Solar Power UK looks to a bigger, brighter future at the NEC

The growth of solar power in the UK is being reflected in a move for the country’s largest dedicated solar event.
Solar Power UK will take place from October 2-4 2012 and brings together three days of education, hands-on learning and the most innovative products to hit the UK solar market.

The exhibition and conference is moving from its previous home at Birmingham’s International Convention Centre (ICC) to its sister venue, the National Exhibition Centre (NEC). This year’s repositioning of the show from one NEC Group venue to another showcases the Group’s strengths and flexibility in catering for the needs of its clients.

Around 10,000 visitors are expected to head to the NEC this year, with future events already booked at the venue for 2013 and 2014. Re-locating at the NEC means that Solar Power UK can take advantage of the larger spaces available to accommodate the predicted expansion.

Joy Brettschneider, of organiser Solar Media, said: “As Solar Power UK continues to grow, the move to the NEC will give us the flexibility and room to really harness the developing interest in the industry.”

The event focuses on high-quality content and networking opportunities for a range of visitors, including tradesmen, manufacturers, distributors, research institutions and other bodies connected with the solar industry.

“We expect to see many more international visitors and exhibitors paying attention to Solar Power UK, and we are looking forward to another hugely successful event in Birmingham,” added Brettschneider.

The event enjoyed great success after moving to the Midlands in 2011, cementing its place as the premier gathering for the industry.

Kathryn James, Managing Director of the NEC, said: “We are committed to helping our clients move their events forward and it’s great that we’re able to support that within our Group. We will pick up where the ICC left off in successfully hosting a fantastic and popular event and now look forward to welcoming the many exhibitors and visitors to the event’s new home later this year.”

Source:http://www.incentivetravel.co.uk/venuesevents/7078-solar-power-uk-looks-to-a-bigger-brighter-future-at-the-nec

Companies rush to set up solar power in Japan

In July, Japan will launch a new feed-in-tariff scheme for renewable energy, expecting to encourage both solar power and wind turbines projects in the country.

Companies rush to set up solar power in Japan
Companies rush to set up solar energy plants in western Japan. Japan will launch a new feed-in-tariff scheme for renewable energy, expecting to encourage both solar power and wind energy projects in the country.

In July, Japan will launch a new feed-in-tariff scheme for renewable energy, expecting to encourage both solar power and wind power projects in the country.

The new scheme was proposed by the central government aiming to reduce reliance on nuclear power after the radioactive disaster at Fukushima No.1 Nuclear Power Plant while diversifying methods of power generation.

Local press reported that a government panel proposed this week regional power utilities should purchase electricity at a rate of 42 yen (about 0.5 U.S. dollars) per kWh for solar power supplies.

The report said the proposed rate could meet earlier demands from the industry. Prior to the official start of the renewable energy incentive program, Japanese companies have accelerated setting up mega-solar projects over the past months especially in western and southern Japanese cities or towns where no major damages by the Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011 are seen.

Among them, Japanese electronics giant Kyocera Corporation earlier this month unveiled plans to build Japan's largest solar plant in the country's southern city of Kagoshima. Kyocera said the new project would be jointly undertaken with heavy machinery manufacturer IHI Corporation and Mizuho Corporate Bank which will devise a financing plan for the project.

The three companies agreed to construct the 70-megawatte solar power plant, The total cost of the project is estimated at 25 billion yen (about 309 million U.S. dollars). The planned site of the solar plant is approximately 1,270,000 square meters, and construction is expected to start this July.

According to the plan, Kyocera will provide solar modules, using 290,000 panels, based on its 35 years of experience in the solar business while IHI will lease the land.

The Kagoshima solar farm will generate enough electricity to power 22,000 households while reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 25,000 tons annually. Kyocera stressed that the project would also serve as a business model to further explore chances to develop such utility-scale solar power generation that the country's utility companies also widely research in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear accident.

"As Japan has little fossils fuel resources such as oil and gas, it is quite natural and reasonable to select renewable energy resources, particularly "solar" as the basic tool to find out other alternative choice to them." "Of course, solar power makes a better contribution to environmental protection, including the reduction of CO2 emissions," Chikako Morioka, Manager of Kyocera' s Communication Section told Xinhua.

She also pointed out that such projects would attract many industries in local areas, both vitalizing their economy and culture through the spread of renewable energy use.

Meanwhile, Japanese mobile telecoms group Softbank also set up its project to construct the 30-megawatte solar power facility in Yonago, Tottori Prefecture in western Japan.

According to the news release, SB Energy Corporation, Softbank' s clean energy unit and trading house Mitsui & Co. will jointly construct a plant on industrial estate with about 500,000 square meters of area. A SB Energy spokesperson said the company hopes to complete construction of the plant by the end of 2013 and the output of the plant could be enough to cover all electricity needs of about 7,500 households.

