Solar energy projects to compete for £7m funding

Solar technology experts have been invited to bid for £7 million of funding which will help stimulate the next generation of solar energy harvesting technologies.

The Technology Strategy Board and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) yesterday (August 26) called on nanotechnology researchers and industry specialists to enter the competition, launched this week.
It is designed to build upon earlier investments of £6.7 million in five research projects by the research councils, led by EPSRC.

As part of the competition, the EPSRC - the UK's main agency for funding research in engineering and the physical sciences - will invest up to £5 million in the new research and development projects, while the Technology Strategy Board - a business-led executive non-departmental public body, established by the government - will invest £2 million.

Inclusive of those involved in the five original research projects, other specialists in the field are now being offered the opportunity to enter this second competition, where business-led consortia will focus on building the supply chain and achieving technology demonstration in a "real life environment".

According to the Technology Strategy Board and EPSRC, investment is needed here to help UK businesses become "early adopters" of the technology and aid "rapid commercialisation" of their products.

Explaining the aims of the competition, chief executive of the Technology Strategy Board, Iain Gray, said: "The projects we will fund through this competition will both improve our quality of life and generate economic benefits to the UK economy.

"Nanoscale solar technologies have the potential to address the major societal challenge of increasing our renewable energy options for the future. By investing in this area we will be contributing significantly to the UK's 2050 targets for renewable energy as well as growing significant business opportunities for British companies both at home and abroad, transferring commercially focused basic research into the business community."

The two bodies claim that current installed electricity generating capacity is around 80GW, with demand potentially increasing by up to 50% by 2050. They add that government targets, meanwhile, demand an 80% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2050 and argue that, in principle, the sun could provide "sufficient energy" to make up the shortfall.

However, they note that for this to happen, new innovative methods of energy capture and storage need to be discovered, developed and exploited "rapidly" and claim solar nanotechnology has "a significant role to play here and is increasingly influencing these areas".

EPSRC chief executive, Professor David Delpy, said: "Solar energy is the only renewable energy technology that, in theory, could meet all of the world's energy needs.

"To date we have been limited by the cost and efficiency of the available technology. This competition will ‘fast track' projects that address some of these challenges. The projects will also have commercial potential and can position British businesses to exploit a growing global market in the near term, while providing sustainable solutions for the UK in the longer term."

The competition opens on September 13 and expressions of interest must be submitted by October 14. The closing date for receiving full applications is October 21 2010.
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Suntech signs South African solar deal

Chinese solar energy giant Suntech Power Holdings has today inked a deal that should see the company develop one of Africa's first large-scale solar photovoltaic energy plants.

The company confirmed that it has inked a non-binding memorandum of understanding with an undisclosed South African firm that will see Suntech develop a 100MW solar farm in the country.
The deal contained no details of financial terms, but reports suggested the project was likely to cost between $350m and $400m.

Rory Macpherson, director of investor relations at Suntech, told Reuters that the company had not finalized the timetable for the project, but he hinted that the agreement was likely to be the first of many South African deals for the company as it seeks to tap into a photovoltaic market that could be worth over $1bn a year.
"Obviously, we are committed to developing the solar market in South Africa, " he said. "We will look for solar opportunities as soon as possible."

In related news, California is set to build its first solar thermal power plant in two decades after the state's energy commission gave the go ahead for the 250MW Beacon Solar Energy Project.
Jeffrey Byron, a member of the California Energy Commission, said that he hoped the decision would be the first in a flurry of approvals for proposed solar plants in southern California.

Over the past few weeks the commission's siting committee has recommended that over 2,100MW of solar projects be granted planning permission, including the 250MW Abengoa Mojave facility, 1,000MW Blythe project and 370MW Ivanpah development, as well as the Beacon site.
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Sun rises on British Gas solar panel offer

British Gas has today become the latest energy giant to try to break into the booming market for domestic renewable energy technologies, unveiling a new service that will allow households to install solar panels at no up-front cost.


Following the launch of the UK's feed-in tariff incentive scheme in April, many energy companies and specialist renewable energy firms have launched new financing and installation schemes designed to help households deploy rooftop solar panels.

British Gas has now joined them with the expansion of its mySolar Energy pilot scheme, which provides customers with the choice to either pay for a solar panel themselves or take advantage of an offer from the company that involves no up-front cost.

Under the terms of the deal, customers taking up the free panel will effectively rent part of their roof space to British Gas, meaning they can use the energy generated by the solar panel, but British Gas keeps the revenue generated through the feed-in tariff scheme. The deal will only be open to British Gas customers and will initially be limited to 1,500 installations.

Alternatively, households can take advantage of a two-year, zero per cent APR finance deal and pay for the panels and installation themselves, allowing them to keep payments received through the feed-in tariff scheme which can reach up to £1,000 a year.

"Installing solar panels will create a regular, tax-free income for homeowners," said financial expert and broadcaster Jasmine Birtles. "Not only that, but the income is index-linked and guaranteed by the government for the next 25 years. As it typically gives returns of five to eight per cent it's potentially far better than most current bond or gilt investments. It is also a great way to keep your electricity bills down."

British Gas already provides solar installations to businesses through its wholly owned subsidiary Solar Technologies and Jon Kimber, managing director at British Gas New Energy, said the firm had now set itself the target of becoming the "leading player" in the domestic solar sector.

