I’ve been irremediably optimistic about renewables for some time. Here are just a few more reasons why:
Army to Build Out 500 MW of Solar in the Mojave – I recently pointed out where the world’s solar hotspots are. No surprise to find the Mojave is among them. So, as Reuters reports here, the US Army is going to build a combined PV and CSP facility, working with Acciona. This is in line with the federal government’s recent mandate to radically lower GHG emissions at its facilities. DOD is on it.
Revolutionary Synergy of Solar and Cell Phones – In an interesting take, Reuters asks the musical question: Will solar speed up emerging cell phone revolution? I mentioned some comments from Carl-Henrik Svanberg, CEO of Ericsson, here a while back, to the effect that mobile telephony was the “singlemost transformative technology in the developing world.” The article puts it this way: for “…millions of people in Africa and Asia, with no connection to electricity grids or unreliable and expensive power access, these little solar-powered gadgets are proving to be revolutionary.” Indian telecom VNL‘s founder and CEO, Rajiv Mehrotra, says “If you look at the map of countries with low tele-density — there is plenty of sunshine everywhere.” See this video of an interview with Mehrotra from ITU Telecom TV.
Why are cell phones so good for developing world users: for one thing, the ability for producers of goods, from small farmers and craftsmen to cooperatives, to much more easily ascertain “…price transparency and more accurate and timely information.”
Siemens Buys Into Solar – One of the biggest industrial concerns in the world – and one with an enormous environmental portfolio – Siemens, is putting up half a billion dollars “…to strengthen its position in the concentrating solar thermal power (CSP) market…” by buying Solel. Here’s the story from RenewableEnergyWorld.com. I noted here in July that Siemens was one of several major companies boosting the exciting Desertec project for CSP in North Africa and the Middle East.
“The market for solar thermal energy is highly promising, and vigorous growth is expected to continue for Solel,” says René Umlauft, CEO of Siemen’s Renewable Division, in the article. Don’t think solar is booming? Think again.
