IF THERE is one thing that Seychelles has an abundance of and it is all free, it is sunshine. With the ever increasing price of fossil fuel, is it not time for Seychelles to consider alternative renewable sources of energy? The energy emanating from the sun is 15,000 times more than the world population can consume. It has been scientifically proven that each year energy coming from the sun is many times higher than the earth's total reserve. In fact the sun, like the wind, provides an inexhaustible source of clean renewable energy, and technology is now easily available to harness and domesticate this clean source of renewable energy. Why is the Seychelles government not looking towards this type of energy to mitigate the exorbitant cost of traditional fossil fuel?
Admittedly, the Minister of Finance last year announced that all import taxes will henceforth be removed on solar panels although GST was maintained. Perhaps it is now time to remove GST and pass legislation making it compulsory for every new building, hotel and houses in Seychelles must contain provision for the use of solar panel before planning permission is granted. This is especially pertinent with the wave of new hotels being built in the country and the fact that they will consume the lion share of available energy in Seychelles. The government should make it compulsory for these hotels to introduce their own solar equipment and technology for their own use.
For the first time ever, documented proof of the economic benefits of solar heating is now available. A recent experiment conducted in Scandinavia with real demonstration houses set up all over the country to test how three different hybrid solar energy heating alternatives really work, produced encouraging results. The project which was dubbed “Solar Thermal Components Adapted To Common Building Standard” was a huge success. The project basically concentrated on three main methods of keeping warm and heating water in houses. Pilot versions of a solar heating/natural gas burner system, a solar heating/ pellet burner system and a façade/roof integrated polymeric collector were installed in several model houses in the summer of 2006 in Denmark, Norway and Sweden. The Danish, Norwegian and Swedish Industrial partners all have solar friendly products on the market ready for consumers which can create real savings to households. In the small Danish town of Helsinge about 40 kilometres from Copenhagen, there is a house with a pointed tiled arched roof with a small window on one side.
From the outside there is nothing to significantly differentiate it from the other houses of the neighbours in the quiet suburban town. However, when you go into the basement and make your way to the boiler you will discover that an amazing technology has been employed to provide solar heating and hot water to its inhabitants. The new solar heating system is based on a condensing natural gas boiler which takes care of the heating in the house and ensures that the boiler creates enough heating in the whole house to keep up with the needs of its inhabitants. Solar collectors have been placed on the roof to capture as much sunlight as possible.
The Danish Firm, Metro Therm AS supplied the Helsinge demonstration house with the new solar power heating technology. Worldwide the solar heating market grows by 30 percent last year alone. However, in Europe, the market grew by as much as 50% last year. This expansive growth is expected to continue. Worldwide, solar energy utilisation by means of solar heating systems is one of the most important ways to utilise renewable energy sources.
In Norway similar discoveries as Denmark was also made. Quite close to the University of Oslo, there is a multifamily house. The apartment block in Bjørnveien was finished in 2005, and consists of high-standard apartments. The solar heating system includes a collector façade that contributes to hot water preparation and floor heating.
The collector facade consists of polymeric solar collectors, delivered by the Norwegian company Solarnor AS. “Thermal energy is a growth area”, says Rekstad, a professor of physics at the University of Oslo. His research area is in the field of thermic energy and new technology. Since the middle of the 1990s, his research team has studied how the future energy needs can be met by using new materials to warm houses by solar energy. “It is important to remember that energy is not the same as electricity”, he continues, pointing to a common misconception.
If we go to Sweden, in the town of Borlange, an old house from 1910 stands among the trees. It has been refurbished several times, but never before has it been fitted with a combined pellet/solar system to heat the inside of its rooms, and warm up the water. The new pellet stove is placed in the middle of the living room, making it a focal point for visitors. All technical and store units are cleverly hidden in a small cupboard under the stairs. On the roof of the old house there is a 10m2 solar collector. The combined solar/pellet system demonstrated in this house comes from Solentek AB. The Nordic alternative shows three different hybrid solar alternatives, from three different industrial partners, all having new products on the market. All providing architects and entrepreneurs with new possibilities. All providing homebuilders with new dreams, within reach.
Green, clean and renewable solar energy is equally distributed around the globe. Solar energy has the potential to become the most important renewable energy source in the future, and we all know that the future starts now. Solar energy can be utilised by environmental friendly means.
The market for solar energy in the EU, and around the world, is growing rapidly. Germany is now the worlds most developed solar energy country. But it is not carved in stone that it has to stay that way. The Nordic region is the only place in the world where the sun shines at midnight. Of course the sun is ours for the taking. An attractive and innovative energy source. Isn't it time for Seychelles to go the solar way?
Contact: www.nordicinnovation.net