Energy blitz dec jan 2015 issue

VOL-lV (lII)

DECEMBER - JANUARY 2015

ISSN 2249-2992

IN BETWEEN

Renewable Energy and Electricity--By Staff Writer

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MENA region capitalises on one of its greatest assets--By Heba Hashem

14

Technologies for Stubble Use--By Dr. S. S. Verma

16

Rooftop Solar Plants For Energy Security--By K. Sivadasan

19

UP Solar

24

‘NANO BRITTO BIOGAS PLANT -An Innovative Technology’ By B. J Britto

25

The electric car as mitigating agent for GHG emissions- By Evaldo Costa & Elisabeth Fulton

26

Solar Matrix

28

NEWS: ?Will help India down clean energy path: World Bank Chief

30

?India uses coal tax to help fund 21GW of new solar development

31

?India will be renewables superpower, says energy minister

32

?Research and Development in Renewable Energy Sector

34

?India's Renewable Energy Scenario

35

?World's tallest hybrid wind generator turbine set up in Kutch, Gujarat

36

?Solar-powered water pumps to provide drinking water to remote parts of India

37

?Coimbatore village installs 120 solar street lights

39

?Innovative uses of solar power are expanding rapidly in the UAE

40

?Get 2 LED bulbs for Rs. 10 each, save electricity

41

?Egypt to build 4,300 MW solar and wind plants in 3 years

42

?Dubai triples renewable energy target to 15% by 2030

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?How to finance the transition to a green economy?

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?UAE mulls integration of nuke and green energy sources

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ENERGY

ITZ L B

DECEMBER - JANUARY 2015

Advisory Board Dr. A. Jagadeesh | India Dr. Bhamy Shenoy | USA Er. Darshan Goswami | USA Elizabeth H. Thompson | Barbados Pincas Jawetz | USA Editorial Board Salman Zafar | India Editor & Publisher M. R. Menon Business & Media P. Roshini Design Shamal Nath Circulation Manager Andrew Paul Printed and Published by M.R.Menon at Midas Offset Printers, Kuthuparamba, Kerala Editorial Office 'Pallavi' Kulapully Shoranur 679122, Kerala (E-Mail: editor.energyblitz@gmail.com) Disclaimer: The views expressed in the magazine are those of the authors and the Editorial team | energy blitzdoes not take responsibility for the contents and opinions.energy blitz will not be responsible for errors, omissions or comments made by writers, interviewers or Advertisers.Any part of this publication may be reproduced with acknowledgment to the author and magazine.

Registered and Editorial Office 'Pallavi, Kulapully, Shoranur 679122, Kerala, India Tel: +91-466-2220852/9995081018 E-mail: editor.energyblitz@gmail.com Web: energyblitz.webs.com

Renewable energy resources exist over wide geographical areas, in contrast to other energy sources, which are concentrated in a limited number of countries. Rapid deployment of renewable energy is resulting in significant energy security, climate change mitigation, and economic benefits. In international public opinion surveys there is strong support for promoting renewable sources such as solar power and wind power. At the national level, at least 30 nations around the world already have renewable energy contributing more than 20% of energy supply.

While many renewable energy projects are large-scale, renewable technologies are also suited to rural and remote areas and developing countries, where energy is often crucial in human development. United Nations' Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said that renewable energy has the ability to lift the poorest nations to new levels of prosperity.

Solar energy is a renewable resource because it is continuously supplied to the earth by the sun. There are two common ways to convert solar energy into electricity: photovoltaic and solar-thermal technologies. Photovoltaic systems consist of wafers made of silicon or other conductive materials. When sunlight hits the wafers, a chemical reaction occurs, resulting in the release of electricity. Solar-thermal technologies concentrate the sun's rays with mirrors or other reflective devices to heat a liquid to create steam, which is then used to turn a generator and create electricity.

It is heartening to note that policies which favour renewables over other sources now in place in several countries, include priority dispatch for electricity from renewable sources and special feed-in tariffs, quota obligations and energy tax exemptions.

Ramanathan Menon

Renewable Energy and Electricity

By Staff Writer

“There is unprecedented interest in renewable energy, particularly solar and wind energy, which provide electricity without giving rise to any carbon dioxide emission. Harnessing these for electricity depends on the cost and efficiency of the technology, which is constantly improving, thus reducing costs per peak kilowatt. Utilising electricity from solar and wind in a grid requires some back-up generating capacity due to their intermittent nature. Policy settings to support renewables are also generally required to confer priority in grid systems and also subsidise them, and some 50 countries have these. Utilising solar and windgenerated electricity in a stand-alone system requires corresponding battery or other storage capacity. The possibility of large-scale use of hydrogen in the future as a transport fuel increases the potential for both renewables and base-load electricity supply�

But attention swung away from renewable sources as the industrial revolution progressed on the basis of the concentrated energy locked up in fossil fuels. This was compounded by the increasing use of reticulated electricity based on fossil fuels and the importance of portable high-density energy sources for transport the era of oil.

Technology to utilise the forces of nature for doing work to supply human needs is as old as the first sailing ship.

Today we are well advanced in meeting that challenge.

Wind turbines have developed greatly in recent decades,

As electricity demand escalated, with supply depending largely on fossil fuels plus some hydro power and then nuclear energy, concerns arose about carbon dioxide emissions contributing to possible global warming.

Attention again turned to the huge sources of energy surging around us in nature sun, wind, and seas in particular. There was never any doubt about the magnitude of these, the challenge was always in harnessing them.

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solar photovoltaic technology is much more efficient, and there are improved prospects of harnessing tides and waves. Solar thermal technologies in particular (with some heat storage) have great potential in sunny climates. With government encouragement to utilise wind and solar technologies, their costs have come down and are now in the same league as the increased costs of fossil fuel technologies due to likely carbon emission charges on electricity generation from them.

Most electricity demand is for continuous, reliable supply that has traditionally been provided by base-load electricity generation. Some is for shorter-term (eg peakload) requirements on a broadly predictable basis. Hence if renewable sources are linked to a grid, the question of back-up capacity arises, for a stand-alone system energy storage is the main issue. Apart from pumped-storage hydro systems (see later section), no such means exist at present on any large scale.

Demand for clean energy There is a fundamental attractiveness about harnessing such forces in an age which is very conscious of the environmental effects of burning fossil fuels and sustainability is an ethical norm. So today the focus is on both adequacy of energy supply long-term and also the environmental implications of particular sources. In that regard the near certainty of costs being imposed on carbon dioxide emissions in developed countries at least has profoundly changed the economic outlook of clean energy sources.

However, a distinct advantage of solar and to some extent other renewable systems is that they are distributed and may be near the points of demand, thereby reducing power transmission losses if traditional generating plants are distant. Of course, this same feature sometimes counts against wind in that the best sites for harnessing it are sometimes remote from population, and the main back-up for lack of wind in one place is wind blowing hard in another, hence requiring a wide network with flexible operation.

A market-determined carbon price will create incentives for energy sources that are cleaner than current fossil fuel sources without distinguishing among different technologies. This puts the onus on the generating utility to employ technologies which efficiently supply power to the consumer at a competitive price.

Sun, wind, waves, rivers, tides and the heat from radioactive decay in the earth's mantle as well as biomass are all abundant and ongoing, hence the term "renewables". Only one, the power of falling water in rivers, has been significantly tapped for electricity for many years, though utilization of wind is increasing rapidly and it is now acknowledged as a mainstream energy source. Solar energy's main human application has been in agriculture and forestry, via photosynthesis, and increasingly it is harnessed for heat. Electricity remains a niche application for solar. Biomass (eg. sugar cane residue) is burned where it can be utilised. The others are little used as yet.

Turning to the use of abundant renewable energy sources other than large-scale hydro for electricity, there are challenges in actually harnessing them. Apart from solar photovoltaic (PV) systems which produce electricity directly, the question is how to make them turn dynamos to generate the electricity. If it is heat which is harnessed, this is via a steam generating system.

If the fundamental opportunity of these renewables is their abundance and relatively widespread occurrence, the fundamental challenge, especially for electricity supply, is applying them to meet demand given their variable and diffuse nature. This means either that there must be reliable duplicate sources of electricity beyond the normal system reserve, or some means of electricity storage.

The prospects, opportunities and challenges for renewables are discussed below in this context.

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Rivers and hydro electricity Hydro-electric power, using the potential energy of rivers, is by far the best-established means of electricity generation from renewable sources. It supplies over 16% of world electricity (99% in Norway, 58% in Canada, 55% in Switzerland, 45% in Sweden, 7% in USA, 6% in Australia) from 990 GWe installed capacity (end of 2012). Half of this is in five nations: China (212 GWe), Brazil (82.2 GWe), USA (79 GWe), Canada (76.4 GWe), and Russia (46 GWe).

Apart from those four countries with a relative abundance of it (Norway, Canada, Switzerland and Sweden), hydro capacity is normally applied to peakload demand, because it is so readily stopped and started.

This also means that it is an ideal complement to wind power in a grid system, and is used thus most effectively

by Denmark. In 2011, hydro supplied about 3565 GWh (40% capacity factor), underlining its generally peak use.

Hydropower using large storage reservoirs is not a major option for the future in the developed countries because most major sites in these countries having potential for harnessing gravity in this way are either being exploited already or are unavailable for other reasons such as environmental considerations. Growth to 2030 is expected mostly in China and Latin America. China has commissioned the $26 billion Three Gorges dam, which will produce 18 GWe, but it has displaced over 1.2 million people.

The chief advantage of hydro systems is their capacity to handle seasonal (as well as daily) high peak loads. In practice the utilisation of stored water is sometimes complicated by demands for irrigation which may occur out of phase with peak electrical demands.

Run-of-river hydro systems are usually much smaller than dammed ones but have potentially wider application. Some short-term pondage can help them adapt to daily load profiles, but generally they produce

continuously, apart from seasonal variation in river flows. Small-scale hydro plants under 10 MWe represent about 10% of world capacity, and most of these are runof-river ones.

Wind energy Utilization of wind energy has increased spectacularly in recent years, with annual increases in installed capacity of around 20% in recent years. The 39 GWe increment in 2010 represented an investment of EUR 47 billion (US$ 65 billion), and it was followed by a 41 GWe increase in 2011, 45 GWe in 2012 and 35 GWe in 2013. This brought total world wind capacity to 318 GWe, with tens of thousands of turbines now operating. However, all this has to be backed up with conventional generating capacity, due to low (20-30%) utilization and intermittency.

Wind turbines of up to 6 MWe are now functioning in many countries, though most new ones are 1-3 MWe. The power output is a function of the cube of the wind speed, so doubling the wind speed gives eight times the energy potential. In operation such turbines require a wind in the range 4 to 25 metres per second (14-90 km/hr), with maximum output being at 12-25 m/s (the excess energy being spilled above 25 m/s). While relatively few areas have significant prevailing winds in this range, many have enough to be harnessed effectively and to give better than a 25% capacity utilisation.

Where there is an economic back-up which can be called upon at very short notice (e.g. hydro), a significant proportion of electricity can be provided from wind. The most economical and practical size of commercial wind turbines is now about 2 MWe, grouped into wind farms up to 200 MWe. Depending on site, most turbines operate at about 25% load factor over the course of a year (European average), but some reach 33%. There is a distinct difference between onshore and offshore sites, though the latter are more expensive to set up and run.

China leads the field with over 91 GWe installed, USA has 61 GWe, Germany has 34 GWe, Spain has 23 GWe, India 20 GWe, and UK with 10.5 GWe at the end of 2013. World total then was 318 GWe. Potentially the world's largest wind farm is that planned

by Forewind for the Dogger Bank in the North Sea, costing some ÂŁ30 billion. Stage 1 is 2.4 GWe, followed by 4.8 GWe, to give 7.2 GWe, which Forewind says will supply some 25 billion kWh/yr to the UK grid at projected 40% annual capacity factor. In the USA, the $8 billion, 3 GWe Anschutz Corp plant in Wyoming is planned to send power 1200 km via Utah and Nevada to the Californian grid near Las Vegas.

With increased scale and numbers of units, generation costs decreased but have now stabilised. They are still greater than those for coal or nuclear, and allowing for backup capacity and grid connection complexities adds to them. Wind is intermittent, and when it does not blow, back-up capacity such as hydro or quick-start gas is needed. When it does blow, and displaces power from other sources, it may reduce the profitability of those

sources and hence increase prices.

The Global Wind Energy Council claimed that world capacity of 121 GWe at the end of 2008 would produce 260 TWh per year (ie 24.6% capacity factor). Applied to the 238 GWe at the end of 2011 that is 511 TWh/yr.

Wind is projected to supply 3% of world electricity in 2030, and perhaps 10% in OECD Europe. In the World Energy Outlook 2011 New Policies Scenario, 1304 GWe of new wind capacity would be added by 2035, balanced by 397 GWe retired to then.

New wind farms are increasingly offshore, in shallow seas. The UK has 3300 MWe wind capacity offshore, more than the rest of the world combined as of early 2013. The London Array, 20 km offshore Kent, has 175 turbines of 3.6 MWe, total 630 MWe, on a 245 km2 site and claims to be the world's largest offshore wind farm.

Solar energy Solar energy is readily harnessed for low temperature heat, and in many places domestic hot water units (with storage) routinely utilise it. It is also used simply by sensible design of buildings and in many ways that are taken for granted. Industrially, probably the main use is in solar salt production some 1000 PJ per year in Australia alone (equivalent to two-thirds of the nation's oil use). It is increasingly used in utility-scale plants, mostly photovoltaic (PV), and by mid-2013 some 15 GWe of utility-scale solar power was installed, 3.1 GWe of this in China, and 2.9 GWe in each of Germany and USA. Domestic-scale PV is widespread.

According to Worldwatch Inst., over 39 GWe of solar capacity was installed at the end of 2013, and delivered 124.8 TWh that year, suggesting 36% capacity factor.

That source quotes PV module spot prices as $630/kW, though in Melbourne the price is $1400-1800/kW installed, net of certificates sale.Three methods of converting the sun's radiant energy to electricity are the focus of attention.

Photovoltaic (PV) systems The best-known method utilises light, ideally sunlight, acting on photovoltaic cells to produce electricity. Flat plate versions of these can readily be mounted on buildings without any aesthetic intrusion or requiring special support structures. Solar photovoltaic (PV) has for some years had application for certain signaling and communication equipment, such as remote area telecommunications equipment in Australia or simply where mains connection is inconvenient. Sales of solar PV modules are increasing strongly as their efficiency increases and price falls, coupled with financial subsidies and incentives.

Thin-film PV modules using silicon or cadmium telluride are at least 20% less costly than crystalline silicon-based ones, but are less efficient. Even working on 1 kilowatt per square metre in the main part of a sunny day, intensity of incoming radiation and converting this to high-grade electricity is still relatively 7

inefficient typically 10% in commercial equipment or up to 30% in more expensive units. But the cost per unit of electricity at least ten times that of conventional sources limits its unsubsidised potential to supplementary applications on buildings where its maximum supply coincides with peak demand.

More efficiency can be gained using concentrating solar PV (CPV), where some kind of parabolic mirror tracks the sun and increases the intensity of the solar radiation up to 1000-fold. Modules are typically 35-50 kW. In Australia a 2 MWe demonstration plant followed by a 102 MWe dense-array CPV power station is planned by Silex SolarSystems for Mildura in Victoria, with A$ 125 million government support promised.

Anticipated cost of power is under 15c/kWh. Silex claims 34.5% conversion efficiency, with a target of 50%. In the USA Boeing has licensed its XR700 highconcentration PV (HCPV) technology to Stirling Energy Systems with a view to commercializing it for plants under 50 MWe from 2012. The HCPV cells in 2009 achieved a world record for terrestrial concentrator solar cell efficiency, at 41.6%. CPV can also be used with heliostat configuration, with a tower among a field of mirrors.

Many solar PV plants are connected to electricity grids in Europe and USA, and now China. The OECD IEA reported 23 GWe of solar PV capacity in 2009, 17 GWe of this in Europe. Japan has 150 MWe installed and the USA had over 200 MWe of utility-scale PV at end of 2010. China's 200 MWe Golmud solar park was commissioned in 2011 and is claimed to produce 317 GWh/yr (18% capacity factor). The 100 MWe Perovo solar park in Ukraine was commissioned in 2011 also, with 15% capacity factor claimed. EdF has built the 115 MWe Toul-Rosieres thin-film PV plant in eastern France.

There is a 97 MWe Sarnia plant in Canada. In Italy, SunEdison plans to build a 72 MWe solar PV plant near Rovigo, for $342 million.

