Jan
25
With the recent announcement of a large scale installation of Pythagoras-Solar’s photo voltaic glass unit (PVGU) at an organic food wholesaler in the USA the market for Solar windows has made a significant advance. The potential for power generation from commercial installation of solar glazing on all the commercial buildings in the world is enormous. The cost in terms of energy to create all the windows is not such a great deal. However if it creates a net increase in power generation with a net decrease in grid consumption it is a better use of energy than the existing solutions for commercial glazing.
With each commercial scale building already requiring the cooling from darkened glazing and the total area available on a building for absorbing sunlight the energy created by installing the solar glazing solution is significant enough to offset a substantial amount of power consumption in a normal day. With a claim of 140watts per square meter they are claiming to be able to beat the best possible rate of efficiency from a top of the line commercial solar PV panel. Even with setting a generous solar constant of 500watts per square meter at the earths surface, 140 watts represents 28% efficiency. Given that the most efficient PV panel in the market is only barely making it to 24% efficiency the claims of 140 watts per square meter appear to be either a world first or a significant overstatement of the efficiency of the glazing solution.
Still even if they are capable of just half that amount by collecting 70watts per square meter they are still enabling a building the size of the Berg Kalipha with a total surface area of 500,000 square meters to potentially generate 35 million watts if the entire surface was covered in this kind of solar glazing.
Given that the energy consumption of the Berg Kalipha is 50million watts that represents a significant energy and cost saving potential for very large buildings.
Jan
25
The new “big thing” for the commercial scale “green” energy sector is combining low cost solar PV with already established wind farms. The benefit of this apart from increased sales to large manufacturing companies like GE is that wind generally is strongest during periods of low sunshine or night hours. So based on this simple premise the idea is that wind and solar complement each other very well.
Another benefit from combining wind with solar is that the land set aside for wind farms has already been sectioned off as an area for energy production. Given that the windy zones are usually pretty clear from dust and debris it also makes sense that PV panels will be keep cleaner in general in a windy zone than in a non windy zone. That will help to increase overall efficiency.
The general point of combining Wind and Solar makes a lot of sense from a long term perspective. There are some serious drawbacks from an environmental perspective though. Apart from using a seriously flawed design of large propellors in the sky which consume significant amounts of energy to manufacture and due to their location disrupt the flight paths of many of the worlds most at risk endangered bird life, absorbing enough wind energy from the environment to actually make a difference for global energy consumption is disrupting the natural weather patterns on a local scale. The energy absorbed by massive wind farms is enough to tip the balance against the positive gains achieved by renewable energy production.
As the wind is absorbed and taken out of the natural cycle the world is effectively left with less active weather patterns. The knock on effect from taking this much energy out of an ecosystem is not well understood or modelled. What we can do is estimate what the effect will be by scaling down the system. Take for example a fan in a hot room that is used to distribute air evenly to cool the local environment. If a significant amount of the wind generated by the fan is absorbed and turned into electricity even on a small scale then general affect is the room will not be cooled as effectively. Hence the air that is being moved around the room will be generally warmer than if the absorbed energy is not extracted from the system.
This creates a potential threat to the efforts of reducing global warming by using renewables to generat electricity on a scale that is great enough to make a difference to the overall problem of rapidly decreasing fossil fuel resources.
Jan
19
Dow industrials has just announced it’s starting trial commercial sales of it’s new Solar Shingle range in Colorado. They have teamed with several large roofing firms in the state to provide Solar shingles as an option for people looking to get Solar installed on their roofs while minimising the changes to the exterior facade. This development represents the start of a new phase of Solar on homes. The next trick will be to get the price right down by mass producing the shingles. In this way the whole industry benefits.
We look forward to the day that local supplies stores likes Bunnings have a section dedicated to Solar solutions for the DIY home owner. The time has come as the price of PV panels has dropped significantly in the past year. With the addition of mass produced Solar Shingles the home owner is getting the best of both worlds. Decrease your dependance on the grid and increase the value of your home. With multiple solutions available to the homeowner it is now possible for everyone to enjoy the benefits of solar power. Even the most demanding aesthetics can be integrated without sacrificing look and feel. It is also possible to fit out existing structures with one type of panel while deploying another type to new structures.
The biggest problem now is storage of energy. A robust solution for the home that doesn’t require expensive batteries is now required. The company that successfully integrate a Solar Thermal solution with a Photo Voltaic solution to provide permanent safe storage while maximising the energy harvested from the light spectrum will be in the best position.
