Iran-India to Boost Co-operation in Solar Energy

Iran is known as the second largest oil production member in Organization of Petrol Export Country (OPEC) with production near 3.5 million barrel oil per day and accounts for roughly 5% of global oil outputs. As soon as the word energy is associated with Iran, the worsening oil crisis unsettles you.  On the contrary, Iran is also trying to build up its image as a peaceful country by investing in natural resources of energy such as the wind and solar power.

Meetings between Iranian President Mehmoud Ahmadinejad, Iranian Energy Minister Majid Namjou and India’s Union Minister of New and Renewable Energy Dr. Farooq Abdullah have shown positive outcomes as the two countries focus on collaboration in renewable energy. 

The National Solar Mission is a major initiative of the Government of India and State Governments to promote ecologically sustainable growth. It will also constitute a major contribution by India to the global effort to meet the challenges of climate change.

Energy Minister Majid Namjou said that Iran plans to specialise in solar power and will be establishing 60,000-megawatt and 40,000-megawatt capacity in solar farms and wind farms, respectively. The electricity generated from clean energy resources will be exported from Iran to India as an alternative to gas. India would be supporting Iran to set up it’s renewable energy industry. Iran contains an estimated 812 Trillion Cubic Feet (TFC) in proven natural gas reserves, surpassed only by Russia in the world.

There are favourable conditions for the use of solar energy in Iran considering the average global radiation for Iran is about 19.23 MJ/m2/day (= 5.3 kWh/m2/day). Electric power generation installed in Iran is about 32.5 Giga Watts (GW) with more than 87% being from thermal natural gas fired power plant. Currently, Iran has five small nuclear reactors used for peaceful purposes. Nuclear and renewable energy will enable Iran to export more gas and oil and increase its revenue, since 80% of Iran’s revenue is based on oil and gas export.

In the central region of Iran, it is, even more, higher at 7.7 hours per day (more than 2,800 hours per year). However, solar energy is hardly utilized in Iran as most of the electricity generated comes from fossil fuels and hydro resources. In the past couple of years, 4,000 solar thermal installations per year were constructed, but that’s only a drop in the ocean.

In total, these deals are adding up to many billions of dollars of investment into the Iranian economy.

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Intel Corporation Built the Largest Solar Power Station in Vietnam

Vietnam has a great potential to develop solar power, especially in the Central and the South. Vietnam exploits all four big sources of renewable energy: 

• Hydroelectricity
• Wind power
• Solar power
• Biomass

By the end of 2018, hydropower was the largest source of renewable energy, contributing about 40% to the total national electricity capacity. Excluding medium and large-sized hydropower plants, other renewable energy sources accounted for 2.1% of the total capacity of the whole system.

After investment of US$1.1 million and five months of hard work and, the solar power station by Intel Corporation in Asia provide approximately 30 percent of Intel’s total electricity consumption in the coming years. This is the first and only solar power station, many times bigger than the ones assembled by Intel in Israel and in Oregon, in the US. The station is much bigger than other setups installed by Intel in Israel and Oregon (USA).

The solar power station comprises of 1,092 solar panels and 21 adapters, can directly provide the company with around 321,000KWh of electricity per year without using rechargeable batteries, equivalent to electricity consumed by 500 households in Vietnam.

The general manager of the Intel Products Vietnam, Rich Howarth said that this new station will cut 221,200 kilos of Carbon dioxide emissions in the air per year, which is equivalent to emissions from 600 motorbikes.

The management head of Saigon High-Tech Park, Dr. Le Hoai Quoc, is of the view that the solar power station is a successful model for the national campaign “Better and Cleaner Environment.”

The vice-president of Intel Corporation and Global Director of the company Corporate Affairs Group, Shelly Esque pointed out that this is the step to invest in solar power worldwide by Intel Corporation.

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Japan to Attract More Solar Firms

Because of diminishing reliance on nuclear power, Japanese government is increasingly supporting more of solar industry, especially Chinese solar companies. The domestic solar power market reached $19.8 billion (¥1.91 trillion) in 2013, surpassing Germany, which was the biggest market from 2009 to 2012, according to the report by IHS Inc. 

Japan is one of the world’s largest solar energy market with the installation of new solar power systems more than doubling capacity, according to a report by a U.S. research firm.

The use of solar power in Japan has accelerated since the so-called feed-in tariff scheme for renewable energy was introduced in July 2012 to help offset the loss of nuclear power caused by the repercussions of the Fukushima disaster, which has led to nearly all of the nation’s 50 reactors to be idled over nuclear safety concerns.

To improvise dependence on solar power, the Chaorisolar Energy Science and Technology Co Ltd and the Sky Solar Holding Co Ltd have planned to install 100 megawatts project by investing around 7.5 billion yen ($93.9 million) in Japan. The collaboration is a new vibe because both of them are specialist in their fields. Chaorisolar is a Shanghai-based maker of photovoltaic products whereas Sky Solar builds solar farms. The project is supposed to generate gross profits equal to $10yuan ($1.60) a watt.

