Solar Thermal Energy Review,solar panels,solar PV,photovoltaic cells,hydroelectric power,Going green

Organic Photovoltaics May Have Only Limited Potential In Solar Market

Wed, 20 Apr 2011 10:16:30 GMT

Commercial uses for organic photovoltaic (OPV) modules will almost certainly materialize over the next decade, driven by unique form factors and the potential for lower costs, according to a new report from Lux Research.

However, OPV's comparatively poor conversion efficiencies and short lifetimes mean that it will not compete with conventional solar technologies, limiting its market potential. Lux Research projects an OPV market that reaches $159 million in 2020.

The report estimates prospective growth for OPV modules, which use organic (carbon-containing) polymers or molecules to convert light to electricity. The report calculates adoption potential for OPV's two main technology categories - bulk heterojunction (BHJ) OPV devices and dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) - in five different market segments: building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV), developing world applications, defense, consumer electronics and signage.

“While part of OPV's appeal is the hope of low costs, we found it won’t beat crystalline silicon or inorganic thin film on cost per watt," says Alex Carter, a Lux Research associate and the report's lead author. "As a result, developers will focus on niche applications where OPV provides other capabilities like transparency and flexibility. There will be some success, but not the disruptive impact developers are proclaiming."

To estimate likely prospects for OPV through 2020, Lux Research calculated the total market size addressable by OPV in the five segments listed above. It then projected potential market share for both BHJ OPV and DSSCs.

OPV is expected to reach $159 million on the back of BIPV and defense. Lux Research projects an OPV market reaching 97 MW and $159 million in 2020. Here, defense signifies the largest market, with BIPV close behind. BHJ technology dominates early, but as flexible DSSC devices mature, these devices are expected to gain to capture 53% of the market in 2020.

BIPV provides niches for both BHJ and DSSC, Lux Research adds. The report examines three variations of BIPV: flexible membranes for roofing and shade structures (e.g., awnings) solar shingles for pitched roofing, and rigid windows and fade elements. BIPV overall will grow to 27 MW of demand and a $44 million market, with around two-thirds of that based on flexible membranes and most of the balance from windows and facades. BHJ takes 47% of the market here in megawatts, but only 39% in revenues.

Defense applications are driven by portable power for soldiers. The ease of integrating OPV into certain flexible structures and the ability to pattern it could help set it apart for some applications, such as integration into tents and even uniforms, and allow it to gain some market share, the report says. In defense applications, OPV will expand to 34 MW in 2020, pulling in $64 million in revenues - split 60:40 between DSSC and BHJ.

SOURCE: Lux Research

As Japan's Plight Unfolds, Solar Sector Sees Boost Amid Nuclear Concerns

Fri, 18 Mar 2011 14:26:45 GMT

The March 11 earthquake and subsequent tsunami that struck Japan and damaged multiple nuclear reactors - leading to a potential nuclear catastrophe - has re-emphasized the risks posed by nuclear energy. This skittishness is translating into stronger expectations for solar energy and other forms of renewable energy this year and over the long term.

"There is no silver lining in this horrific situation," writes Charles Annis, vice president of manufacturing research at DisplaySearch, in a recent blog post. "But Japan’s disaster may become an important point in the debate on the true cost of various electricity-generating technologies. It may help swing the pendulum further away from nuclear and more towards solar and other renewables."

Indeed, the situation has led to immediate performance gains for solar stocks. Adam Bergman, director of cleantech investment banking at Deutsche Bank Securities, tells Solar Industry that German solar stocks have fared particularly well in the wake of the disaster.

"My expectation is that there will be more scrutiny on nuclear power plants in the U.S. and Europe, construction of new plants will likely be placed on hold, and current plants - especially in Germany - will be closed on their current schedule rather than [having their facility life extended]," Bergman says.

Even China, whose reliance on nuclear energy was seen as necessary for the country to continue to meet its sizeable growth needs, suspended approval of 28 planned nuclear plants on Wednesday, according to a New York Times report. The announcement followed Chinese Premier Wen Jiabo's conversation with top-level advisors regarding Japan's ongoing nuclear emergency.

Bergman predicts that despite any short-term pause, China will nevertheless forge ahead with nuclear power plans over the long term. Due to the inherent limitations of coal, natural gas and renewables, nuclear remains the only viable solution for China's long-term energy needs, he says.

Other national governments with funds previously slated for nuclear plants could reallocate that money for solar power plant development. This shift would create incremental global demand for solar this year, according to a research noted posted by Jesse Pichel, Min Xu, Elaine Kwei and Constance Wang of Jefferies & Co.

Meanwhile, the PV industry is also assessing possible solar supply-chain risks stemming from disaster damage and production stoppages at Japanese factories that provide PV materials, especially solar silicon.

Among Japan's three largest polysilicon producers - Tokuyama, Mitsubishi and M. Setek - only M. Setek, owned by AUO, has sustained major disaster damage, according to Annis' post. The company has suspended production at its factory, which is located in hard-hit Soma Fukushima.

