ABOUT THE (NON-EXXISTENT) U.S. SOLAR F-I-T

What Is Holding Back Solar Feed-In-Tariff Programs In The U.S. Market?21 June 2012 (Solar Industry) “Feed-in tariffs (FITs) have spurred the installation of more than three-quarters of global solar capacity. Germany's FIT - perhaps one of the best-known programs - has led to the development of more than 50,000 MW of solar power and wind power domestically since its inception in 1990…[but] FITs continue to fail to make inroads in the U.S…[which] instead...

Read More

THE WIND MONEY IS IN MAINTENANCE RIGHT NOW

Vestas Signs Maintenance Deal With EDPR25 June 2012 (North American Windpower) “[World-leading but floundering turbine] maker Vestas has signed its largest-ever service and maintenance renewal agreement with EDPR, under which Vestas will service more than 1,100 wind turbines across 30 wind projects in the U.S. and Europe for up to seven years…[T]he service agreement represents a total capacity of nearly 1.9 GW…”click to enlarge“…About 70% of the...

Read More

FED RULE WILL GET NEW ENERGY ON THE WIRES

FERC: Renewable Energy Integration Rule Eliminates Undue Burdens22 June 2012 (Renew Grid) “The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has issued a final rule that promotes the more efficient operation of the transmission system amid increasing integration of variable energy resources and benefits electric consumers by ensuring that services are provided at just and reasonable rates. “The rule adopts two reforms…[one] requiring transmission providers...

Read More

CALIFORNIA WITHOUT SONGS

California energy officials plan for life without San Onofre; As officials make short-term plans to cope while the San Onofre plant is off line, they're also starting to think about the possibility of a nuclear-free future.Abby Sewell. June 24, 2012 (LA Times) “California energy officials are beginning to plan for the possibility of a long-range future without the [San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS)]…The plant's unexpected, nearly five-month...

Read More

FIRST SOLAR PLANT OK ON TRIBAL LANDS

Department Of The Interior Approves 350 MW Solar Project In Nevada22 June 2012 (Solar Industry) “U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar has approved a 350 MW solar energy project on tribal trust land of the Moapa Band of Paiute Indians in Clark County, Nev…the first-ever utility-scale solar project approved for development on tribal lands…[The approval specifies] construction, operation and maintenance of a low-impact PV facility and associated...

Read More

BIOGAS BUILDING UP FAST

Global Biogas Market to Nearly Double in Size to $33 Billion by 2022June 21, 2012 (Pike Research) “Although a relatively minor player within the overall bioenergy sector, the market for biogas sits at the confluence of a number of forces, including increasing demand for distributed generation, tightening environmental regulations, and accelerating buildout of infrastructure for natural gas and for vehicles powered by natural gas… “A byproduct of...

Read More

BIGGER WIND = GREENER WIND

Wind Power Electricity: The Bigger the Turbine, The Greener the Electricity?Marloes Caduff, Mark A. J. Huijbregts, Hans-Joerg Althaus, Annette Koehler, and Stefanie Hellweg, April 4, 2012 (Environmental Science and Technology) “…Wind energy is a fast-growing and promising renewable energy source. The investment costs of wind turbines have decreased over the years, making wind energy economically competitive to conventionally produced electricity…[A]...

Read More

COAL CUTS TAKE U.S. TO WORLD LEADING EMISSIONS CUTS

America Leading the World in CO2 Emission Decrease Thanks to Reductions in Coal Use; Grassroots Fight to Move “Beyond Coal” Having Clear EffectJune 18, 2012 (Sierra Club)“Since 2006, the U.S. has seen the largest reduction in carbon dioxide emissions of any country or region…[A]ccording to a recent report from the International Energy Agency (IEA)…U.S. CO2 emissions have fallen by 7.7 percent or 430 million metric tons primarily due to a decrease...

Read More

BRIGHTSOURCE BUYS BROKE SOLAR POWER PLANT

BrightSource Buys Palen Solar Plant From Bankrupt Solar Trust Of America22 June 2012 (Solar Industry) "BrightSource Energy Inc. has placed the winning bid for Solar Trust Of America's 500 MW Palen solar plant, which is under development in Riverside County, Calif."click to enlarge "Solar Trust of America filed for bankruptcy in April, triggering questions about the fate of its solar projects under development…BrightSource has not yet revealed specific...

