Feature Article

A summit meeting of heads of government is needed to strengthen global ambition on climate change — we should start preparing now, says Michael Jacobs.

Will Britain's court of appeal uphold government decision to slash solar power subsidies? After a short-lived solar boom for residential solar installations in the UK, the industry has run into trouble with the government slashing subsidies in the wake of the sharply falling silicon prices and poor fiscal conditions prevailing in the country. In October-end last year, UK minister for climate change Greg Barker slashed benefits for the solar power producers. The solar industry has decided to fight against what it calls “unjust” and “overly speedy” cuts.

Third complaint against Chinese companies flouting rules filed. Probe underway. The trade dispute between the US and China over renewable energy equipment is growing shriller. The Wind Tower Trade Coalition (WTTC), a coalition of producers of wind towers in the US, has filed a complaint with the US Department of Commerce and International Trade Commission seeking anti-dumping and countervailing investigations into the Chinese and Vietnamese wind towers imports in the US market. Two similar probes against China are already underway.

Say studies have shown that Indian waste is unfit for the purpose. With the fear of losing their means of living looming over them, waste pickers from across the country have opposed Delhi government’s plan to install three waste to energy plants in the city. “How can the proposed energy generation of 40 MW justify the loss of 350,000 jobs,” asks Dharmendra Yadav, general secretary of All India Kachra Sharamail Mahasang (AIKSM) which organised a state-level meet of waste pickers on December 22.

The development of feed-in tariff (FIT) programs to support green electricity in Ontario (the Green Energy and Green Economy Act of 2009) and Germany (the Erneuerbare Energien-Gesetz of 2000) is compared. The two policies are highly comparable, offering similar rates for most renewable electricity technologies. Major differences between the policies include the level of differentiation found in the German policy, as well as the use of a price degression strategy for FIT rates in Germany compared to an escalation strategy in Ontario.

A dye-sensitised solar cell (DSSC) is a thin film cell that uses thin layers of photosensitive organic dye deposits on a substrate to produce power from solar energy. In 2011, this technology took several important steps towards cost effective commercialisation, with major industrial players such as Tata Steel Europe (formerly the Corus Group) signing an agreement with Australia-based Dyesol, one of the original innovators of DSSC, for developing the world's largest dye-sensitised photovoltaic (PV) module, by printing a continuous series of dye-sensitised PV coatings on steel bars.

Private equity (PE) investment in the Indian renewable energy space surged ahead in 2011, with both deal volumes and average deal values increasing manifold over the previous years.

Over the past decade, many photovoltaic (PV) plant operators have observed the unexplained degradation and power loss of PV modules. Recent research shows that this is due to potential induced degradation (PID), also known as high voltage stress.

India plans to install 20,000 MW of solar capacity over the next decade - 10,000 MW each in the concentrating solar power (CSP) and photovoltaic (PV) segments. A huge market has been created along with supportive policies to optimise the abundant direct normal irradiance (DNI), large engineering tool and technical know-how on the power blocks.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has played a significant role in promoting renewable energy development. Incentives like accelerated depreciation and programmes like the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) have given a fillip to the wind and solar industries.