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Solar Power In Ontario Could Produce Almost As Much Power As All U.S. Nuclear Reactors, Studies Find

Saturday, April 17th, 2010

Solar power in southeastern Ontario has the potential to produce almost the same amount of power as all the nuclear reactors in the United States, according to two studies conducted by the Queen’s University Applied Sustainability Research Group located in Kingston, Canada.

One study, accepted for publication in the journal Computers, Environment and Urban Systems, discovered that if choice roof tops in southeastern Ontario were covered with solar panels, they could produce five gigawatts, or about five per cent of all of Ontario’s energy. The study took into account roof orientation and shading.

“To put this in perspective, all the coal plants in all of Ontario produce just over six gigawatts. The sun doesn’t always shine, so if you couple solar power with other renewable energy sources such as wind, hydro and biomass, southeastern Ontario could easily cover its own energy needs,” Professor Pearce says.

A second study, published in May issue of the journal Solar Energy, looked at land in southeastern Ontario that could be used for solar farms. The study considered land with little economic value — barren, rocky, non-farmable areas near electrical grids — and concluded it has the potential to produce 90 gigawatts.

“Nuclear power for all of the United States is about 100 gigawatts. We can produce 90 on barren land with just solar in this tiny region, so we are not talking about small potatoes,” Professor Pearce says.

New Models for Rooftop Solar Power

Tuesday, April 13th, 2010

Southern California Edison has launched one of the most ambitious solar initiatives yet. It involves using the roofs of commercial buildings to develop renewable energy resources. Building owners get paid to host the solar arrays on their rooftops, and the utility takes all the risk.

Misery makes strange bedfellows. And so can a renewable portfolio standard. With about half of states now giving their utilities deadlines to get a certain percentage of their energy from renewables, utilities have been forging new relationships with real estate owners and the solar industry.

Utilities across the country are announcing plans to develop tens or hundreds of megawatts of solar generating capacity in partnership with building owners. It has the markings of a national trend that could be very good for the solar industry — and for companies with certain kinds of commercial real estate.

When you see solar modules on the roof of a building, they might not actually belong to the building’s owner. Two common ownership scenarios have been around for several years: Buying and installing a solar power array means taking the financial incentives and risks, along with the power, with a fixed up-front outlay. There’s no incremental cost for the power.

When a third party owns the array, they own the power, and sell it to the occupants. There’s no up-front cost to the building owner, just a monthly power bill. The rate per kilowatt-hour is negotiated for the life of the agreement, so it acts as a hedge against fluctuations in utility tariffs.

Lately, utilities have been pursuing more solar power projects, and devising new ownership models, to meet renewable energy requirements in their states. In one model, the utility signs a lease for the roof of a building and installs a solar array on it. The utility keeps the power to serve local customers.

Programs like SCE’s utility-owned rooftop solar could create the revenue certainty landlords need, to develop solar into new buildings — especially where net-metering rates are low or the electric load in the building is small.

But for now there are enough flat roofs, and willing owners. SCE calls it “harvesting a scarce commodity,” referring to the unused rooftop real estate in southern California, an area with an abundance of warehouses.

To be selected, a building has to have a large roof — 250 thousand square feet or more. And it has to be in Southern California Edison’s territory — for now. PG&E, in northern California, is expected to launch a similar program soon.

Exactly how this model will expand is uncertain. It’s not just implemented state by state, but utility by utility. Regions to watch are Northern Carolina, where Duke Energy has proposed an 8 megawatt program, and New Jersey, where PSE&G wants to install 120 megawatts. Utilities in Colorado, Arizona and Texas are also lining up to install distributed solar resources, using this new ownership model.

Schools continuing to embrace solar energy

Wednesday, April 7th, 2010

Homeowners aren’t the only ones saving considerable amounts of money on their electric bills with help from solar energy. Taxpayers in many parts of the country are seeing the benefits as well, with a growing number of schools and other institutions saving money by installing photovoltaic panels.

One of the latest examples comes from Amesbury, Massachusetts. A report in the Newburyport Daily News notes that the town’s high school is set to receive a $150,000 energy efficiency and block grant that will be used to install photovoltaic panels.

The newspaper added that the system is expected to generate 35 kilowatts of electricity and that the array will be installed on the school’s cafeteria.

Many other schools around the country have invested in their own solar panels to save money and help improve the environment. When educational institutions go solar, they have the added benefit of providing a new learning tool for students who can get a firsthand look at clean energy generation.

Elsewhere, a number of businesses have also chosen to take advantage of state and federal tax incentives by investing in money-saving solar energy technology.

Posted in Commercial Solar PV, Solar Rebates and Incentives | No Comments »

Solar power incentives help support businesses who want renewable energy

Sunday, April 4th, 2010

READINGTON — Several solar projects are rising at Central Jersey businesses as state and federal incentive programs help cover their costs.

The projects are a way for businesses to cut energy costs, said Jim Lacanna, business management developer for Global NES, a North Brunswick-based solar energy consulting company. That could mean more jobs in New Jersey — for those working at the cost-saving companies and those installing solar panels, as well as a cleaner environment as companies use their own energy instead of relying on fossil fuels.

