wind.energy-business-review.com
20 Jan 2012
Wind Works Power has completed the sale of its remaining 50% stake in the 4 MW Wind Park Burg 1 project in Germany. The wind power project is currently under construction by the company's wholly-owned affiliate, Wind Works Development, and is expected to commence operation in 2012. Wind Works president and CEO Ingo Stuckmann said the sale re-enforces the company's strategy of acquiring advanced-stage projects in Germany, adding value by arranging project financing, finalising permitting, organising construction, and then selling for a gain. "We have three other projects in Germany with PPAs totalling 27 MW, and we look forward to repeating this success with these projects over the course of 2012/13", Stuckmann said. The turnkey sales price inclusive of all construction and equipment costs for 100% of the Wind Park Burg 1 project is $12m.
Thursday, 26 January 2012
Radioactive material said stolen from egyptian plant
www.nytimes.com
19 Jan 2012
CAIRO (Reuters)-radioactive material has been stolen from a nuclear power station on Egypt's Mediterranean coast that was the scene of violent protests last week, the state-run al-Ahram newspaper reported on Thursday. A safe containing radioactive material at the Dabaa nuclear power plant, which is still under construction, was seized while another also containing radioactive material was broken open and part of its contents taken, the newspaper said.
In Vienna, an official of the UN nuclear agency described the items missing as "low-level radioactive sources" which had been taken from a laboratory at the construction site. He could not give any details on the nature of the stolen items. "We are in touch with the Egyptian authorities", the official from the International Atomic Energy Agency said. Al-Ahram said the government has alerted security authorities and asked that specialized teams help in the search for the stolen material.
More than a dozen people were wounded last week when military police tried to disperse hundreds of Egyptian protesters demanding the relocation of the Dabaa plant. Plant staff have refused to go to the site because of the deterioration in the security situation there, al-Ahram said. About 500 Egyptians rallied in front of the plant last week to demand that the project be terminated, with some saying they had lost their land on the site. Soldiers and the demonstrators threw stones at each other and exchanged gunfire after the protesters demolished a wall surrounding the site, a security source and witnesses said.
19 Jan 2012
CAIRO (Reuters)-radioactive material has been stolen from a nuclear power station on Egypt's Mediterranean coast that was the scene of violent protests last week, the state-run al-Ahram newspaper reported on Thursday. A safe containing radioactive material at the Dabaa nuclear power plant, which is still under construction, was seized while another also containing radioactive material was broken open and part of its contents taken, the newspaper said.
In Vienna, an official of the UN nuclear agency described the items missing as "low-level radioactive sources" which had been taken from a laboratory at the construction site. He could not give any details on the nature of the stolen items. "We are in touch with the Egyptian authorities", the official from the International Atomic Energy Agency said. Al-Ahram said the government has alerted security authorities and asked that specialized teams help in the search for the stolen material.
More than a dozen people were wounded last week when military police tried to disperse hundreds of Egyptian protesters demanding the relocation of the Dabaa plant. Plant staff have refused to go to the site because of the deterioration in the security situation there, al-Ahram said. About 500 Egyptians rallied in front of the plant last week to demand that the project be terminated, with some saying they had lost their land on the site. Soldiers and the demonstrators threw stones at each other and exchanged gunfire after the protesters demolished a wall surrounding the site, a security source and witnesses said.
UK hits 6GW wind power capacity
www.energymatters.com.au
20 Jan 2012
The UK is celebrating reaching a renewable energy target milestone with the completion of a Cumbrian wind farm pushing the nation's installed wind power capacity beyond 6,000 MW-enough to supply electricity to 3,354,893 homes. According to RenewableUK*, a trade body representing the British renewable energy sector, the 6 GW ( GW) mark was reached when 120 MW Ormonde offshore wind farm, off the coast of Cumbria, was recently brought online.
The achievement was toasted by UK Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander MP, at RenewableUK's gala Annual Parliamentary Reception. Mr Alexander called for a further expansion of both onshore and offshore wind power projects across the country. "This is a significant milestone for the wind industry which demonstrates the increasingly important role that renewable energy is playing in the UK's energy mix", he said. "We are eager to ensure that the UK becomes the natural home for the most innovative, ambitious and inspiring renewable energy companies in the world, and we will continue to work with the industry to drive down costs and encourage even stronger growth in the years to come".
