Log In Sign Up

Search for any green Service

Find green products from around the world in one place

Window cleaning

Singapore Safety Glass

Tag: rooftop solar

New York State’s Largest Rooftop Solar Installation Ever

Posted on by dishanth
New York State’s Largest Rooftop Solar Installation Ever

New York State has taken a big renewable step forward with its largest rooftop solar installation yet. Recently, the state unveiled its largest rooftop solar project stationed atop the Medline Industries distribution center. This landmark achievement not only fortifies New York’s commitment to green energy but also serves as a beacon for other states to follow.

Tucked away at the expansive Medline Industries distribution center, this massive project is a testament to clean energy’s tangible benefits. With the capability to power an impressive 1,600 homes annually, the project is undeniably significant; it is the largest rooftop solar installation in New York state. This initiative boasts a production capacity of 7.2 megawatts to break down the numbers derived from its 17,000 solar panels.

Furthermore, the environmental implications of this largest rooftop solar installation project are profound. New York State expects to reduce its annual carbon footprint by 6,000 metric tons by harnessing the sun’s energy. To contextualize this, it’s akin to removing several thousand cars from the roads each year, paving the way for cleaner air and a healthier environment.

While individual projects like the one at Medline Industries are pivotal, they form part of a much grander scheme in New York’s green energy blueprint. Under the New York Climate Act Goal, the state has set its sights on an ambitious target: generating 6 gigawatts of solar energy by 2025. The largest rooftop solar installation in NY goes beyond just energy production—it’s about redefining the state’s relationship with power consumption and making clean energy an accessible commodity for all.

No significant venture comes to fruition without solid financial backing, especially the state’s largest rooftop solar installation. With its $8 million price tag, the Medline project required considerable investment. PowerFlex, a renowned entity in the clean energy domain, took the lead with a hefty $5 million investment. Their faith in the project’s potential was echoed by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, which further infused $3 million through its NY-Sun initiative. Such investments underscore the belief that sustainable projects are ecologically beneficial and economically viable.

Solar energy, while beneficial, remains elusive to many due to the upfront costs associated with panel installation and maintenance. This is where community solar projects step in as game-changers. These initiatives eliminate the need for individual households to install their own panels. Instead, they allow consumers to benefit from solar power by tapping into a shared grid, which receives energy from community-based solar installations.

By integrating solar power into the local grid, residents, irrespective of their housing situations or financial standings, can access clean energy. This communal approach democratizes solar energy access and fosters a sense of community collaboration towards a sustainable future.

New York’s endeavors in solar energy have solidified its reputation as a frontrunner in the U.S. community solar market. The statistics are telling: since 2012, the state has witnessed an astonishing 3,000% surge in solar access. Beyond the environmental accolades, this growth trajectory has ushered in economic prosperity. Over 13,400 individuals now find employment in the solar sector in New York. Additionally, as technologies and methodologies have improved, there’s been a notable 72% decrease in costs associated with solar energy, making it even more accessible.

The unveiling of Medline Industries’ largest rooftop solar installation is not merely a testament to New York State’s green ambitions; it’s a clarion call for other regions to intensify their renewable energy pursuits. As New York strengthens its renewable energy portfolio, its strategies and successes offer valuable insights for broader national and global adoption.

For stakeholders, investors, and the general public, there’s never been a more opportune time to delve deeper into the realm of solar energy. By understanding its intricacies and potential, one can contribute to and immensely benefit from the burgeoning solar sector.

 

 

 

 

Source   Happy Eco News

Solar panel efficiency to increase 50% with “miracle” cells

Posted on by dishanth
Solar panel efficiency to increase 50% with “miracle” cells

A South Korean company has made a groundbreaking achievement as they unveiled the world’s first production line dedicated to perovskite-silicon tandem solar cells. These innovative solar cells have the potential to boost efficiency by 50-75% compared to standard solar panels.

The commercialization of perovskite-based solar cells marks a significant milestone after years of advancements with the mineral. It has widely been regarded as a “miracle” material capable of revolutionizing various industries, including renewable energy.

.

The next-generation solar cell technology

Qcells, based in Seoul, has committed a substantial investment of US$100mn to bring this next-generation solar cell technology from the realm of lab tests and academic research to practical application.

A pilot production line to be operational by late next year will be funded by the investment at a factory in Jincheon.

“This investment in Jincheon will mark an important step in securing technological leadership,” said Justin Lee, CEO of Qcells.“With a global R&D network spanning from Korea, Germany and the US, Qcells will ramp up its efforts to produce high-efficiency advanced tandem cells.”

 

Improving sufficiency

Tandem solar cells offer a significant enhancement to the efficiency of conventional solar panels, by dividing the light spectrum and optimizing energy extraction from each segment to generate electricity.

In fact, the world record for solar cell efficiency stands at 32.5%, achieved with a perovskite-silicon tandem cell. In contrast, traditional silicon-based solar cells typically reach only around 22% efficiency.

This signifies that nearly one-third of solar radiation can be efficiently converted into electrical energy.

The development of tandem solar cells represents a promising leap forward in harnessing solar energy more effectively and surpassing the limitations of conventional silicon-based technologies.

 

 

 

 

Source Sustainability

 

Western Australia utility replicating success of 100% renewable energy town

Posted on by dishanth
Western Australia utility replicating success of 100% renewable energy town

The small town of Onslow, Western Australia, is now powered almost entirely by renewable energy, and the utility behind that project wants to roll out the same tech across the state.

State-owned utility company Horizon Power said today that it will deploy distributed energy management system (DERMS) technology that helps coordinate the use of different resources like rooftop solar PV, battery storage and electric vehicles (EVs).