However, the company is likely to face stiff competition from rival energy firms such as E.ON and Npower which are also offering services designed to take advantage of the feed-in tariff, as well as specialist firms such as Solarcentury and HomeSun.

To coincide with the launch of the new service, British Gas released new research revealing that about half of British homes could generate £600 a year from rooftop solar panels using the feed-in tariff, while some could earn up to £1,000 a year. The company estimated that in total British homes could generate £7bn in additional revenue while slashing their carbon footprint.

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Americans underestimate personal power consumption and overestimate saving potential

Many Americans believe the best effort they can make towards energy conservation is to use low-power light bulbs and recycle glass bottles, according to a study recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The same citizens also severely underestimate the amount of energy they could save by switching to currently available alternative technologies
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Governments and environmental groups should do more to educate citizens as to the more effective contributions they can make to reduce their energy consumption, conclude the researchers.

Researchers at Columbia University recruited over 500 volunteers via web marketplace Craigslist and asked them to estimate the energy consumption of nine household devices, such as a washing machine, TV and air conditioner. They were also asked to estimate the energy savings they could make through adopting various behaviours, from using lower-wattage light bulbs and recycling glass to line-drying rather than tumble-drying clothes and driving a more fuel-efficient car.

The largest group, nearly 20 percent, cited turning off lights as the best approach to saving energy. Very few cited buying decisions that experts say would cut US energy consumption dramatically, such as more efficient cars (cited by only 2.8 percent), more efficient appliances (cited by 3.2 percent) or insulating homes (cited by 2.1 percent).
Previous studies have concluded that households could reduce energy consumption some 30 percent by making such choices without waiting for new technologies, making big economic sacrifices or dramatically reducing their standard of living.
“When people think of themselves, they may tend to think of what they can do that is cheap and easy at the moment,” said Shahzeen Attari, lead author of the report and a postdoctoral fellow at Columbia University’s Earth Institute.
The survey shows that governments and environmental groups have failed to communicate more sophisticated messages about energy conservation and gone for easy green initiatives, such as recycling and focussing on lighting, concludes Attari.
More worryingly, it shows that US citizens view green behaviour as small curtailments of current behaviour – doing less of the same things – rather than adopting new ways of doing things.
“But switching to efficient technologies generally allows you to maintain your behaviour and save a great deal more energy,” said Attari.

On average, the respondents to the survey underestimated their own energy use and overestimated the savings they could make by a factor of 2.8.

This shows a lack of understanding about the relative consumption of familiar household devices, for example, that a 3kW drier uses 30 times more energy than a 100W light bulb.
More environmentally aware respondents, and those with a better understanding of basic maths, were more accurate in their estimates, the survey found.

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Self-cleaning technology from Mars can keep terrestrial solar panels dust free

ScienceDaily (Aug. 23, 2010) — Find dusting those tables and dressers a chore or a bore? Dread washing the windows? Imagine keeping dust and grime off objects spread out over an area of 25 to 50 football fields. That's the problem facing companies that deploy large-scale solar power installations, and scientists have now presented the development of one solution -- self-dusting solar panels ? based on technology developed for space missions to Mars.

In a report at the 240th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS) on August 22, they described how a self-cleaning coating on the surface of solar cells could increase the efficiency of producing electricity from sunlight and reduce maintenance costs for large-scale solar installations.

"We think our self-cleaning panels used in areas of high dust and particulate pollutant concentrations will highly benefit the systems' solar energy output," study leader Malay K. Mazumder, Ph.D. said. "Our technology can be used in both small- and large-scale photovoltaic systems. To our knowledge, this is the only technology for automatic dust cleaning that doesn't require water or mechanical movement."

Mazumder, who is with Boston University, said the need for that technology is growing with the popularity of solar energy. Use of solar, or photovoltaic, panels increased by 50 percent from 2003 to 2008, and forecasts suggest a growth rate of at least 25 percent annually into the future. Fostering the growth, he said, is emphasis on alternative energy sources and society-wide concerns about sustainability (using resources today in ways that do not jeopardize the ability of future generations to meet their needs).

Large-scale solar installations already exist in the United States, Spain, Germany, the Middle East, Australia, and India. These installations usually are located in sun-drenched desert areas where dry weather and winds sweep dust into the air and deposit it onto the surface of solar panel. Just like grime on a household window, that dust reduces the amount of light that can enter the business part of the solar panel, decreasing the amount of electricity produced. Clean water tends to be scarce in these areas, making it expensive to clean the solar panels.

"A dust layer of one-seventh of an ounce per square yard decreases solar power conversion by 40 percent," Mazumder explains. "In Arizona, dust is deposited each month at about 4 times that amount. Deposition rates are even higher in the Middle East, Australia, and India."

Working with NASA, Mazumder and colleagues initially developed the self-cleaning solar panel technology for use in lunar and Mars missions. "Mars of course is a dusty and dry environment," Mazumder said, "and solar panels powering rovers and future manned and robotic missions must not succumb to dust deposition. But neither should the solar panels here on Earth."

The self-cleaning technology involves deposition of a transparent, electrically sensitive material deposited on glass or a transparent plastic sheet covering the panels. Sensors monitor dust levels on the surface of the panel and energize the material when dust concentration reaches a critical level. The electric charge sends a dust-repelling wave cascading over the surface of the material, lifting away the dust and transporting it off of the screen's edges.