Jan
6
A neat spin on the Solar cooking concept. This time as a popup restaurant travelling around Europe during the summer months.
Cooking in Turku from LapinKultaSolarKitchenRestaurant on Vimeo.
Jan
6
A recent article in The Guardian explains concisely why distributed Solar power is the answer to the immediate problems facing the poorest people on the planet. Not only does the author elegantly explain why it is imperative to empower the poor and the humane thing to do they make an excellent point on the viability of cellular providers to become distributed power providers too. After all it is in the interests of the Cellular providers to make sure their customers can actually use their phones so why not provide power solutions to ensure they can charge their phones and keep ticking up the minutes.
Cellular providers are uniquely placed to play this role in the coming years. They already deal with distributed grids and wireless base stations. They already handle micro payments and the customers are already setup to pay for their minutes in pre pay or post paid accounts. Essentially they already have the systems in place to make it easy and accessible for people to access solar power. The latest advances in mass produced portable solar technology with built in cellular enabled sim cards to pay for the energy that is consumed by the devices that connect are being tested as we speak in exactly the communities that need them most. It will be soon possible to purchase outright a portable charging device in the same way that one can purchase an unlocked phone. At that point the Cellular industry becomes the king maker for portable Solar energy technology.
We can expect to see Apple, Samsung, HTC, Motorola, Nokia, Microsoft and Google all getting in on this bandwagon in the coming year. If it has escaped their attention until now it won’t for much longer.
Jan
2
2011 has been a big year for the Solar industry with massive projects being finalised and equally massive companies going bust due to the fierce competition and changing politics combined with a stagnant economy. Some of the trends we have noticed are sure to continue over the coming year.
More large commercial Solar installations.
Watch this year as Japan comes into it’s own. The political environment is ripe for the wholesale adoption of solar across the nation. Other countries like India are also following suit with a sudden shift in political strategy due to the drop in prices over the past year of Solar panels made almost entirely in China. Expect to see a major push from the Middle East too as they absorb the excess quantity from China at prices that make sense to them as they ween themselves off oil leaving more for them to sell to foreign addicts.
The relentless march of small scale installations.
2012 will see an even greater adoption of small scale solar as consumers from household to industrial seek to ensure their energy supply and lock in the price of electricity for the coming energy crunch. With Solar PV prices at an all time low and a glut of panels on the market due to the drop in overall demand from Europe the manufacturers are seeking to move stock as fast as possible so that just means things get cheaper for consumers. It’s not so great for companies that bet big on more expensive technology but the research done over the past few years on the various options will still be useful at a later date as the price of energy increases due to the dwindling reserves of fossil fuel.
Solar Thermal Plants come into their own.
2012 is the year of Solar Thermal. Concentrated Solar Thermal Towers will be the flavour this year as big energy producers like Areva seek to solidify their positions as the main energy providers in the solar economy. Salt towers which can hold the heat of the sun of 14 hours will be very big business in the coming year. This will provide sorely needed jobs for the construction industry and electrical cables will need to be laid to transport the power to the grid.
DC is the electrical output of choice.
This coming year will see more attention being paid to the use od Direct Current over Alternating Current with massive data centers being designed to run exclusively on DC thereby saving on the wasted energy lost in converting between DC and AC.
Solar Shingles will make a big splash this year.
Several companies have been getting in on the Solar Shingle bandwagon with technologies maturing over the past year and smaller companies being absorbed into larger manufacturers. The marketing push will be much stronger this year as the construction industry sees the value of getting homeowners to completely reshingle their ageing roof’s using the modern and fashionable Solar Shingles.
Solar paint will see a big media push in 2012.
The idea of painting your house or vehicle with a solar paint that can absorb photons and convert them into electrons to charge a battery is a big idea which is gaining some serious momentum. Major leaps in the technology required to manufacture quantum dots of carbon nanotubes at a scale that can be suspended in a paint mixture to act as an antenna that receive the full spectrum of light waves will make a big difference to the pace of prototyping this advanced technology.
Thin film will come into it’s own in 2012.
This year the Thin Film industry will make a major manufacturing and marketing push into the mainstream consciousness. With the price of thin film dramatically cheaper than baked Silicon PV the Thin Film industry will become competitive this year and start to roll out the next big advance in solar technology. Fabrics that fully integrate Thin Film into the design will start to appear on shelves as the fabric industry tries to make it’s impression on the market place. We can expect tents, sails, collapsable light weight canopies and clothing to incorporate Thin Film as a standard. The idea of turning up at a campsite and unfolding the solar sails on the back of the Caravan will become a normality rather than a sci-fi dream.
