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CBC NEWS
Nova Scotia’s new energy implementation act murky on solar
New solar projects will not be encouraged under the Electricity Plan Implementation Act passed by the governing Liberals this fall, according to a provincial spokesperson.
The province says the act is designed to stabilize electricity prices, and that too many renewable projects have added 30 per cent to the cost of power over the last half-dozen years.
“The system doesn’t need a whole lot more intermittent renewable energy at this point,” said Bruce Cameron, the executive director for renewables and efficiency with the Nova Scotia Department of Energy.
Nova Scotia has hit its 2015 target to produce 25 per cent of electricity from renewable sources and is on track to meet or exceed 40 percent in five years time.
THE GUARDIAN
Desert tower raises Chile’s solar power ambition to new heights
ising more than 200 metres above the vast, deserted plains of the Atacama desert, the second tallest building in Chile sits in such a remote location that it looks, from a distance, like the sanctuary of a reclusive prophet, a temple to ancient gods or the giant folly of a wealthy eccentric.
Instead, this extraordinary structure is a solar power tower that is being built to harvest the energy of the sun via a growing field of giant mirrors that radiate out for more than a kilometre across the ground below with a geometric precision that is reminiscent of contemporary art or the stone circles of the druids.
Still under construction, the Atacama 1 Concentrated Solar Power plant is a symbol of the shift from dirty fossil fuels to a cleaner, smarter way to generate electricity in Chile which is leading the charge for solar in Latin America thanks to its expanses of wilderness and some of the most intense sunlight on Earth.
THE WORLD BANK
Solar energy to bring jobs and prosperity back to parched villages
Renewable energy projects in sub-Saharan Africa have attracted over $25 billion in investments to date. The African Union recently announced a plan to invest another $20 billion. Yet it’s an investment of just 50 cents a day that could make the biggest difference for renewable energy in Africa.
With an up-front cost of 35 dollars and daily payment of 50 cents for one year, Kenyans, Ugandans, and Tanzanians who live off-the-grid can get energy access through solar company M-Kopa. This month the company closed a $19 million financing round led by Generation Investment Management, and revealed plans to reach one million homes in East Africa by the end of 2017.
It already reaches 275,000 homes. Yet, M-Kopa’s key innovation is using the mobile phone to show how solar energy can be marketed at scale in Africa.
C|NET
Solar power inching ahead in Thailand
Two years ago, all Kordin Chaihae could do after sunset was to sit quietly by a candle in his small house in Songkhla’s Chana district. Ironically, his house is located only 20km from the Chana power…
Ironically, his house is located only 20km from the Chana power plant that has been generating power for the southern provinces since 2008. Unfortunately, Mr Kordin’s house is located just outside the…
To access power, he had two choices: to pay 20,000 baht to build and connect utility poles to his house or hope that the local administrative organisation be provided funding from the state budget.
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