Austin company raises $19 Million to support foray into solar power

Tuesday, June 21, 2011 at 1:12:22 PM - by Nate Lew

An Austin, Texas, based solar power company has raised an additional $19 million, or $46 million to date, to support its production of microinverter devices.

The devices are the advanced power electronics that take direct current from solar power panels and convert it to alternating current, according to The Austin American-Statesman. At that point, the power can be used by a house, business or be transferred and sold to the local electric grid.

The company palns to add to its sales support operations and build its research and development teams for future products in addition to the manufacturing, The Statesman reports. The company has already posted job listings for product managers, information technology manager and engineers.

SolarBridge expects to employ 75 people worldwide by the end of the year, according to the paper. It has announced partnerships with Kyocera Solar Inc. and SunPower Corp. and expects to an nounce more partnerships soon.

VentureBeat.com said the inverters make it so when a single solar panel is damaged or in the shade, the total electrical output does not suffer. The site said the microinverters last for about 25 years, which is a long time compared to centralized power inverters which the site said usually only last about 10 years. SolarBridge offers a 25-year warranty on the microinverters. 

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Oregon - Gets Solar going with No-interest loans

The upfront cost has always been the biggest barrier to solar PV adoption, and one Oregon town has found an innovative way to help its citizens buy down that cost.

The city borrowed from the sewer account to offer no-interest loans of $9,000 each. The repayment schedule, over four years, is tied to residents' tax returns each spring, when they receive refunds of state and federal renewable energy tax credits.

All told, Lehman estimates the program will cost the city only $10,000 in lost interest over four years.

While the loan terms are short (4 years), the repayment plan is tied to the state and federal tax credit schedule, essentially allowing interested home and business owners the chance to finance solar directly with those credits, rather than having to put their own money up front.

The loan program spurred over 50 solar PV installations in 2010, in a town of just 16,500 residents. The residents not only received discount financing, but the city helped aggregate the purchase of the solar panels to get participants a "group buy" discount. Assuming a system size of 3 kilowatts and installed cost of $6.00 per Watt, the city's $10,000 investment got their residents approximately $1 million worth of new solar power.

The increase in solar installation activity had an effect even for those who didn't use the town's financing option:

Ken Abbott, a retired postal employee, didn't use the loan program but took advantage of the lower installation prices that resulted from the large number of buyers.

Pendelton's lesson to cities is that you don't need a lot of money to make it a lot easier to go solar.

This post originally appeared on Energy Self-Reliant States, a resource of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance's New Rules Project.

Contact KenBoyle Ken.Boyle@SolarFusionCorp.com find more content or follow @ProjectReverb on Twitter

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Energy-Efficiency is the key to Fiscal Responsiblity

By E. Leon Jacobs Jr., special to the Times
In Print: Friday, June 10, 2011 efficenc

The Florida Public Service Commission, the agency that regulates the state's big power companies, is now finally at full strength. That should be good news for electricity customers because there has been little continuity at this agency over the last two years. Two previously appointed commissioners went unconfirmed by the Florida Senate, and two others were not invited back by the Legislature's nominating committee.

Now that all five commissioners sit in confirmed seats, there is an opportunity to create a lasting legacy by building on a commission decision in 2009 that set more meaningful energy conservation goals for the state's largest power companies.

read full story - http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/columns/energy-efficiency-cant-wait/1174440

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Expect FPL to raise your rates very soon

Florida Power & Light expects to request a "modest" base rate increase early next year, FPL President Armando Olivera told the Sun Sentinel editorial board Tuesday.

The utility's rate freeze agreement with consumer groups and others expires at the end of 2012.

Olivera didn't say whether the increase would be more or less than the $1.27 billion proposed annual base rate hike regulators rejected early last year.

As part of the base rate request, FPL will want to start charging customers in 2013 and 2014 for conversions of two plants, the Cape Canaveral plant in Brevard County and another plant in Riviera Beach, from oil to natural gas, said FPL Spokesman Mark Bubriski. The upgrades will cost nearly $2.4 billion but will be passed to customers over 30 years and fuel savings from the plants are projected to more than offset the costs, he said.

Olivera said utility can avoid long, drawn-out rate hearings if it's able to hash out another agreement with consumer advocates and others.

Olivera kicked off the meeting Tuesday with a presentation showing how FPL's rates for typical customers are cheaper than other Florida utilities and in some cases, cheaper than utilities outside of the state. He said FPL has installed 2 million smart meters, which allow customers to see how much energy they use each day, hour and minute, so far and said the grid is more prepared for hurricanes because customers have spent nearly $800 million in since 2006 to improve reliability and make upgrades.

"An awful lot of effort and money has gone into preparing for the next hurricane," he said.

