Solar Energy
Articles related to Solar Energy
June 21, 2011
Japan's Solar Energy Manufacturing Industry is quite large and second only to China which may surprise a lot of readers. Sharp was the largest solar company by revenues and the other six zaibatsus have been present in the solar power manufacturing for a long time.Mitsubishi the Japanese conglomerate with diversified global interests has a big presence in solar and wind energy as well.It has a low profile solar module and system business.The company is known for its high quality panels and has a decent presence in USA and Japan.However like Kyocera it has not been aggressive enough leading to loss in marketshare.
June 21, 2011
Bangladesh like India is a massive power deficient country with peak power shortage of aroudn 25% and more than 60% of the people in the country lacking access to the power grid.As prices of coal,oil and gas increase it has become harder to provide electricity to some of the poorest people in the world.Solar Energy is an ideal solution as it can provide gridless power,is totally clean in terms of pollution,health hazards and is economical as well since it saves money for building the electricity transmission.The Bangladesh government has itself realized this as the Prime Minister has put up a 21.6 Kw solar power system to power her office.The World Bank had put up $130 million in funding in 2003 which has resulted in more than 1 million homes being powered by solar energy.Note the requirements of power are very small almost 1/10th that of a Western home.Government owned Infrastructure Development Company (IDCOL) has been providing the financing for these small solar panel projects in the country.
May 31, 2011
Solar Lamps in India are one of the most successful solar products in India as they provide economical value without requiring huge subsidies.Note India’s Solar Mission […]
May 31, 2011
Japanese Nuclear Giant Toshiba which is the second largest seller of complex nuclear equipment globally is looking to shift its focus towards Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency.The company is already facing delays in shipping nuclear reactors to customers as the Fukushima Disaster makes governments around the world rethink their nuclear power ambitions.The Nuclear Energy Disadvantages are winning over the Advantages currently in public sentiment.Toshiba which acquired US Westinghouse has a target of selling 39 nuclear reactors which is getting delayed.With advanced nuclear power countries like Germany,Switzerland and Japan killing nuclear energy,the going looks tough for Toshiba.The company was already facing tough competition from the GE-Hitachi and Areva as well as new players from South Korea and China in the nuclear equipment market.
May 31, 2011
According to the Financial Express, a top US Thin Film Based module manufacturer is exploring the possibility of setting up a facility in Tamil Nadu with an investment of $500 million (approximately R2,255 crore) in the coming months.Note the sources have not revealed the name of the company but it is evident from the investment amount,solar technology that the company is First Solar.A a top level team from the company is expected to visit sometime early next week to initiate discussions with the state government officials.Note First Solar has been emphasizing the importance of India for its growth aiming to supply 100 MW of solar panels in 2011 itself which would make it a leader in the Indian solar industry.Other top solar panel companies like Suntech and Trina too have been investing heavily in selling their solar panels in India through partnerships with local companies.
May 31, 2011
DuPont Apollo is a wholly-owned subsidiary of DuPont started a 50 MW thin-film photovoltaic module manufacturing facility at Shenzen in 2010. DuPont Apollo is focused on the China domestic market but seems like that they are not getting too much traction in the hyper competitive Chinese market and now trying its hand in the Indian market where solar manufacturing industry is not too competitive.
Indian Solar Energy Market has seen the entry of many foreign companies eager to tap this huge opportunity.This list of foreign solar companies in India keeps growing on a daily basis with both startups like Abound and large companies like First Solar,Suntech making India as an integral part of their global growth strategy.DuPont the global chemicals giant too has entered the solar energy industry in partnership with Wipro EcoEnergy.DuPont Apollo will supply Wipro with its Thin Film Amorphous Silicon Solar Panels which will be used in the grid projects.Note a number of Joint Ventures in Indian solar industry have been recently formed.
May 30, 2011
German utilities have protested against the move as recently they were buoyed by the decision of the Merkel led government to extend the life of the nuclear reactors by more than 10 years.However the weight of public opinion has made the German government go into the damage control phase ( though too late in my opinion.German power companies too know that going against popular opposition will be quite fruitless.Note Germany faces problems as the replacement of the 7 shutdown nuclear reactors will be difficult to replace.Solar Power has been playing an important role but in winter this problem may become acute.According to some analysts,Germany will have to import power (nuclear as well) from other European countries.This will lead to increase in electricity prices.However its a great win for all forms of Green Energy as Germany has no alternative but to go with Green Energy as Germany does not have abundant reserves of Cheap Gas (like USA).Also Coal has its disadvantages which make it very difficult in an environmentally conscious country like Germany.
