Off-grid power shines in India solar village

Image: Solar Power  Station at Meerwada - Reuters

(Reuters) - Life in the remote Indian village of Meerwada used to grind to a standstill as darkness descended. Workers downed tools, kids strained to see their schoolbooks under the faint glow of aged kerosene lamps and adults struggled to carry out the most basic of household chores.

The arrival of solar power last year has changed all that. On a humid evening, fans whirr, children sit cross-legged to study their Hindi and mother-of-seven Sunderbai is delighted people can actually see what they are eating and drinking.

"When it was dark, we used to drink water with insects in, but now we can see insects, so we filter it and then drink," said the 30-year-old, whose flame-orange sari and gold nose ring are small defiances in a life close to the poverty line.

Meerwada, on a dirt track rutted by rains and outside the reach of the national grid, struck lucky when U.S. solar firm SunEdison picked it to test out business models and covered the hefty initial expense of installing hi-tech solar panels in the heart of the village.

But rapidly falling costs and improved access to financing for would-be customers could encourage the spread of such systems down the line, while simpler solar schemes are already making profits in areas where the grid either does not extend or provides only patchy power.

And Asia's third-largest economy, where just this week hundreds of millions were left without electricity in one of the world's worst blackouts, needs all the help it can get in easing the strain on its overburdened power infrastructure.

The country's Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) hopes solar systems that bypass the national grid will account for just under one percent of total installed capacity by 2022. Still a mere flicker, but that 4,000-megawatt (MW) goal would be way up from 80 MW now when so-called off-grid solar systems are still out of reach for most of the country's rural poor.

SUNNY AGAIN

Large-scale solar facilities that directly feed the grid, such as those at an over 600 MW solar park recently launched with great fanfare in Gujarat, have been gaining traction for some time.

But potential growth in off-grid solar power offers a ray of hope to the around 40 percent of India's 1.2 billion population that the renewable power ministry estimates lack access to energy. People like those in the village just 200 meters away from Meerwada, who rely on a hand pump for water and cook by torchlight as hungry goats creep up on them out of the gloom.

Covering initial investment on solar is key as, in a country with around 300 days of sunshine a year, subsequent costs are largely limited to maintenance and repairs.

"The high up-front capital cost is one of the adoption barriers (for solar projects)," said Krister Aanesen, associate principal at McKinsey & Company's renewable energy division.

"Although diesel is more expensive on a full-cost basis, you defer cash outlay for the fuel ... the cash outlays are different and that's one of the key challenges."

Small-scale direct current (DC) systems from Karnataka in the south to Assam in the north-east have already cleared that hurdle, supplying simple lights and mobile phone chargers at 100-200 rupees ($1.80-$3.60) per month per light -- prices that typically allow installers to cover their initial costs in time.

Private company Mera Gao Power fits roof-top solar panels and then transmission to other houses who pay about 40 rupees to connect, with costs thereafter about 25 rupees per week, said Nikhil Jaisinghani, one of the firm's founders. That means it should currently take about 12 months to repay panel installation expenses of about $2,500 for 100 houses, though the cost is set to fall.

GOING LARGE

Initial expenses are far more onerous on more comprehensive mini-grids like the one in Meerwada, which includes a room full of batteries that can store enough electricity to provide round-the-clock supply to the village and which has recently started powering water pumps.

California-based SunEdison reckons it cost $100,000-$125,000 to build the 14 kilowatt (KW) plant in Meerwada, an expense that would have demanded fees way too high for the 400 or so villagers, whose per capita income is about $250 a year.

The firm expects initial capital costs to come down enough to make alternating current (AC) systems affordable in villages like Meerwada in a few years, with improving technology and fierce competition reducing hardware costs, while enhanced battery storage driven by the auto industry's push on electric cars is also helping.

SunEdison, which sells solar power plants and services worldwide to commercial, government and utility customers, has over 50 MW of interconnected solar electricity in India, with projects ranging from small rooftop installations to part of the Gujarat solar park.

"Three years ago, the panel price was $2.60 per watt. Today it is 75 cents a watt. I don't think it will halve in the next few years but I clearly see 50 cents a watt by 2014/15," said Ahmad Chatila, president and chief executive of MEMC Electronic, SunEdison's parent company.

In the meantime, the government is offering 30 percent of the project cost and in some cases low-interest loans for solar power systems under its Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission policy launched in 2010.

