US And China Solar Companies Continue Chess Game

Posted on November 28, 2011 by quest

December 2 marks the next step in the preliminary determination by the U.S. International Trade Commission on whether subsidized Chinese exports have injured the US solar domestic industry. If it finds in favor of CASM, the first possible determination on “critical circumstances” could come as soon as Jan. 12, meaning importers of record could later be required to deposit estimated duties on imports back to this past Oct. 14. CASM (Coalition for American Solar Manufacturing) is a coalition includes dozens of solar suppliers and installers from across the country, many of whom have issued impassioned pleas to preserve fair trade and U.S. jobs. The Commerce Department initiated antidumping and countervailing duty investigations of the Chinese industry on Nov. 9. The global solar industry is growing at an alarming rate with China producing 55 percent of the world’s PVs in 2010, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

As the green economy continues to spread, federal, state and city agencies are helping to drive demand for solar products. Recently Charlotte, North Carolina Mayor Anthony Foxx completed a trade mission to China with the goal of spurring more trade with Chinese solar manufacturers. Jetion Solar USA held its grand opening in Charlotte in July of this year, amid great expectations and the tantalizing prospect and promise of jobs. But even as this is unfolding now China is planning it’s own probe. Now comes an announcement by the Commerce Ministry that China‘s solar industry association and Chinese solar companies may ask Beijing to launch an anti-dumping and subsidy probe into imports of U.S. polysilicon, the raw material used to make solar cells. Now China to probe U.S. renewable energy support… I know it gets confusing.

Ben Santarris, U.S. head of corporate communications for CASM “We are gratified, but not surprised, to see this showing of support from such a broad cross-section of the American solar industry.” “We know that support for domestic manufacturing is deep and pervasive. It’s great to see that it’s also resolute enough to stand up and be counted and heard.”The numbers include seven U.S. solar manufacturers that have joined to stop what CASM calls China’s state-sponsored solar industry from allegedly using export-oriented subsidies to dump exports into the U.S. market and harm American manufacturers and workers. Without a production cost advantage, China is deploying a staggering volume and array of subsidies to underwrite its production largely for export at dumped prices, according to CASM. The campaign has triggered trade petition drives to hold China accountable not just in the United States but also in Australia and Europe.

COP 17 climate change opens, Africa “victim and actor

Hollywood Spotlights Green Sustainability

World’s Tallest Solar Tower Set To Rise In Arizona

Posted on November 27, 2011 by quest

There are big scale solar projects that simply dazzle the imagination. Take for example the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System, which is a $2.2 billion solar thermal power project currently under construction in the California Mojave Desert. The The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System, is 40 miles southwest of Las Vegas, and will generate 392 megawatts of power. Google which recently pulled out of the deal after investing $168 million was one of the first investors along with the Department of Energy which has over a billion dollars in the deal. It’s massive in scope. It will produce for 1400 jobs at it’s peak and cut 13.5 million tons of carbon dioxide from the sky over it’s thirty year life expectancy.

Then there’s Desertec, an ambitious solar power project, that is to start building its first power plant next year, a 500 megawatt facility in Morocco costing up to 2 billion euros ($2.8 billion), the project lead told a German newspaper.”Construction is to start in 2012,” Ernst Rauch of Munich Re (MUVGn.DE), initiator of the Desertec Industrial Initiative (DII), told Sueddeutsche Zeitung in an interview.

Founded by mostly German companies in 2009, the 400 billion euro Desertec project will use mirrors to harness the sun’s rays to produce steam and drive turbines for electricity generation in the Sahara region within the next decade and then transmit the power to energy starved Europe. The first phase of the 12-square-kilometre Moroccan complex will be a 150 MW facility costing up to 600 million euros that will take two to four years to build.

