Italy and Greece look to be solar power players

Despite of, or perhaps because of, Italy's economic troubles- the country is currently trying to push its renewable energy target up to 35% by 2020-  an ambitious jump of almost 10 percentage points.

The public discussion regarding the Renewable Energy Plan, currently occurring at the Ministries of Environment and  Economic Development is being interpreted as a positive sign for advocates of renewable energy. The provision s reportedly in the new plan include an annual subsidy limit of €200 million for solar projects over 6k; unlimited net metering for solar projects under 6kW; and an adjusted (reduced) Feed-in Tariff (FiT) of  €0.17/kWh.

Nearby, Greece is making similar moves, as the Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos recently named solar energy as a national priority. He also hopes to commit $25 billion to make Greece 100% powered by renewable energy.  Papademos recognizes a Greece comparative advantage in solar power- and plans to power its neighbors as well. However, according to EU Commissioner for Energy, Gunther Oettinger, Greece must significantly beef up its grid capabilities- first. Still it's widely accepted that the country could be the key to a trans-European electricity grid.

Read more about Italy and Greece's solar goals and power potential in this article by Steve Leone- Greece, Italy See Solar as Path to Economic Stability.

Ethiopia starts making solar panels

The Ethiopian Government recently announced its goal to have 20% of its power capacity derived from solar energy within the next 5 years.  In accordance with that national goal, Spire Corporation,  SKY Energy International, Inc  (Florida based) and Metals and Engineering Corporation- METEC (Ethiopia based) have teamed up to build the first solar energy manufacturing plant in Ethiopia. The facility  will be a turnkey assembly line producing 20 megawatt photovoltaic modules in Addis Abba. 

You can read more about Spire, SKY, METEC and their project here

Thailand takes a giant solar step

Natural Energy Development (NED), is a partnership of local and foreign financial institutions teamed up with the manufacturer Sharp Corporation. Together they are preparing to develop the largest solar plant to date in Thailand.

The project is a 73MW solar plant in the Lopburi province (about 2 hours from Bangkok). The initial phase will start at 8MW and additional capacity will come on line in monthly phases until full capacity is reached in 2013.

The Asian Development Bank has loaned up to US$70 million, and the Kasikorn Bank PCL, Bangkok Bank PCL and Siam Commercial Bank PCL have provided an additional US$98 million). In addition, all of the banks have promised another US$39 million for the 11 MW second phase expansion.

NED has entered into a power purchase agreement with the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand for purchasing 55 MW from the commercial operation date. When fully operational, the project is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by approximately 1.3 million tonnes over its life time, and reduce fossil fuel imports by more than 35,000 tonnes per year. But this isn't the only large project in the works in Thailand, and when they all come on line- Thailand is poised to be a new leader in solar. Read more about the NED project and the others in the works in Jeremy Wilcox's article Thailand Joins the Solar Fast Lane.

Canary Island Plans for Energy Self Sufficiency

The Spanish island of El Hierro (part of the Canary Islands) is planning on becoming completely energy self sufficient in the near future. A new renewable energy project has been launched- that could generate 80% of the island's electricity requirements in the next few years.

The project is comprised s of 5 wind turbines and a hydro electric scheme. The former will  generate electricity for the islanders when it is windy, and the latter takes over when there's no wind.

Check out the BBC video and blurb for more information!

Mobile, solarpowered classrooms bring education to rural South Africa.

Samsung has designed and is now building a 12-metre long shipping container with an array of gadgets including laptops, video cameras and 50 inch e- boards instead of blackboards. These portable schools have space for 21 students and connect to a central location- like the department of education to access other curriculum based content.  These schools-in-a-box can be carried by truck to remote areas, survive harsh weather conditions and operate even without electricity supply.

How, you might ask, could all of these gadgets run without saddling up to some power lines? Solar panels, of course. Foldaway solar panels power the classroom for up to 9 hours a day, and even over a full day without any sunlight at all- for those rainier seasons.

Samsung Electronics Africa has set a goal for themselves to positively impact 5 million lives by 2015. This seems like a pretty good step in the right direction. Read David Smith's report to the Guardian about Samsung's project here. 

Mera Gao Powers Indian Communities

Many governments  struggle with the immense expense of developing traditional infrastructure for electricity. In the world of competing priorities, and limited resources, rural communities are often left without access to energy. Mera Gao Power, however, is working to find a solution to this problem in India. According to a 2010 report by the World Resources Institute, 48% of rural households in India are unelectrified. That translates into 400 million people nationwide that cannot access electricity of any kind. Mera Gao Power, is using innovative off grid solar solutions to address this problem. They are building and maintaining solar powered micro grids that provide electricity to village houses. This electricity is used for powering lamps and charging mobile phones - impacting various aspects of daily life.

The systems need only four solar panels to supply electricity for  a village of 100 households. Each household that signs up receives two LED lights and one mobile-charging point for 25 rupees (about $.50) per week. The setup cost is an additional one time fee of 40 rupeees (about $.80).  USAID has provided enough funding to Mera Gao Power to set up 50 villages this year, but their aim is to power 100,000 households by 2016  with these solar micro grids.

MGP's Model: panels, battery, distribution, lights

Read more about it in the Guardian, or check out Mera Gao Power's website!

Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Possibilities in Italy

Nadia Ameli with the Fondazione Eni Enrico in Mattei, Italy and Daniel Kammen, of the Energy and Resources Group, University of California- Berkeley released a study at the end of 2011 analyzing the potential impact of a Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) policy in Italy: The Linkage between Income Distribution and Clean Energy Investments: Addressing Financing Costs

The study recognizes the key obstacles in project financing for renewable systems, including limited access to credit due to socio-economic status and the lack of loan guarantees. However, the study proposes the utilization of an innovative program like PACE, and then analyzes the potential impact it might have. This type of program would ameliorate the initial hurdle of up front costs for energy improvements, but allow these homeowners to benefit from the long term rewards of such an investment. Read the full study here.