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HEADLINE NEWS:
* Denmark and Poland are both preparing to have feed-in tariffs for small wind turbines. In Denmark, where benefits of small units have been studied, units of up to 10 kW would get EUR0.33 per kWh, and those up to 25 kW would get EUR0.20 per kWh. Polish tariff rates will be EUR0.17 for up to 3 kWh and EUR0.10 for 15 kWh. [Sun & Wind Energy]
Wind turbine on farm. photo by Hywel Williams. From Wikimedia Commons
* The 850 billion Norwegian Government Pension Fund has sold the majority of its shares in companies exposed to the Indian coal sector, citing financial and environmental risks inherent in their operations. The fund has also sold shares in US and European companies similarly exposed to the coal sector. [New Kerala]
* In Australia, the category three Cyclone Olwyn tore through the WA towns of Exmouth, Coral Bay and Carnarvon on Friday, leaving power blackouts and water shortages in its wake. On the nearby Thevenard Island, however, a relatively newly installed solar-hybrid mini grid continued running throughout. [RenewEconomy]
* New work from Carnegie's Rebecca Hernandez (now at UC Berkley), Madison Hoffacker and Chris Field found that the amount of energy that could be generated from solar equipment constructed on and around existing infrastructure in California would exceed the state's demand by up to five times. [Laboratory Equipment]
* US solar giant SolarCity today announced the launch of a microgrid product with built in energy storage capability. SolarCity is going after the commercial market, targeting municipalities, which is a segment the company views as underserved. One reason to have municipal microgrids is extreme weather. [Breaking Energy]
For more news, please visit geoharvey - Daily News about Energy and Climate Change.
Credit: bioenergysystems.blogspot.com
Japan has an manipulate as a "latecomer" introducing incentives to plug renewable energy investments, the chairman of a administration panel control the happening of charge for clean energy said in this day and age.
"Seeing that a latecomer, we can be included solar power with trimming leader technologies," Kazuhiro Ueta, overseer of the five-member panel that sets Japan's feed-in tariffs, said at a symposium on solar energy in Tokyo in this day and age.
Japan can dig up from countries such as Germany and Spain, which show sooner than implemented the premiums, said Ueta, who is each guru of untrained economics at Kyoto Seminary.
Tokyo introduced the world's note down feed-in charge, or fixed-premium rate, for power from solar plants in July to reinforce output and lift up the nation's remove in reserve from nuclear following the Fukushima flop. The program requires utilities to buy clean energy at director charge with more contract agreed on to customers as surcharges. The feed-in charge for solar is 42 yen per kilowatt-hour for 20 existence.
In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel's administration diplomacy to cap renewable-energy subsidies past influence reaches residence targets. Guarantees of above-market prices for clean energy in Germany show helped make the terra firma the major present for solar and show been emulated several the world, spurring a resound in renewable energy in nations in the midst of Italy and Spain.
Japan's Ministry of Thrift, Problem and Dealing projects the financial system incentive add 2,000 megawatts of solar influence by the end of Establish. In the six months since April, 885 megawatts of solar were more, it announced shoulder week.
The panel headed by Ueta makes recommendations on the pouch knock down of the tariffs, which are set annually, or completely six months if necessary. The panel's recommendations are sent for appreciation to the industry high priest.
Source: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-10-17/japan-benefits-as-latecomer-offering-solar-subsidies-ueta-says
The Feed-in Tax (FiT) has recognized to be the most blooming attitude for live through sensitivity and sustainable step. As the cornerstone of emotive renewable energy step conglomerate, it has resulted in hefty school of dance gas excretion reductions, untrained jobs, revenues for governments and populace and cost-competitive alternatives to perilous fossil fuels. Anyhow all that, the FiT is immediately deadened twirl. This is superfluous so in frontrunner homeland Germany, somewhere the legislative body has granted the stage out of the FiT overcome stream transform. But as Anna Leidreiter explains, the Feed-in Tax is a outshine attitude than is ordinarily oral.
Renewable Set in motion in the German 100% RE region Trier (Film by Innovation Approaching Board)
Talent Loud noise OF THE FIT
Today, the FiT is the most significantly adopted attitude for renewable power generation attitude at the dignity and state/provincial levels. In 2000, perfectly 14 jurisdictions conglomerate had implemented a FiT - a figure which bigger to 99 by 2013. As of at the wrong time 2013, 71 countries and 28 states/provinces had adopted a number of form of FiT attitude.
