Tesla Powers Up Pioneering Hawaii Solar Storage Project

09.03.2017

Tesla has reportedly completed its first major solar storage project since its $2bn acquisition of SolarCity, underlining the electric vehicle giant’s plans to become a major player in the wider clean tech sector.

The company said it has brought online the Kapaia solar and storage project in Hawaii, combining a 13MW solar array with a 52MWh storage system featuring over 270 of Tesla’s Powerpack systems.

The project has secured a 20 year contract with the local Kauai Island Utility Cooperative and promises to deliver power at a cost of 13.9 cents/kWh, significantly cutting the amount the utility pays for diesel power, according to Tesla.

The ability of the new project to deliver solar power generated during the day onto the island’s grid at night is expected to cut diesel use by 1.6 million gallons a year.

The installation further underlines how renewables can undercut traditional fossil fuel power generation, especially in regions such as Hawaii which boasts significant renewable energy resources and high power costs.

The news comes in the same week as Tesla reportedly launched the latest version of its domestic energy storage system, the Powerwall, in Australia.

The Powerwall 2 boasts almost double the capacity of original and is being targeted at the large number of Australian homes that have installed solar arrays.

Source: businessgreen.com

California Generates Enough Solar Power to Meet Half Its Energy Needs

09.03.2017

solar-panel-1393880__340 — Photo: Pixabay

California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) took a shot at Sec. of Energy Rick Perry, former Republican governor of Texas. Remarking on Perry’s view of Texas as an energy powerhouse, Brown said, “We’ve got more sun than you’ve got oil.”

Recent data shows California coming through. The state briefly generated enough solar power to meet nearly half of the state’s electricity needs, according to data from the largest grid operator in the state, California ISO.

Around midday on March 3, demand reached around 29 Gigawatts (GW), while solar was providing nearly 14 GW of generation—some 9 GW from utility-scale arrays and another 5 GW or so from rooftops and parking lot canopies around the state.

Renewables are having a big moment. Solar is getting cheaper and cheaper, spurring Californians to set up photovoltaic panels on homes, businesses and empty lots across the state.

“It’s remarkable that over a third of the solar power generated in California comes from smaller rooftop systems, meaning hundreds of thousands of homeowners are reaping the economic value generated from harnessing the sun rather than the state’s big utility companies,” said Amit Ronen, director of the GW Solar Institute.

To be fair, the numbers from California ISO are a little squishy. First, California ISO may be the biggest grid operator in California, but it is not the only grid operator. Its numbers do not account for power demand or solar generation in Los Angeles or Sacramento, for instance.

Second, there is no real-time data on California’s rooftop solar generation. We know that California has about 5 GW of installed rooftop solar capacity, meaning that if every rooftop solar panel in the state pointed directly at the sun on a cloudless day, they would generate more than 5 GW. Under real-life conditions, they generate slightly less.

But while these numbers are a rough approximation, they illustrate the incredible growth of renewable energy. They also highlight the central challenge of integrating solar into the power grid.

Every year, California generates more and more power from solar, exacerbating that midday dip in net power demand. This is problematic, because it’s expensive to ramp up power generation from coal- and gas-fired power plants at dusk. Fortunately, there are ways to flatten the duck curve: building out transmission lines to carry solar energy over state lines would broaden the demand; installing grid-enabled appliances that shift demand to the middle of the day; or deploying battery storage, like the Tesla Powerwall, that can store excess generation during the day and discharge it in the evening.

“We still need to make significant investments in energy storage technologies that will allow us to bank solar energy when it’s being made so that it can be used whenever we need it, even at night,” Ronen said.

The state is aiming to generate 50 percent of its power from renewables by 2030. As part of that effort, legislators are looking for ways to better integrate solar energy into the power grid—to drive down costs, improve performance and flatten ducks, wherever they may quack. So, in September, California passed four bills to expand the use of energy storage.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis once described the states as laboratories of democracy. They are also laboratories for energy innovation. As the federal government lurches backwards on renewable energy and climate, California and other progressive states are pushing ahead, providing a model for the rest of country.

