sâmbătă, 29 septembrie 2012

Libra Energy has announced a partnership agreement with Canadian Solar


The well known company, a global distributor and manufacturer of Solar Panels, Libra Energy, recently announced a partnership agreement with Canadian Solar, a top 5 global module supplier in 2011.
 Through this deal, Libra Energy UK (the Yorkshire based branch) will become a reseller of the Canadian company solar PV products.
 The UK based Libra Energy is operating at the moment in the United States and also in Benelux countries, now it has the opportunity, with this new deal agreement, to expand its range of products and also improve the quality of its services.

 Mr. Paul Bradbury made a statement from which I quote:

“We are very pleased to become an authorised reseller of one of the market leading solar module manufacturers. By combining Libra Energy’s local know-how and strong technical skills with Canadian Solar’s premium products we really believe we have a first class proposition for customers, whether they be large or small”

Also Mr. Ivan Rubio, the General Manager of Canadian Solar, the Europe Branch, added:

 “Since we launched the Authorized Reseller Program in April of this year it has gone from strength to strength. Libra Energy is a perfect example of the type of well-established and trusted player in the UK solar market that we always look to engage with.”


For more information and news about solar energies in the UK, you may visit here anytime: 

http://www.solar-energy.co.uk/ 

vineri, 28 septembrie 2012

Zee Germans from ib vogt GmbH plan to install UK's largest Solar Panel Farm



As the title says, the nice Germans from ib vogt GmbH have a project for a huge solar panel farm in the United Kingdom, we're talking about a major investment, a 47MW solar farm at Newlands Farm between Fareham and Stubbington, Portsmouth.
This is as big as it gets, the idea behind the project is to power 14 000 homes per year with solar generated electricity, which in theory is carbon free, not that carbon is a bad thing folks.
Anyway, in the ib vogt's GMBH own words, as immortalized by Southern Daily Echo:

“If the proposal attained planning permission it would be the largest solar farm in the UK and the second largest in Europe, something of which we believe Fareham could rightly be proud. In addition to the environmental benefits, the scheme would deliver a number of economic benefits. Jobs would be created during the construction of the solar farm and some of the materials would be sourced from the UK. Ongoing employment opportunities would exist as the panels would need to be maintained and kept secure.”

The local community reacted with mixed emotions regarding the green project, this is what Sean Woodward, local councilor, told Portsmouth's gazette, The News :

"This is a shocking proposal that I am sure will be of great interest and concern to residents of Stubbington and south Fareham.
“It would represent the loss of a significant area of countryside which forms a strategic gap between South Fareham and Stubbington. There are many issues that the council as the local planning authority will need to take into account if a planning application is submitted next month including, but not limited to, the environmental impact – positive in terms of power generation and negative in terms of the presence of thousands of solar panels, public views across the site and agricultural land that would be lost from cultivation to name just a few.’
Even if the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) made an  Impact Assessment  which  suggests that 2013-2014 will not bring large scale solar parks investments ( by that I mean >5MW of power installed), the 47 MW project from the Germans is the biggest proposal so far on a market that gets bigger and more interesting year after year. Let's not forget that DECC announced that it will cut down the co-financing in solar energy projects to just 1.5 ROCS
 Currently, there are 120MW of approved projects in the solar energy business for 2012-2013.
For more information and news about solar energies in the UK, you may visit here anytime: 

http://www.solar-energy.co.uk/ 

joi, 27 septembrie 2012

Green Energy Lendings Triple, says the Co-operative Bank


The Co-operative Bank just announced that its business in the solar energies products it has funded soared in 2012, it was a very good year in terms of demand from entrepreneurs which were looking for investing in this  area, the amount of lending almost triple in this period.

 As as we speak, the Co-operative Bank lent ~230 million pounds in the first 2 quarters of 2012 and the expectations are high for the rest of the year, there is no sign in diminishing of demand for such financial products.

 As mr. James Sutcliffe, Renewable Energy Manager at The Co-operative Bank,  eloquently said:

“We have seen the UK public begin to embrace renewable energy as a viable alternative to traditional energy sources and nowadays it is not only companies who are investing in renewable energy projects.”

“The Co-operative Bank continues to fund a large number of community renewable energy schemes, where profits are invested back into the communities that own them, in some cases with projected incomes of millions of pounds over 20 years. At a time when many communities are fighting for survival from the wider economic challenges, small to medium renewable energy schemes provide them an opportunity for communities to become sustainable, creating local jobs and diversifying local economies.”


The Co-operative bank has a long term project for investing in solar energies, part of the Group's Ethical Plan, launched in 2007 and it expects to lend 1 billion pounds until 2020 in this business sector.
 The plan is also keen to  support local communities in building and developing their own sustainable energy projects.

For more information and news about solar energies in the UK, you may visit here anytime: 

http://www.solar-energy.co.uk/   

marți, 25 septembrie 2012

“Denying green energy is good for growth is as perverse as denying climate change” dixit Davey




I hope you all know who mr. Ed Davey is, if you don’t, well, he is the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whatever the hell this is anyway, I mean Global Warming, Climate Change, what’s next? These people should make up their mind, but that’s not the point of the article.

