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MD of yes solar interviewed by Pick n Pay

Nov 112010

Ever wondered what going solar is really all about? We answer your questions below… Transcript from Pick n Pay

We chat to Richard Jamieson, managing director of Yes Solar, one of South Africa’s leading solar energy companies, to find out all the answers to our solar questions.
1. Why is solar power better than regular electricity?
Bottom line, you’re using a source of power that is 100% renewable. You’re not ‘using up’ the sun by putting a panel on your roof. Next most important thing is that it’s clean. Sure, the panel requires energy and materials to make, but after that you don’t produce any greenhouse gasses or other waste products when using solar.

2. Isn’t it very expensive to install?
The upfront cost is high, but the real number to look at is your payback period. This is how long it takes for your savings to add up to the upfront cost. Solar water heating systems, if correctly sized, pay for themselves in 3 to 4 years. This is much less than it used to be, thanks to higher electricity prices and to the Eskom rebate.

3. Is it true that Eskom offers a rebate?
Eskom has something called a Demand Side Management programme, and one of the initiatives of that programme is to offer a rebate to people who buy solar water heaters. The rebate is a cash amount which is paid out within eight weeks of installation. The process is managed by Deloitte. Rebates can be anywhere between R3000 and R13000, depending on the size and efficiency of your system.

4. Isn’t solar power only for hippies?
This might have been true in the past, but these days solar power is for people who want to save themselves money, and for people who want to be less dependent on Eskom, and for people who want to reduce their own carbon footprint. If you rely on Eskom in SA your carbon footprint is big, because they’re so reliant on coal to produce the electricity we all use.

5. How much money could potentially be saved by going solar?
This depends on a number of factors – mainly how many people in your home use hot water and what their water usage habits are. Somewhere between R200 and R400 a month for 2-5 people living together with fairly normal water usage habits.

6. What if it’s cloudy all month and there’s no sun?
Every system we install has electrical backup. A timer/controller on the unit makes sure that hot water when you need it by activating the element (if solar alone is not getting the water hot enough).

7. How reliable is it?
Reliability is a key factor when making a purchasing decision. You’re buying something that should last you twenty years, so choose carefully and don’t go for the cheapest option. Choosing a company that is going to provide good backup service is also important. Look for a supplier that has SABS mark approval.

8. How does one go about getting it installed?
Call us and we will come round and do a site visit which will allow us to put together a solution (or range of solutions) that suit your home and your budget. If you decide to go ahead, installation takes roughly one day per geyser.

Clean Technology Fund to invest $85m in SA

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Nov 052010

The World Bank’s Clean Technology Fund plans to invest $85 million in renewable energy and co-generation projects in South Africa.

The fund said it had $50 million available for wind and solar renewable energy projects and $35 million for co-generation, where waste energy and gases are used to produce power according to an advert in the Business Day.

The $85 million was part of a total $150 million allocated for investment in South Africa, with the remainder being managed by the African Development Bank.

South Africa’s state-owned power utility Eskom has said it will conduct more research in clean technology as it seeks a new World Bank loan to finance renewable energy power projects.

The World Bank in April approved a controversial $3,75 billion Eskom loan to develop a coal-fired power plant in South Africa despite the lack of support from the country’s key Western allies.

Source – The Times

Logitech Introduces Solar-Powered Keyboard

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Nov 052010

Logitech's first solar keyboard can be powered by indoor light and stays charged for at least three months in total darkness. Plus an integrated power-indicator light eliminates surprises.

Logitech has introduced the Logitech Wireless Solar Keyboard K750 – the company’s first light-powered keyboard. The Logitech Wireless Solar Keyboard powers itself whenever there’s light, even indoors, making battery hassles a thing of the past.

“The keyboard is still the best input device for typing emails and IMs, updating your Facebook page or posting responses to your favorite blogs – and the Logitech Wireless Solar Keyboard K750 is the next big innovation in keyboard technology,” said Denis Pavillard, vice president of product marketing for Logitech’s keyboards and desktops.

“The Logitech Wireless Solar Keyboard is powered by light but can work in total darkness for up to three months. Plus, with its PVC-free construction and fully recyclable packaging, it’s designed to minimize its footprint.”

Powered by Light – Even Indoors
To give you hassle-free convenience, the Logitech Wireless Solar Keyboard powers itself through its integrated solar panel – no power bricks or charging cables needed.

