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#Post#: 1259--------------------------------------------------
Re: Photvoltaics (PV)
By: AGelbert Date: May 31, 2014, 1:31 pm
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Rapid Solar Growth Offers Hope In Fight Against Climate Change
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Rhone Resch
May 30, 2014
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#Post#: 1263--------------------------------------------------
All the forces in the world are not as powerful as an idea whose
time has come
By: AGelbert Date: June 1, 2014, 1:53 pm
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Middle-Class Americans Leading The Solar Rooftop Revolution
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According to recent Center for American Progress (CAP) studies,
middle-class America is buying into the solar market. This is
great news — rooftop solar isn’t just for mansions and
millionaires anymore; it is accessible to suburban households
across the country. How will the power industry and legislators
react to this power being in the hands of the people?
Last year, CAP found that in Arizona, California, and New Jersey
– the three largest solar markets in the United States – the
majority of solar panels being installed are in areas with
median incomes ranging from $40,000 to $90,000. And this year,
CAP found that emerging solar markets in Maryland,
Massachusetts, and New York are following similar patterns. More
than 80% of installations in New York and nearly 70% of
installations in Massachusetts occur in areas with incomes
ranging from $40,000 to $90,000. Interestingly, just 45% of
Maryland’s rooftop solar installations occurred in middle-class
neighborhoods — a lower percentage than New York and
Massachusetts, but still a significant percentage.
While the studies didn’t look at the reason behind the trend, it
can be assumed that it has to do with the cost benefits of going
solar.
HTML http://www.pic4ever.com/images/128fs318181.gifNet<br
/>metering and other solar policies allow households to save mon
ey
while doing something good for the environment. And saving $600
or even thousands of dollars in electricity costs a year means a
lot to middle-class families.
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But utilities and fossil fuel companies don’t want to give up
their power, so to speak, to the people. They argue that net
metering unfairly advantages people who produce their own
electricity through solar.
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They don’t pay to
maintain transmission lines, substations, and computer systems
that make up the grid, although they rely on them for backup.
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This “unfairness”
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/>has prompted the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)
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— a
conservative organization funded by big oil — to draft model
legislation targeted to undercut net metering benefits, as well
as states’ renewable energy standards. ALEC hasn’t had much
success yet, but many are looking at Ohio right now and the
possible decision by the state House to gut Ohio’s renewable
energy standards in response to ALEC’s lobbying.
The power industry’s actions only serve to highlight how
powerful solar is becoming in the United States. An energy
revolution has begun that threatens the wealthy, old
establishments. And with more and more families installing
rooftop systems, legislators may hopefully become less
interested in turning their back on the voting public and
gutting renewable energy benefits.
As Victor Hugo said, [font=times new roman]“All the forces in
the world are not as powerful as an idea whose time has
come.”[/font] [img width=140
height=080]
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HTML http://cleantechnica.com/2014/05/31/middle-class-americans-leading-solar-rooftop-revolution/
#Post#: 1340--------------------------------------------------
Re: Photvoltaics (PV)
By: AGelbert Date: June 10, 2014, 8:08 pm
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Pakistan Breaks Ground On One of the World’s Largest Solar Parks
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06/09/2014 03:07 PM
SustainableBusiness.com News
Last month, Pakistan began construction on its first major solar
park, starting out with one of the largest solar PV projects in
the world.
Until now, this land of sun hasn't produced even a kilowatt of
solar energy. :(
Being built in phases, the first 100 megawatts starts generating
this year and by 2016, the 400,000-panel project will produce 1
gigawatt (GW) of electricity. Then it will become even larger,
eventually covering 15,000 acres and pumping out 1.5 GW. ;D
Smaller solar projects are also being built around Quaid-e-Azam
Solar Park, with a road and transmission structure that make it
convenient.
Islamabad-based Safe Solar Power, for example, is building a 10
MW project, and about 20 companies are planning projects from
10-50 MW, reports The Express Tribune.
To support solar development, Pakistan is also inaugurating a
feed-in tariff for solar PV. Rates vary based on geography, but
they are around $0.20 per kilowatt hour, reduced to $0.083
after 10 years. It is limited to PV plants between 1-100 MW.
Solar Pakistan
What is now a barren, parched desert will gleam with solar
panels, spurring the economy with it. "You will see a river of
panels, residential buildings and offices - it will be a new
world," site engineer Muhammad Sajid told The Express Tribune.
No longer will people have to "sweat and curse" their way
through the summer, says The Express Tribune, beleaguered by
chronic energy shortages (half the people don't have
electricity) and regular outages. Says Prime Minister Sharif,
scarcity of reliable electric power "has pushed the country
backwards and its entire industry and agriculture sector have
suffered immensely."