Mazumder said that within two minutes, the process removes about 90 percent of the dust deposited on a solar panel and requires only a small amount of the electricity generated by the panel for cleaning operations.
The current market size for solar panels is about $24 billion, Mazumder said. "Less than 0.04 percent of global energy production is derived from solar panels, but if only four percent of the world's deserts were dedicated to solar power harvesting, our energy needs could be completely met worldwide. This self-cleaning technology can play an important role."

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by American Chemical Society, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

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Renewable energy sector growing

The global renewable energy sector is growing, new figures have revealed, signalling a 54 per cent increase in demand in the past year alone.

IMAP's 2010 Alternative Energy Global Report shows that the number of mergers and acquisitions in the market grew, suggesting confidence from investors in the sector.

This in turn could bring down the cost of energy products, and through investments from utility companies, could also reduce fuel bills.

The report showed that the total transaction value of investor deals over the past 12 months came to $20.4 billion (£13 billion), with China leading the way with the highest investment value.

Europe had the largest number of transactions; however they were of a lower value.

Ketil Wig, chairman of IMAP's Energy & Power Industry Group, commented: "The cost of clean technologies is decreasing and these technologies are being utilised in more applications.

"Within the next decade, we expect solar photovoltaic (PV) installations, smart meters, energy storage devices, wind turbines and other clean technologies to become commodities and help the market to mature."


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Chris Huhne letter to the Guardian on an Emissions Performance Standard

17 August 2010

Dear Sir,
The idea that we are “watering down” our commitment is simply incorrect ("Dirtiest coal power plants win reprieve, 16 August"): this Government has committed to introducing an Emissions Performance Standard.
We are moving as quickly as possible and our consultation on a radical reform of the electricity market to deliver secure, affordable and low carbon energy, will be out within 6 months of election while a white paper will be published within a year.

The view that this might raise the possibility of new coal-fired power stations “slipping through the system” is ludicrous.

We consider planning applications thoroughly and will not allow any new coal power station to be built without being equipped with carbon capture and storage. While we will consult on the final details of an Emissions Performance Standard, I am clear that without CCS it would be impossible to meet such a standard.

However an Emissions Performance Standard on its own is not a magic bullet to decarbonise our economy. We have inherited an energy system that has suffered from a lack of clear direction and was not fit for purpose. That is why we will be implementing comprehensive electricity market reform to ensure that we can have a secure, low carbon, affordable electricity mix for decades to come.

Chris Huhne, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change

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Solar players fatten up in 2010, fear lean 2011

Solar companies in both the US and Asia enjoyed a bumper second quarter, according to results released erlier this week, but many remain nervous about their prospects for next year.

Chinese solar firm JA Solar led the way, turning the $28.5m loss recorded during the second quarter of last year into $28.9m in net income for the second quarter of 2010. Meanwhile, revenue for the period quadrupled year-on-year to $351m, prompting the company to up its yearly financial forecast.

Things were equally positive on the other side of the Pacific as US-based SunPower published better-than-expected financial results and announced plans to build a new 15MW PV solar plant in Arizona.
The company said it would build the plant for Arizona Public Service, a subsidiary of Pinnacle West, a holding company with various energy-producing divisions around the Western United States.

Second quarter revenue at SunPower climbed from $299.3m a year ago to $384.2m, this year. Net losses reached $6.2m, compared to a $14.3m profit a year ago, but non-GAAP net income per share stood at 15 cents, compared to nine cents in the second quarter of 2009. The profit disparity between its GAAP and non-GAAP figures is due largely to a 50 cent per share tax expense, including expenses associated with discontinued operations, the company said.

However, despite the upbeat results leading solar companies are warning that business might flatten next year, if subsidy cuts in Germany go ahead.

The country, which has been a mainstay market for European solar sales, has pledged to cut feed-in tariffs for rooftop solar by 16 per cent, and to slash solar installations on open-field sites by 15 per cent. Feed-in tariffs for solar sites on agricultural land would be removed altogether.

Germany recently voted to introduce the cuts in a two-phase process throughout the rest of 2010.
Solar firms are concerned that customers in Germany are buying panels now to take advantage of existing subsidies, and as a result the market will dry up substantially next year following the cuts.

The challenge is particularly acute for German solar cell manufacturers, such as the world's fourth largest solar manufacturer Q-Cells which this week posted its first quarterly net profit since late 2008 and upped its outlook for the rest of the year.

The company's chief executive Nedim Cen welcomed the strong performance, but expressed scepticism that the market will remain as buoyant through 2011.

"I believe that 2010 was a year of extraordinary growth," he said. "But will we see the same situation in 2011? I don't think so."

Similar concerns are being voiced in Spain and Italy where the governments are also planning to scale back incentives for solar installations.

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US energy storage firm reckons it is ready to fly

An innovative 20MW energy storage project that aims to make it easier to integrate renewable energy into the grid looks set to be completed after US-based Beacon Power this week announced that it has secured a $43m loan guaranteed by the Department of Energy (DOE).

The company said the loan completes the financing for its flywheel energy storage plant, which is currently under construction in Stephentown, New York.

Flywheel energy storage devices typically use stored kinetic energy to provide back up power at facilities such as hospitals and data centres that require a reliable energy supply.

