Sunday 30 September 2012

米国に原発再稼働の方針を伝えていた野田首相の国民に対する背信

日の日経新聞が一面でスクープした。野田民主党政権は米政府に対して、原子力発電は引き続き重要な電源として再稼働させていく方針を伝えていたと。
これが本当なら野田民主党政権は度し難い対米従属である。国民よりも米国が重要であることを示したという事だ。原発に反対の国民はもとより、原発に賛成する国民でさえ許せないと思わなければ嘘だ。
野田民主党政権は選挙目当てのために新エネルギー戦略を発表して原発ゼロを目指すと言った。しかしそれを聞いた 米国と財界がすかさず反発したため「原発ゼロ」の閣議決定を見送って曖昧な文書採択でお茶を濁した。我々はそれを知っている。そして米国と財界が反対する 以上、野田民主党政権がそれに逆らえない事も容易に想像できる。だから「原発ゼロ政策」は早晩見直されるのは間違いない。
しかし野田民主党政権はいまだそれを国民の前に明言することなく曖昧な言い方でごまかしている。なぜか。「原発 ゼロ」を撤回すればさらに支持率を落とすからだ。これでは選挙にますます負ける。だから国民の前ではあたかも原発ゼロを決めているかのようにふるまってい る。ところがこの日経新聞のスクープによれば米国に対しては原発再稼働の方針を伝えていたというのだ。
このスクープに対して野田首相や関係閣僚たちはこう強弁するだろう。安全が確認された原発に限って再稼働するのだと。これは従来から国民に述べてきた方針だと。米国に伝えることのどこが悪いと。
ならば言おう。野田首相は原発の安全性の確認を新しくできる原子力規制委員会に白紙委任すると繰り返し述べてい る。自らの政治判断を巧みに避けながら原子力規制委員会の専門的判断に丸投げしているのだ。ところがその原子力規制委員会ができたのは9月19日だ。その 前に野田首相は米国に再稼働の方針を伝えていたと日経新聞のスクープ記事は我々に教えてくれているのだ。野田首相はもはや一切の弁解もできないだろう。こ れは国民への裏切りだ。原発に反対する者たちはこの日経のスクープ記事を見て官邸を包囲する一大抗議デモを行わなければ嘘だ。 

http://bylines.news.yahoo.co.jp/amakinaoto/20120930-00021924/

OITA見聞録:自然エネ計画続々 “電郷ひた”発進 郡森林組合が下支え /大分

 日田郡森林組合(伊藤彌一郎組合長)の下支えで、日田市にメガソーラー(大規模太陽光)と、間伐材を利用した木質バイオマスの発電所計画が次々と進んで いる。7月に始まった再生可能エネルギー固定価格買い取り制度を追い風にした。広大な土地や豊富な林材を生かした“電郷ひた”が全国にその名をとどろかせ そうだ。【楢原義則、土本匡孝】
 ○太陽光○
 メガソーラー発電所用地は同組合が所有する同市日高の共販所跡地4ヘクタール強。東京のエネルギーサービス会社が、東日本大震災後の電力事情を踏まえ方 針を固めた。出力は1・5メガワット。組合と既に土地売買の合意書を取り交わし、「正式に事業決定すれば、10月中の本契約、年度内完成、来年度操業にこ ぎつけたい」という。その際は現地法人を設立する方針。
 現場は三隈川や国道212号すぐ北側の2段構えの台地。更地化され、これまでにも企業誘致話があった。
 ○間伐材○
 一方、木質バイオマス発電所計画地は日田市天瀬町五馬市で、間伐材活用は県内初、全国でも福島県に次いで2例目。原料の中心となる間伐材など未利用木材は、同組合や木材業者などが作る「日田木質資源有効利用協議会」が提供する。
 グリーン発電大分(同市諸富町)が11月初旬着工、来年11月稼働予定。総事業費は20億円超で5700キロワット規模。9月県議会で8億円補助が決まった。
 固定価格買い取り制度では手間と費用が考慮され、建築廃材などリサイクル木材が1キロワット時13・65円、製材くずなどが同25・2円に対し、未利用 木材は同33・6円。森山政美社長は「放置されてきた未利用材の購入で山の所有者に利益を還元、森林も再生し雇用も生み出せる」。間接的なものも含め約 80人の雇用効果を見込む。
 県内木材の市場価格は輸入品や木材需要減で、杉の場合、1立方メートル当たり約9000円と30年間で4分の1に下落。間伐しても運搬料と売値の収支が 合わず、荒れた森が増えているという。下草が生えず、雨で土壌流出し、木も弱り風雪で倒れやすい。近藤孝昌室長・県林産振興室長は「間伐意欲が向上し林業 振興や森林整備につながる」と期待する。

http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20120930-00000217-mailo-l44

メガソーラー発電所建設ラッシュの蔭で、徐々に広がる風力発電所

 固定価格買取制度の施行により注目を集める再生可能エネルギー。メガソーラー発電所の建設ラッシュなどで太陽光発電ばかりが話題に上るが、活発とは言えないものの風力発電所についても各地で建設が始まっている。

 もっとも風力発電所の建設に積極的と言えるのは電源開発(J-POWER) <9513> であろう。9月21日には、100%出資する事業会社を通じて、「南愛媛風力発電所(仮称)」の建設工事を開始したと発表。国内最大級の風力発電機 (2400kW級)9基を愛媛県宇和島市の山林に設置する計画で、四国で最大級、J-POWERにとっては四国で初の大規模風力発電所となるものであり、 平成26年9月の運転開始を目指しているとのこと。さらに9月25日には「上ノ国ウインドファーム」の建設工事開始を発表。北海道では5地点目の風力発電 所となるもので、平成26年3月の運転開始を目指しているという。これによりJ-POWERが国内で手掛ける風力発電事業は20地点、総出力は 400860kWになるという。

 また、住友商事 <8053> の100パーセント子会社であるサミットエナジーは、エンタープライズ秋田と共同で、秋田県男鹿市において28.8MWの風力発電所を新設すると発表。本 年10月に着工し、2014年末の完工を予定しているという。住友商事はこれまでも、茨城県鹿嶋市および山形県酒田市所在の二か所の風力発電所も運営して おり、本件が3件目となる。

 経済産業省資源エネルギー庁が発表したデータによると、再生可能エネルギーによる発電は、2012年度において4月から8月末までに約68万kWが導入 済み。その内の9割以上が太陽光発電となっている。さらに、8月末までに認定を受けた設備容量に関しても、合計130万kWの内72.5万kWが非住宅に おける太陽光発電であり、住宅を含めると100万kW以上であるなど偏重が顕著である。太陽光発電に次いで多いのが風力発電であり、他の再生可能エネル ギーはこの2つと比較すると無いも同然である。しかし、太陽光発電や風力発電などの気候に左右される発電方法ばかりが増加するのは、将来的に大きな問題と なる可能性を孕んでいるであろう。地熱やバイオマスなど、他の発電方法への取り組みが活発になることを期待したい。(編集担当:井畑学)

http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20120930-00000001-scn-bus_all

太阳能与天然气产业合作或使光伏与传统能源分庭抗礼

尚德欧洲分公司公关经理Björn Emde在今天下午欧洲光伏展第九届欧洲光伏产业高峰论坛上为听众做出生动的演讲,他指出,在目前储能技术短期尚不成熟的情况下,太阳能产业和天然气产业的联合能使光伏产业同传统能源站在同一平台高度,这是光伏产业一直以来期盼的。

        圣戈班太阳能(Saint-Gobain Solar)首席执行官Fabrice Didier也认为对绝望中的光伏产业来说,Emde的确提出了一个非常规的解决方案。

        Didier指出,今年光伏产业缺乏投资,这显示出公司需要更积极的“面对现实”并且提出一个全面且现实的路线,向投资者展示他们将获得投资回报。

        Emde告诉听众,缺乏现实的储能方案已阻碍投资者的决策,光伏制造商需要承认传统化石能能源还将在未来相当长的时间内扮演重要角色。因此光伏产业需要需 求中期发展的同盟,光伏产业现在需要勇敢地迈出一步,加强和其他能源产业的关系。相比核能和燃煤发电,Emde表示天然气更适合作为光伏发电的补充能源, 他支出光伏产业需要“与狼共舞”,比如道达尔(Total)对Sunpower的投资。

        Emde强调光伏技术的可靠性需要传播给潜在融资人和决策人,以便确保太阳能长期发展。

        SolarWorld公司一名代表反对发言人,他表示欧洲光伏太阳能危机显而易见的解决方案就是中国制造商的退场。Emde反驳道,一家公司引起如此大的 混乱怎么还会“不脸红”?他继续说道,SolarWorld目光短浅,其一系列行动减少了了选民和政治家对太阳能产业的信任。

        EREC总裁Rainer Hinrichs-Rahlwes在会议开始强调,欧洲政府目前正在实施“限制可再生能源的发展速度”。太阳能产业需要使政治家相信光伏政策将不会阻碍经济发展。

http://www.pvnews.cn/chanyepinglun/2012-09-29/52354.html

Solectria可再生能源为马萨诸塞州太阳能电站提供逆变器

电源合作伙伴MasTec选择Solectria为MasTec在马萨诸塞州的索尔兹伯里的5兆瓦太阳能电站提供组件。该公司指出,此太阳能发电场将成为新英格兰国内最大的太阳能电池安装系统并直接上网。
 
        “我们为这个项目评估了几家公司的逆变器。 由于其卓越的技术解决方案,个性化的服务,以及他们与大型直接上网项目合作的经验,我们发现Solectria可再生能源是最好的选择。”MasTec可 再生能源集团总裁,凯文·泰勒说,“Solectria可再生能源的安装成本最低,其所有评估的逆变器制造商的产品效率最高。”