But while these two utility scale projects go wide; EnviroMission a developer of solar tower systems is working in La Paz Arizona will build the tallest solar building in the world. It is the first of two such towers to be completed in 2015. Read more

Survival of the Fittest” Mentality at UN Climate Talks

Thankful For A Renewable Vision

Posted on November 24, 2011 by quest

It’s that time of year again. When as a nation Americans give thanks. The thanks are for family, friends and people who make a difference in the lives of others. In that regard I personally have a great deal to be thankful for. But as a national and global society do we ever stop and think about the people who are out there everyday doing things that are on a scale that can transform the world? One such person is Secretary of Energy Steven Chu‘s here are his comments from a recent speech in Colorado. “I’m here at a critical time for America’s energy future. It’s a time of challenge, but it’s also a time of opportunity. Last year, more than $240 billion was invested globally in clean energy. The worldwide market for solar photovoltaic systems alone is worth more than $80 billion.

The solar market is going to explode in the coming decades. According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, trillions of dollars will be invested globally in solar and other renewable energy sectors over the next 20 years. Countries around the world, especially China, recognize the economic potential in the solar market, and are racing at full speed to capture the lead. China leads the world in total clean energy investments and has provided strong government support to its solar industry. Today, China’s market share in solar cell and solar module production is roughly 50 percent, up significantly from just a few years ago.Meanwhile, the U.S. market share has dropped. In 1995, the United States produced more than 40 percent of the world’s solar panels, but last year, we only produced about seven percent. Although the United States invented solar PV technologies, we are no longer the leading manufacturer. Instead of watching a technology be discovered in America and then shipped overseas, we need to fight to keep it here. Other countries want these opportunities and are moving aggressively; so must we.”

He went on to say, “America has a choice to make today: Are we going to be importers or exporters of solar technologies? We can accept defeat and watch the solar jobs go to China, Germany and other countries, or we can get in the game and play to win, creating jobs in Colorado and across the country. To compete in the clean energy race, we have to do more than invent technologies, we have to make them and sell them too. Steven Chu recently appeared before Congress and personally took the heat for the Solyndra failure. He heads an agency that’s doing everything it can to spark innovation through programs such as the Sunshot Initiative, Solar Decathlon and DOE Recovery Act. Dr Chu is a Noble Peace Prize Winner and we can be grateful to him for bringing a scientific, environmental, business and social consciousness to the cause of renewable energy in America.

Intersolar Heading For Beijing

Anti-nuclear rally in Japan

Solar Energy Turned To Ice

Posted on November 22, 2011 by quest

When I first read this I thought…what? It turns out the Ice House of New Jersey, the Tri-State area’s largest ice arena, has flipped the switch on an 843 kilowatt (kW) solar system. That’s almost reaching one megawatts of power. And yet even at that level the system designed and installed by Mercury Solar Systems Mays Landing office is expected to meet only 22 percent of Ice House’s annual electricity needs. The facility has consistently drawn the attention of Gold Medal Winning Olympic Skaters to NHL Professionals. In 2002, Ice House sent 9 skaters to the Olympics including gold medalists Sarah Hughes, Elena Bereznaia and Anton Sikharulidze. Tara Lipinski, Oksana Baiul, and Sasha Cohen also utilize Ice House as their local training facility.

Over 3,660 solar panels will produce enough energy to power 265 average size residential homes every year. This is equivalent to recycling over 16 million cans of soda, planting 60,000 trees and taking 110 cars off the road every year. “This system has drastically reduced our reliance on fossil fuels and will provide a cleaner environment for the thousands of kids that utilize our facility every year,” commented Robert Bakos, Operations Manager at Ice House. “We are in the process of installing a solar information station in our facility to help educate the kids about the benefits of solar energy.”

Jared Haines, President of Mercury Solar Systems said, “”We commend Ice House for taking this step toward a greener future. Solar energy systems continue to produce significant savings and a solid return on investment for local businesses in New Jersey and we believe this will continue to drive the market forward.” Mercury Solar Systems is one of the leading solar integrators on the East Coast recognized for two consecutive years as one of Inc. 500′s fastest growing energy companies. The Company designs and installs solar panels and solar energy systems for commercial and residential customers and to date has installed nearly 2,000 solar systems in excess of 30MW of energy.