May 29, 2011
Having good solar radiation data is essential for building solar power plants anywhere.USA and European Union have a well-developed insolation map so that developers and investors in solar energy have no difficulty in getting good data while planning an investment.However Indian developers are at a distinct disadvantage as there is no good primary data to go on.Solar Radiation data makes a huge difference to the economics of a project and no bank will give a loan based on incomplete data.For the inexperienced developers this has become another problem among a host of other problems.With little understanding of the technology and other factors,many of them jumped in and are now in a deep soup.However the prospects of the Indian solar energy are great even with these initial hiccups.The flushing out of the weak hands should help in strengthening the solar energy industry in India in the best traditions of capitalism.
May 28, 2011
Samsung SDI one of the many companies of the largest Korean Chaebol Samsung has become the Green Sword Arm.Note Samsung SDI already is responsible for the […]
May 28, 2011
Solar Power in India is going to be one of the biggest opportunities in the 21st century with a number of favorable supply and demand factors converging.The Indian government too has supported Solar Energy in India through the ambitious JNNSM which aims for around 20 GW of Solar Capacity by 2020 (which is too low in my view).A Number of Green Companies both domestic and foreign have already made huge plans to capitalize on this oppurtunity.Here are some of the major happenings in India's solar sector in the last month or so.Juwi which is one of the biggest solar energy developers in Germany ( a market which has become saturated) has joined hands with Lanco Solar ( a subsidiary of one of India's biggest private power companies) to set up a 75 MW Solar Plant in Maharashtra winning a contract from the state power generation company Mahagenco.The contract value is Rs 884 crore which works out to be just under Rs 12 crores/MW or $2.6/watt which is extremely low even with the price of solar panels crashing in the international market.At this price the electricity generated won't be too expensive and Mahagenco has a good deal.On the other hand Juwi and Lanco get bragging rights to being the development team for one of India's biggest solar plants.
May 12, 2011
Offshore Wind Energy is supposed to increase from around 3 GW today to 75 GW by 2020 as countries in Europe,Asia and North America heavily support this industry.Onshore wind energy growth on the other hand is expected to slow down as 38 GW of Wind Capacity were installed in 2010 with Western Markets showing a sharp slowdown.Note every industry sees costs declining with large capacity except the mature industries.For example Wind Energy has seen a 10% decline in costs for every 100% increase in installed capacity.Note offshore wind projects offer even more Wind Energy Advantages than normal Land Based Wind Farms.The only problem facing offshore wind power is high costs as the industry still is on the learning curve.PWC has come up with a survey where most of the participants say that it will take 10-15 years for offshore wind energy to reach grid parity.What this means is that Offshore Wind Energy Companies will continue to depend on government subsidies like higher electricity prices,tax breaks,low interest loans to survive.
May 12, 2011
Power Finance Corporation Green Energy has been floated as a subsidiary of one of India's biggest power sector financier Power Finance Corporation.As the name implies the company's mission is to provide loans to India's Green Energy Industry.Note India requires around $10 billion dollars according to the government plans of building 17 GW of Alternative Energy Capacity in India between 2012-2017 which is low in my view.However even this low target will require a massive amount of debt financing to the tune of around $6-7 billion annually.Power Finance Corporation is one India's largest infrastructure financing companies owned by the government.The company which has billions of dollars of loan assets to the Power sector in India has naturally entered the fast growing Green Energy area as well.
May 10, 2011
JSW Energy has set up JSW Green Energy a 100% subsidiary to enter the renewable energy in India.Not while Wind Power in India is already a huge industry with more than $3 billion in annual investment,Solar Power in India is set to eclipse this soon.JSW Green Energy is looking to set up solar power plants and solar rooftops in the country.For this it has ordered 500 KW of CIGs solar panels from embattled American Thin Film company Energy Conversion Devices.Note ENER is already under huge pressure as it fails to compete with low cost Chinese players.ENER which markets its BIPV Solar Panels under the United Solar brand sells mostly in France and Italy which have higher subsidies for BIPV Panels.Like other American companies ECD has significantly ramped down and moved Green Jobs to Mexico in order to suriveNote CIGs Panels are of lower efficiency than the normal mainstream crystalline solar panels.ENER Solar Panels are mostly used in BIPV and BAPV applications since they are not as cost effective and efficient as normal solar panels.Thin Film in India is rapidly increasing penetration with the Thin Film Leader First Solar targeting 100 MW of Solar Panels in 2010 itself which would make it the biggest solar panel supplier in India.