Annis points out that the "entire Japanese economy will be limping along for a while, which may cause some minor shipment and short-term pricing issues for PV components." Global supply-chain impact, however, is expected to be limited, as Japan accounts for less than 10% of total polysilicon, wafer and cell production capacity.

San Jose, Calif.-based module manufacturer SunPower echoed this assessment in a recent announcement, noting that less than 10% of its polysilicon is sourced from Japanese suppliers. The company added that although some of its supply-chain partners are experiencing production disruptions, none has sustained major facility damage, and alternate sources of polysilicon are available to replace any lost supply.

Overall, Japan-based firms such as Kyocera, Sanyo and Mitsubishi dominate the country's PV market, and foreign companies have little economic exposure, according to Jefferies' research note.

"Japanese solar companies' market share outside of Japan is greater than Western/Chinese companies' market share in Japan," the note explains. "Thus, we believe Western/Chinese solar companies such as Yingli can grow share at the expense of Japanese players affected by the disaster."

One Sun Completes 750 kW PV Installation In California

Wed, 23 Feb 2011 11:31:10 GMT

One Sun Inc., a Graton, Calif.-based solar provider, has completed the installation of a 750 kW solar PV system for the County of Sonoma, Calif.'s Juvenile Justice Center.

Over 3,200 roof- and ground-mounted solar modules were installed over a surface area of 56,000 square feet on and bordering both detention and court facilities. The system's output will provide approximately 40% of the campus' total electricity needs and save the county approximately $3 million over the life of the system, according to the company.

The project was financed in part by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

How 'American' Are Your Solar Panels?

Tue, 15 Feb 2011 09:38:04 GMT

by Jessica Lillian on Thursday 10 February 2011

The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) loan-guarantee program - part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) - has had an undeniably positive effect on solar project deployment and equipment manufacturing in the U.S. However, ARRA qualification requirements have often been a source of confusion for developers and manufacturers.

Over the past couple of years, many solar equipment providers have set up shop in the U.S. in order to comply with the ARRA's Section 1605 Buy American provisions, which impose certain domestic-content requirements on projects backed by ARRA funding. "ARRA-compliant!" quickly became a golden term in product marketing.

Of course, under many PV cell and module manufacturers' current labor models, cell fabrication and module assembly may not take place under the same roof - or even within the same country.

U.S.-assembled modules may contain cells manufactured abroad, and U.S.-manufactured cells may be integrated into modules produced elsewhere. Which types of modules are eligible under the ARRA's rules? What about balance-of-system components?

These distinctions are the subject of a decision issued last week by the DOE's Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) office. The ruling extended a waiver - originally issued Sept. 30, 2010 - that excludes certain types of solar equipment from Buy American rules until Aug. 6, 2011.

The EERE's decision means that both U.S.-manufactured modules containing foreign-manufactured cells and their opposite - foreign-manufactured modules comprising U.S.-manufactured cells - remain exempt. The ruling also waives so-called ancillary items and equipment, including charge controllers, combiner boxes, wiring and racking equipment, and other items (except inverters and batteries) used in solar installations.

"The Assistant Secretary has determined that application of Section 1605 restrictions would be inconsistent with the public interest for incidental and/or ancillary solar photovoltaic equipment, when this equipment is utilized in solar installations containing domestically manufactured PV cells or modules," the EERE writes in its memorandum of decision.

"What the DOE has tried to do is live within the spirit of the law, while also allowing companies to make the best market-based determinations they can," Salo Zelermyer, an associate in the Environmental Strategies Group at law firm Bracewell & Giuliani, tells Solar Industry.

The memorandum explains that complications inherent to multi-site, multi-country PV module manufacturing can make it difficult to determine where "final manufacturing" - for the purposes of ARRA compliance - takes place.

Consequently, the EERE says it teamed with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to conduct "extensive research" into the nature of solar manufacturing to explore three possible rulings: requiring only domestic module assembly, mandating that both cells and modules be made in the U.S., or allowing either cell manufacture or module assembly to count for compliance.

The third option - the agency's chosen ruling - "recognizes EERE's determination that the manufacturing process for cells and the final PV module production represent distinct and significant stages in the solar PV manufacturing chain," the memorandum says. "Conducting either of these discrete activities in the United States creates roughly equal numbers of American jobs."

Not surprisingly, Suniva, a Norcross, Ga.-based monocrystalline solar cell manufacturer, immediately spoke out in support of the EERE's interpretation of "American" modules.

"This is an important step by the Department of Energy to support American companies manufacturing the part of the solar supply chain that contains the highest value and most intellectual property - the cells," said Bryan Ashley, Suniva's chief marketing officer, in a statement.

The company, which received a $15 million working capital loan guarantee from the Export-Import Bank Of The United States last November, exports approximately 90% of its annual production to countries in Asia and Europe, according to a 2010 press release.

Zelermyer says that the solar market as a whole - not just Suniva and other firms with an explicit stake in the EERE's ruling - can expect to benefit from the waiver's extension.

