13Dec

Solar feed-in tariffs fall by half

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Solar feed-in tariffs fall by half

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Subsidies for solar panels installed after Monday will fall by as much as 50 per cent from next April, assuming the government adopts proposals set out in the on-going consultation on its popular feed-in tariff scheme.

The consultation on new rates for photovoltaic (PV) systems with capacity of 250kW or below does not conclude until 23 December. But the government’s controversial package of reforms suggest the proposed cuts will come into force for installations completed 12 days prior to the closing date of the consultation exercise.

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28Nov

Google’s Search for More Efficient and Low-cost Solar Thermal Power Plant Designs

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Google has abandoned its effort to come up with better flat mirrors and power plant designs for producing electricity from the sun’s heat, but it is releasing its research results so that others could perhaps use it to create commercially viable solutions.

It’s interesting to see what Google thought it could contribute to the field of solar thermal power plant engineering. The company’s research has focused on using smaller engines and light-weight mirrors with better controlling software — along with a tower outfitted with equipment to receive the concentrated sunlight and run a turbine and generator — to produce electricity. It ran into some technical challenges with engineering a suitable power tower before it decided to shelve the research project.

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26Nov

Google Drops ‘Renewable Energy Cheaper than Coal’ (RE

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Google Makes a Mistake

As you can see from the linked stories on the left of this article, Google is quite a big proponent of renewable energy. They have made all kinds of investments in wind, solar, geothermal, etc. Some are to generate clean energy for their own needs, others are more akin to financing deals to help big wind and solar farms get built. In any case, it is very commendable work and if more big corporations had the long-term vision of Google, the world would definitely be in better shape.

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24Nov

Google Pulls Plug on Renewable Energy Project

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Google Pulls Plug on Renewable Energy Project

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Google Inc has abandoned an ambitious project to make renewable energy cheaper than coal, the latest target of Chief Executive Larry Page’s moves to focus the Internet giant on fewer efforts.

Google said on Tuesday that it was pulling the plug on seven projects, including Renewable Energy Cheaper than Coal as well as a Wikipedia-like online encyclopedia service known as Knol.

The plans, which Google announced on its corporate blog, represent the third so-called “spring cleaning” announcement that Google has made since Google co-founder Page took the reins in April.

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24Nov

How Tariffs Could Impact Solar Industry

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Would tariffs placed on Chinese solar panels amount to “protectionism?” Are the companies most critical of the trade complaint “just crying foul?” And what’s more important to American companies, the race to grid parity or the desire to reclaim solar manufacturing from China?

With the creation of competing coalitions, the sides have been clearly labeled, and the opinions have become increasingly entrenched. But there remains a striking lack of clarity about what happens if and when tariffs are placed on solar panels and cells imported into the U.S., and how that could ultimately impact American businesses and American solar capacity.

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22Nov

Five green options for your rooftop

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People understand the importance of energy conservation and therefore are gradually opting for methods in which natural and renewable resources of energy are implied for generating power. Everything inside our homes, from your cooking appliances to A/V devices to lighting fixtures, is going green these days. Have you ever considered the idea of having a green roof for your home? There are a numerous methods that can be implied on the roofs of the homes to make them green, which will not only help cut down on the electricity bills but will also make your home an eco-friendly and an eye-pleasing appearance. Let’s take a look at some of the interesting green options for your rooftop after the jump.

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14Nov

Setting sun: solar panels feed-in tariff halved

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Householders who are in the process of having solar panels put on their roof have six weeks to complete the job or face seeing the predicted income they generate slashed after the government said it was cutting feed-in tariffs by 50%.

Despite pledging to be “the greenest government ever”, the Tory-led coalition last week shocked the renewables sector by announcing that only installations completed by 12 December would get the full payments they were promised. Hundreds of householders who had signed contracts to have panels fitted have now pulled out and others are expected to follow.

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12Nov

California Now Has 1 Gigawatt of Solar Power Installed

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California Now Has 1 Gigawatt of Solar Power Installed

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Joining the ranks of 5 countries other than the U.S. that have hit the 1 gigawatt solar milestone (Germany, Italy, Spain, Japan, and the Czech Republic), California has now installed its 1st gigawatt (or 1,000th megawatt) of rooftop solar installed.

To put that into perspective, 1GW of solar can power up to 750,000 homes and is equal to about 2 coal-fired power plants.

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11Nov

Will solar power eventually cost less than coal generated electricity?

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Why we are asking this now?

Solar energy does not require any introduction as a potential source of renewable energy. Sunlight is plenty through out the year in tropical and subtropical regions. And these regions consist all most 50 percent of total land mass in the world. So, if solar energy is harnessed efficiently along these areas, energy generation would become lot greener in future.

However, today’s solar technology has too many problems starting from capturing sunlight to storage and distribution of generated electricity. For power generation, generally, two types of technologies are used – photovoltaic and solar thermal type. And both the technologies are expensive to install. Photovoltaic cells are made of expensive silicon compounds while the thermal type system requires huge parabolic structures to concentrate heat.

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10Nov

Mass solar panel installation on Nottingham social housing – big picture

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Mass solar panel installation on Nottingham social housing – big picture

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The mass installation on 600 homes in Broxtowe and Aspley is one of the largest to be carried out in the UK in a single domestic scheme. The energy savings are thought to total around £72,000 a year. The solar industry said the government’s plans to cut feed-in tariffs by over 50% in the next six weeks would devastate the number of installations on homes, schools and small businesses

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