Major IT suppliers committing to electricity supply using solar pv panels and battery backup.

Whilst solar electricity generation has generally been about generating an investment return, a number of companies are now spending money primarily to make their computer networks more robust and less vulnerable to electricity blackouts. Both Verizon and Apple have recently announced initiatives to do this. This is exciting as it could lead to further advances in battery technology that could also benefit householders.

To build robustness requires two things:

• A method of generating electricity (such as solar pv panels) 
• A way of storing energy so it can be used when electricity generation is not possible (night time for solar pv panels or when the wind isn't blowing for wind turbines).

With subsidies in most countries there is a return today on solar electricity generation using reliable well established technology. Companies and households could switch to solar today and save money. Note: Do bear in mind if everyone did it then the subsidy system would collapse. Future advances in solar technology will hopefully bring down the costs of installing solar panels and the subsidies required.) 

Battery storage is less developed and is likely to be the next big thing in energy. It could transform solar/wind power use so that off-grid systems are possible for companies and households. 

To make battery storage viable will require some progress on battery technology to make it suitable for the average house. In the US the average property uses about 32kWh of electricity per day. In Europe it's around half that amount at 16kWh, partly due to the way homes are heated in Europe.  

If we take the lower European figure and assume we want energy security for at least 10 days i.e. assuming that the battery storage can provide the house with enough electricity to survive a loss of generation capacity for 10 days, then we need 160kWh of stored electricity. 

A mid-sized car battery stores around 70 Amp hours of electricity at 12 Volt supply. So to convert this into kWh we multipy 70 x 12 and divide by 1000 and come up with 0.84kWh of energy stored in one lead acid car battery. SO to cover the power needs we would need 160/0.84 = around 190 car batteries. With an average cost of say $120 per battery this would cost around $22,900 and would occupy quite a space in the average home as well. 

Now there are probably better ways of achieving this level of storage, such as fuel cells but it gives a guide to what is possible off the shelf today. If you were on grid and wanted say a day's protection then the cost of battery storage would fall to $2,290. Still quite an investment for very limited system robustness. 

I will start to get really excited when the costs fall to around 10% of their current level as this is the day when we maybe won't need energy companies at all as we all have our own local power generation systems. When will this happen? Well not anytime soon but I can see a world in 20 years time where this is becoming a possibility. 

In the meantime for those interested read more about solar pv panels for domestic electricity generation.   

     

EU slaps 11.8% duty on China solar pv panels

It's been coming for months but it has finally happened. The EU, in the guise of European Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht, have decided to put pressure on the Chinese by applying an 11.8% tariff to imported Chinese solar panels. This is despite opposition from 18 of the EU's 27 members including Britain and Germany.

The news gets worse for the solar installation industry and the European economy in general. If agreement  is not reached with the Chinese by August 6th then the EU plan to increase the tariff from 11.8% to a massive 47% on average. This could destroy the Chinese solar pv panel manufacturers, who have 80% share of the European solar panel  market, as well as seriously damage the solar installation industry across Europe.

The tariff's have been imposed as the EU feel they have evidence of Chinese firms are selling their goods below cost - a practice known as dumping. However the response from China, who exported 21 billion euros worth of panels to the EU in 2011, could escalate this dispute into a full scale trade war which will severely damage the EU's already fragile economies. It will just depend on how the Chinese respond to this gun to the head from the EU.

The EU Commission seem happy to shoot Europe in the foot, ignoring the protests of most of the individual EU governments. Whilst accusing the Chinese of dumping, the EU Commission was previously happy to have state aid provided to European Manufacturers operating in the same area. An example from a 2008 press release from the EU: "The European Commission has authorised, under EC Treaty state aid rules, €47 million of aid, which the German authorities intend to grant to Wacker Schott for the production of solar wafers in Thüringen, Germany. The project involves investments of €322 million and is expected to significantly increase direct and indirect employment." (see full release here)

This dispute will run and run. In the meantime there is likely to be uncertainty in the solar industry and European manufacturers may well seize the opportunity to raise prices.

What Are Solar PV Panels?

Solar PV (Photovoltaic) panels generate DC electricity. For household applications they normally come in 230-320 Watt outputs.

The DC electricity can be converted, using an inverter to alternating current (AC) for supply into a 230 volt domestic supply.

For more information visit new-boiler-cost.co.uk