India's 214 MWe Gujarat Solar Park was commissioned in 2012 and aims for eventual 1000 MWe capacity. The Indian government announced the 4 GWe Sambhar project in Rajasthan in 2013, expected to produce 6.4 TWh/yr, ie capacity factor of 18% from almost 80 sq km. The initial 1 GWe is expected to operate from 2016, costing Rs. 7,500 crore ($1.2 billion). MidAmerican's Antelope Valley plants in California comprise a 579 MWe development with Sunpower as EPC contractor and due to be complete at the end of 2015. Its panels will track the sun, giving 25% more power. MidAmerican Solar owns the 550 MWe Topaz Solar Farms in San Luis Obispo County, Calif., and has a 49% interest in the 290 MWe Agua Caliente thin-film PV project commissioned in 2014 by First Solar in Yuma County, Arizona. Many PV plants are over 20 MWe, and quoted capacity factors range from 11% to 27%.

A South Korean consortium has commissioned 42 MWe PV capacity at two plants in Bulgaria, which are expected to produce 61 GWh/yr (16.5% capacity factor), 8

their cost being €154 million (€3667/kW). Research continues into ways to make the actual solar collecting cells less expensive and more efficient. In some systems there is provision for feeding surplus PV power from domestic systems into the grid as contra to normal supply from it, which enhances the economics. The 2000 MWe Ordos thin-film solar PV plant is planned in Inner Mongolia, China, with four phases 30, 100, 870, 1000 MWe to be complete in 2020. Over 30 others planned are over 100 MWe, most in India, China, USA and Australia.

A 230 MWe solar PV plant is planned at Setouchi in Japan, with GE taking a major stake in the JPY 80 billion project expected on line in 2018. Serbia plans a 1 GWe solar PV project costing €1.3 billion which is expected to deliver 1.15 TWh/yr to Enerxia Energy from 2015, a 13% capacity factor, without any feed-in tariff.

(That output at €50/MWh would return €57.5 million pa.

After €20 million pa maintenance, it is less than 3% pa return on capital.)

In recent years there has been high investment in solar PV, due to favourable subsidies and incentives. In 2011 Italy saw 9000 MWe of solar PV installed, and Germany 7500 MWe of solar. In Germany, solar PV capacity reached 32.4 GWe at end of 2012 (7.6 GWe installed during the year) and generated 28 billion kWh, increasing 45% over 2011, but apparently only 11% capacity factor. In Italy, feed-in tariffs range from 15-27 euro cents/kWh, depending on size, giving a 2011 cost to consumers of nearly €6 billion. In the World Energy Outlook 2011 New Policies Scenario, 553 GWe of new solar PV and 81 GWe of CSP capacity would be added by 2035. Solar PV capacity at the end of 2011 was 67 GWe. In Nigeria, the federal government and Delta state have set up a $5 billion public-private partnership with SkyPower FAS Energy to build 3 GWe of utility-scale solar PV capacity, with the first units coming on line in 2015. A feed-in tariff regime will support this.

A serious grid integration problem with solar PV is that cloud cover can reduce output by 70% in the space of one minute. Various battery and other means are being developed to slow this to 10% per minute, which is more manageable. The particular battery system required is designed specifically to control the rate of ramp up and ramp down. System life is ten years, compared with twice that for most renewable sources.

Solar thermal systems, concentrating solar power (CSP) Solar thermal systems need sunlight rather than the more diffuse light which can be harnessed by solar PV. A solar thermal power plant has a system of mirrors to concentrate the sunlight on to an absorber, the energy then being used to drive turbines concentrating solar thermal power (CSP). About 2.55 GWe of CSP capacity worldwide (end of 2012), three-quarters of this in Spain, supplies a proportion of the solar electricity. More CSP is under development.

The concentrator may be a parabolic mirror trough oriented north-south, which tracks the sun's path through the day. The absorber is located at the focal point and converts the solar radiation to heat in a fluid such as synthetic oil, which may reach 700°C. The fluid transfers heat to a secondary circuit producing steam to drive a conventional turbine and generator. Several such installations in modules of up to 80 MW are now operating. Each module requires about 50 hectares of land and needs very precise engineering and control.

These plants are supplemented by a gas-fired boiler which generates about a quarter of the overall power output and keeps them warm overnight.

Another form of this CSP is the power tower, with a set of flat mirrors (heliostats) which track the sun and focus heat on the top of a tower, heating water to make steam, or molten salt to 1000°C and using this both to store the heat and produce steam for a turbine. California's Solar One/Two plant produced 10 MWe for a few years. An 11 MWe Spanish power tower plant PS10 has 624 mirrors, each 120 m2 and produces steam directly in the tower. A 20 MWe version PS20 is adjacent, and by 2015 Spain expects to have 2000 MWe of CSP operating. The 500 MWe Guzman CSP plant at Palma de Rio was opened in 2012. Power production in the evening can be extended fairly readily using gas combustion for heat.

A simpler CSP concept is the Fresnel collector using rows of long narrow flat (or slightly curved) mirrors tracking the sun and reflecting on to one or more fixed linear receivers positioned above them. The receivers may generate steam directly.

The US Department of Energy awarded a $1.37 billion loan guarantee to BrightSource Energy to build the 392 MWe Ivanpah Solar Power complex in the Mojave Desert of California. It comprises three CSP Luz power towers which simply heat water to 550°C to make steam, using 300,000 heliostat mirrors in pairs each of 14 m2 per MWe, in operation from 2013 as the world's largest CSP plant. The steam cycle uses air-cooled condensers.

There is a back-up gas turbine. The company is seeking some A$ 450 million Australian government support for a similar two-tower, 250 MWe plant with gas-fired evening function in Australia. BrightSource plans a similar 500 MWe plant nearby in the Coachella Valley.

In mid-2007 Nevada Solar One, a 64 MWe capacity solar thermal energy plant, started up. The $250 million plant is projected to produce 124 million kWh per year and covers about 160 hectares with 760 mirrored troughs that concentrate the heat from the desert sun on to pipes that contain a heat transfer fluid. This is heated to 390°C and then produces steam to drive turbines. Nine similar units totaling 354 MWe have been operating in California as the Solar Energy Generating Systems.

More than twenty Spanish 50 MWe parabolic trough units including Andasol 1-3, Alvarado 1, Extresol 1-2, Ibersol and Solnova 1-3, Palma del Rio 1-2, Manchasol 1-2, Valle 1-2, commenced operation in 2008-11.

Andasol, Manchasol and Valle have 7.5-hour heat storage.

Other US CSP parabolic trough projects under construction include Abengoa's Solana in Arizona, a 280 MWe project with six-hour molten salt storage enabling power generation in the evening. It has a 778 ha solar field and started operation in 2013. The $2 billion cost is offset by a $1.45 billion loan guarantee from the US Department of Energy. Abengoa's 280 MWe Mojave Solar Project near Barstow in California also uses parabolic troughs in a 715 ha solar field and is due on line in 2014. It has a $1.2 billion federal loan guarantee.

In 2010 California approved construction of the $6 billion, 968 MWe Blythe CSP plant by Solar Trust, the US arm of Solar Millennium at Riverside, Calif., using parabolic trough technology in four 250 MWe units occupying 28.4 sq km and funded partly by US Dept of Energy. The company has a $2.1 billion loan guarantee and a 20-year power purchase agreement with SC Edison, from 2013. However, this has now become a solar PV project, apparently due to difficulty in raising finance. Also in California, Imperial Valley (709 MWe), and Calico (663 MWe) are Stirling engine systems (see below), though the new owners of Calico are switching 563 MWe of it to PV, and Imperial Valley is repermitting for PV. Abu Dhabi commissioned its 100 MWe Shams parabolic trough CSP plant in 2013; it cost $600 million.

Using molten salt in the CSP system as the transfer fluid which also stores heat, enables operation into the evening, thus approximating to much of the daily load demand profile. Spain's 20 MWe Gemasolar (formerly Solar Tres) plant has 2500 mirrors/ heliostats, each 115 m2 and molten salt storage, claiming to be the world's first near base-load CSP plant, with 63% capacity factor.

Its cost is reported to be $33,000 /kW. Spain's 200 MWe Andasol plant also uses molten salt heat storage, as does California's 280 MWe Solana and Nevada's 110 MWe Crescent Dunes plant with power tower and 10-hour heat storage claimed. The salt used may be 60% sodium nitrate, 40% potassium nitrate with melting point 220°C. Andasol stores heat at 400°C and requires 75 t of salt per MW of heat. Its condensers require 5 L/kWh for cooling.

Spain's Gemasolar employs 6250 tonnes of salt. Solana uses 125,000 tonnes of salt, kept at 277°C. In Colorado the 2x100 MWe SolarReserve plant in San Luis Valley will use molten salt.

A small portable CSP unit the Wilson Solar Grill uses a Fresnel lens to heat lithium nitrate to 230°C so that it can cook food after dark.

Another CSP set-up is the Solar Dish Stirling System which uses reflectors to concentrate energy to drive a stirling cycle engine. A Tessera Solar plant of 709 MWe is planed at Imperial Valley in California. The system consists of a solar concentrator in a dish structure with an array of curved glass mirror facets which focus the energy on the power conversion unit's receiver tubes containing hydrogen gas which powers a Stirling engine.

Solar heat pressurizes the hydrogen to power the fourcylinder reciprocating Solar Stirling Engine and drive a generator. The hydrogen working fluid is cooled in a 9

closed cycle. Waste heat from the engine is transferred to the ambient air via Of a water-filled Parts A Plant radiator system.

With solar input being both diffuse and interrupted by night and by cloud cover, solar electric generation has a low capacity factor, typically less than 15%, though this is partly addressed by heat storage using molten salt.

Power costs are two to three times that of conventional sources, which puts it within reach of being economically viable where carbon emissions from fossil fuels are priced.

Large CSP schemes in North Africa, supplemented by heat storage, are proposed for supplying Europe via high voltage DC links. One proposal is the TuNur project based in Tunisia and supplying up to 2000 MWe via HVDC cable to Italy. A related and more ambitious one is Desertec, with estimated cost of EUR 400 billion, networking the EU, Middle East and North Africa (MENA) with 20 transmission lines of 5 GW each, to provide 15% of Europe's electricity and much of that in MENA by 2050. The Desertec Foundation was set up in 2009 as an NGO to promote the Desertec concept. The Desertec Industrial Initiative GmbH (Dii) “Desert Power� is a Europe-based consortium founded in 2009 to advance the grand vision and work towards creation of a market for desert power in EU and MENA. It comprises 55 companies and institutions and is active in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.

The first Dii-fostered project is to be the Ouarzazate 500 MWe CSP plant in Morocco, with its first 160 MWe phase operable in 2014. In mid-2013 the Desertec Foundation left the Dii consortium. Bosch and Siemens had left it in 2012. The Desertec Industrial Initiative announced in October that it will focus on consulting after most of its former backers pulled out. The remaining members of the Munich-based consortium are Saudi company ACWA Power, German utility RWE and Chinese grid operator SGCC. The Mediterranean Solar Plan (MSP) targets the development of 20 GWe of renewables by 2020, of which 5 GWe could be exported to Europe. Total investment would be of the order of EUR 60 billion. The OECD IEA's World Energy Outlook 2010 says: The quality of its solar resource and its large uninhabited areas make the Middle East and North Africa region ideal for large-scale development of concentrating solar power, costing 10 to 13.5 c/kWh ... in 2035. Solar power could be exported to Europe (at transmission costs of 2 to 5 c/kWh) and/or to countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

The report projects that the actual CSP generation cost in North Africa could be the same as EU wholesale electricity price in 2035 about 10 c/kWh. CSP boost to fossil fuel power, hybrid systems Solar energy producing steam can be used to boost conventional steam-cycle power stations. Australia's Kogan Creek Solar Boost Project will be the largest solar integration with a coal-fired power station in the world when it is operational in 2013. A 30-hectare field of Areva Solar's compact linear Fresnel reflectors at the existing Kogan Creek power station will produce steam 10

which will be fed to the modern supercritical 750 MWe coal-fired power station, helping to drive the intermediate pressure turbine. The solar boost at 44 MW (peak sunshine) will add 44 million kWh annually, about 0.75% of output, for $105 million equivalent to $19,000/kW of base-load capacity. The 2000 MWe Liddell coal-fired power station has a 2 MWe equivalent solar boost (9 MW thermal addition).

In the USA the federal government has a SunShot initiative to integrate CSP with fossil fuel power plants as hybrid systems. Some $20 million is offered for two to four projects. The US Department of Energy says that 11 to 21 GWe of CSP could effectively be integrated into existing fossil fuel plants, utilizing the turbines and transmission infrastructure.

While CSP is well behind solar PV as its prices continue to fall and utilities become more familiar with PV. However, CSP can provide thermal storage and thus be dispatchable and it can provide low-cost steam for existing power plants (hybrid set up). Also, CSP has the potential to provide heating and cooling for industrial processes and desalination.

Solar updraft tower Another kind of solar thermal plant is the solar updraft tower, using a huge chimney surrounded at its base by a solar collector zone like an open greenhouse. The air under this skirt is heated and rises up the chimney, turning turbines as it does so. The 50 MWe Buronga plant planned in Australia was to be a prototype, but Enviromission's initial plans are now for two 200 MWe versions each using 32 turbines of 6.25 MWe with a 10 square kilometre collector zone under a 730 metre high tower in the Arizona desert. Thermal mass possibly brine ponds under the collector zone means that some operation will continue into the night. A 50 kWe prototype plant of this design operated in Spain 1982-89.

In China the 27.5 MWe Jinshawan solar updraft tower is under construction.

Direct heating A significant role of solar energy is that of direct heating.

Much of our energy need is for heat below 60oC, e.g. in hot water systems. A lot more, particularly in industry, is for heat in the range 60-110oC. Together these may account for a significant proportion of primary energy use in industrialised nations. The first need can readily be supplied by solar power much of the time in some places, and the second application commercially is probably not far off. Such uses will diminish to some extent both the demand for electricity and the consumption of fossil fuels, particularly if coupled with energy conservation measures such as insulation.

With adequate insulation, heat pumps utilising the conventional refrigeration cycle can be used to warm and cool buildings, with very little energy input other than from the sun. Eventually, up to ten percent of total primary energy in industrialised countries may be supplied by direct solar thermal techniques, and to some extent this will substitute for base-load electrical energy.

Geothermal energy Where hot underground steam can be tapped and brought to the surface it may be used to generate electricity. Such geothermal sources have potential in certain parts of the world such as New Zealand, USA, Philippines and Italy.

Global installed capacity was about 11.7 GWe at the end of 2012, including 2600 MWe in California, 1900 MWe in Philippines and 1200 MWe in Indonesia, and in 2012 geothermal produced at least 72 billion kWh worldwide.

In Japan 500 MWe of capacity produces 0.3% of the country's electricity. In New Zealand 420 MWe produces over 7% of the electricity, and Iceland gets most of its electricity from 200 MWe of geothermal plant, and also most of its district heating.

Mexico has 958 MWe geothermal, Italy 843 MWe and Nevada 470 MWe. In Italy, ENEL got 8769 TWh from geothermal in 2012, in Iceland 4974 TWh. Lihir Gold mine in Papua New Guinea has 56 MWe installed, the last 20 MWe costing US$ 40 million about the same as annual savings from the expanded plant. Geothermal electric output is expected to triple by 2030. The largest geothermal plant is The Geysers in California, producing about 1000 MWe, but diminishing.

There are also prospects in certain other areas for hot fractured rock geothermal, or hot dry rock geothermal pumping water underground to regions of the Earth's crust which are very hot or using hot brine from these regions. The heat up to about 250째C is due to high levels of radioactivity in the granites and because they are insulated at 4-5 km depth. They typically have 15-40 ppm uranium and/or thorium, but may be ten times this.

The heat from radiogenic decay is used to make steam for electricity generation. South Australia has some very prospective areas.

Ground source heat pump systems or engineered geothermal systems also come into this category, though the temperatures are much lower. Generally the cost of construction and installation is prohibitive for the amount of energy extracted. The 1997 Geoscience Australia building in Canberra is heated and cooled thus, using a system of 210 pumps throughout the building which carry water through loops of pipe buried in 352 boreholes each 100 metres deep in the ground. Here the temperature is a steady 17째C, so that it is used as a heat sink or heat source at different times of the year. See 10year report (pdf).

