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SOLAR GROWTH
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PLAN FOR THE LONG TERM
Spring 2012 Energy
Catalog
LATEST PV MODULE TESTS
SCALING UP IN AFRICA
Improve reliability and eliminate problems

over a modules lifetime
Private sector investment needs support

to spur renewable development
SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2012 VOLUME 15 NUMBER 5
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RENEWABLE
ENERGY
WORLD
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THE WORLDS NEWSSTAND
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For more information, enter 1 at REW.hotims.com
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CONTENTS
THE BIG QUESTION

What is solars biggest challenge? ................. 24
In each issue, we ask leading players in the industry to give their
verdict on a key question of the moment. In this edition we asked
solar industry executives to share their thoughts and insights on
one burning question: What has proven to be the most difficult
issue facing the solar industry during the past year and what are
some key strategies to ensure long-term growth?
THE DEAL
Georgias changing solar market .................... 55
Two projects illustrate solar market changes in the US state of
Georgia. A 30 MW development on family land is the brainchild of
a Nashville music executive, while a small company looks to break
open the market for third-party financing.
By Steve Leone
SOLAR GROWTH
PLAN FOR THE LONG TERM
LATEST PV MODULE TESTS
SCALING UP IN AFRICA
Improve reliability and eliminate problems

over a modules lifetime
Private sector investment needs support

to spur renewable development
THE LAST WORD

Asia looks offshore ................................................. 99
At present, offshore wind may be making little headway outside
Europe, but could China spearhead substantial development
in Asia?
By Adam Barber
REGULARS
FEATURES
From the editor .............................................7

News/analysis ............................................... 9
Diary ...........................................................103
Advertisers index .......................................104
Changing Africas energy picture ................ 28

With the proper stimuli, renewables can and will take off in SubSaharan Africa. While the appetite and resources are clearly there,
a multi-pronged strategic approach that engages a wide base
is needed.
By Mark Hankins, Mathias Gustavsson and Federico Hinrichs
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RENEWABLE ENERGY WORLD SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2012
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CONTENTS
Can HCPV compete? .................................. 35

Super-efficient cells make high-concentrating PV a potential
star, but the sectors ultimate fate will be decided by its ability to
compete on cost with polysilicon panels. .
By Steve Leone
China goes local to go global ..................... 40
Focusing on overseas partnerships, Chinas wind firms are
adopting strategies of co-opetition and globalisation through
localisation to build their export success.
By Elisa Wood
Indonesian energy transit ........................... 71

Indonesias government would like the nations electricity market
to move from a monopoly fossil-fuel generation base to a more
competitive structure with an increasing share of renewable
energy. But the reality is somewhat different.
By Jeremy Wilcox
Will California achieve its goal? .................. 76
In the US state with the most aggressive Renewable Portfolio
Standard, opinions are mixed about whether or not California will
be able to meet its goal of 33% renewables by 2020.
By Jennifer Runyon
Cool is the new cool ................................... 47

Solar cogeneration that both displaces and produces electricity
can be an optimal and cost-effective solution to growing demand
for power.
By Andrea Gains-Germain and Mani Thothadri
Putting trust in modules .............................. 81

PV reliability standards are being pushed by manufacturers,
developers and governments to deliver a long-lasting product.
By Richard Bozicevich
Germanys renewable powerhouse ........... 48

Facing the tough challenge of switching to renewables amid a
nuclear phase-out, Germany is looking to its stadtwerke or
municipal authorities to lead the transformation.
By Robin Yapp
Offshore wind: the next five years ............ 85

Despite a slow takeoff, the last five years have seen progress in
offshore wind, with the majority of global installations in this period.
Whats ahead for the next five years?
By Frank Wright
Emissions trading and renewables .......... 58

Can emissions trading schemes, such as the EU ETS, be made to
work successfully?
By Richard Baillie
Floating a viable biofuels industry ............. 90

The US military looks to the biofuels industry as the nations road
to energy independence, but government committees have
proposed bills blocking investment, arguing that it is too expensive
and risky. Is the military the industrys only hope for scale?
By Meg Cichon
US warms to thermal energy...................... 65

In their drive to meet Renewable Portfolio Standards, US states are
quietly moving to renewable heating and cooling.
By Jennifer Runyon
Plain sailing for Oklahoma .......................... 68
The US state is taking advantage of its abundant wind resource
with fast-growing project development.
By Sharryn Dotson
Warming for new Europe .......................... 94

District heating, with its fuel flexibility and extensive inherited
networks, could transform Eastern Europes energy future. But it
has never fitted neatly into energy statistics or policy. Nations must
embrace district heating to achieve EU energy policy targets.
By Rachana Raizada
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WE PROTECT ALTERNATIVE
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EXXONMOBIL PRESENTS BEST PRACTICE APPROACH TO
CONVERTING A WIND
TURBINE GEARBOX
TO SYNTHETIC OILS
Sandra Legay,
Global Industrial Products Technical Advisor,
ExxonMobil Lubricants & Specialties
ExxonMobil ADVERTISEMENT
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ith more wind farm operators discovering the numerous

benefits of using synthetic lubricants in wind turbines such
as superior component protection and extended oil drain
intervals, companies need to make sure they make a successful switch
from mineral to synthetic oils to ensure they maximise the benefits.
WHY THE SWITCH TO SYNTHETIC LUBRICANTS?

New synthetic lubricants are justifiably gaining a reputation for their
superior performance over traditional mineral-based oils. Advantages
such as enhanced gearbox protection and longer oil drain intervals
help to maximise the profitability of a wind turbine generator by
increasing turbine availability while minimising costs.
For example, ExxonMobils fully synthetic Mobilgear SHC XMP
320 is increasingly used in wind turbine gearboxes as it exceeds
the performance of conventional, mineral-based oils by extending
the interval between oil changes from 18 months to more than
three years. Other performance advantages of fully synthetic oils
such Mobilgear SHC XMP 320 include excellent low temperature
performance, which is of growing importance given the increasingly
harsh environments in which wind turbines operate.
BEST PRACTICE APPROACH TO SWITCHOVERS

There are three stages to a best practice switchover:

performance of the new oil

There are a plethora of issues to consider when looking to switch from

mineral to fully synthetic lubricants such as chemistry compatibility.
All lubricants are made up of different formulations and traces of a
previous mineral oil may alter the chemistry and thus performance
characteristics of the fully synthetic oil introduced into the system.
Thats why its crucial that wind turbine operators engage with a
lubrication specialist when switching to fully synthetic lubricants
Once the new lubricant has been introduced to the system,
it should be supported by routine oil analysis as part of regular
maintenance. ExxonMobils state-of-the-art Signum Oil Analysis
programme is an effective tool for understanding an oils on-going
condition. When samples are taken from relevant equipment areas
at scheduled intervals, it acts as a diagnostic service that highlights
critical indicators in used oil based on leading equipment builder
specifications, international standards and supported by detailed
condition assessment.
THE BENEFITS OF MAKING A SUCCESSFUL SWITCH

Taking care and undertaking the appropriate oil change procedure
will minimise negative impacts of used wind turbine gear oil on the
performance of the new oil. Successfully switching to fully synthetic
lubricants will help wind turbine operators to improve profitability by
extending oil drain periods, maximising oil filter change intervals and
minimising unscheduled downtime.
For more information about ExxonMobils range of products or other
Mobil-branded lubricants and services, please contact the ExxonMobil
Lubricants Technical Help Desk on TechDeskEurope@exxonmobil.
com or +420 221 456 426, or visit www.mobilindustrial.com.
An evaluation of the condition of the main gearbox and used oil should
include a visual inspection of the gearbox and system components to
assess the level of deposits and contamination. This assessment will
influence the recommended oil change procedure.
Oil compatibility is also fundamental to the successful introduction
of the new synthetic oil. To assess the compatibility of the old and
new oil, samples of both oils should be mixed and analysed.
Based on the evaluation of the condition of the main gearbox and
compatibility of the oils, the following oil change procedures are
recommended.
For example, if the oils are compatible and the gearbox is in a
good condition, a drain and fill is the preferred conversion approach,
whereas a more extensive drain, clean, flush and fill approach maybe
required depending on the oil compatibility and gearbox condition.
USED OIL ANALYSIS

The full range of benefits offered by synthetic lubricants can only be
realised by implementing a successful switchover from mineral based oils.
Old Compatibility
Gearbox Conditions
Preferred Conversion Approach
Alternate Conversion Approach
OK
Clean
Drain & Fill
Old Compatibility
Poor
Clean
Drain, Flush & Fill
OK
Deposit/ Contamination
Drain, Clean, Flush & Fill
Drain, Flush & Fill
Poor
Deposit/ Contamination
Drain, Clean, Flush & Fill
Drain, Flush & Fill
Drain & Fill

(If complete drain is possible)
Selection of Oil Change Procedure

ADVERTISEMENT ExxonMobil

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FROM THE EDITOR
Group Publisher Ralph Boon

Chief Editor David Appleyard
Associate Editor Tildy Bayar
Consulting Editor Jackie Jones
Contributing Editors Meg Chichon, Steve Leone,
Jennifer Runyon
Production Editor Piers Evans
Design/Production Ross Tucker
Production Manager Kimberlee Smith
Sales Managers Peter Andersen, Alasdair Evans,
Dan Harper, Kate Hart, Rick Peredina, Sandra Spencer
Published by PennWell International Publications Ltd,
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A detailed supplier listing and other information can
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Advertising: For information on advertising in future
issues of the magazine, please contact:
Peter Andersen on
+1 603 924 4405 ext 204, or
Alasdair Evans on
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Dan Harper on
+1 603 924 4405 ext 211
Kate Hart on
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Rick Peredina on
+1 603 925 3202 (direct)
Sandra Spencer on
+44 1992 656 664 (direct), or
or e-mail rew@pennwell.com
2012 PennWell International Publications Ltd
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
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electronic, mechanical or otherwise including
photocopying, recording or any information storage
or retrieval system without the prior written consent of
the Publishers.
While every attempt is made to ensure the accuracy of
the information contained in this magazine, neither the
Publishers nor the authors accept any liability for errors
or omissions.
Opinions expressed in this publication are not
necessarily those of the Publishers or Editor.
Subscriptions: Renewable Energy World is circulated
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To start a free subscription visit www.rew-subscribe.
__ Professionals outside the renewable energy
com.
industry may start a paid subscription. For pricing
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847-559-7330.
Renewable Energy World, ISSN 1462-6381, is
published six times a year by PennWell International
Publications Ltd, The Water Tower, Gunpowder Mill,
Powdermill Lane, Waltham Abbey, Essex EN9 1BN,
UK, and distributed in the USA by SPP at 75 Aberdeen
Road, Emigsville, PA 17318-043. Periodicals Postage
paid at Emigsville PA.
Postmaster: send address changes to
Renewable Energy World
c/o P.O. Box 437 Emigsville, PA. 17318.
ecent analysis of the 2011 global investment market has revealed that
once again, renewables broke all previous records, albeit with growth at
a rather more subdued pace than those with an interest in this industry
are used to. With 2012 already scoring some big investment deals, $257 billion
of total spending was reported by the Global Trends in Renewable Energy
Investment Report (GTR) for 2012. Among the highlights a more detailed
report is found in our news analysis section on page 9 was the performance
of solar, which for the first time reported an appreciable gap in investment when
compared with wind power.
Normally heading the tables, winds reign has apparently been dramatically
overturned by a solar market which attracted nearly twice as much investment.
As reported, total investment in solar power jumped by 52% to some $147
billion, largely on the back of domestic installations in Germany and Italy, along
with a host of other countries from China to the UK.
According to the report, at least part of the explanation for this growth
rests with the rapid fall in PV module prices thanks to economies of scale
in manufacturing, the rise of low-cost Chinese producers, and global overcapacity. The result a near-50% fall in module prices during the year
stimulated demand for PV panels, particularly on rooftops.
So, apparently a bad deal for manufacturers, but clear evidence of a solar
market that has been hugely stimulated as a result of tumbling prices. Coming
at a time of global economic malaise this is nothing short of miraculous, given
that it has evidently been given a healthy shove by grassroots investment
right across the globe, largely, it must be acknowledged, with the support of
government incentive schemes. Elsewhere in this edition (see page 48) we
report on the efforts Germanys municipal authorities are making to beef up
renewable energy generation to supply the countrys cities, driven no doubt by
political pressure directed at elected city officials from the voter level.
What does this type of development mean? It means that the sector is at last
maturing: that investors, politicians and individuals have a better appreciation
of the risks and advantages, and choose to take a well-informed decision to
spend their cash on installing renewable energy equipment. It means greater
investment, bigger and more competitive markets, and ultimately better
products and better deals for consumers and industry alike.
Those in other technology sectors certainly neednt feel glum. Bloomberg
New Energy Finance estimates that the average onshore wind project will be
competitive with gas-fired generation by 2016, and other technologies are
rapidly catching up. For further evidence of this maturity, see the five-year
forecast for the offshore wind sector on page 85, for example plus dont
forget to look out for our regular quarterly supplements Wind Technology and
Large Scale Solar with this edition.
As the GTR report observes, with solar PV and onshore wind equipment prices
falling rapidly, there is a promised land in sight in which these technologies will
not require any subsidy.
Reprints: If you would like to have a recent article

reprinted for an upcoming conference or for use as
a marketing tool, contact Rhonda Brown, E-mail:
pennwellreprints@fosterprinting.com Tel: +1-866-8799144, ext 194
Printed: in the UK by Williams Press Ltd
on elemental chlorine-free paper from sustainable forests.
David Appleyard
Chief Editor
Member, BPA Worldwide
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NEWS ANALYSIS
INVESTMENT TRENDS
GLOBAL RENEWABLES
INVESTMENT HITS RECORD
lobal
investment
in
renewable power and fuels
increased 17% to a new
record of $257 billion in 2011, with
developing economies making
up more than a third of this total.
So concludes The Global Trends
in Renewable Energy Investment
Report (GTR) for 2012.
This comprehensive analysis
from the Frankfurt School of
Finance & Management finds that
while the US closed in on China in
the race to be the leading renewable
energy investor, with a 57% leap in
outlay to $51 billion, India displayed
the fastest expansion rate, with its
62% increase to $12 billion.
Noting that one of the dominant
features of 2011 was technology
costs, the report concludes that
with falling PV module and wind
turbine prices close to 50% and
10% respectively the two leading
renewable power technologies
consequently came closer to
competitiveness with fossil-fuel
alternatives. However, the other
key feature was a weakening in
policy support in many developed
countries,
reflecting
austerity
pressures, particularly in Europe,
and legislative deadlock in the US.
The percentage increase in
investment between 2010 and 2011
was smaller than the 37% rise seen
between 2009 and 2010, but it took
place at a time when the cost of
renewable power equipment was
falling fast, the analysis records,
suggesting that the growth in
dollar investment would have been
significantly larger in 2011 if it had
not been for the price deflation for
PV and wind.
Nonetheless, in 2011, total
investment in solar power jumped
52% to $147 billion, reaching a
figure almost twice as high as that
in wind energy, at $84 billion, which
was down 12%. This marked the
first time that solar has opened up
an appreciable investment gap over
wind, the report notes, adding that
the performance of solar owed most
to booming rooftop PV installations
in Germany and Italy as property

owners moved to take advantage
of falling panel prices, and a spurt
in the financing of large-scale
solar thermal electricity generation
projects in Spain and the US.
ECONOMIC CHALLENGES
Although the renewable energy
sector has continued to grow, wider
economic problems have had an
impact since 2008, and they remain
a threat, the report says.
Share prices in the renewable
energy sector had a dismal 2011, in
the face of overcapacity in the solar
and wind manufacturing chains and
investor unease about the direction
of support policies in both Europe
and North America.
Citing the WilderHill New Energy
Global Innovation Index (NEX)
which tracks the movements of 98
clean energy shares worldwide and
fell 40% in 2011, clawing back just
7% in the first quarter of 2012 as
world stock markets rebounded
the document argues this severe
under-performance by clean energy
shares acted as a major dampener
on public market financing of
companies in the sector.
The sovereign debt crisis in
Europe in late 2011 hit the ability
of banks to provide their usual

flow of project finance, which
increased the focus on possible,
alternative sources of investment
for renewable energy such as
pension funds and other long-term
institutional investors. In early 2012,
an $850 million bond issue for a PV
project owned by Warren Buffetts
MidAmerican Holdings underlined
the potential of green bonds as an
instrument for financing renewable
power projects, the authors note.
More generally, the fact that
consumers have found their
finances under pressure has made
governments more reluctant to
wave through measures that
would put up energy prices. In
the US, support in Congress for
clean energy and putting a price
on carbon has ebbed, in the face
of low natural gas prices that have
made gas-fired generation look
a cost-effective alternative, and
new concerns about the cost of
renewable energy support. The
outlook for gas supply has changed
dramatically, with the technological
advances in fracking. Furthermore,
the report adds, complaints about
the cost of subsidies for renewables
have gathered strength after the
scandal over the bankruptcy of
Solyndra, which had received

Federal loan guarantees.
Turning to Europe, the report
says that governments struggled
to adjust feed-in tariff subsidies
for solar power quickly enough
in the face of rapid reductions
in the cost of the technology.
These cost reductions resulted in
greater-than-intended returns for
PV project developers, and booms
in installation, especially in Italy
and Germany, both of which saw
more than 7 GW installed in 2011.
Inevitably, governments in Europe
and elsewhere have responded by
cutting subsidies sharply and in
the case of Spain, barring subsidies
for any new renewable power
project not so far approved.
Indeed, investment in renewable
energy was subdued in the first
three months of 2012, in the face
of uncertainty over future policy
support in Europe and the US, the
analysis continues, stating that
although there have been signs
that governments are trying to
clarify specific issues for investors,
there is not yet any evidence that
investment levels will accelerate in
the subsequent quarters of 2012.
Figures from Bloomberg New
Energy Finance show that asset
finance of utility-scale renewable
energy projects in the first quarter
of 2012 was $23.3 billion, down
36% from the fourth quarter of
2011 and 14% below the figure for
the first quarter of last year.
In fact, 2012 was the weakest
first quarter for renewable energy
asset finance since 2009, in the
depths of the financial crisis, the
report notes.
There were still some big projects
financed however including the
396 MW Marena Wind Portfolio
in Mexico for $961 million, the
100 MW KVK Chinnu solar thermal
plant in India for approximately
$400 million, and the 201 MW Post
Rock Wind farm in Kansas, US, for
an estimated $376 million.
The largest projects financed in
Europe in the first part of 2012
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NEWS ANALYSIS
in the face of a difficult market for

bank lending were the 150 MW
Monsson Pantelina wind farm in
Romania at $317 million, and the
60.4 MW SunEdison Karadzhalovo
solar PV plant in Bulgaria at
$248 million.
Venture capital and private
equity investment in renewable
energy companies was resilient, at
$1.4 billion worldwide in the first
quarter, up from $1.1 billion in the
previous quarter and $1.2 billion in
the equivalent quarter of 2011. Solar
and biofuels were the two dominant
sectors for equity-raisings.
Public markets investment was
just $473 million, down 46% from
the end of 2011 and 87% from
the equivalent period in 2011.
This was not surprising given the
poor performance of clean energy
shares over the last few quarters,
the authors conclude.
BREAKING INVESTMENT
Different types of investment
displayed very different fortunes
during the year venture capital
investment, for instance, rose 5%
to $2.5 billion, but governmentfunded and corporate research and
development both fell back.
Government R&D slipped 13%
to $4.6 billion as the effect of green
stimulus packages faded; corporate
R&D weakened 19% to $3.7 billion
as companies responded to
pressure on their own finances.
Private equity expansion capital
investment dropped 15% to
$2.5 billion. Equity-raising by
renewable energy companies on
the public markets also fell back
last year, down 10% to $10.1 billion,
as investors shied away from heavy
share price falls.
The two types of new investment
that did see significant growth in
2011 were asset finance of utilityscale (1 MW-plus) renewable power
plants and biofuel refineries; and
small-scale distributed capacity,
notably rooftop solar. Asset finance
was up 18% to $164.4 billion,
while small-scale projects saw
$75.8 billion invested, up 25% on
the previous year. Both were record
figures, the report notes.
Merger and acquisition activity
totalled $68.4 billion in 2011, up 5%
on the previous year. Within M&A,
corporate acquisitions were up 34%
at a record $28.4 billion, as buyers
took advantage of lower valuations
for target companies. Project
acquisitions and refinancings were
down 1% at $36.5 billion.
Investment increased in both
developed
and
developing
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countries in 2011. It rose in

developed economies by 21%
to $168 billion, and in developing
economies by 11% to $89 billion.
In asset finance of utility-scale
projects, developing countries outinvested developed economies in
2010, by $70 billion to $69 billion,
but this was reversed in 2011, with
developed economies investing
$86 billion and developing countries
$79 billion.
Although overall 2011 was
dominated by solars record year
and a setback for wind (in terms
of dollar investment), there were
intriguing changes at a more
detailed level, and among the other
technologies.
The report shows, for example,
biomass and waste-to-power was
the third largest sector for total
renewable energy investment last
year, even though its share fell 12%
to $10.6 billion. Biofuels, which
was the second-largest sector
for investment after wind in 2006,
came fourth in 2011 with a total of
$6.8 billion. This was down 20% on
2010 but there were signs, in the
financing by venture capital, private
equity and public market investors
of companies producing secondgeneration biofuel (not based on
food oils or grains), of a warming in
sentiment towards this sector after
some tough years.
Other renewable energy sectors
showed more modest investment
small hydropower projects of less
than 50 MW, and the companies
involved in them, attracted 59%
more capital last year, taking their
tally to $5.8 billion; geothermal
investment was down 5% at
$2.9 billion; and wave and tidal
was down 5% at just $246 million.
A large (254 MW) South Korean
tidal barrage project started full
operations in 2011, but it had been
financed several years earlier.
Solar was the leading sector in
venture capital and private equity
provision of renewable energy, with
$2.4 billion. As a relatively mature
technology, wind has tended
to lag behind solar in terms of
venture capital and private equity
(VC/PE) investment, and in 2011 it
came fourth with just $520 million
committed, down 66%. Ahead of it
were biomass and waste-to-power,
with $1 billion of VC/PE money
secured, nearly three times the
previous figure, and biofuels with
$804 million secured, up 9%.
Moving onto public markets
investment, wind and solar vied
for first place in terms of the
value of new equity-raisings, the
report says, noting raisings of

$4.5 billion and $4.2 billion
respectively, down 2% and 23%
on their 2010 totals. Biofuels and
geothermal obtained $654 million
and $406 million respectively, up
37% and 360%.
Last years increase in investment

took place at a time of uncertainty
over economic growth and policy
priorities in developed economies
and those issues continue to
pose a serious threat in 2012 to the
low-carbon transition and hopes of
While progress towards the expansion

in renewable energy capacity was once
again impressive in 2011, its smooth
continuation in 2012, 2013 and after is far
from guaranteed.
In asset finance of utility scale
projects wind retained a lead
over solar, with $82.4 billion
committed, down 11%, against
the latters $62.1 billion, but the
latter was up no less than 147%
compared with figures from
2010. Looking one level of detail
further down, the major renewable
power sources showed some
interesting technological trends
also. The two have historically been
dominated by onshore wind and PV
respectively, but last year offshore
wind loomed large and contributed
$12.5 billion to the total value of
wind assets financed, while solar
thermal accounted for $20 billion of
the total solar figure in both cases,
the highest on record.
Total capacity investment, which
brings together small-scale projects
with the utility-scale developments,
saw solar dominate in 2011, with
$137.8 billion invested, up 61% on
2010 thanks in greatest part to the
expansion of rooftop PV in Europe
and elsewhere.
On the total capacity investment
measure, wind was the secondlargest sector with $82.4 billion,
biomass
and
waste-to-power
in third place came in with $8.8
billion (down 16%), small hydro
attracted the fourth largest capacity
investments with $5.4 billion,
and biofuels came in fifth with
$3.5 billion (down 36%).
OUTLOOK
The policy hiatus, coming ironically
at a time when fully competitive
renewable power is starting to be
a realistic possibility in a few years
time, is posing a threat to continued
growth in investment in the sector
in 2012 and beyond.
That in turn puts into jeopardy
hopes that investment in clean
energy will reach sufficient levels
to start to reduce global carbon
emissions before 2020.
progress towards a green economy.

The resilient growth of renewable
energy investment since 2004,
with expansion continuing through
the recession of 2008-2009 and
the subsequent, disappointing
recovery in developed economies,
has been accompanied by a
significant rise in the job creation,
and overall economic contribution,
of the renewable energy sector
and that looks likely to continue to
2020 as the world seeks to curb
emissions from its energy system.
However, one of the key
messages of this report is that while
progress towards the expansion in
renewable energy capacity was
once again impressive in 2011, its
smooth continuation in 2012, 2013
and after is far from guaranteed.
Risks of an interruption have
increased. If a serious setback were
to beset investment in renewables,
the vision of a green economy
could recede into the distance.
With PV solar and onshore wind
equipment prices falling rapidly,
there is a promised land in sight
in which these technologies will not
require any subsidy. Rooftop solar
is already competitive with retail
electricity in a number of locations,
and some estimates have it that
the average onshore wind project
will be competitive with gas-fired
generation by 2016.
The danger however is that
hastily made cuts in support might
make a serious dent in investment
in developed economies in 20122014 before wind and solar can
reach that goal of competitiveness.
That would be a damaging
blow not just for businesses in
those industries but also for hope
of limiting carbon emissions and
climate change, and ultimately for
all those working in the emerging
green economy.
David Appleyard
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NEWS ANALYSIS
BIOMASS POWER
BIO-POWER COSTS REPORT

REVEALS COMPETITIVE EDGE
RENA,
the
International
Renewable Energy Agency, has
published a study on the costs
of biomass power generation,
concluding
that
the
most
competitive projects produce for as
little as US$0.06/kWh.
Around the world, large quantities
of agricultural and forestry wastes
go underutilised and the agency
argues that using these wastes as
a feedstock to provide power and
heat can cost less than electricity
from the grid.
According to the study, the total
installed costs of biomass power
generation technologies varies
significantly by technology and
country. For example, the total
installed costs of stoker boilers was
between US$1880 and $4260/kW
in 2010, while those of circulating
fluidised bed boilers were between
$2170 and $4500/kW and anaerobic
digester systems of between $2570
and $6100/kW.
Operations and maintenance
(O&M) costs can make a significant
contribution to the levelised cost
of electricity (LCOE) and typically
accounts for between 9% and 20%
of the LCOE for biomass power
plants, the study finds. However, it
can be lower than this in the case of
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co-firing and greater for plants with

extensive fuel preparation, handling
and conversion needs. Meanwhile,
fixed O&M costs range from 2%
of installed costs per year to 7%
for most biomass technologies,
with variable O&M costs of around
$0.005/kWh. Landfill gas systems
have much higher fixed O&M costs,
which can be between 10% and
20% of initial capital costs per year.
A key finding is that secure,
long-term supplies of low-cost,
sustainably-sourced
feedstocks
are critical to the economics of
biomass power plants. Feedstock
costs can be zero for wastes which
would otherwise have disposal
costs or that are produced onsite
at an industrial installation, for
example, black liquor at pulp and
paper mills or bagasse at sugar
mills. Feedstock costs may be
modest where agricultural residues
can be collected and transported
over short distances.
However, citing the trade in
wood chips and pellets, the authors
note that feedstock costs can be
high where significant transport
distances are involved due to the
low energy density of biomass. The
IRENA analysis covers feedstock
costs of between $10/tonne for
low cost residues to $160/tonne for

internationally-traded pellets.
REDUCING COSTS
Potential for cost reductions
in biomass power generation
equipment is complicated by the
range of technologies available,
from the mature to those still at
the pilot or R&D stage, and by the
often significant variations in local
technology solutions, the IRENA
analysis states.
Many
biomass
generation
technologies are mature and are
not likely to undergo significant
technological change, while cost
reductions through scale-up will
be modest. However, for the less
mature technologies, significant
cost reductions are likely as
commercial experience is gained.
Gasification technologies using
wood or waste wood as feedstock
may achieve capital cost reductions
of 22% by 2020, while those for
stoker/BFB/CFB direct combustion
technologies will be more modest
at between 12% and 16%. By 2015
cost reductions for BFB and CFB
gasification technologies could be
in the order of 5% to 11%, while for
direct combustion cost reductions
they may be 0% to 5%. anaerobic
digester
(AD)
technologies
could
benefit
from
greater
commercialisation, and cost cuts of
17% to 19% might be possible by
2020, with cost reductions of 5% to
8% by 2015.
However, the authors conclude
that
combustion
technologies
are well-established and are
generally bankable if the project
economics are solid. Gasification
with low gas energy content and
internal combustion engines are
an established niche technology
in India, but shifting from these
simple gasifiers to ones with
greater efficiency, using oxygen
as a reactive agent, gas cleanup and gas turbines to scaleup this technology to larger
power plants still requires more
demonstration, especially because
it requires expensive gas cleanup, which is currently the main
focus of gasification technology
improvements. In AD systems, the
main technological development
needed is linked to the digesters
(as better control of the process:
enzymes, pH, temperature) and
pre-combustion gas clean-up.
According to IRENA, the main
question regarding the viability of
biomass power plants lies in the
development of a reliable feedstock
supply chain, especially because
long-term feedstock agreements
are essential for financing any
biomass
project.
Predicting
biomass cost reduction potentials
is challenging because many
factors are involved, such as the
supply chain, resource potential,
sustainability criteria and so forth.
Research into cost saving
processes is currently underway.
For example, it has been shown
that denser fuel pellets can offer
LCOE savings, but the drawback is
that often the pelletisation process
results in significant feedstock loss
and increased cost. At the same
time, the storage and transportation
costs of denser pellets are
significantly lower than other
options, such as baling. Efforts to
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NEWS ANALYSIS
integrate biomass with traditional

agriculture, for example through the
use of crop rotation and agricultural
intensification, may lead to yield
increases and price reductions,
the report continues. Sustainable
harvesting techniques, such as
one-pass harvesting, can reduce
harvest site fuel consumption
significantly. Further, developing
synergies between harvest and
transport, for example by using
self-compacting wagons for both
harvesting and transportation, may
also provide cost savings, they add.
Analysis of the potential for
on the energy content of the fuel,

its moisture content and other
properties that will impact the
costs of handling or processing, the
document notes.
Dedicated
energy
crop
availability is strongly related to
cost, representing the important
impact that the best crop, land and
climate conditions can have on
feedstock costs.
Other
important
cost
considerations
for
biomass
feedstocks include the preparation
the biomass requires before it can
be used. Analysis suggests that
Analysis of potential biomass feed cost

reductions for the European market to
2020 suggest 2%25% could be achieved
biomass feedstock cost reductions
for the European market to 2020
suggests that cost reductions of
2% to 25% could be achieved,
although average cost reductions
for energy crops by 2015 are
difficult to estimate. It is assumed
that dedicated energy crops
will be 5%-10% cheaper as the
result of harvesting and logistic
improvements by 2015. Trends for
forestry and agricultural residue
prices and costs are more uncertain
due to the complex balance of
positive and negative effects.
COMPETITIVE IMPACT
The economics of biomass power
generation are critically dependent
upon the availability of a secure,
long-term supply of feedstock at a
competitive cost.
Observing
that
feedstock
costs can represent 40% to 50%
of the total cost of electricity
produced, the authors note that
the lowest cost feedstock is
typically agricultural residues. For
forestry, the cost is dominated by
the collection and transportation
costs. The low energy density of
biomass feedstocks tends to limit
the economical transport distance
from a biomass power plant. This
can place a limit on the scale of
the plant, meaning that biomass
struggles to take advantage of
economies of scale.
The prices of pellets and
woodchips are quoted regularly
in Europe by ENDEX and PIX for
delivery to Rotterdam or North/
Baltic Sea ports and do not include
inland transport to other areas.
Prices for biomass sourced and
consumed locally are difficult to
obtain. Prices paid will depend
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there are significant economies

of scale in biomass feedstock
preparation and handling. The
capital costs for preparation and
handling can represent around 6%
to 20% of total investment costs.
Assuming a heat value of forest
residue with 35% moisture content
to be 11500 kJ/kg, the handling
capital costs could therefore range
from a low of $772/GJ/day to as
high as $2522/GJ/day.
In Europe, the analysis identified
feedstock costs of between
$5.2 and $8.2/GJ for European
sourced
woodchips.
Local
agricultural residues were estimated
to cost $4.8 to $6.0/GJ. Imported
pellets from North America are
competitive with European wood
chips if they must be transported
from Scandinavia.
Prices
for
feedstocks
in
developing countries are available
but relatively limited, the report
notes. In the case of Brazil, the
price of bagasse varies significantly,
depending on the harvest period. It
can range from zero to $27/tonne
with the average price being around
$11/tonne, where a market exists.
In India, the price for bagasse
is around $12 to $14/tonne, and
the price of rice husks is around
$22/tonne.
Multiple
biomass
resources are available, as rice
straw, rice husks, bagasse, wood
waste, wood, wild bushes and
paper mill waste.
LEVELISED COSTS
The range of biomass-fired power
generation
technologies
and
feedstock costs result in a large
range for the LCOE of biomassfired power generation. Even
for individual technologies, the
range can be wide as different

configurations,
feedstocks,
fuel handling and, in the case
of gasification, gas clean-up
requirements can lead to very
different installed costs and
efficiencies for a technology.
Assuming a cost of capital of
10%, the LCOE of biomass-fired
electricity generation ranges from
a low of $0.06/kWh to a high of
$0.29/kWh, IRENA states.
Where capital costs are low
and low-cost feedstocks are
available, bioenergy can provide
competitively priced, dispatchable
electricity generation. However,
with higher capital costs and
more expensive fuel costs, power
generation from bioenergy is not
likely to be able to compete with
incumbent technologies without
support policies in place. Many
of the low-cost opportunities to
develop bioenergy-fired power
plants will therefore be in taking
advantage of forestry or agricultural
residues and wastes where lowcost feedstocks and sometimes
handling facilities are available. The
development of competitive supply
chains for feedstocks is therefore
very important in making bioenergy
generation competitive.
When low-cost stoker boilers
are available and fuel costs are
low stoker boilers producing steam
to power a steam turbine offer
competitive electricity at as low
as $0.062/kWh. However, where
capital costs are high and only
imported pellets are available to fire
the boiler, the LCOE can be as high
as $0.21/kWh.
Combustion in BFB and CFB
boilers has a slightly higher LCOE
range than stoker boilers due to
their higher capital costs.
The LCOE range for gasifiers is
very wide, in part due to the range
of feedstock costs, but also due to
the fact that fixed bed gasifiers are
a more proven technology that is
cheaper than CFB or BFB gasifiers.
The LCOE for gasifiers ranges
from $0.065/kWh for a fixed bed
gasifier with low-cost bioenergy
fuel to $0.24/kWh for a small-scale
gasifier with an internal combustion
engine would be suitable for offgrid applications or mini-grids.
However, although this is expensive
compared to grid-scale options, it
is more competitive than a dieselfired solution.
CHP systems are substantially
more expensive but they have
higher overall efficiencies, and the
sale of heat produced can make
CHP very attractive, particularly
in the agricultural, forestry and

pulp and paper industries; where
low-cost feedstocks and process
heat needs are located together.
The LCOE of stoker CHP systems
ranges from $0.072 to $0.29/kWh,
including the impact of the credit
for heat production. Gasifier CHP
systems have a higher but narrower
range from $0.12 to $0.28/kWh due
to their higher capital costs.
Landfill gas, anaerobic digesters
and co-firing have narrower cost
ranges. For landfill gas, this is due
to the narrow capital cost range and
the fact that this also determines
the fuel cost. For anaerobic
digestion, the capital cost range is
relatively narrow, but the feedstock
can vary from free for manure or
sewage up to $40/tonne for energy
crops for digestion. For co-firing,
the incremental LCOE cost is as
low $0.044 and $0.13/kWh.
COST OF BIOMASS
According to the IRENA analysis,
the LCOE of biomass-fired power
plants ranges from $0.06 to
$0.29/kWh, depending on capital
and feedstock costs. Where
low-cost feedstocks such as
agricultural or forestry residues
and wastes are available and
capital costs are modest, biomass
can be a very competitive power
generation option.
Even where feedstocks are more
expensive, the LCOE range for
biomass is still more competitive
than for diesel-fired generation,
making biomass an ideal solution
for off-grid or mini-grid electricity
supply, the report concludes.
The document adds that many
biomass power generation options
are mature, commercially-available
technologies, for example direct
combustion, co-firing, anaerobic
digestion and municipal solid waste
incineration. While others, such as
atmospheric biomass gasification
and pyrolysis, are less mature
and only at the beginning of their
deployment, still others are only at
the demonstration or R&D phases,
for instance integrated gasification
combined cycle, bio-refineries and
bio-hydrogen.
The potential for cost reductions
is therefore very heterogeneous.
Only marginal cost reductions
are anticipated in the short term,
but the long-term potential from
the technologies not yet widely
deployed is good.
More details may be found at:
www.irena.org/publications.
David Appleyard
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NEWS ANALYSIS
OFFSHORE ENERGY
MARINE SPATIAL PLANNING

REQUIRED FOR GROWTH
ecommendations to achieve
an international approach
to
facilitating
offshore
renewables wind, wave and tidal
through marine spatial planning
(MSP) have been published by the
Intelligent Energy Europe-funded
Seanergy 2020 project.
According
to
national
projections, the report observes,
EU Member States are set to
achieve around 45 GW of offshore
renewable generation capacity
by 2020, a more than a ten-fold
increase. With wind accounting
for the majority, approximately
43 GW, the European Ocean Energy
Association (EU-OEA) says that a
further 3.6 GW of wave and tidal
capacity is expected to be installed
in the same time frame.
This scale of development
will inevitably require significant
space at sea and as a relative
new-comer, offshore renewable
energy is competing with other
activities, such as shipping, cables
and pipelines, coastal tourism
and ecological and environmental
protection, all of which are also
expected to increase significantly
in the coming years. With many
such growing activities at sea, the
authors argue that it is becoming
urgent to manage the seas in a
coordinated fashion, nationally and
across national borders.
The Seanergy 2020 project
centred its work on three main
phases:
firstly,
analysis
of
existing national MSP practices;
secondly, analysis of different
international MSP instruments and
their compatibility with offshore
renewable deployment; and thirdly,
analysis of the challenges and
opportunities of moving from a
national to a transnational MSP.
At the heart of the project is
the challenge offshore renewables
face, caught between a multitude
of conflicting uses, interest groups
and rules from different sectors
and jurisdictions. This, the authors
state, creates project uncertainty,
increases the risk of delays or
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failure of projects at sea, impairing

the sectors growth potential. These
barriers are further aggravated
by the absence of a coordinated
approach to marine spatial planning
within the different Member States
and sea basins.
In addition, they argue that
by including designation zones
for the development of offshore
renewables, MSP can enable
the development of offshore
renewable energy by reducing the
risk for developers and increasing
investment
opportunities.
The
report also states that MSP
promotes an efficient use of
space by potentially allowing
offshore
renewables
projects
to be developed within a given
area through integrated planning,
taking nature conservation into
account and argues that the
marine management measures
that emerge can help provide
transparency in permitting and
licensing procedures.
NATIONAL APPROACHES
National MSP practices largely
reflect
traditional
planning
procedures in EU Member States
as well as national needs and
priorities, and national institutional
frameworks, the researchers found.
In
practice,
three
basic
models for providing a legislative
framework for national MSP were
identified: i) extension of the basic
land-use spatial planning regime
out to sea; ii) creation of a specific
legal framework for MSP within
an overall legal framework for
marine management; and iii) an
amendment to related legislation.
Any of these three approaches
can be effective in enabling the
deployment of offshore renewable
energy when well designed and
managed, the authors conclude.
However, many of the existing
frameworks do not have an explicit
focus on transnational cooperation.
Furthermore, they tend to deal
with the issue of transnational
cooperation only in a peripheral or
basic way, typically by mentioning

that its importance but giving few
details on how or when this should
be done, the document says.
INTERNATIONAL MSP
Existing
international
MSP
instruments do not explicitly
consider offshore renewables,
the authors conclude, adding
that such measures do not have
a strong direct influence on
offshore renewables, but can have
an indirect impact through their
translation to national MSP.
Arguably, the report says, current
international MSP instruments do
not stand in the way of offshore
development. However, there are
limited opportunities to change,
modify or create international
instruments with regard to MSP
and offshore renewables. These
processes are lengthy and resource
intensive. Additionally, international
MSP approaches would have to
build a very broad consensus which
is likely to water down their efficacy.
Existing international structures
should be used where possible.
For example, current regional
environmental conventions should
be taken into account. Finally and
most importantly, the numerous
barriers to truly international MSP
approaches strongly suggest that
EU level action on transnational
cooperation is the most appropriate
way forward.
TRANSNATIONAL MSP
Although there is strong support for
cross-border cooperation on MSP
from the European Commission,
there is little to no firm guidance
on how this should be achieved,
the report continues. Related
to this, national MSP initiatives
have not sufficiently integrated
the international context and
EU Member States do not have
sufficient frameworks in place that
will encourage future cooperation.
The authors conclude that for
a transnational approach to be
embraced by the EU Member
States, it needs to be set up to
overcome or avoid existing barriers.
Thirteen specific barriers to
transnational MSP were identified
relating to issues of power, interests
and capacity.
Transnational
approaches
to MSP can benefit offshore
renewables through additional
efficiencies
from
cross-border
coordination, reduced planning
risks for developers and expanded
opportunities
for
deployment
and/or cost savings from shared
infrastructure, the document states,
adding this was demonstrated in a
German-Dutch cross-border MSP
case study. It highlights that MSP
has the potential to bring real cost
reductions for offshore renewables.
However,
the
European
Commission has limited options for
intervention in MSP as this is, by and
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NEWS ANALYSIS
large, a Member State competence.

