IT大手がスマートシティ構築に本腰 富士通は45億円事業に参画

資源エネルギー庁が8月11日、横浜市、愛知県豊田市、京都府けいはんな学研都市、北九州市が手掛ける「次世代エネルギー・社会システム実証事業」の具体的な計画を公表したことを報じた記事。記事では、「スマートシティの構築実証事業に参画する主なITベンダー」が表にまとめられている。同表によると、富士通は45億円の大型事業、日本IBMは六つの事業で合計52億円以上の巨額を投じるプロジェクトに参画する。アクセンチュアや新日鉄ソリューションズ、日本ユニシス、NECもスマートシティの構築実証事業に参加するという。

バンコク郊外に38MW太陽光発電所、電池は中国サンテック製

タイ国営石油会社PTT傘下の石油精製･販売会社バンジャーク･ペトロリアムがタイ中部アユタヤ県バンパインに建設する太陽光発電所の定礎式が5日、行われた。式典にはワナラット･エネルギー相、バンジャークのアヌソン社長、アユタヤ県知事らが出席した。
発電所は投資額50億バーツ、出力38MWで、2011年10月稼働の予定。太陽電池は中国の太陽電池大手、無錫尚徳太陽能電力（サンテックパワー）製を使用する。将来的には120MWまで規模を拡張する計画で、総投資額は150億バーツを見込む。

New Solar Energy Conversion Process Could Double Solar Efficiency of Solar Cells

ScienceDaily (Aug. 2, 2010) — A new process that simultaneously combines the light and heat of solar radiation to generate electricity could offer more than double the efficiency of existing solar cell technology, say the Stanford engineers who discovered it and proved that it works. The process, called "photon enhanced thermionic emission," or PETE, could reduce the costs of solar energy production enough for it to compete with oil as an energy source.

2011: The Return of the Solar Shakeout

A Macro Analysis of Global PV Market

http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/2011-the-return-of-the-solar-shakeout/

BIPV Solar Market Accelerates According to GTM Research

The BIPV solar sector is poised for rapid expansion after years of being confined to niche markets. Impelled by maturing energy-efficiency codes, lucrative feed-in tariffs and supply-side product development, BIPV players are experiencing demand for a new array of BIPV solar components, including shingles, curtain walls and flexible panels for roofs and windows.

GTM Research's latest report, Building-Integrated Photovoltaics: An Emerging Market maps the global BIPV solar landscape from current and projected market opportunity to technology evolution, supplier portfolios and the sector's innate design challenges. GTM Research's report acts as a crucial guide through the levels of the expanding BIPV market structure.

For the BIPV industry, which to date has been specialized, there is a pressing need for broader understanding of its scaling opportunity. The technology's development, which has historically been spearheaded in European countries such as France and Germany where bankable feed-in tariffs have spurred initial BIPV build-out, is beginning to push globally. This push is exemplified by the commissioning of a 6.68 MW BIPV project, the world's largest, in China in July 2010.

"The BIPV solar market's grasp is finally meeting its reach thanks to both significant cost reductions over the past two years and product development that is enabling seamless integration of PV into the building envelope," said Philip Drachman, a solar PV industry expert and the report's author at GTM Research.

According to GTM Research, the installed capacity of PV on the whole is forecasted to reach more than 20 GW globally by 2013 (equating to roughly US$60 billion in revenue), and the cost of PV panels is projected to fall to US$1.20/W by that same date. This sustained boost for the overall PV industry will have an enormous spillover effect on the commercial opportunity for BIPV as engineering, construction and design companies avail themselves of PV's economic viability in the face of mounting energy efficiency demands.

Sharp, Enel and ST Micro Swooping Into Thin Film Solar Panels

With thin film pioneers like Applied Materials and Signet expired on the battlefield -- or, like Solyndra, licking their wounds -- Japanese solar giant Sharp, Enel, the largest power company in Italy and STMicroelectronics, the leading European semiconductor supplier have declared their entry into thin film.

The three firms have formed a joint venture called 3Sun and are looking to start production in the second half of 2011. The joint venture also will act as an independent power producer to develop, build and operate PV power generation plants with help from an Italian subsidy for the solar cell plant.

3Sun will start the production of thin-film solar cells in the second half of 2011 by utilizing the existing facility of ST in Catania, Sicily Region, Italy. The thin-film solar cell plant will start operation with an initial annual production capacity of 160 megawatts, which is scheduled to be expanded to an annual production capacity of 480 megawatts.