"This frees up project developers to source their projects according to a more market-based decision, while maintaining the spirit of the provision: supporting U.S.-backed manufacturing," he explains. "Ideally, when you don't place constraints on the market, the industry is free to source its components in the most cost-effective manner."

Zelermyer, who has previously served as counsel to the DOE, says we may or may not see another extension of the waiver when it reaches its Aug. 6 expiration. He predicts that the agency will base its decision on the progress made by existing stimulus-funded projects.

"Most stimulus awards have already been given out, but some larger projects take longer to put into place," he notes. "Depending on how companies are proceeding with their procurements, we may see another waiver, or the DOE may determine it's not necessary."

Marines in Afghanistan Find That Solar Panels Save Soldiers' Lives

Thu, 20 Jan 2011 17:48:33 GMT

Marines With ExFOB Marines and sailors of India Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment pose with their Afghan national army counterparts in front of a solar power generator at Patrol Base Sparks, in Sangin District, Afghanistan. Photo by Gunnery Sgt. William Price/USMC

A battalion of Marines in Afghanistan is going green, using solar panels to reduce their energy consumption and thereby reduce the things they carry — and even save lives.

The Marines and sailors of 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment arrived last October at Forward Operating Base Jackson, outside Sangin, Afghanistan, with an array of solar equipment. The battalion’s generators typically use more than 20 gallons of fuel a day, but the Marines have cut that to 2.5 gallons a day, according to Staff Sgt. David Doty, who maintains the gear.

Saving generator fuel can cut down on the number of convoys the Marines must make to fueling stations, and therefore lessen the chances of becoming a target. The 3/5, based at Camp Pendleton, Calif., lost more than a dozen Marines right after deployment last fall, including nine men killed by IEDs over a four-day period in October.

“A refueling vehicle becomes a screaming [easy] target,” said 1st Lt. Daric Kleppe, commander of 1st Platoon, India Company.

The solar array is called an Experimental Forward Operating Base, ExFOB, and involves several different solar panels for a variety of uses, according to a news report by the Marines. The Solar Portable Alternative Communication Energy System, or “SPACES,” is a small, portable solar panel that can be used to power small items like a radio. There's also a PowerShade, a large solar tarp that fits over a Marine’s tent to power his lighting system, and the Ground Renewable Expeditionary Energy System, or “GREENS,” which can power four computers at a time, enough for a whole platoon’s command center. The ZeroBase Regenerator, seen in the above photo, is a six-paneled array that funnels energy into a single battery, powering more than 20 lighting systems and 15 computers throughout the night.

The setup has plenty of obvious benefits — for instance, during long patrols in Helmand province, the Marines can use their solar tarps to recharge their radio batteries, leaving more room to pack ammunition.

Sangin, located in southwestern Afghanistan, is one of the country’s most violent districts, with a strong presence from the Taliban and opium traders. American armed forces replaced British troops in the region in September.

U.S. Solar Project Integrators Now Rank Among World's Largest

Wed, 12 Jan 2011 12:39:04 GMT

U.S. PV system integrators are quickly becoming among the most active in the world in terms of number of installations performed, according to the latest analysis from IMS Research. In its report, the company revealed that three large-scale system providers from the U.S. appeared among the ten largest integrators in 2010 for the first time.

The number of system integrators in the U.S. is quickly increasing. Of the 400 most active system integrators identified by IMS Research, nearly 30% of them are headquartered in the U.S., even though the country accounts for less than 10% of installations completed worldwide.

2010 saw high demand for utility-scale systems, which grew the fastest of all system types, increasing by over 150% from 2009. Sunpower, First Solar and SunEdison, all U.S.-based providers of these systems, were able to capitalize on this surging demand and cement places in the list of the largest integrators.

"2010 was an incredible year for utility-scale PV, and a record capacity from such systems was installed worldwide during the year," comments analyst Sam Wilkinson. "Several very large plants were completed during the year, such as First Solar's Sarnia project in Canada and SunEdison’s Rovigo plant in Italy.

"These plants have set new standards for the size of PV systems," Wilkinson adds. "They have also enabled these suppliers to become some of the largest integrators in the world."

In 2009, the rankings were dominated by German companies, and the largest integrator was Q-Cells. Although a number of U.S. suppliers have emerged amongst the leaders in 2010, preliminary results from IMS Research's next quarterly report show that a number of German companies, such as juwi, still performed well, the company says.

SOURCE: PV Market Research

Today's photovoltaic market.

Thu, 30 Dec 2010 11:17:45 GMT

The push to design green has turned the photovoltaic market into a $4 billion global industry that grows an average of 20% to 25% a year. Richard King, team leader for photovoltaics research and development for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), says the U.S. photovoltaic industry currently generates about 120MW a year, but by 2020, the nation could produce a few gigawatts. By bringing down the cost of the technology, the photovoltaic market could follow its current growth pattern and double every two to three years. To fuel growth in the industry, the DOE launched its Million Solar Roofs Initiative to install solar energy systems on 1 million U.S. buildings by 2010.

“Photovoltaics could eventually become 10% of the new electricity generation going up in the country,” King says. “Since 1980 we've created an industry, and now it's up and running. The more electricity we can get from clean technologies, the better off we are.”

