Renewable Energy

[Sigmetnow]

Sigmetnow
While reading your above article I got thinking of the possibility of micro-hydro facilities in Hawaii.World wide as glaciers and mountain snow packs become fewer and thinner one possibility for providing a year round source of drinking & agricultural water might be by building small, high elevation micro-hydro generating dams.If the dams were situated below the normal snow line, whatever water was captured during high precipitation events could be apportioned as needed during the year. Lower temperatures would minimize evaporation, and if properly designed, they might alleviate some of the problems associated with the diminishing snow packs and receding glaciers we are facing (or experiencing).I've always felt that hydro is the most efficient method of storing / smoothing electrical loads & a scheme like this might allow a much higher portion of wind and solar without need of battery storage & at the same time provide water for communities that in the past could rely on spring run off & glacial melt.Perhaps this belongs in a different thread.
Terry

Hey, Terry.  Enlarging your comment so others can see.   

If I recall correctly, small hydro storage such as you describe is currently being constructed to capture the diminishing flow of water from Himalyan glaciers, for small communities that depend on that flow!

[Sigmetnow]

OK, not quite the same.    This is for above the snow line:

Crowdfunded “ice stupas” help Ladakh adapt to climate change

With the glaciers they depend on for water melting too fast in summer and not enough in the spring planting season, the farmers of Phyang struggle to grow the crops they need.
...
Under his project, Wangchuk wants to build “ice stupas” – or artificial cones of ice – that store water for crops to combat shrinking glaciers.

http://www.rtcc.org/2014/12/29/crowdfunded-ice-stupas-help-ladakh-adapt-to-climate-change/

[TerryM]

Thanks so much, both for correcting my font size & your comment. It's good to know that others have considered dual use dams for mountainous regions.


Terry

[Buddy]

I think we are QUICKLY approaching a "second tipping point" in alternative fuels.  Think of it as that point where the second derivative makes a move UP.

I think it may be reached THIS YEAR.....but certainly within 3 years from now.  It is that "oh shit" moment where enough people realize that (a) global warming is real, (b) global warming is accelerating, and (c) and policy makers realize that policy HAS TO CHANGE.

Of course....it is being fueled (pun intended:) by the changes that are accelerating in global warming (fires....Arctic melting....new Antarctic issues...etc).  And that is pushing policy makers around the world to speed up.  And it is now showing up in the media.

Within the following 3 years I believe we will reach a point where the world leaders have NO CHOICE but to push on a scale that will dwarf any other "capital intensive project" we have seen before.  Think about it as a "Marshall plan on steroids" (the Marshall plan being the rebuilding of Europe following WWII).

THAT.....is what it will take....and now the evidence (including VISUAL CURRENT EVIDENCE) is taking place to push the start of something on that scale.  The next year or two will only buttress that view.

I also want to take a second to thank all my friends at FOX News for LYING ABOUT GLOBAL WARMING OVER THE LAST 25 YEARS.  Thanks guys.....

[Sigmetnow]

"Smart" solar palm trees power Wi-Fi, phones in Dubai
http://www.arabianbusiness.com/dubai-s-smart-palm-tree-technology-revealed-604161.html

[Sigmetnow]

Huge new solar plant site in California should be environmentally sound.

“Due to the previously disturbed condition of nearly all the land proposed for the project, numerous environmental organizations supported the project because it conformed with our recommended criteria for siting large-scale projects in the California desert,” Jeff Aardahl, California representative for Defenders of Wildlife, said in an email.

The project’s developer, Renewable Resources Group, is a Los Angeles company that invests in green energy and agriculture. “We specialize in developing utility-scale solar…projects on previously disturbed private land,” Tom Eisenhauer, a spokesperson for the firm, said in an email.

http://www.takepart.com/article/2015/08/24/big-solar-back

[Sigmetnow]

And another: Mesquite 3.

The U.S. Navy is investing in what will be the largest solar farm in the world in order to provide power for 14 of its bases.