        该项目将建设五个兆瓦级太阳能电站。四个1兆瓦太阳能电站和一个759kW太阳能电站。每个兆瓦级太阳能电站是撬装,还包括一个分解有线22.9kV的介质电压变压器和与电网连接逆变器开关装置。

http://www.pvnews.cn/chanyeyaowen/2012-09-29/52357.html

光伏寒冬 江苏浩博新材料雪中“淘金”

作为一家生产切割微粉的企业,江苏浩博新材料股份有限公司的产品主要为光伏企业配套,上下产业链一旦出现波动,自身就会产生很大影响。不过,在光伏 行业进入寒冬期的大背景下,浩博新材料今年的销售业绩却不跌反增。今年1-8月份,企业实现销售收入3亿元,预计全年将完成销售收入5亿元。
 
        降本增效稳市场

        从去年开始,美国、欧盟“双反”的大棒相继落下,国内光伏市场陷入萧条,进入了极其艰难的发展阶段。一方面销售价格在不断下降;另一方面,原材料成本、生产效率却没有太大变化。如何降本增效就成了大部分光伏企业共同应对危机的方法。

        切割微粉作为太阳能切割中成本最大的原材料,首当其冲成了降本增效的头号劲敌。江苏浩博新材料股份有限公司牢牢抓住这一机遇,开拓切割微粉回收项目,投入 7000多万元建设了全行业第一条dcs全自动生产线,加大回收切割微粉研发力度。目前,企业回收切割微粉产能达到1万吨,切割微粉的成本从每吨1.8万 元降低到每吨0.8万元,每月产生利润400多万元。公司总经理朱海东告诉记者,凭借稳定的产品质量,公司拥有了一批优质客户。

        公司在追求更精密、更可靠的发展战略下,在创立之初便与北京的一批资深院校建立了良好的合作关系,并与国内多家碳化硅冶炼企业形成了战略合作关系。眼下, 公司从碳化硅结晶、冶炼的源头着手,根据线切割的实际需求出发,提高原料的品质,从而保证了原料供应的稳定可靠,通过院校的合作保证生产工艺始终处于领先 地位。公司还不断组织员工培训,使产品在晶硅切割行业要求不断提高的情况下,切实满足行业需求,并通过与使用企业共同研究,根据实际情况不断改进产品性 能,从适应市场到引领市场。

        细分客户控风险

        依托切割微粉回收这项新兴业务,浩博科技成功找到了突破市场困境中的增长点。不过,随着欧盟启动反倾销调查,国内光伏行业发展面临着更大的不确定因素。其 中,现金流将是最为关键的要素。针对这一情况,浩博新材料主动作为,导入金融系统中广泛采用的信用评级机制,将现有客户进行分类。

        “我们把客户分成了a、b、c三类。a类客户是集中在国内几家大公司以及境内外上市公司;b类客户是与我们长期合作的,这样我们就给他们一定的信用额 度;c类客户就是生存、竞争能力比较差的。”朱海东介绍说。针对不同信用等级的客户,浩博科技也采用了不同的供货、应收款方式,以确保现金流稳定。对于信 用、实力较好的a类客户,企业允许客户延期付款;对于b、c两类客户,企业则采取了较为严格的货款收付规定,确保不因上下游客户企业波动影响企业自身安 全。

        对客户进行分类管理后,经过近一年的实际操作,朱海东告诉记者,这种模式还是比较合理的。“避免了当前我们应收款的风险,另外对保证我们发货量集中供应优 质客户也有好处。”差异化的客户管理,进一步稳定了核心客户群。正是依靠这批黄金客户,稳定了企业的市场,确保了企业的生存和发展。

http://www.pvnews.cn/qiyedongtai/2012-09-29/52359.html

Winaico新型60片装单晶硅太阳能组件腾空出世

台湾WinWin Precision TechnologyCo.的子公司Winaico,最近开始生产一款新组件。
 
        据Winaico称,该款60片装WSP-285M6 Quantum组件的输出功率为285W,外部尺寸为1665x999x40mm。其效率为17.13%,填充因子超过77%。

        Winaico进一步补充到,Quantum组件非常适用于有限的屋顶空间应用。组件采用了背部钝化技术和选择性发射极技术,目的是为了提高效率。Winaico公司位于美国,德国,英国,意大利,澳大利亚和日本的国际办事处将开始销售该款组件。

http://www.pvnews.cn/qiyedongtai/2012-09-29/52360.html

Candidates & energy 2012: Obama

By Geoffrey Styles

It's curious that energy hasn't been as big an issue in this year's presidential campaign as it was in 2008, the year of "Drill, baby, drill."  The price of unleaded regular gasoline has averaged roughly a dime per gallon higher through September than either last year or the same period in 2008, when prices peaked at $4.11 per gallon in July.  Gas prices are higher this year because global oil prices are also higher, with UK Brent crude averaging $15 per barrel over its 2008 full-year average, though without a similar spike.  One explanation for the reduced focus on energy is that President Obama co-opted his opponents' "all of the above" prescription, while many indicators such as US crude oil production and natural gas output and prices have been moving in favorable directions.  The Obama campaign and key administration officials routinely draw a strong causal connection between those two facts, forming the basis of their campaign on energy.  But is that claim true?  Like the Washington Post fact checker's assessment of another frequent presidential assertion about energy, a finding of "true but false" seems appropriate.

Although I had intended to provide a side-by-side comparison of President Obama's and Governor Romney's energy agendas, it quickly became obvious that that was impractical, due to length and complexity.  I'll take a look at the challenger's ideas next week.  Since any re-election bid is fundamentally a referendum on the incumbent, it made sense to start with the record of an administration that came into office with an unusually clear and clearly articulated vision on energy, experienced some notable victories and defeats along the way, and ended up embracing a pair of big, emerging trends that it had done virtually nothing to foster. 

That is readily apparent when it comes to oil production, which must be a core element of any "all of the above" approach, since that "all" implicitly includes fossil fuels along with renewables and efficiency.  Go to the Obama campaign web page on energy and you'll see this chart:

 
It's a rescaled version of the chart below, which appears on the WhiteHouse.gov site on gas prices:
 

Aside from the fact that changing the axis scale makes the trend look much more dramatic, what's entirely missing from both these charts and the websites where they appear is any cogent explanation of why oil production is rising.  That requires some context about the industry and oil markets that I've overlaid in the following graphs:


Most oil projects big enough to matter aren't accomplished overnight. The process typically involves acquiring onshore or offshore leases, obtaining the necessary permits, conducting exploration activities that only proceed to the next step based on success, planning the required production wells and processing facilities, competing for internal funding against other company projects, obtaining additional permits, constructing facilities and drilling the production wells. Every step takes time.  Depending on the complexity of the project, the overall timeline can span from three to seven years, and that's if no one sues to block the project.  To see why oil production has been rising since 2009, we need to ask what was happening in 2003-6.  The answer is that after many years of being stuck in a range of $20-30 per barrel--with an excursion down to single digits in the late 1990s--oil prices tripled during that period, mainly due to the combination of global economic growth, especially in Asia, and the lagged effect on oil project investments from that late-'90s price crash.  In other words, production went up mainly because five or six years earlier the financial rewards for drilling suddenly got much bigger.

So at a minimum it's a stretch--mere spin--to claim credit for higher production that is attributable to events and perhaps policies on your predecessor's watch.  However, the picture looks worse when we factor in the policies and attitudes that went into effect when this administration took office in early 2009.  Recall that one of the first energy decisions of the new administration was Interior Secretary Salazar's cancellation of previously awarded oil leases in Utah.  Later that year a senior Treasury official--currently chairman of the President's Council of Economic Advisers--testified before Congress that US policies were promoting the "overproduction of US oil and gas", just as the now-touted production surge was starting.  For at least its first several years, the rhetoric and actions of the Obama White House were generally consistent with that view and with Mr. Obama's portrayal of oil and gas as "yesterday's energy" in his 2011 State of the Union address.  The brief offshore drilling opening signaled in spring 2010 was quickly retracted following the Deepwater Horizon accident, with the imposition of a six-month offshore drilling moratorium and subsequent "permitorium". Those responses--justified or not--resulted in Gulf of Mexico production falling by 22% since mid-2010, a decline that has been masked by the tremendous success of "tight oil" exploration and production in Texas and North Dakota. (The time lag for the moratorium's effects was negligible, because the deepwater projects that were halted had already been planned and permitted.)

In fact, the President's adoption of "all of the above" is fairly recent, making headlines following his 2012 State of the Union. It represents quite an evolution from Senator Obama's 2008 emphasis on renewable energy and climate change mitigation. President Obama certainly pursued those agendas with vigor, incorporating billions of dollars of federal grants and loan guarantees for renewables in the 2009 stimulus, backing the Waxman-Markey cap-and-trade bill, and at both the Copenhagen and Cancun UN climate conferences committing the US to significant greenhouse gas reduction targets and further negotiations. 

It hasn't all worked out as planned, though.  Notwithstanding the high-profile bankruptcies of Solyndra--a colossal failure of due diligence by the administration--and other loan guarantee and grant beneficiaries, the output of wind, solar and other non-hydro renewable energy generation has indeed grown by 55% since 2008, increasing from 3.1% to 4.7% of total US electricity generation, equivalent to 1.9% of total energy consumption.  Yet sadly the wind and solar manufacturing sectors that were to have produced so many "green jobs" are caught up in parallel waves of excess global production capacity that could take years--or wrenching consolidation--to work off.  The overcapacity that has blighted the prospects of many of these companies is largely attributable to the generous incentives provided by the US and other governments from Europe to Asia.  Direct wind and solar jobs accounted for just 54,000 of the US "clean economy jobs" tallied by Brookings and Battelle in their study last year, and they look no more secure than non-green jobs.