The UK government's Renewable Energy Roadmap calls for an ambitious 31 GW of installed onshore and offshore wind power capacity by 2020, which RenewableUK chief executive Maria McCaffery says is possible if the industry continues to receive the right level of government support. "This is a landmark achievement. There's a great feeling of pride throughout the industry that we've reached a record high of 6 GWs, and there's a further 19.5 GW of capacity under construction, consented, or in planning".
Representatives of the Scottish parliament-which has a bold plan to generate 100% of its equivalent electricity needs from renewable energy by 2020 and has £750 million in new renewable electricity projects starting over the past year-were also on hand to celebrate the announcement. "We are working closely with the UK Government to ensure electricity market reforms continue to maximise opportunities to capitalise on Scotland's unique natural resources", Scottish Energy Minister Fergus Ewing said.
20 Jan 2012
The UK is celebrating reaching a renewable energy target milestone with the completion of a Cumbrian wind farm pushing the nation's installed wind power capacity beyond 6,000 MW-enough to supply electricity to 3,354,893 homes. According to RenewableUK*, a trade body representing the British renewable energy sector, the 6 GW ( GW) mark was reached when 120 MW Ormonde offshore wind farm, off the coast of Cumbria, was recently brought online.
The achievement was toasted by UK Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander MP, at RenewableUK's gala Annual Parliamentary Reception. Mr Alexander called for a further expansion of both onshore and offshore wind power projects across the country. "This is a significant milestone for the wind industry which demonstrates the increasingly important role that renewable energy is playing in the UK's energy mix", he said. "We are eager to ensure that the UK becomes the natural home for the most innovative, ambitious and inspiring renewable energy companies in the world, and we will continue to work with the industry to drive down costs and encourage even stronger growth in the years to come".
The UK government's Renewable Energy Roadmap calls for an ambitious 31 GW of installed onshore and offshore wind power capacity by 2020, which RenewableUK chief executive Maria McCaffery says is possible if the industry continues to receive the right level of government support. "This is a landmark achievement. There's a great feeling of pride throughout the industry that we've reached a record high of 6 GWs, and there's a further 19.5 GW of capacity under construction, consented, or in planning".
Representatives of the Scottish parliament-which has a bold plan to generate 100% of its equivalent electricity needs from renewable energy by 2020 and has £750 million in new renewable electricity projects starting over the past year-were also on hand to celebrate the announcement. "We are working closely with the UK Government to ensure electricity market reforms continue to maximise opportunities to capitalise on Scotland's unique natural resources", Scottish Energy Minister Fergus Ewing said.
Wednesday, 25 January 2012
Creating electricity at home
smh.domain.com.au
17 Jan 2012
It may appear counter-intuitive, but getting millions of solar panels onto rooftops saves more money than it costs. feed-in tariffs enacted by state governments have enabled ordinary Australians using their savings to build a solar power station at home benefiting the community.
When those solar households who had saved to get their panels installed under the solar feed-in tariff programs export their solar production to the grid, which occurs mostly during higher demand daytime periods, they are given a slightly higher than average retail rate for the electricity they are selling. The prices they have been paid are relatively meagre when compared with the ridiculously high rates paid to big coal or gas power plants.
At the same time that little solar households who have invested their money in a rooftop power station are being paid between 44¢ and 60¢ per kW, the old power companies with their dirty belching coal and gas plants are receiving as much as $12.50. In other words, the coal and gas guys are being paid as much as $11.90 more than a home solar generator for just one unit of electricity.
A home solar system installed in NSW sized at 10 kilowatts, which was the limit for feed-in tariff eligibility under the now-defunct state scheme, would export roughly 9kWh and reduce line losses by more than 10% during a very hot sunny day when everyone was running their air conditioners. That meant a coal or gas plant would not need to generate 10kWh for every 9kWh a solar household produces at home during that period. During these high-price events, which account for more than 30% of the cost of electricity, we can buy our power from a gas or coal plant at the inflated price of $125 or we can buy it from a home solar generator for just $5.40. To buy the full 10 kW equivalent output from the home solar generator saves everyone $120 each hour in power costs alone.
