RECORD BUILD PUTS WIND AT 6% OF U.S. POWER

U.S. Wind Power Accounted for 6% of Generation Capacity in 2012

Louise Downing, January 18, 2013 (Bloomberg BusinessWeek)

“U.S. wind power accounted for 6 percent of the nation’s total electricity generation capacity after developers rushed to finish projects before expiration of a subsidy, Bloomberg New Energy Finance said...The threat that the U.S. Production Tax Credit would lapse on Dec. 31 prompted developers to complete as many projects as they could last month...

“…A record 13.2 gigawatts of turbines were installed last year including 5.5 gigawatts in December, the most ever for a single month. Total wind capacity is about 60 gigawatts… The credit has been extended for a year to cover wind farms that start construction in 2013. Previously it only covered projects that started working by the expiration date. Uncertainty about whether the credit would be extended meant developers and investors haven’t built up a backlog of projects for 2013.”

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“Asset financing for U.S. wind farms dropped to $4.3 billion in the second-half from $9.6 billion in the first six months of last year. This has hurt component makers such as Vestas (VWS) AS, Gamesa Corp Tecnologica SA (GAM) and Clipper Windpower Ltd., which is owned by Paltinum Equity LLC.

“Vestas declined as much as 41 percent in the past year and Gamesa by 39 percent. Equipment prices for wind have dropped by more than 21 percent since 2010, and the performance of turbines has risen. This has resulted in a 21 percent decrease in the overall cost of electricity from wind for a typical U.S. project since 2010…”

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DOE SUNSHOT SHOOTS AT SOLAR COSTS

Energy Department Announces $12 Million to Bring Cost-Competitive Solar Technologies from Lab to Market

January 16, 2013 (U.S. Department of Energy)

“As part of the Energy Department's SunShot Incubator Program...$12 million [will be available] to accelerate solar energy innovation that reduces manufacturing, installation, and permitting costs for American homes, businesses, and utilities. This new funding opportunity expands on previous Solar Incubator rounds to support both hardware efficiency and soft cost reduction goals, while helping companies transition lab-scale ideas to prototype phases or move early-scale projects to commercial launch.

“The Energy Department's SunShot Incubator Program helps launch startups and new business units…Since 2007, the program has helped launch more than 50 American small [solar] businesses, which have since attracted more than $1.7 billion in follow-on private sector investments…[and] created more than 750 jobs across the U.S. solar energy industry…In 2011, the Department broadened the scope of [the SunShot Incubator] program to include projects that address soft or non-hardware costs such as installation, permitting, interconnection, and inspection, which can amount to up to 40% of the total cost of solar installation…”

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“Divided into two areas—solar hardware and soft costs—this round of Incubator funding…[offers]…Up to $500,000 to help speed the transition of a proof-of-concept technology to the early-stage functional prototype stage…Up to $1 million to accelerate the transition of an early-stage functional prototype to a full-size prototype that could later be manufactured…Up to $4 million to develop efficient manufacturing processes and equipment to move technology from a full-size prototype to pilot-scale production…

“…[For] addressing soft cost reduction goals…Up to $500,000 to accelerate the transition of a proof-of-concept business plan or early stage solutions to early customer trials…[and] Up to $2 million to drive full commercialization of innovative technologies that reduce solar deployment soft costs…”

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NEW ENERGY CAN BE $1.9 TRIL BY 2018

The domestic clean energy economy needs national policies to innovate, manufacture, and compete

January 17, 2013 (The Pew Charitable Trusts)

“The global clean energy marketplace is expanding rapidly, but the competitive position of American industry is at risk because of increased competition abroad and uncertain policies at home…

“… Innovate, Manufacture, Compete: A Clean Energy Action Plan [from the Pew Charitable Trusts], states that revenue in the clean energy sector worldwide could total $1.9 trillion from 2012 to 2018. Yet…[p]rivate investment, manufacturing, and deployment of renewable power have been constrained because of the lack of a long-term, consistent energy policy…”

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“Clean energy markets are large and growing…[R]evenue associated with installation of wind, solar, and other renewable power is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 8 percent, rising from $200 billion in 2012 to $327 billion annually by 2018. In the United States, clean energy installations are projected to reach 126 GW, which would more than double non-hydroelectric generating capacity…

“Pragmatic federal clean energy policies…[should] Establish a clean energy standard to guide deployment and investment for the long term…Significantly increase investment in energy research and development…Enact a multiyear but time-limited extension of tax credits for clean energy sources…Level the playing field across the energy sector by evaluating barriers to competition…Renew incentives for domestic clean energy manufacturing…Create a strategy to expand markets for clean energy goods and services abroad…”

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WHAT PEOPLE THINK ABOUT THE SMART GRID

Smart Grid Consumer Survey; Attitudes and Opinions about Smart Meters, Home Energy Management, Demand Response, Time-of-Use Pricing, Smart Appliances, Prepayment, and Renewable Energy

1Q 2013 (Pike Research/Navigant)

“Smart grid rollouts are building momentum as utilities across the United States continue to invest in this new infrastructure in an effort to transform their power grids. Pike Research forecasts that there will be more than 53 million smart meters deployed in the United States by the end of 2013. However, even as utilities invest in these new technologies, they struggle to effectively communicate the benefits of smart grid applications and services to end users.”