Climate policy is another area featuring a big disconnect between effort and results. With control of both Houses of Congress, the President backed a climate bill that exhibited all the worst tendencies of that body: 1,092 pages of bloated regulations and carve-outs for favored constituencies.  Even to someone who had supported the idea of cap and trade for a decade, it was a dog's breakfast, configured mainly as a production-inhibiting tax on the US petroleum sector.  Waxman-Markey failed to pass the Senate, and a more bi-partisan bill died in the aftermath of Deepwater Horizon and the recession. Whatever one's views on the science of climate change, costly climate legislation looked like a bad bet in a weak economy.  Actual emissions have fallen, however, as a result not of policy but of another trend that wasn't on the administration's radar screen until it grew too large to ignore: shale gas.  Emissions are at a 20-year low, mainly due to fuel switching from coal to cheap natural gas in the utility sector.

Another key trend cited as evidence of the effectiveness of the administration's energy policies is the reduction of oil imports that has occurred since 2008.  Yet like the facts on oil production, the causes are only tenuously connected to those policies.  From 2008-11, US net petroleum imports fell by 2.6 million bbl/day (MBD), including refined products.  That goes a long way toward achieving then-candidate Obama's goal of reducing imports by an amount equivalent to what the US imported from the Middle East and Venezuela.  However, the biggest contributor to this reduction was the 1.1 MBD increase in total US petroleum production (including natural gas liquids), followed by a 0.6 MBD drop in demand that had more to do with reduced driving and the weak economy than the early gains from tougher fuel economy rules. Increasing biofuel production associated with the 2007 Renewable Fuel Standard contributed another 0.3 MBD, although that policy now stands in urgent need of reform.

I have watched many elections in my life, and I can't honestly say I'm surprised to see an administration running on something other than its actual energy record, which in this case includes positives such as funding ARPA-E's potentially transformational energy R&D and having enough sense to keep largely out of the way of the shale gas revolution--at least for now. Yet having focused 90% of its efforts on a set of technologies that look important for the future but will still meet less than 10% of our energy needs for some time to come, they have now hitched their electoral wagon to an oil production surge that they didn't help and partly hindered.  I can only imagine that this would be deeply disappointing to those who supported Mr. Obama in 2008 because of his vision for alternative energy and the environment.  Nor does it provide much comfort to those who found large portions of that agenda ill-considered or premature. The President's 11th-hour conversion to "all of the above" creates great uncertainty about the course he would pursue with regard to energy for the next four years, if reelected.

http://theenergycollective.com/geoffrey-styles/117866/candidates-energy-2012-obama

Geothermal transmission 101

Paul Schwabe


Among renewable resources, one of the most valuable attributes of geothermal electricity is the baseload characteristic of the energy resource. That is, geothermal electricity generators are able to deliver a stable level of power production over time. Yet for better or worse, this baseload characteristic—along with other notable factors such as size constraints and varying market segments—reveals that interconnecting a geothermal plant to a transmission or distribution system poses unique challenges compared to other renewable energy technologies [1].
A recent report by NREL, "Geothermal Power and Interconnection: The Economics of Getting to the Market," delves into the specialized world of geothermal transmission. Among other things, this report finds that from a transmission perspective, not all types of geothermal energy technologies are treated equally. Conventional hydrothermal technologies likely fit differently into the transmission framework than do emerging geothermal technologies such as enhanced geothermal systems (EGS), co-produced geothermal with oil and gas facilities and geopressured geothermal.
Table 1 shows three geothermal technologies and the corresponding market segment they serve. It also describes how particular attributes of each technology present challenges to connecting to the grid and how they may be considered in long term system planning.
For example, due to their large project size and their proven commercial viability, hydrothermal geothermal technologies offer a wide range of transmission options; the electricity produced by the plants can serve either local grid networks or be exported to other networks (referred to as balancing authorities, "BA," in Table 1). The report's author suggests that until they are proven, emerging technologies such as EGS are best utilized serving their home network, but if successful, electricity from these new technologies could eventually be transmitted to other networks as well. Meanwhile, co-produced and geopressured geothermal are likely restricted to distributed generation applications due to remote project locations, large electrical demand of the oil or gas facilities, and relatively small generation capacities (i.e., less than 5 MW).

Table showing the attributes, challenges and
long term system planning characteristics for conventional
hydrothermal geothermal, co-production geothermal, and
emerging technologies. Table describes each of these
categories for distributed generation, local network
generation, power sales to another balancing authority
using existing lines and power sales to another balancing
authority using new lines.
Table 1. Geothermal Generation Groupings and Transmission Requirements. Source: [1]

The author also finds that there are several emerging markets in the Western United States where there is expected to be a near-term need for new baseload generation. These markets are largely where coal plants are expected to be taken offline in the next 5-10 years.  It is estimated that there will be more than 3,000 MW of new baseload opportunities that will emerge from diminished coal usage across the Western United States [1].  While some of these resources will be replaced with other forms of fossil fuel electricity generation such as natural gas, there is likely enough of a need to also elicit interest from geothermal developers.
The report also shows what the author succinctly describes as "The Uphill Economics of New Transmission." Generally, the cost of new transmission is determined by how much electricity the new line caries. Due to economies of scale, a MW of carrying capability on a large transmission line is cheaper than a MW of carrying capability on a smaller line.  Figure 1 shows the cost of transmission per megawatt served over various transmission line sizes.

Bar chart showing the Dollar per MW capacity of
new electricity transmission. The cost per MW is shown for
both 100 mile and 600 mile lines and at different voltage
levels. The cost per MW generally decrease and the line
capacities increase.
Figure 1. Total Line and Substation Costs per Megawatt of Transmission Capability.  Source: [1]

Given that most U.S. geothermal plants are less than 80 megawatts in capacity, they are relatively small energy generators compared to other baseload electricity sources such as coal or natural gas power plants.  Without economies of scale, new transmission for commercially available hydrothermal geothermal is a significant challenge, and in practice, drives even proven hydrothermal geothermal development into areas with existing, but underutilized transmission in place [1].
As each of these geothermal technologies offers the benefit of a stable electricity generation profile, there is likely to be a demand for the energy they produce. However, the role geothermal energy will play in long term transmission planning remains to be seen.
 
Paul Schwabe is an Energy Analyst with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s project finance team and has significant expertise in wind and geothermal projects. He has over 10 years of experience in the energy industry, including electricity market analysis, natural gas forecasting, and financial modeling. 

http://www.altenergystocks.com/archives/2012/09/geothermal_transmission_101.html?utm_sourc e =feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AlternativeEn ergyStocks +%28A ltE nergyStocks.com%29

$50 million for clean energy, energy & water efficiency via California county’s residential PACE program

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    $50mm for Clean Energy, Energy & Water Efficiency via California County’s Residential PACE Program (via Clean Technica)
   

         In today’s lean economic times, more and more homeowners across the US are looking for ways to produce, as well as consume, clean, renewable energy, as well as boost water and energy efficiency. Municipal and state Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) programs are proving to be an efficient,…
   

 

 

New efficiency record for photovoltaic cells set, jump in efficiency thanks to heterojunction technology


 
 
 

   
    New Efficiency Record for Photovoltaic Cells Set, Jump in Efficiency Thanks to Heterojunction Technology (via Clean Technica)
   

         A new solar photovoltaic conversion efficiency record of 21.4% was recently set, thanks to the innovations of researchers at EPFL’s Institute of Microengineering in Neuchatel. The research team, led by professor Christophe Ballif, director of the Photovoltaics Laboratory (PVlab), recently presented…
   

 

 

$20/ton carbon tax could reduce US deficit by $1.2 trillion in 10 years


 
 
 

   
    $20/Ton Carbon Tax Could Reduce US Deficit by $1.2 Trillion in 10 Years (via Clean Technica)
   

        This article was originally published on Climate Progress. It has been reposted with full permission. Over the last year, there’s been increasing talk in Washington political circles — including conservative ones — about how to use a carbon tax as a deficit reduction tool. However, with an…
   

 

 

The question day 2: What is the most difficult issue facing the solar industry?

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?
Responses will be updated daily, and we encourage you to lend your own voice to the discussion in the comments below.

Jayesh Goyal, Global Vice President of Sales, AREVA Solar

When viewing the overall industry and examining its challenges and opportunities, I think we need to move beyond a discussion of just 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 programs were delayed.
To ensure long-term growth of the industry, we must, among other factors, continue to raise awareness for and diversify our offerings with proven and dispatchable CSP and emphasize localization 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 localization. Understanding the regulatory and market differences of each country and then adapting our 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 industry’s 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.

Tucker Ruberti, Director of Segment Marketing, Solar Energy, Advanced Energy 

Contrary to what many people hear in the news, the solar industry is quietly riding a hot trend: record low prices combined with incredible growth in a variety of markets. With that in mind, perhaps the number one challenge for the industry overall will be to help fight the misconceptions that still linger around solar and better communicate its successes.
Many inside and outside the solar industry believe it is doomed due to the unfortunate failure of a handful of solar companies. While these companies did teach us some tough lessons, the industry experienced its best quarters on record, creating jobs and driving megawatts of projects.

Solar is doing well for a variety of reasons.  First, the cost of PV modules is falling rapidly, which has been bad news for the high cost and least efficient producers, but great news for the rest of the industry.  Lower module costs are bringing more buyers onto the scene.
Another important trend is that the secure returns of PV projects have brought in a new wave of money and new financial instruments.  The fact that Warren Buffet’s company has come into PV and is securitizing projects is possibly the most important news for the long-term growth of the industry. Costs will continue to be squeezed out across the supply chain in order to achieve the best possible LCOE for project financiers and end users. This virtuous cycle will open new markets, which will drive greater volumes and even lower costs.
With all of that said, the general public, even industry insiders, could stand for a little bit of education on these promising trends. Solar is here to stay for a variety of residential, commercial, government and utility customers.

