SUBSCRIBE TO TMCnet
TMCnet - World's Largest Communications and Technology Community

CHANNEL BY TOPICS


QUICK LINKS




TMCnet GreenTech Week in Review
Green Technology Featured Articles
March 23, 2013

TMCnet GreenTech Week in Review

By Cheryl Kaften
TMCnet Contributor

In green technology news this week, we’ve seen a flurry of developments in the wind sector —and solar generation also is heating up, with the announcement of two new world records.

China is cautiously adding more wind generation to its renewable energy mix. The nation intends to reach a cumulative 100 gigawatts (GW) of installed wind capacity by 2015 by approving deployments in areas where the grid can handle the load. This week, China’s National Energy Administration formally approved the deployment of 28.7 GW of new wind generation—up from the 27.5 GW sanctioned in 2012. The newly approved plants, which include four pilot projects that will generate an aggregate 750 MW, probably will be developed from 2015 onward. The permits exclude areas where demand on the grid already is hazardously high, including Inner Mongolia, Heilongjiang and Jilin provinces. China has been working to expand and upgrade its grid to fully accommodate fast-multiplying wind turbines in remote, wind-rich areas.


Siemens (News - Alert) Canada is, literally, closing another “blowout sale.” The Oakville, Ontario division of the German company will supply and commission 124 wind turbines for the new 270-megawatt (MW) South Kent Wind project. Located in the municipality of Chatham-Kent in Southwestern Ontario, the South Kent Wind project is predicted to generate enough energy to power 100,000 homes in the province. The turbine order— which follows an announcement last week by Samsung (News - Alert) Renewable Energy, Inc. and Toronto-based Pattern Energy that they have secured financing for the project—represents a key part of Seoul, Korea-based Samsung's US$7-billion investment in Ontario to build and operate 2,500 MW of wind and solar power—creating the largest renewable energy cluster in the world. The partners are establishing four manufacturing facilities in Windsor, Toronto, Tillsonburg and London—creating 900 new manufacturing jobs and 16,000 jobs overall in communities hit hard by the global recession.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has entered the renewable energy market in a big way. This week, Solar Power Company launched Shams 1, the world’s biggest concentrated solar power station. Shams 1 represents a collaboration among Masdar (UAE), a renewable energy company; Abengoa, a Spanish energy infrastructure company; and Total, a French energy company—which funded the US$600 million, three-year, 100-MW project. Shams 1 is located in the Western Region of the Abu Dhabi Emirate. The plant is now providing power for 20,000 residents, and reducing CO2 emissions by 175,000 tons per year.

And another world record has been set for solar cell efficiency. Silicon Valley-based Solar Junction has achieved the record for the energy efficiency of a commercial-ready production solar cell, based on Veeco Instruments’ (News - Alert) Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) system. Solar Junction, a developer of high efficiency multi-junction solar energy cells for the concentrating photovoltaics (CPV) market, used Veeco’s Dual GEN200 MBE cluster-tool design in its solar cell technology. In October 2012, Solar Junction reported that power conversion efficiency of its CPV cells was measured at an unprecedented 44 percent at 947 suns, as verified by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

In the United States, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar has approved three major renewable energy projects with a capacity of 1,100 megawatts (MW)—the 750-MW McCoy Solar Energy Project near Blythe, California, the 150-MW Desert Harvest Solar Farm in California’s Riverside East Solar Energy Zone; and the 200-MW Searchlight Wind Energy Project, to be constructed on public lands in Clark County, Nevada. During construction and operations, the projects are expected to bring more than 1,000 jobs, according to officials. Salazar commented, “In just over four years, we have advanced 37 wind, solar and geothermal projects on our public lands —or enough to power more than 3.8 million American homes.”

In another U.S. development, a draft study issued by Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) this week proposes to strengthen the state’s commitment to renewable energy by raising its Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) goal from 20 percent of the total energy mix by 2020 to a target of 25 percent by 2025. In addition, the plan would source more varieties of green energy and would ensure that Connecticut ratepayers are paying as little as possible for the state’s higher level of renewable energy commitment.

Not so far away, the town of Lockport, New York is courting—courting a data center and call center, that is. Internet giant Yahoo plans to spend $168 million on a new data center and call center project that will reportedly bring 115 jobs to the lucky town that gets the contract. Lockport already saw the opening of a Yahoo data center in 2010 that created 77 jobs. Now, the town says it’s attracting a second Yahoo facility with a bundle of incentives. The town has proposed to Yahoo an 18-year property tax break, including no property taxes at all for the first 10 years; and a sales tax exemption for 20 years on building materials and equipment used to furnish the buildings in the town’s industrial park, according to the Buffalo News. Empire State Development will contribute to the incentives with up to $200,000 a year in tax credits. The building will reportedly be built to LEED or an energy-efficient standard like Yahoo’s other Lockport facility.

Finally, we always suspected that our U.S. Senators and Representatives were wheeler-dealers—and now we know it. As of this month, members of Congress who drive to work in hybrid or electric vehicles are paying a price for the privilege of parking near an electric outlet where their cars can recharge. However, colleagues who steer clear of environmentally friendly autos in favor of gas guzzlers are continuing to park for free. It wasn’t supposed to work out in quite this way. Last August—when Congress approved legislation that would allow the Architect of the Capitol to construct battery-recharging stations for electric cars in Congressional parking areas—the bill was meant to encourage next-generation vehicle technology and U.S. energy independence.

Indeed, the original sponsor of the measure, Rep. Dale Kildee (D-Mich.) intended to support his constituents in Detroit, where automakers have been making America’s most popular electric car vehicles, including Chevrolet's Volt and Ford's Focus. However, the legislation required that construction be at no net cost to the government—and thus, the fee system was born (and will be borne only by our most eco-friendly politicians). The cost of the House program, ascertained this week by CQ Roll Call, will be $27 a month, or a daily fee of $8. The Senate fee is expected to be equivalent. So what does this say about America’s priorities? Are we spending too much time worrying about cold cash and not enough on global warming?





Green Technology Related Articles






Technology Marketing Corporation

2 Trap Falls Road Suite 106, Shelton, CT 06484 USA
Ph: +1-203-852-6800, 800-243-6002

General comments: [email protected].
Comments about this site: [email protected].

STAY CURRENT YOUR WAY

© 2024 Technology Marketing Corporation. All rights reserved | Privacy Policy