vehicle electrification would be priority number one, as 99 percent of U.S. electricity is derived from domestically-generated electrons. Yet instead of being hailed as uber-patriotic "DEVs" (domestic energy vehicles), electric vehicles continue to fight perceptions of simply being expensive eco-toys.

#4: There is No Such Thing as a Green Job

Granted, this is a tricky one, as definitions vary widely – so claiming a direct link between these jobs and a remedy for the economy often does little more than fuel opposition to all industries involved when the nation's labor market proves stubbornly sluggish. Opponents can claim, for example, that it takes fewer than 30 workers to maintain a 250 MW wind farm that powers 75,000 households. But as a recent NRDC report finds, that same wind farm will actually create 1,079 jobs over the lifetime of the project, mostly during manufacturing and construction.  

There are plenty of wind turbine technicians, increasing masses of solar installers, and armies of workers at the world's largest industrial conglomerates working on products to beef up the electric grid, boost vehicle efficiency, and convert waste into resources. As demand for clean-tech products and services grows, an expanding workforce will obviously be an economic boon.

#5: The Climate Change "Debate"

When even Koch brothers-funded researchers conclude that the world is warming and humans are to blame, it's time to stop arguing the science and start focusing on solutions. But this doesn't seem to be the trajectory of things. Climate change continues to be politically toxic, and demand for clean tech – the market's answer to a changing climate – is being severely hamstrung as a result.    

In place of real climate action, U.S. leadership on both sides of the aisle is clinging to an "all of the above" energy approach. But until the current subsidy outlay changes, in no way will this translate into a level playing field. 

Ultimately, clean tech – or green tech, or advanced energy, or whatever you choose to call it – will win out. The realities of a resource-constrained world and changing climate are just too powerful to ignore. But as clean tech moves forward, it's increasingly important to understand the steadfast opposition – and its myth-making operation – facing this innovative sector that dares challenge the status quo. 

Lead image: Myth via Shutterstock

20 Sep, 2012

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Worldwide PV Equipment Market Squeeze Continues

After declining in the first quarter to its lowest level since the start of the data program, second quarter worldwide completed orders actually increased slightly, up two percent quarter-on-quarter. However, the reported billings of $706 million were only 35 percent of the billings reported in the same quarter a year ago.

Excluding a one-time large order reported in the previous quarter, worldwide bookings declined again, this time 20 percent for the quarter to $235 million, reaching their lowest level since the first quarter of 2010. At 0.33, the book-to-bill ratio stayed below parity for the fifth consecutive quarter.

"It's still bad news, the 7^th inning of the downturn," says Aaron Chew, senior alternative energy / solar power analyst at Maxim Group LLC in New York.  He agreed with SEMI's conclusion that the extremely challenging environment for PV equipment suppliers worldwide is likely to persist due to low booking activities from PV manufacturers, coupled with no near-term signs of recovery. "I see no turnaround in demand for equipment guys for the rest of the year, at least until mid-2013," he said.

Further depressing the outlook for PV equipment manufacturers, he said, is the emergence of a big secondary market for equipment.  "All of the companies that failed are being shut down and liquidated. About 40 cell and wafer companies shut down in China. Their equipment is getting auctioned off at 50 cents on the dollar, so guys like Yingli can ramp up for half the cost.  The bad news for equipment guys temporarily is that they have to compete with that," Chew said.

With huge overcapacity since March 2011, PV prices have dropped approximately 65% in the last year, reducing manufacturers' margins.  But the dour pricing situation could quite likely become the market's salvation, Chew said. "It's a bad time in solar because no one is making any money, but the flip side is that it makes solar more and more competitive with fossil fuels, and demand is fine," he said. "We never thought about solar in markets that are now becoming mainstream, like Chile, Japan, and China. Germany and Italy will feel the pain in shifting from subsidized to unsubsidized markets, but the slack will be picked up by China, Japan and even the US."