Tidal energy Harnessing the tides with a barrage in a bay or estuary has been achieved in France (240 MWe in the Rance Estuary, since 1966), Canada (20 MWe at Annapolis in the Bay of Fundy, since 1984) and Russia (White Sea, 0.5 MWe), and could be achieved in certain other areas where there is a large tidal range. The trapped water can be used to turn turbines as it is released through the tidal barrage in either direction. Worldwide this technology appears to have little potential, largely due to environmental constraints. However, placing freestanding turbines in major coastal tidal streams appears to have greater potential, and this is being explored.

Currents are predictable and those with velocities of 2 to 3 metres per second are ideal and the kinetic energy involved is equivalent to a very high wind speed. This means that a 1 MWe tidal turbine rotor is less than 20 m diameter, compared with 60 m for a 1 MWe wind turbine. Units can be packed more densely than wind turbines in a wind farm, and positioned far enough below the surface to avoid storm damage. A 300 kW turbine with 11 m diameter rotor in the Bristol Channel can be jacked out of the water for maintenance. Based on this prototype, early in 2008 the 1.2 MWe SeaGen twin turbine was installed in Strangford Lough, Northern Ireland, billed as the first commercial unit of its kind the world's largest grid-connected tidal stream turbine. It produces power 18-20 hours per day and is operated by a Siemens subsidiary.

The next project is a 10.5 MWe nine-turbine array off the coast of Anglesey. An 86 MWe tidal turbine project in Pentland Firth, between Orkney and the Scottish mainland has been approved, and MeyGen's initial 9 MWe demonstration array of six turbines is expected on line in 2015, using Atlantis and Andritz technology. The first Atlantis 1MWe prototype was deployed at the European Marine Energy Centre at Orkney in 2011, and a 1 MWe Andritz Hydro Hammerfest prototype is also deployed there.Some tidal stream generators are designed to oscillate, using the tidal flow to move hydroplanes connected to hydraulic arms sideways or up and down. A prototype has been installed off the coast of Portugal.Another experimental design is using a shroud to speed up the flow through a venturus in which the turbine is placed. This has been trialled in Australia and British Colombia.

A major pilot project using three kinds of tidal stream turbines is being installed in the Bay of Fundy's Minas Passage, about three kilometers from shore. Some 3 MWe will be fed to the Canadian grid from the pilot project. Eventually 100 MWe is envisaged. The three designs are a 10m diameter turbine from Ireland, a Canadian Clean Current turbine and an Underwater Electric Kite from USA. Tidal power comes closest of all the intermittent renewable sources to being able to provide a continuous and predictable output, and is projected to increase from 1 billion kWh in 2002 to 35 billion in 2030 (including wave power).

Wave energy Harnessing power from wave motion is a possibility which might yield significant electricity. The feasibility of this has been investigated, particularly in the UK. Generators either coupled to floating devices or turned by air displaced by waves in a hollow concrete structure (oscillating water column) are two concepts for producing electricity for delivery to shore. Other experimental devices are submerged and harness the changing pressure as waves pass over them.

The first commercial wave power plant is in Portugal, with floating rigid segments which pump fluid through turbines as they flex at the joints. It can produce 2.25 11

MWe. Another Oyster is in UK and is designed to capture the energy found in nearshore waves in water depths of 12 to 16 metres. Each 200-tonne module consists of a large buoyant hinged flap anchored to the seabed. Movement of the flap with each passing wave drives a hydraulic piston to deliver high-pressure water to an onshore turbine which generates electricity.

The 315 kW demonstration module being tested in the Orkney Islands is expected to have about a 42% capacity factor.Numerous practical problems have frustrated progress with wave technology, not least storm damage.

Ocean thermal energy Ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) has long been an attractive idea, but is unproven beyond small pilot plants up to 50 kWe. It works by utilising the temperature difference between equatorial surface waters and cool deep waters, the temperature difference needing to be about 20ºC top to bottom. In the open cycle OTEC the warm surface water is evaporated in a vacuum chamber to produce steam which drives a turbine. It is then condensed in a heat exchanger by the cold water.

The main engineering challenge is in the huge cold water pipe which needs to be about 10 m diameter and extend a kilometre deep to enable a large water flow. A closed cycle variation of this uses an ammonia cycle. The ammonia is vapourised by the warm surface waters and drives a turbine before being condensed in a heat exchanger by the cold water. A 10ºC temperature difference is sufficient.

Biofuels Beyond traditional direct uses for cooking and warmth, growing plant crops particularly wood to burn directly or to make fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel has a lot of support in several parts of the world, though mostly focused on transport fuel. More recently, wood pellets for electricity generation have been newsworthy. The main issues here are land and water resources. The land usually must either be removed from agriculture for food or fibre, or it means encroaching upon forests or natural ecosystems. Available fresh water for growing biofuel crops such as maize and sugarcane and for processing them may be another constraint.

Burning biomass for generating electricity has some appeal as a means of utilising solar energy for power.

However, the logistics and overall energy balance usually defeat it, in that a lot of energy mostly oil based is required to harvest and move the crops to the power station. This means that the energy inputs to growing, fertilising and harvesting the crops then processing them can easily be greater than the energy value in the final fuel, and the greenhouse gas emissions can be similar to those from equivalent fossil fuels. Also other environmental impacts can be considerable. For longterm sustainability, the ash containing mineral nutrients needs to be returned to the land. In southeastern USA, 1.75 million tonnes of wood pellets were exported to Europe in 2012, and the figure is projected to grow to over 5 Mt in 2015.

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Most of this comes from land clearance and removal of a major carbon sink, posing a major threat to ecosystems.

Three 660 MWe units of Drax, Britain's largest coal-fired power station, are being converted to burn wood, most of it imported (like the coal of higher heat value that it replaces). No CO2 emissions are attributed to the actual burning, on the basis that growing replacement wood balances out those emissions, albeit in a multi-decade time frame. Unlike coal, the wood needs to be stored under cover.

In Australia and Latin America sugar cane pulp is burned as a valuable energy source, but this (bagasse) is a byproduct of the sugar and does not have to be transported.

In the EU in 2010 over 11 million tonnes of wood pellets were used. In 2012 Europe imported 4.36 million tonnes of pellets and in 2015, 15 million tonnes import is projected, two thirds from North America (as in 2012).

The pellets are made from sawmill residues preferably, but also forest residues and low-value timber. UK demand is expected to reach 11 million tonnes by 2015, equivalent to twice that amount of fresh wood.

In 2011 biomass and waste provided 422 TWh of electricity worldwide. By 2030 biomass-fuelled electricity production was projected to triple and provide 2% of world total, 4% in OECD Europe, as a result of government policies to promote renewables. However, such projections are increasingly challenged as the cost of biofuels in water use and pushing up food prices is increasingly questioned. In particular, the use of ethanol from corn and biodiesel from soybeans reduces food production and arguably increases world poverty. The cost in subsidies is also increasingly questioned: in the OECD US$ 13-15 billion is spent annually on biofules which provide only 3% of liquid transport fuel.

In 2008 about 100 million tonnes of grain (enough feed nearly 450 million people) was expected to be turned into fuel. This includes a legislated 40% of the US corn crop, aided by heavy subsidies. In 2012 the US corn crop amounted to about 360 million tonnes, so about 140 Mt would have been used for ethanol. Meanwhile basic food prices have risen sharply, leading the UN Food & Agriculture Organisation in mid-2012 to call for the USA to halt its biofuel production to prevent a food crisis.

Pedestrian traffic A new technology, Pavegen, uses pavement tiles about one metre square to harvest energy from pedestrian traffic. A footfall on a tile will flex it about 5mm and result in up to 8 watts of power over the duration of the footstep. Electricity can be stored, used directly for lighting, or in other ways.

Nuclear energy In recent years there has been discussion as to whether nuclear power can be categorised as “renewable”. In the context of sustainable development it shares many of the benefits of many renewables, it is a low-carbon energy source, it has a very small environmental impact,

similarities that are in sharp contrast to fossil fuels. But commonly, nuclear power is categorised separately from 'renewables'. Nuclear fission power reactors do use a mineral fuel and demonstrably depletes the available resources of that fuel.

In the future nuclear power will make use of fast neutron reactors. As well as utilizing about 60 times the amount of energy from uranium, they will unlock the potential of using even more abundant thorium as a fuel. In addition, some 1.5 million tonnes of depleted uranium now seen by some people as little more than a waste, becomes a fuel resource. In effect, they will 'renew' their own fuel resource as they operate. The consequence of this is that the available resource of fuel for fast neutron reactors is so plentiful that under no practical terms would the fuel source be significantly depleted.

'Renewables', as currently defined, would offer no meaningful advantage over fast neutron reactors in terms of availability of fuel supplies. Most also tend to make very large demands on resources to construct the plant used for harnessing the natural energy per kilowatt hour produced, much more than nuclear power.

Decentralised energy Centralised state utilities focused on economies of scale can easily overlook an alternative model - of decentralized electricity generation, with that generation being on a smaller scale and close to demand. Here higher costs may be offset by reduced transmission losses (not to mention saving the capital costs of transmission lines) and possibly increased reliability.

Generation may be on site or via local mini grids.

Electricity storage In some places pumped storage is used to even out the daily generating load by pumping water to a high storage dam during off-peak hours and weekends, using the excess base-load capacity from low-cost coal or nuclear sources. During peak hours this water can be used for hydro-electric generation. Relatively few places have scope for pumped storage dams close to where the power is needed, and overall efficiency is 70 to 75%, but about 21 GWe pumped storage is in service in the USA and 38 GWe in Europe.

Energy storage with compressed air (CAES) in geological caverns is being trialed, using gas-fired or electric compressors. When released (with preheating) it powers a turbine, up to 300 MWe, with overall about 70% efficiency.

The largest utility-scale electricity storage so far is a 4 megawatt sodium-sulfur (NaS) battery system to provide improved reliability and power quality for the city of Presidio in Texas. The 4 MWe set-up was energized

early in 2010 to provide rapid back-up for wind capacity in the local ERCOT grid. Another 4 MWe NaS system was commissioned in May 2013. The $18 million Yerba Buena Battery Energy Storage System Pilot Project in San Jose, California, was set up by PG&E with $3.3 million support from the California Energy Commission.

PG&E operates a similar 2 MWe battery system near its Vaca-Dixon solar plant in Solano County, California.

Sodium-sulfur batteries are widely used elsewhere for similar roles. Ontario's ISO has contracted for a 2 MWe flywheel storage system from NRStor Inc. Avista Corp in the northwest USA Washington state is purchasing a 3.6 MWe vanadium flow battery to load balance with renewables.

Lower-cost lead-acid batteries are also in widespread use at small utility scale, with banks of up to 1 MWe being used to stabilise wind farm power generation. A 0.5 MWe Purewave Storage Management system with 1280 advanced lead-acid batteries was commissioned in September 2011 at PNM's Mesa Del Sol, Albuquerque New Mexico, by S&C Electric Co. The GS Batteries are capable of up to 4000 deep discharge cycles.

A lithium-ion battery storage system of 500 kWh and delivering 2 MWe is operating in UK, on the Orkney Islands. This Kirkwall power station uses Mitsubishi batteries in two 12.2m shipping containers, and stores power from wind turbines. In Germany, a 10 MWe lithium-ion battery storage system is to be constructed from June 2014 at metal working company EQ-Sys' site in Feldheim, Brandenburg. When completed in 2015, the â‚Ź13 million battery unit will store power generated by a local 72-MWe wind farm and also participate in the weekly tendering for primary control reserve, currently amounting to about 628 MWe. Following a two-year study by the California Public Utilities Commission, the state in 2010 passed legislation requiring 1325 MWe of electricity storage (excluding large-scale pumped storage) by 2024. In 2013 it had 35 MWe total. The purpose of the legislation is to increase grid reliability, reduce peak capacity requirements, and enhance the utility of solar and wind inputs to it. The storage systems can be connected with either transmission or distribution systems, or be behind the meter. A large project is SCE's $50 million Tehachapi 32 MWh lithium-ion battery storage project in conjunction with a wind farm, using 10,872 modules of 56 cells each from LG Chem, which can supply 8MWe over four hours.The US Department of Energy Global Energy Storage database has more information.

(Courtesy: http://www.world-nuclear.org) 13

Energy and capitalises Efficiency on one of its greatest assets MENA region

By Staff Writer

By Heba Hashem

coordinating across the kingdom's schools.

Qatar is also pursuing aggressive plans to produce polysilicon. Having acquired 70% in Qatar Solar Technologies (QSTec) and 29% in Germany's SolarWorld, last August Qatar Solar Energy (QSE) signed a 10-year polysilicon supply deal with Kazakhstan's industrial company Kazatomprom.

The multi-billion dollar deal, according to QSE CEO Salim Abbassi, will secure QSTec “the entire value chain, from raw material to smart-grid development”, helping it expand its PV module production plant from 300 MW to 2.5 GW. “The last 12 months may have been the busiest ever for solar PV in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

We take a closer look at how much has been accomplished and what it all signals for 2015”

“The steady supply of quality raw material is crucial to QSE's mission. Solar grade silicon from Kazatomprom will be used in the manufacture of QSE's innovative products,” explains Abbassi.

New feed-in-tariffs in Egypt, manufacturing plans in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and government project tenders in Jordan have finally set the wheels in motion for solar PV in the region. Even countries including Bahrain and Lebanon, previously quiet on the solar front, have stepped up to capitalise on the power of this infinite resource.

Moreover, the partnership should better enable QSTec to supply local projects, such as Qatar's first solar power plant a 15 MW project to be built in northern Doha by 2016. As for Kuwait, interest in solar power has manifested into a plan to install a series of rooftop PV systems, including 2-3 MW on 150 homes by 2016, and 1 MW on two Cooperative Society supermarkets by 2015.

GCC technology transfer As previously reported on PV Insider, Saudi Arabia's latest plans for PV entail building a capacity of 6 GW over the next 10 years. In preparation for this transition, earlier this year, Taqnia invited proposals for the EPC of 6 MW of CPV projects, acquired American CPV manufacturer Solar Junction, and bought 50% of EPC contractor Sun & Life.

The largest PV projects in the country, however, are the Shagaya 10 MW PV plant, which TSK Electronica & Kharafi National are said to have been awarded according to industry insiders, and the 10 MW PV plant awardedto Italy's Gestamp Asetym by Kuwait Oil Company (KOC); a five-year build-operate-transfer project valued at US$28m.

A similar move was made more recently by Saudi Arabia's Idea International, when it signed an agreement with REC Silicon, a Washington-headquartered polysilicon manufacturer. This paved the way for discussions on a potential joint venture (JV) in which REC would hold a 25% equity stake, Idea 25%, and the Saudi government 50%. As an investment and development company, Idea itself is building a polysilicon manufacturing plant that will start supplying the industry by mid-2016.Such acquisitions indicate a selective technology transfer phase meant to develop national manufacturing capabilities and supply upcoming projects, such as the five solar power stations that K.A.CARE will be building in 2015, and the solarrooftop project that the government entity is 14

KOC's project is a milestone for the regional oil and gas industry, implying growing confidence in the use of solar energy to assist with various stages of fossil fuel production. As Shagaya, KISR has yet to reveal the timelines for construction and operation of the power plant.

UAE gets private-sector boostMeanwhile, private-sector installations have revived the UAE's solar market.

Omega, for example, a local PV manufacturer, is currently providing panels to a labour camp in Ajman, whileMICC GreenTec has installed off-grid systems at multiple locations, including a desert safari camp and a massive outdoor signboard.

“Our company has the largest rooftop installed base in the UAE's private sector, and all of our customers are off-grid, mainly using diesel,” says MICC CEO Waseem Qureshi.

Enviromena, on the other hand, has installed the biggest number of grid-connected PV plants in the region and has now expanded to Dubai. “A lot of solar activity is out of Dubai and international developers have situated themselves here, so we found it makes sense, in addition to our headquarters in Abu Dhabi and office in Jordan,” cofounder Sami Khoreibi tells PV Insider.

With the increasing demand and with the procedure for obtaining solar-power generation licenses simplified, it doesn't come as a surprise that Chinese solar panel manufacturer Chang Zhou Almaden is setting up a factory in Dubai to produce up to 400,000 PV panels every year.

“We believe Almaden will create an impact on the market,” said Jinxi Lin, Chairman of Chang Zhou Almaden. “Our ultra-thin dual glass PV panel has been especially designed for the hot summers of the Middle East.”

When it comes to utility-scale projects, only one is currently moving forward in the UAE, which is also the largest in the region the 100 MW PV power plant in the second phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. From 24 shortlisted bidders that were narrowed down to 10, Saudi Arabia's ACWA Power was recently identified as the lowest bidderon this project, proposing an unprecedented tariff of $5.98 cents/kWh. Smaller Gulf nations also aspire to harness solar. In Bahrain, Masdar is conducting feasibility studies on two sites Hawar Islands and Al-Dour for solar and wind power plants, and in Oman, the country's Rural Areas Electricity Company plans to invest OMR3m ($7.8m) in solar projects, according to a report by Times of Oman.

