Covers environment, transportation, urban and regional planning, economic and social issues with a focus on Finland and Portugal.

Monday, August 4, 2008

July 2008 OviMagazine [Download the free PDF]

Download the free monthly PDF OviMagazine from here, which contains original articles and other material:

"How many websites can boast of a whole day dedicated to rats? How many websites focused on the waste of food, the disposal of energy saving light bulbs and the recycling of mobile phones in July? How many websites celebrated the birthdays of both Nelson Mandela and Daley Thompson? How many websites covered China, Iran, Pakistan, Mongolia, ANWR, Finland and then told you to boycott the Nobel Prizes? We know of one…

Ovi magazine hasn’t had time for a summer holiday, even though we thoroughly deserve one. We continue to man the controls of this online juggernaut and will never take our foot from the accelerator, especially while contributors such as Emanuel L. Paparella are explaining the five ways to God’s existence or explaining photovoltaic solar power in Portugal, like Luis Alves, or while Alexandra Pereira wants to teach us about brave men like Aristides de Sousa Mendes. Brake pedal, what brake pedal?"

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Thursday, July 24, 2008

Moura Renewable Energies Project


Alentejo is a region with low population density, occupying almost 33% of the area of Portugal and having only 5.2% of its inhabitants. As one of the European regions with greater population decrease, it will only be possible to reverse the economic decline through a population influx.

So far, Alentejo has no cities with sufficient dimension to achieve economies of scale, partly because of a weak urban system, which is blocking its development. However, Évora, with approximately 50,000 inhabitants, presents a very positive dynamic with some potential to reverse this negative trend.

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For an effective regional development of Alentejo, it is critical to achieve the Alqueva Multi Purpose Project (Empreendimento de Fins Múltiplos do Alqueva) in its whole potential - agro-industry, agriculture, irrigation, tourism and renewable energies. This can be a great opportunity to develop the potential of Alentejo in the production of electricity from renewable sources, with emphasis on solar photovoltaics. The production will be carried out by centralized PV power plants, the Alqueva Hydroelectric Plant, small hydro plants, mini PV power plants and micro-generation.

The functional specialization, as a mechanism for creating competitive territories and stable employment, migth be a solution in the particular case of the Moura city and the surrounding territory, by the the promotion of a regional cluster in the area of solar PV and innovation.

Economic Viability - Commitments to development between 3 “actors” (central Government, Municipality and the private sector)

The economic viability of the project and the Government decision in terms of energy policy enabled a subsidised tariff, as well the following counterpart for the installation of the power plant:

- Construction of PV module assembly factory

- Establishment of a 3 M € Social Fund , contributed by Acciona and managed by a Commission formed by the CMM, DGEG and Acciona , that will be applied to the development of infrastructures to be owned by the municipality(CMM):

• Construction of a Laboratory of Renewable Energy

• Programme of dissemination and promotion of renewable energies

• Support for Research and Development

• Support for micro-generation

PV module assembly factory (MSF - Moura Fábrica Solar)

A €7.6 million PV panel manufacturing plant (MSF) will provide panels for the second stage of the Amareleja power station construction. The factory, located in Moura municipality (Amareleja parish, Baldio das Ferrarias), is being constructed by Acciona and became operational in December 2007. Its future production will be targeted at the international market, with a capacity of producing 24 MW of solar panels annually.

Economic Viability (because of the large size of the power plant)

Actually, the market for applications to be connected to the grid with significant centralized power installed (> 10 MW), is receiving particular attention from the investors.

Several economical reasons can be referred for this market trend:

- the high global demand has driven a significant increase in the Silicon price, causing an increase in the cost of PV panels and aggravating significantly the cost of the system (including installation) – the centralized facilities can be a solution to minimize these prices.

- centralized power plants allow large-scale orders, achieving significant reductions in the unitary cost of PV panels.

- central facilities allow potentially maximize the productivity of the electrical system by optimizing the exposure of the panels on the ground.

Some data:

Production: 24 MW / year (minimum annual p
roduction capacity)

Investment: 7.65 M €

Start of production: December 2007


Jobs: 115 direct jobs


Minimum Work Period: 10 years

Possibility of doubling the annual production.


