Paris Agreement on Climate Change to Take Effect November 4

The Paris Agreement on climate change will legally take effect November 4, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced Wednesday after nine more countries ratified the pact.

The landmark agreement signed in Paris in April is aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, most of which are generated by the use of fossil fuels such as petroleum, coal or natural gas. Most scientists say the accumulation of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the Earth’s atmosphere is responsible for the climate change that has accelerated in recent years.

“I have visited communities on the climate front lines, from the Arctic to the Amazon,” Ban said Wednesday. “I have seen how climate impacts are already devastating lives, livelihoods, and prospects for a better future.”

Get a quote for a Solar rooftop system

Paris Agreement on Climate Change to Take Effect November 4

Solar panels surpass coal-fired electricity in previously ‘unthinkable’ feat

Solar panels generated more electricity than coal in the past six months in a historic year for getting energy from the sun in the UK, according to a new analysis.

Research by the Carbon Brief website found that solar generated nearly 7,000 gigawatt hours of electricity between April and September, about 10 per cent more than the 6,300GwH produced by coal during the same period.

The figures represent a dramatic turnaround in the UK’s electricity supplies.

The first ever day when solar produced more than coal was only on 9 April – when there was no coal-fired electricity for the first time since 1882. But then May became the first ever month when this happened.

Get a quote for a Solar rooftop system

Read More…

Solar panels surpass coal-fired electricity in previously ‘unthinkable’ feat

Is New York Ready for Solar Power?

Solar power in New York City may finally be having its moment.

The number of residential projects across the five boroughs has risen to more than 5,300 this year from 186 in 2011, according to state officials, and there are another 1,900 in the pipeline. The solar boom has been prompted by a 70 percent drop in installation costs in recent years, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association, along with the streamlining of government approvals and incentives.

The upfront cost for installing solar panels on a single-family house runs between $20,000 and $50,000, but federal, state and city incentives and tax credits can cut that cost in half, said David Sandbank, the director of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority’s NY-Sun initiative, and homeowners say that once solar panels are up and running, monthly energy bills can fall by as much as 85 percent.

Most of the city’s existing solar projects are on single-family houses on Staten Island, but townhouse owners in Brooklyn are getting on board, and owners of apartment buildings in the Bronx and Queens are also starting to consider ways to harness the sun’s power.

Get a quote for a Solar rooftop system

Read More…

Is New York Ready for Solar Power?

Buffalo Steel Plant Turned Into Solar Panel Factory Indeed ‘a Symbol of Everything We’re Doing’

When New York’s Democrat Governor Andrew Cuomogushed over SolarCity’s new solar panel factory in Buffalo, New York, the audience, likely, didn’t grasp the recently-revealed meaning of his words: “It is such a metaphor—a symbol of everything we’re doing.”

The 1.2 million square foot building, being built by the state of New York on the site of a former steel plant, is looking more and more like another political promise of help for one of the poorest cities in the state that ends up enriching cronies without ever achieving any potential for the people.

New corruption charges reveal the pay-to-play model linked to Cuomo’s upstate “Buffalo Billion” economic revitalization plan—and the promised jobs look they will never materialize.

Get a quote for a Solar rooftop system

Read More…

Buffalo Steel Plant Turned Into Solar Panel Factory Indeed ‘a Symbol of Everything We’re Doing’

First Time Ever, 4 Mahagenco Plants Shut As Rains Reduce Power Demand

For the first time in the history of the state-run generation power comapny Mahagenco, it
has completely shut down four of its seven power plants. The total generation has gone
below 2000 MW, which has also happened for the first time. The reason is no deman for
power from state-run discom MSEDCL.

according to maharashtra electricity regulatory Commission’s merit dis-patch order,
MSEDCL has to buy cheap power first before going in for costiler power. As the rate of
generation of Mahagenco is higher than some private, the company has taken a beating.

A Mahagenco official said all the units of Koradi, Khaparkheda, bhusawal and parli plants
were offile. “Even though MSEDCL increased power supply to agricultural consumers from
eight hours a day to 12, it has not helped. Heavy rains in many parts of the state has
reduced demand for power. Farmers are not required to use their pumps. The demand has
increased during Ganeshotsav, but now the extra demand is no longer there.

Presently, the total maximum demand is in the range of 13500 MW, which is quite low,” an
official said.

The official added that hte parli plant was closed down last year due to water shortage.
“Now there is water in its feeder dam to run tow units but we are unable to start them due to
lack of demand,” he added. Last month, Mahagenco had started all the five units of the 1340
MW khaparkheda power plant but had to close all of them down within a few days.