But that still means systems are beyond the reach of many poor, rural customers, so some solar companies are putting up the 20 percent deposits on loans required by banks or acting as guarantors for customers who are outside the conventional banking system.

KEEP ON THE SUNNY SIDE

Back in Meerwada, which lies in central India's Madhya Pradesh, the villagers have added an unexpected ingredient to the cost equation -- frugality. Lights even now are turned on only when darkness falls and fans target the youngest children and the elderly, saving on power use.

Only the village leader, Sampat Bai, has been able to afford a television but it's open to all and her bare-walled main room is crowded when the latest epic dramas come on screen and the children have finished their homework.

Manorbai, a 30-something mother who is now making more money by working at night to mend and sew on her vintage black-and-gold foot-pedal sewing machine, has a simple message on the future.

"Our village has power and other villages should too," she said.

($1 = 55.6150 Indian rupees)

- Reuters

Wind farm: another first for Mossel Bay

Francesca Pisacane, Principal Business Development Engineer for Forster Wheeler, and JB Snyman of Mossel Bay Energy IPP (Pty) Ltd are very excited about the proposed wind farm, soon to be erected close to Mossel Bay.

MOSSEL BAY NEWS - Mossel Bay may soon boast one of the wind power plants that soon will dot the South African countryside. Growth in the South African economy has resulted in the rapid depletion of the country's excess electricity generation capacity, especially during peak demand times.

This has led Eskom to commit to an expansion programme that is hoped to more than double capacity over the next 20 years.

With the Eskom electricity supply under constant threat, and regular price hikes a contentious issue, the authorities have indicated a clear need for the development of alternative, eco-friendly sources of energy.

The Mossel Bay development is spearheaded by Carlo van Wyk of MVD-e/CVW Pty Ltd, which has formed a joint venture with international energy giant Foster Wheeler. Together they have been working on the dream of a Mossel Bay wind farm for the past eight years.

Forster Wheeler Italiana, which, together with Foster Wheeler Properties Pty Ltd, forms the majority shareholder of the project company, has 15 years of hands-on experience in wind farm energy production in Italy and Europe. Foster Wheeler Italiana is currently developing wind farms in Italy and abroad with a generation capacity of 400MW and it owns and operates wind farms exceeding 100MW capacity. MVD-e/CVW is a Mossel Bay based electrical engineering consultant which is experienced in the local and regional electrical infrastructure.

Francesca Pisacane, the Principal Business Development Engineer for Foster Wheeler Italiana, says Mossel Bay is ideally situated for the wind farm. Firstly, excellent relations have been established with the local and other authorities and the participating, visionary farmers who have made available land suitable to the project. This land will remain the property of the farmers and will allow the farmers to continue their own farming practises, as the soil use for the wind farm is limited to about 1% of the total area.

Once the project has run its course, the wind farm will be dismantled and the land will be completely restored.
The availability of the fully operational Mossel Bay harbour also makes the project more viable, as much of the infrastructure will be moved through the harbour, minimising the carbon footprint in the process.-
Mossel Bay Energy IPP (Pty) Ltd has six years of data on prevailing wind in the area. JB Snyman of MVD-e/CVW Pty Ltd says the consistency of the wind is far more important than the force of the wind, and that the turbines work at optimum at a wind speed of a mere 7m/s.

The availability of the Eskom power lines in the wind farm area makes the project even more viable, as the Eskom grid can be easily accessed to upload the electricity developed at the wind farm.

Should the Mossel Bay Energy IPP bid be successful in October, it may take up to 18 months to have the plant fully operational from the date of the achievement of the financial close expected in July 2013, as per Department of Energy requirements.
The facility will cover an area of approximately 1 370ha located on six property portions on the farm Welbedacht 215 and Bergsig Game Farm (Bergsig Game Farm 356/0, 215/13, 353/0, 365/0 and Welbedacht 215/3, 215/15), approximately 10km west of Mossel Bay and 5km north-east of the PetroSA gas-to-liquid refinery, situated just north of the N2 Highway.

The Mossel Bay wind energy facility will consist of 30 to 40 turbines, depending on the model and size of turbine selected. The facility will have a maximum generating output of approximately 80MW.

The turbines considered consist of a vertical tower, hub and three blades. They have a hub height of 100m as the maximum, with a maximum rotor diameter of 105m and a total maximum height at blade tip of approximately 153m.

