SOLAR FARMS VS FARMERS

Solar debate heats up as CA farmland is targeted
Tracie Cone, March 14, 2012 (San Jose Mercury News)

"In the debate pitting photovoltaic power stations against agriculture, all eyes have been on Fresno County, where the abundance of sunshine that make it the No. 1 agriculture-producing county in the nation also makes it ideal for solar arrays…This week Fresno County, with 29 projects on 11,000 acres in the pipeline, approved its plan to balance food security with green energy with a decision that falls short of what both sides wanted…

"…Under the new regulations, authorities will consider the prior agricultural productivity of farmland in deciding whether to issue conditional use permits…but they will not automatically direct development to marginal and retired land lacking adequate water supplies, as farm organizations had wanted…Some on the board of supervisors view solar as the economic wave of the future, providing increased tax revenues and hundreds of construction jobs..."

Solar farm and farmland side by side in Germany (click to enlarge)

"…Environmental obstacles to solar keep popping up in places like California's expansive Mojave Desert. Developers now are eyeing farmland as easier places to build because plowing and planting thwarts endangered species such as kit foxes and kangaroo rats from taking up residence…California laws such as the Williamson Act that protect prime soils from development are being challenged by some local governments that are issuing temporary use permits for the arrays with the idea that the land could be returned to production down the road…The issue is critically important in a county with an annual agricultural production of $5.8 billion and an economy dependent upon packing, shipping and growing hundreds of products… [It is hoped] the new guidelines will be used to protect farming…

"A joint policy paper issued last year by the law schools at UCLA and UC-Berkeley says that California must balance a secure national food supply and energy production by identifying marginal farmland and guiding solar development to it or risk consequences...The state lost 200,000 acres of irrigated farmland to development between 2006 and 2008, and 1.3 million acres since 1984…Critics of the supervisors' decision point out that the region has 200,000 acres of retired land contaminated with selenium perfectly suited for sun energy…The state farm bureau has a lawsuit pending…A judge is expected to decide next week whether the state farm bureau has the right to sue…"

GOLDWIND GATHERS GOLD

Goldwind makes CNY 3 billion bond offering
Wu Qi, 16 March 2012 (Windpower Monthly)

"Goldwind is to issue CNY 3 billion yuan ($476 million) corporate bonds in Shenzhen Stock Exchange…This is the first phase of a total of CNY 5 billion bonds that the company's stockholders approved at its 2010 general meeting.

"The capital raised will be used to supplement working capital of the company and its subordinates and repay CNY 800 million bank loans…Goldwind will have CNY 27.1 billion yuan working capital, compared with CNY 24.9 billion yuan on September 30, 2011."

Goldwind is one of the biggest and best run wind companies. If it is looking for funding, the others are too. (click to enlarge)

"…[T] his will to a certain extent alleviate cash flow pressure on the company and ensure smooth progress of production scheduling…In the first three quarters of 2011, Goldwind had CNY 6.843 billion operational cash flow, down 261.48% year-on-year.

"Goldwind is concerned that along with business expansion, its liabilities and financial costs might continue to expand…[T]he company's operating profits fell 74% in 2011, compared with the previous year, to CNY 697.8 million…[due] to slower growth in the Chinese wind-power industry, and falling turbine market sales prices…"

BETTER CHEAPER EV BATTERIES BY 2017

Prices for Lithium Ion Batteries Will Fall by More Than One-Third by 2017, Helping to Drive EV Adoption
March 12, 2012 (Pike Research)

"Managing transportation emissions and reducing energy insecurity due to a volatile oil industry are on the top of the agenda of many countries across the world. Electric vehicles (EVs) have a significant role to play in both...EVs will continue to be a niche market through the remainder of this decade…[but] the global automotive industry is beginning to move away from the internal combustion engine and toward electric drivetrains…

"…For auto manufacturers, the key to this shift will be the continual advancement in the capabilities of the vehicles’ batteries, which will be led by lithium ion (Li-ion) chemistries…The convergence of the automotive industry toward battery power and the engineering of safe, reliable, and economical Li-ion batteries will slowly reshape the automotive industry as it moves toward electrification. According to a recent report from Pike Research, as manufacturing efficiencies improve and access to lithium expands, the installed cost of Li-ion batteries will fall by more than one-third by the end of 2017."

click to enlarge

"In terms of revenue, the market for Li-ion batteries for transportation will grow from $2.0 billion annually in 2011 to more than $14.6 billion by 2017, the cleantech market intelligence firm forecasts…