Bear witness to in 2000, Germany was one of the highest countries to take care of a FiT law (called the Renewable Set in motion Purveyor Act) - in view of that fit a guise template for the world. Fourteen time in the past parliamentarians voted for the planned legislation, the homeland is harvesting the benefits of its utter renewable energy (RE) consumption.
Feed-in Tariffs are following in an standard of 27% of renewable electricity in Germany. On agreeable weekends, this goes up to all over 75%. The FiT attitude has been instrumental in thrift sharply 100 Mt of CO2, spurring technological manufacture, creating 370,000 jobs as suitably as generating greater revenues for communities and regions. All-around 20 million Germans currently take place in supposed 100% RE regions (in undamaged sharply 140 country-wide) that aim to endowment 100% of their electricity and commonly along with kindhearted emergency next renewables. These regions create heavy value by avoiding the greater indemnity of energy imports, creating heavy jobs and generating tax income.
Sooner or later, the German FiT made renewable energy mainstream and provided the key highest steps to raise up a international business assiduousness. Consequently, renewable energy is pay out aggressive next able-bodied subsidized fossil fuels straddling the world.
Crash into AND Lees OF THE FIT
As in any system renovation, there are winners and scum of this energy twist. Due to its rounded inspiration, the German FiT enabled new stakeholders to bring in the persuade somebody to buy and thereby leveraged innermost investment. Concluded than 800 energy cooperatives as suitably as innermost investors, farmers, banks and enterprises own sharply 95% of undamaged installed RE ability. Populace are essentially the string of the energy transition in Germany. Set in motion cooperatives solitary own invested sharply 1.3 billion euros in RE projects, in view of that generating revenues for communities, regions and populace.
The other 5% is owned by the "big four" energy providers. They belong to the mandate that has select to not celebrity in the transition from perilous fossil resources. For decades they enjoyed an oligopoly all consume the energy endowment chain - from rundown to calming to class. What renewable energy has entered the persuade somebody to buy, their gadget models unvarying rely on able-bodied subsidized fossil fuels. As a end result, these energy utilities are not perfectly spellbound out on the benefits of renewable energy but along with timetabled hefty persuade somebody to buy shares.
For example, Germany's second-largest task thing, RWE, posted a net pour blood of 2.8 billion euros process rendezvous. RWE explained that one of the reasons was a fall in emergency for its product - namely, fossil fuel-generated electricity.
THE FIT IS TOO Successful FOR Categorical The upper crust
The FiT empowered populace and communities, pressed a movement of energy democracy and challenged the topic oligopoly. One need suffer this in common sense in the manner of listening to German legislative body government and others blaming the FiT as too inflated for refinement.
It is in this context that the German legislative body granted the transform of the FiT law process week, which essentially initiates the stage out of the most blooming live through sensitivity and step attitude in the world. In gathering to the FiT transform, assembly along with granted a law that allows suds governments to express the token divorce along with wind turbines and settlements. As a end result, wind power step in Bavaria apparition be in the neighborhood of impossible due to particularly conclusion Bavarian system.
A resolution time-consuming applied to decentralized renewable energy step was a transform of the instrument investment law (KAGB) sunrise of this month. The transform creates supplementary administrative system for concluding energy cooperatives as they may be leap to attack at the national financially viable decision-making mandate (BaFin). This is an added executive weight hindering small initiatives, which are commonly based on controlled tough grind, to ingress the energy persuade somebody to buy.
Slightly of caring the interest of the collective and run of the mill emit, these attitude changes enlarge the corporations and energy utilities. The new attitude hulk creates deficits for communities and regions and protects assiduousness interests. In exclusive, the reforms are a customary of compromises that shields fossil cruelty and large energy utilities at the sacrifice of energy consumers, home cooperatives and the renewable energy precincts next its 370,000 endeavor. It threatens live through sensitivity and astronomical habitability - all for impermanent reimbursement.
A stick to of the German Offered and Raiffeisen Coalition finds that the new attitude step apparition incident energy cooperatives to invest state 300 million euros "under" in 2014. Marco B"ulow, the perfectly parliamentarian from the Convivial Permissive Creature who nominated against the FiT transform, thought in his statement: "I am doubtfully overwhelmed by the effectiveness of the shared assiduousness captivate in this process."
FIT 2.0 IS Heavy Looked-for
Definitely, there are normal questions that urgently need to be solved. The German FiT wishes a transform which gravely addresses issues of rub step, persuade somebody to buy integration and financially viable instruments that would totally allow Germany to reach its attitude exact of 80% renewable electricity by 2050. We urgently need a collective and attitude conversation on how to rate the kWh in a renewable energy-dominated system, how to cobble together an incorporated and capricious system and how to ensure sustainable financing of this transition.
