AICA Engineering PTY Ltd is proud to be a partner of SUNPOWER and supports its endeavour in clean energy for the betterment of planet and its inhabitants.

The Australian Solar Council – the national voice of Australia’s solar industry – has slammed the Australian Government’s decision to fast-track the phase-out of support for household solar as unnecessary and badly timed.

“Demand for household solar has fallen sharply since the Australian Government reduced support for solar on 1 July 2012, and State Governments wound back feed in tariffs, and there are no indications demand would have picked up in the near future”, said John Grimes, Chief Executive of the Australian Solar Council.

“This is a knee-jerk reaction to a non-existent problem and a pre-emptive strike on Australian families who want to install solar to cut their power bills”, said

Mr Grimes.

“Australian Solar Council research shows mortgage belt families, weighed under by soaring power bills, will be hardest hit by today’s announcement.”

“The Government’s decision pre-empts the Review of the Renewable Energy Target, which is currently underway, and casts a dark shadow over the solar industry. Minister Combet’s announcement pulls a rug out from under the integrity of the Review of the Renewable Energy Target.”

“The solar industry is already facing great uncertainty from the Review of the Renewable Energy Target – which has foreshadowed even greater cuts to solar funding – and today’s announcement will only hurt the solar industry and Australian families suffering from soaring power bills.

Research has shown the cost of the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme has peaked, and will fall to less than 1.5% of household power bills within a couple of years.

Meanwhile more than 4 million solar Australian’s have invested their own money in building renewable and low cost power systems on their roofs to cut their power bills.

The following graph from the REC Agents Association – representing companies that create and trade in renewable energy certificates – shows the dramatic reduction in solar installations since 1 July 2012.

Mumbai, Maharashtra, June 20, 2012 /India PRwire/ — The international so*lar industry will convene for the fourth time at Intersolar India 2012. From November 6 – 8, 2012, Bombay Exhibition Centre in Mumbai (BEC), India will shine exclusively on solar power. With over 350 exhibitors expected to present their latest products and services in the photovoltaic’s and solar thermal technologies field along with trade visitors, the 20,000 square meters of space will witness exhibitor numbers that are forecasted to rise significantly by over 30% in 2012, building on previous success.

The exhibition will once again be accompanied by the Intersolar India Confer*ence. From November 5-7, 2012, over 700 industry experts are convening at the Leela Kempinski Hotel in Mumbai and the Bombay Exhibition Centre (BEC) to discuss the latest developments across international solar markets.

Intersolar India is already entering its fourth year in 2012. India’s leading exhibition for the solar industry covers the latest trends and technological developments in photovoltaic’s and solar thermal technologies. From November 6-8, 2012, over 10,000 trade visitors are expected to attend the event in hall 1 of the Bombay Exhibition Centre (BEC) in Mumbai, India. Under the motto “Connect*ing Solar Business”, this industry platform helps demonstrate technological potential and strength*en the business network at an international and local level.

Record investment in grid*-connected solar projects

The Indian government launched the National Solar Mission initiative as early as 2010, laying the foundations for a springboard into a new solar era in India. Today, the Indian solar market is expe*riencing significantly dynamic growth, captivating both the international industry and investors. According to information from the news agency Bloomberg L.P. Energy Finance in New York, India has seen investments in grid connected solar projects increase sevenfold, from US$600 million in 2009 to US$4.2 billion in 2011.

Other recent forecasts also anticipate a further sharp upturn in the Indian solar market. According to the study from the GTM Research Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts (USA) entitled “The India Solar Market: Strategy, Players and Opportunities”, India is expected to install solar installations with a peak output of nine gigawatts (GW) by 2016. The sustainability study “Solar industry: Sur*vival of the fittest in a fiercely competitive marketplace” by the Sarasin AG bank ranks India among the world’s booming PV markets, with the Indian government ultimately aiming to increase in*stalled solar capacity to 20 GW by 2022. The government plan offers excellent opportunities not only for the Indian and global solar industry but also for transnational cooperation. Intersolar India 2012 provides the ideal platform for networking among market players and supports the govern*ment in achieving its goals.