The included solar power app (available for download beginning Nov. 15, 2010 at www.logitech.com/k750.solarapp) features a lux meter to help you get the necessary light, makes it easy to get at-a-glance information about battery levels, and even alerts you when you need more power.

Logitech’s first solar keyboard can be powered by indoor light and stays charged for at least three months in total darkness. Plus an integrated power-indicator light eliminates surprises.

Only 1/3-Inch Thick
But Logitech did much more than bring solar power to the keyboard.

At only 1/3-inch thick, the sleek Logitech Wireless Solar Keyboard looks good. With its rounded edges and thin profile, this stylish, streamlined keyboard is a joy to hold and behold.

Feel-Good Typing
The low-profile keyboard features Logitech Incurve keys. Using a concave design, Incurve keys support the shape of your fingertips, while helping guide your fingers to the right keys. In addition, the soft, rounded edges make it easy for your fingers to glide from key to key.

Powerful, Reliable Wireless Connection with Logitech Unifying Technology

The Logitech Wireless Solar Keyboard K750 offers Logitech Advanced 2.4 GHz wireless connectivity, keeping you connected with virtually no delays or dropouts, so you get all the benefits of a cord, with the convenience of wireless. Logitech Advanced 2.4 wireless also includes 128-bit AES encryption with the keyboard – one of the highest levels of security available.

Plus, the tiny Logitech Unifying receiver is small enough to stay in your laptop, so there’s no need to unplug it when you move around. And you can easily add up to six Logitech Unifying and Unifying-ready mice and keyboards – without the hassle of multiple USB receivers.

Source – Solardaily.com

solar hot water in the Garden Route

Solar Water heating 4 Responses »

Oct 252010

There are many options available when it comes to choosing the right Solar water heating system (solar geyser). We have all these options and the expertise to present the facts to you. You can obviously choose, but we will make a recommendation on what we think will be best for you. Here are some of the choices….

We have 2 technologies available – flat plate technology and evacuated tube technology. They both have their merits and we can advise on which one is right for you. We have a number of systems available in each different technology.
We also have a choice in systems of “thermosyphen” (a natural process where hot water rises) or “pumped systems”. We help you on this choice depending on whether you want to see the solar geyser on your roof or not, also taking into account the shape of your roof and the space you have in your ceiling.
In some cases we can make use of your existing geyser (we call this a retrofit), but we try to find a solution that provides the right amount of hot water depending on your needs. There are different sizes of solar geysers and this influences the prices.
We also are able to offer you a choice of suppliers in some provinces. At the end of the day though, its all about getting you the right solution.

Water and Solar is a registered partner to YES Solar in the Western Cape Area. We are thus able to advise our customers on the best possible way to save both water and electricity by offering a holistic package when it comes to ‘greening’ your home. Contact us today for some solid water and energy saving solutions.

Yes Solar Acquires Solar Science

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Oct 222010

Yes Solar is proud to announce the acquisition of Solar Science, one of the Western Cape’s leading solar marketing and installation companies. Solar Science joins Yes Solar and brings with it considerable skills in the marketing and installation of a number of carefully chosen Solar water systems and Heat Pumps.

Solar Science will be rebranded as Yes Solar and Richard Jamieson (B.Sc Electrical) will take over as managing director of Yes Solar from Charles Bryant. Simon Lamond is a PIRB registered plumber and Eskom accredited solar installer. Simon with 10 years of green plumbing experience takes up the position of technical director in Yes Solar.

Simon immediately brings with him the ability to handle all solar installations in the Western Cape for Yes Solar franchisees, and as a long term strategy will look to engage and recruit the highest quality installation capacity for Gauteng, the E.Cape and Mpumalanga. Richard will focus on the support of Yes Solar franchisees in both marketing and product training and Charles will be responsible for growing the Yes Solar footprint with high quality dedicated ecopreneurs.

The aim of Yes Solar will always be to put the customer first. We aim to do this by giving impartial advice, having the right products in our mix as well as the skills to dispense this advice. Our vision is to become one of the top 3 solar brands by the year 2012.

South Africa - Solar park not off the table

renewable energy 1 Response »

Oct 192010

The department quoted Energy Minister Dipuo Peters as saying: “A woefully wrong impression is being created that presupposes that, in view of the fact that the current draft IRP2010 only makes provision for the target of 600 megawatts by 2017, then it follows that the Northern Cape Solar Park will not happen as it falls outside of the IRP. This is not the case.