Should Texas, for example, want to take advantage of its abundant sunshine, California can show the Lone Star state how to do it.

Source: ecowatch.com

Barcelona to Ban Old Cars from Roads to Tackle Air Pollution

09.03.2017

Barcelona will ban cars that are older than 20 years from the roads during the week to cut traffic emissions by 30% over 15 years.

The measure – a joint initiative between the city council, the Catalan government and other metropolitan bodies – will come into force on 1 January 2019 and will cover Barcelona and the 39 surrounding municipalities.

Under the terms of the agreement, it will be prohibited to drive private cars registered before January 1997 and vans registered before October 1994 on working days.

Although the ban does not come into force for two years, those vehicles will already be banned from the roads during periods of high pollution from 1 December this year.

According to the city council, the move is likely to affect about 106,000 cars – 7% of the total in the area – and 22,000 vans (16% of the total).

“[The aim] is to reduce emissions by 10% over the next five years to gradually reach the levels recommended by the World Health Organisation and accelerate the adoption of more intensive local measures in order to reach the levels set by the EU before 2020,” the city council said on Monday.

Janet Sanz, the city’s deputy mayor for the environment, urban planning and transport, said the authorities were showing a united front to tackle the problem. Barcelona’s poor air quality is thought to cause about 3,500 premature deaths a year.

Sanz said: “The people of Barcelona have told us clearly in surveys that they want to fight against air pollution because it is a health problem of the first order.”

The city hopes to win people over by offering free public transport to those who give up their vehicles.

At the end of last year, the mayors of Madrid, Paris, Mexico City and Athens vowed to fight air pollution by banning diesel cars and vans from the centres of their cities by 2025.

This week, the WHO said pollution was responsible for one in four deaths among under fives with the leading causes being toxic air, unsafe water and a lack of sanitation.

Source: theguardian.com

‘First-Of-A-Kind’ $3bn Green Capital Note Issued by Crédit Agricole

09.03.2017

New York investors Mariner Investment Group have this week purchased a “first-of-a-kind” Green Capital Note from French Bank Crédit Agricole CIB, taking on the portfolio risk of a range of the bank’s projects in the power, oil and gas, real estate, infrastructure, and transport sectors.

The $3bn note – dubbed Premium Green 2017-2 – will free up around $2bn in regulatory capital to reinvest in several green sectors, including renewable energy, energy efficiency loans for commercial real estate renovation, public transportation and sustainable waste and water treatment facilities, according to Crédit Agricole.

“We very much hope that the news of this transaction will be the first in a wave of issuances of Green Capital Notes,” said Molly Whitehouse, a deal structuring lead at Mariner Investments.

“Capital markets can contribute so much to the mitigation of climate change risk and the necessary renewal of public infrastructure. This transaction demonstrates that synthetic securitization is not just an important tool for balance sheet management, but also can generate real social and environmental returns.”

Crédit Agricole echoed the sentiments, adding in a statement that it plans for the deal to “pave the way” for similar issuances by other financial institutions.

The bank has also promised to regularly report on the composition of the new green loan portfolio, which is based on the Green Bond Framework and has been independently reviewed by Sustainalytics.

“We have placed a strong corporate emphasis on being a market leader in sustainable banking and socially responsible investment,” said Jean-Yves Hocher, CEO of Crédit Agricole CIB. “Premium Green 2017-2 is on the cutting edge, with an optimised portfolio and the commitment to reinvest capital into pro-environmental lending.”

Source: businessgreen.com

Amherst ‘Solarize Campaign’ Offers More Affordable Solar Energy

08.03.2017

Amherst officials want to see more solar panels on rooftops across the town.

The town has launched a “solarize campaign” to provide residents and businesses with more affordable solar energy and solar panels.

“This model helps customers choose a solar installation company and offers competitive, transparent pricing,” said Supervisor Barry A. Weinstein. “Historically, solarize campaigns lower the cost of solar from 10 to 20 percent.”