The climate of Arizona, where the two earlier phases of the Mesquite solar farm are already up and running, provides 300 days of sunshine a year. And the Navy’s deal to extend the farm is the largest purchase of renewable energy ever made by a U.S. federal government agency.
...
The price of solar panels has now fallen so far worldwide that, in sunny climes, they can compete on cost with any other form of energy generation. This new generation of huge solar farms produces as much power as a large coal-fired plant.

http://ecowatch.com/2015/08/26/navy-invests-largest-solar-farm/

[Sigmetnow]

@UNFCCC: The Yin and Yang of #solar and #wind energy in Germany, via @Sustainable2050 #COP21 #action2015 #ADP2 http://t.co/DPDmORrcjA

https://twitter.com/unfccc/status/637696512106082304

[Sigmetnow]

More on the Citigroup report*, this time by Dana Nuccitelli.

Citi report: slowing global warming would save tens of trillions of dollars
A report from America’s 3rd-largest bank asks why we’re not transitioning to a low-carbon economy

Citi Global Perspectives & Solutions (GPS), a division within Citibank (America’s third-largest bank), recently published a report looking at the economic costs and benefits of a low-carbon future. The report considered two scenarios: “Inaction,” which involves continuing on a business-as-usual path, and Action scenario which involves transitioning to a low-carbon energy mix.

One of the most interesting findings in the report is that the investment costs for the two scenarios are almost identical. In fact, because of savings due to reduced fuel costs and increased energy efficiency, the Action scenario is actually a bit cheaper than the Inaction scenario.

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2015/aug/31/citi-report-slowing-global-warming-would-save-tens-of-trillions-of-dollars

*See also here.

[Sigmetnow]

Better Health a Key Benefit of Renewables, Study Says
http://www.climatecentral.org/news/renewables-benefit-climate-public-health-19397

[Sigmetnow]

MIT Study suggests current solar power tech is good enough

The standard line about solar power is that while good in theory, the technology just isn't there to keep our lights on and our Netflix streaming. But a new study from MIT (PDF) suggests that's not the case. According to the massive report (an epic 356 pages) current crystalline silicon photovoltaic technology is capable of delivering terawatt-scale power by 2050.

http://www.engadget.com/2015/05/09/current-solar-power-tech-is-good-enough/

[AbruptSLR]

Photovoltaics may not be as green as some would have us believe, as current solar panel development is actually contributing to CO2 emissions (and pollution):

http://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2015/04/how-sustainable-is-pv-solar-power.html

