Published Sept. 2, 2010

Arizona Public Service is assessing a project that could provide solar photovoltaic systems to five high-profile government and nonprofit organizations.

The utility company has issued a request for proposals for five solar electric systems with rated capacities of 10 to 30 kilowatts each.

Details of the proposals received will determine how many of the five sites will actually be outfitted with solar arrays. The sites are the city of Tempe's Beach Park, the Arizona Science Center, the Hopi Cultural Center, the Yuma Civic Center and the Surprise Library.

If chosen, the nonprofit groups or government-owned sites would receive all the energy produced by the site’s solar system. APS would receive the renewable energy credits, which would help the company meet the requirements of the Arizona Corporation Commission’s Renewable Energy Standard.

Funding for the installations is expected from two sources, the company said in a news release.

A majority will come from the Energy Office of the Arizona Department of Commerce’s Distributed Energy Leadership (Utilities) Program, which is funded with federal stimulus dollars from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The second funding source, pending the Corporation Commission's approval, is the APS Renewable Energy Incentive Program.

As part of the development process, installers must meet all reporting requirements of the Arizona Department of Commerce and all requirements related to the accounting and disbursement of federal Recovery Act funds.

Submissions are due by noon Sept. 27.

APS, headquartered in Phoenix, is Arizona's largest electricity utility, with more than 1.1 million customers in 11 of the state’s 15 counties.

Published Sept. 1, 2010

The California Public Utilities Commission and state business leaders have begun an effort to promote commercial buildings with "net zero" energy consumption and solar or other renewable electricity generation.

The state has adopted a 2010-2012 Zero Net Energy Action Plan designed to help California commercial building owners take advantage of the latest technologies and financial incentives to help reduce building energy use to a net of zero through greater efficiency and clean-energy production.

"This is an innovative action plan to transform the state's commercial buildings into clean- energy-powered, energy-efficient structures by 2030," said CPUC Commissioner Dian M. Grueneich in a news release. "Zero net energy isn't just a big, bold goal -- it's a reality today. By tapping into the innovation and entrepreneurialism that made California the largest builder of zero net energy buildings in the nation, this action plan will succeed."

Zero net energy buildings have no net energy consumption over a typical year. Solar, wind or other renewable energy resources generate the amount of energy used by the building. To date, California has more such buildings than any other state in the nation. Technologies needed to achieve zero net energy --  including high-performance lighting and distributed generation such as rooftop solar photovoltaic systems -- are widely available and incentives are offered for installing them.

Energy is one of the biggest expenses of building ownership, but is the cost over which owners have the most control. Moving toward zero net energy will help building owners better manage energy costs and become more energy-independent, the commission said, and at the same time help the state take a big bite out of overall energy consumption. Buildings consume more electricity than any other sector in California. About 5 billion square feet of commercial building space accounts for 38 percent of the state's power use and more than 25 percent of the state's consumption of natural gas.

The Zero Net Energy Action Plan was developed over 11 months and represents the work of more than 150 representatives from commercial construction, architecture, finance, clean energy, technology and various state agencies.

The action plan lays out a path to carry out California's Long-Term Energy Efficiency Strategic Plan for the commercial sector, published in 2008, which identified zero net energy as a key strategy for energy efficiency. The plan called that and other steps Big Bold Energy Efficient Strategies.

 Altogether, the measures are expected to save an estimated 2,056 megawatts, avoiding the need for four new 500-megawatt power plants. The action plan identifies specific actions, timelines and "champions" to achieve milestones in California's Energy Efficiency Strategic Plan.

Published Sept. 1, 2010

New Mexico utility regulators have approved a revised 2010 renewable energy procurement plan for Public Service Co. of New Mexico that includes 22 megawatts of utility-scale solar power.

The order by the Public Regulation Commission keeps in place a net metering program for solar owners that PNM had proposed replacing with a new incentive mechanism. It reduces from 13 cents to 12 cents per kilowatt-hour the payment PNM makes for renewable energy credits to owners of solar photovoltaic arrays with production capacities of less than 10 kilowatts. It then drops such payments by 1 cent per kilowatt-hour for each 0.45 megawatts of such small-scale solar capacity installed.

A 1-cent reduction for every 0.45 mw of added capacity in the utility's service area also applies to systems rated at more than 10 and up to 100 kilowatts, starting from 14 cents per kwh, down from the previous 15 cents.

The commission said its order was "motivated by the evidence showing that the existing REC payments of 13 cents for small PV and 15 cents for large PV may be higher than necessary."

For systems greater than 100 kw and up to 250 kw, the 1-cent reduction applies to increments of 0.56 megawatts of capacity. For systems greater than 250 kw and up to 1 megawatt, the decline will be 2 cents for every additional 1.25 megawatts of installed capacity.

A proposal by PNM to charge an access fee for net metering, which is part of a proposed set of rate increases the utility has filed in a separate proposal, was not acted upon.

"Because that rate case is in its early stages, the Commission will not make any final determination as to whether or the extent to which it should approve PNM’s proposed access fees," said the order issued this week. "Until the Commission makes that determination, it would be premature for the Commission to make any determination of the potential impact that access fee may have on the incentives of PNM to participate in the Small and Large PV programs, or whether the Commission should revise the REC payment amounts being approved in this Final Order."

The 22 megawatts of utility-scale solar power approved by the commission will involve various sites throughout New Mexico. Regulators capped the power plants' cost at $101.7 million, which works out to an average maximum cost of $4.62 per watt of generation capacity. Construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2011.