The Town Board has authorized a request for proposals from solar installers. Installers selected will be matched with customers who agree to have solar panels installed, Weinstein said. Those customers would be eligible for lower group rates.

“Residents and business that sign up for solar installation by a specific date will be able to take advantage of group rates below market prices,” he said.

The solarize campaign is one of 10 actions for the town to become a Clean Energy Community, a state program to save on energy costs sponsored by the state Energy Research and Development Authority.

Amherst is seeking to complete four of the 10 projects to be eligible for grant money. The Town Board also created a Clean Energy Communities Committee to oversee those efforts. The town would receive technical support from the University at Buffalo’s Regional Institute to undertake the program.

Source: buffalonews.com

Wind Generates Enough Electricity to Power 24 Million Homes

08.03.2017

All of the new wind farms built over the past few years are making an impact: New data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration finds the country generated more than 5.5 percent of its electricity using wind in 2016.

That comes on the heels of a recent announcement that wind is now the country’s largest source of installed renewable generating capacity. All told, the U.S. now has enough wind to power 24 million American homes.

At the state level is where things get really exciting. Iowa, Kansas, North Dakota, South Dakota and Oklahoma all generated at least 20 percent of their electricity with wind last year. Overall, wind supplies at least 10 percent of the electricity in 14 states.

Most impressive among those rising up the wind energy chart is New Mexico, which increased its total annual wind generation by 73 percent over 2015 levels. Wind reliably supplies just under 11 percent of the state’s electricity.

All of this growth boosts rural American economies. Wind has attracted more than $140 billion into the U.S. economy over the last decade and billions more are on the way. It also offers farmers and ranchers a new cash crop—these landowners are paid $245 million every year for hosting wind turbines.

“Wind power is cheap, clean and infinite and it saves Oklahomans hundreds of dollars annually on their utility bills,” said Brad Raven, District One commissioner for Beaver County Oklahoma. “When you consider that landowners receive millions in annual royalties from wind projects, you have an energy sector that is literally saving rural Oklahoma.”

Wind remains on track to supply 10 percent of the country’s electricity by 2020 and grid operators increasingly find integrating more of it doesn’t pose a problem. The Southwest Power Pool recently set a new record, with wind exceeding 50 percent grid penetration last month. And much more can be done:
“Ten years ago we thought hitting even a 25 percent wind-penetration level would be extremely challenging and any more than that would pose serious threats to reliability,” said Bruce Rew, Southwest Power Pool’s vice president of operations. “Now we have the ability to reliably manage greater than 50 percent. It’s not even our ceiling.”

Elsewhere, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory found 30 percent renewable energy integration was possible in the Eastern Interconnection, the grid serving most of the Eastern U.S., without any further technological advances necessary.

Source: ecowatch.com

Climate Change Impacts are Already Hitting us, Say Europeans

08.03.2017

The citizens of four major European countries think the impacts of climate change such as severe floods and storms are already affecting them, according to a major new polling study.

The research dispels the idea that global warming is widely seen as a future problem, and also shows strong support for action to tackle global warming, including subsidies for clean energy and big financial penalties for nations that refuse to be part of the international climate deal signed in Paris in 2015 – as US president Donald Trump has threatened. There was also strong support for giving financial aid to developing nations to cope with the impacts of climate change.

Renewable energy was viewed very positively in all nations, but fracking had little support, with just 20 per cent of people seeing it positively in the UK, 15 per cent in Germany and nine per cent in France. Nuclear power was also unpopular: only 23 per cent of those in France, where it supplies the vast majority of electricity, have a favourable opinion.

Overwhelming majorities of people in the UK, Germany, France and Norway said climate change was at least partly caused by human activities, such as burning fossil fuels. But only a third thought the vast majority of scientists agreed with this, despite about 97 per cent of climate scientists doing so.

“It is encouraging to see that most people in this very large study recognise that climate change is happening, and that support for the need to tackle it remains high amongst the people we surveyed,” said Prof Nick Pidgeon at Cardiff University, who led the international project.