However, Beacon Power has developed an advanced flywheel system that not only stores energy but also provides frequency regulation, absorbing electricity from the grid when there is excess supply and then injecting it back into the grid in response to peaks in demand.

Demand for frequency regulation systems is expected to soar globally as intermittent energy sources such as wind and solar farms provide greater levels of energy to the grid. Grid operators around the world are looking for cost effective means of storing renewable energy that will allow them to draw on stored power at times when weather conditions mean that output from renewable sources fall.

Beacon Power reckons its flywheels will offer a cleaner and more reliable alternative to the conventional fossil fuel powered plants that are currently used by grid operators to manage grid frequency and cover peaks in demand.

Bill Capp, president and chief executive at the company, said the new Stephentown facility would serve to demonstrate the viability of the technology.

"We believe that there is no better way to provide efficient, grid-scale frequency regulation than our flywheel systems," he said in statement. "We're grateful to DOE, through the Loan Programs Office, for its continued strong support and validation of this breakthrough technology."

The completion of the loan and loan guarantees, which were first announced a year ago, represents a major breakthrough for the company and will fuel optimism that it can now move forward with plans for two more flywheel plants in New York.

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Investments in Alternative Energy

It is possible to have a portfolio which profitably (that's the key word, is it not?) invests in alternative energy funds. “Green” energy production is expected to be a multi-billion (in today's dollars) industry by 2013.

The most recently developed wind-turbine technologies have brought us wind-produced energy which is more cost efficient as well as more widespread. More state-of-the-art wind energy technologies are typically more market competitive with conventional energy technologies. The newer wind-power technologies don't even kill birds like in days of old! Wind energy production is a growing technology, and companies engaged in it would make up an excellent part of a growth or aggressive growth portfolio.

Next to consider are solar cell, or photovoltaic cell, technologies. These are to be found implemented in pocket calculators, private property lights, US Coast Guard buoys, and other areas. More and more they find their way onto the roofs of housing and commercial buildings and building complexes. Cost is falling. Their energy efficiency (the ratio of the amount of work needed to cause their energy production versus the actual energy production) is steadily on the rise. As an example, the conversion efficiency of silicon cells has increased from a mere four percent in 1982 to over 20% for the latest technologies.

Photovoltaic cells create absolute zero pollution as they are generating electrical power. However, photovoltaic cells are not presently as cost effective as “utility produced” electricity. “PV” cells are not capable at present for producing industrial-production amounts of electricity due to their present constraints on space. However, areas where photovoltaic cell arrays could be implemented are increasingly available. In sum, costs are going down while efficiency is rising for this alternative fuel technology.

Many alternative energy investment portfolio advisors are confident that alternative energies derived from currents, tidal movement, and temperature differentials are poised to become a new and predominant form of clean energy. The French are actually fairly advanced at hydro power generation, and numerous studies are being made in Scotland and the US along these sames lines. Some concerns center around the problems with the deterioration of metals in salt water, marine growth such as barnacles, and violent storms which have all been disruptions to energy production in the past. However, these problems for the most part seem to be cured through the use of different, better materials. Ocean-produced energy has a huge advantage because the timing of ocean currents and waves are well understood and reliable.

Investments in hydro-electric technology have grown in the last two decades. Hydro-electric power is clean; however, it's also limited by geography. While already prominent as power generation, the large, older dams have had problems with disturbing marine life. Improvements have been made on those dams in order to protect marine life, but these improvements have been expensive. Consequently, more attention is now being paid to low-impact "run-of-the-river" hydro-power plants, which do not have these ecological problems.

The reality is, the energy future is green, and investors would do well to put their money out wisely, with that advice in their minds.

Solar Energy Collecting as an Alternative Energy Source

Photovoltaic cells—those black squares an array of which comprises a solar panel—are getting more efficient, and gradually less expensive, all the time, thanks to ever-better designs which all them to focus the gathered sunlight on a more and more concentrated point. The size of the cells is decreasing as their efficiency rises, meaning that each cell becomes cheaper to produce and at once more productive.

As far as the aforementioned cost, the price of producing solar-generated energy per watt hour has come down to $4.00 at the time of this writing. Just 17 years ago, it was nearly double that cost. Solar powered electricity generation is certainly good for the environment, as this alternative form of producing energy gives off absolutely zero emissions into the atmosphere and is merely utilizing one of the most naturally occurring of all things as its driver. Solar collection cells are becoming slowly but surely ever more practical for placing upon the rooftops of people's homes, and they are not a difficult system to use for heating one's home, creating hot water, or producing electricity. In the case of using the photovoltaic cells for hot water generation, the system works by having the water encased in the cells, where it is heated and then sent through your pipes.

Photovoltaic cells are becoming increasingly better at collecting sufficient radiation from the sun even on overcast or stormy days. One company in particular, Uni-Solar, has developed solar collection arrays for the home that work well on inclement days, by way of a technologically more advanced system that stores more energy at one time during sunlit days than previous or other arrays. There is actually another solar power system available for use called the PV System. The PV System is connected to the nearest electrical grid; whenever there is an excess of solar energy being collected at a particular home, it is transferred to the grid for shared use and as a means of lowering the grid's dependence on the hydroelectrically-driven electricity production.

