Solar Power

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) – A historic church is now a beacon for the future.

Oak City Baptist Church in Raleigh is making a move toward sustainable energy for its current congregation and for congregations to come.

On Friday, church leaders and guests had a moment of prayer for the biggest change made to the more than 150-year-old building.

“It’s a decision that will bless generations to come after us,” pastor Reverend Dr. William Newkirk said.

The decision to put 112 solar panels on the roof was made, largely because of the financial advantage.

“Solar energy saves us almost $5,000 per year,” Newkirk said.

It also would help the church continue their work to help the community and the environment. 

“They’ve got plans in the future to provide a resiliency center, where they’re going to be able to provide power to their community in times of power outage,” Elizabeth Biser, the Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, said.

Church leaders were able to get the solar panels due to the state’s Solar Rebate program.

They received $27,000 to get them started.

“The rebate program makes solar more affordable for nonprofits and churches,” Biser said.

This week, a bi-partisan energy package advanced in the General Assembly, that, combined with the Rebate Program, could help state leaders reach their goal.

It’s a promise made from the pulpit, to help make a difference in North Carolina’s energy sourcing.

“It’s a historic church that’s leading the way,” Biser said. “We would be carbon-neutral by 2050.”

Electrolux South Africa has embarked on a journey to exit the national electricity grid and move to renewable solar energy, cutting the organisation’s carbon footprint at its local Kwikot water heater (geyser) manufacturing plant by 40%.

Lead engineer at Electrolux South Africa, Ughard de Clercq said the organisation was expected to complete the development of a major 1MW solar energy system at its Benoni factory by November 2021. The company has invested R16 million in the solar system which it started building in July 2021.

“We plan to be climate neutral by 2030 in all our manufacturing operations. So far, we have implemented a 112kWp solar system for our offices in 2020 and have saved over 96 tons of CO2 just this year. We expect that the 1MW solar system will reduce our manufacturing CO2 footprint by 40%,” said de Clercq.

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Once completed, the solar system will comprise 1,278 solar panels that will power the factory during the day, supplying as much as 80 to 90% of the plant’s energy requirements. According to de Clercq, the organisation also intended to explore the possibility of purchasing renewable energy from Eskom to meet its nighttime electricity requirements when the parastatal is ready to offer privately produced green energy as an option.

“We did not develop more than one megawatt due to the roof space and current regulations limiting the amount of electricity generated via a solar system, but the government is looking to increase it,” de Clercq added. When limits were increased to 100MW or more, Electrolux would also investigate extending its solar system so that it could sell power back to the electricity grid.

“If the local law and infrastructure allow it, we would want to sell the excess green electricity back into the grid. We would like to be able to make a contribution to other organisations by supplying them with green energy,” he said.

A move to solar energy and other clean energy sources to achieve “better living”

Electrolux would likely also explore installing smaller solar energy systems at its geyser distribution centres around South Africa.

“We plan in the next two to three years to start reducing the consumption of our fossil fuels by switching from diesel to electric forklifts that can be charged by our solar system,” said de Clercq.

“We are also investigating how to reduce our water consumption in the future by harvesting the rainwater to reduce our environmental impact even further.”

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This latest investment in solar energy at its local factory was part of the organisation’s global strategy to achieve its “better living” 2030 goal of zero carbon emissions partially by using renewable energy in production. The investment also follows similar solar systems installed at the company’s plants in China, Thailand and Australia.

Electrolux South Africa’s Managing Director, Murray Crow commented: “We strive not only to manufacture sustainable products such as our appliances but to manufacture them in a sustainable way. It is important to look after the environment and do our part for future generations to come.”