HTML http://www.freesmileys.org/emoticons/emoticon-anime-034.gifPeople<br
/>are already migrating away, finds a study in Nature Climate
Change. Pakistan's climate is increasingly inhospitable between
heat stress and atypical torrential floods - and is considered
one of the most vulnerable to climate change impacts because its
environment has been so degraded. :P :(
Just 2-5% of forest cover remains and with 166 square miles
cleared each year, it has the highest deforestation rate in
Asia, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.
Incredibly, the country has only a one month supply of water in
reserve, which makes growing food increasingly challenging.
Then there's the other side of the equation. In another part of
the desert, a $1.6 billion coal plant is being built and two
others have been approved, 660 MW and 600 MW.
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#Post#: 1403--------------------------------------------------
Re: Photvoltaics (PV)
By: AGelbert Date: June 17, 2014, 12:44 am
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Texas, Land of Wind, Could Soon Also Be Land of Solar [img
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06/16/2014 01:19 PM
SustainableBusiness.com News
Texas, land of wind, could soon also be the land of solar, as
the state embarks on its first utility-scale solar farms - at
prices that compete with conventional energy.
Recurrent Energy, the solar developer arm of Sharp Corp., won
the contract to build a 150 megawatt (MW) solar farm from the
state's leading utility on renewable energy, Austin Energy. It
comes online in 2016, and the utility is buying all its energy
under a 20-year power purchase agreement.
"Solar power has reached a price that is competitive in the
ERCOT market, allowing us to further diversify our energy
portfolio with renewable resources," says Larry Weis, General
Manager of Austin Energy.
"The Texas market represents one of the most exciting
opportunities for the solar industry," says Arno Harris, CEO of
Recurrent Energy. "The industry's growing scale and decreasing
costs are enabling us to successfully compete against
conventional energy in deregulated markets like ERCOT.
Earlier this year, Austin Energy signed a contract for what
could be the lowest price for solar electricity ever, just under
$0.05 per kilowatt hour (kWh), locked in for 25 years - without
any local or state subsidies. The electricity comes from two
solar farms also going up in West Texas, a 150 MW and 50 MW
plant built by Sun Edison.
The price is less than a third of what Austin Energy paid in
2009 for solar, and beats natural gas ($0.07), coal ($0.10) and
nuclear ($0.13)! ;D
The utility's goal is the highest in the US - 35% of electricity
from renewables by 2020- and it's almost there, six years early,
demonstrating that it's not that hard to meet aggressive
renewable energy targets. It's also been getting incredibly
cheap deals for wind energy.
Recurrent says it has over 500 MW of operating solar projects in
North America and 2 gigawatts under development.
400 MW Project Moves Ahead
Meanwhile, the first phase of a 400 MW project is online in San
Antonio. Rather than being built as one, massive project, South
Korea's OCI Solar Power consists of four separate solar plants -
the first phase is the 41 MW Alamo I solar farm.
When the entire project is finished, Texas will be one of the
top solar producing states.
Alamo 1: (picture at link)
Solar OCI Alamo 1
"By 2020, 65% of our community's electricity will come from
resources that are low- or no-carbon emitting ;D - reducing
emissions in an amount that's equal to removing more than a
million cars from local roads," says CEO Doyle Beneby of San
Antonio's municipal utility, CPS Energy.
The project represents one of the most creative agreements for
bringing solar to a state. Negotiated by San Antonio's Mayor
Julian Castro, he convinced the utility to tie clean power
purchase agreements to economic investments in the city. As a
result, OCI Solar Power moved its headquarters there and opened
a $100 million manufacturing facility that makes the components
for all its North American projects, creating 800 permanent jobs
and $700 million in an annual economic impact for Texas.
Castro led an impressive turnaround at CPS Energy, turning it
away from "bullheaded reliance on a fleet of enormous nuclear
and coal-fired power plants built decades ago," to instead
following a "New Energy Economy" plan. Now it's aiming to get
20% of its power from renewables by 2020, and is on track to
beat that goal.
Also in Texas
San Antonio's leadership on renewable energy is bringing other
rewards - the city is attracting talented individuals that work
in the space and companies like Microsoft that want renewables
to run their data centers.
Microsoft announced a 3-year partnership with the University of
Texas to "transform how data centers consume energy." Noting
that CPS Energy "is the largest publicly owned purchaser of wind
power in the country," the team will evaluate using
micro-turbines instead of diesel generators during times of peak
demand and grid outages.
The company is also donating $1 million to the university's
Texas Sustainable Energy Research Institute.
