The switch was flipped this week as California’s Ivanpah solar thermal power plant went live. The 392 megawatt concentrating solar plant (CSP) is now delivering renewables to power the equivalent of 140,000 homes in California. After a long journey lasting decades of development, fighting regulations, manoeuvring around turtle conservationists, burning birds may be the latest problem.

According to environmentalists, the heat focused from the 350,000 garage-door sized mirrors is incinerating birds that fly in the pathway of the sun’s concentrated rays. State energy officials have put out photos of birds with singed feathers from flying into what is being called the hot ‘thermal flux’ around the towers, with temperatures that can reach 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Like the solar death rays in London.

The plant is located on five square miles of the Mojave Desert, near the California / Nevada border, and is the largest CSP plant of its kind in the world. According to news reports some dozens of birds have died since the plant was turned on. I am yet to substantiate these findings with a source. But I have something to say about it. Listen up bird lovers.

Maintaining animal habitats is important for renewable energy projects but it shouldn’t be the only concern. If that same area of land were turned into homes, I can guarantee you that multiples more of songbirds would be dying from neighbourhood cats who prey on them for play.

Or if that same amount of energy was produced by the oil industry, the effects of a spill or the consequences of the industry (with leaks, fumes, greenhouse gas) would be much worse. I am not saying that we can’t learn something from this renewable energy advance, I think it’s time that we understand that there is no perpetual motion machine that is going to supply endlessly clean energy. Everything we do to feed our power needs will have a consequence and we have to weigh the pros (clean energy with the cons (singed birds).

If you want to follow the story, start here with compliance documents that Brightsource submitted last year (links to PDF).  If you jump down to the wildlife section you’ll find some quite remarkable considerations for wildlife, certainly care and regard you would NEVER EVER find in the Middle East.

::Brightsource (hat tip Nicky Blackburn)

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Morocco recently announced that it has pre-selected several solar power producers to build two additional concentrated solar power plants (CSP) in Ourzazate.  Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power, which is currently building a 160MW CSP plant in the same area, is among the firms picked to bid.

As part of the country’s overall plan to reduce its energy imports and stabilize energy generation in the next couple of decades, Morocco is pushing ahead with a slew of solar energy projects that will eventually produce up to two gigawatts of clean power.

Acwa’s 160MW plant will generate energy at a cost of just $0.19 per kilowatt hour, a competitive price that places the Saudi firm in the front running to build and operate two more plants – a 200MW parabolic trough plant and a 100MW plant using the same technology.

Consortia led by Spain’s Abengoa and GDF’s International Power have also been pre-selected to submit proposals for the 200MW Noor II plant, while France’s EDF was added to the team pre-selected to bid for the 100MW project, Morocco’s Solar Energy Agency (Masen) told Reuters.

“The capacity … will depend on the contractors, who could bid for more than the announced capacity, especially with the 100 MW tower which could reach 200 meters, the highest tower ever seen in Morocco,” sources told Reuters.

Although they have yet to make an official statement, one is expected in the next few weeks, the World Bank, European Investment Bank and Germany’s KfW Bank have agreed to finance the development projects.

Meanwhile, according to Arab News, Morocco’s state power utility, ONEE, has said it will also scatter 10 30MW photovoltaic plants throughout the country to help even out energy supply.

:: Arab News

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Thanks to the 2013 Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (we were invited to), some new development partnerships between United Arab Emirates renewables company, Masdar, and both the Jordanian and French governments were formed; Greenpeace released Jordan’s Energy Future, their first report specific to the Arab world; and now Green Prophet’s learned that the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)  based in Abu Dhabi just launched a Global Renewable Energy Atlas.

The new atlas shines a light on the world’s wind and solar infrastructure and, by cataloging resources into an open-access web-based tool, aims to accelerate adoption of clean energy technology. The Global Atlas is the most comprehensive information platform on the potential of renewable energy.

[youtube]http://youtu.be/mZMfqQcYYyc[/youtube]

Consolidating renewable energy data from leading technical institutes into a single, free encyclopedia enables countries to easily assess their national clean energy potential and facilitate companies considering investments in renewables. The Atlas also provides detailed resource maps and tools for evaluating the technical potential of renewable energies. It aims to serve as a catalyst for policy development and planning.

