Photo courtesy of Green Solar and Wind Power.

The partnership between KYOCERA Corp. and Nichicon Corp. has finally born results. They’ve created a new – home installed - power generating and energy management system, using solar power combined with lithium ion storage capacity required for meeting Japan’s growing residential energy needs.

KYOCERA says that the new system will offer multiple operating modes to meet the varying energy uses needed of different consumers.

The system is designed to accommodate customers “whether their peak energy consumption occurs in the daytime or at night; and for families who want to prioritize reducing their energy bills,” says KYOCERA, adding that system should also be considered by “those that place a premium on having a guaranteed electricity supply.”

KYOCERA says that the “system automatically switches to independent operation in the event of a natural disaster or electricity blackout. In the event of a prolonged blackout, the battery can be charged directly by the solar modules during the day, allowing users to draw from the battery at night or during inclement (severe) weather.”

The lithium ion battery has a high capacity of 7.1 kWh, which KYOCERA says can roughly last five times longer than conventional lead-acid batteries.

KYOCERA believes that it has a strong market projection for the new energy system, expecting that “up through the fiscal year ending March 31, 2012, more than one million homes in Japan will have installed solar power.”

The company bases its projections on the hope that residents in Japan will feel an incentive toward solar stemming from Japan’s restart of the national subsidy program for residential solar power generating systems in January 2009, and the feed-in tariff, which were started in November of the same year.

Project Amp. Photo courtesy of the U.S. Department of Energy’s loam programs office.

“The energy generated from those panels will contribute directly to the electrical grid, as opposed to powering the buildings where they are installed,” said the energy department.

Prologis – an owner, operator, and developer of industrial real estate – will provide the rooftops, and will also act as developer, construction manager and program sponsor, in addition to making an equity investment in the project.

U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu said this project “will help us meet the SunShot goal of achieving cost competitive solar power with other forms of energy by the end of this decade.”

The project is expected to produce an annual output of about 1 million megawatt-hours, with enough power to provide clean, renewable electrical energy for approximately 80,000 homes for a year, according to the energy department and affiliated experts.

NRG Energy – one of the nation’s largest electric companies and solar developers – is the lead investor for phase one of the installations, with financing through Bank of America Merrill Lynch, under the Financial Institution Partnership Program (FIPP).

Phase one of the project will involve the construction and installation of solar panels in Southern California, where the generated power will be sold to a local utility (Southern California Edison) under long-term approved power purchase agreements.

Montage courtesy of Go Green with Renewable Energy and Solar Power.

Despite naysayers, who for years have predicted that renewable energy would never gain a foothold the United States, a newly released report by U.S. Energy Information Administration found that more renewable energy has been produced for electrical usage over the last recorded 12-month period than at any other time.

The report looked at the production levels of renewable and traditional energy resources in March 2011 compared to their respective production levels during the same time last year.

The energy resources specifically looked at were: hydroelectric, natural gas, wind, nuclear, coal, and petroleum.

Overall, what the report found was that renewable energy resources grew in production and use, while traditional energy resources experienced slight declines, though the country’s electrical energy needs are still primary fuel by coal.

“About 93 percent of U.S. coal consumption is in the electric power sector,” said the EIA.

What’s significant is the slight shift in preferences for renewable energies as opposed to traditional energies, which could be a signifier of a more extended trend in this direction.

Stock photo.

While there’s a lot of talk within the European Union about the need to develop large scale renewable energy infrastructures to lessen reliance on foreign fossil fuels, progress continues to move at a snail’s pace.

Among the disappointments was the EU’s failure as a whole to reach its 2010 targets for renewable energy in the electricity and transport industries.

The EU reached just over 18 percent for the electricity share of renewable energy in 2010 rather than the predicted target of 21 percent. For the transport industry, the EU reached 5.1 percent instead of 5.75 percent.   

Fueling the transport industry with renewable energy is a vital priority. Energy consumption in this industry currently depends almost exclusively on imported fossil fuels, and contributes to “the insecurity of Europe’s energy supply,” says the European Energy Commission.

The concern is over recent estimates which suggest that the EU will only achieve half of its targeted energy efficiency improvements by 2020.

Depending on what side your on, the evolving plans for an offshore wind farm in the Ohio waters of Lake Erie are either an economic boom for the state or a disaster that will cost taxpayers billions.

The inital project will be a five-turbine, 20 megawatt pilot wind farm that will be five-to-ten miles offshore of Cleveland. Construction on the initial phases is tentatively scheduled to be completed by late 2012.

General Electric has committed to providing the wind turbines and maintenance service for the initial 20-megawatt wind farm. After completion, it’s expected to be followed by subsequent projects with a long-term goal of 1,000 megawatts in the Ohio waters by 2020.

The Lake Erie Energy Development Corp. (LEEDCo) believes the economics of scale will reduce energy costs. “We aim to develop a cost-effective approach for installing and maintaining offshore wind turbines,” said Dr. Lorry Wagner, the company’s president.

