If a picture is worth a thousand words….

….we want to put you fully in the picture where making the most of the energy from the sun is concerned. Not just because our latest deal is to increase our solar commitment further – $29 million investment in a series of solar plants to replace diesel use for peak power in the Philippines. But elsewhere in the region and the world we are seeing that solar energy is continuing to be the fuel source of choice – on the ground, on the roof, for charging electric cars, for shopping centres, to make buildings – even airports – more efficient. So much so that power companies in American are starting to worry that they are losing out. We can only say ‘if you can’t beat them, join them’. Make the switch to solar – and other suitable renewables, of course – to get off our fossil fuel dependency and cut our emissions to the bone. Zero carbon electricity is within our reach, says Jeffrey Sachs, so what’s stopping us? Seeing is believing, after all.

Andrew Affleck

Managing Partner

Partnering with nv vogt to replace diesel with solar

Armstrong Asset Management has committed to provide US$29 million to fund the construction of a pipeline of bilateral solar power projects in the Philippines being developed by the development company, nv vogt Singapore, getting underway with a 6.25 MW ground-mounted and grid-connected solar power plant in South Cotabato in the southern region of Mindanao. Read More

Media announcement from Armstrong AM (8 August 2014):

US$29 Million investment in Philippines solar projects

Armstrong Teams up with nv vogt to Replace Diesel

Generation with Solar Power Plants in the Philippines

Armstrong Asset Management (AAM) has committed to provide US$29 million to fund the construction of a pipeline of bilateral solar power projects in the Philippines being developed by the development company, nv vogt Singapore.

The first project is a 6.25 MW ground-mounted and grid-connected solar power plant in South Cotabato in the southern region of Mindanao, which is scheduled to begin construction this month (August 2014) and is expected to commence commercial operations by December this year.

The bilateral Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) was executed with the off-taker, South Cotabato I Electric Cooperative (“SOCOTECO I”), an “A+” rated cooperative on 26 June, 2013.

The South Cotabato 6.25 MW project will be the world’s largest diesel replacement power plant when it is completed, given that 100% of its generated power will replace diesel-generated peak power.

Singapore-based Managing Partner of AAM,  Andrew Affleck said this investment, the first by the Fund in the Philippines and the first with nv vogt, represents a benchmark for the development of diesel-offset projects globally and one which does not rely on subsidies by way of feed-in-tariffs.

“With the projected power deficit forecast for 2015 in the Philippines, this project can serve as a benchmark for clean and quick decentralized energy solutions without the need for government subsidies. Armstrong is very proud to be funding this precedent setting project.” Mr Affleck said.

Anton Milner, Managing Director of the solar power plant business for the Berlin-based owner ib vogt and Chairman  of nv vogt Singapore, said he was pleased to be working with AAM as the Fund obviously “shares our bullish view” of South East Asia as the ideal region to develop economically viable renewable energy projects.

“We believe solar power is a compelling need as well as attractive opportunity in the developing markets of Asia.  Our first project in the Philippines is doubly important because it will provide clean and unsubsidized solar photo voltaic (PV) electricity benefitting the wider community and it is one of the largest diesel-offset projects in the world to date, which is an important future market,” Mr Milner said.

Vivek Chaudhri, President of nv vogt Philippines added that the partnership with Armstrong “will fund several projects in our Philippines pipeline, allowing us to focus on what we do best – develop and realise utility scale PV projects.”

The exploration of Philippines projects began in 2010 when two of the founders of APCA Power, a development company based in India, decided to look outside of India for solar projects. After reviewing the opportunities with their partner, Germany based ib vogt GmbH, the joint venture development company nv vogt was established in Singapore for the specific purpose of developing projects in the Philippines and SE Asia. It has spent the last 36 months building up a presence and a pipeline in the Philippines, initiating Project 1 in October 2012 with the signing of the PPA in June 2013.

About Armstrong Asset Management

Armstrong Asset Management (AAM) is an independent asset manager, based in Singapore, focused on the clean energy sector in Southeast Asia’s emerging markets. It achieved a final close on its debut clean energy fund of US$164m in November 2013, with institutional investors such as IFC, DEG, FMO, Proparco, SIFEM, GEEREF and Unigestion.  Operating with a multidisciplinary team of investment professionals, all of whom possess deep sector knowledge and a collective 80 years of Southeast Asia operating experience, AAM integrates strict environmental, social and governance compliance into its investment process to deliver tangible benefits and reduce risks for all of its stakeholders. To date, Armstrong has made five investment commitments covering a range utility-scale renewable energy infrastructure projects in Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam and Cambodia. www.armstrongam.com