PNM plans to file for recovery of those costs through a rate rider that would be established one year after new utility rates, in the rate case now under consideration, are effective. Costs incurred by a New Mexico utility that are consistent with an approved renewable energy plan are deemed reasonable and recoverable in rates under state law.

"We are pleased that the commission recognized the significance of adding renewable energy to our existing generation resources," said Pat Vincent-Collawn, PNM Resources president and CEO, in a news release. "Our industry, along with regulators, needs to continue to look for ways to add renewable power while balancing the cost impact to consumers. This is the first step toward achieving that goal and meeting the state's requirement to diversify our energy resources."

The solar power approval modifies a hearing examiner's recommendation for rejection of PNM's renewable energy plan, which called for adding 80 megawatts of solar power, including 45 megawatts of utility-scale facilities.

Along with approving the smaller solar utility-scale plan, the commission also approved a plan to build a half-megawatt solar power and storage demonstration project that is partly funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. The solar-storage demonstration project combines distributed PV generation with battery storage.

Distributed generation refers to arrays installed near where the electricity is used, and that don't require new electricity lines, as opposed to new centralized power plants. The demonstration project is intended to create a system that would provide a dispatchable renewable resource – meaning electricity could be stored for delivery when and where it is needed.

New Mexico law requires PNM and other electric utilities to have 10 percent of the energy they generate come from renewable resources such as wind and solar by 2011.

Published Aug. 30, 2010

The use of batteries to store solar-generated electricity was pioneered by off-grid solar owners, but soon may be moving out of the woods and into the cities.

A partnership between the homebuilder KB Home and the China-based company BYD, which makes batteries, solar equipment and plug-in vehicles, heralds a future in which homeowners seamlessly incorporate solar power into their homes, cars and lives as a key energy source.

Utilities are also studying the use of large-scale battery systems and other energy storage technologies for collecting solar electricity and wind energy and dispensing it as needed.

Adoption of electric vehicles provides another means of storing solar energy and using it for transportation in a clean, efficient and economical way if goals to reduce battery costs are ultimately realized.   

President Obama recently highlighted the battery storage of solar power with a visit to ZBB Energy Corp., a small Wisconsin company with about 30 full-time employees that is working on large-format zinc-bromide batteries that the company says "effectively enable integration of renewable energy sources."

The company has received a $1.3 million Recovery Act loan guarantee to help it finance a $4.5 million factory renovation. ZBB Energy projects that at full production levels, the battery storage technology may cost slightly more than $100 per kilowatt-hour, about one-seventh the cost today, a development that could help revolutionize the use of renewable energy.

In remarks he delivered after touring the company's manufacturing plant, Mr. Obama mentioned that over the past 10 years, the number of people working in manufacturing jobs in the United States has declined by about one-third.

Although he did not specifically mention it, just since last fall, approximately 50 solar-related manufacturing companies have announced plans to open new plants or expand existing manufacturing operations in the United States.

"We’ve been jumpstarting a homegrown, clean-energy industry – building on the good work of your governor and others in this state. That’s why I’m here today. Because of the steps we’ve taken to strengthen the economy, ZBB received a loan that’s helping to fund an expansion of your operations," the president said. "Already, it’s allowed ZBB to retain nearly a dozen workers. And over time, the company expects to hire about 80 new workers. This is leading to new business for your suppliers, including MGS Plastics and other manufacturers here in Wisconsin.

"ZBB is also planning to take advantage of a special tax credit to build another factory in southeastern Wisconsin so we can create even more jobs and more opportunities. And Eric [Apfelbach, CEO] is confident that you can expand because you're seeing rising demand for advanced batteries. All of this is part of steps we’ve taken in clean energy – steps that have led to jobs manufacturing wind turbines and solar panels, building hybrid and electric vehicles, and modernizing our electric grid so that we have more sources of renewable energy and can also use it more effectively.

"We expect our commitment to clean energy to lead to more than 800,000 jobs by 2012," the president added. "That's not just creating work in the short term – that's going to help lay the foundation for lasting economic growth. I just want everybody to understand: a few years ago, American businesses could only make 2 percent of the world’s advanced batteries for hybrid and electric vehicles. Two percent. In just a few years, we’ll have up to 40 percent of the world’s capacity. Here at ZBB, you’re building batteries that store electricity from solar cells and wind turbines. And you’ve been able to export batteries around the globe, and that's helping to lead  this new industry. For years, we’ve heard about manufacturing jobs disappearing overseas. Well, companies like this one are showing us how manufacturers can come back right here in the United States of America, and right here in Wisconsin.

"Now, obviously, we've got a lot more work to do. The damage that was done by this recession was enormous. Eight million people lost their jobs; 750,000 lost jobs the month I was sworn in to office. Three million had lost their jobs by the time we took office, several more million those first few months of 2009. Too many of our family members, and our friends, and our neighbors are still having a tough time finding work. Some of them have been out of work a long time. And I’ve said before, and I'll say again: My administration will not rest until every American who is willing to work can find a job, and a job that pays decent wages and decent benefits to support a family.

"But what’s clear is that we are headed in the right direction. A year and a half ago, this economy was shrinking rapidly. The economy is now growing. A year and a half ago, we were losing jobs every month in the private sector. We've now added private-sector jobs for seven months in a row. And that means the worst mistake we could make is to go back to doing what we were doing that got us into the mess we were in. We can't turn back, we've got to keep going forward. We’ve got to keep going forward," the president said as the company's employees and guests applauded.