Being connected to the PV System can keep your costs down as compared to full-fledged solar energy, while at once reducing pollution and taking pressure off the grid system. Some areas are designing centralized solar collection arrays for small towns or suburban communities. Some big-name corporations have made it clear that they are also getting into the act of using solar power (a further indication that solar generated energy is becoming an economically viable alternative energy source).

Google is putting in a 1.6 megawatt solar power generation plant on the roof of its corporate headquarters, while Wal Mart wants to put in an enormous 100 megawatt system of its own. Nations such as Japan, Germany, the United States, and Switzerland have been furthering the cause of solar energy production by providing government subsidies or by giving tax breaks to companies and individuals who agree to utilize solar power for generating their heat or electrical power. As technology advances and a greater storage of solar collection materials is made available, more and more private investors will see the value of investing in this “green” technology and further its implementation much more.

Manufacturing output will focus on green investment

When the manufacturing industry picks up, investors will look towards emerging sectors in green technology over traditional firms, one consultant has predicted.

Steve Knight, business manager at manufacturing consultancy Newton, commented: "I think they [investors] will not look for things that they already have got.

"It will be emerging sectors such as green manufacturing, or a step change in technology – that is going to be the next step."

His comments come after the publication of the latest Economic Prospects 2010 report from EEF – The Manufacturing Institute, which forecasted a grown in output of 3.8 per cent this year and 3.4 per cent in 2011.

This is a larger expected growth than the economy as a whole, which is forecasted to expand by 1.1 per cent this year and 2.1 per cent in 2011.

In the coming months, investors could be looking into large-scale low-carbon technologies such as wind farms, which would benefit homeowners as their energy bills could be reduced.

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Spray on solar cell offers window of opportunity for green buildings

Everyday surfaces such as windows and roof tiles could be used to generate energy after a team of scientists this week revealed plans to commercialise a spray-on solar cell that could be used on buildings and aircraft.

Norwegian company EnSol and a team of scientists at the University of Leicester yesterday announced that they have successfully tested a new thin-film photovoltaic cell that can be painted onto flat surfaces.
The patented design uses metallic nanoparticles with diameters of approximately ten nanometres – much thinner than the width of a human hair.

The researchers said the cells are so small that they can be painted or sprayed onto a surface, although they would slightly reduce the transparency of glass creating a tinted effect.

The team has already tested the technology and now hopes to refine it to achieve a cell efficiency of at least 20 per cent before rolling it out on a commercial basis by 2016.

University of Leicester professor of nanotechnology Chris Binns explained in a video interview posted on YouTube that he expects the cell to generate 100 watts per square metre.
"It's a thin-film coated technology, so it can literally be sprayed onto things, so anything can be converted into a power generating surface," he said. "It's also transparent, so it can even be put onto windows. And in principle, it could also be more efficient than existing technologies."

Binns added that the thin and lightweight cell would be "perfect" for the Solar Impulse aeroplane, which recently completed the first 24-hour flight by a solar-powered aircraft.

The development could mark a major breakthrough in the emerging market for building-integrated solar technologies. Experts have long maintained that integrating solar cells directly into roofs, windows and walls would allow buildings to generate almost all the energy they need, even in temperate climates.

However, take up of the technology to date has been hampered by the bulky nature of conventional solar panels and the high cost of purchase and deployment.

Ensol will now be hoping that the development of a spray-on solar cell will serve to slash the cost of solar energy and make it easy for builders to deploy solar systems.
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Consumers told to do research before going solar

Homeowners have been advised to do their research before tying themselves into a free solar panel scheme.
It was announced yesterday (August 9th) that HomeSun would provide 100,000 homes with free solar panels over the next three years.

This could benefit many homeowners as panels can cost around £11,000.

In return, the company will receive money for the electricity produced by the panels through the feed-in tariff, while the homeowner will have free power.

Liz Laine, energy expert at Consumer Focus, advised customers to go into these deals with their eyes open as they can be tied to the company for as long as 25 years.

"These long-term contracts need to be considered carefully," she said. "Asking the right questions and getting legal advice could help customers avoid the potential pitfalls of these schemes."

However, along with Ms Laine, the Centre for Sustainable Energy stressed that many of these deals are "perfectly reasonable".

Installing solar panels is one of many ways to generate your own energy, with wind turbines as an alternative option.
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DECC lifts ban on councils selling green energy

The UK government will from next week allow local authorities to sell energy that they produce back to the grid, ending a ban that has been in place for a quarter of a century.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) confirmed today that the ban, which was originally imposed in 1976, would be repealed on August 18.

Energy and Climate Change Secretary, Chris Huhne, who first announced that he would lift the ban last month, said that the change would free up councils to accelerate the roll out of community-scale renewable energy projects.

"For too long, Whitehall's dogmatic reliance on 'big' energy has stood in the way of the vast potential role of local authorities in the UK’s green energy revolution," he said in a visit to Woking Council. "Forward thinking local authorities such as Woking in Surrey have been quietly getting on with it, but against the odds, their efforts frustrated by the law."

The lifting of the ban allows councils to sell surplus energy generated by their onsite electricity projects back to the grid, providing them with an additional source of revenue.

Soon after the announcement, councils began explaining how they might benefit from the reversal in policy. Derby is due to complete a hydroelectric plant at Longbridge with a peak power output of 230Kw by the end of next year and also wants to install photovoltaic panels on two council buildings.

