Solar Trees Powering New Las Vegas City Hall

Posted on March 6, 2012 by quest

Yesterday Las Vegas City Hall dedicated its newly completed facility designed by Forest City Enterprises. Company officials joined Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn G. Goodman, City Manager Betsy Fretwell, members of City Council and other civic leaders for an evening dedication ceremony that showcased the building’s iconic architecture and computer-controlled LED lighting. Forest City’s Real Estate Services subsidiary developed the City Hall for Las Vegas on a fee basis. The company owns three additional adjoining blocks of land which it intends to develop into a new civic district with a mix of uses including office, retail and services that support the City Hall and other nearby governmental buildings. Construction of the City Hall is part of a broader strategy by Las Vegas leaders to stimulate job creation and economic revitalization of the city’s historic downtown.

“This project and the benefits it will bring Las Vegas are examples of the power of public-private partnerships to revitalize our cities,” said David J. LaRue, Forest City president and chief executive officer. “Great cities have strong downtowns, and it starts with great public buildings, like the new City Hall. We congratulate Las Vegas and its leaders for the vision that enabled this project to become a reality.” Forest City Enterprises, Inc. is an NYSE-listed national real estate company that is principally engaged in the ownership, development, management and acquisition of commercial and residential real estate and land throughout the United States.

The City Hall is designed to meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards. According to the city, the new building will reduce the city’s energy costs by more than $400,000 annually and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 2,400 metric tons. Thirty-three “solar trees” on the plaza and solar panels on the building’s roof will produce approximately 290,000 kilowatt hours of power for the City Hall annually.

Hawaii Green Certified Tour Operators

Energy From Solar Panels Building Electric Vehicles

Posted on March 2, 2012 by quest

It’s real hard not to like BMW’s new electric, prototypes and fossil fuel cars. But now motoring giants BMW and Honda are building solar panels into their production plants and other facilities. With the rising costs of gas and energy; this is a logical move for big commercial energy users and residential users who are ready to use solar power to cut energy usage, transportation costs and dependence on oil. Just imagine the day when you don’t have to go to the gas station to fuel up? You simply plug your electric powered car into your solar powered home and zaaaaap you’re good to go! This is no fantasy…. not anymore and the fact that BMW and Honda are using solar energy to build electric vehicles should be a clear indication where the smart money is going.

Both of these behemoths in the automobile industry are looking to start incorporating more on-site solar electricity generation. Honda has been installing solar power generation systems at their plants all around Japan and they have so far reached a total combined capacity of 3.3 megawatts.

Honda’s own solar power branch is Honda Soltec and they are using their own solar panels, the “Honda Soltec CIGS thin-film solar cells” on all of tir branches. Among the recent installations by Honda there’s been a 9 kilowatt-solar power system fitted at the Honda Cars Tokyo Chuo dealership. This installation marks the beginning of a solar power initiative from Honda that will see over 100 dealerships fitted with similar solar panels. BMW has been pulled over to the ‘green side’ after having just recently finished installing 400 solar modules that each has a 240 watt capacity. They have been installed at BMW Manufacturing heritage museum and visitor centre which is situated next to their South Carolina plant.

Los Angeles Growing Green & Cleantech Businesses

Michael Picker To Keynote San Diego Solar Symposium

Posted on March 1, 2012 by quest

In an effort to continue the San Diego region’s rapid deployment of residential and commercial solar power installations, CleanTECH San Diego and the Solar Electric Power Association are co-hosting the San Diego Solar Energy Symposium on March 6 at the University of San Diego . The symposium will feature a number of distinguished guests from the solar industry to discuss the future of solar power in San Diego.”No matter how much has been done, we’ve only just tapped into the full potential of rooftop solar solutions and mass adoption,” said Jim Waring, President and Chief Executive Officer of CleanTECH San Diego. “The lessons learned are the platform from which the region can grow to reach its full solar energy potential.”

Michael Picker, Senior Advisor to California Governor Jerry Brown for Renewable Energy Facilities, will keynote the symposium, discussing the region’s solar market and how to build a foundation for sustainable solar energy growth. A host of industry experts including representatives from San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E), Kyocera Solar, REC Solar, Xtreme Power Solutions, Soitec, UC San Diego and the Clean Coalition will bring perspective to today’s trends and challenges as well as outline a San Diego vision for solar power generation over the next decade. Scott Anders, USD Energy Policy Initiatives Center Director, and Andrew McAllister, Director of Policy and Strategy for the California Center for Sustainable Energy (CCSE), will moderate the panel discussions.