According to the study, although
politically challenging, an MSP
Directive focused on encouraging
cross-border
cooperation
supported by national measures

would require Member States
to open direct communication,
without
dictating
outcomes.
This option gives cross-border
cooperation a firm legal footing,
whilst
leaving
implementation
to the Member States, and
comes
closest
to
satisfying
the understanding of planning
competences that exists within
the EU. Further recommendations
include encouraging cooperation,
rather than prescriptive approaches
to national practices, as the most
appropriate form of EU intervention.
The authors also state that
national MSP is a pre-condition
of
successful
transnational
cooperation on marine planning
and should be promoted. They add
that the EU should ideally seek to
draft an MSP Directive (or if this
cannot be achieved, guidelines or
approaches based on regional sea
conventions or working groups)
that focuses on requiring Member
States to adopt national MSP
legislation over an agreed timeframe and promoting cross-border
cooperation.
Macro-regional or regional action
is the most appropriate starting
point for successfully and usefully
employing
transnational
MSP
practices and an MSP Directive
could create regional sea basins
to serve as a forum for planning
and cross-border coordination, the
study concludes.
THE ATLANTIC BASIN

All
the
conditions
for
the
development
of
offshore
renewables are combined in the
Atlantic basin, in particular the
availability of maritime space and
high wind and tidal resources, the
report says.
The combination of a relatively
low population density and the
almost optimal conditions for
offshore renewables production
in this basin may, one day, result
in a surplus of offshore renewable
electricity production. An ambitious
policy, such as that of the UK
and Ireland, could encourage the
development of offshore renewable
energy plants at Europes westernmost maritime boundaries because
of the favourable production
circumstances. That is why a
visionary and integrated MSP
strategy for the Atlantic basin should
18
RENEWABLE
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consider how potentially abundant

offshore renewables power can be
exported in the most cost efficient
way to more densely populated
areas. An integrated MSP policy
in this basin should, if possible,
take into account interconnection
plans and grid expansion. The
North Seas Countries Offshore
Grid Initiative signed by the UK,
France and Ireland, amongst others
seems to be an appropriate policy
structure for helping to efficiently
transport renewable energy by
integrating future offshore grid
design into MSP.
Any future MSP developments
and offshore renewables spatial
planning will need to take into
account the need for cross-border
cooperation in the Atlantic.
THE BALTIC SEA

To develop offshore renewable
energy, additional policy incentives
are needed. The targets of the
2009 EU Renewable Energy
Directive have not been a motor
for ambitious offshore renewable
energy development up to 2020 in
many Baltic Sea countries. MSP
should build on the results of the
BaltSeaPlan project a regional
cooperation initiative aiming to
prepare national MSP processes
in the Baltic Sea area to further
integrate
future
development
of offshore renewables. This
would help the MSPs in the
regions become more consistent.
Cooperation with organisations
such as VASAB, Helcom and their
respective initiatives and working
groups on MSP is essential. Both
expressed support for MSP in its
recent Baltic Sea Broad-Scale MSP
principle, which is a clear political
signal that will help pave the way for
MSP in this sea basin.
Any Geographic Information
System data and information
collection in the region should
build on existing data bases such
as Helcom. Moreover, the data
infrastructure currently developed
by the BaltSeaPlan project should
be used as a basis for any future
initiatives in the region.
For the Baltic Sea countries,
given the geography of this semiclosed sea, regional cooperation
into national MSPs is needed.
Activities in one maritime zone
may easily generate conflicts in
a neighbouring zone that need to
be taken into account, managed
and prevented.
THE MEDITERRANEAN
The difficulty for Mediterranean
coastal states to claim jurisdiction

beyond their territorial seas derives
from the sensitive geopolitical
situation in the basin. A policy that
aims to develop offshore energy in
the context of the 2009 Renewable
Energy Directive should try to
develop MSP, including offshore
renewable energy zoning legislation
in the territorial seas, as Greece and
Spain did recently. The tourism,
fisheries, and shipping sectors
should be involved in determining
such an offshore renewable energy
zoning policy as soon as possible.
This would substantially reduce the
risk of conflicts.
Looking beyond 2020, it is
necessary to explore the legal
possibilities of setting out one
or more offshore renewable
energy test zones in the high
seas. This may be an interesting
MSP experiment, but should be
discussed at international level.
Such test MSP (similar to those
being conducted in the Baltic Sea)
or zoning experiments in the high
seas, may highlight the potential of
offshore renewables zones.
Regional cooperation initiatives
similar to EUROMED are necessary
for socio-economic cooperation
to deal with the zoning of offshore
renewable projects. It is also
important to lay the foundations
for a win-win model: cross border
cooperation within the Mediterranean Sea basin on MSP can
create win-win situations for
EU and non-EU Member States
alike. A joint initiative defining
offshore renewable zones within
the
Mediterranean
and
the
development of offshore renewable
energy technologies may create
new economic and employment
opportunities as well as enhancing
the security of energy supply.
THE NORTH SEA

MSP policies and legal frameworks
are generally well developed in
the North Sea basin. However,
there is a need to ensure the best
possible legal basis for offshore
renewable energy development
through
comprehensive
MSP
legislation. Anchoring offshore
renewables preferential zoning
to comprehensive primary MSP
legislation seems to offer the legal
certainty for offshore renewable
energy development, at least
from a siting perspective. This is
the case of the Dutch MSP policy
in the form of the national water
policy that includes spatial planning
for offshore renewables zones.
Ensuring local and public support
for the development of MSP policy

is also key to successful offshore
renewables development. Without
this support, legal action against
offshore renewables projects in
territorial seas is likely. The North
Sea should deepen and build on
existing initiatives for cross border
cooperation.
RECOMMENDATIONS
MSP will always be context-specific
and will depend on the particular
institutional structures in place and
the ecological, social and economic
drivers in each country. Although it
is not possible to outline the precise
content of national MSP policies,
it is possible to recommend that
they cover all maritime space
(inland waters, territorial sea
and continental shelf) and all
relevant procedures (consultation,
permitting, enforcement, mitigation
measures etc).
According to the report, an
MSP policy and legal framework
at national level should set out
planning zones or criteria for
making
planning
decisions;
detail rules for consultation of
stakeholders along with time lines
and identify institutions responsible
for data collection and ensure they
are legally obliged to update and
share data.
In addition, MSP should ensure
that permitting procedures require
SEAs or EIAs covering all relevant
impacts and that the MSP accounts
for all spatial activities and levels
and ensures coverage of all relevant
maritime activities, as well as
transboundary interactions.
Fundamentally,
MSP
must
strike the right balance between
ecological, economic and social
objectives while including relevant
conclusions from EU MSP research
projects such as BaltSeaPlan
and Plan Bothnia. These projects
provide an opportunity to pilot
approaches and share lessons,
but the key findings need to be
integrated into national policies and
legislation to be effective.
A successful policy should be
based on pre-conditions such as
maritime space, a clear policy and
legal framework, sufficient wind,
wave and tidal resources, and
demand for electricity.
Most importantly, the institutional
set-up should allow a final decision
to cover all aspects of offshore
renewable energy development in
a comprehensive, clear and cost
effective way.
David Appleyard
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NEWS ANALYSIS
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2012 Maysteel LLC. All Rights Reserved.
INDIAS GRID
BLOW OUT
uddenly, the world is

intrigued by Indias unstable
grid and the role solar power
can play in providing solutions for
a country desperately in need of a
new energy strategy.
India has in recent months
been laying the groundwork to
eventually become a major solar
market, but the process has gone
slower than expected. But now
it looks like India received its
wakeup call in the form of a massive
power outage that affected more
than 600 million residents.
Indias late July grid failure
has been determined the worlds
largest blackout. This event will
no doubt spur some movement
toward efficiency and discipline.
India requires new and innovative
thinking and effectiveness through
structural change. This is also the
time to focus on renewable energy,
particularly solar photovoltaics.
India is the Saudi Arabia of
renewable energy sources and,
if properly utilised, India can
realise its place in the world as a
great power, said Jeremy Rifkin,
an economist and activist, but
political will is required for the
eventual shift from fossil fuels to
renewable energy.
Even if 10% of Indias energy
needs can be met by solar, it would
be a huge contribution in taking
the edge off peak load.
Solar panel prices have dropped
by over 50% during the past
year, and those of the supporting
hardware including cables,
connectors and inverters are
expected to continue to drop at
a slower rate. Overall, system
prices now are practically at grid
parity, especially when the average
price includes the unsubsidised
cost of diesel-based generation,
frequently used when power fails.
In India, not only can solar
generation work as a complement
to the grid, but it can bring
power to the 400 million or so
citizens without electricity. Many
of these people live in rural
areas where grid extension is not

economical; solar energy for selfsufficiency is one immediate and
affordable solution.
What are the costs of electricitys
absence? Lost opportunities for
augmenting livelihood, children
forced to study by candlelight or
kerosene lamps, or not at all.
There are several solar energy
solutions. The Ministry of New
and Renewable Energy is mostly
focused on using solar energy,
like any other fuel source, to feed
the grid. Typically, this is through
concentrated solar solutions, and
recently
through
photovoltaic
panels due to price drops. Solutions
that feed power to the grid are
important, but they only augment
an over-stressed grid they do
not help the millions without any
grid power. The Ministry mostly
ignores distributed generation, the
solar self-sufficiency solutions like
rooftop panels or community grids.
Clean energy technologies are
in the middle of unprecedented
innovations.
Bloomberg
New
Energy Finance studies show
the patent growth in this space
has accelerated so much that,
around 2005, clean energy patents
surpassed the patents generated in
all other technologies combined.
India can be a part of this
innovation boom, but not unless
the government gets out of the way.
Incentives
and
regulations
can help, but not the creation of
one more government of India
undertaking, or the creation of
an Innovation Council comprised
of distinguished people, but with
an agenda that does not include
renewable energy.
Mahesh Bhave

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NEWS ANALYSIS
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
CLEAN ENERGY PATENTS

T
he Clean Energy Patent

Growth
Index
(CEPGI),
published
quarterly
by
the cleantech group at Heslin
Rothenberg Farley & Mesiti PC,
provides an indication of the trend
of innovative activity in the Clean
Energy sector from 2002 to the
present. Results from the first
quarter of 2012 reveal 694 granted
US patents, the highest quarter
since began and up 154 over the
first quarter of 2011.
The granting of patents by the
US Patent and Trademark Office
(PTO) is often cited as a measure of
the inventive activity and evidence
of the effectiveness of research &
development investments.
The CEPGI tracks the granting
of US patents for the following
technologies:
solar,
wind,
hybrid/electric
Vehicles,
fuel
cells, hydroelectric, tidal/wave,
geothermal, biomass/biofuels and

other clean renewable energy.
The components breakdown
of the CEPGI shows that with
188 granted patents, solar has
once again topped the remaining
components, and its closest
competitor is wind at 157. Solar
and wind were tied the previous
quarter at 143 each. This quarter,
wind was up by 14 and solar up by
45. Both technologies also greatly
exceeded the first quarter of 2011
with wind topping the previous year
by 71 and solar up 50.
Hybrid/Electric vehicle patents
numbered 62, up two relative to
the fourth quarter and up 24 as
compared to a year prior.
There were 36 Biomass/Biofuel
patents, up two from the fourth
quarter of 2011 and more than
double when compared with the
first quarter of 2011.
Five
hydroelectric
patents
were granted in the year, up four
compared to the quarter of a year
prior and down one as compared to
the fourth quarter of 2011.
Meanwhile, tidal patents were up
six at 22 from the fourth quarter and
up 13 over the year before.
Of the companies leading the
patent filings, Toyota emerged to
take the quarterly clean energy
patent crown for the first time since
2009 in the first quarter of 2011 with
49 patents. Toyotas patents were
primarily in fuel cells at 35 with an
assist from Hybrid/Electric Vehicle
patents at 14 and a Biofuel patent.
The leader for 2011, GE,
followed with 33 patents (30 in
wind, 2 solar, and 1 each in hybrid/
electric vehicles and hydroelectric.
Vestas Wind Systems moved into
third with 30 patents all in wind.
General Motors slipped to fourth
with 28 patents all in fuel cells

except four hybrid/electric vehicle
and one solar patent.
Electronics giant Samsung was
in fifth with 17 fuel cells patents and
five more in solar. One-time leader
Honda had 21 patents again all
in fuel cells except a single hybrid/
electric vehicle patent. Siemens
took the seventh spot on the
strength of 13 wind patents and a
pair of patents for fuel cells. Ford
and Mitsubishi tied with 11 patents.
Fords patents were in hybrid/
electric Vehicles (7), fuel cells (3),
and biofuels (1).
Mitsubishi picked up its patents
in wind (5), solar (5), and hybrid/
electric vehicles. Hyundai rounded
out the top ten with 10 patents of its
own (6 for hybrid/electric vehicles,
5 for fuel cells, and 1 for biofuels).
Victoria Cardona
_________

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NEWS ANALYSIS
OFFSHORE WIND
WIND COSTS HIKE THREAT

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Harness
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of the
wind
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.ON AG and RWE AG, Germanys two

biggest utilities, are using technologies that
reduce noise from driving turbines into the
seabed after nature groups complained that the
work damages the sonar-like hearing of porpoises.
Unexploded mines from World War II also are
holding up work. A porpoise is doomed to die if
its hearing is shattered, said Kim Detloff, a marine
expert at German nature conservation group
NABU. The regulator must sanction developers if
they repeatedly violate the noise limit.
The concerns show that wind developers
are beginning to face the same scrutiny as oil
companies for projects in sensitive places, a trend
likely to add costs and slim profit margins that
already are razor-thin. That adds another hurdle
to Chancellor Angela Merkels effort to build up
offshore wind as an alternative to atomic power, a
program that may cost 39 billion euros ($48 billion)
by 2020.
Developing offshore wind in Germany is already
more expensive than in other countries as projects
are situated further from the coast in deeper waters,
said Fraser Johnston, an analyst at Bloomberg
New Energy Finance. Any additional costs such
as delays to grid connections and environmental
considerations will put more pressure on already
low returns.
UNDERWATER SOUND
Ingeteam is a market leader
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By next month, German utility EWE AG plans to

complete work using a sound-reduction system
developed by the Dutch engineering company IHC
Merwede BV. Its being installed for the first time
commercially on offshore wind turbine foundations
at the 108 MW Riffgat facility in the North Sea, said
Christian Bartsch, a spokesman for EWE.
EWE is placing a double-walled, water-filled
steel casing about 11 metres in diameter around
the foundation. The system produces a screen
of air bubbles to absorb sound. Work started in
June. EWE is reducing the intensity and duration
of hammering piles into the seabed by using
vibrations to seat them in the first 30 metres,
then driving them in the final 40 metres using
traditional methods.
While developers are generally eager to install
foundations as quickly as possible, theyve
come under pressure from regulators and nature
groups to protect the porpoise, Otto von Estorff
of the Hamburg University of Technology said.
No developer wants to be seen harming the
environment. Von Estorff, who heads the universitys
modeling and computation institute, is part of a
group of scientists that will start measuring noise at
the Bard Offshore 1 construction in mid-September.
The German Environment Ministry is paying for
the project.
Stefan Nicola

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EVENT PREVIEW: SOLAR POWER INTERNATIONAL
SOLAR IN THE SUNSHINE STATE

T
hrough all of solars explosive

growth and now painful
consolidation, Solar Power
International (SPI) has been one
important gathering place for
the industry. Now in its ninth
year, the Solar Energy Industries
Association (SEIA) and Solar
Electric Power Association (SEPA)
event will play host to some 20,000
visitors representing more than
100 countries.
This years education programme
includes two general sessions and
64 concurrent sessions, workshops
and Solar Idea Swaps, covering
topics within six tracks: finance, grid
integration, in the field, markets,
policy and technology. Speakers
from the solar industry along
with thought leaders in finance,
utilities and manufacturing will
share their expertise and insights
with attendees. A select number
of these education sessions will

even flow onto the tradeshow floor
as speakers and a moderator will
convene in a new media hub called
Solar Central to Continue the
Conversation that began during
the session.
Among the industry leaders
speaking at SPI 2012 are
representatives
from
Sandia
National Laboratories, Duke Energy,
The Vote Solar Initiative, Sunrun,
Sol Systems, the American Council
on Renewable Energy, SunPower
and many, many more.
With solar power being the
fastest growing energy source,
industry executives will be looking
to utility leaders speaking at our
concurrent sessions for guidance
as they tackle such issues as
transmission
planning
and
distributed solars impact on the
grid, said SEPA president and
CEO Julia Hamm. For example,

a session on The Evolution of Net
Metering, Utility Revenues and
Rate Design will explore solutions
for bridging the gap between
expanding net metering policies
and utilities needs.
For the solar industrys growth
momentum to continue, we need
policies and strategies to reduce
obstacles and expand markets,
said Rhone Resch, SEIAs president
and CEO. Expert panelists in
our finance, grid integration
and technology tracks examine
successful strategies, including
creative financing approaches as
well as the federal regulations and
trade policies that are shaping the
industrys future.
SPI 2012 begins on Monday, 10
September with a State of the Solar
Industry update from Hamm and
Resch, followed by a CEO panel
discussing how their companies

manage
uncertainty
due
to
changing policy. Companies on the
panel are: DBL Investors, Florida
Power & Light, Hannah Solar,
NRG Solar, SMA America, and
SunPower Corp.
And
on
Wednesday,
12
September, President Bill Clinton
is expected to deliver a keynote
address on the challenges of
globalisation for the industry and
the balancing of dependence on a
variety of energy sources.
Many major solar players hold off
on announcing new deals, products
or services until SPI and this show
will be no exception. At Intersolar
North America in San Francisco
in July, many industry executives
said that they would be trotting out
something very exciting at SPI.
Jennifer Runyon
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RENEWABLE
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THE BIG QUESTION
THE BIG QUESTION
GE
IG
THE BO
N
QUESTI
SOLTECH
What is solars biggest

challenge?
It's been a year of both continued expansion and mounting
challenges for the global solar industry. REW asked solar industry
executives to share their thoughts and insights on one burning
question: What has proven to be the most difficult issue facing
the solar industry during the past year and what are some key
strategies to ensure long-term growth?
For more responses and to lend your own voice to the discussion,
visit RenewableEnergyWorld.com.
JAYESH GOYAL, GLOBAL VICE PRESIDENT OF SALES, AREVA SOLAR

We need to move beyond a
discussion of silicon prices
and expand our focus to other
factors that are increasingly
impacting the sales decisions
of utilities and other energy
customers. Due to global
economic
challenges
this
past year, some concentrated
solar power (CSP) planned
programmes were delayed.
To ensure the long-term
growth of the industry, we
must, among other factors,
continue to raise awareness of
and diversify our offerings with
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proven and dispatchable CSP

and emphasise localisation in
our supply chains.
As electric utilities add
more renewable energy to their
portfolios due to environmental
standards and sustainability
goals, they are faced with the
challenge of delivering clean
power regardless of weather
conditions or time of day.
Advancements in CSP solutions,
such as easy integration
with fossil fuels and storage
options, allow the industry
to overcome the intermittent
nature of solar and address grid

stability concerns.
We must also demonstrate
a global execution capability
while addressing the need for
localisation.
Understanding
the regulatory and market
differences of each country
and then adapting expertise for
best-in-class service delivery
is vital to creating a vibrant
international business. And,
since many CSP technologies
primarily
use
standard
commodity materials like glass
and steel, they can create local
jobs and boost local economies.

We see this in countries like
India where, for example, a
250 MW CSP project currently
under construction is becoming
a source of local jobs and
manufacturing.
Over the past decade,
the solar industrys growth
has been phenomenal, but
to ensure long-term growth,
we
need
all
technology
segments to succeed, and that
includes greater awareness
of its benefits and wider CSP
adoption globally.
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WENDY ARIENZO, CEO, ARRAYPOWER

The biggest issue facing the
solar industry is steady demand.
2012 is the year of global
uncertainties, and if there is one
thing that is bad for business,
it is uncertainty.
European
governments,
sensitive to a changing political
climate and economic austerity
measures, are responding with
reductions in and restructuring
of feed-in tariff (FiT) programmes
with a net effect of cooling
demand. Germany has modified
its FiT to focus on smaller
installations and residences.
Italy opted to continue incentives
in its Conto Energia 5, but
through an extremely complex
programme. The softening of
the European market combined
with an uncertain future for
incentives results in serious
doubt that Europe can continue
as the bastion of solar.
China presents the fastest
growing global market; however,
this is largely a China for China

market stimulated by the
government to boost outtake
for Chinese module production.
But for how long?
The US continues to suffer
from a lack of consistent energy
strategy and an ambivalent
attitude
toward
renewable
incentives. The 1603 Treasury
program failed to be extended
and, if that was not enough,
the Department of Commerce
supported tariffs on Chinese
cells both serving to quell
demand.
The US must drive consistent
actions ranging from R&D
funding to financial tools
to support the solar industry.
Reaffirming commitment to
state RPS goals and deploying
tools to streamline permitting
and financing processes will
go a long way toward driving
confidence
and
ultimately,
industry growth.
ERIC PEETERS, VICE PRESIDENT OF CLEAN

ENERGY, DOW CORNING
Though
the
preliminary
finding regarding imports of
Chinese-made solar panels
is intended to protect the US
market, the consequences of
this decision will have exactly
the opposite effect, proving
devastating for the growth and
adoption of solar technology
in the US, job growth, and our
competitive leadership in this
industry worldwide.
Both the US and China will
benefit by removing barriers
to
trade
and
promoting
collaboration and open trade
policies. Trade discussions in
fast-growth, new technology
industries like solar are best
served by government and
business
leaders
working
together to develop constructive
trade policies that foster
growth
and
cooperation
within the industry. Resolving
trade concerns through an
adversarial confrontation serves
only to impede technological
advancement and job creation,
as well as the path towards
energy independence.
While the trade issue as well
as consolidation and economic
challenges have been the
focus of the past year, the solar
industry has seen continued
innovation and steady growth.
New technologies that drive
down costs and improve
performance continue to be
introduced. Efforts towards
open trade and collaboration
will continue to foster innovation
and help make solar more
competitive with traditional
forms of energy.
ALAN KING, GENERAL MANAGER,

CANADIAN SOLAR
This year the global solar
industry 's biggest problem
is market uncertainty. A lack
of consistency in government
support
has
created
an
atmosphere
of
uncertainty
leading to project delays, price
drops, and a decline in hiring
and expansion plans.
In the US this is not new: the
absence of a strong federal
energy programme and lack of
standardisation in state-to-state
programmes are issues we have
dealt with for some time now.
What is troubling is the lack
of a federal energy policy and
the willingness to enact tariffs
that hinder trade rather than
encourage it.
Solar deployment creates
jobs, which is the single most
pressing need. The stronger
the industry becomes, the
more jobs we create. This was
clearly demonstrated in 2011
when US job growth in the solar
sector far exceeded that of most
other industries. Unfortunately,
rather than recognizing this and
supporting further growth, the
industry has been sidetracked
by unnecessary and unwise
trade action.
We should be finding
positive methods to address
and encourage global trade
rather
than
implementing
punitive tariffs. One strategy

for government support with
the potential for tremendous
impact is to increase the
current investment tax credit
for
projects
containing
US-manufactured
content.
This
activity
would
help
level the playing field for US
manufacturers without harming
the growth of the industry
as a whole. A 10% 15%
increase in the Investment
Tax Credit (ITC) could also
encourage foreign companies
to set up manufacturing in the
US, thus creating domestic
manufacturing jobs.
The industry needs to
offer
competitively
priced,
high-quality
products.
We
should work together not just
to maintain the gains we have
made over the last decade, but
also to increase the adoption of
solar as a mainstream source of
clean renewable energy.
MARK BRONEZ, PRESIDENT, HANWHA

SOLARONE USA
The solar industry struggled
for the last year with a
supply-demand imbalance and
tight credit lines, which drove
less competitive companies out
of business and will continue to
do so for the next few years. To
be competitive over the coming
year, solar companies need a
strong project finance capability,
attracting project equity and
debt at low cost.
Additionally,
PV
panel
costs have fallen sharply in the
last year, but entire balance
of system costs need to fall
accordingly to make solar
more competitive. The industry
will need to invest more in
research and development, and
solar companies need to form
strategic alliances across the
value chain to improve overall
product offerings.
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THE BIG QUESTION
MICHELLE OSTIGUY, DIRECTOR OF

PHOTOVOLTAIC & BARRIER, FLEXCON
To say that it has been a year
of continued solar expansion
can be somewhat misleading
since it depends upon what
area, both geographically and
economically, is discussed.
Some sections of the world
certainly are posting a small
but steady growth in solar
development,
but
many
others see slowed growth
and, in some cases, halted
production altogether.
While the US Department
of Commerce has made its
preliminary ruling against China
in an anti-dumping suit brought
by, among others, CASM
(Coalition for American Solar
Manufacturing), which has given
a slight uptick in marketing and
sales momentum, there are
other difficult factors facing the
industry. A major roadblock is the
severe cutback in tax incentives

both for the manufacturer and
the consumer.
The
overall
economic
malaise has caused many
government
agencies
and
municipalities to severely reduce
or, in some cases, eliminate
tax incentives that at one time
made it more attractive to
both produce and install solar
power systems and devices
commercially and residentially.
The anti-dumping suit was
a long-sought-after attempt to
level the playing field for US solar
manufacturers, and a similar suit
may not be far behind in Europe.
But until the overall economy
strengthens to the point of
increasing available investment
capital to grow the solar power
industry even more, steady to
slow growth can be expected.
GAURAV NAIKM, PRINCIPAL, GEOGENIX

One of the biggest impediments
facing the solar industry over the
past year and historically
is the publics perception of the
cost and effectiveness of solar.
The general public falsely thinks
solar is much more expensive
than it actually is and that it is
not an effective technology.
It has taken close to 15 years
for technological enhancements
to make solar competitive
with
traditional
forms
of
electricity in markets such as
Germany, Portugal and island
nations that are using diesel to
generate electricity.
As
improvements
in
technology continue to take
place and as costs continue
to come down, the technology
will only get cheaper and more
effective, which will create new
markets and new opportunities.
Solar is a real technology

when it comes to energy
generation. As time goes on, it
will become more and more of
a compelling business case for
different applications, which we
are seeing play out worldwide
right now.
However, the public needs
to recognise its true cost
and effectiveness to ensure
the widespread application
of solar. Whether its a large
public awareness campaign
coordinated by solar advocacy
groups such as the Solar Energy
Industries Association (SEIA)
or by individuals in the solar
industry from integrators to
manufacturers the general
public needs to know how solar
can serve as an affordable,
reliable
source
of
clean,
renewable power.
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THE BIG QUESTION
NANCY HARTSOCH, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT

OF MARKETING AND SALES, SOLFOCUS
CHRIS TILLEY, CEO, SUNLINK

What is the greatest challenge
facing the industry today? In a
word: stability.
In order for the industry to
reach its potential, we need to
restore stability on a number
of fronts. Volatility in module
prices, the financial viability
of key industry players, the
cost and availability of debt
and the forward value of RECs
and other key incentives have
created an uncertain and
difficult environment for project
sponsors and hindered growth.
All of these factors will
eventually stabilise and, under
nearly
every
foreseeable
outcome, the solar industry will
grow. The industrys progress
in bringing down costs has
been spectacular, and the
future is clearly bright in the
medium-to-long term. Todays
challenge is how to manage

through the near-term volatility
and shorten its duration.
The key is to hold steady
on growth. The political will
to accomplish this stability is
being tested in Europe by the
debt crisis, in the US by the
unfortunate politicisation of
solar, and in Asia by the slowing
economic growth.
Now, more than ever, the
solar industry needs to remind
political leaders of the long-term
benefits of solar in addressing
the serious problems we face:
environmental
degradation,
global warming, energy security
and sustainability. These issues
will remain long after the current
economic volatility subsides,
and a robust solar industry
will be an important part of
the solution.
The most challenging issue

in the global market today is
sustainability. With dramatic
pricing cuts and strategic
country focuses on market
dominance, the solar market
has grown rapidly. However, the
question remains whether this
is sustainable since product is
being sold at next to no profit
margin, each week companies
go out of business, and many
of the doomed companies have
received government incentives.
These factors have created
scepticism about solar as a
mainstream source of energy.
What needs to be done to make
the market sustainable?
First, we need to continue
to advance solar technology,
striving to get more and more
electricity from less equipment.
Solar companies must stay
dedicated to commercialisation
today, and advancement for the
future. Without this focus, the
industry will in the longer term
be challenged by capital and
land constraints.
Second,
the
private
financing sector for the near
term is extremely conservative.
The government can play a big
role, not via direct subsidies,
but by enabling deployment
through low-cost, available
capital. Without that, solar
manufacturers will have to
continue to be creative with
insurance products to remove
the risk for investors.
Last,
solar
companies
should look at a global footprint,
which may increase the cost
of doing business, but can
dramatically reduce risk and
market uncertainty.
Improve drives
efficiency?
Certainly.
ABB takes care of environment, thats why we focus our efforts in proposing the
best current and voltage sensors for higher solar inverters efficiency. Because
applications are more compact and sensitive to perturbations, we have enhanced
the ES and ESM ranges in term of magnetic immunity and dynamic performances.
You have a dedicated application, we have a dedicated range. www.abb.com
ABB France
Current & Voltage Sensors Departement
e-mail: sensors.sales@fr.abb.com

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POLICY &
& MARKETS:
MARKETS: AFRICA
SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
POLICY
As is still the case in many developed countries, renewables
in Africa must overcome significant financing, political and
social barriers.
ENERG WORX
CHANGING
AFRICAS
ENERGY PICTURE
KEYS TO RENEWABLE
ENERGY POTENTIAL
With the proper stimuli, renewables can and will take off in Sub-Saharan Africa. Mark Hankins, Mathias
Gustavsson and Federico Hinrichs argue that, while the appetite and resources are clearly there, a multipronged strategic approach that engages a wide base is needed to unlock Africas renewable energy future.
ike a blind man, when talking about renewables, each Africa

pundit describes the beast in terms of individual perceptions,
needs and inclinations, and often in ways that put the overall
issue completely out of perspective. For example, academics tell
us about ample solar, wind, hydro and biomass resources that,
properly harnessed, could change the energy picture in Africa.
Environmentalists talk about deforestation, unsustainable use of
charcoal in cities and the risks associated with biofuel production.
Social entrepreneurs speak of replacing kerosene with pico-solar
systems. Carbon traders highlight opportunities for wind parks on
growing power grids. Community activists want programmes to
widen energy access with hydro, solar, wind and co-generation
electricity. Climate changers talk mitigation and adaptation
strategies and politicians make sweeping statements about new
investment programmes.
Though the pundits are eachright in their particular prescriptions,
in the noise of the discussions we end up blind to the big picture.
Yes, given the proper stimuli, renewables can and will take off in
Sub-Saharan Africa. Appetite and resources are clearly there.
Unfortunately, renewables are not making fast enough progress
in Africa. Electricity sectors still rely primarily on petroleum, coal and
large hydro. Rural areas have poor electricity access and remain
overly reliant on biomass sourced from dwindling forests. Policies
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are murky, technical capacity is low and, where there is cash,

finance terms are absurd. While power companies in Africa are
starved for electricity and struggling to supply growing demand, in
most countries renewables are not filling the gap fast enough and
renewable energy companies are frustrated.
As is still the case in many developed countries, renewables
in Africa must overcome significant financial, political and social
barriers. Primary among these are a low level of understanding
among all stakeholders, inertia and lack of lack of transparency
from governments and lack of investment finance across the
board. Despite hundreds of small projects by committed groups,
overall policy and industry infrastructure remains incomplete in
most countries.
When talking of renewables, there are two key story lines: firstly,
use of renewables to build power infrastructure and secondly,
use of renewables to increase access to modern energy services.
Renewable sector growth depends on both of these. In fact,
development of renewable energy infrastructure and increased
access are intertwined and cannot be seen in isolation. Renewable
energy infrastructure usually predicates the use of renewables to
increase access and attempted use of renewables to increase rural
energy access without investment in renewable energy infrastructure
has, in many places, lead to much lower impacts.
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POLICY & MARKETS: SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
Development of renewable energy infrastructure relates to

the overall ability of the country to systemically assess and
make use of renewable energies in different sectors of
its economy including on-grid electricity, off-grid electricity,
household and commercial thermal, transport and industry.
Renewable energy infrastructure includes an overall policy
environment that foments sustainable investment, capacity
building and mobilisation of the private sector.
Increase of access to modern energy services focuses on
the use of renewables to increase general access to high
quality energy by greater portions of rural and urban communities
with included categorisation of household, commercial,
institutional and small-scale industry use. The overarching
goal of 100% energy access requires that renewables play a
central role especially off-grid solar, hydro and wind.
Attention to the biomass sector is part of this as, in the
foreseeable future, wood and charcoal will continue to be
major cooking fuels, and can only be renewable if forests are
sustainably managed.
The prerequisite components of renewable energy growth

described below need to be coordinated into long-term multisectoral strategies. Like pieces of a puzzle, the components must
be carefully fit together and staged sometimes sequentially and
sometimes as parallel activities. Each country will have a different
plan drawing upon elements of these components.
UNDERSTANDING THE SITUATION AND HOW WE GOT HERE
Knowing where we are, and how we got here, provides us with
enough perspective to plan for a renewable future. Today, Africa
trails the developed world and most of southeast Asia in renewable
developments. This has much to do with government policy, donor
decisions made 20 years ago and a lack of attention by renewable
companies themselves to Africa. It also has to do with a lack of civil
societys attention to the issue.
First, energy sectors in many countries are focused on surviving
todays power crises. Even though it may be easy to show on paper
that an investment in wind or solar PV is lower cost in the long term,
African energy sectors must solve problems that require immediate
solutions with limited investment capacity. It is easy to see why diesel
gen-sets have gained such a huge share of peak power supply
all over the continent they are cheap, flexible, manageable and
immediately available. Few governments have the long-term budget
(or vision) to invest in renewable solutions even if they are lower cost.
Secondly, donor-led investments in off-grid renewables are
part of the market development problem. Post-Rio 1992, the
Global Environment Facility (GEF) and donors largely targeted
renewables in Africa for off-grid rural energy access programmes,
believing that off-grid investments would be best for stimulating a
scale-up of renewable energy in Africa. However, while Africa was
looking off-grid, much of the rest of the world (Germany, California,
Japan and lately China) were building up policies to support
grid-connected renewable markets. Thus while global
renewable players focused on rapidly growing grid-connected
developed-country markets, Africa focused on building off-grid
renewable programmes that often foundered because they were

isolated, small-scale and unattractive to international players. For
example, while global solar PV installations went from 95% off-grid
to 95% on-grid between 1995 and 2011, Africa spent most of its
PV planning resources on expensive off-grid programs and almost
nothing on plans for on-grid PV.
Thirdly, unlike much of the rest of the world, African energy
sectors are haunted by centralised coal, petroleum and large hydro.
Although there is quite a bit of lip service paid to renewables, actual
investments by African power sectors in biomass, solar, wind, and
small hydro have been much less than investments in non-renewable
solutions over the past two years. Petroleum is big money in Africa
and renewables have not been able to stimulate appetites of leaders
in the same way that oil has. Coal and petroleum players are old
hands in Africa, but renewable companies are only beginning to
learn how to operate on the continent.
Once we know where we are, we can continue the hard work of
making renewables a central part of every energy discussion and
every Ministry programme.
GETTING RENEWABLES INTO THE MAINSTREAM
Renewables must be mainstreamed in Africa. For this to occur,
they need to move away from the periphery and be seen, and
supported, as integral, indispensible components of every countrys
energy sector. As well, there is a need to coordinate plans to build
renewable infrastructure, increase access and address traditional
biomass sectors. It is all about the message.
Mobilising a critical mass of understanding needs to occur
at all levels: in civil society, in the private sector, among financial
institutions, as well as among the political class. Demand for
renewables by civil society will be a main part of the pull that gets
Ministers of Energy to take renewables more seriously. For this to
occur, renewables need a well-targeted and properly articulated
continent-wide publicity campaign which informs and educates the
policymakers, financiers and general populace about the critical
difference support for renewables can make in increasing access
to modern energy while mitigating the effects of climate change.
Current pessimistic views fuelled by misinformation can only be
changed by focused public education.
Key elements of the message should include:
Today, renewables are both on and off- grid solutions.
Renewables need to move on-grid to help build grid security
and to decentralise power sources. At a time when over 95% of
wind and solar PV demand is on-grid, Africa must quickly take
this on board and see the opportunities that renewables can offer
to weak, over-stressed grids.
Renewable energy technologies are increasingly price
competitive.
All sectors and income groups can participate.
Renewables are important components of any programme that
seeks to build energy access
Sustainable biomass fuels (and their efficient use) are critical
to universal access, the environment and to the transition to a
long-term
renewable
future.
Production
and
use
of bioenergy will affect the environment and the ecosystem
services.
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Private sector interests must be the main players in the execution

TOUGHSTUFF
of renewable energy programmes.
GET THE POLICY ENVIRONMENT RIGHT

Governments must give renewables the same policy attention as fossil
fuels, large hydro and coal. Africa needs to actively seek investment
by creating attractive investment and business environments.
Suffice to say that there are ample international experiences that
can be utilised in Africa to stimulate renewable sectors, and a number
of pan-African successes as well. In general, policy environments
must be built on twinned approaches:
Strong, stable and long-term central support;
Well-developed renewable energy strategies for rural and urban
energy access, using rural energy agencies where possible.
Electricity and petroleum sectors in Africa have a notorious
lack of transparency, leading many international supporters and
investors to simply ignore governance when working with countries
to develop strategies for renewable development (and worse yet,
unscrupulous investors and governments take advantage of shady
political environments.) Instead of turning a blind eye to real issues,
donors and investors must tackle the central policy and governance
problems as part of their assistance packages.
Once the general public understands the central role that
renewables can play in a strong energy sector and demands
the requisite investment government will provide it. While leaning
heavily on public demand, investors, multilaterals and donors should
help to create conducive policy environments by betting on winners.
Countries that have the best policy and roll-out strategies should
win the lions share of global financial and capacity building support.
Other countries will follow, just as they did with telecom.
BUILD CAPACITY
Developing the real potentials of renewable technologies the
operational conditions linked to infrastructure, financing and
integration in power systems requires skills and know-how. This
is not limited to Sub-Saharan Africa. Experiences in places like
Germany and California show that the development of renewable
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sectors requires continuous support for decades. Twenty years of

strong support building the technical, social and economic capacity
foundations will bring about changes.
In Africa, knowledge of renewables and their role in development
of the energy system will have to trickle out to all sections in society.
In the past, rural access-oriented approaches to renewables
over-extended fragile sectors, leaving them unable to replicate
small success. Because many programs built hydro mini-grids and
solar markets in remote hard-to-reach locations, the private sector
was unable to replicate these projects when donor or government
funds ran out.
New renewable development programs must utilise the capacity
of city-based companies and invite them to help tackle growing
urban demand for power with decentralised renewable solutions.
Capacity building programmes need to realise that all over the world,
jobs follow the money, and in Africa urbanisation is an important
engine of development. Successful urban companies who have
helped build renewable power grids in urban areas will take solar
and hydro solutions to rural areas.
Support must avoid being counterproductive. In the case of
solar industries in Africa examples are found where support with
good intentions has harmed an already existing market. Thus, there
will be a need for types of capacity building that are multi-sectorial
and practically oriented.
Paper-based support, nice-sounding political rhetoric,
workshops and trade visits must increasingly be replaced with
real nuts-and-bolts support to the groups that implement the
projects. In short, the urgent capacity development work must
be hands-on it must take place as financed solutions are being
put in place.
MOBILISE THE PRIVATE SECTOR
Of course, local, regional and international private sector interests
must be the main players in execution of renewable energy
programmes, and they play a key role in each of the preceding
stages. There are a wide range of opportunities for the private sector
that remain unexploited. Business can be developed for the sales
and operation of urban solar water heaters, decentralised renewable
energy mini-grids, locally produced biofuels or even for scaling up
sustainable charcoal and biomass supplies. New types of ventures
and innovative business models are much needed to create a
competitive sustainable energy sector.
Indeed, investment in new types of renewables has the potential
to open up new productive areas and expand investment frontiers
in African economies and to change how cash flows and wealth is
created within the country. New viable livelihoods will be created in
the process.
Key to business development is how strong productive
partnerships can be created between African country-based
companies and international players and investors. As new
businesses are started up, it is important that perspective be kept
and that attention is paid to how benefits are shared. Bioenergy
production in Africa has received a lot of attention both as a route
to decrease oil dependency as well as a threat to biodiversity and
local livelihoods. As another example, cheap solar products from
the far east have flooded markets and driven local companies out of
business. As is the case in all economically important sectors, there
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are many important discussions that need to be had about building

local sectors and skills and keeping prices at an affordable level.
As was the case with the telecom sector 10 years ago, much of
this will be dependent policy changes that enable the private sector
to participate in decentralized and deregulated power sectors. It
goes without saying that Governments must be willing to commit
the necessary resources that will be required for mid-sized projects
such as rural mini-grids or grid-connect solar, the price supports for
biofuels or the regulation needed for sustainable charcoal to open up
the next generation of renewable industries.
A major factor affecting financing access

is the capacity of local banking institutions
to assess projects. Without properly
appraising technology, banks cannot
shoulder financial risks.
INJECT FINANCE INTO THE SECTOR
Access to capital at the appropriate terms and costs is a significant
obstacle for the scale-up of renewables. In fact, the financing is,
in many ways, available. It is more correct to say that financiers
are having trouble connecting with demand. Even if the policy
environment and feed-in tariffs were right (and they have a ways to
go in most African countries), deals would not magically occur.
A major factor affecting financing access is the capacity of local
banking institutions to assess projects. Without properly appraising
technology, banks cannot shoulder financial risks. International
and development finance institutions have up to now been the
major sources for renewable energy project finance in Africa. These
however tend to favour large-scale projects as opposed to the many
smaller, decentralised or off-grid projects that local companies have
the capacity to implement.
Best practices to more effectively leverage funds can be found in
Africa, and will be improved upon with:
the establishment of technical assistance programmes for
banks to assess the risks in renewable energy projects;
successful loan products in which local bank funds are
complemented by development finance funds to share risks,
for example the International Finance Corporation (IFC);
the Agence Franaise de Dveloppement (AFD) model of
appraising and approving projects before sending them to
local banks in East Africa.
There are already a range of carbon-based financing mechanisms
such as the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and other
voluntary schemes. These can provide important support to scaling
access to renewable energy. But they need to more effectively
target Africa.
We have not seen enough scaling-up of renewable projects at
least not on the order of the telecom and ICT sectors, and not on
the order that needs to occur to make a difference among African
communities. Successful projects or experiences are often orphaned
or stranded once funding has ended or they become donor-driven
cottage industries (improved stoves, solar lanterns). The sheer
number of small-scale pilot projects in the renewable energy sector
is, perhaps, simply a feel-good alternative which wallpapers over the
fact that real scale has not been achieved.
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Scaling will occur when the demand is created, and where the
policy, finance and private sector capacity are in place. In Africa,
we are told that people are not concerned about green energy, and
that the cost of making the transition to decentralised sustainable
power is too high. However, the same officials that speak of power
in terms of cents per kWh ignore the costs consumers must bear
by sitting through brown-outs or investing in generator and back-up
alternatives. Given the choice, a large portion of Africas growing
business and middle class will invest in renewables.
LINK WITH BEST INTERNATIONAL PRACTICE
As wind, PV and other sources increasingly dominate new
electricity and energy investments in Europe and the US,
Africa risks being left behind. In fact, Africa has been isolated
when it comes to international best practice in medium- and
large-scale renewable projects. Despite the strong appetite for
energy and new projects, pulling together diverse teams for frontier
renewable projects is expensive, complicated and risky.
International cooperation is vital for the industry. Best practices
in medium- and large-scale renewable projects are much needed
in Africa and can be drawn from the international community. Thus
the need to support experienced companies and expertise that
can provide the needed glue which can bind together projects.
Multilateral and bilateral donors have been supporting such
projects and are beginning to show positive results. But much more
can be done.
Regional and South-South cooperation can be encouraged
to share infrastructure (interconnection), form sustainable
energy partnerships and learn from successful business models
implemented in similar environments.
That renewables have made a good start in Africa is undeniable.
Nevertheless, the bitter truth is that the full transition to renewables
in the continent is a long way off. In many African countries,
governments are out of step with an international community that
has fully embraced renewables. Moreover, leaders have not realised
that plentiful renewables can help drive forward energy access, can
help build economies and, with investment, will enable Africa to
participate in the ongoing green energy revolution.
Risk-averse power sector executives and Ministers will not
lead the charge for renewables in Africa. As happened in many
developed countries, demand for renewables will be driven first by
an educated civil society. Progressive government policy follows the
demands of an educated public and investment and private sector
development follow attractive policy environments. It is therefore
necessary that a multipronged strategic approach that engages
a wide base be adopted by proponents of Africas renewable
energy future.
Mark Hankins is CEO and Federico Hinrichs is project manager
and consultant at African Solar Designs, Nairobi, Kenya.
Mathias Gustavsson is a researcher in climate and sustainable
cities at the Swedish Environmental Research Institute.
This article is available on-line. To comment on it or forward it to
a colleague, visit: www.RenewableEnergyWorld.com
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_________________
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HCPV: MARKET DEVELOPMENT
Semprius, based in North Carolina, is pushing aggressively

to further boost its cell efficiency before it moves to scale up
production.
SEMPRIUS
CAN HCPV
COMPETE?
PITTING CELL EFFICIENCY
AGAINST COST
Super-efficient cells make high-concentrating PV a potential star, but the sectors ultimate fate will be decided
by its ability to compete on cost with polysilicon panels. Steve Leone explores prospects for competitiveness.
ay PV to even the most astute of solar observers, and the

conversation will most likely turn to the low-cost polysilicon
panels that have come to largely define the industry. Their production
is at scale, their technology is well vetted and their installed costs
continue to decline.
Low-cost silicon PV has caused difficulties for other solar
technologies working to gain a share of the solar market, especially
at utility scale. First Solar has an impressive pipeline of projects, but
most others in the thin-film sector are struggling to take that leap to
scale. Concentrating solar power has even seen some of its biggest
projects switch over to polysilicon panels, apparently because the
deal for panels was just too good to pass up.
Which brings us to high-concentrating photovoltaics (HCPV),
the most nascent of the technologies, but also the one that could
potentially lead PV to new markets. As the HCPV industry makes its
slow march out of the labs and into the fields, sceptics argue that the
technology amounts to little more than an interesting, if commercially
non-viable, dead end.
Many see the mountain to get to scale as too steep to climb, the
technology too dependent on precision and the traditional PV ship
with too large a lead. Theyll also point to the deciding factor when
choosing your technology. In a world dominated by cost, HCPV lags
far behind fixed systems mounted with Chinese panels, where costs
are inching ever closer to 75 cents/W.
And that wariness about the future of HCPV gained some
legitimacy when industry leader Amonix announced in late July
2012 that it was closing its 150 MW manufacturing facility in North
Las Vegas in part because it just couldnt compete with PV prices.
Nonetheless, many observers saw the struggles in a wider context;
there are plenty of others ready to take the leadership reigns without
committing the same tactical errors.
In an HCPV report released before the plant closure, analyst Ed
Cahill of Lux Research warned of the troubles surrounding Amonix,
a company that he said had scaled up too fast and too soon
essentially before the right markets developed. Thats a continuing
challenge for an industry whose technology is ideal in only certain
environments.
HCPV thrives in areas with high direct normal irradiance
(DNI), a measurement of high-intensity direct sunlight. In fact,
its cells remain more efficient than the competition in these
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The SolFocus systems concentrate sunlight 650 times onto high

efficiency III-V solar cells.
SOLFOCUS
typically hot environments. Youll find high DNI in places like

the Middle East, India, parts of China, Australia, Chile, Mexico and
the southwestern US. Those markets with the exception of the
US have lagged behind in solar installations. Those same markets
see large-scale solar built for their climates as essential to increasing
their domestic energy supply.
Getting there wont be easy for HCPV, which was conceptualised
in the 1980s but only recently achieved its first true utility-scale
development. The technology is still relatively unknown outside
the solar industry. Even those who question whether it can survive
appreciate the high-tech approach required in using optics to
concentrate sunlight, usually between 500 and 1000 times, onto

ultra-efficient multi-junction cells about a square centimetre in area.
For a company like Semprius, which is just now opening up
its production line, cells about 600 microns thick cover just
1/1000th of the modules surface area. As with concentrating PV
(CPV) which typically uses concentrations of 20100 suns, far less
cell material is required. But the system-wide cost is much higher
because concentration requires relatively sophisticated optics, dual
axis tracking devices which enable the module to precisely follow the
suns path and software that can monitor a systems performance in
real time.
Every gain in efficiency and precision comes with a cost, but
HCPV advocates argue that cost can mean a lower energy price tag
in the end. For instance, Semprius has secondary optics mounted
above each cell. Those optics come at a cost, but they further focus
the sunlight precisely onto each cell, making it more efficient.
Greater efficiency means that projects use less land, which
saves on things like permitting, construction, wiring, maintenance
and the number of trackers needed for a development. Semprius
looks at each of its decisions, from the materials it uses on the cells
themselves to the type of encapsulant in tests.
We have to look at everything as a cost tradeoff, said Russ
Kanjorski of Semprius. If someone comes out with an anti-reflective
coating thats applicable to our cells but it costs more than its worth,
were not going to do it. It all goes back to the LCOE (levelised cost
of energy). We have to look at all the impacts, from trackers to
transmission. Were looking at it system level.
GAINING ON THE COMPETITION
Even those regions with high DNI arent likely to fully invest in HCPV
unless the technology proves that it can compete with traditional PV
panels. In a bid to address this, the industry is moving aggressively
to position itself once its ready to scale.
In the meantime, HCPV is expected to move ahead at a methodical
pace, proving its technology and building investor confidence. HCPV
currently has a global installed capacity of about 88 MW including
the recently completed 30 MW Alamosa development that features
Amonix technology. That number is expected to grow to nearly
700 MW of installed capacity by 2017, still small in relative terms, but
it could represent a much larger share of the market by then.
If the technology can achieve those competitive costs, Lux
Research predicts a US$1.6 billion market for HCPV systems by
2017. According to Lux, within about five years HCPVs downward
cost trajectory fueled by ever-growing cell efficiency and the
benefits of increased scale will allow it to catch up with fixed and
tracked multi-crystalline panels.
According to Cahill, HCPV system costs are currently about
$3/W installed, and that is expected to fall to about $2.33/W
by 2017. By 2018, the technology will have a levelised cost of
electricity about equal to fixed and tracked multi-crystalline silicon
systems. At that point, HCPV could move beyond the niche and into
the mainstream. But a lot needs to go right between now and then.
Besides the early ramp-up that ultimately plagued Amonix,
financing is also proving to be a challenge. Financing large projects
is already difficult, and the number of players is relatively small.
Those companies looking to move into solar will usually gravitate
toward traditional PV, which is considered lower-risk.
_____________