Industrial unit of exporting capacity.

Anchor unit of the Technological Park to be installed.

A development strategy

A development strategy has the goal of creation of a cluster in the field of solar energy. To achieve this objective it will be necessary to implement the centralised PV power plant and the PV module assembly factory (previously described), as well the Moura Technological Park (Tecnopólo de Moura), that will be managed by the municipal company “Lógica – Sociedade Gestora do Parque Tecnológico de Moura, E.M.”

Moura Technological Park by Renewable Energy as a progress factor for the Community, Municipality of Moura, C3P & NASA Technical Workshop 2007

Moura Technological Park


( total area ~35 ha)

UP11 – detail plan
PV module assembly factory
Laboratory of Renewable Energy
Research and Development

Installation of new businesses
Sustainable construction: Headquarters Building and Park Housing
New sources of energy

Support for Micro-generation


- Financing and supporting the installation of photovoltaic panels and solar thermal panels in households.

- Encouraging the spread of mini- centrals in institutions. Currently, there are already 3 installations : Professional School of Moura, Secondary School de Moura and BI School of Amareleja.

Despite the PV market trend, small-scale applications, grid connected, have more sustainable future, especially those relating to integration into buildings. Here are some reasons for that:

- Building-Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) materials can play additional functions to the generation of electricity, which should be a critical factor to the solar PV competitiveness, in the absence of government incentives.

- generally, renewable energy sources have low energy density. That require an extensive use of land for the installation of a particular power. Given the current trend of significant increase of the penetration of renewable energies in the energy systems, it is expected fierce competition for land resource. In this sense, the PV energy is in a privileged situation, if the market would be targeted for available buildings areas and other urban structures.

Development of the City and the Region

Sustainable Energy and Buiding - Urban Network for Competitiveness and Innovation, by ECOS Project

Establishment of companies
Local generation of wealth
Economy requalification

Qualified employment creation
Installation of critical R & D capacity

International affirmation of the Moura city

Stimulation of specific segments of tourism
Relationship with other potentials (Alqueva, Termas, Heritage)

Respect and enhancement of high environmental value of the region
A municipality exporter of energy produced from renewable sources

References:

Renewable Energy as a progress factor for the Community, Municipality of Moura, C3P & NASA Technical Workshop 2007

Rodrigues, Maria João; Energia Solar Fotovoltaica, spes.pt - Energias Renováveis

PNPOT, Programa Nacional da Política de Ordenamento do Território,territorioportugal.pt

This article is the part 3 of the article: “Alentejo: Solar Region”

“Photovoltaic Solar in Portugal” - part 1 of the article: “Alentejo: Solar Region”
“Moura (Amareleja) Photovoltaic Power Station” - part 2 of the article: “Alentejo: Solar Region”

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Thursday, July 17, 2008

Moura (Amareleja) Photovoltaic Power Station

Aerial view of Amareleja by amareleja.com.sapo.pt

A 46 MWp (62 MWp in the 2nd phase) single-axis tracking system centralised photovoltaic (PV) plant in the Portuguese region of Alentejo (Moura municipality, Amareleja parish), promoted by the local municipality and Acciona Energia (Spain), is expected to be completed by the end of 2008.

The plant will have the highest power so far installed in the world with this technology. The installation of 46 MWp power represents an investment of approximately 250 million euros.

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Until now there was installed 30.41 MWp - 66% of the total planned capacity. The installation work will continue through the summer and the plant - which already partially injects electricity to the grid with 3.18 MW operational from the end of 2007 - will likely become fully grid connected later this year.

The power plant will generate 90 million KWh a year, equivalent to the consumption of 30, 000 Portuguese homes. It has 2,520 Buskil solar trackers, 141 m2 each one, supporting 262,080 photovoltaic modules.

For the first phase of the solar plant that Acciona Energia is building in Moura, the company signed a contract with the Chinese company Yingli for the supply of PV panels. This agreement takes into account the extension of the supply for a second phase of the plant - 20 MW is planned to begin in 2009 and end in 2010.

