India’s leaders brought together at CSP Today’s IndiaSol 2014

The most promising opportunities at a state level in the country are two 50MW pilot projects owned by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI). Tarun Kapoor, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), and Ashvini Kumar, Director of Solar at SECI, gave an insight presentation into the structure and timeline for the projects and confirmed that the EPC tenders will be open to both national and international players in the next few months.

Whilst EPC players in the room such as Lauren Bharat Engineering, Larsen & Toubro and Abeinsa are obvious candidates, Godawari Green Energy also showed their interest in learning more about the projects. This company’s representatives posed questions to Kapoor and Kumar, which gave the impression they may also be interested in bidding for the projects and offering their services as an EPC contractor.

Despite the optimism generated by these projects, the session on ‘The next steps for solar in India’ created a sense of uncertainty around the future of CSP in the country. Panel participants, such as Shiv Shukla, president of Abengoa Solar India, made the point that international players have left the Indian market and local players may not have enough experience to develop viable projects.

Other highlights of the conference, hosted on 8-9th October, included the IndiaSol 2014 Awards Ceremony, which revealed Godawari Green Energy, as the winner of the CSP Developer 2014 award for the second year in a row. Aalborg CSP, who have supplied both Godawari Green Energy and Cargo Solar, were the winners of the CSP Supplier 2014 Award, also for the second year in a row.

India, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, the UAE and the USA, the most promising CSP markets in 2015

CSP Today launches its Markets Reports Series 2015, featuring one report for each of the CSP markets with highest growth potential: India, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, the UAE, and the USA.

Each report analyses market strengths and weaknesses, depicts the local stakeholder map (including local developers, EPCs and suppliers), evaluates the market’s current potential and readiness for CSP and provides an assessment of its longevity with projected installed CSP capacity to 2025.

The Series provides a qualified assessment of the key opportunities and pitfalls in each market and generates strategic knowledge that enables you to make informed decisions and develop a strong business strategy that drives the growth of your CSP activity.

To request a copy of the Markets Reports Series 2015, please follow this link: http://www.csptoday.com/research/CSP-markets-series-index.php

IEA predicts renewable energy will satisfy much of Africa’s power needs by 2040

A report published by the International Energy Agency forecasts rapid power system expansion, with generation capacity quadrupling to 385 GW by 2040. The paper also estimates that almost half of the growth in electricity generation by 2040 would come from renewables. Furthermore, it indicates that the total power sector investment averages around $46 billion per year, with just over half of it in transmission and distribution.

The report predicts that the region’s economy will quadruple in size, the population will nearly double (to 1.75 billion) and the energy demand will grow by around 80%. By 2040, 950 million people are predicted to gain access to electricity in sub-Saharan Africa.

Urban areas will experience the largest improvement in the coverage and reliability of centralised electricity supply. Elsewhere, mini-grid and off-grid systems will provide up to 70% of the electricity supply to rural areas by 2040.

SolarReserve appoints Pauline Doohan as General Counsel

The California-based company has announced the appointment of Pauline Doohan as the company's Vice President and General Counsel. Doohan has more than 20 years of experience as a practicing attorney. Before joining the company, she was a partner at U.S. law firm Baker & McKenzie, where she gained experience on finance, corporate and commercial matters, with a specialty in energy and infrastructure-related transactions.

Doohan’s experience in the energy sector began when she was in-house counsel for MCN Energy, the public utility holding company for Michigan Consolidated Gas Company. She holds a B.A from Michigan State University and a J.D from Wayne State University Law School and has been a frequent lecturer on renewable energy and infrastructure topics.

Crescent Dunes features at the Lincoln Center in New York

The Ireland-based artist John Gerrard is presenting a digital simulation of SolarReserve’s Crescent Dunes CSP plant on a frameless LED wall on Lincoln Center’s Josie Robertson Plaza.

The LED wall will simulate the Crescent Dunes CSP plant in Nevada, mimicking the sites 10,000 mirrors which reflect sunlight upon the tower to heat molten salt.

The simulation of the plant has been created using a sophisticated video game engine which shows the actual 24 hour day as it happens. No detail has been spared as even the exact position of the sun, moon and the alignment of the stars has been factored into this simulation. The perspective shifts from ground level to an almost birds eye view every 60 minutes so that no view is exactly the same at any point during the exhibition.

The exhibition will run from October 3rd to December 1st and has already created quite a stir in New York, as well as across the social media world where enthusiasts have been encouraged to share their experience and photographs by hash tagging #SolarNYC. "From above, the plant's 10,000 mirrors form a perfect disc, mimicking the layout of a sunflower” Gerrard proclaims.

Onlookers have been amazed by the unique design of the Crescent Dunes plant, developed by Tonopah Solar Energy LLC., a consortium formed by SolarReserve, Cobra and Santander. The plant is expected to come online by the end of the year and will provide 110 MW of energy.