Expect to see a big push for Solar Thermal Desalinisation in 2012.
As the world wakes up to the lack of resources due to the ever increasing population and dwindling supply of fresh water to feed the population there will be a big push by the French to construct massive desalinisation plants using of Concentrated Solar Thermal power stations. The excess heat will be used to desalinise salt water which will be pumped into the regional water supply. Coastal areas with a lot of sun are the prime targets. Expect Israel to get in on this effort as they seek to increase their independence from instable regional players.
More large business deals will be made for recently constructed energy projects.
The big investment empires will seek to dominate the Solar Energy market just as they do every other energy market. They will tighten their grip around any publicly traded and recently completed energy project they can get their hands on. This is not as much about making money as about ensuring that no one else does. The last thing they want is to allow a small energy company to become a big player simply by reinvesting their profits into bigger and more efficient energy projects. They will absorb any project that looks like it could get ahead.
Using water to cool concentrated Solar receivers.
This is a new industry but sure to see some pickup in 2012. The idea of floating concentrated solar receivers that use water to absorb the excess heat that is the by product of absorbing photons from the infra red and UV spectrums. This technology has the potential to increase efficiency of high performance Solar Photo Voltaic panels.
The rise of Hybrid Solar collectors.
2012 will see a major push from companies that make hybrid solutions for collecting Solar energy. Combining concentrated solar with high performance Photo Voltaic, water heating and air conditioning this technology promises to achieve upto 85% efficiency which will be a major win for households and small commercial installations. Expect to see these contraptions sprouting up at malls and schools as an efficient way to lock in power prices for the next 50 years and guarantee a steady energy supply.
More and more portable and DIY kits.
With all the options above the DIY and portable market is going to boom this year as people seek to ensure their backups are in place in case of blackouts and emergencies. The range of portable solutions and DIY home installation kits will become a common fixture at malls, super markets and home improvement stores. Expect to see whole sections devoted to Solar construction and materials.
Cellular Providers becoming Solar Energy Providers
Cellular providers are well placed to become the defacto solar energy providers for rural and poor people across the globe. They already have the infrastructure and systems in place for distributed networks and adding in the capacity for providing distributed solar energy solutions to their customers is a no brainer. After all it is in their interest if their customers have enough energy to keep using their phones. Expect to see all the big names in mobile tech jumping on this band wagon in the coming year as they seek to lock down every possible market opportunity for portable solutions in the cellular and mobile tech industry.
Dec
12
According to a recent article on energymatters.com.au the price of electricity is going to rise dramatically over the next couple of years. The main culprit appears to be inflationary pressures and the cost of replacing ageing infrastructure to meet demand. Perhaps this will make the politicians make some tangible progress on taking Australia out of the fossil fuel cycle and invest heavily in renewables like solar thermal, geothermal and Solar PV for isolated locations where connecting to the grid consumes a lot of energy to put in place the infrastructure.
In June, the AEMC estimated residential electricity price increases of 30% by 2013. According to the latest AEMC report, the contribution to the revised projected 37% price increase from each component is as follows:
Transmission: 6.0%
Distribution: 33.6%
Wholesale: 40.2%
Retail: 12.1%
Feed-in tariff: 2.8%
LRET (Large Scale Renewable Energy Target: 3.8%
SRES (Small Scale Renewable Energy Scheme): -0.8%
Other state based schemes: 2.3%While the AEMC’s findings clearly show small scale solar power is not the main villain in electricity price hikes over the next few years – less than 5% of the 37% national average – some in the media have again chosen to amplify its impact in the overall situation. Factors related to replacement of ageing infrastructure, gas-fired generation and the upcoming carbon tax appear to play a greater role.
The AEMC have also provided a breakdown of each state’s outlook.
Queensland – residential electricity prices forecast to jump by 42%, with the main drivers being the wholesale electricity component and distribution.
New South Wales – increase of 42 per cent forecast, again primarily due to distribution and wholesale electricity price increases, with the latter being the result of a price on carbon and increases in gas-fired generation capacity.
A.C.T – 42 per cent jump in nominal terms.
Victoria – 33% increase in residential electricity prices predicted.