Sharp aims to become a "total solution company in the photovoltaic field, initiating the world's first business model extending from thin-film solar cell production to IPP business."

***

Although the press release makes no mention of technology, it's safe to assume that this is amorphous silicon.

I interviewed Ron Kenedi, Vice President of Sharp's Solar Energy Solutions Group recently at Intersolar. Sharp appears to be doubling down on this thin-film silicon approach.

Sharp is now the number-three solar cell supplier (behind First Solar and Suntech), with about 600 megawatts of cells shipping in 2010 and according to Kenedi, "We're doing well in all markets." His view on supply issues is that "everybody is sold out." (Maybe the tier-one players are sold out, but there's plenty of capacity in the solar industry.)

Sharp has a one-gigawatt-capacity factory in Osaka building tandem junction a-Si panels with decent efficiencies for this technology, in the neighborhood of nine percent.

Sharp is also completing an 18-megawatt a-Si installation in Canada through Sun Edison, as well as large deployments in Mendota, CA and Dayton, Ohio. In Kenedi's words, "thin film technology is elusive. It's not easy," but "Sharp is a bankable brand."

The takeaway from this interview with a leading crystalline silicon supplier is that "amorphous silicon (a-Si) will be as much as 50 percent of Sharp's solar business in the coming years."

Japan Rising: NEDO Puts Another $17M Into Los Alamos Project

A collaboration between the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization, a government-backed R&D agency in Japan, and the Los Alamos Department of Public Utilities just put together a $27 million shot in the arm to build a demonstration project that will bring utility scale photovoltaics into a smart grid, and also to build a 'smart home.'

Although we already covered some of the cool technology that could come out of the NEDO smart home demonstration, this project is also looking to dig much deeper into how to quickly and cost-effectively bring renewables onto the larger grid -- as well as how to meet the needs of a microgrid.

The collaboration will build a 2-megawatt PV facility over a capped landfill in Los Alamos County along, with a 7-megawatt-hour large-scale battery storage system. Although they are still in the planning stage, the groups are hoping to generate research that will benefit both NEDO, as well as the Los Alamos DPU. Los Alamos already produces about 28 percent hydro power for its customers, with another two percent coming from wind and solar.

More weather forecasting will also come into some of the experiments, using the Los Alamos National Laboratory weather station; the project will gather weather data to better forecast solar output. "Right now the county has power schedulers that are based on history and load," said and John Arrowsmith, utilities manager of the Los Alamos DPU. "I think weather forecasting will allow us to add more sophistication to our planning."

The project has a laundry list of partners that includes Hitachi, Kyocera, Sharp, NEC, Mitsubishi, NTT DoCoMo, Panasonic and others, each of which will focus on different aspects of the demonstration. Many Japanese technology giants are shifting focus to green technology, making demonstration projects like this in export markets particularly appealing.

Optimized distribution is another focus of the tests. Japan already has a more efficient grid than the U.S., and so there are certainly many lessons to be learned, but for the Japanese, this project could help to show the capabilities of their industry in the realm of renewables and smart grid.

Although the details are still being finalized, they are planning construction in spring of 2011. "There's a lot of work that needs to be done between now and then," said Arrowsmith.

Conergy Partners on 3-MW Project in Thailand

Bangkok, Thailand [RenewableEnergyWorld.com] Conergy Singapore, Yanhee Solar and Annex Power have formed a consortium to construct Thailand's largest private solar power plant. The 3-megawatt (MW) park is situated in Ayutthaya, 70 kilometers north of Bangkok. The plant is expected to produce 4,471 megawatt hours of clean energy annually, while also saving at least 1,971 tons of carbon emissions per year.
Yanhee Solar is overseeing the project development and financing.

The plant will be built in two phases. The first megawatt will be installed in Phase 1 which is scheduled for completion in Q2 of 2010. Phase 2 will cover the next 2 MW which is expected to be completed in Q4 2010. Power generated from the plant will be fed to the electricity grid of the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) of Thailand. Once completed, this solar plant will be the first private commercial megawatt project in Thailand and the largest privately-held solar plant in Southeast Asia.

Under the consortium agreement, Conergy will be responsible for the design, engineering, and components supply of the project while construction and operational management will be carried out by Conergy’s exclusive partner for Indochina, Annex Power. Yanhee Solar is overseeing the project development and financing.

