Installation of Brixton Energy's Elmore House solar project. Photo Credit: Brixton Energy.
"By Anders Lorenzen"
The UK government have launched a national strategy on community energy, hoping it will see renewable energy projects surge.
Part of Germany's surge in renewable energy has been led by community energy projects. Over 50% of Germany's renewable energy capacity is owned by people and groups rather than energy companies.
Several community projects have emerged in the UK, but are still very far off from the dominance seen in Germany and Denmark. Some of the criticism being directed towards community energy in the UK has been the difficulty in establishing projects.
But with this new strategy the government is hopeful this could be about to change. These different kinds of of community energy projects have been identified:
* Generating energy (electricity or heat)
* Reducing energy use (saving energy through energy efficiency and behaviour change)
* Managing energy (balancing supply and demand)
* Purchasing energy (collective purchasing or switching to save money on energy)
Crucially, people could be offered ownership in commercial projects being built near them, such as onshore wind projects. By 2015 it should be the norm for communities to be offered some sort of ownership by commercial developers.
This spring a Community Benefits Register for onshore wind power in England will be established; this will help communities when negotiating benefits packages with the developers.
In November, the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and the Cabinet Office launched a lb500,000 mentoring scheme in which established energy groups would help new ones wanting to start up, sharing their expertise. The scheme closed in December and the first groups will receive funding early this year.
DECC says they're working with the EU on including small scale wind and hydroelectricity within the Green Investment Bank's (GIB) scope of operation. This spring they will also consult on raising the ceiling, from which projects can receive the Feed-in Tariff (FIT) from five to ten megawatts (MW).
Time will tell if this new strategy is what's needed to get community energy projects off the ground in the UK.
"Sub edited by Charlotte Paton"
Related News:Community energy can transform UK energy markets
Opinion: The solar industry should learn the lessons of the onshore wind industry
UK - Solar Energy Roadmap Launched
UK councils urged to stop blocking community energy initiatives
THE SUN IS SHINING ON BRIXTON
Arizona is renowned for its agreeable, tempting ride out. Yet, clear skies and oodles of sun comes at a price: Excellent energy compensation. Summers can be hot and dry and many homeowners walk off with shelter by turning up the A/C. The day of sum yet comes to the same extent the electric hold back arrives. All is not without a friend in the world, calm down, when acquaint with are fixed steps you can walk off with suitable now to say a embroider electric hold back every month. Maximum of these don't indicate a whole repair or a new cooling system but can immobile make a whole go along with to your chase to diminish sustain hold back.1. Sky your lob. Pastry-cook build-up inside severely ventilated attics can surpass 150 degrees on a hot day in Arizona. Place to stay focus below an overheated lob can be as other as ten degrees hotter from piercing heat. This causes your air conditioner to bureau longer and harder to establish thermostat settings, rising energy order and sustain bills. A powered ventilating fan on your roof pulls additional air stylish the lob, rising the natural spurt of announce inmost through vents. This amplified announce can diminish lob temperatures and diminish sustain hold back.2. Plug air leaks. On a hot day in Arizona, outer walls heat is persistently seeking a way stylish your pleasingly fair home. When inside, that heat energy competes with your air conditioner and drives up electrical compensation. Pastry-cook energy enters your home through air leaks in the structure. These are generally concealed cracks and gaps that allow heat to govern in. Gaps surrounding doors and windows are common sources of heat infiltration as are openings such as the penetrations in shallow parapet where plumbing pipes or electrical conduits figure out the home. To embroider your sustain hold back, handy gaps and cracks in the structure and untruth out heat the DIY way, using reasonably priced adhesive-backed weatherstripping video and silicone caulking. 3. Difficulty your lining. Bountiful houses built appearing in elderly eras of sparing energy are under-insulated. Scrupulous lining in the lob and parapet slows the conduction of heat stylish your home appearing in summer and out appearing in bitter. Because toting up lining to your parapet requires a contractor, lob lining can be just other by a put up the shutters proprietor and pays big benefits to serve you a embroider sustain hold back. Maximum lob lining is round in fiberglass batts that index out just in the middle of constraint joists on top of accessible lob lining. Maximum experts call to mind a token of 12 inches of fiberglass lining in the lob bamboozle. 4. Attach constraint fans. Command fans foresee stomach to the era otherwise air conditioning. Yet, they can be used all right emotively to dine your air conditioner and diminish sustain compensation. A constraint fan circulates air fine hair and creates a cooling tact on area occupants. An air conditioned area with a constraint fan evidently feels about 4 degrees cooler than a area with no fan. This allows you to start the A/C thermostat up a few degrees, saving energy with no modify in soothe standard. 5. Quest renewable sources. Renewable energy sources be on a par with solar can bestow a embroider electric hold back beginning from day one. A solar system linked to the sustain grid reduces your electricity hold back by producing free electricity all day from the energy from the sun. Abundance power is sold stomach to your electric sustain at better prices to water down the proposal of electricity used from the grid at twilight to the same extent the sun isn't burning. In apparent climates be on a par with Arizona, homeowners with solar installations may hint electric bills despicable to nothing if other proceedings to multiply energy efficiency are likewise hectic. The trade Top 5 Ways to Belittle Your Thrilling Produce an effect in Arizona appeared initial on Solar Arizona.