“Assessing renewable energy resources is the necessary first step in answering these questions and in eventually creating an enabling market environment for deploying renewable energy. This first step requires large upfront investment in evaluation, and a high level of technical knowledge. That is why a global and open portal providing this information can make it easier to take this first step,” IRENA sources told the Khaleej Times.

The agency acknowledges that the map is incomplete, stating, “In the build-up phase, the availability of data will vary from region to region depending on what has been made available to the initiative. There will also be variation in the temporal and spatial resolution of the available data”.

By next year, IRENA hopes to expand the datasets to include geothermal, bioenergy and marine energy.

IRENA was founded in 2009 to promote increased worldwide adoption and sustainable use of all forms of renewable energy. Abu Dhabi was elected as interim headquarters of the Agency, and ^the current Director-General is Adnan Amin, a Pakistani who was born and raised in Kenya.

There are currently 104 member states, with a further 55 countries either applicants for membership or signatories to IRENA.  China has recently announced its intention to join the agency.

Image of signatories to IRENA from IRENA

Looking for more ways to dive into renewable energy in the Middle East? Visit the 5th MENASOL Middle East & North Africa Solar Conference & Expo; 14-15 May, Dubai. Click here for the MENASOL website.

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A new report published by Green Tech Media (GTM) Research pins the surge from today’s near-negligible production on rapidly rising energy demand spurred by MENA economic expansion, population growth, and urbanization. It helps that the region is supersaturated with sunlight.

Factor in rising opposition to nuclear development and growing public awareness of the environmental sins of fossil fuels, and solar’s sunny reception makes perfect sense. Plus renewables, specifically concentrated solar (CSP) and photovoltaics (PV), would provide a secure domestic substitute for state-subsidized oil-generated electricity.

Saudi Arabia and Turkey are expected to account for 70 percent of MENA’s total demand; each nation has unique motivations and strategies.

Conservation of oil for export is driving Saudi’s solar targets: 16GW of PV and 25GW of CSP by 2030. Turkey’s swing towards solar is a defense against its tenuous reliance on imported Russian and Iranian gas.

Saudi production will be based on large-scale ground-mounted arrays and CSP plants.  Turkey will go with commercial and industrial rooftop PV segments.

In 2005, Turkey was the first MENA nation to establish a feed-in tariff (FIT), a limited program that failed to create adequate demand to attract large manufacturing. But with a retooled FIT in place and favorable renewable energy policies, Turkey’s predicted to experience significant PV demand.  The nation has a 2023 solar target of 3GW, a planned capacity that GTM believes they’ll significantly exceed.

Abu Dhabi is moving forward with Shams-1, the world’s largest single-unit (100MW) concentrating solar power plant. Qatar plans to install 1.8 GW of PV capacity by 2014 and Dubai aims to source 5% of its power supply from solar by 2030. Then there’s Abu Dhabi’s EU-backed Desertec project.

Jordan and Morocco also have solar ambitions.

Last December,  Jordan announced the kingdom’s first FIT. Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) Commissioner Mohammad Hamid told pv-tech,“With rising international oil prices, the government has been looking for ways to reduce electricity demand and costs. We found that the best way to achieve both is by encouraging Jordanians to go solar.” ERC claims that solar could save individuals and small to medium sized businesses up to 70% on their monthly bills.

Intentionality is great, but implementation demands strong policies and reasonable regulatory frameworks. In a region experiencing dramatic political and social change, solar’s future remains dubious. 

The report was authored GTM Research analyst Scott Burger in collaboration with the Emirates Solar Industry Association.  Burger presented highlights at the World Future Energy Summit on January 16th, describing major stakeholders, overall market structure, and long term outlook of each solar market in the region.

The full report is
 available for purchase on the GTM website.

Top image via Shams Youtube Video

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By combining a seawater greenhouse with concentrated solar power (CSP) technology, SFP aims to provide fresh water, food and renewable energy in hot, arid regions. Initially presented to delegates of the COP15 meeting in Copenhagen, the scheme has received wide acclaim, and is expected to spread to Jordan, Egypt and even southern Spain if successful.

“The Sahara Forest Project is a holistic approach for creation of local jobs, food, water, and energy, utilizing relatively simple solutions mimicking design and principles from nature,” Frederic Hauge, founder and president of the Norwegian environmental nonprofit the Bellona Foundation, told National Geographic.