Growing international diversity and new joint booths

Thanks to positive market growth, an increasing number of international solar companies are launching into the Indian market, working closely with developers and system integrators in the country. The increasing international presence in the market is also shown in the new joint booths from Spain and Germany that are for the first time giving interested companies new opportunities to enter the market in 2012.

The Spanish joint booth is organized by SOLARTYS, the Spanish Association for the Internationali*zation and Innovation of Solar Companies, with support from the Spanish Institute of Foreign Trade (ICEX). The German solar industry will also be represented as part of the “Renewable Energies Export Initiative” special program at the joint booth organized by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology at the exhibition. This information booth not only features various companies but also unveils the content and central ideas of the special program using topic banners and interac*tive exhibits.

Intersolar India Conference

From November 5-7, 2012, over 700 industry experts are convening at the Intersolar India Con*ference to discuss and pursue exhibition topics. Around 100 speakers will shine a light on policy and technological advances within the Indian and international solar industry. The conference is taking place in the Leela Kempinski Hotel and the Bombay Exhibition Centre, Mumbai and, this year, covers topics such as trends across the Indian and global photovoltaic’s market, develop*ments in the Indian solar thermal market, electrification of off* grid areas, as well as general topics on finance and project management.

Intersolar India 2012 takes place at the Bombay Exhibition Centre in Mumbai from November 6-8.

For further information, please visit www.intersolar.in

Shaji Mathews, Director – AICA Engineering Pty Ltd from the University’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering is developing uninterrupted power supplies for remote locations and, in conjunction with Regen Power, has designed and installed an innovative solar photovoltaic diesel hybrid system for the Veterans Retreat, one of the hottest and most remote locations at Meentheena Station, 75km east of Marble Bar.

The retreat is for veterans of military, medical, police and other services to help them cope with experiences of past conflicts and events. While the remoteness of the site makes it an ideal location to unwind, visitors battle with the extreme temperatures, so the Veterans Retreats of Western Australia approached Regen Power to develop a cost-effective, uninterrupted power supply system.

With the nearest petrol station located some 200km away, Mr Mathews developed a diesel generator which can run on variable speed to reduce the retreat’s fuel needs, yet still meet power requirements in case of solar power shortages.

“This is the first variable speed generator of this type and I’m pretty sure success of this combination system will give a big boost to remote applications,” Mr Mathews said.

“Current hybrid systems require a large battery storage bank or a big diesel generator to meet peak load, and running a new or upgraded grid is expensive. We can supply year-round power without a huge capital investment, making it affordable for those with limited funds.”

The system includes 32 panels, a 38 kilowatt hours energy storage battery system and the variable speed diesel generator, providing 24-hour power to the retreat, which incorporates facilities for caravans and camping, a donga with four self-contained rooms, a house and a shed. Solar panels have been mounted to the rooftop of the house and donga while the battery bank is located in an air-conditioned and insulated sea container.

“The new power system allows residents to have air conditioners, lighting and refrigerators in each room and to use appliances at any time. Previously, only their absolute basic electrical needs, such as refrigeration, were powered using a small petrol generator,” Mr Mathews said.

Mr Mathews said the solar panels will generate an average of about 30kWh of electricity per day. The solar hybrid system can meet almost 10kW peak power on a sunny day and around 5kW power at night.

“Our experiments have proven that the variable speed generator can achieve a fuel saving of up to 40 per cent compared to a conventional diesel generator in remote applications,” he said.

Contact:

Shaji Mathews, PhD student, Curtin University

Mob: 0458 584 499, Email: Shaji@aicaengineering.com

Megan Meates, Public Relations, Curtin University

Tel: 08 9266 4241, Mob: 0401 103 755, Email: megan.meates@curtin.edu.au, Web: http://curtin.edu.au

A press release issued on Tuesday said the solar energy scheme would make the department the first one in the country to depend entirely on this clean and renewable source of energy.

The 13th Finance Commission had allotted Rs.154 crore for the modernisation of prisons in the State. Of this, Rs.14.79 crore had been set aside for development programmes at the Central Jail, Poojappura.