Extract: "Compared to the domestic manufacturing scenario, the carbon footprint and the energy payback time are almost doubled in the overseas manufacturing scenario. The carbon footprint of the modules made in Spain (which has a cleaner grid than the average in Europe) is 37.3 and 31.8 gCO2e/kWh for mono-si and multi-si, respectively, while the energy payback times are 1.9 and 1.6 years. However, for the modules made in China, the carbon footprint is 72.2 and 69.2 gCO2e/kWh for mono-si and multi-si, respectively, while the energy payback times are 2.4 and 2.3 years. [13]
At least as important as the place of manufacturing is the place of installation. Almost all LCAs -- including the one that deals with manufacturing in China -- assume a solar insolation of 1,700 kilowatt-hour per square meter per year (kWh/m2/yr), typical of Southern Europe and the southwestern USA. If solar modules manufactured in China are installed in Germany, then the carbon footprint increases to about 120 gCO2e/kWh for both mono- and multi-si -- which makes solar PV only 3.75 times less carbon-intensive than natural gas, not 15 times.
Considering that at the end of 2014, Germany had more solar PV installed than all Southern European nations combined, and twice as much as the entire United States, this number is not a worst-case scenario. It reflects the carbon intensity of most solar PV systems installed between 2009 and 2014.
…
These results don't include the energy required to ship the solar panels from China to Europe. Transportation is usually ignored in LCAs of solar panels that assume domestic production, which would make comparisons difficult. Furthermore, energy requirements for transportation are very case-specific. It should also be kept in mind that these results are based on a solar PV lifespan of 30 years. This might be over-optimistic, because the relocation of manufacturing to China has been associated with a decrease in the quality of PV solar panels. Research has shown that the percentage of defective or under-performing PV cells has risen substantially in recent years, which could have a negative influence on the lifespan of the average solar panel, decreasing its sustainability.
Solar PV electricity remains less carbon-intensive than conventional grid electricity, even when solar cells are manufactured in China and installed in countries with relatively low solar insolation. This seems to suggest that solar PV remains a good choice no matter where the panels are produced or installed. However, if we take into account the growth of the industry, the energy and carbon balance can quickly turn negative. That's because at high growth rates, the energy and CO2 savings made by the cumulative installed capacity of solar PV systems can be cancelled out by the energy use and CO2 emissions from the production of new installed capacity.
A life cycle analysis that takes into account the growth rate of solar PV is called a "dynamic" life cycle analysis, as opposed to a "static" LCA, which looks only at an individual solar PV system. The two factors that determine the outcome of a dynamic life cycle analysis are the growth rate on the one hand, and the embodied energy and carbon of the PV system on the other hand. If the growth rate or the embodied energy or carbon increases, so does the "erosion" or "cannibalization" of the energy and CO2 savings made due to the production of newly installed capacity.
For the deployment of solar PV systems to grow while remaining net greenhouse gas mitigators, they must grow at a rate slower than the inverse of their CO2 payback time. For example, if the average energy and CO2 payback times of a solar PV system are four years and the industry grows at a rate of 25%, no net energy is produced and no greenhouse gas emissions are offset. If the growth rate is higher than 25%, the aggregate of solar PV systems actually becomes a net CO2 and energy sink. In this scenario, the industry expands so fast that the energy savings and GHG emissions prevented by solar PV systems are negated to fabricate the next wave of solar PV systems.

….

Embodied energy and CO2 will gradually decrease because of technological advances such as higher solar cell efficiencies and more efficient manufacturing techniques, and also as a consequence of the recycling of solar panels, which is not yet a reality. However, what matters most is where solar panels are manufactured, and where they are installed. The location of production and installation is a decisive factor because there are three parameters in a life cycle analysis that are location dependent: the carbon intensity of the electricity used in production, the carbon intensity of the displaced electricity mix at the place of installation, and the solar insolation in the place of installation.

….

Why does the production of solar PV requires so much energy? Because the low power density -- several orders of magnitude below fossil fuels -- and the intermittency of solar power require a much larger energy infrastructure than fossil fuels do. It's important to realize that the intermittency of solar power is not taken into account in our analysis. Solar power is not always available, which means that we need a backup-source of power or a storage system to jump in when the need is there. This component is usually not considered in LCAs of solar PV, even though it has a large influence on the sustainability of solar power.
…

[13] Domestic and overseas manufacturing scenarios of silicon-based photovoltaics: life cycle energy and environmental comparative analysis. Dajun Yue, Fengqi You, Seth B. Darling, in Solar Energy, May 2014"



See also:
http://info.cat.org.uk/questions/pv/what-environmental-impact-photovoltaic-pv-solar-panels

http://spectrum.ieee.org/green-tech/solar/solar-energy-isnt-always-as-green-as-you-think

[sidd]

sorry, that article from lowtechmag is not ... reliable ...

" ... (mono-si with 14% efficiency and multi-si with 13.2% efficiency) ..."

dear god, where are they getting these numbers from ? i have been costing out PV for over a decade, and five years ago i was buying 20% efficient panels degrading to 18% in 20 yr. Guaranteed. Today i see that initial efficiencies are 25% degrading to 21% after 20 yr. Fully expect to see over 30% off the shelf by 2020. The paper on dynamic LCA between 1998 and 2008 does not convince either, does not agree with summint the static LCAs which should give to same result. So color me skeptical.

so take those numbers for carbon load from solar PV and divide by 1.6 at least, and more over the next couple decades. And China is cleaning up their act rapidly, so the embodied carbon cost in production is taking a dive.