Levant's dire need for solar In the Levant region, Jordan still leads the way, thanks to a combination of government tenders, competitive FiTs, local content incentives and international financing. At the same time, soaring electricity prices are pushing companies, hospitals, and universities toward selfregulation PV projects.

“Jordan has been fortunate in being the first mover in solar PV IPPs in the region. As a result, it's attracting a lot of attention today and an experience base is being built by local players at different parts of the value

chain,” says Ennis Rimawi, founder of Catalyst Private Equity, a MENA-focused energy and water private equity fund.

Elsewhere in this region, limited activity is taking place in Lebanon, a market penetrated by Germany's CareEnergy last summer to supply with solar power products.

And in Gazza, Palestine, the Ministry of Higher Education embarked on an ambitious project to use PV to power schools. According to Ismail Kurdiya, who is overseeing solar projects at the Ministry, five schools have been connected with PV systems, and 14 additional schools will be provided with around 297-300kW of PV with the support of Qatar Charity.

“There's a long-term vision to implement such schemes for the rest of the schools in Gazza and the ministry is constantly seeking financiers,” says Kurdiya.

North Africa lures investors Egypt and Morocco remain the most progressive renewable energy markets in North Africa. Along with the government tenders in Egypt, a ministerial decree obliging all government buildings to increase their energy efficiency has led to an influx of solar projects across the country's provinces.

“You will hear about new projects almost every day,” says Ahmed Moukhtar, cofounder of Rodosol, a Cairobased renewable energy developer that submitted proposals to build two solar rooftop projects Indeed, various governorates throughout the country are weighing the options for PV plants, including Luxor, Qalyubiya and Siwa, the latter where Enviromena and Masdar will be building a $20 million, 10 MW solar plant to be financed by the UAE. In Morocco, PV may finally be able to catch up with concentrated solar power with the help of the Solar Breeder, a €22m investment project bringing together 22 Italian companies to participate in the local PV market.

Led by Rome-based Kenergia and backed by MASEN, the JV was launched in November and is in discussions with banks and investors.

As fragmented as developments in the MENA may seem, there's no doubt that progress is being made.

Ultimately, advanced solar markets such as Jordan and the UAE could start supporting newer entrants like Saudi Arabia and Egypt, presenting an even wider opportunity landscape for local and foreign players.

Heba Hashem is a freelance journalist based in Dubai, reporting regularly on the solar and nuclear energy industries to CSP Today, PV Insider Today, and Nuclear Energy Insider. Her articles have also appeared in the in-flight magazines of Qatar Airways and Emirates Airlines, covering regional business and environmental issues. Holding a B.A. in Communications and Media Studies from Middlesex University, London, and a B.A. in English-Arabic translation from Cairo University, she is a member of the Chartered Institute of Journalists since 2009. Her contact email: enquiry@hebahashem.com website: www.hebahashem.com

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Technologies for Stubble Use

By Dr. S. S. Verma Stubble use Farmers all over the world for centuries have grown rice/wheat and have developed various local useful applications for the use of rice/wheat straw. In the present modern civilization all along with mechanized agriculture, farmers all over the world in general and states of Punjab and Haryana in India in particular complain that rice straw has become a huge problem for them because they follow mechanized agriculture, are shortage of labour, need fast clearance of their fields for next crop etc. When rice/wheat is harvested by a combine harvester it leaves a significant length of straw on the field. Moreover, both wheat and rice are long-duration crops and with a short period available between rice harvesting and wheat plantation, increasing labour cost and non-availability of any user-friendly and cost effective technology to make the use of crop residue, burning of stubble seems the easiest and quickest way to get rid of rice straw to the farmers. In the absence of assured returns, farmers find stubble burning an economic way of managing the agro-waste.

Despite such huge amounts of rice straw generation, farmers in the country are yet to realize the potential of this agro-waste in terms of useful agriculture end-product and as a profitable raw material for various industries. With several applications, increasing demand and competitive prices, it seems farmers will have no dearth of options for managing the agro-waste in a profitable way. However, convincing them about economic viability of the options could be a challenge. Farmers will give up burning rice straw only if they receive a lucrative incentive. For this, policy makers can devise a plan to offer incentives to farmers to stop the polluting stubble burning and later credit the incentives through international carbon trading.

Recognizing that future straw management options must meet both production agriculture and environmental stewardship objectives, at present, markets for rice straw are extremely limited and most growers are incorporating residue burning.

*Chopped straw litter can be used for poultry kept on a built-up litter system. The used litter has a useful fertilizer value or can be utilized as cattle feed.

But these methods have become insignificant with modernization/ mechanization and when production is more than use.

New technologies those are available all around the world But now things have changed and the main reasons for unpreferred use of rice straw are: difficulty in procurement due to light weight and occupying more volume, low energy density, more water resistance, difficult fodder to digest for animals and time taking to form compost.

Therefore, suggestions like making use of rice straw as fodder, fuel, building material, compost, storing etc. do not come cache with farmers and they have to clear their fields for next crop showing and thus burn it. New environmental friendly, cost effective, less time consuming, viable & user friendly, and labour-free technologies have to be provided to the farmers in the fields to convert rice straw into useful end products. Companies can also collect the stubble from fields for further use and farmers will be happier if they have some income from this waste. Some of the new technologies applied world over for the use of rice/wheat stubble are discussed briefly as: 1. Making use as combustion material Rice straw can either be used alone or mixed with other biomass materials in direct combustion, whereby combustion boilers are used in combination with steam turbines to produce electricity and heat. Technology developed includes combustion furnaces, boilers, and superheat concepts purportedly capable of operating with high alkali fuels and having handling systems which minimize fuel preparation. The by-products are fly ash and bottom ash, which have an economic value and could be

Old methods still relevant for stubble use In earlier times, when produce was limited, uses were more people oriented and they never use to burn it in fields.

Many old methods of rice/wheat stubble use are still relevant as: *As a fodder *Making a large variety of artifacts for daily use *Rice straw has been used to bind clay in built-up wall construction and in the manufacturing of fired brick. The resultant burn-out product provides lightweight material with good insulating properties. Shredded or fiberized straw may also be used in layered products such as roofing paper, insulating paper, and overlay products. *Packaging material *Defiberized rice straw can be used in hydroseeding (a process of planting in liquid solution along steep banks (i.e., roadsides, etc.) for erosion control. *Rice straw has been used as bedding for livestock for many centuries, primarily to soak up the urine and provide a carrier for the dung. Used material may be composted and sold as fertilizer.

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used in cement and/or brick manufacturing, construction of roads and embankments, etc. A variety of methods are employed to prepare straw for combustion. Most use automated truck unloading bridge cranes that clamp up to tens of bales at a time and stack them 4-5 bales high in covered storage. Some systems feed whole bales into the boiler. Whole bales are pushed into the combustion chamber and the straw burned off the face of the bale.

However, the newer plants have moved away from wholebale systems to shredded straw feed for higher efficiency.

For pulverized coal co-firing, the straw usually needs to be ground or cut to small sizes in order to burn completely within relatively short residence times (suspension fired systems) or to feed and mix upon injection with bed media in fluidized bed systems.

2. Making pellets The straw fuel or biofuel of biomass pellet mill machine uses corn stalk, wheat straw, rice straw, peanut shell, cob, cotton bar, soybean rod, weeds, branches, leaves, sawdust, bark and other solid wastes as raw materials. After crushing, pressing, increasing density and forming, they become small solid pellets fuel. Biomass pellet mill machine can be used for civil heating fuel and life fuel.

This kind of fuel has high efficiency and is easy to store.

Biomass pellet fuel can be also used as main fuel for industrial boiler. It can replaces coal and solve environment pollution problem. Delivery and storage for biomass pellet fuel is very convenient and at the same time, its combustion performance is greatly improved. The technological process of biomass pellet mill is: collecting raw materials, crushing raw materials, pelletize raw materials and finally packaging and selling. Straw pellet

fuel features: forming the pellet fuel, after more than major, small volume, high combustion, easy storage and transportation. Applications of straw pellet fuel: the finished pellet fuel is a new type biological energy. It can replace wood, coal, oil, gas, etc. It is widely used for heating, life stove, hot water boiler, industrial furnace, biomass power plant, etc.

3. Power generation A small amount of paddy straw is only consumed by brick kilns and paper and packaging industry. Power production from rice straw is a promising way to meet the growing demand of energy. If enough biomass power plants are set up locally, it will provide a new source of income to farmers and also save the environment from stubble burning. Punjab Biomass Power Ltd is the first of the nine rice straw power plants coming up in Punjab. This plant near Ghanaur village in Patiala district is functioning for the past one year. It uses rice straw for producing power.

The company offered its own machinery to harvest and collect straw on time so that farmers do not get delayed for the next crop. A 12 MW rice-straw power plant typically needs 120,000 tonnes of stubble, which can be collected from about 15,000 farmers. Last year PBPL generated 12 MW while helping farmers reduce the pollution levels considerably.

Agents appointed by the company approach farmers to harvest their rice straw. The harvesting is followed by cutting, baling and transporting the bales to company depots where it is stored. The plant is based on the simple principle of combustion. It has a furnace, a boiler and a steam turbine. There are also a set of machines that cut open the bales and shred the straw into small pieces to

ensure uniform combustion. The shredded straw is then fed into the boiler using a conveyor belt. A conventional steam turbine then generates electricity. An electrostatic precipitator to collect ash ensures minimal atmospheric pollution. Although there will be some emissions from combustion, the project is eco-friendly and aims to earn substantial carbon credits. Apart from combustion, there are other technologies to produce power from rice straw, such as anaerobic digestion (biogas), pyrolysis (bio-oil) and gasification (sygas). The last two are under research and development as they are not economically viable.

4. Back in soil Composting is the decomposition of rice straw to enable recovery of portions of its nutrients and organic components. It can be done in open wind rows or in an enclosed controlled environment. Best results are obtained when feedstock materials have a high nitrogen content to obtain a better carbon to nitrogen ratio. Factors affecting composting are oxygen availability, moisture content, pH, temperature, and the carbon/nitrogen ratio. Rice straw is slow to decompose and usually will take up to a year with moisture content of the pile remaining high. Scientists have developed a simple and rapid composting technique to convert huge piles of rice straw into organically rich soil. It takes about 45 days to prepare this rice straw compost which helps conserve nitrogen and other nutrients contained in the straw. Use of compost in agriculture may helps to improve crop yield by 4 to 9 per cent but the problem of making compost is also found to be labourintensive. The problem with farmers is that they want quick solutions. That is why the rice straw compost was not adopted in Punjab and Haryana. Another use of rice straw is mulching. In this method, straw is spread across the soil surface and allowed to decompose naturally into the soil by the activity of worm and other organisms. But environment-friendly agriculture asks for extra effort and time. With farming becoming less remunerative, farmers are looking for easy and quick solutions. This is perhaps the reason burning of rice straw continues unabated.

5. To make paper and card board Straw is a competitive, alternative source of fiber for paper making to reduce the pressures on forests. Rice straw can be used not only to make paper but various paper products (i.e., newsprint, copier paper, bond paper, etc.). A new chemical pulping technology could eliminate waste by turning rice straw into paper and provide a cheap insecticide to control mosquitoes. The best method extracts cellulose from the straw to make paper and natural phenolic materials and more than 65 per cent of the rice straw is converted into pulp for use in the paper and cardboard industry.

6. Packing materials The compaction resistance and resiliency of rice straw 17

makes it a very good packing material. However, in many countries there has been a decrease in the use of natural products such as rice straw and an increase in the use of synthetic and manufactured materials. Increased cost of petroleum-based products is likely to reverse this trend.

7. Mixing with plastics A Chinese company has invented eco-friendly material straw based plastic - made from rice and wheat stalks and can be used in 3D printing, without sacrificing price or performance. Company has developed a technology that can transfer crops straw into 3D printing material. The straw based plastic is made from dried crops straw, such as wheat straw, rice straw, corn stalk etc, mixed with plastic and plastic additives, using company's patent pending technology. The process started with shredding the straw to 1.5~2mm pieces. Then they mix the strawdust with polypropylene, adding silane coupling agent and ethylene bis (stearamide) as additives. The mixture is then extruded into granules using a twin screw extruder. After the transforming, the granules have even particle size and are more stable for further processing. The plastic granules can be heated up to 160˜180° C for injection moulding. Using special filament extruders the company has turned these plastic granules into filament for 3D printers. The 3D printed object created using the straw based filament has the color of natural wood and the texture of plant fiber on the surface. It has also nice surface finish and high strength. Compared with traditional petroleum-based plastic, straw-based plastic has low production cost and fewer carbon emissions.

Other uses for rice straw Worm farming: ground rice straw can be used as a worm growing media. The most effective material is in the range of 1 to 3 millimeter (mm) particles produced by grinding through 3 mm screens.

Hydroseeding: defiberized rice straw can be used in hydroseeding (a process of planting in liquid solution along steep banks (i.e., roadsides, etc.) for erosion control.

Poultry litter: chopped straw litter can be used for poultry kept on a built-up litter system. The used litter has a useful fertilizer value or can be utilized as cattle feed.

Growing substrate: rice straw bales can be used for production of many crops such as cucumbers, tomatoes, and flower crops. The bales are soaked in water and impregnated with nitrogen in powder or other forms or with fertilizers.

Erosion control and soil stabilization: Rice straw is an effective material both in commercial erosion control practices and in rice field erosion control. Bales of rice straw can be shredded on site and blown into roadside cuts and fills to provide soil stabilization. Manual placing of the rice straw can also be practiced if the proper placement can be obtained. Rice straw used in hydroseeding activities

also assists in erosion control and soil stabilization.

Frost control: layers of rice straw can be used for frost control in areas with low temperatures. These uses are usually closely allied with mulching and composting and it is difficult to determine which one of the practices is dominant.

Sewage sludge mixing: Rice straw would be a suitable bulking agent for sewage sludge composting and disposal.

It would appear that chopped or fiberized straw would increase both absorbency and acceleration of decomposition.

Future options *Agriculture scientists should develop rice/wheat varieties with short length and fast degradable straw but having good yield for specific regions *Farmers should be encouraged for diversification of crops *Cost effective, environmental friendly and user friendly chemicals should be developed which can make the compost of rice/wheat stubble at a faster rate *To design rice/wheat harvesters such that minimum residue is leftover in the field just like cutting manually *Bales of rice straw can be used as mulch for reseeding and erosion control *Rice straw can be used as the material in the construction of new non-concrete and environmental friendly homes.

The bales of rice straw can be used as infill material in the walls of the structures where it provides excellent insulation and acoustical qualities. Straw bale houses, barns, community centers, and even commercial buildings are beginning to show up in many countries *Future sound walls along highways could be constructed using stacked bales of straw covered with chicken wire and stucco. Whereas concrete walls ricochet noise into the highway, a straw bale absorbs noise and is expected to match a concrete barrier in terms of noise insulation outside the highway. The use of straw bales is inexpensive, sustainable, nontoxic, and environmentally friendly. Also, the construction using straw bales is more cost effective than traditional materials.

Conclusion In case of farmers in Punjab or Haryana the mindset and stature of the people involved in agriculture and having the excess produce of rice/wheat straw is almost same and burning of stubble is taken as an easiest and cost effective alternative. States like Punjab and Haryana can innovate in terms of either of the old and new technologies and can invite private players to set up facilities locally which could put stubble to better use. Any idea that does not provide a mechanism for transporting rice straw from the fields of farmers to the industrial units will face failure, even if it utilizes effective technology. In order for it to work, the method must provide added value to the farmers so that they stop burning rice straw in their fields.

Working as Professor in the Department of Physics, Sant Longowal Institute of Engineering and Technology (Deemed to be university), Longowal, Distt.-Sangrur (Punjab)-148 106. Also worked as Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics, Gondar University, Ethiopia from Oct. 2004 to July 2006. Did M.Sc. (Physics) from H.P.University, Shimla in 1982 and Ph.D. (in MagnetoHydroDynamic Power Generation) from I.I.T.Delhi in 1990. Worked as Research associate (CSIR) in IIT Delhi. Did postdoctoral studies in Japan under Japanese Govt. fellowship from October 1991 to March 1993 with Prof. Ken Okazaki at Toyohashi University of Technology, Toyohashi (Japan). Has published about 70 research papers in national/international journals and about 400 science and technology related articles towards science popularization in various magazines/news papers of national repute. His contact email address: ssverma@fastmail.fm / y.ronen@foxmail.com 18

Rooftop Solar Plants For Energy Security

By K. Sivadasan

None, without right technology support, can confront a competitor in today's scientific world. Nations competed to rule over others in the past. Country that used larger energy had an edge over others. In the present political scenario the country that uses more energy is considered 'advanced' considering the industrial output. Engineers and scientists are hard at work to complement national efforts to make the nation advanced. They come out with innovative concepts and practices. Technology improvement is the rule of the day. Various organs of governance are empowered with right policies to achieve the aim of government, to stand tall in the competitive world. “Learn from history that the country that commands a larger share of the world's energy will lead the world.