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Let the sun shine on

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HPCV lags Chinese panels in costs but could find a place in areas with high direct normal
irradiance (DNI).
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Some companies are making headway

in financing their projects, and the success
of those developments could prove vital.
California-based SolFocus secured financing
for its 50 MW project in Mexico, a country
with high DNI, a growing need for energy
and an essentially non-existent solar market.
The deal could eventually expand to as much
as 450 MW. This project could open up that
country to more solar, and especially more
HCPV developments. With Amonix out of
the manufacturing picture at least for the
time being it could present opportunities
for Soitec, for example, which is building a
manufacturing facility in San Diego that would
be well positioned to serve both Mexico and
the southwestern US.
In China, backing through the central
government means that HCPV manufacturing
could be set to scale up rapidly, especially if
HCPV is to take up a portion of its ambitious
target of 21 GW of installed solar capacity by
2015. Many industry analysts are confident
that the nation will achieve that level of
growth, though it is certainly moving rapidly
in domestic capacity.
For US and European-based companies,
their expansion and their ability to do business
in new markets will likely be defined by the
types of partnerships they can put together.
Aside from Soitec, other emerging HCPV
players are aligning themselves with large
global energy giants with wide distribution
networks. Semprius has a strong investor
in Siemens, and Greenvolts, another small
but respected company, is aligning itself
with ABB.
The future of HCPV solar projects is in
the multi-MW scale, but to get financing by
third parties, smaller companies that dont
have the history or the ability to finance

from balance sheets are looking to more
established firms to provide that strategic
support, David Gundmandson, president of
Greenvolts, told REW during a video interview.
Kanjorski of Semprius sees the
partnership model as a reflection of the
changing times.
We dont have to do it all by ourselves,
which is mandatory especially in this
solar shakeout world were living in, said
Kanjorski. Five years ago, capital was almost
free. Thats an exaggeration, but there was
a massive amount of capital going in [to
new technologies], billions and billions of
dollars. Companies would say, Lets do a
$200 million round on our way to viability.
Thats not the approach were taking here,
nor can any new company do it that way.
COST GAINS
The bread and butter of HCPV is in its cell
and module efficiency, and many in the
industry see that as an area that could drive
down costs system wide.
More than 30 layers can be found in some
lattice-matched multi-junction solar cells. The
materials, such as gallium and indium, and the
processes used to create these cells can make
them up to 1000 times more expensive than
those typically used in the flat-plate market.
But because HCPV cells take up such a small
part of the surface area, the push to greater
efficiencies is seen as the best place to focus
innovation. Cell maker Solar Junction claims a
record-breaking 43.5% efficiency on its
cell, though most in the industry top out at
around 40%.
Cahill sees a path to the HCPV industry
reaching about 45% within five years and

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The bread and butter of HCPV is in its cell

and module efficiency, and many in the
industry see that as an area that could
drive down costs system-wide.
to pay twice for the electricity to have that, but if you have a
cost-effective solution, youll have people who want it for different
reasons.
Steve Leone is associate editor of ________________
RenewableEnergyWorld.
___
com.
50% efficiency within 10 years. Semprius, meanwhile, says it could

conceivably get to about 37%38% module efficiency over the next e-mail: rew@pennwell.com
couple of years.
With silicon, theres not much more headroom on a single This article is available on-line. To comment on it or forward it to
junction silicon cell, said Kanjorski on the efficiency comparison with a colleague, visit: www.RenewableEnergyWorld.com
HCPV. There may be some areas where the
polycrystalline guys can move up slightly. But
theyre focused more on scale. [With HCPV],
there are options and headroom to push it up,

not just a fraction of a percent, but three, four,
five percent.
In an example of projected cost reduction
provided by Lux Research, a module increase
from 30% to 32% would drive down total
installed costs from $2.95 per watt to $2.79 per
watt a $0.16 cent decrease, providing that
SOLGLIDE is a full line of bearing
component costs remain the same.
solutions, engineered and tailor-made
Beyond the cell, many of the materials used
to meet the unique demands of solar
in HCPV lenses, glass, aluminium and steel
tracking systems.
have little projection for cost gains. And these
heavy materials weigh down HCPV systems,
As the worlds leading supplier of
making them expensive to ship and more
many types of automotive bearings,
difficult to set up on-site.
The other driving force beyond efficiency
Saint-Gobain draws on decades of
is scale one of the major factors that have
experience to create SOLGLIDE bearings.
driven down the cost of traditional PV panels.
Balance of systems typically accounts for

35% of a systems cost, compared to 32% for
free and 100% weather-resistant
the module. According to Lux, once scale is
achieved, increased buying power and greater

access to suppliers is expected to further drive
compliant with environmental
down BOS costs from $1.05 per watt in 2012 to
legislation and heavy metal free
$0.76 per watt in 2017.
On-site assembly improvements and greater

efficiencies found with larger projects will also
low friction performance
modestly reduce construction costs, and further
reductions in capital costs are expected as more

large-scale projects secure investor confidence.
tested at our facilities
This downward cost trajectory also doesnt

account for one of HCPVs chief advantages over
our global production, distribution
fixed and single-axis tracked PV. The spacing
and technical support network
required of HCPV allows the site to be used
!
for purposes beyond energy generation. Since
solglide@saint-gobain.com
the pedestal trackers typically used with HCPV
www.saint-gobain-solar-power.com
dont create permanent shading, they allow for
land to be used for agricultural purposes.
With HCPV, you can start to look at the
secondary benefits, said Kanjorski. You
dont have to flatten the whole area, but
instead you put up relatively small posts. Its
a lighter touch. I dont think people are going
SOLGLIDE LONG-LIFE BEARINGS

SUPERIOR PERFORMANCE IN
SOLAR TRACKING ASSEMBLIES

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WIND: CHINA
Local partnerships are a key element to the success of Chinese
wind projects in markets such as the US.
GOLDWIND
CHINAS LOCAL
GLOBAL STRATEGY
WIND FIRMS FOCUS ON
OVERSEAS PARTNERSHIPS
Chinas wind firms are adopting strategies of co-opetition and globalisation
through localisation to build their export success, writes Elisa Wood.
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WIND: CHINA
n their bid for market share, Chinese wind energy companies are
pressing rapidly into the Americas, Europe, Africa and Australia
with a strategy that incorporates two seemingly disparate credos:
Buy from China and Buy local.
Major Chinese manufacturers and developers are setting up
branch offices and subsidiaries throughout the world, then hiring local
talent, purchasing equipment from local vendors, and partnering with
companies that are savvy about the local marketplace. Goldwind,
one of Chinas largest wind manufacturers, calls the approach
globalisation through localisation.
Co-opetition brings jobs and economic

activity to the host nation, and diffuses
political concerns that the Chinese will use
their market clout to dislodge local players.
The majority of our projects in the United States consist of
more US content than foreign content, said Tim Rosenzweig, CEO
of Goldwind USA, the American subsidiary of the China-based
Goldwind Group. Specifically, our projects in Minnesota and Illinois
were built with over 60% American content by cost. This figure
includes blade and tower manufacturing in North Dakota, Texas,
Wisconsin and Minnesota as well as engineering, procurement,
transportation, construction, O&M and a variety of ancillary work
including legal and accounting services.
Rosenzweig, himself, represents part of the localisation strategy.
Hired by Goldwind in 2010, Rosenzweig was already known in
the US market for his work at First Wind, a Massachusetts-based
wind development company, which he helped expand from five to
150 employees. Joining him at Goldwind USA were others who
previously worked at First Wind, as well as Gamesa USA, Enel
North America, Texas Wind Power, Plug Power and other American
energy companies.
The same year that Goldwind hired Rosenzweig, it also
completed its first US demonstration project in fact its first overseas
megawatt level project a 4.5 MW installation at Uilk Wind Farm in
Pipestone, Minnesota. Less than three years later, Goldwind now
trumpets projects on six continents, with 14 deals struck between
June 2010 and January 2012 in the US alone. The company has
wind farms built or underway in Minnesota, Illinois, Massachusetts,
New York, Rhode Island, Ohio, Iowa and Montana. Among them is
the 109.5 MW Shady Oaks in Lee County, Illinois, a strong example
of the companys globalisation through localisation strategy. The
wind farm was developed through a local partnership deals with the
Timken Company, an Ohio bearings manufacturer; LM Power, a
North Dakota blades manufacturer; and Broadwind Towers, which
fabricates towers from facilities in Texas and Wisconsin.
In addition, Goldwind accepted an invitation from Chicago to
locate its US headquarters in the city, part of Chicagos effort to
build its standing as a hub for international corporate headquarters.
Aware of the Chinese localisation strategy, World Business Chicago,
a non-profit economic development organisation, began courting
Goldwind in 2009, travelling to China to meet with the company. The
organisation sold Goldwind on the citys proximity to the US wind
energy corridor, and access to industry talent and suppliers. More
than a dozen other wind energy companies have corporate offices
in the city. Two years later, Goldwind joined them.

Goldwind has a philosophy about bringing in Western expertise.
They were not going to come in with an all Chinese staff. They wanted
to draw from North America, and they did, said Tom Bartkoski,
World Business Chicagos director of international business.
A STRATEGY OF CO-OPETITION
Brendan Andrews, vice president of sales and Marketing at IOXUS, a
New York-based manufacturer that sells its ultracapacitors globally,
including into the Chinese wind market, says that such co-opetition
is widespread among Chinese wind energy companies as they move
quickly into international markets.
They are setting up manufacturing facilities, sales offices,
engineering support locally, in the most viable regions. Not only that,
they have started to partner with US and European OEMs. So youve
got what I call co-opetition; they are competitors in the market, but
they have joined forces to benefit each other, he said.
Co-opetition brings jobs and economic activity to the host nation,
and diffuses political concerns that the Chinese will use their market
clout to dislodge local players. This is a particular worry in the US
now, given that it is an election year and Chinas economic growth
is serving as political fodder to highlight US manufacturing decline.
In our short time in the Americas, our presence has created or
retained over 500 US jobs in a variety of industries and at a variety
of levels including engineering, manufacturing, transportation,
construction, professional services, and project operation, said
Goldwinds Rosenzweig.
Meanwhile, the Chinese enterprise gains local partners that can
help it navigate the unfamiliar legal and regulatory complexities of
foreign governments, a particular problem for those entering the US
market with its myriad of rules and government agencies. Americas
fluctuating energy policy is especially difficult for the Chinese who
are used to a five-year plan, a 10-year plan, obviously no changes
in government or administration, so tremendous consistency in
government policy, said Charles Dewhurst, who frequently works
with Chinese companies as head of the Natural Resources Industry
practice at law firm BDO USA.
To develop a power project is quite a challenge for someone
coming into the US from any country. There are federal regulations,
state regulations, county regulations and permits that you have to
acquire, added Kerin Cantwell, who is a partner in the global project
finance group at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. And when it
comes to financing, the banks have their requirements and may
want to change aspects of how a deal is structured. So that will
pose a challenge too.
In fact, project financing may be the biggest hurdle for Chinese
wind companies in the US, according to Cantwell. The problem?
Chinese wind turbine manufacturers, new and unfamiliar to the US
investors, must demonstrate that their technology is bankable.
The loans are secured by the project assets, which includes
both the hard assets and intangible project rights. When banks take
a look at projects, they are looking at all the project assets, including
the wind turbine technology. For wind turbines to be bankable, they
have to have a track record of performance, Cantwell said.
In some cases, Chinese companies will build small, self-financed
demonstration projects to prove their technology is bankable. But
this can take time since some North American engineering firms
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WIND: CHINA
advise banks to require demonstration of at least 100 turbine years

of experience (100 installed turbines operating for a year at 95%
availability). So buying turbines from a proven manufacturer, or
partnering with a developer that is already established locally, offers
a quicker route to project financing.
OVERCOMING STEREOTYPES
As Chinese wind companies enter new markets they sometimes
are still dogged by the image that their product is inferior compared
with turbines and components manufactured by North American or
European companies. BDOs Dewhurst says these concerns are little
more than a lingering stereotype from 20 years ago when it maybe
had some validity. Nevertheless, partnering with local companies
helps defuse any worry customers may have.
Thats not the only stereotype Chinese companies face. Another
is that that they are entering the market for a quick profit or to
pilfer resources for Chinas own use. But again Dewhurst says the
stereotype is misapplied. He argues that in fact these companies
behave in the opposite fashion. He sees Chinese wind companies
as serious investors and partners in new markets.
China topped the world last year for

domestic wind power, adding 18 GW and
bringing its total capacity to over 62 GW.
The stereotype is that Chinese investors are extremely
aggressive; they will come in, buy up a power source in country A
and basically divert the power from meeting that countrys domestic
needs by exploiting it in some way. My experience is quite the
opposite. Chinese companies take a very long-term conservative
view. They will retain existing experienced management in the
country for a good number of years to learn the intricacies of the
particular market, Dewhurst said.
IMPETUS FOR EXPANSION
China topped the world last year for new domestic wind power,
adding 18 GW and bringing its total wind capacity to over 62 GW, the
highest in the world, according to the Global Wind Energy Council
(GWEC). Thats just the start. China expects to have as much as
200 GW of wind capacity by 2030.
In response to all of this growth, wind manufacturers expanded
capacity to accommodate the growing sector, so not surprisingly in
2011 four appeared on the list of top ten manufacturers worldwide:
Sinovel, Goldwind, United Power and Ming Yang.
In some ways, they have become a victim of their own success,
said Dewhurst. Their huge production has led to a very depressed
pricing structure globally for both [solar and wind turbines]. As a
result, they are looking to tie up the market in other countries as part
of a long-term strategy.
Furthermore, the Chinese government is intentionally slowing
growth, imposing stricter approval standards on wind projects,
because the country has been unable to expand transmission
quickly enough to accommodate the new wind farms.
Chinese wind companies were putting turbines in the field
at a very high rate, at a higher rate than could be attached to the
grid. So at present there is a great deal of turbines in the field that
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arent even attached to the grid. So this is obviously an issue, said

IOXUSs Andrews.
LOCAL DEALS INCREASE
With the slowdown at home and a desire to be worldwide player
in clean tech evidence is mounting that Chinas wind industry is
striking a growing number of deals and partnerships in the Americas,
Europe, Australia, Africa and India:
Longyuan Canada Renewables, a subsidiary of China Long

Yuan Power Generation, Chinas largest wind power developer,
is building the 100 MW Dufferin Wind Farm in Ontario, and
has contracted with GE for 49 wind turbines. Dufferin is
Longyuans first project outside of China, according to Wu
Hao, president of Long Yuan Canada. The project is expected
to begin commercial operations in 2014. In addition, Longyuan
plans to develop projects in the US, Europe and Latin America
under a joint agreement with Spanish wind turbine manufacturer
Gamesa. Announced in April 2011, the agreement marks the
first between Chinese and Spanish companies in the wind
energy industry.
Ming Yang Wind Power Industry Group formed an alliance in July

2012 with a unit of the Reliance Group, which operates Indias
largest private sector power company, to co-develop a large
portfolio of clean energy projects in India and south Asia. A
few months earlier, the wind turbine manufacturer established
its first North American research centre at North Carolina
State University in Raleigh. The facility is focusing
on offshore wind turbine technology. Ming Yang has also opened
an operations office in Dallas, Texas. In addition, the company
is supplying turbines for two Bulgarian wind farms with total
capacity of 125 MW in a partnership with W. Power EOOD.
Goldwind not only has 14 projects underway in the US, but

also in several other countries. In Australia, it is building
the 182.5 MW Gullen Range Wind Farm. Goldwind sold its first
Australian wind project, the 19.5 MW Mortons Lane Wind Farm,
to China Guangdong Nuclear Wind Energy Company in June
2012. In Ethiopia, the Chinese company provided turbines for
the 51 MW Adama wind farm. The company also has secured
deals in Chile, Ecuador, Pakistan and other locations.
Sinovel Wind also has announced several foreign deals. It is

supplying turbines for a 34.5 MW project for Desenvix in Brazil;
for Irish wind farms totalling 1000 MW, as well as for projects in
Greece and Turkey.
Chinese companies also are among the many pushing into Latin
America, one of todays most active wind development markets.
One of the largest projects, the 1350 MW Generadora Eolica
Argentina del Sur project in Argentina, will receive a US$3 billion loan
from China Development Bank Corp and be built with Chinese wind
turbines by Beijing Construction Engineering Group.
South American economies are seeing growth in recent years,
and with economic growth comes increased demand for power.
With this new demand comes an ideal opportunity to integrate
sources of renewable power generation, Rosenzweig said. Many
countries in South America are capitalising on that opportunity, and
Goldwind has already experienced success there with three projects
in Chile and Ecuador. We are well-positioned for continued growth
throughout the region.
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Make wind pay without

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See how ABB is helping OEMs to make wind pay, please visit us at
abb.com/windpower.
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WIND: CHINA
Goldwind has joined more than a dozen other wind energy

companies in setting up a corporate office in Chicago, close
to the US wind energy corridor.
GRAVITYWAVE
THE LONG VIEW

Meanwhile, Goldwind and other Chinese wind developers and
manufacturers continue to build their presence in the US despite
uncertainty in that market. The US primary wind power incentive,
the federal Production Tax Credit, is set to expire at the end of 2012.
While industry observers expect Congress to extend the credit,
it is unclear when this will happen and what form the new credit
may take, as it becomes embroiled in election-year politics. The
uncertainty may slow what has otherwise been a robust market for
wind energy in the US.
Were hitting a crunch period in the third and fourth quarters,
where orders for turbines for 2013 should have been placed, or
need to be placed now, said Elizabeth Salerno, director of industry
data & analysis for the American Wind Energy Association. We are
starting to see layoffs for sure; people are beginning the process of
diversifying into other markets.
But the temporary slowdown does not appear to be deterring
Chinese companies from the US market, which has been adding
wind power at a 33% growth rate annually over the last five years.
And while the market may stumble now, the countrys voracious
appetite for electricity, and push for green energy, signals a promising
wind power market for several years to come.
Our needs are very significant in the US. We have more
light bulbs per capita in the US than does the rest of the world,
said Roger Rosendahl, a partner in DLA Pipers Corporate and
Finance practice.
So the Chinese appear willing to wait it out.
I think they are concerned about these short-term depressions
in the global markets, but they do take a very long-term approach,
added BDOs Dewhurst. They are painting a very broad brush
approach to energy, and they are determined to meet domestic
energy needs for internal political and commercial stability. But
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they are also on a mission to position China as a global leader.

They see that wind, in particular, has very good medium term
growth potential.
Those partnering with the Chinese on their own turf are also
taking the long view. The deals help the Chinese companies expand
into the Americas, Europe, Africa and Australia, but also help the
partners and vendors make inroads into Chinas enormous domestic
wind market, which represented 43% of the global market in 2011,
according to GWEC.
Andrews noted that China is the biggest market in the world
for ultracapacitors, but also that his company, IOXUS, has seen a
slowdown in orders in 2011. We were not seeing the reorders at
the same rate we did even a year ago.
But like other companies that serve the domestic Chinese
market, IOXUS expects the lull to be temporary. Andrews predicts
a correction in six to 12 months. Business will be back on and the
US-based company will be ready to fill the orders.
So China is increasingly selling into other countries, and
international wind companies are selling into China. These coopetition partnerships may soon shift our perceptions of foreign and
domestically made wind power. Buying local may mean buying from
a Chinese company. And the wind component with a Made in China
sticker may have a North American or European manufacturers
name behind it.
Elisa Wood is a US correspondent for Renewable Energy World
magazine.
This article is available on-line. To comment on it or forward it
to a colleague, please visit: www.RenewableEnergyWorld.com
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E50001-E310-F155-V1-7600
Power plants look a little

different these days.
Siemens wind turbines are proven to deliver reliable performance
on solid ground.
www.siemens.com/wind
As a global innovator, Siemens is constantly pushing the

limits in onshore wind power. And today the generating
capacity of onshore wind power plants can be on par with
conventional power plants.
At the same time, onshore wind solutions from Siemens

provide excellent investment protection: they are widely
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and durability.
Answers for energy.

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CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION

IMPACT EXHIBITION & CONVENTION CENTRE,
BANGKOK, THAILAND
3 5 OCTOBER 2012
CO-LOCATED WITH:
Anniver sar y
TOWARDS A CLEAN ENERGY FUTURE

Renewable Energy World Asia has grown year-on-year to
become a leading exhibition and conference, in South East
Asia, for the renewable and alternative energy industry.
Event Highlights:

Attracting 7,000 delegates and attendees from over 60 countries from across
!! "#
South East Asia and around the world, co-located Renewable Energy World $

Asia and POWER-GEN Asia is the annual meeting place for senior executive
and industry leaders.
Exhibition Opening Hours
The conference has become the major annual platform for the industry to discuss
"&#'"(&
topics and issues of the day and is regularly contributed to with keynote speeches, in %#
its joint keynote session, from Government Ministers and Governors of the regions )*
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utility companies.
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The exhibition offers a unique opportunity to discover the latest developments
and innovations in large scale renewable and alternative energy products and
services available on the market.
Joint Opening Keynote Session Wednesday 3rd October 9am
- Arak Chonlatanon, Minister of Energy, Thailand
- Sutat Patmasiriwat, Governor, Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand
- Kenji Uenishi, President, GE Energy, Asia Pacific, Singapore
Scan Renewable
Energy World Asia
QR code with your
smart phone:
Topics discussed at the conference include:

Renewable Energy Strategy
Renewables Technology
Hydropower
For full conference programme and to register online visit

www.renewableenergyworld-asia.com
OWNED AND PRODUCED BY:
PRESENTED BY:
WWW.RENEWABLEENERGYWORLD-ASIA.COM
____________________________________
SUPPORTING ORGANISATIONS:
Department of Alternative
Energy Development and Efficiency

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SOLAR THERMAL: COOLING
COOL IS THE
NEW COOL
SOLAR COOLING ON THE RISE
The number and size of solar cooling installations is expected to continue to increase as
demand for air-conditioning and cost of electricity rise. Addressing this growing demand
with solar cogeneration that both displaces and produces electricity can be an optimal and
cost-effective solution, find Andrea Gains-Germain and Mani Thothadri.
olar cooling while the concept sounds contradictory actually

represents a perfect correlation between solar supply and
cooling demand. When the sun is shining and temperatures are
rising, thats when we need cooling the most. Yet, despite this natural
connection, solar cooling is still a relatively nascent market, with just
under 1000 installations worldwide, according to the International
Energy Agency in 2011.
Excessive air conditioning use is one of the most common
causes of strain on the grid, leading to rolling blackouts from southern
California to New Delhi. Displacing cooling powered by electricity, or
other traditional energy sources such as natural gas and propane,
solar thermal cooling reduces customers utility bills and greenhouse
gas emissions, while serving as a hedge against grid constraints.
The largest solar cooling installation in 2011 was a cosmetic
factory in Greece with two 100 tonne adsorption chillers. Today, the
largest system is more than double this size. A 425 tonne installation
at the United World College in Singapore uses 3900 m2 of solar
collectors to provide heating and cooling for the campus.
Demand for air conditioning is expected to more than double
worldwide by 2050, driven by a growing population and rising income
levels in the developing world. And with energy and infrastructure
resources limited, the market for solar cooling is bound to heat up.
SOLAR COGENERATION
Solar cogeneration technology combines photovoltaic (PV) and solar
thermal technologies into a single system, producing electricity,
heating and cooling solutions. Traditional PV panels absorb only a
small fraction of the suns energy, typically 15%. Solar cogeneration,
however, increases the overall systems efficiency to 75%. The ability
of solar cogeneration to produce high temperatures and electricity
in a single system provides a flexible platform for solar cooling with
the highest efficiency.
SOLAR COOLING SITE INTEGRATION
While solar cogeneration can integrate with both thermal chillers and
desiccant coolers, adsorption and single-effect absorption chillers
are ideal for simple and safe integration with solar and existing
chilled water systems.
Almost all solar cooling installations out there today are
absorption chillers which were the first thermal chillers commercially
available and have been the standard install choice ever since. In
typical site integrations, a thermal chiller sized to meet a fraction of
customer cooling demand ties into the existing chilled water system,
displacing traditional electrically driven cooling. Sizing for a fraction
of the load (instead of the full load) allows the chilled water produced
by solar to flow through the pipes and air-handling units on-site
without upgrades or modification.
Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas) is the first
commercial entity to deploy solar cogeneration cooling. Partnering
with Cogenra Solar, the utility installed a 20-module solar
cogeneration system on the roof of its Energy Resource Center (ERC)
outside Los Angeles in May 2012. Instead of using electricity to run
mechanical chillers, solar cogeneration provides power to one of the
ERCs absorption chillers and supports the buildings air conditioning
system. The 50.2 kW installation produces electricity and heat to
drive a 10 tonne single-effect absorption chiller. A high efficiency
boiler is connected in parallel with the system for use when the sun
is not shining.
INCENTIVES
In addition to financial benefits from energy savings, local and
international governments are offering substantial incentives for solar
cooling systems. For example, in the US both Tucson Electric Power
(TEP) and Arizona Public Service Company (APS) in Phoenix, Arizona
offer incentives specifically for solar cooling. APS offers an up-front
incentive up to $75,000, and both APS and TEP offer 10, 15, and 20
year production-based incentives with the 20 year production based
incentive of $0.080/kWh of heat produced for cooling.
Traditional air conditioning typically accounts for more than half
of a buildings electrical usage, and cooling consumed 13% of total
world buildings energy use in 2009. The number and size of solar
cooling installations is expected to continue to increase as demand
grows for air conditioning and the cost of electricity rises. Addressing
this growing demand with efficient solar cogeneration that both
displaces and produces electricity could be an optimal solution.
Andrea Gains-Germain is a product manager, and Mani
Thothadri is a senior director in charge of product management
and marketing, at Cogenra Solar.
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GERMAN RENEWABLES: MUNICIPAL POWER
GERMANYS
RENEWABLE
POWERHOUSE
CITY UTILITIES SPEARHEAD

SWITCH TO RENEWABLES
Facing the tough challenge of switching to renewables amid a nuclear
phase-out, Germany is looking to its stadtwerke or municipal authorities
to lead the transformation, reports Robin Yapp.
n 2009 the city of Munich set itself two ambitious targets for
electricity from renewable sources. The first was to produce enough
green electricity through its municipal utility company Stadtwerke
Mnchen (SWM or Munich City Utilities) to meet 100% of household
demand by 2015. The second was to generate enough electricity
from renewables to meet all the electricity requirements of the entire
municipality of Munich by 2025.
Three years later SWM is on course to meet both targets and is
looking to achieve the first a year early.
This would make the capitol of Bavaria the first city in the world
with more than one million inhabitants (the population is around
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1.4 million) to free itself from reliance on fossil fuels no small

feat for an economic powerhouse that is home to a host of major
companies from Siemens to BMW and where energy requirements
currently stand at around 7.5 TWh per year.
While Munichs plans are exceptional even by German
standards, SWM is a flag-bearer for the wider movement towards
recommunalised and decentralised energy, which places local
utilities at the centre of Germanys plans to consign electricity
generated from nuclear and fossil fuel sources to history.
Nuclear power accounted for 22% of electricity in Germany in
2010 but following the March 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan,
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A municipal geothermal drilling project at Sauerlach in Munich.

SWM
Germanys troubled relationship with the technology finally reached

an impasse. Under renewed opposition, Chancellor Angela Merkel
decided to close her countrys eight oldest reactors immediately.
The remaining nine nuclear plants will be phased out by 2022,
meaning the need to install new renewable capacity is urgent.
In 2011 one-fifth of Germanys electricity supply came from
renewables, largely due to solar panels, wind turbines on agricultural
land and biogas plants fed by local farms.
The governments policy of Energiewende energy
transformation aims to cut overall energy consumption by 50%
and electricity consumption by 25% by 2050.
By the same year Germany wants to meet 80% of its electricity

demand and 60% of its total energy demand from renewables.
An earlier target is for 35% of electricity to come from renewables
by 2020.
According to Germanys Ministry for the Environment the country
is on track to achieve this, with production of solar and wind power
40% greater in the first three months of this year than in the same
period of 2011.
There was further welcome news with the announcement
that solar power produced around 10% of Germanys electricity
in May due to a boom in installations and good weather. At one
point during the month, Germanys solar plants were producing
a world record 22 GW of electricity and meeting nearly 50% of
national needs, according to the Institute of the Renewable Energy
Industry think-tank.
MUNICIPAL UTILITIES RENEWABLE PLANS
The German Association of Local Utilities (VKU) represents more
than 1400 stadtwerke, including around 800 involved in energy
supply and generation, which are increasingly turning to renewables.
They include more than 60 new municipal utilities involved in
energy which have been established since 2007, including those in
major cities such as Hamburg and Stuttgart. Furthermore, the sale
of at least 19 existing municipal utilities has been averted following
public opposition.
Municipal and regional utilities already control more than 50% of
the electricity and natural gas consumer markets by sales, according
to VKU. The proportion of Germanys total electricity generated by
local utilities is only around 10% a figure the VKU wants to double
to 20% by 2020.
Already, the municipal utilities represented by VKU have more
than 3 GW of capacity under construction or in the process of
approval. More than a quarter of the projects being built (27%) and
more than half of those awaiting approval (54%) involve renewables
compared to just 8% of those already run by utilities.
Many Germans feel a close attachment to their local stadtwerke,
which provide jobs for young people and can finance loss-making
services such as swimming pools and public transport.
The popularity of the model recently led to a citizens
co-operative in Berlin expressing an official interest in buying the
citys electricity network, currently under concession to Vattenfall
Europe until 2014.
But the success of stadtwerke cannot be put down solely
to public preference. A Datamonitor study also found that they
were well run and post above-average profit margins and energy
volume returns.
SWM is applying hard-nosed business principles to a major
renewable energies expansion programme, encompassing onshore
and offshore wind, water, solar, biomass and geothermal projects,
designed to lift it towards its targets.
According to Dr Florian Bieberbach, CFO and designated CEO
of SWM, the most important of the utilitys criteria is simply that the
projects must be profitable to generate revenue which can be used
to fund further investments in renewables.
But SWM has also actively sought a diverse portfolio of interests
and works only with proven companies.
or
currently
under
Projects
already
implemented
development will take SWMs production capacity for green
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PV panels on the roof of a municipality-run district heating plant.

SWM
electricity up to approximately 2.4 TWh enough to supply all

800,000 households in Munich plus the electric underground and
tram systems.
But the greater challenge will be to fully meet the areas industrial
power needs, including large-scale engineering, manufacturing and
computing bases.
SWM anticipates its total investments by 2025 will hit 9 billion.
The expansion campaign already includes 17 plants in Munich
being acquired, developed or modernised (12 hydropower plants,
a share in a hydropower plant, two biomass plants, a geothermal
cogeneration plant and a wind plant).
At an early stage, an analysis by the ko-Institut e.V. revealed
that the required volume of 1.5 TWh per year could not be achieved
solely through local renewable resources.
As a result SWM has also invested in projects elsewhere in
Germany (two solar photovoltaic plants, two onshore wind parks
and two offshore wind parks) and in other parts of Europe. The
latter include the Andasol III parabolic trough solar thermal plant in
Andalusia, southern Spain.
In terms of wind, Global Tech I, one of the largest offshore parks
in the North Sea, is expected to produce 1.4 TWh of electricity per
year from 2013. SWM has a 25% stake.
And the Gwynt y Mr wind farm being built off the coast of North
Wales by SWM (which has a 30% stake) in partnership with RWE
and Siemens is scheduled for completion in 2014, after which it will
output 576 MW, generating 1.95 TWh of electricity per year.
These projects epitomise the international vision Dr Bieberbach
views as essential to creating a future in which renewables could
meet all Europes energy needs with cross-border flows of power to
relieve surpluses and facilitate imports as required.
Only in very few places, parts of Iceland or rural parts of Bavaria,
would it be possible to reach 100% purely on local resources. In big
cities that does not work, he said.
Wind energy will be a major focus of SWMs campaign
following a recent agreement with wpd europe, an affiliate of
developer wpd, the market leader in Germanys wind sector.
The partnership, which gave SWM a 33% stake in the venture,
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has more than 4200 MW of capacity in the pipeline with plans

to construct onshore wind farms in 12 European countries and
Canada. On its own it will take SWMs generation potential to
3.6 TWh by 2020.
While the coming years promise a remarkably rapid swing to
renewables for the utility, it should be noted that SWM already
produces around 70% of the citys electricity in energy-efficient
combined heat and power (CHP) plants.
This compares to an average share of electricity from CHP of
around 12% in Germany. Nationally, Germanys CHP Act aims to
increase the share of CHP in the energy mix from 15% to 25%
by 2020.
Munich is already looking beyond its own upcoming targets and
the next step will be to attempt to run the district heating system
solely on renewable energy by 2040 50% via geothermal energy
and 50% via biogas.
SWM has identified around 15 sites where it can exploit
geothermal energy by drilling 3 km into the earths crust, with the
first due to come online in 2013.
Dr Bieberbach said 100% of Munichs district heating demands
from spring until autumn could be met through geothermal energy
by 2030, with continued reliance on conventional power plants in
colder months until they can be replaced by biogas.
The city gave an early demonstration of its geothermal potential
in 2004 with the construction of a 9 MW facility that supplies more
than 50% of heat demand at the Riem exhibition centre.
CONSORTIA AND JOINT FUNDING
While SWM carries global clout, many smaller stadtwerke have
historically had little or no chance of competing against Germanys
big four energy companies E.On, RWE, Vattenfall Europe
and EnBW.
But in recent years many have formed consortia to fund projects
jointly, reduce operating costs, share administrative services and
achieve better purchasing prices in energy trading.
It is a very useful instrument for gaining access to the market,
said Dr Jrgen Weigt of VKU. Offshore wind energy, for example,
has been pursued by consortia because the investment required is
too high for a single utility.
One such project is the Trianel wind farm to be constructed in
the North Sea about 45 km to the north of the island of Borkum and
due to begin commercial operations early in 2013.
Trianel Windkraftwerk Borkum was formed by a group of
municipal utilities and the project will feature 80 Areva Wind
M5000 5 MW turbines.
Stadtwerke Konsortium Rhein-Ruhr, a group of seven
municipal utilities in North Rhine-Westphalia, is another of the
consortia to have flexed its muscles with impressive effect.
In December 2010 it saw off four other bidders to take a
51% stake in Steag, which operates 11 power stations and more
than 200 distributed facilities with an installed capacity of 7700 MW
in Germany, in a 650 million deal.
The consortium aims to increase the share of renewables in
Steags energy base to 25% and diversify its generating facilities at
subsidiaries in India, Brazil, Turkey, Switzerland and the US. This
is in addition to a recent 200 million investment in a Romanian
wind farm.
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In 2009 a municipal consortium of 45 utilities paid E.On

2.9 billion for Thuga, a holding company with stakes in nearly 100
local energy utilities, partly in order to promote grid sharing as well
as joint investments.
Unfortunately, while such consortia have succeeded in
helping the generation of renewables to move ahead, the issue of
transmission has not been prioritised in the same way.
Some blame Germanys federal system for an absence of central
leadership on the issue and it is certainly now causing headaches
in Berlin.
According to Germanys four grid operators, the country must
spend 20 billion over 10 years upgrading its transmission network
to cope with the nuclear phase-out and increased reliance on
intermittent renewables. They have called for 3900 km of new power
lines 2100 km of long-distance direct current lines and 1800 km of
standard alternating current lines. The figures are in addition to 1400
km of alternating current lines already planned or under construction.
Operators have asked for quick approval. But strong opposition
from local groups and environmentalists to new power lines needed
for transmission from offshore and onshore wind parks planned in
the north to highly industrialised areas in the south indicates that
progress could be slower than they hope for.
Then there is the even more perplexing challenge of electricity
storage. Germany is investing around 200 million per year into
research and development targeted at finding ways to store
electricity generated by renewables.
One concept that could contribute to solving issues with
intermittency is the virtual power plant.
In April 2012 SWM and Siemens jointly launched such a plant
in which small-scale, distributed energy sources are pooled and
operated as if they were all part of a single installation.
Cogeneration plants with 8 MW of installed capacity were
integrated along with 12 MW of renewable energy plants (five
hydropower plants and a wind farm) using a Distributed Energy
Management System (DEMS) created by Siemens.
The DEMS software pools data such as weather forecasts,
electricity price fluctuations and demand patterns to produce a
deployment schedule for all the integrated plants, ensuring a smooth
demand-matched supply of electricity and minimising generating
and operating costs.
Siemens has also set up a second 20 MW virtual power plant for
RWE with the capacity scheduled to expand to 200 MW by 2015.
Another innovative scheme called E-DeMa involves rolling out
smart grid technology through the municipal utility company in the
northwestern city of Krefeld.
The idea is to give consumers real-time information on their use
of electricity, gas and water and fluctuations in price.
So-called smart gateways were installed in 200 households
in the Krefeld region in March for a pilot project that will continue
until the end of 2012. Technology is being used to wirelessly collect
usage data from residential meters, and then display real-time data
on tablet computers or smart phones.
Stadtwerke Krefeld (SWK) partnered with companies including
Siemens and RWE for the project, which will reveal the extent
to which consumers are willing to change their habits to reflect
real-time pricing. Experts believe one of the consequences of the
Energiewende may be a need to incentivise some customers to alter
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The interior of a German biogas plant run by a municipal

authority.
MWM
their electricity consumption patterns so that demand can more

precisely match supply.
Indeed, apart from transmission and storage, the price
for the consumer is likely to pose the biggest challenge to
Energiewendes success.
According to the European Commission, the gross price of
electricity in Germany for households is 24.4 cents per kWh. In no
other European country does the figure top 20 cents.
Some 61% of Germans are willing to pay higher power bills if
the extra cost helps to increase the share of renewable energy in the
market, according to a recent VKU survey.
But with experts predicting prices could rise significantly next
year, Germany is debating how high they can go before this level of
tolerance is eroded.
There is natural sympathy for renewable energy in Germany and
we have to be careful to make sure that this acceptance remains,
said Weigt.
While substantial challenges remain for Germany to meet its
ambitious renewable energy goals, it is clear that the stadtwerke
provide a solid platform for pushing towards those targets.
The large utility companies have for a very long time not
supported the change in energy policy and the move towards
renewables, said Dr Bieberbach.
The municipalities in Germany have shown that they can do
more than what is expected of small, decentralised bodies. The
pressure on the municipalities to invest in renewables is also much
greater than on a stockmarket-quoted international corporation.
When all these municipalities were formed around 100 years
ago nobody thought about that. Its just good luck that we have
such a structure.
Germanys stroke of historic good fortune seems certain to play
a crucial role in the countrys path towards justifying its burgeoning
status as the worlds first renewable energy economy.
Robin Yapp is a freelance journalist focusing on the energy
sector.
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e
th 2
at 01
u 2
yo EC
e VS
Se P
EU
_____________________________________________
___________________________________________

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THE DEAL
Lower Rates for Customers LLC, which sells

electricity at a lower rate than utility Georgia
Power, is in a standoff with the utility over thirdparty financing.
DR SIDNEY SMITH
TheDEAL
TWO PROJECTS
ILLUSTRATE
CHANGES IN
GEORGIAS
SOLAR MARKET
A 30 MW development on family land is the
brainchild of a Nashville music executive while a small
company is looking to break open the market for
third-party financing.
By Steve Leone
s far as the solar market is concerned, these days the US state

of Georgia looks like a throwback to an earlier era when even
the smallest installations created precedence, and where significant
projects were shaped more by committed individuals than by
established corporations.
On a former cotton farm in Social Circle, a rural town outside
Atlanta, a 30 MW project is showing how the state is slowly laying
the groundwork for its biggest utility-scale developments yet.
THE GEORGIA MARKET
The lack of a state mandate and traditionally low electricity prices
have made Georgia a difficult market to crack for solar developers.
According to the Georgia Solar Energy Association (GSEA), the state
has only about 18 MW installed.
Mostly residential rooftop installations, it also includes more
than 5 MW through Georgia Powers Green Energy program, which
connects customers who want to pay a premium for clean power
with those who agree to put it on their own roof. Georgia Power will
then pay about US$0.17/kWh for that electricity, a rate about three
times higher than the utility pays for other sources of power.
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THE DEAL
The programme, though, is pretty well maxed out, said

company spokesperson Lynn Wallace, unless more customers
sign up to buy blocks of clean power. Until that happens, no new
rooftop installations will be added into the programme. Right now,
only about 4000 of the states 2.4 million customers have agreed to
put solar on their roof.
Even with plummeting PV prices, solar remains far more
expensive than the states dominant sources coal, nuclear and
natural gas. Coal, which makes up about 62% of the states
16,587 MW of installed capacity, is facing an uncertain fate as
new federal regulations threaten to shut down many of the older
plants across the nation. The state is already making provisions for
a transition to natural gas, which with oil represents about 13% of
the states current capacity. Theres also a strong future for nuclear,
which currently accounts for 23%, and the state plans to add more.
With a state legislature reluctant to adopt a

renewables mandate and a dominant utility
cautious on pricing, its been up to individuals
to push the market into new directions.
From Georgia Powers prospective, the states new energy
needs are pretty well met, and they dont see a significant role for
solar unless factors change. But the utility, which covers all but four
of the states 159 counties, is adamant that it will continue to look
to add solar to its mix, but only as long as it doesnt drive up costs
for its customers.
With a state legislature reticent to adopt a renewable energy
mandate and a dominant utility taking a cautious approach
on pricing, its been up to individuals to push the market into
new directions.
THE BIG
Steve Ivey is turning his farmland in Social Circle developed
to grow cotton in the 1930s by his grandparents into the
states largest solar development. Unwilling to dump money into
high-intensity farming, Ivey considered what his family plot did have
flat, open land and a substation put in by Georgia Power in 1972.
That meshed perfectly with Georgias solid solar resource.
So in 2010, Ivey started putting together his vision to use the
land for the 30 MW Simon Solar Farm, which is expected to be
the states first large-scale solar development. By February of
the next year he was ready to pitch the concept to the Georgia
Public Service Commission (PSC), Georgia Power, the Walton
County Commissioners, and Governor Nathan Deal. Georgia
PSC issued a recommendation that Georgia Power look for ways
to add more solar to its portfolio. The utility, which covers most
of the state, sought bids for projects that would total 50 MW of
utility-scale generation. Ivey submitted his project, and it was
selected in September 2011.
In the end, Georgia Power agreed to long-term power
purchase agreements (PPAs) with two developers: Ivey and Solar
Design & Development (Solar D&D). Terms were not disclosed for
either PPA. Iveys project, which started out at 20 MW utilising
single-axis trackers, was bumped to 30 MW of fixed-plate PV, a
reflection on the plummeting price of panels. Solar D&D, meanwhile,
is developing 19 MW of solar capacity in a series of projects across
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the state. The company also recently flipped the switch on a 1 MW

project in Upton County that will officially be included in the states
Green Energy programme.
Simon Solar Farm is working with Phoenix Solar, which will
design, build and operate the development. The project was able to
qualify some of its expenses under the 1603 Treasury grant, though
the tax credit benefits proved just as lucrative. The development has
yet to purchase the panels that will be used, mostly because the
unsettled market and steep drop in pricing is turning the process
into a waiting game.
Right now, Simon Solar Farm is finalising its interconnections
study in conjunction with Georgia Power and the Georgia
Transportation Commission. Once building begins, it should take
about six to nine months to complete. Based on Georgia Powers
projections, the solar resources arent needed until 2015, so the
contracts are structured to begin purchasing the power by June of
that year. Beyond that, the utility doesnt have plans to buy solar
power from any major projects.
...AND THE SMALL
Dr Sidney Smith says he was the first customer to sign up to
Georgia Powers Green Energy programme with a 4 kW installation
at his home in Tybee Island about 12 years ago. Five years later, he
says he became the programmes first large rooftop customer with
a 30 kW installation.
But his landmark installation completed early this year powers
about 10% of a popular caf in Savannah. The system is small,
but its implications could be huge. Smith helped start Lower Rates
for Customers, LLC, the company that installed the system on the
cafs private property. Smiths company then agreed to sell the
caf electricity at 1% below the average cost to Georgia Power
ratepayers. This has put the companies in a standoff.
In Georgia third-party financing is not allowed, mostly because
Georgia Power says it violates the states Territorial Act, making
it technically illegal. However, utility critics say the legislation was
written in a different time, and that Georgia Powers reliance on the
law is merely a prudent way for it to ensure its long-term profits.
Wallace says it is unfair for third-party companies to build
a power generation system on private land and sell it to that
landowner because the installation will eventually use infrastructure
paid for by the utilities ratepayers. But Smith contends the systems
hes planning to build will serve only on-site needs.
The goal, according to Smith, is to find solutions that give
customers energy independence. Part of that effort has been to stir
Georgia Power into filing a lawsuit that would put this issue in the
hands of the court. In fact, the name of the company was crafted so
that an eventual lawsuit would read Georgia Power v. Lower Rates
for Customers. So far Georgia Power hasnt filed any suits, and
legislators have not been able to push a bill to the governors desk.
Steve Leone is Associate Editor of RenewableEnergyWorld.
________________
___
com.
This article is available on-line. To comment on it or forward it
to a colleague, visit: www.RenewableEnergyWorld.com
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POLICY & MARKETS: EMISSIONS TRADING
EMISSIONS TRADING
AND RENEWABLES
DOUBTS OVER HIGH COSTS

