Green light for solar panels in Scotland

The majority of householders in Scotland will be able to install solar panels and other energy generating equipment without planning permission from now on, although government ministers have yet to decide whether to exempt wind turbines and air-source heat pumps.

Ground-source and water-source heat pumps will get the green light, as will flues for biomass systems which use organic materials. The move was announced by finance secretary John Swinney, who said the concession would cut red tape, help householders cut heating bills and reduce emissions.

“By encouraging greater use of micro-generation technologies we are letting householders play their part in reducing emissions while creating new jobs in an emerging industry,” said Swinney.

Solar panels will be allowed if they are on a pitched roof or on a wall and do not protrude more than 200mm. But permission will still be needed for panels on the walls of buildings containing flats, and extra safeguards would apply in conservation areas or work heritage sites.

Elizabeth Leighton, Senior Policy Officer with WWF Scotland, said: “This move will help fuel the micro-generation revolution we need to fight climate change and fuel poverty. Now homeowners can begin to realise the full energy producing potential of their homes without the hassle and unnecessary restrictions.

“However, while the rules have been relaxed for some householders, those in flats who want to install micro-renewables on outside walls have been left out in the cold. We see no reason why flat dwellers should not have Permitted Development Rights, the same as residents of other buildings.

“We urge the Scottish Government to engage with the industry as soon as possible to resolve permitted development rights on wind turbines and air source heat pumps without delay so the full package is available to all homeowners.”

Save A Solar Power Battery Charger For A Rainy Day

Actually, a solar power battery charger works in any kind of weather, but I couldn’t resist the pun. What it does is convert the energy from the sun into useable energy like electricity.Like going to the gas station helps to "recharge" your car, the solar power battery charger helps to recharge your toys and gadgets. This is one of the reasons why many people don’t like solar energy, because the technology needed is bulky and comparatively inefficient.

Panels And Mats

However, the technology for solar power battery chargers is constantly being improved, especially because we know that there is a limited supply of oil and coal and we need to help the environment before it’s too late. Solar power is a clean burning energy that doesn’t produce the harmful chemicals that enhance the already problematic greenhouse effect.

You’re probably familiar with the huge solar panels seen on roofs or revolving panels in really sunny places. They need to be really big in order to generate the needed energy. Or do they? In many camping, boating, RV and photography supply shops, you can by flexible mats you can roll up.They still work like solar panels and solar power battery chargers but they are far more transportable.

Exciting Potential

One of the criticisms against renewable energy is that there isn’t a reliable mans of solar power battery backup for when a rainy day really does arrive.But you may be already using solar-powered devices that have enough energy cells to store the energy needed for later.These devices include wrist watches, pocket calculators and even little indoor wind chimes for your desk. (Well, not all solar power battery chargers have to be practical).

It's light that can get these energy cells going, not just sunlight. So, even though sunlight is the cheapest and most clean-burning of fuel sources, you can still get a solar powered calculator to work by just leaving it under your house lights for a few minutes.

There are also ways to connect hydraulic energy and solar power battery chargers. This is the set up for the first home in American that runs entirely on renewable energy. So far, the storage tanks take up his back yard, but Mike Strizkis of East Amwell, New Jersey says it's all worth it. In just over a year since the conversion, his energy bills are a whopping $0. That's definitely money that can be put aside for a rainy day.

$100 Billion Stimulus Energy Plan Boosts Solar Industry

With 2008 being a bust financially, many industries are putting their faith in the new economic stimulus plan, which will hopefully resuscitate the economy.

Now, things are looking bright for the solar and wind power industries, as news that the U.S. government is set to spend nearly $100 billion to push America’s energy industry and make solar power part of its energy stimulus. The stimulus package apparently contains tax incentives for solar installation as well as incentives for job creation in solar energy companies.

“We are excited to see the push to drive investment in solar energy at the top of American agenda,” Eddie Austin, Chairman and CEO of Sunrise Solar Corp, said. “Experts expect this to stimulate rapid growth in solar power as consumers and businesses see these grants and tax credits as a great opportunity to go green on a budget.”

Solar companies are scrambling to produce and build more technology in order to accommodate a demand that will most likely become massive.

Rep. Mike Thompson, of Montana, stated, “The solar energy tax provisions I authored will make it easier for businesses and homeowners to have solar panels installed. This has the twin benefits of creating green jobs while at the same time reducing our dependence on foreign oil.”

Unprecedented growth seen for solar energy

The head of the federal government's effort to promote solar technology told about 200 industry leaders yesterday that expanding the industry to the level needed by 2030 will require unprecedented levels of growth.