The abundance of quality power at affordable costs is a necessity for industrial development and for the wellbeing of citizens�

The utilities, world over, more or less monopolises the power sector. Conventional setup of power system consists of centralised generation, transmission and distribution. All three segments are owned and managed by the same entity. It has its own advantages and disadvantages. Indian Electricity Act 2003 visualizes decentralization of the three sectors. This leads to centralized generating stations owned by different

companies.

Nations, in their efforts to raise GDP, try to increase power generation from various depleting sources - Fossil fuel, Uranium, Renewable etc. The finite fossil fuel and Uranium are very large, but, they are not infinite and would last at the most a few generations. In the search for alternate sources of energy, solar energy which is abundant, free, predictable and perpetual has emerged as a viable alternative1 Technologies for solar harvesting Different technologies are developed for improved solar harvesting, such as Concentrated Solar Photovoltaic (CPV), Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) and Photovoltaic (PV).

CPV technology uses lenses and mirrors to concentrate a large amount of sunlight onto a small area of solar PV cells to generate electricity. Due to various reasons CPV is far less common today than the solar PV. CSP use lenses or mirrors and tracking systems to focus a large area of sunlight into a small beam. This is a highend technology. The concentrated beam produces heat at the receiver and a fluid is heated to high temperature.

This high temperature fluid is used as a heat source for 19

running a conventional power plant. CSP plants require largeNews quantities of cooling water which is a roadblock to its growth.

National Solar Mission (JNNSM) Government of India had finalised a massive solar policy in 2009 aiming to have 20,000 MW of solar power by 2020, expanding to 100,000 MW by 2030 and 200,000 by 2050. A solar programme JNNSM was launched on 11th January, 2010 by the Prime Minister. The mission was to commission 20000 MW by 2022. Policy was to entice investors with various incentives. But the progress achieved so far is not commensurate with expectation.

World's first eco-friendly Dh20-million green mosque opened in Dubai

PV is the direct conversion of sunlight into electricity using solar cells. Compared to CSP and CPV it is simple to install, operate and maintain. PV is less expensive compared to CSP & CPV. PV plants range from being very small in size to large MW size. The ubiquity of solar source makes it possible to generate power near the load centre. This advantage helped utilities to evolve distributed solar generation (DG). Advent of DG has changed the gamut of power system.

Categories of solar plant

There are four categories of solar plants based on capacity: domestic rooftop 1-5 KW, commercial & industrial rooftop 5-500 KW, ground mounted utility scale plants 500 KW to 1000 MW, ground mounted ultra mega size plants 1000 MW 1 GW) and above.

MW/GW size plants require large landed area and it requires to satisfy several statutory obligations. Land is scarce in some states e.g. Kerala. As a solution solar plants of KW size can be installed on rooftops which are called rooftop solar plants (RTS). RTS is simple to install and maintain. It can be on residential, commercial or industrial buildings. Domestic rooftop potential is linked to population density. For example Kerala has a density of 860/Km2 and Rajasthan has a density of 201/Km2.

Kerala with a population of 35 million has a domestic rooftop solar potential of 14GB, according to WISE(2013).

India's domestic rooftop potential India with a population of 1300 million may have around 300 million houses suitable for rooftop solar installation.

With an average size of 1.5 KW per rooftop total potential of domestic rooftop can be 450 GW. This is at the present efficiency of 16% for solar cell. It is projected that efficiency would go up to 30% by 2030 by R&D and economies of scale raising the potential proportionately.

Adopting the calculation for Kerala India's rooftop potential would go up to 1200 GW by 2050. This is a thought estimate and is to be verified. It may not be a joke, at the present rate of solar development, the day is not far when a square foot would generate 250 Watts at Rs30/Watt or less with a higher module efficiency. Then almost every house will have a rooftop plant of minimum size of 1 KW (Panel 2'x2'). Sky is the limit for domestic rooftop solar potential!

India's Jawaharlal Nehru 20

In 2010 European Union was adding solar plants in gigawatts every year if not monthly. Solar growth in EU mainly come from grid connected rooftop plants. UK Energy Minister, in a recent statement <http://bit.ly/118Sbws>, does not welcome large solar farms, instead he advises to go for rooftop pants. He does not want to use agricultural land for solar generation. JNNSM was not serious about India's huge rooftop potential.

Now India has an ambitious target of 500 GW by 2050.

Revised target can be accomplished through several methods. It is time to rethink2 on India's National Solar Mission. A new road map with proactive policies is the need of the hour.

Rooftop solar policy IEA says rooftop solar is â&#x20AC;&#x153;unbeatableâ&#x20AC;? by other technologies. It says rooftop solar will account for half of all solar PV installations out to 2050. It seems an under estimation. There isn't enough conventional resources to meet energy demand of 2050. As such major share or all of energy requirement is to come from renewable. Projected demand can be met from the huge solar potential. India has to follow the global solar growth trajectory which is hypothesized as sigmoidal.

Policies are to be framed to raise solar generation to take this path. The only proven means to accomplish this is adopting nationwide Feed in Tariff3 (FiT). 70% of global solar generation comes through FiT according to IEA as shown in Fig 1.

Fig 1 http://bit.ly/1wvvnTx Rooftops can contribute a good share of the 500 GW, India's target for 2050.

FiT policy for rooftop has to encourage domestic rooftop solar producers to come out in large numbers. In a research it was found that middle class people are more enthusiastic to install rooftop solar plant. They can easily be enticed by ensuring them enough benefit through the FiT. Third party involvement, as proposed by several states in India, would jeopardize the whole programme of solar generation. Benefits through FiT should reach the solar producer and not the middle man, the third party. Germany conducted a study to identify the beneficiaries of FiT. source: pvmagazine http://bit.ly/1s6Snph It is assessed (Fig 2) that 75% of revenue accrued from FiT for rooftop solar plants will be circulated within the society and not to large corporates. It is a fact that most industrialised nations go for rooftop generation. In US there is a movement called “Democratising Electricity System” spearheaded by “Institute for Local SelfReliance” (ILSR). They rely on rooftop solar plants for democratising electricity system. They call upon utilities to 'adapt or die'. The utilities are required to promote RTS. If applied it in India RTS will invigorate the society in every corner of the country and will create more jobs in other fields. If properly organized it could become a people's movement achieving the sigmoidal growth.

Cooperatives, if formed, can kick up momentum of growth. Fig 3 is an eye opener. Increase in number of cooperatives follow identical path to that of solar growth.

Fig 2

Germany applied FiT for popularizing solar energy harvesting. They achieved wonderful results in the years that followed. Solar generation took upward growth from almost nil in 1990 to 37 GW as of now, more than 60% of which is from rooftop segment. The growth is sigmoidal.

Feed in Tariff (FiT)3 Feed in Tariff, in brief, is a policy mechanism designed to accelerate investment in renewable energy technologies. This Law guarantees anyone who generates electricity from renewable energy source home owner, small business or large electricity utility-is able to sell that electricity into the utility grid and receive guaranteed long term payments at a predetermined rate for energy transferred. This preferential rate is fixed considering the benefit the society and the utility get from this renewable energy.

FiT is not a subsidy as generally understood.

FiT and grid parity for rooftop solar According to KPMG -Rising Sun 2012- solar is very near to grid parity at the consumer point (LCOP) Fig 4.

This can vary for different states. In a few years grid parity will be achieved in all states ending subsidy regime. In fact subsidy regime4, if not handled carefully, will become the villain for solar growth.

'Power price at exchange' may escalate to phenomenal levels due to fuel shortage. The figures shown (Inter regional charges, Inter regional transmission losses, Distribution charges and T&D loss component) are the benefit accrued to the utility by solar generation at consumer end. Fig 4 does not include the benefits to government (Society) as envisaged in Feed-in-Tariff.

Combined benefits (Government & utility), if shared with producers, will ensure good return to solar investors/consumers which will encourage them work hard to raise solar generation accomplishing the targeted sigmoidal growth. This combined benefit is calculated based on the FiT policy of government.

Growth momentum depends on how pragmatic FiT is.

Grid energy cost in India is rising at around 6% at the moment which may be faster in coming years due to impending coal shortage. Relying on imported coal leads to unsteady delivery and erratic price rise, both 21

depends on political compulsions and market vagaries abroad for which India has no control. India intent to stop import of coal in 2-3 years, as recently declared by the Prime Minister in Australia during G20 meet.

Several utilities are unable to make the mandated return on investment allowed as per the IE Act 2003. When grid tariff is decided considering the return on equity allowed by the regulatory commission, solar will be closer to parity or even less costly with grid power.

Political compulsions, which is inherent in democracy, influence the decision makers to take unscientific conclusions.

Adverse effect of solar on utilities Solar cost, globally, is declining and soon DG power become competitive. This will create a spiralling fall in revenue of utility. As the solar generation increases there Fig 3

is a corresponding decrease in generation from conventional sources which would reduce generator's revenue which in turn would reduce the net profit of conventional power producers. Utilities have to change their management practices to cope with the new matrices. Codes and practices are to be rewritten to cope with the changed scenario to keep the power sector financially healthy. In fact this is a challenge utilities have to handle, accepting their primary responsibility to provide quality power at reasonable cost. Considering the continuous depletion of coal reserve, which cannot be avoided, they have to depend on the DG for regular revenue. They have to evolve methods to make profit along with DG, growth of which cannot be stopped.

They have to live with DG. Financing and monitoring of rooftop producers When rooftop plants are commissioned under FiT the producer/consumer can approach commercial banks for 22

loans. Banks will be happy to provide loans on liberal terms relying on the GUARANTEED PAYMENT clause of FiT. Repayment period for the loan can be 20-25 years as in several countries which will minimise the burden (EMI) on the producer. Handing over a cheque to rooftop owner every month, after paying the EMI, will boost the interest of neighbours to install RTS making the whole exercise self sustained. Banking sector will get a shot in the arm through the RTS/FiT augmenting their business. Banks are made to run after solar generators for increased business creating a sustainable growth. For an efficient working of the financial transactions make sure that the utility pay the EMI direct to the bank (Financier) by e-transfer. Number of rooftop producers will rise in large numbers and so intranet transactions and electronic tabulations are essential for monitoring, etc.

Some states, in its solar policy, envisage 'third party owned' rooftop installations. Giving statutory protection for such an approach will make way for private monopolies. It can end up in litigation involving utility, consumer and the third party, jeopardizing the programme.

Alternatively, the producer/consumer can lease the rooftop to third party through bilateral business agreement.

Third party can work on behalf of the producer/consumer. The utility and the government need not be part of this business deal. Let not the rooftop exercise infringe upon the intrinsic relationship between consumer and utility that is derived through service connection agreement. Further, it should be ensured that the benefit of rooftop generation should reach the producer and not the middle-man.

Policy support for rooftop solar 1.Ambitious targets require clear, credible and consistent signals from policy makers, which would inspire confidence in financiers (Bank) and producers/consumers.

2.Policy should ensure profitable returns to rooftop owner/consumer 3.Policy should compensate the utility for its investment to build and maintain the base load power stations and grid.

4.Policy should compensate the utility for fall in revenue due to increased solar generation.

Advantages of rooftop PV generation

Fig 4

JNNSM sets 20000 MW renewable energy generation target by 2022

A 100% solar-powered boat that cost less than $3,000 to build!

China-US solar issue: WTO directive could have impact in India

1.Precious coal can be reserved for future generation.

Coal is required for purposes other than power generation.

9.RTS does not require modifications to transmission lines and substations.

2.Fossil fuel consumption can be reduced adapting to climate changes.

A transition from depleting source to renewable source is inevitable. Going solar is the choice, given the stupendous potential. Fastest growth is possible through Feed in Tariff. Rooftop harvesting is the easiest. It is people friendly. Embrace it. Sooner the better!!

3.It is an alternative to large size PV power stations as space for large solar power stations can be hard to come by and rather pricy.

4.Government need not provide any capital for rooftop plants as finance can be made available through commercial banks or cooperatives.

5.Rapid fall in solar PV prices makes it financially very competitive with that of CSP. Cost of power from CSP takes an upward path and cost of solar PV takes a downward path 6.RTS generate more jobs compared to MW size projects. Job creation spreads across manufacturing, sales & distribution, installation, O&M etc 7.RTS can be planned and commissioned faster.

Let us have a sustainable life on Earth.

References: 1.Energy Blitz Jun-Jul 2014 article titled '"Make India a 100% renewable energy nation" 2.Energy Blitz Aug-Sept 2014 article titled “Rethink on India's Solar Mission” 3.Energy Blitz Oct-Nov 2014 article titled “Adopt Feed in Tariff and Avoid Energy Crisis” 4.Report in Hindu Business Line “Subsidy regime blamed for solar scam” http://bit.ly/1dQ9O59

8.RTS does not need large and sophisticated infrastructure

K. Sivadasan had started his career in Central PWD, Madras in 1967 as Section officer. In 1970 he joined Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) as Junior Engineer and worked in various capacities.

He retired from the service in 1997 as Deputy Chief Engineer. In between, he worked abroad for seven years (5 years in Ghana and 2 years in Kuwait). Being a solar energy enthusiast, presently he is working for the promotion of power generation through renewable energy sources. His contact email address: sivadasan.k@gmail.com 23

EVOLVE INDIA Solar based at Chennai has signed an Exclusive distribution agreement with UPSOLAR for Key states in Indian market.

UPSOLAR is an award winning world-class manufacturer of Mono and Poly crystalline PV Panels from Shanghai, China with affordable pricing and fast delivery. UPSOLAR prides their quality amongst the best in the World with their R&D team being headed by the best Solar technicians from Europe.

UPSOLAR is also one of the few Chinese panel manufacturers who have topped with “VERY GOOD” in the OKO-TEST PV MODULE TESTING in Germany. Only 3 other German PV Module manufacturers who tested Very Good in the same category.

UPSOLAR's quality is at par with the best in the Industry and thus they offer 25 years POWERCLIP WARRANTY POLICY whichprotects against design defects, delaminating modules, power outputs. The program delivers non-cancellable, irrevocable coverage and is fully-paid for and has been rated “A” (Excellent) or better internationally recognized insurance providers.

UPSOLAR's modules deliver the highest efficiency and thus have been awarded the SOLAR INDUSTRY AWARD twice in a row by PV MAGAZINE in Germany for 2011 and 2012 apart from receiving Winner of GoingGreen Silicon Valley Global 200.

UPSOLAR major customers are in USA, EUROPE and JAPAN and recently have been awarded a 2 and 1 MW projects in Greece and Italy with the latest Solrif mounting systems.

UPSOLAR has recently supplied 100 KW Solar Panels to GAMESA WIND TURBINES in Chennai, India for their Roof Top project.

UPSOLAR has also bagged major MW scale orders from few EPC companies in India.

Upsolar is available in India through EVOLVE India solar and for further information they can be contacted at sales@evolveindia.inor by call at 072999 09691 / 72999 22535

24

‘NANO BRITTO BIOGAS PLANT -An Innovative Technology’

By B. J Britto My longtime friend in Mumbai, Mr. B. J. Britto on 5th June 2014 (World Environment Day) has released his first book on “Nano Britto Biogas PlantAn Innovative Technology”. I found this book a compendium of information on Biogas Plant technology. This book focuses on the issue of utilization of alternative material i.e. FRP for designing Biogas digester so as to provide ready made biogas plants in all sizes, especially the smaller ones termed as Nano Biogas plants for small families or families having very small quantity of waste material, even as little as 10 kilogrammes per day. The conventional Biogas digester construction process is very slow, laborious, time consuming and costly.

Mr. Britto was closely associated in developing India's first FRP gasholder in 1981. When the issue of extension of FRP gas holders in field conditions came up, he volunteered to do the same for KVIC (Khadi & Village Industries Commission) including training of KVIC personnel as well as other field functionaries at his workshop, though some of the field functionaries were his competitors in extension program. Again he had played an important role in India's first Community Biogas Plant at Dhaniv village in Vasai (near Mumbai).