As a result, he expects the global solar industry to supply approximately 30 GW of demand this year, 50 GW in 2 to 3 years and 100 GW by the end of the decade. Responding to such increases in demand will require new manufacturing equipment.

"It sounds crazy today because there is such overcapacity weighing on solar, but by mid-2013, a new investment cycle may be starting. I think people may be surprised by the end of next year when we could be at 40GW of demand, and people will need to reinvest in equipment," Chew said.

SEMI's worldwide PV equipment billings and bookings data is gathered jointly with the German Engineering Federation (VDMA) from about 50 global equipment companies that provide primary data on a quarterly basis. 

Lead image: Money squeeze via Shutterstock

20 Sep, 2012

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Studies Cite Increased Demand for Wind Power, Other Renewables

According to the Global Consumer Wind Study 2012 (GCWS), the desire for more renewable energy options was voiced by 85 percent of survey respondents, with 49 percent saying they'd have no problem digging deeper into their pockets to support companies committed to renewable energy in the product manufacturing process. Even more encouraging, those numbers spiked considerably when consumers were asked specifically about wind power, with 62 percent indicating that if given a choice, they would consciously choose to buy products manufactured using wind over traditional forms of power generation.

These statistics bode well for the efforts of WindMade, a nonprofit whose primary function is the identification of companies and products that rely on wind power for at least 25 percent of their overall electricity generation. The organization's ultimate goal is not only to give eco-conscious consumers the information necessary to vote with their wallets, but also to generate interest for an industry whose potential still vastly exceeds its demand.

"One of the important challenges the [wind power] industry is facing in many markets around the world is public acceptance," writes Angelika Pullen, Communications Director for WindMade. "Our objective is to help address this problem by creating a tool for that majority of the public that is supportive of wind power, to identify and favor those brands and companies that are using wind energy." 

But public acceptance is one thing — actual corporate espousal of renewable energy is another. And in an era where social and ecological consciousness ranks high in the area of mass appeal, new evidence has come to light that tells us not all private companies are riding the aforementioned fence over whether to pursue renewable alternatives. An increasing number are leading the charge, as evidenced by the second of the two studies, the Corporate Renewable Energy Index Report 2012 (CREX).

According to the results of the report, global corporate investment in renewables has surpassed investment for fossil fuel generation by a significant margin. In 2011, corporations around the globe spent $237 billion investing in renewable energy, eclipsing the $223 billion spent chasing fossil fuel power generation. The CREX is an index that ranks companies by their level of investment in renewable energies. The report also found that 40 percent of renewable energy purchases made in 2011 were made by companies for the purpose of on-site power generation, showing a marked increase from previous years.

The GCWS survey was conducted by TNS Gallup, and the CREX report was prepared by Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

Lead image: Demand chart via Shutterstock

20 Sep, 2012

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Blackstone to Buy Vivint for $2B and Support Its Expansion in Solar and Beyond

When the deal closes, which should come before the end of the year, it will give Blackstone control over 50 percent of the company, reported the New York Times. The rest of the company is owned by the management, according to Reuters.

Vivint built its reputation as one of the country's largest residential security service provider in the country. It then added the sales of equipment and services for homeowners to automate and control their thermostats, lighting and small appliances remotely. The company entered the solar business last year and in October announced a $75 million fund from U.S. Bankcorp to finance residential solar installations and sell leases to homeowners. Instead of paying for the equipment and labor of installing a solar energy system upfront, Vivint's customers pay a monthly fee over 20 years. This financing model has become popular not only because it removes the high upfront cost, but it also is supposed to lead to lower monthly utility bills.

Founded in 1999 as Apax Alarm Security Solutions, the company changed its name to Vivint last year to reflect its ambition to move beyond the home security market, Vivint's co-founder and CEO, Todd Pedersen, told me last year. The company's name is a mesh of "Vive," or "to live," and "intelligent."

Pedersen said back then that Vivint became a big home automation company because it figured out how to market and install equipment efficiently. He believed the same strategy will work just as well in the solar business. He was so confident that he predicted Vivint would become the largest residential solar company in the U.S. this year.

