QUICK NEWS, 2-9: EGYPT, TUNISIA EVENTS & BIG SUN; WYOMING WIND & PUMPED HYDRO; DOE SUNSHOT DETAILS; WIND BRINGS THE JOBS

EGYPT, TUNISIA EVENTS & BIG SUN
North African uprisings put CSP investors on alert; CSP developers and investors in North Africa are keeping a watchful eye on events in Tunisia and Egypt. Could current social unrest affect confidence in the region?
Jason Deign, 4 February 2011 (CSP Today)

"…CSP industry player[s] with an interest in North Africa…[are watching] developments there with interest…[T]he situation there could already be prompting insurers to ponder the need for more restrictive coverage or higher premiums on CSP projects.

But a bigger concern for developers might be if recent events shake investor confidence in the region. For now, the prevailing attitude seems to be one of ‘wait and see’."

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"…Solar Millennium Group has pulled its personnel out of the Kuraymat solar-thermal plant as a ‘precautionary measure’…The whole area around the 150 MW hybrid solar and natural gas facility, which is about 100km from Cairo and houses a number of other power plants, is now under military control…But the company remains committed to the region… [The] increasing demand for energy…[and] increasing population [will not change if or when the government in Egypt does]…

"…[European Investment Bank] investments in the region [are not expected to change with politics]…As far as Tunisia and Egypt are concerned…[no] plans slated for the region will be affected…[T]hat the Mediterranean Solar Plan has helped implant solar power projects, and jobs, in the region could confer the sector with a degree of immunity amid the protests…There is similar sentiment at Desertec, probably the largest development programme that could be affected…"

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"…[I]t is difficult to say how much of the current attitude is conditioned by the fact that neither Egypt nor Tunisia has particularly well-developed CSP markets…While Nur Energie is planning a development in Tunisia and Egypt has been tipped as a promising market for CSP, so far the only major project to have entered operation is Kuraymat, which is a joint venture with Egypt’s Orascom Construction Industries…

"…Concerns might mount if social unrest spreads to other countries…particularly to Morocco, the poster child for CSP in the region, which has on-the-ground developments…[Insiders expect] some problems with European and US investors…until the political situation is resolved…For a region already under scrutiny for issues such as transparency and regulatory security, that is hardly good news."


WYOMING WIND & PUMPED HYDRO
Gridflex Energy pursuing pumped-storage hydro projects
January 31, 2011 (Pennwell via HydroWorld)

"Gridflex Energy LLC, a developer of bulk energy-storage projects, is pursuing plans for five pumped-storage hydroelectric projects in Wyoming.

"Four of the proposed hydropower projects would be located in Carbon County, within range of several planned transmission projects intended to ship Wyoming's wind energy to Southwestern markets."

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"The fifth proposed pumped-storage project would be located in Converse County, near the planned origination point of the High Plains Express, which is intended to help deliver renewable energy through Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico to Arizona."

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"The pumped-storage projects would use surplus wind energy to pump water from a lower elevation to a higher one. When energy demand is greater than the amount that can be provided by existing wind alone, the water would be released from the high elevation through turbines to generate additional power…

"The pumped-storage projects range in size from 300-500 MW; the combined capacity of the projects, if all were developed, would be 1,900 MW. Energy storage potential would be more than 50 GWh - equivalent to what 3,000 MW of wind turbines would put out for 17 hours at their maximum…"


DOE SUNSHOT DETAILS
Solar Power Energized By DOE’s SunShot
Pete Danko, February 8, 2011 (Earth Techling)

"…[T]he Obama administration is…trying to push down the cost of cleaner sources. On the solar front, that effort is called ‘Sunshot,’ and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced $27 million in SunShot projects that it hopes will help reduce the cost of photovoltaic cells by 75 percent.

"Such a reduction reportedly would take the cost down to about $1 a watt, equal to around 6 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity. At that level, the DOE believes [solar will be widely deployed in the U.S.]…"

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"The department said the $27 million includes $20 million for projects intended to bolster development of ‘U.S. supply chains for PV manufacturing,’ including companies who supply solar materials and tools. The other $7 million is being funneled into the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s PV Incubator program, which supports emerging technologies in solar power such as thin and flexible film cells."

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"As for specifics of the two different categories of investments, the $20 million will go towards companies like Varian Semiconductor out of Massachusetts, which will get $4.8 million to help reduce the cost of manufacturing interdigitated back contact cells, said to be the most efficient silicon solar cells on the market.

"The other $7 million or so is being allocated towards start ups like Crystal Solar of California...[developing a new crystal silicon wafer technology four times thinner than standard cells which will get] up to $4 million over 18 months..."


WIND BRINGS THE JOBS
91 per cent growth for UK wind energy employment; Wind employment withstands recession and slow GDP growth…Offshore wind farm development, port refits and supply chain manufacturing set to further boost sector employment in the years ahead
1 February 2011 (RenewableUK)

"RenewableUK, the country's leading voice for the renewable energy industry, has today published the most comprehensive ever employment figures for the wind energy industry, showing a 91 per cent increase in full-time employment in the sector between 2007/8 and 2009/10. The growth in employment stands in contrast to the overall UK employment level, which has shrunk during the same period by 3.4 per cent.

"…[Working for a Green Britain; Employment and Skills in the UK Wind & Marine Industries] was jointly commissioned by RenewableUK and EU Skills, the Sector Skills Council for the Power Sector, from Warwick University's Institute for Employment Research (IER) and Cambridge Econometrics."

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"The findings are based on primary data collected from 253 companies with business activities in the wind and marine energy sectors. Of the 10,800 full-time-equivalent (FTE) employees working directly in the sectors, the majority, or 56 per cent, are associated with large-scale onshore wind (turbine output of over 100kW), followed by 29 per cent in offshore wind, whilst 7–8 per cent of the overall workforce is employed in small-scale wind and around the same proportion in wave and tidal energy.

"The report identifies 9,200 FTE employees as working in the large-scale wind energy industries in 2009/10. A comparable study commissioned by RenewableUK from Bain & Company in 2008 recorded 4,800 FTE employees in the sector for the 2007/8 period…"

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"Announcements by the Government to continue with ports investments in last year's Spending Review, followed by a host of inward investment decisions in the supply chain (including Siemens' recent decision to locate major turbine manufacturing plant in the UK), stand to further advance employment in the sector in the coming years…

"…[A] second part of the report…[expected in March] will include an analysis of potential UK employment in the sector by 2020 according to a range of industry development scenarios."