This is not the full story. At other times when your home solar system is generating, the coal plant may receive 6¢, 8¢, $1, $3 or $5 but you're still getting a steady 44¢ to 60¢. The reason customers were getting an average price under the state programs is because it's too difficult for ordinary home owners to set up a trading desk and participate in the national electricity market. So the 44¢ to 60¢ range is much more reasonable when you take into account the wild fluctuations that occur daily as power generators use their market power to game the electricity market, which ultimately is costing consumers.
All that said, the most important contribution from rooftop solar is through the ''merit order effect'', explained in a recent paper by the University of Melbourne's energy research institute, which showed electricity production from rooftop solar is brilliantly timed for when we're inside and running our air conditioners and can substantially reduce the wealth transfer from ordinary electricity consumers to big power generators. Eighty-five% of the time, during peak demand periods when the highest prices occur in the electricity market, rooftop solar is there to dampen, reduce and keep a lid on extreme prices.
At just 3000 MWs of solar, which is what Germany installed in December during the Christmas holiday break, we would be paying at least a billion dollars less for our electricity, amounting to a more significant saving on bills than if we choose not to encourage people to put more solar on their roofs.
Today, the government, through IPART (the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal), is performing a review into feed-in tariffs to find a ''fair and reasonable'' price to pay enterprising householders for the solar electricity they produce. In the government's terms of reference they were asked to recommend a price with ''no resulting increase in electricity prices in NSW'' and to make the scheme so that ''the government would not pay''.
They also asked for it to support a competitive electricity market. The University of Melbourne paper showed that a net feed-in tariff price of 35¢ to 40¢ a kW, handled by the distribution companies, would lower electricity prices by more than it would cost to fund it and that the government's existing low-income household rebate could be increased slightly to accommodate any shifting in network costs from solar to non-solar households.
The reward from the merit order effect should not be handed to dirty fossil fuel generators as they are able to withdraw their service, choosing whether to supply and game the electricity market, sending electricity prices spiralling, while on the whole solar households will reliably generate, day in, day out.
Matthew Wright is executive director of think tank Beyond Zero Emissions.
17 Jan 2012
It may appear counter-intuitive, but getting millions of solar panels onto rooftops saves more money than it costs. feed-in tariffs enacted by state governments have enabled ordinary Australians using their savings to build a solar power station at home benefiting the community.When those solar households who had saved to get their panels installed under the solar feed-in tariff programs export their solar production to the grid, which occurs mostly during higher demand daytime periods, they are given a slightly higher than average retail rate for the electricity they are selling. The prices they have been paid are relatively meagre when compared with the ridiculously high rates paid to big coal or gas power plants.
At the same time that little solar households who have invested their money in a rooftop power station are being paid between 44¢ and 60¢ per kW, the old power companies with their dirty belching coal and gas plants are receiving as much as $12.50. In other words, the coal and gas guys are being paid as much as $11.90 more than a home solar generator for just one unit of electricity.
A home solar system installed in NSW sized at 10 kilowatts, which was the limit for feed-in tariff eligibility under the now-defunct state scheme, would export roughly 9kWh and reduce line losses by more than 10% during a very hot sunny day when everyone was running their air conditioners. That meant a coal or gas plant would not need to generate 10kWh for every 9kWh a solar household produces at home during that period. During these high-price events, which account for more than 30% of the cost of electricity, we can buy our power from a gas or coal plant at the inflated price of $125 or we can buy it from a home solar generator for just $5.40. To buy the full 10 kW equivalent output from the home solar generator saves everyone $120 each hour in power costs alone.
This is not the full story. At other times when your home solar system is generating, the coal plant may receive 6¢, 8¢, $1, $3 or $5 but you're still getting a steady 44¢ to 60¢. The reason customers were getting an average price under the state programs is because it's too difficult for ordinary home owners to set up a trading desk and participate in the national electricity market. So the 44¢ to 60¢ range is much more reasonable when you take into account the wild fluctuations that occur daily as power generators use their market power to game the electricity market, which ultimately is costing consumers.
All that said, the most important contribution from rooftop solar is through the ''merit order effect'', explained in a recent paper by the University of Melbourne's energy research institute, which showed electricity production from rooftop solar is brilliantly timed for when we're inside and running our air conditioners and can substantially reduce the wealth transfer from ordinary electricity consumers to big power generators. Eighty-five% of the time, during peak demand periods when the highest prices occur in the electricity market, rooftop solar is there to dampen, reduce and keep a lid on extreme prices.