He said the economic recovery has been slow. Although there were 30,000 new customers last year compared with the year before, FPL still has about 300,000 inactive meters, mostly because of unoccupied homes.

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Solar Stocks on the rise

By CHRIS KAHN

06.13.11, 12:56 PM EDT

NEW YORK --

Solar shares rose Monday, with one analyst saying that demand is accelerating and that the sector is ripe for mergers and acquisitions.

Rather than fewer orders for solar panels as has been feared because of declining subsidies and a poor economy, Brean Murray Carret & Co. analyst Wayne Chang said that Germany, the industry's biggest market, could see demand that's "dramatically higher" than expected this year. Italy, another key European market, could see demand pick up in late June and July as banks resume lending for existing and new projects.

Germany this year announced that in the wake of the catastrophe at Japan's Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, it would shut down all of its 17 nuclear power in the world's fourth-largest economy and Europe's biggest. It is bolstering its efforts on alternative energy.

Last week, Italian voters easily overturned laws meant to revive nuclear energy and Premier Silvio Berlusconi conceded that Italy would probably have to give up plans to return to nuclear energy and instead focus on renewable energy.

China has also hinted at changes in its energy policy because of the disaster in Japan.

The change in the fortunes of nuclear power generators come as costs have dropped dramatically for solar energy. Solar is quickly becoming competitive with power from traditional energy sources like natural gas or coal, Chang said.

Two years ago, the cost of producing solar power was expected to be on par with traditional energy sources around 2017. That has changed, Chang said with parity in reach by as early as 2012 to 2013 in major European markets.

"The industry could operate subsidy free in the very near-term," Chang said.

Solar companies have had to rely on subsidies to remain competitive with fossil fuels for decades, but the costs continue to fall.

Falling prices and altered subsidies could more rapidly bring about an industry-wide consolidation, Chang believes.

Integrated panel manufacturers, companies that produce everything that goes into their products such as Trina Solar, Jinko Solar Holding Co. and Yingli Green Energy Holding Co. will outperform non-integrated companies such as Suntech Power Holdings Co., Canadian Solar Inc. and JA Solar Holdings Co.

Shares lifted at least 3 percent for several solar companies. JA Solar rose 13 cents to $5.15 per share, LDK Solar added 17 cents to $6.95 per share, Yingli gained 31 cents to $8.14 per share, Canadian Solar added 28 cents to $9.08 per share and Evergreen Solar Inc. lifted 2 cents to 63 cents per share.

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2013 Could be the Tipping Point for Sustainability Spending

By Tilde Herrera

Published May 20, 2011

Corporate spending on sustainability could double in 2013 from current levels, sparking a massive market expansion as companies increasingly see the business value of investing in enterprise-wide programs.

Global sustainability spending will soar 50 percent to 100 percent between 2011 and 2013, predicted research firm Verdantix. Firms in the U.S., U.K., Australia and Canada with $1 billion-plus revenue will dole out roughly $60 billion in 2013 on workers, equipment or implementation of strategies directly related to sustainability, climate change, carbon management or energy efficiency.

"Spending on sustainable business initiatives such as energy efficiency, sustainability assurance and clean tech innovation is positively correlated with global economic growth," David Metcalfe, Verdantix director and a regular contributor to GreenBiz.com, said in a statement Thursday. "By 2013 a powerful mix of market drivers, led by the forecasted global economic rebound, will significantly increase strategic investment in sustainability programs. The arrival of the 2013 tipping point will be good news for cash-strapped clean tech innovators and struggling sustainability entrepreneurs."

Verdantix based its predictions on four years of research into the spending habits of more than 2,500 worldwide companies. The analysis revealed three key trends.

First, the rise of the chief sustainability officer is helping to scale corporate sustainability programs and promote the virtues of sustainability externally to professional associations and the like.

Meanwhile, the concept of sustainability is increasingly seen as a need-to-have by corporate boards and CEOs, rather than a nice-to-have. Sustainability carries with it a range of quantifiable, bottom-line benefits that enhance competitiveness, such as resource efficiency.

By 2013, Verdantix predicts, trends we're seeing now, such as growing demand in Asia, tougher energy and climate change policies, and evidence on how sustainability provide business value, will have solidified, deepening the business case for investment. see full story http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2011/05/20/could-2013-be-tipping-point-sustainability-spending

 

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Will natural gas overtake Renewable Energy Generation?

Fiona Harvey

guardian.co.uk, Monday 30 May 2011 15.33 BST

A glut of cheap gas will see the fuel overtake renewable sources in the global race to build new energy generation, says a senior energy industry executive."More gas [power plants] than wind and solar will be built [in the 10 to 20 years]," said Steve Bolze, chief executive of General Electric's power and water division, which makes gas-fired turbines. "Gas is a good alternative to being 100% renewable."