“Yanhee solar park is a milestone for solar in Southeast Asia” said Marc Lohoff, Conergy’s managing director for Asia Pacific and the Middle East states. "This 3 MW installation is a key milestone for the solar sector in Asia. We’re excited to work for Yanhee and look forward to supporting Thailand’s campaign to develop a strong infrastructure for renewable energy.”

Rutgers' Chinese Solar Panels Show Clean-Energy Shift

(Bloomberg) At Rutgers University in New Jersey, 7,600 panels convert sunlight into electricity, saving some $200,000 in energy costs this year in the biggest solar-power experiment at a U.S. college.

Yingli Green Energy Holding Co., China’s second-largest solar-panel maker, supplied the $10 million project. Yingli is one of several Chinese manufacturers that have slashed costs to reduce global prices for solar modules by about 50 percent in two years. The drive made them more affordable for buyers from Rutgers to Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the biggest U.S. retailer.

“It’s all about economics,” said Chief Executive Officer Al Bucknam of SunDurance Energy, the South Plainfield, New Jersey, installer that picked Yingli over Western competitors on price and helped sell the deal to Rutgers as a money-saver.

China is slashing prices and moving to dominate solar energy in the way Japanese manufacturers ruled consumer electronics decades ago. The price declines inch the cost of solar energy toward what’s called grid parity, or renewable electricity at the same prices charged for conventional power.

“The ability of the Chinese to manufacture at scale is a very big reason why the cost of these panels has come down,” said Kathleen A. McGinty at venture capital firm Element Partners in Radnor, Pennsylvania. “They’re a big part of the reason why we can even start to talk about grid parity.”

Price Parity

Sun power may become as cheap as the retail price of grid- delivered electricity in certain markets as early as 2013, according to a June 29 report by Pike Research, a Boulder, Colorado, clean-energy consultant.

The European Photovoltaic Industry Association, a trade group, forecasts parity by 2010 in some southern parts of Italy, by 2012 in several regions of Spain, and 2015 in Germany.

Solar installations are spreading worldwide as governments from China to the U.K. and Italy offer subsidies, costs fall and cities seek to create jobs. Rutgers got a New Jersey state grant for half its solar plant costs, which included installation and an undisclosed price for the Yingli panels. Wal-Mart last month finished installing solar modules on two California stores that provide as much as 30 percent of their electricity.

China’s manufacturers grabbed 43 percent of the global photovoltaic-panel market in the last six years, pricing products as much as 20 percent cheaper than European offerings, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Chinese firms shipped 3,300 megawatts of panels worth $6.6 billion last year, enough to power about 2.6 million U.S. homes.

Asia’s ‘Vast Factories’

“The vast factories of Asia will drive prices down, just as they did with consumer electronics,” said Jenny Chase, head of solar energy analysis for New Energy Finance, the London- based research firm owned by Bloomberg LP.

The downside for manufacturers is falling panel prices. That, together with Spain and Germany cutting subsidies for clean power, has sent investors away from most solar stocks.

China’s largest panel producers, Suntech Power Holdings Co., Yingli, and Trina Solar Ltd., have all dropped on the New York Stock Exchange this year. Yingli lost 25 percent, Trina 13 percent and Suntech 37 percent in the year through July 21. The MSCI World Index fell just 6.9 percent in the period.

Some foreign competitors from Germany’s Solarworld AG and Q-Cells SE to Marlboro, Massachusetts-based Evergreen Solar Inc. fared worse. Solarworld has lost 29 percent in value, Q-Cells dropped 50 percent and Evergreen plunged 56 percent.

State-controlled China Development Bank Corp. so far this year has extended $24 billion in loans to Yingli, Trina Solar, Suntech, Solarfun Power Holdings Co. and others, according to data collected by New Energy Finance. That exceeds the $18.2 billion the U.S. government disbursed in fiscal stimulus funds for clean-energy companies through May 2010.

China’s Subsidies

Skeptics argue China’s solar industry is thriving on subsidies that obscure the true costs of solar, according to Kenneth Dewoskin, senior director at Deloitte China. Suntech and Trina didn’t respond to requests for interviews.

Min Li, a Hong Kong-based energy analyst at Yuanta Securities, said Chinese solar stocks are now attractively priced. He rates Yingli and Suntech as a “buy.” Overall, analysts favor Chinese over Western manufacturers.