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/09/the-question-day-1-what-is-the -most-difficult-issue-facing-the-solar-industry?page=2

American wind manufacturers lay off 1,100 workers in one month, citing expiring wind tax credit

Every company shedding employees has blamed the looming expiration of the production tax credit for wind, which is set to lapse at the end of this year.
The latest announcement comes from LM Wind Power, a manufacturer based in North Dakota. The company said yesterday that it will lay off lay off 345 workers because of lagging demand for product. The company also cited the production tax credit, which Congress has failed to extend past 2012.

“It is important to emphasize that the challenging situation in the U.S. wind market is not specific to LM Wind Power, nor to Grand Forks manufacturing facilities,” said the company in an announcement. “The whole sector is affected.”
So far this year, companies in Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, North Dakota, Ohio, and Pennsylvania have all cancelled projects or laid off workers. In the last month alone, more than 1,334 manufacturing workers have lost their jobs. That tally comes from individual announcements made by companies since late August.
The world’s largest wind manufacturer, Vestas Wind, says it may lay off 1,600 American workers in the next year if the production tax credit is not extended. That temporary credit offers owners of wind farms 2.2 cents for every kilowatt-hour of wind generatedThe American Wind Energy Association says the credit has helped raise $20 billion in private investment over the last five years, supporting 75,000 jobs.
However, according to analysis from a prominent consulting firm, the wind industry could shed up to 37,000 jobs if the wind tax credit is not extended past 2012.
As the layoffs continue, extension of the credit has become a major issue in the presidential campaign. President Obama wants to extend the credit; Republican challenger Mitt Romney wants to end it. Romney’s stance has raised major concerns from fellow Republicans who live in states where wind has been a major economic driver. According to the American Wind Energy Association, 81 percent of wind projects are installed in Republican districts.
Some voters are also saying that wind will play a role in how they cast their votes in the November elections.

The fight over wind credits has also uncovered major contradictions in national energy policy. While Congress continues to stall on extending the temporary production tax credit, many politicians opposed to federal wind investments continue to support permanent tax credits for the fossil fuel industry.
Earlier this month, 47 House Republicans sent a letter to House Speaker John Boehner (who’s home state supports more than 5,000 wind jobs) asking him to kill the production tax credit for wind. Out of the 47 Republicans calling for an end the wind investments, 46 voted last yearagainst closing tax loopholes that let oil companies collect $4 billion in annual government support.

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/09/american-wind-manufacturers-lay-off-1100-workers-in-one-month-citing-expiring-wind-tax-credit

Saturday 29 September 2012

太陽光発電:長崎市高島町に計画 出力1800キロワット /長崎

 長崎市は28日、高島町の市有地(遊休地)を利用した太陽光発電計画を発表した。福岡市の不動産関連企業「ワールドパブリック」(福岡市)などが事業者となり、13年度中の稼働を目指す。10月上旬に協定書を交わす。
 市によると、同社が高島町にある9万平方メートルの市有地のうち2万6000平方メートルを購入し、出力約1800キロワットの発電を実施する予定。発電した電気は九州電力に売電する。
〔長崎版〕

http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20120929-00000278-mailo-l42

メガソーラー:南区内尾地区、白紙に 内定事業者が計画断念「スマートタウン構想は困難」 /岡山

 県は28日、南区内尾地区の県有地で予定されているメガソーラー(大規模太陽光発電所)で、内定していた県外の事業者が計画を断念したと明らかにした。 県は太陽光発電の電力を効率的に使う「スマートタウン」のモデル事業を検討しているが、事業者側が、スマートタウン構想には技術的な困難があると申し入 れ、計画は白紙に戻った。県は改めて構想に協力してくれる事業者を公募する。【井上元宏、小園長治】
 県は16年度までに5地区でスマートタウンを整備する目標を掲げており、内尾地区はその一番手。実現すれば中四国で初めての試みだっただけに、県新エネルギー推進室は「非常に残念だ」と説明している。
 県によると、昨年4月に、内尾地区の県有地のメガソーラー立地企業を公募し、7月に今回の事業者に内定。出力3000キロワット(一般家庭900世帯分)のメガソーラーを建設する計画だった。
 県は事業者に、メガソーラーと周囲にある岡山南支援学校など県関係4施設を電線で接続し、電力を供給してもらうことなどを提案。県施設では使用電力計測機などを取り付けて、曇りなどで太陽光発電が減少すれば、施設の使用電力も減らすなど先進技術の導入も検討していた。
 事業者側も、メガソーラー見学施設設置などスマートタウン構想に前向きだった。だが、メガソーラーと県施設を電線で結んだ場合、中国電力の送電網に送る電圧が不安定になることが判明。電圧調整装置の整備にも費用もかかるため、メガソーラー計画を断念したという。
 内尾地区では、地元住民が「(無料の)ソフトボール場が利用できなくなる」などとして、メガソーラー計画に反対している。

http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20120929-00000162-mailo-l33

太陽電池の世界市場、需要を供給が上回る伸び 遊休地活用、メガソーラー計画参入企業続々

再生可能エネルギーの普及・拡大を目的にした「再生可能エネルギーの固定価格買取制度」が7月1日からが始まり、多くの企業が市場参入を決めている。中で も「メガソーラー計画」は、遊休地に大型太陽光パネルを設置して発電できるため、土地の有効利用を兼ねて参入する企業が増えている。

 三井不動産は9月11日、山口県山陽小野田市で、発電出力約13メガワットの発電所を、2013年度の稼働を目指して建設すると発表した。また、2013年度中に太陽光発電所を2施設稼働させる計画があり、3施設あわせた発電出力は約53メガワットになる。

 一方、日本アジアグループは9月6日、北海道内3か所でメガソーラー発電所の建設を始めたと発表した。建設場所は、釧路市星が浦の西港臨海地域にある工 業団地用地と、釧路市音別の音別工業団地、そして河西郡中札内村常盤の中札内森林組合工場等跡地。3施設あわせた発電出力は約3.7メガワットになる。こ のほかにも参入を表明する企業は数多くあり、太陽電池関連の市場は拡大傾向にある。

 こうした動きは世界的に広がっており、富士経済が9月14日に発表した調査結果によると、太陽電池の世界市場は、出力ベースで2011年の3万 3,028メガワットから2012年には4万105メガワットまで増加すると見込まれている。さらに、2030年には2012年の約3.2倍に相当する 12万8,600メガワットまで拡大すると予測。固定買取制度が開始された日本だけでなく、優遇政策の導入を進める中国や、太陽光発電システムにとって良 好な条件が整っているアメリカやインドでの需要増が牽引する形で、市場拡大が予想されている。

 ただ、太陽電池の世界市場を金額ベースでみると、2011年の4兆286億円から、2012年には3兆209億円まで減少すると見込まれている。さら に、2030年には4兆5,520億円に拡大すると予想されているが、その規模は2012年の約1.5倍にとどまり、伸びは出力ベース(約3.2倍)の半 分以下にとどまっている。

 これは、太陽電池の在庫量の増加や原料安による製造コスト低減により、太陽電池価格の下落が見られるため。足元の市場は、太陽電池の需要は拡大している ものの、供給量ほどの拡大は見られず、在庫量が増加し、販売先を確保するための価格競争が激化している。太陽電池の原料も同様で、需要を見誤ったメーカー の供給が過剰ぎみになり、価格が下落傾向にあるようだ。これと同様のことが2009年にもあり、スペインで固定買取制度の改正でインセンティブが引き下げ られたのをきっかけに、市場が縮小したことも。

 太陽電池の低価格化は需要を喚起するため、その後の導入加速が期待できる反面、政策の変更というリスクが常に付きまとう。難しい経営判断が必要になりそうだ。

http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20120929-00000000-sh_mon-bus_all

自然エネ出資詐欺:高金利うたう詐欺、多発 県警、注意呼びかけ /千葉

 自然エネルギー関連事業への出資名目の詐欺被害が相次いでいる。県内でも7~8月、印西市の無職男性(64)が出資金名目で1250万円をだまし取られ る被害が発生。地球温暖化問題や東京電力福島第1原発事故などの影響で、自然エネルギーへの関心が高まっていることが背景にあるとみられ、県警や県消費者 センターが注意を呼びかけている。【松崎真理、小林祥晃】
 印西署によると、7月31日、男性宅に架空の投資ファンドの社員を名乗る男から「太陽光発電事業に投資することで、地球温暖化防止に貢献できる。1口 100万円で利回り14%になる」などと電話があった。男性は8月2~8日、電話の男が指定する複数の銀行口座に、コンビニ店のATM(現金自動受払機) などから10回にわたり、計1250万円を振り込んだという。
 男性の口座から他口座に多額の振り込みがあったことを不審に思った金融機関から同署に連絡があり、同署が男性に確認して発覚した。男性宅には事前に、架 空の投資ファンドから事業への出資申込書などの書類が送られていたといい、男性は「高金利と社会貢献という宣伝文句にひかれた」と話しているという。

 太陽光発電など自然エネルギー事業への出資をうたい、現金をだまし取る手口の詐欺事件は近年、全国で多発。昨秋以降は、米国の太陽光発電機メーカーの関 連事業に見せかけ「1口数十万円を『加盟入会金』などとして支払えば、年3~6%の利息を分配する」として現金を振り込ませる手口の勧誘が相次いでおり、 消費者庁が注意を呼びかけている。
 また、風力発電会社の未公開株購入を勧誘する電話なども全国で相次いでいる。
 県消費者センターによると、県内でも太陽光発電や風力発電、地熱発電事業への投資に関する相談は、今年4~8月だけで計10件あるという。県警や同センターは「少しでも不審に思ったり、勧誘がしつこく感じられた場合などは相談してほしい」としている。

http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20120929-00000051-mailo-l12