Located in Mesaieed Industrial City, the $5.3 million pilot project has been realized on a one hectare site near the Gulf, and has been built in collaboration with fertilizer companies Yara International and Qafco.

The closed loop system involves using CSP to pump seawater to the greenhouse, where it will go through a special system to create the necessary humidity required for optimal crop growth.

Evaporated seawater will be condensed to create fresh water, which will be used to irrigate plants, while seawater that exits the greenhouse will be fed back to the CSP system to keep it cool. Additional water will be used in evaporator hedges to irrigate outdoor crops. And whatever seawater is left over will be collected in salt ponds, from where sodium chloride, gypsum, and calcium carbonate will be extracted.

Olav Kjorven, assistant secretary-general of the U.N. Development Program has called it “a gold standard,” while Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani believes the project could help improve food security in the Middle East, CNN reports.

As food insecurity in the Middle East grows, particularly in the Gulf countries that have been buying up tracts of land in Africa to compensate for their own region’s infertility, SFP has the potential to produce zero-carbon food, clean energy and revegetate certain parts of the desert.

The Qatar pilot project is expected to run for one to two years.

:: CNN

All images via SFP

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Green Prophet is heading across the desert to attend the second annual Dii Conference being held at the swanky Semiramis InterContinental Hotel in Cairo. Part of a concerted push to develop wind and solar energy in Africa and the Middle East, the Desertec conference being held on the 2nd and 3rd of November is one of the most important gatherings of its kind. This is an opportunity for business and government leaders from MENA and Europe to discuss the various opportunities and challenges associated with growing and exporting the desert’s numerous renewable energy resources.

The conference will be hosted by Egypt’s Prime Minister Dr. Essam Sharaf, who says that the Egyptian government “shall spare no effort to turn this international event into a real success.” Topics to be discussed include regulatory challenges associated with developing renewables (specifically Concentrated Solar Power, Photovoltaics, and Wind Power), success factors, challenges of long distance transmission, and renewables market integration. We will also attend a tour of the Kuraymat hybrid gas and solar energy plant on Friday November 4th, so come on by and introduce yourself!

More on Desertec:

Arab Spring May Boost Chance for Desertec Solar Power

Looks Like Desertec and Morocco’s Government May Join Hands

Next for MENA Nations: Desertec University

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If the MENA region plays smart, it could benefit from a huge influx of Concentrated Solar Power projects, according to a new World Bank study. In cooperation with Ernst & Young, Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research (ISI) and the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE) found that although Spain and United States are currently leading the solar race, the MENA region has the best potential and widest application.

A pet favorite of the World Bank’s Clean Technology Fund (CTF) and a contender for financing under the  United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), five MENA countries in particular need to take certain steps to realize this solar and financial infusion.

In order to receive an estimated $14.3 billion added value and create up to 80,000 new jobs, the following are necessary:

• Dismantle market barriers to innovation (such as subsidies for dirtier energy sources);
• Create a climate-specific financial support network;
• Generate revenue from sales to Europe (without creating suspicion locally);
• Establish local incentives including power purchase agreements, feed-in-tariffs, and tax rebates.

What has to happen to make solar power in the MENA region sustainable in the long-term:

• Bring down generation costs;
• Establish manufacturing centers and promote in-house innovation that will be eligible for international financing.

How can this be achieved? What strategic steps will bring local small and large scale businesses closer to their solar dream?

• Establish targets;
• Ramp up R&D;
• Create regional networks and streamline integration policy;
• Coalesce technology parks;
• Help smaller businesses access the most up-to-date technology via innovation platforms;
• Cooperate internationally to adopt mutually-beneficial projects and establish easily implemented licensing procedures.

How can stakeholders stay informed and involved?

• Conduct feasibility studies to evaluate the most current status of supply chain;
• Develop a regional trade association;
• Nurture educational and training programs;
• Establish university-level CSP programs for engineers and other technical graduates.

Since 2007, CSP projects in the MENA region have doubled. This study has found that Egypt, Algeria, Jordan, Morocco, and Tunisia have what it takes – both in terms of its solarity and industrial and technological prowess – to lift its countries (and therefore its neighbors) out of its fossil-fueled slump.