Meanwhile, Hampshire already has three energy from waste plants in place that process unrecyclable waste and generate enough energy each year to power 50,000 homes.

"Having the ability to sell our own generated electricity - instead of through an energy supply company - would really help us to invest in cleaner and more efficient generation technologies," said Councillor Mel Kendal, Hampshire County Council's Executive Member for Environment. "The benefits for Hampshire include ensuring energy security and reducing our vulnerability to future price increases."

The move is the latest step in the government's plan to promote greater uptake of small and community-scale renewable energy projects. However, it also comes at a time when many within the UK's renewable energy industry are frustrated at changes to planning rules that should make it easier for councils to overturn applications for mid-scale wind farms and other renewable energy projects.

A series of industry insiders told the Sunday Times' yesterday that the government had effectively "sanctioned nimbyism" by telling councils that it would roll back central government targets and allow them to have a greater say in planning decisions.

The CBI has also issued a major report today warning that the government's failure to provide greater detail on its proposed low carbon energy policies is blocking billions of pounds of renewable energy investment.

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UK start up announces £1bn solar panel giveaway

UK solar start up HomeSun will this week launch an ambitious £1bn plan to install free solar panels on 100,000 homes within the next three years.

The company, which was launched by a group of executives from the energy, building and carbon offsetting industry, will cover the cost of installing and maintaining rooftop solar photovoltaic panels in return for keeping the revenue generated by the panel through the government's feed-in tariff scheme.

HomeSun claims that homeowners who sign up to the scheme will be able to reduce their electricity bill by up to a third, without having to spend the £11,000 it typically costs to install a rooftop solar panel.

It has raised £20m from a group of undisclosed private investors and banks to fund the initial wave of installations and has set a target of installing 2,000 rooftop solar panels within the next year.

Only homeowners with a large unshaded south facing roof will qualify for the free installation service, although the company is also offering a separate scheme, dubbed SolarShare, where a household with a roof that "isn't quite perfect" for solar panels can pay a one-off £500 fee followed by a £5 a month maintenance payment towards the cost of the panel.

Daniel Green, chief executive at HomeSun, said the availability of free solar panels will help to rapidly accelerate the rollout of rooftop systems. "Solar power is natural, free and clean – it’s the price which has slowed widespread take-up," he said. "We are changing that. Today is the beginning of a new era as HomeSun takes solar power out into the mainstream."

Under the scheme, HomeSun effectively leases roof space from domestic customers, meaning that it is responsible for the maintenance and insurance of the panels. Households can then buy the solar panels from HomeSun at any time during their life, giving the homeowner access to the income generated through the feed-in tariff.

The scheme is likely to attract plenty of interest from households keen to cut their energy bills and carbon footprint.

However, HomeSun is likely to face intense competition as growing numbers of solar firms use the feed-in tariff to introduce similar business models that reduce or remove the upfront costs for customers.

A number of firms are currently developing alternative financing arrangements that would allow customers to use low-interest loans to purchase solar panels, meaning that they can keep payments generated using the feed-in tariff which can reach around £900 a year.
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Updated – CBI urges government to end energy policy confusion

Lobbying group the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) is today calling on the government to get its energy house in order, after warning that uncertainty about proposed policy reforms is stalling up to £150bn of private sector low-carbon investment.

The CBI said that uncertainty about the planning regime in particular is making investors wary of committing to new low-carbon energy projects.

It also warned that unless the government delivers key energy and planning reforms within six months, it could undermine emissions targets and energy security.

Launching a new report, entitled No time to lose: Deciding Britain's energy future, the business group warned that the £150bn private sector investment that is currently in the pipeline is essential for the UK to achieve a secure, sustainable and cost-effective energy mix that includes renewable sources, nuclear power and fossil fuels.

The report argues that the government should aim to clarify its energy plans by the end of February 2011, providing detailed guidance on how it intends to tackle delays in the planning system, speed up the development of carbon capture and storage technology, reform electricity markets, accelerate the rollout of renewable energy technologies and deliver its promised emissions performance standard for power plants.
"The government's first few months in office have been rightly dominated by sorting out the fiscal deficit, but it must not let the timetable for energy and planning reform slip any further," said John Cridland, CBI Deputy Director-General.

He added that the on-going uncertainty was having a direct impact on energy infrastructure projects.
"Energy companies are unable to get the ball rolling on new infrastructure projects when it is unclear how the future planning regime will work," he said. "Uncertainty on plans for electricity market reform, slow progress on clean coal and nuclear power, as well as the cost of renewable energy are adding to the mood of caution among investors. We need investment from companies, not delays from government."

The government has already announced it will abolish the Infrastructure Planning Commission and replace it with a major infrastructure unit with decision-making powers returned to Ministers.

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Shetland is front runner to cash in on new Government rules allowing councils to sell electricity

Rules that will come into force next week will mean the Shetland Islands can start making cash from their green energy projects.

The laws, introduced by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) mean that from 18 August 2010 Local Authorities are no longer restricted from selling renewable electricity into the national or local network.
Shetland has much potential and is already developing several wind energy projects. The new legislation will mean more of projects like these become viable.
The renewable schemes could generate potential funds for energy efficiency and the new law, coupled with the Local Government in Scotland Act could allow the Council to tackle fuel poverty in rural areas.

