Ghanaian New Energy Ltd.

19/04/2020

COVID-19 Took 106,000 Clean Energy Jobs Last Month. These 3 Sectors Were Impacted Most

Steven Li

Just last month alone, the clean energy sector shed a record number of jobs. That number is 106,000—and to put it into perspective, that loss is equivalent to about a year’s worth of gains.

17/04/2020

Coronavirus Causes Mass Layoffs In Renewables Sector


The renewable energy industry has not been spared by the significant job bleed that the coronavirus pandemic caused in the world’s biggest economy. Last month alone, 106,000 people from this industry lost their jobs, and more losses are on the way, a group of industry organizations has warned.

Irina Slav - Apr 16, 2020

13/02/2020

Solar Power World

Sunflare’s latest thin-film solar module fits between seams of metal roof
By Kelly Pickerel | February 11, 2020

Thin-film solar panel manufacturer Sunflare has released a new module that nestles in between seams of a metal standing-seam roof — the PowerFit 20.

The 60-W CIGS panels come with butyl adhesive backing that peel and stick to the metal roof.

As with all Sunflare modules, there is a bypass diode for each individual cell. When a cell is shaded, only that individual cell is inactive.

News item from Sunflare

09/02/2020

☰ pv magazine - Photovoltaics Markets and Technology
FEBRUARY 8, 2020 EMILIANO BELLINI

Italian PV panels destined for recycling were instead smuggled to Syria and Africa
Illegally re-badged panels were sold to Senegal, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Morocco, Mauritania, Turkey and Syria. Italian authorities found 60 tons of panels

Some of the re-labelled end-of-life products were sold to war-torn Syria.

Italy’s Carabinieri Command for the Protection of the Environment has seized a waste treatment plant near Catania, in Sicily, on the suspicion that panels sent there for recycling were instead smuggled to African and Middle Eastern markets.

The Ministry of the Environment announced that thousands of panels sent for recycling from solar plants in Italy were instead re-badged with false labels and exported to other markets. The racket was uncovered by the carabinieri’s Operation BlackSun. “About 60 tons of solar panels were also found on which investigations will be conducted to verify the regularity of the storage, treatment and recovery operations,” the ministry added.

The owner of the recycling plant, whose name was not released, was arrested on January 23 on an arrest warrant issued by the investigating magistrate of the Perugia court on charges of being one of the main perpetrators of a criminal association aimed at illicit cross-border trafficking of waste, money laundering, counterfeiting, alteration or use of trademarks and other illegal conduct, the Italian government said.

Senegal, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Morocco, Mauritania, Turkey and Syria

The carabinieri said counterfeited panels were smuggled to Senegal, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Morocco, Mauritania, Turkey and Syria.

Bertrand Lempkowicz of the PV Cycle recycling organization said the EU’s Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive authorizes re-use of modules and a lack of legal detail in some territories can leave loopholes which can be exploited by recycling entities. “It is obvious that PV Cycle does not support this practice, simply [that] there are no guidelines strictly defining what is a second-hand photovoltaic panel or a re-used panel,” Lempkowicz told pv magazine. “When is a panel considered waste or second hand? The vagueness of this question is too great.”

EU electronic waste regulation requires all manufacturers supplying products to the bloc to finance collection and recycling of end-of-life products. Solar panels were added to the scope of the WEEE directive in 2012.

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EMILIANO BELLINI
Emiliano joined pv magazine in March 2017. He has been reporting on solar and renewable energy since 2009.
More articles from Emiliano Bellini

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Italian PV panels sent for recycling were instead smuggled to Syria and Africa

Photovoltaic Markets and Technology

05/02/2020

Solar PV panel with encapsulated tracking mirrors unveiled at Intersolar

By Kelly Pickerel | February 4, 2020

Canadian solar product developer ISP Solar introduced its breakthrough ‘Intensifying Solar Panels’ at Intersolar in San Diego, California, today.

ISP’s patented panel-level intensifying solar technology incorporates conic mirrors that “intensify the sun’s rays 20-times.” ISP modules then require just 1/20th of the PV cells of traditional panels to deliver the same performance. The tracking mirrors are encapsulated in the panels.

The ISP module incorporates single-junction monocrystalline silicon with improved collector resistance, a large bus conductor and conic reflective troughs. The module system is ideal for commercial rooftops and utility-scale installations

“Our goal is to make solar panels both more affordable and greener. By breaking the affordability barrier, we will deliver a faster return on investment for anybody considering renewable energy,” said ISP’s co-CEO and product inventor Raja Singh Tuli.