Read More

WIND COSTS LOW & GOING LOWER

National labs: Wind energy costs at or heading to all-time lowsKerry Bleskan, June 8, 2012 (SNL) “Most studies predict the cost of wind energy will continue to fall through at least 2030…[according to The Past and Future Cost of Wind Energy by] a collaboration among workers from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, with assistance from European researchers. The crux of the report is that while...

Read More

SUNSHOT BY FEDS TO DROP SOLAR COSTS

DOE Offering Prize Money To The Most Affordable Rooftop Solar ArraysJessica Lillian, 14 June 2012 (Solar Industry) “With PV module prices plunging, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has unveiled new strategies for tackling a more stubborn piece of the solar cost equation: the expenses associated with permitting, financing and installing systems…In addition to providing nearly $8 million in new funding to nine U.S. start-ups focusing on cost reduction,...

Read More

CONSUMERS NEED TO BE SMARTER ABOUT SMART GRID

Food For Thought About Consumers And The Smart Grid18 June 2012 (Renew Grid) “Although many consumers are not aware of smart grid technology, they do embrace it once they receive more information about it, according to [2012 State of the Consumer Report] from the Smart Grid Consumer Collaborative (SGCC)… People who had heard the term associated the smart grid with the development of new technologies to improve reliability, efficiency, billing accuracy...

Read More

CANADA-U.S. WIND PARTNERSHIP

First Wind, Emera Form Wind Energy Investment Company18 June 2012 (North American Windpower) “…[Boston] wind energy developer First Wind Holdings…and Canadian utility Emera Inc…[will] jointly own and operate wind projects in the northeastern U.S…[through] Northeast Wind Partners, [jointly created] to invest in the projects. First Wind will retain 51% of the new company, and Emera has invested a total of $211 million to acquire the remaining 49%....

Read More

UTILITIES UNDER PRESSURE

Sluggish Economy Places Financial Pressure On Utilities13 June 2012 (Renew Grid) “Like many others in the U.S., utilities are very concerned about financial issues and their ramifications, according to Black & Veatch's sixth annual Strategic Directions in the U.S. Electric Utility Industry report…[C]urrent and emerging financial issues will largely be affected by the need to invest in operational technologies and competitive generation resources,...

Read More

A SOLAR SURVEY

Solar Survey Reveals Optimism, But Consumer Misperceptions Persist18 June 2012 (Solar Industry) “Consumers in China, India, Japan and the U.S. believe that solar power has high growth potential, according to the results of the fourth annual solar energy survey from Applied Materials, a study that measures consumers' understanding and awareness of solar energy…[but] many respondents had a mixed understanding of the current cost and adoption rates...

Read More

A SMART GRID STORAGE TEST

Smart Grid Storage Project Launches In Pennsylvania15 June 2012 (Renew Grid) “East Penn Manufacturing Co. Inc. and its subsidiary Ecoult have…[launched a] U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) smart grid storage demonstration project… powered by East Penn's Deka UltraBattery technology [that provides] 3 MW of continuous frequency-regulation services to PJM Interconnection. The new system will also be used for peak demand management services by the local...

Read More

NEW ENERGY UP 300% OVER THE DECADE

U.S. Renewable Energy Production Increased By 300% Over Last Decade15 June 2012 (North American Windpower) “U.S. production of renewable energy has increased by more than 300% in the past decade, but the nation still lags far behind Europe and Indonesia and is only slightly ahead of Mexico in the percentage of electricity it gets from renewable sources, according to a new report from the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). “European countries,...

Read More

SOLAR’S SURGE

Good Solar News: US Solar Continues to Surge in 2012; The bad news is that domestic manufacturing woes continue. Eric Wesoff, June 12, 2012 (Greentech Media) “The U.S. had a blistering amount of solar installations in the first quarter of 2012 with an impressive 506 megawatts -- a record for typically slow first quaters and second only to the 780 megawatts installed in the previous quarter…according to the [U.S. Solar Market Insight: 1st Quarter...