He said the firm backing of the public could be important in the light of Trump’s opposition to climate action: “With the recently shifting political mood in some countries, climate policy is now entering a critical phase. It is therefore even more important that the public’s clear support for the Paris agreement is carried through by policymakers across Europe and worldwide.”

Nick Molho, at the Aldersgate Group, a business alliance that lobbies for a sustainable economy, said: “The UK government should build on the existing public support for climate policies to put forward in the near future a clear plan to meet the emissions reduction targets.”

The polling study is the first in-depth climate change research in multiple European nations and involved interviewing more than 1,000 people in each country, with the results then weighted to be nationally representative.

The citizens gave near identical answers to the question of when the impacts of global warming would be felt, with 60 per cent answering that they were already here. At least two-thirds of them supported their nation being part of the Paris climate deal and they were at least two to one in favour of penalising countries that were not, perhaps via the border carbon taxes proposed by some French politicians.

“People see that if there are free riders, that is not a very good thing,” said Pidgeon. Earlier in March, the US state department snubbed the UN’s climate change chief when she requested a meeting.

Subsidising renewable energy with public money was popular, with 70 per cent support in the UK and Germany, 75 per cent in France, and 87 per cent in Norway. Increasing taxes on fossil fuels was supported in oil- and gas-rich Norway, but opposed two to one in France and Germany. In the UK, people were evenly split over tax hikes for fossil fuels.

Another split was in the trust people had in the European commission and national and local governments to transform their nation’s energy system to cleaner forms of energy. Germans were generally positive, but those in the UK had little trust in any of the institutions. The polling for the study took place in June 2016, before the Brexit referendum.

Source: theguardian.com

This Is the First On-Site House that Has Been Build Using a Mobile 3D Printer (PHOTO) (VIDEO)

08.03.2017

The first house printed using mobile 3D printing technology has been built in Stupino town, Moscow region. The Apis Cor and PIK companies have successfully completed the project which was announced in December 2016.

Construction took place at the ApisCor company’s test facility in the town of Stupino, on the territory of the Stupino aerated concrete factory. Printing of self-bearing walls, partitions and building envelope were done in less than a day: pure machine time of printing amounted to 24 hours.

The area of the printed building is 38 m². Design of the single-story residential house is rather unusual. This project was selected specifically, as one of the main purposes of this construction is to demonstrate the flexibility of equipment and diversity of available forms.

The house can be of any shape, including the familiar square shape, because the additive technology has no restrictions on design of new buildings, except for the laws of physics. It means it’s time to talk about the new fantastic potential of architectural solutions.

The house was erected in the coldest time of the year. Winter has added complexity to the project participants, as the use of concrete mixture, that is used as the printing «ink», is only possible at temperatures above 5° C. Although, the equipment itself is able to operate in temperatures down to minus 35° C. The problem was solved by setting up a tent which provided the required temperature.

Northvolt Charges Up Plans for Europe’s Biggest Battery Factory

08.03.2017

Swedish start-up Northvolt has announced plans to build Europe’s largest lithium-ion battery factory to support growing demand for electric vehicles and energy storage.

Earmarked for an as-yet-unspecified site “in the Nordic region”, the large-scale factory is anticipated to have an annual production capacity of 32GWh – similar to that of Tesla’s giant gigafactory in the US – by 2024.

Recently rebranded from SGF Energy AD, Northvolt is led by two former executives of Tesla – Peter Carlsson and Paulo Cerruti – who left the US EV giant in 2015 and 2016 respectively. The overall cost of their proposed factory is reported to be in the region of $4bn, with production of batteries set to start in 2020.

European innovation organisation InnoEnergy has invested €3.5m in the Northvolt factory to help support “technology partnerships, business development, supply chain, factory and process design, site selection and environmental and recycling plans”, it said.

Carlsson, who serves as CEO of Northvolt, said InnoEnergy would help support the Swedish firm in attracting further investment. “The investment will support us in realizing our vision of creating Europe’s largest scale battery cell production facility. But – more than that – InnoEnergy’s vast network has the power to support us for years to come,” he said.