Fourteen of 27 analysts tracked by Bloomberg recommend buying Yingli, compared with one “sell” rating. For Trina, all 22 analysts following the stock recommend buying it, while Suntech has 11 buy ratings and 8 sell recommendations.

In contrast, three analysts covering Q-cells rate the company a buy compared with 22 a sell. Evergreen has three buy ratings and 7 sell ratings. Solarworld is almost even, with 14 buys and 12 sells.

‘Just a Start’

China’s dominance in solar panels started in cities that subsidize clean energy. Baoding, a city of 1 million a two- hour’s drive south of Beijing, has used subsidies to attract about 200 renewable-energy companies including Yingli, whose panels power 80 percent of the local street lights.

“That’s just a start,” said Lian Shujun, vice director of the city’s renewable initiative.

China Development Bank lent a combined 116 billion yuan ($17 billion) this year to Yingli, Suntech and Trina while the central government’s Golden Sun program subsidizes as much as 70 percent of the cost of 294 solar projects. Beijing plans to install $1 billion of solar panels around the capital to heat water and light offices in 2012.

“China is beginning to think about what options are out there in terms of its new energy policy,” said Lu Yeung, a Hong Kong-based China energy analyst at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. “It’s not just fossil fuels, but how to make a green economy that is also a growth driver.”

‘Inevitable Choice’

The government is just getting started pushing solar, said Jason Liu, who quit his job at McKinsey & Co. to become a vice president at Yingli last year.

“Developing renewable energy is an inevitable choice,” he said.

China overtook the U.S. as the world’s biggest energy user last year, according to the International Energy Agency. The country is looking to firms like Yingli for renewable energy to reduce dependence on oil imports and coal.

China, the world’s biggest coal consumer, burns the commodity to generate about 80 percent of its power. The IEA projects China’s oil imports will almost quadruple by 2030 from 2006 levels.

China spent $34.6 billion on clean-fuel projects in 2009, almost double the $18.6 billion investment by the U.S., New Energy Finance estimated. China installed 160 megawatts of solar capacity last year, a four-fold increase from a year earlier, and may almost double it again this year to 311 megawatts, according to the research firm.

An Opportunity

Some European and U.S. companies view China’s solar growth as an opportunity. Germany’s Q-Cells last year agreed to a manufacturing joint venture with China’s LDK Solar Co.

Tempe, Arizona-based First Solar Inc., the world’s biggest solar company by market value, has agreed with the government of Ordos, Inner Mongolia, to build a 2-gigawatt plant.

Such opportunities are fading as China acquires the expertise to do large-scale solar projects itself, Frank Haugwitz, a Beijing-based renewable energy consultant, said in a telephone interview.

“It’s only a matter of time, one or two years,” he said.

米国の太陽光発電市場、2014年までに10倍に成長

米国の調査会社大手NPDグループ傘下で太陽光発電市場の調査を手掛ける米ソーラーバズの2010年版米国太陽光発電市場予測レポートによると、2009年の米国の太陽光発電市場の成長率は36％であった事が分かった。
2008年の成長率62％に比べると伸びは鈍化しているが、米国は依然として、ドイツ･イタリアに次いで世界第三位の太陽光発電市場となっている。中でも、カリフォルニア州は主要エリアで、2009年には全体の53％を占め、2010年も引き続き、この強い地位を維持しているという。
また、米国全体で見ると、企業からの需要は減ってきているものの、代わって、政府向け、住宅向け需要が伸びており、ソーラーバズでは、米国における太陽光発電市場が、2014年までの5年間で4.5～5.5GW規模まで成長すると予測。これは、2009年の市場規模の約10倍に相当する。
2009年での導入実績で1位となったのは、サンパワー。カリフォルニア州では、シェブロン･エナジーとSPGソーラーも健闘し、2番手の位置につけている。また、同州の住宅向けの導入実績では、RECソーラー、ソーラーシティ、リアル･グッズ･ソーラーなどの太陽光発電企業が挙げられている。

* I think Thailand also has such a huge potential there.