AND EFFECTIVENESS
Emissions trading is growing in popularity across the globe, but doubts about its high costs
and ultimate effectiveness at promoting renewable energy have hampered its adoption. The key
question is whether emissions trading schemes as exemplified by the EU ETS can be made
to work successfully. Richard Baillie looks at the issues.
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Do emissions trading schemes do too little to support the
growth of renewables?
R. COTMAN
ore than 30 countries around the world are now using

emissions trading as the primary vehicle to drive carbon
pollution reduction. But while emissions trading schemes are
growing in popularity, they are also coming in for heavy criticism
over their cost, lack of effectiveness and because they do too little
to support the growth of renewables. The key question is whether
emissions trading schemes can be made to work successfully, or
will they eventually be supplanted by alternative schemes aimed at
reducing carbon emissions and boosting renewables growth?
By far the largest scheme currently in place is the EU Emissions

Trading System (EU ETS). This is the Europe-wide cap-and-trade
scheme, which started in 2005 and it is one of the key policies
introduced by the EU to help meet its greenhouse gas emissions
target of 8% below 1990 levels under the Kyoto Protocol. The EU
ETS covers electricity generation and the main energy-intensive
industries power stations, refineries and offshore, iron and steel,
cement and lime, paper, food and drink, glass, ceramics, engineering
and the manufacture of vehicles.
MAKING THE EU ETS WORK
Under the terms of the EU ETS, each Member State was obliged to
develop a National Allocation Plan (NAP), which was then approved
by the European Commission. This sets an overall cap on the total
emissions allowed from all the installations covered by the system.
This is then converted into allowances (one allowance equals one
tonne of CO2), which are then distributed by Member States to
installations covered by the system.
At the end of each year, installations are required to surrender
allowances to account for their actual emissions, using all or part
of their allocation. Installations can emit more than their allocation
by buying allowances from the market. Similarly, an installation
that emits less than its allocation can sell its surplus allowances.
In any case, the overall environmental outcome remains the
same because the amount of allowances allocated is fixed and
reduces year-on-year.
The EU 2020 Climate and Energy Package saw substantial
changes made to the EU ETS after Phases I (2005-2007) and
II (2008-2012) were criticised for not going far enough to tackle
climate change. Consequently, Phase III, which starts in 2013, has
been significantly revised to make it more ambitious.
During Phases I and II, allowances for emissions have typically
been given free to firms, which has resulted in electricity getting
windfall profits. Moreover, a number of design flaws have limited
the effectiveness of scheme. In the initial 2005-2007 period,
emission caps were not tight enough to drive a significant reduction
in emissions and the total allocation of allowances turned out to
exceed actual emissions. This drove the carbon price down to
zero in 2007. This oversupply was caused because the allocation
of allowances by the EU was based on emissions data from the
European Environmental Agency in Copenhagen, which uses a
horizontal activity-based emissions definition similar to the UNs.
The EU ETS Transaction log in Brussels, however, uses a vertical
installation-based emissions measurement system. This caused an
oversupply of 200 million tonnes (equivalent to 10% of the market) in
the EU ETS in the first phase and collapsing prices.
Phase II saw some tightening, but crucially, the use of Kyoto
flexible mechanism certificates as compliance tools was allowed.
The Linking Directive allows operators to use a certain amount
of Kyoto certificates from flexible mechanism projects in order to
cover their emissions. These include Joint Implementation projects
(JI) and the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). JI projects
produce Emission Reduction Units (ERUs). One ERU represents the
successful emissions reduction equivalent to one tonne of carbon
dioxide equivalent (tCO2e). The CDM produces Certified Emission
Reductions (CERs) with one CER representing the successful
emissions reduction equivalent to one tCO2e.
Clearly, some tightening was needed, and so for Phase III
(20132020) the European Commission has proposed a number of
changes, including the setting an overall EU cap, with allowances
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then allocated to EU members; tighter limits on the use of offsets;

unlimited banking of allowances between Phases II and III; and a
move from allowances to auctioning.
As a result of these changes, Phase III of the EU ETS is expected
to deliver two-thirds of the EUs unilateral 20% emissions reduction
target by 2020 on 1990 levels. This means that by 2020, the EU
ETS will be saving 500 MtCO2e per year, making it the biggest
single policy instrument for addressing climate change in the EU.
These emissions reductions will increase further if the EU moves to
a 30% GHG emission reduction target, although this looks unlikely
given the currently poor economic conditions in Europe, and despite
strong support from some EU states, particularly Germany.
But despite high hopes for Phase III and all the tweaking that
has taken place since 2005, the markets are less convinced that
the scheme can ever be truly effective. The EU ETS has come in
for particularly strong criticism from the Swiss bank UBS, which
claims the EU ETS has cost the continents consumers 210 billion
for almost zero impact on cutting carbon emissions, and has also
warned that the EUs carbon pricing market is on the verge of a
crash in 2012.
In a report to clients, UBS Investment Research said that had
the 210 billion been used in a targeted approach to replace the
EUs dirtiest power plants, emissions could have been reduced
by 43% instead of almost zero impact on the back of emissions
trading. Describing the EUs ETS as having limited benefits and
embarrassing consequences, the report said there was fading
political support for the scheme, the price was too low to have
any significant environmental impact, and it had provided windfall
profits to market participants, paid for by electricity customers.
UBS forecast the EU carbon price would average 5 per tonne for
20122013 with a floor of 3, attributing the slump to a large surplus
of permits. We see few buyers of the surplus until after a crash,
the report claims. It argued the surplus could continue until 2025,
when the ETS would work as it was supposed to.
There is some evidence to back up such claims. Recent data
from the European Commission shows that there is a growing
oversupply of carbon units, thanks to a record use of international
carbon credits at a time of stagnant economic growth and flagging
industrial output. Indeed, European carbon prices have lost around
60% of their value over the 12 months due to market worries about
the growing supply glut and weak demand. The benchmark carbon
price hit a low of 5.99 per tonne in April 2012.
The European Commission is nonetheless keen to accentuate
the positives. ETS emissions decreased by more than 2% in 2011,
despite an expanding (economic) recovery. This good result shows
that the ETS is delivering cost-effective emissions reductions, the
Commission said. It also emphasises why the ETS remains the
engine to drive low carbon growth in Europe.
The emissions data suggests the bloc is on track to achieve
its 2020 climate target to cut emissions 20% below 1990 levels.
But this is unlikely to mollify criticism of the scheme. Critics say
that it is badly designed, and that new technologies are excluded
because of their small size and scale, which is bad for entrepreneurs
and inventors. Moreover, critics say the EU ETS is too focused on
regulating installations, while many believe that corporations and the
demand for highly GHG emitting products should be the target of
the regulators.
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Also, the ETS applies to the electricity sector, but not to the
heating or transport sectors, which make up part of the current
20% renewables target (and transport has its own target of
10% renewables). Many observers argue that these two sectors are
getting inadequate attention from policymakers. According to Xavier
Noyon, secretary general of the European Solar Thermal Industry
Federation (ESTIF), this is a mistake. If its about leading discussions
on exchange of best practice and preparing guidance on support
schemes, why not do the same for heating and cooling?, Noyon
asks. There is an equally powerful argument for coordination at
the EU level to avoid national boom/bust subsidy cycles, he says.
Heating represents nearly half of EU final energy consumption, but
unlike transport it does not have its own dedicated legislation or
indeed Commission department. Noyon would like to see an EU
heating and cooling action plan that synthesises its roles in achieving
greater energy efficiency and deploying renewables. The case of
heating and transport illustrates that the future of renewables does
not only depend on a potential renewables target and the ETS.
Not only that, but the trading aspects of the scheme remain
fundamentally flawed. The market is unbalanced because buyers,
mostly utilities, are far bigger and more concentrated than the
many sellers, the project developers and industrials. This causes
such a big negotiating power for the buyers that prices are pushed
excessively low. For every buyer there are 10 sellers, even though the
total quantity to be bought and sold can be the same. For example,
a single utility may have to buy 100 tonnes, and has 20 sellers of five
tonnes each to choose from. If one seller doesnt agree, the utility
simply goes to the next one.
A CO2 stand-alone target is not the

guarantee for ambitious investments
in renewables.
Another cause of market imbalance is a mismatch between the
structure of the carbon market, where allowances are valid for five
years or more and corporations only have to go to market once
in that time, and the structure of the underlying larger electricity
markets, where electricity cant be stored at all and is traded by the
hour. This means that the carbon market tends to be less liquid.
With structural problems like these, can the EU ETS survive
beyond the end of Phase III? The European Commission says a
binding supportive framework for renewable energy is needed
beyond 2020. But the Commission has not yet decided whether
such a framework should be primarily based on emissions trading
or on a combination of EU targets and national support schemes.
Energy Commissioner Gnther Oettinger says the EU ETS
is not sufficient to promote renewable energy on its own. A CO2
stand-alone target is not the guarantee for ambitious investments
in renewables. Maybe we should develop new renewables targets
beyond 20% for 2030 and 2040. Or we can say our market-oriented
ETS scheme can be re-activated, can be more flexible, can send
out better pragmatic price signals and induce decarbonisation
in this way.
Oettinger has also cast doubt on whether the EU ETS can
itself provide sufficient price signals to give a significant boost to
renewables investment. If you want more renewables in your energy
mix, for transport or for power, you need a renewables target in
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addition because a CO2 stand-alone target is not the guarantee for

ambitious investments in more renewables, he said.
Industry association Eurelectric believes EU policymakers
have two distinct choices as they start to plan energy and climate
policy for 2030. One choice gives priority to the internal market
and turns to the ETS as the main driver of decarbonisation,
complementing its action with a separate funding stream for
innovation to drive those renewables that are still far from costcompetitive. The second option is to adopt a new renewables target
for 2030 with harmonised subsidies across Europe for maximum
cost-effectiveness. Eurelectric prefers the ETS approach, but EU
policy could turn out to be a combination of these options.
The renewables industry would clearly prefer a target
approach. If you only follow the carbon price, you will get the
lowest-cost and closest-to-market technologies, says Josche
Muth, secretary general for the European Renewable Energy
Council (EREC). We need a wider range of renewables for
cost-effective decarbonisation in the long term. He points out that
most stakeholders in a Commission consultation on post-2020
renewables policy supported a binding target for 2030. This is also
because of its benefits beyond decarbonisation, Muth believes:
We have other targets. Energy policy is driven by energy security,
competitiveness and innovation as well as decarbonisation.
Because of the perceived failures and costs associated with the
EU ETS, other schemes have been slow to get off the ground in
major world economies. US President Barack Obama confirmed last
November that the US would not have a cap-and-trade scheme,
and Canada has also refused to implement an ETS. But the idea of
emissions trading continues to gather momentum elsewhere and,
in March of this year, Mexico passed a voluntary ETS. In April Italy
passed a carbon tax, and China is developing pilot emissions trading
schemes in a number of provinces and cities.
Australia is also moving ahead with an ETS. A fixed price scheme,
essentially a carbon tax, will operate from July 2012 for three years
with an initial price of AUD$23 (US$24.14) per permit, with each
permit equivalent to one tonne. The initial threshold for liable entities
for this scheme will be set at 25,000 tonnes of CO2e per year, which
will mean around 500 of Australias biggest polluters will be covered.
The carbon price will then transition to an ETS from July 2015
and will fluctuate, as does the EU ETS. But the Australian ETS
will contain both a price ceiling and a price floor for the period
2015-2018. The initial price floor will start at $15 per tonne in 2015
and will increase at 2.5% per year.
South Korea is also introducing an ETS as it seeks to reduce
emissions by 30% below business-as-usual by 2020. The ETS is
part of a much larger Green Growth agenda being pursued by the
government, which has seen almost 65 billion allocated in initiatives
driving investment in clean technologies. The initiative will make the
country the third in the Asia-Pacific region, and the first in Asia, to
pass such legislation. South Koreas ETS is similar to Australias
carbon pricing mechanism. Starting in 2015, the government will set
emissions caps and reduction targets for each trading period. The
limits will apply to companies that discharge 125,000 tonnes or more
of carbon dioxide annually or workplaces that emit at least 25,000
tonnes a year. Emission limits are to be decided six months before
the scheme goes into force with credits traded on an exchange,
as in Europe. Companies that exceed emissions limits would pay a
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penalty equal to three times the credits market value limited to a

maximum 100,000 won ($89) per tonne of emission.
The Korean scheme is far from universally popular. Already, both
the Korea Chamber of Commerce & Industry and the Federation of
Korean Industries have lobbied the government to delay the plan,
saying it will increase costs and make industry less competitive
against countries that dont impose charges on emissions.
Companies may face an additional 5.6 trillion won ($5 billion) of
costs if a carbon market is implemented, according to data from
state-owned Korea Energy Management Corporation, which noted
that Korea largely depends on heavy industries such as steel.
South Africa is looking to introduce a carbon tax in 2013,
although nearly two-thirds of emissions will be tax-exempt until
2020 to lessen the impact on industry. In its 20122013 budget, the
treasury proposed a 60% tax-free threshold on annual emissions for
all sectors, including electricity, petroleum, iron, steel and aluminium.
All but electricity, where state-owned power utility Eskom dominates,
would be able to claim additional relief of at least 10%.
Companies have said a carbon tax that

places too heavy a burden on the key
energy and mining sectors will hit profits.
As in Korea, companies have said a carbon tax that places too
heavy a burden on the key energy, mining and manufacturing sectors
already under pressure due to rising power and wage costs will
hit profits and wider economic growth.
As in Korea, companies have said a carbon tax that places too
heavy a burden on the key energy, mining and manufacturing sectors
already under pressure due to rising power and wage costs will
hit profits and wider economic growth. Nearly all of South Africas
power is generated by state utility Eskoms coal-fired plants, making
it impossible for companies to choose less carbon-heavy electricity.
To minimise adverse impacts on industry competitiveness
and effectively manage the transition to a low-carbon economy,
temporary thresholds are proposed... which an exemption from the
carbon tax will be granted, the budget said. It proposed a carbon
tax of 120 rand ($14.60) per tonne of CO2e for emissions above
the thresholds. The levy would come into effect in 20132014, and
increase by 10% per year until 2020.
The establishment of ETS programmes in Korea, Australia and
South Africa opens the possibility of linkages to other schemes as
part of a global effort to curb the growth of carbon emissions. But
key to the success of this will be what happens to the EU ETS during
Phase III. If the European scheme can be made to work effectively
and produce a carbon price high enough to be meaningful then it
might lead to further adoption elsewhere. But if Europe decides to
abandon the scheme post-2020 in order to focus on renewables
targets, then it is hard to envisage a scenario whereby the global
growth in emissions trading schemes will continue.
Richard Baillie is a freelance journalist.
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RENEWABLE HEATING: US MARKET THAWING
The Biomass Thermal Energy Coalition (BTEC) was instrumental

in changing New Hampshire law.
EDWARD MILFORD
US WARMS TO
THERMAL ENERGY
STATES QUIETLY EMBRACE
RENEWABLE HEATING AND COOLING
Very recent changes to US state laws are allowing even requiring the use of thermal energy to meet state
renewable portfolio standards. Jennifer Runyon reports on this emerging trend.
f the 50 US states, four territories and the District of Columbia,

almost 40 have some kind of renewable energy requirement
on the books. But of those 40, only about 14 allow some type
of thermal renewable energy to meet at least a portion of their
renewable portfolio standard (RPS). But that might be changing.
A quiet trend is emerging with two states leading the way. In
recent months, both Maryland and New Hampshire have tipped
the scales in favor of thermal renewables by passing or amending
innovative, groundbreaking laws that will significantly drive up the
use of thermal renewable energy in their states and beyond.
GROWING RECOGNITION
Charlie Niebling, General Manager at New England Wood Pellets
(NEWP), is part of the Biomass Thermal Energy Coalition (BTEC),
which was instrumental in changing New Hampshire law. The state
will now require that thermal energy be used to meet its RPS,
making it the first in the country with a thermal energy carve-out
on the books. It makes sense because a third of the energy we
consume in this country is heat and yet its been almost entirely
overlooked, said Niebling.
But there are reasons that heat hasnt been recognised for
state renewable portfolio standards up until now and they are good
ones. Trying to extend the RPS concept to heat is complicated,

said Niebling. Heat is, for the most part, unregulated, completely
decentralised you have thousands of companies delivering
the energy, not 10s or even fewer than 10 as is the case in New
Hampshire, he explained. Whats more, heat is also more difficult to
measure, many believe. Solar hot water has been available in New
Hampshire since the RPS was created, said Heather Manypenny,
power resources executive with the New Hampshire Electric
Cooperative. To my knowledge no one has actually managed to
get a REC from solar hot water, she said.
Since utilities sell electricity, adding heat to a RPS and asking the
utility to regulate it doesnt seem like a match made in heaven. Rick
LaBrecque of Public Service New Hampshire (PSNH), the states
largest utility, called the new law odd in that the electric utility will
be regulating something that is non-electric. He added, however,
that the new regulation will not be a significant administrative burden
on the utility and therefore it is seen as generally acceptable. We
feel that this was a good package that addressed a lot of things,
corrected some things that needed to be addressed and, you know,
were fine with it, he said.
On the other hand, many industry analysts argue that thermal
energy is a much more cost-effective way to generate renewable
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energy credits (RECs), the credits that utilities must procure to prove
that they have met their RPS requirements. For example, when
comparing solar PV output to solar thermal output, thermal wins
every time.
Its pretty clear the conversion of solar energy into thermal
output is a significantly more efficient process than the conversion
into electrical output, said Ron Gehl, who is chair of the solar
thermal technical division of ASES and president of EOS Research.
Depending on system design and all that, quite typically [it is] four to
five times more efficient as typical PV output.
Renewable technologies that can claim less expensive and
more efficient are the Holy Grail for renewable energy and utilities
ought to start taking notice, said Chris Williams, a consultant
and owner of Heatspring. I feel like the utility would want to do it
[incorporate thermal energy into an RPS] for the simple reason that if
you look at raw installation costs verses energy production per year,
its a cheaper way for them to get to the RPS. No question.
METERING AND MONITORING
If states are going to add a heating requirement to their RPS or even
allow heat energy to be applicable, monitoring and metering will be
key and that can be perceived as problematic. But, said Niebling,
heat meters have been around for decades and they are no different
than an electricity meter. He added that in Europe where district
heating is in use, heat measurement tools are ubiquitous.
[In Europe] The home will have a heat meter and it is measuring
the temperature and the flow rate of the water coming into the home
and then it is measuring the temperature and the flow rate of the
water leaving the home and the delta between the two is the amount
of heat energy being used, he explained. It is standard, off-the-shelf
foolproof stuff, he said.
EOS Researchs Ron Gehl, whose company produces
monitoring and measurement equipment for thermal energy, echoes
that sentiment. The fact of the matter is that it is not very difficult
to monitor and measure [heat]. Weve been doing it in systems for
years and years, he said.
Gehl mentions two stumbling blocks on the way to widespread
adoption of thermal energy metering and monitoring. First is the
additional cost for smaller systems. He said that for larger systems,
particularly solar water heating, measurement tools are already
included. The majority of commercial and industrial type systems
these days are including BTU monitoring and measurement aspects.
Its not that difficult to do particularly when you look at it being such a
tiny proportion of the overall cost of such a system, he said.
The difficulty comes in coming up with something that is fairly
accurate at low enough cost for any old two-panel residential hot
water system. Thats a bit more of a higher threshold to reach as
far as making it inexpensive enough for more widespread use, he
explained.
Heatsprings Williams makes another point regarding the cost
of residential systems. The cost to monitor it is around $1000 for
Sunreports, he said. But in PV, its built into the cost, it already
comes with the inverter. So it makes selling it difficult because you
are trying to sell a residential solar thermal system for $8000 and
then in order to monitor it, its another thousand.
Williams believes this is one of the catch-22s of solar thermal
technology. It is so cheap already that the additional cost of
monitoring seems enormous.
In order to alleviate the additional cost of monitoring smaller
systems, some states like Maryland allow modelled output rather
than metered output to count toward renewable energy goals for
systems under a certain size. Gehl thinks that workaround makes
sense for now, but hed rather see the industry figure out how to
measure the output and use of small and large systems alike.
I think from a consumer perspective it will become increasingly
important to know exactly what the output of a system is, he said,
also pointing out that reliable, measurable numbers will help the
industry to gain more credibility.
Gehl would like to see a national standard in place. He believes
that once there are nationally recognised standards for measuring
and monitoring thermal renewable energy, more widespread use of
the technology will result. He said that the industry is working on
creating an ANSI (American National Standards Institute) standard
regarding metering. That is something that will need to be more
widely recognised, he said. But once it is, at that point in time its
no different than having a kWh meter on a PV system. Gehl expects
to see a national standard by the end of the year.
STATES MAKING A DIFFERENCE
The state of New Hampshire made history this summer by becoming
the first state to require utilities to obtain a portion of their renewable
energy from thermal energy. The New Hampshire RPS, which
compels the state to get 23.8% of its energy from renewables by
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2025, will now require that some of its Class I renewables come from
thermal energy including biomass, solar thermal and geothermal
projects that commence operation after January 1, 2013 and
produce useful thermal energy, said Niebling. Specifically, the law
allocates the energy equivalent of 0.2% of total electric load in 2013,
increasing each year by that amount to 2.6% by 2025.
Thermal projects that meet PUC requirements will be able to
qualify their energy output for renewable energy certificates worth
up to $25/MWh in 2013, and increasing each year through 2025.
The thermal provision is structured as a carve-out whereby
New Hampshire load-serving entities are required to purchase the
thermal RECs or pay a $25/MWh compliance payment.
Neibling noted that it would be more likely that RECs will sell at a
price of $10-$15/MWh once the market is established.
Niebling believes that the new law will have an enormous
impact on the biomass thermal industry, because the thermal
RECs will be enough to tip the scales in favour of new projects.
It fundamentally changes the equation for people looking to make
these investments, he said. He expects that larger commercial and
industrial projects will be early adopters of thermal renewable energy
before the residential market takes off. So for municipalities, county
governments, businesses, large and small, this has enormous
implications, he said.
In Maryland where there already exists a solar carve-out, the
legislature has pushed up the date by which the state must meet its
2% solar energy requirement by two years. Solar thermal systems as
well as PV systems can produce SRECs in that state. The legislature
made the change in order to address volatility in the SREC market.
To date, only Maryland and the District of Columbia allow SWH
systems to generate SRECs.
According to Brad Bowery, CEO of SRECTrade, The most
common way that solar thermal SRECs are counted is as follows:
systems that displace fewer than 10,000 kWh of electricity annually
can count SRECs based off of estimated generation based on a
conversion of expected BTU output to kWh. For systems that
displace more than 10,000 kWh of electricity annually, an OIML
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meter is typically required to measure the BTU output, which is

then converted to kWh by GATS [the generation attribute tracking
system], which in then is converted into SRECs for each MWh.
But while Maryland and New Hampshire are leading the pack in
terms of thermal energy and their RPSs andf other policy mandated
requirements, other states are considering making changes to their
laws as well. Niebling believes that this is a trend in the making.
Youve got Vermont, [which] has passed legislation that directs its
department of public service to study and make recommendations
on something it is calling a total energy standard which would be
electricity, heat and transportation energy use, he pointed out.
Niebling also noted that Massachusetts is looking at a bill that would
direct its DOER to study including thermal in its APS, the states
alternative portfolio standard. He mentioned a few other states to
watch as well, including North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia, Wisconsin
and Arizona.
Particularly in states where oil is used for heat and hot water,
thermal renewable energy is perhaps a cheaper, easier way to
achieve state RPS goals of fuel diversity and in-state economic
development. Acknowledging this reality Niebling added, Much of
New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine do not have access to natural
gas and are unlikely to see it anytime soon. So for these states its
a real powerful incentive we hope for people to take the plunge,
spend the capital, to transition away from fossil heating fuels to
locally produced fuels or locally installed technologies.
It is evident that while renewable heating has vast scope to
support the US in its bid to curb energy-related emissions and
despite some developments, policy continues to lag ambition.
Jennifer Runyon is managing editor of Renewable
Energy
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World.com.
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WIND: REGIONAL PROFILE
PLAIN SAILING
FOR OKLAHOMA
The 227.5 MW Cross Roads wind farm was completed in 2012.
OG&E
A STATE STRATEGY FOR

WIND POWER DEVELOPMENT
Once known for oil and gas production, Oklahoma has quickly established itself as a major player in the wind
power generation industry. Today the state is taking advantage of its abundant natural resources with rapid
development of wind. Sharryn Dotson investigates.
klahoma was not always a big source of wind power projects,

but a leader in oil and gas, and that may be what helped the
state to develop its wind resources. Our history and experience
with the oil and gas industry helped us to understand the energy
industry, so adding wind to the generation mix made logical sense,
said Kylah McNabb, wind development specialist out of the state
Energy Office at the Oklahoma Department of Commerce.
McNabb said the state has 7000 MW of wind energy in the queue
and more that are reaching the development phase. The addition of
transmission lines has also helped to expand the industry, including
the proposed 800 mile (1280 km), 500 kV Clean Line Energy Plains
and Eastern transmission line, which would be built from wind farms
in Guymon in the Oklahoma panhandle to the Tennessee Valley
Authority in Memphis. The line is expected to open up 3500 MW of
wind capacity for export. Construction is expected to begin in 2014,
with service scheduled to begin in 2017.
The state has been very supportive of the Clean Line
development, said state Energy Secretary Michael Ming. The line
is privately funded, and the Oklahoma Corporation Commission is
behind it by granting utility status for building the line to Clean Line.
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Utility status puts Clean Line one step closer to raising the funding
required from private and public investors for actual construction of
the project.
Examples of successful investment in the states wind sector
come from Enel Green Power SpA, which was recently awarded
US$220 million in investments from a group including JPMorgan
Chase, Wells Fargo and GE Capital for the 235 MW Chisholm
View wind project in Oklahoma. When completed, the project will
sell the output to Alabama Power, a unit of Southern Power, under a
20-year power purchase agreement (PPA).
And, businesses have opened manufacturing facilities includeing
Siemens, which opened a facility in Woodward in February 2012. This
centre will store and distribute main components and spare parts,
including wind turbine blades, drive assemblies and generators, as
well as tooling operations. Siemens said it plans to create up to 40
jobs at the facility over the next five years.
You cant discount the location, said Ming, as its at the
epicenter of world class wind resources in the mid-continent.
Indeed, Oklahoma is where Siemens is testing its newest wind
turbine, the SWT3.0-101, rated at 3 MW.
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WIND: REGIONAL PROFILE
Three machines are currently in use at the 227.5 MW Crossroads

wind farm, completed in January 2012 in northwestern Oklahoma.
The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) said in its annual
report for 2011 that Oklahoma ranked eighth for wind projects under
construction, and 10th for states with wind as a percentage of their
portfolio, but the state did not reach the top 10 for overall wind jobs.
Commerces McNabb said the reason for the disconnect is the
difficulty in reporting wind jobs.
We had more workers on the ground when projects were being
developed, and a bulk of the new jobs are now in manufacturing,
McNabb said. The resource is here, and thats what we are focusing
on right now. Thats what drew in Siemens.
A STATE ENERGY PLAN
Ming said Oklahoma plans to have 3 GW of wind energy online by
the end of 2012, which will beat the states Energy Plan of 15%
renewable energy by three years, with more projects to come online
in the future.
Its a standard and not a mandate, so it allows market involvement
and keeps us as a low-cost electricity state. We are able to grow
without adverse rates. It also makes PPAs price mitigaters. Last
summer shows how wind does not need cooling water, especially
since we were in a severe drought, Ming said. McNabb explains, It
shows that wind can work in fair market conditions.
MAKING THE SWITCH TO RENEWABLES
Utilities in the state have not had issues in adding wind power to their
portfolios. We had state incentives and transmission and enough
injection points, Ming said. That contrasts with other states that
built wind but no transmission. Also, wind and gas make good
partners in terms of integration.
Another point that helped ease the addition of wind is the
backing of landowners. The landowners are pro-development as
well. They like oil and gas, so they want oil and gas. They like wind,
so they want wind, Ming added. A lot of these landowners look at
wind, gas and agriculture as retirement plans, because they know
at least one of them will be making them money at some point,
McNabb said.
UTILITY MODELS FOR WIND
Oklahoma Gas & Electric (OG&E) set a goal in 2006 to add wind
to diversify along with natural gas and coal. The utility, based
in Oklahoma City, also owns the 120 MW Centennial, the 101
MW OU Spirit and the 227.5 MW Cross Roads wind farms. The
company has power purchase agreements (PPAs) with the 50 MW
Sooner, the 152 MW Keenan and the 130 MW Taiga wind farms.
OG&E is working with a developer on the construction of the
60 MW Blackwell wind project in northwestern Oklahoma, which the
company also has a PPA with.
But OG&E Treasurer Max Myers said the company does not
currently have plans for additional wind projects because of the
uncertainty of how they will fit in with environmental regulations and
the low price of natural gas.
We have a couple of sites in the infancy of development, but
ultimately it will depend upon environmental regulations and the
economic justification of wind in light of natural gas prices as to
whether or not they are developed.
Nevertheless, Myers did sound a note of optimism: Capacity

factors are going up due to technology advancements and
Oklahoma has very competitive wind resources. This combination
should bode well for wind development in Oklahoma if the federal
PTCs are extended or if natural gas prices rebound.
Since 2009, OG&E has offered a programme that allows
customers to buy renewable energy credits that are supplied by
the Sooner and Centennial wind farms. The customer can buy from
Capacity factors are going up due to

technology advancements and Oklahoma
has very competitive wind resources. This
combination should bode well for wind
development in Oklahoma .
25% of their usage for $0.009/kWh and up to 100% at $0.007/kWh.
Although our programme is not a direct fuel hedge, it provides
customers the opportunity to purchase up to 100% of their electric
usage via a carbon-neutral generating source, which many people
appreciate, Myers said.
PSO WIND
Public Service Co of Oklahoma (PSO), a unit of American Electric
Power, offers WindChoice, a programme similar to OG&Es
WindPower, where customers can buy 100 kWh blocks for $1.72
each. The difference is that it is a hedge against the cost of natural
gas, so if natural gas prices go up, the price customers are paying
for the wind power will not.
Our focus now, along with continued goals to increase residential
use, is that were beginning to target larger commercial users, said
Stan Whiteford, corporate communications director with PSO.
A portion of the 99.2 MW Minco Wind Farm, located north of
Chickasha, is used for the WindChoice programme. Meanwhile,
PSO also has long-term PPAs with seven wind power projects in
Oklahoma and Texas. It became price competitive, Whiteford said.
We could make it part of our fuel mix, and since that time, there has
been the development of the states renewable energy goal.
However, Whiteford noted that even though wind is becoming a
big part of their generation mix, it is not the main generation source.
Nonetheless, although acknowledging the continued domination of
fossil-fuelled generation in Oklahoma: We are definitely not getting
away from those traditional sources of generation, Whiteford said
that PSO is always looking for contracts to sign for more renewable
energy supply.
We continue to keep our options on the table as far as additional
PPAs, but the main question is Whats the price? Can we do
something that is advantageous, provide them with a good deal and
be a driver for continued development?
Sharryn Dotson is Online Editor of Power Engineering.
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POLICY & MARKETS: INDONESIAN SUPERPOWER

A solar installation at Pemuteran on the island of Bali.
BART SPEELMAN
INDONESIAN
ENERGY TRANSIT
BOLD AMBITION FAILING TO
REALISE RENEWABLE POTENTIAL
Indonesias electricity market is moving from a monopoly fossil-fuel generation base to a more
competitive structure with an increasing share of renewable energy. Or rather that is the transition the
government seeks to promote. The reality is somewhat different, Jeremy Wilcox finds.
s with some other fast developing economies, Indonesia is

characterised by economic growth and a widening middle class
as social prosperity grows. But unless there is significant investment
in its aging generation and transmission infrastructure the country
could face an electricity crisis in this decade. Current conventional
energy resources are unable to meet full base load supply, leading to
daily blackouts in some parts of the country, and the governments
target for 90% electrification by 2020 is woefully behind schedule and
unlikely to be met. With annual electricity demand growth estimated
at between 7% and 9% through the remainder of this decade the
supply-demand imbalance will only widen further without investment
in additional generation capacity.
The irony of this situation is that Indonesia can, and should, be
self-sufficient in energy supply, being blessed with abundant energy
resources, both fossil and renewable, and once the transmission link
with Malaysia is completed (scheduled by 2020) it will also have the
potential to generate significant electricity export revenues.
RENEWABLE POTENTIAL
The energy potential is significant, as are the economic rewards,
but policy-wise the government has been lethargic in harnessing
these renewable resources, with energy policy still coal-centric.

Since passing an energy law in 2007 with the goal of diversifying the
countrys energy supply, and increasing the use of renewable energy
to reduce dependency on fossil fuels, the government mandated
investment in 20 GW of new coal-fired capacity, supported by a new
mining law in 2009, and is now looking to implement coal export
quality thresholds to protect its domestic coal-fired market both
generation and extraction industry.
It is important to understand the governments coal policy in
order to fully appreciate the opportunities and challenges faced by
renewable energy in Indonesia. Through significant investment, and
a more attractive regulatory regime for foreign investors, Indonesia
now boasts the worlds largest thermal coal market. And with 40%
of the worlds geothermal reserves Indonesia could, and arguably
should, replicate its coal success with renewable energy.
But while identifying and quantifying the countrys abundant
renewable energy opportunity is relatively easy, developing it is not
and the figures speak for themselves. In 2010 Indonesias Ministry
for Energy and Mineral Resources (MEMR) revised the countrys
geothermal potential to 28.1 GW from 27 GW a decade earlier,
which is equivalent to 12 billion barrels of oil and almost twice the
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countrys current oil reserves of 6.4 billion barrels. Yet as of 2010,

the latest year for which full data is available, Indonesia had installed
geothermal capacity of just 1.2 GW, leaving it with an undeveloped
potential of 96%. This undeveloped renewable potential is similar
for hydropower (94%), biomass (99%) and wind (99%). Overall,
Indonesia has an undeveloped renewable potential of 96% with
an on-grid installed capacity of 2.9 GW and an off-grid capacity of
3.2 GW, against a total resource potential estimated at 163.3 GW.
And Indonesia could be a superpower of

geothermal electricity. With the new
regional supergrids that are being
proposed on every continent, it can be a
significant advance.
In 2010, according to the Indonesia Infrastructure Report, coal
accounted for 40% of installed capacity, followed by oil (29%),
gas (21%), hydropower (8%) and geothermal at just 2%. Under
the 2006 Presidential Regulation No 5, Indonesia plans to reduce
oil use by 20% (compared with 2005) by 2025 and increase the
share of renewable/low-carbon energy as a share of consumption
to 15% (also by 2025) based on 5% biofuel, 5% geothermal and
5% biomass, nuclear, hydro and solar. Last year the government
produced its latest energy policy draft, known as Vision 25/25,
which proposes a 25% renewable share by 2025.
A GEOTHERMAL SUPERPOWER
Addressing the Asia Pacific Summit for the Climate Project in Jakarta
last year, former US vice president Al Gore said Indonesia has the
potential to become the worlds geothermal energy superpower,
telling delegates: Scientists and engineers are now saying
confidently that certain forms of enhanced geothermal electricity
production may represent one of the largest resources of carbonfree electricity available in the world today... And Indonesia could
be a superpower of geothermal electricity. With the new regional
supergrids that are being proposed on every continent, it can be a
significant advance for Indonesias economy.
Gore is not alone in identifying Indonesias geothermal potential
but in order for this energy potential to be realised the government
has to address three main challenges; technology knowledge,
environmental impact and foreign investment.
While a number of US companies have already invested in
Indonesias geothermal power sector, with this trend expected to
continue if there are sufficient financial returns, the key determinant
of geothermal success will be cooperation with other countries that
have successfully developed this technology. Encouragingly, in April
2012 the governments of Indonesia and New Zealand signed a
cooperation agreement on geothermal energy, with New Zealand
already active in the geothermal development with this resource
contributing 70% of its renewable energy share.
According to the MEMR statement, the cooperation includes
sharing developments in exploration, development and regulation
with the intention that it assists with the Indonesian governments
policy development to support geothermal growth through to 2025.
Accordingly MEMR sees the cooperation agreement as being
pivotal to developing a strategic plan together with an education
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and training programme on geothermal technology to improve the

quality of geothermal production and to improve the role of the
private sector in developing the countrys geothermal resources.
While the government seems to be addressing the technology
issues associated with geothermal development, the environmental
impact of this development could prove more challenging. With
around 80% of Indonesias geothermal reserves located in conserved
forests, any development of this land requires a presidential
decree. Yet in May 2011 the government committed to a two-year
moratorium on forestry development under a US$1 billion climate
deal with Norway aimed at reducing emissions from deforestation,
and the government is still deliberating on its long-term forestry
policy when the moratorium expires next year.
The problem faced by the government is that it cannot meet
its full geothermal potential and also commit to a longer-term
deforestation policy that will be pivotal to meeting the governments
voluntary emission reduction target of 26% by 2020.
Ever since Indonesia made its emission reduction pledge at
the 2009 Copenhagen UN climate summit, its environmental policy
has been uncertain. The government has an opportunity to meet
its emission reduction objectives through increased renewable
energy use, but to achieve this it will have to provide a forestry
policy that supports renewable development while restricting
deforestation for carbon-rich project development, such as coal
mining. But economically, at least in the medium-term, such a
forestry policy could be disadvantageous if it limited coal export
revenues. Consequently the government has to carefully consider
the environmental and economic risk-reward scenarios associated
with deforestation.
The third challenge to geothermal development, financial
incentives, is applicable to all renewable energy development in
Indonesia. The lack of sufficient financial incentives and the heavy
energy price subsidies have been major constraints on renewable
development, while the Negative Investment List under the 2007
Investment Law prevents foreign investment in power plants with an
installed capacity below 10 MW.
FINANCIAL INCENTIVES
The primary financial support scheme for renewable energy is a
feed-in tariff (FiT) programme that has been in place since 2002,
with all technologies being eligible for the tariff that has a 15-year
maturity. But the problem with this financial incentive is not the level
of support provided but the regulated end user energy prices, with a
growing concern that unless the government increases these prices
the FiT system will become economically unsustainable.
In 2010, the average end user price was 7 cents/kWh, while
the average FiT rate, that is, the price for which state utility PLN
(Perusahaan Listrik Negara) purchased the electricity, was 10 cents/
kWh. This provides the government with a problem. To incentivise
more renewable investment it will have to keep the feed in tariff high,
yet unless it also increases the end user prices it will have to provide
increasing subsidies to PLN to cover the loss between electricity
costs (both its own production costs and the price it pays to offtake
electricity from independent power producers) and revenues. In
2011 the subsidy paid to PLN was estimated at just over $8 billion.
The obvious solution would be to increase end user prices, yet
to just break even on production costs would require a near 80%
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SAVE THE DATES

July 911, 2013
North Americas Premier
Exhibition and Conference for the Solar Industry
Moscone Center, San Francisco
www.intersolar.us
Co-located with
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price hike and a recent attempt to increase prices by 20% was

defeated by mass public demonstrations and strike threats. With a
public used to cheap energy any attempt to increase prices could
be political suicide, yet the economic cost of bailing out PLN with
annual subsidies makes no sense.
And there is another potential risk afforded by the disparity
between renewable energy costs and end user prices: an increase
in fossil fuel generation. Coal-fired generation costs just over half that
of renewable resources, and for PLN coal is a far more economically
attractive generation source. And while PLN is obligated to offtake
renewable generation from independent power producers (IPPs)
the disparity between renewable generation costs and end user
prices could well force the utility to switch its own production to
coal in order to reduce losses, which would ultimately undermine the
governments renewable and emission objectives.
OUTLOOK
Indonesia has both significant renewable resource potential and
a government committed to its development, but the countrys
renewable realisation is seriously lacking. As with other fastdeveloping countries it needs to support its strong economic growth
with energy supply, with its abundant coal reserves providing an
obvious solution, at least in the medium term. But unlike other
fast developing economies, Indonesia has a strong environmental
conscience with the government keen to present itself as a regional
climate action leader.
The current renewable outlook is not promising, but it need not
be that way. From an electrification perspective, off-grid renewable
plants can provide the rural electrification required and improve grid
reliability, which in turn will benefit overall economic output. And
from an environment perspective, the replacement of largely dieselpowered off-grid generation with small-scale renewable plants will
reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But in order for this off-grid
capacity to be developed, the government must be able to provide
sufficient financial support to developers and relax restrictions on
foreign investors.
But the major challenge, and the constraint on renewable market
development, is PLN. While the state utility may not exercise its
historical market dominance following recent reforms, it still has a
right of first refusal, with IPPs only able to service areas that have
been declined by PLN or that are not included in PLN plans. And
IPPs have to enter into a PPA with PLN if they want to use the grid,
which is operated by PLN.
If the government is to accelerate renewable development and
realise the economic and environmental benefits it will afford, it
has to introduce more competition into the market by reducing the
dominance of PLN. If it does not, it is likely Indonesia will continue on
the slow development path and may never fully realise the potential
of its renewable wealth.
Jeremy Wilcox is a freelance journalist focusing on the energy
sector.
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INDONESIAS
RENEWABLE
POTENTIAL
As with geothermal, Indonesias biomass potential is significant
at just under 50 GW. But again, as with geothermal, the
resource is significantly under-developed with barely 1% of this
potential currently commercially developed. With its extensive
biomass reserves, including rice residues, sugar, rubber
and palm oil, Indonesia could be a major centre of biofuel
production, but its potential is constrained by most biofuel
resources being exported due to the higher value placed
in food, or used in domestic food production. Additionally,
a lack of biofuel processing capacity and infrastructure to
support large-scale biomass projects will severely restrict the
development potential, as will land ownership issues, with an
incomplete central database on land ownership leading to
disputes that prevents economic development.
Indonesias greatest renewable energy potential is from
hydro and marine power, with MEMR estimating 75.6 GW of
large hydropower potential and marine potential of 1035 MW
per km of a coastline that is 54,700 km in length. But, as with
other renewable resources, only 4.3 GW of large hydropower
capacity has been developed and only one demonstration
marine project in the Lombok Strait has been developed. Of
the two renewable resources, the greater potential lies with
marine energy.
Indonesias onshore wind power potential is severely limited
by the lack of wind along the equator and limited transmission
infrastructure to support large-scale wind farms in the less
populated eastern islands where the wind is more favourable
for generation. Consequently wind power development has
been limited to small projects with an installed capacity of just
over 1 MW.
But Indonesias lengthy coastline will provide opportunities
for offshore wind development, although this development will
be contingent on transmission infrastructure investment. If the
government wants to develop its offshore potential and to
date there are no indications that this will be a policy priority
it will have to consider issuing tenders for offshore operation
licences similar to those offered in the UK, for example.
However, the protectionist nature of the government
suggests this is unlikely, at least until after the next general
election which is currently scheduled to take place in
September 2014.
Finally, Indonesia has significant solar power
potential, estimated at 4.8 kWh/m2/day. But as with the
countrys other renewable resources this potential is
underdeveloped, with current installed solar capacity of just
12 MW, mainly through rooftop photovoltaic (PV) systems
in urban areas. The main restrictions on solar market
development are the lack of domestic solar cell producers,
limited solar maintenance expertise and the inability to sell
excess solar capacity back to the grid.
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Conference & Exhibition