The factory will be built in the Nordic region because of its close proximity to necessary materials and metals, availability and affordability of low carbon power and modern infrastructure, according to Northvolt.

Diego Pavia, CEO of InnoEnergy, said the development of the battery factory would be “revolutionary” in helping to support EV growth and reduce Europe’s carbon footprint.

“The benefits can also go beyond supporting the transition to electrification,” said Pavia. “By considering the deployment of battery-based energy storage at all levels of the electricity network, we can also see that this battery factory will add value to the grid while maximising the integration of renewable energy.”

Demand for battery storage is also growing in the US, with research yesterday showing energy storage deployments totalled 336MWh last year – doubling the total MWh deployment for the previous year.

It follows a record-breaking fourth quarter 2016 which saw 213MWh come online, more than the sum of the previous 12 quarters combined, according to GTM Research and the Energy Storage Association’s annual energy storage review.

California alone made up 88 per cent of all installed energy storage capacity in the final quarter of last year, driven by the large systems procured in response to the major Aliso Canyon natural gas leak in October 2015 which put serious stress on the US state’s electricity grid.

Matt Roberts, executive director of the Energy Storage Association, said the fourth quarter of 2016 marked a turning point in the US utility-scale energy storage market.

“The energy storage industry is rapidly maturing, and in 2016 we saw that growth take hold in a significant way,” he said. “The energy storage industry’s rapid response to address the Aliso Canyon disaster, and the continued growth in applications and business models for storage systems, signals to all stakeholders the immense value that energy storage systems are delivering today.”

In related news, Scotland-based battery management systems developer Dukosi announced last week it has secured a further £2m through a funding round led by IP Group plc.

The company said it has developed a unique battery management system that collects, processes and stores data directly at the cell, enabling improvements in the reliability and performance of EV batteries and energy storage units.

“We’ve had incredible feedback from our demonstrations to the industry,” said Clive Scrivener, Chairman, Dukosi. “Our technology resonates with stakeholders throughout the battery supply chain and with the users of battery packs, who all recognise that innovation has a key role to play in meeting the growing demands of managing complex battery systems. With this funding, we’re taking the next step to make our vision a reality and bring a new level of intelligence to batteries.”

Source: businessgreen.com

Solar Power Growth Doubled in 2016 Driven by China and US Demand

08.03.2017

The amount of new solar power capacity installed worldwide rocketed by 50 per cent last year, driven by increasing demand from both the US and China, according to new data.

Global solar PV capacity added in 2016 reached 76.2GW, significantly more than the 51.2GW installed the previous year, latest figures compiled by trade body SolarPower Europe show.

Led by China, Asia’s solar market share reached more than 66 per cent in 2016, while US demand for new solar capacity was more than twice as large as that in Europe.

China was the world’s largest solar market in 2016, officially adding 34.2GW – over 125 per cent more than in 2015. It was followed by the US with estimated solar power additions of 14GW, up from 7.3GW the year before. Japan was ranked third, reaching around 8.6GW, ahead of India with 4.5 GW.

European installations of solar power, meanwhile, fell by more than 21 per cent to 6.7GW last year, the figures show, despite solar energy prices continuing to fall to their lowest level across much of the continent.

According to SolarPower Europe German PV tenders show average solar power prices have fallen by around 25 per cent in just 18 months, and solar is now one of the lowest-cost power generation sources in available.

Jamie Watson, CEO of SolarPower Europe, warned the EU is now in danger of being eclipsed by Asian and US powerhouses on both solar power production and installations.

“The European solar industry is ready to take a larger share of the global market, but we need an open trade policy that supports the growth of solar in Europe and a clean tech industrial policy that supports the growth of solar jobs,” he said.

The EU is currently proposing a target of sourcing at least 27 per cent of electricity from renewables by 2030, but the trade body believes a more ambitious target of 35 per cent would boost solar growth.