The photovoltaic market has also experienced a fundamental shift from a “mom-and-pop” business to a multi-billion dollar global industry. Large corporations are now trying to become more competitive by establishing “green teams” to look for ways to eliminate waste, conserve energy, and build energy-efficient buildings.

Several factors are driving the commercialization of photovoltaics — state rebates and incentives, the current cost of conventional electricity in large cities like New York City and Los Angeles, environmental building guidelines, concern over climate change, and net metering. About 36 states currently have net metering laws, which allow a consumer to run the electrical meter backward if the energy production exceeds the energy consumption.

SEIA Applauds Senate Approval Of Cash-Grant Program Extension

Tue, 21 Dec 2010 12:23:53 GMT

Dec. 16th, 2010

By a vote of 81-19, the U.S. Senate has approved the tax package that includes a one-year extension of the Department of Treasury's Section 1603 program. Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) President and CEO Rhone Resch praised the Senate for its decision.

"With bipartisan leadership from Sens. Cantwell, Feinstein, Ensign and LeMieux, the Senate made clear today that it is serious about protecting American jobs," Resch said in a statement. "Since its passage, the 1603 program has successfully created jobs and opportunity in all 50 states for construction workers, electricians, plumbers and contractors that have struggled during this difficult economic climate."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., who has criticized some components of the bill, noted that he considers the extension of the Section 1603 program crucial.

"I am so pleased to have added an essential energy tax cut provision that could create more than 2,500 clean energy jobs across the state - an important step to ensuring Nevada leads the nation in renewable energy," Reid said in a statement.

The legislation will now be considered by the House, which is expected to bring the bill to the floor later this week, the New York Times reports.

SOURCES: SEIA, Office of Sen. Harry Reid, New York Times

Renewable Distributed Energy Generation Market Predicted To Triple

Tue, 07 Dec 2010 12:46:48 GMT

The global electric power industry is evolving from a financial and engineering model that relies on large centralized power plants owned by the utilities to one that is more diverse in both sources of generation and ownership of the generation assets, according to a new report from Pike Research.

Renewable distributed energy generation (RDEG), which includes both distributed solar photovoltaics and small wind power, is an emerging mode of operations that is a growing alternative to the traditional centralized power generation infrastructure. According to Pike Research, the RDEG market will experience strong growth over the next several years, with total system revenues increasing from $50.8 billion in 2009 to $154.7 billion by 2015.

During this period, the cleantech market intelligence firm forecasts that annual RDEG capacity additions will increase from 5.9 GW in 2009 to 15.1 GW in 2015.

"The economics of sub-utility-scale renewable energy continue to improve at a rapid pace," says senior analyst Peter Asmus. "This downward price curve is fueling demand for distributed solar PV and small wind systems as an alternative to centralized power generation. But the transition to a more distributed system is no small matter, and it requires the evolution of policies, technologies and business models."

Although RDEG currently represents a very small part of the global electric power generation capacity - just 0.2% - it has the potential to play a much larger role in the future, Asmus says. Europe and the U.S. are the largest markets for RDEG today, but China and India are huge potential markets.

Pike Research anticipates that Europe will continue to be the largest market for RDEG during the 2010-2015 forecast period, but China will see the largest market growth as the cost of renewable energy approaches that of conventional energy.

SOURCE: Pike Research

500 MW Solar Power Plant Underway in Nevada

Thu, 18 Nov 2010 18:00:30 GMT

It’s been a huge month for solar in the western U.S., and now the approval of another utility-scale solar project in Nevada makes it even bigger.

The newest member of the mega-solar team is the Amargosa Farm Solar Project, slated for construction on public land in Nevada. Because of this public land status, builder Solar Millennium had to jump through hoops to insure that the solar farm was environmentally friendly, or in the words of the various supervisory agencies – the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Park Service – that it has a “net neutral benefit” on the regional ecosphere.

This ecosphere is found nearby at the Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge and Devils Hole, in Death Valley National Park, and the benefit is insured, one supposes, by a public review process followed by both a draft environmental impact review (DEIR) and a final, more comprehensive environmental impact statement (EIR) published Oct. 15.

The BLM was the lead agency on the project, making sure that such national treasures as the Devils Hole pupfish and the 26 other species of plants and animals in Ash Meadows – including two other endangered fish species – were adequately protected.

To this end, BLM worked with Solar Millennium to reduce the project footprint from 7,630 acres to 6,320 acres. Not a huge reduction, but one aimed at preserving vital habitat for the above-named endangered fishes. This meant an ultimate impact area of about 4,350 acres, which – added to a water mitigation plan essential to desert ecospheres (and one that can serve as a model to future desert solar development) – means the Amargosa farm, its natural color palette and its night-lighting measures sit gently on the land.

Approval means that Solar Millennium is now eligible for approximately $1 billion in Investment Tax credits through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA, or the stimulus), and can also apply for project financing through the U.S. Department of Energy’s Title 17 Loan Guarantee Program.