At just 3000 MWs of solar, which is what Germany installed in December during the Christmas holiday break, we would be paying at least a billion dollars less for our electricity, amounting to a more significant saving on bills than if we choose not to encourage people to put more solar on their roofs.
Today, the government, through IPART (the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal), is performing a review into feed-in tariffs to find a ''fair and reasonable'' price to pay enterprising householders for the solar electricity they produce. In the government's terms of reference they were asked to recommend a price with ''no resulting increase in electricity prices in NSW'' and to make the scheme so that ''the government would not pay''.
They also asked for it to support a competitive electricity market. The University of Melbourne paper showed that a net feed-in tariff price of 35¢ to 40¢ a kW, handled by the distribution companies, would lower electricity prices by more than it would cost to fund it and that the government's existing low-income household rebate could be increased slightly to accommodate any shifting in network costs from solar to non-solar households.
The reward from the merit order effect should not be handed to dirty fossil fuel generators as they are able to withdraw their service, choosing whether to supply and game the electricity market, sending electricity prices spiralling, while on the whole solar households will reliably generate, day in, day out.
Matthew Wright is executive director of think tank Beyond Zero Emissions.
Strong support for wind farms obscured, says CSIRO report
www.smh.com.au
18 Jan 2012
THERE is much stronger public support for wind farms than media coverage of the issue would suggest, because a ''vocal minority'' who oppose wind farms secure the majority of media and political attention, according to new CSIRO research.
A peer-reviewed study by Brisbane researchers investigated attitudes to nine wind farms in various stages of development in NSW, Victoria and South Australia, concluding there was a strong level of support ''from rural residents who do not seek media attention or political engagement to express their views''. By contrast, more than half of all wind farm proposals had been opposed by members of the Landscape Guardian group, the report noted. The CSIRO's deputy director, energy technology, Jim Smitham, one of the reviewers of the report, said it showed a disconnect between negative and conflict-oriented media coverage about wind farms and the attitude of a majority in the communities where wind farms were proposed or already operating.
''You find more media stories supporting the case against wind farms than those for it,'' he said. ''Whereas, going into the field and doing interviews at community level, they have different reasons but many of them support the wind farm; it just isn't as apparent as the people who are able to find a short sharp reason to reject it.'' Dr Smitham said wind farm developers that proactively consulted with communities and responded to their concerns had achieved far higher local acceptance of their projects.
The report, Acceptance of rural wind farms in Australia: A snapshot, by CSIRO's social research team, comes as the draft guidelines on wind farm development in this state are open for public comment. The researchers conducted interviews with wind farm developers, councils, turbine hosts, community opponents and supporters of the projects in each of the nine locations. wind farm opponents cited negatives including poor consultation, visual amenity and noise, while supporters cited benefits including improved infrastructure such as roads and firebreaks, clean energy and better local job prospects, the report found.
The debate over noise and health impacts has been a key issue raised by opponents. A series of peer-reviewed studies have found no evidence that low-level sound from wind farms has made people sick, but some international studies included self-selected surveys in which people living near wind farms reported annoyance and interrupted sleep as a result of vibrations from the turbine blades. The CSIRO report noted wind farms can create stress which affects wellbeing. The Landscape Guardians could not be reached for comment yesterday.
18 Jan 2012
THERE is much stronger public support for wind farms than media coverage of the issue would suggest, because a ''vocal minority'' who oppose wind farms secure the majority of media and political attention, according to new CSIRO research.
A peer-reviewed study by Brisbane researchers investigated attitudes to nine wind farms in various stages of development in NSW, Victoria and South Australia, concluding there was a strong level of support ''from rural residents who do not seek media attention or political engagement to express their views''. By contrast, more than half of all wind farm proposals had been opposed by members of the Landscape Guardian group, the report noted. The CSIRO's deputy director, energy technology, Jim Smitham, one of the reviewers of the report, said it showed a disconnect between negative and conflict-oriented media coverage about wind farms and the attitude of a majority in the communities where wind farms were proposed or already operating.
