Solar Power In India

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  A worker walks through the installed solar modules at the Naini solar power plant in the 

  northern Indian city of Allahabad. Reuters

Here Comes The Sun: India On Verge Of Becoming Global Solar Power

By Palash Ghosh

on December 12 2013 11:09 AM

India is on the brink of becoming a global solar power, according to a report just published by the World Bank. Under the government’s Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission Phase-1 (JNNSM), which was initiated in January 2010 to promote sustainable growth, broadly expand solar power, and deal with the effects of climate change, India’s installed capacity of solar power has already jumped from about 30 megawatts to more than 2,000 MW.

The World Bank noted that JNNSM has also helped bring down the cost of solar power to competitive levels – down to about $0.12 per kilowatt-hour for solar photovoltaic, and to $0.21 per kWh for concentrated solar power, thereby making India one of the world’s lowest-cost destinations for grid-connected solar power. “In a short span of three years, India has made impressive strides in developing its abundant solar power potential,” said Onno Ruhl, World Bank Country Director in India, according to The Hindu newspaper. “With more than 300 million people without access to energy and industry citing energy shortage as key growth barrier in India, solar power has the potential to help the country address the shortage of power for economic growth.”
Indeed, the solar park in Charanka in Gujarat is already the largest such facility in all of Asia. Of equal importance, the bank said, expansion of solar power would reduce India’s over-dependence on imports of coal and diesel for power generation, cut greenhouse gas emissions and also upgrade the nation’s energy security. The bank report also highlighted two special features of India’s solar program – the bundling of solar power with unallocated thermal generation and the introduction of “reverse auctioning.” The “bundling” of solar power with cheaper forms of conventional energy sources had cut solar power tariffs for distribution centers. The “reverse auction” process has allowed qualified bidders to enjoy the benefits of falling global prices of solar components.
But the World Bank cautioned that India faces some challenges in meeting its stated target of adding 20,000 MW of solar capacity by 2022, noting that New Delhi “needs to address the key barriers and constraints that could come in the way of scaling up the solar program.” Ashish Khanna, an energy specialist and an author of the study, noted that “building on the success of Phase 1 [JNNSM], the program now needs to focus on promoting financing of solar projects by commercial banks, developing shared infrastructure facilities such as solar parks and identifying comparative advantage of Indian manufacturing across the supply chain.” The bank suggested that India develop and finance public infrastructure enterprises like solar parks in order to further cut costs and boost efficiencies.

Coincident with the release of the World Bank report, the Indian government said it will construct 60 “solar cities” across the vast country. The minister of new and renewable energy, Farooq Abdullah, said approval in principle has been reached with 55 cities, of which 45 have already been sanctioned. "Out of these 45 cities the master plans have been finalized for 36 cities," Abdullah said.
Among the many solar projects proliferating across the width and breadth of India, a Singaporean firm, Third Wave Power, which manufactures solar chargers, is expecting huge demand for its services in rural, undeveloped India. "We expect demand for portable solar [chargers] to reach a high of 40 million units in the next five years in rural India, including small towns," Third Wave's chief executive officer V.S. Hariharan said, according to Press Trust of India.
Hariharan said the market for its portable solar chargers probably would come from areas that are located far from the main electricity grids as well as from regions that suffer chronic shortages of electricity. Indeed, market surveys suggest that as many as 80,000 villages in India have no electricity. "We can charge these solar panels anywhere in the sun and then use it to recharge mobile phones and other light-power consuming instruments," Hariharan told PTI.

http://www.ibtimes.com/here-comes-sun-india-verge-becoming-global-solar-power-1506826

Roof Top Solar And The Grid - Limits To Smartness?

Solar Power Growing Pains: How Will Hawaii And Germany Cope With The Boom In Alternative Energy?

By Roxanne Palmer

on December 23 2013 2:51 PM

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  A view of houses with solar panels in the Mililani neighborhood on the island of Oahu in Mililani, Hawaii, December 15, 2013. Reuters

Is clean energy a victim of its own success, or is the transition from fossil fuels to alternative energy just going through some natural growing pains? However you spin it, in places like Hawaii and Germany, rooftop solar panels are popping up like weeds – but at a rate that might be too fast for utility companies to handle.

