Solar Energy project around the world:

Solar energy is the cleanest and most abundant renewable energy source available to us. It is no surprise that all around the world, architects and designers are incorporating solar technology into new buildings and projects to make them as green as possible.

1. Sanyo’s Solar Ark

Japan, Sanyo aimed to make the largest PV system in the world, a 3.4 MW installation. They use the materials was meant to be thrown away. But there are still some problem within this project. The company’s monocrystalline cell scandal that saw thousands of units recalled, and all of the reclaimed cells were destined for the dump. But Sanyo opted to built a massive monument to their solar technology.  However, they need no apologize, because the Ark can collect 630 kW that has 5000 solar panels and produces over 500000 kWh of energy per year. It produce the energy to power up 75000 colored LEDs that placed on the Ark and also it supply the energy for the inside museum.

2.China’s Solar Powered Office Complex

China are now the world leader in solar cells, it is no surprise to learn that they have the “largest solar-powered office building in the world.” It is located in Dezhou in the Shangdong Province, it is a multi-use building and boasts exhibition center, scientific research facilities, meeting rooms, and a hotel they are all solar powered. The structure enables to save 30% or more energy than national standard.

3.EnviroMission’s Solar Tower

This idea has been passing around since the 1980s. EnviroMission Ltd is aiming big with their proposed project. They are planing to build two massive 2400 ft solar updraft towers (almost tall as the Burj Khalifa) that span hundreds of acres in La Paz County, Arizona. Using Solar draft technology, the towers will generate hot air with a giant greenhouse and then channel the air into the chimney. The warm air then turns a turbine to produce energy. This project is still in the development phase, it will cost about $750 million.

4.The Sahara Forest Project

Designed by biomimicry architect Michael Pawlyn, Seawater Greenhouse designer Charlie Paton, and structural engineer Bill Watts, the Sahara Forest Project aims to enable restorative growth in the world’s most arid regions. The project will hopefully first get the go-ahead in the country. The team have even been invited to the country to discuss a feasibility study.Currently, the project is scheduled to go ahead in 2015, and if it is a success, it will have massive environmental benefits, such as  alleviating food and water shortage, producing biofuels, and contributing to forestation efforts in desert lands.

5. The Desertec Initiative

The Desertec Industrial Initiative is the largest solar project in the world it cost about US$550 billion. The plan aims to develop “a reliable, sustainable and climate-friendly energy supply” in North Africa’s Sahara desert that will be capable of providing the entire MENA region with energy as well as Europe.When the project was first announced in July 2009, it sounded a bit like science-fiction and was dismissed as being “unrealistic” and even exploitative. However, once it was noted that the project could provide 15 percent of Europe’s electricity by 2050, people began to sit up and listen.Currently Desertec’s first solar power plant is under construction. The $822 million Moroccan power plant will be a 150-megawatt, 7.4 square mile solar plant and is the first step in the major 500MW super project.

6.The Vatican

Solar power must be the future if the Catholic Church is getting on board with it. The Vatican has the largest solar power plant in Europe.Although it is the smallest country in the world, the Vatican has spent $660 million to build a massive 100MW photovoltaic installation. The output will be more than enough to provide enough power for the whole country.The main installation is located on a 740 acre site near Santa Maria di Galeria and has seen solar powers placed all over the city.

 

The wisdom of  clean energy subsidies in general:

Clean tech has enjoyed quite the party these past few years. Solar, wind, plug-in vehicles — they’ve all benefited from billions of dollars in subsidies from Congress, through various energy and stimulus bills. As a result, many industries, like solar, have taken lengthy strides.clean-energy subsidies are disappearing fast, as the stimulus winds down and various laws and tax credits expire. Back in 2009, clean tech got $44.3 billion in federal support. By 2014, that will have shrunk to just $11.1 billion.

The new report, co-authored by researchers from the Brookings Institution, the Breakthrough Institute, and the World Resources Institute, is the first to examine in detail which policies are actually expiring and when. All told, Congress has created more than 92 different programs dealing with clean tech — everything from production tax credits for wind power to advanced manufacturing credits to loan guarantees for nuclear power. And, by 2014, 70 percent of these programs will have vanished.The authors argue that letting all of these programs expire could cause the clean tech sector to “go bust,” as budding energy technologies like solar, wind, and even next-generation nuclear plants are currently facing pressure from ultra-cheap natural gas and from subsidized competitors in China.

Congress should rejigger its clean-energy subsidies in several ways. First, it should focus heavily on research and development. And second, the subsidies that are geared toward deploying new technologies — the credits and policies that help wind turbines sprout up and nuclear reactors get built — should be structured so that they reward improvements in performance. Solar power shouldn’t just get propped up no matter what. It should get money in such a way that manufacturers have incentives to keep putting out more efficient panels that get steadily cheaper. There are plenty of ideas for doing this. Nations like Germany and Denmark offer “feed-in tariffs” for wind and solar power that get smaller over time — which forces the technology to keep improving in order to stay profitable. Japan, meanwhile, has its Top Runner program that sets efficiency standards for appliances that are based on the best-performing leaders in the market. That is, the most efficient firms set the pace for the rest of the industry. A similar program could, in theory, be set up for clean energy sources.The ultimate goal of these policies, the authors note, is to push clean tech so that it can eventually stand on its own and compete with older, more established fossil fuels.The report, titled “Beyond Boom & Bust,” doesn’t, however, set a specific dollar amount for how much the U.S. government should be actually spend on renewable energy, electric vehicles, battery manufacturing, and other clean tech.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://inhabitat.com/the-worlds-6-coolest-solar-powered-projects/solar-projects/” The World’s 6 Coolest Solar Powered Projects top 6 solar projects around the world”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/post/clean-energy-subsidies-are-vanishing-what-should-replace-them/2012/04/18/gIQApCUYQT_blog.html “Wonkblog, Clean -energy subsides are vanishing. What should replace them?” by Brad Plumer 4/18/2012

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-muro/solyndra-solar-bankruptcy-solar-power-_b_947046.html ” The blog, Learn from Solyndra”