"…[M]ost plug-in electric vehicles today have a range of between 40 and 100 miles…[but] concerns over range and the availability of charging infrastructure remain among the biggest impediments to the wider adoption of Li-ion batteries. On the supply side, challenges such as achieving higher energy density, better safety, and greater discharge/charge rates linger…[No Li-ion chemistries available today can] claim to be the ideal solution…"

BIG MONEY IN SMART METERS

Worldwide Smart Meter Shipments to Surpass 140 Million Units Annually, According to IDC Energy Insights' Worldwide Quarterly Smart Meter Tracker
March 7, 2012 (IDC Energy Insights)

"…IDC Energy Insights' Worldwide Quarterly Smart Meter Tracker found that worldwide smart meter shipments in the fourth quarter of 2011 (4Q11) grew 11.8% over the previous quarter (3Q11) and were up 23.8% when compared to the fourth quarter of 2010…[IDC] expects annual smart meter shipments to surpass 140 million units worldwide by 2016, up from 25.4 million in 2011. This represents a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 32.9% over the 2011 to 2016 forecast period.

"…[D]eveloping markets [are expected] to drive smart meter growth through 2016…[T]he revival of the Canadian market and an uptick in shipments to Central and Eastern Europe were the primary drivers in the closing quarter of 2011. In 2012, smart meter shipments in Europe will accelerate as country-level planning continues to progress and the pathway towards the European Commission's ‘20-20-20’ targets finally begins to materialize…"

"Shipments will also ramp up significantly in the Asia/Pacific region as the massive markets in China and India begin to integrate advanced metering infrastructure (AMI). The Japanese market is also gaining momentum with the renewed focus on conservation in the wake of Fukushima, while utilities in Oceana are learning to manage the consumer backlash that emerged from previous deployments.

"…[T]hrough 2016, activity will shift from North America and Europe to the developing world…Smart meter vendors [will develop] a wide array of solutions to fit…a pronounced difference between AMI in mature markets and upcoming emerging market deployments. Utilities in emerging markets tend to focus more on billing and theft deterrence rather than customer engagement or next-generation smart grid applications…[E]merging markets have displayed a greater degree of price sensitivity…[than] more mature AMI markets."

SENATE REJECTS CRUCIAL SOLAR TAX CREDIT

U.S. Senate Rejects Amendment To Extend Section 1603 Program
Jessica Lillian, 13 March 2012 (Solar Industry)

"An amendment…that would have extended the U.S. Department of Treasury's Section 1603 program and other renewable energy tax incentives failed to receive approval from the U.S. Senate…[The] legislation sought to revive the Section 1603 program and other incentives via an amendment to the Surface Transportation Bill (S.1813), legislation focusing on highway improvements…[The #1812 (Energy Tax Extenders) amendment] needed to receive 60 votes in order to be included in S.1813. However, it received just 49 votes…

"The 1603 program provided a 30% cash grant in lieu of tax credits to eligible solar projects and proved to be extremely popular among U.S. solar developers until its expiration. The renewal of this program ranks among the top legislative priorities for the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and many solar firms."

click to enlarge

"However, given that the 1603 program just ended a few months ago, the full effect of its expiration remains to be seen…Further complicating matters are provisions that allow certain solar projects grandfathered in under the safe-harbor deadline of Dec. 31, 2011, to remain eligible for a cash grant…

"…[The] vote was widely regarded as one of the industry's primary chances for seeing a 1603 extension…[but] other avenues still exist. President Obama's proposed fiscal-year 2013 budget, for instance, provides for an extension of the 1603 program. However, this budget must clear a series of legislative hurdles in order to be implemented as originally written…The solar sector also recorded a small victory…[when an amendment] to repeal all energy tax credits, including the investment tax credit (ITC) for solar energy, and replace them with a lowered corporate tax rate [was defeated]…"

SENATE REJECTS CRUCIAL WIND TAX CREDIT

Senate Rejects Measure To Extend Wind Energy Production Tax Credit
Laura DiMugno, 13 March 2012 (North American Windpower)

"The U.S. Senate has voted to reject an amendment to S.1813, the Surface Transportation Bill, that would have extended several important renewable energy incentives - including the [urgently needed] production tax credit (PTC) for wind power - for one year…The measure…also called for an extension of the Section 48C advanced energy manufacturing tax credit, which expired in 2010, as well as an extension of the Section 1603 cash-grant program.