三菱電機、家庭向けスマートグリッド実証へ蓄熱システム導入

三菱電機は年内に始めるスマートグリッドの実証実験で、蓄熱システムを導入する。太陽光や太陽熱発電で得たエネルギーを、エコキュートのタンクなどに蓄える仕組み。蓄電だけでなく蓄熱を組み合わせ、高いエネルギー効率を目指す。一般家庭のスマートグリッドの新しいソリューションとして、将来の事業化を想定している。
実験は同社大船地区に設置する実証ハウスで行う。現在、家庭のエネルギー利用のうち冷暖房や給湯の熱需要が6割で、熱の有効利用がスマートグリッドに欠かせない。試験は東京電力などとも協力し情報を共有化する方針。発電は太陽光と太陽熱を組み合わせたハイブリッド型のシステムを想定している。例えば昼間に余剰になった熱を蓄え、必要な時に給湯などに利用すれば深夜電力の使用を抑える事も可能。蓄熱機器と電気用の蓄電池と併用する。
現在、販売されているエコキュートのタンク容量は300―500リットル。社内に蓄熱技術の蓄積が豊富で、それを生かした次世代機器やサービスを開発する。家庭内の制御機器については、ホームエネルギーマネジメントシステム（HEMS）のほか、自社製品のスマートメーター、パワーコンディショナー（電力調整装置）などでも実証する。
三菱電機は2010年度―11年度から2年間に70億円を投じ自社内にスマートグリッドの実証設備を構築する。兵庫県尼崎市で送変電全般、和歌山市では太陽光発電の広域監視、大船は需要家側の試験をする。電気自動車から住宅に電力を供給する「ビークル･トゥー･ホーム」なども実験する計画だ。

Innovalight Signs With Yingli for Second Chinese Solar Deal

Innovalight has signed a research and production deal with Yingli Green Energy that, ideally, will lead to a marriage of low-cost Chinese manufacturing and U.S. technological expertise.

Innovalight has developed a solar ink that, when added to crystalline silicon solar cells, can boost their efficiency. Right now, adding Innovalight's secret sauce increases efficiency by about a percentage point, i.e., an 18-percent-efficient solar cell becomes a 19-percent-efficient cell. Put another way, adding in the ink turns a 30-megawatt-per-year line into a 35-megawatt line without the need for lots of expensive new equipment. The efficiency boost decreases a bit when the cells are added to the panels -- panel efficiency is invariably lower -- but it still gooses efficiency.

Next year, the ink will add two percentage points to overall efficiency, and in 2012, the target is three. So think of them as the Keebler elves of solar, adding a little magic at the end of the cooking process. JA Solar, another Chinese company, signed a three-year deal with Innovalight earlier this year.

While Innovalight could produce its own solar cells, the company has largely shifted to producing solar inks for others and collaborating on research. The shift obviates the need to raise the capital to build solar factories, and it insulates Innovalight to some degree from the brutal price competition in solar.

Companies such as Nanostellar (catalytic powders for diesel engines), e-Solar, and Mission Motors have shifted toward a licensing/component model, as well. The trend started in 2008.

The downside? Large companies are often reluctant to buy materials or sign licensing deals with startups and often spend an inordinate amount of energy and money to develop technologies that get around a startup's patents. In the semiconductor world, the general rule is that a startup has to beat a large, established company in court -- or at least get a large settlement -- before they can ink deals.

The fact that both JA and Yingli are Chinese might at first seem odd. China is widely considered a haven for piracy. But here's the motivating factor: Chinese companies often don't have access to cutting-edge technology. Suntech Power Holdings is ranked among the best solar innovators but others in the solar space are often viewed as followers. Combining with Innovalight effectively allows them to accelerate their product lines.

Innovalight is also insulated from fears about infringement with all or any of its partners, because it makes the inks itself. It licenses the techniques for making printing tools but does the ink in-house.

Licensing ultimately marks one of the few ways that Western companies can tap the Chinese market and get around the fact that China will likely continue to enjoy advantages in low-cost manufacturing.

First Solar, Duke Energy and e-Solar have Chinese alliances in the works, as well.

Applied Materials Kills its SunFab Solar Business

Applied Materials, the semiconductor equipment giant, said on Wednesday that it will discontinue the SunFab line for thin-film solar panels and cut about 500 workers.

It's the end of a saga. Applied jumped into the amorphous silicon solar business in 2006 through acquisitions and talked about ultimately creating factories that would produce gigawatts worth of solar panels a year. The center of the strategy was SunFab, a factory-in-a-box. The company landed early clients like Signet Solar, Suntech and Masdar PV.

"The thin film market has been negatively impacted by several factors, including delays in utility-scale solar adoption, solar panel manufacturers' challenges in obtaining affordable capital, changes and uncertainty in government renewable energy policies, and competitive pressure from crystalline silicon technologies," said CEO Mike Splinter in a prepared statement.

