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European government support boosts geothermal
News/Roundup
Risø maps South African wind Risø DTU has produced a detailed map of the wind resources in South Africa showing the best locations for wind. The maps are produced by means of extensive measurements and software programmes developed in the Wind Energy Division at Risø DTU. Similar wind maps are now used in 30 countries around the world including in Ireland, India, the Faroe Islands, Egypt and China. Right now a map is being prepared for South Africa. It has been decided where to locate 10 measuring masts along the coast to show the wind conditions at these sites. The 60 m high masts are to transmit data on wind and temperature during 36 months
on locations where you would expect a high yield and where the measurements can be compared with the models. Both are necessary input for the verification of models.
their wind map project. This should allow their results to be included in the development plans for wind energy in South Africa. And hopefully it will be possible to establish wind farms here in 2012.
Senior Scientist Andrea Hahmann, says: “It is more expensive to establish a wind farm than to build a coal-fired power plant, and the banks will not finance a wind farm if you cannot tell how much energy you expect it to get out of it. That’s the way it is, even if you do not have to estimate fuel costs once the wind turbines are there.” In November and January Risø researchers are visiting South Africa again to organise courses and seminars for the public on their technique and
European government support boosts geothermal The increasingly urgent need to curb climate change is proving to be an effective catalyst for the European geothermal energy industry, according to Frost & Sullivan. As many governments race to meet renewable energy goals of 2020, they are revisiting the geothermal energy which can provide base-load power. Frost & Sullivan expects the geothermal industry to steadily gather steam in the coming years, despite the current economic situation and restraining factors such as high initial investment costs. The analyst finds that the European geothermal energy market reached installed capacity of 1558 MW in 2009 and estimates this to reach close to 4 GW in 2016 once drilling costs are reduced and become more independent of the oil and gas industries.
Growth rates are expected to pick up in the next few years, with a CAGR of 13% between 2010-2016, with established countries such as Italy and Iceland continuing to invest in geothermal power and new countries such as Germany and France exploring their opportunities. Improved information regarding resources in emerging markets will allow more companies to enter the geothermal industry, especially those with multiple synergies with the geothermal industry such as oil and gas service companies. Drilling companies in the oil and gas sector have diversification opportunities in the drilling and exploration phase of geothermal energy projects. There are also a number of techniques and expertise that can be transferred from oil and gas to
Wind farms: “no negative impact on property values” There is no “widespread, statistically observable” impact of wind turbines on the sale of homes in the United States, concludes the most comprehensive analysis from the Department of Energy (DoE). More than 30 GW of wind capacity is installed across the USA and an increasing number of communities are considering new wind farms, says the report The Impact of Wind Power Projects on Residential Property Values in the United States: A Multi-Site Hedonic Analysis produced by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The report is the most comprehensive and data-rich analysis on the subject in the USA or abroad. There is “an urgent need to empirically investigate typical community concerns” about wind energy and provide a common base of knowledge for stakeholders involved in the wind project siting process. This report evaluates the concern over claims that wind turbines hurt property values,and concludes
20
renewable energy focus
that proximity to wind energy facilities does not have a pervasive or widespread adverse effect on the property values of nearby homes. Researchers collected data on 7500 sales of single-family homes situated within 10 miles of 24 existing wind power facilities in 9 different states, for the period between
geothermal and therefore better co-operation between the sectors is necessary. “As suggested by some market participants, clustering of wells leading to bigger power plants will help reduce costs and thus make geothermal power a more competitive source both with conventional and other renewable energy sources,” says Frost & Sullivan analyst Gouri Kumar.. “As in most electricity markets, grid is key. Countries need to research, invest and build new grid infrastructure to accommodate higher loads. Large scale investment should be earmarked for infrastructure, drilling and resource exploration. Society and investors should be educated about the benefits of geothermal energy”.
CPV cell reaches world record efficiency Spectrolab has achieved a 41.6% efficiency record for a terrestrial concentrator solar cell. The cell is an advanced version of the lattice-matched triple-junction technology already in production for space and terrestrial applications at Spectrolab.
1996 and 2007. The analysis used 8 hedonic pricing models (a statistical analysis method used to estimate the impact of house characteristics on sales prices),as well as both repeat sales and sales volume models. None of the 8 models uncovered any conclusive evidence of the existence of any widespread property value effects that might be present in communities surrounding wind farms. Specifically, neither the view of wind turbines nor the distance of homes to turbines was found to have any consistent, measurable or significant effect on the selling prices of the homes.
November/December 2009
According to Spectrolab, the result has been independently tested by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, which validated that it had surpassed the previous record of 41.1% held by the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems in Germany. Spectrolab’s concentrator cells can produce at least 50% more power than normal silicon ones by using mirrors or lenses to focus the sunlight onto the cell. Fewer cells are required to produce the same amount of electrical output so lower costs can be passed on to end users.