光伏再遇反补贴诉讼 贸易摩擦或升级

当中国政府代表团赴欧洲磋商让中国光伏企业感到稍稍缓过一口气之际,本周二(9月25日),以德国公司SolarWorld牵头的20多家欧洲光伏 企业,又向欧盟委员会(以下简称欧委会)提起新的贸易诉讼,指控中国光伏制造商获得“非法”政府补贴,这标志着欧洲制造商针对中国竞争对手的法律行动进一 步升级,在反倾销的基础上增加了反补贴。

  “这早在我们企业的预料之中。”昨日(9月26日),英利绿色能源高层人士在接受记者采访时表示。英利在随后的声明中称,从未收到任何非法补贴。

  目前,中国光伏企业就欧盟反倾销的抽样问卷提交完毕。业内人士分析,欧盟对反补贴调查立案将不可避免。在中国与欧盟一些国家政府愿意通过磋商来寻求妥善处理光伏反倾销调查案之际,反补贴调查的启动为欧盟再次增加了谈判的砝码。

  贸易摩擦近期再度升温

  由欧洲25家太阳能面板企业组成的EUProSun组织25日向欧委会提起申诉,指控中国同业从非法补贴中获得不公平优势。这是该组织继之前反倾销指控后的又一次申诉。

  该组织称,得益于中国政府的政策,中国太阳能面板制造商获得了非常低的贷款利率。此外,在出口补贴的帮助下,中国企业已经占据了欧洲80%的市场份额,致使大量的欧洲太阳能企业申请破产。

  根据欧盟法律,欧委会将在45天内就这宗最新诉讼是否应正式立案调查作出决定。上述英利绿色能源高层人士表示,从欧盟的程序看,反倾销与反补贴可以分开进行调查,之前企业已经预料到会有反补贴,而最终立案的可能性是非常大的。

  此前,欧盟委员会在9月6日决定将对中国光伏生产商涉嫌倾销一事展开调查。有贸易律师表示,相对于反倾销案,反补贴案在欧洲要少见得多,部分原因是较难举证。

  现阶段,国内四大光伏行业巨头在欧洲的公关工作主要是联合了近100家美国、欧洲当地的光伏产业链上下游企业,拟站在欧洲企业的角度对欧盟“双反”的危害性进行阐述。

  祸不单行,欧盟对华贸易保护趋势近日似乎有愈演愈烈之势。就在昨日,应欧洲自行车生产商协会的申请,欧盟决定对原产于中国,自印尼、马来西亚等国转口 的自行车进行反规避立案调查。欧盟从1993年起就一直对中国产自行车征收反倾销关税,并将反倾销税从30.6%提高至48.5%,还在近期发起了反补贴 调查。针对欧盟的做法,有些企业便选择绕道出口,而一旦反规避调查成立,中国自行车输欧大门几乎将彻底关闭。这种对同一产品采取“三反”的措施在整个国际 贸易市场中都极为罕见。

  此外,欧盟近日还拒绝了中国陶瓷企业关于市场经济地位的申请,法院也驳回了中国企业关于贸易摩擦的上诉。

  最终结果仍存不确定因素

  针对EUProSun的指控,英利发表声明,否认有关收受非法补贴的指控,并称,公司资金来源、成本完全透明,也是按正常市场利率获得融资。

  英利新能源法务总监陈卓表示,所有的抽样问卷已在9月21日的截止日前提交。目前,欧盟只是接受了光伏企业反倾销的调查申请,离欧盟按规定作出最终裁 决还有一段时间,有何变化目前尚不确定。国内光伏企业最希望的还是欧方中止调查,或裁定不存在倾销。即使不能获得最有利的结果,也希望最终裁决会有一个相 对合理的关税税率。

  业内人士普遍认为,中欧高层“磋商解决”等利好信号不会导致调查中止,按欧盟的法律程序,一旦启动调查就必须出一个结果,很难违反这个基本程序。政府间的协商也只能在这个既定程序中寻求一个最有利的方案——除非欧盟申请人主动撤诉,才可能中止。

  陈卓表示,最终的结果有很多不确定因素,仅凭历史经验来预测是远远不够的,关键在于三个事实是否都成立:其一,中国企业出口到欧盟的光伏产品是否存在 倾销行为?其二,如果存在倾销行为,是否确实对欧盟成员国的光伏企业造成了损害?其三,即使前二条均成立,如果反倾销税真的实施,是否会对欧盟成员国造成 更多的利益损失?如果回答肯定,那欧盟“双反”也不会成立。这其中也涉及到各成员国的利益协调。

  “这对于应诉企业来说也提供了很好的抗辩机会,因为在各个环节均可以争取到有利于自身的抗辩可能。”陈卓认为,现在企业要做的一是积极应诉,争取有利机会;再就是通过政府“游说”,争取支持;然后就是练好内功,寻找突破口。

http://www.pvnews.cn/chanyeyaowen/2012-09-27/52056.html

IMS研究预测聚光光伏市场将持续增长

尽管有一些创业公司投资聚光光伏失败以及以往过度宣传聚光光伏(CPV)市场,但是IMS仍预计将在未来4年聚光光伏安装会显着增长。根据从IMS 研究的最新报告显示,聚光光伏安装到2012年增加一倍约90兆瓦,其商业价值为3.25亿美元,到2016年,预期将达到1.2GW。
 
        该研究报告以“聚光光伏进军世界光伏市场”为主题,尽管与传统的光伏发电系统竞争激烈,但在其目标区域聚光光伏仍然有相当的吸引力。

        “聚光光伏供应商不断技术创新,才能使光伏系统的成本迅速下降,并且性价比高。正是这样,聚光光伏供应商目前在美国市场上取得了显著的进步,在2012年 预计占有美国13%的光伏市场份额,预测到2016年将占有27%的市场份额。”报告的合著者和IMS 研究的分析师杰马·戴维斯评论到。目标市场到2016年预计保持地面安装系统能达到每天每平方米6kWh。

        然而,高聚光太阳能系统预计将成为2012年的主导市场,低聚光太阳能预计将在未来五年加速安装,到2016年才能占有高聚光太阳能市场20%的份额。 “目前低聚光太阳能供应商还没有积极进入市场,SunPower公司计划从2013年开始将大量安装这些产品,这将占有更多的市场份额。”报告的作者山 姆·威尔金森补充到。

        SunPower公司已经在美国开发一个大型公用事业规模的光伏项目,IMS表示,预计聚光光伏在美国和中美洲到2012年将占有13%的市场份额,到 2016年将提高到27%。特别是西南美国、智利、沙特阿拉伯和摩洛哥这些地区适合聚光光伏安装的地区,聚光光伏市场在此有很好的增长前景。

        今年6月,Lux 研究预计高聚光太阳能将以年均31%的复合增长率直到2017年,这五年内将增长到697兆瓦。

http://www.pvnews.cn/chanyeyaowen/2012-09-28/52263.html

向日葵陷员工辞职风波 高层待遇不降反升

张琳(化名)拉着装满衣物的箱子来到位于浙江绍兴袍江工业区三江路的北门,最后刷了一次厂子的进出卡。走出这道门,就意味她将告别这个已经工作了三年的地方。

        近日,受行业“寒冬”持续拖累的向日葵(300111,SZ)陷入员工辞职风波。受实际工资减少影响,向日葵已经辞职或者心态摇摆的员工并不只有张琳。

        9月26日~27日,记者多次走进向日葵厂房内发现,整个厂房空荡荡的,不时有员工拉着装有衣物的袋子和拉箱走出厂房。

        秋寒逼近的9月,光伏行业似乎愈发“寒冷”,天合光能、江西赛维、尚德电力相继曝出裁员消息。缩股、减产、裁员,光伏企业们正在纷纷以各自的方式“断臂求生”。

        生产线收缩致“僧多粥少”

        向日葵与部分员工的劳资矛盾公开化是在9月25日。

        当日,向日葵部分员工停工,主要原因是员工要求辞职,并提出经济补偿要求。

        9月26日,刚刚辞职的一位曾在向日葵电池组上班的前员工向《每日经济新闻》记者介绍称,此次停工的员工主要是组件组的,他们要求辞职并给予相应的经济补偿,但公司并未答应。

        据向日葵有关员工向记者介绍,年前已经关掉了一条生产线,上个月又关了一条,部分员工挤到了余下的生产线。目前公司本来订单就不多,开工不足,挤在余下生 产线的员工“僧多粥少”,公司不得不采取轮班措施。这样一来,上班人员每月也只能拿到2000~3000元,相比以前满产时每个月拿到3000~4000 元,仍存在一定差距。该员工表示,前期要求提高待遇的主要是电池组员工,电池组停工也导致了组件组没活做。

        记者通过向日葵董秘杨旺翔证实得知,员工工资主要采取计件制,做多少拿多少,按照绍兴市的最低收入标准,计件收入没有达1160元的,公司发足1160元。

        有员工表示,订单多时,向日葵员工一度达到上千人,目前包括9月25日停工的大概也只有500人。

       “不足将进行招聘,有进有出。”杨旺翔回应说。

        也有向日葵相关人士向记者透露,目前形势下,为了留住员工,公司正在考虑给员工加薪,可能不日就会出台加薪方案。但该说法未获公司管理层证实。

        9月26日~27日,《每日经济新闻》记者多次走进向日葵厂房内,即使是下午下班时,也并未看到超过10人的“下班潮”。

        上半年净利润下滑227.47%

        员工辞职风波的背后,则是向日葵业绩的不理想。

        2012年半年报显示,向日葵实现营业收入6.13亿元,比去年同期下降50.90%;净利润-1.68亿元,比去年同期下降227.47%。

        长江证券研报认为,行业困境持续拖累了向日葵的业绩,而毛利率的大幅下滑和汇兑损失则成为费用的主要推力。

        数据显示,公司组件及电池片毛利率从去年同期的16.29%下降到0.04%,拖累综合毛利率下滑至3.09%,降幅达81.08%。“主要是市场价低于成本价。”杨旺翔解释称。