The energy firm also plans to build and operate mega-solar power plants with other partners at more than 10 locations in Japan, including major plants currently being constructed in Kyoto and Tokushima Prefectures in western Japan.

Softbank's Chief Executive Officer Masayoshi Son expressed his satisfaction regarding the proposed purchasing rate under the new feed-in-tariff scheme, telling reporters that the price would enough fit a series of his projects and boost renewable energy businesses in Japan.

In addition, major Osaka-based private electric railway company Kintetsu Corporation also revealed its plans to build a mega-solar plant in Mie Prefecture where the railway operator widely runs its train and bus networks.

The Kintetsu solar farm will produce 20 megawatts of electricity, supplying power to about 6,000 households in the prefecture. Kintetsu spokesperson Yuri Miyamoto told Xinhua that the company hopes to begin the operation from March 2014 and the produced electricity could be sold based on the government program.

Local paper said Kintetsu, severely affected by electricity- saving measures last year, will be the first railway operator in the country to construct such a large-scale solar farm for commercial purposes.

Munenori Nomura, a professor of economics at Kwansei Gakuin University, told Xinhua that development of solar power projects, or wind farm, may promise attractive returns to those challenging companies under the new feed-in-tariff policy, but feasibility of such a renewable energy business will depend on potential capacity of the power generation in the end.

"Competing with other power generating ways such as in thermal or nuclear plants, the companies are required to maintain stability of the power generating which must supply enough amounts of electricity throughout the day and night," he said.

Before the Fukushima disaster, nuclear power generation had supplied about 30 percent of Japan's electricity over the years while dependence on fossil fuels also caused the country's CO2 emissions to increase.

"As long as the new program to utilize renewable resources within the national electricity grid brings a lot to the developers and people, 'mega-solar' can be the start of an effort to seek much safer way of energy supply in the country," Nomura added.

Source:http://www.evwind.es/noticias.php?id_not=18180

FirstEnergy's Ohio units meet 2012 solar energy benchmarks

US diversified energy firm FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) said Thursday that its three Ohio units have met this year's benchmarks for solar renewable energy generated in the state as required by Ohio's energy law.

Ohio Edison, Cleveland Electric Illuminating Co and Toledo Edison have met the target thanks to a request for proposal (RFP) to secure 10-year Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SRECs).

FirstEnergy's strategy is to support the installation of solar power systems by purchasing SRECs, which means making environmental attributes of solar renewable electricity generation. Every MWh of generated solar renewable electricity is matched with the issuance of an equivalent amount of SRECs.

The RFP resulted in the delivery of 1,000 SRECs produced by facilities generating electricity from the sunlight in Ohio for each calendar year starting from 2012 through 2021. A total of 38 qualified bids were registered with combined offering exceeding 15 times the required SRECs being sought under the RFP.

Source:http://www.power-eng.com/news/2012/04/27/firstenergy-s-ohio-units-meet-2012-solar-energy-benchmarks.html

Maharashtra to boost power generation with three new solar plants

In an effort to boost power generation, Indian state of Maharashtra is looking for land to establish three solar power plants.

According to the sources from the state energy department, the three plants would be set up in Osmanabad and Parbhani, with capacity of 50 megawatt (MW) each. The sources said that around 100 hectares of land was required for the plants.

The units to be set up would be based on thin film and crystalline solar plant technologies. Sources added that the sites have been finalized and technical verification of details is being carried by the government.

Further, the sources revealed, "This process will be completed in June, after which, the details will be made public. It is expected that the plants would come up in a year's time."

The state government intends to use non-conventional energy resources for enhancing electricity generation in order to reduce the shortfall of power and meet the December 2012 deadline, for eradicating load shedding in the state.

Source:http://www.power-eng.com/news/2012/04/26/maharashtra-to-boost-power-generation-with-three-new-solar-plants.html

Trina Solar Donates Modules to American Lung Association

Solar power provider Trina Solar joined the American Lung Association in California today to announce its intention to donate 10.5 kW of its solar modules for the organization’s San Diego offices. This announcement comes as the Lung Association released its annual State of the Air report on air quality.

The American Lung Association State of the Air 2012 report shows that while air pollution continues to threaten the lives and health of millions of Californians, clean air laws and investments into clean energy sources continue to decrease ozone and particulate pollution.

Everyday Energy will install the solar system. Solar distributor Sonepar will provide balance-of-system equipment for the project. It is estimated the system will provide an estimated 25% of the building’s power and reduce CO2 emissions by 256 tons over 25 years: the equivalent of planting 10,220 trees.

