Is 2016 The Turning Point For Energy Storage?
Michael McDonald for OilPrice.com: In the future, when investors look back at the year that represented the turning point for clean energy, 2016 may be it. The industry overall is growing at a breath-taking pace, but perhaps not for the reason that some investors think. Energy storage rather than solar power and wind power are the real factors that are driving a revolution across the electrical power industry.
Energy storage changes the equation, not only in the renewables space, but in the conventional utility space as well. The concepts of spin/non-spin reserve costs, peaker prices, and a variety of other conventional concerns for utilities, lose meaning in the context of efficient and cost-effective energy storage. While energy storage was available previously, it’s only today that costs are coming down substantially. Tesla’s economies of scale on battery storage are well-known, but small start-ups like Orison are finding ways to lower costs in innovative ways as well. The graphic below from a recent EPRI presentation highlights the role that multiple layers of costs savings can play in creating economical battery storage. Cont'd...
World's Largest Solar Project Would Generate Electricity 24 Hours a Day, Power 1 Million U.S. Homes
Lorraine Chow for EcoWatch: The race to build the world's largest solar power plant is heating up. California-based energy company SolarReserve announced plans for a massive concentrated solar power (CSP) plant in Nevada that claims to be the largest of its kind once built.
SolarReserve CEO Kevin Smith told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that the $5 billion endeavor would generate between 1,500 and 2,000 megawatts of power, enough to power about 1 million homes. That amount of power is as much as a nuclear power plant, or the 2,000-megawatt Hoover Dam and far bigger than any other existing solar facility on Earth, the Review-Journal pointed out.
"It's a big project," Smith told the publication. "It's an ambitious project." Cont'd...
Functionality of India's Renewable Energy Policy - In Wake of 175 GW by 2022
India has surely set up an ambitious goal of 175 GW of Renewable Energy by 2022, with solar and wind as the mainstream players aiming 100 GW (60 GW of Grid Interactive and 40 GW Rooftop) and 60 GW respectively.
VTT Develops Combustion Technologies for Biomass - Aims at Negative Emissions
VTT is seeking a carbon capture technology for Finnish power and heat production plants. The first pilots were implemented, using wood pellets, at VTT's Bioruukki and the results are promising.
World's First Farm to Use Solar Power and Seawater Opens in Australia
Kristin Falzon for EcoWatch: Sundrop Farms, a tomato production facility that is the first agricultural system of its kind in the world, celebrated its grand opening in Port Augusta, South Australia, Thursday.
Instead of soil, pesticides, fossil fuels and groundwater, Sundrop Farms uses only solar power and desalinated seawater to grow tomatoes across 49 acres. The water is pumped into the facility from the Spencer Gulf about 1.2 miles away where it is desalinated to water the farm's 180,000 tomato plants. Cont'd...
Fact or Fiction: 3 Biggest Myths About NEXTracker Technology
There still seems to be some confusion in the marketplace surrounding specific types of tracking applications, especially when it comes to independent row, self-powered trackers (SPTs)
New Database Spanning Hundreds of Wind Test Reports
One area which benefits from digitisation is the evaluation of data from periodic turbine testing and inspection reports.
This New Wind Turbine Could Power Japan for 50 Years After One Typhoon
Nick Mafi for Architectural Digest: A typical typhoon produces wind speeds between 98 and 120 m.p.h. and usually leaves behind a trail of destruction. But a Japanese engineer has plans to harness a typhoon’s incredible wind energy and use it to power the nation. Atsushi Shimizu has just invented the world’s first typhoon-powered wind turbine—a roughly 18-foot structure that, with its three distinct prongs, somewhat resembles an egg beater. Don’t be fooled by the simple design, however. According to the Atlantic Oceanographic & Meteorological Laboratory, a mature typhoon can produce a level of kinetic energy equivalent to about half of the world’s electrical generating capacity. That means that after a single typhoon, Shimizu’s invention could power Japan for up to 50 years. Add in the frequency of the country’s typhoons—anywhere from three to seven each year—and the potential for massive quantities of renewable energy is unmistakable. Cont'd...
WORLD ENERGY COUNCIL ISSUES CALL TO ACTION
Statement issued by the World Energy Council on 9 October 2016 ahead of the
23rd World Energy Congress
US Solar Power Attitudes: 89% of Americans Support Solar Power
GetSolar.com sighting PEW Research: Solar Power in America has gained wide acceptance over the last few years as prices have dropped and solar panel installation has greatly increased. Nine out of Ten Americans (89%) support solar power, regardless of political affiliation, according to a new report. Energy costs and environmental concerns rank highest on the list of reasons for such unprecedented support.
The Pew Research Center, a polling and research group focused on global trends released a report highlighting the changes in American's attitude towards (solar power) in particular, along with other sources of energy. Solar power gained the highest acceptance of any form of power (see chart), with only 9% of Americans opposing it. Wind Power came in a close second at 83%, with other forms of more traditional energy generation taking a serious back seat (with half or less the support of solar). Cont'd...
'New Age Energy Markets need a new approach to Risk Management
For energy traders and utilities, profitability in this complex and evolving market requires a full and complete picture of assets, operations, positions and risk exposures. Too many utilities are still labouring under a painful burden of data management challenges, including lack of automation, multiple disparate systems and data formats.
Protecting an Endangered Species and a Solar Energy Project
Valuable Lessons in Co-existence
World's Largest Carbon-Capture Plant to Open Soon
Umair Irfan for ClimateWire:  On schedule, on budget.  It's a tall order for any new technology, but for a commercial carbon capture and storage (CCS) system, it might be the start of a revolution.
The Petra Nova carbon capture system under construction at the W.A. Parish Generating Station, a coal-fired power plant southwest of Houston, is slated to go online before the end of the year. The billion-dollar facility will become the largest post-combustion carbon capture system installed on an existing power plant in the world.
Systems like Petra Nova that keep carbon dioxide from reaching the atmosphere may become a necessary means to mitigate climate change, and for some utilities, they could offer a lifeline to beleaguered fossil fuel plants. Â Cont'd...
Using Y Connectors in String Inverter Systems: Part I
In Part I of this blog post Eric Every, Yaskawa - Solectria Senior Applications Engineer, explores cases in which PV system designers should use Y-connectors, what the code implications may be, how they may be used with internal inverter combiners.
SPI 2016 - Interview with SolaTrim
The floor team knows what to ask visitors and how to present our value to them. And for the most part, visitors are receptive and give us quite a positive response.
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Featured Product
IMO Precision Controls - Keeping Solar Safe
The IMO FireRaptor provides three forms of Solar Panel Rapid Shutdown to ZERO VOLTS in case of fire or other emergency: Manual Panel Shutdown to 0V Operated from Ground Level, Automatic Panel Shutdown to 0V at >85°C (185°F) Temperature, and an automatic Panel Shutdown to 0V on External Power Loss. The FireRaptor can be installed without any set-up and with any string inverter as its functionality is completely independent. "Plug & Play" style installation using industry standard connectors is easy, whether fitted to new installs or retrofitted to existing projects to upgrade fire safety functionality. Meeting NEC2017's regulation to switch DC current at the PV panel in under 30 seconds, FireRaptor is remains one of the safest and most effective means of isolating DC current at the source, and the only rapid shutdown with a 20 year warranty.