May 10, 2011
Solar Power in India is set to be one of the biggest energy industries in the 21st century due to a unique set of favorable converging factors with declining cost the biggest one.The Indian government has recognized this fact and set a 20 GW of solar energy capacity target by 2022 and Indian states are boosting solar energy too through their own set of subsidies and solar supportive policies as well.However a number of problems have cropped up in the initial phases as solar electricity price is still high at Rs 14-16 unit compared to the retail electricity price of around Rs 4-5/unit.Though solar subsidies by the government should provide support till the prices come down.Major Indian solar companies like Moser Baer,Lanco are predicting that the solar electricity costs will fall by 40% or more in the next 3-5 years as technology improves,scale increases and more of the components like glass,solar inverters are manufactured domestically substituting expensive imports from countries like China and Taiwan.
May 10, 2011
Ontario Canada has a comprehensive solar subsidy policy which mandate that a large percentage of solar components be manufactured in Ontario in order to receive the Feed in Tariffs.This has led to a mini manufacturing boom in the province with a number of companies like Conergy,MEMC,Enphase,Canadian Solar putting up factories to take advantage of the FIT.Japan which is also a large manufacturer of solar panels with major Japanese solar companies like Sharp,Kyocera has taken Canada to the WTO citing improper competitive practises.India which has one of the largest potential in solar energy installation too has promulgated a law that requires domestic content requirements.Solar Modules must be produced in India to gain FIT under the JNNSM.This law is expected to become stricter with solar cells also to be produced in the country in the future.This has drawn howls of protest from American officials who too tried domestic content in their subsidies under the Stimulus Act.
May 8, 2011
India has a massive potential in Solar Energy with at least 20 GW of Solar Power to be installed by 2022 according to the JNNSM Plan.This […]
May 8, 2011
Gujarat has been leading Indian states in the Solar Energy sector signing PPAs to build more than 900 MW of power capacity in the next couple of years even as the federal subsidy JNNSM flounders.Gujarat is one of the leading industrialized states in the country and has been looking to boost renewable energy sources like Tidal Energy,Offshore Wind Energy,Geothermal Energy as well.Wind Energy has also been in the radar of the state government which is looking to realize the 10 GW potential of Wind Energy in the state.After a strong 2009 when 295 MW of Wind Power was installed that slowed down to 100 MW.The main reason was the unavailability of the power grid to connect wind power plants.Note Gujarat possesses one of the best wind sites in the country in the western part of Saurahstra.
May 7, 2011
HAREDA which is the state renewable energy development agency akin to MNRE at the centre will put these solar farms under a fast track approval process.Note Red Tape in India is quite notorious especially for small project developers who lack the connections and resources to get things done.Note Haryana gives seperate incentives on its own for solar energy,solar water heaters and solar lighting as well.Haryana is desperately deficient in renewable energy despite being one of the most industrialized and fastest growing states in the country.Haryana cities like Gurgaon and Faridabad have benefited hugely from being part of India’s National Capital Region (NCR).However Haryana only generates 0.5% of its 4000 MW of Electricity from Renewable Energy Sources.The state has negligible Wind or Biomass Energy.Despite a Department of Renewable Energy being setup to specifically promote the use of Alternative Energy Sources,the state has not had much success.Haryana is richly endowed with Solar Energy Resources with 320 days sunny days.The State has managed to win some allocation from the centre’s JNNSM scheme.It is also promoting the use of solar energy through disseminating solar kits amongst 2000 schools and providing solar lighting in around 500 villages.
May 7, 2011
Renewable Energy in India has seen decent growth in the past mainly driven by Wind Energy which accounts for almsot 65% of the estimated 20 GW of Green Energy capacity installed in the country.However to meet India's 2020 Green Energy Target of 15% of power to be generated from renewable sources set by CERC,at least 40 GW more would need to be installed (that is a conservative estimate as load factors for green energy are lower).This is assuming that India meets its target of raising the power capacity to 400 GW by 2020 from around 175 GW at present.Solar Energy in India has not got off to a good start despite immense potential as the federal subsidy program JNNSM has seen irrational bidding by bit players and debt financing is difficult.Wind Power in India has seen the most growth amongst the green sources of power but it too faces hurdles as good quality wind sites have all been taken.