Solar panel setups can often supply enough juice to power a home, and more – with any excess electricity fed back into the grid. But this makes managing the flow of power a bit more difficult for the utility, compounded by the fact that solar power generation can fluctuate with changes in cloud cover. The result can be either a sudden draw on the grid on cloudy days, or a potentially overloading power surge on unexpectedly sunny days. Not every grid is able to cope.
In Hawaii, solar power-generating capacity has doubled just about every year since 2005, according to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. But the utility company and the grid are struggling to keep up with this expansion. This September, the Hawaiian Electric Co. (HECO) told customers that they could no longer guarantee that certain residential solar photovoltaic (PV) systems could be interconnected with the utility grid. HECO says it’s worried that the solar power boom might lead to instability if the power generated by homeowners’ panels exceeds the output from local power plants.
"We can't allow circuits to become dangerous," Peter Rosegg, a HECO spokesman, told ClimateWire. "We can't allow circuits to become unreliable because there's too much PV on those circuits."
Many Hawaiians are frustrated. Take William Walker, who spent $35,000 for a rooftop solar PV system for his Oahu home, only to be left off the grid thanks to the new HECO policy. Now he has to keep paying his monthly $250 electric bill to HECO along with the $300 monthly payments on his solar panels. Walker told ClimateWire that he's not completely buying HECO’s explanation for the policy change.
“My belief is it's purely profit-motivated, to keep people away from PV and keep them on the grid,” Walker said.
And Walker's situation is hardly unique. Even though HECO will be grandfathering in more than 200 customers who submitted what are called "net energy metering" agreements -- which certify that a solar power system has been installed and approved by a licensed electrical contractor -- before a September deadline, hundreds more are still left in limbo, according to Honolulu Civil Beat. It's unclear when their systems will be able to be connected up.
Other U.S. states are eyeing how Hawaii balances solar and conventional power to avoid overloading the grid.
"As an engineer, you always want to look at the worst-case scenario. Well, [Hawaii has] it," Elaine Sison-Lebrilla, a project manager for Sacramento, Calif.'s publicly owned utility, told the Los Angeles Times in November.
Though its climate might be radically different, Germany is facing a problem similar to Hawaii's in the midst of its solar boom. Experts predict that solar-generated power may soon be able to power the whole country – but only during the sunniest hours, between noon and 2 p.m. That midday bulge is problematic for the grid.
“Any further [solar] installations beyond this point could push structural solar power supply above demand and cause permanent midday grid instability,” Citigroup researcher Jason Channell wrote in a report quoted by Business Insider.
The hope may lie in smart grids that use advanced communications networks to better juggle the production of electricity from multiple sources, as well as large-scale batteries that could store excess solar power. But neither option is especially cheap. A 2009 report from NPR estimated the cost of overhauling the grid across America at somewhere between $100 billion and $2 trillion.
Some solar advocates have faith that the market will adjust as PV systems become more popular. It is for that reason, research institute Fraunhofer ISE said in a report this past September [PDF], that Germany should not try to halt the solar power boom to wait for storage technology to catch up.
“Investing in storage is first profitable when large price differences for electricity frequently occur,” Fraunhofer ISE’s Harry Wirth wrote. “Continued, further expansion in PV and wind capacity will cause prices on the electricity exchange… to sink more often and more drastically.”

http://www.ibtimes.com/solar-power-growing-pains-how-will-hawaii-germany-cope-boom-alternative-energy-1518702

Battery Back Up For Solar

From The New York Times -

December 4, 2013

SolarCity to Use Batteries From Tesla for Energy Storage

By DIANE CARDWELL

Commercial building owners, even those who reduce their overall energy use, have long struggled to cut special power fees that are based on periods of highest demand.

Now, SolarCity, the fast-growing solar installer, says it has found a solution, in the form of a battery system created with Tesla Motors.

The system, to be announced on Thursday, includes batteries about the size of a small refrigerator and software that controls when a building’s operations run on power from the solar array, the battery or the grid.

Called DemandLogic, it could allow businesses to use stored electricity in times of highest demand, which would reduce their usage at peak periods and the associated fees, called demand charges.

“We are providing them a solution to reduce their energy cost and demand cost,” said Lyndon Rive, SolarCity’s chief executive, adding that the systems would provide backup power and a working solar array during blackouts. Although he said he did not see the systems as a step toward independence from the grid, storage would be important to maintaining grid stability as more customers adopt solar.