The shift to solar energy would be undertaken in jails across the State and Rs.25.56 crore had been earmarked for this. The solar energy scheme at the Poojappura jail had been set up at a cost of Rs.7.9 crore.

Street lighting inside the compound, lighting and fans for blocks one to 12, steam cooking, water heating chappathi-making, and water pumping would be powered by solar energy. Around 229 KW of power would be generated, the release said.

This scheme would be a relief to the department which was charged Rs.1.27 crore by the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) last year.

With the hike in rates, this figure was estimated to touch Rs.2 crore.

In addition, most number of jail escapes occurred during power cuts, and with the transition to solar energy, this problem could be eliminated by ensuring 24-hour power supply and a 12-hour back-up.

The Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy would provide 30 per cent subsidy on the implementation cost and as much subsidy would be provided by the Agency for Non-Conventional Energy and Rural Technology (ANERT), the release said.

The Public Works Department (PWD) had constructed a new restroom on the prison premises for visitors of inmates.

More parking spaces would also be earmarked on the premises, especially for families which visit from afar.

Reference- http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Thiruvananthapuram/solar-power-for-thiruvananthapuram-central-prison/article3960705.ece

The analysis by Hiremath Mitavachan and Jayaraman  Srinivasan of  IISc’s Divecha Centre for Climate Change overturns the argument that nuclear power is essential for India because the country does not have enough land to exploit the potential of solar energy in India.

According to their study, 4.1 percent of the total uncultivable and waste land area in India  is enough to meet the projected annual demand of 3,400 terawatt-hour (TWh) by 2070 by solar energy alone (1 terawatt-hour per year equals 114 megawatts). The land area required will be further reduced to 3.1 percent “if we bring the other potential renewable energy sources of India into picture”, they claim. They conclude that land availability is not a limiting constraint for the solar source as believed.

They say their calculations are based on present-day solar photovoltaic (PV) technology and do not include higher efficiencies achieved by new solar cells. Neither have they considered roof-top PV systems that can be established without any need for additional land.

The IISc researchers’ conclusion is in conformity with that of a report prepared last year  by the Australian government which said: “There is more than enough suitable land in India, with high direct beam solar, to meet the entire nation’s electricity needs in principle.”

Convinced that sunlight differs from other energy sources in the way it uses the land, the researchers compared the land-use pattern of three primary energy sources – coal, nuclear and hydro – with solar energy.  They then calculated the percentage of India’s land area that would be required to meet the future projected energy demand.

Coal power plants not only transform the land around the facility but also require land for mining coal and its upstream processing, the authors note.  An average dam displaces 31,340 persons and submerges 8,748 hectares of land. The direct land footprint of a nuclear power plant includes power plant area, buffer zone, waste disposal area and the land that goes into mining uranium.

“Our study shows that solar power plants require less land in comparison to hydro-power plants and are comparable with coal and nuclear energy power generation when life-cycle transformations are considered,” Srinivasan said.

While nuclear and fossil fuel-based technologies must continuously transform some land to extract the fuels or dispose of the waste, this is not the case with solar plants. In fact, the same land used for PV solar power plants can be utilised for other purposes like grazing.

The roof-top solar power technology, along with that proposed by IISc professors, “will be able to meet most of the electricity demand, and has the potential to transform the power sector,” says Shankar Sarma, a power policy analyst  and author of forthcoming book “Integrated Power Policy.”

Atul  Chokshi of the IISc Department of Materials Engineering and an expert on solar energy agrees. He reported recently  that a three kilowatt  rooftop solar panel system on the 425 million households can generate a total energy per year 1900 TWh – half of the projected energy demand by 2070.

Reference- http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Bangalore/India-can-meet-its-energy-needs-without-nuclear-plants-Study/Article1-939583.aspx

http://www.getregional.com.au/index.php/wa/item/283-powering-one-of-australia%E2%80%99s-remotest-locations

http://www.communitydigital.com.au/olive/ode/CanningTimesNorth/

http://www.infantjesusparish.org.au/?p=1667