26 MW Free-Field Solar Photovoltaic Power Plant Going Up In Spain

The Spanish system integrator, Assyce Fotovoltaica, is constructing the largest First Solar free-field solar power plant in Extremadura, with a capacity of more than 26 MWp. The power plant with a land area of 69 hectares should be completed by the end of the year and will generate more than 42 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year.

"The area offers very good conditions for photovoltaics," explains Luis Garrido, managing director of Assyce Fotovoltaica. "Due to the high level of solar radiation in the south of Spain, we can expect a very good yield of electricity." The electricity yield will also benefit from the implementation of a new transformer technology. "In contrast to traditional power plants, electricity loss is considerably reduced," says Luis Garrido. Assyce is also implementing in this project the worldwide established inverter system technology from market-leader SMA Technology AG, based in Kassel, Germany. 36 transformer stations will be built up on the 69-hectare site. With more than 337,000 modules capturing solar radiation, Assyce Fotovoltaica, currently the only First Solar system integrator in Spain, is putting its trust in First Solar's thin film technology which has already proven its worth in many other solar power plants. "The modules are very effective and durable and they are perfect for use in hot climate regions," explains Luis Garrido. The First Solar modules offer a high level of operating reliability for the project. Assyce Fotovoltaica has been working together with First Solar with excellent success for years. Basically this partnership makes the realisation of this remarkable large-scale project possible.

The construction of the free-field solar power plant began at the end of January. The whole power plant should be completed by the end of the year at the latest. With the eco-friendly solar electricity over 30 tonnes of carbon dioxide could be saved every year and the electricity yield is enough to energize more than 14,000 four-person households for a whole year. "We are making an important contribution to the climate protection and to the expansion of renewable energy resources," explains Luis Garrido. "Power from the sun always has a future and will remain an important pillar of renewable energy."

Due to the limitation of 200 Megawatts per year for new free-field solar power plants (since the end of 2008), Assyce is particularly excited about being able to construct a power plant with a dimension of 10% of the total annual volume together with First Solar. Assyce Fotovoltaica is one of the pioneers in the Spanish free-field solar power plant market. The company, based in Padul (Granada), has already constructed more than 12 solar power plants all over Spain over the last few years.

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European Commission's 2010 Sustainable Energy Europe Competition Recognizes Alcatel's Alternative Energy Program

Alcatel-Lucent's "Alternative Energy Program for Global Green Telecommunications" was named as a winner in the 2010 European Commission's Sustainable Energy Europe (SEE) campaign. Alcatel-Lucent was recognized in the "Market Transformation-Voluntary Commitments" category.

The Sustainable Energy Europe (SEE) campaign ( http://www.sustenergy.org/tpl/page.cfm?pageName=home) is an initiative of the European Commission managed by the Executive Agency for Competitiveness & Innovation (EACI), under the authority of Commissioner for Energy Mr. Gunther H. Oettinger. The winners of the annual competition were announced at an awards ceremony in Brussels on March 23 as part of the European Union's Sustainable Energy Week (http://www.eusew.eu/).

Alcatel-Lucent entry outlined its program to develop and build wireless telecommunications base stations powered with alternative energies, such as solar, wind and fuel cells. This program, announced in February 2009, is designed to enable communications service providers to extend the reach of their wireless services to areas not served by an electrical grid, making it possible to provide telephone and broadband communications services to the more than 1 billion people who are still cut off from this vital tool for economic and social development. The program will also make it possible for service providers in developed regions to retrofit their wireless base stations so that they can take advantage of advances in alternative energy technology.

The program makes it possible to address a market estimated at more than 100,000 mobile base stations that could be powered with alternative energy solutions between 2010 and 2012, representing a yearly savings of about 7 million tons of CO2.

"The Alcatel-Lucent program is bringing the advantages of alternative energies to telecom networks, a key component in our strategy to bridge the energy and the telecom worlds," said Jean-Philippe Poirault, president of Alcatel-Lucent's Network and Systems Integration activities. "As growing telecom traffic sparks more demand for energy and as electricity transport and distribution grids face growing challenges that information and communication technologies can help solve, these two essential industry sectors have a lot to bring to each other."

The program includes the Alcatel-Lucent Alternative Energy Laboratory (http://www.alcatel-lucent.com/alternative-energy/) and Pilot Station, the world's first such facility for the telecom market. Bringing together industrial, institutional and academic partners from the telecommunications world and the alternative energy world, this laboratory has the facilities to analyse, test and validate solutions being offered by the dynamic alternative energy market and how they might meet the needs of the telecommunications industry.

In addition to the advanced research, Alcatel-Lucent is developing a multi-year roadmap to enable its telecom customers to benefit from the best possible alternative energy solutions as soon as the technology becomes available while creating a new market for alternative energy systems vendors.