The product grew from a $1.8 million grant in 2010 from the California Public Utilities Commission to study the possibilities of storing electricity from rooftop solar arrays in batteries. The company has also signed up about 300 of its residential customers for a pilot program using battery packs from Tesla, whose chief executive, Elon Musk, is the chairman of SolarCity and Mr. Rive’s cousin.

The company will begin offering its storage systems in parts of California, Connecticut and Massachusetts. Although the combination of solar with storage could prove potent, said Sam Jaffe, a senior research analyst at Navigant Research, the market for it is by no means assured.

“It’s not a no-brainer — you still have to have the exact right combination of rates and demand charges and the cost of that equipment,” he said. He added, though, that if the systems are configured to take advantage of a 30 percent federal tax credit, the economics would have broader appeal.

The SolarCity systems, which are designed to be eligible for the credit, will be made available to new solar customers signing 10-year service agreements and are made to store about a third of the energy the solar array can produce. Mr. Rive said the company would guarantee the demand charge reductions, which he expects to run around 20 percent.

The demand charges, meant to compensate the utility for capital investments in distribution infrastructure, are based on so-called peak demand, or the highest amount of electricity used within the billing period. So even companies using less electricity overall can incur high fees. Part of the appeal for businesses trying to reduce their electric loads is that the system allows them to continue operating at full capacity, rather than reducing power usage, as in traditional demand response programs, Mr. Rive said.

 


http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/05/business/energy-environment/solarcity-to-use-batteries-from-tesla-for-energy-storage.html?emc=eta1&_r=0

Corridor H - DC To West Virginia Zoom Zoom

Published On: Tue, Nov 26th, 2013

Top Stories | By Parsons Advocate

DOH Opens Corridor H Section

West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin III, along with Transportation Secretary Paul Mattox, and other state, federal, and local leaders were on hand for the opening of the newest section of Corridor H, Bismarck Connector at WV 93 to Scherr Connector at WV 93, Friday, November 22 at 12:30 p.m. The celebration took place at a scenic overlook on the new road, two miles west of the WV 93 Connector at Scherr. Members of the public were on hand to welcome this new stretch of roadway.

Senator Manchin invoked the memory of the late president John F. Kennedy on the 50th anniversary of his assassination. Manchin said that Kennedy owed a debt to the state of West Virginia for helping him get elected. And, he followed, the people of West Virginia owe a debt to the late president for his work in opening up the state with infrastructure. He also exacted a promise from Secretary Mattox that Corridor H would reach Davis in less than two years, which received cheers from the audience.

“Opening this section of roadway highlights years of aggressive work by many organizations to finish Corridor H as quickly as possible, stated Secretary Mattox. Since 2010, approximately 50 miles have been opened to traffic thanks to the leadership and support of the late Senator Byrd, Governor Tomblin, Senators Rockefeller and Manchin, and Congresswoman Capito. I am proud to join them to celebrate this great achievement for the citizens of the Potomac Highlands and the State of West Virginia.”

The 4.7 mile section between Bismarck and the Scherr WV 93 Connector comes at a cost of $65 million, and makes complete, the Bismarck to Wardensville section, totaling nearly 49 miles. A 16.2 mile section from Davis to Bismarck is currently under construction, with a Fall 2014/2015 completion date, bringing the total mileage of Corridor H open or under construction to nearly 108 miles, or over 76% completed.