About nv vogt

nv vogt Singapore Pte Ltd is focusing on developing, designing, financing, constructing and operating solar power plants in Asia. The founders of nv vogt are pioneers of the solar industry with extensive experience in constructing and operating solar power plants in Europe and Asia. The primary customer for nv vogt is the energy-intensive industry that is being underserved by the grid and is heavily reliant on diesel power, investing in its own projects as well as offering a flexible model for co-investors. Its initial focus is on opportunities in India and the Philippines, where it has fully owned subsidiaries, while over time, it plans to expand to additional countries in Asia. The company’s objective is to develop a portfolio of projects that combine excellent engineering with financial optimisation, in order to generate superior returns, both for customers and investors. Technologically, its projects are optimised to minimise LCOE (levelised cost of energy) while maintaining long-term reliability. Financially, its projects are structured to ensure bankability and investment-grade returns. ib vogt GmbH is a 40% owner of the Singapore-based nv vogt.  www.nv-vogt.com

Ikea feeds clean energy to Thai grid with new solar roof

Singapore-based firms Ikano and Phoenix Solar have teamed up to install an array of 4,000 solar panels atop Bangkok’s Megabangna shopping mall to supply renewable energy to the city’s grid.Ikea becomes one of the first companies in Thailand to feed renewable energy into the city grid under a feed-in tariff programme launched by the government last year. Read More

By  Medilyn Manibo in Eco-Business (31 July 2014):

Ikea feeds clean energy to Thai grid with new solar roof

Singapore-based firms Ikano and Phoenix Solar have teamed up to install an array of 4,000 solar panels atop Bangkok’s Megabangna shopping mall to supply renewable energy to the city’s grid.

The Megabangna retail shopping centre in Bangkok, which houses Ikea’s biggest store in Southeast Asia has been installed with about 4,000 solar panels that will supply energy to the city’s electrical grid.

Ikea Thailand has installed about 4,000 units of solar panels atop Bangkok’s Megabangna shopping mall, becoming one of the first companies in Thailand to feed renewable energy into the city grid under a feed-in tariff programme launched by the government last year.

Ikano Pte Ltd, the Singapore-based franchise owner of several Ikea stores in Southeast Asia including Thailand, announced on Tuesday the newly installed solar rooftop will provide 999 kilowatts at peak capacity.

The electricity generated from the solar panels can power up at least 200 average homes in Thailand, while reducing about 716,000 kg of carbon dioxide emissions each year.

The Megabangna mall, which is also partly owned by Ikano, is home to Ikea’s largest home furnishing retail store in Southeast Asia. The furniture giant had earlier set up a small number of photovoltaic panels on its rooftop since the retail chain opened in 2011.

The firm partnered with Singapore-based solar systems integrator Phoenix Solar to engineer, procure and construct the solar panel system.

Gemma Brierley, chief operations officer for Ikano, said the company expects good returns from the project – commercially and environmentally. “This project not only makes good business sense, but it also contributes in a meaningful way to the development of renewable energy in Southeast Asia,” said Brierley.

The firm has enrolled the project under the Thai government’s feed-in tariff (FiT) solar rooftop scheme, launched last July 2013, in which solar power investors are guaranteed the preferential rate for the electricity they generate for a 25-year period, instead of a 10-year period as earlier announced.

For the Megabangna, which is one of the first licensees in the ‘medium to large building’ category, Thailand’s National Energy Policy Commission has approved the rate to be at THB6.55/kW over 25 years.

Christophe Inglin, managing director of Phoenix Solar, said this development is a testament to Thailand’s potential as a key market for growth in the photovoltaics sector. “Thailand is a leading market in Asia for solar PV and a key market for Phoenix Solar,” said Inglin.

The solar firm said that including the Megabangna project, which was completed within two months, it now has a total of 56MW of solar projects – both rooftop and solar farms – in Thailand.

Source:  www.eco-business.com

Roadmaps address energy & climate change challenges

The Singapore Government will pump in S$100 million to fund two initiatives in energy research and development (R&D), specifically in building energy efficiency and research on green data centres. This was announced at the first Energy Technology Roadmap Symposium, where five road maps were revealed, covering solar panel research, carbon capture and storage or utilisation, green data centres, building energy efficiency and industry energy efficiency. Read More

Channel News Asia Report (30 July 2014):

The Government will pump in S$100 million to fund two initiatives in energy research and development (R&D), specifically in building energy efficiency and research on green data centres, announced the Energy Research Development and Demonstration Executive Committee.

Ms Yong Ying-I, the committee’s co-chairperson, said the first initiative, the Building Energy Efficiency Research Development and Demonstration Hub, will be implemented and managed by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA).

The second, the Green Data Centre Research Hub Programme, will be managed by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA), she added.

The announcements were made at the first Energy Technology Roadmap Symposium, where five national energy technology road maps were revealed. They are in the areas of solar panel research, carbon capture and storage or utilisation, green data centre, building energy efficiency and industry energy efficiency.

One of the five roadmaps concerns carbon emissions. The authorities are studying the possibility of capturing the emissions from Singapore’s power plants, refineries and petrochemical industries instead of releasing them into the air.

Carbon dioxide from these emissions can then be separated and stored thousands of metres underground. Experts said the carbon dioxide can also be used to make products like formic acid and urea.

“It can provide an interesting revenue stream, for instance in oil recovery,” said Ms Cecilia Tam from the International Energy Agency. “In countries like Singapore where you don’t have suitable storage sites, it is a good opportunity to demonstrate and develop these technologies, but there is a question of scale that will need to be addressed in the longer term.”