''You find more media stories supporting the case against wind farms than those for it,'' he said. ''Whereas, going into the field and doing interviews at community level, they have different reasons but many of them support the wind farm; it just isn't as apparent as the people who are able to find a short sharp reason to reject it.'' Dr Smitham said wind farm developers that proactively consulted with communities and responded to their concerns had achieved far higher local acceptance of their projects.
The report, Acceptance of rural wind farms in Australia: A snapshot, by CSIRO's social research team, comes as the draft guidelines on wind farm development in this state are open for public comment. The researchers conducted interviews with wind farm developers, councils, turbine hosts, community opponents and supporters of the projects in each of the nine locations. wind farm opponents cited negatives including poor consultation, visual amenity and noise, while supporters cited benefits including improved infrastructure such as roads and firebreaks, clean energy and better local job prospects, the report found.
The debate over noise and health impacts has been a key issue raised by opponents. A series of peer-reviewed studies have found no evidence that low-level sound from wind farms has made people sick, but some international studies included self-selected surveys in which people living near wind farms reported annoyance and interrupted sleep as a result of vibrations from the turbine blades. The CSIRO report noted wind farms can create stress which affects wellbeing. The Landscape Guardians could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Monday, 23 January 2012
Wide support found for wind farms
www.theage.com.au
18 Jan 2012
THERE is much stronger public support for wind farms than media coverage of the issue would suggest, because a ''vocal minority'' who oppose wind farms secure the majority of media and political attention, according to CSIRO research. A peer-reviewed study by Brisbane researchers investigated attitudes to nine wind farms in various stages of development in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia and concluded there was strong support ''from rural residents who do not seek media attention or political engagement to express their views''.
By contrast, more than half of all wind farm proposals had been opposed by members of the Landscape Guardian group, the report noted. CSIRO deputy director (energy technology) Jim Smitham, one of the reviewers of the report, said there was a disconnection between negative and conflict-oriented media coverage about wind farms and the attitude of a majority in the communities where wind farms were proposed or already operating.
''You find more media stories supporting the case against wind farms than those for it,'' he said. ''Whereas, going into the field and doing interviews at community level, they have different reasons but many of them support the wind farm. It just isn't as apparent as the people who are able to find a short sharp reason to reject it.'' Dr Smitham said wind farm developers who consulted with communities and responded to their concerns had achieved far higher acceptance of projects.
The report, Acceptance of Rural Wind Farms in Australia: A Snapshot, was written by CSIRO's social research team. Researchers interviewed wind farm developers, councils, turbine hosts, community opponents and supporters of the projects in the nine locations. wind farm opponents cited negatives such as poor consultation, visual amenity and noise, and supporters cited benefits such as improved roads and firebreaks, clean energy and better local job prospects, the report found.
The debate over noise and health impacts has been a key issue raised by opponents. Several peer-reviewed studies have found no evidence that low-level sound from wind farms makes people sick, but some international studies include self-selected surveys in which people living near wind farms report annoyance and interrupted sleep because of vibrations from the turbine blades.
The CSIRO report noted proposed wind farms can create harmful stress. Landscape Guardians could not be reached for comment yesterday. Anti-wind farm senator John Madigan, of Victoria, said he had received complaints from many who claimed the turbines caused insomnia and other illnesses. He said he would host a series of public forums to air people's concerns.
Some opponents of wind farms claim the noise and vibrations can cause sleep disturbance, migraines, panic attacks and raise the risk of heart disease, though there is little peer-reviewed scientific research to back up the claims.
18 Jan 2012
THERE is much stronger public support for wind farms than media coverage of the issue would suggest, because a ''vocal minority'' who oppose wind farms secure the majority of media and political attention, according to CSIRO research. A peer-reviewed study by Brisbane researchers investigated attitudes to nine wind farms in various stages of development in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia and concluded there was strong support ''from rural residents who do not seek media attention or political engagement to express their views''.By contrast, more than half of all wind farm proposals had been opposed by members of the Landscape Guardian group, the report noted. CSIRO deputy director (energy technology) Jim Smitham, one of the reviewers of the report, said there was a disconnection between negative and conflict-oriented media coverage about wind farms and the attitude of a majority in the communities where wind farms were proposed or already operating.
