Solar Electricity And Hot Water Hybrid Panel

 

Solar panels generate a great deal of waste heat, so why not use that heat to also perform another task solar energy has been used for decades to do - heat water.
   
The Technique Solar Module (TSM), based on technology developed at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, is a combination solar electricity and solar hot water system. The panels feature a series of channels, each with a concentrating acrylic lens and reflective walls to focus the sun's rays onto a strip of solar cells.
   
The solar cells generate electricity and a heat exchanger located beneath the cells is used to heat circulating water that is then stored in a tank, ready for use.
   
The company says TSM technology requires fewer solar cells to produce the same equivalent electrical energy as the traditional flat plate PV array of the same area and a solar conversion efficiency between 50% - 60% compared with an efficiency typically ranging between 15% -18% for conventional solar panels can be achieved. It should be noted most of that conversion goes towards the water heating aspect rather than electricity generation with each 3.5 square metre Technique Solar Module generating 400 watts as electrical power and 1700 watts of heat power.
   
The Technique Solar Module will deliver an energy output the company says which has an average cost per kwhr competitive with the cost of nominally 20 cents per kwhr for energy currently delivered by the Australian electricity grid.
   
However, don't expect to be able to buy this the equipment off the shelf as you can do with solar panels or evacuated tube systems. Technique Solar says the business model to be used for the rollout will be as an ownership/leasing arrangement by an electricity company, council, government or large corporates who will then arrange for installation onto residential, commercial and industrial buildings.
  
As well as local interest, the TSM has had interest from Northern India, China and the USA.
  

USD$500 Billion Being Spent on Fossil Fuel Subsidies

 

While some may criticize the amount of money being spent in relation to solar power and other renewable energy subsidies including various solar rebates and feed in tariffs, it's a drop in the bucket compared to what is being given to prop up fossil fuels - industries that have been around since even before the turn of last century.
    
In February, a workshop was held at the International Energy Agency (IEA) Headquarters in response to the request from G20 Leaders to the IEA, OPEC, OECD and World Bank to produce a Joint Report aimed at providing "analysis of the scope of energy subsidies and suggestions for the implementation". The G20 aims to rationalize and phase out over the medium term inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption. 
  
According to Jacqui Fatka, writing for agribusiness site FeedStuffs, a resulting draft report on energy subsidies found that the world could be spending USD$500 billion annually to subsidize fossil fuels - the majority from subsidised end-user prices.
  
Closer to home and according to a 2007 study , total energy and transport subsidies in Australia during 2005-06 amounted to between $9.3 billion and $10.1 billion. Of that, over 96% of the identified energy and transport subsidies provide support for fossil fuel production and consumption. Less than 4% of the identified subsidies provide support for renewable energy and energy efficiency. 
  
One of the arguments against renewables is their cost compared to polluting fossil fuels. However, if subsidies were removed from these well established industries and instead rerouted to clean, renewable energy technology; still a fledgling sector, it may paint a very different picture in terms of costs.
 

News for Sunday 14 March, 2010

 

• Tasmania's Greens Tout Gross Solar Feed In Tariff
  

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