“Realistic targets for electricity generation can only be included in the IRP once we have completed the feasibility studies which will provide certainty with regard to, amongst others, the necessary core data with regard to the time frames for the implementation of the envisaged solar park, the scale of its operations, the mix of solar technologies that will be used to generate electricity using the sun rays as well as mechanisms that are needed to secure integration into the national grid,” she said.

The department was committed to initiating large-scale solar projects in order to contribute to the security of energy supply.

It was in this respect that the prefeasibility study that was conducted by the Clinton Climate Initiative confirmed that 5 GW of cost effective electricity generation was achievable through the deployment of solar projects.

The draft IRP was written with enough flexibility to accommodate the Solar Park concept, the statement continued.

The Solar Park provided “the real arsenal” to deploy technology that could replace the fossil-fired power generation.

Peters reiterated government’s commitment that 30 percent of new generation capacity would be produced by independent power producers.

The development of a large scale solar park would be a significant part of this once government had the benefit of reviewing the current draft that is out for public comment.

Source – The Times

Solar Market Keeps Shining In 2011

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Oct 072010

Despite extreme shifts in pricing, demand and governmental subsidies, the global photovoltaic market in 2011 will experience robust growth, with installations rising by 42.3 percent for the year, according to the market research firm iSuppli Corp.

iSuppli forecasts that worldwide solar installations will reach 20.2 Gigawatts (GW) next year, up from 14.2GW at the end of 2010. Germany, the world’s leading Photovoltaic (PV) market, will continue to play a key role and account for half of the total installations, at 9.5GW. While an impressive growth total for the year, the expansion will be down significantly from the 97.9 percent increase in 2009. The attached figure shows iSuppli’s forecast of global PV installations by region from 2009 to 2014.

“The strong results projected for 2011 come despite softening demand anticipated during the first quarter of next year,” said Stefan de Haan, senior analyst for photovoltaic materials and systems at iSuppli.

“As a result, prices will weaken at the end of the first quarter. However, the feebleness of the pricing will be responsible for demand momentum building up in the second quarter. From then on, a significant demand rally can be expected, leading to a price rebound in the second half.”

Speculation is also rife about the possibility of a PV installation cap being imposed in Germany for 2011. However, iSuppli believes that the German government will not dare to cut down PV subsidies, especially in the wake of a recent decision to extend the operation of nuclear power plants.

With the nuclear extension passing despite popular opposition, the government is not likely to risk further alienating public opinion by implementing limits on photovoltaic solar energy.

“A severe action such as an installation cap on solar technology conceivably could cause a mutiny among regional German politicians who count PV companies as electoral constituencies, in the process drawing loud protestations from the industry, where precious jobs are at stake,” de Haan said.

“And unlike in France-where an ad hoc action imposing PV caps succeeded-the solar industry in Germany has real influence on governmental decisions.”

In the near term, the nuclear reprieve in Germany will have no effect on the PV markets, even if passage might have sent the wrong signal to PV global markets for the time being, iSuppli maintains.

And with German polls suggesting overwhelming support-80 percent by one count-among voters in favor of renewable energy generation, the forecasts for a strong German PV market in 2011 continue to hold and remain unchanged.

Source – www.solardaily.com

We at www.waterandsolar.co.za want South Africa to start seriously looking now at renewable energy and reduce its need for coal fired power stations. As individuals we can start in our homes by introducing a greener way of living with greywater systems, rainwater harvesting and solar water heaters. Together we can start reducing our homes carbon footprint and our need for coal hungry Eskom and municipal water.

Solar farm to start in 2012 - Upington

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Oct 052010

A general view shows the Lieberose solar farm, which is the worlds second biggest solar power plant and Germanys biggest Photograph by: FABRIZIO BENSCH Credit: REUTERS

Government expects the construction of Eskom’s planned solar farm in Upington to start in 2012, Public Enterprises Minister Barbara Hogan said.

Eskom is likely to be able to finalise a decision on which technology it will use at the sun farm in December, start construction in mid to late 2012, and complete a demonstration plant in 2015, she said in reply to a parliamentary question.

The minister said the project is expected to cost between six to seven billion rand.

The Upington solar power project and a wind farm at Sere, some 160 kilometres north of Cape Town, had been lying dormant for lack of funding.

But the two projects received nearly R2 billion in International Bank for Reconstruction and Development funding as part of the US3.75 billion World Bank loan to Eskom approved earlier this year, putting both back on the drawing board.

