Category: Announcements


Duke Energy and ENN Group sign agreement for development of low-carbon and clean energy technologies

September 24th, 2009 | Posted in General

duke-energy enn

Duke Energy and the ENN Group (China) announced an agreement to increase efforts in the development of low-carbon and clean energy technologies.

The agreement includes potential for the development of commercial solar power projects, as well as joint effots on coal-based clean energy, biofuels, natural gas, smart grid, energy efficiency and carbon-capturing algae.

A series of meetings have been launched with the purpose of sharing information between companies, but also for technology demonstrations and development of "best practice" models. Furthermore, a partnership for developing utility-scale commercial solar PV projects in the US is also being planned.

Duke Energy has recently signed an MoU with China Huaneng Group, involving high-level discussions and information sharing on several renewable energy fronts.


Ethiopian Electric Power signs deals with three Chinese companies for hydro and wind energy development

September 24th, 2009 | Posted in Hydro Wind

ethiopian-flagThe Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEP) signed contracts with three Chinese companies for the construction of Genale Dawa 3 and Chemoga Yeda hydropower projects, as well as two preliminary agreements for the Mesobo Harena and Adama wind power projects.

The Genale Dawa 3 hydropower project, located in the souther part of the country, is to be developed by China Gezhouba Group Company. It is a USD 408 million project, and will generate 254 MW of power. The dam for the project will be 110 meters high on the Genale River. Construction will take about four years.

The Chemoga Yeda project will be developed by Sinohydro Corporation, and represents a USD 555 million investment. It will consist of five dams on five rivers, with the first phase of the project expected to be finished in about four years.

The preliminary agreements for wind power developement have been signed with Hydrochina Company. Each of the wind farms will generate about 51 MW of power. Financing will come from the EXIM Bank of China.

Currently, the EEP is constructing five hydropower projects. With additional hydropower and wind projects in the future, the country is looking at about 5 GW of new clean energy generating capacity, according to the official announcement.

Abengoa Solar's PS20 solar power plant officially inaugurated by the King and Queen of Spain

September 24th, 2009 | Posted in Solar

TRH the King and Queen of Spain officially inaugurated PS20, the largest commercial solar tower power plant in the world, operated by Abengoa Solar. More than 1000 mirrors concentrate light onto a solar tower, accumulating heat in the heat transfer fluid, and powering a steam turbine capable of outputting 20 MW of clean electricity.

The PS20 solar tower power plant.

The PS20 solar tower power plant.

Plant officials emphasized the three characteristics of clean energy of the future – it has to be clean, with no emissions, it has to be competitive, and it has to be storable. The PS20 fullfils all three of these conditions, touted to be a technology of the future, according to the announcement.

The Solúcar Platform, where the PS20 is located, is also home to a research center which develops new PV and thermal tehcnologies, employing more than 70 scientists and engineers. This center plays a major role in putting Spain, and Europe, in the lead in solar power technologies in the world.

Canada experiencing wind energy industry boom in 2009

September 24th, 2009 | Posted in Wind

canweaAccording to the Canadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA), the country is experiencing a year of record high level of wind energy development in 2009. The total installed capacity for this year so far is projected at about 790 MW, but the country will have about 3160 Mw of installed wind power capacity by the end of this year, according to the announcement. Additionally, for the first time ever, every Canadian province will have wind power installations.

Canada is currently ranked 12th in terms of installed wind energy facilities in the world. Wind energy accounts for 1% of total energy production in Canada at the moment, generating clean electricity for about 860,000 average homes.

Even though further growth is expected in 2010, Canada will indeed get more wind farms if the federal and provincial governments continue to support the expansion of renewable energy.

Helix Wind to deliver first wind turbines to Nigeria and the US by November 2009

September 24th, 2009 | Posted in Wind

helix-wind

Helix Wind announced it is planning to deliver the first of many wind turbines to the US and West Africa, for the purposes of testing by November 2009. The renewable energy company is to deliver what it hopes will become a cost-effective renewable energy solution for telecommunications companies. Helix wind turbines are ideal for lowering costs of operation expenses for mobile operators covering large remote "off the grid" areas in the world.

The company will be delivering the first test wind turbines to Eltek NSG in Nigeria in late October. These units will be installed at one of the two identified test sites in the country. After a hopefully successful testing period, more wint turbines will be rolled out to other operators in the region including Zain and MTI. Helix's relationship with Eltek NSG means the company could potentially supply turbines to be installed on several hundred sites over the next years, with prospects for implementation across other countries in Africa.

Currently. mobile network towers are usually powered by diesel generators, which contributes to carbon emissions and cost a lot to operate and maintain. In "off the grid" wind is almost an ideal source of power, and can easily be harnessed to supply network towers with electricity.

Suntech improves on its own record for multi-crystalline module conversion eficiency by 1%

September 24th, 2009 | Posted in Solar

suntech_logoSuntech Power announced it has again set a multi-crystalline solar module efficiency record, this time achieving 16.53%, an improvement of 1% over the previous record of 15.6% announced in August. The record pertains to the aperture area only, and was measured and certified by the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE.