"There's going to be a big debate about where we go. There are folks in Washington right now who think we should abandon our efforts to support clean energy. They've made the political calculation that it's better to stand on the sidelines than work as a team to help American businesses and American workers. They said no to the small-business tax cuts I talked about, they said no to rebuilding infrastructure, and they said no to clean-energy projects. They even voted against getting rid of tax breaks for shipping jobs overseas so we can give those tax breaks to companies that are investing right here in Wisconsin.

"My answer to people who have been playing politics the past year and a half is that they should come to this plant. They should go to any of the dozen new battery factories, or the new electric vehicle manufacturers, the wind turbine makers, or the solar plants that are popping up all over this country. And they should have to explain why they think these clean-energy jobs are better off being made in Germany or China or Spain instead of right here in the United States. When folks lift up the hoods on the cars of the future, I want them to see engines stamped 'Made in America.' When new batteries to store solar power come off the lines, I want to see printed on the side, 'Made in America.' When new technologies are developed, when new industries are formed, I want them made right here in America," he said as the audience applauded loudly. "That's what we're fighting for. That’s what this is about. So ZBB, you're part of that process. You guys are the cutting edge. You're how we're going to strengthen this economy.

"These have been a couple of very hard years for America. We're not completely out of the woods yet. There are going to be some more tough days ahead," Mr. Obama said. "It would a mistake to pretend otherwise. But we are headed in the right direction. You're pointing us in the right direction. And I am confident about our future because of what I've seen at this plant, because of what I've seen when I've talked to workers, like all of you. What I've seen all across this country. And when the chips are down, it's always a mistake to bet against the American worker. It's a mistake to bet against American businesses. It's a mistake to bet against the American people … There is nothing we can't achieve when we set our minds to it."

PHOTO CREDIT: SOLAR HOME & BUSINESS JOURNAL
Power lines near the proposed site of the
Desert Sunlight Solar Farm in California.

Published Aug. 29, 2010

The federal Bureau of Land Management has issued a draft Environmental Impact Statement for one of the world's largest proposed solar photovoltaic installations, the 550-megawatt Desert Sunlight Solar Farm in Southern California.

Arizona-based First Solar Inc., which operates a manufacturing facility in Perrysburg, Ohio, as well as overseas plants, would build the solar power project off Interstate 10 about 75 miles east of Palm Springs.

The power plant would deploy thin-film photovoltaic modules, a technology type that is often used for large-scale commercial or industrial rooftop and ground arrays, although less commonly on residential roofs. Although several photovoltaic power plants of this magnitude have been proposed in the United States, none have yet been formally authorized. The largest existing solar PV plant in this country is the 25-megawatt DeSoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center in Florida.

The Desert Sunlight Solar Farm would be about 6 miles north of the dusty hamlet of Desert Center in the Colorado Desert, part of the larger multistate Sonoran Desert. The company is seeking a right-of-way authorization for 19,516 acres, although the project itself would occupy a footprint of about 4,245 acres of public land near existing high-voltage transmission lines.

The project would include a new substation and would tie into the electricity system there, not at the existing power lines where they pass by the site. A new 12.2-mile high-voltage line would be built, taking up 236 acres.

The draft Environmental Impact Statement, which is open for public comment for 90 days from Aug. 27, analyzes six possible project scenarios, two of which would involve amendments to an existing desert management document. The alternatives are:

• The proposed action;

• A modified proposed action with an alternative transmission line route and substation location;

• A modified proposed action with a reduced project footprint (3,045 acres) and reduced output (413 megawatts);

• No action with no plan amendment to the California Desert Conservation Area plan;

• No project approval with a plan amendment to the California Desert Conservation Area Plan to make the project area unsuitable for solar energy projects; and

• No project approval with a plan amendment to the California Desert Conservation Area plan to make the project area suitable for other solar energy projects.

The thick environmental study looks at the project's effects on air quality, biology, water, wilderness, geology, land use, noise, scenic views, the electricity transmission system, cultural resources and hazardous materials handling. The project site is about 2 miles from the nearest boundary of Joshua Tree National Park.

Environmental groups and others have opposed large utility-size solar power plants, and a committee of scientists advising the government has recommended that such plants be built on already disturbed lands in desert areas.

The Desert Sunlight Solar Farm would be established on a site not previously disturbed, at least not in recent years. Nearby, however, are two sets of power lines, two electrical substations, a large pumping station for the Colorado River Aqueduct, an abandoned town that once housed several thousand people and may be resurrected, and a giant former iron ore mine, now inactive. A landfill for Los Angeles-area trash has been proposed at the mine site.

The Colorado River Aqueduct, which supplies water to the Los Angeles metropolitan area, is within about a mile of the proposed solar farm in places.

The public is invited to comment on the draft Environmental Impact Statement through one of the following methods:

1) Website: http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/palmsprings.html,
2) Email: CAPSSolarFirstSolarDesertSunlight@blm.gov,
3) Fax:  (760) 833-7199, or
4) Mail: Allison Shaffer, Project Manager, Palm Springs South Coast Field Office, BLM, 1201  Bird Center Drive, Palm Springs, CA 92262. 

A presidential executive order signed by George W. Bush in May 2001 requires that agencies act expediently and in a manner consistent with applicable laws to increase the production and transmission of energy in a safe and environmentally sound manner in the United States.