6 - 8 November 2012
Sandton Convention Centre
Johannesburg, Republic of South Africa
www.renewableenergyworldafrica.com
THE NEW FRONTIER FOR

RENEWABLE ENERGY
INVITATION TO ATTEND
REGISTER NOW AND SAVE WITH OUR EARLY BIRD RATES

Renewable Energy World Africa will be launched alongside POWERGEN Africa 2012 with a dedicated conference stream featuring three
days of presentations and debate about the strategic challenges and
technical solutions for expanding renewable energy power generation
across sub-Saharan Africa. In addition, the Renewable Energy World
Africa pavilion on the Exhibition floor will be a focus of expertise and
global technological excellence in the green energy sector.
CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS
Over the 3 days the inaugural Renewable Energy World Africa will
provide comprehensive coverage of the renewable energy needs,
resources, and issues facing the power generation industries across
sub-Saharan Africa including various highlights such as:
OPENING KEYNOTE SESSION

Renewable Energy World Africa is a unique forum for the industry,
combining both a world class conference with an exhibition showcasing
the latest technological developments. This premier event will attract
senior decision makers, enabling you to make crucial contacts within the
sub-Saharan energy industry, and is one event you cannot afford to miss.
Speakers include:
Ms.
Elizabeth Dipuo Peters, Minister of Energy, South Africa
Mr.
Brian Dames, Chief Executive Officer, Eskom, South Africa
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE VISIT WWW.RENEWABLEENERGYWORLDAFRICA.COM

_______________________________________________
Owned and Produced by:
Co-located with:
Presented by:

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POLICY & MARKETS: CALIFORNIAS RPS
Big wind farms dot the California landscape and

help the state meet its aggressive RPS of 33%
renewable energy by 2020. KEVIN CONNORS
WILL CALIFORNIA
ACHIEVE ITS
GOAL?
EXPERTS WEIGH IN
In the US state with the most aggressive Renewable Portfolio Standard,

opinions are mixed about whether or not California will be able to meet
its goal of 33% renewables by 2020. Jennifer Runyon talks to
the experts.
bout one year ago, California made history by enacting a law

that would require the highest amount of renewable energy
to be incorporated into a states energy mix: 33% by 2020. That
number is at least 8% higher than the next most aggressive state
renewable portfolio standard, and upwards of 10% more than the
average renewable portfolio standard for all US states which have
adopted its standards to date.
California embarked on its quest to employ more renewable
energy than any other continental state, and so far the state has
done very well in meeting its goal. As of July 2012, each of the three
major investor-owned utilities were showing that about 20% of the
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energy they provide to their ratepayers comes from renewables, and

many other projects are underway. You know, weve seen significant
increases in installed capacity really even in the last six months, said
Joe Weidman, a partner with law firm Keyes, Fox and Wiedman,
LLP. The last report that was sent to the legislature had, I believe, it
was PG&E and SDG&E down in the teens, SCE in the high teens,
he continued.
But if you look at the latest figures, everybodys up over 20%. I
mean things are really starting to move, he concluded.
Ben Higgins, director of government affairs with Mainstream
Energy, an integrated solar solutions provider, concurs: California is
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where the future happens first, and not just in solar but in lots of other
things, he said. Higgins feels there is no question that California will
meets its goal. When we look at the responses to the solicitations
that utilities have offered, as of late for larger-scale, utility-scale,
in-front-of-the-meter solar projects, [because smaller-scale
residential and commercial projects arent eligible] the response has
been overwhelming, he said.
By way of example, he continued, the request for offers made
by the three investor owned utilities in California late last year, saw
91 GW worth of projects bid in to that single solicitation. I mean,
thats more bid into the single solicitation than would be required to
meet the RPS in 2020, Higgins said.
________
Almost all renewable energy executives

agree that it is a victory that California
even passed such an aggressive RPS.
And the goal remains excellent. Almost all renewable energy
executives agree that it is a victory for renewable energy that
California even passed such an aggressive RPS. But what many
analysts and solar industry executives familiar with the California
market question is the infrastructure, the real means of getting all
that renewable energy in the ground. Many experts believe that the
state just doesnt have enough in place to seal the deal.
I think it is a difficult goal to reach when you take a look at the
problems California is experiencing in terms of its budget, said Paula
Mints, an analyst in the energy practice with Navigant Consulting.
Recently, we had a large city [Stockton] go bankrupt, she said.
With large cities struggling, utilities struggling, people struggling,
social services being cut, she said that she believes the state should
keep the goal but understand that Californias infrastructure is not
prepared for that much renewables.
A report issued by the California Energy Commission shows
that the total cost of transmission to meet the 33% by 2020 goal
is US$7.2 billion. A list of the twelve transmission upgrade projects,
their approval status and the renewable potential they provide is
shown in Table 1 on page 78 (overleaf).
Mints remains optimistic that the state will do what it can but
said that the goal will take a long time to reach. Obviously I believe
that we are in the beginning of an energy revolution and to make that
happen is going to be a long, hard struggle.
According to a report issued by consulting firm MRW and
Associates, based in Oakland, California, even though the state
aspires to be the renewable energy promised land, there are
numerous obstacles to converting the megawords into megawatts.
The firm said that to meet the 33% goal, seven additional power lines
must be built at a cost of $12 billion, a much higher estimate than
the CECs $7.2 billion.
In addition, the firm also points out that not only will the cost of all
that transmission be astronomical, significant siting hurdles will also
have to be overcome.
Michael Ludgate, senior director of sales with Sharp Solar, agrees
that the goal is worthy but not reachable: I love the objective. The
goal is good. The question is [then] is the rest of the infrastructure
in place? I dont mean utility infrastructure. I mean the money, the
incentives, he said.
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PROPOSED TRANSMISSION PROJECTS UNDERWAY IN ORDER TO MEET

CALIFORNIAS 33% RPS IN 2020
CarrizoMidway
Sunrise Powerlink
EldoradoIvanpah
PisgahLugo
ValleyCO River
West of Devers
Tehachapi
Tehachapi Wind/Solar Diversity
Cool WaterLugo
South Contra Costa 11
BordenGregg
Path 42
Other-Outside of ISO Grid
APPROVAL STATUS
ISO
CPUC
Pending LGIA
Not yet filed
Approved
Approved
LIGA
Approved
LIGA
Not yet filed
Approved
Approved
LIGA
Not yet filed
Approved
Approved
N/A
N/A
Pending LGIA
Not yet filed
LGIA
Not yet filed
LGIA
Not yet filed
Pending approval
Not yet filed
N/A
N/A
MW
900
1700
1400
1750
4700
4500
1000
600
300
800
1400
3300
22,350
Total
RENEWABLE POENTIAL
TWh/Yr
Online
2.1
2012
4.1
2012
3.6
2013
4.1
2017
8.6
2013
2017
15.2
2015
3
2015
1.4
2018
0.8
2015
2
2015
3.5
2015
8.4
56.8
TWh/year needed in ISO to meet 33 % goal: 44

California Energy Commission
Finding billions of dollars more for new transmission lines and

upgrades could prove problematic, especially for a state grappling
with unemployment above 10% and a real estate market that has
lost as much as 35% of its value since the housing bubble burst
Solar operates in the ecosystem of the

world. So what is happening around solar
affects whether or not the market is there.
in 2008. Evan Vogel, VP of sales for Ampt, a company that makes
optimisers for solar power, agreed that the money California needs
to meet its goal just isnt there: Youve got the bragawatts and the
megawatts. So the answer is no, [the state wont meet the RPS].
And its not because of anything else except funding. The state cant
afford anything and the deals are out of the money, he said.
Mints takes a very realistic look at the landscape and pointed
out that California has often struggled for funds: In market research,
you shouldnt take anything out of context and solar operates in the
ecosystem of the world, she said. So what is happening around
solar affects whether or not the market is there. For example, I
remember when PG&E declared bankruptcy many years ago.
On the other hand, Weidman points out that the RPS was only
just enacted and that the state will continue to ramp up over the
next few years.
I think the RPS got off to a slow start because people were
very focused on making sure that the RPS was as competitive as
possible, he said. Just last year, the commission authorised 4200
MW of renewable energy through power purchase contracts. So
were moving along on the stage we need to move on. Its just taken
a while to get started, but now its really moving, he argues.
And the large-scale development arena remains full to the brim.
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Of those 91 GW that Higgins pointed to certainly many of those

projects are not going to come online, he said, but the large-scale
development sector is a very, very crowded one.
Weidman thinks no matter what, California will find the money to
meet its RPS and points to other important reasons that the state
will pursue it, such as clean air and job creation: I think the money
is definitely there, and I think that in the long run when people look
back theyll see that this energy transition and upgrades to the
grid have resulted in net benefits to ratepayers and also a cleaner
environment, he said. I think its also important to point out that the
jobs that are created by these industries are not outsource-able. He
added that the installers and other people working on infrastructure
projects must be located in the state, and that those are good
quality jobs.
He agreed that the state is struggling, but said that even in tough
economic times, states need to continue to invest in the future. As
a matter of fact, thats what ensures we have the infrastructure
in our society so that when the economy does pick back up, the
infrastructure is there and ready and waiting, he said. So I think
we are headed on that path and California is wisely making those
investments now.
Wendy Arienzo, the CEO of Array Power, a California-based
microinverter company, pointed out that meeting the RPS will also
be a political struggle. Weve made life very difficult this year with
the loss of the 1603 Act and the pending [solar cell] tariffs, so in
an industry thats struggling to grow, weve made it a little bit more
difficult, she said. Arienzo feels that if all stakeholders were able to
work uniformly toward the RPS goal, of course the state could meet
it, but in the divisive political structure and in an election year, it just
makes things that much more complicated, she observed.
Higgins remains steadfast in his belief that California will not
have any trouble installing 13% more renewable energy in the
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Brightsource Energys Ivanpah solar thermal project will feed the grid when complete in 2013.
next eight years, and said that there may in fact be the opposite
problem. I think the larger problem that we are facing in solar and
this is true nationally is, in fact, over-compliance with renewable
portfolio standard and renewable energy standard targets, he
said. He pointed to states such as New Jersey and Maryland
where the legislature has passed bills that accelerated their solar
mandates in order to deal with the over-compliance issue. So, its
over-compliance not under-compliance that is the large challenge,
he believes.
All in all, Mints doesnt want the RPS to change or be watered
down, but she remains realistic. Its problematic assuming that were
BRIGHTSOURCE ENERGY
going to actually achieve that goal, she concluded, but I dont want
to see it go away. At the same time I also want to see school kids
have hot lunches and the elderly have home care, she said.
RenewableEnergyWorld.
Jennifer Runyon is Managing Editor of ________________
com.
___
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DTU Wind Energy (formerly Ris DTU) Roskilde Denmark Tel +45 46 77 59 43 wasp@risoe.dtu.dk
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SOLAR PV: QUALIFICATION TESTING
Qualification testing attempts to identify design and

construction errors that can result in reducing the modules
performance or causing failure over its lifetime.
T V
PUTTING TRUST
IN MODULES
TESTING PV AND CPV RELIABILITY

Manufacturers, investors and governments are all pushing solar reliability standards further as part of a general
trend that aims to deliver a product that will serve as designed for many years. Richard Bozicevich brings
REW up-to-date on the latest developments in the field.
eliability of PV and CPV modules is a key requirement for

sustainable consumption of solar energy. To ensure their
reliability and safety, PV modules must be tested to and comply
with a universally accepted set of standards. Additionally, several
initiatives are currently underway to enhance product reliability, some
of which are likely to become industry-enforced standards in the
near future.
Many globally recognised testing laboratories currently employ
qualification testing as a means to identify initial short-term reliability
issues in the modules design and construction. The demand for this
testing is driven by marketplace requirements and is mandatory in
all of Europe, Japan and parts of Asia. Qualification testing attempts
to identify in advance the design and construction errors that can
result in reducing the modules performance or causing failure over
its lifetime. Many common failure mechanisms, such as broken
interconnects, moisture ingress, delaminations, microcracks, hot
spots, ground faults and structural failures can be uncovered through
qualification testing.
This type of testing is a 65- to 90-day process designed to
accelerate and induce many of the same failure mechanisms to
which the module is subjected in the field. Qualification tests are
a set of well-defined accelerated stress tests developed out of a
reliability programme. They incorporate strict passing and failing

criteria. The stress levels and durations of these tests are limited
so that they can be completed within a reasonable amount of time
and at a reasonable cost. From the manufacturers point of view,
the end goal for this type of qualification testing is to evaluate a
significant number of commercial modules and, after they pass
the tests, produce all subsequent modules in the same way as the
test modules.
A few of the major laboratories that perform and certify to these
requirements typically have recognised procedures for regularly
monitoring the production output of the factories and models
under certification to the standard. If done properly, these factory
inspections help ensure that module designs that pass the initial test
criteria will continue to be produced in a robust manner over years in
the module production environment.
THE FRONT EDGE IN THE BATTLE
As we look into the future at a world with substantially more solar
power, it is important to take a long-term and sustainable approach
to module and device implementation as well as the performance
analysis of these devices. In the solar industry, qualification testing
is often confused with reliability testing in the minds of many
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customers. However, it is important for them to understand the

distinction between these two tests.
For a product to pass the qualification tests means it has
successfully undergone a specific set of tests under what are called
Standard Test Conditions. These tests do not predict the products
lifetime performance, nor do they indicate which product will last
longer or experience faster performance degradation in actual field
operation. The real-life conditions in humid tropical environments
are much different from arid elevated regions with large swings in
temperature. This can impact both module attrition and module
performance to varying degrees.
According to a principle known as the Bathtub Curve,
performance failure drops from a higher rate for out-of-the-box and
start-up field failures, then stabilises to a more predictable and stable
operating period during the usable life of the product, then upticks
again as end-of-life failures begin to occur. For PV modules, the total
time axis is generally depicted as 30 years of usable product life.
When reviewing this information, it is important to understand
that what appears to be an approximately linear degradation
projected at the belly of the curve is variable for different module
designs. In tandem, this degradation profile has a second order of
variance based on the climatic conditions in which the modules are
installed. These impacts, while relatively minor in comparison to the
cost capital of a small project, can accumulate to a considerable
financial cost for medium and large sized installations.
steps toward ensuring the integrity of the product design and its
initial quality.
However, these standards have their limitations. Based on the
analysis of thousands of modules from many global manufacturers,
some in the industry believe that these standards represent
approximately the first six to eight years of module life in the field.
To be able to test products for a longer period of field
performance, many in the market have tended to make a simple
logical multiplication of the IEC programmes: if one round of IEC
testing approximates six or eight years, then three rounds would
equal 18 to 24 years. However, at this point engineers, scientists,
module developers and market analysts alike met with the far greater
influence of variance considerations.
LIMITATIONS OF THE CURRENT STANDARDS

Currently, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) design
and qualification standards, coupled with robust factory inspections
by PV or CPV knowledgeable engineers, represent the first positive
LOOKING INTO THE FUTURE BANKABILITY IN SOLAR

Many organisations currently address the need to improve PV and
CPV module reliability standards via research and development
of new testing procedures. In their turn, some laboratories offer
Increased Failure Rate
Hypothetical Failure Rate versus Time
Infant Mortality
Decreasing Failure Rate
End of Life wear-Out

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independent tests to manufacturers. Even though these tests help

evaluate they do not replace a truly independent assessment.
While many industry protocols are currently being proposed and
conducted, thus far no one organisation has developed a completely
fair and balanced method to determine how effectively a module is
going to work throughout its lifetime.
Improving the reliability of PV modules benefits everyone
from manufacturers looking to offer the best product possible
and investors underwriting projects to governments welcoming
alternative energy sources and protecting consumers. All these
forces combined are pushing reliability standards further to deliver a
product that will serve as designed for many years. Manufacturers,

consumers and other interested parties will do well to follow the
latest developments in regulatory compliance.
Richard Bozicevich is vice president of business development
for TV Rheinland PTL.
RELIABILITY
STANDARDS
The performance and reliability standards
trace their early origins back to the 1970s
in the NASA Jet propulsion laboratory.
Later, the product certification of crystalline
PV modules for open-air climates was
converted to standards from the series of
International Electrotechnical Commission
(IEC) 68 Environmental Test Procedures.
The Research Centre of the
European Commission in Ispra, Italy,
laid the groundwork for defining special
test procedures for PV modules. Test
specifications
no.
503,
Terrestrial
Photovoltaic Modules with Crystalline
Solar Cells Design Qualification and Type
Approval were adopted as the standard
IEC 61215 in 1993 and ratified as the
European standard EN 61215 in 1995. In
April 2005, a second edition of IEC 61215
was published with changes in testing
conditions and pass criteria. In 1996, a
comparable standard was developed
for thin-film PV modules. In 2008, a
second edition to this standard, IEC
61646, Thin-Film Terrestrial Photovoltaic
Modules Design Qualification and Type
Approval, was released addressing new
developments in the thin-film technologies
and reducing testing efforts.
In 2001, the IEEE 1513 standard
first specified criteria for the design
qualification and type approval of CPV
modules and assemblies. In 2007, a
comprehensive CPV standard IEC 62108
was issued. Programmes which have also
gained support in the marketplace include
the NREL Terrestrial Photovoltaic Module
Accelerated Test-to-Failure Protocol (TTF)
and the DoEs Office of Energy Efficiency
and Renewable Energys Thresher Test for
Crystalline Silicon (c-Si) PV.
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The Largest and Most Important Offshore

Wind Event in North America
More Than 1,400 Attended and
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GENERATING POWER
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AWEA Wind Resource & Project Energy Assessment Seminar

September 13 14, 2012 Pittsburgh, PA I www.AWEAResourceAssessment.org
AWEA OFFSHORE WINDPOWER Conference & Exhibition

October 9 11, 2012 Virginia Beach, VA I www.OFFSHOREWindExpo.org
AWEA Wind Energy Fall Symposium

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AWEA Regional Wind Energy Summit Southwest

December 5 6, 2012 Houston, TX I www.AWEASouthwestMarkets.org
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WIND: OFFSHORE MARKET FORECAST
oncern about the links between rising global average

temperatures and increasing man-made Green House Gas
(GHG) concentrations has led to ambitious long-term policy action
on climate change, including the Kyoto Protocol. Implementation is
being driven by policy action at both regional and national levels,
a prime example being Europes ambitious 20% by 2020 targets
whereby EU-27 leaders agreed to a binding target of sourcing 20%
of primary energy from renewable energy sources by 2020.
Of the various low carbon alternatives, offshore wind is well
placed due to a combination of factors including large untapped
resources, relatively high energy yields and the potential to develop
projects on a large utility scale. In particular, the potential to develop
very large offshore sites, often beyond visual distance from shore, is
becoming increasingly attractive as opposition to the development of
onshore wind strengthens. Consequently, offshore wind is becoming
a critical component in many countries low carbon strategies; for
example, Germany has set a target of 25 GW of offshore wind
capacity by 2030.
EXPERIENCE TO DATE
Despite the potential, offshore wind installation activity has been slow
to take off. Industry watchers will remember early projects in the UK
market 2001 onwards and optimism at the time regarding short-
OFFSHORE
POTENTIAL
FIVE YEARS TO GROW
OFFSHORE WIND
Despite its potential, offshore wind installation activity has been relatively slow
to take off. Early optimism has been replaced with the realisation that sustained
growth has taken longer to materialise. However, the last five years have seen
progress. Frank Wright takes us through the World Offshore Wind Market
Forecast 2012-2016.
Over 51 billion of capital expenditure is expected for offshore wind projects coming online
between 2012 and 2016, a level six times greater than in the preceding five-year period.
TILDY BAYAR
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Average water depth, m
30
term growth prospects. In reality,
213 MW
sustained growth has taken longer
25
to materialise. However, the last
five years have seen progress with
the majority of global installations
20
in this period: more than 3.5 GW
71 MW
of offshore wind capacity is now
15
online, in excess of 2 GW is under
construction and over 100 GW is
50 MW
10
in various stages of development.
To date, construction activity
38 MW
has centred on the North
5
European region with the UK
8 MW
representing the largest individual
0
market and major projects coming
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
online in Germany, Denmark,
Average distance from shore, km
Sweden and Belgium. More than
50 projects including 16 in the
1995-1998
1999-2002
2003-2006
2007-2010
2011-2014
UK and 14 in Denmark have
been installed in Northern Europe
Figure 1: Offshore Wind Projects Growth Trends
DOUGLAS-WESTWOOD
representing more than 3300 MW
capital outlays on a sustained basis, necessitating new financing
of total capacity, compared with the
less than 300 MW installed in the rest of the world. Consequently, models and public support at both a national and regional level.
In the large UK market, projects have historically been built
a dedicated supply chain providing construction and operational
through balance sheet financing by international utilities. However,
services, has started to emerge around the North Sea region.
with the increasing investment implied by future projects UK Round
3 alone could cost in excess of 90 billion to build this model
INCREASING SCALE
Offshore wind projects have increased in scale over the last 15 years is unlikely to be sustainable. Unlocking additional funding streams
and projects to be installed over the next three years to 2014 show has thus far proved challenging for the global offshore wind industry
this trend continuing (see Figure 1 right). The earliest offshore wind with private investors remaining cautious, a trend reinforced by the
farms were located in water depths of 10 metres or less and were financial crisis.
Concerns have been raised by private investors due to a
typically less than 5 km from shore. Offshore wind farm capacity,
average water depth and distance from shore have all been combination of factors including high levels of risk in the construction
increasing over this period.
phase, turbine reliability issues and concerns over the long-term
Past 2015, offshore wind projects will continue to increase in stability of financial incentives. The general trend of rising capital
scale. For example, many UK Round 3 projects are likely to have expenditure has been a particular cause of concern; inexperience,
capacities greater than 500 MW. These future projects in the UK and lack of competition and major technical issues all contributed to
other markets represent unique challenges to project developers. significant cost escalation in the five years prior to 2008. At the same
Each construction phase of these mega-projects will see hundreds time, returns for many recent projects have not been sufficiently
of multi-MW wind turbines being installed in water depths of attractive to offset risk levels. On a more positive note, there are
35 metres or more and increasingly far from shore. Every project will clear indications that costs have started to plateau.
require long-term charters of several highly specialised installation
vessels and purpose-built port facilities to handle the increasing SUPPLY CHAIN DEVELOPMENT
dimensions of modern wind turbines, support structures and Recent market growth has stimulated supply chain development
and growing differentiation between the offshore wind and onshore
balance of plant.
As shallow water sites are built out, deep-water sites (water wind sectors. A specialist supply chain is developing around the
depths of 35 metres or more) are set to become more common North Sea with leading companies based in Germany, Denmark
in the UK, Germany and other key markets. At this point the types and the Netherlands. Despite its position as the premier offshore
of structures commonly used today, namely monopiles, begin to wind market, the UK has struggled to retain investment and profits
become less cost competitive as both the dimensions and piling locally. However, several offshore wind turbine manufacturers have
forces increase. New structures to be utilised in deeper water include announced UK production facilities. Supply chain movements
tripods and lightweight jackets.
in the UK have been unlocked in part by aforementioned public
infrastructure funds. Major investments are also being made in
Germany with an offshore wind cluster of turbine and foundation
FINANCING REQUIREMENTS
Whilst capital requirements are already high with recent projects manufacturers developing in the Bremerhaven area.
in UK waters costing more than 1 billion to construct, UK Round
With increasing scale, competition for manufacturing capacity
3 zones and other similar mega-projects will require even greater and installation resources is becoming increasingly fierce. This has
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THANKS TO 98% TURBINE

AVAILABILITY, NORDEX
INVESTORS REST EASY.*
* Based on a global analysis of all Nordex N90s and N100s with a Premium Service
Agreement (1,020 WTGs) in the period from June 2011 to May 2012.
www.nordex-online.com

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4.0
Annual Added Capacity GW (Online Year)
led to a trend towards vertical

integration and consolidation
in the supply chain with
wind
turbine
manufacturers
acquiring
manufacturers
of
major subcomponents such as
gearboxes and generators. This
trend is continuing into the area of
installation vessels where several
project developers have identified
a need to secure vessels, either
through long-term charters or in
extreme cases by funding newbuilds. As an example, RWE
Innogy placed a 100 million
order with Daewoo Shipbuilding
& Marine Engineering in the
Korean Republic to construct an
offshore installation vessel.
3.5
3.0
2.5
Belgium
China
Denmark
Germany
Netherlands
UK
USA
2.0
Other
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
2007
2008
2009
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2012
Figure 2: Added capacity by country 2007-2016
KEY MARKETS
The UK will continue its position as the leading market for offshore
wind from 2012 to 2016. Consecutive licensing rounds have
helped to build the UKs leading position with Round 2 and Round
2.5 construction continuing through the forecast period to 2016.
These projects will help to maintain momentum prior to the start of
construction activity on Round 3 towards the end of 2016.
The Renewables Obligation (RO) scheme has thus far incentivised
steady growth and will continue to operate throughout the forecast
period. Consultation is ongoing with regards a potential replacement
based around a feed-in tariff (FIT). In the longer term, a well designed
FIT could further boost UK activity by giving increased certainty to
private investors.
The supply chain in the UK is developing slowly, with its current
strengths resting in areas such as deepwater support structures and
array cabling. Over time, the ambition is to have significantly more
manufacturing activity in the UK and public money has been made
available for this purpose.
In Germany, a major shift in nuclear policy will benefit renewable
energy, along with natural gas and electricity imports. Policy has
been redesigned in order to make offshore wind more attractive
with a generous FIT in place and clear policy on grid connection
for offshore wind farms. Germany already has a very large project
portfolio and early commercial projects are moving through the
construction phase.
The German supply chain is extremely strong with large public
and private investment in regional manufacturing clusters such as
Bremerhaven. With more independent project developers, securing
financing for German projects may prove challenging. To date,
funding from the European Investment Bank (EIB) has proved
essential in moving projects forward.
Steady growth is expected in the Chinese market from 2012 to
2016. In the longer term, China is anticipated to become the largest
global market early in the next decade. China has been building
expertise through a series of small projects often in shallow waters
with larger developments imminent. Generation incentives are
currently decided on a project-by-project basis but in the future, a
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2010
2013
2014
2015
2016
DOUGLAS-WESTWOOD
fixed tariff, similar to that found in onshore wind, may come into play.
As with onshore wind, the intention of the Chinese government
is to build a large domestic industry. For this reason, offshore wind
project development is strictly controlled with majority foreign
ownership prohibited. A domestic supply chain is also developing
with several Chinese manufactures offering multi-megawatt wind
turbines for the offshore market.
MARKET FORECASTS
In the forecast period, which runs from 2012 to 2016 we predict
15 GW of new offshore wind capacity will be added. The UK,
Germany and China will be the largest markets, which together will
install over 12 GW or 83% of the new global capacity. Growth will
accelerate in 2013 as UK Round 2 construction continues. Germany
starts to see multiple commercial-scale wind farms come online.
Annual added capacity will average around 3 GW compared with
the 2007 to 2011 average of less than 600 MW. In all, cumulative
global offshore wind installed capacity is expected to surpass
18.6 GW by 2016.
Over 51 billion of capital expenditure is expected for projects
coming online between 2012 and 2016, a level six times greater than
in the preceding five-year period (8.1 billion). The UK and Germany
will account for 35 billion of global offshore wind expenditure,
with China representing the third largest offshore wind market
(6 billion). Annual expenditure levels rise throughout the forecast
period peaking in 2015 at 12.4 billion.
Frank Wright is renewable energy manager at DouglasWestwood.
For more on the World Offshore Wind Market Forecast 20122016, see: http://www.douglas-westwood.com
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ZF Wind Power.
Ready for the next level of Wind Energy.
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Hall 4, Stand 4D05
www.zf.com/windpower
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POLICY & MARKETS: US BIOFUELS
FLOATING A VIABLE
BIOFUELS INDUSTRY
US INDUSTRY HOPES
RESTING ON MILITARY
The US Navy has been a major supporter for the advancement

of the biofuels industry, pledging to use 50% alternative fuels
by 2020.
US NAVY
Touting the biofuels industry as the nations road to gain energy independence, the US military wants to help
move it forward. But government committees have proposed bills to block investment, arguing that it is too
expensive and risky. Is the military the industrys only hope for scale? Meg Cichon investigates.
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POLICY & MARKETS: US BIOFUELS
hese days, its common to see a household with at least one

car in its driveway. That same house is also likely to hold a
personal computer. And the inhabitants of the home are just as likely
to own a smart phone. But just one decade ago, most consumers
could not have dreamed of owning these possessions. How did
these innovations come to fruition? Each of these industries
automobile, computer, phone went through periods of research
and development, consolidation, and scale to become affordable
and attractive to the major public market. The renewables industry
is going through this same process and the biofuels market is
no exception.
But to become large-scale and cost-competitive with fossil
fuel, the biofuels industry must continue to travel through a major
research and development phase a phase which also requires
major investment. This is where the United States military and
controversy enters the picture.
THE HISTORY
The US military, the Navy in particular, has been a major supporter
for the advancement of the biofuels industry. In fact, the Navy
has pledged to get 50% of its operational requirements for
liquid fuels from alternative, non-fossil sources by 2020 an
ambitious goal for such a young biofuels industry. But the military
is passionate about the initiative and has taken major strides
to bring it to fruition, claiming that its major priority is to achieve
energy independence.
Were pursuing alternative energy because our reliance on foreign
oil is a very significant and well-recognised military vulnerability, said
Secretary of the Navy General Ray Mabus. Energy security has got
to be at the top of our agenda. The ability to use fuels other than
oil and gas is absolutely critical. It will increase our flexibility, it will
increase competition, and it will reduce the services vulnerability to
rapid and unforeseen changes in the price of oil.
THE CONTROVERSY
In December 2011, the Navy purchased 450,000 US gallons
(1.7 million litres) of cooking oil- and algae-based drop-in biofuels for
jets and vessels to be used by the Great Green Fleet at the biennial
Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) demonstration, the worlds largest
international maritime exercise, during summer 2012 off Hawaii.
Dynamic Fuels produced the cooking oil-based fuel and Solazyme
provided the algae-based product each has been developed
as a direct replacement for conventional fules in engines without
any modifications.
These biofuels were mixed in a 50/50 blend with traditional fuel,
which cost around US$15 per gallon. The Navy intends to achieve
full-scale deployment of this type of blend by 2016.
But just one month before RIMPAC, the biofuels industry and the
military encountered a possible roadblock. The House and Senate
Armed Services Committee issued its report on next years Pentagon
budget with Pentagon Budget Bill, HR 4310, which included a
measure to exclude the development and purchase of biofuels that
cost more than traditional fossil fuels.
The exclusions, however, do not eliminate all alternative fuels.
The Committees recommend the Defense Departments exemption
from previous restrictions that prevent federal agencies from buying
fuels that are more polluting than conventional fossil fuels. This
would allow the military to use the Fischer-Tropsch method, which

generates gas to liquid fuel from coal and natural gas and also
emits more carbon than burning refined crude oil.
With a shrinking defence budget, the committees believe that
the military should focus on creating more vessels, supplies, and
other necessities, rather than pushing money into a new, risky and
expensive industry.
Military officials argue that with each dollar

increase in the price of a barrel of oil, it
costs the Navy about $30 million.
I understand that alternative fuels may help our guys in the field,
but wouldnt you agree that the thing theyd be more concerned
about is having more ships, more planes, more prepositioned
stocks, said Representative Randy Forbes during a hearing with
Mabus. Shouldnt we refocus our priorities and make those things
our priorities instead of advancing a biofuels market?
The bill passed through the Senate Armed Services Committee
with a 1312 vote and the House with a 299120 vote, creating a
backlash throughout the government and biofuels industry.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack expressed his frustration
with the decision during a conference call: Its beyond me why
we wouldnt help this industry that will create higher farm income,
more jobs in rural America, reduce the costs for consumers, satisfy
commercial airlines and make our military less reliant on a foreign
supply of energy, he said. It is just astounding that people dont
understand that.
Vilsack explained that the future of the biofuels industry is closely
tied with the military, especially the Navy, and investments today will
help bring down costs in the future and costs have already come
down. The Navy purchased biofuels in October 2010 at $42.40 per
gallon, but paid $26.67 per gallon for the RIMPAC exercise, which
then cost $15 per gallon when blended with traditional fuel.
Though the Committees goal is to reduce overall costs and
purchase the current lowest-priced fuels, military officials argue
that with each one dollar increase in the price of a barrel of oil, it
costs the Navy about $30 million. In 2012, the Navy was presented
with a nearly $2 billion bill for additional fuel costs, which was paid
by moving funds from Afghanistan officials say that this is not
sustainable and can be detrimental to the military.
If we do not do something to tap down these price spikes, there
are only a couple places that we have money to get for additional
fuel costs, said Mabus. One is operations, which means we steam
less, we fly less, we train less. The other is to take platforms, ships or
airplanes away. I dont want to have to make that choice.
A coalition of 13 aviation groups have also banded together to
protest the Committees decision, claiming in a letter to the Senate
that the bill would severely damage the advancement of the biofuels
industry and hinder American energy independence.
We believe the ongoing military and civil aviation efforts must
be continued and we strongly advocate that you prioritise and fund
investment in aviation biofuels in what we all acknowledge is a
difficult fiscal environment, explained the coalition.
Ultimately, we are convinced that this is an investment that will
pay off by saving taxpayers millions through achieving energy security
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In August the Senate Appropriations Committee approved a

spending bill allowing $70 million for Naval investment in biofuels.
ARCHITECTURE OF THE CAPITOL
and independence. The coalition also argued that further investment

in bioenergy will help reach their fuel efficiency and carbon emissions
targets, which includes a lofty goal of a 50% reduction in carbon
emissions by 2050 from 2005 figures.
THE JOBS AND COST ARGUMENT
The Department of Agriculture has teamed up with the military to
further advance the biofuels industry, which officials claim could not
only enhance energy independence, but could also create a robust,
advanced jobs market and reduce consumer fuel prices.
Visack explained that with biofuels investment, the Navy is
leading the way to create a bio-based economic opportunity in rural
areas with manufacturing opportunities and new income sources
with crops like algae, switchgrass and miscanthus. Farmers and
other producers can enter this new economy without competing
with food crops like corn.
The biofuel industry in the US currently employs around
400,000 people directly and indirectly, and once we reach the
threshold of renewable fuels set forth in the renewable fuels standard
that could actually increase to one million people, said Vilsack. He
also argues that military investment and biofuels growth, which
create competition in the fuel industry, will help reduce fluctuations in
prices and lower costs at the pump.
This point is echoed by Adam Monroe, president of Novozymes
North America, which produces cellulosic ethanol with plants in
Nebraska. He argues that a budding biofuels industry will not only
benefit the military, but many private companies such as airlines,
shipping and trucking.
In the end, consumers will benefit with lower-priced goods and
less-expensive fuel that is less bound to oil prices, he said.
Mabus explained that the atmosphere at the demonstration was one

of pride and hope for a biofuels future.
It was absolutely worthwhile to show that biofuels can compete
and can be used in every single thing that we do in the Navy, said
Mabus. This shows that we can use biofuels and other alternative
energies in an operational manner.
Heather Zichal, Secretary of Energy, expressed the Obama
Administrations frustration with the Committee in a press call during
the Great Green Fleet demonstration at RIMPAC. She explained
that the Administration stands behind their all of the above energy
strategy, which includes biofuels investment.
We view the efforts of some in Congress to undermine the
militarys ability to invest in alternative fuels as both disappointing
and shortsighted, Zichal said. I believe that the successful
demonstration by the Great Green Fleet [at RIMPAC] should help
Congress better understand the tremendous opportunity we have
with biofuels to help power our Navy.
After the completion of RIMPAC in August, the Senate Committee
on Appropriations approved a spending bill that allowed $70 million
for Naval investment in biofuels. It also included $100 million for
the Defense Production Act, which allocates money to increase
production capacity of defence-related initiatives. The House version
of the bill allowed $50 million in general funds for defence initiatives.
Both measures are set to move to the full Senate for consideration
and reconciliation of changes with the House in the autumn of 2012,
which is also when a full vote is expected.
WHATS NEXT?
Now that the Navy has proved that drop-in technology works, it
plans to collaborate with the Departments of Energy and Agriculture
to increase production and lower costs. The team is planning several
pilot projects, accepting proposals and recruiting companies that
are willing to work with nonfood feedstocks. Vilsack expects to
choose participants by early autumn 2012.
Mabus also emphasised that the Navy will not buy large amounts
of biofuels until they are cost-competitive, and this programme will
work to get them there.
One of the ways [technologies] become cost-competitive is
by the military providing a market for it, and weve done that with
technology, after technology after technology, said Mabus.
The Department of Energy is also committed to the Renewable
Fuels Standard and believes research and development in biofuels
is a major factor in reaching that goal. This is why, Vichal explained,
the government has taken many steps to develop technologies and
accelerate new technology R&D in labs and at commercial scale.
Barriers to bioenergy programs send negative signals to
the public and market about the ability and technology in our
industry, said Monroe. Putting up barriers prevents industries from
experiencing these benefits and the savings they generate.
Meg Cichon is Associate Editor of RenewableEnergyWorld.
________________
com.
___
PROVING THE NAYSAYERS WRONG

The military successfully launched the Great Green Fleet at RIMPAC
in July 2012, using the advanced drop-in biofuels without issue.
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RENEWABLE HEATING: DISTRICT HEATING
WARMING FOR
NEW EUROPE
Vronska in Slovenia hosts the countrys first solar

thermal system district heating system.
EVN
DISTRICT HEATING NETWORK

PRESENTING OPPORTUNITIES
Long after the Iron Curtain was lifted, Europes ex-Soviet nations often remain reliant
on combined heat and power (CHP) plants feeding district heating schemes for which
renewables could make an attractive fuel source, writes Rachada Raizada.
legacy of centralised economic planning guided by the objective

of providing universal access to housing and utilities, district
heating (DH) traditionally played the starring role in urban heating
systems in the planned economies behind the Iron Curtain.
The first Soviet electrification plan of 1920 and successive fiveyear plans emphasised cogeneration and waste heat recycling from
turbine steam for district heating of urban residential areas and
industrial facilities. Fuel savings at electric power stations the major
producer of waste heat were an important performance indicator
for the Soviet Ministry of Power and Electrification.
With a domestic oil economy devastated by its civil conflict,
many of Russias first power plants used peat for lack of alternatives.
But growing urbanisation and the development of the oil and gas
industry after World War II led to the dominance of fossil fuels for DH
across the communist bloc.
With the transition to market economies after the collapse of
the Soviet system, these same countries, some of which have since
joined the EU, must grapple with the task of modernising these
networks without neglecting ambitious environmental targets amid
difficult economic times and rising energy prices.
Euroheat and Power the European industry association for the
CHP and district heating and cooling sectors estimates in its 2011
survey that in 2009 the share of citizens served by DH totalled 64%
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in Latvia, 60% in Lithuania, 53% in Estonia, 50% in Poland, 41%

in Slovakia, 38% in the Czech Republic, 23% in Romania, 17% in
Slovenia and 10% in Croatia.
The share of recycled heat in these systems ranges from a high of
92% for Romania to a low of 38% in Slovakia and Estonia. Recycled
heat is defined as: CHP including from combustible renewables;
waste-to-energy plants; industrial processes independent of the fuel
used for the primary process; and two thirds of the energy delivered
by heat pumps.
Cogeneration is less common in Estonia since most of its
electricity came from oil shale plants concentrated in one region.
Meanwhile mother Russias DH system boasts a trench length for
the pipeline system of some 173,000 km.
Direct use of renewables in heat-only boilers and non CHP
installations ranges from a high of around 14% in Estonia, Latvia
and Lithuania to 2% or less in the Czech Republic, Poland, Romania
and Slovenia.
In the EU 27 the share of recycled heat in DH increased from
70% in 1990 to 80% in 2006, with most from the 'others' category.
The share derived directly from renewables increased negligibly. In
Germany, which along with Poland is the biggest DH market within
the EU, the share of recycled heat is 89.5% (mainly from coal, oil
and natural gas with 10% from combustible renewables and waste).
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From Euroheats perspective, a modern DH system should be

based on capturing waste heat and phase out the direct use of
fossil fuels for heating. Johannes Jungbauer, of the European Affairs
Office for Euroheat, emphasises that fuel source is not an accurate
indicator of energy efficiency. Cogeneration increases the efficiency
of primary fuels substantially in comparison to condensing power
production and heat-only boilers.
EUROPE PUSHES FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY
With the EU seen as trailing in its goal of reducing primary energy
consumption by 20% by 2020, and heat losses from the EU-wide
energy system estimated as high as 50%, energy efficiency is
now at the heart of EU policy. In July 2012, the EU Parliaments
Energy Committee unanimously voted in a new Energy Efficiency
Directive (EED), repealing Directives 2004/8/EC and 2006/32/
EC and enshrining the 20% efficiency target in law by stipulating
mandatory measures (e.g. renovating public buildings and energysaving schemes for utilities).
Member States must complete a comprehensive assessment
by December 2015 of the potential of high-efficiency cogeneration
and efficient district heating/cooling, set their own targets and
present national efficiency action plans in 2014, 2017 and 2020.
DH offers several benefits over decentralised heating in areas of
high heat load density. But the exact efficiency and environmental
benefits depend on the fuel source, technical characteristics of
the heat distribution system and boiler plants in addition to the
institutional market structure. Unlike building-level boilers, DH
enables fuel switching and can run on a wider variety of fuels, such
as coal, oil, natural gas, municipal or industrial waste, geothermal,
peat and biomass.
Euroheat emphasises heatings contribution and particularly, the
recuperation of waste heat to achieving energy efficiency targets:
40% of the EUs final energy demand is for heating (space, water
and low temperature industrial processes) and met largely met
through imported fuels or low-efficiency electricity. If progress in
achieving the 2020 targets is found insufficient in a 2014 review,
national energy efficiency targets will be proposed. The plenary vote
on the EED is scheduled for September.
Of course we appreciate it, says Jungbauer, of the EED, but
we were hoping for more. Article 10, which includes an energy
efficiency obligation scheme, has been watered down and could
have been stronger.
As he describes it, results will depend on how Member States
choose to implement the directive: The EED raises awareness but
there are a lot of shalls and shoulds in the text.'
POLAND AIMS FOR CLEANER POWER
For the EUs largest coal producer Poland where domestic hard
coal accounts for around 74% of energy production, meeting the
EUs 2020 goal of reducing CO2 emissions by 20% will be particularly
challenging and further complicated by the EUs 2011 Industrial
Emissions Directive which necessitates investment to reduce
particulates and SOx/NOx emissions. In 2013 the white certificates
scheme for emissions trading will be introduced to ensure that
energy companies meet their energy efficiency obligations.
Allocations for CO2 emission are currently obtained free of charge
but from 2013 the number of allowances will be gradually decreased
Vronska in Slovenia hosts the countrys first solar thermal system

district heating system.
ZIGA
to zero in 2027 and the shortfall will have to be purchased through

the Polish Power Exchange.
Currently renewable energy sources (RES) account for less than
10% of national energy production, though Polands share of the
2020 EU target is 15% energy from RES. Since 2005, Polish support
for RES has consisted of a rainbow of tradable renewable energy
certificates in shades of green, yellow, red, violet and brown which
are issued to producers of renewable energy, providing them with a
secondary revenue stream. Polands use of renewables in DH (CHP
or not) in 2009 was around 7%, most of which was derived from
combustible renewables.
Hungary currently has around 16

geothermal district heating projects in
operation with over 500 MWth of
installed capacity and this number will
double by 2014.
DH is an important industrial sector in Poland. The Chamber
of Commerce Polish District Heating estimates that around 500
companies operated in this sector earning an income of about
4.1 billion in 2010. With an urban share of 60%, national DH
capacity is 59,260 MW served by a trench length of 19,400 km of
pipeline systems.
The Chamber, spurred on by the Polish Energy Policy to 2030
has recognised the potential of cogeneration and along with the
Polish CHP Association has presented a programme for developing
cogeneration from its current 63% level to the Ministry of Economy.
With the average profitability of heating companies
being far lower than the industrial average, the sector also
faces serious competitive challenges which has seen the
sector contract: from 2005 to 2009 DH capacity fell from
65,189 MWth to 59,970 MWth while district heat sales fell from
295 PJ to 239 PJ.
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Biomass power and district heating plant Mdling in Austria.
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RENEWABLES PROJECTS GET UNDERWAY