His book deals with “new techniques for prefabricated FRP biogas digester with FRP gasholder.” The new techniques and materials have been repeatedly tried and tested in the field by him and more than twenty five such plants are working smoothly in Maharashtra and elsewhere.

In the absence of adequate documented details regarding new techniques for Biogas plants, I believe Mr. Britto's book will be an important source of knowledge and ready reference in the area of pre-fab Biogas plant with FRP technology.

Biogas is produced by the breakdown of organic matter in the absence of oxygen, the anaerobic or fermentation of biodegradable materials such as manure, sewage, municipal waste, green waste, plant material, and crops.

This is achieved as a bio chemical reaction conducted in a compact biogas plant which uses waste food, dungmanure, municipal waste, green waste, crop leftovers, plant material etc. as feedstock, to generate biogas for cooking.

The primitive procedure and the entire Biogas Plant was investigated thoroughly by Britto Energy, a company found by Mr. B.J. Britto which has been in this field for over 35 years. As a result Britto Energy had developed and perfected “NANO BRITTO”--- A Biogas digester in FRP made from Fibreglass and technically selected Polyester Resins.

The conventional method of construction of biogas digesters using brick work/ pre cast / RCC construction was found to suffer from several drawbacks, such as heavy weight, handling problems and major problems related to the destruction of natural resources due to massive and abnormal use of valuable mineral material for civil construction. Again the conventional way of setting up biogas plants in B.B. masonry will not able to cope up with the speed with which the program is to move forward. The BRITTO ENERGY has therefore been at work for years to resolve some other new techniques and material which could replace the present conventional material. It is the result of these strivings that it has developed FRP technology for digesters which is ideally suited. The FRP digester has several benefits over conventional methods which are duly highlighted in the book.

Considering the vast experience Mr. Britto has in all the facets of Biogas field, I am sure that this book will be found very useful by everyone and I congratulate Mr. Britto for his relentless efforts, devotion and hard work. I wish him and his book a great success.

The book is very nominally priced at Rs.300 per copy.

For ordering this book, please contact: Britto Publications, 'Bright House', Jeladi (Sathpala), P.O. Agashi, ViaVirar (W), Tal. Vasai, Dist. Thane, Maharashtra PH: 92700-15329 EMail: brittoenergy@yaho o.com Ramanathan Menon Editor & Publisher Energy Blitz

25

The electric car as mitigating agent for GHG emissions

By Evaldo Costa & Elisabeth Fulton

(Image courtesy: greenmelocally.com) Will the electric car facilitate mitigation of GHG emissions in Brazil's urban environments, particularly in the megalopolis of S達o Paulo? Towhat extent can these technological advances solve the problem of GHG emissions from public transport and help to prevent the advance of climate change? This article compiles and analyzes updated information about the environmental impacts of cleaner vehicle fleets in cities and the potential for mitigation of GHG emissions from the adoption of electric cars.

The challenges of reducing GHG emissions The reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is a global challenge. Total GHG production has increased over the decades, especially between 1970 and 2010. In 1970, they emissions were measured at 27 (GtCO2eq) but by 2010, they were up to 49 (GtCO2eq). This represents an increase of 81.5 percent (IPCC SPM3, 2014, p.6). The records show that between 2000 and 2010, GHG emissions were the highest in human history (IPCC-SPM.3, 2014, p.6). There is high confidence that CO2 emissions from combustion of fossil fuels and industrial processes have contributed about 78 percent of the total increase in GHG emissions between 1970/2010 (Summary V-SPM.3 IPCC, 2014, p. 6).

The CO2eq emissions from transport increased by 150% The transport sector accounts for 62% of final consumption of liquid fuels (IPCC, 2013, p.9). It is therefore a major emitter of pollutants. In 2010, transport 26

was responsible for 27% of final energy use and 6.7 Gt CO2 of direct GHG emissions.

GHG emissions in the transport sector have increased at a faster pace than any other sector in for energy end-use (IEA, 2012a). Overall, as of 1970, the transportation sector emitted 2.8 Gt CO2eq by itself. By the year 2010 this number had increased to 7.0 Gt CO2eq. This registered therefore an incredible growth of 150%.

About 80% of this increase came from road vehicles and urban transport accounts for about 40 percent of final energy consumption for transport (IEA, 2013).

Emissions and consequences of vehicle fleet of S達o Paulo With a fleet of 4.4 million vehicles, in December 2012 (CETESB, 2012) the transport sector of the city of S達o Paulo has always created a lot of CO2. As of the years 2011 and 2012, GHG emissions were around 13 million tons of CO2 (ANTP, 2013).

Table 1: Estimated Current Fleet In S達o Paulo (Sp) (2012)

Data source: CETESB, EV 2012, p.16: COSTA, E and SEIXAS, J, 2014.

In 2011, the fleet of São Paulo consumed 2.0 billion liters of gasoline and 2.1 billion liters of Ethanol, totaling 4.1 billion liters of liquid fuel, as compared to only 2.5 billion in 2003. The increase in consumption of the two fuels between 2003 and 2011 amounted to 67.3 percent (83.0 percent for gasoline consumption), as shown in Table 02.

Table 2 . Data source: ANTP, 2013: COSTA, E and SEIXAS, J, 2014.

Pollution emissions in São Paulo have worsened in recent years. Three times more São Paulo people die from air pollution related diseases than from traffic accidents, three

Meanwhile, the increase in electricity consumption, from the adoption of electric cars into the fleet would be only 268 MWh in 2020, and 536 MWh in 2030. This represents less than 0.01 percent of the total consumption of São Paulo in 2030. But emissions reductions, would amount to 3.5 Mt CO2 in the period between 2010 and 2020 and up to 11.0 MtCO2 by 2030. These are quite significant quantities (COSTA, E and SEIXAS, J, 2014).

Another study revealed that if Sao Paulo were to adopt a 100% electric vehicle stock by 2035, there would be a reduction of 17.3 million tons of CO2eq and an increase of

Table 2: Consumption of gasoline and ethanol in São Paulo 40 million MWh of electricity (DIAS, 2013). and a half times more than from breast cancer almost six times more than from AIDS or Prostate Cancer Conclusion (VORMITTAG, 2013).

Neither predictable technological advances nor global public actions for GHG emissions reductions are not Electric car's potential to mitigate emissions enough to combat the economic development related A recent study on the city of São Paulo called increase in GHG emissions. So the massive introduction of "Contribution of electric cars to the mitigation of CO2 electric cars into large urban centers in this country would emissions in the city of São Paulo" (COSTA, E and be fully justified by these basic energy and emissions SEIXAS, J, 2014) revealed that São Paulo will have about demands alone.

1.7 million internal combustion engine (ICE) cars to fuel with gasoline or ethanol - in 2020 and about 1.8 million in In the case of São Paulo, where the energy matrix is 2030. Even with the adoption of 170,000 BEV units in predominantly clean and sustainable, then the introduction 2020 (10 percent) and 360,000 (20 percent) in 2030, the of EVs could help mitigate GHG emissions, improve air accumulated consumption of gasoline between 2010 and quality in the city and provide economic gains.

2020 will amount to 21.1 billion liters, by 2030 this number will tally up to 43.3 billion liters.

Evaldo Costa is Bachelor of Law and Accounting and Master in Business Management. PhD STUDENTE in Climate Change and Sustainable Development Policies and researcher from University of Lisbon, Portugal. Invited researcher of Institute of Transportation Studies, UCDavis University of California, e-mail:EVcosta@ucdavis.edu Elisabeth Fulton is an International Liaison/Coordinator with WECE - www.worldEVcities.org

EVcosta@ucdavis.edu Elisabeth Fulton is an International Liaison/Coordinator with WECE - www.worldEVcities.org

27

SOLAR MATRIX Solar PowerAn Overview

By Ramanathan Menon

By Staff Writer

Story of solar energy begins from the SUN,

glass, which can convert sunlight into electricity.

the centre of our solar system, 100 times the diameter of our earth. The Sun is composed mainly of hydrogen. Its energy is generated by nuclear collisions in its interior.

With the aid of these Photovoltaic (PV) modules we can harness electricity. When particles of sunlight (known as Photons) enter the cell, some photons are absorbed by the semiconductor atoms. This frees electrons in the cell's negative layer, which flow from the semiconductor through an external circuit, and back into the positive layer. It is this flow of electrons that makes up electric current.

Everyday before we wake up the Sun sends us the life-giving light and the heat from a distance of 148.8 million kilometers in the form of sunshine.

The sunshine also contains tremendous energy called â&#x20AC;&#x153;Solar Energy.â&#x20AC;? Our scientists have known that solar radiation falling on the surface of the Earth is equivalent to 170 trillion kilowatts of electricity. An eight days' sunshine is equal to a total of all fossil-fuel deposits we have today!

One may ask how can we produce electricity from sunshine? It was known to mankind that we can harness energy from sunshine with the aid of mirror or glass. The breakthrough in science had brought out photovoltaic cells (crystalline silicon cells) more powerful than the ordinary 28

By installing PV modules we can convert electricity and store the energy in storage batteries. We can use this energy for lighting our homes, to operate television, to boil water, to cook our food, to run the water pump for drinking and irrigation, to run the refrigerator and even to power unmanned buoys and satellites.

Lasting for nearly twenty years the solar energy installations will be most rewarding because the system does not have any moving

parts which may need maintenance from time to time. There will not be any need to depend upon the power from public utility grids (at least for 200 days in a year) as they fail to supply electricity everywhere and all the time.

nation's precious foreign exchange.

Energy crunch is a never ending headache

Always available free and in abundance except

which can be relieved in due course through nationwide solar energy culture and the dream of â&#x20AC;&#x153;electricity for every homeâ&#x20AC;? can be made into reality.

during rainy and cloudy days, the sunshine must be harnessed to meet our growing needs for electricity.

Radiation hazard? Never. Absolutely zero

Remote areas where power grid can not reach

because solar energy is a natural energy and we live on that.

the supply of electricity can be provided with

electricity by solar energy installations for lighting, refrigerators in the village health centers, water and room heating, television, etc.

Economical

in the long run. The money invested in solar energy installations will be paid back to us within 6 years by the installation itself by saving your energy bills. For the remaining fourteen years you enjoy free electricity. Thus, solar energy not only saves your money but also earns money for you. How amazing!!

Never spoils the environment because solar energy is clean, silent, non-polluting, smokeless, shock-free and non-hazardous. No need to dig the earth for coal, no need to cut the trees for firewood, no need to import oil by spending your

Government gives subsidies and easy loans to encourage people to install solar energy based installations and appliances. Visit those departments and avail the financial support. Such visits or initiatives by you will make you more familiar about the authenticity of this story.

Your imagination, initiative and prompt action will help many of your brethren in your country who live in darkness to see the rays of light in their everyday life. ACT. Learn how to harness the nature's never ending source of powerthe Solar Energyand give a cleaner and healthy face of earth to your children and their children to live on.

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NEWS: Will help India down clean energy path: World Bank chief

The World Bank will do everything it can to help India achieve the goal of clean energy to all, President of the international financial institution Jim Young Kim has said.

“We're going to do everything we can to help India down a cleaner path,” Mr. Kim said. “If we could build more bus rapid transit systems in India, if we could do many more thousands of kilometres of bus rapid transit systems, that would have a huge impact. They've already gone to natural gasrun buses that are much cleaner,” said Mr. Kim who visited India early this year and met Narendra Modi in Delhi.

“So there are lots of things we can do. What Prime Minister Modi is looking for and this is our responsibility to him he said to me specifically, if you can find cleaner ways of accomplishing what I have to accomplish, and that is creating jobs for all these young people, all these people that are, you know, exiting schools and looking for work, if you can find that, I will choose it,” he said. Kim said he remained hopeful, but the overall discussion was a very complicated one.

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“400 million people living on less than US$1.25 a day that is also his (Modi) responsibility,” he said.

The President said he has had quite a few meetings with Modi. “Prime Minister Modi has told me that he has worked a lot in terms of increasing solar energy. So he's a great advocate of solar energy. And he did that when he was in Gujarat,” he said.

“He has an enormous problem in the sense that he has to find ways of providing energy for, still, 400 million people in India who live on less than US 1.25 a day, while at the same time having a positive impact,” he added. He said Modi had been clear and open to having discussions. “But, of course, the first thing they will say is, you know, we need a chance to industrialise, we need a chance to create jobs, we need energy,” Mr. Kim said.

“I'm hopeful in the sense that the leadership of China and the US I think was unexpected. And even at the G20 meeting, every single one of the leaders there knew that there was a reckoning coming, that they would have to state what they were going to do. And so we continue to work with them very closely,” he said.

India uses coal tax to help fund 21GW of new solar development crore (US$160 million). Announced by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), the 1GW of on-grid solar is to begin development nationwide in three year segments, to start in between 2015 and 2018.

The 1GW developments are also to be 100% local content cells and modules must all be made in India. In August, energy minister, Piyush Goyal told Indian manufacturers to run at full capacity and expand.

Central Power Supply Unit (CPSU) and government agencies will be able to participate in the 1GW scheme, with inexpensive land used in rural areas for solar parks, and tenders awarded from central and state governments.

India is to provide INR5050 crore (US$809 million) for two solar development schemes, one for at least 20GW of 'ultra mega' solar power parks, and another for 1GW of on-grid solar.

Last December, the Indian government has announced the approval of 21GW in new solar development with over US$800 million in government funding made available. The new solar projects will predominantly use Viability Gap Funding (VGF). VGF is available due to India's 'polluter pays' system. Coal companies pay INR50 (US$0.80) per tonne of domestically produced, and imported coal.

These polluter fees are channelled onto the National Clean Energy Fund, operated by the Ministry of Finance, and awarded to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE). The national government is providing INR5050 crore (US$809 million) in total, for two solar development schemes, one for at least 20GW of 'ultra mega' solar power parks, and another for 1GW of ongrid solar.

The national cabinet approved 25 solar power parks, 500MW and up in size, or 'ultra mega' solar power parks, across India, where land is available, including some smaller parks in challenging terrain, such as Himalayan territory.

State government is to oversee development of the ultra mega solar parks, with construction from 2014 to 2019, and INR4050 crore (US$649 million) in government funding to be made available. The second scheme approved is part of the National Solar Mission's second phase and aims for 1GW of on-grid solar to be developed by central and state schemes.

The 1GW on-grid will be funded by VGF of INR1000

To allow the 1GW to be on-grid, transmission lines for the 1GW will be developed, allowing solar developers to save on the cost of also building transmission lines. This will also protect landscapes with limited transmission line development and will enable more developments quicker, as fewer clearances will be required.

State government will be responsible for picking suitable land to develop the 1GW of solar parks, and for choosing developers and sending proposals to MNRE for approval. Both the 20GW ultra mega scheme, and the National Solar Mission 1GW on-grid scheme, will see developers VGF amounts of up to INR25 lakh (US$40,000) for carrying out reports and surveys on possible solar developments. Reports are then to be sent to the national government solar body, the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), for a further INR20 lakhs (US$32,000), or, if lower, 30% of the project costs.

Grants will be made by SECI at various milestones of solar project development with a 60 day time limit for reports to be carried out.

Already thermal power plant companies, utilities and power distribution companies as well as entities such as Indian Railways are applying for solar power development grants. Another INR500 crore (US$80 million) was also set out in India's national budget for the 20GW scheme, with renewable energy said to be highly prioritised by the new Finance Minister, Shri Arun. Before the elections, the national budget saw MNRE's allowance slashed by prior Finance Minister, Shri Chidambaram.

The two schemes are in line with reports of India raising its solar ambitions to 100GW by 2022, and reports of solar parks being mapped out last month to meet solar advocate Prime Minister, Narendra Modi's election ambitions.

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India will be renewables superpower, says energy minister “$100bn investment likely in five years but coal power plants will also expand rapidly to provide electricity to every Indian village”

lead to dangerous climate change. In an interview with the Guardian, Goyal, minister for power, coal and new and renewable energy, set out why Modi wants to deliver

Piyush Goyal, India's power and coal minister, says country could still follow a less polluting path to development, despite expanding coal sector.

electricity to every village in the vast country.

India will be a “renewables superpower” according to its new energy minister, but its coal-fired electricity generation will also undergo “very rapid” expansion.

However, Piyush Goyal dismissed criticism of the impact of India's coal rush on climate change , as western governments giving “homilies and pontificating, having enjoyed themselves the fruits of ruining the environment over many years.”

The aggressive statements are significant in setting out both how prime minister Narendra Modi will fulfil his government's ambitious goal to bring electricity to the 300m power-less Indians and also how India will approach the crucial 15 months of negotiations ahead before a UN deal to tackle global warming must be agreed.

