US Solar Energy Gets United Steelworkers Backing

Posted on December 3, 2011 by quest

The back and forth between US and Chinese solar companies continues with Leo W. Gerard, president of the United Steelworkers (USW) issuing a statement , commenting on a letter sent by 59 members of Congress to President Obama calling for action on Chinese clean energy protectionism.”Today’s congressional letter to President Obama highlights the imperative of confronting China’s predatory, protectionist and illegal trade practices in the alternative and renewable energy sector. The time for dialogue has come to an end — now is the time to put an end to their efforts to dominate this vital sector of our economy.

“Ten years ago, China ascended to the World Trade Organization (WTO) with a promise to abide by free and fair rules of trade. China continues to massively subsidize their industries, to exclude others from exporting competitive products to their markets, to require transfers of technology and engage in countless practices to the disadvantage of other trading nations. “Ten years is long enough to know that they have no intention of playing by the rules unless we challenge them and utilize the leverage of our market to provide a level playing field.

“Alternative and renewable energy can provide an enormous opportunity not only to promote energy security, but to also enhance environmental protection while promoting the revitalization of manufacturing and job creation. America has been a leader in developing these technologies, but not in manufacturing the resulting products due to China’s actions.”That’s why the Steelworkers filed a comprehensive trade case under Section 301 of our trade laws last year. President Obama and his Administration should end their review of that petition and act on the comprehensive set of issues identified in that case. Coupled with acting on the solar products trade case, we can begin to restore the promise of green energy as an engine of economic growth and job creation here in the U.S.”

A Solar House Divided

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

More Environmental Legal Woes for JinkoSolar

Posted on November 26, 2011 by quest

It had to be within days of announcing it’s sponsorship of the San Francisco 49ers in September that JinkoSolar was feeling some environmental heat. The Huffington Post reported in mid September,“Police detained at least 20 people after hundreds of villagers protested last week, some storming the factory compound and overturning vehicles. Authorities said the factory had failed to address earlier environmental complaints and that the protests followed mass fish deaths in late August due to runoff from heavy rains.” Then in early October the company reported it was in the process of completion of its phase I environment safety upgrade at its facility in Haining City west of Shanghai in the Zhejiang Province of China.

Since then Los Angeles based law firm Glancy Binkow & Goldberg LLP has just filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of investors who purchased or otherwise acquired Jinko stock on the open market between May 13, 2010 and September 21, 2011. The securities fraud class action lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

The Complaint alleges that in the Prospectus and Registration Statement issued in connection with the Company’s IPO, and in subsequent filings with Securities and Exchange Commission, JinkoSolar represented that the Company was in full compliance will all environmental regulations in the People’s Republic of China. The Complaint further alleges that last month, after a massive die-off of fish in a river adjacent to JinkoSolar’s primary manufacturing facility in Haining, China, hundreds of local residents protested and eventually ransacked the facility, 31 people were detained by police, and the facility was shut for several weeks.

Solar Megawatt Step

Chevy Volt Being Fed Checked

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

California’s Ninety Nine Percent Buying Solar Energy

Posted on November 15, 2011 by quest

PV Solar Report, an authority on California solar market data and SunRun, a leading home solar company, today announced that families in median income zip codes make up the majority of California’s home solar market. Two thirds of California home solar installations in 2009, 2010, and 2011 year-to-date have been in zip codes with median annual household incomes of less than $85,000 and not in the wealthiest areas of the state. In addition, the number of residential projects in lower income zip codes continues to increase as solar prices decrease. 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.

SunRun Director of Government Affairs Ethan Sprague said, “The data from PV solar report shows this model is working, and that it’s not just the wealthy driving and benefitting from solar adoption. We are working to educate consumers that solar is finally affordable.” “This is exactly the market transformation that the California Solar Initiative (CSI) was designed to achieve when it started in 2007. SunRun owns, insures and maintains solar panels and installs them on a homeowner’s roof. Families pay a low monthly rate for clean energy, fixing their energy costs for 20 years. The service makes solar accessible to more Californians because families who could not afford cash purchase can now go solar. One of every four SunRun customers reporting income makes less $50,000 per year.

“It’s exciting to analyze how the industry is growing right now, especially when trends indicate that solar is becoming more mainstream and not just reserved for the wealthiest individuals,” said Stephen Torres, founder and managing director of PV Solar Report. “Solar prices are coming down, it’s great for job growth from installing, financing, and servicing solar in local communities, and models like SunRun are helping drive growth because they eliminate large upfront investments.”

Solar Power Wars

California One Gigawatts of Solar And Growing

Posted on November 11, 2011 by quest

Environment California Research & Policy Center released a new report documenting that California’s innovative Million Solar Roofs Initiative, halfway through its legislatively mandated timeline, is on pace to meet its goal of installing 3 gigawatts of solar capacity by 2016, is helping to reduce the cost of solar energy, and is creating thousands of jobs throughout the state. These findings come just as California hits the milestone of installing more than 1 gigawatt of rooftop solar power across the state—a milestone that only five other countries in the world have reached.

“California can become the Saudi Arabia of the sun if it continues to get behind big, successful solar programs,” said Michelle Kinman, Clean Energy Advocate with Environment California Research & Policy Center and co-author of the report, Building a Brighter Future: California’s Progress Toward a Million Solar Roofs. “All signs point to a bright future for solar power in California, meaning cleaner air, cleaner energy, and more jobs.”

The 2006 Million Solar Roofs Bill (SB 1 – Murray) was historic in both scope and scale, representing the first unified state effort to turn solar power into a commonplace and affordable energy resource for average citizens. The law established a 10-year, statewide interagency effort, now called the Go Solar California campaign, which includes programs that fund solar projects on homes, commercial businesses, farms, and government and non-profit buildings. Read the Full Report