This cooperation is regarded as a strong turning point to improve Chaorisolar’s sales in spite of much negligence in large markets such as Europe. While that is exceeded by the 6.8 gigawatts of new solar power systems projected in China this year, the price of the equipment is expected to make Japan the largest market in terms of value, the report said.

Global suppliers in the solar power industry are being drawn to Japan’s market, companies such as Hareonsolar Technology Co Ltd, Yingli Green Energy Holding Co Ltd and Canadian Solar Inc, are planning to open a subsidiary in Japan. In fact, Suntech Power Holdings Co has ventured in Japan after acquiring MSK Corp, a maker of solar equipment. Whereas domestic firms continue to dominate the market for residential systems, which account for nearly 40 percent of all demand in the country, because consumers are showing a strong preference for domestic brands, IHS said.

Solar power will also contribute to the growth of electric vehicles charging and for hydrogen production, making it the next-generation energy source. The country’s manufacturing sector alone is supposed to increasingly rely on some 60 GW of solar power to run its operations, accounting for 10% of the total electricity demand in the sector.

The residential segment will contribute around 80 GW of solar power installations by 2030, covering about 20% of total electricity demand in this segment.

Two other research entities, including Bloomberg New Energy Finance, also project that Japan’s solar power market will become the world’s largest this year.

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Germany’s World Solar Record

Do you know that German Solar power plants had created a world record by producing 22 gigawatts of electricity capable of 20-nuclear power stations at full capacity through the midday hours on May, 25th – 26th 2012, the head of a renewable energy think-tank said.

After learning from 2011, Fukushima nuclear disaster, the German Government had shut down eight plants instantaneously as well planned to abandon remaining nine by 2022.

Solar power in Germany has gone through turbulent times since it got off to a flying start in the wake of Germany's Renewable Energy Act in the year 2000. German companies quickly ascended to global leadership in solar power technology before a collapse after 2012 forced many of them to drop out of business. At that time, the government decided to replace nuclear energy sources by renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and bio-mass, Norbert Allnoch, director of the Institute of the Renew-able Energy Industry in Muenster said. The total 22 gigawatts of electricity produced by solar power is equivalent to approximately 50 per cent of the country’s midday electricity needs.

Allnoch said: “Never before anywhere has a country produced as much photovoltaic electricity.” Adding to the statement explained: “Germany came close to the 20 gigawatts mark a few times in recent weeks. But this was the first time we made it over.”

Although being a sun-drenched country, Germany has one of the highest solar power outputs in the world and still boasts cutting-edge research and many new industry actors. They expect a second wave in solar power expansion that could soon pave the way for the technology's full systemic integration. Germany, one of the world’s leading industrial nations has a record-breaking amount of solar power production, which shows the county’s ability to meet electricity needs on a workday, Friday, and nearly half on Saturday when factories and offices are close. Because of government –mandated support, the country has become a world leader in renewable energy. Its 20% of the overall annual electricity is produced by environment-friendly sources.

Some Key Facts:

• Germany, despite being among the countries with the least sunshine hours in the world, is one of the largest solar power producers across the globe. With an installed capacity of over 43 gigawatt (GW) in 2017, the country ranked 4th in the world after leading the charge for several years, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).
• In the first half of 2018, they produced over 7 percent of the country’s net power consumption, out of a total renewables share of 39 percent, according to energy industry lobby group BDEW.
• With a total output of 6.7 terawatt hours (TWh) in July 2018, solar power set a new monthly output record in the country and contributed about 15 percent to the German power mix.

Being one of the world’s leading creators of solar power capacity, the country aims to eliminate up to 40 per cent of greenhouse gas emission by 2020. If Germany is to reach its overall goal of a 65 percent renewable energy share in power consumption by 2030 –nearly twice as much in 2017 – the installed solar power capacity has to grow to at least 98 GW, or 5 GW per year, energy policy think tank Agora Energiewende estimates.

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Always been an electricity consumer? See what it takes to be an electricity producer

For a country like Pakistan which has roughly 250 sunny days in a year, the solar power industry has a lot of potential and solar panels have the capacity of generating huge volumes of electricity.

Not only is the production of electricity through solar panels enough for consumption, it also sometimes exceeds the requirement. The excess electricity produced cannot just be disposed off! It must be stored in batteries. But there is a limit to how much can be stored in batteries. What to do then? Reduce the production of electricity through panels! This is the most common answer. But, in a country where there is a huge power shortage, why not use this excess electricity to solve this problem rather than curbing the production.

This is how the concept of net metering came into being. First originated in United States, net metering is the process of selling the excess energy you produce through your solar power panels back to the grid. So, the grid acts like a central power bank which buys energy from you and distributes the excess energy wherever there’s a power shortage. So, while you produce extra energy and facilitate the power shortages, you also earn money for the electricity you sold. Sounds like a plan!