* It looks like PV is still a dominant technology in solar panel market.

JA Solar, Innovalight Team Up To Advance Solar Efficiency

JA Solar Holdings Co. (JASO), a Chinese solar-cell manufacturer, has teamed up with a U.S. start-up in a deal that points Chinese solar interest in advancing new technologies.

Innovalight Inc. and JA Solar agreed to co-develop solar cells whose sunlight-to-power conversion efficiencies would exceed 20%. The current efficiencies that JA Solar has achieved using inks from Innovalight are 18.9%.

JA Solar also signed a commercial agreement to buy inks from Innovalight for three years. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed. The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based start-up makes silicon nanocrystal inks that cover solar wafers to improve the power output of solar cells.

"The acceleration of [the Chinese solar industry's] investment in research and development shouldn't be underestimated," said Conrad Burke, chief executive and president of Innovalight, in an interview.

Burke said that the Chinese solar industry is investing seriously in R&D, and hiring engineers to compete. JA, for example, has more than doubled its spending on R&D over the past three years, to 343.3 million yuan ($50.7 million) in 2009 from CNY150.3 million in 2007. That equates to about a tenth of its revenue last year.

Chinese solar companies "have increased [R&D] moderately as a percentage of revenue, but what is exciting to me is the capacity they are adding in next generation" products, wrote Jeff Osborne, an analyst with investment bank Thomas Weisel, in an email. He said that companies such as JA Solar, Suntech Power Holdings Co. (STP), and Yingli Green Holdings Co. (YGE) are focusing on efficiency gains as they expand manufacturing.

Innovalight's interest in JA Solar doesn't lie in the fact that the company is in China, but rather that it's already in the top five of solar-cell manufacturers globally, having launched operations in 2005. "It behooves us to work with the biggest and the best," said Burke.

Innovalight is backed by investors including Apax Partners, ARCH Venture Partners, Convexa Capital, Harris & Harris Group, Sevin Rosen Funds, Triton Ventures and Singapore-based EDB Investments and Vertex Venture Holdings. The company is expanding the manufacturing of its inks in California, said Burke.

Other companies have recognized that co-development with Chinese companies is important. Duke Energy (DUK), for example, is working with China Huaneng Group, one of China's biggest power producers, on carbon sequestration for coal plants.

Malaysia To Introduce Feed-In Tariff For Renewable Energy In 2011

KUCHING, July 15 (Bernama) -- Malaysia will implement the feed-in tariff (FIT) for renewable energy to enable users to sell excess power to the power grid as early as next year, said Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Seri Peter Chin Fah Kui.

He said the Renewable Energy Act, which will introduce the FIT mechanism, is expected to be tabled in the Dewan Rakyat by year-end.

"The FIT is a mechanism that is tried and tested in many advanced countries, notably Germany, as a way to encourage people to use renewable energy such as solar, biomas or wind.

"With the FIT, it will be easier for everyone, whether individual consumers or companies to generate renewable energy and sell their excess power back to Tenaga Nasional Berhad or regional utility companies such as Sarawak Electricity Supply Corporation and Sabah Electricity Board," he told reporters after the launch of "Green Technology Roadshow 2010" by Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr George Chan here Thursday.

Chin said he believed the incentives to sell excess power derived from renewable energy sources to the grid would encourage more people to adopt renewable energy sources.

"I'm quite sure, like in Germany and many other countries, when there is FIT, the solar panel installation and usage will go up. A lot of usage could bring the price of solar panels down," he said.

Chin said the cost to install solar panels to generate 1KW of power for homes is RM25,000 and the average usage of a detached house is about 2kW.

"With FIT, it is a small step towards greening of this country. Based on the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change, we are not doing that good. Our carbon emission rate is among the highest in the world," he said.

Earlier, in his speech, Chin said the government planned various programmes to promote the application and development of green technology including the establishment of Green Technology Financing Scheme amounting to RM1.5 billion.

He said the scheme launched in January is to attract the private sector, especially the SMEs, to participate in green technology entrepreneurship.

* The Malaysian government aims at raising renewable energy contribution to the electricity generation mix to 6 percent, or 985 megawatt in 2015, and 11 percent or 2,080 megawatt in 2020.
On the other side, Thailand is 20 percent by 2020, which is more aggressive than Malaysia.