“We’re confident that working with GE, our combined efforts will be able to promote a self-sustaining and growing market for offshore wind in Lake Erie. We know that it will provide a lot of economic opportunity and emissions-free energy for northern Ohio,” she added.

Not everyone agrees with this assessment. Mary McCleary, an analyst with the Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Solutions, warns that, “Financially, the wind turbines are a bad proposition for Ohio.”

Solar panels being installed on a medical center in Il de la Tortue, Haiti. Photo courtesy of oaklandnorth.net.

Today marks eight months to the day that the earthquake hit in Haiti. While millions of dollars have been donated for relief efforts, the government has been slow to distribute needed help.

Partners in Health (PIH), a nonprofit medical and social services organization, says that in Haiti today, “More than a million people are still living under tents, tarps, and makeshift shelters in crowded encampments, with limited access to food, water, sanitation, schools, jobs, and social services. Many people are still in pain, hungry, and desperate.”

To help the relief efforts - at least from a medical perspective - Solar World has awarded The Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF) an in-kind grant of solar panels totaling 100 kilowatts to support the solar electrification of five health clinics for PIH in Haiti.

An in-kind grant is when a company or foundation donates goods or services, rather than giving money. The donated solar panels will be installed in the clinics located in the remote mountain highlands of Haiti that don’t have access to the electric grid.

Scroby Sands Wind Farm, England. Photo courtesy of offshore-power.net.

As part of the nation’s continuing move to harness renewable energies that are both environmentally safe and cost-effective, National Grid - an energy supplier to about 3.3 million customers in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and New York - has entered into an agreement with Cape Wind to purchase 50 percent of its output.

Cape Wind is a 468 megawatt offshore wind project planned for Nantucket Sound and is expected to go online by the end of 2012. The project is being developed by Energy Management Inc., a New England-based energy company.

Under the terms of the contract - filed this week with the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities - beginning in 2013, National Grid plans to purchase 50 percent of the wind farm’s output, including electricity, renewable energy certificates (tradable energy commodities), and other potential market attributes for 20.7 cents per kilowatt hours.

Based on its forecasts of what customers will pay for electricity in 2013, National Grid projects this translate to a total monthly bill increase of $1.59, roughly two percent per month.

“We recognize that all renewable energy, be it on-or-off shore wind, solar or other source has a cost associated with it. Carbon-based generation comes with its own set of long-term costs, such as to our health and our environment,” said Tom King, president of National Grid.

Image courtesy of Tipperary Energy Agency Ltd.

This idea is part of what prompted representatives of the European Parliament and Council to recently agree to “recast,” which is another way of saying amend the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive that originally went into effect 2007.

Right now, it’s estimated that “buildings are responsible for 40 percent of energy consumption and 36 percent of European Union CO2 emissions,” said Andris Piebalgs, newly appointed European Commissioner for Development of Global Health (formerly, European Commissioner for Energy) commenting in a statement about the agreement.

“It is estimated that by strengthening the provisions of the directive on energy performance, the EU could achieve a reduction in its greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to 70 percent of the current EU Kyoto target. These improvements could save citizens around 300€ per annum per household in their energy bills, while boosting the construction and building renovation industry in Europe, ” added Piebalgs.

Solar Energy Consultant Bob Gentile and large solar array. Photo courtesy of Abundant Energy Inc.

As solar technology in the United States becomes more refined and public funds in the forms of federal grants and state rebates become increasingly available, more and more business are starting to retrofit.

Over the last few months, Florida has seen some of the nation’s biggest growth in the development and use of solar power. Last month, President Barack Obama was on-hand at the Florida Power and Lights DeSoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center as it powered up for the first time.

With more than 90,500 solar panels, the plant is now the largest solar photovoltaic facility in the country, with the capacity to annually generate an estimated 42,000 megawatt-hours or enough power to serve about 3,000 homes.

By early next week, the installation of the largest privately owned solar array in Marin County, Fla. will be completed, according to Derrick Christenson, a real estate associate with Christenson Commercial.

Pamlico Sound. Stock photo.

As the global movement toward seeking out more renewable energy technologies increases in momentum, the United States is taking its first steps to examining the potential viability of offshore wind power.

The University of North Carolina and Duke Energy have signed a contract to place up to three demonstration wind turbines in the state’s Pamlico Sound. This will be a pilot program designed to answer questions about the viability of developing a utility-scale wind energy production operation in the area.

“We are looking forward to working with UNC and residents of the Outer Banks to determine if and how we can use wind energy on a larger scale. Our company has experience developing land-based wind in other parts of the country, and we are excited about this pilot project and learning more about how we can use this renewable resource in our home state,” said Brett Carter, president of Duke Energy Carolinas.

In a community meeting on the Outer Banks, with representatives from UNC and Duke, Sen. Marc Basnight (D-N.C.) told attendees that, “This project is the critical step that will determine the future of wind power off the Outer Banks. It will allow for community feedback and collaboration, and it will be a very positive information-finding effort.”