[amor de cosmos]

Solar Power Plant In A Box — Panasonic’s Power Supply Container

Providing dependable electricity to remote areas of the world will increase the opportunity for improved life and education possibilities for many people. Panasonic has demonstrated commitment to this endeavor with a new development, an expandable, portable, self-contained photovoltaic system with batteries.

http://cleantechnica.com/2014/04/03/...ply-container/

Why It’s Still Too Early to Bet on Residential Energy Storage in the United States
Sam Jaffe — April 1, 2014

SolarCity announced recently that it is discontinuing the residential energy storage product that it rolled out in California 2 years ago. The company put the blame on the shoulders of utilities, which SolarCity said were stalling permitting of its new units. But, in fact, SolarCity has only itself to blame for the failure of its product.

That’s because the company never stopped to ask why a residential customer would want a battery storage system. In some cases, such as with off-grid homeowners and homeowners (such as indoor horticulture enthusiasts) with very expensive equipment that needs reserve power, batteries are a requirement. But the typical homeowner gets no financial advantage from shifting power from one point in the day to another. Rates that would allow such an advantage, known as time-of-use rates, are rarely offered by utilities to residential ratepayers. Because residential photovoltaic power is usually net-metered, meaning that homeowners can receive credit for putting energy back onto the grid, there’s no reason why a solar homeowner would receive a financial advantage from storing energy.

http://www.navigantresearch.com/blog...-united-states

Record-Breaking Demand for Global Solar PV Industry in Q1’14, According to NPD Solarbuzz
Solar PV industry poised to exceed 50 GW within a 12-month period for the first time

Santa Clara, Calif., April 2, 2014—New solar photovoltaic (PV) demand added during Q1’14 exceeded 9 GW, which was 35% more than the previous first-quarter record, set last year. In fact, every quarter in 2014 is forecast to reach new highs, with trailing 12-month demand at the end of Q1’15 forecast to exceed 50 GW for the first time, according to findings in the latest NPD Solarbuzz Quarterly report.

The record level of demand achieved in the first quarter was driven by strong growth in Japan and the United Kingdom. These two countries combined accounted for more than one-third of global solar PV demand in Q1’14 and set new quarterly records for PV deployed.

“This is the fifth straight year that a quarterly record has been set at the start of the year,” said Michael Barker, senior analyst at NPD Solarbuzz. “While demand during the first quarter typically sets the low point for the year, deployment levels during this quarter provide an excellent means of benchmarking demand for the rest of the coming year.”

Solar PV demand during the first quarter typically accounts for up to 20% of annual demand. For example, Q1'13 demand for nearly 7 GW was followed by full-year demand above 37 GW. “Purely on a pro-rata basis, Q1’14 provides strong confidence that 2014 solar PV demand will indeed reach, and possibly even surpass, the NPD Solarbuzz full-year forecast of 49 GW in 2014,” Barker noted.

With Q1’14 now closed, the trailing 12-month demand suggests that the true size of the industry today is almost 40 GW. By the end of Q1’15, the PV industry will likely break through the pivotal 50 GW barrier, bringing the industry much closer to rational supply and demand levels.

http://www.solarbuzz.com/news/recent...-npd-solarbuzz
http://www.pv-magazine.com/news/deta...pan_100014725/
http://reneweconomy.com.au/2014/soar...-2014-15-28055

Romania adds 850 MW in past eight months despite incentive cuts
03. April 2014 | Markets & Trends, Panorama, Industry & Suppliers, Global PV markets, Top News | By: Ilias Tsagas

The country is also increasingly working with Turkey on a number of ambitious energy projects, including a plans to build 1 GW of capacity and a 450-kilometer-long submarine electricity line connecting the two countries.

The cumulative solar PV capacity in Romania reached 1,054.621 MW at the beginning of March, according to Transelectrica, Romania's transmission company and electricity system operator.

Of these, 834 MW of new photovoltaic capacity were installed in 2013, namely 175.5 MW in the first six months and 658.5 MW in the second half of the year, Transelectrica told pv magazine.

An additional 192.621 MW of solar PV capacity were installed in January and February this year, Transelectrica said.

The dramatic growth is seen as a huge success for solar energy in Romania given that PV capacity at the end of 2012 was only 28 MW in the country.