Specifications of Moura Photovoltaic Power Station

Moura Photovoltaic Power Station by Renewable Energy as a progress factor for the Community, Municipality of Moura, C3P & NASA Technical Workshop 2007


Area occupied by power station: 130 ha (total area = 250 ha)

Installed rated power: 62 MWp (46 MW- 1st phase / 62 MW - 2st phase)

Annual electricity generation:
90 GWh (equivalent to the consumption of 30, 000 Portuguese homes)

Power transformers: 22

Inverters: 214

CO2 avoided: it will prevent the emission of 86,500 tons per year of CO2 from coal-fired power stations

Investment - ~ 250 million euros

Conclusion -1st phase: 2008; Conclusion -2st phase: 2010

A new land use - the sun as a resource

Aerial view of Amareleja, Google Earth

The total area in the parish of Amareleja, near the border with Spain, comprehends more than 250 hectares of land, the vast majority without any agricultural or forestry aptitude. The occupation of this space for the installation of a power plant represents the allocation of an economic function to a territory that was excluded from the local economy.

Some data:

2,200 KWh/m2
Sum of global annual irradiation, focusing on a photovoltaic module with optimal orientation for midday.

1,650 kWh / KWp
Sum of annual photovoltaic energy generated by 1 KWp with a performance of 0.75

Orography: adequate throughout the mainland and particularly in Alentejo region

Sun exposure: optimal angles - 33 to 34 degrees

Some engineering features

Amareleja power plant by amareleja.com.sapo.pt

The first phase of work will include Acciona’s single-axis Buskil trackers fitted with modules and also modules on fixed steel structures. The produced electricity will be transformed to 60 kV for evacuation to the grid at Alqueva. The project includes a control centre of the power plant, which will have an area for educational visits related to renewable energies.

Solar Trackers:

807 / 1713 = 2520 units (total 1st phase)
2520 solar trackers Buskil ( Acciona Solar technology) on 141 m2 (13 m length and 10.8 m high)

Reserved area of 848 m2 per structure

Oriented at the 45 ° fixed inclination and capable of 240 º East-West rotation movement following the sun across the sky.

Movements determined by coordinates previously entered

Modules:

104 polycrystalline silicon modules in each solar tracker (total = 262,080 PV modules)

48 cells (in serie) / each module;

Voltage: 23V at the point of maximum power / 29 V open circuit;

Electric current I: 7.4 A in the point of max. power / 8.1 A in short-circuit;

170 and 180 Wp capacity

Polycrystalline silicon modules, which consist of multicristaline silicon cells covered by an antireflective layer

Lifetime: more than 25 years

Project financing

In September 2006, the Spanish company Acciona, leader in the renewable energies sector, has acquired all the stocks of the owner of the installation rights (Amper-Central Solar SA) after a long process of consultation and negotiation with several companies and entities. Earlier, the Municipality of Moura had 88% of the capital, Renatura 10% and Comoiprel the remaining 2%. According to the President of the Municipal Chamber of Moura, it was essential to find a partner with the financial capacity to develop the project.

At the time, the municipality stated that the aim of the contract was the acquisition of the entire social capital of Amper, allowing the construction of the Central Solar of Moura with the initial installation (up to 2008) of 40 to 45 MWp and with the possibility of installation (until 2010) for more than 20 MWp. It also enabled the installation of a PV module assembly factory in Moura, as well a Fund of three million euros for the development of research projects related to renewable energies.

Indeed, single municipalities usually don't have sufficient financial capacity to realize big local projects like this one. To achieve this investment, the municipality had to sell its capital shares. As intermunicipal cooperation hasn’t worked in these cases, we may wonder whether the implementation of the administrative region of Alentejo might be a strong factor for maintaining environmental investments, partially or totally, in the hands of the region. The challenge will be to maximize the benefits (social-economical-environmental) of local populations, not the profits of global corporations .

In the next article we will describe the Moura Project on other main “tracks”: Moura Solar Factory (MFS), Moura Technological Park and the Micro-generation program - in the context of the Regional Development strategy.