Apart from carbon capture, storage and utilisation, other energy technology roadmaps include research into solar panels, industry energy efficiency, and building energy efficiency.

Experts estimate about 80 per cent of existing buildings in countries which are members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) will still be around in 2050.

Closer to home, buildings make up about a third of Singapore’s total energy consumption. In both OECD countries and in Singapore, experts said there is an urgent need to either retrofit buildings with energy-efficient features or build greener buildings.

The pursuit of green technology for data centres also received a boost. Singapore currently hosts more than half of South-east Asia’s data centre capacity. “We should be able to design data centres to work more efficiently in tropical climates such as Singapore, where there is high temperature and high humidity – and this is quite different from data centre research done in sub-tropic areas,” said Dr Yeah Lean Weng, Director of the National Research Foundation’s Energy and Environment Research Directorate.

Organisers said two more technology roadmaps involving e-mobility and solid waste management are also in the works.

Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

Singapore unveils national technology roadmaps to address energy and climate change challenges

Summary of Key Findings from the Energy Technology Roadmaps

Solar Photovoltaic

There is room for Singapore to grow our solar energy industry and step up efforts to maximise solar deployment, notwithstanding the limited land for large scale deployment of renewables. Solar energy is advantageous to Singapore as it produces no carbon emissions, and enhances our energy security by reducing reliance on fuel imports. This Roadmap was commissioned to examine the potential technical and cost trajectories of solar photovoltaic (PV) up to 2050, as well as potential Research, Development, Demonstration & Deployment (RDD&D) strategies for solar energy in Singapore.

The Roadmap developed various hypothetical scenarios to estimate the amount of solar PV installations and their potential contribution to our overall electricity generation. The current estimated levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) is already cost-competitive with conventional electricity generation for some larger-scale projects, and is expected to fall even further with improvements to the efficiency and yield of solar PV.

As the amount of solar energy continues to grow, there is a need to ensure that such intermittent forms of generation are smoothly integrated into the grid, so as to ensure system security, grid stability and power quality. The Roadmap further identified other key areas where Singapore has a competitive advantage, ranging from developing solutions and products for the tropical climate to developing creative uses of space for solar PV installations.

Carbon Capture and Storage/Utilisation

Carbon capture and storage/utilisation (CCS/U) from major stationary sources is a potential technology which can help Singapore reduce carbon emissions from its power and industry sectors in the longer term future. While several technology options are possible for CCS/U, most are nascent and require further R&D.

Besides the common challenges of high energy requirements, high cost of carbon utilisation as well as potentially limited international demand for CCU products, Singapore faces unique challenges in CCS/U deployment such as our low CO2 concentration stream, lack of local storage sites and high cost of long distance transport of CO2.

Given our lack of domestic options for CCS, CCU presents greater potential for longer term CO2 mitigation in Singapore. Potential approaches for CO2 utilisation in Singapore include producing liquid fuels such as methanol, ethanol, and hydrocarbons, and mineralisation products for the construction industry. However, much work is still required to lower the cost of carbon utilisation, improve CCU process energy efficiency, as well as to find a market for CCU products.

This roadmap identified the major sources and concentrations of CO2 emissions, highlighting those with highest potential for CCS/U. It also reviewed the various possible CCS/U options, identified the challenges and opportunities and evaluated their feasibility within Singapore’s context.  

Green Data Centre

Singapore is the data centre hub of Southeast Asia. In 2012, it hosted 58% of the region’s data centre capacity. Supported by favourable factors such as socio-political stability, well-developed telecommunications infrastructure, the presence of a large number of multinational companies and government initiatives like the planned Data Centre Park, the data centre industry is expected to continue to experience strong growth. As data centres are energy-intensive facilities, there is a need for them to significantly improve energy efficiency.

The Green Data Centre Technology Roadmap examined technology trends in data centres, spanning the gamut from facility systems to IT systems, highlighting the challenges and opportunities for Singapore. The goal of the roadmap is to outline a framework upon which the research community and data centre industry can progressively assess their technology options, in tandem with Singapore’s energy efficiency initiatives to achieve sustainability objectives.

Building Energy Efficiency

Energy consumption in the building sector is trending upwards due to increasing population and higher economic activity in most parts of the world. In Singapore, buildings including households consume about 50% of the country’s electricity. It is hence essential to focus on reducing energy use in this sector via technologies that can significantly improve the energy efficiency of buildings, while ensuring liveability and long term sustainability.

This Roadmap is envisioned to help Singapore to attain our medium to long term goal of “Low Energy High-rise Buildings in the Tropics”. It outlines research and development (R&D) pathways to improving energy efficiency within the building stock via technology improvements and policy recommendations. These R&D pathways span four technological focus areas integral to raising energy efficiency in buildings. The four technological focus areas are (a) Integrated design (ID), (b) Building Envelope and Façade Systems (BEFS), (c) Building Management and Information Systems (BMIS) and (d) Air Conditioning and Mechanical Ventilation (ACMV).