Another  sentence that triggered a pet peeve of mine was this one : " ... Solar power is not always available, which means that we need a backup-source of power ..."

Grrr. Most of the power demand  growth is coming from people WHO HAVE NO ELECTRIC. AT ALL. Coming from some poor sod and his family in Nowhere, Maharashtra who are soooo glad to have any clean light source after dark from one tiny panel with a tiny battery and tiny LEDs. They dont care about backup, they crawl over broken glass to pay for that tiny install so that their kid can study after dark. There's several billion of em. They laugh at your backup costs.

Not quite a hit piece, but might as well be paid for by the coal lobby.

sidd

[Sigmetnow]

Update on this technology reported in this thread last year.

Solar Sunflower harnesses power of 5,000 suns
The real engineering breakthrough with this technology might be the cooling system.

The latest in solar power comes to us from Swiss inventors working for Airlight Energy, Dsolar (a subsidiary of Airlight), and IBM Research in Zurich, reports Ars Technica. It's called the Solar Sunflower, and like its namesake, it tracks the sun and cools itself by pumping water through its veins like a plant.

Aside from its aesthetically-pleasing design, the Solar Sunflower also makes use of some innovative technology. It uses something called HCPVT (Highly Efficient Concentrated PhotoVoltaic/Thermal) to generate electricity and hot water from solar power. Basically, this method entails using reflectors to concentrate the sun, as well as highly efficient photovoltaic cells (known as gallium-arsenide photovoltaic cells) to convert that concentrated solar energy into electricity.

http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/energy/stories/solar-sunflower-technology-harnesses-power-5000-suns

[Sigmetnow]

Aspen, Colorado is third U.S. city to reach 100% renewable energy
http://www.aspentimes.com/news/17972193-113/aspen-is-third-us-city-to-reach-100

[TerryM]

Sidd
Thanks for your reply to AbruptSLR's piece. I'd read his, or something similar, a while back and, not having other data to fall back on, had questioned the rush to solar.


Are there problems with solar that might be exacerbated by the weird weather we're expecting, or are panels now relatively safe from high winds, extreme temperatures, storms & hail. I assume homeowners insurance would pick up the tab in most instances, but that does little for the footprint.


Terry

[sidd]

Re: longevity of PV panels

they come with hail warranties, and the temperature rating is respectable. A win win is combining solar hot water, so a) you get free hot water b) cool the PV cells so the are more efficient. Not so hard to do yourself. Wind load will rip the thing off if you install it wrong, so get a structural guy to look first. Snow dont seem to be a problem even in PA. I know a guy in AZ who obsessed about dust and bird droppings, but finally quit cleaning his panels and seems happy ... I told him to add more panels when he changed his batteries (old golf carts..after six years is what i told him, but he stretched that out to nine, added better panels, inverter and is set for the next twenty years)

[oren]

....

However, if we take into account the growth of the industry, the energy and carbon balance can quickly turn negative. That's because at high growth rates, the energy and CO2 savings made by the cumulative installed capacity of solar PV systems can be cancelled out by the energy use and CO2 emissions from the production of new installed capacity.
A life cycle analysis that takes into account the growth rate of solar PV is called a "dynamic" life cycle analysis, as opposed to a "static" LCA, which looks only at an individual solar PV system. The two factors that determine the outcome of a dynamic life cycle analysis are the growth rate on the one hand, and the embodied energy and carbon of the PV system on the other hand. If the growth rate or the embodied energy or carbon increases, so does the "erosion" or "cannibalization" of the energy and CO2 savings made due to the production of newly installed capacity.
For the deployment of solar PV systems to grow while remaining net greenhouse gas mitigators, they must grow at a rate slower than the inverse of their CO2 payback time. For example, if the average energy and CO2 payback times of a solar PV system are four years and the industry grows at a rate of 25%, no net energy is produced and no greenhouse gas emissions are offset. If the growth rate is higher than 25%, the aggregate of solar PV systems actually becomes a net CO2 and energy sink. In this scenario, the industry expands so fast that the energy savings and GHG emissions prevented by solar PV systems are negated to fabricate the next wave of solar PV systems.

