Siemens and Sky Global choose Cantabria, Spain, for their latest renewable energy projects
September 21, 2009 | Comments Off
Multinational Siemens is to install a test center for state-of-the-art wind turbines in the region of Cantabria (Northern Spain), the exact location of which is yet to be decided. Work will be carried out with the University of the Autonomous Region and the Regional Government.
The European Chief Executive of Siemens Wind Power, Lars Bondo Krogsgaard, the Cantabria Region Minister for Industry, Juan José Sota, and the Dean of the University of Cantabria, Federico Gutiérrez-Solana, signed an agreement on the 14th of August that will enable the multinational to collaborate in the development of onshore and offshore wind energy in the autonomous region.
The Director of the company in Europe said they were still looking for a site for the test center in Cantabria, and had not ruled out having more than one location. Activities will begin with between ten and fifteen Siemens researchers, who will work closely with other researchers in the University of Cantabria.
Siemens is currently working in sectors such as industry, energy and health, it has companies in 190 countries, a workforce of 430,000 – 10,000 of which are in Spain – and has installed over 8,000 Megawatts of wind capacity around the world through its subsidiary Siemens Wind Power.
It is not the only renewable energy investment planned for the region. The Chinese company Sky Global with extensive experience in Spain is to install a photovoltaic panel factory in Cantabria as well.
Sky Global, part of Shanghai Electric, is to open a manufacturing plant for modules at the Campoo-Los Valles Eco-park.
That is how it is described in the report on economic prospects for Cantabria, which estimates the forecast investment required to set the project up as amounting to 14.5 million euros and foresees the creation of 465 jobs.
The new plant will also be joined by the installation of a 9.9 megawatt photovoltaic solar farm with 672 panels from the Chinese firm. The farm will be divided between two plots also located in Valdeolea.
Sky Global Solar S.A. is a company with an international outlook created in 2006 by professionals with wide-ranging experience in the Asian and European photovoltaic markets. Sky Global currently has offices in several Spanish cities and has set up strategic alliances with companies and industrial agents from the sector in Europe and Asia.
AWEA Small & Community Wind Conference & Exhibition
September 19, 2009 | Comments Off
American Wind Energy Association
November 3 -5, 2009
Cobo Center
1 Washington Blvd
Detroit, MI 48226
For information please visit http://www.smallandcommunitywindexpo.org
Siemens Electrostatic Precipitator Reduces Emissions
September 19, 2009 | Comments Off
Sept 17, 2009 – A mobile test installation for electrostatic precipitators is helping to reduce the emissions of coal-fired power plants. Plant operators can use it to monitor and optimize the performance of flue gas filters. This is possible because electrostatic precipitators, filters which remove tons of dust from flue gas daily, work up to 30% more efficiently when retrofitted with modern power electronics. Until now, exploring the potential for optimization required replacement of the power plant’s electronics. Now there is the mobile testing unit from Siemens, which requires far less expense and work and quickly provides the plant operators with a basis for decisions concerning modernization. Every day up to 10 tons of dust can accumulate in a coal-fired power plant. Electrostatic precipitators, which can be as big as an apartment house, make the flue gas dust-free. The precipitators use high voltage to produce ions, which collect on the dust particles. The charged dust accumulates on the filter’s precipitation electrodes, large plates from which the accumulations are knocked off at specific intervals. The filters remove more than 99.9% of the dust from the flue gas. The higher the applied voltage and the more ions that are produced in the gas, the more efficiently the filters work. Flue gas filters are part of the Siemens environmental portfolio, with which the company generated €19 billion in sales in 2008. One challenging aspect is the electronic control system of the process. The high voltage from the supply voltage is transformed and rectified to up to 120 kilovolts. Modern power transistors in the voltage converter systems supply a smoother direct current with high output. They effectively bring more energy into the filter and produce more ions in the gas. What’s more, the new control systems are less sluggish and can be restarted more quickly following a dielectric breakdown. Such cases are not unusual, because the high voltage is run almost to the breakdown point. The new components enable the filters to deliver better performance or the same results with less energy consumption.
Plant operators used to have to replace their facility’s components in order to determine if it would pay off to upgrade the plant’s electronic systems. This caused interruptions of operation over a period of several days and resulted in high costs. In just a few days, the mobile installation from Siemens Industry provides the information needed to decide if a new electronics system alone is sufficient to optimize the filter or if more extensive changes to the plant are needed.
