100KW Energy Storage System On Gigha

Creag Bhan, Isle of Gigha

Energy Cooperatives Ireland (ECI) reports that Irish renewable energy storage company RedT has acquiried a £3.5M grant from the UK Department of Energy (DECC) to develop a utility scale energy storage system on the Scottish Island of Gigha.

The Gigha project will involve the installation of a 100KW/1.26 MWH RedT vanadium redox battery (VRB) system which will enable the island’s community to maximize the benefits of renewable energy supplied by its wind turbines. This utility scale system will be a valuable proving ground for the technology at the utility scale which could provide the most viable solution to the renewable energy intermittency issue.

Solar Energy Is Fastest Growing Industry In US

The new numbers for solar PV’s Q2, just reported by GTM Research and the Solar Energy Industry Association (SEIA), make solar, according to SEIA President Rhone Resch, “the fastest growing industry in the United States.”

Resch kicked off the opening session of Solar Power International (SPI) 2012 by briefly recounting those numbers: 742 MW installed in 2Q 2012, a 45% jump over the first quarter and twice the Q2 2011 total. Solar’s total installed US capacity is now 5,700 MW, he said, and there are 3,400 MW under construction. The 2012 total PV installed capacity for the US is projected to be 3,200 MW, 71% higher than the 2011 total.

Wind And Solar Energy Power Peru Education

The solar shed has come to Camacho, San Clemente, Pisco in Peru. The shed provides the school there with all of its energy needs. A renewable energy program comprised of a windmill and seven solar panels - donations from the European Union - are powering the eager young students' laptops.

The rural community of Camacho was the first community out of the 130 beneficiary communities in Peru to benefit from the Euro-Solar Program which has installed the first kit for its 240 inhabitants. Alongside the fitting out of the premises and the installation of the equipment, training was provided to the three members of each community who will be responsible for the technical management and maintenance of the kit.

School Switches On To Solar Power

 
Tekapo school's pupils were so pleased about their new solar panels that they made a song and dance about it. State-owned generator Genesis has spent $40,000 installing photovoltaic solar heating panels and a battery system inside the school, which could also be used as a back-up source of power.

As part of the process, the school has had classes on the benefits of energy efficiency and solar power - which culminated in a performance at the local community theatre this week featuring all the school's 22 pupils. Kyle Bell, aged 11, said he had learned a lot about how to be a good "green" user.