New Jersey has more solar panels per square mile than any other U.S. state, Board of Public Utilities Commissioner Joe Fiordaliso said. Now, with subsidies such as rebates and credits, solar energy is becoming a possibility for more business owners, large and small. Renewable energy sources such as solar panels will help pave the way to a better environment, he said.

Solar panels, which tend to have a high set-up cost, might make more sense for businesses, which typically use more power than residences, said Michael Kerwin, president of the Somerset County Business Partnership. The payoff for solar panels on businesses may be a few years versus more than a decade for some households.

“You cannot do a solar project without some kind of subsidy. The trick is how to get there?” Kerwin said. “At the end of the day, you have to go through the analysis and ask yourself, “Does this make economic sense?’ ”

Readington River Buffalo Farm, off (Hunterdon) County Route 523, recently secured several solar panels to the side of a barn that protects John Deere tractors and other equipment. Now the farm has the power to harvest the sun, which will provide 100 percent of the farm’s energy.

“We are trying reduce our footprint and only leave a finger print,” Scarlett Doyle said about producing the farm’s 40,000 kilowatt hours of energy from the sun.

Readington River Buffalo Farm’s project cost approximately $275,000, said Jerry Doyle, who owns the 300-acre preserved farm with his wife, Scarlett and son Eric. In addition to the credits and rebates, the Doyles are applying the $600 they had been spending monthly on electric costs to repay the loan for the system, Jerry Doyle said. But once the loan is paid off — in five years — the price of the sun – unlike oil and gas – will be free.

Pennsylvania Invests $5m In 4 MW of Solar Projects

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010

Pennsylvania Governor Edward Rendell announced 13 new solar energy projects in the state today. The projects were made possible by more than $5 million from the Alternative Energy Investment Fund, in turn made possible by federal ARRA funds earmarked for renewable energy. Rendell has helped push Pennsylvania to the forefront of the solar industry, overseeing the introduction of the state’s first solar energy rebate program last summer (the Pennsylvania Sunshine Solar program, currently providing up to $22,500 for home solar projects).

Where Will Solar Power Plants Be Built—Deserts or Rooftops?

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010

Both distributed and utility-scale solar energy projects are vital to accommodate the world’s growing energy needs as they are both suited to harness the extraordinary power of the sun. The underlying technology used by utility and distributed solar is different and understandably, each has its own proponents and detractors. For the most part, utility-scale solar projects use solar collectors to generate enough heat to power a steam turbine that in turn generates electrons. Distributed solar energy derives primarily from the use of photovoltaic panels that capture photons and convert them into electrons. Distributed PV efficiency is improving all the time. Currently, there is a conversion efficiency of approximately 17% for crystalline silicon panels and 10% for thin film panels — a dramatic improvement from only a few years ago.

In California alone, there are plans for 35 utility-scale projects that would generate approximately 12,000 Megawatts (MW) of energy annually — an amount of energy comparable to the combined power of ten nuclear power plants. The Mojave Solar Project and the Genesis Solar Energy Project, both located in southern California, are two of the largest projects under consideration and are each aiming to generate 250M watts of energy. These projects are expensive, however, in terms of both dollars and natural resources required. The federal government has promised to help reduce the financial cost by allocating a portion of the stimulus plan for this purpose. Companies that have their plants ready to be opened by the end of this year will receive a portion of the $67 billion of federal money that has been set aside for renewable energy projects (including loan guarantees and grant programs).

Despite these incentives, it is risky to undertake a large-scale enterprise like utility-scale solar power in an uncertain economic climate, as financial institutions are reluctant to be involved in billion-dollar projects. Another issue is the fact that such solar ‘farms’ require huge tracts of land. Another challenging issue for utility-scale solar projects is the use of water. Combined, the Genesis and Mojave projects would use 1.24 billion gallons of water per year due to the wet cooling systems involved.

An alternative to utility-scale projects is the use of distributed solar energy. There are various types of renewable power technologies in use, but sub-utility scale power photovoltaics (PV’s) account for 98% of the distributed solar energy market. Unlike utility-scale projects, distributed energy is solar power on a small scale and entails the installation of solar panels on the roofs of buildings.

Distributed solar power does not involve the legal red tape, the large tracts of land, or the vast quantities of water that utility-scale projects require, and has the ability to generate enough energy for homes, schools and hospitals. Installation is easily addressed and solar panels can last for up to 30 years if well maintained. The price of solar panels has dropped dramatically to approximately $2.40 per watt (price depending on scale of order) for silicon panels and is likely to drop even further in 2011. Furthermore, unlike utility-scale projects, distributed solar projects such as the Southern California Edison’s Plan spread capacity evenly, distributing benefits and drawbacks. If a utility-scale project “crashes,” it affects a huge area. With distributed energy, only individual units are affected in the case of a power outage.

In many locations and in certain circumstances, distributed solar projects are less expensive than utility-scale solar projects because of the avoidance of both new transmission lines and line losses — the latter of which typically accounts for approximately 7% of the power shipped over transmission systems. The costs associated with utility-scale solar projects are often not included in the side-by-side economic comparison made between the two forms of solar power development. An additional benefit of distributed solar is its ability, when developed in clusters (i.e., local micro-grids), to alleviate the need to upgrade distribution substations and add local peaking plant capacity.