Based on innovative technologies identified in each of these focus areas, the roadmap identified strategies to help meet the long term goal of “Low energy High-rise Buildings in the tropics” and improve overall building energy efficiency.

Industry Energy Efficiency

The industrial sector is an important contributor to Singapore’s economic growth and was responsible for 19% of Singapore’s gross domestic product in 2010. The sector accounts for more than half of Singapore’s energy demand, due to the presence of energy intensive export-oriented industries such as petroleum refining, chemicals, pharmaceutical and wafer fabrication. Hence, improving industry energy efficiency is important to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions while reducing total energy usage, making the economy more competitive and improving environmental sustainability.

This Roadmap identified emerging and next-generation technologies in 5 segments: (a) Petroleum, (b) Petrochemical and Chemicals, (c) Semiconductor, (d) Pharmaceutical and (e) Others. The technical and economic energy efficiency potentials of these technologies in Singapore, together with prevailing best available technologies were then estimated for the medium to long term. Technologies which offered the highest potentials for energy savings were found to be system solutions and energy efficient heating processes such as refinery and chemical plant integration, smart manufacturing/ advanced facility automation, improved catalysts, catalytic cracking of naphtha for olefin production and super-critical CO2 cycle heat recovery systems.

In order to improve the performances of industrial plants, the Roadmap recommended supporting further RDD&D programs, based on the technologies identified. A robust monitoring and evaluation framework is also required to ensure the progress of the technology from R&D to deployment.

Source  www.nrf.gov.sg and www.nccs.gov.sg

Partnering for Transactions in Indonesia & Asia

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide a loan of up to $50 million, supported by the Clean Technology Fund, to share risks with the private sector during the project development and exploration phase of the Rantau Dedap geothermal project inIndonesia. The ADB also announced it is forming Asia Climate Partners (ACP) with ORIX Corporation (ORIX) and Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. (Robeco)  to undertake commercially-oriented private equity investments across a variety of environmentally supportive, low-carbon transactions throughout Asia. Read More

Innovative ADB Loan to Help Unlock Indonesia’s Clean Energy Potential

22 July 2014

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide a loan of up to $50 million, supported by the Clean Technology Fund, to share risks with the private sector during the project development and exploration phase of the Rantau Dedap geothermal project in Indonesia.

“This innovative loan demonstrates the depth of ADB support for deploying clean energy technologies that can significantly displace coal and oil-fired power,” said Lazeena Rahman, Investment Specialist in ADB’s Private Sector Operations Department. “In addition, it will help unlock Indonesia’s geothermal potential by bridging a key financing gap in the market.”

Indonesia has an estimated 29,000 MW of geothermal resource potential, but less than 5% of this potential has been developed. Proving commercial viability for a geothermal project requires a much higher upfront investment than for any conventional fossil fuel project. As such, the lack of an early-stage risk sharing option remains a fundamental obstacle to geothermal power expansion not just in Indonesia, but globally.

The Rantau Dedap project is located in South Sumatra. During this initial phase, the project will conduct the geothermal resource exploration involving the drilling and testing of wells. If developed to the targeted capacity, the project is expected to be able to support at least 240 MW of geothermal power generation capacity over 30 years and an estimated net reduction in carbon dioxide emissions equivalent to 1.1 million tons per year.

The project will be implemented under a 35-year geothermal operating license, a 30-year energy sales contract with Perusahaan Listrik Negara, the national electricity utility company, and a business viability guarantee from the Ministry of Finance.

The borrower, Supreme Energy Rantau Dedap, is a special purpose vehicle established in Indonesia to explore and develop the geothermal resources, and to construct, operate, and maintain the completed power plant and facilities. The shareholders of the project company are GDF Suez, Marubeni Corporation¬ and Supreme Energy.

A core ADB objective is to address the risks and mitigate the impacts of climate change in developing member countries in Asia. The loan follows ADB’s $350 million financing for the landmark 320 MW Sarulla Geothermal Power Development Project, which reached financial close earlier this year, also supported by the Clean Technology Fund.

New Joint Venture Established for Private Equity Investments in Climate-Related Transactions Throughout Asia 

From ADB 4 August 2014

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – The Asian Development Bank (ADB), ORIX Corporation (ORIX) and Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. (Robeco) today announced the formation of Asia Climate Partners (ACP), a joint venture that will undertake commercially-oriented private equity investments across a variety of environmentally supportive, low-carbon transactions throughout Asia.

ACP, which will be capitalized initially by $400 million from its founding partners, will be based in Hong Kong, China. It will be staffed by a team of experienced private equity investment professionals, and dedicated to investing in renewable energy, clean technology, natural resource efficiency, water, agriculture, forestry and other climate-friendly companies and transactions that are structured to generate market-driven, risk-adjusted returns and have a positive environmental and social impact.

“We believe that ACP provides an innovative platform to deploy capital into climate-related transactions across Asia that are designed to generate attractive returns,” said Todd Freeland, Director General of ADB’s Private Sector Operations Department.