Having Blackstone as an investor should help Pedersen realize his vision. Blackstone apparently outbid two other private equity groups to win the deal to buy the majority stake in Vivint. Vivint is counting on a significant financial support from Blackstone that will enable the company to develop "innovative new technologies, products and services designed to expand the company's influence beyond the home environment into the automobile, the workplace, areas of recreation and other core spheres of human activity." This may indicate that Vivint is eyeing other energy management services, including perhaps electric car charging, which could be centralized and remotely controlled by Vivint and its customers.

Blackstone's interest in Vivint reflects this investor sentiment that the retail service segment of the solar market is so much more attractive than the manufacturing sector, which has seen many factory closures and bankruptcies.  The market has experienced an oversupply of solar panels since the start of 2011, and that has benefited installers and their investors as well as consumers. Prices for solar panel systems owned by investors rather than consumers have dropped in California, for example, though that decline doesn't necessarily mean homeowners also are paying lower monthly fees on their leases. 

19 Sep, 2012

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China Solar Manufacturer LDK Looks for Buyer

There are quite a few developments on the solar energy front today, led by the release of new financial results from LDK (NYSE: LDK), the weakest of China's major solar panel makers, that show a company in the midst of a meltdown. Meantime, Beijing has officially protested a US law that allows Washington to levy punitive tariffs against overseas industries that receive unfair state support, such as China's solar sector. Both the US and Europe believe China supports its solar sector with unfair subsidies and have taken various punitive actions; and now India is also launching its own similar investigation, dealing yet another blow to the struggling sector.

Let's start with the LDK results, which show a company teetering on the brink of collapse as it deals with the worst-ever downturn for the young solar panel sector. Not surprisingly, LDK has filed its second-quarter results just 2 weeks before the US-mandated deadline of the end of September, as it attempts to avoid greater attention to its poor performance. Also not surprisingly, the results were quite ugly, with revenue falling by half from the previous year as LDK's loss ballooned to a massive $254 million. (results announcement)

The company's shares fell by a relatively modest 3 percent after the news came out, reflecting the reality that investors have heard so much bad news already that this latest downbeat report is really nothing special. One of my sources tells me LDK has actually hired investment bank Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) to try and sell the company to one of China's big state-owned enterprises.

I wouldn't be surprised if this was true, as LDK is clearly in big trouble and would never be able to attract any private sector buyers. Regardless of the situation, we can probably expect to see some spectacular fireworks from LDK by the end of the year, as the company either collapses or gets bought by an unlucky state-run company under pressure from Beijing or the provincial government of Jiangxi, where LDK is based.

Moving on to the bigger news, China has announced it is lodging an official protest with the World Trade Organization (WTO) over a US law that allows Washington to take punitive actions against overseas industries that receive unfair support from their local governments. (English article) China's protest isn't aimed at a specific industry, and indeed the US has used the law to levy punitive tariffs against several Chinese products over the last year. But clearly solar panels are one of the main targets of this new WTO protest by Beijing, after the US earlier this year said it will levy big punitive tariffs on Chinese solar panels that now account for more than half of the world's supply.

While the US has already determined that Chinese solar panel makers receive unfair state support, the European Union also announced last month it is launching a similar probe. (previous post) And now it seems that India will launch its own probe over the matter, dealing yet another setback to the embattled sector. (English article) I'll repeat my advice to Beijing once again by saying that rather than repeatedly protesting the accusations by foreign governments, China needs to finally admit that perhaps some of the complaints are legitimate and then find ways to address the concerns.

Bottom line: LDK's latest earnings report shows a company on the brink of meltdown, while Beijing's latest trade complaint shows it is still in denial about its unfair subsidies to the country's solar sector.

19 Sep, 2012

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Source: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/blog/post/2012/09/china-solar-manufacturer-ldk-looks-for-buyer?cmpid=rss
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PV Firms and Utilities Eye Residential Storage

"When we take the literal definition of grid parity for PV, nothing is going to change,' he says. 'No customer looks at PV and calculates the levelised cost of energy - the average customer couldn't do that."

