SolarEdge Technologies Inc, whose patented Solar Power Harvesting and Optimization System is beginning to receive good reviews, will be exhibiting their products at the upcoming Solar Power International Trade Show in Dallas Texas.The Israel based solar energy company, with offices in the USA, Europe and Japan will have a booth at what is billed as North America’s largest, most comprehensive solar power trade show and conference that will run from October 17 -20 in the giant  Dallas Convention Center.

Israel is well known for advances in various forms of technology dealing with harnessing the sun’s power to create electricity as well as heating water of which Israel is a pioneer .

SolarEdge headquarters

SolarEdge was mentioned in a previous Green Prophet article after it  teamed up with Flextronics to produce systems for  improving the quality of photovoltaic solar panels.

The exhibition in Dallas, at which 24,000 visitors from 128 countries are expected to visit 1,200 exhibits, will display the most recent advances in solar energy using both photovoltaic solar panels as well as those using specially designed solar mirrors to direct the sun’s rays towards a central energy “collector” to create energy to operate thermal turbines.

SolarEdge’s unique Power Optimizers automatically maintain a fixed string voltage, allowing optimal efficiency of the SolarEdge inverter and giving installers greater flexibility to design optimal PV systems. In addition, the power optimizers also monitor the performance of each module and communicate performance data to the SolarEdge monitoring porta.

Solar energy projects in the USA have had their share of controversies. The Solar Power International exhibition follows the bankruptcy of the California based Solyndra solar energy company in August, laying off more than 1,100 workers. There have also been a number of problems for other solar energy companies, including the Israel-American partnership company Brightsource, which had been accused of trying to build its solar energy array farms on wildlife reserves and sacred Native American burial grounds.

As for Israel,  a leading wildlife protection authority, the Nature and Parks Authority, made a study in which they found that large solar mirror plants are dangerous for area wildlife .

The answer to building solar energy systems that work, and are environmentally friendly, may lie with companies like SolarEdge which specialize in building small and efficient solar energy systems that are not harmful to wildlife. That’s what SolarEdge with its power optimizers is banking on, and hopes to prove to visitors to its booth at the three-day conference in Dallas.

Read more on solar energy news and issues:

Abu Dhabi Prince “Crowns” Court Roof With Solar Panels

SolarEdge and Flextronics Create Solar Energy Products – And Jobs

Obama Touts Israel’ Developed Solar Company Bright Source

Arava Aora Solar Company Lights Area With Solar Energy

The post SolarEdge Does Dallas appeared first on Green Prophet.

Ormat will grow Nevada’s geothermal power 25% with a US Department of Energy loan guarantee

Three geothermal projects totaling 113 MW from Israel’s geothermal giant Ormat got approvals just in time to get US government support under the Recovery Act Section 1705 loan guarantee this week. Nevada has some of the best geothermal potential among the US states, but has barely begun to develop it: the 113 MW will increase Nevada’s geothermal power production by nearly 25%.

Under the same program as Solyndra if Ormat Nevada Inc could line up an investor with up private financing by September 30th, the US Department of Energy would provide a US government guarantee to back the loan in the unlikely event that Ormat was not able to repay its investors.

However the loan guarantee has been anathema to the party that now controls the US congress (Utility-Scale Renewable Projects Become a Casualty of Republican Hostage-Taking) and will end this week.

Last year, Ormat Nevada Inc thought it might not make it (Ormat Abandons loan Guarantee Program)  but this week, the company finalized its loan from John Hancock just in time for it to be guaranteed under one of the last of the DOE loan guarantees, before the program is prematurely shut down at the end of the month.

Nevada will get utility-scale deployment of Ormat Energy Converter modules that have been used around the world. The modules are pre-engineered units containing a turbine-generator set, preheater, condenser, integrated vaporizer and feed pump that convert geothermal energy to electricity.