Read More

UTILITIES’ FEARS ABOUT NEW ENERGY

Utilities Look To Mitigate Renewable Integration ChallengesAngela Beniwal, 11 June 2012 (Renew Grid) “The amount of [variable renewable energies like wind and solar] on the grid is increasing globally and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future…Smart grid technologies can go a long way in alleviating integration issues. Up until recently, investment in this type of technology - including high-voltage, direct-current transmission, flexible...

Read More

THE LIFE OF SOLAR

GE, Fraunhofer Building Solar Electronics Lifetime Prediction Tool11 June 2012 (Solar Industry) “GE has partnered with the Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration IZM to develop a new method to forecast the remaining life time of solar power electronics, such as insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs). The first prototype of this measurement system will be presented in Berlin in September. “Constant load fluctuations burden the...

Read More

U.S. WIND LOOKS TO CANADA

Whoa, Canada! U.S. Wind Energy Companies Look To The NorthMark Del Franco, 12 June 2012 (North American Windpower) “The uncertainty surrounding the extension of the production tax credit (PTC) for wind power in the U.S. has led some developers and suppliers to seek opportunities in the Canadian wind energy market. …EDP Renewables North America...is aggressively exploring opportunities to either acquire Canadian wind projects or partner in them…[Pattern...

Read More

BETTER THIN FILM SOLAR WITH CHEMISTRY

First Solar and Intermolecular Announce Joint Program to Accelerate Solar PV Roadmap; Collaboration Will Leverage Intermolecular's High Productivity Combinatorial Platform Towards Achieving Higher CdTe Solar Panel EfficienciesJune 11, 2012 (GlobeNewswire via MarketWatch) “First Solar, Inc…and Intermolecular, Inc.. announced a collaboration and licensing agreement aimed at accelerating the efficiency roadmap for First Solar's cadmium-telluride (CdTe)...

Read More

JP MORGAN, WELLS, GE, MET LIFE BACK OKLAHOMA WIND

JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, GE and MetLife to Fund Oklahoma Wind FarmAndrew Herndon, June 6, 2012 (Bloomberg BusinessWeek) “…JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) (JPM), the largest U.S. bank, Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) (WFC), Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. and General Electric Co. (GE) (GE)’s GE Capital unit will [provide $220 million in tax-equity financing for an Oklahoma wind farm] in the fourth quarter, Enel SpA (ENEL), the project developer, said… ...

Read More

A NEW INVESTMENT FOR BACKING NEW ENERGY

UPDATED: New Legislation Could Unlock Billions Of Dollars In Wind Energy InvestmentLaura DiMugno, 7 June 2012 (North American Windpower) “…According to the [Levelinbg the Playing Field; The Case for Master Limited Partnerships by SMU’s Maguire Energy Institute], federal tax-code restrictions currently limit investment in renewable energy infrastructure by $5 billion to $6 billion while, at the same time, prohibiting thousands of jobs from being created....

Read More

WIND AND BIRDS

EarthTalk: Wind power and bird strikesJune 9, 2012 (The Norwalk Hour) “…Bird collisions have been one of the primary negatives of the recent growth in wind power across the United States and beyond…[In response,] the [U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, USFWS] released new federal guidelines in March 2012 for land-based wind developers trying to avoid or minimize impacts to birds and their habitats. The guidelines are voluntary at this point, but U.S....

Read More

DOE WANTS RARE EARTHS

DOE: U.S.' Clean Energy Future Cannot Depend On China's Rare EarthsLaura DiMugno, 1 June 2012 (North American Windpower) “The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has launched a major effort to ensure the U.S. has a reliable supply of rare-earth materials, which are used in a number of clean energy applications, including permanent magnet direct-drive wind turbines…[The Critical Materials Hub] will invest up to $120 million over five years to not only...

Read More

WHAT’S IN IT FOR UTILITIES

Utilities Can Reap Big Rewards From Sustainable Practices29 May 2012 (Renew Grid) “Good sustainability policies and practices, including energy efficiency and demand side management, could be worth billions of dollars to utility investors, according to [The Value of Sustainability] from Target Rock Advisors LLC…Comparative analysis of the 10-year total returns for the 49 utilities included in Target Rock's 2012 sustainability rankings and indexes,...

Read More