The Biochar Blog

Posts Tagged ‘Will’

Much Energy Does Solar Panel Produce

The whole idea of this feed-in-tariff business is that you earn money by selling units of energy produced by your solar panels. So much so that after 25 years of operation you’ve made your money back and have even turned a tidy profit. This means that in order to know whether putting up some solar panels makes any sense, you need to know exactly how much energy they’re going to produce over the 25-year guarantee period.

Easy, you might say – the calculation is pretty straightforward. You find out the average annual irradiation (sunnyness level) from your local weather station, and multiply by the efficiency of your solar panels and the number of square metres you have. This will give you a nice number and away we go. The only problem is you might be more than 50% wrong because we’ve missed out a couple of variables. Variables such as temperature coefficient, tilt angle, diffuse-light fraction, solar cell type, shading losses, inverter losses, cable losses, degradation, module de-rate factor, mismatch losses, anti-reflective coatings, snow and lightning strikes, to name a few.

Of course there are an infinite number of effects that can influence the output of your photovoltaic system (solar eclipse, anyone?). The question is whether you have considered the important ones or not.

Knowledgeable installers use one of a number computer programs designed specifically to take these factors into account. You type in what type of solar panel you’re using, how many, where they are, what angle they’re tilted at, what direction they’re facing and then press ‘go’. It then calculates the amount of energy you’ll produce each month and even the return on investment if you want it to. Behind these models is actually some physics that describes the behaviour of solar cells under different light intensities and correctly.

The most commonly used model in Europe is called PVSyst, developed at the University of Geneva. This software package contains information on a large number of different solar panel types and is capable of taking into account many of the above listed factors. Installers across Europe use this software package to predict the energy yield of residential solar systems, as do many banks pondering whether to provide multi-million euro loans to super-large PV power projects. Even with this advanced software package however, some of these factors are very complex, and improving these models is an active area of research.

Here, I’ll deal with a couple of these complications as examples. When you buy a solar panel, it invariably comes with a power rating. Full size modules are generally around 200W. What does this mean though? In principle, the power rating indicates what you get when the panel is illuminated by full-sunlight. ‘Full sunlight’ is not very specific, so the international community has defined what is known as Standard Test Conditions (STC), which corresponds to an irradiation of 1000 W/m2 and a cell temperature of 25oC, when the light has a specific spectrum (or colour) known as Air Mass Index 1.5. So the power of your solar panel comes from its performance under exactly these conditions. In general this is measured using special type of lamp called a ‘solar simulator’ that tries to reproduce the AM1.5 spectrum as closely as possible. Calibrating these lamps precisely is notoriously difficult and there are very few testing centers around the world that are truly trusted. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Colorado, USA uses at least two different lamps and one outdoor measurement to record STC performance, after a long period of calibration. Much Energy Does Solar Panel Produce

Because measuring the STC performance is so tricky, the power rating you get has a plus or minus 5 percent error margin. This is hard to include in your simulation. In addition, manufacturers will often deliberately under-rate the power of their solar panels to be sure they don’t fall below the warranty. This means you may well get considerably more power than you expect.

Another factor that adds to uncertainty is the degradation factor. When you buy solar panels they are normally guaranteed for 20 years, but only to 80% of the initial power output. This means the manufacturer expects them to degrade 1% per year on average. When calculating performance in the models, people also tend to use a 1% degradation rate per year. This is only a rough estimate however. During the certification process, solar panels are given all sports of nasty treatment to test their reliability to breaking point. This doesn’t tell you much about the rate of degradation when the solar panels are outside under normal operation though. The only reliable way to test degradation over 20 years is to wait 20 years, but this is complicated by the fact that technology improves reliability much faster than that. So the degradation of solar panels made in 2008 has only been tested since, well, 2008.

What these issues highlight is that understanding the energy yield output of your solar panels is not as straightforward as it may at first seem. When having your system designed, make sure who-ever you’re dealing with has some experience, and if possible, get a second opinion.

The other critical piece of information for understanding the financial viability of a solar installation is how much you will get paid per kWh under the feed-in-tariff. Unfortunately, the UK government has not released the final figures yet, which means no-one in the UK can make a reliable financial plan for getting solar panels, even when the launch date for the feed-in-tariff is just 4 months away.

Hopefully I will be able to update you on this in the near future. For now though, it’s better to be more conservative with your numbers than too ambitious…. Much Energy Does Solar Panel Produce

ENERGY SPRINT is produced highly innovative, thanks to its technology ENERGY SPRINT assures you force, physical energy and lies them every time that you want. ENERGY SPRINT is a Card, that you just need to carry it with you, when you want to be in full form and of energy, and put it in your drawer, when you want take a rest.