The financing will support clean, sustainable power generation in Nevada for virtually ever. Geothermal projects begun in the 19th century in early adopter nations like New Zealand are still regularly delivering baseload power. It is a safe bet. Ormat holds over 80 US patents and has more than four decades of experience developing geothermal and heat-recovery power and has 1,370 MW of capacity churning out clean electrons around the world.

Ormat has signed a power purchase agreement with Nevada Power Company for its first twenty years of production of low carbon energy generation that causes no asthma or climate change.

But sadly, the project marks one of the last to escape the Republican (“Tea Party”) hammer that will end the Democrats’ push for renewable energy that they begun in 2009, with the Recovery Act economic stimulus. The renewal of the Section 1705 loan guarantees was always going to be tricky after the new Republican majority since 2010.

Congressional Republicans, never fans of renewable energy, adamantly unaware of climate change, and now more than ever force-fed into congress by a gushing hose of funding from the $50 billion Koch Brothers fossil energy money and armed with cute Grover Norquist pledges to not believe in climate change, have found in the Solyndra bankruptcy the perfect  excuse to ram through a shut down of the loan guarantee program, killing off all kinds of renewable energy.

Related stories:

Ormat Set to Release Alaska’s Geothermal Energy Potential
Ormat Lands Its Largest Geothermal Deal in New Zealand
Utility-Scale Solar Projects Become a Casualty of Republican Hostage-Taking
Despite Solyndra Bankruptcy, Solar Grew 69% From Obama Policy

The post Ormat Gets DOE “Solyndra” Loan Before Tea Party Shuts Down Program appeared first on Green Prophet.

The US Republican party has seized on the half billion dollar bankruptcy of Solyndra to prove that green jobs are some sort of scam, and green power doesn’t work. They’ve seized on one bankruptcy to prove that all clean tech companies are doomed to failure, and government shouldn’t invest in them. But Californa’s Solyndra was just one innovative clean tech investment among $90 billion worth of clean tech investments by the Department of Energy under the Obama administration’s Recovery Act.

The other 99% are doing fine. And the resulting solar job growth, at 69%, is the one bright spark in the dismal US economy, as we’ve covered here. ( BrightSource Solar Project to Make More Energy than Fossil Fuel Plants)

The Republican party, deep in the pockets of the fossil fuel industry and almost exclusively bankrolled by them, is trying to prevent the growth of clean energy. Already this year since taking over the House of Representatives, Republicans have voted 125 times to reverse, slow or simply defund environmental and renewable energy initiatives passed by the previous Democratic congress. (Utility-Scale Solar Projects Become a Casualty of Republican Hostage-Taking

They have latched onto this one bankruptcy as the perfect evidence, as Grist’s David Roberts put it “that clean energy is weak, unreliable, marginal, and dependent on government subsidies. They have been trying to make that case for a long while”. They are trying to cook it up as another of their trumped-up climategate moments.

But here are the actual facts about US solar growth – the results of the Democrats’ support of clean energy:

• The solar industry now employs more than 100,000 Americans, more than twice as many as in 2009. They work at more than 5,000 companies, the vast majority being small businesses, in all 50 states.
• The U.S. solar industry grew by 69% in the past year, making it one of the fastest growing sectors in the U.S. economy.
• Since the beginning of 2010, the price of solar panels has dropped by 30%, and costs continue to fall making solar an even more viable choice for residential and business customers.
• The U.S. was a net exporter of solar products in 2010 by $2 billion. We were even a net exporter to China.
• Solar power in the U.S. now exceeds 3,100 megawatts (MW), enough to power more than 630,000 homes.
• Continued industry growth enhances our energy security and diversifies our domestic energy portfolio.

And here is where Solyndra fits in. Like BrightSource (US Govt. Guarantees $1.4 Billion in Loans For BrightSource) Solyndra had received a loan guarantee from the DOE for half a billion, out of a total of $90 billion that was spent under the Recovery Act. Unlike 99% of the innovative firms successfully funded by the Recovery Act, Solyndra could not survive a 30% drop in solar prices in 2011 in the US.

