1st Asia Solar Energy Forum held in Manila

High costs of investing and high risks are the main obstacles to fulfil the demand of solar energy. However, the current situation of power energy particularly in Asian region needs alternative sources, said president Asian Development Bank (ADB) Haruhiko Kuroda while speaking at First Asia Solar Energy Forum held in Manila.

President ADB said that Asia and Pacific region has the right combination of elements i.e. demand for energy, access to sunlight and arid land, technological maturity, and a sound investment climate.

“As a result, there is a risk of ‘Solar Divide’ where developing countries cannot receive the benefit of environmental technology despite its large potential,” Kuroda said. “The role of multilateral development institutions, such as ADB and its partners, should be to play a catalytic role to overcome these institutional capacity, policy, technology, and financing barriers.”

However, Kuroda said that obstacles such as high up-front capital costs of investing in solar energy and a high-risk perception have to date been keeping many solar energy investors on the sidelines. Many countries in Asia and the Pacific are well suited to solar power initiatives, and incentives and low-cost financing mechanisms should be made available to help the region make the transition possible, Haruhiko Kuroda said. The two-day forum, a part of the Asian Solar Energy Initiative (ASEI) announced by ADB earlier this year, brought together some 200 policy makers and solar energy-related professionals from 34 ADB member countries. The event was hosted by ADB in partnership with the International Energy Agency (IEA), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), and the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP).

Under ASEI, ADB targets to catalyse projects for about 3,000 megawatts in solar power by 2013. The ASEI also includes the establishment of a knowledge platform named the Asia Solar Energy Forum, support for project preparation, and direct financing of solar energy projects. It will also help raise concessional funds from donor countries to partly mitigate risks of the high up-front capital costs of investing in solar energy, and design other innovative ways to attract private-sector investment.

In her closing remarks at the Manila event on Tuesday, Vice-President for Knowledge Management and Sustainable Development Ursula Schaefer Preuss said the forum represented a step towards a solar energy revolution in the Asia and Pacific region. “Solar power has the potential to promote low-carbon growth, ensure energy security, increase access to energy for all and achieve ADB’s overall objective of poverty reduction,” she said. Schaefer-Preuss also announced that the second meeting of the forum would take place in Tokyo in December.

Solar Energy, Power, Electricity

Basic about Solar Energy, Solar Power and Solar Electricity.
In basic about solar energy, solar power and solar eletricity we will talk about the basic things behind this power. Formulas that will be used to find out which Solar Panel you should use and which battery you should select. And how much Solar Panels do you need to power up lights and other applications. Here are the main things you need to know and that will be used to calculate your needs. AC-DC system, Volt, Current(Ampere), Power(Watt), Resistance, Series and Parallel connecting.

AC-DC system
Ac stands for Alternative Current. Alternative current is almost that we found in wall outlet or electric outlet. Clever say'd that we found in wall. It is 230 Volt. DC stands for Direct Current. In solar panels it is used 12 volt dc system. DC is that current we can found in cells, batteries, and using adapters or regulators. See the picture of a dell charger. Dell charger also converts AC Current to DC 5.4 Volt and 2410mA. Solar Panels also uses DC voltage and Current.

Remote Applications

Remote buildings, such as schools, community halls, and clinics, can benefit from solar energy. In developing regions, central power plants can provide electricity to homes via a local wired network, or act as a battery charging station where members of the community can bring batteries to be recharged.

PV systems can be used to pump water in remote areas as part of a portable water supply system. Specialized solar water pumps are designed for submersible use or to float on open water. Large-scale desalination plants can also be PV powered using an array of PV modules with battery storage.

PV systems are sometimes best configured with a small diesel generator in order to meet heavy power requirements in off-grid locations. With a small diesel generator, the PV system does not have to be sized to cope with the worst sunlight conditions during the year. The diesel generator can provide back-up power that is minimized during the sunniest part of the year by the PV system. This keeps fuel and maintenance costs low.

Industrial uses of Solar Energy

For many years, solar energy has been the power supply choice for industrial applications, especially where power is required at remote locations. Because solar systems are highly reliable and require little maintenance, they are ideal in distant or isolated places.

Solar energy is also frequently used for transportation signaling, such as offshore navigation buoys, lighthouses, aircraft warning light structures, and increasingly in road traffic warning signals. Solar is used to power environmental monitoring equipment and corrosion protection systems for pipelines, well-heads, bridges, and other structures. For larger electrical loads, it can be cost-effective to configure a hybrid power system that links the PV with a small diesel generator.

Commercial uses of Solar Energy

On an office building, roof areas can be covered with glass PV modules, which can be semi-transparent to provide shaded light. On a factory or warehouse, large roof areas are the best location for solar modules. If the roof is flat, then arrays can be mounted using techniques that do not breach the weatherproofed roof membrane. Also, skylights can be partially covered with PV.

The vertical walls of office buildings provide several opportunities for PV incorporation, as well as sunshades or balconies incorporating a PV system. Sunshades may have the PV system mounted externally to the building, or have PV cells specially mounted between glass sheets comprising the window.

Residential uses of Solar Energy

The number of PV installations on buildings connected to the electricity grid has grown in recent years. Government subsidy programs (particularly in Germany and Japan) and green pricing policies of utilities or electricity service providers have stimulated demand. Demand is also driven by the desire of individuals or companies to obtain their electricity from a clean, non-polluting, renewable source. These consumers are usually willing to pay only a small premium for renewable energy. Increasingly, the incentive is an attractive financial return on the investment through the sale of solar electricity at premium feed-in tariff rates.

In solar systems connected to the electricity grid, the PV system supplies electricity to the building, and any daytime excess may be exported to the grid. Batteries are not required because the grid supplies any extra demand. However, to be independent of the grid supply, battery storage is needed to provide power at night.

Holiday or vacation homes without access to the electricity grid can use solar systems more cost-effectively than if the grid was extended to reach the location. Remote homes in sunny locations can obtain reliable electricity to meet basic needs with a simple system comprising of a PV panel, a rechargeable battery to store the energy captured during daylight hours, a regulator (or charge controller), and the necessary wiring and switches. Such systems are often called solar home systems (SHS).

History of Solar Energy

Very often there is confusion about the various methods used to harness solar energy.Energy from the sun can be categorized in two ways: (1) in the form of heat (or thermal energy), and (2) in the form of light energy. Solar thermal technologies uses the solar heat energy to heat substances (such as water or air) for applications such as space heating, pool heating and water heating for homes and businesses. There are a variety of products on the market that uses solar thermal energy. Often the products used for this application are called solar thermal collectors and can be mounted on the roof of a building or in some other sunny location. The solar heat can also be used to produce electricity on a large utility-scale by converting the solar energy into mechanical energy.

So, fossil fuels is actually solar energy stored millions and millions of years ago. Indirectly, the sun or other are responsible for all our energy. Even nuclear energy comes from a star because the uranium atomsused in nuclear energy were created in the fury of a nova - a star exploding. Let's look at ways in which we can use the solar energy.