He added, “ACP will benefit from the combined strengths of Robeco as a global asset manager and ORIX and ADB, which are two of the most active and successful investors in the low-carbon sector in Asia. The substantial resources that the founding partners are committing to ACP will help position it as the preeminent investor in this asset class in Asia from day one, and represents a clear signal of the depth of our collective belief in the investment strategy and its return potential.”

Asia’s economies are among the fastest growing in the world, and are faced by some of its most significant environmental challenges including poor air and water quality, inadequate and unreliable supplies of energy, and inefficiencies in the utilization of existing supplies of energy and other natural resources. Given increasing public and private sector focus on these challenges, and the historically low levels of capital deployed in these areas, investment in renewable energy and resource efficiency has the potential to grow at 2-3 times economic growth in Asia over the next several decades.

“I am delighted that ADB has chosen Robeco to act as investment manager of this exciting joint venture platform,” Leni Boeren, member of the Management Board of Robeco said. “This is a milestone in our successful cooperation with ORIX and is further evidence of our growing commitment to creating attractive new investment opportunities in Asia for our institutional investor partners around the world. We believe that our recognized expertise as investors in resource efficiency, sustainability and private equity will contribute significantly to the ultimate success of ACP.”

“ORIX has established an extensive network through more than 40 years as an active investor, owner and operator of businesses throughout Asia,” Yuichi Nishigori, Corporate Senior Vice President at ORIX, said. “The energy and environmental sectors are core components of our business strategy, and our investment of capital and people into ACP represents a continuation of our commitment to being a leader in this field. Asian countries are in need of securing rapid and sustainable economic growth and must satisfy the ever-increasing needs of their people for a higher living standard and quality of life. This initiative will contribute to providing necessary capital for Asian economies to meet such demands.”

About ADB

ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive, environmentally sustainable economic growth and regional integration. Between 2011 and 2013, ADB mobilized nearly $10 billion in climate-related financing, and its total financing volume over this period was in excess of $64 billion, including over $22 billion of co-financing. Established in 1966, ADB is owned by 67 member countries – 48 from the Asia Pacific region.

www.adb.org

About Robeco

Robeco, a Netherlands-based global asset manager with more than $290 billion in assets under management, offers a mix of investment solutions and strategies to institutional and private investors worldwide and is the center of asset management expertise within ORIX Corporation, Robeco’s majority shareholder.

www.robeco.com

About ORIX

ORIX Corporation is a leading Japanese financial services group, listed on the Tokyo and New York stock exchanges, providing innovative products and services across its lending, investment, life insurance, banking, asset management, automobile related, real estate and environment and energy related businesses in 35 countries worldwide.

www.orix.co.jp/grp/en/

Counter proposal to end US-China trade dispute?

The US Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) has urged SolarWorld Americas LLC  to offer a specific proposal in renewed attempts to end the US – China solar trade dispute. As SEIA represents the entire solar value chain in the United States – including manufacturers, installers, financiers, engineers, project developers, consultants and retailers – it is committed to finding an “industry-wide solution.” Read More

SEIA urges counter proposal in US-China trade dispute

Robin Whitlock  Renewable energy magazine (8 August 2014):

The US Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) has urged SolarWorld Americas LLC to offer a specific proposal in renewed attempts to end the US – China solar trade dispute.

SEIA is hoping that a proposal by SolarWorld could serve as a basis for discussions on the issue in order to resolve the long and costly dispute through a negotiated settlement. The divisive trade war first erupted in 2011 and SEIA has been working frenetically since then to try and resolve it.

SolarWorld maintains it is committed to achieving an amicable solution by developing a settlement proposal and organising meetings with Chinese manufacturers. However, it is unclear what exactly SolarWorld is seeking in such a solution other than its general demand that China ends its ‘unfair trade practices’.

“SEIA has been steadfast in its support for the rules-based global trading system, including trade remedy proceedings” said Rhone Resch, SEIA president and CEO in a letter to SolarWorld’s leadership. “Continued litigation is bad for the industry and, we believe, bad for SolarWorld.  SEIA’s settlement proposal remains the best path forward. But we will not preclude any settlement option that serves the greater interests of the U.S. solar industry.”

Mr Resch also stressed that SEIA represents the entire solar value chain in the United States – including manufacturers, installers, financiers, engineers, project developers, consultants and retailers – and is therefore committed to finding an “industry-wide solution.”

Recently Yahoo Finance Editor-in-Chief Aaron Task warned that the worsening dispute could spark a US-China trade war as well as impacting US businesses that want to do business in China. A report released in June stated that the dispute could also raise prices for Chinese-made solar panels sold in the US by 14 percent.

The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) is the national trade association of the U.S. solar energy industry.  SEIA works with its 1,000 member companies to champion the use of clean, affordable solar in America by expanding markets, removing market barriers, strengthening the industry and educating the public on the benefits of solar energy. www.seia.org

First hybrid solar-wind renewable energy tower

The small Arizona border town of San Luis will be the site of the first Solar Wind Energy Tower installation in the world. The US$1.5 billion project would generate electricity through the use of ambient desert heat that passes through a concrete structure its proponents say would be the tallest in North America. When completed it will generate 425 megawatts of electricity each year.  A typical home in Arizona consumes approximately 12 megawatt hours of electricity annually. Read More

Arizona town to get solar wind energy tower

Alan M. Petrillo,  Special to Inside Tucson Business (11 August 2014):

The small Arizona border town of San Luis will be the site of the first Solar Wind Energy Tower installation in the world.