The Amargosa project itself consists of two segments of 250 megawatts each of dry-cooled parabolic troughs which focus intense sunlight on a central collector, or shaft, running midway along and outside of the trough. Located about 80 miles northwest of Las Vegas, the concentrating solar power (CSP) technology will add up to 4.5 hours of thermal storage (likely molten salt) and will begin construction at the end of 2011.

Solar Millenium hopes to sell the power to regional utility Nevada Energy under a power purchase agreement, or PPA, and negotiations are ongoing, as is construction of the One Nevada transmission project linking the northern and southern Nevada power grids.

Green lights for big solar projects on fed lands

Wed, 06 Oct 2010 10:28:25 GMT

msnbc.com staff and news service reports

updated 10/5/2010 3:19:06 PM ET

After five years of negotiations and battles, some of them environmental, two large solar power projects on Tuesday got the first-ever green lights to set up shop on federal lands.

"These projects are milestones in our focused effort to rapidly and responsibly capture renewable energy resources on public lands," Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said in a statement announcing the approvals in desert areas of Southern California.

One includes a square mile of solar panels near Victorville in inland Southern California, and the other covers about 10 square miles in the remote Imperial Valley, east of San Diego.

The announcement comes about five years after solar developers began asking the U.S. Bureau of Land Management for rights to develop hundreds of solar plants on federally owned desert land across the Southwest.

Expected to cost around $2 billion, the largest of the two projects will use 28,360 solar collectors known as SunCatchers to produce enough electricity to power more than 200,000 homes.

The approvals give the project sponsors access to almost 6,800 acres of public lands for 30 years.

Construction is expected to start on both by the end of the year, and Interior said the projects should generate almost 1,000 jobs.

"There are 11 million acres of public lands in the California Desert, and a large majority of those lands are managed for conservation purposes," Salazar said. "These projects, while a significant commitment of public land, actually represent less than one-hundredth of one percent of that total area. Given the many benefits, the extensive mitigation measures, and the fair market value economic return, approval of these projects is clearly in the public interest."

The two approvals are:

The Imperial Valley Solar Project, by Tessera Solar of Arizona and based in Imperial County, Calif., is expected to produce up to 709 megawatts from 28,360 solar dishes, enough to power at least 200,000 homes.
The Chevron Lucerne Valley Solar Project will use photovoltaic solar technology in San Bernardino County, Calif., and will produce up to 45 megawatts from 40,500 solar panels, enough to power at least 13,000 homes.

Interior said both are part of a "fast track" process that provides significant funding via the federal stimulus program if construction begins by the end of 2010.

"The Recovery Act’s payment for specified energy property in lieu of tax credit program makes Tessera and Chevron eligible for approximately $273 million and $31 million, respectively," Interior stated.

Environmentalists weigh in
Interior said California and federal agencies had "set up a joint compensation fund operated by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to ensure that impacts are mitigated."

Some environmentalists criticized the projects, especially the larger one, because of potential impact on habitats for bighorn sheep and a rare lizard.

"It's a classic example of a good project in the wrong place," Ileene Anderson, a biologist with the Center for Biological Diversity, earlier told the San Diego Union-Tribune. "We clearly need to get on renewable energy and get off of fossil fuels ... but we don't have to destroy species."

But the Natural Resources Defense Council and Defenders of Wildlife said they supported the projects because of advice they offered that had been incorporated into the projects.

"During the federal and state reviews Tessera Solar moved the project out of sensitive desert washes, scaling it back to 709-megawatts, to reduce important impacts," NRDC attorney Johanna Wald said in a statement Tuesday. "Tessera Solar then sat down with NRDC and our conservation partners and agreed to develop the project in two distinct stages and other measures, all of which went above and beyond the requirements imposed by state and federal regulators."

Tuesday's approvals came shortly after California regulators passed rules requiring utilities to derive a third of their electricity from renewable sources by 2020, the most aggressive standards in the U.S.

The Bureau of Land Management opened federally owned lands in 2005 to solar development, but an examination of records and interviews of officials by The Associated Press showed the program operated a first-come, first-served leasing system that quickly overwhelmed its small staff and enabled companies, regardless of solar industry experience, to squat on land without any real plans to develop it.

To expedite environmental review and bureaucratic red tape, Interior identified 14 of the most promising solar projects among the more than 180 current permit applications.

The newly approved permit for sites in California were the first in a series Salazar expected to issue before the end of the year. Final approval by 2011 qualifies projects for federal stimulus funds under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

"When I became secretary of the interior .... dozens of permit applications had languished," Salazar said. "There was no process for transforming ideas on paper to projects on the ground."

Currently, solar developers have proposed facilities that would produce more than 6,000 megawatts, enough to power 4 million homes for a day at peak usage. The projects are proposed for about 23 million acres of federally owned desert in the Southwest.

Land use and renewable energy experts said the BLM's initial mismanagement created a solar "land rush" that spurred lawsuits by environmental groups concerned about endangered species and rare plants.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said the state is on track to approve nine large solar plants by year's end.