….

This analysis is nonsensical. If you have something with a short payback time, you should grow the installations as fast as you can. Indeed over the short term you have increased emissions from this particular industry, but the savings will add up over the life cycle which is what really counts.
In addition of course, if you slow this industry to save emissions you get more activity in the competing industry of building new fossil fuel plants. Since this is trivial but not mentioned, I find the reliability of the whole study dubious.

[Sigmetnow]

Global Solar Energy Market To Climb 36% In 2015 Amid Falling Solar Prices, Climate Change Concerns

The global solar energy market is set to soar this year as project costs plunge and countries boost investments in cleaner sources of electricity. New solar photovoltaic (PV) installations will reach 55,000 megawatts this year -- the highest annual total to date, researchers say.

The installations mark a 36 percent jump over 2014 installations, which grew by just 2 percent compared with the previous year, GTM Research found in a Wednesday solar market report. By 2020, global PV installations could jump to 135,000 megawatts for the year, researchers said -- enough to power the equivalent of roughly 20 million average U.S. homes.

http://www.ibtimes.com/global-solar-energy-market-climb-36-2015-amid-falling-solar-prices-climate-change-1971207

[Sigmetnow]

Pakistan’s energy regulator, NEPRA (National Electric Power Regulatory Authority), has approved and put into effect net metering schemes for solar and wind generation of up to 1MW.

http://www.pv-tech.org/news/net_metering_law_comes_into_effect_in_pakistan_for_solar_up_to_1mw

[Sigmetnow]

Oolu Is Bringing Solar Energy To West Africa’s Off-Grid Population

In rural West Africa, 150 million people are currently living without electricity.

Oolu, a Y Combinator company launching today, aims to reduce this number by delivering affordable solar energy to West Africa’s off-grid population, beginning in Senegal.

Despite the surge of innovation in solar storage and panel technology, Oolu founder Daniel Rosa says that many people living in rural areas of West Africa still walk miles to the nearest city to charge their cellphones and purchase kerosene for lanterns.

According to Rosa, the average rural family spends around $20 per month on energy-related costs. Considering that Senegal’s GDP per capita was just over $1,000 in 2012, this is a huge expense for many families.

Oolu’s in-home solar system is composed of three adjustable lights and two USB plugs, powered by a battery that holds a charge for up to six hours with maximum output.

For a low monthly fee, Oolu will install the system and perform all necessary maintenance, including free battery replacements and system upgrades.

http://techcrunch.com/2015/07/31/oolu-is-bringing-solar-energy-to-west-africas-off-grid-population/

[Sigmetnow]

Spectacular Large-Scale Solar Growth In The Netherlands, Finally
http://cleantechnica.com/2015/09/08/spectacular-large-scale-solar-growth-netherlands-finally/

[Sigmetnow]

Washington/D.C.:  while the U.S. Congress dithers, local leaders are tackling carbon pollution with stunning ambition.
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/09/10/3699837/washington-dc-solar/

[Sigmetnow]

GTM Research and Solar Energy Industries Association (or SEIA, the national trade organization for America’s solar energy industry) released its Q2 2015 report showing that the country has exceeded 20 gigawatts of solar electric capacity in the first half of 2015—enough power for 4.6 million homes.

This could make 2015 on track for another banner year. So while 2014 already smashed records, it looks like 2015 is poised for even better growth

http://ecowatch.com/2015/09/09/solar-power-broke-record/

[Sigmetnow]

U.K. Rejects $8.3 Billion Offshore Wind Plan - because the turbines would be (barely) visible from a World Heritage Site.