References:


Notas de prensa, www.acciona-energia.com

Publicações do MEI - Livros de Energia, Ministério da Economia e da Inovação


This article is the part 2 of the article: “Alentejo: Solar Region” “Photovoltaic Solar in Portugal” - part 1 of the article: “Alentejo: Solar Region”

Published on www.newropeans-magazine.org

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Sunday, July 13, 2008

É urgente regionalizar o Alentejo?

Solar power plant (Serpa, Portugal), commons.wikimedia.org

Portugal é um dos países europeus com os mais elevados níveis de radiação solar (especialmente a região do Alentejo), beneficiando de excelentes condições para a conversão fotovoltaica. Com o objectivo de reduzir as importações energéticas através da substituição por fontes de energias renováveis locais e reduzir as emissões de gases efeito estufa, o actual governo português reviu os objectivos definidos em 2003: aumentar a meta de 2010 para produção de energia baseada em energias renováveis, de 39% para 45% do consumo total de electricidade.

Continue a ler
Os investimentos na área dos sistemas fotovoltaicos podem criar empresas de produção, engenharia, instalação e manutenção, gerando emprego qualificado, especialmente a nível local.

Para garantir os objectivos fixados em relação ao solar fotovoltaico, será necessário garantir a construção da maior Central Eléctrica Fotovoltaica do mundo, no município de Moura e garantir ligação aos objectivos da micro-geração. A Central Fotovoltaica de Moura representa cerca de 30% dos objectivos da energia fotovoltaica em Portugal (meta nacional de 150 MW).

O Alentejo é um território com muito baixa densidade populacional, ocupando quase 33% da superfície de Portugal e tendo apenas 5,2% dos seus habitantes. Sendo uma das regiões europeias onde se verifica maior decréscimo populacional, só será possível inverter o declínio económico através dum afluxo populacional .

O Alentejo não possui cidades com dimensão suficiente para obter economias de escala, em parte, devido a um sistema urbano fraco e bloqueador do seu desenvolvimento regional. No entanto, Évora, com aproximadamente 50 000 habitantes apresenta uma dinâmica bastante positiva, com algum potencial para inverter esta tendência .

Para um efectivo desenvolvimento territorial alentejano, torna-se crucial a realização do Empreendimento de Fins Múltiplos do Alqueva em todos os seus potenciais - agro-indústria, agricultura de regadio, turismo e energias renováveis. Surge assim uma grande oportunidade para aproveitamento das potencialidades do Alentejo no campo produção de energia eléctrica a partir de fontes renováveis, com destaque para a solar fotovoltaica. Tal produção será realizada por centrais solares fotovoltaicas centralizadas, pela Central Hidroeléctrica de Alqueva, por centrais mini-hídricas, mini-centrais fotovoltaicas e pela produção e venda de energia por particulares.

É neste contexto que poderão acompanhar através do seguinte link uma série de artigos focados na energia solar fotovoltaica em Portugal, em especial no Alentejo (Photovoltaic Solar in Portugal - part 1 of the article: “Alentejo: Solar Region”) [Em inglês]

No entanto, coloca-se uma questão: para projectos de investimento de maior dimensão, municípios isolados não possuem a capacidade financeira para os realizar, sendo obrigados a alienar as suas participações no capital destas empresas. Visto que, nestes casos, a cooperação intermunicipal não tem funcionado, pode-se questionar se a implementação da Região administrativa do Alentejo não poderia ser um factor de peso para que investimentos de carácter ambiental ficassem, total ou parcialmente, nas mãos da Região (e consequentemente do país).

Tal como o poder económico (traduzido na riqueza produzida) não tem escorrido da classe dominante para a larga maioria da sociedade, também o poder politico não fluirá facilmente do poder centralista para as regiões e municípios. Para que tal seja possível, é importante que as populações se organizem e mobilizem de forma efectiva e participativa, numa base local (quer a nível municipal quer a nível de freguesia) com o objectivo de reivindicar a Regionalização e a ao mesmo tempo defender a sua autonomia local. Num quadro de cooperação com os municípios vizinhos, inclusive os das regiões espanholas.

Nesse sentido proponho a participação na mini-sondagem: É urgente regionalizar o Alentejo? (topo da primeira coluna do site).

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