''You find more media stories supporting the case against wind farms than those for it,'' he said. ''Whereas, going into the field and doing interviews at community level, they have different reasons but many of them support the wind farm. It just isn't as apparent as the people who are able to find a short sharp reason to reject it.'' Dr Smitham said wind farm developers who consulted with communities and responded to their concerns had achieved far higher acceptance of projects.
The report, Acceptance of Rural Wind Farms in Australia: A Snapshot, was written by CSIRO's social research team. Researchers interviewed wind farm developers, councils, turbine hosts, community opponents and supporters of the projects in the nine locations. wind farm opponents cited negatives such as poor consultation, visual amenity and noise, and supporters cited benefits such as improved roads and firebreaks, clean energy and better local job prospects, the report found.
The debate over noise and health impacts has been a key issue raised by opponents. Several peer-reviewed studies have found no evidence that low-level sound from wind farms makes people sick, but some international studies include self-selected surveys in which people living near wind farms report annoyance and interrupted sleep because of vibrations from the turbine blades.
The CSIRO report noted proposed wind farms can create harmful stress. Landscape Guardians could not be reached for comment yesterday. Anti-wind farm senator John Madigan, of Victoria, said he had received complaints from many who claimed the turbines caused insomnia and other illnesses. He said he would host a series of public forums to air people's concerns.
Some opponents of wind farms claim the noise and vibrations can cause sleep disturbance, migraines, panic attacks and raise the risk of heart disease, though there is little peer-reviewed scientific research to back up the claims.
French power prices may rise 30% by 2016, energy regulator says
www.bloomberg.com
18 Jan 2012
French state-regulated power rates charged by Electricite de France SA could jump about 30% by 2016, according to the energy regulator. The increase would reflect inflation, higher wholesale rates at which EDF Energy sells nuclear power to rivals, a subsidy for renewable energy, and transport and distribution costs, Philippe de Ladoucette, head of the Commission de Regulation de l'Energie, told a conference today in Paris.
With an election due later in the year, the government is under pressure to keep down energy costs for consumers. Prime Minister Francois Fillon pushed up power prices last July and said the increase would be limited to 2.9% until the middle of this year. France's nuclear watchdog this month ordered EDF Energy to improve safety at nuclear plants following last year's Fukushima disaster. EDF Energy Chief Executive Officer Henri Proglio has said the work would cost less than 10 billion euros ($13 billion). The price at which EDF Energy sells wholesale nuclear power to rivals is sufficient to allow the utility to pay for work to improve safety at nuclear reactors, Industry Minister Eric Besson said in November.
18 Jan 2012
French state-regulated power rates charged by Electricite de France SA could jump about 30% by 2016, according to the energy regulator. The increase would reflect inflation, higher wholesale rates at which EDF Energy sells nuclear power to rivals, a subsidy for renewable energy, and transport and distribution costs, Philippe de Ladoucette, head of the Commission de Regulation de l'Energie, told a conference today in Paris.
With an election due later in the year, the government is under pressure to keep down energy costs for consumers. Prime Minister Francois Fillon pushed up power prices last July and said the increase would be limited to 2.9% until the middle of this year. France's nuclear watchdog this month ordered EDF Energy to improve safety at nuclear plants following last year's Fukushima disaster. EDF Energy Chief Executive Officer Henri Proglio has said the work would cost less than 10 billion euros ($13 billion). The price at which EDF Energy sells wholesale nuclear power to rivals is sufficient to allow the utility to pay for work to improve safety at nuclear reactors, Industry Minister Eric Besson said in November.
Siemens exiting the nuclear energy business to focus on renewables
oilprice.com
21 Sep 2011
"The chapter is closed", says Siemens CEO Peter Loescher in regard to the company's nuclear power business. In response to the world's growing concern over the safety of nuclear power, German-based Siemens will exit the nuclear sector in greater pursuit of renewable energy.
Loescher attributes the company's decision not only to the Fukushima incident, but more to the German response. The country, led by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, has banned nuclear power, strategically closing various reactors with a goal of a nuclear free Germany by 2022. The country will instead look to renewable sources of energy to fill the power gap.
Considering that Siemens is a German company that has had a hand in developing all of Germany's 17 nuclear reactors, it only makes sense to follow suit and ditch nuclear for renewables. "The chapter is closed for us", Loescher said. "We will no longer be involved in managing the building or financing of nuclear plants". He adds that the decision is in response to "German society and politics' clear position on ending nuclear power".