:: Renewable Energy World

More on Solar Projects in the MENA Region:

SBY Blocks Arava Solar Power Field

Here Comes the Arava Sun at Kibbutz Ketura

MIT Student Kindles Solar Manufacturing in Egypt

image via shehal

The post MENA Is Fired Up For A Solar Boom appeared first on Green Prophet.

Known almost as well for its phrase “the light of a thousand suns” as it is for its concentrated photovoltaic technology, ZenithSolar from Israel has developed a CPV cell that can generate a whopping 2KW of power and 5KW of heat.

Best used in industrial applications to generate both electricity and solar-heated water, the Z20 technology was conceived by David Faiman, the director of the National Solar Energy Center and chair of the department of solar energy and environmental physics department at Ben-Gurion University. Although this dish packs a powerful punch, it does have its limitations.

This is how it works:

The dish concentrates “the light of a thousand suns” on to an energy-generating III-V solar cell. But the system gets so hot that it has to be cooled with water, which is incredibly hot after it runs off the dish.

This water doesn’t go to waste since it is next directed to a heat-exchanger, and used on site. During the summer months, the heated water will reach temperatures of up to 70 degrees Celsius, and about 35 degrees in winter.

The dish is eleven square meters and the cell is 10cm on either side. One of these giants can heat 250 gallons of water a day.

Using the Z20 that is also certified for Feed in Tariff rating, Kibbutz Yavne in Israel is producing and selling electricity to the national grid and providing hot water for 220 community residents.

But here’s the catch: this system relies on uninterrupted sun. If a cloud passes through the sky, the system will be compromised and power output diminished. So it really works best in the biggest baddest desert environments our earth has to offer.

Unfortunately, those same environments are lacking on the hydrological component. Faiman is not naive about the technology’s shortcomings. He told  Greentech Media that he is also keeping his eye on thin films and solar thermal. But there is one very crucial advantage to his CPV technology: cost.

Many concentrating solar receivers on the market require huge outlays for raw materials – sometimes accounting for half of the overall cost. But this CPV receiver only comprises 5% of the overall cost. That’s worth its weight in sun.

:: Greentech Media

More solar news from the Middle East:

Europe’s Biggest Solar Film To Be Built in Turkey

Pythagoras Solar Makes Powerful Glass That Inspires Dreams of Solar Skylight

Interview: Treehugger Jennifer Hattam Talks to Green Prophet About Turkey

The post One Solar Cell. 2KW Power. 5KW Heat. ‘Nuff Said? appeared first on Green Prophet.

Given that Morocco has the highest concentration of solar power in the MENA region, it is appropriate that the country should host this year’s third annual MENASOL conference on May 4-5. These two days comprise the single most important conference for solar stakeholders interested in exploiting the region’s limitless solar reserves to attend. With over 350 leading experts expected to attend, and presentations that demystify everything from regulations to regional technology preferences, this year’s conference should attract its widest audience yet.  The conference will lay out the details of exploiting solar energy that can either be used locally, or exported to the EU. The following issues are among those that will be addressed:

• Regulations: how and when governments will support solar projects and how best to enter the market;
• Finance: what national and international investors are interested in funding solar energy projects;
• Domestic market: which countries are particularly concerned to increase their alternative energy generation and what are their unique specifications;
• Export to EU: lays out the behind-the-scenes challenges of DESERTEC, Med-Grid and MSP, as well as unearths transmission feasibility, utility interest and political support.
• CSP vs. PV: learn which technology is most appropriate based on local environmental factors;
• Manufacturing: finding manufacturers of the latest technology at affordable prices is often difficult, but stakeholders will have an opportunity to connect with the best.

The conference will be opened with a presentation led by Her Excellency Annie Benkhadra – Morocco’s Minister of Energy, Mines, Water & Environment – the official partner of the MENASOL conference. Also worth attending are UNESCO workshops and other addresses by more than forty top speakers.

Download the brochure for a detailed list of expected attendees, and contact Heidi Hafes for further information:  heidi@csptoday.com; T: +44 207 375 7206 / +1 814 3459 ex 7206

More Conferences In the Middle East Region:

Qatar Alternative Energy Summit Pairs Investors And Innovators

How Israel Will Lead The Search For Oil Substitutes (And How The Rest Of The World Is Watching)

Eilat-Eilot Conference: The Ins & Outs Of Israel’s Renewable Energy

image via afloresm

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