By Gavin Hudson •
March 16, 2008
As solar technologies improve and costs fall, South Korea’s plans for solar energy are heating up.
In the coastal city of Gangneung, South Korea, look up and you’re likely to see solar panels or a solar water heater on the roof of at least one house.
The rice patties to the North of Gangneung offer up a view of a dozen such solar power facilities on the rooftops at the edge of one of the city’s newest neighborhoods.
If the sight of so many solar homes doesn’t convince you that South Korea is serious about solar, consider the newly proposed 20 MW solar plant. When it’s completed later this year, it will rival Spain as the largest photovoltaic solar plant in the world.
According to BP, South Korea’s national goal to produce 1 GW of solar energy by 2012 would make it the world’s tenth largest solar market. Even more ambitiously, the country hopes to reach 4 GW of solar production by 2020 and 18 GW by 2030.
By Gavin Hudson •
March 8, 2008
Hope you enjoy! I certainly had a lot of fun making this video.
Afterwards, if you like, you can read more about South Korea’s renewable energy future here.
By Gavin Hudson •
March 5, 2008
International demand for solar energy has been steadily growing by 20-25% a year for the past two decades. In the United states, solar energy growth is about 60% a year. Looking at how fast solar energy plants are growing and how large they’re becoming year by year is reveals that the future for solar is shining bright.
World’s Largest Photovoltaic (PV) Solar Power Plants (Proposed and Operational)
By 2011, Deming, New Mexico, USA will be the home of the world’s largest solar power plant. This 300 Megawatt solar facility will be 15 times the size of the current largest solar plant on the planet. New Solar Ventures and Solar Torx are the companies behind the project. The solar energy plant will cover as many as 1,300 hectares and employ between 300 and 400 people. The project’s planners estimate that the plant will supply enough energy to power 240,000 homes. (Photo: Flickr. Source: Reuters.)
The Solana solar plant, 70 miles from Pheonix, near Gila Bend, Arizona, USA, will compliment the Deming plant when both begin operations in 2011. It will produce 280 megawatts of energy, provide 1,500 jobs, and cover an area of 769 hectares. The solar power facility will be the child of Abengoa Solar and Arizona Public Service Company. However, the project depends on the United States Congress to renew clean energy tax credits, which would otherwise expire at the end of 2008. (Photo: APS. Source: Newlaunches via EcoFuss.)
By Gavin Hudson •
March 2, 2008
Dear Readers,
This week, from March 3-10, we’ll be examining renewable energy around the world.
African American community leader Bertha Calloway once said, “we cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails.”
Likewise, we cannot direct the sun, the tides, or ground energy; and these are only a few of the many options for clean, renewable energy.
However, by adjusting our sails we can benefit from energy from all of these untamable forces of nature.
