Kalistani Major History

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KALENCON brings new High Efficiency Solar Plant online North of Sweet Port
Spurred by positive growth policies, PV development and production is poised to take great leap forward
Sweet Port, Suldanor
July 8, 5204


First Cell of the new KALENCON Solar Farm 1 is in place

KALENCON has begun building solar power farms across Suldanor and Odufaray, which will form the backbone of Kalistan's new solar network following the passage of the Energy Strategy currently on the floor in the Assembly. Spokesperson for the Project, Melissa Brach, said "The first plant we are building here is on reclaimed farm land just south of the Sulari Hills, northwest of Sweet Port. The facility, when completed, will generate more than 450 MW of clean power a day and will cover about 3300 acres, or about 5.1 square miles." While this is a drop in the bucket compared to even just Sulari's 6500 MW a day demand, Brach noted that the Solar Farm will be one of several dozen spread across central and Northern Sulari and which will be built within the next ten years. "Additionally, we are using solar to add to an expanding list of energy creation options which includes expanded fusion generators, as well as wave and tidal generators, wind turbines and geothermal. This is just a start."

Environmentalists were quick to respond to the creation of such large energy creation facilities: "We like green energy," said Chris Fox, head of the Sulari Citizens for Green Energy. "But such large facilities will endanger migrations of animals over public land, and the creation of both photovoltaics and batteries to store electricity is certain to pollute the environment worse than the green energy helps it. Therefore, we do not think that the Government should be rushing into this, but should spend money at this point to develop cleaner and more efficient alternatives to battery storage and solar collection."

Brach, who was speaking for KALENCON noted cooperation with recent startups in Kalistan, especially the private firm "SolCo" (Kalsie:SCO) which is currently ramping up to provide photovoltaics at a very inexpensive costs. "We are exploring the use of the crystalline structure known as perovskite," said SolCo CEO Bob Marquis, "which is found in calcium-titanium oxide rich igneous and metamorphic rocks. It is one of the most common crystalline alkalai mineral structures in the Empire, especially in Ananto. It is easily extracted in abundance and can be imbued in a vinyl or resin solution that can be poured flat, and which is then bendable, rollable, durable, weather resistant, and inexpensively installable. We have found that perovskite film generates more energy from solar power than silicates do, is far less expensive to produce, and is more tolerant of defects than its more rigid cousin. As a result, we project that costs for the production of this, when ramped up to scale, will be about 10% of the standard costs for silicate photovoltaics and will allow the solar industry to take off." KALENCON is expected to sign a contract for PV cells within a year, dependent on the successful efficiency tests at the first Solar Farm in Suldanor.

"Ideally, we would also like to begin installing photovoltaics in the high rises of our cities," said Brach. "The Ministry of Science has expressed interest in exploring tax incentives for companies to replace their windows with photovoltaic glass, which companies like SolCo and another company in Vrassa named Pioneer Glasworks makes, that utilizes Photovoltaics in layered glass for industrial buildings. If we can get buy in from the real estate markets, we can encourage the building of self powering homes, to take houses entirely off the grid, and make our cities themselves producers of their own electricity!" This possible step is years away however, and will involve infrastructure building that is on a far more massive scale than the one which are currently in KALENCON's short range plan.

For the mean time, the Solar Farm, known as Farm 1, joins the limited and fairly expensive solar generator infrastructure that currently exists, which is on the verge of becoming much cheaper in the coming years, to add to Kalistan's move entirely away from hydrocarbon fuels. "Our biggest challenge in the coming years," said Brach, "is the battery to store power. Without batteries, it doesn't really matter how much energy is generated during the day, much of it will disappear as soon as the sun sets." KALENCON is working with KalMD on the question of energy storage, but as of now, there is no parallel news of any breakthroughs.