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 requires the Interior Department (the Bureau of Land Management's parent agency) to approve at least 10,000 megawatts of non-hydropower renewable energy production capacity on public lands by 2015.

In addition, a secretarial order on renewable energy development by the Interior Department issued this year established the development of renewable energy as a priority for the department and created a Departmental Task Force on Energy and Climate Change. It also announced a policy goal of identifying and setting priorities for specific locations (study areas) best suited for large-scale production of solar energy.

You May Also Be Interested in Reading:

Science Report Advocates Using 'Disturbed Land' for Solar Plants

A Tale of Two Deserts: How Will Solar and Nature Coexist?

PHOTO CREDIT: SOLAR HOME & BUSINESS JOURNAL
The federal Bureau of Land Management
has issued a final environmental report
for a solar power project proposed in
California's Colorado Desert. Above, a
BLM sign off Interstate 10.

Published Aug. 27, 2010

The federal Bureau of Land Management has issued a final Environmental Impact Statement for a proposed 250-megawatt solar power complex off Interstate 10 in the Southern California desert.

The Genesis Solar Energy Project is one of about a dozen large solar plants proposed along the I-10 corridor, which stretches about 80 miles through a thinly populated, sun-baked region called the Colorado Desert between the heavily developed Coachella Valley and the city of Blythe near the Colorado River.

The solar power project, proposed by NextEra Energy Resources, would occupy about 1,800 acres about 4 miles north of I-10 and about 25 miles west of Blythe. It would use a concentrating solar thermal technology in which parabolic mirrors focus sunlight to heat fluid-filled pipes. The hot fluid boils water to produce steam, which is fed through turbine generators to create electricity.

This type of solar technology, unrelated to the photovoltaic panels seen on rooftops, has been used to generate solar electricity at other power plants in the California deserts since the mid-1980s. Many Sierra-bound travelers from Southern California have passed by a set of Solar Electric Generating Systems plants near Kramer Junction in the Mojave Desert and have seen the large fields of mirrors there. Next Era Energy owns that set of solar power plants.

The Genesis Solar project would be built on public land administered by the Bureau of Land Management. It would consist of two independent power plants with peak production capacities of 125 megawatts each.

Some forms of solar thermal technology may use significant amounts of water for cooling. The Genesis proposal called for wells to supply groundwater to the project for what is called "wet cooling," but the bureau's preferred alternative, contained in the final Environmental Impact Statement, replaces the wet-cooling approach with a direct dry-cooling option that would reduce water consumption by 85 percent.

The Genesis Solar Energy project must also be approved by the California Energy Commission. A siting committee of the commission has issued a proposed decision recommending approval of a license for the project, saying that its benefits would override its significant environmental impacts. The full commission has not yet voted on the recommendation.

The draft Environmental Impact Statement for the project has drawn criticism from the Center for Biological Diversity and a group called California Unions for Reliable Energy, among others. Comments have referred to the potential effects on a variety of rare or threatened plants and animals, as well as water concerns.

The Genesis project would require an amendment to a federal conservation plan for the California deserts, and a 30-day protest period has opened. The bureau also is accepting public comment on the plan for 30 days apart from the protest process.

A total of 14 solar power projects are now undergoing "fast track" review by federal and state authorities, intended to help them qualify for federal funding assistance under the Recovery Act. Nine of the proposed solar projects are in California, four in Nevada, and one in Arizona.

An executive order signed by President George W. Bush shortly after he took office in 2001, and still in effect, calls for an expedited process for approval of energy-related projects because "the increased production and transmission of energy in a safe and environmentally sound manner is essential to the well-being of the American people."

Although a raft of utility-scale solar power projects are now nearing final decisions by federal, state and local officials in California, the Bureau of Land Management has not yet approved any for construction on public land.

The California Energy Commission this week approved a 250-megawatt project in the Mojave Desert that is to be built on private land previously used for farming. It too is a NextEra Energy Resources project. That project, if built, would be the largest single-site solar energy complex in the world. However, a number of considerably larger plants are undergoing review or have been proposed in California.

Published Aug. 26, 2010

As California begins to lead the nation toward a new energy future, marked by a state board's approval this week of the aptly named 250-megawatt Beacon Solar Energy Project, Imperial County is quietly emerging as one of the state's solar hot spots.

A day after the full California Energy Commission approved the Beacon project in Kern County in the Mojave Desert, a commission siting committee's proposed decision has recommended approval of the giant 709-megawatt Imperial Valley Solar Project, planned for a site of about 6,500 acres about 100 miles east of San Diego near the Mexico border. The recommendation is not a final decision.

The federal Bureau of Land Management recently issued a final Environmental Impact Statement for the project, most of which would occupy public land that the bureau manages. If ultimately approved and built, it would be by far the largest solar power plant in the world, unless or until overtaken by others. A state Energy Commission siting committee has issued a proposed decision recommending approval of a project just under 1,000 mw near Blythe, in Riverside County.

Federal, state and local reviews and action on utility-scale solar power projects both large and relatively small have started to occur in rapid succession in California, in the state's vast deserts and in the flat farming regions of the Central Valley and Imperial County.

Also this week, the Imperial Irrigation District approved plans for a 20-megawatt solar photovoltaic power plant that until very recently would have drawn attention as a major installation.