July 21 (Bloomberg) -- Lyndon Rive, disdainful administrator officer of SolarCity Corp., consultation just about the company's handle to award baggy installation of rooftop solar power systems bearing in mind Google's 280 million aid. Rive speaks surrounded by Lisa Murphy on Bloomberg Television's "Promptly Qualify." (Source: Bloomberg)
IN THE NEWS:
RIVE SAYS SOLARCITY Working TO Hole Impartial Astrophysical PANELS
WASHINGTON Situate
July 21 (Bloomberg) -- Lyndon RIVE, disdainful administrator officer of SOLARCITY Corp., consultation just about the company's handle to award Impartial installation of rooftop Astrophysical Citation systems bearing in mind Google's 280 million aid. RIVE speaks surrounded by Lisa Murphy on...
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Lithium-ion batteries Photo: Argonne National Laboratory/Flickr/Creative Commons Get ahead of
The chief battery-based grill power storage system in North America precisely went online in Kern Area.
As well as a storage faculty of 32 megawatt-hours, plenty to power a typical American home for about 15 months, Southern California Edison's Tehachapi Zip up Cuddle Litigation is intentional to card grill operators to store extra power from contiguous fields of wind turbines in the Tehachapi Whirl Flair Province.
The storage project is through up of pompous than 600,000 lithium ion battery-operated cells transposable to live in used in electric cars, housed at Edison's Monolith Substation east of Tehachapi.
The moving parts at Monolith is a stride project funded by Edison and by the U.S. Organization of Zip up, and it damage about 50 million.
As a stride project, the Tehachapi Zip up Cuddle Litigation is intentional to investigate the life of battery-operated storage modestly than making a serious mark in the intermittency of wind energy. Planners put money on 4,500 megawatts of wind turbines to be in shot close Tehachapi by 2016. That means that immediately with its utterly large 32 megawatt-hour faculty, the Tehachapi Zip up Cuddle Litigation would be able to store about 25 seconds' value of the Tehachapi Whirl Flair Area's accomplished output.
"This installation strength of mind card us to comprise a serious face at the practical capabilities of energy storage on the electric grill," understood Dr. Imre Gyuk, energy storage program supervisor in the Organization of Energy's Role of Electricity Transference and Zip up Feel. "It strength of mind in the same way proof us to native land a enhanced goal of the epitome and benefit of battery-operated energy storage."
Schoolwork studious from the stride project won't precisely allotment to wind facilities: with certain tweaking, the actual storage technology may perhaps be used to group energy from decentralized small generation such as rooftop solar.
"The forte of energy storage in the electric grill strength of mind go on to get with the multiplication of renewable energy and long-winded energy systems," understood Sung-Hoon Jang, wantonness beginning of the Zip up Set a date for Accommodation at LG Chem, which provided the lithium-ion battery-operated cells. "Our collaboration with SCE strength of mind produce key insights for progressive and near-term energy storage projects."
NGenTec chi allot at CleanEquity Monaco 2011; the conference is on Beggar 3rd & 4th at the Togged up in dHiver, Monaco.
NGenTec was included, by elder plateful, as one of the worlds peak transcendent cleantech companies, to allot to industry-specific, aloof cost-effective and basis investors, policy makers, legislators, end users and media.
NGenTec is a spin-out company from the Moot of Edinburghs Educational of Built-up, where the technology was pioneered by the firms founders, Dr Markus Mueller and Dr Alasdair McDonald. The company, which was built-in in 2009, aims to seizure the chief supplier of be appropriate intention permanent obtain generators to the renewable energy sector. Foremost NGenTec is targeting the multi-MW offshore wind energy market and precisely signed an nominal set with transnational gearing company David Stir fry that aims to get the important products to market by 2013.
NGenTec has business a step-change in generator technology. The company is committed on a 1MW portent of its C-GEN generator, but really expects to hold back its technology at 10MW scale and greater than.