Greenpeace Chief Scientist Doug Parr said the government has been inconsistent in scrapping the wind farm while opening protected areas on the [nearby] Isle of Wight to natural gas fracking.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-09-11/u-k-rejects-8-3-billion-offshore-wind-plan-from-edf-eneco

[Sigmetnow]

Solar farms could make fertile habitats for bees and butterflies
http://www.greenbiz.com/article/solar-farms-could-make-fertile-habitats-bees-and-butterflies

[Sigmetnow]

@insideclimate: U.K. Drops Out of Top 10 Renewable Energy Ranking, U.S. Rises to First Place http://t.co/oLWOXXUVpY

https://twitter.com/insideclimate/status/644196582196293632

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/sep/16/uk-drops-out-of-top-10-renewable-energy-ranking-for-first-time

[Sigmetnow]

CPS Energy in San Antonio, Texas, wants to rent your sunny roof.  They will install solar panels for free, and pay you 3 cents per kilowatt/hour generated, in the form of credit on your monthly electric bill.

http://www.expressnews.com/business/business_columnists/david_hendricks/article/CPS-Energy-s-solar-rent-a-roof-program-has-big-6490747.php

http://newsroom.cpsenergy.com/blog/rooftop-solar-expansion/

[Sigmetnow]

Aspen is third U.S. city to reach 100 percent renewable energy

The city had been using about 75 to 80 percent renewable energy beforehand, former city project coordinator Will Dolan said.

Aspen eliminated coal and added to its wind power to replace the remaining 20 to 25 percent of non-renewable energy and reach its 100 percent goal, Dolan said.

http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_28775858/aspen-is-third-u-s-city-reach-100

[Sigmetnow]

This Report Says The World Can Go 100 Percent Renewable By 2050

A new report from Greenpeace says the world can be 100 percent renewable by 2050, and 85 percent renewable in just 15 years.

The 2015 Energy [R]evolution report, the latest in a series that has offered the most accurate projections of any major analysis, worldwide, says that for the first time, the path to 100 percent renewable is cost-neutral. In addition, no new technological advancements are needed, the report says.

“It’s basically political will,” Emily Rochon, a global energy strategist at Greenpeace, told ThinkProgress. “The primary premise of the Energy [R]evolution scenario is we have all of the solutions already on the table to get there.”

Under the scenario outlined in the report, global CO2 emissions would be stabilized by 2020 and would approach zero in 2050. Fossil fuels would be phased out, beginning with the most carbon-intensive sources. By 2030, two-thirds of the world’s electricity could come from renewable sources such as wind and solar.

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/09/21/3703772/greenpeace-energy-revolution-2015/

[Sigmetnow]

UK: Coal energy drops to 20%, from 28%, as renewables take over.

Renewable energy has for the first time met more than a quarter of the UK’s power demand over a three month period, becoming the country’s second biggest source of power.

A surge in new solar and wind generation, along with the closure of several coal powered plants, helped drive the boost, according to new data from the Department for Energy and Climate Change.

http://tcktcktck.org/2015/09/renewables-overtake-coal-in-uk-power-mix/

[Sigmetnow]

Georgetown, Texas is about to flip the switch onto wind power, on its way to 100% renewables energy.
4 min video.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XCmJYwhAFo8&feature=youtu.be

[Sigmetnow]

Solar City's new rooftop solar panels are 22% efficient, less sensitive to heat, and cheap enough for them to make a profit even without subsidies.
http://mashable.com/2015/10/02/elon-musk-solarcity-new-solar-panel/

And it looks like the Solar City solar panel gigafactory in Buffalo, New York, is nearing completion.
SolarCity’s Buffalo Gigafactory is looking close to ready [Pictures]
http://electrek.co/2015/10/02/solarcitys-buffalo-gigafactory-is-looking-close-to-ready-pictures/

[Sigmetnow]

Renewables to Reap Lion's Share of New Power Plans, IEA Says

Renewable energy will be the largest source of new power generation capacity worldwide over the next five years, installing 700 gigawatts, which is more than double what utilities produce today in Japan, the International Energy Agency said.