In the demonstration project at Onslow, the entire town ran on renewable energy and battery storage for a period of about an hour-and-a-half last year, thanks to a microgrid system which allowed it to operate as a self-contained electricity grid.

While that means Onslow still relies on natural gas engines and diesel generators, that reliance is greatly reduced, and the energy minister for Western Australia, Bill Johnson called the demonstration a “landmark step towards building a cleaner, brighter, renewable energy future for our state”.

The project showed that distributed energy resources (DERs) could be safely integrated at grid level, and Johnson, along with Horizon Power and software and controls providers PXiSE and SwitchDin, talked up the potential for it to be replicated widely.

Horizon Power said today that the technology enabled four times as much rooftop solar to be installed and integrated into the grid at Onslow, a town where more than 40% of homes have PV.

The DERMS works using predictive analytics to enable maximised penetration of renewable energy on the grid – predicting weather patterns, electricity consumer behaviour and so on – while also ensuring stability and security of electricity supply to homes and businesses.

It enables not just DERs but also centralised resources like large-scale solar PV and batteries as well as thermal power stations to act in concert together to meet local energy needs.

Horizon will introduce the technology into remote and regional parts of the state. The company’s general manager for technology and digital transformation said that around 60% of Horizon Power’s energy systems are already dealing with limits on rooftop solar.

The DERMS will “increase solar access for our customers, lower their energy bills, and help reduce emissions,” Ray Achemedei said.

The rollout begins in the coastal resort town of Broome early next year and the utility will progressively deploy the tech across all of its power systems by the middle of 2024.

“This is the technology that will underpin the transition to 100% renewable towns,” Achemedei said, noting that the paradigm shift from centralised fossil fuel generation sending power in one direction only to decentralised and decarbonised energy which is bi-directional or multi-directional in flowing around the grid presents challenges that Horizon Power is tackling head on.

Other initiatives from the utility include a tender for distributed microgrids for rural areas launched in October 2021.

Then in November last year, Horizon began Energy Storage in Regional Towns, a AU$31 million programme to equip nine remote towns in Western Australia with shared community battery storage.

That programme is funded by the state government and is adding about 9MWh of battery energy storage system (BESS) capacity to local energy networks. Western Australia’s government put battery storage and solar PV at the heart of its post-pandemic economic recovery plans, announced in June 2021.

 

 

Source Energy Storage News

World’s largest coal port to be 100% powered by renewable energy

Posted on by dishanth
World’s largest coal port to be 100% powered by renewable energy

The world’s largest coal port has announced it will now be powered entirely by renewable energy.

The announcement from Port of Newcastle comes as coal power generation in Australia’s national electricity market fell to its lowest level in the final three months of 2021.

Though the port continues to export an average of 165Mt of coal a year, the move is part of a plan to decarbonise the business by 2040, and to increase the non-coal portion of its business so that coal only makes up half its revenue by 2030.

It has signed a deal with Iberdrola, which operates the Bodangora windfarm near Dubbo in inland New South Wales, for a retail power purchase agreement that provides the port with large scale generation certificates linked to the windfarm.

Chief executive officer Craig Carmody said the Port of Newcastle’s title as the largest coal port in the world “isn’t as wonderful as it used to be” and that change was necessary to avoid what happened in Newcastle and the steel industry closed.

“I would prefer to be doing this now while we have control over our destiny, while we have revenue coming in, than in a crisis situation where our revenue has collapsed and no one will lend us money,” Carmody said.

“We get 84 cents a tonne for coal shipped through our port. We get between $6 and $8 for every other product. You can see where I’d rather have my money.”

As part of its transition the port has converted 97% of its vehicles to electric and engaged in other infrastructure projects to decarbonise its operations.

Andrew Stock, climate councillor and retired energy executive who was a founding board member of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, welcomed the development but said there was a “still long way to go”.

“It’s a good thing they’re looking at it, but 50% income diversification by 2030, it’s still a decade away. That’s still a lot of coal that’s going to go through that port particularly when the IEA and the IPCC have made it clear we have to move,” Stock said.

“And 50% by 2030 is still 50% coal income.”

Stock said governments should encourage a “rapid advance in the uptake of renewables” similar to what has occurred in South Australia, which is powered by 100% renewable energy on some days.

Carmody said that as an “open access port” the business was unable to refuse traffic except under specific circumstances, but he hoped showing the company was embracing change would encourage its workforce and others to do the same.

“In some ways it doesn’t matter what the policies of government are, equities and debt markets, they’re making the decision for us,” Carmody says. “It doesn’t matter what the policy settings are in Australia, it’s what some investor in New York or Tokyo is thinking.”

“We don’t really have a choice. Nobody wants to invest in [being part of the fossil fuel supply chain].”

The announcement comes as figures from Dylan McConnell, research fellow the University of Melbourne’s Climate and Energy College, shows renewable energy provided nearly a third of all electricity produced in the national electricity market (NEM).

In the last three months of 2021, coal’s share of the electricity grid fell 5.9% when compared to the same period in 2020, while gas recorded its lowest quarter of generation since 2004

Over the same period, rooftop solar grew 24% and utility solar by 26% – though wind’s share only grew by a “quite modest” 6.4% compared to previous years. This was partly due to poor wind conditions and a lack of new capacity.

“At the high level, solar is squeezing out coal, particularly black coal,” McConnell said. “You can see it quite clearly in the shape of what’s happened to the profile of generation.”

McConnell said that Victoria and South Australia recorded average negative power prices in the middle for the entire quarter.

“It’s a sign of the time that we’re getting negative prices on average,” McConnell said. “Coal’s being hollowed out in the middle of the day and that’s also what’s affecting their bottom line as well, as that’s when you’re having negative prices quite consistently.”

 

 

Source The Guardian