“Transforming solar from a niche technology to a mainstream resource is a complicated undertaking. Our San Diego event brings together a productive mix of viewpoints that can serve as a model for the conversations that must take place across the nation,” said Bob Gibson, SEPA Vice President of Market Intelligence. SDG&E echoed the need for collaboration as the region continues to move forward and distinguish itself as a solar power leader. “SDG&E is fully committed to the development of solar power and entered into 12 contracts with developers for 897 megawatts of new solar energy in 2011,” said James P. Avery, SDG&E Senior Vice President of Power Supply. “The Solar Energy Symposium is a key part of our ongoing effort to collaborate with leaders in the solar industry, policy makers and our customers as we progress in transitioning SDG&E to a clean energy future.

Apple Using Solar Power To Power Itself

Posted on February 21, 2012 by quest

Apple isn’t the first, Google is already there and it’s a pretty safe bet other big, medium and smaller companies will follow and go solar. The Solar Foundation an industry trade organization has reported that there are now over 100,000 people employed in the U. S . solar industry, and that figure is expected to rise dramatically. To meet its energy needs the company, Apple has announced new energy efficiency initiatives at its North Carolina Maiden data facility and have embarked on an industry-leading renewable energy program.

Apple is building the nation’s largest end user–owned, onsite solar array on the land surrounding the data center. When completed, this 100-acre, 20-megawatt facility will supply 42 million kWh of clean, renewable energy annually. In addition the computer maker is is building a fuel cell installation that will be the largest non-utility fuel cell installation operating anywhere in the country. The 5-megawatt facility, located directly adjacent to the data center, will be powered by 100 percent biogas, and provide more than 40 million kWh of 24×7 baseload renewable energy annually.

With these developments one has to wonder what impact Apple might have on the solar industry if it began manufacturing solar panels. Apple says it’s “committed to pursuing energy-efficient growth by increasing our renewable energy participation to match the growing needs of our data center—through our own projects as well as partnerships with utilities and renewable energy providers.”

Warren Buffet A Major Solar Energy Investor

Obama Calls For Extending US Solar Programs

Posted on February 14, 2012 by quest

President Obama’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2013 budget, released today, provides for an extension of the Section 1603 Treasury Program. Extension of this worthwhile program will allow taxpayers to reap the significant economic and energy policy benefits associated with the expanded deployment and use of solar energy. “America’s solar industry appreciates President Obama’s support for extending the 1603 Treasury Program,” said Rhone Resch, President and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). “The 1603 program has helped leverage over $24 billion in private sector investment in for a wide range of clean energy projects, and extending the 1603 program will create an additional 37,000 jobs in the American solar industry in this year alone.”

The 2008 economic crisis and the economy’s subsequent downturn drastically reduced the availability of tax equity, severely limiting the financing available for renewable energy projects. The Section 1603 Treasury Program, which was enacted in 2009 and extended in 2010, allows taxpayers to receive a federal grant in lieu of taking an existing energy tax incentive they are otherwise able to claim. This change to the timing of when an energy incentive can be claimed provides the liquidity needed for the further development of domestic energy projects. As the tax equity markets have not yet recovered, there remains a compelling need for the 1603 program.

Added Resch, “The lapse of the 1603 Program at the end of last year has had a detrimental impact. Small businesses and entrepreneurs who typically use this program and who would otherwise be hiring workers and starting new solar projects have been left in limbo. At a time when the nation’s economy is on the verge of recovery, now is not the time to walk away from smart, proven policies like the 1603 Program that create jobs and support small business growth.”

SunPower Acquires French Solar Company

Posted on January 31, 2012 by quest

San Francisco bay area based SunPower a manufacturer of high-efficiency solar cells, solar panels and solar systems today announced it has completed its acquisition of the wholly-owned Total SA subsidiary Tenesol SA, a global solar provider headquartered in La Tour de Salvagny, France for $165.4 million in cash. Concurrently with the closing of this acquisition, Total purchased 18.6 million shares of SunPower common stock in a private placement at $8.80 per share. Total now owns approximately 66 percent of SunPower’s common stock.”SunPower is well positioned to gain share during the current market transition with the addition of Tenesol’s established European and global customer channels and strong manufacturing base in Europe and Africa,” said Tom Werner, SunPower president and CEO. “Tenesol’s well-established engineering and sales channels and strong team will complement SunPower’s world-leading high efficiency, high reliability solar panels and systems global footprint.”

Tenesol has been designing, engineering, manufacturing, installing and managing solar energy systems for its global customer base since 1983. It is a leading solar energy operator in Europe with a strong pipeline in the French market for large industrial and commercial photovoltaic rooftop solutions. The company has installed more than 15,000 solar systems worldwide totaling approximately 500 megawatts (MW) dc. In addition, Tenesol is a leader in the global off-grid market sector and expects to record revenue of approximately EUR 200 million in 2011. Post acquisition, SunPower will have deployed more than 2,500 MW dc of solar technology globally.

“With SunPower’s industry-leading technology, attractive long-term cost roadmap, our joint collaboration on research and development and Tenesol‘s established downstream presence, the combined company is well positioned to open new, largely untapped markets for solar,” said Arnaud Chaperon, senior vice president, Total Gas and Power Division.