The $1.5 billion project would generate electricity through the use of ambient desert heat that passes through a concrete structure its proponents say would be the tallest in North America.

At 2,250 feet high, the Solar Wind Energy Tower looks similar to the cooling towers seen at nuclear power generating plants.

Ronald W. Pickett, president and chief executive officer of Solar Wind Energy Tower Inc., said he expects the plant, when completed, to generate 425 megawatts of electricity each year. The company has all local agreements in place, Pickett said, and is working to obtain a federal Environmental Protection Agency emissions permit, although the plant will have no carbon emissions, as well as a Federal Aviation Administration permit to get on the air charts because the structure is so high.

The San Luis city council approved participation in the project in April with the signing of a Development and Protected Development Rights Agreement that allows the energy company to purchase 640 acres from the city to site the plant. The agreement also calls for the city to provide untreated city water to the tower at the rate of 8,000 acre-feet of water per year for 50 years. The water would initially be provided at the rate of $1.15 per thousand gallons with a built-in cost of living escalator. An acre-foot is equivalent to 325,851 gallons of water.

San Luis is a 26-1/2-square mile city in Yuma County with a population of 25,505 on the United States border with Mexico, opposite San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora. Retail trade, manufacturing and agriculture make up the bulk of the San Luis economy, along with light industry on both sides of the international border.

Tadeo De La Hoya, the city’s director of operations, said the agreement calls for Solar Wind Energy Tower to sell the city electricity at the lowest fixed rate, which is to be determined, for 20 years after it begins generating.

Advantages of the agreement for the city, De La Hoya said, “are that our tax base will be increased, meaning more tax revenue for the city, as well as for the three school districts in the area.” He continued, “No subsidies, tax credits or development incentives have been given in the agreement.”

Pickett pointed out that while Solar Wind Energy Tower is buying 640 acres, the tower and its associated facilities will only cover a fraction of that space.

“Besides the tower, there would be a guard house, personnel and administration building, a water retention pond, a maintenance facility and relay stations for the power,” Pickett said. “We expect to be generating on an annualized basis more power than the Hoover Dam currently generates — more than 4 million megawatt hours.”

A typical home in Arizona consumes approximately 12 megawatt hours of electricity annually, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Pickett said the Solar Wind Downdraft Tower is the first hybrid solar-wind renewable energy technology in the market. The patented structure is made up of a tall hollow cylinder with a water injection system near the top and wind tunnels containing wind turbines near the bottom.

A series of pumps deliver water to the tower’s injection system at the top where a fine mist is cast across the entire opening. The water introduced by the injection system, Pickett said, then evaporates and is absorbed by hot dry air which has been heated by the sun’s solar rays.

The result is the air becomes cooler, denser and heavier than the outside warmer air, and falls through the cylinder at speeds up to and in excess of 50 miles per hour. This air then is diverted into wind tunnels surrounding the base of the tower where turbines inside the tunnel power generators to produce electricity.

Pickett said he expects the project to have 60 tunnels with 120 turbines and 30 generating rooms. Eleven generators in each generating room each will produce from 500 kilowatts to 10 megawatts of electricity, depending on their design. The tunnels, Pickett noted, “are a couple of hundred feet long and have about a 35-foot radius from the turbines.”

The city of San Luis was chosen after an exhaustive study of sites around the world, Pickett maintained.

“We considered areas of the world where the tower would be most efficient,” he said. “We require very hot and arid areas, such as parts of the Mideast, northern Africa and the U.S. Southwestern desert, which is one of the driest areas in North America.”

Pickett said his company was able to access a decade of weather data gathered by the U.S. Department of Defense for strategic reasons — a database that had hourly data at different elevations — and take that information to build a picture of what happened month to month over a ten year period.

“We then knew how to predict almost exactly what the tower would do in that area, so San Luis became the prime place in North America for the tower,” he said.

The property that Solar Wind Energy Tower is purchasing previously was a farm, Pickett pointed out.

“If the farm were still operating and growing a thousand acres of hay, it would use more water than we will need for our operations,” Pickett said. “We will be taking water out of the ground and putting it back through evaporation, so we will not be a net user of water.”

Pickett believes the Solar Wind Energy Tower will be an economical way to make green power.

“It will compete with fossil fuels,” he said. “We plan to be part of the energy solution. Our system can make both AC (alternating current) and DC (direct current) at the same site without swapping out generators in the different generating rooms. We are able to pipe DC current up to a distance of 2,500 miles.”

Source: www.m.insidetucsonbusiness.com

Which electric car killed off the power companies?

