The International Energy Agency (IEA) presented two new solar energy analyses in Valencia, Spain this week, a Solar Photovoltaic Energy Technology Roadmap and a Concentrating Solar Power Technology Roadmap.

The key finding from these is that 20-25% of global electricity production could be from solar energy by 2050.

In a blog post on our sister site, One Block Off the Grid, I just discussed how the United States and how rooftop solar fit into this. Below, mostly from the reports themselves, is a short discussion of what government’s role in all of this needs to be.

Source: Simply Green

For a while, things were looking gloomy. The founders of Washington, D.C.‘s Mount Pleasant Solar Cooperative had their hearts in the right place; they even had their paperwork in the right place. But they hit snag after snag as they tried to fulfill the dream of converting their neighborhood to solar power: Contractors who didn’t want to sell solar panels in bulk. Confusion over the role of the regional utility. And the inevitable red tape of local politics.

Eventually the group’s persistence paid off, and this month they’re celebrating their fiftieth neighborhood solar installation. We caught up with co-founder and president Anya Schoolman to find out how it all happened, what’s next, and what advice she’d give to other communities who want to follow the sun.

Q. Can you explain what the Mount Pleasant Solar Cooperative is, and how and when it formed?

A. The Mt. Pleasant Solar cooperative emerged from dinner table conversation I had with my son Walter, then 12, and his friend Diego. They had seen “An Inconvenient Truth” and they wanted to know, if the Earth was going to overheat in their lifetime, “Is, um, anybody, you know … going to do anything about it?” The next question was, “Why don’t we get solar power in our neighborhood.” So we decided we would try to do something.

Our neighborhood consists mostly of rowhouses with flat roofs. We thought if we got enough neighbors together who wanted to adopt solar arrays, some solar contractor would offer us big discounts. We got the neighbors together and quickly learned it was going to be a lot more complicated than we originally thought. So we set out to to educate ourselves about all aspects of solar and to share that knowledge with as many people as possible. That’s where the “cooperative” concept really proved valuable. Read more at http://www.grist.org

Source: The New Green Economy

Petrochemicals group Sasol, the world’s leader in making motor fuel from coal, plans to reduce its carbon footprint by capturing its emissions, producing solar power and making its plants more efficient.

Henri Loubser, project director at the company’s New Energy unit, said a public-private partnership between Sasol, other energy firms and a South African university would start producing thin film solar modules within two and a half years.

“We are still speaking two and a half years before the facility can realistically be operational,” Loubser told journalists on Friday.

A South African team of scientists invented the design for the solar panels, which consist of micro-thin metallic film – only five microns thick – that converts light into energy at a fraction of the cost of conventional panels.

The Thin Film Solar Technology (TFST) joint venture will build a power plant to produce 40 MW using the film, he said.

Sasol, ranked second after power utility Eskom the country’s top polluter, reported total carbon emissions in South Africa for the financial year to end-June of 62 million tonnes.

The firm, criticised by environmentalists for doing little to streamline its operations towards a carbon-free economy, said it had set a target to reduce its emissions intensity by 15 percent across its operations by 2020 from a 2005 baseline.

It also plans to make new coal-to-liquids (CTL) plants more efficient by reducing emissions of those built before 2020 by 20% and those built before 2030 by 30%.

Loubser said producing energy from solar sources, of which there is an abundance in South Africa, will be a focus for the company, and Sasol plans to make a choice which type of concentrated solar power technology it will pursue by next June.

Loubser said Sasol also plans to make its power generation units cleaner by either converting natural gas to electricity or by building nuclear plants to power its operations.

“We will consider a technology step like that (in nuclear) … it’s baseload power and it’s a proven technology,” he said.

The company said switching from coal to natural gas already reduces its plant’s emissions by 40%.

In the long term it will also invest in producing power from hydro sources, preferably from countries around South Africa.

Sasol would like to store emissions from its power plants.