ENERGY SPRINT acts immediately, in fact you need to have it with you and to feel its benefits. In order to discover its effects you have to do physical exercises, like the test of equilibrium, and to remain surprises of the effects of ENERGY SPRINT.

The lucky people who had the possibility to try it said: “To have between the hands the Card Energy Sprint it is an unique experience, that leave you amazed because you can feel its effects immediately, in order to appreciate its effects only thing is to try it.” Also the strategy of commercialization of ENERGY SPRINT CARD is completely innovative, you can have ENERGY SPRINT CARD exclusively on invitation. They have been selected, a few number of persons “Founder “and exclusively they had the possibility to promote ENERGY SPRINT CARD. To the question of because it has been chosen this strategy the answer was” ENERGY SPRINT CARD is a so innovative and effective product, that  company were unable  to accept requests of the market ,in this way can be managed the production at best.” The only way for having ENERGY SPRINT CARD is to be lucky to know a “Founder” meantime  company advises to discover to all the innovationes becoming Fan of ENERGY SPRINT CARD on Facebook.

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In his recent book, Why Your World Is About to Get a Whole Lot Smaller: Oil and the End of Globalization, former CIBC World Markets chief economist Jeff Rubin suggests that while the world isn’t running out of oil, it is running out of cheap oil.

Rubin predicts an era of triple-digit oil prices that will fundamentally change the way we do business. The economic repercussions of expensive oil, he says, will be the end of and the eventual reversal of the trend towards globalisation.

The days of shipping raw materials halfway across the world to be processed by cheap labour will be over. Flying food from where it is in season to where it is not will be a thing of the past. Locally sourced products will move from being a trendy buzzword to an economic necessity.

We asked our oil analyst Riccardo Fabiani to take a close look at Rubin’s theory and offer some expert commentary.

“Jeff Rubin has some very good points, particularly as he highlights the role of cheap labour and energy in boosting global trade and fostering globalisation.

Unfortunately, his overall theory is based on the premise that oil prices are likely to hit triple digits in the years to come, which, in our view, is unlikely.

Rubin anticipates a new era of oil prices around US$200-300 per barrel, which, I agree, would have a devastating impact on world trade and thus on globalisation in the near future.

However, while our team here at D&B Country Risk Services do expect oil prices to increase above US$80 per barrel over the next two years, we don’t see prices getting anywhere close to US$300. Simply put, Mr Rubin’s premise does not take into account a series of factors which could exert downward pressure.

First of all, as oil prices are going up again, oil exploration is also resuming and is opening up potential new sources of petroleum. Iraq, for example, has ambitious plans to increase production capacity to 10 to 12-million barrels per day by 2017, up from the current 2.5-million barrels per day, making it, along with Saudi Arabia, the most important producer in the world.

Secondly, high oil prices have already encouraged many states and companies to switch their consumption to petroleum substitutes. This is raising the demand for coal, natural gas and renewable energy sources. For example, the recent commercial exploitation of previously untapped “shale gas” reserves has substantially raised supply and suppressed prices in the natural gas market and is likely to boost the use of natural gas-fuelled cars and power plants, among others.

Finally, we cannot discount the positive impact of technological progress on energy efficiency in the medium and long term.

Taken overall, all these factors are likely to exert downward pressure on oil prices. Without skyrocketing oil prices, Mr Rubin’s scenario of high oil prices causing the world economy to become less globalised is unlikely to occur.”

Energy Sprint, Thanks to Facebook, everyone will know

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ENERGY SPRINT is produced highly innovative, thanks to its technology ENERGY SPRINT assures you force, physical energy and lies them every time that you want. ENERGY SPRINT is a Card, that you just need to carry it with you, when you want to be in full form and of energy, and put it in your drawer, when you want take a rest.

ENERGY SPRINT acts immediately, in fact you need to have it with you and to feel its benefits. In order to discover its effects you have to do physical exercises, like the test of equilibrium, and to remain surprises of the effects of ENERGY SPRINT.

The lucky people who had the possibility to try it said: “To have between the hands the Card Energy Sprint it is an unique experience, that leave you amazed because you can feel its effects immediately, in order to appreciate its effects only thing is to try it.” Also the strategy of commercialization of ENERGY SPRINT CARD is completely innovative, you can have ENERGY SPRINT CARD exclusively on invitation. They have been selected, a few number of persons “Founder “and exclusively they had the possibility to promote ENERGY SPRINT CARD. To the question of because it has been chosen this strategy the answer was” ENERGY SPRINT CARD is a so innovative and effective product, that  company were unable  to accept requests of the market ,in this way can be managed the production at best.” The only way for having ENERGY SPRINT CARD is to be lucky to know a “Founder” meantime  company advises to discover to all the innovationes becoming Fan of ENERGY SPRINT CARD on Facebook.

http://www.energysprint.net/

We need only read the front page headlines of every major newspaper to understand the deepening oil crisis and the worldwide repercussions of supply and demand as it relates to our traditional energy resources. Is it any wonder that renewable sources of energy are gaining in popularity as an alternative resource? Biofuel is one emerging energy source that may help address the supply-and-demand dilemma versus modern world overdependence on petroleum and petroleum-based applications. Furthermore, biofuel advocates stress that biofuels give off cleaner emissions of carbon dioxide and sulfur oxide, two greenhouse gases that are responsible for climactic change and global warming.