Global Warming Alert

Integrated Solar Energy Powering Homes And Cars

Posted on November 21, 2011 by quest

Its exciting to see home builders, solar panel makers and electric vehicle companies coming together to find cost effective and clean energy solutions that people can use right now. With the just completed “Plug Into History” press event featuring the Nissan LEAF with a City Ventures home pre-wired for electric cars, the dream is now realized. Integrated with each residence, City Ventures homes feature solar power and energy-efficient design, bringing energy bills to near net zero. The coupling of high-tech solar home with advanced electric car completes the circuit, allowing low-cost, low-carbon, gasoline-free living. The City Ventures earth-friendly neighborhoods, comprising over 190 homes, represent the largest collection of new, solar, no-gas homes in the United States. They are currently under construction in the California cities of Signal Hill, Santa Barbara and Brea. Prices for these homes start in the high $200,000s.

Savvy home buyers are now seeking homes with solar panels and electric vehicle charging capability. So it comes as no surprise that KB Home, one of the nation’s premier home builders, has also just announced that it is significantly expanding its popular solar initiative by making solar power systems a standard feature of homes in nearly all of its communities across Southern California. Including the high-efficiency SunPower solar power systems – now available at 28 communities – with a new KB home can help KB homeowners reduce their monthly energy bills by as much as 80% and lower their cost of homeownership for years to come. Consumers who buy a Built to Order KB home get the value of a custom home-like experience plus the tremendous energy efficiency of our latest advanced building techniques.

Jeffrey Mezger, president and chief executive officer of KB Homes said, “The response to our solar initiative has been overwhelmingly positive and we are excited to expand our program so that many more homebuyers in Southern California can take advantage of this unique opportunity.”To illustrate the potential benefit of solar power systems and the many other energy-efficient features of its homes, KB Home provides consumers with its Energy Performance Guide, which shows an estimate of monthly energy costs for each home as designed. A new KB home is could to save a homeowner about $2,000 annually on energy costs. Even if you don’t buy a house that has been built “green” from the ground up and process of greening up an existing home can be very rewarding.

US Could Save $80 Billion With Renewable Energy

China on U.S. Solar Panels Complaint

Mission College Takes Solar Megawatt Step

Posted on November 20, 2011 by quest

It’s happening all over nation state California. Now Mission College, Gilbane Co., a full-service construction company, and SunPower Corp., recently announced the dedication of a 1.1-megawatt (MW) solar power system at Mission College, located in Santa Clara, Calif. Over the 25-year-life of the system, Mission College is expected to save approximately $8.5 million in electricity costs. “At a time when schools are hard-pressed to reduce operating expenses, SunPower is working with K-12 schools, community colleges and universities to finance solar power solutions that supply significant, ongoing savings,” said SunPower Managing Director Bill Kelly. “To realize a great return on its investment in clean energy, Mission College wisely utilized low-interest financing mechanisms accessible to educational institutions and selected a system with guaranteed long-term energy performance and the highest efficiency, highest reliability on the market today.” Mission College President Dr. Laurel Jones said, “We are excited to be a model of sustainability for our student body and local community by introducing sustainable practices throughout our campus, including the new solar power system, development of clean tech curriculum and construction of LEED-designed, energy-efficient buildings.”

It turns out SunPower is actively installing solar power systems at more than 90 educational facilities in California. They have also built systems for community colleges including Bakersfield College, Mendocino College, Napa Valley College, Ohlone College, the Foothill-DeAnza Community College District, and the Los Angeles Community College District. SunPower has more than 750 large solar power systems in operation or under contract globally.

Statewide California just recently passed a milestone of one gigawatts of installed solar power. This puts California steps closer to reaching its goal of generating 33% of its energy statewide through renewable energy by 2020. In order for these goals to be achieved a combination of utility, commercial and residential programs are in effect to stimulate acceptance and purchasing. In fact as recently reported here,“California’s Ninety Nine Percent Buying Solar Energy”; The top cities on the list are not California’s wealthiest and are home to more mainstream families. For example, Bakersfield and Fresno are among the state’s top five solar cities with annual household incomes averaging between $40,000 and $50,000. By comparison, Malibu, which was not even in the top 25, has a median annual household income of $160,000. The percent of total installations in California’s highest income zip codes is only 2-3 percent.