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Tag:

Feed-In Tariffs

Monuments, Temples In India To Go Solar

Monuments, Temples In India To Go Solar

written by saurabh

It seems all establishments in India that have surplus land resource are looking to set up solar power projects.

Media reports quoting sources linked to the Archeological Society of India (ASI) state that a number of protected historical monuments may soon be powered by solar energy. The ASI has received initial clearance from the Ministry of Culture for setting up utility-scale solar power projects at historical sites where vacant unused land is available.

Around 3,600 protected monuments are located across India. These monuments may soon house solar power projects of capacity 5 MW to 25 MW, depending on the land availability. Some of the famous monuments that may have substantial potential for solar power generation include Red Fort, Humayun’s Tomb, Tughlaqabad Fort and Purana Qila.

While not explicitly mentioned by the sources, the solar power installations may adopt a feed-in tariff scheme to recover the cost of electricity. Any surplus electricity could be adjusted against their own power consumption while the surplus electricity can generate much needed revenue for the upkeep of these monuments.

Meanwhile, some temples in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh are also looking to set up solar power project. The state government is planning to set up 8 MW solar power capacity to power seven temples. A 7 MW project shall be implemented over a 50 acre area at an estimated cost of Rs 50 crore.

According to the state government officials, these temples spend around Rs 16 crore (US$4 million) every year on electricity bills. By implementation of these solar power projects and energy efficient  equipment the temples stand to save around Rs 415 crore (US$62 million).



July 31, 2016 0 comment
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Denmark Announces 100% Renewable Goal

Denmark Announces 100% Renewable Goal

written by

Denmark has just one-upped its status as the most cutting edge sustainable country in the world. They have committed to a goal of 100% renewable energy by the year 2050. That goal is not just limited to electric generation as other countries have done. They are including transportation as well. No burning of fossil fuels by 2050.

If that seems like an unrealistically lofty goal, keep in mind that these are the Danes we are talking about, who already get over 40% of their electricity from over 5,000 wind turbines, with every intention of making that 50% by 2020. Fossil fuel consumption is expected to fall by 20% over that same period.

While wind has carried most of the weight going forward, the latest initiative is more comprehensive. For starters, energy efficiency will play a major role. An intermediate target is looking for a 7% overall decrease in consumption from 2010 levels by 2020. Energy companies will be given specific targets.

Industrial heating and cooling is also a major part of the plan. Biomass will be substituted for coal on a large scale, for both heating and electricity. Subsidies will be provided for geothermal energy.

Also included are subsidies for energy efficient production processes, combined heat and power (CHP) applications, biogas, and smart grid. You could say the Danes are leaving no stone unturned in their search for a totally clean energy future.

What makes Denmark so successful while so many other nations are falling short?

According to Kurt Kornbluth, director of the Program for International Energy Technologies at the University of California, Davis, the first thing is that the government and the people are in accord. The government is willing to enact policies directed towards this shared goal, including a carbon tax, and feed-in tariffs, which the people were willing to accommodate. It also helps that as Rasmus Helveg Petersen, Minister for Climate, Energy and Building, has said, Denmark has been focusing on energy in a concerted manner ever since the oil crisis of 1973.

The second thing the Danes did was to establish wind cooperatives which funneled profits from excess power generation back to individuals and communities. BY 2001, the cooperative had over 100,000 members and owned a total of 86% of the nation’s wind power. That’s buy-in with a capital “B”.”When they see those turbines spinning,” said Kornbluth, they don’t say, that’s ugly, they say, that’s income.”

The third and final factor was a little bit of geopolitical luck. Denmark is positioned between Norway, home of abundant hydropower, and Sweden, which has lots of nuclear. The two form a gigantic grid that can readily provide backup when Denmark needs it. They can often be counted on to purchase excess wind power from Denmark when it is available as well.

Despite all of this good news, the Danes are facing some new challenges as they push into these unprecedented levels of renewable generation. As they are beginning to find out, each electrical grid has a level of renewables that they can economically support before they become saturated. That’s because the “baseline” power plants, that run on gas, coal, or nuclear are no longer economical if they are only used once in a while, when the wind has stopped or the sun has set. That’s because they can’t compete the rest of the time, with energy sources that are essentially free.

It’s not that this can’t be done. It’s just that the system hasn’t been designed for it. Real-time pricing and energy storage, an option that California is aggressively pursuing, and smart grids are some tools that can be applied. In the meantime, some utilities are being subsidized to operate plants at a loss, which is not sustainable.

“We are really worried about this situation,” Anders Stouge, the deputy director general of the Danish Energy Association, said. “If we don’t do something, we will in the future face higher and higher risks of blackouts.”