The renewable energy sources (RES) considered most feasible for
district heating are biomass, geothermal and solar with biomass
seen as the most viable.
Fortum, a Finnish energy company, has CHP assets in operation
in Russia, Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania with a total heat
production capacity of 14,107 MW in Russia and a combined
2432 MW in the latter four countries. In 2011 it announced the
inauguration of a new biomass CHP plant in Prnu, Estonia, with
a multifuel Circulating Fluidised Bed (CFB) boiler offering 100% fuel
flexibility for using peat, wood and industrial waste. It also invested
in a new biofuel CHP plant in Jelgava, Latvia, the first of its scale in
Latvia. Its Czstochowa CHP plant in Poland uses hard coal and coires up to 25% biomass in a 186 MWth CFB boiler.
Dalkia has announced two biomass

cogeneration projects in Poland, its largest
biomass project to date. Around 700,000
metric tons of biomass will replace coal,
supplying electricity to the national grid and
heating to the 700,000 inhabitants of dz
and Poznan served by DH.
Dalkia has announced two biomass cogeneration projects in
Poland, its largest biomass project to date. Around 700,000 metric
tons of biomass will replace coal, supplying electricity to the national
grid and heating to the 700,000 inhabitants of d and Pozna
served by DH. The project will require a 70 million investment.
Solar and geothermal energy as fuel sources are naturally limited
by their availability. Demonstration solar DH plants (large-scale
solar thermal technology generating heat from large collector fields)
operate at competitive costs in Sweden, Denmark, Germany and
Austria but are new to Eastern Europe. A consortium of Slovenian
and Austrian companies completed the first large-scale solar
thermal plant in Slovenia in March 2012. Solar collectors with an
area of 842.3 m or 590 kW feed into a 93 m3 storage tank, which
in turn feeds into the Vransko DH grid supplying heat to around
2500 inhabitants. Geothermal district heating dates back to Roman
times. Iceland, where 99% of the population is currently served by
DH, is in the enviable position of using its geothermal resources to
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generate 77% of its district heating. Geothermal energy has potential

in Poland and Hungary, the latter being considered a hot market
by the European Geothermal Energy Council. Hungary currently
has around 16 geothermal district heating projects in operation with
over 500 MWth of installed capacity and this number will double
by 2014. PannErgy, a Hungarian energy company, focuses on the
use of geothermal resources for DH energy in the Carpathian basin.
With technology and know-how supplied by Icelands Mannvit and in
partnership with municipalities, a 3.2 MWth plant (replacing a natural
gas based boiler) is already in operation in Szentlorinc while another
will soon come online near Miskolc.
The potential of municipal and industrial waste as a DH fuel is
significant and under-used. Polish waste management legislation
adopted in 2011 whereby land filling must be significantly reduced
from the current 90% level opens an opportunity for investments
in waste-to-energy plants. The EU has also announced its intention
to phase-out biodegradable waste going to landfill in 2020-2025.
Currently the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary
only host a handful of installations for generating heat or power from
municipal waste. Fortum has announced a new waste-to-energy
CHP plant and distribution company in Klaipeda, Lithuania, in a joint
venture with the City of Klaipeda. Commercial operation is planned
for 2013, when 270,000 tonnes of municipal and industrial waste
will be expected to produce around 150 GWh of electricity and
400 GWh of heat annually.
THE OUTLOOK FOR RENEWABLES DH
While RES are associated with localised energy production, DH
systems work on a centralising economies-of-scale principle. The
EU Energy Roadmap 2050 emphasises that decentralised and
centralised systems must increasingly interact: In the new energy
system, a new configuration of decentralised and centralised largescale systems needs to emerge and will depend on each other, for
example, if local resources are not sufficient or varying in time.
And CHP DH systems can even be used to balance fluctuating
electricity production from intermittent renewables, such as wind or
solar. For example, on excessively windy days overcapacity can be
shifted from feeding the grid to using heat pumps to heat water.
Trshavn in the Faroe Islands is setting up a 10 MW boiler to link its
DH system to the grid. In Germany a research project co-ordinated
by the Steinbeis Research Institute for Solar and Sustainable Thermal
Energy Systems is also examining solutions for decentralised feed-in
to solar district heating systems.
District heatings fuel flexibility along with extensive inherited
networks offer great potential for Eastern Europes energy future. But
due to its synergy aspects, DH has never fitted neatly into energy
statistics or policy. National energy policies must embrace DH more
closely to achieve EU energy policy targets in energy efficiency or in
the use of renewables and CHP.
Rachana Raizada is a freelance journalist focusing on the
energy sector.
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www.cgglobal.com
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With over 75 years of experience in the energy sector, CG is an established
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Visit us at HUSUM in Hall 3, booth A08, at SPI booth 177

and at Renewable UK booth 125
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6-8 MAY 2013

BOMBAY EXHIBITION CENTRE,
GOREGAON, MUMBAI, INDIA
INDIAN POWER
TIME TO
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Renewable Energy World India is now accepting abstracts for the

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To submit your abstract and for further information about participating at the event, visit
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Speaker and Conference Enquiries
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THE LAST
WORD
ASIA LOOKS OFFSHORE
EASTERN INTEREST IN NASCENT

WIND SECTOR SPARKS
At present, offshore wind may be making little headway outside Europe, but Adam
Barber considers that Asia could spearhead substantial development in the sector,
keeping manufacturing activity on a roll.
n European offshore, all eyes are on the prize. And with just under
4 GW of installed capacity, the continent has got a mountain
to climb if its to increase that figure ten-fold in only seven and
a half years.
However, its not just within Europe where offshore wind energy
ambitions are running high. In China, theres a similar appetite for
growth. Although the country has already achieved a whopping
62 GW of installed onshore wind capacity, it has yet to really take to
the water with wind.
Currently the Peoples Republic has two early stage projects in the
water, with Donghai Bridge development having entered operations
in 2010 and with the 131 MW Longyuan Rudong Intertidal project
due to begin commercial operations later this year.
When the blades started spinning at the Shanghai Donghai Bridge
farm just over 12 months ago, it was the first project of its kind outside
of Europe. But the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) reports that
the project only takes Chinas total offshore installed capacity to
some 258 MW this is relatively small change for a country that has
demonstrated such onshore operational strength.
And thats not all. With the second round of bidding for offshore
concession projects due to have taken place in the next couple of
months, but now widely expected to be delayed, evidently theres
trouble afoot.
In the ports along the coastline, Chinese domestic businesses
have made it clear that they see little progress for offshore wind
within the local market and little incentive to try. As a result, many
manufacturers are sticking to what they know best namely, winning

large-scale orders from the West and exporting their equipment to
overseas markets.
That keeps manufacturing output high and leaves little spare
capacity for an emerging local market, but all the while it also means
making the 5 GW by 2015 target seem more elusive.
South Korea has already set some

impressive targets to help bolster its
offshore growth and has developed
strategic partnerships with the West.
There are, however, a couple of significant developments that
might just help to bring this hiatus to an end. In doing so, these
developments would undoubtedly change the dynamics of the
international wind power market once again.
The first is the wider appetite for offshore wind energy within the
region. South Korea has already set some impressive targets to help
bolster its offshore growth and has developed a shrewd ability to
forge strategic commercial partnerships with the West. Take, for
instance, the speed with which both Samsung and Hyundai set up
manufacturing facilities back in 2010, and how they then rapidly
forged commercial relationships with western manufacturers,
developers and suppliers.
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THE LAST WORD
THE LAST WORD
And then theres the appetite within the local South Korean market
itself, which practically didnt exist before 2000. Despite this and
despite a complex governmental incentives policy that has only
recently been significantly enhanced theres now almost 400 MW
installed, coupled with a national government commitment to spend
up to US$9 billion to develop a 2.5 GW offshore wind farm by 2019.
For the South Korean government, of course, this ambition provides
the impetus to compete with China and the US on the international
manufacturing and energy stage, while for the local conglomerates, it
spells a new market and fresh growth.
South Korea is far from alone. Japan, too, is keen to dip its toe in
the water, with offshore renewable energy widely expected to play an
increasing role in its future energy mix.
Indeed, with the appetite for Japanese nuclear expansion now
firmly off the agenda, theres a renewed sense of urgency to not
just identify but to invest in and better understand alternative energy
prospects. And for the energy hungry Japanese, this is an issue of
growing national importance.
Theres already talk of an elaborate system of interconnectors
hooking Japan up to the South Korean mainland and, while the
concept might at first seem politically challenging, if new energy
sources fail to reach fruition there remain precious few alternatives for
the country to supply its energy needs.
Its just one of the reasons why the Japanese are pursuing early
stage plans for a series of fixed and floating wind farm initiatives
located around the coast. And its why in Europe, weve seen the
likes of Marubeni purchase a 49.9% stake in Gunfleet Sands, as well
as in offshore wind servicing business, SeaJacks.
Then theres India. As recent events have made clear, the Indian
power market is clearly far from stable. A situation thats attributable
in part to a long term under investment in infrastructure, matched
only by a similarly significant governmental lethargy and lack of
political will.
However, despite the local energy malaise, by contrast the Indian
wind power market has flourished. With the likes of RRB Energy
making a big play on capitalising on its rights to manufacture and
distribute the old Vestas V27 and V47 units, the manufacturing sector
has simply grown and grown.
Small turbines that are easy to manufacture, ship and install
have been well received by local developers pushing power to the
cities. The result is that at best estimates, the Asian powerhouse has
in excess of 1.3 GW in operation. Thats no mean feat and its enabled
the domestic market to clock up some impressive operational track
records. A useful barometer for any savvy overseas developer.
Evidently then, with onshore on the up, the appetite for Asian
offshore is only set to grow.
So what of the second development? A growing challenge
that strikes right at the heart of the debate. Namely, the complex
relationship between Asian ambition and future finance and
investment in the international wind energy sector.
Armed with competitive finance packages, that undercut European
rates and help manufacturers get turbines in the water, Asia shows
much promise. China in particular has the potential to quickly boost
its offshore European market share, learn lessons and thereby reduce
its domestic development phase.
For the European developer, Asian interests therefore present both
an opportunity and a threat.
In a market keen to cut costs, cheap debt certainly helps. While
utilising relatively unproven and untested turbines in European
waters is naturally high risk.
It is of course, the classic capitalistic risk/reward dynamic. And
its a scenario that the Chinese manufacturers already recognise and
understand, all too well.
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European developers, with a mindset for margins, are always keen

to chase a good deal and with this in mind, provided the financial
terms and the product itself are sufficiently compelling, then theres
good chance that someone will bite.
Before the controversy surrounding alleged intellectual property
theft, Sinovel had secured a long-term partnership deal with
Mainstream Renewable Power whereby the worlds second largest
turbine supplier would kit out over a 1000 MW of European projects
in the next five years. And although the deals on hold, its initial
As the Asian appetite for offshore wind

heats up, establishing long-term
partnerships with European developers
is not simply about shifting stock
attractiveness was predicated on favourable long-term financial
incentives and builds on the existing desire to establish stronger
East-West commercial ties.
Or, similarly, take Gamesas expanding manufacturing base in India
that has enabled the European outfit to diversify its market share,
drive down costs and increase its overall operational capacity and
production output.
Both deals have proved to offer significant commercial advantage,
while at the same time cashing in on the more immediate marginal
gains associated with the overall cost of manufacture and supply.
This, coupled with the potential to extend these relationships in the
future, ultimately paves the way for more complex sales packages
and longer-term financial lending incentives.
Yes, right now the vast majority of these agreements are simply
about supply. And, yes, theres still substantial market scepticism
about the durability and quality of the kit. However, in this regard
incremental gains are being made all the time.
Whats more, within the offshore space in particular where theres
a focus on cutting cost to within 100 (US$160) per MWh up front
unit costs are just one part of the story.
Factor in the operation and maintenance challenge, the ready
supply of parts and the cost implications of turbine down time and
repair delays and suddenly the relationship between manufacturer
and developer becomes imperative.
As the Asian appetite for offshore wind heats up, establishing longterm partnerships with European developers is therefore not simply
about shifting stock. And its not about capitalising on the ability to
offer preferential financial packages and incentives either.
Rather, its about learning lessons, understanding all the
necessary details of the process and then combining this with a
first class technology and manufacturing expertise to achieve local
economic gain.
The Asian economies might not yet have the political will to warrant
a fully fledged push into offshore but make no mistake, if and when
the time is right, then dont expect the likes of the Chinese to play
second fiddle for long.
Just as European developers have begun to cautiously embrace all
that Asia has to offer, lets not forget that the desire for energy security
is by no means territory-specific.
Adam Barber is the publisher of A Word About Wind.
a colleague, please visit:www.RenewableEnergyWorld.com
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Make your vision reality

EWEA 2013 Annual Event
4 - 7 February 2013 - Vienna, Austria
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ORGANISED BY:
* This promotion applies to exhibition visitor passes only and expires on 30/09/2012. Registration opens on 18 September 2012.
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DIARY
Solar Power Chile

Santiago, Chile
45 September 2012
Green Power Conferences,
Southbank House, Black Prince
Road, Vauxhall, London, SE1 7SJ, UK
T: +44 207 099 0600
E: samantha.coleman@
greenpowerconferences.com
W: www.greenpowerconferences.com
Solar Power International
Orlando, CA, US
1013 September 2012
Solar Energy Trade Shows, 1530
Wilson Blvd., Suite 120 Arlington, VA
22209, US
T: +1 703 738 9460
E: lcohen@solarenergytradeshows.
com
W: www.solarpowerinternational.com
Nigeria Alternative Energy Expo
2012.
Abuja, Nigeria
1719 September 2012
Suite 211 & 212, Lozumba complex
Area 10, Garki, Abuja, PO Box 6912
Wuse, Abuja 900421, Nigeria
T: +234 9 480 6271
E: info@nigeriaalternativeenergyexpo.
org
W: www.nigeriaalternativeenergyexpo.
org
_
Husum WindEnergy
Husum, Germany
1822 September 2012
Messe Husum & Congress
NCC (NordseeCongressCentrum),
Am Messeplatz 1618, D25813
Husum, Germany
T: +49 4841 902 488
F: +49 4841 902 247
E: kaiser@messehusum.de
W: www.husumwindenergy.com
European Photovoltaic Solar
Energy Conference & Exhibition
Frankfurt, Germany
2428 September 2012
WIP
Sylvensteinstrasse 2
81369 Mnchen
Germany
T: +49 89 720 12 735
F: +49 89 720 12 791
E: melanie.kern@wip-munich.de
W: http://www.photovoltaic_____________
conference.com/
_________
Geothermal Energy Expo
Reno, NV, US
30 September 3 October 2012
Kathy Kent, Geothermal Energy
Association, 209 Pennsylvania Ave,
SE, Washington, DC 20003, US
T: +1 202 454 5263
E: kathy@geo-energy.org
W: www.geothermalenergy2012.com
Solar Power UK
Birmingham, UK
24 October 2012
Solar Media Limited, Trans-World
House, 100 City Road,
London EC1Y 2BP, UK
E: gkakoullis@solarpowerportal.co.uk
W: www.solarpowerukevents.org
Renewable Energy World Asia
Bangkok, Thailand
35 October 2012
Neil Walker, PennWell International,
The Water Tower, Gun Powder Mills,
Powdermill Lane, Waltham Abbey,
Essex EN9 1BN, UK
T: +44 1992 656 643
F: +44 1992 656 700
E: neilw@pennwell.com
W: www.renewableenergyworld-asia.
com
__
TIREC
Istanbul, Turkey
1617 October
Green Thinking (Services) Ltd,
T: +44 207 099 0600
E: fatih.aydin@
Solar Brasil
Sao Paulo, Brazil
1617 October 2012
Green Thinking (Services) Ltd.
T: +44 207 099 0600
E: fatih.aydin@
China Wind Power 2012
Beijing, China
1618 October 2012
CCID Conference & Exhibition
Co., Ltd, 3091 CCID Building, 62
Zizhuyuan Road, Haidian District,
Beijing 100048, China
T: +86 106 8450820/68450650/
68462772
F: +1 86 106 8455499
E: info@chinawind.org.cn
W: www.chinawind.org.cn
WINDABA
2224 October 2012
Cape Town, South Africa
SAWEA, c/o IMBEWU Sustainability
Legal Specialists (Pty) Ltd
53 Dudley Road, Corner Bolton
Avenue, Parkwood, Johannesburg
2193, South Africa
T: +27 11 214 0660
W: www.sawea.org.za
APVIA (2012) PV Asia Pacific Expo

Singapore
2225 October 2012
Asian Photovoltaic Industry
Association, 352 Tanglin Road 26,
Singapore 247671
T: +65 3156 1408
E: info.sg@pvap.sg
W: www.pvap.sg
Arab Renewable Energy
Commission
Dubai, UAE
67 November 2012
Green Thinking (Services) Ltd.
Southbank House, Black Prince Road,
Vauxhall, London, SE1 7SJ, UK
T: +44 207 099 0600
E: fatih.aydin@
Intersolar India
Mumbai, India
6-8 November 2012
Solar Promotion International GmbH
T: +49 7231 58598 212
F: +49 7231 58598 28
E: steffen@intersolar.in
W: www.intersolar.in
Offshore EWEA 2012
Frankfurt, Germany
1921 November 2012
European Wind Energy Association
Rue dArlon 80, B-1040 Brussels,
Belgium
T: +32 2 213 18 60
F: +32 2 213 18 90
E: events@ewea.org
W: www.ewea.org
13th Forum Solarpraxis
Berlin, Germany
2223 November
Solarpraxis AG, Zinnowitzer Str. 1,
10115 Berlin, Germany
T: +49 30 726 296 300
F: +49 30 726 296 309
E: info@solarpraxis.de
W: www.solarpraxis.de/en
Wind Power India 2012
Chennai, India
2830 November 2012
Indian Wind Turbine Manufacturers
Association, Suite A2 OPG Towers 74
(Old 133), Santhome High Road,
Chennai 600 004, India
E: info@windpowerindia.in
W: www.windpowerindia.in
Renewable Energy World Africa

Johannesburg, South Africa
68 November 2012
Lee Catania, PennWell International,
The Water Tower, Gun Powder Mill,
Powdermill Lane, Waltham Abbey,
Essex EN9 1BN UK
T: +44 1992 656 647
F: +44 1992 656 700
E: leec@pennwell.com
W: www.renewableenergyworldafrica.
__
com
International Renewable Energies
Exhibition
Montpellier, France
710 December 2012
ENJOY Montpellier, BP 2116 - 34026,
Montpellier cedex 1, France
T: +33 4 67 17 67 17
F: +33 4 67 17 68 35
W: www.energaia-expo.com
Renewable Energy World North
America
Long Beach, CA, US
1113 December 2012
PennWell Corporation, 1421 S
Sheridan Rd, Tulsa, OK 74112, US
T: +1-918-831-9160
E: tthompson@pennwell.com
W: www.renewableenergyworld_______________
______
events.com
World Future Energy Summit
Abu Dhabi, UAE
1517 January 2013
Reed Exhibitions Middle East, PO
Box 77899, Abu Dhabi, United Arab
Emirates
T: +971 2 491 76 15
F: +971 2 491 76 12
W: www.worldfutureenergysummit.
__
com
PV America East
Philadelphia, PA, US
2931 January 2013
Solar Energy Trade Shows,
1530 Wilson Blvd, Suite 120
Arlington, VA 22209, US
T: +1 703 738 9463
E: plangdon@solarenergytradeshows.
com
W: www.pvamericaexpo.com
EWEA 2013
Vienna, Austria
47 February 2013
European Wind Energy Association
Rue dArlon 80, B-1040 Brussels,
Belgium
T: +32 2 213 18 60
F: +32 2 213 18 90
E: events@ewea.org
W: www.ewea.org
RENEWABLE
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Send details of your event to: Renewable Energy World rew@pennwell.com
DIARY
Solar POWER-GEN
San Diego, CA, US
1315 February 2013
PennWell Corporation,
1421 S Sheridan Rd, Tulsa,
OK 74112, US
T: +1 918 831 9160
E: tthompson@pennwell.com
W: www.solar-powergen.com
ExpoSolar 2013
Kintex, Korea
2023 February 2013
EXPO Solar 2013 Exhibition Bureau
13th floor Shinhan DM building 33-1
Mapo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul,
121-708, Korea
T: +82 2 718 6931
F: +82 2 715 8245
E: interexpo@infothe.com
W: www.exposolar.org
PV EXPO 13 International
Photovoltaic Power Generation
Expo
Tokyo, Japan
27 February 1 March 2013
PV EXPO Show Management,
Reed Exhibitions Japan Ltd,
18F Shinjuku-Nomura Bldg,1-26-2
Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
163-0570, Japan
T: +81 3 3349-8518
F: +81 3 3349-8530
E: pv@reedexpo.co.jp
W: ww.pvexpo.jp
_______
Russia Power 2013

Moscow, Russia
56 March 2013
Crispin Coulson, PennWell
International, The Water Tower, Gun
Powder Mills, Powdermill Lane,
T: +44 1992 656 646
F: +44 1992 656 700
E: crispinc@pennwell.com
W: www.russia-power.org
HydroVision Russia
Moscow, Russia
56 March 2013
Crispin Coulson, PennWell
T: +44 1992 656 646
F: +44 1992 656 700
E: crispinc@pennwell.com
W: www.russia-power.org
6th International Solar &
Photovoltaic Exhibition
Istanbul, Turkey
1113 April 2013
Ihlas Fuar Hizmetleri A.S.,
Ihlas Medya Center Medya Blok 29
Ekim Cad. No: 23,
34197 - Yenibosna / Istanbul, Turkey
T: +90 212 454 25 03
F: +90 212 454 25 06
E: hakan@solarexistanbul.com
W: www.solarexistanbul.com
Renewable Energy World India

Mumbai, India
68 May 2013
Sue McDermott, PennWell
T: +44 1992 656 632
F: +44 1992 656 700
E: suemc@pennwell.com
W: www.renewableenergyworldindia.
com
__
HydroVision India
Mumbai, India
68 May 2013
Sue McDermott, PennWell
T: +44 1992 656 632
F: +44 1992 656 700
E: suemc@pennwell.com
W: www.renewableenergyworldindia.
__
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Renewable Energy World Europe

Conference and Expo 2013
Vienna, Austria
46 June 2013
Lee Catania, PennWell International,
The Water Tower, Gun Powder Mill
Powdermill Lane, Waltham Abbey
Essex EN9 1BN, UK
T: +44 1992 656 654
F: +44 1992 656 700
E: leec@pennwell.com
W: www.renewableenergyworld_______________
europe.com
______
Intersolar Europe
Munich, Germany
19 -21 June 2013
Freiburg Wirtschaft Touristik und
Messe GmbH & Co KG
Solar Promotion GmbH
P.O. Box 100 170
75101 Pforzheim, Germany
T.: +49 7231 58598-0
F: +49 7231 58598-28
E: info@intersolar.de
W: http://www.intersolar.de/en
SNEC Photovoltaic Power

Generation Conference &
Exhibition
Shanghai, China
1315 May 2013
Room 711, No.1525 West Zhongshan
Rd, Shanghai 200235, China
T: +86 21 64276991
F: +86 21 33561089
E: info@snec.org.cn
W: www.snec.org.cn
Renewable
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SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2012
www.RenewableEnergyWorld.com
CARMAKERS
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27th EU PVSEC, Frankfurt, Germany

September 25 - 28, 2012
Booth: 3.1/B4
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CONTENTS
September-October 2012
10
18
Features
Regulars
From the editor
3 Auto engage
News
Advertisers index
Automotive manufacturers turning to solar as part of a low-cost manufacturing play
By Piers Evans
20
13
Inverter market forecast
10
Strong growth for shipments predicted in 2012, but revenues are set to decline, too
By Tildy Bayar
Post-incentive timeshifting
13
Solar PV with energy storage systems offers opportunities for industrial-scale development
By Tim Probert
A business case for suppliers
16
Integrating value added service into business models is key to return solar players to profit
By Johannes Ritter
Gardens that grow gigawatts
18
Virtual power plants can enable large-scale solar projects to be developed by householders
By Elisa Wood
SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2012 LARGE SCALE SOLAR 1
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FROM THE EDITOR

David Appleyard, Chief Editor, Renewable Energy World
GROUP PUBLISHER Ralph Boon

SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT Tom Fowler
CHIEF EDITOR David Appleyard
CONSULTING EDITOR Jackie Jones
ASSOCIATE EDITOR Tildy Bayar
An average installed price of US$4.71/W

has been reported for utility-scale solar
PV projects for 2010, according to recent
analysis from the International Renewable
Energy Agency (IRENA).
PRODUCTION EDITOR Piers Evans

DESIGN Kajal Patel
PRODUCTION MANAGER Kimberlee Smith
SALES MANAGERS Alasdair Evans, Sandra Spencer,
Peter Andersen, Dan Harper, Kate Hart, Rick Perednia
PUBLISHED BY PennWell International Publications

Ltd, The Water Tower, Gunpowder Mills, Powdermill
Lane, Waltham Abbey, Essex EN9 1BN, UK
TEL +44 1992 65 6600
This figure compiled from 92 utility-scale

PV projects averaging 10 MW in Canada,
Australia, China, Thailand, India, Japan, the
Czech Republic, Belgium, Greece, Spain,
France, Germany, Italy and the US gives a
cost which is about 16% lower than the 2009
average price of $5.61/W.
FAX +44 1992 65 6700

E-MAIL rew@pennwell.com
A detailed supplier listing and other information can
be found at www.RenewableEnergyWorld.com
ADVERTISING For information on advertising in

future issues of the magazine, please contact:
ALASDAIR EVANS on
+44 1992 656 636 (direct), or
SANDRA SPENCER on
+44 1992 656 664 (direct), or
PETER ANDERSEN on
+1 603 924 4405 ext 204, or
DAN HARPER on
+1 603 924 4405 ext 211

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may
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or retrieval system without the prior written consent
of the Publishers.
While every attempt is made to ensure the accuracy
of the information contained in this magazine, neither
the Publishers nor the authors accept any liability for
errors or omissions.
SUBSCRIPTIONS Renewable Energy World is

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POSTMASTER send address changes to

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PRINTED in the UK by Reaction Ltd.
Reflecting differences in technology prices

IRENA figures furthermore suggest the
average 2010 price for crystalline silicon
(c-Si) PV plants was $5.03/W, while the
average price for thin-film utility-scale
systems was around $3.90/W.
For example, fixed, ground-mounted
systems were the cheapest option for
c-Si-based utility-scale systems with an
average cost of $4.19/W. Adding a tracking
system increases the costs to an average
of $6.39/W, only slightly cheaper than
mounting the PV system on roofs ($6.45/W).
Thin-film PV systems are cheaper than c-Si
systems and have a higher market share for
utility-scale applications, the report says. In
2010, ground-mounted fixed systems using
thin-film PV modules cost an average of
$3.87/W, the authors add.
highest figures of $2.89/W and $6.67/W

respectively. In the US, the average price
was $4.83/W.
Falling PV prices, high cost fossil fuels and
incentive schemes have clearly driven the
growth in utility-scale PV plants. IRENA
gives figures that reveal that since 2005,
more than 1200 PV plants with a capacity of
1 MW or more have been commissioned, with
over 120 of these plants having an output of
10 MW or more.
Indeed, leading markets identified by IRENA
for utility-scale PV systems are Germany,
the prospects
for continued
cost reductions
are very good
Spain, Canada and the US, but agency

adds that utility-scale PV systems are also
being commissioned in India, China and the
Middle East.
And, despite the large range in costs, PV is
already competitive with residential tariffs
in regions with good solar resources, low
system costs and high electricity tariffs.
According to the agency, the total installed

cost of PV systems can vary widely within
individual countries, and between countries
and regions and it is these variations which
reflect the maturity of domestic markets,
local labour and manufacturing costs,
incentive levels and structures, and a range
of other factors.
But, despite the impressive declines in PV

system costs, the levelised cost of electricity
(LCOE) from PV remains comparitively high.
For instance, the agency cites a LCOE of
current utility-scale thin-film PV systems
estimated at between $0.26 and $0.59/kWh
in 2011.
In 2010, the lowest price ($3.38/W) was

recorded in Thailand. The highest cost
utility-scale PV plants were recorded in
Japan ($6.50/W), albeit with an average
project size lower than in Europe and China.
Among the major PV markets, Germany
showed the lowest average price at $3.64/W
for c-Si-based PV plants. The widest price
variation occurred in Italy with lowest and
Fortunately, the prospects for continued

cost reductions are very good. Most of the
economy of scale achieved by utility-scale
PV systems comes from balance of system
(BOS) cost reductions and saving in the
installation, permitting and commissioning
costs. However, IRENA also identifies
financing costs as an area where potential
savings can also be achieved.
22 LARGE
LARGESCALE
SCALESOLAR
SOLAR MARCH
SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER
2012
2012
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6-8 MAY 2013

INDIAN POWER
TIME TO
DELIVER
CALL FOR PAPERS

2013 conference.
energy sector.
Amy Nash
Tom Marler
Conference Manager
T: +44 (0) 1992 656 621
F: +44 (0) 1992 656 700

T: +44 (0) 1992 656 608
F: +44 (0) 1992 656 700
Event Organizers:
Presented by:
Supporting
Organization:
Co Located With:
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NEWS IN BRIEF
MODULE TEST BED

Canadian Solar has announced the
delivery of 1 MW of its ELPS modules for
a research and testing plant installed
by Nordwest Solar in Emsland in
Germany. In the various zones of the
3 ha solar park, different characteristics of
solar modules will be tested with the aim
of increasing efficiency. The research and
testing plant was initiated by the Institut fr
Erneuerbare Energien GmbH & Co KG (IEE),
3N-Kompetenzzentrum
Niedersachsen
Netzwerk Nachwachsende Rohstoffe and the
municipality Werlte. Grohandelszentrum
fr Photovoltaik Redpoint Solar GmbH
was selected as supplier for the system
components of the solar testing field.
Conergy initiates new German project

Conergy
develop a 10.5 MW solar on the Linslerhof

estate, owned by the von Boch investor family, in the German region of Saarland, near
the French border.
SOLAR LAB DEVELOPERS

GE,
the
Fraunhofer
Institute
for
Reliability and Microintegration IZM, are
developing a method to forecast the
remaining life time of power electronics.
The achievements so far of the still ongoing
joint
CoMoLeFo
project
(Condition
Monitoring fr Leistungselektronik in der
Fotovoltaik or Condition Monitoring for
Power Electronics in Photovoltaics) are
identification and detection of relevant
aging mechanisms of Insulated Gate
Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) power modules.
Algorithms and measuring data will enable
a forecast of the remaining life time of
an IGBT and therefore condition-based
maintenance. Other companies involved in
the project sponsored by TSB Berlin with
RDF funds include imc Mesysteme GmbH
and Elbau Elektronik Bauelemente GmbH.
Meanwhile, Alstom Grid and French stateowned research entity CEAINES (Institut
national de lnergie solaire) have announced
the creation of a joint Research and
Development Centre in Chambery, France.
The alliance has been put in place in
a bid to accelerate the deployment of
embedded storage into smart grid systems
and facilitating further introduction of
renewables.
5O MW PAK PROJECT
Conergy has joined forces with Ensunt to develop a 50 MW solar power
plant for the DACC Power Generation
Company Limited (DPGCL) in Pakistan.
The project in Bahawalpur, situated in the
Cholistan region, is owned by DPGCL
and the Pakistani government and will
be the largest solar plant in the country.
Conergy will be supplying components,
Ensunt will provide the local implementation as well as the construction work on site.
Once completed, 210,000 Conergy PowerPlus modules will produce an estimated
78 GWh per year. More than 140 Conergy IPG 300C central inverters will then
feed the solar power into Pakistans grid.
In a related development, Conergy is also to
implementing its One Million Rooftops

Sunshine Plan, with the stated goal
of stimulating the integration of solar.
Now emerging markets across MENA,
Eastern Europe, Latin America and
Southeast Asia are aiming to grow their
renewable energy production with an increased presence in the solar sector. The
UAE and Algeria, among several other
MENA nations, are focusing their renewable energy efforts in solar power, Indias
National Solar Mission will drive investment, and the Malaysian government
has set a renewable target of more than
3140 MW by 2020, with solar expected
to account for a third, the report says.
This new focus has upped demand for
modules, set to be met by manufacturers
in southeast Asia. The authors expect Japan, Taiwan, the Republic of Korea, and
in particular China to be the major equipment manufacturers in the years to come.
OMRON REMODELS
RELAYS FOR SOLAR
Omron Electronic Components Europe has
re-engineered two relay families to address
the very specific characteristics required
for grid-connected solar PV applications.
Grid tied inverters use pairs of monostable
grid protection relays. The key challenges
in the design of these relays are that their
power consumption has to be extremely low
yet they need to operate very quickly when
required under hot start conditions. Omron
has engineered its ranges specifically to
meet these requirements, with an operating
time of typically 20 ms.
SOLAR INVESTOR STAR

Investments in solar power overtook those
in wind power for the first time in 2011,
and the latest deals suggest this is only
the start, says a new GlobalData report.
As the report explains, renewable energy is becoming increasingly important in developing nations across North
Africa and Asia, and with such a readily
available and abundant source, its solar
power thats attracting the big money.
In China a series of solar projects have
been declared to meet the demand from
the Middle East and North Africa (MENA),
but also to fulfill its own requirements.
Notably, Shandong province is currently
GES LATEST INVERTER

GE has deployed its first 1500 V DC open
circuit (OC) central inverter for utility-scale
solar power plants. The companys power
conversion business formerly Converteam
until acquired in September 2011 developed, built and delivered the ProSolar
central inverter for system integrator Belectric, which installed the device at its new
solar power plant in southern Germany.
The inverter is an outdoor version and due
to higher operating voltage and higher output, the company says it offers higher power
density and better partial load efficiency.
SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2012 LARGE SCALE SOLAR 5
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NEW MARKETS
AUTO ENGAGE
Carmakers seek a solar boost
With their large roofs, heavy power demands and questionable environmental status, automotive
manufacturers are seeing a lot of benefits in embracing solar PV. Piers Evans explores the issues.
ike the rest of us, advocates for

renewables can fail to spot their true
friends. Fans of the recent blockbuster
Avatar might imagine that ecosystems get
rescued by dreadlocked tree-huggers while
the films bad guys are on the ecological
frontline. Buzzcuts and heavy weaponry may
jar with climate change aesthetics, but back
on planet Earth, though, the US military is
now spearheading the global assault on
carbon emissions on a range of fronts,
including solar power.
And the same goes for the motor industry,
where the internal combustion engines
environmental drawbacks seem to be
spurring investment in renewables.
Certainly, the auto industry has strong
incentives to step up a gear in emissions
wherever it can. Almost a quarter of global
oil production heads to the fuel tanks of
cars and light trucks. Whats more, carbon
emissions per watt from petrol-fuelled car
engines outweigh those from even the

dirtiest coal-fired grids, according to a
2007 study by the Electric Power Research
Institute (EPRI) and the Natural Resources
Defense Council (NRDC).
But solar installations must compete for
the sectors attention with a full deck of
alternative green technologies. While a
long-heralded transition to electric vehicles
continues to sputter, global automotive
brands have invested in solar, wind, biofuels
and hydropower.
In Germany, an aggressive target for
six million electric cars on its roads by 2030
sets a challenge for the power sector as well
as its automotive industry. If this goal can be
taken seriously, where are the sustainable
power sources to charge all these vehicles?
Daimler is already addressing this issue
by buying up wind capacity. An initial
investment already delivers enough clean
kilowatts to the German grid to keep
several thousand E-Smart cars on the road,

according to the manufacturer. If sales
outpace the companys targets, it will invest
in additional renewable power sources, says
the firm.
Not to be left behind, BMW has installed
four wind turbines to power a factory in
Leipzig where it aims to assemble electric
and hybrid models. Volkswagen operates a
wind farm that supplies 20 GWh each year
and has signed a deal to meet 10% of its
12 German plants power demand with
hydropower from 2013.
Audi aims to pioneer e-gas by using
wind-generated electricity to split water
molecules
through
electrolysis.
The
resulting hydrogen would help to make
synthetic natural gas for fuelling engines.
Meanwhile, French carmaker Renault has
opened a zero-carbon factory in Morocco
powered by wind turbines and cogenerating
biomass boilers.
6 LARGE SCALE SOLAR SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2012
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NEW MARKETS
Trina Solar sponsors the Lotus Formula 1

racing team. Trina Solar
SOLAR IN GREENER MOTORING

By comparison with e-gas, solar installations
could appear lacking in technological
glamour. But as a mature, proven
technology, solar could offer an excellent fit
for the automotive industrys power needs. A
series of solar PV installations at automotive
manufacturing plants are already proving
this fact.
As well as rolling out its flashy wind and
biomass project in Morocco, Renault has
installed what it describes as the auto
industrys largest PV project. Under a deal
with the developer Gestamp Solar, six
French plants have been equipped with
solar panels totalling 55 MW.
The solar panels cover areas corresponding
to the delivery and dispatch of the plants
at Douai, Maubeuge, Flins, Batilly and
Sandouville as well as the staff car parkings
in Clon and Maubeuge. Construction got
underway in mid-2011 and was completed
in early 2012.
While this project marked a step-change
for solar PV at European automotive sites,
Gestamp had already participated in two
other PV projects for the sector: a 1.1 MW
system for Lamborghini in Italy and an 8 MW
system for Seat in Spain.
The Lamborghini project, at SantAgata
Bolognese in the city of Bologna, consisted
of three phases totalling 1.168 MW on the
roof of the carmakers factory. The projects
special challenge was to allow normal
production to continue during installation.
Now, in addition to providing renewable
power, the completed solar field optimises

the facilitys existing surface.
Near Barcelona, in northern Spain,
Gestamp has been developing PV at
Seats Martorell plant since 2008. In a first
phase, a pilot plant was built on the roof of
the carmakers headquarters. Two plants,
each of 2 MW, were then installed on the
roofs of assembly workshops and on the
canopies that cover two parking areas for
finished vehicles.
The project continued with new plants on
the roofs of other workshops at the Martorell
factory and on the canopies of other parking
lots, to bring total output to 10.6 MW.
Shelters installed in the parking areas
to support the solar panels allow Seat to
protect its newly manufactured vehicles
from the weather and the paint-damaging
effects of UV light. As with the installations
for Lamborghini and Renault, the projects
environmental impact was reduced by using
land already occupied by the carmakers
facilities. On completion, solar panels will
cover six plants, six workshops and the
canopies of four parking areas.
Mitsubishi has also shown solar ambitions
in Europe, albeit on a smaller scale, with a
50 kW array on the roof of its UK headquarters
in Gloucestershire.
TARGETING CARMAKERS
For Ben Hill, head of Trina Solar Europe,
the automotive industrys interest in PV
rests on three factors: a feel for technology
combined with economic opportunities and
appropriate locations.
Firstly, as you might expect with
automotive companies, we have found that
there is a widespread culture of innovation in
the use of technology, he said.
This has made decision-makers more
open to think of innovative ways to
improve the energy efficiencies of their
manufacturing base.
Basic
economics
then
enhances
manufacturers interest in PV installations.
Car manufacture consumes relatively high
levels of energy and we have found that
the higher the energy use, the greater the
interest is in alternative sources of energy,
Hill said.
This is particularly the case as government
policies to reduce carbon emissions through
taxation or other fiscal measures come
into place, he added.
Finally, many factory units are large,
flat-roofed buildings, which makes them
ideally suited for solar installations

although Hill cautions that some buildings
were designed with economic efficiency in
mind and can only carry their own weight.
Installations of PV panels may therefore not
be possible without alterations to the basic
structure to the building, he added.
Trina Solars determination to profit from
PVs apparent benefits for automotive
plants may be seen in several projects. The
company supplied 55 MW of panels for
Renaults massive investment in solar power
and the Chinese panel maker has also
engaged in a high-profile alliance with the
Lotus Formula One racing team.
Trina Solar and Lotus stress the two
companies shared commitment to values
such as technology, innovation and
leadership. But each firm also stands to pick
up individual perceptual benefits. Trina Solar
is placing itself at technologys cutting edge
through an association with Formula Ones
relentless pursuit of excellence. Lotus is
spotlighting the environmental responsibility
of a sport with few aficionados in the
green lobby.
Trina Solars exploration of solar PVs
potential contribution to motor racing has
already borne fruit in projects with varying
utility. The experimental end of the spectrum
is covered a solar powered race drivers
helmet. Of greater immediate use is a
29 kW array of 128 panels installed on a roof
at Lotuss UK headquarters. Set up over only
two days using the companys installation
system, the array should meet three quarters
of the power needs of a cutting-edge
computerised racetrack demonstrator.
The
installation
follows
an
attention-grabbing installation of panels
on the roofs of Lotuss fleet of transporters.
As a result, the teams track-side hospitality
facilities now furnish a striking demonstration
of solar powers potential to some of the
industrys most influential figures.
For Hill, solar power cannot be seen as the
sole solution to the automotive industrys
power needs. Rather, it should provide a
pragmatic element in the power generation
mix of automotive plants.
As many plants operate 24 hours a
day, the size of the installation determines
if solar PV can provide day-time energy
requirements and store excess energy for
night shifts, he said.
The size of the plant roofs is a key factor,
along with the local climate conditions.
Secondly, as with all solar installations if the
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NEW MARKETS
Many auto factories are large, flat-roofed buildings, making them ideal for PV. Trina Solar
weather is overcast impacting the collection

of sunlight, then some energy will need to
be sourced elsewhere.
CARMAKERS COMMIT
An insight into the motor industrys
perspective on PV can be seen in Toyota
Motor Corporations global concept for
sustainable plants, in place since 2007.
Under this initiative, the company commits
firstly to cutting energy use, a process which
it sees as the fastest route to lower emissions.
But increasing the use of renewable
energies provides a second pillar to
the sustainable plant strategy, in the
phrase of Steve Hope, general manager
for environmental affairs and corporate
citizenship at Toyota Motor Europe.
The companys retailers in Europe
already apply a welter of passive and active
technologies, including solar PV, solar
thermal, Canadian Well, solar gain control,
green roof, landscaping and rainwater
harvesting, he said.
In its European production facilities,
Toyota has also considered all renewable
technologies for its processes, including
solar thermal, geothermal, wind, biomass
and hydro. But the companys two biggest
renewable installations are both based on
large-scale solar PV.
We have focused on considering
projects in which Toyotas participation has
contributed to new/additional renewable
capacity being brought to market rather than
simple green energy purchasing contracts,
said Hope.
At Burnaston in Derbyshire in the UK,
Toyota Motor Manufacturing (TMUK) has
installed 17,000 ground-mounted panels

across 90,000 m2 of land. The project
was completed by JPCS for British Gas
New Energy in time to beat changes to
the governments feed-in tariffs (FiTs) in
August 2011.
At Toyota Parts Centre Europe (TPCE)
in Diest, Belgium, a rooftop farm of
12,800 thin-film solar panels installed in
2009 is aimed at meeting 15%20% of the
facilitys electricity needs. The 80,000 m2
array was financed, built and operated by
Blue Planet Solar and has a peak power
supply of 1.84 MW.
Hope emphasises that the two projects
are designed to directly serve the companys
power needs, unlike projects at some
automotive production sites where power
is produced and used independently of the
sites owner.
Both large-scale projects are contained
within the site boundary and are a result of
a joint venture agreement with a specialist
renewable energy supplier/installer, and
both sites have contracts to consume all
(or as much) of the electrical output within
the site itself that is, only surplus energy is
returned onto the public network.
Hope stresses that a host of factors
would determine whether solar would be
the preferred technology at any additional
Toyota sites. These include the availability of
renewable energies as well as considerations
of the local environment, infrastructure,
legal agreements, national policy and
professional partners.
Capital expenditure and operating
expenditure
would
also
figure
in
the decision.
In his view, the automotive industry

presents few specific challenges for PV
projects. The challenges are largely
common with other industries national
planning/environment permits and energy
policies, legal connection agreements, local
infrastructure capability and constructing
a project which can attract a suitable
economic partnership.
But he adds that the partnership concept
can be quite attractive/necessary as the
energy supplier partner will generally
have a longer-term approach to such
investments than a typical manufacturing or
trading company.
In terms of the opportunities, he highlights
the actual facilities that we own and operate
such as roof space or spare land and the
opportunity to introduce a known load profile
to match the installation.
However, even these are not unique
opportunities as, for example, many
logistics companies/shopping outlets etc
have large sites that may be attractive for
PV installations.
Clearly, policies such as Toyotas sustainable
plants philosophy would seem to make
such sites most likely to sprout solar arrays
at automotive facilities. Not that either
Hope or Hill see the sector as motivated by
considerations of image.
I do not think that decisions to install
solar are made on the basis of image over
performance in the manufacturing industry,
says Hill.
Though most cars today are powered by
legacy oil infrastructure, they have become
exceptionally energy efficient, even when
compared to just a few years ago.
In his view, the car industrys reputation
hinges on its vehicles environmental
performance, not the technologies that power
its factories.
The reason behind the success of solar in
the automotive industry is that, as an energyintensive industry, constant reduction of
production costs is key. The use of solar is an
economic and practical one.
Piers Evans is Production Editor of

Renewable Energy World magazine.
This article is available on-line. To comment
on it or forward it to a colleague, visit:
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WHETHER FOR CONSTRUCTION SERVICES or full turnkey EPC installation, Eldor

can handle any solar project regardless of scale or complexity.
Resources of a full-service electrical contractor
Utility-scale experience and capabilities
Ground, carport and roof-mounted systems
SM
R E N E WA B L E E N E R G Y

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TECHNOLOGY & MARKETS
Shipments are forecast to grow by

almost 25% in 2012.
Enecsys
INVERTERS UP
Global PV inverter market
forecast to return to growth
The PV inverter market is predicted to see strong growth for shipments in 2012 but growth in industry revenues is
nonetheless expected to be minimal. Tildy Bayar spoke with Ash Sharma, PV practice director at IMS, about the future of
the inverter sector and the opportunities and threats the industry faces over the coming year.
ccording to IMS Researchs latest

annual market report, The World
Market for PV Inverters, the global
PV inverter market is predicted to grow by
23% in 2012 to reach almost 32 GW. But
despite this good news, the report offered
a much more sobering outlook for industry
revenues, which are forecast to grow by just
3% in 2012 (while also reaching a record
US$7 billion for the first time).
The recently released report found that
the PV inverter market shrank marginally in
terms of revenues in 2011, but is predicted
to return to growth in 2012. Shipments
are forecast to grow by almost 25% in the
mid-case scenario, but pricing declines will
see revenue growth muted to around 3%
this year. In 2012, suppliers will continue to
see high shipment growth but may struggle
to see top- and bottom-line growth, said
Ash Sharma, director of IMSs PV practice.