Still, it is magnificent that these are untaken as harmful cost of the FiT and as stumbling block of renewable energy technology. Assist are secretive. Slightly of informing the collective sharply benefits and challenges of the ongoing energy rest, the legislative body - in strengthen next the media - creates myths state the indemnity of renewable energy and the aid coil of the FiT.
Any attitude that replaces the FiT apparition own to figure a lot ornamental the FiT, as principles ornamental rub precedence and long-lasting investment guarantee are obligatory in making the petticoat. Successful renewable energy manufacture attitude regimes unite two undamaged criteria:
* They wad unbroken multi-stakeholder exploit state an possible, equal vision;
* They righteous advertise a homeland or region to possibility and benefit from renewable energy technology flows.
Extremely, this shows that the FiT is extensively advanced blooming and piquant than its track record. It dramatically changes the structures in the energy persuade somebody to buy and challenges the interests of informative panel. The German attitude step accordingly demonstrates one key phenomenon: We are at the heart of the challenge along with decentralization and centralization of our energy system. In this challenge, the legislative body has the legitimate position to preserve and give permission its event - not its corporations.
"This protest by Anna Leidreiter is reposted next power and was highest published at Innovation Approaching Board."
Acceptable imports of silicon solar photovoltaic (PV) panels from China, bitter cuts in subsidies, and the successive euro district send the bill to delinquent is booty a overpowering duty on Germany's behind world-beating solar energy industry.
"The fair era of the German solar energy specialty is finer," according to a June 16 Deutsche Welle (DW) article. "At its top, Germany had a 20-percent batch of the global solar energy promote, but now the fabricate stands at well 6 percent. On one occasion a breakneck dive in dear departed months, bigger job cuts are liable to hit the industry.
OH, THE Austere Irony... OF Planetary Panic... Junction In the company of Position ECONOMIES
Planetary PV supply has grown rather gang than fast-growing inquire. Chinese silicon solar PV manufacturers attach been exporting specific 95% of the silicon solar panels they goods. They've now captured bigger than 50% of the global promote for silicon solar cells and panels.
Derisively, Germany and other European governments' inventive solar energy Feed-in Tariffs (Panic) fashioned the inquire and promote addition that led the Chinese legislature to launch a large solar PV conscientiousness help program geared mainly at ramping up exports.
So that's been the zenith driver in bringing about a indicating upset in the debit of solar panels worldwide, it's whichever build with genuine downside for domestic manufacturers, essentially putting the formation of the amount to industry weight and supply hitch in Chinese hands.
German and other European Conformity countries with Panic - which make inquire regardless of product origin - attach completed the EU the zenith destination for Chinese exports. Their low value and pathetic availability attach led German and other EU solar PV project developers and installers to buy them as averse to solar panels completed in Germany or other countries. Extremely, a get quota of EU solar subsidies attach been lovely floor to Chinese silicon solar PV manufacturers.
REALIZING THE RAMIFICATIONS; Choice Late THAN NEVER?
The cutthroat debit contest brought about in large break up by China's conscientiousness subsidies has led German and solar PV manufacturers in other countries, among the US, to skimp on R&D, thoroughly equally it comes to investing in civilizing conscientiousness processes.
"We realized on separate occasions that, in comparison to frequent, deep-rooted industries like automotive engineering, a lot underneath was in the function of invested," Hummel told DW. "Lots companies preferred to selling good-quality solar panels from Asia than to shampoo out research," DW relates. "And equally construction did turn up, bit problem was solution to verdant a mass-production process."
Driven by government's methodological policy, the Chinese juggernaut isn't liable to unperceptive cobalt ominously, either. In veracity, it's swelling. China's spanking Five-Year Outline includes as ominously as 1.5 trillion in subsidies, depressed with production and value strengthening targets, for seven input blossoming industry sectors. Between them is thin-film solar PV, which doesn't portend spring for thin-film manufacturers far-flung China.
Chinese manufacturers' breakneck satisfactorily to promote colony has benefited other solar PV industry segments excessively project developers and installers, but the pay packet attach been losing ground. Manufacturers of silicon solar ingots, wafers and cells, and solar PV production furniture - a promote in which German manufacturers attach figured outstandingly - attach benefited from heaving Chinese inquire.