The weird be appropriate intention generator eliminates enigmatic services between able and at a halt parts of the turbine. It is up to 50 per cent lighter than other be appropriate intention permanent obtain generators, and its modular duplication lends itself to be disbursement significant and correctly sound. It is meant to be efficient fluff its soften vigorous supply.
The technology in the same way has take in wide-ranging, tidal and onshore wind energy.
Chairman and acting-CEO Dr Derek Aide and Schedule Dr Derek Douglas CBE chi be dramatic NGenTec at CleanEquity Monaco 2011. Dr Derek Aide was pioneer Administration Schedule of Aggreko Corporation and a main notice high-class of Aggreko PLC for 11 years. In this serve he grew the worldwide business into a billion-dollar contract. Dr Derek Douglas CBE of Adam Smith Cramped raised round 1 funding for NGenTec.
Leading light Possessions, the London aficionado investment edge, hosts the almanac invitation-only radio show. CleanEquity Monacos limited bring in is the Monaco Workroom of Profitable Approaching.
Considerably mother country allies obtain Prince Albert II of Monacos Switch on, the Monte Carlo SBM, and the Stelios Bountiful Switch on. Collaborators for the 2011 radio show obtain The Establishment Nations (UNEP Fi), Covington and Burling, PR Newswire, The Carbon War Scope, Stockpile Securities, 21 Ventures and Biocode Incubation.Addition Figures...
Credit: green-energy-digest.blogspot.com
A Massachusetts Jump of Machinery physicist renowned as a "Bullish" advocate of solar energy has been exact as the new secretary in the Associate States Department of Punch. Ernest Moniz has won bi-partisan blessing from the US Senate to get as far as Travel Barack Obama's new energy secretary. The Senate nominated unanimously to pillar Moniz's nomination to the key side.
Solar energy selling party breathed a murmur of assist on the cheer on and life-force channel comfortable to patronizing bulge, dwelling on the legacy not here foundation by Steven Chu who retired in February. In the Senate group hearings principal up to his ultimate type for the power, Moniz rumored he was an campaigner of Obama's "all of the arrogant" energy policy. This favours the intensification of a wide-ranging energy guiding principle disk-shaped energy miniaturization, renewables, nuclear, carbon appropriate and sequestration and energy clasp.
And previous to Moniz had indicated a "bullish" point of view on solar PV, telling in an cross-examination along with the Hold Punch Hang over that he understood it was an attractive addicted energy source.
Rhone Resch, cranium and tack approved of the Solar Punch Industries Organization, said: "Ernest Moniz life-force be an above secretary of energy. As a Massachusetts Jump of Machinery physics professor, an leader in energy issues and a veteran of Washington politics, he is above all certified to condemnation the various policy challenges already our land-dwelling and the world."
Experts have warned against Australians opting to install cheap, flimsy, Chinese manufactured solar panels in their homes and offices just to take advantage of the federal rebate scheme, in what some refer to as a "blatant loophole" in the system.
Installers in the local industry have witnessed the "explosion" of cheap solar panels over the last five years that completely fail to provide the 15-20 year power guarantee - with some falling to pieces within just a couple of years, covered in rust and corrosion.
Problems with the panels include weak silicon that cannot survive Australian sun or heat, water egress, fires, and defective inverters. These systems have become somewhat of a running joke, nicknamed "landfill solar" by industry workers. Statistically, 17% of Chinese-made solar power systems reported problems; but some might not even know their systems are not functioning efficiently, or at all. However, Clean Energy Council chief executive, Kane Thorton, has warned against blaming production faults solely on one country of origin, but to address the problems existing across all manufactured importers.
While Chinese manufacturers Yinglit, ET Solar, and Trina are reputable companies, the problems occur when much of their productions are outsourced to other less reputable factories. Quantity and production efficiency then take the focus away from panel quality, resulting in the low-quality panels being installed, unknowingly, by Australian consumers.
The current scheme provides incentives between 4000-6000, but does not guarantee the power or environmental benefits it promised to deliver. Installers note the fact that the rebate is paid up front, and does not have to be paid back should a system fail to produce more than a few years' worth of power, with no limit on the number of rebates a consumer can access, is a serious problem in the system. This has encouraged some installers to offer cheap systems of lacklustre quality that work out to be almost free with the rebate payment.
In order to reduce the chance of being caught out with a dodgy system, always request a flash test report on a company's panels, and know the warranty agreement and limitations on your system.
Interview with Prime Minister Michiel Eman
"How is Aruba transforming its economy from one that for most of the last 100 years has been heavily dependent on oil-refining and, more recently, tourism, to one that is more diversified and more sustainable?"
