5Jan

India Plans Increasing Solar Power Capacity During The Next Few Years

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India seems to aim higher and think bigger in terms of its solar energy: from a set goal of 20 GW, the National Solar Mission grew its prospects to 33.4 GW all around the country, according to a report by Bridge to India.

The first step is to have 14.15 GW by 2018. By then, solar energy will have its own respected place on the national grid and more progress will have been made regarding the emissions level.

This will be possible due to the increased production of PV cells and the possibility of cheap imports from China. The final cost is estimated at around 40% less than what it is now.

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4Jan

India Solar Market Could Hit 33.4 GW by 2022

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As mentioned in my 2012 solar energy expectations yesterday, I think India’s got a good chance of shooting onto the solar power map this year. Following up on solar in India, a recent report by Bridge to India estimates that the country will have 33.4 gigawatts (GW) of solar power installed by 2022, far more than the 20 GW that are targeted by India’s National Solar Mission (NSM).

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29Dec

Shipping Containers Become Solar-Powered Internet Hubs in Rural Africa

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Shipping Containers Become Solar-Powered Internet Hubs in Rural

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Every now and then when we post on how solar power is bringing the internet to rural Africa, or enabling the charging of mobile phones in poor communities, I’ll hear concerns from naysayers who wonder what these technologies might mean for traditional social structures in these remote areas.

Let’s leave aside the morally questionable issue of internet-connected critics worrying about access to the internet for others for a moment, and look at the core question—does internet connectivity threaten rural communities? Actually, if UK-based charity Computer Aid is anything to go by, the reverse is true.

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28Dec

India’s Tata Power to Divorce BP Solar

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India's Tata Power to Divorce BP Solar

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BP Solar is suffering a slow death that is hard to watch and reflects the cutthroat competition that marks an industry that used to be a lot more Pollyanna. The company is closing down and on Tuesday its joint venture partner, Tata Power, said it will buy out BP’s share in their enterprise.

Tata said it will purchase the 51 percent BP had in their Tata BP Solar joint venture, which was formed in 1989 and makes silicon solar panels and offers solar system design services. Tata didn’t disclose the purchase price. The joint venture is among the top three solar cell and panel makers in India, according to GTM Research.

The deal gives Tata total control of an operation that could benefit from India’s emergence as a sizable solar market. India’s central government wants to see 20 gigawatts of grid-tied solar energy and 2 gigawatts of off-grid uses by 2022, and it launched an incentive program in January 2010 that has auctioned off projects. A few states in India also run solar incentive programs. All these efforts are recent, so whether India can hit its goals still remains a big question.

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16Dec

Solar Power Becomes Cheaper Than Diesel Generators in India

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Solar Power Becomes Cheaper Than Diesel Generators in India

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While the passage of time makes solar cost competitive for many Americans right now, the question of cost competitiveness is not a simple one for solar. It depends on location, installation costs, and what kind of power solar is competing against. In Africa, solar has already become cheaper than kerosene in many locations. And now Renewable Energy News reports that solar is becoming cheaper than diesel generators in India as French-company Solardirect has bid to supply the energy grid with solar power at a rate cheaper than the average for diesel generators:

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16Nov

World’s Largest Hydropower Project Will Produce One-Third Of Africa’s Electricity, But Who Will Get It?

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Everything I need to know about hygroelectricity

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At double the size of China’s Three Gorges Dam, the 40 GW Grand Inga hydropower project, to be built on the Congo River under an agreement between the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Africa, will be the world’s largest by a wide margin. It will increase Africa’s electricity generating capacity by one-third.

But as IPS News reports, as is unfortunately typical with many big-push style projects in the developing world, the local people will likely get little of the electricity produced by the Grand Inga.

Instead, the power transmission lines are expected to go towards mining and industrial facilities, towards the big cities in South Africa and Egypt, as well as possibly being exported to Europe.

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