“Developed over four years of research and covered by multiple patents, ISP’s technology will help drive down the cost of solar energy and accelerate its adoption,” said ISP Solar’s Co-CEO, Suneet Singh Tuli. “Our work on making the world’s most affordable internet access devices led us to see how important an affordable energy supply is, and how that remains an enormous challenge for too many of the world’s people. We have rededicated ourselves to solving that problem by cutting the cost of solar power in half.”

ISP modules come with a full 25-year performance and equipment guarantee.

The product is expected to begin delivery in the summer of 2020.

News item from IPS

04/02/2020

04022020

New Research Explains How Solar Panels
Could Soon Be Generating Power at Night

As beneficial as current solar panel technology has been in our quest to switch to renewable energy, such panels can't generate electricity at night. Now, new research suggests it could be possible to design panels that can operate around the clock.

30/01/2020

It’s official: The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) has finally come around to the view that renewables will overtake natural gas in the country’s electricity mix.

The EIA has long been known for its implausibly conservative predictions about renewable energy. As recently as last year, the EIA forecast that natural gas would remain the country’s top source of electricity out to 2050.

Last year in its Annual Energy Outlook, the EIA put natural gas at 39 percent of the power mix in 2050 under its base-case scenario, far outpacing renewables at 31 percent.

Fast forward to the 2020 Annual Energy Outlook, released Wednesday, and that prediction has been turned on its head: Renewables are now forecast to account for 38 percent of electricity in 2050 (up from 19 percent today), while natural gas will see its share drop to 36 percent (from 37 percent today).

29/01/2020

Ingeteam is finalizing the launch of its latest INGECON SUN STORAGE 1Play TL M hybrid inverter. This highly versatile inverter features a battery input and two more inputs for PV panels. Each PV input has its own maximum power point tracking system, making it ideal for harnessing the maximum amount of energy on roof-mounted, self-consumption PV installations, with the PV solar panels positioned in two different orientations.

A further advantage is that the INGECON SUN STORAGE 1Play TL M hybrid inverter features an EMS (Energy Management System), making it possible to implement advanced operating modes, such as self-consumption, and facilitating system monitoring through the INGECON SUN Monitor smartphone application. Moreover, there is an application to easily and remotely set-up and upgrade the inverter firmware via PC, tablet or mobile phone. Moreover, the system commissioning and the inverter’s firmware update can be performed remotely with the application via PC, tablet or smartphone.

This new inverter is suitable for both grid-connected and stand-alone systems. In this latter case, the hybrid inverter is responsible for generating the grid. For grid-connected systems, the inverter features a back-up functionality so that, in the event of a grid outage, the critical loads can be powered from the batteries and PV panels.

Just like the previous model, this new hybrid inverter by Ingeteam is compatible with lead-acid and lithium-ion batteries, and is also compatible with the storage systems made by the market’s leading manufacturers.

Production of this new inverter is set to start in May and it will be available with two power outputs: 3 kW and 6 kW

11/01/2020

Quadran International wins Seychelles tender for large-scale floating PV with bid of $0.095/kWh
The 4 MW plant will be deployed in Lagoon le Rocher on Mahé Island. Construction will likely begin in the second quarter of this year, while details of the 25-year power purchase agreement should be finalized by the end of March.

JANUARY 10, 2020

07/01/2020

Vestas, the world’s leading manufacturer of wind turbines, announced plans to become carbon-neutral by 2030 without the use of any offsets, also stating it will lean heavily on its suppliers to shrink their own emissions.

Denmark’s Vestas said Monday it will slash its carbon emissions 55 percent by 2025 — and zero them out entirely by the end of the new decade. Vestas employs 25,000 people worldwide, with factories spread across four continents, including several in Colorado. In addition to manufacturing, Vestas services a 90-gigawatt operating fleet of wind farms for customers around the world.

Vestas has been powering its factories and offices worldwide with 100 percent renewable electricity since 2013. The challenge now is to push into areas where the company has less direct experience, like heating and transportation, said Lisa Malmquist Ekstrand, head of sustainability.

Vestas will transition its roughly 1,000 company cars to electric vehicles this year, while beginning to replace its 4,000 or so light-commercial service vehicles with renewably fueled alternatives. For its service vehicles, the company is looking at EVs as well as other renewable options, Ekstrand told GTM.