A MSEDCL official said demand also gone down due to increase in solar and wind
generation. “The wind is strong during the rainy season and hence wind power generation
has gone up. Many people are going for our solar rooftop policy and this too is gradually
reducing our demand,” he said.

Get a quote for a Solar rooftop system

Read More…

First Time Ever, 4 Mahagenco Plants Shut As Rains Reduce Power Demand

Top builders rush to install solar rooftops on dipping costs, favourable govt policies

Major real estate developers like DLF, Lodha, Vatika, IREO and Wadhwa Group are increasingly opting for solar rooftops on their buildings due to lower lifecycle costs, favourable state policies and a brand differentiation.

While Mumbai-based real estate firm Lodha Group is running a pilot project using solar energy at its 4,500-acre township named Palava in Mumbai, another city based developer. The Wadhwa Group has tied up with Waaree Energies for installing solar panels across all their projects.

DLF has recently tied up with solar energy developer Azure Power to set up solar panels on the rooftops of its Gurgaon properties, while Vatika Group has tied up with Amplus Energy Solutions to set up solar rooftop systems across six buildings in Gurgaon.

Private equity fund and developer IREO has also tied up for 100% solar power with a 9 mega watt (mw) third-party dedicated solar farm in Haryana for its first building at the 11 million sq ft IT SEZ being developed in Gurgaon’s Golf Course Extension Road. The building will also have 600 KW rooftop solar panels.

Get a quote for a Solar rooftop system

Top builders rush to install solar rooftops on dipping costs, favourable govt policies

Walking On Sunshine: Is Solar Power The Way To Go?

For many, solar power is a lot more than just a ray of hope.

No question, there are legitimate benefits to installing solar power in your home.

But does that necessarily mean it’s a great idea for one and all?

KCAL9’s Jeff Vaughn sheds some light on solar: Who should get it? And how should you get it?

One thing is certain, more people are getting it.

Get a quote for a Solar rooftop system

Read More…

Walking On Sunshine: Is Solar Power The Way To Go?

A Quarter Of Australian Businesses Generate Electricity With Solar PV

An increase in interest and uptake of solar by Australia’s commercial sector has been supported by the results of a new survey, with nearly one-quarter of businesses claiming to have already tapped  rooftop solar as a measure to cut electricity costs and be more environmentally responsible.

Commercial solar, while much slower to take off in Australia than the residential market, has been making up some ground over the past year, but is yet to take hold. To boost the market, schemes like the Clean Energy Finance Corp-backed Westpac Bank loan facility have been launched to encourage Australian businesses to invest in solar, battery storage, energy efficient technologies and electric vehicles.

But progress is being made. According to the survey, published on Monday by energy management company Energy Action, 23 per cent of businesses generate some portion of their electricity supply using solar PV, up from just 14 per cent just two years ago. Another 37 per cent said they had “implemented solar PV measures in their business,” up from 23 per cent in 2014.

Meanwhile, the proportion of businesses who said they were seriously considering investing in technologies like solar PV and even battery storage and smart energy management systems was 84 per cent. Another 43 per cent reported they now had a formal energy management strategy in place.

Get a quote for a Solar rooftop system

A Quarter Of Australian Businesses Generate Electricity With Solar PV

Metro to set up rooftop solar panels at 8 stations

Going green in its second year of operations, Jaipur Metro has decided to set up rooftop solar panels at eight elevated stations on its 9.25-km-long corridor betweenMansarovar and Chandpole.

The power generated by 200-kWp ‘Rooftop Solar Power Plant’ will be used to meet the requirements at the stations and would reduce its dependence on non-renewable sources.

JMRC director (operations) C S Jeengar said, the Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited has finalised Hero firm to install the rooftop solar panels which will maintain it for next 25 years. “JMRC received a proposal from the Centre under its scheme to install the rooftop solar panels. Now, the state has to send its final approval after that work for installation will be started,” said an official.

Metro to set up rooftop solar panels at 8 stations

U.S. utility solar enjoys building boom in second quarter but residential slows

U.S. solar installations rose 43 percent in the second quarter, according to a new report, as sharp gains in large projects for utilities offset slowing growth in residential systems in top solar market California.

The United States installed 2,051 megawatts of photovoltaic solar in the second quarter, according to a report by research firm GTM Research and the Solar Energy Industries Association trade group. Systems for utilities made up 53 percent of the market in the first half of this year thanks to sharply lower system prices that are competitive with fossil fuels and state mandates to source more electricity from renewable sources.

A federal tax credit worth 30 percent of the cost of a solar system has also underpinned the utility market’s growth. The credit had been expected to expire at the end of this year, leading to a building boom in 2016. The credit, however, was extended by Congress for five years at the end of last year.

Get a quote for a Solar rooftop system

U.S. utility solar enjoys building boom in second quarter but residential slows