        江苏振发新能源科技发展有限公司首席经济和政策顾问吴增撰文分析认为,过度的出口市场竞争和大幅度削减财政补贴,导致光伏电池组出口价格自2011年四季度起低于制造成本。至今,国内太阳能光伏企业己全面陷入亏损,面临资金链断裂的危险。

        采访中,杨旺翔未向记者证实向日葵目前的开工率,但并未否认公司正在收缩生产线。“下半年行情整体会偏淡”。

        除利润下滑外,光伏生产企业的库存也不容忽视。

        据不完全统计,天合光能、尚德电力、英利绿色能源等国内规模最大的5家光伏组件生产企业总库存量高达5G瓦左右,国内光伏企业的全部库存估计也有20G瓦以上,而全球光伏安装总需求则不超过30G瓦。

        有数据显示,我国光伏产品约98%的销售都依赖国外订单,产品主要销往欧洲、美国、日本等市场,其中欧洲市场占了2/3以上。随着欧债危机的加剧,各国纷纷削减财政补贴,贸易保护主义抬头,我国光伏生产企业受到严重影响。

        向日葵的主要市场恰恰就在欧洲。“巩固欧洲市场,进一步开拓国内、美国等新市场”,据杨旺翔介绍,今年才开始开拓的澳大利亚市场为其上半年贡献了20%的营收。

        值得一提的是,光伏行业陷入低迷,向日葵业绩下滑明显,但管理层薪资未降反升。向日葵2012年半年报显示,董事、监事和高级管理人员共领取报酬 151.88万元,而2011年同期则合计为137万元,除董事长吴建龙半年领取20万元报酬未变外,包括副董事长俞相明、总经理丁国军、副总经理陈海 涛、董秘杨旺翔等人的报酬均出现不同程度的上调。
 
http://www.pvnews.cn/chanyeyaowen/2012-09-29/52264.html

SoloPower正式开设卷带式的柔性铜铟镓硒薄膜厂

被主流媒体认为转型失败的铜铟镓二硒(CIGS)薄膜制造商Solyndra公司在波特兰俄勒冈州正式启动柔性CIGS薄膜的批量生产。像其他CIGS创业者一样,SoloPower使用专有的卷式技术,该技术通过电沉积微分器的处理。

        “SoloPower使用在波特兰先进的HVM设施,增加了我们满足全球商业和工业建筑能源需求的信心,它占全球电力的40%。”SoloPower的首 席执行官蒂姆·哈里斯说,“我们和我们的客户都非常兴奋:这是一个巨大的市场,我们独特的解决方案能够扩大这个市场,现在我们拥有的能力为我们客户的能源 需求提供一个容易安装的,可预见的,和具有成本效益的解决方案。”

        波特兰市长萨姆亚当斯说:“波特兰祝贺SoloPower隆重开幕,欢迎来此建设生产,预计将雇用450人。我们会一直积极合作,成功推动本地产业的发展。”

        随着近期先驱和市场的领导者的前期失败,能源转换设备和非晶硅柔性薄膜技术已经出现空隙,有可能被CIGS技术替代。

        据业内专家所诉,重要的是一旦扩展到超过200MW ,CIGS提供更高的转换效率和更低的成本。

        当然,SoloPower还必须克服“死亡谷”情况下,创业公司必须采取实验室的技术运用到工厂,提供有竞争力和商业上可行的产品。

        此前,该公司表示已经计划开始容量为​​75MW到100MW的过渡。

http://www.pvnews.cn/chanyeyaowen/2012-09-29/52283.html

AEG通过德国莱茵TÜV认证以及UL 1741认证

AEG电源解决方案通过德国莱茵TÜV最近的测试和认证,它的1741 UL产品安全标准认证的可以保护PV.500。德国莱茵TÜV认为是非常适合用于公用事业规模的太阳能的光伏逆变器,其拥有高达98%的效率。

1.jpg

        “重要的是,我们不仅要对UL 1741进行测试,还要得到国家认可测试实验室充分的认证。”AEG PS太阳能电池的研究和开发总监于尔根·席勒解释道,“我们修改了经过现场验证的产品,包括UL组件和空间要求,并进行严格的测试,这进一步表明了我们提 供的产品是安全和高质量。”

        “我们现在可以为美国市场提供完全认证的逆变器。我们的策略是建立自己市场的增长地区,如东欧,印度,非洲和北美,以弥补欧洲萎缩的太阳能市场。这就是为 什么我们最近在南非建设自己的工厂,这也是为什么这个认证是关键步骤。”AEG PS首席执行官霍斯特·凯瑟解释说。

http://www.pvnews.cn/chanyeyaowen/2012-09-29/52285.html

Google purchases 48 MW of wind power for Its Oklahoma data center


 
 
 

   
    Google Purchases 48 MW of Wind Power for Its Oklahoma Data Center (via Clean Technica)
   

        Google this week announced its purchase of 48 megawatts of renewable wind power to provide electricity for its data center located in Oklahoma, USA. That’s a very large amount of electricity, enough to power a small city. The recent announcement shows that with a forward-thinking approach, large…
   

 

 

Will higher heat content in trash help waste-to-energy stocks?

Tom Konrad CFA
The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) recently published an article describing an increase in the energy content of municipal solid waste (MSW).  The reason for this increase is an increase in the percentage of waste from “non-biogenic” sources (i.e. plastics) as compared to biogenic sources (paper, cardboard, wood, food and yard waste, etc.)  Biogenic waste has an average heat content of 11 MMBtu/ton, as compared to 23 MMBtu/ton for non-biogenic waste.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, derived from U.S. Enivoronmental Protection Agency, Municipal Solid Waste data.

The EIA attributes the relative decrease in the amount of (biogenic) food containers and packaging (heat content 16.6 MMBtu/ton) and an increase in waste polypropylene (PP, 38 MMBtu/ton.)  PP is the relatively hard-to-recycle plastic #5, found in yogurt cups and other wide-necked containers, and has a much higher heat content that relatively easy-to-recycle plastics #1 and #2 (PETE at 20.5 MMBTu/ton and HDPE at 19.5 MMBtu.)
The higher heat content of MSW should make generating electricity from MSW more efficient, and give a slight boost to margins of waste-to-energy companies like  MSW electricity generators like Covanta (NYSE:CVA) and Algonquin Power and Utilities (OTC:AQUNF, TSX:AQN), which generates thermal energy from MSW in addition to a large renewable energy business.
However, if increasing energy content of waste is to make a difference in the stock prices of MSW-to-energy firms, it will have to be sustained over the long term.  I doubt the trend will continue for long.   First of all, total MSW volumes are flat in the US, and falling on a per-capita basis, even while recycling rates are rising (EIA data.)
I expect increased recycling to begin to reduce the energy content of the remaining waste as less-recycled, higher energy-content materials are increasingly recycled.  Currently, only 13.5% of plastic containers  in the waste stream are recovered, as opposed to 71% of paper and 33% of glass.   Further, high-energy PP is becoming increasingly easy to recycle; I was recently pleased to find that it and LDPE (plastic #4, also with a relatively heat content of 24.1 MMBtu) are now accepted at my local transfer station.
While waste-to-energy companies may be getting a small margin boost from higher MSW heat content today, investors should not count on any such boost being permanent.  That’s a large part of the reason why my preferred investments in MSW are integrated companies like Waste Management (NYSE:WM), which can profit from both increased recycling and waste-to-energy opportunities.
Disclosure: Long AQN, MW

This article was first published on the author's Forbes.com blog, Green Stocks on September 6th.

http://www.altenergystocks.com/archives/2012/09/will_higher_heat_content_in_trash_help_w as tetoenergy_stocks.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_camp aign=Fee d%3A+ AlternativeEnergyStocks+%28AltEnergyStocks.com%29

Multi-million-dollar solar rebate program being offered by solar electric system provider in Florida


 
 
 

   
    Multi-Million-Dollar Solar Rebate Program Being Offered by Solar Electric System Provider in Florida (via Clean Technica)
   

       SolarTek Systems USA Inc. is starting a new solar rebate program after recently acquiring $2,000,000 in funding for a rebate program from their supplier of solar equipment, Rosvik Power Systems, Inc. The rebate is only good for solar electric systems that were purchased from SolarTek and installed…
   

 

 

China gets serious on solar energy

First solar may supply panels for biggest solar project

First Solar may be the only manufacturer with the capacity to supply enough thin-film panels for NextEra’s Blythe project, which is evaluating the technology, Ben Schuman, an analyst at Pacific Crest Securities in Portland, Oregon, said today in an interview.
NextEra is considering thin-film cadmium telluride solar panels as one possible technology for its 1,000-megawatt Blythe project in southern California, according to a document filed with the California Energy Commission Sept. 24.

“It would definitely be a positive for First Solar if they were able to win a 1,000-megawatt project,” Schuman said today in an interview.

NextEra hasn’t decided on a panel supplier for the project and may use more than one, said Steven Stengel, a spokesman for the Juno Beach, Florida-based power company.
First Solar, based in Tempe, Arizona, is already working with the power company on another project, the 550-megawatt Desert Sunlight power plant in Riverside County, California, that’s jointly owned by NextEra and General Electric Co.
First Solar also built a 21-megawatt project in the city of Blythe for NRG Energy Inc. (NRG) that was commissioned in 2009 and sells electricity to Edison International (EIX)’s Southern California Edison utility under a 20-year contract.