Pisacane stresses the fact that local contractors will benefit from this development as they intend to use local expertise to develop, build and maintain the plant. Local employees will be trained to run and maintain the plant under the necessary international supervision. This education will be an ongoing project, leaving Mossel Bay with much-needed increased capacity.

The association with Foster Wheeler ensures that the latest state-of-the-art technology for the turbines is used in this proposed project.

Pisacane explains that product development with regards to the turbines used has largely been exhausted, and engineers nowadays mostly tweak existing designs for optimised production.

Having the wind farm at Mossel Bay will also have the added advantage of increasing the stability on the national electricity grid.

The environmental efficiency of the plant is of paramount importance to the developers. Coastal & Environmental Services (CES) have been appointed by Mossel Bay Energy IPP (Pty) Limited as Environmental Assessment Practitioner (EAP) to conduct the Environmental Impact Assessment process. Internationally, Foster Wheeler Italiana has received many international environmental awards, the South Africa equivalent being the ISO9001 and ISO 14001 certification.

All Foster Wheeler operating wind farms voluntarily adhere to the most stringent environmental, health and safety standards available, and have their environmental management systems (EMAS) are constantly monitored and audited on an yearly basis (ISO 14001 and EMAS certifications).

South Africa's Energy Minister, Dipuo Peters, officially confirmed on Thursday, 19 July that the deadline for the financial closure of the first 28 renewable energy projects, named as preferred bids in December, had been extended until the end of July.
Mossel Bay Energy IPP (Pty) Ltd, however, tends to bid in the next available bid window, which officially opens in October.
The minister indicated that some bidders were battling to meet the 'stringent' requirements of financial institutions, while others were dealing with environmental appeals processes, or working on ways to meet the jobs, local content and community development commitments outlined in their bids.

It was important to ensure that as many of the 28 projects licensed by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) as possible moved towards implementation to bolster confidence in the REIPPP process.

"This window must give us the requisite result to convince ourselves, to convince industry and to convince South Africans that this is the route to go," Peters said.

However, Peters said that any capacity not taken up by the first 28 bidders would have to be included during window three, which was initially scheduled for August, but which was likely to be delayed as a result of the first window schedule change.
Through the REIPPP, government is seeking to procure 3 725 MW of capacity, to be introduced into South Africa's power generation mix between 2014 and 2016.

A confidential document obtained by Reuters recently, stated that Eskom had applied to raise tariffs by 14.6% a year over five years. The tariff increases could reach a yearly average of 19% over the same period, depending on if government implemented a carbon tax or built new plants beyond those currently under construction, the Reuters story stated. Eskom was granted three years of 25% power tariff hikes in 2010.

- Mossel Bay Advertiser

George: Climate change adaptation workshop

GEORGE NEWS - A workshop on climate change adaptation is being offered as part of a WESSA and USAID project entitled Stepping Up to Sustainability.

These public participation initiatives will focus on biodiversity, energy, waste, the optimal utilization of water and the cross-cutting theme - climate change.

Attendees will be able to see what can be done to save energy and water and to bring about changes in the choices they make and hence change some of their behaviour.

There are currently 11 sustainability commons in South Africa. The aim is to provide people with opportunities to adopt climate change adaptation practices after being shown practical examples.

A programme of presentations, workshops and courses will be offered to the general public to see on site what can be done at home and at work to change our environmental footprints into environmental handprints of practice for a more sustainable future.

Lorraine McGibbon, WESSA Education Officer in the Southern Cape, is charged with developing this educational programme in George. "In partnership with the Garden Route Botanical Garden Trust, USAID seed funding will be used to retro-fit the Moriarty Environmental Centre to start our journey to stepping up to sustainability."

McGibbon added, "The first presentation will be an introduction to climate change and discussion on what each and everyone of us can do to effect changes at home and at work to reduce consumption of electricity and other resources and in effect, cut one's own running costs whilst saving the planet!

Join this interesting discussion on Saturday, 21 July from 10:00 - 12:00 at the Moriarty Environmental Centre, Caledon Street, George. Free entrance.

- George Herald

Eskom issues electricity warning

Johannesburg - South Africans need to use electricity more sparingly this week because the system is "tight", Eskom said on Thursday.

