NEWS I ROUNDUP
Renewables increase global energy share
THE GLOBAL RENEWABLE capacity is estimated to reach 2,055 GW in 2030, growing at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 8.2% from 2013 to 2030, but thermal energy will continue to be the dominant source of power generation for the foreseeable future, according to the latest forecast from research and consulting fi rm GlobalData.
The report states that although countries are shifting towards the use of alternative energy resources, thermal capacity is expected to increase from 3,628 GW in 2013 to 5,833 GW by 2030, at a CAGR of 2.8%. In 2012, it was estimated that more than 70% of India’s power generation came from coal alone, while this accounted for 78% of China’s energy sources in the same year.
Additionally, there has been a global surge in the production of gas, especially shale gas, which is being driven by the discovery of new reserves in the US
and the UK. According to GlobalData’s report, the natural gas capacity is expected to rise from approximately 1,416 GW in 2012 to 1,861 GW in 2020, at a CAGR of 3.5%.
Sayani Roy Nath, GlobalData’s Analyst covering Power, says: “The increasing use of gas as a source of power generation has positively affected the power sector worldwide.
This discovery has not only helped reduce the import dependency of various countries, but also promoted project fi nance. This is thanks to countries shifting away from coal towards natural gas for power generation, and therefore requiring fi nancing to support the development of natural gas-fi red power plants.”
In order to transmit the energy produced, countries are also investing in smart grid technologies. In 2012, the global expenditure in smart grids reached $13.9
billion, with the US and China leading in the number of installations.
However, power theft continues to be a major issue, harming the development of the power sector in many countries.
“Because of the growth of renewable sources in the power mix and the existing concerns regarding energy effi ciency, there is an urgent need to update the aging infrastructure and introduce effi cient integration of power demand and supply,” concludes Nath.
Martifer Solar develops 50MW of PV plants in the UK
MARTIFER SOLAR, a subsidiary of Martifer SGPS, is developing 50 MW of photovoltaic plants in the United Kingdom. The company intends to ensure the sale of the ready-to-build projects during the licensing process, which is expected to be completed at the end of 2013.
Located in the southern regions of Wiltshire, Swindon, Kent, Devon and Hampshire, these solar farms will have an average size of 10MW, confi rming the British Photovoltaic Association’s recent statement has recently said, that solar developers in the U.K. are installing bigger power plants as panel costs drop. According to this organization, presently more than half of projects in development are sized 5 MW or bigger.
“Following the development of a large-scale PV cluster in this year’s fi rst quarter, these projects reinforce Martifer Solar’s ambition to develop PV projects in the U.K. It is becoming a truly high potential country for this industry, unlike much of Europe,
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www.solar-uk.net I Issue III 2013
where the solar market is already mature,” says João Cunha, Country Manager of Martifer Solar in the United Kingdom.
U.K. Energy Minister, Greg Barker, affi rmed recently that solar power developers should pay attention to the “huge potential” for the industry in Britain. The country aims to install as much as 22 GW of solar capacity by 2020, as part of its target to obtain 15 percent of its energy from renewables by the same year.
Martifer Solar has been present in the U.K. since 2011 and has recently developed and installed a 28.1 MWp PV cluster in this country. Located in the south-west region, the entire project of fi ve plants, with capacities
between 4.4 and 6.63 MWp, has been sold to Lightsource Renewable Energy. Currently, Martifer Solar is running the operations and maintenance (O&M) services of these plants with local staff, establishing itself also as an O&M provider for 3rd party plants in the UK market
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