However, he was unable to say whether a massive increase in gas-fired power generation would be consistent with the world meeting its climate change target of halving greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 compared with 1990 levels, which scientists say is the only way to avoid dangerous levels of global warming. 

He said: "We need not only to be able to work through these targets, but also to deliver the power that is required in the world. Our role is to supply the industry – and we are seeing more demand for gas." 

The International Energy Agency has predicted that if the anticipated "dash for gas" goes ahead, the world will be far adrift of its greenhouse gas emissions targets. Laszlo Varro, head of gas, coal and power markets at the IEA, said: "We have said repeatedly that on our current trajectory we will miss these targets." 

GE is putting its engineering and marketing muscle strongly behind gas – the company has just launched a new gas-fired turbine that is being billed as complementary to renewable energy. The new turbine is more efficient, and its key selling point is that it can be sparked up or powered down much more quickly than previous models. The company says this means it is a good way of providing back-up for intermittent renewable generation from wind turbines – which the company also manufactures to a lesser degree. 

"When the wind doesn't blow or the sun doesn't shine, gas is an efficient way of meeting demand," said Bolze.

Gas companies have been stepping up their lobbying efforts in recent months, in an attempt to persuade policymakers around the world that an abundance of unconventional gas – fuel that was previously too expensive to exploit or inaccessible because it is bound up in dense rocks – means the fossil fuel is the best way to meet rising demand for power and cut greenhouse gas emissions. full story - http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/may/30/renewables-overtaken-cheap-gas-energy

" I believe the Long term play is in Solar and Natural gas" says Vice President of Solar Fusion Kenneth Boyle http://www.buildwithpropane.com/?page=videofuture

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Major Policy changes are needed to phase out Nuclear

In the shadows of one of the largest nuclear mishaps we have even seen in Japan, major changes are needed in order to phase out Nuclear. As if hundreds and thousands of lost lives wasn't enough. One Country has decided to do something about it.

Germany has decided to phase out nuclear power, but can renewables satisfy the energy needs of Europe’s largest economy? Experts say better policy, not technology, is needed for renewable energy to reach its potential.

Germany is already a global leader in renewable energy production, having generated 17 percent of its electricity through renewables in 2010, but some believe Germany could be doing even better.

And the country will have to ramp up such “green” energy production considerably if Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government still intends to reduce carbon emissions by 40 percent from 1990 levels by 2020, as part of efforts to combat global warming.

“Germany’s highly developed infrastructure, creative economy, innovation-oriented demand, and civil society” all factor into renewable energy taking on a more prominent role, Martin Jänicke, founding director of the Environmental Policy Research Centre (FFU) at the Free University of Berlin, told The Local.

But while Germany’s technology prowess remains top rate, some believe its outdated energy policies are slowing the progress of renewable energy productio n.

“Policy, at this stage, is a precondition for technology to develop further and for Germany to realize its energy sustainability goals,” said Rainer Quitzow, a research fellow at the FFU.

Some policy mechanisms already in place have helped spur innovation, such as feed-in tariffs, which pay renewable energy generators a premium price for the energy they produce.

But if renewable energy is to help compensate for the eventual loss of nuclear power, a broader range of policy measures is necessary to create the kind of monetary incentives developers require.

The greatest potential for growth and profit, according to Quitzow, lies in the modernisation of the renewable energy grid – and the key to this is smarter public policy and investment.

“Grid development requires large-scale coordination and investment by the government – the private sector alone can’t achieve that,” Quitzow said.

“Private companies are handling the bulk of grid development right now, but with profit as their main motive, much of their investment also serves the interests of nuclear energy and coal. Only the public sector has the capacity to make the grid both profitable and compatible with renewable energy.”

According to Jänicke, the most promising area of public investment is the “micro-grid” system, in which regional grids serve the power needs of a localized area.

The main advantage of micro-grids is their efficiency. Power is generated and stored locally, so a wind or photovoltaic plant in Lower Saxony, for example, does not waste energy connecting with an energy storage site in Norway.

Nearly eight million people in Germany already receive electricity from these decentralized networks, and as nuclear power plants are taken offline, investment in renewable micro-grids is expected to rise, if for no other reason than the profits to be had.

“Efficient production allows micro-grids to generate a surplus of renewable energy that can be exported for profit to other regions,” Jänicke said.

The micro-grid system produces energy that is both environmentally and financially sustainable, but government investment is essential to keep the market competitive.

“Without market growth, you don’t have technological innovation,” Jänicke said, explaining that a healthy market, in turn, creates incentive for innovation. “There is an interplay of feedback mechanisms in renewable energy creation, and that can be stimulated only by new and ambitious policy.”

Amrit Naresh (news@thelocal.de)

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