タイのウインド･エナジー、風力発電に156億バーツ

【タイ】風力発電事業に投資するタイ企業ウインド・エナジー・ホールディングはタイ東北部ナコンラチャシマ県ダーンクントット郡の２カ所と中部ペチャブン県カオコー郡の１カ所の計３カ所で風力発電所を開発中だ。設備容量は計２６９ワットで、２０１１年中の稼動を見込む。総投資額は１５５・７億バーツ。

　ナコンラチャシマの発電所２カ所はウインド・エナジーが独資で開発し、設備容量は各１０３・５メガワット、２０１１年８―９月稼動の予定。

　ペチャブンの発電所は設備容量が６２・１メガワットで、２０１１年１２月稼動を目指す。出資比率はウインド・エナジー７０％、タイの電力会社ラチャブリ･エレクトリシティ･ジェネレーティング･ホールディング３０％。

　タイ政府は天然ガスに偏った発電燃料を多様化する方針で、バイオマス、太陽光、風力などの発電に力を入れている。風力発電については、２００９年末に３メガワットだった設備容量を２０２０年に１２３１メガワットまで引き上げる計画だ。

Building Solar Power Plant

How It's Made - Solar Panels

เครื่องปรับอากาศ”ไฮบริด”รุ่นแรก จากแอลจี

On June 18, 2010
รถยนต์ไฮบริดที่ใช้พลังงานผสมระหว่างน้ำมันและไฟฟ้านั้นแจ้งเกิด ไปนานแล้ว แต่วันนี้แอลจี (LG Electronics) ได้ฤกษ์จุดพลุเครื่องปรับอากาศลูกผสมที่สามารถใช้พลังงานแสงอาทิตย์ร่วมกับ พลังงานไฟฟ้าตัวแรก เปิดตัวอย่างงดงามแล้วที่เกาหลีครับ

ตามรูปจะเห็นว่า เครื่องปรับอากาศไฮบริดของแอลจีที่มีชื่ออย่างเป็นทางการว่า LG F-Q232LASS นั้นใช้เซลล์พลังงานแสงอาทิตย์เป็นส่วนประกอบในการให้พลังงานสะอาดแก่ เครื่องปรับอากาศ โดยเซลล์พลังงานแสดงอาทิตย์ถูกแนบไว้ที่ด้านบนของคอมเพรสเซอร์สำหรับติดตั้ง นอกอาคาร ข้อมูลบอกว่าโซลาร์เซลเหล่านี้สามารถให้พลังงานสูง 70 วัตต์ต่อชั่วโมง

แอลจีให้ข้อมูลว่า ระบบเครื่องปรับอากาศลูกผสมจะสามารถลดปริมาณการเกิดคาร์บอนไดออกไซด์หรือ CO2 ได้ 212 กิโลกรัมภายใน 10 ปี เทียบเท่ากับการลดปริมาณคาร์บอนไดออกไซด์จากการปลูกต้นสน 780 ต้น ในช่วงเวลา 10 ปีเท่ากัน

ข้อมูลรายละเอียดการจำหน่ายเบื้องต้นพบว่า LG F-Q232LASS จะเริ่มจัดส่งในวันที่ 14 กรกฎาคมนี้ สนนราคาและกำหนดการวางจำหน่ายในตลาดโลกยังไม่ชัดเจน

SOLAR PANEL DIY

MAKE YOUR OWN SOLAR PANEL BUILD SOLAR PANELS

China Solar Cell Makers Foray Japan - Suntech aiming at 10% of Japan Market

太陽電池の国内市場で、中国系など海外メーカーが存在感を増し始めている。生産量で世界2位の中国サンテックパワーが国内シェア10％の年内達成を視野に入れるほか、ほかの中国勢も低価格を売りに需要獲得を狙う。家電業界で世界を席巻するサムスン電子やLG電子など韓国勢も、ここにきて大型投資に踏み切る意向を示しており、これまで国内メーカーが独占していた日本市場が一転して激戦区になる様相も帯びてきた。「目標のシェア10％を2010年こそ達成できるだろう」。サンテックパワー日本法人の山本豊社長は今月初め、フジサンケイビジネスアイに対し、国内需要の取り込みに自信をみせた。