In the first few months of his administration, one of President Joe Biden’s top policy priorities has been addressing the threat of climate change—while also improving infrastructure and creating jobs to generate economic growth. Biden has stated a goal of reaching 100% pollution-free electricity by 2035, which means dramatically scaling up renewable energy production in the U.S. To that end, Biden’s proposed American Jobs Plan would include extensive tax credits, grants, and other investments in clean energy.One of the potential beneficiaries of this focus is the solar power industry, which is seeing rapid growth as the costs associated with solar decline. For many years, solar power was too expensive to be adopted at scale as a major source of energy production, but this has changed in recent years.One of the biggest reasons for the decline in costs has been technological innovation. Solar technology has become more reliable and more efficient over time, which lowers the cost of generating energy. As those costs decrease, adoption becomes more common, which allows solar cell manufacturers to achieve economies of scale and lower prices even further.Government support has also been a major factor: billions in federal investment for renewables during the Great Recession helped spur the technological advances seen in the last decade, and the federal government—along with many states and localities—has long offered tax breaks and other incentives to subsidize household solar adoption.These factors reached an inflection point in the mid-2000s, and solar production in the U.S. has been growing exponentially ever since. In 2006, solar generated around 507,000 megawatthours of energy and represented .01% of U.S. energy generated by the electric power industry. By 2019, solar thermal and photovoltaic accounted for 71,936,822 megawatthours—around 140 times more than in 2006—to represent 1.74% of total.

Iraq signed an agreement with the UAE-based solar energy specialist Masdar on Wednesday, Anadolu has reported. The contract was signed in a ceremony held in the Iraqi capital Baghdad attended by Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi and UAE Energy Minister Suhail Bin Muhammad Al-Mazrouei.

According to an official media statement, also present were the President of the Iraqi National Investment Authority, Suha Al-Najjar, and the CEO of the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, Muhammad Jamil Al-Ramahi.

The project represents the first practical step taken by the Iraqi government to switch to alternative, clean and renewable energy sources to produce electricity and meet the country’s energy needs. Iraq is also holding talks with Gulf countries, led by Saudi Arabia, to import electricity by linking its network with the Gulf’s.

Iraq’s electricity generation capacity is 19 gigawatts, but it needs 30 gigawatts to cope with demand.

READ: Jordan to supply Lebanon with electricity via Syria

CAMBRIA COUNTY, Pa. (WTAJ) — A renewable energy development company in Portage donated $8,000 to a non-profit group that is remembering 9/11 through trails.

Competitive Power Ventures (CPV) presented a check to the Mainline Trail Organization on Wednesday, Sept. 6 towards the construction of a bicycle path that will run through Portage. Township workers have reportedly begun clearing trees from the Portage Football Stadium to Kane Run where the path will be created.

The trail will carry an important message as the organization is constructing the trail in partnership with the 9/11 National Memorial Trail Alliance. The group has created 1,300 miles of trails and roadways that connect all the September 11th memorials in New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia. The 9/11 trail commemorates those who lost their lives and the heroes who helped save many on that day.

CPV is re-purposing a former coal mine into a solar energy facility that plans to start powering an aluminum extrusion facility in Cressona. The facility will consist of 237,000 solar panels.

Regen is calling on the government to double the capacity for Pot One technologies from 5GW to 10GW in the next Contracts for Difference (CfD) auction.

The trade body outlined the ask in a letter sent to energy secretary Kwasi Kwarteng following reports that Prime Minister Boris Johnson is committing the UK to a zero carbon power system by 2035.

Regen’s analysis suggests there are plenty of renewables projects in the pipeline eligible to compete for CfDs, with 10GW of onshore wind and solar with planning permission and a further 9GW in the planning system. There is then another 20GW in the wider pipeline of projects that have secured a grid connection.

“Committing to backing 10GW of onshore renewables would address future power price increases, while at the same time indicating to the global stage ahead of COP26 that the UK is taking the action to deliver on its commitment to achieve net zero and transform the UK economy,” Regen’s chief executive, Merlin Hyman, said.

The next CfD auction – set to open in December – is to have a £265 million budget, with £200 million of this to go towards offshore wind projects while emerging renewable technologies are to receive £55 million, including a £24 million carve out for floating offshore projects.

The remaining £10 million is to be spent on Pot One technologies, with this being established technologies such as solar and onshore wind.

The CfD auction would help to hedge against rising power prices, Regen said, with generators paying back to the public purse when prices are high, directly reducing electricity bills, in return for revenue stability.