May 6, 2011
China has been rewriting its renewable energy plan in the wake of the Fukushima Nuclear Energy Disaster in Japan.Note there has been a strong global backlash against nuclear energy around the world and 7 nuclear plants in Germany have been closed all but in name.Other countries like South Korea,Italy,Switzerland are rethinking of what do about their nuclear reactors giving the massive tail risks with nuclear generation.China had a target of only 20 GW of solar by 2020 has decided to raise the target by 150% to 50 GW according to the country's leading energy planning authority NRDC.Note China installed more than 15 GW of Wind Energy in 2010 alone becoming the world’s largest Wind Energy Market by far.Solar Energy strongly lags Wind in China despite China having the biggest solar panel manufacturing industry in the world.Its Golden Sun and other Solar Subsidy programs have been small in absolute terms compared to its huge electricity capacity.
May 2, 2011
Solar Panels have grown exponentially in the last few years driven by declining costs and growing energy prices.The advent of the low cost manufacturers of silicon solar panels from China,falling raw material polysilicon costs,subsidies from governements fighting climate change have all contributed to the more than 150% increase in world solar demand in 2010.Solar Panels are not only being used on roofs and giant rooftop ground plants,but also are being integrated in buildings known as BIPV applications.Solar Panels are also available in flexible forms which can be used in backpacks and other innovative ways.Now there is another niche for solar panels that is growing.Note most of these companies are using the Concentrated Photovoltaic Technology (CPV).The traditional CPV suffers from heating problems as high concentration of sun power leads to high temperature.Building the CPV systems on water will help them solve their problems according to these companies.
May 1, 2011
NTPC,India's largest power generating utility with around 35 GW of electricity capacity is set to enter renewable energy in a big way as it has singed 500 MW of PPAs with state distribution companies for supplying green energy.Note India's electricity regulator CERC has mandated a 6% Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) in 2011 which will increase by 1% each year to 15% by 2020.A number of states have fallen behind in meeting their RPO and would need to either generate or buy Green Energy to meet the CERC targets for renewable energy.NTPC which is predominantly a thermal power utility has been planning to set up wind and solar power plants but nothing has been done till now.However after signing these PPA with the Madhya Pradesh,Orissa and Karnataka government,the renewable energy projects should get accelerated.
May 1, 2011
Note Big Oil and Gas has been slowly been retrenching form the solar energy industry despite initial leadership.Shell which was one of the biggest solar players has become almost non-existent while BP has shut down a number of solar factories outsourcing production to China.Other Oil and Gas companies like Exxon,Valero,Chevron and others have concentrated their energies on related green sectors like algae based biofuels rather than on solar and wind energy.So the move by Total comes as a surprise as it acquires one of the top 15 solar panel companies in the world.Sunpower is being acquired at a cheap price considering its world beating solar cell technology and its massive systems business which has gigawatts of solar projects under development.Note Sunpower makes the highest efficiency solar panels on a commercial scale and recently tied up with AUO.It is the 2nd biggest solar plant installer in the US and has a massive presence in the commercial and government sector.Total said it looked at over 200 companies before buying Sunpower.Note M&A has been strong in the Solar Thermal Industry and has now started picking up in the Solar PV Industry as well.With solar company valuations at a historic low,it makes sense for the larger chemical and energy companies to pick up good companies on the cheap.
April 25, 2011
India is a massively energy deficient country with official figures citing around 15% of peak electricity demand deficit due to lack of power generation and distribution.The […]
April 25, 2011
Maharashtra which is the largest power generating state in India but deficient in renewable energy sources of generation will not use the discredited reverse auction bidding mechanism being used in the First Phase of the JNNSM Federal Solar Subsidy Policy.The reverse auction bidding was done due to the massive deluge of applications for setting up solar PV and solar thermal power plants.Based on the Rs 17.91/Kwh Feed in Tariff,developers had bid discounts with the solar project owner offering the biggest discount winning the right to build the solar power plant.This had led to irrationally low bidding for projects and it is all but certain that these solar projects will either be not be built at all or run into heavy losses.
April 17, 2011
Silicon for Solar Cells that are used to make the normal crystalline solar panels is known as Polysilicon.This is a highly purified form of the Silicon Metal that is mined.Note Polysilicon is made through chemical processes which help in purifying the raw silicon and removing the impurities.The Silicon that is used to make Silicon Cells is also used to make semiconductor wafers which is the raw material for the Electronic Industry.Solar Cells require slightly lower purity of 6N compared to the higher 9N required by the Semiconductor Industry.Once Polysilicon is produced it has to be made into flat wafers which require further industrial processes like pouring the metal in crucible to make ingots and then cutting the ingots by wiresaws to make solar wafers.The solar wafers are then converted into solar cells by processes like diffusion,etching etc.
