China becomes first country to hit 3GW milestone




China leapfrogged Germany in June to become the first country in the world to install 3GW of utility-scale solar power, according to the latest data from Wiki-Solar. Figures from online project tracker Wiki-Solar show that global utility solar added 3.75GW in the first half of 2013 alone, with China contributing more than 1GW of that alone. The top 15 nations added 128 new sites but European countries contributed just 14 of those. The slowdown there has been more than offset not just by China, but also the US, which added even more new capacity than China with 1.36GW.

Wiki-Solar founder Philip Wolfe said globally, utility-scale solar had avoided the setbacks created by various trade disputes: “This is partly because of the large pipeline of projects in progress. “The 250MW California Valley Solar Ranch was completed in June, and the 0.5GW Topaz project is now reported to have  connected over 100 MW,” he said adding that he expected the third-ranked US to also overtake the stagnant German market and join China on the other side of the 3GW threshold in Wiki-Solar’s next report.

The Renewable Energy Boom that Never Happened

 
The world was moving faster towards reducing its reliance on carbon intensive energy consumption in the 1970s and 1980s than in the past several decades. In fact, over the past 20 years there has been little if any progress in expanding the share of carbon-free energy in the global mix. Despite the rhetoric around the rise of renewable energy, the data tells a far different story.

Policy makers around the world have frequently expressed their desire to reduce the emissions of carbon dioxide to a level consistent with stabilizing the amount in the atmosphere at a low level. Conceptually, the challenge is akin to stabilizing the amount of water in a bathtub by modulating the amount filling the tub from a spigot. If there is an open drain at the bottom letting a bit of water out, then stabilization of the water’s height occurs when the amount coming into the tub equals the amount draining out.

The carbon dioxide is akin to the water filling the bathtub and the oceans and the land surface provide some take-up of carbon dioxide, serving like a small open drain at the bottom of the tub. For the stabilization of carbon dioxide, this means that emissions of carbon dioxide, which result primarily from the combustion of fossil fuels (oil, natural gas and coal), must be reduced by something like 80 percent or more.

However, instead of looking at the issue through the lens of emissions, another way to look at the challenge of stabilizing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is through energy consumption. Whatever the total level of future energy supply turns out to be, to be consistent with stabilization – metaphorically stopping the rise of the water in the bathtub – the proportion of global energy that comes from carbon-free sources needs to exceed 90 percent. 

So how are we doing working towards that 90 percent?

BP, in its excellent annual statistical report on world energy, provides data that allows us to answer this question. The figure above shows the proportion of global energy consumption that comes from carbon-free sources. These sources include nuclear, hydro, solar, wind, geothermal, and biomass. The graph shows that from 1965 to 1999 the proportion of carbon-free energy in global consumption more than doubled to more than 13 percent, coincident with nuclear power increasing by a factor of 100 and hydropower by a factor of 6.

However, since 1999 the proportion of carbon-free energy in the global mix has dropped slightly. In fact, 1999 was the peak year for non-carbon energy. From 1999 to 2012 consumption of nuclear power dropped by 2 percent. While solar has increased its contribution to consumption by a factor of 100 and wind by 25 from 1999 to 2012, these sources remain at about 1 percent of total global energy consumption, and are dwarfed by the resurgence of coal.

Much is often made about the rise of renewable energy, but the data tells a more sobering story. In the ten years that ended in 2012, the world added about 2,500 million metric tonnes of oil equivalent (in layman’s terms, a lot) to its total energy consumption. Of that increase about 14 percent came from non-carbon sources. Compare that to the ten years ending in 2002, during which about 19 percent of the new energy consumption over the previous decade came from non-carbon sources. The figure above shows the proportion of annually added energy consumption that comes from carbon-free and carbon-intensive sources.

The data shows that for several decades the world has seen a halt in progress towards less carbon-intensive energy consumption, at about 13 percent of the total global supply. This stagnation provides further evidence that the policies that have been employed to accelerate rates of decarbonization of the global economy have been largely ineffective. The world was moving faster towards decarbonizing its energy mix long before climate policy became fashionable. Why this was so and what the future might hold will be the subject of future posts in this continuing discussion.

Source: 
http://www.oilprice.com
http://www.bp.com

Grid Congestion for Renewable Energy May Expand to South Japan




Power grids in southern Japan are close to capacity for solar and wind projects as the country pushes to add stations that derive power from clean energy. Chugoku Electric Power Co. (9504) and Kyushu Electric Power Co. (9508) each have less than 1 Giga watt of available grid capacity for solar or wind projects after deducting existing and approved capacity, according to estimates by Bloomberg New Energy Finance released yesterday.