Siemens has had a difficult time in the nuclear power sector this year following an order by an international tribunal demanding the company pay France's Areva--the world leader in nuclear technology--€648 million ($927 million) for failing to meet contractual obligations in a joint venture that Siemens backed out of earlier this year.
The announcement will inevitably terminate a long-planned joint venture between Siemens and Russian nuclear firm Rosatom to construct 400 nuclear plants by 2030. However, Loescher did express that he wishes to continue working with the firm in other market areas. Loescher seems hopeful for the future of renewables and Siemens' role in bringing these technologies to the forefront. He states, "Germany's shift towards renewable energies is the project of the century".
21 Sep 2011
"The chapter is closed", says Siemens CEO Peter Loescher in regard to the company's nuclear power business. In response to the world's growing concern over the safety of nuclear power, German-based Siemens will exit the nuclear sector in greater pursuit of renewable energy.
Loescher attributes the company's decision not only to the Fukushima incident, but more to the German response. The country, led by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, has banned nuclear power, strategically closing various reactors with a goal of a nuclear free Germany by 2022. The country will instead look to renewable sources of energy to fill the power gap.
Considering that Siemens is a German company that has had a hand in developing all of Germany's 17 nuclear reactors, it only makes sense to follow suit and ditch nuclear for renewables. "The chapter is closed for us", Loescher said. "We will no longer be involved in managing the building or financing of nuclear plants". He adds that the decision is in response to "German society and politics' clear position on ending nuclear power".
Siemens has had a difficult time in the nuclear power sector this year following an order by an international tribunal demanding the company pay France's Areva--the world leader in nuclear technology--€648 million ($927 million) for failing to meet contractual obligations in a joint venture that Siemens backed out of earlier this year.
The announcement will inevitably terminate a long-planned joint venture between Siemens and Russian nuclear firm Rosatom to construct 400 nuclear plants by 2030. However, Loescher did express that he wishes to continue working with the firm in other market areas. Loescher seems hopeful for the future of renewables and Siemens' role in bringing these technologies to the forefront. He states, "Germany's shift towards renewable energies is the project of the century".
Solar power takes giant strides
www.thenational.ae
18 Jan 2012
No one can accuse the renewables industry of lacking creative impetus. Solar-powered aircraft, cars and boats have featured at this year's World Future Energy Summit (WFES) in Abu Dhabi, and in the MS Turanor PlanetSolar, the event hosts the largest solar-powered boat to brave the oceans. The futuristic, 100-foot-long vessel travelled 48,000km over two years to anchor finally next to the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, where WFES is held. And the solar industry will feel that it has come a long way over the past couple of years.
Last year alone, as much as 29 GWs of solar panels were installed, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Solar technology was driven initially by environmental concerns in Europe, which led to generous financial incentives for power producers, and China's decision to make renewables a pillar of its energy policy has given the industry its latest impetus for growth.
China already has an installed solar capacity of 3 GWs, a number dwarfed by the 200 GWs it derives from hydropower. The Asian powerhouse has recently upped its targets, now aiming to generate 11.4% of its electricity from green sources by 2015. "To achieve these goals, we face many difficulties and will have to pay a big price", Wen Jiabao, the Chinese premier, said in his keynote speech at WFES on Monday. In an ironic twist, solar photovoltaic (PV) panel producers are also paying a heavy price for those targets. The cost of their product has dropped through the floor as the application of Chinese industrial might to panel production led to a halving of panel costs last year.
This price decline has combined with a reduction in tariffs received in key markets such as Germany to turn once-healthy balance sheets into a sea of red. In the second half of last year, notable US names such as Solyndra, Evergreen Solar and SpectraWatt filed for bankruptcy. BP Solar stopped producing panels earlier last year and was dissolved by its parent company last month. Players in the industry expect the cull to continue this year. "We think there's going to be consolidation in 2012, there's going to be liquidation, there's going to be capitulation-companies just getting out of the business", said Andrew Beebe, the chief commercial officer at Suntech Power, the largest Chinese producer of PV panels.