The next bit, though, is where it gets interesting. While residents may not register when 'both points are equal', they will spot when the cost of grid electricity overhauls their revenue from feed-in tariffs (FiTs). "When we reach that point, the timing for storage will be right," says Bhamre. And, in his view, we could be fairly close. By 2014-2015, a "considerable market" will be building up, he says.

EuPD Research's forecasts rest on a model for residential PV's development in which the sector undergoes a comprehensive transformation to enter a new era: PV 2.0, in the firm's terminology.

According to EuPD, residential PV in Europe has already witnessed two cycles of growth within the "PV 1.0" era. In the first cycle, the sector was propelled by 'environmental idealists', who can take credit for kickstarting installations in 2007 and 2008. In the second cycle, "straight-edge investors" became the engine of growth. Drawn to the sector purely by attractive returns from FiTs, these have driven surging new capacity over the last few years.

Now, as PV's appeal to investors wanes in line with sliding FiTs, the cost of its electricity is also poised to drop, ushering in the third cycle: "Green electricity generation in an open market".

In this "post-grid parity" market, EuPD expects the essential structure of PV systems to be transformed. At the peak of the second growth cycle, residential PV systems tended to feed all their power into the grid. In Germany, though, 90 percent of new systems are already engineered for self-consumption. From now on, existing and new systems are likely to feature storage.

"It makes sense," says Bhamre. "It's about saving electricity costs rather than making money with a FiT. If, with hypothetical numbers, for each unit you feed to the grid you receive €0.20 but to buy one unit from the grid you pay €0.25, you'd rather use the electricity you have on top of your house."

A desire for autonomy and a sense of environmental responsibility emerge from surveys as other factors that will speed development, in Germany at least. "People will go for storage even if it's a little more expensive," says Bhamre.

Exploring Storage

The commercial world is clearly thinking along similar lines. Storage has provided the dominant theme at a number of major renewable energy trade shows in 2012.

Phono Solar Technology Co, a Chinese state-owned solar panel maker, recently showcased its Enercube for residential energy storage and management. With a storage capacity ranging from 6.4 kWh to 9 kWh, it features an energy management system to help households alter consumption as well as "time shift" their demand.

Several other PV players have announced initiatives to enter storage. For PV manufacturers, in fact, the plunge in panel prices raises interest in downstream technology such as storage. Trina Solar's announcement of a collaboration with Germany's E3/DC - a supplier of car charge and home storage systems - stressed that the project would strengthen the company's position as "provider of solar energy solutions".

Lithium-ion based storage solutions are set to emerge from Trina's tie-up from mid-2013. Initially targeted at early adopters in Germany and Switzerland, the storage solutions would be marketed independently from PV.

Hanwha SolarOne aims to be on the market earlier with a bundled product developed with Silent Power, a U.S.-based specialist in distributed energy storage systems for the renewable energy and backup power markets.

Under a partnership announced on 9 July 2012, Korea's Hanwha Group has invested $8 million in Silent Power. A co-marketing strategy will feature the storage specialist's OnDemand Energy Appliance, a "battery-agnostic" device - suited for lithium-ion, sealed lead-acid and advanced lead-acid battery packs - that can store excess energy produced during times of peak production.

Not that battery makers need solar firms to point out the opportunity. In recent weeks, Panasonic has already targeted German homes with long-life lithium-ion battery systems that could plug the looming gap between FiTs and grid power. The 1.35 kWh module has an estimated lifetime of 5000 load cycles at 80 percent depth of discharge (DOD).

Panasonic had earlier partnered with German firms to develop the E3/DC power management and storage system, which went on sale this year. The system has a usable capacity of 4.05 - 8.10 kWh and a maximum power output of 4 kW, suited to the needs of an average German household.

Under the Franco-German Sol-Ion research project, scientists at Baden-Württemberg's Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research (ZSW) in Stuttgart have also been testing a storage system about the size of a standard household freezer over six months.