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“One challenge is that various types of smart grid and smart energy home technologies have different levels of consumer awareness, and different levels of favorability and acceptance. Even as consumers state that they are concerned about their electricity usage, they are not always willing to adopt new products and services that can help them curb their electricity consumption. Awareness is also a challenge: nearly one-third of respondents to this survey were not familiar with smart grids, and one-quarter were not familiar with smart meters…”

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A BET ON THE PTC’S EXTENSION PAYS OFF

First Wind Gambles On PTC Extension - And Wins

Mark Del Franco, 15 January 2013 (North American Windpower)

“Faced with the prospect of being saddled with wind energy assets unable to be financed, many wind developers abruptly halted projects that could not be completed in time to qualify for the wind energy production tax credit (PTC), which was slated to expire at the end of last year.

“However, in looking over its portfolio, Boston-based developer First Wind realized that several of its projects were in the latter stages of development and were too important to merely be put on hold…[though in anticipating the extension that came December 31, it took a risk]…[When] the PTC was extended for one year…the developer's gamble paid off…First Wind expects to begin construction on 500 MW this year and plans to grow its portfolio by 50% in the future…”

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“…The PTC extension allows First Wind the time necessary to begin building projects, such as Oakfield, a 150 MW wind farm in Maine that the developer deemed too important to shelve…Maine’s Supreme Judicial Court recently upheld the building permit, thus allowing First Wind to begin construction on the project this year…[T]he company’s 48 MW Bowers Wind Project [in Maine]…was aided by the PTC extension…

“The PTC extension means First Wind’s two Maine wind farms will begin construction this year. In addition, the company could break ground on late-stage projects in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Utah and Hawaii by year-end…[But before] First Wind can begin further development, it must await guidance from the U.S. Treasury Department on what it means to begin construction - not that it will deter First Wind, which spent much of last year toiling behind the scenes…”

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OBAMA INAUGURAL BOOSTS NEW ENERGY

Obama Inaugural Re-Commits to the Fight for Greentech; “The path towards sustainable energy sources will be long and sometimes difficult. But America cannot resist this transition; we must lead it.”

Herman K. Trabish, January 21, 2013 (Greentech Media)

In a declaration of purpose that rang across the National Mall, President Barack H. Obama, in his second inaugural address, re-committed himself and his administration to the fight against climate change and for the transition to greentech:

"We, the people, still believe that our obligations as Americans are not just to ourselves, but to all posterity. We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations. Some may still deny the overwhelming judgment of science, but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires, and crippling drought, and more powerful storms.”

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“The path towards sustainable energy sources will be long and sometimes difficult. But America cannot resist this transition; we must lead it. We cannot cede to other nations the technology that will power new jobs and new industries – we must claim its promise.

“That is how we will maintain our economic vitality and our national treasure – our forests and waterways; our croplands and snowcapped peaks. That is how we will preserve our planet, commanded to our care by God. That’s what will lend meaning to the creed our fathers once declared."

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SCIENCE MEETS FAITH ON THE CLIMATE FIGHT FRONT LINES

At a Climate Protest, Science and Religion

Jada F. Smith, January 15, 2013 (NY Times)

“Science and religion went hand-in-hand…as leaders from both worlds gathered in front of the White House to protest what they cast as government inaction on climate change…With record-breaking global temperatures in 2012, severe droughts and several storms and hurricanes on the East Coast, some members of the American clergy are saying that human decisions that contribute to the extreme weather associated with climate change can no longer be left in the hands of politicians.

“Promoting an awareness of climate change and the role of humans as stewards of the earth has become a popular theme among progressive religious congregations. Even the climate skeptics in their ranks, some said, are starting to realize that something strange is going on…[At a] “pray-in” at New York Avenue Presbyterian Church and a subsequent march to the White House...[religious leaders] described environmental activism as an extension of the work [the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.] did to advance civil rights and economic justice…”

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“From the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans to a proposal to lay the proposed Keystone XL pipeline through some American Indian communities, some religious leaders have begun to see the issue of weather extremes, fossil fuel emissions and threats to habitats as a moral one…After prayers and religious readings from Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Buddhist, Hindu and Sikh leaders and a few American Indian chants…the victims of Hurricane Sandy were [remembered]…

“…[Leaders said the next step] is to bring even more groups into the fold…[King, one said,] ‘would say that we need to come together because this is our planet, and if we lose this, then all the other issues won’t matter.’…”

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