Solar Power Comes of Age:

SOLAR power has finally become a viable option, driven by falling prices for photovoltaic panels and the soaring cost of oil, say proponents of the alternative energy.

Rooftop panels, which could last for 25 to 30 years, will now pay for themselves in just six or seven years, claim advocates. Until recently, the pay-back period was up to 20 years.

The cost of solar cells has fallen by as much as 49.5 per cent since the start of 2011, according to the PVX spot market index, which tracks the monthly wholesale costs of the industry.
“China is manufacturing dirt-cheap panels,” said Roger Chang, president of the Jamaica Solar Energy Association. “Most of the companies that made solar panels in the US have moved their manufacturing to China.”

The other main factor is the high cost of oil, currently US$102 ($8,800) per barrel.
“It's a win-win if you get into solar … so long as the price of oil is above US$100,” said Curtis Deenah, a technical information officer at the Scientific Research Council. “It's a matter of market conditions; You never know what's going to happen there.”

Jamaica is blessed with abundant sunshine, an average of 3,000 hours a year in Kingston, although that falls by a quarter in more mountainous parts of the island, which tend to have heavier cloud cover.

The regulatory framework is the main remaining barrier to broader uptake of solar power.
Under the “net billing” rules now being finalised, small residential producers could feed power to the JPS grid, but the price they would receive, some US10c/kWh, is a fraction of what they currently have to pay to draw down electricity, around US40c/kWh.

The Office for Utility Regulation (OUR) is awaiting final input from JPS, but is so confident of the new rules that small producers can already make applications, said Ambassador Peter Black, a consultant to the watchdog agency.

Germany, a world leader in alternative energy, and the University of Technology are jointly hosting a sustainable energy event in Kingston next month where suppliers from the European giant will present their ideas for dealing with Jamaica's sky-high power costs.

OBSERVER LINK:
www.jamaicaobserver.com/business/Solar-power-comes-of-age

Many are waiting on competitively priced integrated systems that are simple to install and techicians that can guide, maintain and repair Z.

Are there any places that offer training in these systems? One of my neighbours is an electrician. We've discussed my plans for setting up solar and will use his knowledge along with the directions and internet help.

turey...I've passed this info along in a previous thread, but it's not an endorsement. You have to perform your own "due diligence" in checking out vendors-contractors for Alternative (Renewable) Energy...There's a Munro "old boy" (Rory Sinclair) who is the Sales Manager for a nearby company (Green Lantan Energy) just a little beyond Junction in Lilitz. He's knowledgeable, but getting off the ground in a business sense. His yard is set up as a lab for a wind turbine, and may now be arrayed with some solar PV panels. He also has an electrician, who reputedly is familiar with system layouts, both autonomous and grid-tied.

If you had time and have already worked out your Electrical Consumption Analysis for your TB project, I'd give Rory a call for a yard visit. You could work it into a drive to Alligator Pond or Mandeville. If you decide to scrutinize their operation, we'd all appreciate your impressions.
No obligations...trust your thoroughness and the contractor's referrals (not just the good ones!)

GreenLantan LINK:
www.go-greenjamaica.com

Thanks Z.

turey...Granted that it is a terrible tease to even broach a discussion on third-generation solar photovoltaics, when here locally, we've barely gotten off the ground on pricing/incentive/distribution (social justice) issues. It's always good when you have projects "on the drawing board" to see what's ahead, and how you might broad-jump from an outdated (in terms of price, scale, function) technology into a more advanced, appropriate technology.
I guess that you've been following the progress of thin-film PV (2nd generation after panels)...the advantages of which are cheaper cost and an easier "peal & stick" application, but the "knock" on which is questionable endurance and drops in efficiency ratings over time.

But here's a headline that may catch the eye of those concerned for generations to follow:
Panel that works in the dark puts solar on fast track to ubiquity

'Third-generation' photovoltaics promise to make solar power possible everywhere, from solar roofs to see-through solar windows. Is the age of ubiquitous solar finally upon us?

The promise here is truly awe-inspiring. The big knock on solar to date has been its high production cost and somewhat time-consuming implementation process. The great promise of these “third-generation” solar technologies like Dyesol (the first two generations being conventional silicon PV and thin film) is that they can be applied together as BIPV — building-integrated photovoltaics, solar electricity generators that could simply become part of the skin of buildings, built into walls and windows and roofs just like reflective coatings and low-E deposition layers are today.

LINK:
www.mnn.com/green-tech/research-innovations/blogs/panel-that-works-in-the-dark-p uts-solar-on-fast-track-to-ubiqu

Like buying a first computer Z, they get better all the time. Hope I get to use PV paint, lets your house become an electrical generator.

Pedal power for small appliances would be great for excercise.

Still waiting for Vision 2030 to introduce such things.

turey...Ever wondered what a townscape would look like if First Generation Solar PV panels took over just about every rooftop...making every home a semi-independent Power Plant.

Here's a LINK to a photo from Germany...not exactly "pretty" to the bird's-eye!
www.mnn.com/earth-matters/energy/blogs/what-have-we-learned-about-cheap-energy

turey...re: the Vision 2030:National Development Plan, more highly capitalized Europe is proving that Renewable Energy is not an oil-pipe dream.

68% of Europe's New Electricity Came From Wind & Solar Power Last Year:
www.treehugger.com/renewable-energy/68-percent-europe-new-electricity-wind-solar -power-2011.html

Big-Up the Inventors-Innovators fine-tuning The Future: The Symbolic Power of Bladeless Wind Turbines
LINK:
www.mnn.com/earth-matters/energy/blogs/the-symbolic-power-of-bladeless-wind-turb ines


Point Blank Statement: Jamaica is at least two years behind on the plans outlined in Vision 2030....at least, unlike many past studies and plans, the lofty goals of Vision 2030 don't seem to be languishing on dusty shelves or quite ready for the dustbins. But the "lubrication" to ease results are tangled in the jumble of the national economy, and some political moves are down-right contrary in spirit and results:

Diversifying the energy supply and promoting energy efficiency and conservation were the goals. LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) became a fiasco the first time around and we can only hope that the second time is better, but that is years away, if ever. Yes, some hydroelectric plants have been refurbished by JPS but Jamaica has not diversified the energy supply.

The PNP can point to Wigton Wind Farm but the JLP have nothing to show for diversification. In fact, the minister of finance tried to put taxes on solar panels and it was a televised address by the prime minister at the time that eliminated that.
One could argue that putting GCT on electricity promotes conservation, but we all know that it was a revenue-raising tactic having nothing to do with promoting efficiency or conservation.

LINK: Vision 2030, political manifestos and the future of Jamaica}
www.jamaicaobserver.com/columns/Vision-2030--political-manifestos-and-the-future -of-Jamaica_10404567

Looks like independent alternative energy production will remain independent here for now Z.

Putting Legs Under Renewable Energy in Jamaica

Observer LINK:
www.jamaicaobserver.com/business/Putting-legs-under-renewable-energy-in-Jamaica_ 11348454