The need to reduce reliance on global gas resources due to the price volatility possible was highlighted by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) last month in light of the rising gas prices seen across Europe, with the department stating it underscored the importance of the government’s ambitions of building a “strong, home-grown renewable energy sector”.

Regen is also calling on the government to hold annual CfD auctions over the next decade, with this allowing developers to build their project portfolios, investors to raise capital, utilities to invest in grid infrastructure and supply chain companies to build the jobs, skills and capabilities needed to efficiently deliver net zero.

This follows the Association for Renewable Energy and Clean Technology calling for six monthly CfD auctions with a clear rolling timetable and sufficient budgeting in July.

06-10-2021 |
Fluke UK Ltd
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Test & Measurement

Samsung has filed a patent for a smartwatch powered directly by solar energy, thanks to tiny solar panels inserted into its strap. Does that mean the forthcoming Galaxy Watch 5 could be equipped with this new technology? In any case, it seems that Samsung is exploring the possibility.

Could one version of the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 – which is not expected until summer 2022 – be set to land with solar cells, potentially boosting its battery life tenfold, especially in good weather? Indeed, the South Korean manufacturer filed a patent with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in 2019, which was completed and published only recently. It has just been brought to light by Dutch site LetsGoDigital.

The latest-generation Samsung smartwatches have a battery life of just under two days. Given their size, they can’t accommodate batteries that are too large in size. It will therefore be necessary to find innovative ways to significantly increase battery life and reduce the need for frequent charging. For this, Samsung may be looking into solar energy.

To capture a maximum of light and transform it into energy, Samsung has designed a watch strap with two small photovoltaic cells, located on either side of the watch case. The idea is not to replace the conventional battery, but to extend its lifespan using a natural power source.

By 2030, no less than 50 billion connected devices are expected to be in use worldwide, and all means are good to help them gain run time without necessarily resorting to batteries. In the case of connected watches, a system like this is likely to be complementary to a battery, but for smaller objects requiring less energy, sunlight could very well become a preferred power source.

Note that, in addition to solar energy, some researchers are also working on the possibility of transforming part of the 5G network into an electrical network in order to charge up small connected objects nearby. – AFP Relaxnews

CHENNAI, Oct 5 (Reuters) – India’s solar energy output growth slowed in September, a Reuters analysis of government data showed, at a time when coal-fired utilities are facing a shortage of a fuel that accounts for more than 70% of the country’s power generation.

Growth in solar energy is critical this year as half of India’s 135 coal-fired power plants have fuel stocks of less than three days. India expects the coal shortage to last for up to six months.

State-run Coal India (COAL.NS), which accounts for over 80% of India’s coal output, saw production grow at the slowest rate in six months and supplies at the slowest rate in seven months during September as rain affected output in key mining regions.

Solar energy generation growth slowed to 24.7% year-on-year in September from 41% in August, an analysis of federal grid regulator POSOCO’s daily load despatch data showed.

Other key sources of electricity generation also fell in September, the data showed, with hydro declining 5% and gas-fired power falling 31.6% compared with the previous year.

A seasonal change in India’s power consumption patterns could also increase stress on coal-fired utilities saddled with an acute shortage, and lead to power outages, analysts say.

“Renewable energy will not be available early in the day and immediately after sunset, when power demand generally peaks during winter in India,” a Singapore-based power sector analyst said.

Victor Vanya, director at power analytics firm EMA Solutions, said higher humidity in the coming weeks could lead to a surge in power demand driven by higher air-conditioning requirements, and a rapid deterioration in coal stocks.

“If humidity remains high in the next 2 weeks, there is a highly probability for India to end up in a ‘China-like scenario’,” he told Reuters. Coal supply shortages in China have led to power restrictions in parts of the country.

However, CRISIL, a unit of ratings agency S&P, forecast 15%-16% growth in solar output during the six months ending March 2022 and a slowdown in overall power demand growth would ease constraints on India’s coal-fired power plants.

“This will further be supported by 5%-6% and 3%-4% growth in generation from nuclear and hydro sources,” CRISIL told Reuters, adding that widespread outages were unlikely.

Reporting by Sudarshan Varadhan
Editing by Mark Potter

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.