“Southern European countries could generate solar power at around €0.3 per kWh in 2017/18 – that’s a level hardly any other technology can meet, but we need a reliable governance system to steer investment into solar power plants” added Michael Schmela, executive advisor and head of market intelligence at SolarPower Europe. “With the Clean Energy Package for all Europeans, the EU has the chance to make its energy supply fit for the future.”

Rebecca Williams, energy specialist at WWF-UK, said the huge annual growth in solar capacity showed renewables are becoming mainstream and leading the way in global energy production as fossil fuels are phased out.

However, she said the UK government needs to increase its support for the domestic renewables sector, following significant cuts to solar subsidies in 2015. “Despite policy uncertainty in the UK, and cuts in solar panel subsidies, we have created a world leading renewables sector which will bring massive economic and export opportunities to the whole country,” Williams said. “The UK government needs to further back the renewable sector by setting out an ambitious plan to reduce our emissions so that the UK meets its carbon targets.”

Source: businessgreen.com

UK Energy Efficiency: Project Numbers Rise Post-Brexit, but High Rolling Customers Prove Scarce

07.03.2017

The UK’s energy efficiency sector is on the rebound, according to new data released today by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) and EEVS Insights showing a steady uptick in energy efficiency projects launched since last year’s Brexit vote.

Mirroring the stronger-than-expected growth across the wider economy following the referendum result, the quarterly survey of 68 UK-based energy efficiency professionals reveals 80 per cent commissioned energy efficiency projects in the final three months of 2016.

It continues a trend of higher investment following the referendum – in the third quarter of 2016 just under 80 per cent of respondents commissioned projects – and contrasts starkly with the three months prior to the June vote, when just 67 per cent commissioned projects.

But while the sector has received a boost in orders in the aftermath of the vote, the value of orders has taken a dip, with just 10 per cent of projects commissioned in the final quarter of 2016 valued at more than £500,000, compared to 22 per cent in the previous quarter and 24 per cent in the second quarter.

“This quarter’s results represents something of a double-edged sword for the sector,” said EEVS director Ian Jeffries. “On the upside, supply-side confidence increased on the back of strong order book growth. But on the flip-side, our analysis shows that the value of consumer spending per order dipped. So whilst organisations were content to make positive purchase decisions, a degree of ongoing caution means that the value of those purchases tightened in the final quarter of 2016.”

This caution may be due to a lack of confidence in the national policy environment – just 12 per cent of suppliers believe there is adequate government support for the sector, according to the data.

The government has promised to insulate one million homes by the end of this Parliament.

However, critics have noted that the one million homes target represents a slowdown on the pace of energy efficiency upgrades achieved during the last parliament and the government is under mounting pressure to reform the policy landscape to spur higher uptake of energy efficiency measures, particularly in the domestic sector.

Source: businessgreen.com

New Report on Renewable and Geothermal Energy in Latin America

07.03.2017

Geotermalna energija, Island — Photo: Pixabay

In a recent report on the renewable energy market in Latin America, IRENA provides a good overview on the important role in specific countries in Central America and Mexico.

In a report published late last year, IRENA provides a great overview on renewable energy deployment in Latin America.

While geothermal energy does not play a tremendously large role in the overall energy supply in the region, it plays an important role in some of the countries in the region.

Geothermal energy plays a particularly large role in comparison in Central America. The use of geothermal energy for power generation in some countries in Central America plays a particularly important role and has increased (nearly five-fold since 1990), notably in El Salvador, the country with the second largest geothermal generation share after Iceland (IEA, 2015b), and in Costa Rica. Another geothermal power house in Latin America is Mexico.

The report further looks into the legislative framework for renewable energy development and names the countries with specific geothermal policies or legislation in place as being: Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Peru.

The following countries have set specific geothermal development targets:

Costa Rica – 15% target of electricity supply
El Salvador – 60-89 MW
Mexico – 1,018 MW by 2018

In the current supply of electricity the following share is provided by geothermal energy:

Costa Rica – 15%
El Salvador – 27%
Mexico – 1%
Nicaragua – 16%
Overall Latin America – 1%

Swiss Scientists Developed Effective and Low-Cost Solution for Storing Solar Energy

07.03.2017

Skladištenje solarne energije — Ilustracija: Infini Lab/EPFL

How can we store solar energy for period when the sun doesn’t shine? One solution is to convert it into hydrogen through water electrolysis. The idea is to use the electrical current produced by a solar panel to ‘split’ water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen.

