PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — An Oregon agency continued to financially back a solar panel company despite its default on loan repayments to the state.

The state gave $13.5 million in tax credits, $10 million in direct financial assistance and millions of dollars in tax breaks to SoloPower Systems when it entered Portland eight years ago, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported Tuesday.

The company, which promised lighter, thinner solar panels, shut down its factory and laid off most of its employees in 2013. It later stopped making payments on its state loan.

The Oregon Secretary of State is questioning the state Department of Energy’s decision to make rent payments on behalf of the company, which had a “history of loan default, forbearance, and restructuring,” according to a recently released audit.

The company asked for help from the state Department of Energy in paying its rent last July, receiving nearly $642,000. Auditors found no evidence that the department received collateral or security for those payments, and it did not consultant an independent expert, according to the audit.

“We had multiple discussions with Goldman Sachs from August to October 2017,” agency spokeswoman Rachel Wray said. “The investment would have made SoloPower a ‘going concern,’ meaning it could resume operations; we never saw terms that involved the (state) loan being paid in one fell swoop. Eventually that conversation went quiet, the investment didn’t go through, and we don’t have any specific information about why.”

Following the rent payments, the agency did consider giving more money to the company. Agency officials approached Gov. Kate Brown’s staff in September 2017 about an additional investment, which Brown’s office rejected, said her spokesman Chris Pair.

DUBLIN–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The “Developments
in Energy Storage, Nuclear Reactors, and Solar Power Generation”
report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com’s
offering.

This edition of the Energy and Power Systems TOE covers innovations and
developments in electrochemical energy storage, such as low-weight
batteries, 3D printed electrode, method for producing graphene anode,
sodium-ion battery membrane and molten salt iron-oxygen battery.
Innovations profiled include graphene-based optoelectronic devices,
singlet fission, copper nitride semiconductor, perovskite-silicon tandem
cell, The TOE also focuses on developments in extending the service life
of the nuclear reactor and manufacturing process of perovskite solar
panels.

Key Topics Covered

1. 3D Printed Electrode for Low-weight High Capacity Batteries
2. Method for Producing High-Performance Graphene Anode
3. High-performance Graphene-based Optoelectronic Devices
4. Singlet Fission Significantly Improves Solar Cells Efficiency
5. Copper Nitride Semiconductor for Eco-friendly Thin-film Photovoltaics
6. Recovery Re-annealing Improve Operating Efficiency of Nuclear Reactor
7. Rechargeable, High-temperature, Molten Salt Iron-oxygen Battery
8. Perovskite-silicon Tandem Cell with Improved Efficiency
9. Sodium-ion Battery Membrane with Enhanced Ionic Conductivity
10. Improved Process for Manufacturing Perovskite Solar Panels
11. Industry Contacts

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/l8mq52/developments_in?w=4

Camping with a tent can be fun, unless you have aches, pains and other bodily complaints, or simply don’t feel like roughing it out. So it’s little wonder that glamping (or “glamourous camping”) has become quite a trend.

Situated in various secluded spots around the country’s southern island, these all-glass, off-grid, rentable PurePods offer an unobstructed view of some of New Zealand’s most beautiful landscapes and skies.

It’s really all made of glass; the cabin’s floors, roof, sliding doors and even the shower and toilet are all glass (though there are curtains available). Such exposure might unnerve some, but each cabin has been placed in spots where there are no neighbours; the idea is to allow guests a sense of privacy out in the middle of the wilderness. Television, DVD players and wi-fi have been deliberately left out, and stargazing must be quite a treat out here.

Each solar- and biofuel-powered pod has a kitchen, bathroom and queen-sized bed, and can accommodate up to two people. The glass floor has a patented heating system embedded in it to ensure that it stays warm inside. Potable water is filtered and comes from adjacent water tanks, while rainwater is collected to water plants under the glass floor. Not surprisingly, it gets pretty hot in a glass box during hotter months, so guests are encouraged to slide open doors and use curtains; according to the company, there aren’t too many dangerous animals or creepy-crawlies out here in New Zealand.

The company says that

The waste from the toilet, sinks and shower goes into the special wastewater treatment system. This system uses a patented biological filtration technology relying on a diverse eco-system of micro and macro organisms to provide energy-efficient treatment of the waste water. This is primarily powered by tiger earthworms, which eat the solids to create a layer of vermicast which acts as a filter for the wastewater. This is subsequently pumped out as clean water under a field some distance from the PurePod.