This has begun in various areas of Pakistan and one of the earliest examples of this can be seen at the Unilever Solar Power Project in Lahore which is being developed on the net-metering model by Reon Energy. Net Metering is a very common phenomenon in United States and Germany. There are full-fledged towns and cities based on the concept of net metering in these countries. Thankfully, Pakistan is also moving towards adopting this trend, slowly yet definitely.

The article was originally published on: Reon Energy - Always been an electricity consumer? See what it takes to be an electricity producer

Is Sunshine the New Liquid Gold for the Middle East

Countries like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and U.A.E. built empires in the sand because of a substantial amount of oil in the early 20th century. The oil and petroleum industry grew during the last decade, with global prices peaking at a whopping $145 per barrel.

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) an alliance of 22 nations, having more than 60% of the world’s oil and 45% of the globe’s natural gas which means that they are one of the main global generators of greenhouse gases and in turn drivers of climate change. Thus, a push for more sustainable sources of energy coupled with the latest entry of competitors into the market (e.g. alternatives like shale gas) is gently coaxing the focus away from oil and petroleum.

Electricity consumption has grown in the region in the decades following the discovery of oil due to rapid infrastructure development. The dry and hot climate of countries like Kuwait, UAE, and Saudi Arabia mean water is a scarce resource so they meet their large water requirements through massive desalination plants drawing water from the seas around. Desalination plants ring the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, representing over 46% of our world’s desalination capacity. Fossil fuels currently power these plants and make up approximately 50% of their operating costs.

In the past decade, MENA is undertaking multiple massive solar power projects. At the end of 2018, MESIA (Middle East Solar Industry Association) reported that the region had started, completed or is currently operating enough projects to generate more than 12,000 MW of energy; an increase in production by 15% from last year. Due to the geographic location, the Middle East receives more than 3600 hours of sunshine annually so investors are setting up solar farms to convert solar power into usable electricity. Announcements of new solar power plants are popping up all over the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) states. Funds are being committed and contracts awarded on a very large scale however, this does not mean power generation always happens.

Solar power has to compete with other renewables so a power source, which is tied to unreliable sunshine, becomes less appealing. PV panels only produce power when they receive sunlight, so even a passing cloud renders them unproductive. Part of the problem is that even though the cost of producing electricity from solar PV has fallen, the value of the electricity generated fell even quicker.

The shift from fossil fuels to solar power and other renewable sources is an inevitable natural transition in the 22nd century and MENA, along with other Gulf States being the prime territories for solar power generation. As solar production increases and greater applications are found across the different fields, further innovation will only bring down costs. As the liquid gold underground runs out, perhaps the Arab world will turn harness the gold in the sky.

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3D Solar Panels Generate 20x More Energy than Flat Solar Panels

Solar power engineering is taking to new heights as researchers around the world invent and reinvent methods to harness solar energy to its best capacity. Traditional solar panels lay flat on a surface or rooftop, facing the sun to collect energy. MIT researchers decided to change the shape of solar panels, conducting experiments with a cube, tall cube, and tower-shaped panels to see which design brought in more energy.

                   

Now, researchers at the MIT are working on avant-garde 3D designs that would look beyond the traditional outlook of arranging cells on a flat surface or motorized structures keeping them pointed towards the sun.

At MIT, researchers are building cubes or towers of solar cells that extend upwards in 3-D configurations. Interestingly, this experiment produced remarkable results compared to traditional panels as they generated 20 times more power than traditional solar panels in the same base area.

Researchers also say the tower style panel helps save space by standing vertically, and the design will be easier to manufacture than the cubes. However, they do anticipate the designs to be more expensive to produce than flat panels, but the payoff could be worth the investment. Manufacturers aim to use thin film technologies to help reduce cost but still have the panels capable of harvesting energy in low light and cloudy conditions.

The highly visible differences were noticed in situations and places that were far from equator, in winter months and on cloudy days. The team at MIT worked on a variety of configurations, testing them under a whole range of latitudes, seasons and weather. Every time, the power generated by these models vastly differed than that of ordinary solar panels. Even the cost of the 3D models was balanced by the output generated over the course of a day as well as during days and seasons when traditional panels are unable to perform their best. Since, the 3D models performed consistently on given day, season and under any weather condition, they would be easier to integrate with power grids than conventional systems.

The effectiveness of 3D models is because of the vertical solar cell surfaces that can collect maximum sunlight even during mornings, evenings, winters and when the sun is closer to the horizon.

While researchers are confident in the tower design, they are still experimenting how to distribute the towers for the most effective use. With the height of each towers possibly shading one another from the sun, this solar array is currently designed for urban environments rather an open space. Larger scale models, however, could prove to be useful in solar farms in the near future.

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