And the Imperial County Planning Commission endorsed a proposed 50-megawatt solar PV farm that also would have to be approved by the irrigation district board. The companies planning that project list two other proposed 50-mw solar PV power plants in Imperial County on their website.

Also this week, San Diego Gas and Electric Co. announced an agreement to buy solar electricity from the planned Centinela Solar Energy plant, also in the Imperial Valley near Calexico. That photovoltaic plant would have a capacity of 175 mw.

The smaller projects are dwarfed in proposed generating capacity by the Imperial Valley Solar Project, which would use a technology called a solar Stirling engine to produce electricity.

In recommending a license for the project, the California Energy Commission siting committee noted that "even with mitigation measures, [it] will have significant environmental impacts to biological resources, cultural resources, land use, and visual resources. The project will also be inconsistent with a land use provision in the Imperial Valley General Plan. However, the benefits of the project would override those impacts."

In the past month the Energy Commission has issued proposed decisions recommending approval of solar projects totaling about 2,800 megawatts of peak production capacity in Southern California. If all projects were approved and built, that would be enough to supply all or most of the annual electricity needs of hundreds of thousands of California households or more than a million people, as well as creating thousands of construction jobs for years to come.

The state siting committee's proposed decisions are not final, and only the Beacon project thus far has been approved for a license by the full commission. The Imperial Valley Solar project is now open for 30 days of public comment to be considered before a full vote is taken. The entire proposed decision is available on the commission's website at www.energy.ca.gov/sitingcases/solartwo/documents/.

The Imperial Valley Solar Project, being developed by a company called Imperial Valley Solar, would deploy about 28,000 25-kilowatt solar dish Stirling systems, or "SunCatchers," consisting of mirrors that focus sunlight on a heat exchanger. A high-efficiency engine converts the solar thermal energy to rotary power, driving an electrical generator to produce electricity.

The 20-megawatt solar project approved by the Imperial Irrigation District, which is the third-largest public power provider in the state, would use photovoltaic panels like those installed on rooftops to generate electricity directly from sunlight. The largest existing solar PV installation in California is a 21-mw power plant near Blythe.

The irrigation district's board of directors approved agreements with the Imperial Valley Solar Company, a subsidiary of Palm Desert-based SunPeak Solar, to develop the project adjacent to the utility’s existing Niland Substation, 3 miles southeast of the Salton Sea. 

Expected to be in commercial operation by mid-2011, the project will provide enough energy during sunlight hours to serve the entire Niland area, ma­king it one of the nation’s first totally solar-powered communities, the irrigation district said in its news release.  

“This project makes use of the abundant sunshine in Imperial Valley to generate zero-emission renewable energy to create one of the nation’s first solar-powered communities,” said district General Manager Brian Brady. “By structuring a cost-effective agreement to acquire solar energy, we are also delivering on our promise of maintaining some of the lowest energy rates in Southern California.”  

The power purchase agreement gives the utility the option to purchase the solar photovoltaic plant in 2017. The district will receive a share of the tax credits and reduced energy prices from the developer for allowing the company to site the project adjacent to the utility's s existing natural-gas power plant in Niland.

Meanwhile, a company called 8minutenergy Renewables – its website says the name refers to the time it takes for light from the sun to reach Earth -- has proposed a 320-acre, 50-mw solar PV project called the Chocolate Mountains Solar Farm, near Niland and the Salton Sea.

The project would occupy already disturbed land, and would be developed with GA Solar, the firm's website says. If fully approved, it could begin generating power in late 2011 or early 2012. The companies are proposing two other 50-mw projects in Calipatria, south of Niland, that also would occupy previously disturbed land.

"As with all of 8minutenergy's solar PV power plants in Imperial Valley, Chocolate Mountains Solar Farm is expected to create more than one hundred construction jobs in addition to the permanent jobs required for operating the power plant," 8minutenergy says on its website. "PV power plants also attract ancillary businesses and service jobs.

"For each large-scale project, the Imperial Valley area can expect millions of dollars in total economic output each year, including monies paid by way of employee compensation.  During construction, the project will provide a multimillion-dollar, one-time benefit in total economic contribution."

The Imperial County Planning Commission unanimously approved the Chocolate Mountains Solar Farm plan, the Imperial Valley Press reported. The proposal also would have to win endorsement from the irrigation district board.

Published Aug. 26, 2010

The Connecticut Clean Energy Fund has announced the start of a new Operational Demonstration Program, which will make $4 million in loans available for clean-energy technologies.

The program will fund the installation, demonstration and testing of pre-commercial clean-energy technologies in Connecticut by providing loans of $150,000 to $500,000, the Clean Energy Fund's administrative group said in a news release.

New features of the program include semiannual application and funding cycles, a streamlined application process, a competitive judging process and an expanded list of eligible technologies.

Funding of $4 million has been budgeted for the program over the next two fiscal years, enabling it to support up to six new projects each year.

Eligible projects can be full systems, system components or manufacturing innovations in the following areas:

• Electricity generation using renewable energy sources or high-efficiency methods;
• Advanced energy efficiency and energy management for buildings and industrial processes;
• Hydrogen and biofuels production for stationary electricity generation. 

Eligible technologies must have been proven technically feasible in a laboratory or other experimental setting and must be operational in the field.

The program is designed to competitively select and fund projects with strong commercial promise and the potential to deliver significant benefits to Connecticut, including job creation, reduced energy costs and environmental benefits, the news release said. 