Any venture capitalist will tell you that some of their investments fail. (and rise again:Luz Rises Again as BrightSource)

This year, Solyndra was that one.

But there was no reason for anyone to predict that Solyndra would be the one that would not make it, back when the wheels began turning for funding them in 2007. Their unique cylindrical solar panels that could be popped together on flat commercial roofs as quickly as unfolding a cot looked like a surefire winner.

But, unlike the investment in Solyndra, the vast majority of the solar investments made by the Recovery Act are paying off handsomely. In an economy where job losses are mounting, the solar industry has grown 69% in the last year.

Read more on American solar:

Obama Touts Israeli-Developed Solar Company BrightSource
94% of Americans Want Solar Energy. What About Israel?
US Gov. Guarantees $1.4 Billion in Loans For BrightSource

The post Despite Solyndra Bankruptcy, Solar Grew 69% From Obama Policy appeared first on Green Prophet.

Beginning as a meeting once upon a time in Mexico, Trees Give Life is the co-effort of Arif Malik and performing artist Mohammed Yahya. Green Prophet talks to the organisation founders about why they are planting trees for religion. Less than a year old, the Trees Give Life campaign began with a trip to Latin America, one of the latest parts of the underprivileged world to embrace the Muslim faith. Founder of the campaign, Arif Malik was inspired by Islam’s environmental principles to reach out and make a difference.

He says, “As Muslims need to be more aware of our planet as we have been entrusted to take care of the planet and that includes you as an individual, as a society and community and state. So I decided that If I was to make a difference then I would not rely on anybody apart from myself and the Creator and that this was my small contribution… in trying to save the planet.”

Trees Give Life stems from an Islamic concept called ‘sadaqah‘ (sadh-ah-ka) which literally means charity. Unlike traditional Muslim charities that focus on mosque renovations or installing new water pumps, Trees Give Life has plants trees to heal the natural environment.

“We really don’t know the true value of a tree and (the value of) its effect on the environment; if all the Muslims just planted one tree, can you imagine what the would mean to the world?” – Arif Malik

According to their website, Trees Give Life aims to provide basic training “in the use of planting trees and other vegetation” to the poverty-stricken communities who can go on to share this knowledge with local communities. Such empowering skills are hoped to assist the newly-recruited tree planters to generate an income and “improve their quality of lives”.

And what about the environment? In the pursuit of protecting and serving all forms of life, the campaign hopes to “conserve the local environment of Latin, America, and other parts of the world including the UK which is affected by Natural and man made disasters by ensuring that certain species of trees and vegetation do not become extinct.” By planting more vegetation in derelict farmlands, this ensures that trees are grown specifically to regenerate the eco system and thus reduce the effects of global warming, CO2 emissions and reducing carbon footprints.

Young plumoso palm trees ready to be planted in their new homes in South America

Green Prophet: Environmentalism in a majority of the Muslim world is seen as a novelty. Do you believe that Muslims have an important role to play in keeping the earth ‘green’?

Trees Give Life: ‘Muslims must stand up… and lead the way forward. If we do not and sit back then we will also suffer and our future generations will suffer. We are all accountable and will be held accountable for our actions, [even] towards our plants.

We have a social obligation, a moral obligation, a religious obligation and a spiritual obligation. The birds and plants and the eco systems are dying because of our actions. Muslims believe that God created everything in due measure and without flaws, but if we ignore the planet’s laws and neglect it, we may not have a future.’

Green Prophet: What do you think is holding back Muslims from doing more for the planet?

Trees Give Life: ‘My personal opinion is that many of us have lost what a it means to be an active Muslim. A Muslim must have an active connection with:
1. God,
2. The communities that we live in, and
3. The environment.

We cannot just pick one of these three and say “I will only concentrate on this one”. These are a must for all of us to be involved they are all intrinsically linked. Mankind is the caretaker of the planet and [Muslims believe] the first caretaker of the planet was Adam. All the prophets [in Islamic history] cared for the environment too.