Last year, Microsoft made its biggest purchase of renewable
energy, 100% of the energy from the 110 MW Keechi Wind Farm in
Texas, to power its data center there. The money came from
Microsoft's internal carbon fee.
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#Post#: 1411--------------------------------------------------
Re: Photvoltaics (PV)
By: AGelbert Date: June 18, 2014, 1:02 pm
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Texas Utility Doubles Large-Scale Solar, Says It Will Be
Coal-Free By 2016 [img width=30
height=30]
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By Kiley Kroh on June 17, 2014 at 12:53 pm
"Texas Utility Doubles Large-Scale Solar, Says It Will Be
Coal-Free By 2016"
Thanks to new investments in natural gas and utility-scale solar
energy, El Paso Electric, a Texas utility with nearly 400,000
customers, announced on Monday that its electricity mix will be
free from coal by 2016.
Thanks to successive investments in large solar projects, EPE
has doubled its utility-scale solar portfolio in less than one
year. “Our west Texas and southern New Mexico region has the
right kind of sun for optimal solar energy production, making
this region the ‘goldilocks’ in terms of climate, humidity and
heat characteristics that allow us to expand our renewable
portfolio with cost-effective technologies and reliable energy
resources,” said Tom Shockley, Chief Executive Officer at El
Paso Electric, said in a statement.
The utility signed a 20-year power purchase agreement with the
massive Macho Springs solar plant in New Mexico, a 50 megawatt
(MW) facility with the capacity to power more than 18,000 homes.
According to the agreement, signed last year, EPE would buy
solar power from Macho Springs for 5.79 cents a kilowatt-hour —
less than half the 12.8 cents per kilowatt-hour average price
for electricity from new coal plants, according to Bloomberg.
In February, EPE signed a 30-year power purchase agreement with
Newman Solar to build a 10 MW solar facility in El Paso that is
expected to come online by the end of 2014 and power an
additional 3,800 homes.
Deciding “it is in the best interest of its 395,000 customers,”
EPE plans to sell off its seven percent stake in the Four
Corners coal plant, located on Navajo Nation land near
Farmington, New Mexico. The plant came in at number 15 on
Environment America’s list of the nation’s top 100 dirtiest
power plants, emitting 13.8 million tons of carbon dioxide
emissions per year.
Of course, a significant portion of EPE’s electricity is derived
from natural gas and the utility came under fire last year for
its proposal to build a new natural gas power plant in a
low-income neighborhood. The company agreed not to expand beyond
the four planned units and will establish a fund for residents
to improve the energy efficiency of their homes.
“While we wish the plant was not in our neighborhood, we are
very pleased with the settlement agreement, particularly EPE’s
agreement not to build additional turbines and possibly install
solar panels at the plant,” Ralph Carrasco, the citizens group’s
executive director, said in a statement.
El Paso Energy’s announcement that it is “well-positioned” for
the Environmental Protection Agency’s new regulations aimed at
cutting the carbon pollution from the nation’s existing fossil
fuel-fired power plants came on the same day Texas governor Rick
Perry
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joined eight
other Republican governors
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saying the rule
will cost millions of jobs and slow economic growth.
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HTML http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TzWpwHzCvCI/T_sBEnhCCpI/AAAAAAAAME8/IsLpuU8HYxc/s1600/nooo-way-smiley.gifSuch<br
/>claims, trumpeted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, among other
s,
have been widely debunked.
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Texas is the top carbon emitter in the country and, as the Texas
Tribune points out, “Texas officials and politicians have long
refused to regulate greenhouse gases.” However, the regulations
will have a less dramatic effect on Texas than on other states
that rely more heavily on coal, particularly considering the
state already has a diverse electricity mix. “In 2013, natural
gas (41 percent) outpaced coal (37 percent) in powering the
electric grid covering most of the state,” the Tribune reported,
citing the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. “Meanwhile,
the state’s wind sector (10 percent) is booming, thanks in large
part to multibillion-dollar investments in infrastructure under
Perry, while shifting economics has increased interest in Texas’
long-untapped solar power potential.”
HTML http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/06/17/3449604/texas-utility-solar/
Agelbert NOTE: See George Orwell 1984 to understand the
statements by the Republican Governor WHINER FOSSIL FUELERS.
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/> [img width=40
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#Post#: 1468--------------------------------------------------
Re: Photvoltaics (PV)
By: AGelbert Date: June 29, 2014, 2:38 pm
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Legislation to End Fossil Fuel Tax Breaks Introduced by Sen.