Under the new program, prospective applicants are directed to a pre-qualification survey, which poses a series of questions to screen for basic eligibility. Following this first step in the application process, eligible applicants will be invited to submit a detailed application that will be evaluated by staff members of the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund and then judged by a panel of industry experts. Winning applicants will be recommended to the Clean Energy Fund's board for final funding approval.

Lise Dondy, president of the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund, said, “Programs such as the Operational Demonstration Program are critical to accelerate the growth of the clean-energy sector in Connecticut. Commercial success of emerging technologies in this sector will not only bring competitive alternatives to fossil-fuel-based technologies but will also bring job creation to the state.”

The Operational Demonstration Program is one of three investment programs offered by the Clean Energy Fund and Connecticut Innovations, which administers the fund, to help accelerate the development and commercialization of innovative clean-energy technologies in Connecticut.

 The three programs invest in projects along a continuum of technology readiness. These programs, from the earliest to the latest stage, include a new Alpha Program to be announced soon, the Operational Demonstration Program and the Connecticut Clean Tech Fund.

More information about the Operational Demonstration Program is available by visiting www.ctcleanenergy.com/opdemo.

Published Aug. 26, 2010

The California Energy Commission has approved a $5 million loan to help a solar cell manufacturing company expand its production.

The loan, the first from the Clean Energy Business Financing Program, will go to the Silicon Valley company Calisolar Inc., which makes multicrystalline solar cells and plans to expand its annual production capacity from 60 megawatts to 75 megawatts in the next several months.

Six other California-based manufacturing companies that have expansion plans for solar-related production are on a list of proposed loan awards not yet made final.

The Clean Energy Business Financing Program is using American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds to provide up to $30.6 million in loans at interest rates of 2.75 percent to private businesses planning to improve or expand their energy-efficiency or renewable-energy manufacturing operations in California.

"California's manufacturing base has eroded 32 percent since 2001, a loss of over 600,000 manufacturing jobs. In these challenging fiscal times, companies such as Calisolar, that are developing clean-energy products, are becoming an economic bright spot," said the California Energy Commission's chairwoman, Karen Douglas, in a news release. "In-state clean-energy manufacturing feeds into other businesses and state programs, such as the New Solar Homes Partnership, boosting jobs and renewable technologies."

Calisolar's project is using both private and government funding to expand production and employ workers. Calisolar is providing $20.7 million in leveraged financing for the project's total $25.7 million cost. The $5 million government loan is to be repaid in 84 monthly payments.

"The Clean Energy Business Financing Program links two of California's most vital interests, the environment and the economy," said Calisolar's chief executive officer, Sandra Beach Lin, in the news release. "By supporting manufacturers in renewable technologies, the California Energy Commission is having a direct impact on the ability of companies like Calisolar to create new jobs in California, introduce innovative systems and solutions that benefit the environment, and compete successfully in the global arena."

Calisolar's application was one of 44 submitted to the new financing program. Projects were evaluated for job creation or retention, energy saved, leveraged financing, and an economic adjustment for manufacturing job loss. They also underwent business credit analysis. The proposed loan awards were announced in July for seven solar-related manufacturing expansions, including Calisolar's.

Calisolar has also been awarded a clean-energy manufacturing tax credit of $51.6 million in Recovery Act funding. The company was selected for that award after a review of criteria that included domestic job creation, impact on reducing pollution, potential for technological innovation and commercial deployment, and project time from certification to completion.

The California Energy Commission has received $226 million under the State Energy Program to carry out a variety of public and private programs.

"These innovative projects will rebuild our electricity grid, sustain jobs, retrofit our homes and businesses, and eventually produce the future of our state's transportation fuels and the vehicles powered by them," the commission's news release said.

Ms. Douglas noted that the loss of manufacturing jobs since 2001 has cost California nearly $75 million a year in lost wages and $5 billion annually in lost tax revenue.

"Always an energy leader, California has implemented some of the most progressive energy policies in the world," said Ms. Douglas. "All too often, however, we find that our innovative ideas are supporting jobs in other states or other countries. By encouraging the creation of manufacturing jobs right here at home, this program will help California to reclaim some of the most significant benefits of our policies."

Details of the Clean Energy Business Financing Program are available from the California Energy Commission's website at www.energy.ca.gov/recovery/cleanenergy.html.

Proposed awards for other companies are:

Stion Corp., $5 million

Solar Power Inc., $5 million

Energy Innovations Inc., $3,493,797

SunPower Corp., $4,058,992

Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide Inc., $4,356,500

Soliant Energy Inc., $2,089,711

Published Aug. 26, 2010

The California Energy Commission has approved a license for the proposed 250-megawatt Beacon Solar Energy Project in the western Mojave Desert, the first solar thermal power project permitted in 20 years.

"Today's action begins the journey of increasing clean, renewable energy in California," Energy Commission Chairwoman Karen Douglas said in a news release after the Aug. 25 decision. It is the largest single-site solar electricity project ever approved in the United States, but may soon be eclipsed by even larger power plants.

The company developing the project has estimated it would take 25 months to build the plant after a license is received. During the construction period, an average of about 475 construction workers at a time would be employed, with a peak number near 1,000, NextEra Energy Resources, the parent company of Beacon Solar, said in a description of the project on its website. Once operational, the plant is expected to provide 60 to 70 permanent jobs.

Ms. Douglas served as the presiding member of the committee that reviewed the plant's application for certification. In a unanimous vote, the Energy Commission adopted the presiding member's proposed decision, which recommended licensing the project in the Fremont Valley in eastern Kern County.