"Although the vote on the measure was even at 49-49, the amendment required 60 votes to pass, and was, therefore, not agreed to…The news comes as a disappointment to the wind industry, which was hoping for a boon in an uncertain economic climate…"

click to enlarge

[Denise Bode, CEO, American Wind Energy Association:] "…[T]ens of thousands of American jobs are being put in peril…[though] the wind production tax credit enjoys bipartisan…The clock is ticking, and the stakes for a timely extension of the PTC could not be clearer…We stand to lose one of America’s best new sources of American manufacturing jobs. With every day that goes by, layoffs are occurring and further job losses - and even plant closings - will accelerate with each month we near expiration in December.”

"…[T]he Senate voted on a third amendment to S.1813 that also had the potential to dramatically alter the U.S. energy landscape. The measure…would have extended tax credits for the oil and gas industries, as well as approved the Keystone XL Pipeline and opened up other areas for domestic oil and gas production…[Its sponsor] claimed the measure would [also] lower gas prices - an assertion that has questionable backing…The Senate…[voted it down] 41-57 vote."

CONGRESS APPROVES TURBINE TOWER MAKERS FIGHT WITH CHINA

Senate, House Vote To Continue Wind Tower Trade Proceedings Against China
9 March 2012 (North American Windpower)

"Both the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives have passed bipartisan legislation that enables countervailing-duty proceedings to continue against allegedly unfair subsidized goods - including wind turbine towers - from China and Vietnam.

"The legislation overturns a decision made by the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) and confirms that the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) has the authority to continue to apply countervailing duties to non-market economies, such as China's."

click to enlarge

"According to the House Ways and Means Committee, if the CAFC's decision were allowed to stand, the DOC could be forced to end countervailing duties against products from China. In addition, the six ongoing investigations against Chinese and Vietnamese products would be terminated. If this were to happen, the committee says, some duties that already have been collected would have to be refunded.

"The bill also addresses a finding by the World Trade Organization (WTO) that there may be a ‘double counting’ of Chinese subsidies for countervailing and antidumping on the same good. Under the new legislation, the DOC would be able to adjust anti-dumping duties to address double counting…[T]he legislation was [reportedly] drafted with input and support from the Obama administration [and likely to be signed by the President]…"

SOLAR O&M PROVIDER GUARANTEES PRODUCTION

ESA Renewables Initiates Solar Power Production Guarantee Program for O&M Division; New program guarantees specific monthly energy production for solar energy generating systems under an ESA operation and maintenance (O&M) agreement
8 March 2012 (ESA Renewables)

"ESA Renewables, (ESA), a leading turnkey solar solutions provider, announced the launch of their Solar Power Production Guarantee. This new program guarantees specific monthly energy production for solar energy generating systems under an ESA operation and maintenance (O&M) agreement. Should the photovoltaic system fail to meet ESA’s annual guaranteed power production levels, ESA will compensate the solar farm owners the difference between guaranteed and actual energy generated…

"Once an asset manager contracts with ESA for O&M, engineers will visit the solar farm and perform a complete audit and analysis. To make projections for future production levels and guarantee that rate on return, ESA will analyze current and historic data including energy production levels, panel and inverter compatibility, ratios, high efficiencies, tilt of panels and weather variants."

click to enlarge

"Upon completion of the audit, ESA will make any necessary system upgrades and install their renewable energy Monitoring System. The company will then chart projected production levels and execute a guarantee with the facility owners to meet these expectations. Should a system fail to reach projected levels, for any reason, ESA will compensate the renewable energy plant owners the variance between the two numbers based on a set cost per kilowatt hour (kWh)…

"ESA’s proprietary monitoring and control system is used to manage O&M services…[It allows any renewable energy] plant owners and operators access to simplified, centralized, reliable and secure historical and real-time data from the power plant. Effective monitoring reduces PV system downtime, increases performance and allows operators to make informed decisions as to O&M servicing. ESA’s monitoring solution also automatically alerts system managers of events to allow for quick response…"

DEMAND RESPONSE, NEW ENERGY AND POWER MARKETS

Demand Response and Renewables Integration Will Drive the Growth of Short-Term Power Markets
March 8, 2012 (Pike Research)

"Due to the prohibitive cost of storing electricity on a major scale, short-term power markets are relied on to balance generation and load on a 24/7 basis. These markets typically take the form of a day-ahead market that provides a preliminary forecast of the next day’s power generation and consumption, and a real-time market, which is used to balance the actual generation to load…