Sanders, Rep. Ellison
Friday, November 22, 2013
WASHINGTON, Nov. 21 – As House and Senate budget negotiators
look for ways to lower deficits,
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.)
today introduced legislation to eliminate tax loopholes and
subsidies that support the oil, gas and coal industries.
The End Polluter Welfare Act of 2013 would remove tax breaks,
close loopholes, end taxpayer-funded fossil fuel research and
prevent companies from escaping liability for spills or
deducting cleanup costs. Under current law, these subsidies are
expected to cost taxpayers more than $100 billion in the coming
decade.
The White House budget proposal for next year calls for
eliminating several of the same provisions that the legislation
by Sanders and Ellison would end.
“At a time when fossil fuel companies are racking up record
profits, it is time to end the absurdity of American taxpayers
providing massive subsidies to these hugely profitable fossil
fuel corporations,” Sanders said.
“The five biggest oil companies made $23 billion in the third
quarter of 2013 alone. They don’t need any more tax giveaways,”
Ellison said. “We should invest in the American people by
creating good jobs and ending cuts to food assistance instead of
throwing tens of billions of taxpayer dollars at one of the
biggest and most profitable industries in the world.”
The five most profitable oil companies (ExxonMobil, Shell,
Chevron, BP and ConocoPhilips) together made more than $1
trillion in profits over the past decade.
The Sanders and Ellison legislation is supported by
environmental groups including Friends of the Earth, Oil Change
International and 350.org.
The fiscal watchdog Taxpayers for Common Sense, which has worked
for nearly two decades to eliminate wasteful energy subsidies,
also supports the bills.
HTML http://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/legislation-to-end-fossil-fuel-tax-breaks-introduced-by-sen-sanders-rep-ellison
#Post#: 1645--------------------------------------------------
Re: Photvoltaics (PV)
By: AGelbert Date: August 1, 2014, 9:58 pm
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SunPower Planning New 700-MW Factory as Demand Swells
Ehren Goossens, Bloomberg
NEW YORK -- SunPower Corp., the second-largest U.S. solar
manufacturer, is planning a new factory that will expand
production capacity by more than 50 percent from current levels,
in an effort to increase market share.
SunPower’s Fab 5 may start production in 2017 and will
eventually be able to make at least 700 megawatts of solar
panels a year, more than double the size of a plant due to start
up next year, Chief Executive Officer Tom Werner said yesterday.
SunPower is seeking to increase its capacity as global demand
surges. Total industry shipments may increase as much as 29
percent to about 52 gigawatts this year, according to Bloomberg
New Energy Finance. SunPower expects to recognize sales of 1.2
gigawatts to 1.3 gigawatts of panels this year, and its
factories are running at full speed, Werner said.
“Our share has been in single digits for a while and demand for
the last 24 months suggests that we can expand share,” Werner
said in an interview. “Our five-year plan is to at least double
market share.”
Werner spends a “significant” amount of time talking to
manufacturing executives about how to coax more output from
factories that have reached capacity. “This is really the market
telling us they want more of the product.”
The company’s Fab 4 in the Philippines will begin production in
the first half of 2015, and will eventually have 350 megawatts
of capacity. SunPower hasn’t determined where to build Fab 5,
which Werner said will be at least twice that size. He wouldn’t
say how much the new facility may cost.
SunPower reported net income of $14.1 million for the second
quarter, or nine cents a share, compared with $19.6 million, or
15 cents a share, a year earlier, San Jose, California-based
SunPower said in a statement after the close of regular trading
yesterday. Revenue fell 12 percent to $507.9 million.
Including revenue recognized for some utility-scale power plants
and other one-time items, earnings of 28 cents beat the 26-cent
average of 14 analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
First Solar Inc. is the largest U.S. solar manufacturer.
Copyright 2014 Bloomberg
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#Post#: 1647--------------------------------------------------
Re: Photvoltaics (PV)
By: AGelbert Date: August 3, 2014, 12:09 pm
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Agelbert NOTE: Don't get Cognitve Dissonance Whiplash from the
next two stories: There's A WAR going on! You are getting the
Blow by Blow!
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Arizona Utility's Sneak Attack On Solar Leasing
SustainableBusiness.com News
Snippet:
Now they are asking regulators for permission to add a new form
of solar leasing to their services. They want to own and install
solar systems on customer rooftops - at no cost to the customer.
In exchange for the electricity, customers would get a monthly
$30 credit on their electric bill for 20 years.
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APS wants to install 20 megawatts of residential solar on about
3,000 homes next year. They would choose locations where peak
power is needed most and control power flows remotely.