 In a recent stand at a party convention, he took a speech in which he vigorously defended the Liberal Democrats green ideas, more precisely, he said:

 “[Green growth] it’s much, much bigger than many realize and bigger than the skeptics want people to know about.”
Legolas continued: “Green growth is the fastest around and at the heart of rebalancing the British economy. How can the critics ignore this? Why won't they champion this British growth opportunity? How can they let ideology blind them to what is happening right before their eyes? My message to them is simple: no turning back from tackling climate change; no turning back green jobs; no turning back from green growth.
Davey concluded: “To deny our green energy revolution is good for growth, is as perverse as denying climate change”

In an interview for Observer, Davey also criticized the orcs from the Conservative party (you know, Orcs are like the opposite of elves, they are industrialist, they pollute, smell bad, burn the forest etc.) stating:
Noises off at the margins are undermining investors' confidence and that is undermining green growth, and that is undermining the central purpose of the government, which is deficit reduction.
He added: "When you hear all that noise on the right of politics that worries investors. They think, 'Well if I am going to put all this money in - it is a 30-year investment - I need to know that if the government changes we are not going to have some right-wing Tea Party tendency taking over.'"

At the Liberal Democrats Party Convention, Mr. Davey described the challenges that must be met in the next decade or something like that:

“Replacing our ageing power stations closing over the next decade will attract £110bn of investment. Energy is half; yes half, of all Britain's planned infrastructure investment. And since this summer's Olympics was so fabulous - let me get in on the act. Britain's green growth opportunity is like building 20 Olympic Stadiums every year until 2020.

“So that's why British industry wants us to crack on with our energy reforms - the foundation of Britain's future low carbon economy. Industry knows this will stimulate the investment the economy needs. Our reforms will unlock billions of private investment in energy produced here in the UK: wind, marine, solar hydro, nuclear and carbon capture and storage.

“Private investors will fund the vast bulk of what we need. Unlike many other projects, green growth need not mean red ink. The energy projects that I want to drive are ready now, they are what the Treasury calls shovel ready.”

Mr. Davey concluded: “Our campaigns changed the political agenda so much that we can now become a world green leader. That's how far Britain has come, that's how far we have come so let us say loud and clear, on our green future there will be no turning back.”

Mr. Davey’s eloquent speech served, or it should be seen as a warning for the people in the Coalition Government who try to postpone/reduce the amount of money invested in the production of green energy. In UK, after Mr. Ed Miliband’s public stand regarding the huge potential of alternative energies, the Conservatives are the only important party who has not explicitly stated publicly that the investments in alternative green energy are a solution for times of crisis and austerity.

For more information and news about solar energies in the UK, you may visit here anytime: 

http://www.solar-energy.co.uk/ 

sâmbătă, 22 septembrie 2012

BBC’s Top Gear studio in Dunsfold Park entirely fed on Green Energy


As you probably know, the BBC's Top Gear studios are located in Dunsfold Park in Surrey, also there is the test track that inflamed the minds of millions of spectators of the show. Here you can see the Stig taking laps on the aerodrome at Dunsfold Park with the latest and the greatest of the automotive industry. Also, if you can imagine, here you can find a Green Heart colony, Dunsfold Park is the first business park in UK that will be entirely Solar Powered and will not use dirty energy anymore.

 Soon, we will admire the 8,500 ground-mounted solar panels capable of delivering 2 MW of brute solar energy force, enough to keep the park functioning for the working hours and the energy surplus will go to the National Grid.

The project developers were Lightsource Renewable Energy Ltd and financing was assured by Octopus     Investments, the Dunsfold Aerodrome closed a lease agreement with  Lightsource regarding the land required for installing the solar panels and in return they will receive solar energy, unlimited actually, from Lightsource. The solar panel company will cash back on its investment through he associated feed-in tariff income.    

“We are proud to announce Dunsfold Park as the latest addition to our portfolio. Events like this illustrate that utility size schemes are viable and Lightsource can deliver them" 

dixit Nick Boyle, CEO of Lightsource.


“The entire Dunsfold Park commercial estate is now being powered by the electricity produced by our solar plant during working hours. They will get significant energy bill savings by having just this one source.”
Jim McAllister, Chief Executive of Dunsfold Park also commented: “It’s wonderful. It very much fits in with our sustainable growth agenda.”
“It’s fantastic that the vast majority of our energy is now provided from a renewable source. Our focus on green technologies that help to reduce the aerodrome’s carbon footprint is coming to fruition.”


For more information and news about solar energies in the UK, you may visit here anytime: 

http://www.solar-energy.co.uk/


Jerry Stokes, President of Suntech Europe, is leaving the company


PV-tech is reporting that Jerry Stokes, the President of Suntech Europe, decided to depart the company and the current Vice-President in sales and marketing, Vedat Gürgeli, has been officialy announced to take over as managing director of Suntech Europe, reporting to David King.