The study coincides with a debate about how to fix grid congestion on Hokkaido, the northernmost island of Japan. Hokkaido Electric Power Co. (9509), the island’s sole utility, says applications for large-scale solar plants have surged since Japan began offering inducements to promote clean energy, leaving it with more proposed capacity than its grid can handle. Japan has approved 22.4 Giga watts of renewable energy capacity since an incentive program began in July 2012, according to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. BNEF estimates. Japan has 34 Giga watts of technical grid availability for new solar and wind projects.

Reform of the power market could improve the country’s grid, the London-based researcher said in the report. Such a bill is expected to be submitted to parliament in the autumn.

Source:  http://www.bloomberg.com

Switzerland plans radical solar subsidy cuts




The Swiss Solar Energy Professional Association (Swissolar) calls the government's plans for PV "catastrophic". Feed-in tariffs, payment duration and the separate category for integrated PV systems are on the chopping block. Still there might be some positive outcomes.

The Swiss government has plans to revise the Energy Regulation in the country. Among these revisions is also the threat to massively reduce FITs for renewable energy installations. The planned changes are "catastrophic" according to Swissolar. 


The plan is to reduce the FITs for photovoltaic systems by 35 to 40% and lower the remuneration period to 15 years. For all other renewable technologies, the compensation rates are to be reviewed and increased in view of the reduced payment period, added Swissolar. The solar association believes that with its first estimate it would take 22 years thus for photovoltaic systems to be profitable with such proposed tariffs. Moreover the government is also planning to completely axe the category "integrated systems," thereby reducing the tariffs for integrated photovoltaic systems by up to 50%. The so-called "cost covering feed-in tariff"  for solar power, or KEV as known in Switzerland, is 19.9 to 39.4 Swiss Rappen per kWh (16.1 to 31.9 Euro cents per kWh). 


Still Swissolar sees positive aspects as well in the government proposal. This way project progress reports will account for PV as well. And there will also be no more annual subsidy cut. A transition period is also expected. Old rates will apply for all PV systems that are operational before the implementation of the new FITs. Also PV systems that are connected later, but already have assurance for FITs, will receive the higher subsidies. 

The adoption of the solar subsidies is planned for January 1, 2014. The new energy bill will only apply from May 1 when there will be referendum. Currently the consultation process is ongoing and will carry on until mid-September. The solar association added, "Swissolar will make use of this period to make it clear to the authorities that excessive tariff reductions in the solar sector will inflict massive damage."
Source: http://www.pv-magazine.com

Scientists Produce Cheap Hydrogen from Rust and Sunlight



Researchers at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) have managed to accurately characterize the iron oxide nanostructures to be used in producing hydrogen at the “lowest known possible cost”.

The news could make is possible to achieve the idea that water and some nano-structured iron oxide is all it takes to produce bubbles of solar hydrogen.  Photoelectrochemical cells (PECs) are devices able of splitting water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen in a single operation using only solar radiation.

The French are feeling pretty good.  Michael Grätzel, Director of the Laboratory of Photonics and Interfaces (LPI) at EPFL and inventor of dye-sensitized photoelectrochemical cells said, “As a matter of fact, we’ve already discovered this precious ‘chalice’. Today we have just reached an important milestone on the path that will lead us forward to profitable industrial applications.”

The peer-reviewed paper appeared this week in Nature Materials.  The standout point of the paper is they have managed to accurately characterize the iron oxide nanostructures to be used in a water splitting operation.

Scott C. Warren, first author of the article said, “The whole point of our approach is to use an exceptionally abundant, stable and cheap material: rust.”

The press release isn’t especially complete, but hints a major point of the groups progress may have been Kevin Sivula, one of the collaborators at the LPI laboratory, presenting a prototype electrode based on the same principle last year. Its efficiency was such that gas bubbles emerged as soon as it was under a light stimulus. That lit off realizing the potential of such cheap electrodes was demonstrated.  Still, there is still room for improvement.
 
The researchers were able to precisely characterize the movement of the electrons through the cauliflower-looking nanostructures forming the iron oxide particles, laid on electrodes during the manufacturing process by using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques.

Grätzel explains, “These measures have helped us understand the reason why we get performance differences depending on the electrodes manufacturing process.”

Then comparing several electrodes, whose manufacturing method is now mastered, the scientists were able to identify the “champion” structure. A 10×10 cm prototype has been produced and its effectiveness is in line with expectations. The next step will be the development of the industrial process to large-scale manufacturing. A European funding and the Swiss federal government could provide support for this last part.

The long-term goal is to produce hydrogen in an environmentally friendly and especially, a competitive way. Grätzel said, “Current methods, in which a conventional photovoltaic cell is coupled to an electrolyzer for producing hydrogen, costs €15 per kilo at their cheapest. We’re aiming at a €5 charge per kilo.”

Source: http://actu.epfl.ch/