"Our great partnership is helping to improve public health, grow our green economy, promote energy independence and strengthen our national security," the governor said in a statement.

Satcon Equinox Delivers Best-In-Class Efficiency and the Industry's Widest Thermal Operating Range

Tue, 28 Sep 2010 10:19:20 GMT

Satcon will introduce its next generation utility ready solar PV inverter solution, Satcon Equinox, at Solar Power International. With its unparalleled system wide intelligence, Edge MPPT performance optimization and industrial-grade engineering, Satcon's Equinox solutions deliver a best in class efficiency of 98.5% and offer the highest levels of system wide performance, uptime and reliability.

Building upon Satcon's industry leading PowerGate inverter family, the world's most widely deployed large scale solutions, Equinox improves system wide energy harvest and solar plant yield, enabling the large scale solar industry's lowest Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE). Equinox's advanced utility ready features enable remote control of real and reactive power, ride through and power factor control. The solution provides for simplified grid interconnection and can be easily integrated into SCADA systems through standardized communication interfaces.

take a look at more solar options at American National Solar

Department of Energy Announces $20 Million to Boost Development of Innovative Geothermal Technologies

Sun, 19 Sep 2010 09:07:08 GMT

U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced $20 million to research, develop, and demonstrate cutting-edge geothermal technologies that could reduce U.S. demand for fossil fuels, significantly cut carbon pollution, and create new jobs in geothermal manufacturing and operations. Geothermal energy uses the earth's heat to generate consistent, low-cost renewable energy resources with a small environmental footprint. These seven projects will demonstrate the technical and economic feasibility of non-conventional geothermal energy technologies in three research areas: low temperature fluids, geothermal fluids recovered from oil and gas wells, and highly pressurized geothermal fluids. This funding will help demonstrate and commercialize innovative technologies to lower the high initial costs of geothermal development and help make the operational deployment of low temperature geothermal units more economical.

"These innovative projects have the potential to expand the use of geothermal energy to more areas around the country," said Secretary Chu. "The development of these technologies will allow us to tap into additional renewable energy resources, reduce carbon pollution and create new jobs."

Low temperature resources are widely available across the country and offer an opportunity to significantly expand the national geothermal portfolio. However, most low temperature geothermal resources are not hot enough to be harnessed through traditional geothermal processes, including dry steam or flash steam power plants, which typically use water at temperatures greater than 360°F (182°C). The projects announced today aim to take advantage of geothermal fluids that won't "flash" on their own for electricity generation, but could be used in binary-cycle power plants. In binary cycle technologies, the water from the geothermal reservoir is used to heat another "working fluid," which is vaporized and used to turn the turbine or generator units.

Geothermal coproduction with oil and gas wells also has significant potential to produce electricity for field use or to be sold to the electrical grid. In the United States, an average of 10 barrels of water is produced with every barrel of oil. Historically, this coproduced hot water has been treated as a waste product. Using the water to generate power, however, provides a significant, clean source of energy that can extend the economic life of oil and gas fields.

Highly pressurized or geopressured fluid geothermal production is a type of geothermal resource that occurs in deep basins where fluid and gas occur naturally under very high pressure. These geothermal reservoirs often contain dissolved natural gas that may not be economical to produce alone, but can be economically developed in combination with geothermal energy production. Geopressured reservoirs are located along the Pacific coast, in Appalachia, beneath the Gulf of Mexico, and in other deep sedimentary basins in the United States, so these projects will diversify and expand the country's potential to develop renewable geothermal energy.

The following projects have been selected for award:

Low Temperature Geothermal Fluids

Energent Corporation – Dixie Valley, Nevada - $1,200,000
Energent will demonstrate the innovative features of a geothermal power plant using a scale-resistant heat exchanger design that will allow increased use of low temperature resources. The power plant has the potential to increase power production from the brine flow (the volume of hydrocarbon and water per segment of time that come out of the wellhead) by 40 percent over current technology.

GreenFire Energy – Springerville, Arizona - $2,000,000
GreenFire Energy will provide field evaluations of a low temperature carbon dioxide-based geothermal electric power generation plant. In Phase I, it will set up and initiate seismic monitoring at an existing CO₂ production field, and collect and evaluate existing data. In Phase II, it will test several energy recovery techniques in existing shallow wells and the performance of CO₂ as a working fluid.

Modoc Contracting Company – Canby, Modoc County, California - $2,000,000
Modoc proposes to create a complete "cascaded" use of a geothermal resource (from low temperature power generation through several direct-use applications including a direct heating system, greenhouse operation and fish farm) that will demonstrate energy-efficient use of the geothermal fluids. The company will procure, install and commission an engineered, scalable and duplicable generator unit to use the waste heat from an existing geothermal plant. The "cascading" application will have significant implications for the nearly 1,500 potential low to moderate temperature well sites located within towns and medium-sized cities in the western United States.

Oski Energy, LLC – Susanville, Lassen County, California - $2,000,000
Oski Energy will test an innovative power cycle technology that uses a mixture of ammonia and water as the working fluid. It will deploy novel system design techniques that will allow optimized, real-time, self-tuning of the power cycle process that will compensate for variations in the geothermal production fluid and flow rate, as well as changes in ambient temperature that adversely affect power generation.