"The system is tight and customers are urged to switch off all non-essential appliances, particularly over the evening peak," it said in a system status bulletin.

"We urge all South Africans to partner with us to save 10% of their electricity usage, particularly during the... peak hours from 17:00 to 21:00."

It said a unit at the Koeberg nuclear power station in Cape Town was being returned to service after automatically shutting down on Wednesday because of an electrical fault.

"The reactor is in a safe and stable condition and there has been no interruption to power supply as a result of the shutdown."

Total demand on Thursday evening was forecast to reach 35 043 megawatts (MW).

Eskom had 35 514MW of capacity available, including from open cycle gas turbines.

Current planned maintenance accounted for 2 306MW. Unplanned outages affected 4 717MW.

On Wednesday, peak demand of 34 094MW was met, with an available capacity of 35 771MW.

On Tuesday, peak demand of 34 212MW was met, with an available capacity of 37 128MW.

Peak demand for the rest of the week was forecast to reach 33 634MW on Friday, 32 082MW on Saturday, 32 485MW on Sunday, 35 187MW on Monday, 35 087MW on Tuesday and 35 305MW on Wednesday.

- SAPA/News24

Japan approves renewable subsidies in shift from nuclear power

(Reuters) - Japan approved on Monday incentives for renewable energy that could unleash billions of dollars in clean-energy investment and help the world's third-biggest economy shift away from a reliance on nuclear power after the Fukushima disaster.

Industry Minister Yukio Edano approved the introduction of feed-in tariffs (FIT), which means higher rates will be paid for renewable energy. The move could expand revenue from renewable generation and related equipment to more than $30 billion by 2016, brokerage CLSA estimates.

The subsidies from July 1 are one of the few certainties in Japan's energy landscape, where the government has gone back to the drawing board to write a power policy after the Fukushima radiation crisis, the world's worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986.

The push for renewables is aimed at cutting reliance on not only nuclear, but pricey oil and liquefied natural gas for energy needs.

The scheme requires Japanese utilities to buy electricity from renewable sources such as solar, wind and geothermal at pre-set premiums for up to 20 years. Costs will be passed on to consumers through higher bills.

The government will pay 42 yen (53 U.S. cents) per kilowatt hour (kwh) for solar-generated electricity, double the tariff offered in Germany and more than three times that paid in China.

Wind power will be subsidized at least 23.1 yen per kwh, compared with as low as 4.87 euro cents (6 U.S. cents) in Germany.

Subsidies have spurred explosive growth in renewable energy in countries such as Germany, which has nearly tripled its output in less than a decade.

LOW BASE

Still, Japan's aim to accelerate investment in safer, cleaner and self-sufficient energy is starting from a low base: renewable sources apart from large hydro-electric dams account for only 1 percent of power supply in Japan.

Nuclear power accounted for almost 30 percent of Japan's electricity supply before an earthquake and tsunami on March 11 last year triggered the Fukushima disaster.

About 60 percent came from oil, coal and gas, but that share has risen to almost 90 percent as safety concerns led to all of Japan's 50 reactors being shut. The rest of Japan's electricity comes mostly from hydro.

The government estimates capacity from renewable energy will increase to 22,000 megawatts by the end of March 2013, up from 19,500 MW now, with 2,000 MW of that from solar panels.

But Japan has huge potential to generate renewable energy from the sun, wind and geothermal, analysts say.

CLSA Asia-Pacific predicts solar capacity will jump to about 19 gigawatts by 2016 from about 5 GW or less now, while wind capacity may reach 7.6 GW in four years.

The subsidies will benefit solar panel makers Panasonic Corp and Sharp Corp and solar project installer Sekisui Chemicals, along with wind farm developers such as Toyota Tsusho and Japan Wind Development.

But foreign makers of solar panels - including Chinese equipment maker Suntech Power Holdings, Trina Solar and Canadian Solar - are also targeting Japan's market.

"We believe the biggest change in market dynamics in the coming year will be a flood of cheap foreign panel manufacturers into Japan," said CLSA analyst Penn Bowers.

POWER CUTS PUSH DRIVE FOR SELF-SUFFICIENCY

Near Sendai on Japan's northeast cost, which was devastated by the earthquake and tsunami, memories of power cuts are fresh, prompting a drive for self-sufficiency.

