100 GW of Solar PV Now Installed in the World Today

Renewable Energy News Article
Cumulative global installed [grid connected] solar PV capacity has topped the 100-gigawatt (GW) milestone, according to preliminary numbers from the European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA). (...) Europe's 69 GW of total installed capacity is enough to produce roughly 2.6% of the region's electricity demand this year, and about 5.2% of peak electricity demand, according to the EPIA.
There's another important milestone in the EPIA's tally of solar PV. Countries outside of Europe connected 13 GW, up from 8 GW in 2011 and just 3 GW in 2010; at the same time Europe's PV installations fell from 23 GW in 2011 to 17 GW in 2012, its first decline since 2006. (...) Eight nations added at least a gigawatt of grid-connected capacity in 2012: Germany, China, Italy, the U.S., Japan, France, the U.K., and India. Thirteen nations (up from 8 in 2011) are in the gigawatt-club of cumulative solar installations: Germany, Italy, the U.S., China, Japan, Spain, France, Belgium, Australia, the Czech Republic, the U.K., Greece, and India.

 

Eletricidade portuguesa mais barata do que na média da UE

Expresso.pt
O regulador português dos serviços energéticos diz que no primeiro semestre de 2010 os preços da eletricidade efectivamente pagos pelos consumidores domésticos portugueses (com impostos) ficaram 2,6% abaixo da média da União Europeia (UE-27), de acordo com dados do Eurostat.
Relativamente ao preços praticados em Espanha, a eletricidade vendida em Portugal registou preços 8,7% inferiores, segundo a mesma fonte.
Os consumidores domésticos portugueses pagaram no primeiro semestre de 2010 um preço médio global de €0,1694 por kWh, enquanto os espanhois paragam €0,1855 por kWh, refere o regulador português.

Impostos ecológicos criam emprego
Os países da União Europeia que executaram com sucesso reformas fiscais ambientais nos últimos anos têm dois pontos em comum: compensaram, por um lado, a maior tributação sobre a energia com uma descida de impostos sobre o trabalho e a produção de riqueza e, por outro, convenceram a opinião pública com uma comunicação ampla e com alternativas. (...) No caso alemão, no período em que a reforma decorreu, entre 1999 e 2003, o impacto foi "substancial". Com a introdução da ecotaxa, que se traduziu num aumento dos preços da energia, com taxas crescentes sobre os combustíveis e a electricidade, as receitas permitiram reduzir em 1,7 pontos percentuais as contribuições para a Segurança Social e canalizar mais de mil milhões de euros para incentivo às energias renováveis. "Pela primeira vez em 50 anos, as emissões de dióxido de carbono no sector dos transportes caíram 17 por cento, e vimos a criação adicional de 250 mil empregos [nas energias renováveis], graças à redução das contribuições sociais", recordou Schlegelmilch [vice-presidente da Green Budget].

Palácio da presidência do Chile vai ser iluminado e aquecido por painéis solares
O palácio da presidência chilena de La Moneda, em Santiago, será aquecido e iluminado a energia solar, o que ilustra o objectivo do país de transferir 15 por cento da produção energética para energias renováveis, anunciou quinta-feira o Governo.

US President Obama's grandmother joins the Solar Generation
Young Kenyans working with Greenpeace’s Solar Generation are tackling the twin problems of energy poverty and climate change today, by installing solar panels on the Senator Barack Obama School in Kogelo and on the roof of the house of Mama Sarah – the US President’s grandmother.

Tuvalu plans to be first 100% solar-powered nation
Only three feet above sea level, the island of Tuvalu has suffered in the wake of rising waters -- and even went so far as to sue the Bush administration for their refusal to do anything about carbon emissions. (...) Tuvalu's 12,000 residents have decided to fight back. The world's fourth-smallest nation recently announced that it would power the entire island with 100% solar energy by 2020. The ambitious project is expected to only cost around $20 million (not bad for an entire nation -- but still a hefty $1,666 per resident!) and serve as a model of sustainbility for the rest of the world.

Swiss team unveils prototype for sun-powered plane
Adventurer Bertrand Piccard on Friday unveiled the Solar Impulse, which, with its sleek white wings and pink trimming, aims to make history as the prototype for a solar-powered flight around the world. "Yesterday it was a dream, today it is an airplane, tomorrow it will be an ambassador of renewable energies," said Piccard (...) The plane will take part in a series of test flights over the next two years, and based on the results of those a new plane will be constructed for the big takeoff, in 2012. (...) The budget for the project is €70 million ($98 million), Piccard said. He and Borschberg said the plane will fly day and night using almost 12,000 solar cells, rechargeable lithium batteries and four electric motors. It will not use an ounce of fuel.

Agreement on the new EU Directive on Renewable Energy
EU Parliament delegation, EU Council and European Commission agreed today on the EU Directive on Renewable Energy.(...) The Renewable Energy Directive sets the goal of increasing renewable energy's share of the market to 20% by 2020, from around 8.5% today, by means of binding national targets. For all countries, 10% of energy used in transport will have to come from renewables. Member states will have to clearly set out how they will meet those targets through detailed national action plans. The EU Commission will have full power to monitor these plans and launch infringement procedures against member states not implementing the directive.