Hogan said the World Bank will be providing financing of US250 million “and the rest will be co-financed by other financial institutions such as the African Development Bank”.

Government spokesman Themba Maseko last month suggested the project would also need “a huge chunk of investment from the private sector”.

Hogan said the World Bank had rejected Eskom’s initial choice of technology for the solar farm as “ambitious” as it would have required a 100 megawatt central tower with storage and these are not available commercially worldwide.

“A condition to the World Bank loan was a technology assessment to evaluate developments in concentration solar project technology internationally.

“Following this assessment, which is expected to be completed in December 2010, Eskom will be in a position to finalise the decision on technology choice, production capacity and storage capacity for the demonstration plant.”

Source – The Times

Mimicking Nature, Water-Based Artificial Leaf Produces Electricity

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Sep 292010

A team led by a North Carolina State University researcher has shown that water-gel-based solar devices – “artificial leaves” – can act like solar cells to produce electricity. The findings prove the concept for making solar cells that more closely mimic nature. They also have the potential to be less expensive and more environmentally friendly than the current standard-bearer: silicon-based solar cells.

The bendable devices are composed of water-based gel infused with light-sensitive molecules – the researchers used plant chlorophyll in one of the experiments – coupled with electrodes coated by carbon materials, such as carbon nanotubes or graphite.

The light-sensitive molecules get “excited” by the sun’s rays to produce electricity, similar to plant molecules that get excited to synthesize sugars in order to grow, says NC State’s Dr. Orlin Velev, Invista Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and the lead author of a paper published online in the Journal of Materials Chemistry describing this new generation of solar cells.

Velev says that the research team hopes to “learn how to mimic the materials by which nature harnesses solar energy.” Although synthetic light-sensitive molecules can be used, Velev says naturally derived products – like chlorophyll – are also easily integrated in these devices because of their water-gel matrix.

Now that they’ve proven the concept, Velev says the researchers will work to fine-tune the water-based photovoltaic devices, making them even more like real leaves.

“The next step is to mimic the self-regenerating mechanisms found in plants,” Velev says. “The other challenge is to change the water-based gel and light-sensitive molecules to improve the efficiency of the solar cells.”

Velev even imagines a future where roofs could be covered with soft sheets of similar electricity-generating artificial-leaf solar cells.

“We do not want to overpromise at this stage, as the devices are still of relatively low efficiency and there is a long way to go before this can become a practical technology,” Velev says. “However, we believe that the concept of biologically inspired ‘soft’ devices for generating electricity may in the future provide an alternative for the present-day solid-state technologies.”

Researchers from the Air Force Research Laboratory and Chung-Ang University in Korea co-authored the study. The study was funded by the Air Force Research Laboratory and the U.S. Department of Energy. The work is part of NC State’s universitywide nanotechnology program, Nano@NC State.

NC State’s Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering is part of the university’s College of Engineering.

Source – Solar News

Can The World Be Powered Mainly By Solar And Wind Energy?

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Sep 172010

Wind and solar power could become the world’s main sources of energy, a Nobel-prize winning scientist suggests.

Continuous research and development of alternative energy could soon lead to a new era in human history in which two renewable sources – solar and wind – will become Earth’s dominant contributor of energy, a Nobel laureate said here at a special symposium at the American Chemical Society’s 240th National Meeting.

Walter Kohn, Ph.D., who shared the 1998 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, noted that total oil and natural gas production, which today provides about 60 percent of global energy consumption, is expected to peak about 10 to 30 years from now, followed by a rapid decline. He is with the University of California, Santa Barbara. Continue reading »

Older Entries

MD of yes solar interviewed by Pick n Pay

Clean Technology Fund to invest $85m in SA

The World Bank’s Clean Technology Fund plans to invest $85 million in renewable energy and co-generation projects in South Africa.

Logitech Introduces Solar-Powered Keyboard

solar hot water in the Garden Route

Yes Solar Acquires Solar Science

South Africa - Solar park not off the table

Solar Market Keeps Shining In 2011

Solar farm to start in 2012 - Upington

Mimicking Nature, Water-Based Artificial Leaf Produces Electricity

Can The World Be Powered Mainly By Solar And Wind Energy?

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The World Bank’s Clean Technology Fund plans to invest $85 million in renewable energy and co-generation projects in South Africa.

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