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A New Study Says Solar Is Cheaper Than Nuclear
A new study has been published concluding that Solar Photo Voltaic technology is cheaper than Nuclear Energy. The study was released in July 2010 by two Duke University researchers. Finally scholars have done their homework and are doing the maths correctly. There’s still alot of work that needs to be done in this area as I think when scholars really get their teeth into the details of energy economics they will realize that the reality is that renewables and solar in particular has been the cheapest source of energy for along time in many parts of the world. This study in particular refers only to the situation in North Carolina which is not necessarily the most sunny place on the globe to put it lightly.
Are Renewable Energy Sources Really More Expensive Than Fossil Fuels?
A while back I did an analysis of the cost that importing oil in South Africa has on its economy. This analysis only took into account the foreign currency costs but it did not look at the subsidies that fossil fuels receive from government sources. A recent study titled “Government subsidies for dirty power dwarf support for clean energy“ produced by Bloomberg New Energy Finance found that fossil fuels receive ten times more subsidies than renewable energy. This is mind boggling especially when one considers the additional cost to tax payers that oil spills and health costs have on large populations as a result of fossil fuels. If one were to fact these costs in, we would have reached price parity between fossil fuels and renewable energy many years ago.
The Largest Solar Thermal Plant in the World
This short video shows what is possible with Solar Thermal Energy. Solar Thermal Energy offers one of the quickest payback investments in renewable energy, particularly in high sun areas such as Southern Africa and the Middle East.
Kayema Featured on SolarThermalWorld.org
Recently one of the most prestigious online portals for the solar thermal energy industry featured the inauguration of the 117 flat panel system installed by Kayema Energy Solutions above the rooftop of the Legacy Group Hotel Da Vinci, in Johannesburg, South Africa, in March: Cutting the ribbon were (from the left) Daniel Schwab (CEO of Kayema Energy Solutions), Enoch Godongwana (Deputy Minister of Public Enterprises), Dov Segev-Steinberg (Israeli Ambassador to South Africa) and Or Pearl (Israeli trade attaché).
Photo: Kayema
South Africa: Three partners – one Solar Project
Submitted by Baerbel Epp on Fri, 07/09/2010 – 06:00.
Consumer Watch Article Regarding Direct Systems
R5,3bn energy efficiency incentive confirmed
The recently published proposed NERSA payout scheme for energy efficiency projects seems to be a step in the right direction. However it is yet to be seen how this program is implementable. Will businesses be stuck with the bill at the end of the day or will government be able to efficiently (no pun intended) distribute funds to those consumers who implement energy efficiency programs?
Cost of Unserved Energy
COUE is a relatively unknown professional term which most people have never heard of. However most people in South Africa are beginning to feel the effects of COUE. This terms refers to the real cost to the economy of undelivered electricity i.e. a situation when there is no electricity available via the regular electrical grid. According to a recently published document by the Department of Energy in South Africa, the COUE for South Africa is approximately R75 per kWh which is about 100 times more than the cost of paying for electricity when it is available. This is the reason why people are willing to pay for diesel generators which normally cost around R10 per kWh and puts out both noise and air pollution. This is also why more and more people around the world are moving to Solar or other renewable energy sources despite the perceived high costs. I say perceived because in fact once the equipment is paid for, solar and wind are the cheapest forms of energy since they have no input fuel. The fact that solar and wind are not always available should be managed by using a suitable energy storage media. The bottom line is that we no longer have a choice to remain undecided.
South African Electricity Price Projections
Often one has to dig deep in order to find the important information in the media. Yesterday’s article in the Engineering News titled “Eskom says can find cash for power stations” had a few lines of very important information mid way into the article.
Eskom’s new Chief Financial Officer Paul O’Flaherty is quoted as saying that ” …Eskom was working under the assumption that tariffs would rise by a further 25 percent in the fourth and fifth year as well”.
The importance of this cannot be over estimated for a few reasons. Firstly, compounding increases of 25% for five years in a row will almost triple the cost of electricity in South Africa. This is a big knock for a country that once upon a time assumed that electricity was free. Secondly, this statement by a highly respected insider within the utility offers a level of certainty to investors with regards to the energy prices in South Africa, something that is sorely lacking and that is probably one of the biggest drags on investment into the energy efficiency and renewable energy sector in South Africa. Thirdly, corporate South Africa is only now waking up to the reality of sky rocketing electricity prices. The party is over!
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