Solar Power International 09 Convention in Anaheim, CA
September 17, 2009 | Comments Off
Quick Facts
- North America’s largest business to business solar industry event
- October 27 – 29, 2009 in Anaheim, California
- 900+ exhibitors and an exhibit hall that includes all solar technologies: PV, CSP, solar hot water, solar heating and cooling and solar pool heating
- 25,000 + Attendees: sellers, buyers and stakeholders including manufacturers, integrators, installers, utilities, investors, builders, architects, large energy users and policymakers
- 200+ Speakers, 65+ education sessions, two CEO panels and two keynotes
- Education tracks on finance, policy, markets, technology, crosscutting and implementation/execution
For information and registration please visit their website: www.solarpowerinternational.com
Video Discussing Siemens and Offshore Wind Turbines
September 17, 2009 | Comments Off
Hawaii Tries Green Tools in Remaking Power Grids
September 17, 2009 | Comments Off
September 15, 2009 – Felicity Barringer reports in The New York Times that “Hawaii Tries Green Tools in Remaking Power Grids.” Our small multi-island state is making a large effort for green energy. There is a new wind farm. A company is investigating the use of algae as biofuel. Solar panels are producing electricity in this sunny location even if Florida is known as the Sunshine State. Volcanic rock [the islands were produced by underwater volcanoes] produces heat that generates electricity. Wave energy is being used in Maui. Obstacles persist because each of the 6 main islands has its own energy grid that is not connected to the others and most of the energy is used in Honolulu. Imported oil still is the source for 77% of Hawaii’s electricity. Nine percent now comes from renewable sources, but Hawaii is targeting 40% by 2030. Read the original Times article for more details.
Charging the Earth – the Solar Way
September 17, 2009 | Comments Off
A new client of EvoEnergy is an academic within the architecture department of the University of Nottingham: Dr Nicholson-Cole
Charging the Earth: A Blog by Dr Nicholson-Cole
In his blog he is mainly discussing an experiment to recharge the heat being removed via a borehole from the ground beneath his house. The heat is currently being used through a ground-source heat pump and the worry is that in twenty years time the deep clay earth will not have replaced all the used energy. He’s been looking at ways of keeping the deep earth warm as well as talking about zero carbon homes, his solar PV install, sparring with the mighty Wikipedia and various assorted topics.
It’s a fascinating read!
Siemens’ New 3.6-MW Wind Turbine Features 120 Meter Rotor Diameter
September 15, 2009 | Comments Off
Sep 14, 2009 – Siemens announced the release of a new 3.6-MW wind turbine featuring a 120 meter rotor diameter. The SWT-3.6-120 turbine is based on the proven technology of the SWT-3.6-107 – the world’s most popular offshore wind turbine. The new machine will be equipped with 58.5 meter long rotor blades. The turbine has a swept area of 11,300 square meters, which is equivalent to nearly 2 football fields.
“We anticipate that our new SWT-3.6-120 wind turbine will generate roughly 10% more electricity at a typical offshore site compared to our SWT-3.6-107,” said Andreas Nauen, CEO of the Siemens Wind Power Business Unit. “With this new wind turbine we will continue to maintain our technology leadership in offshore wind power. We have already seen a lot of interest from the market in this new product.” The SWT-3.6-120 extends the performance of the proven Siemens 3.6 MW turbine type, which is already established as the preferred offshore turbine type in the multi-megawatt class. Siemens has installed 100 of its 3.6 MW wind turbines and has another 700 turbines on order.
Earlier this year Dong Energy signed orders for more than 450 SWT-3.6-120 machines. 175 of these new wind turbines will be installed in the first phase of the British London Array project, which will ultimately be the world’s first offshore wind farm on a gigawatt-scale. Furthermore, 51 SWT-3.6-120 wind turbines will be installed at the Walney II Offshore Wind Farm, also in the U.K. These orders from Dong Energy are part of the world’s largest wind power agreement for the supply of up to 500 offshore wind turbines, which was signed earlier this year. The wind turbines to be delivered under the supply agreement will have a total capacity of up to 1,800 MW.