As mentioned, distributed solar plans have their detractors. Solar certainly is not the cheapest source of electricity and is only effective in areas with a high percentage of sunshine. More than 50 million Americans live in Community Associations where we might expect to see efficient adoption of distributed solar plans. But these locations commonly have policies limiting the use solar equipment due to height restrictions or other specifications regarding roofing materials.

A Boom in ‘Distributed’ Solar Projects

Friday, February 5th, 2010

As big solar power plants planned for the desert Southwest remain bogged down in environmental disputes, utilities increasingly are turning to so-called distributed solar rooftop arrays and small photovoltaic farms that can be built close to transmission lines.

Over the past few weeks, some 1,300 megawatts’ worth of distributed solar deals and initiatives have been announced or approved. At peak output, that is the equivalent of a big nuclear power plant.

Two weeks ago in California, regulators authorized the utility Southern California Edison’s program to install 500 megawatts of solar on commercial rooftops. A few days later, they recommended that Pacific Gas and Electric, the dominant utility in Northern California, be given the green light for its own 500-megawatt initiative that aims to install ground-mounted photovoltaic arrays near electrical substations and urban areas.

“Distributed solar is faster on permitting, on environmental issues and interconnection to the grid,” said Arno Harris, Recurrent’s chief executive. “It offers a safety valve for utilities who don’t want to put all their eggs in one basket.”

Wal-Mart completes a megawatt solar project in Apple Valley

Tuesday, January 19th, 2010

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. keeps moving ahead with its plan to shift its power supply to renewable energy with the completion of its largest solar-power project yet.

Earlier this month, Wal-Mart completed three other solar projects in Paramount, Baldwin Park and San Bernardino.

This time, the mega-corporation has wrapped up the installation of more than 5,300 solar panels across nearly 7 acres at its Apple Valley distribution center. The setup will generate 1 megawatt of power, the equivalent of the supply needed by 175 homes.

The company’s solar initiative was first announced in May 2007 and expanded in April 2009 to aim for 10 to 20 solar facilities in California over 18 months. A month later, in May, a San Bernardino Superior Court judge blocked the discount retailer’s plan for a Yucca Valley supercenter, in part because Wal-Mart’s proposal did not include solar-power provisions.

Commercial-scale solar developers pocket funding

Saturday, December 19th, 2009

Two solar project developers this week raised funds to install commercial and utility scale projects from a somewhat unlikely source: venture capital firms.

Although they are addressing different customers, both companies are in the business of renewable energy project development, where they build, own, and then maintain solar installations.That model is typically used for non-residential solar because third-party financing makes investment far more attractive to prospective customers such as businesses and utilities.

Tioga Energy provides power purchase agreements in which the customer doesn’t have to pay the upfront cost of the solar panels. Instead, it purchases the electricity generated by the panels from Tioga, which finances the installation and manages ongoing operation.

Financing renewable energy projects is typically done by banks or companies specialized in project financing, but that source of money has dried up in the economic downturn. Venture capitalists, meanwhile, have typically stayed clear of project finance because they seek bigger financial returns by investing in technology or business model innovations.

But General Catalyst is starting to look at project development companies as part of its mix of investments, said investor Bilal Zuberi in his blog. “Strong execution, plus control over a scarce resource, allows a developer to not just create value from projects on the ground but also from future pipeline of projects,” he said.

Posted in Commercial Solar PV, Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) | No Comments »

A Competitive Boost For Solar Energy

Friday, November 27th, 2009

The dream of every green energy acolyte is that there will come a time when it is no stranger for homes to have solar panels than to have air conditioning units.

The chief executive of Standard Renewable Energy, thinks that in the next decade the U.S. could get well down the road to making that a reality.

Houston-based Standard Renewable got 75% of its $35 million in revenue this year from installing solar systems. Just 10 months ago it was buying solar panels for $4 per watt. Today, prices have plunged to $1.90 a watt.

It’s not for lack of demand. What’s brought prices down is a surge in worldwide manufacturing capacity. New plants have opened across China. Factories are even coming to the U.S.

As a result, insists Berger, solar power is starting to look affordable and even competitive with grid power. To the educated observer, this may sound implausible. But Berger says Standard has installed residential solar systems for as little as $4 per watt.

Berger’s bean counters have extrapolated that price for 31 metropolitan areas, factoring in average sunshine and cloud cover, applying the federal government’s 30% investment tax credit, and assuming that a homeowner can finance a system at the going mortgage rate of around 5%. Amortized over 20 years, the effective rate that a homeowner would pay for electricity in the New York metro area is 12.7 cents per kilowatt/hour. In Dallas it’s 11 cents/kwh, and in Las Vegas, just 9.3 cents.

The nationwide average residential electricity price is 12.05 cents, according to the Energy Information Administration.

Add in generous subsidies on municipal and state levels and in some green utopias like Austin, Texas, and Berkeley, Calif., and the cost goes even lower.

“In some locations,” says Berger, “solar could achieve grid parity next year.”