All of this is before Denmark has really started to ramp up on electric vehicles. That could put considerable further strain on the electric. But it could also be a blessing in disguise. Tens of thousands of electric cars could serve as a massive electric storage reservoir at times when most of those vehicles are parked, like at night. This is a synergistic relationship that the architects of tomorrow’s smart grid are counting on.

Article by RP Siegel of Justmeans, appearing courtesy 3BL Media.



November 18, 2014 0 comment
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True Grid: Solar to Reach Grid Parity in the UK?

written by Walter Wang

No, not my misspelling the title of the John Wayne classic that somehow came to mind when recently prompted by a survey in the UK Renewable Energy Installer magazine to respond to the question: “Solar experts predict the UK could achieve PV grid parity as early as 2014. Do you agree – Yes/No?” After I recorded my Yes, the poll return after 100 votes was 26% Ayes against 74% Noes. I had expected more optimism.

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December 6, 2012 1 comment
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Three Reasons Why You Should Consider Switching to Clean Energy

written by Walter Wang

The world has changed considerably in recent times, whether you are a consumer, solo entrepreneur or a business owner. While not all of the individual changes that have unfolded during this time have been favorable, the majority have improved the efficiency with which tasks are completed and the subsequent distribution of energy.

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October 22, 2012 0 comment
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Solar Panels Seeing the Light in Community Solar Gardens

written by Walter Wang

Shading, ownership issues, limited space and many other factors means that most American households simply aren’t suitable for solar panels. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory estimated that as much as three-quarters of residential buildings have physical restrictions to going solar.

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August 16, 2012 5 comments
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Southern California Faces Some Energy Choices

written by Walter Wang

With the shutdown of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station and Once-Through-Cooling plants, Southern California Edison has serious local capacity constraints. So much so that that SCE is warning their customers that blackouts will result if they don’t conserve energy. The question is: what’s the long term solution? Will it be increased renewable distributed generation and

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August 9, 2012 0 comment
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Los Angeles Can Do More on Renewables

written by Walter Wang

With passage of California’s 33% renewable energy law (RPS) in 2011, the state’s publicly owned utilities were obligated to meet the same renewable requirements at the major investor-owned utilities (PG&E, SCE and SDG&E) for the first time. That’s no small step forward for renewables in the state! Together the state’s 10 largest publicly owned utilities deliver

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July 18, 2012 0 comment
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Top Ten Highlights of Cleantech in Malaysia

written by Walter Wang

Malaysia is a country located in Southeast Asia and shares land borders with Brunei, Thailand, and Indonesia, as well as maritime borders with the Philippines, Vietnam, and Singapore. It is located in the tropics region and is considered a “megadiverse country” because of the large number of endemic fauna and flora. Because of its heavy biodiversity along with a

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July 10, 2012 1 comment
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Some Recent Changes in the German Solar Market

written by Walter Wang

In all the hubbub about Germany’s new feed-in tariff (FIT) law, you may have missed an unusual announcement coming out of Germany. One of the “big four” utilities here, RWE, has committed 170€ million over three years for distributed solar, small wind, and CHP. With a goal of 1 GW solar for this year, they already have 200 MW in signed contracts. And this just a few

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July 9, 2012 0 comment
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Discreetly, Cleantech Policy Advances

written by Walter Wang

The Supreme Court (SCOTUS) and its role in the everyday lives of the America people has been on full display as the justices declined to hear the appeals case challenging the authority of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). (Oh, and there was something about healthcare.)

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July 6, 2012 0 comment
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Japan Feed-in Tariffs Approved as Government Restarts 2 Nuclear Plants

written by Yale Environment 360

Japan’s struggle over its energy future was on display over the last two days as the government okayed restarting operations at two nuclear power plants while also approving an ambitious renewable energy feed-in tariff in which utilities will pay a premium for electricity generated by solar, wind, and geothermal power.

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June 19, 2012 0 comment
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China Solar Energy Goal is Increased by 50 Percent for 2015

written by Yale Environment 360

The Chinese government has increased its solar energy target for 2015 by 50 percent, setting a new goal of 15 gigawatts annually, state media reports.

The new target, which was reported by China National Radio, follows a rapid surge in Chinese solar power installation in recent months after the

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December 16, 2011 0 comment
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Top Ten Highlights of Cleantech in Berlin, Germany

written by Walter Wang

The capital of Germany, Berlin, is commonly referred to as one of the global leaders within the renewable energy economy, as, for example, it is the top cleantech exporting country, with more than a 16 percent share within the international cleantech trade. With multiple avenues to promote clean technologies, including an

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November 21, 2011 0 comment
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Who Says Solar is Too Expensive?

written by The Vote Solar Initiative

Who says solar is too expensive? In fact, in many places it is cheaper than the fossil fueled alternative. How do we know? Well, one place to start is to look at actual contracts for projects.

Attached here (Excel file) is a chart of California Renewable Portfolio Standard contracts downloaded

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September 16, 2011 4 comments
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