Morgan Stanley thinks Tesla Motors is going to help kill power companies in the US. That’s because the electric car business was pushing to develop better energy storage technology and then mass manufacture batteries. That’s exactly what Tesla CEO Elon Musk - also the chairman of Solar City - and his company will be doing at its forthcoming Gigafactory, which it is building in the US Southwest with Panasonic. Read More

Why Morgan Stanley Is Betting That Tesla Will Kill Your Power Company

Brian Merchant, senior editor for Motherboard (5 August 2014):

There’s a reason that power companies are attacking rooftop solar across the nation: They see those silicon panels as nothing short of an existential threat. As the cost of solar continues to fall, and more people opt for the distributed power offered by solar, there will be less demand for big power plants and the utilities that operate them. And one major investment giant has now released three separate reports arguing that Tesla Motors is going to help kill power companies off altogether.

Earlier this year, Morgan Stanley stirred up controversy when it released a reportthat suggested that the increasing viability of consumer solar, paired with better battery technology—that allows people to generate, and store, their own electricity—could send the decades-old utility industry into a death spiral.

Then, the firm released another one, further emphasizing the points made in the first. Now, it’s tripling down on the idea with yet another report that spells out how Tesla and home solar will “disrupt” utilities.

“There may be a ‘tipping point’ that causes customers to seek an off-grid approach,” the March report argued. ”The more customers move to solar, the [more the] remaining utility customers’ bills will rise, creating even further ‘headroom’ for Tesla’s off-grid approach.”

Yes, Tesla Motors, everyone’s favorite electric car company. And that’s where the controversy comes in. Morgan Stanley breathlessly pegged Tesla as “the most important auto company in the world” in part because its electric car business was pushing it to develop better energy storage technology, and then mass manufacture said batteries. That’s exactly what Tesla CEO Elon Musk and company will be doing at  its forthcoming Gigafactory, which it is building in the Southwest with Panasonic.

With the new manufacturing facility, Morgan Stanley reasons, Tesla stands to double its business (adding another $2 billion in revenue) by selling the lithium ion batteries it typically ships under the hood of a Model S to homeowners with solar panels, too. If consumers can store energy the panels generate during the day for use at night, it would ostensibly render the need for utilities to pipe in faraway power—and their electric bills—obsolete.

Musk is also the chairman of Solar City, a company that leases rooftop solar setups to homeowners, and one that would benefit from the battery tech. Now, the shadiness here is that Morgan Stanley released the report trumpeting Tesla’s crossover energy storage potential—causing Tesla’s stock to rise—right before it underwrote a fundraising round for… Tesla.

So the whole thing is very incestuous, and it does render some of the projections a little suspect, but the bottom line here is that private solar and battery companies are viable enough that they’ve attracted the backing of one of the world’s biggest financial services companies—over the multi-trillion dollar utility industry.

“Energy storage, when combined with solar power, could disrupt utilities in the US and Europe to the extent customers move to an off-grid approach,” Morgan Stanley writes in its third report this year emphasizing the prospect. ”We believe Tesla’s energy storage product will be economically viable in parts of the US and Europe, and at a fraction of the cost of current storage alternatives.”

In other words, Morgan Stanley has Tesla’s back, big time. It’s betting that Musk is going to make the best solar energy batteries money can buy.

Ironically enough, however, even staunch clean energy advocates are wary about Morgan Stanley’s finding that utilities are going the way of the buffalo. “Barring extraordinary circumstances, the economic case for grid defection is still very weak for US consumers,” Stephen Lacey, the senior editor of Greentech Media, wrote of the Morgan Stanley report. ”The electricity system offers valuable backup in case a customer over- or under-invests in an on-site system.”

It’s more likely, then, that people will still buy home solar—by the tens of millions, Greentech suggests—but not unplug from the grid entirely. Utilities will be diminished, but not broken. This process is underway in Europe already, where countries like Germany have powerful incentives for consumers to switch to solar.

Last year,  the Economist called the sharp decline of European utilities “startling,” noting that together, they lost half their value—$600 billion—in just five years. Here in the states, utilities and conservative politicians are fighting solar tax credits to prevent the same thing from happening. For the most part, the utilities are losing.

All of this is, ideally, what needs to happen. Climate change is accelerating, and we need to transition away from those massive, fossil fuel-slurping power plants. Distributed solar is an increasingly powerful force behind that weaning process.

And even if some of Morgan Stanley’s calculations are shaky, the trends that Tesla is helping to amplify are anything but—clean, personalized (or community-wide) power will play a major role in shaping our energy future.

The fact that a greed-driven titan of finance like Morgan Stanley recognizes as much, and is willing to triple down on its bets on battery storage and distributed power, is a promising sign that the energy revolution is underway.