Inverter prices will see another double-digit
drop in 2012, partly driven by product mix
change, and shifts in demand to lower cost
countries, but also standard price erosion as
major markets stagnate.
Sharma has been tracking this price erosion
for more than four years. While it varies by
country, he explains that prices tend to fall
in line with feed-in tariff (FiT) reductions. So,
for example, if Germany reduces its FiT by
8%, the market should expect an 8% drop in
inverter prices. Standard price erosion is also
caused by rising volumes.
Because rest-of-world markets such as
China and India are growing so rapidly, said
Sharma, installations in those countries tend
to be focused on ground-mount products
using large central inverters, for which prices
are lower than string inverters on a per watt
basis and this tends to drag down the overall

pricing mix. In addition, Sharma reminded
us that the PV inverter markets in China and
India are already very competitive, and prices
there are low.
The Indian market is the fastest-growing
in the world and is expected to exceed
1 GW this year, according to Sharma, who
continued that India is possibly the most
price-competitive market, with even lower
prices than China. Indian PV developers are
using very large inverters and looking for the
lowest possible up-front cost; as a whole,
he said, this market is not as concerned
with lifetime costs. Sharma predicts that the
Indian market will be a very tough one for
Western suppliers; because pricing levels
there are so low, gross margins will erode.
In certain markets the early adopters
are using low-cost products in a focus on
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TECHNOLOGY & MARKETS
short-term gains. As a result, we could see

a lot of failures, recalls, and problems with
PV plants not operating as they should,
said Sharma.
The 2012 report found that global inverter
shipments grew by more than 12% in 2011,
despite the excess inventory overhang
from the previous year. Shipments reached
27 GW, but the European market shrank
considerably. Europes dominance in the PV
inverter market is predicted to continue to
wane as its two biggest markets, Germany
and Italy, face significant reductions in their
annual installations. Europes share of PV
inverter shipments and revenues was over
80% in 2010; however, we forecast this to fall
to less than 40% in 2016 and revenues not to
return to 2011 levels in the next five years.
This in itself presents a huge challenge to
suppliers, which are mainly European, with
the majority of their facilities and customers
located in that region, said Sharma.
However, the reports results showed that
while the European outlook is not so bright,
the global picture for PV inverter suppliers
looks somewhat better, highlighting the
fragmenting nature of the industry that now
needs to look to emerging markets for future
growth. Global shipments are predicted to
continue growing at a double-digit rate over
the next five years, with revenues exceeding
$9 billion by 2016.
In fact, in March IMS reported that the PV
inverter market in China grew by over 400%
in 2011, shipping more than 2.5 GW after a
period of high consolidation. Of the years
top 10 suppliers, providing 80% of total
shipments to the Chinese domestic market,
nine were Chinese companies. IMS made
it clear that the nations feed-in tariff (FiT)
programme, initiated in July 2011, created
an inverter market of more than $300 million,
within which inverter prices are considerably
lower than the average global price. And
inverters shipped from outside China to the
Chinese market accounted for 10% of global
shipments in 2011.
In 2010, China held only a 3% share of
global PV inverter shipments, compared to
the 42% share held by Germany and the
22% held by Italy, while 7% was held by the
Czech Republic, 6% by the US and Japan,
and 4% by France. By 2015, however, China
is expected to account for 13% of the global
market a substantial increase.
Sharma points to the many new markets
emerging, for example in Eastern Europe,
Latin America and South Africa; and
World PV Inverter Supplier Rankings

IMS Research
Company Name
2009 Rank
2010 Rank
2011 Rank
SMA Solar Technology
Power-One
Kaco
Fronius
REFUsol
Although the major inverter manufacturers have not changed, their rankings have.
Thailand and Malaysia in Asia. Thats
whats changing the industry, said Sharma.
There are no longer one or two important
markets. He advised that if suppliers want to
be successful they need to start diversifying
now and choosing their markets correctly,
rather than waiting for the European market
to recover which wont happen anytime
soon, certainly not in the next two to
three years, IMS believes.
The reports analysis of the more than
150 active global suppliers found that the
top five remained unchanged, albeit with
some slight shifts in rankings between them.
Germanys SMA Solar Technology retained
its number one position in 2011 despite
losing further market share, followed by
Californias Power-One and Germanys Kaco,
Fronius and RefuSOL. The report found,
however, that the biggest market share
gainers in 2011 were in fact those outside
the top 10, showing that the industry may
not be consolidating just yet. Startups
Enphase Energy and SolarEdge were
two of the biggest market share gainers
in 2011, whilst we also saw considerable
gains from Advanced Energy and Emerson,
noted Sharma.
IMSs 2011 version of this report showed
that trends toward reactive power, smart
grid interaction and energy storage are
transforming inverters from simple power
conversion units into essential components
of grid infrastructure, a trend that is
continuing in 2012. According to IMS this
shift will radically change the global inverter
market to 2015. IMS PV research analyst
Tom Haddon forecast in 2011 that standard,
non-smart inverters will fall to just 42% of
global shipments by 2015 as PVs integration
into the grid led by Germanys Low and
Medium Voltage Directives continues.
One of the hottest topics is the trend
toward increasing use of micro-inverters,
still a fairly niche part of the industry in
percentage terms, but one that is having an

effect, and will continue to do so over the
next few years. The micro-inverter sector
will gradually take up a greater share of
the smaller installations (residential and
small commercial), said Sharma.
Another recently released report on
the global PV inverter market comes from
Global Industry Analysts Inc (GIA), which
predicts that the market will boom to reach
52.3 GW by 2018, and the balance of demand
will shift toward the North American and
Asia-Pacific regions. This report looks to
China and India as significant emerging
markets, and projects that the Asian market
will display a CAGR of more than 25%
through 2018.
Sharma roughly agrees with these
predictions. IMSs longer-term prediction
forecasts a 56 GW inverter market by 2016,
although Sharma cautions that, due to the
nature of predictive analysis, it could be
plus or minus 10% or 15%.
IMSs 2011 market report predicted a
growth in shipments but a fall in revenue.
These moves happened slightly faster than
we expected, says Sharma, but essentially
as predicted. And he said last years
predictions regarding micro-inverters and
power optimisers were spot on in terms of
how much share they captured over the year,
but they did face more resistance in Europe
than was expected.
Tildy Bayar is Associate Editor of

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Conference and Exhibition

4 6 February 2013
Qatar National Convention Centre
Doha | Qatar
SERVING THE MARKETS

ESSENTIAL POWER NEEDS
For delegate enquiries,

please contact:
POWER-GEN Middle East 2013, the regions premier conference and exhibition dedicated to the power industry,
will be held from 4-6 February 2013 at the state-of-the-art Qatar National Convention Centre, Doha, Qatar.
Mathilde Sueur
Conference Manager
T +44 (0) 1992 656 634
F +44 (0) 1992 656 700
E mathildes@pennwell.com
Now in its 11th year, POWER-GEN Middle East is recognized as the must attend event for the international power
industry offering unrivalled business and networking opportunities with a quality multi-track conference
programme and comprehensive trade show floor featuring the latest research, industry developments
and technologies.
During the coming 5 years, countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region will need to spend
around $250 billion, including $104.7 billion by GCC countries, in order to meet increasing demands as growth
in the regions power sector.
Responding to such growth and vitality, POWER-GEN Middle East provides a unique opportunity to:
Hear from world-class experts, regulators and investors about policy debates and business
solutions to help shape the future of energy production and usage
Keep up to date with the most current research, infrastructure development and investment
opportunities in energy projects
For exhibition and sponsorship

enquiries, please contact:
Kelvin Marlow
T +44 (0) 1992 656 610
F +44 (0) 1992 656 700
E kelvinm@pennwell.com
Network with peers and professionals and develop new business leads
Uncover key challenges facing the power sector in the Middle East
View first hand state-of-the art products and technologies and systems from specialised
international companies
Co-Located with:
Register today to ensure you dont miss this prime opportunity to stay ahead of the competition
and be part of the rapid investment in the MENA region.
www.power-gen-middleeast.com
Owned & Produced by:
Presented by:
Supporting Organization:
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SOLAR INTEGRATION
POST-INCENTIVE
TIMESHIFTING
Large-scale PV, battery
energy storage and the grid
As the industry moves rapidly towards a post-incentive solar PV world, self-consumption and energy storage will be
of increasing importance. Tim Probert reveals the results from a flagship EU residential energy storage project which is
expected to have positive implications for storage from large-scale solar.
Grid stability is key to the adoption of energy

storage for large-scale solar. UK Power Networks
imeshifting. The ability to store

something for consumption at a more
convenient time. Great for watching
your favourite television shows. Ideal for
solar PV too, but sadly we are not at a stage
where solar energy is widely timeshifted via
a programmable box. At least, not yet.
Battery manufacturer Saft is actively
working towards such a solution. The
French firm is participating in a number of
projects aimed at merging solar PV with
energy storage systems (ESS) from feasibility
in the laboratory to feasibility on an
industrial scale.
One such project is a Franco-German
affair named Sol-ion, which also involves
solar PV manufacturer Tenesol, string
inverter specialist Voltwerk, German utility
E.ON and a number of academic institutions
including Zentrum fr Sonnenenergie- und
Wasserstoff-Forschung (Centre for Solar
Energy and Hydrogen Research, ZSW).
The project, which has financial backing
from the French and German governments,
was initially conceived with the German
federal governments decision to augment
its national feed-in tariff regime with a
self-consumption tariff from 2009. This
incentive was axed during the latest
amendments to the Renewable Energy
Sources Act (EEG), but the timeshifting
concept remains pertinent as many nations

move towards a post-incentive solar world,
where exporting power to the grid becomes
decreasingly lucrative and self-consumption
makes more economic sense.
The project will see the installation of a
total 75 solar PV + lithium-ion battery ESS
units in France and Germany, which makes it
the largest such R&D project in Europe. Ten
of the units have already been installed in the

various institutes and partners participating
in the project, while the remaining 65 will
be deployed in individual households. In
Germany, they will be mostly installed in
the Bavarian town of Schwandorf, where
there is a high penetration of solar power. In
France, they are mostly going to the islands
of Guadeloupe, as well as mainland France.
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SOLAR INTEGRATION
The Sol-ion systems comprise four of Safts

Synerion 48E lithium-ion modules, rated
at 48 V and with a capacity of 2.2 kWh; a
5 kWp string inverter and a battery converter.
The Sol-ion units EMS (energy management
system) controls the overall system state
and chooses the mode of operation: to
use PV for self-consumption, to recharge
the battery on each unit, for storage or for
export to the grid.
EARLY RESULTS ARE PROMISING

The French systems are configured to
prioritise backup power, as Guadeloupe
suffers from frequent power outages. Only
when the batteries are at least 70% fully
charged is any solar energy consumed by
the household.
The systems deployed in Germany,
however, are optimised for self-consumption
and are therefore configured to prioritise
household loads. Surplus energy is sent to
the batteries until fully charged, and only
then is any excess power fed to the grid.
Initial test results from one installation at
ZSWs site in Widderstall, Germany, showed
a fairly consistent boost in self-consumption
of approximately 40% during 11 days of
testing in November. On 18 November, for
example, solar PV self-consumption with
storage was 85%, of which 45% was delayed
use. By comparison, the site self-consumed
just 45% of solar PV output with an identical
set-up minus the ESS on the same day.
These early results are in line with
projections, according to Michael Lippert,
head of Saft Energy Storage. In our
calculations and simulations we expect
to shift self-consumption by 3040%
to 70% overall over an entire year, he
says. This includes what we call natural
self-consumption when production
coincides with consumption which is
around 30%.
Self-consumption will naturally vary in
different months of the year. You would
probably have 100% self-consumption in
January due to shorter days. If you produce
just 2 kWh a day in January, most of this will
be used.
On other days, the capacity of the energy
storage system will be inadequate and the
battery system will be fully discharged and
recharged in a day, while other days may see
only a 10% discharge. Over the course of a
year, the batteries will cycle at 60% per day
on average. This is why we think lithium-ion
is the best technology for energy storage
batteries, as it can cope with this high

variability of discharge.
Of course, they say the same thing
about lithium-ion for electric cars. And
even with billions of dollars in government
funds, electric cars have struggled to find a
market, mostly because of the high cost of
lithium-ion batteries.
Lippert says costs will come down once
the systems are mass produced. Safts
recently commissioned manufacturing plant
in Jacksonville, Florida will make up to
three million cells a year, but it will be some
time before the cost will come down to the
companys target price of 400/kWh for ESS
lithium-ion batteries.
Saft is not the only company planning to
bring to market time-shifted solar power
via lithium-ion batteries. In July, solar PV
manufacturer Kyocera began shipping
its solar PV + ESS system to households
in Japan. The package, which features a
4.03 kW PV array with a 7.2kWh lithium-ion
ESS made by Samsung retails for the tidy
sum of 4,926,000 ($60,825).
DISTRIBUTION AND INVESTMENT

Lippert acknowledges that the uptake for
ESS from solar PV producers will be limited
in the short and medium terms due to the
high cost. Furthermore, large scale solar
power producers have so far shown little
interest in storage, as due to feed-in tariffs
(FiTs) they are incentivised to export as much
power to the grid as possible.
So while the Sol-ion test results have
shown some promise for residential users
for self-consumption, the primary takeaway
from the project for Lippert is the drastic
reduction in power fed into the grid, which
on some days fell to zero.
Grid stability is key to the adoption of
energy storage for large-scale solar and
other renewables, and is the reason why
leading power equipment manufacturers are
developing their own grid-scale ESS.
GE GOES BIG ON STORAGE

Energy storage batteries do not start and
end with lithium-ion. GE has placed a large
bet on sodium nickel chloride being the
winner in the race to provide cost-effective
batteries for the global energy storage
market, which it estimates could be worth
$65 billion by 2020.
The US firm has built the largest
non-lead acid battery manufacturing plant
in its home nation in Schenectady, New
Uptake for ESS from

solar PV producers
will be limited in the
short and medium
terms due to cost
York, to manufacture its Durathon system.
GEs global research centre looked at all the
available battery technologies and decided
on sodium nickel chloride as the most viable.
Firstly, while lithium-ion has a higher
power density, sodium nickel chloride has a
higher energy density. For power needs over
a longer period, GE decided that sodium
nickel chloride is the best bet.
Secondly, sodium nickel chloride is seen
as an inherently robust and simple chemical
technology. While more expensive than
lead-acid batteries, sodium nickel chloride
has greater cost-effectiveness on a massproduced scale than lithium-ion, GE says.
For large solar applications, GE sees a
niche for Durathon as a 1 MWh energy
storage system with the capability to produce
that power between two and four hours a
day. Rick Cutright, GE Energy Storages
director of product management, says: If
you go through the trouble of installation,
the cost of the breakers, the switchgear
and the inverter, then I dont see too much
logic in connecting grid-connected battery
systems with a capacity of less than 1 MWh.
Two hours capacity gives you a battery
storage system of reasonable size with
black start, load levelling, uninterruptible
power and other functions. With a
four-hour capacity you can start thinking
about time-shifting.
To bring down the costs rapidly, GE is
focusing very hard on a modular, scalable
architecture using the same cells, battery
modules and control systems across the
range of system sizes that it will install.
Cutright states the market for energy battery
storage systems starts at $1000/kWh, which
GE can achieve, more or less, at present but
at $500/kWh the market will really take off.
EYEING OPPORTUNITIES
German giant Siemens has so far steered
clear of offering commercial energy storage
products for renewables. It believes the only
way to provide large scale energy storage
other than hydropower is by converting
renewable energy to hydrogen via an
electrolyser. Siemens has begun testing
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SOLAR INTEGRATION
a demonstration unit, housed in a soccer

field-sized plant, which uses wind power to
split water into hydrogen gas.
The idea is to mix the hydrogen with
existing natural gas and pipe it to gas-fired
power plants, or store it. Salt caverns used to
store Germanys strategic oil reserves could
also provide a storage option for hydrogen
gas, the company says.
Lately, however, Siemens seems converted
to the lithium-ion cause. This interest has
been boosted by Italys power grid operator
Terna, which plans to develop 130 MW of
batteries to store renewable electricity in the
next three years.
In February, the German firm installed a
lithium-ion ESS, with batteries supplied by
a third party, with an output of 1 MVA and
capacity of 500 kWh, in Italian utility Enels
medium voltage distribution network in
Rome. Enel will use the ESS to integrate
renewable energy and electric vehicle
charging stations into its network, as well as
to study black start capabilities.
French power equipment manufacturer
Alstom believes there is a good business case
to install ESS to manage demand in cities
which have a shortage of power capacity
and where the installation of new cables is
problematic and expensive. Laurent Schmitt,
vice president of smart grid solutions at
Alstom Grid, says an increasing number of
distribution network operators (DNOs) and
other grid companies are exploring installing
ESS at critical grid nodes.
In tandem with national grid operator

EDRF and power generation utility
EDF, Alstom is currently undertaking a
three-year
demonstration
project
in
southern France, called NiceGrid, which will
integrate residential solar PV in a low voltage
microgrid, which features a 1 MW ESS using
lithium-ion, Saft-manufactured batteries.
Alstom has examined the size of the grid
connected battery storage market and has
concluded that it fits well with its current
power electronics offerings in its portfolio,
such as power converters. Schmitt believes
that within 10 years a strong competitor
within the sector will be able to install around
100 MW of grid-connected energy storage
systems per year.
While Alstom has no intention to build
batteries, it is currently in discussion with
five strategic partners in the US, Europe
and China, all of which are purely battery
manufacturers, in order to develop storage
products. We plan to offer different
technologies at a size of between 1 and
10 MW, or two to eight hours capacity,
says Schmitt.
We believe that both sodium sulphur
and lithium-ion have a role to play in the
grid, as well as vanadium redox flow in the
future. The technology deployed depends if
you want to shift demand on a daily basis or
whether you want to stabilise power quality
at various times of the day.
Each grid and each node will require
different technologies. We intend to package
Daily production and consumption of a typical domestic PV system

Saft
various battery technologies with our power

electronics on a turnkey basis to high and
medium voltage grid operators consistent
with their specific grid codes.
However, warns Schmitt, the problem with
grid-connected ESS at the moment is that
the business model is not clearly defined.
Current projects are merely technological
demonstrations, he said. While solar and
wind farms have had an impact on price
volatility, at the moment the price spikes are
not regular and therefore easy to predict in
terms of cash flow.
Price spikes themselves will not be
sufficient to justify their installation, adds
Schmitt. Furthermore, additional benefits
of such systems, such as power quality
improvements, need to have a recognisable
revenue stream to be viable.
As much as technological improvements
and cost reductions, Schmitt believes the
success of grid-connected ESS depends on
regulators deciding whether it is the role of
regulated grid companies or deregulated
generators to be mandated to install them.
Like with smart meters, it would be more
natural for grid operators to install ESS
because the benefits can be shared across the
entire grid. However, it would require some
recognition that regulated DNOs can be a
market participant in intra-day transmission
system dispatch, which is normally managed
by the market. This is something new.
Dave Openshaw, head of future networks
at regulated DNO UK Power Networks,
believes that ESS installed at major power
stations to help meet peak demand could
avoid expensive investments in network
reinforcements such as transformers.
Clearly there are a number of challenges
to overcome before ESS are integrated with
the grid, not least the cost. But the worlds
largest OEMs are backing it. And they cant
all be wrong. Can they?
Tim Probert is a freelance journalist

focusing on the energy sector.
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PROJECT DEVELOPMENT
A BUSINESS CASE
FOR SOLAR
Value added services for suppliers
By changing to solution-based selling, solar manufacturers can increase the value of their products and use wider margins
again, argues Johannes Ritter. In order to do so they need to cooperate or integrate EPC into their business model and
learn how to actively sell successfully to customers. The business case is a tool that can help with this process of change.
aughn K Buntain, managing director

of RE Solutions and matchmaker
between investors and project
managers of large-scale solar plants,
believes that suppliers to the solar industry
have historically been order takers. The
new environment requires suppliers to
re-learn how to sell and develop business to
help stop their drop in revenue. This sums
up the situation manufacturers and suppliers
need to adapt to in order to be successful
again. It is not only in their interest; the entire
industry would benefit from competition
and production capacity for modules,
inverters, and mounting systems staying
high. When manufacturers and suppliers
learn how to sell by changing towards
solution-based selling they could, together
with other initiatives, slow the current
downward spiral.
Solar manufacturers see themselves
under totally new circumstances that seem
very threatening. For quite a few this has
already meant bankruptcy. The situation is
undoubtedly urgent and one can see market
forces in action. But it is neither a totally
new phenomenon nor is it symptomatic of
the entire industry. Solar energy is very close
to reaching grid parity by further reduced
up-front capital expenditure. And because
it is getting more and more attractive,
solar energy can at last leave its stigma of
high-cost energy behind.
SOLAR HAS MATURED

But the good news for the solar industry
overall is made possible by the losses in
price the suppliers were facing. A lot of

them will not be able to survive for long if
they do not find a way to turn the tide. It is
a common phenomenon for a new product
to become an interchangeable commodity
as the technology matures. Hardware is a
typical example. All the big IT companies
practically started with producing hardware
and when hardware did not offer high
enough margins they turned towards selling
services, especially turn-key solutions. Wind
power is another example for the change
from manufacturing turbines to actually
handing over a completely installed wind
power park to the customer.
SOLUTION-BASED SELLING
Solution-based selling sounds easy but
requires a few dedicated changes. This
does not mean changing everything, but
changing a few things substantially and
adapting the rest where necessary to the
new strategy. Module efficiency has to
keep improving, but probably at a slower
rate than in the past. This is the minimum
prerequisite to stay competitive. The same
holds true for manufacturing of inverters and
mounting systems. The strategy is to find
the right balance between higher quality
and efficiency, and reduce production cost
as much as possible.
A successful solar energy project must
combine the input and interests of four
parties: the investor, the supplier, the EPC
(Engineering, Procurement, Construction)
contractor, and in some cases a banker. EPC
is a party within the solar industry that is
Business case calculations assure both the

customer and the manufacturer that the
price of the project is reasonable and
that the worst case scenario is accounted
for statistically.
Solution Matrix
currently well off, if they are well managed

and mitigate their risks well. They are the ones
that already practice solution-based selling.
They either function as an intermediary
or as the one actually handing over the
turn-key solar plant. For these tasks they
combine a variety of capabilities, ranging
from engineering to project management
to installation, and even to marketing. Good
project management includes profitability
studies in order to offer the customer reliable
numbers on key performance indicators
(KPI) such as payback period and return on
investment (ROI).
LEARN FROM SUCCESSFUL EPCS

That is where manufacturers and suppliers
need to get to if they want to stay in
business. They can either cooperate with
EPCs or they can incorporate EPC into their
own business model. For single products
it is difficult to demonstrate unique selling
points (USP), but with a complete solution
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PROJECT DEVELOPMENT
that enables them to deliver optimised

products they could have a chance again
at becoming profitable enterprises. The
complete solution is optimised concerning
how modules, inverters, and mountings
fit and work together. The manufacturer
of module X could offer the best solution
for a solar plant of size Y in order to make
best use of the modules. The most radical
change for manufacturers in this approach is
that they would actually be actively looking
for projects to sell to instead of waiting
to be sought after due to low prices. It is
apparent that this change is a medium- to
long-term one. Solution-based selling is a
start to become financially robust again,
and by polishing the image of a company
with successful solar plants, good quality,
and an overall positive image the effect on
bankability will be positive as well.
CONVINCING CUSTOMERS
A customer-specific business case can be
used during the presales process in order
to present reliable numbers that are not just
positive but realistic, as they simulate all
possible risks. A business case can also be
used by the investor to convince a bank that
this investment is worthwhile.
Whether a project is profitable for the
customer can be calculated with a business
case. Especially for bigger projects of several
MW, it is a requirement to quantify all costs,
benefits, and risks. A simple calculation of
costs for insolation, material, workforce,
administration and other obvious elements
of the project is not sufficient as it does not
include the risks involved. Such a simple
evaluation which relies on experience and
general assumptions may be adequate
for an average project. But more complex
projects with long time periods and many
uncertainties must account for that which
lies outside the average. Every investor
likes to know the specific risks such as the
risks of modules degrading, the change of
regulations, and inverters having a shorter
lifecycle than the rest of the plant. In the
Czech Republic or Spain the change of
regulations after solar plants were built was
not at all in favour of the owners and their
return was minimised immensely. Overseas
investors might have to add currency issues
to the list of risks.
Convincing customers is an issue in
presales when the customer is still weighing
options, comparing with competitors and
deciding whether to actually continue with
All relevant aspects that influence either cost or revenue are taken into account using
an Influence Map.
Solution Matrix
the project. The question is how to adapt

to the customers needs in that process.
One option is to go forward not only with a
tailor-made project for the customer but also
with solid numbers concerning costs and key
performance indicators such as internal rate
of return (IRR), Net Present Value (NPV), and
payback period which include the probability
of facing changes in regulations or
unreliable inverters.
THE RESULTS
By looking at a large solar plant in southern
Europe the business case results will be
better understood. Investors are presented
with the following numbers with respect to
the project definition considered. The IRR
is 13.2%, the NPV is 5,633,417 in its most
likely value, and the payback period is ten
years. These numbers presume a preciseness
that is not possible with projects of such
long lifecycles. Anyone who deals with
profitability studies or business cases knows
that these numbers have to be specified by
the probability with which they will occur.
Only a risk and sensitivity analysis can offer
such results. In the risk analysis the calculated
results are simulated so that all possible
options can be considered. By doing so
the variety of possible outcomes due to the
high number of uncertainties in the project
becomes apparent. The NPV could vary
between 2.57 to 9 million. In order to
eliminate the less probable results on the
top and bottom end the range within an
80% probability is chosen. With a probability
of 80% the NPV is between 4.3 and
7.3 million. Only risk which is quantified with

hard numbers provides solid informational
value. The bigger a project the more
important these numbers become as they
are more in the centre of interest for investors
as well as their banks.
CONVINCING THE BANK

Getting a loan has become more difficult as
banks became more risk averse. They ask
20%25% equity for solar projects, instead
of only 15% as a few years ago, and they
increase the interest rates for risky projects.
The business case methodology offers the
bank all relevant information and more
precisely with respect to the specific project
and with an exact assessment of risk. Banks
often minimise risk by, for example, checking
the attributed quality of the suppliers. For
manufacturers of Tier 2-assessed products
the risk premium is possibly reduced
because the business case quantifies actual
quality and reliability. And the fact that they
can assure the payment of warranty claims to
customers improves their bankability.
Johannes Ritter is a partner at Solution

Matrix.
e-mail: rew@solutionmatrix.com
on it or forward it to a colleague, visit: www.
___
RenewableEnergyWorld.com
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SOLAR GARDENS AT SCALE
A Davis, California solar garden

Todd Woody
GARDENS THAT
GROW GIGAWATTS
Community
solar poised
to hit big
time
Is it possible to develop large solar
projects with households as backers
and do it again and again until
gigawatts of photovoltaics are built?
Thats the idea behind solar gardens
or community shared solar, a trend
that is catching on quickly in the
US. Elisa Wood looks at the unique
model and why it may bring scale to
distributed solar.
ike so many people, Joy Hughes

wanted to do something for the victims
of the July 2012 mass shooting in a
movie theatre in Aurora, Colorado in the
US. But while others held vigils and set up
memorials, Hughes found herself scouting
sites for solar gardens six days after the
shooting in the Denver suburb.
It is something positive for people to
focus on that might help with the healing
process, said Hughes, who worked at Apple
Computer and several Silicon Valley startups
before founding the Colorado-based Solar
Garden Institute.
A
solar
garden,
also
called
community-shared solar, is a photovoltaic
array that takes from the ideas of community
vegetable plots, crowd source funding
and energy aggregations. The garden is
built near or within a community, where it
is visible to its members. Local households
and businesses come together to fund the
projects through subscriptions, ownership of
shares, or some other form of investment,
sometimes using utility on-bill financing.
Models vary, but the harvest usually comes
in the form of electric bill credits, guaranteed
utility rates, or some other type of financial

compensation for the gardeners.
Helping a community through trauma is
not a solar gardens usual purpose, but then
Hughes points out that the model opens up
all kinds of possibilities not often associated
with a power plant. This is a way people
can take individual ownership, individual
responsibility for their power supply, she
said. lt becomes a symbol for sustainability
for every community.
Beyond the symbolism, the solar garden
offers a sophisticated financial model
that can leverage virtual net metering,
bulk purchasing, solar power purchase
agreements (PPAs) and tax equity credits
to reduce solar costs and ensure all parties
benefit from the deal. Moreover, solar
gardens offer a way to attract investment
from property owners who are otherwise
disenfranchised from the solar boom.
Often solar gardens are built on public
land, depleted agricultural plots, airports,
school rooftops and other inexpensive pieces
of property that are highly visible to the
community. But its not just neighbourhoods
that can benefit; the concept also can serve
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retail operations with multiple stores, as well
as municipalities that pay electricity bills for
schools, fire houses, water treatment plants
and other facilities.
The results, say its backers, could soon be
gigawatts of new photovoltaic installations.
SPREADING LIKE WEEDS

While solar gardens first emerged in the
usual green-oriented states: the Pacific
Northwest, California and Colorado, they
are now spreading elsewhere, and the
community model accounts for 60 MW,
according to the Solar Electric Power
Association (SEPA). Eight states have policies
that specifically encourage community
solar: Colorado, Massachusetts, California,
Delaware, Vermont, Washington, Rhode
Island and Maine. The concept is especially
alive in Colorado where former governor Bill
Ritter signed a bill in 2010 that allowed up
to 6 MW per year of solar gardens. Changes
in government policies, however, are not
always necessary solar garden models exist
that can work in most states.
So far individual solar gardens have
tended to be in the 1 MW range, but that
appears to be changing, as existing gardens
expand and new ones are proposed.
This is the way that we can bring
solar to scale, Hughes said. There have
been two solar sectors up to now: one
being the residential/commercial and the
other being the utility scale. Now we are
creating a third sector at a mid-scale size.

Moreover, if pending legislation in California
becomes law, solar gardening may take on
gigawatt proportions.
Californias SB 843, the Community-Based
Renewable Energy Self-Generation Program,
would create incentive for up to 2 GW of
solar garden installations, which could each
be as large as 20 MW. The state Assembly
Utilities and Commerce Committee voted
92 in favour of the bill in June, and the full
legislature is expected to consider it by the
end of August 2012.
This, I think is a potential game changer.
If that bill passes, it will unleash innovation
around these business models and the
policies to support them. Keep an eye on
California, said Hannah Masterjohn, policy
advocate at Vote Solar, a US non-profit solar
advocacy organization.
NET METERING GOES VIRTUAL

Solar gardens overcome one of the biggest
obstructions to mass PV installation. While
90% of the US population says it wants to
take advantage of solar energy, only 25%
actually can, according to Masterjohn. The
remaining 75% are precluded because of
various obstacles: trees share their roofs,
they dont own the building, or they lack the
capital or financing.
Using a community-shared model,
households and businesses can participate
in solar, and do so by taking advantage of
the economies of scale offered through bulk

purchase and aggregation. This reduces the
already falling cost of PV installation.
What the customer sees is the cost
savings; it is a modest cost savings at this
point, but it could easily become a much
greater savings over time as the installation
costs of panels goes down, Hughes said.
Many solar garden programmes bring
savings to customers through virtual or
aggregate net metering, a concept modelled
after conventional net metering, but able to
spread the financial benefit of distributed
generation beyond the building that hosts
the solar panels. Virtual net metering
provides bill credits for buildings not actually
connected to the solar panels.
In a July 2012 webinar on community solar,
Masterjohn cited the example of a college
campus where a dorm building has solar
panels on its roof. In the summer, when the
students are away, the dorm consumes far
less electricity than the solar panels produce.
But administrative buildings remain occupied
and continue consuming electricity over
the summer. So they receive bill credits for
the dorms solar production.
Similarly, in a neighbourhood with solar
gardens, the facility feeds the power into
the electric grid and local households or
businesses reap the virtual net metering
benefits, even though they have no physical
connection to the panels. However, not all
states allow virtual net metering. That is why
The Clean Energy Collectives solar gardens (as of July 2012)
The Clean Energy Collective
Project
Location
Size
Launch date
Mid-Valley Metro Solar Array
78 kW, 340 panels
El Jebel, Colorado
June 2010
Garfield County Airport Solar Array
3.5 MW total
Phase one: 858 kW, 3575 panels
Rifle, Colorado
June 2011
San Miguel Power Association Community Solar Array
3.5 MW total
Phase one: 1.1 MW, 4784 panels
Paradox Valley, Colorado
September 2012
Poudre Valley Community Solar Farm
2 MW total
Phase one: 116 kW, 494 panels
Fort Collins, Colorado
July 2012
Colorado Springs Community Solar
Two arrays, 498 kW each, 4444

panels
Colorado Springs, Colorado
December 2012
Kit Carson Electric Company Solar Array
1.2 MW total
Phase one: 98.7 MW, 420 panels
Taos, New Mexico
August 2012
El Jebel Tree Farm Community Solar

Array
1 MW, 4255 panes
El Jebel, Colorado
TBD
El Jebel Tree Farm Community Solar

Array
1 MW, 4255 panes
El Jebel, Colorado
TBD
Wright-Hennepin Solar Community
38.8 kW total
Phase one: 216 panels (includes
battery backup for peak power)
Rockford, Minnesota
Autumn 2012
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the Clean Energy Collective has created

a solar garden model that works without
virtual net metering. Founded in 2009, the
company has eight solar garden projects
either built or in development in Colorado,
Minnesota and New Mexico, and is talking
to utilities nationwide about additional
projects. The company expects to develop
5 MW 10 MW this year and six to seven
times that amount in 2013.
The
companys
model
involves
aggregating customers, striking a PPA with
the local utility to buy the power, and offering
a billing application and metering system
that frees the utility from calculating the net
metering credits.
Spencer, an engineer and serial
entrepreneur, developed his companys
solar garden model after he built his own
off-the-grid home near Aspen, Colorado in
2004. He wanted to create an opportunity
for others to install solar in an affordable way.
While Spencer supports the idea of virtual
net metering, he believes it may take too
long to develop solar gardens if they rely
on that mechanism not all states allow
virtual net metering and enacting new laws
and regulations takes time. Spencer instead
offers an approach that foregoes virtual net
metering, but allows customers to own solar
panels and earn a payback.
The company develops the solar facility
and offers ownership stakes to community
members at about $500$800 per panel.
CEC arranges a solar power purchase
agreement with the utility, since this
approach attracts third-party investors
seeking tax benefits. Escrow money is set
aside to maintain the garden, which has a
4050 year lifespan. When members move,
or just no longer want to participate, they
can sell their panels. However, speculators
cannot buy the panels as a pure investment

play; shares cannot exceed a members
electricity consumption.
Spencer says CECs model removes a major
stumbling block to solar gardens: tracking
and crediting solar energy production and
customer energy use. The company offers
a proprietary remote meter system that
handles the tracking and credits members
utility bills. CEC also partners with utilities to
establish fair solar power pricing for both the
utility and its customers. The idea is to offer
enough financial incentive to encourage all
parties to participate.
CECs approach is somewhat like crowd
funding, the crowd being the gardeners who
choose to invest. So far CEC has built solar
gardens totaling $15 to $20 million, and the
utilities involved have paid nothing, Spencer
said. Instead, the capital came from CEC,
which recouped the money from customer
memberships. This design looks especially
appealing, he said, when you consider the
size of the California community solar bill, and
what it will cost to develop that much solar
an estimated $8 to $9 billion, a lot of money
for a few utilities, but not so much when
spread out over many California households
and businesses who are investing voluntarily
and receiving electric bill savings in return.
The Clean Energy Collective has created

a solar garden model that works without
virtual net metering.
solargardens.org
__________
increase. In other cases, customers or a

third party own the system. Sometimes the
utility assumes the risk by guaranteeing
the kilowatt-hour performance; other times
the utility customer takes the risk by being
compensated based on actual system
performance, according to SEPA.
Whatever
permutation
they
take,
solar gardens not only encourage solar
development, but also appear to provide
a solution to one of the power industrys
daunting problems: In an age of smart
grid, how do you capture the attention of
consumers and get them to manage their
own power use?
DIFFERENT KINDS OF GARDENS

Solar garden design and the utility role
can vary widely, with some programmes more
true to the original idea of neighbourhood
ownership, and others diverging into other
community share models.
In some cases, where there is no virtual net
metering, a utility might build the installation
and sell the power to the customers at a
fixed tariff for a set period. The tariff allows
the customer to hedge against future rate
Elisa Wood is a US correspondent for

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WIND
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CONTENTS
GROUP PUBLISHER Ralph Boon

SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT Tom Fowler
CHIEF EDITOR David Appleyard
CONSULTING EDITOR Jackie Jones
ASSOCIATE EDITOR Tildy Bayar
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Meg Chichon, Steve
Leone, Jennifer Runyon
PRODUCTION EDITOR Piers Evans
DESIGN/PRODUCTION Kajal Patel
PRODUCTION MANAGER Kimberlee Smith
SALES MANAGERS Peter Andersen, Alasdair Evans,
Dan Harper, Kate Hart, Rick Perednia,
Sandra Spencer
PUBLISHED BY PennWell International Publications
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From the editor
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Whats new in the world of wind technology
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REPRINTS If you would like to have a recent article
Alstoms Haliade 150
A look at manufacturing the latest, largest offshore machine and the results of initial
offshore trials. We speak with the plant manager, whose background is in the automotive
industry, about plans for serial production.
By Tildy Bayar
Cables and performance
With 50 100 cables in the nacelle, tower and base of each wind turbine, including
power transmission and distribution as well as control and communications cables,
innovation and testing are necessary to maximise turbine performance.
By Thibaut Zumsteeg
Closing the offshore skills gap
12
Where does the skills gap lie within the offshore renewables sector, and what does
the industry need to do to ensure the gap is closed by the time the UKs Round Three
construction gets underway?
By David Martin
NORSEWiND project complete
14
NORSEWiND is a major pan-European project to acquire and provide a new offshore

wind atlas for the Irish, North and Baltic seas. The four-year programme began in 2008
and has just concluded its research. Here we report on the results.
By David Appleyard
Whats next in generator technology?
16
In generator selection for todays bigger turbine designs, with efficiency and grid
compliance the top needs, the market trend is leaning strongly towards permanent
magnet generators.
By James Lawson
Cover image: Tildy Bayar
PRINTED in the UK by Reaction on elemental

chlorine-free paper from sustainable forests.
WIND TECHNOLOGY SUPPLEMENT - SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2012
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FROM THE EDITOR

David Appleyard, Chief Editor, Renewable Energy World
Vestas, the worlds largest wind turbine

manufacturer, has revealed plans to intensify its
restructuring plan in order to ensure, it says, that it
will be profitable. The company has already laid off around
1000 people since the beginning of the year as part of its
earlier plan to realise 2335 fewer employees by the end of
2012. However, according to the first half interim report, its
more stringent plan will now see the company shed a total of
some 3700 staff by the end of the year.
While this headline news will no doubt yet again result in
market murmurs of an overblown wind industry, ever teetering
on the whim of government handouts, nothing could be
further from the truth. In fact, the wind industry is in excellent
health. Its true that the pace of development has declined, but
this is only natural in a global recession as is the realisation
that in times of market contraction, jobs are inevitably lost in
manufacturing. Its a sad truth.
Perhaps more significant is the 2012 Global Trends in
Renewable Energy Investment Report (GTR)s conclusion that
overall wind turbine prices fell by close to 10% over 2011.
This suggests not only that wind power is moving ever closer
to the competitive energy threshold, but also that long-term
investment in R&D is steadily paying off. Year by year, the
machines get both cheaper to produce and yet more robust,
more reliable. And that takes good engineering.
Of course, investment in R&D during times of economic
malaise can be challenging; the reflex is always to cut costs
2
RENEWABLE
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rather than increase expenditure on a potentially uncertain

return. And yet it is precisely continued investment that will
see wind power finally cross the threshold which hovers
tantalisingly just out of reach.
Indeed, a recent IRENA cost analysis finds that installed
costs in 2010 for onshore wind farms were as low as
US$1300/kW to $1400/kW in China and Denmark, but
typically ranged between $1800/kW and $2200/kW in most
other major markets. Offshore wind farms are more expensive
and cost $4000/kW to $4500/kW.
Given that, IRENA says, turbines account for 64% to 84%
of total installed costs onshore, with grid connection costs,
construction costs, and other costs making up the balance.
And as turbines account for 44% to 50% of the total cost
offshore, there is clearly a huge scope for further savings
if investment in good engineering continues and the cost
trajectory develops as expected.
It is troubling to see thousands of jobs cut in a market
that holds such promise for employment and prosperity, but
turning again to the GTR we see that investment in wind
energy over 2011, still at a far from embarrassing $84 billion,
was down 12%. Inevitably high-profile companies like Vestas,
but no doubt many others in the industry too, are thinking
along similar lines in the face of market contraction.
Far more alarming than the loss of jobs would be the
prospect that investment in research and engineering
design could fall by the wayside.
WIND TECHNOLOGY SUPPLEMENT - SEPTEMBEROCTOBER 2012
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MANUFACTURING AND PRODUCTION

By Tildy Bayar
The blades of the Haliade 150 are 73.5 metres long.