The first 2 prototypes of the SWT 3.6-120 will be used by Dong Energy at Avedøre in Copenhagen, and installed in time for the COP 15 / UN World Climate Summit in Copenhagen. The Hvidovre Vindmøllelaug, a group of local investors, is contributing to this project.
Wind turbines are an important component of the Siemens environmental portfolio, which earned the company revenues of nearly EUR19 billion in fiscal 2008, roughly a quarter of the company’s total revenues. Today, Siemens is the world’s leading supplier of environmentally friendly technology.
MECASOLAR supplies 500 kW of 2-axis trackers for solar photovoltaic project in California
September 13, 2009 | Comments Off
The Spanish company MECASOLAR- manufacturer of solar trackers and fixed structures for solar pv projects – is taking part in a project in California for which they have supplied a total of thirty-four 2-axis trackers (MS-2E TRACKER) which will provide some 500 kW of power.
This is the first in a series of U.S. projects for MECASOLAR. The company is integrated in the OPDE group, the leading solar developers in Spain.
According to MECASOLAR, the project for which they have already provided their trackers is currently being developed in Reclamation District 108 near the town of Yolo (California) with completion expected in early October. The aim is to reduce energy costs of pumping water from the area. This is common practice in California, and contributes to increasing the price of water for users; hence the interest in lowering the pumping costs.
Besides providing trackers, PROINSO engineering -also part of the OPDE- is responsible for the complete supply of the modules for the project (Trina modules – 230Wp Model TSM Poli) and the logistics of the project. Additionally, the company has worked with a local engineering firm on the configuration and execution of the project.
Continuing its commitment to the U.S. market, MECASOLAR will be exhibiting at Solar International (October 27 to 29, Anaheim – Stand 111).
Earlier in July, the company exhibited at the Intersolar USA show in San Francisco, with a huge success in visitors and orders. This project in Yolo, is the first to materialize after the show.
Currently, MECASOLAR has some 30 MW on their order books which they intend to formalize during Solar Power International. The supply will for this projects will take place between late 2009 and early 2010. These projects, of varying sizes and mostly located in California, will be delivered from the manufacturing plant opening soon in the San Francisco area. This plant will start producing 1 and 2 axis solar trackers and fixed structures at full capacity in the first quarter 2010.
This initiative reflects the interest of MECASOLAR and the OPDE Group-of which they form part-, in the U.S. market. In fact, the company already has a sales office in San Francisco.
FP7 Cooperation Programe on Energy
September 13, 2009 | Comments Off
The overall objective of Theme 5 (Energy) of EU Framework Program 7 is
Adapting the current energy system into a more sustainable one, less dependent on imported fuels and based on a diverse mix of energy sources, in particular renewables, energy carriers and non polluting sources; enhancing energy efficiency, including by rationalising use and storage of energy; addressing the pressing challenges of security of supply and climate change, whilst increasing the competitiveness of Europe’s industries.
The program is very technological, and project on photovoltaics have been reduced to crystalline silicon solar cells, without considering hybrid and organic photovoltaics. However there is one more speculative topic:
Topic ENERGY.2010.3.5-1: Liquid or gaseous fuel production using direct biological conversion of solar radiation
Contents/scope: Long-term research and development of processes and devices to convert directly solar energy into liquid or gaseous fuel through biological routes. This would involve a number of disciplines (biological, biochemical, biophysics, photochemistry, electrochemistry, etc.) and approaches (molecular and non-molecular, bio mimetic, biological construction) to implement new metabolic pathways in view of producing the fuel directly from solar radiation. The target fuels are high quality oils, alcohols or other substances suitable as liquid or gaseous fuels for transport, excluding hydrogen, methane and electricity. This topic targets novel technologies, where molecules or micro-organisms act as biofuel producers rather than as feedstock for Biofuels. This excludes state-of-the-art technologies for biofuel production (either 1st or 2nd generation).
Funding scheme: Collaborative Project.
Expected impact: The project shall lead the way towards highly efficient processes for direct solar radiation conversion into high quality fuels. It should have a strong positive potential impact on climate change mitigation and on sustainability issues.
Additional information: The participation of top class research groups from US and Japan could maximise the impact of this precompetitive topic. This will be considered in the evaluation.
Open in call: FP7-ENERGY-2010-1