"We are grateful to Mr. Stokes for his significant contribution to Suntech's positioning on the European market and the long-standing relationship with our business partners and customers," 

dixit David King, Suntech 's CEO. "In the future, Mr Gürgeli and the Suntech team in Europe also see a duty to promote the development of Suntech's product technology, and to support our distribution and project partners in the marketing of solar energy in Europe and further expanding their business by working closely together."

Also, mr Gürgeli  stated that:

"I am looking forward to taking up this new area of responsibility with our team. In this ever-evolving market, Suntech will further build on its foundation of a proven go-to-market strategy and recognized brand value. We will continue to provide our partners with high-class market-leading products that will be able to reliably deliver solar energy for 25 years or more," 

Mr.Vedat Gürgeli works on Suntech since 2009, before that he was Managing Director of Conergy, he worked both in Singapore and Madrid, where he took care of the  photovoltaic division of Asia Pacific and Southern Europe. He also worked for the german company Bosch, in Malaysia and Germany, also for Sharp company in Hamburg.

For more information and news about solar energies in the UK, you may visit here anytime: 

http://www.solar-energy.co.uk/

vineri, 21 septembrie 2012

UK distributer Segen goes East with China's Own ReneSolar


The well known UK based Segen company, after announcing their partnership  with Canadian Solar, an also well known manufacturer of solar panels from the New Continent, as an authorized reseller, now they announced that ReneSolar is another one on their to do list.

 Because of the customer's demand and foreseeing the next step, Segen began to stockpile 245W and 250W Virtus modules, the next standard in the solar PV market.

The Virtus range offers a very good yield in generating solar power under extreme conditions, i.e. in very hot environments and also a lower level of light induced degradation. It is very good in terms of efficiency, better than the industry standard of 16.5% efficiency for multicrystalline PV cells, the Virtus offers over 18.2% efficiency. This trick is possible due to  ReneSola’s quasi-mono wafer technology, which is a combination of 2 great factors, the high quality of mono and low cost of multicrystalline silicon PV technology, in this manner they are more efficient and also more profitable.

 As Andy Pegg, the manager of Segen recently stated:

“ReneSola’s commitment to the advancement of solar PV technology makes them an ideal partner for Segen. They are already a well-established and respected multinational manufacturer and their range of cutting-edge Virtus modules are an asset to Segen’s ever expanding product portfolio.”

Jijun Shi, President of Renesola Europe, also made the following remark:

 “ReneSola are excited to be entering the UK market and we are thrilled to be working with the UK’s leading distributor of solar PV products. The collaboration will provide the highest quality PV panels to a growing UK solar market.”

For more information and news about solar energies in the UK, you may visit here anytime: 

http://www.solar-energy.co.uk/

Good news for 7 cities in UK, 12 million for Green Deal



For 7 major cities in UK its Hanukkah already, they are about to receive f £12 million for their Green Deal project, we are talking here about Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham and Sheffield.
DECC selected them because of their bold plan, called Green Deal, promises to cut down carbon emissions.
Mr. Edward Davey, energy secretary, said, and I quote:

“These cities have really ambitious plans to lower their emissions, reduce energy use and help people save money on their bills. I’ve been really impressed by their plans to start testing the Green Deal and transforming our homes and buildings.
“This funding will help them get up and running, and I look forward to seeing a number of properties across whole communities get the energy efficient improvements they need.”

For DECC, this deal is a test for the Green Deal framework, kind of a beta version before its official launch in October, the 7 cities are expected to undertake around 2500 retrofits and every each one of the cities who will receive the money must contribute to an equal amount from their local budgets.

 For more information and news about solar energies in the UK, you may visit here anytime:

http://www.solar-energy.co.uk/


joi, 20 septembrie 2012

The UK government cuts Renewable Energy Certificates, grim perspectives for 2013


The UK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) reconsidered its July declarations in which it promised  to take no action in the renewable obligation certificates (ROC) and to continue to support  installations >5MW. At the moment, DECC is considering cuts in the support for solar PV from the actual  2ROCs to just 1.5ROCs from April 2013. 

 The problem is that there are almost 120 MW of >5MW solar parks projects already approved for planning in the UK and this decision could kill the green project or at least severely damage it .The 
DECC's announcement was heavily criticized by the solar industry who argued that the profit margins of the solar panel manufacturers are already evaporating and the future looks grim in this perspective. They also asked DECC to encourage the private investment in the solar panel industry as they did before, on the basis of subsidies. 

DECC stated that  the proposed RO banding rates for solar are a work in progress and they asked the solar industry representatives to make a statement on their announcement and provide up to date informations for future decisions.

 The companies have until October 17 to respond to DECC’s proposals, you can view the document from DECC here.

 For more informations and news about solar energies in the UK, you may visit here anytime : http://www.solar-energy.co.uk/