"German device and office builders were able to export up to 90 percent of their products to Asia," German Improper for Planetary Manage Research's Wolfgang Hummel told DW. "Display, utter factories for the production of solar modules and solar cells were constructed with German and Swiss assistance."
The Chinese attach been leaving to assistant professor on imports of European and US imports in demand to total up their own capabilities. They've progressed to the point where Chinese producers of raw, solar-grade silicon, as spring as silicon solar wafers and PV cells, attach immediate gained promote batch and are now along with the world's fill in producers.
CHINESE IMPORTS, FIT Profit CUTS, Revolt Post TENSIONS
Derisively, the gush of gaudy Chinese imports, depressed with the persisting hangover of bad debts accumulated by banks and legislature fashionable the credit dam up that lasted for peak of the crown decade of the 21st century, has led to get cuts in German and EU solar FiT help charge.
"The subvention charge attach been halved in the administer three being," Carsten K"ornig, who leads the German Planetary Overstress Foundation told DW. "No other mechanical specialty has had to reduce its expenditure as ominously to fasten up as the solar power specialty."
The query on German solar PV industry panel has unmarried been emergent, obvious in a swelling list of poverty filings. That's led to forever loud assertions that Chinese solar PV companies are dumping product in Germany and other EU markets. SolarWorld AG's US help has elatedly led the Federation for American Planetary Manufacturing's (CASM) WTO dumping and enormous subsidies belongings in the US, where the Concern Dept. and ITC attach issued opening penalties on imports of Chinese silicon solar PV cells and panels.
"The Chinese make their customers a debit that's below value," DW quoted SolarWorld AG bigger Forthright Asbeck as saying. "By comport yourself this, the Chinese legislature services the good, technologically upper companies taking part in a inconsolable monetary straights [sic.] so they can on the whole monopolize the promote."
The expect of German solar PV companies filing the same petitions is swelling. That would increase built-up tensions and the threat of castigatory deeds at a putting away equally the global economic recovery remains lean.
AVOIDING A Post WAR THAT'S BEEN Leave-taking ON FOR A DECADE
Seeking to defer an all-out built-up war, the Federation for Not expensive Planetary Gusto (Shield), the Worldwide Planetary Council (a in recent times shaped industry merrymaking of silicon and solar PV production furniture manufacturers), and the US Planetary Gusto Overstress Foundation (SEIA) attach been urging the Concern Dept., the Mixed Post Project (ITC), and the Obama Deliverance to capture a bigger crafty, placatory system to resolving the issue.
In all probability they haven't noticed - or cared to see - but the built-up war they study to defer has been leaving on for about a decade now, and China's stolen a amble on all and sundry overly. A shore cosmopolitan playing part with enforceable secret language requests to be rest immediate if any form of spontaneous, competitive "free promote" for solar PV cells and panels is to obstruction. Presently, China's not leaving to alter pass fault out query.
One incredibly and as one commercial theater the Chinese legislature could capture is to cheeky its supply-side conscientiousness and export subsidies by reallocating them to bigger aggressively make inquire for solar solar energy installations filling China, thoroughly at the residential and commercial levels.
This would load up surplus supply, like at the extremely putting away boosting GDP and green job production, not to vouch for the the marvelous benefit it would income in terms of reducing CO2 and glasshouse gas emissions and the forever high-priced equipment of a warming come through. It wouldn't generate the cosmopolitan built-up surpluses and exotic retail assets that China's formerly relied on in sycophantic the world's second-largest economy, so far.
SOURCE: http://cleantechnica.com/2012/06/17/german-solar-industry-getting-hammered-cheap-chinese-imports/
A prime Scots commercial territory diplomat is selling two new Scottish renewable energy generation developments 'off-plan' as investors make an effort about reducing British elected representatives subsidies.
CKD Galbraith is marketing two consented renewable energy projects enabling entitlement purchasers to ingot in' the benefits of green energy subsidies.
The 100kW hydro project is pre-accredited until 23 December 2015 at a rate of 20.21p/kWh and the purchaser of the two-turbine wind project has until 31 December 2014 to pre-accredit the orderliness at 13.34p/kWh.
Neither project has been built and this cycle is counterpart to building companies selling new homes rotten drink prior the properties are constructed.
The diplomat meant these opportunities heart urge to each one investors and developers intense to overcome this year's pre-accreditation deadline, to forget living immovable by Aim degression' perimeter on allowances such as the Feed-in Cost (FiT).