http://parsonsadvocate.com/doh-opens-corridor-h-section/

Water Company Goes Solar

Utilizing off the shelf technology -

WSSC turns to solar power to cut sewage- treatment electricity costs

By Katherine Shaver, Published: December 21

On a recent gray December morning, nearly 8,500 solar panels covering 13 acres in Germantown tilted toward the sky, straining to harness any glimmer of sunlight.
Their host: a sewage-treatment plant in Montgomery County, one of the first in the Washington region to try solar power. The panels, also installed at a Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission facility in Upper Marlboro, began operating in October.
Solar panels are expected to provide up to one-fifth of the two plants’ electrical needs at rates 25 percent cheaper than traditional electricity, WSSC officials said. (And, yes, if it’s a cloudy day or the middle of the night, your toilet will still flush.)
“For a utility, it’s a huge milestone, because very few have solar power,” said Rob Taylor, the WSSC’s energy manager. “If we can show we can buy alternative energy cheaper than conventional energy, it’s a win-win situation.”
The idea is catching on with water and sewer utilities across the country, in part because they guzzle electricity. Operating round-the-clock, the facilities run enormous pumps to deliver drinking water and then use huge blowers, centrifuges and other equipment to treat sewage and return the disinfected water to local rivers. Those energy costs can fluctuate dramatically, putting pressure on operating budgets, utility officials say.
“We’re a massive energy user, and we pay a pretty penny for it,” said George S. Hawkins, DC Water’s general manager.
Sewage-treatment plants, in particular, are being looked at for solar power because vast parcels of land bought decades ago as buffers for nearby communities can accommodate acres of the panels. Meanwhile, the panels’ prices have dropped significantly in recent years, helping utilities achieve bigger savings.
Utility officials say they also are exploring ways to reduce their dependence on the electrical grid during and after severe storms, when power outages can wreak havoc on sewer systems and cause overflows into streams.
It’s also about saving money. DC Water, the largest consumer of electricity in the District, is installing equipment similar to a giant pressure cooker at its Blue Plains Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant in Southwest Washington. The equipment will “cook” and sterilize the brown, goopy sludge collected from treated sewage and turn it into food for methane-generating bacteria. The methane gas will then be burned to power steam turbines that produce electricity, officials said.
DC Water officials said they expect the system to save the utility $10 million in electricity costs — and another $10 million in trucking costs because half as much sludge will need to be hauled away. The utility also is exploring selling the sterilized sludge as fertilizer, Hawkins said.
The annual savings are expected to more than cover the debt service on the $470 million borrowed for the project, Hawkins said. That will free up money needed to repair and replace aging infrastructure, such as underground pipes that burst after too much decay, he said.
Hawkins, the former head of the District’s Department of the Environment, said the new process also is expected to cut the treatment plant’s greenhouse gas emissions by one-third. “We’re very aware of the fact that a lot of the energy we’re using is coming from big Midwestern coal plants with quite a big environmental footprint,” Hawkins said.
Blue Plains has less open land available for solar panels than some other treatment plants, he said. Still, DC Water is considering putting panels on underground settling tanks and other structures on the 150-acre campus.
Howard County officials began looking at alternative energy sources last year, after Hurricane Sandy knocked out power to the Little Patuxent Water Reclamation Plant in Savage. The outage caused 19 million gallons of diluted but untreated sewage to flow into Little Patuxent River, officials said.
The county is installing three diesel-powered generators to provide backup power, along with a solar panel system to offset the diesel emissions and provide alternative power.
The solar panels are projected to save about $22,800 in annual electricity costs and offset the generators’ carbon dioxide emissions by 150 percent, Howard officials said.
“If we’re going to be able to expand our solar capacity, we have to creatively look at publicly owned infrastructure that has capacity” for solar equipment, Howard County Executive Ken Ulman (D) said. “Especially in urban areas, treatment plants are a big part of the solution.”
In Northern Virginia, Fairfax Water officials recently determined that it would take too long — 36 years — for the annual electricity savings to cover the costs of installing solar panels at a large drinking-water filtration plant, said Shawn O’Neill, the utility’s manager of energy programs.
However, he said Fairfax Water is considering solar-powered security cameras, outdoor lights and office building heating. O’Neill said solar power would be especially useful to automate remote valves that now must be operated manually in areas with no electricity.
The WSSC solar program is a public-private partnership. Washington Gas Energy Systems paid the $12 million to install the solar panels and will operate them for 20 years. The WSSC pays only for the solar power it uses. WSSC officials say they expect to save $3.5 million total in electricity costs over the 20 years and cut the two plants’ annual carbon dioxide emissions by 3,200 metric tons — described as the equivalent of taking 665 cars off the road.
Scott Wiater, president of Rockville-based Standard Solar, which installed the WSSC solar panels and will maintain them, said utilities are focused on those savings.
“They’re doing it for the bottom line. That’s the primary driver,” Wiater said. “The feel-good environmental aspects are just gravy for them.”


http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/wssc-turns-to-solar-power-to-cut-sewage--treatment-electricity-costs/2013/12/21/84d3db8c-6801-11e3-ae56-22de072140a2_story.html?hpid=z7