HTML http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/25848
[b]Arizona Public Service Performs 180, Decides to Install
Rooftop Solar Dillon Holmes [/b]
HTML http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/blog/post/2014/08/aps-performs-180-decides-to-install-rooftop-solar
#Post#: 1673--------------------------------------------------
Re: Photvoltaics (PV)
By: AGelbert Date: August 8, 2014, 12:18 am
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China Installs Equivalent of Australia's Total Solar Capacity —
In Six Months ;D
In a big push to cut carbon and support industry, China added
more than 3 GW of solar in the first half of 2014.
Feifei Shen, Bloomberg
August 07, 2014
HTML http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2014/08/china-installs-equivalent-of-australias-total-solar-capacity-in-six-months
#Post#: 1676--------------------------------------------------
Re: Photvoltaics (PV)
By: AGelbert Date: August 8, 2014, 5:09 pm
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A First: Net-Zero Manufacturing ;D
SustainableBusiness.com News
This is the first time we've heard of a manufacturer running
completely on solar - 2.77 megawatts provides more than they
need.
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OPEX Corp., which makes automated mail handling and
package-picking equipment, occupies a 30-acre campus five miles
east of Philadelphia, in New Jersey. Their PV system is the
largest for a privately held company in the state.
---
by Jim McMahon
In New Jersey, a leading manufacturer of automated
material-handling equipment recently slashed its utility bills
84% thanks to a huge solar PV array - 2.77 megawatts (MW).
OPEX Corp. now produces more than 100% of the electricity
needed to operate its 250,000-square-foot manufacturing,
distribution and administrative complex in Moorestown, NJ. That
makes the facility net-zero for electricity.
It's the largest solar installation in New Jersey by a privately
held company.
Efficiency Measures
Before going solar, OPEX reduced internal loads. "We were
spending a lot of money on electricity, and were constantly
battling to reduce those costs," says Dave Andrews, OPEX
Facilities Manager.
"We had installed efficiency fluorescent lighting throughout
the manufacturing/ distribution areas and in our administrative
offices, and added motion-sensitive lighting in other areas. We
also installed a computer-based programmable system for our
rooftop HVAC units to run on a more efficient user-occupied
basis. These changes produced significant savings."
Late in 2009, CEO Dave Stevens began exploring solar as a next
cost-saving step. OPEX conducted a systematic cost-benefit
analysis, taking into account the company's long-term business
and sustainability goals.
"This was a logical next step for us," says Andrews. "As we
started learning about it, the potential began making good
financial sense. The incentives looked really attractive,
including a 30% rebate from the federal government." OPEX also
expected to benefit from solar renewable energy credits, then
worth $660 per megawatt-hour.
Optimizing Solar Energy Use
OPEX selected H2 Contracting of Marlton, NJ as a general
contractor. The traditional grid energy consumption for the
Moorestown complex was 2.6 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) per
year.
To cover all that, H2 designed a 2.77 MW solar installation
consisting of 8372, 250-watt Canadian Solar modules covering the
roofs of two buildings and two parking pavilions, along with a
three-acre solar field array, for a total projected annual
output of 2.77 kWh.
This was previously a softball field: (solar panel farm picture
at link)
Solar OPEX manufacturing
"The solar system installed at OPEX is not a typical design,"
says Mark Heenan, president and LEED-Accredited Professional
with H2. "Because we mounted the panels on multiple rooftops,
canopies and a field array, the 82,000 square feet of PV panels
are oriented in six different directions, and with various tilts
to better capitalize on available sunlight and space. We used
Satcon's Smart Combiner to optimize production." The array, on
RBI racking, sends power at 590 volts to four Satcon Solstice
500 inverters.
The grid-tied system, completed in April 2012, directly supports
the company's manufacturing and distribution operations and
administrative offices.
Embracing Sustainability
The company's parking pavilions now provide two EV charging
stations for employee use. All scrap materials and oils used in
manufacturing, and paper products from administrative offices,
are recycled. OPEX sank its own 175-foot well to irrigate eight
acres of open land on campus, replanted with native fescue grass
that requires little water. Rainwater runoff from the 22 acres
of roofing and parking areas is funneled to open ground to
percolate into the aquifer.
OPEX products - automated mail sorting and material-handling
products - are designed to be energy efficient and sustainable.
Its Mail Matrix sorter and perfect Pick warehouse picking system
rely on robot delivery vehicles, equipped with ultra-capacitors
to recapture energy during operation.
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++++
Jim McMahon writes on renewable energy and sustainability, with
feature stories appearing in hundreds of industrial and
technology publications throughout the world.
This article first appeared in Solar Today (March/April 2014),
the magazine of the American Solar Energy Society.
HTML http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/25852
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