CKD has been as it should be fashionable selling diplomat by the developer, Lively Condition INVESTMENTS (RENEWABLE Zilch) Fractional for Auchenskeith Fruit farm, a greenfield speck at Dalry, north Ayrshire, with layout taking office for two wind turbines with a cook's knife tip steamroll of 45m and a extreme hub steamroll of 31.5m, and the MAICH HYDROPOWER Intention, a head bank at Lochwinnoch, Renfrewshire, with layout taking office for 100kW hydropower project.
MICHAEL FLETCHER, AT CKD GALBRAITH, said: "The renewable energy industry, out of order with landowners and others, is incentivised to guarantee the UK meets its green energy targets. At a halt in December 2012 the UK Aim was leap to do exercises degression, a come to a point year on year, for FiT to hand out the stuff on persons cremation.
"This has put push on investors and developers to pre-accredit sites as speedily as they accept obtained layout taking office and compensated for their grid connection in advise to maximise the monetary earnings of their projects.
"Appointed to our renewable energy retain and sated come across of markets across Scotland, the two properties are including discrete such marketed by the unwavering this year.
'We been compound in discrete sales require this aloof the childhood year. A groovy itemize of developers accept now obtained consents for renewable schemes consequential in patronizing schemes living put to the market for sale. We glory contemporary are patronizing properties, with consents, to come on to the market, to build or sheep."
The wind project is to the northeast of Auchenskeith Fruit farm, speak 26 miles south west of Glasgow and 12 miles west of the M77 Motorway.
The Maich Hosepipe follows the citizen limitations of North Ayrshire and Renfrewshire Councils, located southeast of Cockston Fruit farm, speak 12 miles west of Glasgow.
NextEra Force Cash Breaks Domain on Two California Sky-high Projects NextEra Force Cash LLC, through its roundabout, wholly-owned subsidiaries, in our time announced it has begun edge of two solar photovoltaic (PV) systems on arm sites in southern California. The solar PV systems donate be powdered mounted on 20-acre in private owned sites in Apple Gorge, Calif., and Blythe, Calif. "We are committed to nascent projects that put together customer requests for clean solar energy, whether through strewn solutions or small- and large-scale affair projects," alleged Andrew Beebe, dissoluteness have control over, Strewn Generation, for NextEra Force Cash. "These projects donate purchase emission-free energy to inhabitants of California point in time allocate the state to upshot its renewable energy goals." The projects are fragment of the California Renewable Force Terse Toll (Hit the highest point) program, a feed-in tariff program for eligible renewable energy projects out cold 1.5 MW. Southern California Edison donate filch all of the output from the PV systems out cold the terms of two 20-year power filch agreements for all peak. Moreover peak consists of two even 1.5 MW ground-mounted usual solar systems with a receive wholly of in the region of 23,000 panels installed. These projects are conventional to schedule commercial handling by the end of 2014 and in the first district of 2015, respectively. - Sky-high Draftswoman magazine LEED Points
The secret ballot is higher. It's verve for our country's leaders to embrace a legitimate energy policy that generates clean power completed rooftop solar, or other renewable energy facilities on already-disturbed lands. The "all of the finer" policy endorsed by the primary two Presidents has not been prize-winning in war weather conditions hitch or protective our wildlands, as we hold seen with the see knocking down wrought by fossil fuels and industrial-scale wind and solar. We hold a loud opening to switch the way we use and generate energy -- we can make our homes and businesses over energy efficient, like using the untapped solve in our cities for solar panels. The policy tools are in be given, or waiting for carrying out. EPA's RE-powering America's Realm initiative that guides energy companies to build projects on already-disturbed lands (pretty of neat as a new pin leave homeland), feed-in-tariffs that payment rooftop solar operators for tolerance energy they feed into the grid, and secure assessed clean energy programs that aid home and business owners cash energy efficiency improvements and solar panel installations.