"…Due to advancing technology and declining prices for renewable energy, particularly wind and solar, demand response (DR) and renewables integration are both growing into significant factors in the short-term markets. Demand response acts as a counterbalance against price volatility in the short-term power markets, while the integration of renewables means that weather fluctuations will increasingly affect the short-term price of power. According to a recent report from Pike Research, these two forces will lead to accelerating growth in short-term power markets over the next several years."

click to enlarge

"Trading services will grow from $283 million in 2011 to as much as $333 million in 2016 under an economic recovery scenario, the cleantech market research firm forecasts. Under a slower growth model, trading services will reach $317 million in 2016…

"Data management and forecasting can help to make more effective trades and to help limit exposure to sudden price fluctuations. Once transacted, there are complex rules associated with settlements of trades. Vendors that offer these types of services are expected to see strong growth in the coming years…[A]s the markets develop…Pike Research expects there to be new entrants in the playing field when credit becomes available and price volatility offers opportunities…"

MORE SOLAR PARITY

Cost of Going Solar Is Dropping Fast, State Study Finds; The price of solar energy systems dropped by 36 percent in North Carolina between 2006 and 2011, in a trend that is likely occuring across the U.S.
Maria Gallucci, March 9, 2012 (Inside Climate News)

"The cost of solar power in North Carolina is falling steeply…providing the first real evidence of a trend that is likely occurring in other states that are harnessing the power of the sun…The price of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems dropped by 36 percent in North Carolina between 2006 and 2011, from $8.50 to $5.44 per watt…[while] fossil fuel costs jumped three percent on average in the state every year of the past decade…

"The Feb. 29 report by the North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association (NCSEA) is the first attempt to calculate both ‘dollars per watt’ and the ‘levelized cost of energy,’ or LCOE, for solar energy in a single state. The dollars-per-watt metric, used above, measures initial installation and hardware costs only. [The national average for solar was $6.20 per watt in 2010, according to the most recent available data]…"

click to enlarge

"The LCOE is a more complex and newer metric that assesses all costs of a solar system across its lifetime, including the cost of generating electricity and other factors like maintenance. It can be compared easily to other electricity sources…Using the LCOE, the report finds that solar will be cost competitive with retail electricity prices in North Carolina by 2020, without federal or state subsidies. Large-scale solar systems are already cost competitive when subsidies are factored in.

"The biggest factor in North Carolina's falling solar prices is global market forces…particularly the glut in solar panels and their components, like polysilicon…Between 2008 and 2010, the cost of solar panels worldwide fell by about 40 percent, according to industry figures. In 2011, prices dropped again by 50 percent from 2010, as the supply of panels far outstripped demand, due in a large part to a state-subsidized solar manufacturing boom in China…The findings in North Carolina give solar advocates a solid basis to draw conclusions about the entire industry…"

NEW TRANSMISSION MEANS NEW WIND, NEW JOBS

Clean Line Energy Signs Agreement With Conductor Manufacturer; Transmission Line Project Will Lead To Increased Demand For Wind Products Manufactured In Illinois
March 6, 2012 (Clean Line Energy Partners)

"Clean Line Energy Partners LLC announced an agreement…designating Southwire as the preferred supplier for the overhead transmission cable for the Rock Island Clean Line…[T]he cable will be produced from Southwire’s facility in Flora, Illinois…The Rock Island Clean Line transmission line project will consist of an approximate 500-mile overhead, high voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission line that will deliver 3,500 megawatts of renewable power from Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska and South Dakota to communities and businesses in Illinois and other states to the east. The line will end near Morris, Illinois where it will interconnect with the PJM system…

"…[The Southwire] facility expects to produce cable over a 12 to 14 month period of time…Clean Line’s potential future supply order from Southwire could be worth $70 million or more…In addition to an estimated $1.7 billion in direct costs for the Rock Island Clean Line HVDC itself, the Rock Island Clean Line will make possible approximately $7 billion worth of investments in new wind energy projects, which today cannot be constructed due to the lack of transmission…"

click to enlarge

"…[As a result of the new wind farms] Southwire could realize additional benefits of $30 million or more in additional sales by producing and selling cables that are used within the turbine, placed down the tower and buried underground for the power collections systems…