Blythe Purchase

NextEra received approval June 27 from a bankruptcy court to purchase Blythe from the former developer, the bankrupt SolarTrust of America LLC.
First Solar is building the 290-megawatt Agua Caliente solar farm in Arizona for NRG. It’s 85 percent complete with about 250 megawatts of capacity in operation, making it the world’s biggest solar project producing electricity, according to First Solar.
First Solar rose 11 percent to $23.11 at the close in New York. The shares have declined 68 percent in the past year. Alan Bernheimer, a First Solar spokesman, declined to comment on a potential agreement with NextEra.

Copyright 2012 Bloomberg

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/09/first-solar-may-supply-panels-for-biggest-solar-project

What happened to the solar renewable energy credit market in New Jersey?

Idaho utility and wind power generators still battling over wind energy curtailment

“FERC’s order is contrary to the public interest of the citizens of the State of Idaho, and harmful to Idaho Power’s customers.  The order addresses open issues that are before the Idaho Public Utilities Commission for determination.  The company is preparing to challenge the order as part of our commitment to providing safe, reliable, and fair-priced electricity and service to our customers,” said Idaho Power spokesman Brad Bowlin, in a statement.
In proposing its “Schedule 74” tariff to the Idaho regulator, Idaho Power contended that Public Utilities Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA) should allow them to halt the otherwise contractually required electricity purchases during periods of light load, such as during the night in the spring and fall. The utility said the requirement to buy from wind farms even during times of light demand forces them to back down other energy generators like coal-fired plants to balance the power system, and that bringing the other systems back up when demand increases costs the utility more — and those costs are passed on to consumers.
During initial technical hearings with the state regulator, commission staffers testified that such curtailment during times of light load is allowable under commission rules and under precedent-setting decisions made in similar cases. Thus, the state’s wind operators, including Idaho Wind Partners 1, fearing an unfavorable decision, appealed to FERC without waiting for the Idaho Commission to rule, saying that such curtailment was possible only in emergency situations. FERC ruled despite state regulator officials argument to FERC officers that the matter simply wasn’t ripe for federal review.
The state Commission is still expected to rule on “Schedule 74” and other matters related to the Public Utilities Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA) some time in October.  Randy Lobb, staff director for the Idaho Commission, said it would obviously have to take the FERC decision into consideration. He added "it’s possible that the commission would have rejected Schedule 74 even without the FERC ruling."

Idaho Power’s Bowlin asserted that the proposed curtailment schedule would only be used in “very limited circumstances”, as the utility’s Load Serving Operations Director Tess Park testified during the technical hearing on the open PURPA case before the IPUC. “And it’s important to note that `curtailment’ doesn’t mean completely shutting off a particular resource; it means limiting the output,” he said.
Regardless, said Lobb, one of the things that was never clear at the technical hearings was just how often curtailment would happen if Schedule 74 were approved. Although at one point Idaho Power said it could be up to a maximum of 5% of hours per year, Lobb acknowledged that was likely a “just a forecast of what could happen if all of its wind farms came online with high production during a low load period.” Any curtailment decision always depends on many factors, he said, adding, however, that cutting back 5% of wind hours per year would be “quite large. It has never been interrupted to that degree to date.”
The utility insists that is has no anti-wind agenda. “It’s important to understand that Idaho Power is not against wind energy. In fact, the first major wind project to come onto our Idaho Power’s system, the Elkhorn Valley Wind Farm, was initiated by Idaho Power.  But in the span of a few short years, more than 600 megawatts of wind power has been added to our system. As such, we are well positioned to speak to wind’s attributes and its shortcomings…wind’s erratic nature demands that other resources be in place to ensure the reliability of the power grid.  At Idaho Power, we advocate for any and all generation resources that are reliable and fair-priced. Currently, wind power doesn’t meet those criteria,” the company said in a statement issued to REW.com
The Idaho PUC is expected to rule on several other PURPA issues, including PPA contract length, the precision of prices paid for capacity and energy, liquidated damages, and the issues surrounding non-performance.  The latter item, Lobb noted, was highlighted in July, when Idaho Power set an all-time system peak load power of approximately 3250 MWh. “Of their 440 MW of wind online, only 14 MW was actually supplying. They’re paying for capacity, but they’re not getting it,” he said.
Indeed, paying too much for renewables was the Idaho Power’s primary argument for curtailment, saying that the non-negotiated rates it is required to employ are as much as $65 per MWh, compared to $5 per MWh for hydroelectric.  “One of our problems [with renewable energy] in Idaho is low [energy] prices and lack of need. It means that we can’t continue to add resources indefinitely, and we have added a lot in the last few years,” Lobb said.

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/09/idaho-utility-and-wind-power-gen erators-still-battling-over-wind-energy-curtailment

Mega-turbines poised for serial production

Wind technology is set for a giant leap with Alstom's 1.43 GW French offshore contract, involving its massive Haliade 150 turbines.

A visit to the turbine

The Haliade 150 sits at land’s edge in Le Carnet, in France’s 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.
The Haliade tops a 75-metre tower, a 25-metre jacket foundation and monopiles driven 30 metres into the seabed. 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 don’t 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 it’s very, very big. But you don’t 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 Haliade’s rotor is 150.8 metres in diameter, the blades are 73.5 metres long, and the turbine’s 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.
Hendrick believes in going big. ‘The size of the rotor is key,’ he says. ‘A bigger turbine leads to a better electricity price.’ Alstom claims that the Haliade can generate up to 40% more electricity per kg of material used in its construction than today’s offshore wind turbines, and that it will yield 15% more energy annually than other 6 MW turbines due to its larger rotor swept area and lighter blade, developed in conjunction with LM Wind Power. (Siemens claims that its SWT-6.0, with a 75-metre super-lightweight blade and a towerhead 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 the connection to shore, installation, and O&M. During the design phase Alstom calculated the total cost of foundation, installation and maintenance against the 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.’

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 Haliade’s tower was commissioned, 80% of the necessary connections were already made. He also says that when performing maintenance ‘you will be happy it’s all in the tower, at the bottom’. Commissioning accounts for just a few days in a turbine’s life, says Hendricks, while ‘O&M is the next 20 years’.
Almost all of the Haliade’s 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.

The Plant

A short drive inland from Le Carnet, we meet Pascal Girault, plant manager at Alstom’s St Nazaire turbine manufacturing centre. Girault has a background in managing manufacturing plants for large automotive suppliers, and he brings experience in process automation for mass production. His previous positions included production centre manager, process & methods manufacturing manager, and plant director for companies making engine parts.
Alstom’s 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 company’s 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 ‘it’s not a good idea’. A generator production facility is planned for the St Nazaire area, to be built by Alstom’s partner GE Power Conversion (formerly Converteam).

Since many of the Haliade’s 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 don’t 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 40-50 (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 Haliade’s 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 turbine’s 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.
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 Toyota’s ‘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.
Alstom’s 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. In this way the current production facility is also a testing facility: it is constantly testing and refining the manufacturing process in which it is engaged.
Eventually Girault hopes that Alstom’s 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 doesn’t 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, ‘you’ll have enormous torque’, explains Hendrick. So will there be 15 MW-20 MW turbines? ‘I don’t 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 MW-15 MW turbines. If turbines grow ever larger, innovation in manufacturing, assembly and transport will be increasingly necessary.

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/09/mega-turbines-poised-for-serial-production?page=2

Αυξάνεται το λαθρεμπόριο στα καύσιμα μετά από την εξίσωση πετρελαίου κίνησης και θέρμανσης

«Πάρτι» έχουν αρχίσει ήδη να στήνουν οι λαθρέμποροι καυσίμων, μετά την εξίσωση των φόρων στο πετρέλαιο κίνησης και θέρμανσης.

Και αυτό γιατί επειδή από τους τρεις τύπους πετρελαίου που κυκλοφορούν στην αγορά, το κίνησης, πετρελαίου και το ναυτιλιακό, οι δύο έχουν τις ίδιες προδιαγραφές, καθώς είναι αφορολόγητα.

Δηλαδή περιεκτικότητα σε θείο 1.000 μέρη στο εκατομμύριο, έναντι μόνο 10 που ισχύει για το πετρέλαιο κίνησης.

Σύμφωνα με το Euro2day,  πολύ εύκολα ποσότητες ναυτιλιακού, αφορολόγητου πετρελαίου θα μπορούν να εισέλθουν στο κύκλωμα διακίνησης του θέρμανσης και μάλιστα με πολλαπλάσιο όφελος για τους λαθρεμπόρους, αφού το ναυτιλιακό, ως αφορολόγητο, έχει τη μισή τιμή από το υπερφορολογημένο θέρμανσης (περίπου 700 ευρώ τα 1.000 λίτρα, έναντι 1.350 ευρώ).

Θεωρητικά η αντιμετώπιση του προβλήματος, γίνεται μέσω του διαφορετικού χρωματισμού των τριών τύπων πετρελαίου, όπως ισχύει. Το κίνησης έχει χρώμα πράσινο, το θέρμανσης κόκκινο και το ναυτιλιακό μαύρο.

Ωστόσο όπως έχει δείξει η μέχρι τώρα εμπειρία, ο αποχρωματισμός είναι πολύ εύκολη δουλειά για τα λαθρεμπορικά κυκλώματα, καθώς γίνεται με φυσικά και χημικά μέσα άμεσα διαθέσιμα στο εμπόριο.