Clean hydrogen can then be stored away for future use to produce electricity on demand, or even as a fuel. But this is where things get complicated.

Even though different hydrogen-production technologies have given us promising results in the lab, they are still too unstable or expensive and need to be further developed to use on a commercial and large scale.

The approach taken by EPFL and CSEM researchers is to combine components that have already proven effective in industry in order to develop a robust and effective system.

Their prototype is made up of three interconnected, new-generation, crystalline silicon solar cells attached to an electrolysis system that does not rely on rare metals, explains Knowridge.

The device is able to convert solar energy into hydrogen at a rate of 14.2%, and has already been run for more than 100 hours straight under test conditions.

In terms of performance, this is a world record for silicon solar cells and for hydrogen production without using rare metals. It also offers a high level of stability.

Enough to power a fuel cell car over 10,000 km every year

The method, which surpasses previous efforts in terms of stability, performance, lifespan and cost efficiency, is published in the Journal of The Electrochemical Society.

“A 12-14 m2 system installed in Switzerland would allow the generation and storage of enough hydrogen to power a fuel cell car over 10,000 km every year,” says Christophe Ballif, who co-authored the paper.

High voltage cells have an edge

The key here is making the most of existing components, and using a ‘hybrid’ type of crystalline-silicon solar cell based on heterojunction technology.

The researchers’ sandwich structure — using layers of crystalline silicon and amorphous silicon — allows for higher voltages.

And this means that just three of these cells, interconnected, can already generate an almost ideal voltage for electrolysis to occur.

The electrochemical part of the process requires a catalyst made from nickel, which is widely available.

“With conventional crystalline silicon cells, we would have to link up four cells to get the same voltage,” says co-author Miguel Modestino at EPFL.”So that’s the strength of this method.”

A stable and economically viable method

The new system is unique when it comes to cost, performance and lifespan. “We wanted to develop a high performance system that can work under current conditions,” says Jan-Willem Schüttauf, a researcher at CSEM and co-author of the paper.

“The heterojunction cells that we use belong to the family of crystalline silicon cells, which alone account for about 90% of the solar panel market.”

“It is a well-known and robust technology whose lifespan exceeds 25 years. And it also happens to cover the south side of the CSEM building in Neuchâtel.”

The researchers used standard heterojunction cells to prove the concept; by using the best cells of that type, they would expect to achieve a performance above 16%.

Indonesia Pledges $1 Billion Annually to Tackle Ocean Pollution Problem

07.03.2017

Indonesia unloads more plastic into the oceans than any other country, except China. But now the country plans to invest $1 billion every year to reduce ocean pollution 70 percent by 2025.

Indonesia will spend the entire sum on tackling plastic pollution and other waste dumped in the ocean. According to the World Bank, each of the 250 million residents of Indonesia contributes from 0.8 to one kilogram, or around 1.7 to 2.2 pounds of plastic waste yearly. The country is the second largest plastic polluter in the world, according to a 2015 Science article. Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan announced the $1 billion move to tackle this issue at the 2017 World Oceans Summit held in the country the end of February.

Protecting the country’s oceans is crucial because they’re home to the highest levels of marine biodiversity in the world. Indonesia is part of the Coral Triangle, and its coral reef ecosystems grant food security and attract tourists. Plastic pollution threatens these ecosystems; a recent study said by 2050 there could be more plastic than fish in the ocean.

Pandjaitan said Indonesia could accomplish their goal a few different ways. They could implement a tax on plastic bags, or run a public education campaign. They could also support new industries that draw on biodegradable materials like seaweed or cassava to yield healthier alternatives.