The measured module was powered by Suntech's Pluto PV cells, utilizing solar grade silicon. Each PV cell has a higher efficiency ratio by itself, of more than 17%. The company is very pleased to have proven that low cost manufacturing and first class R&D can produce an economically viable production model.

Suntech has this way raised the bar for multi-crystalline module efficiency once more, even if it's only by relatively small margin.

WMECo begins multi-phase procurement process for solar energy facilities

September 24th, 2009 | Posted in Solar

Western Massachusetts Electric CompanyWestern Massachusetts Electric Company (WMECo) has recently begun a multi-phase procurement process for construction of its large-scale solar energy facilities, which are the first of its kind in New England. Up to six megawatts (MW) of solar facilities will be built — enough to power 6,000 homes.

The company plans to install up to 3 MW of photovoltaic (PV) facilities during 2010 and will begin its solicitation of potential sites in the coming weeks.

WMECo issued a Request for Qualification (RFQ) to over 100 prospective vendors who may be participating in the initial phase of the program. After that phase is over, WMECo will issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) in the fourth quarter for turnkey projects and award contracts.

The idea is to use large, underutilized sites, capable of hosting PV systems approximately 1 MW or larger. For the record, such as system (1 MW) requires approximately four acres (ground mounted) or 100,000 square feet (roof mounted) of unobstructed space.

The Massachusetts Green Communities Act allows electric utilities to own up to 50 MW of solar facilities, and WMECo received its approval for 6 MW from the DPU in August.

E.ON calls universities and institutions worldwide to submit proposals for concentrated solar power heat storage research

September 23rd, 2009 | Posted in Solar

eon

E.ON announced an official call to universities and institutions worldwide to submit proposals for innovative research projects having to do with concentrated solar power heat storage.

Heat storage is used in concentrated solar power (CSP) systems to allow the power generators to produce electricty during low sunlight conditions, or during dark hours od the day. Heat harvested from concentrated sunlight is usually stored in a fluid, usually oil or water, and used to transfer heat onto a working fluid which powers turbines. This technology is being used worldwide in CSP projects, but is also the basis of the DESERTEC project which is to harness sun's energy from locations such as the North African Saharan region, stretching east across the Middle East. Innovative heat storage devices that may arise from research in this area will be used in commercial CSP systems later on.

Up to ten projects are to be chosen and funded under E.ON's initiative. The total funding budget will be about EUR 6 million. Applications have to be submitted by the beginning of 2010, while E.ON Research Awards will be given in Autumn 2010.

E.ON has already spend about EUR 60 million for funding research projects since 2007. The goal is to contribute towards solving key problems in energy supply. The focus of 2007 research funding was energy storage, while the in 2008 it was the application of nanotechnology in energy. All research finding are property of researchers, and are not developed solely for the E.ON.

Iberdrola Renovables receives USD 251 million in grants – plans to develop more renewable energy projects

September 23rd, 2009 | Posted in Wind

iberdrola

The US Treasury Department has given approval for USD 251 million for three additional grants for Iberdrola Renovables, according to the company's announcement. The three approved grants represent a total of USD 860 million in investments in US wind power projects in three states.

The company has submitted eight grant applications so far, and all eight have been accepted, representing a total of USD 1.8 billion in investments by Iberdrola, or 980 MW in terms of installed wind power capacity.

The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) estimates these 980 MW of new wind projects will support between 11800 and 14000 jobs during a single year, including direct and indirect jobs.

The three new grants were authorized for the Barton project (160 MW, Iowa), Farmers City project (146 MW, Missouri) and the Barton Chapel project (120 MW, Texas). The grants were authorized under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and represent a welcome stimulus for renewable energy development, especially since production tax credits (PTCs), usually available to wind power developers, have been slowed down significantly due to the economic crisis.

Iberdrola is putting these additional funds into construction and development of additional renewable energy projects. Currently, there are five wind energy projects under construction in Arizona, Illinois, North Dakota, Oregon and Texas. The company has plans to invest an additional USD 6 billion into renewable energy projects by 2012.

Total, GDF Suez and Photovoltech join IMEC solar research program for next-gen silicon cells

September 23rd, 2009 | Posted in Solar

gdf-suez2 total (1) photovoltech (1) imec (1)

According to the announcement, Total, GDF Suez, and their jointly operated subsidiary for manufacturing solar cells, Photovoltech, have joined the IMEC industrial affiliation program (IIAP) to work on research on next generation crystalline silicon solar cells. This R&D program is concentrating on drastically reducing the use of silicon (which makes the solar cells expensive), while at the same time achieving a solar cell efficiency increase. Both improvements would drastically reduce the cost of solar energy, making it far more competitive with other power generation technologies.

The three companies will dedicate researchers to the IMEC program, working in various fields such as solar cell manufacturing, materials and equipment. Research will be done in collaboration with IMEC's solar experts.

According to IMEC, by 2025, about 10% of generated power will come from solar energy, but in order for this to happen, efforts have to be put into research and development of cheaper solar power generating technologies. The research partnership with Total GDF Suez and Photovoltech is part of that effort.

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