April 17, 2011
A lot of confusion exists about solar cells efficiency about which technology results in how much efficiency and the difference between solar cells and the solar panels efficiency.Note the biggest differentiator of a solar cell besides its cost is its efficiency.Not only do different materials give different efficiencies,even different companies have conversion efficiencies which differ for the same technology.Silicon Solar Cell Efficiency also depends on the purity of the solar wafer which is used as raw material to print solar cells besides whether it is monocrystalline or multicrystalline solar cells.With most of the low lying fruit already gathered in respect to lowering cost of the silicon solar cells,most of the big Chinese solar companies are concentrating their efforts in improving the efficiency in order to cut down costs in the cutthroat solar industry where the stars of yesterday are fighting to stay alive (Energy Conversion Devices,Evergreen Solar).This rising tide of the solar industry in 2010 has not been able to revive the fortune of some companies though European companies have made enough to fight another day.Solar Cells Efficiencies also differ in the champion cells tested in labs like NREL and on commercial lines.But here is a general range of efficiency of different types of solar cells made from different technologies
Solar Cell Efficiency Improvement is the best way to reduce the costs of solar power and reach grid parity in most places in the world.Solar Cell Efficiencies have improved continuously and with a number of companies and startups investing billions of dollars in research,it will keep improving.However cost considerations are an important factor as well and the technology which balances the two will win the solar energy race
April 17, 2011
America currently has a massive number number of startups in the clean energy industry and a lot of them in the fastest growing green industry that is the solar sector.However like startups in all industries a lot of them will fail,some will sell themselves to others like Heliovolt,Ausra while a few will make it really big making a fortune through IPOs for their PE investors and owners.One or two will make fortunes for those who invest early as well like First Solar.Note First Solar despite numerous ups and downs is still up more than 450% from its IPO price five years ago.It won't be the last either.So despite the strong competition in the solar industry where numerous companies and technologies are jostling in the more than $70 billion global market,one or two of the smart ones will become huge winners like Intel or Microsoft.So which are the solar startups which are showing the most promise.Four of them are currently leading the pack while a few others have got a reasonable chance of success as well though they need to prove more like Stion and Miasole.Some of the more hyped ones like Solyndra have gone on a slimming down mode and might make a comeback though it will be tough.There are some others in stealth mode which may become big also.But here is the list of the Four Best Solar Startups in the Solar Electronics,Solar Panels and Solar Thermal Sectors.
April 16, 2011
Solar Water Heaters are one of the most successful solar products which have managed to proliferate without government subsidies needed for other solar products like solar panels etc.Note Solar Power in India is taking off with the government promoting its through the JNNSM subsidy policy.The payback period for solar heaters is quite short and it substitutes the need for electricity needed to run power guzzling water heaters in residential and commercial establishments.The other reasons for the success of solar water heaters is that they are relatively easy to build and install making them quite popular.China has the largest number of solar water heaters installed in the world and other countries are not far behind.India too has seen a rapid growth in the use of solar water heaters with roofs around India marked with solar water heaters.Note the government of India through MNRE also subsidizes the buying of solar water heaters making them even more popular.Solar Water Heaters of different qualities,capacities and prices are available in the Indian market.Solar Installers are responsible for doing the whole turnkey installation of solar water heaters,piping system and maintenance.
April 15, 2011
eSolar is a US based Solar Thermal Technology Startup which has managed to raise $182 million from top VCs and investors and managed to win contracts to build solar power plants using its properietary Power Tower Technology in the US,China and India.Note like Brightsource Energy,eSolar is one of the most promising CSP startups which has managed to get funding and contracts,it now needs to execute to deliver on its potential.
Solar is using the Power Tower Technology same as Brightsource Technology which differs from the parabolic trough mainstream CSP Technology.Note Parabolic Trough Technology is used by most of the established Spanish players like Abengoa.It is also the Technology used in the 392 MW largest solar thermal plant in the US built in the 1980s by Luz.In this technology thousands of heliostats (mirrors) reflect the solar light onto a "Power Tower" where water or salt is heated up.This heat energy is then transferred into Electrical Energy through standard Steam Turbines and Generators used in Gas,Nuclear and Thermal Power Plants.