Intersolar North America Focusing Energy Storage

Posted on May 30, 2012 by quest

Intersolar North America will feature a close look at advanced energy storage and its impact on renewable energy generation. Intersolar North America, the premier solar industry exhibition and conference in North America for solar professionals to exchange information and develop business opportunities in the U.S. solar market, returns to San Francisco July 9-12, 2012 for its fifth year. Co-located with SEMICON West, the event is expected to draw approximately 900 exhibitors and more than 22,000 registered visitors from more than 80 countries to provide a true global perspective of the solar industry.

This year, Intersolar North America features a new special exhibit that promotes innovative energy storage technologies. PV Energy World, located in the Moscone Center, North Hall will offer expert presentations on energy storage and grid integration. The informative exhibits and display boards will stimulate discussion among visitors. As the North American solar industry matures, energy storage has emerged as a key technology to optimize renewable energy generation. Storage enables greater flexibility for the power grid, thus accelerating the deployment of affordable solar energy. The successful commercialization and integration of new energy storage technologies promises to help boost the capacity of solar projects, ease concerns over grid strain and bring more large-scale plants online.

Janice Lin, Executive Director of the California Energy Storage Alliance said,”Energy storage offers the solar industry the opportunity to bring several goals to fruition, including faster grid interconnection, more precise timing of output, fewer curtailment and imbalance penalties, and the potential to secure valuable new revenue from wholesale ancillary services and capacity markets. Advanced  energy storage is poised to have a huge, positive impact on the solar industry in California and beyond, and the storage industry is very excited to see Intersolar North America cover this formative topic in such depth at this year’s conference and on the exhibition floor.”PV Energy World is supported in part by the California Energy Storage Alliance (CESA), an advocacy coalition committed to expanding the role of energy storage to accelerate the adoption of renewable energy. CESA counts storage technology manufacturers, renewable energy component manufacturers, developers and system integrators among its members, and this year marks the first time Intersolar will partner with CESA.

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Russian Students On Global Energy Adventure

Posted on May 29, 2012 by quest

The Energy of Adventure, organized by the non-profit partnership Global Energy, announced in Moscow that two young Russians have won a round-the-world trip to discover the most interesting energy-related stories of the planet. The two researchers, Maria Khromova, a young Muscovite engaged in the power industry, and Egor Goloshov, a future economist from Zlatoust will be taking a trip around the world to 21 countries over a period of three months. The project Energy of Adventure, instituted by the non-profit partnership Global Energy, got under way last November with a nationwide contest. Every day Egor and Maria will share with the global community their power industry impressions and findings, and their small adventures through social networks such as Twitter and Facebook.

“Travelling around the world is always an interesting experience. I have been given this unique opportunity to tell the world about the most important energy-related discoveries, and it’s no secret that the power industry is an integral and key part of the economic stability of any country. I plan to use this unique material to write a scientific paper,” said Maria. Egor Goloshov began to think about energy conservation back in school. Egor has a special interest in renewable sources of energy such as tidal, wind and solar energy. Egor is currently a student enrolled in the Moscow Higher School of Economics. “I have always been aware that traditional sources of energy are running out. I am truly elated that I have been given the honour to tell people all over the world about what are definitely important problems in the modern-day power industry. I will do everything in my power, and even more, to meet the challenges entrusted to me under this project,” Egor pledged.

The main purpose of Energy of Adventure is to draw attention to contemporary global and local energy issues and inspire people to ponder over possible solutions. The president of the non-profit partnership Global Energy, Igor Lobovsky, commented: ” These are real steps and real efforts. This is why talented young people will be crisscrossing the globe in a bid to draw valuable experience from people, companies and authorities in the most far-flung corners of the planet. This is a great opportunity and also an onerous responsibility.”Interest in this unique project has been tremendous, with about 49,000 applications submitted from people in 50 cities across Russia.

Extreme Rains In Midwest Have Doubled

Solar Gets Net Metering Support In California

Posted on May 25, 2012 by quest

By Annie Carmichael We won! Thanks to the 60,000 of you who showed support for net metering, California will continue to be increasingly powered by the sun.

Yesterday, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) unanimously voted to give more Californians access to net metering credit for solar power. The 5-0 vote will protect this important solar consumer right for tens of thousands of California homes, schools, businesses and public buildings.
Net metering makes sure solar customers get fair credit on their utility bills for the valuable clean power they put on the grid for others to use (watch this video to see how net metering works). This important solar policy has already delivered tremendous benefits to California: supported 25,000 solar jobs, driven $10 billion in private investment in the state’s clean energy industry, given thousands of homeowners, schools, water districts, industrial users, and cities control over their electricity bills, and installed 2 natural gas plants worth of valuable peak solar power generation that our utilities won’t have to build and you won’t have to fund.

There is still work to be done to iron out the details of the long-term net metering program so that solar can continue to shine – and we hope you’ll continue to help us along the way.