The last solar thermal power plants that the Energy Commission approved were the Luz Solar Electric Generating Systems IX and Luz SEGS X in February 1990. Those plants were to be part of a series of 12 making up the world's largest solar generating system, also in the Mojave Desert. Nine were built, clustered at several sites ranging from about 15 to 65 miles from the Beacon Solar location. The combined peak capacity of all nine plants, seven of which are owned by Florida-based NextEra Energy Resources, is 353.8 megawatts. The seven owned by NextEra Energy have a total capacity of 310 mw.

The Energy Commission concluded that the Beacon Solar Energy Project, with recommended mitigation measures adopted, will have no significant impacts on the environment and complies with applicable laws, ordinances, regulations and standards. The decision "was based solely on the record of facts that were established during the facility's certification proceeding," the commission said.

Beacon Solar plans to construct, own and operate the proposed plant. The project will be a concentrated solar thermal-electric generating plant on about 2,012 privately owned acres in eastern Kern County on the western edge of the Mojave Desert, 4 miles north of California City and about 85 miles north of Los Angeles by air.

Like the solar plants last approved in 1990, the project will use parabolic trough technology to produce electrical power.

A description of the project on NextEra's website says concentrated sunlight reflected from parabolic mirrors will heat a synthetic oil, which will be used to boil water to create steam. The steam is to be piped to a turbine generator, which will produce electricity. The solar thermal technology will provide all the power generated by the plant, but two auxiliary natural-gas-fired boilers are to be used to reduce startup times and protect the synthetic oil from freezing in winter in the relatively high-altitude Mojave.

The high use of water required for some solar thermal power plants has been an issue in the Southwest. For cooling, which is the primary water usage, this plant will use treated recycled water from California City or the Rosamond Community Sanitary District, according to the  Energy Commission.  The project is expected to use about 1,400 acre-feet per year of recycled water for cooling and 153 acre-feet per year of groundwater from wells for washing mirrors or for employee use.

A high-voltage power line that runs alongside State Route 14 through part of the Fremont Valley is not far from the site of the Beacon Solar Energy Project. A Los Angeles Department of Water and Power substation is about 1.5 miles from the  site and is to be the  interconnection point. A contract has not yet been signed for the electricity to be generated by the plant, which the company has estimated could be enough to supply the annual needs of as many as 88,000 California households.

The developer describes the site as "private, previously used, fallow, non-prime agricultural land."

PHOTO CREDIT: SOLAR HOME & BUSINESS JOURNAL
The cost of solar electricity is expected to
drop by half in the next five years, the
government said Tuesday. Above, a solar
home at Harmony at Centerstone Estates
in Fontana, Calif.

Published Aug. 24, 2010

The U.S. Department of Energy says that Recovery Act funding programs are on track to help cut the cost of solar electricity in half by 2015, and the cost of batteries for electric vehicles by 70 percent in the same time.

Energy generation from renewable sources is expected to double by 2015, along with manufacturing capacity for U.S. renewable energy industries, the government said.

The announcement Tuesday, led by Vice President Joseph Biden and Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, along with numerous private industry representatives, has the unintended effect of suggesting that solar and plug-in vehicles are too expensive now.

In fact, non-subsidized solar is already cost-competitive with peak retail electricity prices in some places, and with incentives may offer significant bargains to attentive consumers. The same will be true as plug-in vehicles are rolled out in 2011. What the report means is that if such cost reductions are achieved, solar and plug-in vehicles will not only be the cleanest but among the cheapest ways to obtain electricity and to travel just five years from now.

The report is called "The Recovery Act: Transforming the American Economy Through Innovation."  It mentions that with more than $787 billion in funding, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is one of the largest investments in the U.S. economy in the nation’s history. More than $100 billion has been invested in programs aimed at innovations in technology and science, including alternative energy and transportation research and development.

The jury is still out, of course, on whether the goals will be achieved. But officials in the solar and electric vehicle industries are at least as confident as the government officials.

The announcement said the first goal, cutting the cost of solar power in half by 2015, "will bring the cost of generating solar power down to the cost of electricity from the grid."

The cost of electricity from rooftop solar panels will drop from about 21 cents per kilowatt-hour now to about 10 cents per kwh in 2015, the report said. That amount is slightly less than the average retail cost of residential electricity in the United States today. The cost of utility-scale solar projects is expected to decline from about 13 cents per kwh today to about 6 cents per kwh in 2015, equivalent to or less than the wholesale cost of electric power from sources not as environmentally benign as most solar technologies are.

The report said the cost of rooftop solar could drop as low as 6 cents per kwh over the next 20 years, making it far and away the cheapest way for homeowners to obtain electricity, as well as the cleanest, and providing a very inexpensive and inexhaustible source of fuel for plug-in vehicles.

"Some companies are reducing cost simply by scaling up manufacturing and deployment of the standard silicon solar panel," said the report. For example, the largest photovoltaic power plant in North America, the 25 megawatt DeSoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center in Florida, which was partly funded by the Recovery Act, consists of more than 90,000 solar modules from California-based SunPower Corp.

PHOTO CREDIT: SOLAR HOME & BUSINESS JOURNAL
The Department of Energy expects the
cost of batteries for plug-in vehicles to
decline by 70 percent by 2015. Above,
a Chevrolet Volt cutaway.