Tasmania – 25 per cent electricity price hike forecast, mostly due to the wholesale component resulting from increased gas-fired generation and a minor wind component.
South Australia – residential electricity prices are forecast to increase by 36 per cent in nominal terms; driven in part by volatile demand, South Australia being a relatively small market and a high dependence on gas-fired power generation.
Western Australia – electricity supply to residential customers is forecast to increase by 30 per cent with over 80% of the hike due to increases in distribution and wholesale factors.
Northern Territory – The AEMC predicts Northern Territory residential electricity prices will rise 16 per cent in nominal terms between the base year and 2013-2014.
Nov
4
Lighting a home is a constant drain on energy. Getting the right amount of light is also a difficult task without spending money on multiple light sources and having switches all over a room. buying new lights to replace old burnt out lights is another financial drain and in these fiscally prudent times it is just one more thing to worry about. The case for Light Emitting Diodes or LED’s in the house is an open book once you take the time to really look into it.
LED lights can be used to light up a whole room with a fraction of the energy that a normal light would require. Running a strip of LED’s along a wall and bouncing the light off the corners of a room provides a nice even glow and a consistent spread of light.
One of the more interesting aspects of LED lights is the range of colors that are available. It’s possible to find full spectrum LED strips with remote control that allow you to change the color of a room at anytime. If you’re lucky the remote sensor will also respond to your TV remote control which gives a whole new meaning to changing the channel.
The power consumption of LED lights is a fraction of the energy required by conventional lights so you can either cut back dramatically on your power usage for lighting your house or you can have more light throughout the house for the same energy footprint.
Clever use of LED lighting through hallways and rooms can provide almost the same clarity as a sunny day. With the addition of colours and hues and a remote controller lighting a room becomes fun and helps to set the mood for those special intimate occasions with family, friends and lovers.
Nov
3
Proponents of the Solar economy often argue that as the price of solar panels decreases the time to see a complete return on investment also shortens. What they often miss is the cost in terms of energy, environmental impact and government subsidies that solar panel manufacturing and installation incurs. Given that the majority of the solar panels being produced today are manufactured in China and the lack of transparency in the operations of these companies it stands to reason that a significant amount of the true cost is hidden from the mainstream and therefore left out of the discussion.
The manufacturing process for solar panels includes chemical reactions, enormous amounts of heat, off gassing of poisonous gasses and disposal of waste products. The amount of energy used in the complete manufacturing cycle of a solar panel is massive and centralised which means the decentralisation of energy gathered via solar panels is offset by the amount of centralised energy required to manufacture them in the first place.
In addition the cost in terms of energy required for mining the raw materials, smelting the metals required for the framing and components, transporting the raw materials and end products and the associated fuel consumed in that process generally is not taken into consideration when people look at the overall cost in terms of price when calculating the ROI for the purchase and installation of a solar array.
The cost in terms of inflation and personal income tax that is represented by the excessive government subsidies for the mining, energy and manufacturing industries is almost completely ignored.
The true cost of solar panels are therefore an energy negative solution to the energy problem. At barely 20% efficiency and approximately USD$1 per watt the price will have to fall to almost zero to balance out the true financial cost of the manufacturing and installation process.
Oct
16
It seems Sydneyites especially North Shore residents have realised the value of having a solar installation on their roofs recently. There has been a marked increase in solar panels at prominent locations on the North Shore. Of course this is the most likely place for solar installations to happen in Sydney as the residents of the North Shore tend to be the wealthy and trendy types. In addition they will have noticed the fact that having solar panels and “greening” your house helps maintain or even increases property value. Given that the majority of North Shore residents are not planning to sell their houses while the real estate market is performing so badly it makes sense for them to invest in solar panels so they can at least be prepared for when the oil stops flowing and the cost of electricity literally shoots through the roof.
It is a worthwhile investment for the wealthy urban elite to make at this stage. We expect to see a lot more installations copping up over the next year as the next door neighbours realise that they need to do likewise to stay competitively valued and the price of solar panels continues to drop. It’s a pity that the real power hogs such as the enormous sky scrapers and department store complexes don’t follow suit. At the very least they could be installing efficient solar thermal heat pumps and solar lighting systems to offset the cost in energy of running the massive air con units and lighting systems throughout the day. With all that prime roof top real estate to use for solar panel and parabolic reflectors they are not making wise business decisions by continuing to ignore the cost savings and benefits to shoppers that natural light and natural cooling can do for the shopping experience.