Reference: green-energy-technologies.blogspot.com
Italy could potentially have a booming CSP market, thanks to high DNI levels in the southern parts of the country and in the main islands of Sardinia and Sicily - where one of the newest CSP plants, the 50 MW Mazara, is being built. Feed-in-tariffs (FiTs) for CSP generation and industrial needs for process heat should make the market even more attractive. So why aren't developers flocking to this market? According to Francesco Di Mario, Head of Renewable Energy Technical Unit at ENEA (the Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development), it's a combination of bottlenecks. "The biggest challenges for utility-scale CSP in Italy, in a situation of limited land availability with acceptable DNI and electricity production overcapacity, are the approval times and investment costs." "The length of authorization process," he stresses, "could reduce the incentives or make it impossible to use them; in this case, the high investment cost could become a hurdle difficult to overcome". Such issues may explain why many of Italy's CSP projects are moving slowly. Out of 20 projects listed on the CSP Today Global Tracker, only three are operational. The rest include one project in planning, another under construction, and 14 under development totalling 313 MW in capacity. "The present CSP technology is still expensive. Achieving a competitive electricity cost target could only be obtained with large plants, meaning large investment and large terrain occupation. Only by mitigating this difficulty, CSP can develop at a relevant rate," a spokesperson from AssoRinnovabili (Association of Producers, Industry and Services of Renewable Energy sector) told CSP Today. Italy's AssoRinnovabili represents more than 500 companies in the renewable sector and endorses CSP by pushing for incentives and simplifying bureaucracy to obtain construction permits. Moreover, the association is promoting an economic incentive for energy storage, "a very important feature of most recent CSP systems that's presently not considered in the FiTs of Italian legislation". Overambitious targets Despite the challenges facing the market, the country's National Action Plan for Renewables calls for the installation of 600 MW of CSP by 2020, a target which Di Mario believes is unrealistic. "At present we have more than 300 MWe in the authorization phase. Even if all these plants are realised by 2020, we will only reach half of the installed capacity targeted by the National Plan," he says. The main reasons for the anticipated slow progress, Di Mario says, are high investment costs, an uncertain and excessively long authorization process, and a lack of suitable sites. He also cites the large penetration of other renewables, specifically PV and wind, and the huge production overcapacity in electric power market. But there is hope - if certain conditions were met. "Firstly, the right value of incentives have to be given to CSP's capacity to store energy," says AssoRinnovabili. Due to the low prices of PV plants, CSP in Italy is not competitive during the day. Therefore, storage will be the only way to use solar energy during the night. Other possibilities would be to facilitate the use of CSP near existing fossil fuel power plants, where the electricity cost could be substantially reduced, and to facilitate permission procedures for small and medium-sized plants of 1-5 MWe. The potential for micro-CSPSmaller CSP plants could possibly be the fastest way to scaling up the technology in Italy. They won't use up too much land, and will be seen as less risky by investors. "Micro-CSP could have better prospects in the medium term, especially for industrial applications," remarks Di Mario. A number of small systems have already been deployed across Italy. For example, CSP-F Spa's Fresnel solar thermal collectors are being used to power the cooling systems at Day Care Centre in Gorla Maggiore, and also to provide dairy thermal power in San Nicol`o d'Arcidano, Orsitano. "To reduce the investment risk and increase both the confidence of investors and acceptance of people, we need to focus on small size (from 500kW); CSP plants that don't require large plots of land, with energy storage and easy hybridization with other renewables to reduce intermittence," AssoRinnovabili spokesperson explains - referring to the new Italian CSP technology STEM (Solar Thermoelectric Magaldi). An innovation hub Amid all the complexities voiced by the industry, Italy has still managed to stand out globally with the pioneering R&D work at ENEA, which since 2001, has been developing a technology based on the use of molten salts as heat transfer and heat storage fluid."In (the last) 10 years, this novel approach has been brought from laboratories to industrial-scale demonstration - through the 5 MWe Archimede Plant, operated by ENEL," says Di Mario. An early involvement of manufacturing industries, including ASE, Duplomatic, D&D, Helios, Reflex, and Ronda, added concreteness to the development process and resulted in technology transfer and licenses granted to industries that produce the components. At present, more than 50 researcher and technologists, and unique experimental infrastructures, are involved in CSP-related projects and R&D at ENEA labs. Focus areas include alternative heat transfer/storage fluids, streamlined heat storage systems, improved heat receivers, as well as application of CSP based on the use of high-temperature solar heat for producing synthetic fuels or hydrogen.Another Italian innovation was recently demonstrated through Falck Renewables' Rende ISCC plant, which was hybridized with biomass and connected in May. In addition to using the heat from the burning of biomass field and solar thermal power, it also captures non-recoverable waste heat originating in the biomass plant. Italy's CSP market is tremendously promising, not only domestically to alleviate grid bottlenecks in the north, but for the whole of Europe. After all, the country holds a strategic position in relation to Desertec, and TuNur - the 2GW CSP tower plant under development in Tunisia- is destined for export to Europe, landing first in Italy. The post Italy: the next CSP hotspot? appeared first on World Of Solar Thermal.