The second major goal outlined in the report is a dramatic reduction in the cost of batteries for plug-in vehicles, accompanied by extended range and lighter weight. The typical cost of a battery pack for the high-end Tesla Roadster, for example, today is about $36,000.

The government report says the cost by 2015 of such a large battery pack will be about $11,000. The cost of a smaller battery pack for a vehicle like the Chevrolet Volt would drop from about $10,000 today to about $3,000. For a Nissan Leaf, today's battery cost of more than $14,000 would decline to slightly more than $4,000.

If these cost reductions are borne out, using solar electricity to power an electric car, which  already can be cost-effective with incentives, would become an even more compelling proposition, offering Americans significant financial savings, less pollution, and a powerful national security advantage through the use of locally generated power from the sun.

 "At those battery costs, electric-drive cars actually will be less expensive over the life of the car than similar non-electric vehicles," the Department of Energy said in a news release. "What's more, these investments will make these less-expensive batteries lighter and more durable."

The weight of a typical electric-vehicle battery is forecast to drop 33 percent by 2015. A lighter battery means a lighter car, which would require less energy to power it, yielding longer range. In addition, a typical battery life of 14 years is expected in 2015. Both the Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Volt are to be offered late this year with battery warranties of eight years or 100,000 miles.

Electric vehicles already require much less servicing than gas-powered vehicles, owners and manufacturers report.

Although the government report did not mention it, a further advantage of such battery packs is that after their use in a car is over, they are expected to have second lives storing electricity from solar installations. In addition, lithium-ion battery packs used in electric vehicles are expected to  be almost completely recyclable when their use in cars and for home power storage has ended.

"We are unleashing the American innovation machine to change the way we use and produce energy in this country," said Mr. Chu, the secretary of energy. "Just as importantly, these breakthroughs are helping create tens of thousands of new jobs, allowing the U.S. to continue as a leader in the global economy and helping to provide a better future for generations to come."

By Paul Gipe

Published Aug. 23, 2010

Finally, it's official. Last year, Ontario was the third largest market for solar photovoltaic installations in North America.

The Canadian province pushed aside Florida with an installation total of 46 megawatts of solar PV production capacity and was only behind New Jersey, with 57 mw, and California with 212 mw, according to a report by the nonprofit Interstate Renewable Energy Council.

As a contractor to the U.S. government, the council only reports on developments in this country. However, "If Ontario were a U.S. state, it would have ranked third on IREC's list of states," said the report.

The report, "U.S. Solar Market Trends 2009," by Larry Sherwood of IREC, found that at the end of 2009 California had a total installed solar PV capacity of 768 mw; New Jersey, 128 mw; and Colorado, 59 mw.

Ontario ranked fourth in total installed North American solar PV capacity with 48 mw.

California is the leading solar market for solar PV in the United States, and New Jersey is the second largest market. New Jersey's Clean Energy program estimates that, at the current pace, 125 mw will be installed by the year's end, bringing total installations to nearly 250 mw.

The Canadian Solar Industry Association estimates that 100 to 200 mw will be installed in Ontario this year. Nearly 100 mw of capacity has already been installed, and several large multi-megawatt projects are under way, the industry association says.

Ontario and New Jersey are neck and neck for the No. 2 slot in the North American solar PV market for installations in 2010. New Jersey will likely retain its second-place position in total capacity, at least for this year.

In either New Jersey or Ontario, 250 mw of solar PV would be capable of generating about 250 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year.

The Ontario policy driving development is a fixed-price, feed-in tariff model, while New Jersey is using a quota model with tradable solar renewable energy credits, or SRECs, determining how much is paid for solar generation.

The Interstate Renewable Energy Council, producer of the report, concluded that 435 mw of solar PV were installed in the United States in 2009, bringing total installed photovoltaic capacity to 1,250 mw. The residential market accounted for about 36 percent of new U.S. solar PV capacity in 2009. The utility market accounted for 16 percent of capacity. There are now 104,000 solar PV installations in the United States, the study determined.

For comparison, Germany may install as much as 6,000 mw of solar PV this year, bringing its total solar PV capacity to 15,000 mw. By the end of the year, there may be as many as 1 million solar PV systems in Germany, or about 10 times the number in North America, which has about four times Germany's population.

In Germany, a generating fleet of 15,000 mw of solar installations would produce about 15 terawatt-hours of electricity (15 billion kilowatt-hours) per year, or nearly 3 percent of Germany's electricity demand.

Editor's Note: Paul Gipe is a renewable-energy author and advocate, and an authority on the production incentives known as feed-in tariffs. More information is available from his website, www.wind-works.org.

Top 10 Solar States

Ranked by total grid-connected photovoltaic capacity through 2009

Source: Interstate Renewable Energy Council

1. California, 768 mw

2. New Jersey, 128 mw

3. Colorado, 59 mw

4. Arizona, 46 mw

5. Florida, 39 mw

6. Nevada, 36 mw

7. New York, 34 mw

8. Hawaii, 26 mw

9. Connecticut, 20 mw

10. Massachusetts, 18 mw

Top 10 Solar States, Per Capita

Ranked by cumulative solar capacity in DC watts per person through 2009

Source: Interstate Renewable Energy Council

1. California, 20.8

2. Hawaii, 20.2

3. New Jersey, 14.6

4. Nevada, 13.8

5. Colorado, 11.8

6. Arizona, 7.0

7. Connecticut, 5.6

8. Delaware, 3.7

9. Oregon, 3.7

10. Vermont, 2.7