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Source: www.motherboard.vice.com/read/why-morgan-stanley-is-betting-that-tesla-will-kill-your-power-company

Energy efficient ice cream freezers take more  cars off the road

New, hyper-efficient freezers, utilising improved insulation, high-efficiency compressors and LED lighting have the potential to achieve an industry-leading 70% energy reduction, resulting in CO2 savings equivalent to removing half a million cars from the road.The refrigeration innovation falls under Unilever’s Sustainable Living Plan to double the size of its business while reducing its environmental impact. Read More

Unilever Says New Ice Cream Fridge Reduces Energy Use by 70%

by Sustainable Brands (4 August 2014):

Unilever, which developed improvements in point-of-sale freezer technology that have reportedly resulted in energy reductions of up to 50 percent through improved insulation, high-efficiency compressors and LED lighting, announced this weekend that its scientists have improved on the technology. The company says the new, hyper-efficient freezers that house its Wall’s brand ice cream now have the potential to achieve an industry-leading 70 percent*energy reduction, resulting in CO2 savings equivalent to removing half a million cars* from the road.

Unilever says the completely redesigned fridge will not only preserve the frozen treats at just the right temperature, it will deliver groundbreaking energy-efficiency alongside increased reliability and ease of use, saving money for retailers everywhere.

“Thanks to the radical approach of our scientists, Wall’s ice cream cabinets across the world are driving down energy use while driving up design and innovation standards,” said Unilever’s Chief Sustainability Officer Jeff Seabright. “As the market leader in ice cream and cabinet refrigeration, the size of the reductions announced coupled with our scale allows us to make a positive difference in reducing environmental impact. Enjoying an ice cream or two in summer is what fond memories are made of. Now that pleasurable experience is enhanced with added climate-friendly benefits to broaden those smiles.”

Wall’s, which encompasses several of Unilever’s ice cream brands — including Magnum, Cornetto, Solero, Viennetta and Carte d’Or — is sold in more than 40 countries around the world, under different local names: In the UK and most of Asia, it is known as Wall’s, but it also goes by Algida (Italy), Langnese (Germany), Ola (Netherlands) and Kibon (Brazil).

“Starting in 2004 we have undergone a journey of continuous improvement, developing our science and technology to create what by some distance is the world’s most efficient ice cream cabinet,” said R&D VP of ice cream, Andy Sztehlo. “The new technology which offers a further 20 percent improvement could save enough energy to power a quarter of a million homes annually.”**

The refrigeration innovation falls under Unilever’s Sustainable Living Plan vision of doubling the size of its business while greatly reducing its environmental impact, and goes hand-in-hand with efforts to remove the last remaining Hydrofluorocarbon (HFC)-reliant freezers from commercial use. Unilever has led these efforts since 2004, using an environment-friendly hydrocarbon refrigerant alternative. More recently it has been driving an industry commitment to phase out damaging HFCs by 2015 through participation in the Consumer Goods Forum and as a founding member of Refrigerants, Naturally!, a multi-stakeholder group that aims to bring about a rapid shift away from the use of HFCs towards natural refrigerants (ammonia and carbon dioxide) and climate-friendly hydrocarbons for refrigerated point-of-sale equipment such as ice cream freezers and vending machines.

In 2012, Ben & Jerry’s, along with other North American Unilever ice cream brands Breyers, Good Humor and Klondike, rolled out “cleaner, greener freezers” — which used 10 percent less energy and replaced harmful “F” gas coolants with HC refrigerants — here in the States.

Source: www.sustainablebrands.com/ 

UK scientists develop spray-on solar energy cells

Perovskite solar cells, considered one of the major scientific breakthroughs of recent years, could be made available in a spray can after the product was developed by scientists at the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom. This means that solar cells could be applied to almost anything; an electric car could generate energy from its coat of perovskite solar paint. Read More

UK scientists develop spray-on solar energy cells

Environment Magazine, UK (7 August 2014):

Perovskite solar cells, considered one of the major scientific breakthroughs of recent years, could be made available in a spray can after the product was developed by scientists at the University of Sheffield. This means that solar cells could be applied to almost anything; an electric car could generate energy from its coat of perovskite solar paint.

The term perovskite refers to a particular mineral crystal structure, a cross between an organic compound and metal. These solar cells, their generation capability first demonstrated in 2012, are both cheaper and better for the environment than the silicon based alternative that dominates the industry.

The project’s lead researcher Professor David Lidzey said: “There is a lot of excitement around perovskite based photovoltaics. Remarkably, this class of material offers the potential to combine the high performance of mature solar cell technologies with the low embedded energy costs of production of organic photovoltaics.”

At 19 per cent efficiency, perovskite cells are almost twice as efficient as organic solar cells, but are 6 per cent less than conventional silicon cells.

“Using a perovskite absorber instead of an organic absorber gives a significant boost in terms of efficiency,” said Lidzey.

Alan South, Chief Innovation Officer at SolarCentury, one of the UK’s largest solar energy companies, told The Independent: “Developing a viable solution in this area is an important part of the roadmap for yet lower costs and increased applicability. We’re delighted to see this kind of research taking place in the UK. However, part of what makes today’s silicon-based solar so successful is its bankability resulting from decades of service experience and a long-lasting warranty. So should you consider waiting for spray-on solar before you adopt the technology? We would say no. It’s unknown how long it will take for this kind of innovation to become mainstream and electricity price rises are real right now.”

Source:  www.environmentmagazine.co.uk