"The renewable energy base stations developed by Alcatel-Lucent will result in a paradigm shift in the global telecommunications industry. Stakeholders of global IT companies will now see this as the gold standard in triple bottom line innovation. Alcatel-Lucent's proactive commitment to sustainability has resulted in a solution that will resonate in all markets improving access to global communication and internet services," said analyst Brad Allen, TBR Program Manager for Global Business Sustainability. "We believe that these base stations when fully deployed, will serve as community-based examples of the potential of progressive renewable energy applications that may promote further development of sustainable energy technologies."

Leveraging its "Sustainable Power" services suite, Alcatel-Lucent provides consulting to help operators build a comprehensive deployment plan tailored to their specific environment, and then manages design, dimensioning, installation, transformation and integration of the entire network, for new deployments or retrofit programs of any base stations.

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The Dyson Airblade(TM) Hand Dryer Receives Industry First Carbon Reduction Label

As an industry first, Dyson's patented Airblade™ hand dryer is the first hand dryer to earn the Carbon Reduction Label from the Carbon Trust. Furthermore, Dyson research found that the manufacture of the new polycarbonate-ABS Dyson Airblade™ produces 50% less CO2 emissions than the aluminum equivalent launched in 2007.

The Carbon Reduction Label recognizes manufacturers' commitment to the further reduction of their product's carbon footprint - the amount of carbon emissions (CO2 and other greenhouse gases) produced from its materials and manufacture, transport, in-use and end of life. The Label, established in 2007 is based on PAS2050, the first internationally-accepted product carbon footprint standard. The Carbon Trust only grants their Label to companies with a 'reduce it or lose it' clause whereby if they fail to reduce the carbon footprint of the product in two years the Carbon Trust will withdraw the certification.

The rigorous process revealed that the Dyson Airblade™ hand dryer emits 1,300 kg/ CO2e total emissions during its lifetime or 3.4 g/CO2e per dry(1) – equal to the carbon emissions created by watching just over 2 minutes of television(2).

"Good design and environmental responsibility go hand in hand," says James Dyson, Chief Engineer. "As an engineering company, we are constantly reviewing our machines and manufacturing to deliver better performance using less energy and materials."

The Dyson Airblade™ hand dryer eliminates the power hungry heating element, drying hands faster, more hygienically while using nearly 80% less energy than traditional warm air dryers(3).

According to Tom Delay, Chief Executive of the Carbon Trust, "More so than ever, everything we make and do today has a carbon impact. We commend Dyson for their commitment to measure and reduce the carbon footprint of the Airblade™ hand dryer and hope our recognition helps people find opportunities to tackle climate change."

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Envirepel Clean Renewable Energy Facility to Reopen

Envirepel Energy, Inc. ("EEI"), a privately held company in Vista, California, announced today it plans to reopen its first Renewable Energy Facility ("Kittyhawk") by the middle of April 2010, after temporarily closing it in June 2009 to address a shareholder proxy effort.

The Kittyhawk Project is a 2.5 MW biomass fueled power generating facility, with additional bio-fuel production from recovered water and CO2. The "anti-global warming" and virtually non-polluting facility design was permitted and built in the middle of a commercial business park. Kittyhawk sets the stage for many additional environmentally friendly facilities to be developed and financed. "By ensuring that the facility doesn't give off any significant amounts of pollution, EEI has shown that we can obtain very difficult permits where others cannot," said Anthony J. Arand, the Company's Founder, Chairman and CEO.

"I'm very happy to announce that we plan to have our team back to work by the middle of next month, so that we can complete commercial operations of the power plant and the initial bio-fuel production by the 4th quarter of this year. If our CO2 recovery and bio-fuel production technology is successful, then potentially 5% or more of the nation's energy needs could be produced with our process from our country's post recycled landfill waste supply," said Arand.

The California Public Utilities Commission has called EEI "the answer" to California's need for clean renewable energy. EEI would also help to satisfy Governor Schwarzenegger's mandate that renewable energy comprise 20 percent of the electrical energy portfolios of California's utility companies by the end of 2010.

Over the past six years, EEI has designed, developed, manufactured and built the first low emissions combustion system. This ultra low combustion system consumes urban waste that would normally go in a landfill, and also has the capacity to consume high sulfur coal, tires, animal waste and many other "biomass" feed stocks that would pose a significant pollution problem to other power generating, or bio-fuel production facilities.

The company has over 300 MW of projects in various stages of development in San Diego and Imperial Counties. These project sites include business parks, rural agricultural areas, and metropolitan landfill sites. EEI's website is www.envirepel.com.

SOURCE Envirepel Energy, Inc. and PRNewswire.com