The Difference Between Biofuel and Fossil Fuel

The critical difference between biofuel and traditional fossil fuel is the number of years it takes to form. Biofuel is derived from recently dead biological or organic material. Traditional fossil fuel comes from long dead (read: millions of years old) biological organisms. For this reason, biofuel is considered a renewable resource because it can be replenished in a short period of time. Fossil fuel is classified as a non-renewable resource because its reserves are being depleted much faster than it takes to form new reserves.

While biofuel and fossil fuel are carbon-based properties (they both derive from biological matter) biofuel is considered carbon neutral because the energy is derived from plants, which remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Whereas, fossil fuels released carbon dioxide, which has been stored beneath the earth surface for millions of years, into the air. Carbon dioxide emissions are the number one pollutant.

Biofuel comes from a variety of feedstock sources, of which the more common ones are corn, sugar cane, palm, wheat, algae, and jatropha. From these feedstock sources, two popular fuels are produced for transportation and machineries. They are biodiesel and bioethanol. Broken down further, biodiesel is derived from plant oils; bioethanol is derived from fermented starch or sugar crops.

How Are Biofulels Used?

Biofuels can be used in a pure (denoted as B100) or a blended form (denoted as a percentage). Biofuel is the most common fuel used in Europe because European car manufacturers outfit their cars with diesel engines. For most unmodified diesel engines, advocates say blends of up to 20% (B20) are deemed safe. Higher concentrations require modifications to the diesel engine.

Bioethanol is suggested as a substitute for gasoline in vehicles. However, users have to be careful in choosing the proper blend of ethanol. Generally, a 10% blend of ethanol (E10) may be safe to be used in newer cars. Lower concentrations have been used in some older engines without having adverse effects on vehicle fuel lines, but users should consult their car manufacturers to find out if bioethanol is safe for their engines. In some cases, conversions can void the manufacturer warranty.

Proponents Say

Advocates suggest businesses, especially those in the transportation industry will benefit from using biofuels on two fronts: (1) When biofuel prices are more stable than oil prices, companies are in a better position to plan and budget fuel expenditures for the year. (2) Cleaner vehicular emissions may save transportation companies maintenance costs, while helping them meet new government mandated environmental standards.

Opponents Say

Opponents question how governments establish standards, regulations, and mandates and suggest that the underlying motivation for setting certain standards and enforcing mandates is political.

In other words, opponents contend that politicians are showing preferential treatment to their constituents and lobbyists. The end result is that governments, not the economy, are creating winners and losers. If your company or industry falls on the out of political favor side, you may wind up paying higher taxes or incurring higher costs to meet those politically inspired mandates

Car Manufacturer Status

Car manufactures today are being forced to produce more vehicles that are biofuel ready. In addition to using cheaper fuel, both manufacturers and buyers will be given government incentives (in the form of tax credits) to embrace renewable and alternative energy. Studies also suggest that certain types of biofuel (e.g., biodiesel) can make engines last longer when users maintain their cars by using the right biofuel blend.

The Food vs. Fuel Debate

Biofuel does have an underside and has been the subject of a current debate on food vs. fuel. Since biofuel uses plants that are also used in food supply (corn, maize, wheat, sugar cane, and coconut), this raises the question of whether it is appropriate to use food crops to create alternative fuel instead of filling world food demand. The debate has been further intensified as the world experienced what was deemed as a food crisis in 2007. Critics contend that using agricultural land to produce crops to be used in biofuel production led to this crisis.

These issues must be ironed out by policymakers and regulatory bodies to ensure a workable balance between access to energy and all other necessities.

Proponents and opponents come together around environmental and health benefits of going green. Thus the conversion to more biofuels is probably inevitable. Some are very concerned with how that is executed, since the timing of the changes is not clear. Also total direct and indirect costs and what groups benefit and which groups suffer are major concerns. With Congressional leadership dedicated to accelerating greener energy in a way that benefits their constituents and lobbyists (For example, why do tax deductions for trial attorneys help the general public?), there will definitely be winners and losers.

What the biofuels discussion is pointing to is the urgency to begin planning NOW for this inevitability to help protect industries and consumers from rising costs from energy, regulations and taxes.