Geothermal Fluids Produced from Oil and Gas Wells

ElectraTherm, Inc. – Florida Canyon Mine, Nevada- $982,000
ElectraTherm seeks to demonstrate the financial and technical viability of producing electricity from heat coproduced in geothermal brine. ElectraTherm's innovative mobile heat-to-power generator output capacity is expected to be in the 30-70 kilowatt range. The project will result in the optimization of a low-cost, modular, mobile power plant that can be employed on small resources in remote locations.

Highly Pressurized or Geopressured Fluid

Louisiana Geothermal – Cameron Parish, Louisiana- $5,000,000
Louisiana Geothermal seeks to demonstrate that electricity can be produced economically from geopressured resources by validating the significant geopressured geothermal resource base in southern Louisiana and the northern Gulf of Mexico basin. The creation and operation of a power generation facility will supply valuable costing and engineering data for future geothermal projects.

NRG Energy Inc. – Princeton, New Jersey- $5,000,000
NRG Energy will evaluate and characterize a target geothermal reservoir for development of a power plant. NRG seeks to demonstrate and identify viable energy production from geopressured geothermal resources with the potential for cost-effective recovery of heat, kinetic energy, and natural gas.

US solar market to grow tenfold by 2014, forecast Solarbuzz report

Sun, 25 Jul 2010 08:45:06 GMT

Despite a challenging domestic economic environment, the US solar market grew 36% in 2009, according to theUnited States PV Market 2010 from Solarbuzz®, part of the NPD Group. This growth was, however, not nearly as strong as the region’s 62% growth in 2008. On a global scale, the country was ranked the third largest solar photovoltaic market, behind Germany and Italy.

“2009 marked a year of transformation for the US solar market,” noted Craig Stevens, President of Solarbuzz. “Changes in the roles of utility companies, new market entrants, lower cost PV modules from Asia and new direct-to-market approaches became more prevalent. As a result, solar companies doing business in the States will need to adapt quickly to these challenges while also being responsive to frequent adjustments in the fragmented incentive and regulatory environment.”

The Golden State Steals the Sunshine
California continues to play a critical lead as the base load state market for the US. The state accounted for 53% of US PV on-grid installations, and is expected to maintain its strong position in 2010. Despite a slowdown in demand from the corporate sector across the U.S., government, residential and utility growth more than offset this effect. Price cuts in residential installations provided the foundation for steady growth across the country. A wide range of start-up markets in other states are well underway as new PV incentives were launched.

US Government Policies Progress
While there are utility barriers to be resolved, including regulatory restrictions on the use of Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), the central policy thrust over the past 12 months remains positive. Sixteen states and Washington D.C. have enacted a Renewable Portfolio Standard with solar or DG set-asides to promote PV. Fulfillment of solar set-aside obligations drove around 30% of total on-grid PV installations in 2009.

The large number of state policy initiatives has created a fragmented regulations and incentive environment. Regardless, states are doing their job of stimulating local markets. The dispersed funding sources mean the U.S. market does not does not carry the same level of risk compared to countries driven by a single national policy. Nonetheless, Federal incentives are playing a much larger role in stimulating demand over the next two years.

SunPower Leads in US Installations
The systems division of SunPower was the leading company in terms of PV installed for the year. In California, Chevron Energy and SPG Solar performed strongly in 2009 and moved up to the #2 position. Among residential installers in California, REC Solar, SolarCity and Real Goods Solar led the field.

US Market Forecast to Grow to 4.5-5.5 GW by 2014
Within the next five years, Solarbuzz forecasts the market will grow to between 4.5-5.5 GW depending on the scenario. This is around ten times the size of the 2009 market, an average annual growth rate of 30% per annum. The key drivers of this outcome will be much more aggressive positioning in the utility segment based on the need to meet their Renewable Portfolio Standard obligations, the development of new state markets together with the return of the corporate segment and steady growth in residential demand stimulated by cuts in end-market pricing. The US order book for photovoltaic systems currently stands at 12 GW. This represents the total of solar set-aside RPS’, projections of demand from multi-year funded incentive programs, stimulus funded projects and other large utility identified projects.

Figure 1: US PV Order Book (2010-2014)

Source: Solarbuzz

The 2010 Solarbuzz regional reports (Asia and Pacific Major PV Markets 2010, Europe PV Markets 2010 and United States PV Market 2010) are now available—bringing clarity to this complex sales and market environment. Featuring more than 300 pages for each region, they focus on the key downstream sales and marketing agenda—helping to resolve market challenges and identifying future sales opportunities. Report content addresses market segmentation, detailed reviews of PV incentive policies, PV project listings by segment (government, corporate and utility customers), downstream channel structure and volumes, financiers and PPA providers and terms, regional economics, downstream company activity and installed PV system pricing—concluding with a focus on the future, via five-year market forecasts, together with identification of short-term project-by-project order books.