"To go from the 1 gigawatt of generation capacity that we have now [in the United States] to the 170 to 200 gigawatts called for by 2030 amounts to a 26 percent compounded annual growth rate over the next 20 years," John Lushetsky explained. "That's a higher sustained growth rate than any industry has ever been asked to do before."

Mr. Lushetsky is program manager of the U.S. Department of Energy's Solar Energy Technology Program for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

He was the keynote speaker at a day-long conference in the Dana Center at the University of Toledo's Health Science Campus called "Empowering Solar Energy in Ohio."

The conference drew industry participants from Ohio and Michigan.

Colleen LaChapelle, assistant director of the Wright Center for Photovoltaics Innovation and Commercialization at the University of Toledo, said what started as a small conference grew over the last week in part because of the tremendous opportunity for growth in the industry.

"The resources of our area match up very well to what this industry needs," Ms. LaChapelle said.

Mr. Lushetsky predicted that the solar energy industry -- including manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors -- ultimately could employ 4 million people. But he noted tremendous challenges are involved as the public and private sectors work to incorporate solar energy into a national electrical grid that's in need of its own upgrade.

"We really can't wait for things to happen on their own," Mr. Lushetsky said, explaining how public and private efforts will have to cooperate to incorporate solar into the nation's energy portfolio, including provisions of the federal stimulus package making its way through Congress.

He complimented the efforts done locally and across Ohio to promote and encourage solar companies and their development, citing First Solar Inc. and Xunlight Corp., two solar-panel makers with plants in metro Toledo.

"You've got a very good environment here for startups," he said.

Dream approaching reality for solar

The dream of the most optimistic solar power advocates soon will be reality, analysts said Thursday. Within five or 10 years, residents may be able to generate electricity from roof-top solar panels for about the same price as retail electricity from utilities, analysts told about 60 energy industry professionals at a Law Seminars International conference at the Alexis Park Resort.

The cost of power from solar panels is declining, and the cost of power from electric utilities are going up, said Rick Gilliam, managing director of western states policy for SunPower Corp., a solar panel manufacturing company based in San Jose, Calif.

“At some point, these two prices will cross (on the graph),” Gilliam said.

Gilliam predicted that the price of homemade solar power and electric utility power will be the same within a decade.

He referred to solar photovoltaic panels, which convert the light of the sun into electricity. Customers of NV Energy with solar panels typically are connected to the grid and get credit for excess power they feed back into the grid.

Residents and businesses with solar panels still need to draw power from the electric utility when the sun isn’t shining, such as at night, but analysts wondered how rates should be structured for these part-time utility power customers.

Electric utilities need to be compensated for money spent on operations and maintenance, distribution lines and other facilities, but the utilities would get much less revenue from customers with solar panels, said energy attorney Fred Schmidt, a former Nevada consumer advocate.

When a substantial number of customers are relying only on the utility for backup power, other customers would be paying higher rates that subsidize the solar power customers, Schmidt said.

If electric utilities boosted the fixed monthly charge, customers would protest, Schmidt said. “I know that customers don’t like that fixed charge.”

“It certainly causes utilities to start thinking outside the box or get left behind,” Schmidt said.

Gilliam contended that customers with solar panels offset those expenses because they generate power when the sun is shining and electric use drives power prices to peak levels. Yet, customers with solar power only get paid for the average cost of power, Gilliam said.

SunPower vice president Julie Blunden said the number of customers getting power from the sun would be troublesome only if it exceeded 75 percent, and she doubted solar panel installations would get that high.

Blunden noted a surge in demand for solar power panels in California, noting that 19,000 applications were received under the state’s Solar Initiative in the past two years. That represents a total investment of $5 billion.

One reason: she pays $4.58 monthly to Pacific Gas and Electric because of her solar panels.

Solar panels capable of generating 475 million watts of electricity are connected to the grid in the United States, and 329 million watts of the total comes from California, according to the Database State Incentives for Renewables and Electricity.

The country gets about 2.5 percent of the country’s power comes from renewable energy, including solar power but excluding hydroelectric power, Schmidt said.

Evergreen Solar results disappoint, shares fall

Evergreen Solar Inc on Thursday reported quarterly results that fell short of expectations as prices on solar panels fell and it recorded high costs for ramping up a new manufacturing facility, sending shares down 10 percent in extended trade.

Evergreen also warned that a global economic downturn and weak credit markets would hurt demand for solar products in the first half of this year and said it was seriously considering subcontracting some manufacturing to save on capital costs.

"We have a fair amount of confidence that we will come up with something that makes a lot of sense, but we don't have a deal yet," Chief Executive Richard Feldt said on a conference call with analysts. "This is not a way of cheapening anything, it's just a way of reducing costs."