It currently captures between 20-30 million tonnes of carbon dioxide from its Secunda CTL plant a year but it flares the carbon into the air as it has yet to find a proper storage site.

Sasol plans to generate half of its power needs by 2012 to beat rising electricity prices and to reduce its dependence on the national grid, especially as utility Eskom struggles to supply fast rising demand from industrial and residential users.
Source: Fin24

What is the true cost of solar power? The answer to this question may determine whether or not you decide to install solar panels on your home or business. In fact, in the current economy, everyone is worried about investments, and whether they make sense long term.

How does the cost of solar power factor in?

In order to accurately determine solar energy cost, you’ll need to consider a range of factors. Get your pencil out… you should write these down:

1. Current utility bills, averaged on a monthly basis
2. Projected future utility bills, over your estimated years of ownership of the property
3. Amount you may save annually in electricity bills
4. State and provincial solar energy tax rebates and other incentives, such as no money down
5. Type of solar panel system you want to install: PV Panels or Solar roof shingles
6. Other potential energy savings, through energy efficient bulbs, shutting off lights, adjusting thermostats
7. Other potential energy retrofitting measures, including windows, insulation, Energy Star appliances, etc.

When you consider the fact that solar power is free, once you install the panels, it may be worth it to consider converting now.

Case in point

Let’s say that your solar panel system will cost you R20,000.  Now, consider that your monthly electricity bills average R600 a month, which is R7,200 a year. That alone would be about a 3-year return on investment, but wait! What about the increase in value of your home? If you can save the entire R7,200 a year, multiply that figure by 20 which is the typical loan period you get R144,000.   That’s right: R144,000 in additional property value!

Now, add in the rising electricity rates that you won’t have to worry about. Oh, and the cost of continued global warming – you are doing your part you know… priceless!

You see, it just takes some focused arithmetic to determine the true cost of solar power. Think beyond your initial investment/outlay, and I’ll bet you will soon see that solar energy is the way to go, without requiring you to break the bank.
Source: Solar Panel | Green Power

1. Choosing the right solar panel for your needs is like choosing a battery.

In the same way that a bigger battery will provide more power for longer, a larger Solar panel will collect more energy in less time. The right size of panel will depend on variables such as the power required by the appliance, the length of time you want to use it and how much sunshine you get at the time of year.

2. There are three things to consider when choosing a solar panel or creating a solar system.

You need to know what appliances you will be using and how much energy they require, how much energy your battery can store and which solar panel will replenish your ‘stock’ of energy in the battery in line with your pattern of use.

3. How much energy will your appliance(s) use over a period of time?

The power consumption of appliances is given in Watts (e.g. 21” fluorescent light, 13W). To calculate the energy you will use over time, just multiply the power consumption by the hours of use.  The 13W light fitting, on for 2 hours, will take 13 x 2 = 26Wh from the battery.  Repeat this for all the appliances you wish to use, then add the results to establish total
consumption.

4. How much energy can your battery store?

Battery capacity is measured in Amp Hours (e.g. 17Ah). You need to convert this to Watt Hours by multiplying the AH figure by the battery voltage (e.g. 12V).  For a 17Ah, 12V battery the Watt Hours figure is 17 x 12 = 204Wh.  This means the battery could supply a 13W fluorescent for 15 and a half hours, 204W for 1 hour, or 102W for 2 hours, i.e. the more energy you take, the faster the battery
discharges.

5. How much energy can a solar panel generate over a period of time?

The power generation rating of a solar panel is also given in Watts (e.g. STP010, 10W).  To calculate the energy it can supply to the battery, multiply Watts by the hours exposed to sunshine, then multiply the result by 0.85 (this factor allows for natural system losses).  For the solar 10W panel in 4 hours of sunshine, 10 x 4 x 0.85 = 34Wh. This is the amount of energy the solar panel can supply to the battery.

Source: GreenWeld