While installations surge, investment will fall 15 percent to $230 billion a year by 2020 as the cost of wind and solar farms declines, the Paris-based institution said in a report on Friday.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-10-01/renewables-to-reap-lion-s-share-of-new-power-plants-iea-says

[Sigmetnow]

Renewables Will Generate a Quarter of the World's Electricity by 2020
Solar, wind, hydro and thermal will together see the largest growth in world electricity markets, the International Energy Agency predicts.
http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/10/02/quarter-of-worlds-electricity-to-come-from-renewables-by-2020

[Sigmetnow]

At 20% efficiency.

Here's how much of the world would need to be covered in solar panels to power Earth
http://www.techinsider.io/map-shows-solar-panels-to-power-the-earth-2015-9

[Sigmetnow]

SolarCity sparked a “war” of high-efficiency solar panels
http://electrek.co/2015/10/12/solarcity-sparked-a-war-of-high-efficiency-solar-panels/

[Sigmetnow]

Yale University purchased a massive 4,400-solar panel installation
http://electrek.co/2015/10/13/yale-university-purchased-a-massive-4400-solar-panel-installation/

[Sigmetnow]

Another "rent your roof" project; this one in Arizona, a sunny state but a solar battleground.

Innovative Arizona Utility Program Rents Your Roof For Solar Power

TEP will contract out the installation of solar panels, so local solar installers do not view the utility as competition.

At the same time, TEP gets a relatively easy way to increase its solar-generation capabilities, and meet quotas for renewable-energy generation.

The program also marks a more positive shift for solar power in Arizona.

The state has been one of the battlegrounds between solar advocates and utilities, which have lobbied to reduce or eliminate incentives and subsidies that encourage its use.

Earlier this year, another Arizona utility--Salt River Project--enacted a $50 monthly surcharge on customers who feed power back to the grid and use net metering.

This is a common practice in which consumers earn credit for the solar energy their panels discharge back into the grid, effectively forcing utilities to "buy" that power.

Efforts like this are largely based on the fear that distributed solar power will erode utilities' century-old business model of centralized generation distributed to dispersed users.

But by getting involved in that distribution of electricity infrastructure, TEP may have found one solution that could possibly make everyone happy.

http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1100433_innovative-arizona-utility-program-rents-your-roof-for-solar-power

[Sigmetnow]

From Sunlight To Electricity: First Optical Rectenna Created In Lab

It's been the dream of visionaries for decades: Sunlight converted into direct current to use for recharging emission-free electric cars.

Photovoltaic cells offer that capability today, but now researchers claim to have found a way to improve the efficiency of that process greatly, using a device called a "rectenna."

This combines the functions of an antenna and a rectifier diode to convert light directly into direct current.

http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1100426_from-sunlight-to-electricity-first-optical-rectenna-created-in-lab

[Sigmetnow]

The "virtuous cycle" has begun.

Solar and Wind Just Passed Another Big Turning Point

It’s a self-reinforcing cycle. As more renewables are installed, coal and natural gas plants are used less. As coal and gas are used less, the cost of using them to generate electricity goes up. As the cost of coal and gas power rises, more renewables will be installed.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-10-06/solar-wind-reach-a-big-renewables-turning-point-bnef

[Sigmetnow]

SolarCity will attempt to hire 500 new employees in one day

The [solar] industry is now employing twice as many workers as the coal industry and it is growing at a much faster pace. Solar added 31,000 new jobs last year to bring the total to 173,807 at the end of 2014.

http://electrek.co/2015/10/16/solarcity-will-attempt-to-hire-500-new-employees-in-one-day/

[Sigmetnow]

Solar firm blames subsidy cuts for UK exit
Parent company says government does not support solar development, as Zep Solar UK becomes fourth UK solar business to close in a fortnight
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/oct/16/solar-firm-blames-subsidy-cuts-for-uk-exit

[Sigmetnow]