The Sol-Ion contains the power inverters needed for the solar array as well as a battery charge rectifier, both with a nominal output of 5 kW. Lithium-ion batteries with a capacity of 6 kWh provided the centerpiece for the system, which was fed by a 5.1 kW array.

Outside Europe, Japan has provided another test bed for solar storage systems. A system from Kyocera integrates solar panels, an inverter and monitoring software with lithium-ion storage and inverter from Nichicon Corp. A 7.1 kWh battery unit weighing about 200 kg features lithium-ion cells from Samsung.

Getting to Market

Pilot projects and early installations suggest that PV storage systems can indeed work as planned. A case study from EuPD Research concludes that a German family of four with a 5 kW system could raise the proportion of their needs served by their PV panels from 25 percent up to 58 percent by integrating a 5 kWh battery in the system.

Yet costs remain prohibitive. Ben Hill, president of Trina Solar Europe, estimates that the cost of adding storage to a residential PV installation could near $10,000, doubling the cost of the system. His estimates chime with EuPD estimates for prices of about €9500 for a 9 kWh lead-acid battery system or €13,000 for an equivalent system based on lithium-ion batteries - prices for either route that far outweigh any savings on grid electricity.

19 Sep, 2012

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Source: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/09/pv-firms-and-utlities-eye-residential-storage?cmpid=rss
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Distributed Generation Will Make Electric Grids More Secure, Expand Access

As our society continues to become more wired, the impact of a sudden power outage – such as what occurred in India in early August – becomes increasingly severe and disruptive. With more and more businesses – including mission critical facilities like hospitals, military bases, and water treatment plants – reliant upon access to large amounts of electricity and the Internet, blackouts can significantly damage a country's economy, public health and safety.

At the same time, there are regions of the world – particularly in emerging nations – where entire villages remain without access to power because it is simply too expensive to build the infrastructure needed to transport electricity to the rural areas. According to a 2010 International Energy Agency report, the lack of access to electricity hinders social and economic development and exacerbates major health problems such as hunger, sanitation and access to clean water. As a recent New York Times headline simply put it, energy access is vital to abolishing the worst poverty in the world.

A solution to both of these problems – increasing vulnerability to a power outage in developed areas and lack of access to electricity in developing areas – can be found in distributed generation. Traditionally, electricity is generated in large, centralized facilities, and for the most part these facilities run on fossil fuels. Distributed generation instead allows electricity to be generated from many small, de-centralized sources, such as rooftop solar or a small solar farm.

For developed areas, this method of electricity generation offers far greater grid security than traditional generation in centralized facilities. Generating power through several independent generation stations rather than a handful of major power plants dramatically decreases the impact of one power plant unexpectedly shutting down. The presence of several generation stations allows some to ramp up their production to account for the unexpected loss of others, keeping the grid stable even as power generation fluctuates.

For areas currently without access to electricity, distributed generation facilities bypass the onerous cost of developing infrastructure to transport electricity long distances from enormous power plants and delivers the power they so badly need.

The technology to both develop power grids using more and more distributed generation and integrate distributed generation into large electric grids is getting more advanced each year. Companies are already developing solar-powered thermal power plants designed specifically for off-grid applications and solar community cooking systems to reduce fossil fuels use. Others are supporting the development of solar-powered toilets that require no running water and produce no pollutants.

Other solutions include local wind generators – small wind turbines – that can power homes and small businesses. And as the use of home-based solar panels increases, each individual household or business will create more and more of its own electricity, increasing energy security, reducing reliance on fossil fuels and netting an economic benefit.

As nations overhaul their grids in response to the recent blackout in India and work to provide electricity access to their most remote areas, distributed generation should be part of the solution.

Lead image: Power lines via Shutterstock

18 Sep, 2012

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Source: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/blog/post/2012/09/distributed-generation-will-make-electric-grids-more-secure-expand-access?cmpid=rss
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