It Would Be Nice to Have Solar Panels Right About Now

Wed, 02 Jun 2010 09:40:31 GMT

I was on the phone with a friend who lives in Phoenix, Arizona last night. He mentioned how the weather had really been heating up and how meteorologists were predicting triple digit temperatures this weekend. I was sweating my face off this past Monday where I live and it was only in the 80s. Anything above 100-degrees is a tough pill to swallow. I’ve been to Arizona enough to understand this kind of heat. He then made a joke about buying solar panels online and setting them up on his apartment’s roof so he wouldn’t have to start leaking money out the window, literally while his air conditioner blasted refrigerated air into the rooms.

He does have a point. All new buildings in Arizona should require solar panels. This is one of the hottest portions of the country with sunshine 355 days out of the year. Solar thermal energy would help a lot of people save money on bills. Imagine how quick a new apartment building would fill up if solar panels on the roof ate up a collective portion of all the residents’ power bills.

Solar Panels are Where Its At

Wed, 02 Jun 2010 09:37:34 GMT

Several weeks ago we noticed that it appeared as though our neighbors down the street were having solar panels added to their home and I couldn’t help but find myself a little curious about them. For a while, I’d been doing a little research online about the benefits of having solar panels and the benefits were outstanding. I loved the fact that it could slash our electric bill to almost nothing, and if that wasn’t enough, the fact that we can power our home simply by harnessing the sun via the solar panels is amazing to me.

I decided that I’d go talk to the neighbors and see what their ideas were on the solar panels and after talking to them and realize they’d done even more in depth work than I had, I knew it was something would be great for our household. My husband and I have now begun the process of deciding where solar panels will be the most beneficial and then we’ll go from there. I’m excited about these new changes in our life that will not only save us money, but will also help the environment.

Looking at Going Green with New Hybrid Car

Sun, 30 May 2010 13:48:16 GMT

My wife and I are currently in the market to buy a new car, and this time we are looking at going green by shopping online and around town for some newer and greener hybrid and electric ‘going green’ cars. I have been actually quite shocked at how many car companies these days are going green, because there are actually, as I have been realizing during my online shopping, tons of great cars that emit nearly zero emissions and that are very effective tools at combating global warming. So if you ask me, I am going to really keep trying my best at going green to stave off the effects of green house gases. This time around, it will be by getting new car. There are so many ways that we can all do our part to fight the effects of the earth heating up. For my wife and I, however, the next big leap forwards will be with getting a very green and pretty smooth riding, feature loaded car for a grand deal—all thanks to the ease of online shopping and price comparison.

Who Wouldn't Want Free Electricity?

Sun, 30 May 2010 07:53:18 GMT

I don’t know about you, but if someone offered me free electricity, I’d be the first person in line to take advantage of the offer. Have you noticed how much the price of electricity has risen in the past couple of years? My husband and I were talking about it the other day and also talking about how it would be great to have free electricity. After having the conversation with my husband I mentioned it to one of my neighbors who informed me that he and his wife had actually been doing research online about that very thing. He said that they’d found that by installing solar panels, that they could feed the home with electricity virtually providing free electricity. He said they were still doing research, but that it looked like it was definitely the way to go to save money for the long term, plus it was great for the environment. After that conversation with my neighbor, I suggested to my husband that we really start doing some research and possibly turn this dream of having free electricity into a reality.

Going Green by Clicking Buy

Thu, 27 May 2010 07:21:02 GMT

Many aspects in how I live support the going green movement. There are the fluorescent light bulbs in the majority of our apartment light sockets, the low flush toilet, keeping the patio screen door open instead of running the air conditioner, skateboarding instead of driving and shopping online instead of adding to traffic in the city. The funny thing is that each one of these going green methods also saves me money. I am all for saving the environment but am quicker to act when it affects the bottom line.

Clicking buy for one of the millions of products sold online saves me money at the pump, from a time perspective and on the product. It is a triple win. The trick is buying online before you need it right away. There is always going to be shipping time avoided locally but if the savings is high enough then I don’t mind waiting. In that respect my mindset is always to buy earlier then later to save in the long run. I can also say that with every web retailer purchase I’m lowering my daily carbon footprint. That is something any environmentalist would commend.

Going Green in Arizona with Solar Makes a Lot of Sense

Tue, 25 May 2010 13:18:19 GMT

We've been using solar cooking as a way to help the environment. Going green has been very important to us for a long time and since we discovered solar cooking, we've been cooking almost all our food outdoors ever since. It's th least expensive and easiest way for us take advantage of Arizona's abundant sunshine. Here, of all places, is the perfect way for people use solar panels or solar cookers to make going green so much easier.

The sun shines abundantly here and with an intensity unmatched in few other places in the world. Since the humidity is so dry, we seldom have any haze or humidity to obscure the deep blue skies we have almost every day. More families in Arizona are discovering how they can take advantage of our sun, whether it's for solar cooking or charging batteries for their cell phones. Scientists estimate that over 4.25 trillion barrels of oil falls on the US each day in the form of sunshine, and people in Arizona are in a great position to use it. I know we sure do.