These Three Trends Have Radically Redefined the Energy Market

Michael Liebreich, the founder of Bloomberg New Energy Finance, set out the trends upending the global energy markets and ushering in what he termed an “age of plenty.” He said:
1. Cheap fossil fuels are here to stay because production costs are tumbling.
2. Intermittent renewables will dominate electricity supply by 2040, with huge challenges for grid managers.
3. Electricity demand is flattening out, losing its link with economic growth.
The implication is that energy will be plentiful for years to come, Liebreich said in a presentation Tuesday at the research group’s conference in London. Oil will linger closer to $50 a barrel than to $90, and renewables will gain market share, he said.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-10-14/these-three-trends-are-redefining-the-cost-of-energy-everywhere#media-5

Graph: Australian energy use.  Green= historical, Grey and blue= projections.  Red= GDP.

[Sigmetnow]

Florida:  Court Decision Opens Path To Solar Power For Sunshine State Residents
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/10/22/3715134/sunshine-state-solar-court-decision/

[Sigmetnow]

African Lights: Microgrids Are Bringing Power to Rural Kenya
Small-scale microgrids are increasingly seen as the most promising way to bring electricity to the 1.3 billion people worldwide who currently lack it. In Kenya, an innovative solar company is using microgrids and smart meters to deliver power to villages deep in the African bush.
http://e360.yale.edu/feature/african_lights_microgrids_are_bringing_power_to_rural_kenya/2924/

[Sigmetnow]

Austria’s largest state now gets 100% of its electricity from renewables
http://qz.com/543177/austrias-largest-state-now-gets-100-of-its-electricity-from-renewables/

[Sigmetnow]

Renewables to Overtake Coal as World’s Largest Power Source, Says IEA

The International Energy Agency’s (IEA) latest report found that “in advance of the critical COP21 climate summit in Paris, there’s a clear sign that an energy transition is underway.” The World Energy Outlook 2015 report, published today, found that “renewables contributed almost half of the world’s new power generation capacity in 2014 and have already become the second-largest source of electricity (after coal).”
...
The impossible is becoming possible. The global breakthrough of renewable energy has happened much faster than anticipated,” said Emily Rochon, global energy strategist at Greenpeace International.

“The IEA is catching up on renewable energy trends, but it is still failing to see the full potential of change,” said Rochon. “We believe that with the right level of policy support, the world can deliver 100 percent renewable energy for all by 2050.”

http://ecowatch.com/2015/11/10/renewables-to-overtake-coal/

[Sigmetnow]

"Time Of Use" pricing goes crazy.  (And yes, this means some users may go crazy, too.)
Long-promised, "energy too cheap to meter" has finally arrived.  And it's renewable.

A Texas Utility Offers a Nighttime Special: Free Electricity

In Texas, wind farms are generating so much energy that some utilities are giving power away.

Briana Lamb, an elementary school teacher, waits until her watch strikes 9 p.m. to run her washing machine and dishwasher. It costs her nothing until 6 a.m. Kayleen Willard, a cosmetologist, unplugs appliances when she goes to work in the morning. By 9 p.m., she has them plugged back in.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/09/business/energy-environment/a-texas-utility-offers-a-nighttime-special-free-electricity.html

[Sigmetnow]

Tesla Gigafactory Will Indeed Be 100% Renewable Powered

The other interesting thing is we wanted to manage the emissions from the Gigafactory. Solar power can do some of that, but we took kind of a radical move in the beginning and said we are not going to burn any fossil fuels in the factory. You know, zero emissions. We are going to build a zero-emissions factory — just like the car. So, instead of kind of fighting this battle in hindsight, we just said we are not even going to have a natural gas pipeline coming to the factory, so we didn’t even build it. And it kind of forced the issue. When you don’t have natural gas, you know, none of the engineers can say, “Oh, but it will be more efficient, let me use just a little bit.” Sorry, we don’t even have it.

http://evobsession.com/tesla-gigafactory-will-indeed-be-100-renewable-powered/