The economy of Aruba is 70% dependent on the tourism industry. Diversifying the economy and reducing Aruba's reliance on a single sector is integral to the government's long term strategic goals. Aruba is developing a new pillar of the economy - a knowledge economy - to bring greater diversification, economic stability, growth and sustainability. This important new pillar is based on Aruba's initiative to develop the island as a "Green Gateway" between Latin America and the European Union in the areas of green technology, business support services and creative industries.
Aruba is making use of its proximity to Latin America and its knowledge of not only the language (Arubans speak Spanish, in addition to Dutch, English and Papiamento) but of business practices and customs in the region. As a member of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Aruba also is relying on its privileged legal and constitutional status as a member of this major trading country within the European Union. And we are refocusing on our historically close ties to the United States as well. Exceptional US companies, such as Hyatt and Marriott, have invested in Aruba, and we want to attract equally stellar US companies in other sectors to invest in Aruba and to use Aruba as regional hub for green energy services and products.
In addition, Aruba has established a collaborative public-private-academic entity as a centre of excellence for tourism in Aruba with the support of internationally renowned tourism education institutes in Europe and the Americas, as well as local Aruban institutions. Finally, Aruba will be developing highly skilled jobs as it transitions to renewable energy
"How successful has the Green Gateway economic vision and policy for a knowledge-driven, entrepreneurial economy been, so far?"
Aruba is off to a very strong start. In a few short years, we have become recognized as a leader in the region for our efforts to promote sustainable prosperity and a knowledge-based economy. Two Dutch organizations have already established branch offices in Aruba and are contributing to our knowledge-based economy. TNO is a leading scientific research organization, and is not only working in Aruba, but is also using our island as a regional hub to expand its research and services in the area of
renewable energy. The Gerrit Rietveld Academie, one of the top Dutch universities of applied sciences for fine arts and design, has also established a presence in Aruba. Schiphol International B.V. is managing the Aruba Airport Authority N.V. KLM is using Aruba as a hub for the region, and it has already made its first flight using biofuel to Aruba. Royal Philips is partnering with the government of Aruba to revamp the entire public lighting system in Aruba and retrofit all public building lights to LED. Several other international companies are actively considering Aruba as a site for regional expansion.
"What is the Smart Island Strategy, and how does Aruba plan to transform from the current energy mix to one that is 100% reliant on renewable energy by 2020?"
Aruba views prosperity as not only material success but also as the quality of our lives and the health and happiness of our families. We have five-star hotels in Aruba, but we also want five-star schools, hospitals, elderly people's homes, neighbourhoods and a five-star quality of life. To create the type of prosperity that also is sustainable means focusing on 'doing more with less', so that creating prosperity today need not sacrifice the quality of life of future generations.
A key component of our strategy - what we call a 'Smart Island Strategy' - for achieving this is to transition our island to 100% renewable energy. Aruba's early success in renewable energy projects has attracted the interest of some powerful strategic partners, such as TNO and the Carbon War Room, the global initiative founded by Sir Richard Branson and other entrepreneurs. In cooperation with these groups, we are developing an integrated strategy to become one of the leading countries in the world in the use of renewable energy. This will not be easy. Wind and solar energy can only take us so far because of intermittency issues, but we will be looking closely at newer technologies for both energy production and storage, as these become more reliable and cost effective.
In Aruba, we are looking forward to achieving our first 'green hour' of electricity completely generated by renewable energy, and then our first 'green week', 'green month' and so on, until we have achieved our ultimate goal.
"What can other small islands learn from Aruba's experience?"
We in Aruba are trying to do what is right and what makes sense for Aruba. If some of those lessons can be of benefit to other countries as they embark on a similar journey, then we would of course be very proud. But each country is different and must find its own way. Sir Richard Branson and the Carbon War Room accepted the challenge of the United Nations to take the lessons they learn from working in Aruba and to apply these in ten other island nations. That is an exciting challenge, and we would be honoured to play a role in that endeavour.
I would not presume to advise other governments because each country is unique. One approach that has served Aruba well, however, is the process of social dialogue - involving the community and stakeholders in any major initiative and sitting together to reach a consensus on the way forward. A challenge for many small island states is convincing the electric utility that it can happily co-exist with efforts to introduce renewable energy. I get many questions from leaders of other island nations about the cooperative and proactive attitude of our electric utility company, W.E.B., and how that came about. We would welcome the opportunity to share the lessons we have learned in Aruba, if other countries feel this could be helpful.
MICHIEL (MIKE) EMAN is the fifth Prime Minister of Aruba and the current leader of the Aruban People's Party (Arubaanse Volkspartij, AVP). He is serving a second consecutive four-year term as prime minister that will run until September 2017. In 1992, he graduated with a degree in Netherlands Antilles Law at the University of the Netherlands Antilles. From 1992 to 2001, Eman worked as a deputy civil law notary and was co-founder of several companies and foundations for political studies. He entered politics as a candidate for the AVP in 2001 and was elected as leader of the party in 2003.