Risø maps South African wind Risø DTU has produced a detailed map of the wind resources in South Africa showing the best locations for wind. The maps are produced by means of extensive measurements and software programmes developed in the Wind Energy Division at Risø DTU. Similar wind maps are now used in 30 countries around the world including in Ireland, India, the Faroe Islands, Egypt and China. Right now a map is being prepared for South Africa. It has been decided where to locate 10 measuring masts along the coast to show the wind conditions at these sites. The 60 m high masts are to transmit data on wind and temperature during 36 months
on locations where you would expect a high yield and where the measurements can be compared with the models. Both are necessary input for the verification of models.
their wind map project. This should allow their results to be included in the development plans for wind energy in South Africa. And hopefully it will be possible to establish wind farms here in 2012.
Senior Scientist Andrea Hahmann, says: “It is more expensive to establish a wind farm than to build a coal-fired power plant, and the banks will not finance a wind farm if you cannot tell how much energy you expect it to get out of it. That’s the way it is, even if you do not have to estimate fuel costs once the wind turbines are there.” In November and January Risø researchers are visiting South Africa again to organise courses and seminars for the public on their technique and
European government support boosts geothermal The increasingly urgent need to curb climate change is proving to be an effective catalyst for the European geothermal energy industry, according to Frost & Sullivan. As many governments race to meet renewable energy goals of 2020, they are revisiting the geothermal energy which can provide base-load power. Frost & Sullivan expects the geothermal industry to steadily gather steam in the coming years, despite the current economic situation and restraining factors such as high initial investment costs. The analyst finds that the European geothermal energy market reached installed capacity of 1558 MW in 2009 and estimates this to reach close to 4 GW in 2016 once drilling costs are reduced and become more independent of the oil and gas industries.
Growth rates are expected to pick up in the next few years, with a CAGR of 13% between 2010-2016, with established countries such as Italy and Iceland continuing to invest in geothermal power and new countries such as Germany and France exploring their opportunities. Improved information regarding resources in emerging markets will allow more companies to enter the geothermal industry, especially those with multiple synergies with the geothermal industry such as oil and gas service companies. Drilling companies in the oil and gas sector have diversification opportunities in the drilling and exploration phase of geothermal energy projects. There are also a number of techniques and expertise that can be transferred from oil and gas to
Wind farms: “no negative impact on property values” There is no “widespread, statistically observable” impact of wind turbines on the sale of homes in the United States, concludes the most comprehensive analysis from the Department of Energy (DoE). More than 30 GW of wind capacity is installed across the USA and an increasing number of communities are considering new wind farms, says the report The Impact of Wind Power Projects on Residential Property Values in the United States: A Multi-Site Hedonic Analysis produced by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The report is the most comprehensive and data-rich analysis on the subject in the USA or abroad. There is “an urgent need to empirically investigate typical community concerns” about wind energy and provide a common base of knowledge for stakeholders involved in the wind project siting process. This report evaluates the concern over claims that wind turbines hurt property values,and concludes
20
renewable energy focus
that proximity to wind energy facilities does not have a pervasive or widespread adverse effect on the property values of nearby homes. Researchers collected data on 7500 sales of single-family homes situated within 10 miles of 24 existing wind power facilities in 9 different states, for the period between
geothermal and therefore better co-operation between the sectors is necessary. “As suggested by some market participants, clustering of wells leading to bigger power plants will help reduce costs and thus make geothermal power a more competitive source both with conventional and other renewable energy sources,” says Frost & Sullivan analyst Gouri Kumar.. “As in most electricity markets, grid is key. Countries need to research, invest and build new grid infrastructure to accommodate higher loads. Large scale investment should be earmarked for infrastructure, drilling and resource exploration. Society and investors should be educated about the benefits of geothermal energy”.
CPV cell reaches world record efficiency Spectrolab has achieved a 41.6% efficiency record for a terrestrial concentrator solar cell. The cell is an advanced version of the lattice-matched triple-junction technology already in production for space and terrestrial applications at Spectrolab.
1996 and 2007. The analysis used 8 hedonic pricing models (a statistical analysis method used to estimate the impact of house characteristics on sales prices),as well as both repeat sales and sales volume models. None of the 8 models uncovered any conclusive evidence of the existence of any widespread property value effects that might be present in communities surrounding wind farms. Specifically, neither the view of wind turbines nor the distance of homes to turbines was found to have any consistent, measurable or significant effect on the selling prices of the homes.
November/December 2009
According to Spectrolab, the result has been independently tested by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, which validated that it had surpassed the previous record of 41.1% held by the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems in Germany. Spectrolab’s concentrator cells can produce at least 50% more power than normal silicon ones by using mirrors or lenses to focus the sunlight onto the cell. Fewer cells are required to produce the same amount of electrical output so lower costs can be passed on to end users.