Mexican Farmers Block Monsanto Law to Privatize Plants and Seeds

Solar Impulse Journeys To Morocco

Posted on May 24, 2012 by quest

As reported here back in 2010 and in 2011 the Solar Impulse is a plane worth keeping your eye on. Yahoo News is reporting that Solar Impulse took of this morning on it’s 1,554-mile journey to Morocco. The objective of the Solar Impulse is to demonstrate what we can do with existing technology in terms of renewable energy and energy savings,” project co-founder and pilot Andre Borschberg said last year.

A solar energy plane made the world’s first international flight powered by the sun yesterday to show the potential for pollution-free air travel. “The objective is to demonstrate what we can do with existing technology in terms of renewable energy and energy savings,” project co-founder and pilot Andre Borschberg said. Borschberg believes such solar-harnessing technology can be used to power cars and homes. “It is symbolic to be able to go from one place to another using solar energy,” The Solar Impulse project began in 2003 with a 10-year budget of 90 million euros and has involved engineers from Swiss lift maker Schindler and research aid from Belgian chemicals group Solvay. San Francisco solar company   SunPower announced it is providing solar cells to the Solar Impulse project which requires 12,000 solar cells.

With an average flying speed of 70 km/h, Solar Impulse is not an immediate threat to commercial jets, which can easily cruise at more than 10 times the speed. Project leaders acknowledged it had been a major challenge to fit a slow-flying plane into the commercial air traffic system. This is the first transcontinental flight for the aircraft which is expected to the city of Rabat next week. A larger prototype is scheduled to fly around the world in 2013.

Topaz Solar Farms The Worlds Largest To Date

Solar Powered Train Stations On Track In China

Posted on May 23, 2012 by quest

Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc., a developer of state-of-the-art, flexible thin-film photovoltaic modules, recently announced it has entered into a three way strategic joint development agreement with Shenzhen Radiant Enterprise Co., Ltd. (Radiant) and Third Railway Survey and Design Institute Group Corporation (TSDI) of China. Under the agreement, TSDI will promote the use of leading-edge solar technology in China’s rapidly growing public railway infrastructure by installing Ascent Solar modules on existing and future railway stations in China. Radiant has been responsible for installing the roofing component on multiple railway station projects throughout China and is well positioned to execute the PV retrofitting of existing railway stations, as well new installations. Total volume of solar installation on China’s public infrastructure is projected to reach 800MW over the next five years.

“We are honoured to be involved with TSDI through this very important partnership, which will promote Ascent Solar’s transformational technology in a high-profile sector of China’s public infrastructure. This year, we look forward to working closely with TSDI and Radiant to design and develop systems to be installed beginning in 2013,” stated Victor Lee, Ascent Solar President and CEO.TSDI, a subsidiary of the China Railway Group, is a large-scale comprehensive survey and design corporation that has been appointed to build a uniform technical platform for China’s state-of-the-art national railway system. TSDI consistently ranks among China’s Top 100 firms in terms of overall strength, and owns a Class-A Qualification certificate for Engineering Survey and Design from China’s Ministry of Housing and Urban-rural Development. The organization has designed over 50,000km of railways in China, including the country’s first high-speed railway and first heavy-haul railway. In addition, TSDI designed China’s first modern, large-scale multi-modal transport hub, the Beijing South Railway Station.

Winston Xu, Founder of Shenzhen Radiant Enterprise Co., Ltd. and Ascent Solar Board Member, said “China’s state-of-the-art railway system is one of the largest and fastest growing in the world. Ascent Solar and Radiant Group feel privileged to work with TSDI towards the goal of incorporating green, renewable energy with this important piece of China’s infrastructure.”According to the terms of the agreement, the three parties will begin system design and engineering development in the near term, with initial project installations beginning in 2013.

Do It Yourself Renewable Energy

Extreme Rains In Midwest Have Doubled

Posted on May 23, 2012 by quest

A Report Details Major Storm/Flooding Trends in Midwest Illustrates Growing Concerns About Climate Link Between Big Storms and Flooding. The kind of deluges that in recent years washed out Cedar Rapids, IA, forced the Army Corps of Engineers to intentionally blow up levees to save Cairo, IL, and sent the Missouri River over its banks for hundreds of miles are part of a growing trend, according to a new report released today by the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization (RMCO) and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). Big storms, leading to big floods, are occurring with increasing frequency in the Midwest, with incidences of the most severe downpours doubling over the last half century, the report finds.

Stephen Saunders, the president of the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization and the report’s lead author, said: “Global studies already show that human-caused climate change is driving more extreme precipitation, and now we’ve documented how great the increase has been in the Midwest and linked the extreme storms to flooding in the region. A threshold may already have been crossed, so that major floods in the Midwest perhaps now should no longer be considered purely natural disasters but instead mixed natural/unnatural disasters. And if emissions keep going up, the forecast is for more extreme storms in the region.”

In addition to region-wide trends, the report presents trends in the eight Midwestern states. For the worst storms (three inches or more of rain in 24 hours) from 1961-2011, the report outlines the following state-level trends: Indiana (+160 percent); Wisconsin (+203 percent); Missouri (+81 percent); Michigan (+180 percent); Minnesota (+104 percent); Illinois (+83 percent); Ohio (+40 percent); and Iowa (+32 percent). The full report