Tildy Bayar
MAKING IT BIG
PRODUCING MEGA-TURBINES
Alstom has won the French offshore tender for 1.43 GW, and will need to produce a lot of its massive Haliade 150 turbines
beginning in 2014. The company plans to scale up its prototype production facility.
What are the challenges involved in serial production of the new
generation of huge offshore wind turbines? So far nobody really
knows, as Vestas plans for a 7 MW turbine are on hold until 2014, and
Siemens 6 MW SWT-6.0 and Alstoms 6 MW Haliade 150 are both still
in the testing phase. After winning the French tender for 1.43 GW,
Alstom plans to roll out its monster turbine by scaling up its prototype
manufacturing facility in St Nazaire, France using lessons learned from
automotive manufacturing.
A visit to the turbine

The Haliade 150 sits at lands edge in Le Carnet, in Frances
Loire-Atlantique region, on a site that was planned as a nuclear facility
in the 1970s but later abandoned. The Le Carnet site was chosen partly
because it is geologically similar to the submarine environment where
the turbine will eventually be installed; the coastal soil is essentially
sand, said Frederic Hendrick, vice president for offshore wind. And
the wind conditions at Le Carnet closely resemble those in the
North Sea.
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The Haliade tops a 75-metre tower, a 25-metre jacket foundation

and monopiles driven 30 metres into the sea bed. The foundation
sits partially above ground, onshore but installed as if it was at sea,
explains Hendrick. The turbine was installed at the site in February
2012 and has begun its 18-month testing phase.
In offshore wind, size matters, says Hendrick. And offshore
turbines dont get bigger than the Haliade 150; its only current
competitor, Siemens SWT-6.0, was designed to be super-lightweight,
while the Haliade is massive.
Before you see it you know the turbine is big; you even know its
very, very big. But you dont really have a sense of just how big it is
until you stand under it, with you and your car and the nearby trees
and buildings all dwarfed by its sheer height and size, and feel the
WHOOMP-WHOOMP-WHOOMP as its blades turn. The Haliades
rotor is 150.8 metres in diameter, the blades are 73.5 metres long,
and the turbines sweep is 17,500 m2. The turbine and its support
structure boast a combined total weight of 1500 tonnes; the nacelle
alone weighs 360 tonnes.
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kl-company.de
____
Hendrick believes in going big. The size of the rotor is key, he The Plant
says. A bigger turbine leads to a better electricity price. Alstom A short drive inland from Le Carnet, we meet Pascal Girault, plant
claims that the Haliade can generate up to 40% more electricity per manager at Alstoms St Nazaire turbine manufacturing centre. Girault
kg of material used in its construction than todays offshore wind has a background in managing manufacturing plants for large
turbines, and that it will yield 15% more energy annually than other automotive suppliers, and he brings experience in process automation
6 MW turbines due to its larger rotor swept area and lighter blade, for mass production. His previous positions included production
developed in conjunction with LM Wind Power. (Siemens claims that centre manager, process & methods manufacturing manager, and
its SWT-6.0, with a 75-metre super-lightweight blade and a towerhead plant director for companies making engine parts.
mass of slightly lower than 350 tonnes, will lower
energy costs through ease and speed of installation.)
Onshore, the turbine accounts for 80% of total
CAPEX for a wind project. Offshore, the turbine
accounts for 35%, while the rest of the cost involves
at
Visit us
the connection to shore, installation, and O&M. During
ergy
WindEn
the design phase Alstom calculated the total cost of
Husum
2012
r
e
eptemb
foundation, installation and maintenance against the
18 22 S
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cost of electricity, and arrived at 150.8 metres as the
ideal rotor size for the Haliade.
If the wind speeds were lower, we could have
gone for a 5 MW machine, says Hendrick. Wind
speed at the Le Carnet site is around eight metres per
second. If they were higher, we would have gone for
7 MW 8 MW.
ld have gone for 7 MW-8 MW.
Design
Siemens places its mega-turbine components in the
nacelle rather than in the tower. The company claims
this facilitates pre-testing and pre-commissioning,
potentially
making
installation
quicker
and
easier, reducing power losses by transporting
medium-voltage rather than low-voltage solutions,
and making it possible to use lighter, cheaper
copper cables.
Alstom, explains Hendrick, is moving in the
opposite direction and putting components in the
tower. He says having components in the tower is
better for commissioning: before the Haliades tower
was commissioned, 80% of the necessary connections
were already made. He also says that when performing
maintenance you will be happy its all in the tower, at
the bottom. Commissioning accounts for just a few
days in a turbines life, says Hendricks, while O&M is
the next 20 years.
Almost all of the Haliades equipment is located
on the first three levels of the tower. At the very top
there is a helipad, from which maintenance personnel
can gain access. Nearly all necessary maintenance
can be performed from inside the machine; only
bolt-tightening must be done outside. And there
is a reinforced beam so that workers can lift the
transformer down and bring it through the door. The
transformer weighs two tonnes, and so does the crane
installed to lift it.
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Alstoms plant at St Nazaire is a temporary pre-series workshop;
the company plans to expand into serial production in 2014, by which
time it expects to build four separate manufacturing facilities for
nacelles, generators, blades and towers in different French locations
(the tower and blade facilities are planned for Cherbourg, and are
expected to be operational in 2015). The nacelle factory is the only
facility that is currently operational, and it currently manufactures the
entire turbine. The company predicts that each factory will produce
100 units per year. An additional engineering and R&D centre is
planned for the Pays de la Loire region.
Hendrick explains that there was too much stress on internal
resources to start four factories in one year; better to do it in two
batches. Transport was a major issue in the companys decision to
build the factories in different locations: there is less constraint in
manufacturing the blades and towers than in making the generators
and nacelles because the latter are easier to transport longer
distances to the site. Generators for the first two turbines the test
model installed at Le Carnet and a second one currently in production
were made in Nancy in the northeast of France, but while this
solution, involving transport to St Nazaire by canal and sea, might
be viable in the short term, Hendrick says that in the long term its
not a good idea. A generator production facility is planned for the
St Nazaire area, to be built by Alstoms partner GE Power Conversion
(formerly Converteam).
Since many of the Haliades components will be located in
the tower, the Cherbourg factory will assemble towers rather than
fabricate them. Where the metallic part of the tower will be made, we
dont know, Hendrick says, but because of the internals in the tower,
assembly is sensitive from a quality point of view.
Alstom says that once it is scaled up to full production the
St Nazaire facility will produce about 15 machines per year, with
approximately 20 days spent on producing each machine. The
temporary plant is expected to produce roughly 40 turbines before
serial production begins at a permanent facility.
Employees work in two shifts. The 3000 m2 work space is divided
into 15 stations manned by six people per station no more, explains
Girault, because of safety regulations. Currently 12 people work in
the St Nazaire factory; by March 2013 a staff of 4050 (half of which
will be assembly workers, the other half engineers and technicians) is
planned, and by 2014 the facility is expected to have a staff of 100.
Assembly
The Haliades nacelle is put together along an assembly line, in a
dynamic construction process akin to the way automobiles are made.
Girault explains that it takes 2.5 days to manufacture one nacelle.
Production takes place on a transport platform. A multi-wheeler
wagon moves the entire assemblage from one station to the next.
The generator is moved with a hydraulic crane and is eventually
bolted onto the nacelle.
Assembly begins with the turbines central block, which forms
the interface between tower and nacelle. The central block contains
the direction drive system, including a direction bearing. The central
block also includes the helipad.
Next the intermediate block is fitted to the permanent magnet
generator. The two blocks are then fitted together, ready to receive
the rotor, and then the blades are fitted to the rotor.
6
RENEWABLE
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Plant manager Pascal Girault is experienced in automation.
Tildy Bayar
At the end of the production process, parts are placed in a storage

and logistics area before shipping. Blades, towers, nacelles and other
parts sit to wait for installation close to the site.
A self-improving system
Girault terms his production process a self-improving system
and a never-ending improvement loop. His goal is a process akin
to Toyotas lean system for auto manufacturing (also known as
Toyotism). Lean manufacturing focuses on generating value for the
end customer while requiring as little work as possible from the
employees. Its principles are increasing efficiency, decreasing waste,
and using empirical methods to decide what matters, rather than
uncritically accepting pre-existing ideas. Lean manufacturing is widely
viewed as building on earlier efficiency systems, such as Fordism, and
taking them forward.
Girault believes in empirically testing his production process.
Turbine assembly is broken down into discrete tasks which are timed,
and then timed again to see if their duration can be reduced. The
workers keep track of timing on a large wall chart which records how
long it takes the assigned number of workers to do a particular job
and is updated after each task is completed.
Girault conducts weekly audits on safety, quality, activity and
logistics in order to streamline the process; employees are also
encouraged to suggest areas for improvement and awards are given
for workable ideas. For example, one employee suggestion that was
adopted was integrating an octopus tracking intelligence module,
which monitors machines and processes, into the workshop; another
suggestion was to fix mirrors to the underside of the generator in
order to see whether there are workers near it.
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Alstoms engineering and R&D
centre in Barcelona has designed
detailed
documentation
for
training purposes, which Girault
hopes will make assembling a
wind turbine as easy as putting
together furniture from Ikea.
Rules
and
procedures
applicable to serial production
have been applied from the first
unit produced in St Nazaire;
Girault believes this will make
subsequent
commercial
production easier to implement.
A wall chart monitors the timing and In this way the current production
number of workers needed for each
facility is also a testing facility: it
step in the production process.
is constantly testing and refining
Tildy Bayar
the manufacturing process in
which it is engaged.
Eventually Girault hopes that Alstoms four French factories,
planned to initially manufacture the 240 Haliade turbines to be
installed from 2016 onwards as part of the French tender, will all
benefit from the lessons learned at St Nazaire.
A big future
Hendrick believes that the Haliade 150 will be the turbine for the
coming decade. He doesnt believe that offshore turbines will get
much larger because of limits linked to the size of installation vessels.
And rotational speed is key: higher tip speeds can result in blade
erosion in a saline offshore environment. Also, if rotational speed is
reduced in order to get more power, youll have enormous torque,
explains Hendrick. So will there be 15 MW20 MW turbines? I
dont believe it, he says. But the Energy Research Centre of the
Netherlands 2011 Upwind: Design Limits and Solutions for Very
Large Wind Turbines report found that 20 MW turbine designs should
be achievable if some key innovations can be developed, and GE
Global Research has already begun work on developing a generator
for 10 MW15 MW turbines. If turbines grow ever larger, innovation in
manufacturing, assembly and transport will be increasingly necessary.
Author Details
Tildy Bayar is Associate Editor of Renewable Energy World magazine.

This article is available on-line. To comment on it or forward it to a
colleague, visit: www.RenewableEnergyWorld.com
*WWEA 2010
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CABLES AND PERFORMANCE

By Thibaut Zumsteeg
CONNECTING
POWER
With power transmission and distribution as well as control and communications requirements, wind turbines are packed
with cables, perhaps as many as 100 in all. With reliability vital, innovation and testing can help cables maximise wind turbine
performance and revenues.
One element that plays a vital role in delivering the energy
generated by wind farms is cable. Wind turbines nacelle, tower
and base comprise a variety of approximately 50 100 cables. This
includes power transmission and distribution as well as control and
communications cables.
the tower (DFIG generator). The transformer steps the voltage up to

MV (20 36 kV) before sending it to the grid.
There is, however, a current trend in the market to use systems
with the transformer located in the nacelle (mainly for onshore). The
driver behind this trend is the need for turbines to deliver more power,
hence operating at higher voltages.
Transformer location and generator dictate cables

The basic composition of a turbine consists of cables used within the
nacelle, which connect to the tower cable. The top section of the
tower cable is free-hanging and is known as a loop cable. Its called a
loop cable because it has to loop around inside the nacelle as turns
into the wind. It then transports power down into the lower section of
the tower, where the cable connects to the sides, before connecting
to the grid.
The cables used are a mixture of low voltage (LV) and medium
voltage (MV) cables. Their configuration within the turbine depends
on the type of generators (LV or MV) and their design, and where the
transformer is located, as it can be installed inside the nacelle, at the
middle/bottom of the tower or, in some cases, outside the tower.
When the transformer is located within the nacelle, a medium
voltage (MV) cable rated at 36 kV is usually used to connect the cable
from the transformer to the distribution point at the tower base.
In contrast, when the transformer is located at the middle/
bottom of the tower, a LV cable (0.6 to 1 kV) is used to connect the LV
generator in the nacelle to the transformer. Sometimes, both LV and
low MV cables are installed as loop cables between the nacelle and
The four general types of cables within a turbine

There are typically two main kinds of cable used within the nacelle.
This includes: low voltage (LV), up to 105C flexible cables, and
medium-voltage 180C single core cables.
The LV power cables are designed for flexible applications (good
bending radius), possible contact with aggressive chemicals, ozone
resistance, and to withstand high temperatures up to 90/105C, and
extreme low temperatures up to -40C. Therefore they usually have
a special rubber insulation and sheath (or compounds with similar
physical performances).
There are also MV 180C single core cables (silicone insulated),
designed to carry high levels of current in extremely hot conditions.
These cables are mostly used as output connections from the winding
bars of Class H generators and current converter cabinets.
The MV/LV flexible cables (power and control) used directly inside
the nacelle, and which go down from the top part of the tower (loop
cables) need to be light and flexible (to withstand torsional stress)
because they must be able to withstand up to four full turns in either
direction after that the operator will intervene to rotate the nacelle
Wind turbine systems require sophisticated electronic transmission

cables, and fibre-optic cables for control.
Nexans
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Make your vision reality

EWEA 2013 Annual Event
4 - 7 February 2013 - Vienna, Austria
Register for
FREE
before end September*
Bringing together mature and emerging wind energy markets,

this conference and exhibition will be the most stimulating
international arena to discover new opportunities and meet
valuable contacts.
If you can only attend one event in 2013, make it this one.
www.ewea.org/annual2013
ORGANISED BY:
SUPPORTED BY:
* This promotion applies to exhibition visitor passes only and expires on 30/09/2012. Registration opens on 18 September 2012.
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CABLE PERFORMANCE
back to its starting position. They come in 1-, 3-, or 4-core versions,
depending on the specific power transmission requirements.
These cables are oil-abrasion-, UV- and ozone-resistant, and
handle temperatures ranging from -40C up to 90C. Increasingly
there is a demand for LS0H (Low Smoke halogen free) material for the
insulation and sheath.
The cables found within the wind turbine tower comprise LV loop
rubber cables; MV loop rubber cables and LV fixed installation cables.
LV cables are used to transport electricity from the generator to
the transformer. As with MV/LV flexible leads, these cables are also
resistant to oil, abrasion and so on.
LV fixed installation cables are usually installed along the wall of
the tower, to ensure efficient energy transmission.
The MV loop rubber cables need similar performances to the LV
loop rubber cables, and can handle voltages up to 35 kV to provide
direct connections without any intermediate junction point
between a nacelle-based transformer and the switchgear at the base.
Aside from power cables, the systems within the turbines require
sophisticated control, electronic and data transmission cables, and
fibre-optic cables to help manage them.
Control cables can comprise anything from 2 100 cores,
depending on their application. They are flexible, mainly shielded (for
EMC protection) and are used to carry small currents (ranging from
voltages of 300 V to 1 kV) and low frequency signals that are used to
control the motor drive, or the generator for braking, positioning and
optimising rotor speeds.
Electronic and data transmission cables are used to control all
electronic and mechanical devices. They comprise thermoplastic
modified 2 5 core sensor multicore and multipair cables, which
are used to measure wind speed, temperature and performance
parameters. Two-core Fieldbus cables are used in parallel with power
cables to digitally control all electronic and mechanical devices, while
2-core Profibus cables deliver up to 12 Mbits for complex control
services, and data transmission cables offer Industrial Ethernet speed.
Increasingly, all cables are EMC shielded.
Fibre-optic cables are used to assure high data transmission
capacity for monitoring and control.
The role of testing loop cables

All cables within the turbine have to undergo international certification
testing. Within the wind power sector it is vital that cables used are
able to meet UL and CSA standards.
Loop cables in particular have to undergo stringent
case-by-case testing according to the system they will
be installed in. This requires stringent torsion and
strength testing.
Testing usually occurs on 10-metre lengths of cable. To
pass the test, the cable manufacturer and the OEM agree
on the number of cycles with a minimum rotational angle
per metre that the cable needs to be able to withstand
during the wind turbines service lifetime typically
Cables used in wind turbines are a mixture of low voltage
(LV) and medium voltage (MV) cables.
Nexans
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20 years. Usually the aim is to be able to achieve 2000 cycles minimum

during the test.
Cable installation within turbines

When cable is supplied to OEMs for use in turbines they can either
be supplied according to the required lengths, ready for installation,
or on drums, and cut to length later. Alternatively, OEMs use harness
makers to prepare cable lengths for them, ready for installation into
various positions within the turbine.
There is, however, also a trend for OEM manufacturers to ask for
kits from cable manufacturers that include cable that is pre-cut to the
various lengths of the tower, that are already stripped on one or both
sides of the cable, and which have the appropriate connectors, to
help speed up the installation process on site.
When manufacturing a turbine, the nacelle is pre-assembled in
the factory and this is where all the internal wiring is handled, but
when the turbines tower is constructed it is done so in stages. This is
because a typical tower can extend up to 140 metres in height (the
average is 90 metres), making it practically impossible to transport
and install the tower in one go. Therefore, towers are split into four
or five sections, approximately 20 25 metres in length. Within these
sections the appropriate cables can be preinstalled.
The preinstalled cable within the tower sections are usually
50 60 centimetres longer on either side of that particular piece of
installed cable. This makes it easier to install and connect cable and
tower sections together. The reason behind the additional length is
because it is cheaper and safer in the long run to cut cable shorter
and connect it together than to add additional pieces of cable in
those instances where the cable lengths are, initially, too short.
Ideally the industry would prefer to cut and install cable according
the precise lengths set out in plans. Unfortunately the sector is not
at a stage where it can be this precise but cable manufacturers are
working on solutions for the near future.
Cable is also preinstalled into the tower so that
both time and money can be saved during the
installation process specially trained electrical
installers have to be enlisted to connect up
the cables. Using their services can be costly
depending on the amount of time taken. As
the role of renewables, especially wind power,
increases it will become even more critical for
OEMs and utilities to install cost efficient cable and
accessory solutions that adhere to the strictest safety
and performance standards.
Author Details
Thibaut Zumsteeg is global marketing manager for wind energy
at Nexans.
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6-8 MAY 2013

INDIAN POWER
TIME TO
DELIVER
CALL FOR PAPERS

2013 conference.
energy sector.
Amy Nash
Tom Marler
Conference Manager
T: +44 (0) 1992 656 621
F: +44 (0) 1992 656 700

T: +44 (0) 1992 656 608
F: +44 (0) 1992 656 700
Event Organizers:
Presented by:
Supporting
Organization:
Co Located With:

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OFFSHORE TRAINING
By David Martin
CLOSING THE
SKILLS GAP
OFFSHORE RENEWABLES MUST
UPDATE TRAINING PROCEDURES
Where does the skills gap lie within the offshore renewables sector, and what does the industry need to do to ensure the
gap is closed as the ramp-up for massive construction gets underway?
Trade group RenewableUK has said that the offshore wind and marine
energy sector could support 88,000 jobs in the UK by 2021, up from
approximately 10,600 at present. In order to reach this target the right
policies and financial conditions must be in place and, as obvious as
it may seem, there will need to be an adequate amount of skilled
recruits to fill these jobs.
Skills where are we now?

At the moment we are facing a significant skills gap in the industry and
this needs to be addressed to reach the positive employment figures
which are possible. There are two levels to this skills gap firstly,
the professional level including project managers and engineers, and
secondly the operational level which consists of staff including vessel
crew members and electricians. Over the next number of years we will
see the ratio of operational to professional workers grow as we begin
to move from the design and build phases to the operational phase.
This skills gap has been widening over the past three years but
unfortunately has yet to be addressed successfully by the industry.
New wind farms will bring with them new engineering challenges
and it is paramount that the industry is prepared for this. When work
on these projects begins there will be a need for a huge amount of
skilled offshore workers and preparation needs to begin for this now.
An outdated approach to training?

The 2009 Renewable Energy Directive set targets for EU Member
States to reach. The UK, for instance, is expected to achieve 15% of its
consumption from renewable sources by 2020 this compares to 3%
in 2009. This has meant that the past few years has seen an increase
in offshore wind production and this will continue to grow, which,
in turn, will lead to an increase in investment and job opportunities
within the industry in the coming years.
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The skills gap can partly be attributed to the fact that, even
though it is a rapidly growing sector, there is no industry standard for
offshore training. There exists an offshore health and safety standard
but outside of this there are different opinions in terms of what each
company interprets as an adequate technical standard. SMEs may not
be able to afford to offer training to potential employees which makes
it difficult to recruit suitable workers. Even larger companies which can
afford to provide such training could benefit from a common training
standard and the time and money they invest in bringing new recruits
up to standard could be used to expand other parts of the business.
SMEs are the lifeblood of the renewables industry and in the past
they may have had to poach offshore workers from the oil and gas
industry in order to get the skills they need. This might have been
a successful tactic when jobs in the oil industry were scarce. But as
new opportunities within oil and gas become more available, this has
created a growing problem for SMEs. As a result, smaller companies
may be tempted to employ workers who may not be up to the desired
level and rely on them gaining training and experience on the job.
Closing the gap

There are in fact many skilled workers who may be unaware that their
initial career has given them the basis to successfully train to work
in the renewables industry. Construction workers and fishermen are
among those who may have skills that can be readily transferred to
working on offshore renewables projects.
Many of these workers can be trained to utilise their qualifications
or transferable skills for the offshore industry while maintaining high
standards; in turn they can help any renewables developer large or
small develop a competent, professional and well-trained workforce.
Specialist training offers the opportunity to prepare for a life
working offshore and enables the transition of technical skills to be
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OFFSHORE TRAINING
more applicable to the needs of the offshore industry. In addition
an understanding of the necessary health and safety training and
instruction should be provided.
But this is not enough for the future; for us to encourage the sheer
numbers of skilled workers the industry will need we must start at the
beginning, working with colleges and universities. Even though work
is currently being undertaken to provide courses and degrees dealing
with renewable energy, there is very limited focus on the challenges
faced in the offshore industry. We, as an industry, need to work more
closely with higher education institutions, encouraging them to
include offshore training on their courses. Industry can provide access
to the tools they need, including access to physical wind turbines
COMPANIES NEED TO PLAN WELL

AHEAD AND MAKE SURE THE
NECESSARY SKILLS ARE IN PLACE
for the larger companies, to new business opportunities for SMEs.

We need to develop a more open-minded approach to the industry,
helping us to become more aware and wiser to the skills and staff
available to the industry. At this point we will realise how an industry
standard in practical renewables training can really benefit offshore
renewables as a whole.
Sizeable commercial opportunities for developers and operators
are available offshore; at the same time new engineering challenges
will be introduced which will require different ways of thinking, and new
and innovative ways of working offshore. This will, of course, require
an expanded workforce with the skills to meet these challenges. There
will be a moment of realisation when the sheer scale of the skills gap
becomes apparent but by thinking and acting more collaboratively
the industry can demonstrate its maturity, its resilience and its ability
to adapt for the future.
Author Details
and other offshore technology, and also to people who already work
in the industry who can give first-hand insight. There is simply no
point in having highly educated engineers or project managers with
degrees in renewable energy if they cant apply this knowledge in an
offshore working environment.
When training staff for working offshore in renewables it is
important to have a finger on the pulse of the industry and a current
working knowledge of the issues involved. You need to be aware of
the challenges new recruits will face in order to help them prepare
fully for the experience. This allows identification of what the
industry needs.
It is going to take a united stance from companies both large
and small to address the significant skills gap facing the renewables
industry and acknowledge the clear business benefits of creating
industry standards. While the value to SMEs is clear to see, larger
companies also have much to gain financially by recruiting workers
who could, theoretically, be offshore on their first day in the job.
David Martin is Director of the Offshore Marine Academy.

What can be done now?

While we may need to wait for an industry standard to come about,
companies can still address the barrier that is lack of experience.
This is an obstacle that companies can ease if they start working on
offshore projects collaboratively.
Acceptance of there being a skills gap within individual companies
will also help to ensure the smooth running of projects. Projects may
begin slowly in the first instance as agreements and permissions
are granted, but once these initial stages have been passed things
can move more a lot more quickly. Bearing this in mind, companies
need to plan well ahead look at what they are bidding for, what
they are winning or likely to win and, once this has been taken into
consideration, make sure that the necessary skills are in place to carry
out each task.
Visit the BGB stand - Hall 7 C17 at the Husum Wind Energy Show
Leaders In Wind Turbine Slip Ring &

Brush Holder Technology
T: (44) 1476-576-280 E: sales@bgbinnovation.com
What the future holds

Once companies, both large and small, start to work together, mutual
benefits will begin to become apparent from cost and time savings
www.bgbinnovation.com
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RESOURCE ASSESSMENT
By David Appleyard
Norsewinds open access database of wind energy statistics

is projected to help reduce costs.
Oldbaum Services
THE NORSEWIND
DOTH BLOW
WIND MAPPING PROJECT
PUBLISHES RESULTS
Accurate pre-construction assessments are critical to securing project financing and ensuring investor confidence.
However, North Americas wind power industry has developed a reputation for producing energy below levels predicted
by pre-construction wind resource and energy assessments. What are the reasons for over-prediction, and how can such
assessments be improved?
NORSEWInD, or in full the Northern Seas Wind Index Database, is a
four-year project conceived in 2008 which aimed to bring high quality
hub height wind atlas data to the North, Irish and Baltic Seas. Four years
on, and the project has apparently succeeded in creating one of the
biggest dedicated instrumentation networks to acquire wind speed
data offshore. In a bid to help reduce costs and uncertainty, the
project has produced an open access database of wind energy
statistics using cutting edge methods that combine modelling, met
mast data, satellite data, and LiDAR data. Set objectives included
developing offshore wind atlases for the Baltic, Irish and North Seas
with a database derived from real data acquired offshore, as well as a
suite of techniques to provide cost-effective data anywhere offshore.
Other objectives included the promotion and acceptance of remote
sensing and development of an advanced short-term forecasting
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system taking advantage of near real-time spatio-temporal

measurement data. Under the coordination of Oldbaum Services a
consultancy firm specialising in data acquisition and instrumentation
services for the wind industry and carried out by a consortium of 22
partners throughout Europe, the 7.9 million project was funded to
the tune of 3.9 million under the EC FP7 programme. The remainder
of the funding came from the project partners, a group composed
largely of developers and validation and verification specialists which
included, among others, the Danish Technical University IMM, Garrad
Hassan & Partners, IWES Fraunhofer Institute, Kjeller Vindteknikk,
RISOE DTU, University of Strathclyde, WINDTEST Kaiser Wilhelm
Koog, Scottish Enterprise, DONG Energy, Nautilus Associates, Statoil
Hydro ASA, 3E, CLS, LNEG Portugal, the University of Lisbon, EDPR,
Scottish and Southern Energy and SmartWIND.
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RESOURCE ASSESSMENT
Andy Oldroyd, technical director of Oldbaum Services, speaking
to REW, explained that the shortfall was made up around 50%
by partner contributions of varying types: Effectively this came to
funding a LiDAR installation in a particular location. Statoil Hydro,
SmartWind, SSE, EDPR, all came in and contributed to the project,
said Oldroyd, adding that developers were agreeable to effectively
[funding] the procurement of a data node at a location that fitted in
with their business goals.
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More data reduces uncertainty

Oldroyd described the wind atlas as a geo-spatial database featuring
wind speed and wind direction, atmosphere stability [and] shear
profiles. He continued, The atlas will be available via a web portal at
the end of September 2012, together with a Geographical Information
System (GIS) where a developer will be able to pick their location and get
a list of parameters, which will help them probably up to and including
pre-FEED studies.
The role of an atlas and of wind energy data is not necessarily just
constrained to annual energy production, it also feeds into structural
and layout design, which then feed into electrical infrastructure design
and foundation design. So theres a degree of interlinking between
different disciplines, Oldroyd said. The better data you can have or
the more data you can have, the better you can reduce uncertainty in all
these disciplines.
Close to two dozen LiDAR units were used over the
two-year data acquisition phase of the project. At any one time we
had 20 physical data nodes and we had roughly 10 and 10 between
LiDAR and met masts, Oldroyd explained. NORSEWInD also found
that they were able to use other infrastructure in the North Sea, such
as oil rigs to host Lidar installation in alternative locations. That
gave us flexibility. We could place Lidar where perhaps there wasnt
any designated economic development but it would give us better
science for the atlas. We could also put them in areas where the
developers were interested in economic development to increase the
data resolution at those points, said Oldroyd.
He continued: NORSEWInD provides many industry firsts
including the creation of one of the worlds largest satellite Synthetic
Aperture Radar (SAR) repositories for wind; systematic testing of flow
distortion and correction on LiDAR measurements; and the systematic
lifting of satellite data from reporting height to hub height.
Looking ahead, Oldroyd clearly hungers for ever more data with
which to further hone the model: The main issue at the moment, I
think, is that we continue the acquisition of data, and thats something
wed need to go to our partners and talk about.
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Author Details
David Appleyard is Chief Editor of Renewable Energy World
magazine.
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____________________
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GENERATORS
By James Lawson
GENERATING
THE FUTURE
WHATS NEXT FOR
GENERATOR TECHNOLOGY?
As ever in turbine design, generator selection is inextricably linked to many other design decisions: the drivetrain speed,
the main bearing arrangement, the nacelle structure and top head mass which, in turn, all feed into the ultimate formula:
the lowest possible lifetime cost of energy for each turbine. For now, with efficiency and grid compliance the top demands,
what are the market trends in generator selection?
Manufacturers have used a variety of generator designs in their
variable speed turbines. The Dual-Fed Induction Generator (DFIG),
an industry standard since the late 1990s, currently rules the roost
in volume terms but its need for a high-speed gearbox, extra
maintenance and difficulty in complying with grid codes means
turbine manufacturers have been looking for new directions.
Today, its permanent magnet generator (PMG) technology that
looks most promising.
In a high-speed DFIG drivetrain, a slow-turning shaft from
the rotor (1020 rpm) drives a gearbox whose output shaft,
rotating at up to 2000 rpm, drives the generator. In a DFIG,
both rotor and stator use electrically excited copper windings
to create magnetic fields. As the rotor spins, interaction
between these fields generates electricity. DFIGs must spin
at 7501500 rpm to operate, hence they are restricted to
high-speed applications.
The rotor circuit is controlled by a power electronics
converter, while the stator is connected directly to the grid.
This converter controls voltages and currents, keeping the
DFIG synchronised with the grid while turbine rotor speed
varies (typically the range is +/- 30% of the synchronous
speed or 60% to 110% of the DFIGs rated speed).
The great advantage of the DFIG is that it only requires a
partial roughly 35% of the generators rated capacity converter
because only 25%30% of the input mechanical energy is fed to the
grid through the converter from the rotor, the rest going directly to
the grid from the stator. The efficiency of the DFIG is very good for
the same reason; little power is lost via the converter.
Controlling the rotor circuit in this way also allows the generator
to import and export reactive power to support the grid during
Some generators incorporate hybrid air-and-liquid cooling sytems
The Switch
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outages Low Voltage Ride-Through (LVRT). However, todays more
demanding grid codes stretch this to the limit and many existing
DFIGs have had to be retrofitted with extra electronics to cope.
In PMGs and in other synchronous designs like the EESG where
the electrical energy is generated at a variable frequency related to
the rotational speed of the rotor, the output must be converted to
match the frequency of the grid. Here the electronics must deal with
the full power output, demanding full power converters which are
considerably more expensive than partial converters around three
times as much according to Indar and which also have greater
electrical losses.
But as turbines become larger and more advanced, vendors are
looking to these PMG designs to enhance reliability and serviceability,
reduce weight and comply with grid codes. For those manufacturers
looking to eliminate the gearbox, compact PMGs are particularly
attractive. Slow rotation speeds typically demand much larger
diameter generators to accommodate the increase in the number of
magnetic poles on the rotor for direct drive applications.
PMGs operate in much the same way as EESGs except, as their
name suggests, they employ magnets in the rotor instead of windings
to create the magnetic field required. This means no slip rings or
brushes, and so reduced maintenance and greater reliability. The
high energy density of permanent magnets (a 15 mm-thick segment
of permanent magnets can generate the same magnetic field as a
1015 cm section of energised copper coils) also helps to deliver a
lighter, more compact unit.
PMGs are almost as efficient at full-load generation as standard
DFIGs, but are more efficient at part-loads the most common
conditions that wind turbines operate in. DFIGs are more efficient in
high, steady winds, but must have electrical current injected into the
rotor at low speeds, resulting in lower efficiency. Companies such as
GE and Vestas have used PMGs for some years in various models and
have more recently been joined by the likes of Alstom and Siemens.
A key attraction for manufacturers is that a full power converter
(FPC) confers greater ability to comply with the latest grid codes,
of which LVRT is the main element. To support grid voltage during
a voltage dip, the turbine drive train and its power converter must
inject reactive current.
Because it is completely decoupled from the grid, full power
converters can support longer, lower dips than a standard DFIG
whose otherwise efficient partial converter works against it here. This
full decoupling between a PMG and the grid can also potentially
lengthen gearbox life due to reduced loads on the drivetrain and
does away with the parasitic currents found in DFIGs which can
damage generator bearings.
So why doesnt everyone use PMGs?

With these advantages, why isnt everyone rushing to PMG
designs? One reason is cost when compared to established
technologies. Manufacturing large PMGs for direct drive turbines is
challenging. A tiny air gap of a few millimetres between rotor and
stator demands tighter tolerances and maintaining these standards
when machining components 6 metres in diameter is a serious
production challenge.
PMGs are more efficient at part-loads than standard DFIGs

GE
It also means turbine designers have to make generator supports

sufficiently rigid in order to prevent potentially fatal distortions.
Originally developed for geared machines, Alstoms Pure Torque
design uses an elastic coupling to isolate the massive 8 metres
diameter PMG from non-rotational loads in its Haliade machine.
Another disincentive for OEMs is that large PMGs require
expensive rare earth magnets whose price volatility has been well
documented. Other issues include NdFeB magnets susceptibility
to corrosion and their sensitivity to heat: go much above 80C
and electrical losses climb rapidly. Worse, theres a risk of reversed
polarity or permanently losing magnetic field strength. Manufacturers
such as The Switch use special coatings to prevent corrosion and
incorporate proprietary hybrid air-and-liquid cooling systems in their
generator designs.
There are also some concerns over the reliability of full-power
converters. Studies such as the EUs Reliawind point to power
electronics rather than gearboxes as the most prone to faults.
Frequency converters had a failure rate of 12.96% (failures/turbine/
year) and contributed 18.39% to average time lost (hours/year) while
gearboxes failed at a rate of 5.66% and contributed 4.66% of lost
time. REpower has said that gearbox failures only contribute between
4% and 8% of total turbine failures set against around 30% for
electrical systems and power electronics.
In the largest direct-drive machines, manufacturers are now using
multipart stators, each with a dedicated converter. This means that
the generator will continue to function even if one element fails. For
example, the Haliades PMG (manufactured by GE Power Delivery)
can lose one of its three converters but continue to generate
at up to 4 MW. Its also possible to isolate individual stator coils if
required. In Siemens SWT-6.0-120 the stator is electrically split into
two halves, each with its own converter, allowing it to operate at
50% capacity if a generator section or converter fails.
Looking to the future

So when are PMGs going to take over? The short answer is, not just
yet. DFIGs are a cheap, well-proven technology that will be around
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GENERATORS
BWTs direct drive generator
uses a printed circuit
board stator
Boulder Wind Technology
in volume for years to come. For example, REpowers latest 6.15 MW

6M model employs a similar high-speed, non-integrated geared drive
system to its predecessor the 5M and sticks with the DFIG. The vast
majority of todays turbines still employ this generator design and
whether it or the PMG is the most efficient over the full operational
range of a turbine is still debatable.
There are now DFIG solutions in the market with maintenance
conditions similar to the PMG machines, says Xabier Irure, Indars
wind power & series division export manager, noting improvements
to historical DFIG challenges like brushes, bearings and insulation.
Today, both partial and full converters can be designed to satisfy
100% of grid codes. We believe that the DFIG machine has still a
market but it is very limited to high-speed solutions.
Other generator types are still valid too. Leroy Somner recently
released a new high efficiency brushless EESG intended to compete
with PMGs in medium and high-speed applications. This employs a
full-power converter integrated with the generator and the company
claims that the machine can match or beat PMG efficiency even at
part loads by varying the air-gap magnetic flux something that
PMGs are unable to do.
There are also evolutions of the DFIG such as Indars xDFM. This
combines a small PMG with a large DFIG within the same machine. In
this design, the partial converter is connected between the rotor of
the DFIG, and the stator of the PMG and so is isolated from the grid;
only the stator is connected to the grid. This greatly enhances its LVRT
capabilities while retaining the cost advantages of a partial converter.
Kurronen, product manager at The Switch. But gearboxes can give

trouble, and traditional designs can be bulky and heavy. A direct drive
means no gearbox but has a very large generator, lots of (potentially
unreliable) electronics and expensive rare earth materials are needed
for PMG generators.
As far as I can see, the medium speed with one or two stages
is the best compromise for larger (46 MW) turbines, continues
Kurronen. It gives reasonable size and weight with high efficiency
and no high-speed gears which are most vulnerable to damage. This
solution also enables high level of integration. Medium-speed PMG
drivetrains are appearing, for example, in Vestas V-164. Vestas cites
magnet supply as a reason to select a geared solution.
With lower wear than a high-speed gearbox, it avoids the very
bulky, magnet-hungry generators that ultra-low, direct-drive speeds
entail. According to Indar, a direct-drive PMG will use 12 times as
many magnets as a high-speed PMG while a medium-speed design
will use between 1.4 and three times as many.
A hybrid or integrated design whose gearbox and generator
share the same frame, bearings and shaft also helps to reduce
weight and bulk. The Areva Multibrid M5000, which combines a
medium-speed gearbox with a PMG, is the best-known turbine design
of this type. However, this approach requires greater collaboration
between suppliers, particularly where there are shared components,
and also reduces the manufacturers supplier alternatives.
The latest integrated development is the medium-speed
(400 rpm), 36 MW FusionDrive from The Switch and Moventas. Built
as one unit, it is claimed to be the smallest and lightest combination
of gearbox and PMG on the market.
Light and compact best describes ABBs medium-speed PMG
generator, released late last year. For a 7 MW PMG generator at
a nominal speed of around 400 rpm, ABB quotes a diameter of
3 metres and a weight of under 30,000 kg. It claims over
98% efficiency with partial load efficiencies of 98% even at 20% load.
Rated at up to 8 MW, the generator uses a full-power converter and its
semi-integrated modular design employs a flange to connect the
gearbox and generator.
Beyond PMGs, there has been little recent innovation in
generator technology. For now, and for all the reasons outlined
above with efficiency and grid compliance at the top the market
trend is definitely towards PMGs. As ever in turbine design, generator
selection is inextricably linked to many other design decisions: the
drivetrain speed, the main bearing arrangement, the nacelle structure
and top head mass which, in turn, all feed into the ultimate fomula:
the lowest possible lifetime cost of energy for each turbine.
Drivetrain speed
The drivetrain speed is also fundamental to generator selection; a
DFIG is not going to work with a direct drive while a PMG does not
appear to offer any great advantage over a modern DFIG when used
with a high-speed drivetrain. The qualities of lightness, compactness,
cost, maintenance, reliability and so on also feed into generator
selection, as does whether the turbine will be used on- or offshore.
A conventional high-speed drivetrain with 34 stage gearbox and
DFIG generators is well proven and relatively compact, says Panu
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Author Details
James Lawson is a freelance journalist focusing on the energy sector.
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Conference and Exhibition

4 6 February 2013
Qatar National Convention Centre
Doha | Qatar
SERVING THE MARKETS

ESSENTIAL POWER NEEDS
For delegate enquiries,

please contact:
POWER-GEN Middle East 2013, the regions premier conference and exhibition dedicated to the power industry,
will be held from 4-6 February 2013 at the state-of-the-art Qatar National Convention Centre, Doha, Qatar.
Mathilde Sueur
Conference Manager
T +44 (0) 1992 656 634
F +44 (0) 1992 656 700
E mathildes@pennwell.com
Now in its 11th year, POWER-GEN Middle East is recognized as the must attend event for the international power
industry offering unrivalled business and networking opportunities with a quality multi-track conference
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During the coming 5 years, countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region will need to spend
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in the regions power sector.
Responding to such growth and vitality, POWER-GEN Middle East provides a unique opportunity to:
Hear from world-class experts, regulators and investors about policy debates and business
solutions to help shape the future of energy production and usage
Keep up to date with the most current research, infrastructure development and investment
opportunities in energy projects
For exhibition and sponsorship

enquiries, please contact:
Kelvin Marlow
T +44 (0) 1992 656 610
F +44 (0) 1992 656 700
E kelvinm@pennwell.com
Network with peers and professionals and develop new business leads
Uncover key challenges facing the power sector in the Middle East
View first hand state-of-the art products and technologies and systems from specialised
international companies
Co-Located with:
Register today to ensure you dont miss this prime opportunity to stay ahead of the competition
and be part of the rapid investment in the MENA region.
www.power-gen-middleeast.com
Owned & Produced by:
Presented by:
Supporting Organization:

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TECH NOTES
Wind updates
Noise project completed
Eight builders and operators of
German offshore wind farms
have presented the final report
on the ESRa (Evaluation of Pile
Driving Noise Mitigation Systems)
noise mitigation project. The
research project tested new noise
reduction systems designed to
mitigate the spread of ramming
noise and protect porpoises
during the construction and
installation of offshore wind farms.
Bard Engineering, DONG Energy,
EnBW Erneuerbare Energien,
E.ON
Climate
Renewables,
EWE Energie, RWE Innogy,
Stadtwerke
Mnchen
and
Vattenfall participated in the
ESRa project. Each of the noise
mitigation systems, manufactured
as prototypes, withstood the
harsh conditions at sea and
demonstrated a noise mitigating
effect. When corrected for site
specific effects, the mitigation
effect totalled up to nine decibels
in the relevant range. This brought
the noise level much closer
to the noise emission limit of
160 decibels at a distance of
750 metres around the source of
the noise. The report recommends
more research and development
work in order to meet the limit
reliably in future.
Background noise study

Barcelona firm ICR (Ingeniera para
el Control del Ruido) has presented
the initial phase of an investigation
into the characterisation of

exterior
background
noise.
The programme is titled Sound
Meteorological
Environmental
Correlation,
or
SOME-ECO.
In collaboration with AEMET
(the
Spanish
meteorological
agency), SOME-ECO looks to
evaluate external background
noise by correlating it with the
meteorological variables in a place
with specific characteristics. The
one-year study reformulates the
current methods for background
noise measurement and provides
representative data for, ICR says,
more realistic measurements and
forecasts of background noise.
SOME-ECO analyses atmospheric
pressure,
temperature,
wind
speed, humidity and thermal
gradient with altitude, showing
the evolution of each variable over
time and examining how each
contributes to background noise.
ICR says SOME-ECO will allow
wind farm builders and operators
to accurately evaluate the viability
of development sites.
Offshore research
Mitsubishi Power Systems Europe,
SSE, Technip Offshore Wind
and Wood Group Renewables
have announced the start of the
33 million (around 42) Efficient
Offshore
Wind
Programme
(EOWP). Set up to overcome
challenges in the offshore wind
industry and create over jobs in
the UKs energy sector, EOWP
is planned to investigate many

elements of offshore wind farm
design, with the overall objective of
improving the viability of offshore
wind. By 2015, the EOWP is
expected to complete a number
of projects focused on efficiency
and cost-effectiveness in offshore
wind technology.
New flat-pack turbine

Renewable
energy
firm
McCamley has designed a new
flat-pack vertical axis turbine that
overcomes many of the issues
associated with wind turbines
installed in cities and towns,
the company said. The turbine
requires no supporting mast and
can be retrofitted to any roof. The
company said its scalable design
could one day even incorporate
offices or residential buildings
into the design. McCamley
claims its vertical-axis model
is able to work efficiently in the
turbulent and variable wind
speeds associated with urban
environments. In addition, its
self-starting technology means
it does not need power from
the grid to restart if wind speed
drops below a certain level. Field
trials have shown it can start
generating at low wind speeds
of 1.8 metres per second. A
1 kW prototype is being tested
at Keele University in North
Staffordshire, UK. The company
says it plans to realise plans for a
12 kW model.
Bladeless turbine
Tunisian company Saphon has
developed a bladeless wind
turbine, inspired by sailboat
design. The turbines blades are
replaced by a sail-shaped body,
while both hub and gearbox are
removed. What the company
calls its Zero-Blade Technology is
completely different compared to
the current three-blade rotational
wind turbines, said Hassine
Labaied, Saphons chief executive.
Instead of blades, a sail-shaped
body follows a knot path of
back-and-forth movement with
the wind current, converting
the majority of its kinetic energy
into mechanical energy to move
pistons. This movement creates
hydraulic pressure that can
either be stored in a hydraulic
accumulator or converted to
electricity through a hydraulic
motor and generator. Because
of the devices aerodynamic
shape, says Labaied, the drag
force becomes the systems
driving force while the lift force
becomes almost nil. Saphon
says its technology is capable
of overcoming the Betz limit, or
the maximum possible energy
that can be derived from a wind
turbine. (German wind technology
pioneer Albert Betz stated that
no turbine can capture more
than 59.3% of the winds kinetic
energy.) The company has tested
a 300 W 500 W prototype with a
diameter of 120 cm.
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PLAN FOR THE LONG TERM

Spring 2012 Energy

LATEST PV MODULE TESTS

Improve reliability and eliminate problems

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SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2012 VOLUME 15 NUMBER 5

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SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2012 VOLUME 15 NUMBER 5

THE BIG QUESTION

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SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2012 VOLUME 15 NUMBER 5

THE LAST WORD

From the editor .............................................7

Changing Africas energy picture ................ 28

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Can HCPV compete? .................................. 35

Indonesian energy transit ........................... 71

Cool is the new cool ................................... 47

Putting trust in modules .............................. 81

Germanys renewable powerhouse ........... 48

Offshore wind: the next five years ............ 85

Emissions trading and renewables .......... 58

Floating a viable biofuels industry ............. 90

US warms to thermal energy...................... 65

Warming for new Europe .......................... 94

RENEWABLE ENERGY WORLD SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2012

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The Hartfords Commercial Insurance

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