In July, Transelectrica CEO Stefan-Doru Bucataru told pv magazine there were a further 4.6 GW of solar PV projects with either a technical connection or connection contracts and that according to investor data provided to the electricity operator in 2013, about 2.7 GW would begin operation.

http://www.pv-magazine.com/news/deta...uts_100014724/

Mexican president inaugurates one of Latin America's largest solar farms
03. April 2014 | Markets & Trends, Global PV markets, Industry & Suppliers | By: Peter Carvill

Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto dedicated the 39 MW Aura Solar I farm on 26 March. The plant is slated to produce 82 GWh per year, which should fulfill the energy needs of 65% of the households in the city of La Paz.

The project is part of the Latin American country's move towards having 35% of its energy come from clean sources by 2024. In supplying power to Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE), Mexico's national grid, under a two-decade PPA, it will quadruple the installed solar capacity in the country.

Gauss Energia was the developer of Aura Solar I. Hector Olea, its president and CEO, said, “Aura Solar is an important platform to encourage the installation of more solar facilities in Mexico. We are confident that this will trigger a new solar industry in the country.”

The site has an operational life of three decades and has been built with an upfront investment of $100 million, three-quarters of which came through debt financing via the World Bank's International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Mexico's Nacional Financiera. Technological backing for the programme has come from Martifer. The IFC also contributed financial structuring to the project. An additional loan of $10 million was provided by Nacional Financiera as a separate value added tax facility.

http://www.pv-magazine.com/news/deta...rms_100014731/

New York's Long Island to add 100 MW of solar generation
03. April 2014 | Global PV markets, Industry & Suppliers, Markets & Trends, Panorama | By: Edgar Meza

As part of a new auction, PSEG Long Island has set the final bid price of $0.1688 per kilowatt hour for PV systems of various sizes that are expected to be constructed across Long Island.

Utilities group PSEG Long Island in the U.S. state of New York has announced the results for the second Clean Solar Initiative in Long Island.

The feed-in-tariff program builds upon the Long Island Power Authority's first feed-in tariff for solar energy and is designed to bring an additional 100 MW of solar energy to Long Island, part of the New York metropolitan area that comprises the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens as well as the state counties of Nassau, and Suffolk.

*snip*

PSEG Long Island said the decline in price reflected a number of important factors:

• Increased consumer awareness, understanding, availability and demand for solar energy
• Competition among a growing solar industry on Long Island
• Ongoing decline in costs of manufacturing and installing solar
• Federal, state and local tax incentives

The company said the success of the feed-in-tariff program ensured continued growth and diversification of Long Island's renewable energy portfolio.

http://www.pv-magazine.com/news/deta...ion_100014727/

String Inverters Increasingly Used in Megawatt-Scale PV Projects; Chinese Products and Microinverters Gaining Acceptance
Category: Design & Supply Chain, Design & Supply Chain Media
Thursday, April 3, 2014 5:00 am EDT

String Inverters Increasingly Used in Megawatt-Scale PV Projects; Chinese Products and Microinverters Gaining Acceptance

London (April 3, 2014)—In a sign of their growing acceptance, string inverters are increasingly being considered in megawatt (MW)-scale photovoltaic (PV) systems, with over 40 percent of inverter buyers regarding them as suitable for use in systems larger than 1 MW, according to a new report from IHS Technology (NYSE: IHS).

In an IHS survey, more than 300 solar installers, distributors and engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) companies were asked about their preferences and opinions on PV inverters, in order to help suppliers better understand the needs and requirements of their customers.

Of the more than 200 purchasers of PV string inverters that completed the survey, 80 percent indicated they might use string inverters in systems larger than 100 kilowatts (kW). All told, nearly half reported they would consider using the inverters in systems larger than 1 MW, as shown in the attached figure. This marks a huge increase from the previous year’s survey when only 17 percent considered using string inverters in systems larger than 1 MW.

“The survey confirmed that the acceptance of string inverters in large systems has accelerated over the last year, mirroring the IHS forecast that these products will gain share in several key PV markets,” said Cormac Gilligan, senior PV market analyst at IHS. “The most common reasons given for solar purchasers preferring string inverters increasingly over central inverters in large systems were better system design flexibility, minimizing losses in the case of failure and lower lifetime system costs.”

IHS predicts that low power three-phase inverter shipments will increase by 14 percent a year on average for the next four years, with annual shipments of nearly 20 gigawatts (GW) in 2017.