Trina Solar’s manufacturing processes are ISO certified, and have resulted in a nearly 60% reduction in energy and water usage per unit of solar power manufactured.

Source:http://www.solarnovus.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4775:trina-solar-donates-modules-to-american-lung-association&catid=37:business-news&Itemid=241

Harlow council partners with Bluesky to map district’s solar potential

Kier Harlow, a joint venture company between Kier and Harlow Council, has joined forces with solar mapping firm, Bluesky to support an ambitious scheme to install solar panels on Council-owned properties in Essex. The solar scheme aims to help residents save money on their energy bills, provide a steady income stream for the Council and significantly reduce carbon emissions.

Bluesky’s innovative solar mapping service helped Keir’s energy solutions arm to identify which of the council-owned properties would benefit most from the installation of a solar photovoltaic array.

“The Bluesky Solar Potential assessment allowed us to target properties that would provide the greatest potential return on investment,” commented Paul Slater of Kier’s energy solutions team. “By identifying properties with suitable roofs the cost of installation could be offset by the income generated by the feed-in tariff. This intelligence was invaluable as it allowed us to make initial assessments and decisions at the desktop saving thousands of pounds on site surveys.”

Commenting on solar scheme, Kier Harlow’s Operations Director, John Phillips, said: “This is a really exciting project and it is the first fully funded scheme Kier has worked on. This is just the first phase of the scheme and we have plans to install solar PV panels to further council properties once this is complete, potentially including council corporate buildings too. We plan to give each tenant a full briefing on the benefits of the solar panels and explain how they can maximise their efficiency.”

Portfolio Holder for Harlow housing, Councillor Clive Souter, added: "This is a very progressive deal for Harlow. It means residents get cheaper bills while we make big cuts in our carbon footprint. The important thing is that it has no cost to our tenants and minimal disruption as it takes just one day to install panels that will deliver cheap electricity for quarter of a century."

Kier Harlow has estimated that those Harlow residents lucky enough to receive a free solar array can expect to slash almost £200 off their annual electricity bill.

Source:http://www.solarpowerportal.co.uk/news/harlow_council_partners_with_bluesky_to_map_districts_solar_potential_2356

Varsity Produce turns to solar power

Varsity Produce, Bakersfield, Calif., began using its new solar power system about two months ago.

The company added the 428.40 kilowatt Cenergy Power solar system to offset energy needs and reduce the plant’s carbon footprint.

Brent Rhodes, operations manager, said the system will power the onion-peeling processing equipment and cold storage facility that operate year round, as well as the packing shed, which runs seven months of the year.

The solar system should offset approximately 97% of the company’s utility bills and pay for itself within four years.

It should reduce the plant’s carbon footprint by more than 1,000,000 pounds of carbon dioxide each year.

It’s still early to see major results in the company’s energy bills, but Rhodes is optimistic for the upcoming summer months.

“Once the summer heat comes around and solar (production) is at it’s peak of production, as is our onion operation, we should see some really good results,” he said in an email.

Rhodes said the only noticeable difference after adding the system is the 1 1/2 acres of solar panels next to the packing shed that are now visible.

The system will be connected to the company’s utility meter, and the solar power will be used primarily. In peak times, if the plant’s energy needs are greater that what the solar panels can provide, the rest of the power will come from the utility company automatically. No change should be noticeable in the power supply.

Source:http://www.thepacker.com/fruit-vegetable-news/Varsity-Produce-turns-to-solar-power-148674105.html

UPDATE 1-Japan panel to set solar power fee at 51 cents/kwh -Nikkei

A Japanese government panel is likely to recommend utilities pay 42 yen (51 cents) per kilowatt-hour (kwh) for solar power supplies in a feed-in tariff scheme, in line with requests by the solar power industry, the Nikkei business daily said.

Japan is overhauling its energy policy after the Fukushima nuclear crisis shattered public confidence in the safety of atomic power, and is set to introduce a new subsidy scheme from July which covers all kinds of renewable energy to support the budding market for domestically produced power.

The recommended rate for solar power includes tax and is to be paid for about 20 years, the report said on Monday. That is roughly double the rate that households pay for electricity usage and almost meets the solar power industry's request for 42 yen without tax, it added.

The rates could encourage potential business investors to enter the market, but the higher rate would come at a greater cost to consumers, to whom the utilities pass on the burden.

Solar power in Japan accounts for less than 1 percent of total power due to lack of sufficient subsidies in the past.

A group of experts appointed upon approval by parliament will recommend a price and a period for each type of renewable energy, including wind, biomass and geothermal, as early as this month. Japan's Trade Minister Yukio Edano will decide the final price taking into account the panel's recommendation.

Source:http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/23/japan-solar-idUSL3E8FN00R20120423