サンテックは2009年、ヤマダ電機やミサワホームと提携する事で販売網を拡大し、25年間の長期保証を提供する独自の拡販策でも浸透し始めている。九州･四国地域の販売を強化するため、7月には福岡市に事務所を設置。今月からは自然災害や屋根漏水への補償サービスを始めるなど、攻めの手を緩めない。山本社長は「中国メーカーは安いだけという考えは、もう通用しない。製品とサービスを見て選んでもらいたい」と話す。太陽電池の国内出荷量は10年1～3月期に520MWを超え、前年同期の2倍以上になるなど順調に拡大。政府の補助制度などを背景に2010年も大きな伸びが予想され、各国メーカーにとって「草刈り場」（国内メーカー）となり始めているのだ。

Sharp thin-film solar cells to Thailand

12 July 2010

Sharp Corporation will set up, supply thin-film solar cell modules and surrounding systems for a 73 MW solar power plant in Thailand.

The construction of the thin-film solar power plant will start this month and operation is planned to begin at the end of 2011.

The contract is with Natural Energy Development Co Ltd (NED), and independent power producer in Thailand.

The Government of Thailand targets an increase in the amount of renewable energy, up to 20% of the total electricity demand by 2022.

Sharp Makes Foray Into Solar Development in Thailand

07/07/2010 10:24 AM

Sharp Corporation (6753.T) has signed an agreement with Thailand's Natural Energy Development Co., Ltd (NED) to establish a 73-megawatts (MW) solar power plant and supply thin-film solar cell modules for the system.

This is one of the first large-scale solar plants to be developed by Sharp. It indicates the company is following a downstream business model first employed by solar manufacturer FirstSolar (Nasdaq: FSLR), and recently adopted by other major solar firms like SunPower (Nasdaq: SPWRA) and Q-Cells (QCE.DE) that are looking to create demand for their products.

Construction is scheduled to start in Thailand this month with operations beginning by the end of 2011.

The thin-film solar cell modules to be used in the power generation plant will be supplied partially from Sharp’s solar cell plant at Green Front Sakai in Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture, Japan, which started operation in March 2010.

NED is an independent power producer (IPP) in Thailand, 33.3% of the company is owned by DGA, a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Corporation (8058.T). ITD/ITE, one of the largest construction companies in Thailand is also participating in the project.

The government of Thailand targets an increase in the amount of renewable energy, up to 20% of the total electricity demand by 2022.

Website: www.sharpusa.com/SolarElectricity.aspx

Cambodia to promote solar energy

15:39, July 09, 2010
Cambodia's rural electrification fund is planning of 12,000 solar panel systems next month to help spread green power to rural villagers who are not connected to the national grid, local media reported on Friday.

The REF - a World Bank-supported public institution aiming to provide electricity to every Cambodian village by 2020 - plans to sell the solar panels to rural households on a monthly payment basis, executive director Loeung Keosela was quoted by the Phnom Penh Post as saying.

Foreign and domestic vendors will be invited to submit bids next month to supply the REF with 12,000 sets of solar panels, batteries and wiring, he said, which will then be sold individually to rural Cambodian households.

"If we procure in bulk sizes, hopefully the cost of individual systems will come down," he added.

The project is funded by the World Bank's 67.92 million U.S. dollars Rural Electrification and Transmission project loan, which is set to expire on January 31, 2012.

The REF previously experimented with grants directly subsidising the cost of solar panels for households, he said, but the plan had limited success. "Only about 90 systems were sold."

"Over the last decade, it seems demand for solar home systems are growing," Mao Sangat, director of privately owned supplier Solar Energy of Cambodia said.

At the first Asian Solar Energy Forum held in Manila earlier this week, Asian Development Bank (ADB) officials said Asia's developing nations were in a perfect position to harvest power from the sun, and added that assistance from development institutions was crucial to growing the industry, the post reported.

souce : http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90777/90851/7059790.html

Kyocera's large-scale solar plant completed in Thailand

Thursday 27th May, 04:36 AM JST

OSAKA —

A solar power plant equipped with nearly 30,000 units of Kyocera Corp’s module has been completed in northeastern Thailand, one of the largest solar power plants in Southeast Asia, Kyocera officials said Wednesday.

The 6-megawatt plant can generate 9 million kilowatt-hours a year, equivalent to the annual consumption of 5,000 households, Kyocera said. It added that it estimates the capacity can help reduce carbon dioxide emission by 4,500 tons a year in the country.

source : http://www.japantoday.com/category/technology/view/kyoceras-large-scale-solar-plant-completed-in-thailand