Iris Hawkins, Chair of the Council’s Infrastructure Committee, said

“This change will potentially allow another funding source for renewable energy projects and could encourage Council or partnership projects that will see more of the revenue generated being retained by the Council for the further benefit of Shetland as a whole, including development of further energy efficiency initiatives.”
Secretary of State Chris Huhne said:
“For too long, Whitehall’s dogmatic reliance on ‘big’ energy has stood in the way of the vast potential role of local authorities in the UK’s green energy revolution.
“Forward thinking local authorities such as the Shetland Islands have been quietly getting on with it, but against the odds, their efforts frustrated by the law.
“I’ve taken the early step of overturning the ban on local authorities selling renewable electricity to the grid.
“I’ve today written to all council chief execs urging them to take advantage and lead a local energy revolution.
“This is a vital step to making community renewable projects commercially viable, to bring in long-term income to benefit local areas, and to secure local acceptance for low carbon energy projects.”
At present only 0.01% of electricity in England is generated by local authorities, despite the scope that exists to install projects on their land and buildings.
In one of the first actions of the coalition government, a ban on local authorities selling renewable electricity, dating back to 1976, will end on 18 August.  This will open up the full benefit of renewable energy incentives such as the feed in tariff.

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New solar energy conversion process could double solar efficiency of solar cells

A new process that simultaneously combines the light and heat of solar radiation to generate electricity could offer more than double the efficiency of existing solar cell technology, say the Stanford engineers who discovered it and proved that it works.

The process, called "photon enhanced thermionic emission," or PETE, could reduce the costs of solar energy production enough for it to compete with oil as an energy source.

Stanford engineers have figured out how to simultaneously use the light and heat of the sun to generate electricity in a way that could make solar power production more than twice as efficient as existing methods and potentially cheap enough to compete with oil.

Unlike photovoltaic technology currently used in solar panels -- which becomes less efficient as the temperature rises -- the new process excels at higher temperatures.

"This is really a conceptual breakthrough, a new energy conversion process, not just a new material or a slightly different tweak," said Nick Melosh, an assistant professor of materials science and engineering, who led the research group. "It is actually something fundamentally different about how you can harvest energy."
And the materials needed to build a device to make the process work are cheap and easily available, meaning the power that comes from it will be affordable.

Melosh is senior author of a paper describing the tests the researchers conducted. It was published this week in Nature Materials.

"Just demonstrating that the process worked was a big deal," Melosh said. "And we showed this physical mechanism does exist, it works as advertised." Most photovoltaic cells, such as those used in rooftop solar panels, use the semiconducting material silicon to convert the energy from photons of light to electricity. But the cells can only use a portion of the light spectrum, with the rest just generating heat.

This heat from unused sunlight and inefficiencies in the cells themselves account for a loss of more than 50 percent of the initial solar energy reaching the cell. If this wasted heat energy could somehow be harvested, solar cells could be much more efficient. The problem has been that high temperatures are necessary to power heat-based conversion systems, yet solar cell efficiency rapidly decreases at higher temperatures.
Until now, no one had come up with a way to wed thermal and solar cell conversion technologies.
Melosh's group figured out that by coating a piece of semiconducting material with a thin layer of the metal cesium, it made the material able to use both light and heat to generate electricity.

"What we've demonstrated is a new physical process that is not based on standard photovoltaic mechanisms, but can give you a photovoltaic-like response at very high temperatures," Melosh said. "In fact, it works better at higher temperatures. The higher the better."

While most silicon solar cells have been rendered inert by the time the temperature reaches 100 degrees Celsius, the PETE device doesn't hit peak efficiency until it is well over 200 degrees C.
Because PETE performs best at temperatures well in excess of what a rooftop solar panel would reach, the devices will work best in solar concentrators such as parabolic dishes, which can get as hot as 800 degrees C. Dishes are used in large solar farms similar to those proposed for the Mojave Desert in Southern California and usually include a thermal conversion mechanism as part of their design, which offers another opportunity for PETE to help generate electricity, as well as minimizing costs by meshing with existing technology.

"The light would come in and hit our PETE device first, where we would take advantage of both the incident light and the heat that it produces, and then we would dump the waste heat to their existing thermal conversion systems," Melosh said. "So the PETE process has two really big benefits in energy production over normal technology."

Photovoltaic systems never get hot enough for their waste heat to be useful in thermal energy conversion, but the high temperatures at which PETE performs are perfect for generating usable high temperature waste heat. Melosh calculates the PETE process can get to 50 percent efficiency or more under solar concentration, but if combined with a thermal conversion cycle, could reach 55 or even 60 percent -- almost triple the efficiency of existing systems.

The team would like to design the devices so they could be easily bolted on to existing systems, making conversion relatively inexpensive.

The researchers used a gallium nitride semiconductor in the "proof of concept" tests. The efficiency they achieved in their testing was well below what they have calculated PETE's potential efficiency to be, which they had anticipated. But they used gallium nitride because it was the only material that had shown indications of being able to withstand the high temperature range they were interested in and still have the PETE process occur.
With the right material -- most likely a semiconductor such as gallium arsenide, which is used in a host of common household electronics -- the actual efficiency of the process could reach up to the 50 or 60 percent the researchers have calculated. They are already exploring other materials that might work.
Another advantage of the PETE system is that by using it in solar concentrators, the amount of semiconductor material needed for a device is quite small.