PV inverters convert the direct current (DC) electricity produced by solar panels into alternating current (AC). In the past, the use of string inverters has been limited to small-scale PV installations.

http://press.ihs.com/press-release/d...-projects-chin

European Investment Bank earmarks €750 million for French renewables projects
By Ben Willis - 03 April 2014, 12:00
In News, Power Generation, Finance

The European Investment Bank is to provide €750 million (US$1 billion) to support renewable energy development in France over the next two years.

EIB will cover 50% of the funding needed for selected solar, wind and other renewable energy projects with a capital cost of €50 million (US$68.8 million) or less.

The EIB will deliver the programme through partner banks, Société Générale, Credit Agricole and BPCE, which will be responsible for choosing projects and structuring their financing.

Public or private entities will be able to take advantage of the funding.

http://www.pv-tech.org/news/european...wables_project

Exclusive: Lightsource connects 227MW of solar in March alone
By Peter Bennett | 03 April 2014, 8:55 Updated: 03 April 2014, 10:56

Lightsource Renewable Energy has revealed that it connected 26 solar farms across the UK in March.

The solar farms totalled 227MW of capacity added to the grid before the available renewable obligation rate dropped in April.

Nick Boyle, CEO of Lightsource, describes his company's record-breaking to Solar Power Portal, including how Lightsource managed to connect 16 projects in one weekend by helicoptering technicians between individual sites:

http://www.solarpowerportal.co.uk/ne...rch_alone_2356

• Video Link

National Solar Schools Consortium Aims to Put Solar on Every School in the US
Published on 3 April 2014

Nonprofit organizations and solar companies from across the nation today announced the launch of the National Solar Schools Consortium at the widely-attended National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) Conference, which began today in Boston, Massachusetts (US).

The goal of the Consortium is to act as a unified voice for the growing solar schools movement, promoting the use of solar energy on K-12 and post-secondary schools, consolidating and coordinating current and future solar curriculum and resource development, and providing tools designed to help schools explore solar energy options both on campus and in the surrounding community.

The stated goals include solar on 20,000 schools and universities; 200 school districts with solar schools initiatives; and 2000 member organizations.

To kick off its efforts, Consortium representatives will be presenting at several workshops at the NSTA Conference, held at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. During these presentations, teachers and other education professionals will be encouraged to share their needs for expanding access to solar energy and related educational resources for their schools. Interested stakeholders can also communicate these needs by completing a brief form on the Consortium website.

http://www.solarnovus.com/national-s...-us_N7620.html

• Video Link

Solar industry is here to stay – and grow
3 Apr 2014
The Globe and Mail (Ottawa/Quebec Edition)
BRIAN MILNER

Solar power has long been dismissed as too expensive, unreliable and dependent on un-economic state subsidies to become anything more than a minor contributor to energy capacity in major markets. But the evidence points to a brightening outlook for the survivors of the solar wars, even as subsidies begin to fade and solar’s share of electricity output remains minuscule.

The costs of capital, equipment and installation are falling dramatically and capacity is growing at a steady pace, while electricity prices in general are rising, McKinsey & Co. says in a report highlighting solar’s “disruptive potential.” All of this is putting solar on a more competitive footing with other energy sources and enticing more key markets such as Japan, where the government hopes solar can replace a big chunk of its nuclear capacity. Even oil kingpin Saudi Arabia intends to ratchet up its solar capacity, though the kingdom is motivated more by the opportunity to create jobs than by any concerns about the depletion of non-renewable resources.

All of this is paving the way for major changes in the way utilities and other key sectors of the economy operate. Their old business models will soon be turned on their heads.

“The industry is poised to assume a bigger role in global energy markets,” the McKinsey report says. As the industry evolves, “its impact on businesses and consumers will be significant and widespread.”

*snip*

It’s too early to predict the winners from these coming fundamental shifts in the marketplace. But it’s a safe bet that the stronger solar performers will be those that have followed the path blazed by previous energy innovators, who sought to control all the revenue-producing aspects of their business.

As the collapse of dozens of solar-panel makers has shown, putting all your eggs in manufacturing – a part of the business ripe for commoditization – isn’t the ideal growth strategy. Look instead to the consolidators that amass sizeable footprints in development, financing, installation and servicing.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/repor...ticle17779989/