Επιπλέον τονίζουν οι ίδιοι, όσο το λαθρεμπόριο γινόταν με τον αποχρωματισμό του θέρμανσης το οποίο διακινούνταν μέσω των πρατηρίων που το διέθεταν ως κίνησης, ο έλεγχος ήταν σχετικά εύκολος από τα ΚΕΔΑΚ, το ΣΔΟΕ κλπ που έλεγχαν τις δεξαμενές των πρατηρίων. Στην περίπτωση όμως που πλέον θα διοχετεύεται σε χιλιάδες δεξαμενές κατοικιών και πολυκατοικιών, όπως είναι φυσικό ο έλεγχος δυσχεραίνεται.

Η λύση που είχε προταθεί προς τα αρμόδια υπουργεία (Οικονομικών, Ανάπτυξης, ΥΠΕΚΑ) από το καλοκαίρι ακόμη, προέβλεπε την κυκλοφορία ενιαίου τύπου πετρελαίου κίνησης και θέρμανσης, με τις προδιαγραφές του κίνησης, δηλαδή με σχεδόν μηδενικό θείο, κάτι που θα είχε θετικές επιπτώσεις στην ατμοσφαιρική ρύπανση.

Ωστόσο τα υπουργεία για τους δικούς τους, άγνωστους σε μας λόγους, προτίμησαν τη συνέχιση της κυκλοφορίας στην αγορά και των τριών τύπων. Η ενοποίηση των προδιαγραφών του πετρελαίου κίνησης και θέρμανσης θα μπορούσε να αντιμετωπίσει άμεσα και αποτελεσματικά το πρόβλημα καθώς «το θείο είναι ο καλύτερος ιχνηθέτης» όπως χαρακτηριστικά αναφέρουν οι γνώστες του θέματος. Το θείο δεν μπορεί να αφαιρεθεί παρά μόνο σε εξελιγμένα διυλιστήρια.

Ο έλεγχος της διακίνησης του πετρελαίου θέρμανσης και της λαθρεμπορίας του ναυτιλιακού, θα μπορούσε να είναι εν μέρει διαχειρίσιμος αν εφαρμοζόταν οι διατάξεις για την καταπολέμηση του λαθρεμπόριου. Δηλαδή η εγκατάσταση συστημάτων καταγραφής εισροών εκροών, χρήσης ιχνηθέτη για κάθε είδος καυσίμου κλπ.

Ωστόσο για την εγκατάσταση του συστήματος εισροών εκροών σε δεξαμενές πρατηρίων, εταιριών κλπ, μόλις πριν δύο μέρες ορίστηκε η επιτροπή που θα καθορίσει τις προδιαγραφές. Το κυριότερο όμως από το μέτρο εξαιρούνται οι αποθηκευτικοί χώροι μεταπωλητών πετρελαίου θέρμανσης.

Όσο για την ιχνηθέτηση των καυσίμων, καμία κίνηση δεν έχει γίνει προς το παρόν.

http://moneypost.gr/82351/%CE%91%CF%85%CE%BE%CE%AC%CE%BD%CE%B5%CF%84%CE%B1%CE%B9-%CF%84%CE%BF-%CE%BB%CE%B1%CE%B8%CF%81%CE%B5%CE%BC%CF%80%CF%8C%CF%81%CE%B9%CE%BF-%CF%83%CF%84%CE%B1-%CE%BA%CE%B1%CF%8D%CF%83%CE%B9%CE%BC%CE%B1-%CE%BC%CE%B5%CF%84%CE%AC-%CE%B1%CF%80%CF%8C-%CF%84%CE%B7%CE%BD-%CE%B5%CE%BE%CE%AF%CF%83%CF%89%CF%83%CE%B7-%CF%80%CE%B5%CF%84%CF%81%CE%B5%CE%BB%CE%B1%CE%AF%CE%BF%CF%85-%CE%BA%CE%AF%CE%BD%CE%B7%CF%83%CE%B7%CF%82-%CE%BA%CE%B1%CE%B9-%CE%B8%CE%AD%CF%81%CE%BC%CE%B1%CE%BD%CF%83%CE%B7%CF%82

Friday 28 September 2012

Τελικά η κρίση που περνάμε μάλλον μας άξιζε



Δυστυχώς βλέπω πλέον ότι η αλληλεγγύη στην κοινωνία και μεταξύ των πολιτών μειώνεται συνεχώς. Όλο και λιγότεροι ενδιαφέρονται για τα προβλήματα των άλλων. Και δεν λέω ντε και καλά ότι είναι υποχρεωμένος κάποιος να δώσει φαγητό η χρήματα σε κάποιον που είναι φτωχός ή έχει πρόβλημα, αλλά βλέπω ότι δεν υπάρχει αλληλεγγύη στις απόψεις και τις σκέψεις που εκφράζει ο καθένας μας κυρίως μέσα από τα forums και τα μέσα κοινωνικής δικτύωσης.
Θα μου πεί κανείς, ναι αλλά το διαδίκτυο δεν αντιπροσωπεύει την πραγματικότητα οπότε μπορεί αυτά που λέω να είναι λάθος. Πιστεύω ότι η διείσδυση του διαδικτύου ειδικά στους νέους είναι τόσο μεγάλη που πλέον οι απόψεις και οι συζητήσεις που κάνουμε είναι ένας πραγματικός καθρέφτης της κοινωνίας τουλάχιστον για το κομμάτι που περιλαμβάνει ηλικίες από 18 μέχρι 40 ετών.

Πέρα από το παραπάνω συμπέρασμα, βλέπω ότι η μισή Ελλάδα τα έχει βάλει με την άλλη μισή.

Επαγγελματικές ομάδες εναντίων άλλων ομάδων.
Μισθωτοί υπάλληλοι εναντίον ελευθέρων επαγγελματιών εναντίον δημοσίων υπαλλήλων.
Αριστεροί εναντίον δεξιών και χρυσαυγητών.
Μνημονιακοί εναντίον αντιμνημονιακών.
Απόφοιτοι ΑΕΙ εναντίον ΤΕΙ εναντίον ΙΕΚ, κολλεγίων, αποφοίτων εξωτερικού.
Έλληνες εσωτερικού εναντίον Ελλήνων που έφυγαν έξω.
Επαρχιώτες εναντίον Αθηναίων και το αντίθετο.

Γενικά ο καθένας μας κοιτάει πώς να αρπάξει τα προνόμια κάποιου άλλου συμπολίτη του, ο οποίος συμπολίτης μπορεί να τα απέκτησε με τον κόπο του και όχι με λαμογιές και γλύψιμο. Ο καθένας μας εύχεται να μην φορολογήσουν εμένα αλλά να φορολογήσουν τον άλλο. Από αυτά που λέγονται στο διαδίκτυο μπορεί να βγεί αυτό το συμπέρασμα πλέον, ο καθένας ενδιαφέρεται για την πάρτη του και τον εαυτούλη του.
Αυτό επίσης μπορεί να φανεί εύκολα από το γεγονός ότι αρκετοί νέοι δεν έχουμε αντικειμενικές απόψεις για διάφορα κοινωνικά πολιτικά οικονομικά και φορολογικά θέματα. Δηλαδή κρίνουμε τα πάντα επί προσωπικού χωρίς να λαμβάνουμε υπόψη ότι αυτό που συμφέρει εμάς μπορεί να μην συμφέρει κάποιον άλλον. Στις περισσότερες περιπτώσεις που κάνω αυτή την επισήμανση, δηλαδή μην τα ερμηνεύουμε όλα έτσι όπως μας συμφέρει, η απάντηση του συνομιλητή είναι ότι δεν με ενδιαφέρει.

Αυτή ήταν η εθνική αρρώστια των Ελλήνων που μας έλεγαν κάποτε στο σχολείο κατά το μάθημα της ιστορίας και λέγαμε ωραία ευτυχώς περάσανε αυτές οι εποχές.
Αυτή ήταν η αρρώστια που δεν έχει φύγει από το DNA μας, ακόμα και αν έχουμε περάσει τον εμφύλιο πόλεμο Αθήνας και Σπάρτης, τους τσακωμούς και τις εσωτερικές διαμάχες μετά την απελευθέρωση του 1821, τον εμφύλιο συμμοριτοπόλεμο μετά την εθνική αντίσταση.
Αυτή είναι η αρρώστια που διαβλέπω ότι αργά και σταθερά καταλαμβάνει όλο και περισσότερους Έλληνες πολίτες. Αυτή την αρρώστια θα μπορούσαμε να είχαμε αποφύγει εάν είχαμε ένα καλύτερο σύστημα παιδείας από το σημερινό. Έτσι όποτε η χώρα μας και το έθνος μας περνάει δύσκολες στιγμές και κρίσεις, αυτή η αρρώστια ξυπνάει μέσα μας.
Παλαιότερα εκδηλωνόταν υπό μορφή εμφυλίων πολέμων, τώρα εκδηλώνεται μέσα από την αδιαφορία την ιδιοτέλεια και τον εγωκεντρισμό.

Ακόμα δεν έχουμε καταλάβει παρότι πέρασαν 3 χρόνια κρίσης και πάμε για το τέταρτο, πως όταν καίγεται το σπίτι του διπλανού σου, η φωτιά κάποια στιγμή πλησιάζει και το δικό σου και μπορεί να κάψει και εσένα. Όταν δεν έχουμε κανένα ενδιαφέρον για τα προβλήματα του διπλανού μας τότε δεν μπορούμε να απαιτούμε να ενδιαφερθεί ο άλλος για τα δικά μας.

Μετά από αυτά τα συμπεράσματα που έχω βγάλει, τελικά ίσως μας άξιζε αυτή η κρίση που περνάμε. Ίσως μας δοθεί η τελευταία ευκαιρία να διορθώσουμε αυτά τα προβλήματα, διαφορετικά θα πάμε από το χειρότερο στο χείριστο.