The country made their pledge as part of the United Nations’ Clean Seas initiative; nine countries along with Indonesia have joined the campaign to cut plastic in the ocean through strategies like improved waste management. Anyone can go on the Clean Seas website to commit to actions like avoiding cosmetics with microbeads, avoiding plastic bags, or carrying a reusable coffee cup.

Source: inhabitat.com

Zero-Carbon Home Generates Income by Making More Energy than it Needs

07.03.2017

The home of the future could slash your utility bills and generate enough money to help pay the mortgage. UK firm Koru Architects designed and built one such house, named the Lloyd House, that’s effectively zero-carbon and runs entirely on renewable energy. Tucked away on a quiet street in England’s East Sussex, this contemporary home generates more energy than it consumes and even brings in a net income of £2650 per year from solar photovoltaics, solar thermal, and a wood-chip biomass boiler.

Completed in 2011 as a case study, the Lloyd House is a large and contemporary three-bedroom home that only consumes around half the energy of a typical UK household thanks to its use of passive solar design, energy efficient appliances, effective insulation, and high airtightness. The home was built with mostly natural materials including sustainably sourced timber for the cladding and flooring, zinc roofing, hemp and wood-fiber insulation, recycled glass in the kitchen countertops, and lime-based natural plants. Sedum plants carpet the roof to add an additional layer of insulation and provide habitat to local insects and birds. A 4,700-liter Freewater UK Elite rainwater harvesting system collects rainwater for reuse in irrigation, the washing machine, and the dual-flush toilets.

The Lloyd House produces all the hot water it needs for domestic use and for the underfloor heating with a 6-kilowatt solar thermal system and a 10.5-kilowatt wood-pellet boiler. A twelve 340-kilowatt peak solar array provides around 3800 kilowatt-hour of electricity annually, which is more than it uses thanks to its energy-efficient measures. Excess energy is exported to the grid and, with the help of renewable heat incentive and feed-in-tariff schemes, the home brings in a net annual income of £2650 ($3,300 USD) after bills are subtracted. The house emits 93% less carbon dioxide equivalent than the average UK household.

Constructed with passive solar principles, the airtight home is oriented towards the south with large areas of glazing to take advantage of the sun’s heat and natural lighting to reduce energy demand. High-level skylights also flood the interior with natural light. In addition to the three bedrooms, the home comprises a home office, two bathrooms, living room, utility room, open plan kitchen and dining area, garage, and garden. The spacious and comfortable interior is organized into split-levels to make the most of the sloped site. “The house is expected to last around 80 years, and through its generation of clean energy it is expected to offset 41 tonnes of carbon over its life,” write the architects. “Including the replacement of the renewable energy technologies, it would take 48 years to become entirely carbon-neutral.” The project was awarded the RIBA Download Prize 2011 in the category for sustainability and serves as a source of green inspiration for the community.

Source: inhabitat.com

Smart Meters for Electric Energy Might Not be so Smart

07.03.2017

Pametno brojilo, Pametni merač električne energije, Strujomer — Foto-ilustracija: Eon Energy

Research from the Netherlands has found meters that overestimate energy usage by 582 times.

A study from the University of Twente and Amsterdam’s University of Applied Sciences believes that smart meters need extra schooling. Researchers have published a report claiming that the meters are greatly exaggerating the amount of energy that’s being used. That’s a problem, since 750,000 homes have recently installed them, and the Netherlands government wants one in every property by 2020.

Professor Frank Leferink began investigating the issue after hearing rumors that the devices were wildly overestimating power use. The grumblings seem to have merit, since some of the meters that were tested claimed that energy use was 582 times higher than the reality. It’s bad hardware, rather than fraud, that’s the cause of the issue — since the meters don’t understand how modern, energy-efficient devices like LED bulbs work.

As UT News explains, Netherlanders who want to resolve this issue don’t have much hope, at least not right now. You can only ask your energy company to check a meter if it’s not functioning properly, not object to its results. Since the hardware functions, you’ll be slapped with a bill for the inspection cost, even though the underlying principles are faulty. Which is nice.

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