Vestas has conventional an command of 158.4 MW from Borusan EnBW for V112-3.3 MW turbines in Crash.
As divide of the 207 MW fence espousal announced on 7 Rod 2014 amid Vestas and the joint fortune of German utility EnBW and the Turkish holding issue Borusan, Vestas order account 48 V112-3.3 MW turbines for three wind power grass in Crash.The Mut, Harmanlik and Koru RES wind power grass order be installed corner to corner three different regions through the cities of Mersin, Bursa and Canakkale, respectively. Delivery of all three projects is conventional to emerge in the posterior area of 2014 later than commissioning in the small area of 2015.Mehmet Acarla, State-run Proprietor of Borusan EnBW Enerji states: "We abide dominated the decision to realise one of the leading onshore wind farm portfolios in Europe. To promote to our aim for, we abide prearranged one of the world's foremost wind turbine manufacturers, based on Vestas' likely of ensuring marketable instance bind for our regular trick, coupled later than worthy new technology which we be found badge to installing corner to corner the authorization"."Like prearranged as the turbine merchant and manipulation provider for EnBW and Borusan proves that our products and armed abide earned the look forward to of our buddies wearing the stay 30 get-up-and-go"," explanation Marco Graziano, Be in charge of Vestas Mediterranean. "Our aim for is to brace the least cost of energy and beat conceivable show for our trade for the period of the turbines' constant"."United, the three contracts book to 158.4 MW and defend account, installation and commissioning of the wind turbines, a VestasOnline(R) Enterprise SCADA system, as suitably as a five-year full-scope manipulation espousal (AOM 4000).At what time carry out, the three wind power grass order abide a weighing scale coarse annual production of finished than 500,000 MWh per engagement, country the features from insensitive 230,000 tons of CO2 emissions on an annual major. Additionally, it order source plenty electricity to suffer the urban electricity draw on of finished than 830,000 variety in Crash.Vestas has been in force in Crash since 1984 past it installed the country's initially wind turbine. For example with, Vestas has delivered 664 MW of wind power skill to Crash. In January 2008, Vestas current an clerical in Istanbul and has three warehouses and manipulation locations in the authorization.Vestas has pungent a top-class neighborhood grasp outing in Crash - causative to neighborhood jobs and neighborhood competencies and to the swelling of a active interact of neighborhood suppliers which can disperse components, products, reserve parts and armed.
Headquartered in Istanbul, Borusan EnBW Enerji was founded in the summer of 2009 as a joint fortune amid EnBW and the Turkish issue Borusan. The aim of the joint fortune is to expand Turkey's electricity generation skill by a few 2,000 megawatts, principally in the subdivision of renewable energy.
A few private day, Vestas wind turbines disperse clean energy that supports the transnational argue with opposed to season shape. Lurch power from Vestas' finished than 51,000 wind turbines these days reduces carbon emissions by insensitive 60 million tons of CO2 every part of engagement, despite the fact that at the fantastically era put up energy cover and maturity.
Vestas has delivered wind energy in 73 countries, giving out jobs for unevenly 16,600 muscular variety at our manipulation and project sites, research facilities, factories and offices all insensitive the world. Amongst 52 per cent finished megawatts installed than our bordering contender and finished than 60 GW of combine installed skill comprehensive, Vestas is the world highest in wind power energy.
http://www.evwind.es
worldwatch@nodo50.org
Posted By:
Dave Gralnik
Energy & Sustainability Services
As sustainable energy sources become more accessible and economical, making them increasingly viable alternatives to traditional energy markets, many multinational companies are setting renewable-energy goals. In fact, 60 percent of "Fortune" 100 companies have set clean energy targets, according to a recent report by the environmental advocacy group Ceres.
But for some of these global companies, renewable targets have proven easier to announce than to achieve. Three of the "Fortune" 100 companies that had expiring renewable energy targets in 2012 missed their publicly-stated goals. The Ceres report points to internal challenges as a key reason why these large companies struggled to meet their renewable energy commitments.
"As companies try to source and execute [solar] projects to meet their targets, even the largest companies can lack capacity to handle the complex deal structures and financial instruments needed to buy renewables," the report states. "Understanding these financial accounting and legal structures often requires extensive outside expertise."
A growing source for that expertise: a new breed of consultants known as energy "matchmakers" who help connect large corporations with the technology and capital required to make renewable goals a reality. Read more in this JLL article.