"…[Construction of the Rock Island Clean Line could begin as early as 2014 and may continue over the next few years…[It] will create hundreds of direct construction jobs… [and completion] should also lead to increased employment for…wind energy manufacturing companies…[The line] will…deliver enough energy to power more than 1.4 million Midwest homes. Clean Line estimates that property taxes on the transmission lines will generate millions of dollars annually in Illinois and will be distributed to counties where the line is routed…"

FEDS FUND ADVANCED EV CHARGING

Eaton Awarded DOE Grant To Increase Efficiency Of EV Charging
9 March 2012 (Renew Grid)

"Eaton Corp. has received a $1.84 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for the development and demonstration of more efficient commercial electric-vehicle (EV) chargers. The project will promote smart charging technology that better manages the efficiency, availability and reliability of power, especially during peak times and at popular charging locations…"

click to enlarge

"Eaton's grant is part of a larger federal research and development program to help reduce the current costs of EV chargers by 50% over the next three years and to support the adoption and deployment of EVs…"

CHINA’S NEWEST SUN PLAN

China releases 2011-2015 plan for solar photovoltaic industry
1 March 2012 (World of Photovoltaics)

"China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has released the 12th Five-Year Plan for the solar photovoltaic industry (2011-2015)…[T]he solar photovoltaic industry is expected to enjoy a stable and fast growth…[R]equirements on installed capacity [for products like polysilicon and solar batteries were] set by the [renewable energy resources] development plan…

"…By 2015, leading producers of polysilicon are proposed to achieve a capacity of 50,000 tonnes, and major producers 10.000 tonnes. Leading producers of solar battery are expected to achieve a capacity of 5 GW, and major producers 1 GW…[The plan’s goal is to have] 1 photovoltaic company realizing sales revenue of over 100 billion yuan annually, 3-5 photovoltaic companies having annual revenue of more than 50 billion yuan and 3-4 producers of specialized photovoltaic equipments achieving an annual revenue of 1 billion yuan."

click to enlarge

"The plan also points out that the main theme of the industry is to reduce the cost. By 2015, the cost of photovoltaic module should be lowered to 7,000 yuan/KW and the cost of photovoltaic power generation is expected to fall to 0.8 yuan/KWH.

"…[Goals were also set for PV industry technology advances in the 2011-2015 period including increasing the] recycling ratio of silicon tetrachloride, hydrogen chloride and hydrogen in the polysilicon production…[to] at least rise to 98.5 per cent, 99 per cent and 99 per cent respectively…[and the] efficiency of industrialization…to 21 per cent for monocrystalline cells, 19 per cent for monocrystalline silicon cells, 12 per cent for amorphous silicon thin film cells…"

TEXAS GETS 22% WIND, A NEW RECORD

Texas sets wind power records with new grid analysis
March 9, 2012 (Reuters)

"Texas set new records for wind-power output…using a new transmission analysis tool that allows more wind to flow on power lines from west Texas to power-consuming cities hundreds of miles away…The amount of electricity produced from wind on [Wednesday night, March 7] set a record at 7,599 megawatts, up 196 MW from the previous day, which eked past a 7,400-MW record set last October, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) said…

"…[E]lectricity was being produced by more than 77 percent of the 9,838 MW of ERCOT's installed wind capacity, well above the average 30 to 40 percent of nameplate electric capacity that wind farms typically produce…[and ERCOT had just begun using] a new tool…to calculate day-ahead and real-time limits on power lines from west Texas to the Dallas-Fort Worth area…[and analyze] real-time conditions every 30 minutes…"

click to enlarge

"With more than 9,800 MW, Texas leads the nation in carbon-free electric capacity from wind turbines. More than 7,500 MW are located in west Texas, where the wind generally blows the strongest during the evening hours and in the spring and fall months when power demand is low…Recent wind-farm additions, now totaling nearly 2,100 MW, or 21 percent, have been built closer to the Texas coast…where wind patterns differ from west Texas…About 13 percent of the record 7,599 MW produced March 7 came from the coastal wind farms…

"At the time of the latest record, wind generation accounted for 22 percent of the power demand of 34,318 MW…Wind farms expanded rapidly in Texas until 2009 when production began to overwhelm the existing transmission capacity…Texas is building more than 2,300 miles (3,700 km) of high-voltage transmission in a $6.5 billion plan to expand the grid by late 2013 to accommodate wind-farm growth of up to 18,500 MW…Current wind-farm construction has slowed…[but developers] are studying the addition of 18,000 MW…down from 34,000 MW of wind last fall."