Huge increases in energy supply in developing nations are needed to lift the world's poor out of poverty, but achieving this largely through polluting fossil fuels will 32

“Electricity can transform people's lives, not just economically but also socially,” he said. “My own father studied under street lamps. We understand how agonising it can be for a young boy wanting to study or a pregnant women wanting to get care (without electricity) and working opportunities, jobs, entrepreneurship it will be impossible to do it without an assured supply of affordable energy.”

Goyal set out his government's pledge, including to end expensive and polluting diesel-based electricity: “Our commitment to the people of India is that we should rapidly expand this (energy) sector, reach out to every home, and make sure we can do a diesel-generator freeIndia in our five years.”

Modi's government, elected in May 2014, has brought forward a flurry of energy announcements in its first 100 days, with pledges to accelerate solar power particularly prominent. As chief minister in Gujarat, Modi delivered Asia's biggest solar park and piloted schemes that covered rooftops in cities and irrigation canals in the

countryside.

“We will be a renewables superpower you know Mr. Modi's mantra: 'speed, skill and scale',” said Goyal, adding that he expects $100bn (£62bn) to be invested in renewable energy in India in the next five years.

He has killed an earlier proposal to hit cheap Chinese solar panels with an import tariff and revived a tax break for wind power. The previous government set a solar target of 20GW by 2022, but Goyal said this will be smashed: “It will be much, much larger. I think for India to add 10GW a year (of solar) and six, or seven or eight of wind every year is not very difficult to envisage.”

Goyal has doubled the tax on coal that provides funding for clean energy and introduced incentives to close dirty and inefficient coal plants older than 25 years. But he is clear that coal-fired electricity generation will also grow quickly, given the pledge to bring power to all Indians and to continue the fast development of the Indian economy.

“Coal also would have to expand in a very rapid way,” he said, refusing to predict a decline in coal's share of the growing energy supply. “I would wish (the proportion of renewable energy) was better but my fear is that, even if I would want to do more, I may not be able to fund. Coal I would be able to fund unlimited.”

In a preview of the position India is likely to take into the final year of the global climate change negotiations, Goyal took a hardline in dealing with western criticism that huge expansion of coal power is environmentally irresponsible.

was already in place in the west. “So I think we will have to balance our developmental goals and our environmental goals,” he said.

The notion of compromising on the reduction of carbon emission to enable economic growth will alarm western observers. But, even with rapid coal expansion, Goyal said India could still follow a less polluting development path than seen previously in the west. “I am still fairly confident we will come out better than the west in terms of our overall development versus damage.”

India can save 10,000 crore units of power Energy conservation techniques could save the nation about INR50,000 crore (about US$ 8.3 billion), according to Union Minister of State for Power, Coal and New and Renewable Energy Piyush Goyal. From the current generation of one lakh crore units of power, if 10,000 crore units, or 10%, were to be saved, the monetary benefit was INR50,000 crore, Mr. Goyal said at the National Energy Conservation Day function. The saved power, he said, could be used to light the homes of five crore people.

The Minister inaugurated the annual national energy conservation awards coordinated by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency. Mr. Goyal announced that government buildings across the country would be fitted with efficient LED bulbs within the next two years.

“Western countries have gone through their development cycle and enjoyed the fruits of ruining the environment over many years and are now giving us homilies and pontificating on responsibilities to the environment,” he said. “I think they need to look inward. They need to recognise the cost to the world's environment that they have caused and continue to cause for that matter and set their house in order before sermonising to developing countries.

“Of course we aren't one of the largest polluters by any stretch of the imagination on a per capita basis.” He said comparing the total emissions of very populous nations like India with smaller countries was “very misleading”.

Goyal said developing countries, including India which has over 360 milion people living in poverty, had a commitment to develop the jobs and infrastructure which

Following a videoconferencing with school students from across the country, Mr. Goyal promised to set up by January 31, 2015 a round-the-clock toll-free number for registering complaints about wastage of power.

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Research and Development in Renewable Energy Sector iii. Capital subsidy is being provided for offgrid/decentralized solar power generation systems. iv. An enabling policy and regulatory environment is being created through measures like solar specific RPOs under National Tariff Policy {0.25% in Phase 1 (2013) to increase to 3% by 2022}, State Specific Solar Policies and RPO targets, and REC mechanism. Efforts are being made to ensure compliance by DISCOMs and obligated entities with this solar energy producing companies to get a long term market. v. The R&D with private sector is also being encouraged. Ministry provides upto 100% financial support to Government/non-profit research organizations/NGOs and 50% to industry/civil society organizations.

This was stated by Shri. Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (I/C) for Power, Coal & New and Renewable Energy in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today.

The Government is taking the following major steps to foster growth of solar energy producing companies in the country: i. Fiscal and financial incentives in the form of accelerated depreciation, concessional/nil customs and excise duties, preferential tariffs and generation based incentives are being provided to improve viability of

The Minister further said that Polysilicon is not being manufactured in India at present. However, under R&D Policy, there is provision to promote the R&D projects on development and synthesis of polysilicon innovations in the field of solar energy. Ministry has no proposal to set up new R&D centre directly under the Ministry. However, in R&D various established institutions are being supported.

solar power generation units. ii. Scheme for setting up grid-connected solar PV power projects with mechanisms like 'Bundling unallocated coal based thermal power' and Viability Gap Funding from National clean Energy Funds' are being implemented.

34

Collaborations in R&D projects in various areas of renewable energy have been taken up involving, amongst others institutions like Fraunhofer ISE Germany, The Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) Germany, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), USA, etc. with our institutions like NISE, the Minister added.

India's Renewable Energy Scenario Photo courtesy: Mint As on March 31, 2014, the installed capacity of renewable energy in India has touched 32,269.6 MW or 12.95% of the total potential available in the country.

With this, the renewable energy, including large hydro

electricity, constitutes 28.8% of the overall installed capacity in India.

The power sector in India is highly diverse with varied commercial sources for power generation like coal, natural gas, hydro, oil and nuclear as well as unconventional sources of energy like solar, wind, biogas and agriculture.

India's electricity sector is amongst the world's most active players in renewable energy utilization, especially wind energy. As of 31 January 2014, India had an installed capacity of about 31.15 GW of nonconventional renewable technologies-based electricity, about 13.32% of its total.

According to the India Renewable Energy Status Report 2014 released at the Green Summit 2014 in Bangalore in December 2014, the total renewable energy potential from various sources in India is 2,49,188 MW. The untapped market potential for overall renewable energy in India is 2,16,918 MW that shows huge growth potential for renewable energy in India.

The Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE), Government of India has set a target of achieving overall renewable energy installed capacity of 41,400 MW by 2017. This creates an opportunity worth $10.51 billion for the renewable market in India till 2017.

The demand for power has been growing at a rapid rate and overtaken the supply, leading to power shortages in spite of manifold growth in power generation over the years, the Report said.

Focused efforts are going to bridge this demand-supply gap by way of policy reforms, participation from private sector and development of the Ultra Mega Power Projects (UMPP).

"The power sector offers tremendous opportunities for investing companies due to the huge size of the market, growth potential and returns available on capital.

Industrialisation, urbanisation, population growth, economic growth, improvement in per capita consumption of electricity, depletion of coal reserve, increasing import of coal, crude oil and other energy sources and the rising concern over climate change have put India in a critical position," the Report said.

The government has to take a tough stance between balancing economic development and environmental sustainability. One of the primary challenges for India would be to alter its existing energy mix, which is dominated by coal, to a larger share of cleaner and sustainable sources of energy, the Report said.

The electricity sector in India had an installed capacity of 254.649 GW as of end October 2014. India became the world's third largest producer of electricity in the year 2013 with 4.8% global share in electricity generation surpassing Japan and Russia. Captive power plants have an additional 39.375 GW capacity.

Conventional energy plants constitute 87.55% of the installed capacity, and renewable energy plants constitute the remaining 12.45% of total installed capacity. India generated around 967 TWh (967,150.32 GWh) of electricity (excluding electricity generated from renewable and captive power plants) during the 201314 fiscal. The total annual generation of electricity from all types of sources was 1102.9 TeraWatt-hours (TWh) in 2013.

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World's tallest hybrid wind generator turbine set up in Kutch, Gujarat World's tallest hybrid wind generator turbine was put into operation in the first week of November 2014 by Suzlon Energy in the Kutch region of Gujarat. The new 120-metre hybrid turbine was inaugurated by Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel.

The turbine, which is taller by 40 metres than conventional wind turbine towers, is claimed to generate 12-15% more energy. The turbine had been designed and developed by local engineers.

With this new turbine, the installed wind energy capacity at the Kutch region of Gujarat has gone up to 1100 MW. According to the reports, this also makes the turbine Asia's biggest wind energy park at one location.

This tower is ideal for low wind areas and the potential is huge. In the next three years, the region where the turbine is being operated, is expected to have 2000 MW of wind energy capacity and this will make it the world's biggest wind energy park in one location.

So far, India had a potential of 1 lakh MW of wind energy. With this breakthrough, however, the potential had increased to 2 lakh MW. Suzlon has set up 25,000 MW wind energy capacity for its customers in 31 countries, including 9000 MW in India.

India to finance 1 GW of solar projects with $158 million Photo courtesy: The Hindu The Government of India will be providing funds around INR 10 billion ($158 million) to state-run companies to build 1 GW of grid-connected solar PV projects by end of 2017.

The companies will have to use indigenous PV cells and modules to secure funding. State-run companies such electric utility NTPC Ltd., National Hydroelectric Power Corp Ltd. (NHPC) and the Indian Railways are planning to build solar projects in the country. NTPC, which has already pledged to invest close to $1 billion in renewable energy in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, is planning to install solar PV panels atop all of its thermal power plants as part of the 1 GW push over the next three years.

Likewise, Coal India Ltd. (CIL), the largest producer of fuel in the country, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Solar Energy Corporation India (SECI) to develop 1 GW of solar PV plants across the country.

In addition, the government said it would waive statutory clearances for projects located in remote areas where land is inexpensive.

India has so far installed 3 GW of solar power as part of the country's Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission, which aims to reach 22 GW by 2022.

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Solar-powered water pumps to provide drinking water to remote parts of India

The drinking water and sanitation ministry has set a target of installing a large number of solar power-based pumping systems in tribal and inaccessible hamlets/ habitation during this financial year to provide potable piped water to the locals.

In such areas, piped drinking water is almost impossible due to non-availability of electricity. As per the plan, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha and Rajasthan would get 2,000 pumping systems each. Other states that have been identified for 1,500 such pumps are Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh while Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Telangana would get 1,000 pumps each.

The central government has implemented similar innovative scheme in Integrated Action Plan (IAP) districts during last financial year in which a single phase, one horse power, solar energy-based submersible

pump was installed in a high yield borewell, which already is a hand pump. In such cases, water pumped from the system can be stored in an elevated tank and the water can reach every household through pipes.

Such schemes can meet requirement of about 250 persons - population of a small village. Each such system costs about Rs 4.9 lakh; excluding the borewell and cost of water treatment.

The drinking water and sanitation ministry had earlier proposed to the new and renewable energy ministry for partial funding of this project.

Now the drinking water ministry has asked all the states to identify habitations and submit consolidated project report for approval. The renewable energy ministry has now agreed to put their state renewable energy development agencies as a technical support organization to the state water supply agencies to identify the hamlets, 37

application. PV powered pumping systems offer simplicity, reliability, and low maintenance for a broad range of applications between hand pumps and large generator driven irrigation pumps.

The solar PV powered waterpumping system (DC Surface suction, DC floating, and DC or AC submersibles) can offer a veritable panacea to the problem of finding power to pump water for irrigation in India. Typical pump systems in India are of the DC surface suction type (approximately 86% of solar pumping systems installed in India), DC submersible type (2%), DC floating type (2%), and AC submersible (10%). The system for solar pumping depends on the nature of the well: deep well, bore well, open well etc. prepare the schemes and help in implementation.

Rural development and drinking water minister Nitin Gadkari had earlier announced the plan to provide more solar-based pumps to bring all areas under piped water supply scheme of government.

A good news for the farmers in Tamil Nadu interested in installing solar-powered water pumping system to irrigate their farms. The Department of Agricultural Engineering in Vellore, Wallajah and Tirupattur (Tamil Nadu) districts had launched a new scheme to provide 80% subsidy on solar water pumps with 5 HP capacity.

The criteria for availing this facility are that the farmers should have bore wells with a six-inch diameter with 300-feet deep water and they should have installed the drip or sprinkler system of irrigation system to irrigate their farms.

While the scheme aims at creating awareness on the use of alternative source of energy (solar) to the existing conventional power from the Electricity Board, the proposed system would use the advanced sun-tracking panels to ensure power generation throughout the day.

The cost of the system is INR 4.39 lakh and the subsidy component INR 3.35 lakh, which leaves the farmer's contribution to be INR 1.04 lakh. The farmers should ensure that shadow-free space was available near the bore wells for the installation of the solar-powered water pumping system.

The companies that supply the solar-powered water pumping system would also install, commission and maintain the units for a period of five years.

Pumping water is a universal need around the world and the use of photovoltaic power is increasing for this 38

Regardless of the type of pump used, water is usually stored in a tank or reservoir for use at other times. Most pumping systems do not include batteries for on-demand water. However, batteries are sometimes used in systems where pumping time must be controlled because of low water demand or low source capacity.

India has about 15 million grid-powered pump-sets and close to 7 million diesel-powered pumps. However, only about 7500 solar pumping systems have been installed for agricultural use in India.

As demand for electrical energy far outstrips supply, and the gap continues to widen, it is proving increasingly difficult for the government to continue subsidizing the rising costs of generation, transmission and distribution losses, pilferage, etc. (to deliver 3600 kWh to a farmer to pump water, 7000 kWh is required to be generated, assuming a diversity factor 2). Hence, the loss of revenue to the government is colossal.

Solar powered water pumps can deliver drinking water as well as water for livestock or irrigation purposes.

Solar water pumps may be especially useful in small scale or community based irrigation, as large scale irrigation requires large volumes of water that in turn require a large solar PV array. As the water may only be required during some parts of the year, a large PV array would provide excess energy that is not necessarily required, thus making the system inefficient.

Solar PV water pumping systems are used for irrigation and drinking water in India. The majority of the pumps are fitted with a 200 watt - 3,000 watt motor that receives energy from a 1,800 Wp PV array. The larger systems can deliver about 140,000 liters of water/day from a total head of 10 meters.

Coimbatore village installs 120 solar street lights

Adopt Feed in Tariff and Avoid Energy Crisis

By K. Sivadasan

Solar-powered street lights installed along Mettupalayam Road by the Kurudampalayam Panchayat in Perianaickenpalayam in Coimbatore.

In a significant initiative aimed at reducing the financial burden of the local body and promoting renewable energy, a Coimbatore panchayat has installed 120 street lights that are being powered by solar energy last December The move has yielded immediate benefits.

For, the Kurudampalayam Panchayat's monthly power bill of Rs. 40 lakh has already come down by 40%.

According to Tha. Murugan, Project Director of District Rural Development Agency, this panchayat was the first local body in the district to adopt solar power in such a large extent. The State Government contributed half the total project cost of Rs. 1.86 crore with the local body raising the rest. “We will now encourage other local bodies also to follow suit. Kurudampalayam Panchayat can be made as model for others to look up to,” he said.

D. Ravi, panchayat president, said a total of eight highpower 72-watt lamps were installed at major

intersections in the panchayat with the rest on Mettupalayam Road. They were installed on the median to light up both sides of the road. These lights have modern LED cooler bulbs, which emit less heat and require less electricity. The battery back-ups will last for three days of 12 hours each, even if the sunlight is insufficient.

The Kurudampalayam Panchayat, which has 15 wards, has 13,000 households with a resident population of 30,143 and floating population of around 15,000.

Given the success of this pilot project, the local body plans to convert all its 2,500 street lights to solar power.

In the first phase, it is going to install 50 solar lights with 30-watt bulbs each at public places such as intersections and cemetery. Several lights will also be installed at areas near forest which witnesses frequent elephant movement. “Upon completing the project, the EB bill of the panchayat will definitely go down by as much as 80 per cent,” says Mr. Ravi.

(Source: Hindu Newspaper) 39

Innovative uses of solar power are expanding rapidly in the UAE Innovative uses of solar power are expanding rapidly in the UAE, underscored by recent developments in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Abu Dhabi Rooftop Solar Pilot Project has rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) modules operating on 15 buildings in the emirate, with licenses for 30 more underway. Meanwhile, Dubai recently announced that residents will be able to install solar panels on their roofs and sell the generated energy back to the Dubai power grid.