Subcontracting manufacturing of solar cells and panels would reduce the company's capital needs for its next factory, planned for Asia, by about 75 percent, Evergreen said.

"They are trying to make some hard calls here, in terms of scaling the business, that are a little bit more reflective of reality," Wedbush Morgan analyst Al Kaschalk said. "But let's face it, though. The credibility is still not there that there is a legitimate business model that is going to ultimately work as a stand-alone company."

Evergreen, based in Marlboro, Massachusetts, makes photovoltaic solar equipment that turns sunlight into electricity. The company expects to sell about 130 megawatts of solar products this year, it said.

PRICES DROPPING

Strong demand for clean solar power was a bright spot in an otherwise dour U.S. economy for much of last year. At the end of 2008, however, frozen credit markets stalled financing for solar projects, causing shares of solar companies to plummet and raising worries that the industry's annual growth rate of 50 percent would falter this year

Solar power gives Gatorade facility energy boost

Gatorade is known for giving athletes an energy boost, but now it's giving itself an infusion of power.

The Gatorade facility in Tolleson, one of the largest in the country in terms of gallons produced, is generating some of its own electricity from newly installed solar panels on its roof.

The facility has two buildings connected by a bridge over 104th Avenue - one side is a manufacturing plant; the other, a distribution center.

SPG Solar installed a 500-kilowatt system occupying more than an acre and a half on the roof of the distribution center, which allows Gatorade to cut its power usage from SRP by 40 percent on the warehouse building.

This makes Gatorade the largest customer-owned solar-energy project in Arizona, and it's already generating more energy than anticipated. It's expected to produce more than 783,000 kilowatt hours a year, or enough to power about 51 Valley households.

"We know immediately what our output is and what our performance is," said Curt Mills, regional operations manager for PepsiCo, Gatorade's parent company.

They track the data through SRP's Web site and partnered with the utility company on the solar project. SRP gave it a $1.2 million incentive through the EarthWise Solar Incentive Program, and it received $25,000 from a state credit and 30 percent of the total cost - which Mills declined to disclose for competitive reasons - from federal credits.

"To make the project viable, we needed the credits," Mills said.

The project will save the company about $51,000 a year in energy costs and, with incentives, has just under a four-year payback.

It also will offset about 392 metric tons of carbon dioxide a year. Installation began in June and was finished in November.

If he had to give advice to other large companies, Mills would recommend installing the panels in cooler months. Workers had to start by 3 a.m. and only could work until 8 or 9 a.m.

Gatorade wanted to be able to use all the tax credits by the end of 2008 because it wasn't clear if the federal government would extend them, but it did so through 2016. Residential credits, in fact, were greatly expanded.

Arizona residents commonly question why they can't tap more solar power. But because electricity here is so comparatively inexpensive, it hasn't been economically feasible for most customers. About 20 commercial customers participate in the EarthWise Solar program, said Chico Hunter, an engineer in SRP's sustainability initiatives and technologies, and seven of those have systems of 20 kilowatts or larger.

"The reality is, even with the federal tax credits and state tax credits and SRP incentives," he said, "it's still very expensive and it's a big investment for companies to make."

In addition, the Gatorade distribution center's roof was strong enough to hold solar panels. Customers with older or less sturdy facilities might incur extra costs to reinforce or replace roofs before installing solar-eneregy systems.

Solar Tree: A stunning new green concept to replace solar rooftops

Without a shadow of a doubt, renewable energy is the way to go towards a green future that is both clean and sustainable. If the world had any doubts about it then even those doubts have been dispelled by the recent agreement at the G8. Even if that was not very substantial, it still tells us the direction in which we need to be going. Solar Tree is one such green option for a future filled with solar goodness that is being brought to you for the first time exclusively by Ecofriend. Designed to replace the traditional solar roof, it makes solar energy a lot more profitable and sustainable for use!

Designed by Gurdeep Sandhu who has sent in this fine gadget, the Solar Tree is something that is far more flexible and for more efficient that the traditional solar roof. With its adjustable and movable solar ‘wings’ the entire structure will always give you maximum solar energy. It is almost like solar panels that manoeuvre like a birds wings and adjust to the angle and intensity of the sun to produce maximum solar energy. It is also easily accessible for repairs and also reduces the damages as it can just fold up at night.

The Solar Tree can go in your garden or probably also on your roof and makes for wonderful sustainable technology that has been innovatively altered by a creative designer. They can not only power your garden and other accessories but also your home if utilized properly. While Solar Tree looks a simple enough design, it uses plenty of common sense and beautiful simplicity to do something that all solar roofs of today miss. Gureep Sandhu’s design once again shows you that the simplest solutions are the best and toughest to contemplate. Solar Tree truly can help solar energy soar up with its amazing wings!