"For each device, we are figuring something like a six-inch wafer of actual material is all that is needed," Melosh said. "So the material cost in this is not really an issue for us, unlike the way it is for large solar panels of silicon."

The cost of materials has been one of the limiting factors in the development of the solar power industry, so reducing the amount of investment capital needed to build a solar farm is a big advance.

"The PETE process could really give the feasibility of solar power a big boost," Melosh said. "Even if we don't achieve perfect efficiency, let's say we give a 10 percent boost to the efficiency of solar conversion, going from 20 percent efficiency to 30 percent, that is still a 50 percent increase overall."
And that is still a big enough increase that it could make solar energy competitive with oil.

The research was largely funded by the Global Climate and Energy Project at Stanford and the Stanford Institute for Materials Energy Systems, which is a joint venture of Stanford and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, with additional support from the Department of Energy and DARPA.

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by Stanford University. The original article was written by Louis Bergeron.

Journal Reference:
Jared W. Schwede, Igor Bargatin, Daniel C. Riley, Brian E. Hardin, Samuel J. Rosenthal, Yun Sun, Felix Schmitt, Piero Pianetta, Roger T. Howe, Zhi-Xun Shen & Nicholas A. Melosh. Photon-enhanced thermionic emission for solar concentrator systems. Nature Materials, 01 August 2010 DOI: 10.1038/nmat2814
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Towards nanowire solar cells with a 65-percent efficiency

Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/) researchers want to develop solar cells with an efficiency of over 65 percent by means of nanotechnology. In Southern Europe and North Africa these new solar cells can generate a substantial portion of the European demand for electricity. The Dutch government reserves EUR 1.2 million for the research.

The current thin-film solar cells (type III/V) have an efficiency that lies around 40 percent, but they are very expensive and can only be applied as solar panels on satellites. By using mirror systems that focus one thousand times they can now also be deployed on earth in a cost-effective manner. The TU/ researchers expect that in ten years their nano-structured solar cells can attain an efficiency of more than 65 percent. Jos Haverkort: "If the Netherlands wants to timely participate in a commercial exploitation of nanowire solar cells, there is a great urgency to get on board now."

The research is conducted together with Philips MiPlaza.

They think that nanotechnology, in combination with the use of concentrated sunlight through mirror systems, has the potential to lead to the world's most efficient solar cell system with a cost price lower than 50 cent per Watt peak. In comparison: for the present generation of solar cells that cost price is 1.50 euro per Watt peak.
Stacking Nanowires make it possible to stack a number of subcells (junctions). In this process each subcell converts one color of sunlight optimally to electricity. The highest yield reported until now in a nanowire solar cell is 8.4 percent. Haverkort: "We expect that a protective shell around the nanowires is the critical step towards attaining the same efficiency with nanowire solar cells as with thin-film cells." Haverkort thinks that at 5 to 10 junctions he will arrive at an efficiency of 65 percent.

Scarcity of raw materials In addition, the researchers expect considerable savings can be made on production costs, because nanowires grow on a cheap silicon substrate and also grow faster, which results in a lower cost of ownership of the growth equipment. What is more, the combination of the mirror systems with nanotechnology will imply an acceptable use of the scarce and hence expensive metals gallium and indium.

An agency of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, will grant the EUR 1.2 million to researchers dr. Jos Haverkort, dr. Erik Bakkers en dr. ir. Geert Verbong for their research into nanowire solar cells. It is their expectation that, when combined with mirror systems, these solar cells can generate a sizeable portion of the European electricity demand in Southern Europe and North Africa.

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by Eindhoven University of Technology.

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
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Letter to the Daily Telegraph, from Chris Huhne, responding the Annual Energy Statement

The Editor
Daily Telegraph

Sir,

Your front page report of the Government’s first annual energy statement rightly said that my department’s central estimate is that overall gas and electricity bills for households will rise by about 1 per cent – or £13 – in 2020, compared to what bills would otherwise be without our policies. This is made up of a big increase in the cost of energy combined with a big reduction in the use of energy due to our planned Green Deal for homes, smart meters and other energy saving measures. The cost of heating our homes is immensely wasteful because of poor insulation. For example, we use more energy to heat our homes than does Sweden, where winters are longer and colder.

However, your report does not make clear that this forecast is inevitably founded on a view of what is likely to happen to the costs of fossil fuels. It is based on an oil price in 2020 of $80 a barrel, which is barely higher than yesterday’s market price of $78 a barrel. If oil prices were instead to rise to $100 a barrel, as projected by the International Energy Agency, then the net effect would be that British households break even. If the oil price were to rise to $108 a barrel, as the United States administration forecasts, British households would save money on our bills. My department, indeed, calculates a high fossil fuel scenario of $150 a barrel in which average household bills would be 5 per cent lower due to our policies to encourage energy saving.

In such an uncertain world, where the costs and risks of extracting oil and gas are rising as we have seen in the Gulf of Mexico, oil and gas prices could not only be high but also very volatile, putting immense strain on household finances. Moreover, declining North Sea oil and gas means that we are steadily becoming more dependent on imports. The only sound energy policy for our nation is one that moves as rapidly as possible to close the looming energy gap between demand and supply both by saving wasteful demand and by boosting secure supply.

Yours sincerely,
Chris Huhne
Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change
3 Whitehall Place SW1A 2AW
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