Austria assures cooperation in power sector

Austria assures cooperation in power sector - Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Austrian Minister for Economy, Dr Reinhold Mitterlehner on Monday assured to invest in the hydel power, alternate energy development projects and to provide technical assistance in the forthcoming hydropower generation projects in Pakistan.

He was talking to the Federal Minister for Water and Power, Raja Pervez Ashraf in a meeting held at Vienna (Austria). The meeting also discussed various matters of mutual interest to explore ways and means to further enhance the bilateral relations between the two countries.

The Austrian Minister said that Austrian companies are already working in Pakistan in energy sector and are keen to expand their business while the new ones are also interested in this sector. He said that Austria will also provide technical cooperation in the hydel power projects. Austria has vast expertise in the manufacturing of hydel machinery, and has already offered Pakistan to consider “mega hydel power projects”.

Earlier, the Federal Minister Ashraf briefed him on the current energy situation and the measures being taken to meet the future water and power requirements. He gave him details of the water and power sector projects being initiated by the present government.

He said that Pakistan has planned to change its energy mix and is now focusing on hydel, coal, wind and solar generation to provide cheaper and reliable power the consumers. He said that Pakistan will welcome the Austrian investment, technical cooperation and joint venture projects.

As Austria has expertise in the manufacturing of hydel power generation equipments, Pakistan will facilitate the investors and manufacturers of hydel power plant producers, particularly for Terbela-4th Extension hydel power project.

Japan warming up to solar power exports

Japan warming up to solar power exports - Asahi Shimbun

A scorching desert in Tunisia provides a site that symbolizes the end of the "cold shoulder" treatment the Japanese government has given to Japan's solar thermal power industry.

Japanese companies next month will start surveying the area in the North African desert for a project to jointly build a solar thermal power generation plant with the Tunisian government.

But it was the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry that obtained the order for the project.

After three decades of not supporting Japan's solar thermal power generation industry, the Japanese government is pushing sales of the country's solar thermal power technology to other nations.

Tadahiro Matsushita, senior vice minister of economy, trade and industry, visited an experiment plant for solar thermal power generation in the United Arab Emirates in January.

The plant was built by Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co.

"We want to spread these Japanese technologies more," Matsushita said, as he watched experiments being conducted at the site.

A UAE government organization and Japan's Cosmo Oil Co. paid 1 billion yen ($12 million) needed for the experiments.

"We had repeatedly asked the Japanese government for support, but the government gave us the cold shoulder," said Yutaka Tamaura, a Tokyo Institute of Technology professor involved in the joint experiments.

In the 1980s, the Japanese government and the private sector joined hands under a "sunshine plan" and developed solar thermal power generation technology.

However, the government's support in this area stopped for about 30 years due to a lack of efficiency in power generation and expectations that the technology would not spread due to a lack of enough sunshine in Japan.

The situation changed when the government led by the Democratic Party of Japan decided that exporting infrastructure, such as nuclear power plants, high-speed railways and water supply and sewerage systems, would be a pillar in its growth strategy.

Solar thermal power generation plants re-entered the equation.

Demand for solar thermal power generation has rapidly increased in deserts, but promising markets in the Middle East and North Africa are already dominated by European businesses, which are closer to those areas. Japan has been desperately trying to catch up.

After senior trade ministry officials toured Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia in efforts to sell Japanese solar thermal power technology, Tokyo reached an agreement with the Tunisian government in July to start the joint solar thermal power generation project.

The Japanese government will pay up to 3 billion yen to Japanese companies building the plant.

"The government made a complete about-face in its stance," Kazuaki Ezawa, a Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding official said.

Ezawa welcomed the policy shift as a major advantage for Japanese companies seeking future orders for building plants.

But Japan is not the only government stepping up efforts to help the private sector win contracts abroad.

Japan upgraded its efforts after the UAE late last year awarded a contract to build nuclear power plants to South Korean companies that had received direct help from President Lee Myung-bak and the government-run Korea Electric Power Corp.

Several major Japanese companies teamed up with Innovation Network Corp. of Japan to establish International Nuclear Energy Development of Japan Co. The arrangement created an "all-Japan" team trying to win an order to build two nuclear power plants in Vietnam.

A number of Cabinet ministers also cooperated, and Japan won the order for the 1-trillion-yen project.

But concerns have arisen that if the government becomes too deeply involved in private-sector business, the conditions of the deals could become unclear.

To win the contract in Vietnam, the Japanese government pledged additional yen loans worth 79 billion yen. Depending on future negotiations with Vietnam, the government or the Japanese companies may have to cover additional costs.

"The government's assistance is very powerful for making an initial breakthrough," said Hideaki Omiya, president of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. "However, we are being asked to climb a mountain together without being able to really see the whole mountain yet."

Omiya said if competition among governments escalates, it could go beyond a scope of what can be considered proper private-sector activities.

Arizona may become a center for solar development

5 solar projects get $4 million in grants

Five new projects granted $4 million in seed money could help make Arizona a center for solar development, backers said Friday. Science Foundation Arizona announced the projects, and the formation of its new Solar Technology Institute, at lunch events in Tucson and Phoenix.

RENEE BRACAMONTE/Tucson Citizen

Brian Myer (left), a doctoral student in optics at the University of Arizona, talks about ways to store solar energy with Nate Allen (middle right) of Biosphere 2 and John Madocks at Global Solar Energy, 8500 S. Rita Road.

The Tucson event, attended by about 100 industry, government and university officials, was held just outside a 310,000- square-foot solar array that provides power at Global Solar Energy, 8500 S. Rita Road.

"The goal is developing disruptive technology breakthroughs that will bring the cost of solar energy down to the level of fossil fuels. We want to make Arizona a leader in the drive to change to solar."

"Germany, Spain and even New Jersey lead Arizona in the development of solar energy. We've got to change that."

The $4 million will provide startup funding for the projects, Powell said. Half of the funding comes from Science Foundation Arizona and half from the private sector.

The funding is in hand and not affected by state budget cuts for the organization, Powell said.

The projects cover the full solar spectrum, from collecting the sun's energy to distributing electricity to consumers, said Leslie Tolbert, vice president for research, graduate studies and economic development at the University of Arizona.

"The goal here is not just to meet our energy needs but to become a net exporter."

The projects are collaborations that include UA, Arizona State University and a variety of industry partners, she said. Solar panels don't work at night, and energy storage is a challenge that one funded project is addressing, Powell said.

Plans call for generating excess solar power during the day that will be used to compress air that will be stored, he said. When darkness curtails energy production, the stored compressed air can be used to drive turbines to generate electricity, he said.

Another project is using nanotechnology to improve the efficiency of thin-film solar devices while driving the price down, said Ray Kostuk, UA professor of electrical and computer engineering. Ultra-thin coatings will cause sunlight to spend more time exciting the elements in thin-film devices so they produce more electricity, Kostuk said.

Other projects are:

• Concentrator photovoltaics to develop the next generation of low-cost solar reflectors that concentrate the sun's energy on high-efficiency photovoltaic cells.
• Quickly testing and certifying solar products to determine the performance of new and improved technologies.
• An improved system of "smart" electric grid management and command and control software to help select future power generation sites, storage sites and distribution and transmission pathways throughout the state.

Science Foundation Arizona is a nonprofit public-private partnership that invests areas of strategic importance to the state, including renewable energy and biomedicine.