As more panel producers hit the wall, pessimists might assume that the solar industry as a whole is suffering. Not so, counter industry players. Falling prices are bringing the costs of solar power closer to grid parity, the level at which electricity coming out of solar arrays is as cheap as that flowing out of conventional power plants. "I think people are talking about a crisis in the industry because prices have come down so fast, and companies are losing money", said David Eaglesham, the chief technology officer at FirstSolar, a US panel producer. "But it's also a turning point because prices have come down so fast".
A study released by the Emirates Solar Industry Association confirms what many already suspected: compared with diesel-fired power plants, solar-generated electricity is already cost-competitive in the region. Cheap panels will only make solar more attractive, especially in markets such as the Middle East, India and much of Asia, where the rampant increase in demand calls for creative solutions on the supply side.
"Over the longer term, the trend bodes favourably for the big markets that are going to be consuming a lot of energy", said James Brown, the president at Utility Systems Business Group at FirstSolar. With more players leaving the market, the basic principle of economics-that decreasing supply increases the price-should have a soothing effect on the balance sheet of the survivors.
"There are first indications that prices will be a little bit higher by the end of this year", said Hannes Behacker, the senior vice president for Asia Pacific and the Middle East at the German panel producer Q-Cells.
18 Jan 2012
No one can accuse the renewables industry of lacking creative impetus. Solar-powered aircraft, cars and boats have featured at this year's World Future Energy Summit (WFES) in Abu Dhabi, and in the MS Turanor PlanetSolar, the event hosts the largest solar-powered boat to brave the oceans. The futuristic, 100-foot-long vessel travelled 48,000km over two years to anchor finally next to the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, where WFES is held. And the solar industry will feel that it has come a long way over the past couple of years.
Last year alone, as much as 29 GWs of solar panels were installed, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Solar technology was driven initially by environmental concerns in Europe, which led to generous financial incentives for power producers, and China's decision to make renewables a pillar of its energy policy has given the industry its latest impetus for growth.
China already has an installed solar capacity of 3 GWs, a number dwarfed by the 200 GWs it derives from hydropower. The Asian powerhouse has recently upped its targets, now aiming to generate 11.4% of its electricity from green sources by 2015. "To achieve these goals, we face many difficulties and will have to pay a big price", Wen Jiabao, the Chinese premier, said in his keynote speech at WFES on Monday. In an ironic twist, solar photovoltaic (PV) panel producers are also paying a heavy price for those targets. The cost of their product has dropped through the floor as the application of Chinese industrial might to panel production led to a halving of panel costs last year.
This price decline has combined with a reduction in tariffs received in key markets such as Germany to turn once-healthy balance sheets into a sea of red. In the second half of last year, notable US names such as Solyndra, Evergreen Solar and SpectraWatt filed for bankruptcy. BP Solar stopped producing panels earlier last year and was dissolved by its parent company last month. Players in the industry expect the cull to continue this year. "We think there's going to be consolidation in 2012, there's going to be liquidation, there's going to be capitulation-companies just getting out of the business", said Andrew Beebe, the chief commercial officer at Suntech Power, the largest Chinese producer of PV panels.
As more panel producers hit the wall, pessimists might assume that the solar industry as a whole is suffering. Not so, counter industry players. Falling prices are bringing the costs of solar power closer to grid parity, the level at which electricity coming out of solar arrays is as cheap as that flowing out of conventional power plants. "I think people are talking about a crisis in the industry because prices have come down so fast, and companies are losing money", said David Eaglesham, the chief technology officer at FirstSolar, a US panel producer. "But it's also a turning point because prices have come down so fast".
A study released by the Emirates Solar Industry Association confirms what many already suspected: compared with diesel-fired power plants, solar-generated electricity is already cost-competitive in the region. Cheap panels will only make solar more attractive, especially in markets such as the Middle East, India and much of Asia, where the rampant increase in demand calls for creative solutions on the supply side.
"Over the longer term, the trend bodes favourably for the big markets that are going to be consuming a lot of energy", said James Brown, the president at Utility Systems Business Group at FirstSolar. With more players leaving the market, the basic principle of economics-that decreasing supply increases the price-should have a soothing effect on the balance sheet of the survivors.
"There are first indications that prices will be a little bit higher by the end of this year", said Hannes Behacker, the senior vice president for Asia Pacific and the Middle East at the German panel producer Q-Cells.
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