SUN TO HIT $134BIL BY 2020

Solar PV Market Forecasts; Installed Capacity, System Prices, and Revenue for Distributed and Non-Distributed Solar PV

3Q 2013 (Navigant Research)

"…Following years of solar PV module oversupply and unsustainable, often artificially low pricing, 2013 is expected to be the year that the global solar PV market begins to stabilize. Market activity is shifting from Europe to Asia Pacific and, potentially, the United States…There is also considerable opportunity in…Chile, South Africa, and Saudi Arabia…By the end of the decade, solar PV is expected to be cost competitive with retail electricity prices without subsidies in a significant portion of the world. Navigant Research forecasts that annual revenue from solar PV installations will surpass $134 billion by 2020…” click here for more

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WORLD RENEWABLES TO RISE

World energy use to rise by 56 percent, driven by growth in the developing world

July 25, 2013 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)

“Over the next three decades, world energy consumption is projected to increase by 56 percent… largely in the developing world, where growth is driven by strong, long-term economic growth. Half of the total world increase in energy consumption is attributed to China and India…Although petroleum and other liquids remain the largest source of energy, the liquid fuels share of world marketed energy consumption falls from 34 percent in 2010 to 28 percent in 2040. Renewable energy and nuclear power are the world's fastest-growing energy sources, each increasing by 2.5 percent per year…Natural gas is the fastest growing fossil fuel…[growing] by 1.7 percent per year…” click here for more

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VIRGINIA LOOKS OFFSHORE FOR WIND

112,800 acres off Virginia coast to be auctioned for wind energy

Tamara Dietrich, July 23, 2013 (Hampton Roads Daily Press)

“Nearly 112,800 acres off the coast of Virginia are set to be auctioned in September for wind energy development — the second such competitive lease sale in the country, the federal government announced…The move was praised by federal and state officials and environmental groups for its potential to create jobs, strengthen the country's energy security and competitiveness and develop large-scale clean energy projects…Eight companies are prequalified to bid, including Dominion Virginia Power, which is both the largest power company in the state and the largest participant in the auction…” click here for more

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JERSEY STOPS OFFSHORE WIND ON COST

New Jersey BPU rejects offshore wind project

Chris Mondics, July 21, 2013 (Philadelphia Inquirer)

“New Jersey utility regulators dealt a setback…to [the proposed Fishermen's Energy Atlantic City wind farm] off the beaches of Atlantic City, saying they were not satisfied that the project's economic benefits would outweigh the added cost of wind energy…The Board of Public Utilities voted unanimously to accept a staff finding that the [25 megawatt] project's costs would not be offset by environmental benefits along with added jobs and investment in the region…” click here for more

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COLORADO XCEL RE-EVALUATES NET METERING ON COST

Colorado's Xcel Energy Signals For Change Of Direction On Net Metering

25 July 2013 (Solar Industry)

“…In filing its 2014 Renewable Energy Standard (RES) compliance plan with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), Xcel Energy says it intends to add 42.5 MW of new generation in 2014, including 24 MW of on-site (“small”) solar and 6.5 MW of community solar through the company’s Solar*Rewards program…The RES compliance plan also asks the CPUC to identify clearly the incentives provided to solar customers associated with [Net Energy Metering (NEM)]. The utility says NEM incentives ultimately are paid by non-solar customers across Xcel Energy’s service territory in Colorado…[and] the utility is requesting that the solar customers’ net costs - the benefits they receive less the costs Xcel Energy avoids as a result of their solar systems - be clearly spelled out…” click here for more

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PIPELINE BUILDER REJECTS KEYSTONE DEAL ON COST

TransCanada Rebuffs EPA’s Call for Keystone Clean Energy

Jim Snyder & Jim Efstathiou Jr., July 18, 2013 (Bloomberg News)

“The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says TransCanada Corp. (TRP) should be required to buy renewable power to run pumps along the route of its proposed Keystone XL pipeline, a measure the company said is unworkable and unnecessary…The EPA, in an April filing with the State Department, also said the U.S. should work with Canada to promote technology to capture and store underground the carbon-dioxide emissions generated in the production of Canadian oil….The State Department is reviewing the $5.3 billion project because it crosses an international border. TransCanada first applied for a permit for the project in 2008…” click here for more

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REAGAN’S SEC-STATE TALKS ENERGY AND CLIMATE

A Republican Secretary of State Urges Action on Climate Change

David Biello, July 24, 2013 (Scientific American via Yahoo News)

“…[George Shultz, Secretary of State under President Ronald Reagan and key negotiator for the Montreal Protocol, one of the most effective global climate treaties ever:] “…In the energy area, we have to be constantly aware of three big objectives. Number one: we have to think of energy as a strategic commodity that is very important to our national security. Number two: we have to recognize that energy is the engine of the economy, so we want inexpensive, reliable, consistent energy. And number three: we have to recognize that energy produces pollutants as it burns, so it affects our environment. It affects the air we breathe; it affects the climate we create. So we have these three issues to keep in mind all the time, and you can't just do one or the other, but you've got to work on them all…” click here for more

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