"People had to queue for hours several times a week to charge their cell phones during the blackouts, which lasted for up to three weeks," said Naoaki Ando, the manager of an office near Sendai of Sekisui House, Japan's biggest home builder.

In a suburb of Sendai, Sekisui plans to complete a block of 431 houses fitted with solar panels within two and a half years.

Odawara, a city of 200,000 south of Tokyo, is setting up its own power company that will install solar panels at public facilities and sell electricity to Tokyo Electric Power Co, the operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant that was wrecked in the disaster.

Residents who want to install panels on their homes will also get subsidies.

"The high purchasing price under the feed-in-tariff system is great news for us," said Kazuhiko Katano, an official in Odawara's Energy Promotion Division. "The higher the price, the faster the penetration of panels will be."

- Reuters

Germany sets new solar power record

Berlin - German solar power plants produced a world record 22 gigawatts of electricity per hour - equal to 20 nuclear power stations at full capacity - through the midday hours on Friday and Saturday, the head of a renewable energy think tank said.

The German government decided to abandon nuclear power after the Fukushima nuclear disaster last year, closing eight plants immediately and shutting down the remaining nine by 2022.

They will be replaced by renewable energy sources such as wind, solar and bio-mass.

Norbert Allnoch, director of the Institute of the Renewable Energy Industry in Muenster, said the 22 gigawatts o f solar power per hour fed into the national grid on Saturday, met nearly 50% of the nation's midday electricity needs.

"Never before anywhere has a country produced as much photovoltaic electricity," said Allnoch.

"Germany came close to the 20 gigawatt (GW) mark a few times in recent weeks, but this was the first time we made it over."

The record-breaking amount of solar power shows one of the world's leading industrial nations was able to meet a third of its electricity needs on a work day, Friday, and nearly half on Saturday when factories and offices were closed.

Government-mandated support for renewables has helped Germany became a world leader in renewable energy and the country gets about 20% of its overall annual electricity from those sources.

Germany has nearly as much installed solar power generation capacity as the rest of the world combined and gets about 4% of its overall annual electricity needs from the sun alone.

It aims to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 40% from 1990 levels by 2020.


- Reuters/News24

Alternative Energy is the way forward for the SAWDOS

SAWDOS Mossel Bay: The SAWDOS received several emails from our readers relating to the topic: Alternative Power: SAWDOS DIY Wind Turbine Project available HERE.

They want to know why the SAWDOS choose to go the alternative energy route?  Now I have clearly indicated in previous topics that the SAWDOS is not prepared to pay high tariffs for electricity when their is many alternative methods to generate you own power.  The SAWDOS started to researched energy supply and alternative energy methods when the country experienced its first blackouts as a result of power shortage in the country.   I have come to the conclusion that we (the end user) will pay absorbent prices  for electricity in future while others steal electricity at will and nothing happens to the perpetrators.   I have looked at other discriminating tariffs relating to the usage of electricity in different areas and came to the conclusion that I subsidies other electricity users .   Be as it may I found that people of this country are going to pay more and more for electricity in future.   I believe that going the alternative energy route is the answer to many who feel that they are being sucked dry by Eskom while others do not pay for electricity at all.

The latest indication of further price hikes comes from the Eskom's CEO Brian Dames on Tuesday.  He said:

"Turning to tariffs, Dames said South Africa's electricity prices were not yet cost-effective. Increases over a longer period of time, matching the rise in inflation, was where tariff increases should eventually settle. He said if increased capacity was created, it had to be paid for."

Herewith the related article:

Decisions on energy supply need to be made now: Eskom

Decisions on South Africa's future energy supply should be made early to cope with rising demand, Eskom CEO Brian Dames said on Tuesday.

"We must decide now to build the next power plant. We must not make the mistake to build when it is too late," he told the African Utility Week exhibition in Johannesburg.

With urbanisation and technology pushing up electricity demand world-wide, investing in infrastructure was important.

Dames said South Africa's concerns about energy supply would subside as capacity to generate power increased, but other countries in Africa were not so fortunate. It was in the country's interest to facilitate increased power capacity on the continent.

Turning to tariffs, Dames said South Africa's electricity prices were not yet cost-effective. Increases over a longer period of time, matching the rise in inflation, was where tariff increases should eventually settle.

He said if increased capacity was created, it had to be paid for.

The growth in energy supply needed to be more efficient and address climate change while keeping the lights on, Dames said.

- Times Live