In the near term, the transition could put upward cost pressure on some operations, but the switch to clean fuels will generate savings over the long run, Ekstrand said. “It will also increase our attractiveness to customers as well as future employees.”

Pressure on global wind supply chain
Beyond its internal operations, Vestas is committing to reduce carbon emissions across its global supply chain, settling on a more complicated target of 45 percent per megawatt-hour generated by its turbines by 2030. That covers all Vestas turbines made from 2019 onward over the course of their operating lives, Ekstrand explained.

The external target was set with two things in mind: encouraging carbon reductions and ensuring the continued growth of renewable energy installations, which means costs must be kept down.

There are many potential avenues for change, from greening suppliers’ fuel mixes to adopting lower-carbon materials and practices. “We’re talking to all our main suppliers today,” Ekstrand said.

Wood Mackenzie expects Vestas to maintain its lead in the consolidating global wind turbine industry for the foreseeable future, with nearly 15 gigawatts of new installations in 2020. The OEM competes closely with GE for the top position in the roaring U.S. wind market, which is expected to install nearly 50 gigawatts during the 2019-2023 period.

Vestas is among the largest Danish companies by market capitalization, along with global offshore wind leader Ørsted. Denmark reportedly sourced a record 47 percent of its electricity from wind power last year, compared to 15 percent across the European Union.

Over the course of its 40-year history, Vestas has installed 108 gigawatts of renewable capacity in more than 80 countries. In addition to its onshore turbine business, Vestas is joint owner of offshore wind manufacturer MHI Vestas

04/01/2020

Renewable power sources in UK outstrips fossil fuels in 2019
Data released by National Grid shows a combination of wind farms, solar and nuclear energy, alongside energy imported by subsea interconnectors delivered 48.5% of Britain’s electricity in 2019 compared to 43% generated by fossil fuels.

24/12/2019

Turbines at a wind farm

‘Shovel ready’: Spanish firm to put $500m into Australian wind and solar farm

Energy giant Iberdrola predicts renewables will take ‘much more relevant position’ in Australia in coming years – and hopes to develop further projects

Spanish energy giant Iberdrola says it has decided to invest $500m in a wind and solar farm in South Australia as the first of a series of renewable power projects it hopes to develop in Australia.

Iberdrola’s head of renewables, Xabier Viteri, said that in the new year the company would also probably increase its target for renewable energy from the “ambitious” target of 10GW by 2022.

“Our ambition is going to be a little bit higher,” he told Guardian Australia.

Renewables meet 50% of electricity demand on Australia's power grid for first time
Viteri seemed unworried by the hostility expressed towards renewables by some parts of the Morrison government. “All of us can work together and there’s not going to be any problem.”

Viteri said Australia was an ideal place to invest because of its high power consumption and stable market.

“It’s a place where renewables are going to play a much more relevant position in the coming years, clearly,” he said. “It’s a bit far away from where I am now, that’s the only problem.”

The project, the Port Augusta Renewable Energy Park, has been under development by the privately owned DP Energy.

DP Energy’s country manager for Australia, Catherine Way, said the project was now “shovel ready”.

She said DP Energy would assist in building the plant but it would ultimately be owned and operated by Iberdrola.

The plant is to be made up of a 210MW windfarm, designed to peak at the same time as demand at about 6pm to 7pm every day, plus photovoltaic solar to provide electricity during the day.

It will feed directly into the South Australian power grid, but Way said direct sales to industrial customers were also possible.

Australia's emissions to start falling thanks to renewables boom, researchers say
She said demand from business customers was based on both a desire to decarbonise their operations and economics.

“Renewable energy electrons are typically cheaper than electrons where you have to pay for the fuel,” she said.

Iberdrola’s country manager for Australia, Fernando Santamaria, said construction would start next year and the plant should be complete by the second half of 2021.

“The combination of those technologies, it’s a trend we are seeing globally,” he said. “The wind profile matches very well the South Australian demand, and the solar provides the perfect complement.

“I think corporate, big customers, are becoming more and more interested in decarbonisation, getting cleaner sources of energy for their projects, for their consumption.”

He said future investments would likely be in the areas serviced by the National Electricity Market, which excludes Western Australia, especially the east coast.

But he declined to identify where Iberdrola would go next. “We already have some focus and some ideas,” he said.

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