If there are constraints to your activism then I would advise do the next best thing and remember that anything positive you do will have an effect on the earth – it’s like the ripple effect when you throw a stone in water – just like any negative thing you do will affect your surroundings.’

Green Prophet: Does Trees Give Life have any Middle Eastern projects in helping communities protecting their own environment?

Trees Give Life: ‘At this stage do not have any trees that we can plant in the Middle East, however if are able to establish and get contacts then we would be glad to assist. We are an organization that is based on a need and not to get politically driven to any one particular area or region.’

Green Prophet: How can we support Trees Give Life?
Trees Give Life: ‘Buy a tree through our website and assist us through donations. If you cannot afford a one-off payment, then at the least offer your support by raising awareness, and if you cannot do that then pray the Trees Give Life project is successful.’

:: www.treesgivelife.org

Images:: Trees Give Life ©, flickr

More on Green Muslems:
Trees That Don’t Stand a Chance Against Climate Change
Interview With America’s Leading Green Muslim – Ibrahim Abdul Matin
“Muslim For A Month” Project In Turkey Grows Interfaith Seeds
The Green Mosque Puts Faith In Its Eco-Friendly Place

The post Meet The Mexican Muslim Tree Huggers appeared first on Green Prophet.

Last November, seven casks of highly enriched uranium almost leaked into the atmosphere, but the world was none the wiser thanks to American diplomacy efforts. Following a United Nations meeting in which he embarrassed himself, the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, who has emerged as a capricious and eccentric character prone to lustful favoritism, had a nuclear temper tantrum. Only gentle cooing from US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and an $800,000 promise to remove Libya’s former weapons grade uranium could persuade him to allow Russia to gently lift and relocate the radioactive HUE.

Gaddafi insists, even in hotels, on pitching a Bedouin tent – ostensibly to stay in touch with his roots even in western societies. When this demand was made at the United Nations last year, he was prohibited from doing so. He also delivered a nonsensical two hour speech that was ill-received.

Humiliated, Gaddafi rescinded an agreement to dispose of Libya’s HUE stock, leaving instead seven five tonne casks of radioactive material attended by only one armed guard on the tarmac of the Tajoura nuclear facility.

The cables demonstrate that the American Department of Defense were deeply concerned that the HUE would heat up and then create cracks in the casks that were designed only for transport and not long-term storage, and a massive campaign to placate the irascible leader was mounted.

A message from US ambassador Gene Cretz said that “according to the DOE experts we have one month to resolve the situation before the safety and security concerns become a crisis,” the Guardian reports.

“Given the highly transportable nature of the HEU and the shoddy security at Tajoura any mention of this issue in the press could pose serious security concerns. We have to assume that the Libyan leader is the source of the problem,” he added.

Both Gaddafi and his aides were repeatedly warned of the environmental pressures that mounted as time passed and the HUE baked on the tarmac. American officials also advised that they at least disassemble a nearby crane – which terrorists could easily have used to pick up the nuclear prize in the dead of the night.

The crisis was not averted until weeks after Hillary Clinton sent a soothing memo and the Americans gave Gaddafi an ultimatum: either allow the Russians to take the HUE by December 18th, or find someone else to foot the $800,000 bill. He eventually conceded and Russia flew off with the illicit cargo away on December 21, 2009.

“America’s nuclear emergency team that oversaw the shipment reported that “the month-long impasse had taken a visible toll on Dr Ali Gashut, the head of the Libyan atomic energy establishment,” according to the paper.

:: story and image via The Guardian

More unsavory environmental news from Libya:

Libya Touts Great Man-Made River as 8th Wonder of the World

Libya’s Pivot Irrigation in the Sahara Proves Money Can Do Anything

The post More Leaks: US Secretly Paid Russia $800,000 To Remove Libya’s Highly Enriched Uranium Before Disaster appeared first on Green Prophet.