As the most heavily represented sector at World Future Energy Summit (WFES) 2015, solar will figure prominently in several expert panels, including discussions on how to integrate solar power into

electrical grids, secure project finance, and implement best practices in solar projects. Attendees also will benefit from workshops offering accredited training programs on ways to operate and optimize solar photovoltaic (PV) and concentrated solar power (CSP) facilities. With more than 30,000 attendees expected from 170 countries, WFES is perfectly positioned to catalyze the partnerships and deals in solar energy that are transforming the energy mix of the region.

Another application which demonstrates the transformative nature of this sector is the use of solar power to fuel water desalination a significant issue for arid regions In a public-private partnership, Masdar, the host of WFES, has commissioned 4 companies to build desalination plants running on solar power as part of a series of pilot projects it launched in May 2014. The project was announced during WFES 2013.

Through all of these features, WFES has established itself as an essential event for all those interested in making the deals and implementing the technologies that will shape the solar industry in the Middle East and 40

the rest of the world. At WFES you will truly experience bottom-up innovation in solar power that is unparalleled anywhere else.

The World Future Energy Summit (WFES) is the Middle East's largest gathering on future energy and one that drives actionable solutions to the world's energy challenges. Now in its eigth edition, WFES 2015 will attract upwards of 30,000 delegates from 170 different countries, representing expertise from industry, technology, finance and government.

Held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, WFES will catalyze partnerships through the Project and Finance Village, TechTalk, and the Sustainability Business Connect Program, where leading companies representing the entire energy spectrum from hyrocarbons to renewables will gather to showcase innovations and share best practices.

Hosted by Masdar, Abu Dhabi's renewable energy company, WFES features a conference programme with in-depth panel discussions headlined by international leaders such as HE Mr. Abdelkader Amara, Moroccan minister of Energy, Mines, Water and Environment; Maria van der Hoeven, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA); and Sean Stafford Kidney, CEO of the Climate Bonds Initiative, among many others.

WFES is the anchoring event of the Masdar-hosted Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW), taking place from January 17 24 that includes the third International Water Summit (IWS), the second edition of EcoWASTE, and the Zayed Future Energy Prize.

The week will also coincide with the Fifth General Assembly of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

As an international conference and business platform that stays at the forefront of the world's energy conversation, WFES 2015 will provide energy stakeholders with unparalleled opportunities to meet with their peers, exchange technology, and make deals that promote a better energy future.

WFES 2015 will be held at ADNEC from 19 - 22 January.

Get 2 LED bulbs for Rs. 10 each, save electricity Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with MoS (independent charge) for power and coal Piyush Goyal and LG of Delhi Najeeb Jung during the launch of National Programme for LED Street Lighting and LED Home Lighting in New Delhi (Image courtesy:The Times of India)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi fixes an LED bulb with Najeeb Jung, LG of Delhi, during the launch of National Programme for LED Street Lighting and LED Home Lighting in New Delhi recently.

The Prime Minister called for a national energy conservation movement by kicking off a campaign called "Prakash Path". Narendra Modi said that for starters Delhiites will be given a gift of two subsidized LED (light emitting diode) bulbs which are more expensive than CFL bulbs but last much longer and consume even less energy.

Calling for a "people's movement" on this, Modi said conservation of energy was much easier than generation, and as a symbolic gesture replaced one bulb in his office with a LED bulb. Replacement of all bulbs in South Block with LEDs would apparently lead to a saving of 7,000 units every month.

Delhi will be the first city to implement the domestic efficient lighting programme which is expected to be rolled out from March 1. Each registered consumer of power will get two LED bulbs for Rs 10 (their actual cost varies from Rs 350 to Rs 600). And Rs 10 will be added to their electricity bill for the next 12 months.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with MoS (independent charge) for power and coal Piyush Goyal and LG of Delhi Najeeb Jung during the launch of National Programme for LED Street Lighting and LED

Home Lighting in New Delhi.

While Delhi will be the first to adopt the scheme, the programme for LED-based Home and Street Lighting is meant for the entire country. The project of installing LED bulbs for domestic and street-lighting in a hundred cities is targeted for completion by March 2016.

Industry experts say Delhi can save up to 250 million units (mu) or 1% of the total power consumption if every registered consumer in Delhi replaces two incandescent bulbs at home with LEDs. At the inaugural function, Modi handed over two LED bulbs to a resident of Delhi who was the first person to register.

Delhi's power demand has been rising by about 8%-10% every year, and the peak demand this year in summer is expected to be between 6,2006,400 MW. In comparison, there has not been any significant increase in generation of power. Instead, generation from new power plants has got reduced drastically due to gas shortage.

For the subsidized LED bulbs, consumers can either pay the amount upfront or opt for a plan in which they pay in instalments, said a discom official. LED bulbs are being procured in bulk by Energy Efficiency Services Ltd, a joint venture of several public sector undertakings like NTPC, PFC, REC and Powergrid to facilitate implementation of energy efficiency projects.

To take part in the scheme, consumers have to either preregister at the programme website, eeslindia.org/DelhiLaunch, or go to a discom's customer care centre and fill a form. Approval for the scheme in Delhi was given by Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) last week. There is no liability on discoms for the scheme and the benefit will be extended to about 35 lakh consumers.

"All consumers in the national capital have been mapped by the respective discom and hence implementing here will be relatively simple,'' said an official. According to Tata Power Delhi CEO Praveer Sinha, the average savings per consumer will be about 30-40 units and the anticipated savings for the whole of Delhi if every consumer opts for LEDs is up to 230-250 million units (mu). The estimated annual savings for households in Delhi per LED bulb will be about Rs. 162.

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NEWS: Egypt to build 4,300 MW solar and wind plants in 3 years central trading hub for energy to make use of its geographical situation centered between the major producers and consumers of energy, and the availability of infrastructure such as the Suez Canal and the SUMED pipeline," Sisi said.

He did not specify how the solar and wind projects might be financed, but foreign aid from the Gulf and elsewhere may be involved.

United Arab Emirates-based Access Power, a private firm, is leading a consortium in bidding to develop solar and wind power plants for Egypt, Reda El Chaar, chairman of Access Power, told Reuters.

Egypt aims to build solar and wind power plants in the next three years with combined capacity of 4,300 megawatts, Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi told an energy conference in Abu Dhabi.

The plan is part of Egypt's strategy for renewable energy to contribute to more than 20 percent of its energy mix by 2020, he added.

Access Infra Africa, a partnership between Access Power and French renewable energy company EREN Développement has been prequalified by Egypt's Ministry of Electricity to develop four solar plants with total capacity of 200 MW and two wind plants of 100 MW, El Chaar said.

(Source:Reuters)

"Egypt's strategy includes transforming Egypt into a

GCC may cut energy-related water use by 22% thanks to renewables The report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), power generation from wind and solar facilities, for example, can withdraw up to 200 times less water than a coal power plant for the same output. The agency noted that this will lead to "substantial" cost savings in a region where water is expensive as it is scarce.

“Globally, an energy system with substantial shares of renewables, in particular solar photovoltaics and wind power, would save significant amounts of water, thereby reducing strains on limited water resources,” said IRENA's director-general Adnan Z Amin.

According to a new study, GCC may cut energy-related water use by 22% thanks to renewables Should the countries from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) meet their individual renewables targets, the GCC will lower its water consumption for power production and fuel extraction by 22%.

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In addition to water saving, renewable energy technologies have the potential to improve food security and help provide clean drinking water through renewable energy-based desalination plants.

Dubai triples renewable energy target to 15% by 2030 from 100 to 200MW. It is one of the biggest strategic new Independent Power Producer (IPP) projects in the renewable energy market worldwide. The consortium led by Saudi Arabia's ACWA and Spain's TSK was selected as a Preferred Bidder with the lowest price. Dewa said this reflected the trust and interest of international investors in Dubai and Dewa, its transparency in all its projects and its strong financial position.

ACWA and TSK consortium was selected based on alternative proposal for 200MW with LCOE of 5.84869 USD cents/kWh.

Dubai has tripled its target to increase the share of renewables to 15% in its energy mix by 2030, according to a senior government official. The emirate has increased its 2020 target also by seven times to 7%, apparently due to falling costs of solar energy, according to Saeed Mohammad Al Tayer, managing director and chief executive officer of Dewa (Dubai Water and Electricity Authority).

The announcement gains relevance as it negates the speculation that falling oil prices in the international market will affect the growth of the renewable energy sector.

Dubai's Integrated Energy Strategy 2030 had earlier set targets for renewable energy (mainly solar) to supply 1% of energy mix by 2020 and 5% by 2030. Dubai's current energy mix consists of 99% gas and 1% diesel.

Al Tayer announced the higher targets for renewables during a panel discussion at the World Future Energy Summit 2015.

He also announced that Dewa will release a bid for 500MW photovoltaic (PV) project in 2016 in the Independent Power Producer (IPP) model.

Investments in Dubai's energy sector are expected to surpass Dh56 billion over the next five years to meet Dubai's growing demand on water and power. This will boost the green economy and create a competitive advantage for the UAE in clean energy technology and energy efficiency, Al Tayer said.

The higher targets for renewables follows Dewa's announcement to double the capacity of the phase two of the Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park

“Dewa managed to get the lowest price thanks to the global trust it enjoys and the encouraging regulations that protect the rights of all parties, Al Tayer said.

Drop in costs “Dewa works to achieve the strategy of the Supreme Council of Energy in Dubai to diversify the energy mix and reduce consumption by 30% by 2030 and we are on track to surpass the previous targets. The UAE, represented by Dewa, has been ranked first in the Middle East and North Africa and fourth globally, for the second consecutive year, in getting electricity as per the World Bank's Doing Business Report. Dewa has a 90% fuel consumption efficiency rate,” Al Tayer said.

Highlighting the significant fall in renewable energy costs in recent years, Al Tayer said the prices of PV (photovoltaic) panels have dropped by 60 per cent since 2011.

Dewa's smart grid initiative with Dh7 billion investments the Smart Dubai initiative along with Dewa's smart initiatives of producing solar electricity in buildings and homes and connecting them to the grid, and building the infrastructure for electric car charging stations. He noted that renewable energy resources create more jobs in the UAE. Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak, Secretary General of the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi, and Mohammad Al Ramahi, Chief Operating Officer of Masdar, also participated in the discussion panel, which was attended

by Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of state and CEO of Masdar.

(Source:Gulf News) 43

How to finance the transition to a green economy?

According to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (UNIPCC), the Earth is set to warm by 4 to 5 degrees compared with pre-industrial levels, warming that will wreak devastating effects on the planet and lead to massive destruction, loss of life and loss of subsistence for millions. In order to avoid this outcome, the International Energy Agency says we need US$1trn a year until 2050 to finance a transition to green growth and green lifestyles.

Where is this US$1trn going to come from?

First, based on research by the Climate Policy Initiative, three-quarters of all climate financing already comes from the country it is spent in. We will need (and will have to get) funding from most countries, even very poor ones, though that's not the same thing as saying we need it from their public purse: climate change is a global “commons” and requires every individual, company, and country to participate in its solution.

Countries with little capacity to reduce emissions and adapt to climate impacts will nonetheless have a deeppocketed private sector which can contribute. What matters is how the private sector can be made a full partner in the fight against climate change. The private 44

sector already accounts for more than 60% of global climate finance and if we are to get to US$1trn in annual climate finance flows, it will have to account for the majority of funding.

Second, we also know that out of this US$1trn, US$100bn or 10% is intended to come via the Green Climate Fund, a UN institution which joins an alphabet soup of international climate support vehicles, including the GEF or Global Environment Facility, the CIFs or Climate Investment Funds, the UN climate talks' “Adaptation Fund” and another thirty-five organizations listed as “UN partners on climate change”. The Green Climate Fund is supposed to facilitate the mobilization of the US$1trn annual flow of capital needed for climate action.

So how do we make the private sector a full partner, while getting the Green Climate Fund off the ground?

Private sector mobilization is straightforward: we must continue our efforts to introduce a carbon price across, at a minimum, all G20 economies. Carbon markets represent up to 50% of the solution in the fight against global warming and a carbon price is critical to mobilize the private sector (which accounts for 70% of global

GDP and 70% of employment). Domestic carbon markets are spreading and linking up around the world, and by 2015 are likely to cover some four billion people.

Yet fossil fuel industry lobbying continues to deliver watered-down versions of this effective instrument.

Green bonds, for example, won't get off the ground at the scale we need without a carbon price (and a rising curve for carbon prices) to help price future cash flows correctly.

Getting the Green Climate Fund off the ground with US$100bn in annual spending power is just as challenging. For now, the US$100bn is nowhere to be seen, a symptom of a larger malaise. There are several factors behind a social movement's likelihood to succeed, and, to date, the climate movement has spectacularly bungled all of these factors, but none more so than the need to give rise to stabilizing institutions to give it permanence and efficacy. The track record of

climate funding from UN-related institutions leads one to despair: between them, these vehicles disbursed a total of US$15bn over the past 20 years, an average of US$750m per year, a far, far cry from US$100bn.

Contrast the current state of international climate funding, in particular the Green Climate Fund, with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

The Global Fund is an international financing institution set up in a partnership between governments, civil society, the private sector and affected communities, by combining resources towards fighting HIV and AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria through grant programmes.

Founded in January 2002 in Geneva, just three months later it approved its first round of grants for 36 countries.

Twelve years later, the Global Fund has disbursed more than US$23bn, saving 8.7 million lives: emphatic proof that global co-operation can work and that when it does, it solves global problems.

to effective institutions of a size commensurate with the problem we are trying to tackle? The Green Climate Fund has been a very long five years in the making and is acting as if it were deserted of common sense: while it has received a paltry US$40m in pledges so far, it spent all of it on its administration and on board meetings around the world, without a thought to approving even symbolic grants to needy communities and deserving projects. In typical fashion, in May 2014, it declared that it finally agreed on a set of design rules, paving the way for its initial capital to be raised, and accompanied this “success” by announcing a French contribution of US$1m (that's 10% of 1% of 1% of US$100bn) to fund its own expenses! There are a couple of conclusions we can already draw from the history of climate funding mechanisms.

First, we need to stop reinventing the wheel with new aid mechanisms. Greater fragmentation is undermining the few public dollars that are put toward mitigation and adaptation annually.

As the Global Fund has shown, it is easy to raise massive amounts of funding once the political will is there. In the case of the climate funding mechanisms, whether it's the Adaptation Fund, the GEF, the CIFs or the Green Climate Fund, we know that that financial transaction taxes for example (well-tested, tiny taxes on certain financial transactions, also known as Robin Hood taxes) could raise US$300bn a year globally. It's time for the G20 or the G7 to implement these Robin Hood taxes and, following the lead of the Global Fund, voluntary taxes on aviation as well.

Second, it's time for the UNFCCC to be vastly scaled down to an institution providing technical input on monitoring, reporting and verification, and accounting of greenhouse gas emissions. After 20 years of arguing that a tonne of CO2 is a tonne of CO2, it's now clear that's not the case. The “tonne is a tonne” mantra is a key reason behind the failure of international negotiations, because the effort to reduce emissions in one country is not the same as that required in another. As we are witnessing, governments are quite happy developing emission-reduction policies and measures on their own terms.

Recognizing this fact leads to the conclusion that the UNFCCC's function should now be greatly reduced, with much less effort devoted to trying to get countries to agree on comparable targets and much more effort devoted to ensuring the integrity of underlying climate actions. With sound monitoring, reporting and verification principles accepted among all governments, there is much greater scope for markets to work to create long-term, rising forward price curves against which the private sector can invest.

Why has the climate movement been unable to give rise 45

UAE mulls integration of nuke and green energy sources

The UAE is considering integration of nuclear power with hydrocarbons and sustainable energy sources for power generation, a senior government official said.

executed by Masdar, were important sources of power generation, he noted.

The country was planning to import large quantities of natural gas to meet the growing demand of local economy, Energy Minister Suhail bin Mohammed Al Mazrouei was quoted in an Emirates News Agency (WAM) report.

He referred to the Dolphin project, the first intra-GCC gas network that connects Qatar, the UAE and Oman.

"The (country's) leadership also saw that the country cannot rely on natural gas as a sole source of power generation and a new strategy for integrating nuclear energy into the power generation model is needed,â&#x20AC;? he said.

Abu Dhabi is implementing a program for development of four 1,400-MW nuclear plants which cater to 25% of the UAE's electricity needs by the end of the decade, Al Mazrouei was quoted as saying in the report.

Renewable energy projects, currently 46

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Energy and Efficiency

By Staff Writer

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