It’s an intriguing concept that’s bound to draw in bolder nature-lovers who like a bit of extra comfort: one night’s stay costs about USD $400 (NZD $590) for two people, and you can add in a dinner and breakfast made of local produce for an extra $100 (NZD $149). To find out more, visit PurePods.

A Chance to Shine

India has seized on solar power as a tool to exercise soft power for several reasons. For one, the country has firsthand experience with energy poverty and understands the plight of other states with limited fuel resources. For another, India is home to one of the world’s largest and most successful markets for solar power. The country has installed 23 gigawatts of generation capacity (enough to power more than 16 million homes) in the span of about four years using policies based mostly on market forces, rather than on subsidies. India’s private sector leads the domestic solar industry and includes some major corporations with deep pockets. And since the country lacks the investment capacity that China has parlayed into budding international partnerships through the Belt and Road Initiative, its expertise in solar power may be its best bet for forging trade and political ties with the developing world.

To test this strategy, India has focused much of its efforts with the ISA on sub-Saharan Africa. The region made a logical place for India to roll out its energy endeavor given its proximity to India — and China’s growing interest and investment there. Countries such as Tanzania, Ethiopia, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso and Madagascar signed onto the ISA treaty on the first day it was open for signatures, and since then, Nigeria, Ghana, Gabon and Benin have also joined. Outside the framework of the ISA, under which New Delhi has extended a $1.4 billion line of credit to members of the alliance, India has allotted $2 billion for solar projects in signatory states in Africa. It has also stepped up its outreach to countries across the continent over the past decade by holding summits with African leaders every three years.

Clouds on the Horizon

But India’s activities in Africa, in and beyond the ISA, also exemplify one of the difficulties its solar power diplomacy will face. If New Delhi takes too active a role in implementing the initiative, ISA member states could perceive it as an overbearing outside power. (What’s more, India’s ties with the African countries participating in the ISA haven’t always been smooth.) To ensure that ISA members see it as a benefactor rather than as an opportunist — a particular risk since India can’t afford to bring much of its own money to the table — New Delhi will have to work to create equal partnerships with local governments and businesses. Doing so could also help mitigate the Indian government’s strong tendency to bureaucratize domestic institutions, which could easily spill over to the ISA. The tariffs New Delhi recently imposed on imports of Chinese and Malaysian solar modules, however, will undermine the ISA’s market-friendly image.

Beyond the challenges of maintaining member countries’ goodwill, India will run up against some technical difficulties, too, as it works to promote and expand the ISA. The country is home to several prominent think tanks active in the sphere of climate change and energy policy, but it has yet to develop a robust solar manufacturing sector or spearhead serious research and development in solar technology. These deficiencies will hamper India’s efforts to position itself as a leader in solar power, though France’s contributions could help compensate for its shortcomings.

Then there’s the question of institutional overlap. The ISA emerged several years after the founding of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) in 2009. The more established organization, with close to 150 members, has its headquarters in resource-rich Abu Dhabi and benefits from the major role that Germany, an economic powerhouse and leader in renewables technology, plays in it. To prove its own unique value proposition, the ISA will need to differentiate itself from IRENA, renowned for achievements in energy policy and in facilitating the scale-up of renewables. Support from the world’s two great powers — the United States and China — could help set the ISA apart and make it more effective, but Washington has reportedly been ambivalent about the idea. Beijing, meanwhile, recently announced domestic subsidy cutbacks that may send companies in the Chinese solar industry looking for ways into developing markets. Given China’s formidable manufacturing and organizational capacity, any coordinated Chinese initiative to that end could easily overshadow India’s efforts to turn solar power into soft power gains.

Even so, with such a wide set of priorities, the ISA doesn’t necessarily need to meet all its goals to succeed. The organization’s initiatives in financing, training and innovation will go a long way toward increasing solar capacity in the developing world and perhaps make Gurugram — the fast-growing satellite city of New Delhi where the ISA is based — a solar hub along the way. So while the endeavor may fall short of India’s expectations as a conduit for geopolitical influence, it will lead the way to a brighter, more sustainable future for dozens of developing countries.