Monday, June 30, 2008

Energy Delayers, Get Out Of The Way: A New American Energy Future Awaits

By Helen Aki and Jesse Jenkins, cross-posted from the Breakthrough Blog

Just as the time becomes ripe for a major push towards clean, cheap sources of electricity, the Bureau of Land Management threw a two-year stumbling block in the path of solar power development last Friday. As solar power ramps up--the Bureau has received 130 proposals solar plants since 2005--the Bureau decided to put a hold on further development, claiming that that an exhaustive environmental impact report must be completed before solar plants can be installed on federally owned lands. Meanwhile, the push continues for oil drilling in protected offshore areas and the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge (an endeavor that really merits an environmental impact assessment!).

Using environmental justifications to suppress the growth of new, clean, American energy sources doesn't fly with environmentalists (who must feel like their political tool (the EIS) has been perversely co-opted by the "dark side"). But the Mojave ground squirrel aside (a species allegedly threatened by the solar development), it strikes me that anything that actively blocks much needed new clean, renewable energy is not only perverse or ironic, but actually dangerous.

Timed as it is to coincide with the expiration of critical renewable energy incentives, this new road block is bad news for the solar industry-- and actively blocking the advancement of new sources of clean, American energy is bad news for the economy as a whole. Now more than ever, as the price of oil continues to rise, buoying inflation and economic insecurity along with it, the transition to new clean sources of American energy is critical to secure continued economic prosperity.

As the New York Times reports:

"It doesn't make any sense," said Holly Gordon, vice president for legislative and regulatory affairs for Ausra, a solar thermal energy company in Palo Alto, Calif. "The Bureau of Land Management land has some of the best solar resources in the world. This could completely stunt the growth of the industry." (emph. added)

Even if the moratorium on solar plants in public lands does not entirely smother the solar industry--after all, privately owned lands are still fair game--it is symbolic of a structural failure to fully acknowledge and understand the problems we face, or embrace progressive and effective policies to solve them.

The price of gas has exceeded $4 a gallon in most of the country (it was well over $4.50 in northern California this weekend), the economy is in a downturn, and Americans are crying out for new energy solutions. Cheap, abundant supplies of oil may have powered the United States of the past, but our continued reliance on this depleting and increasingly expensive fossil fuel is now imperiling our economy and our way of life. The obvious answer - to everyone but the federal government apparently - is to tap our vast reserves of abundant renewable energy and develop the new clean, cheap American energy sources that will power the 21st Century.

Instead, all we hear from our Bush Administration throws up roadblocks to the clean energy sources at our fingertips and calls to Drill! Drill! Drill! for more oil (i.e. more of the same). Meanwhile critical renewable energy incentives gasp their final, rattling breath in Congress.

Why? Though the answer may lie with oil interests, there is a deeper trend. In his most recent New York Times op-ed, Thomas Friedman laments the current state of the union and insists that we need to rebuild a dysfunctional nation. He writes that, "It's the state of America now that is the most gripping source of anxiety for Americans," adding that "our political system seems incapable of producing long-range answers to big problems or big opportunities" -- a myopia which is only too evident in a policy such as the BLM's, and in the absurd energy solutions proposed by the current administration.

Friedman goes on to say:

"I continue to be appalled at the gap between what is clearly going to be the next great global industry -- renewable energy and clean power -- and the inability of Congress and the administration to put in place the bold policies we need to ensure that America leads that industry."

We are living in a dangerous time, a time of energy crisis. Out of this danger comes opportunity, and a choice between futures.

We can choose to continue towards a future of oil dependency that spells disaster for both our economy and our climate, putting up impediments to essential new American energy industries and providing "life support" in the form of continued subsidies to the mature ones in decline. Or we can choose to recharge America with the power sources of a truly novel era, letting go of that which is no longer politically or economically strategic and cultivating that which will lead us into an age of clean energy and prosperity.

It seems that, so far, we have only chosen the former. Which future do you choose?

Image source: NY Times

Bluewater Wind Signs First U.S. Agreement to Provide Offshore Wind Power

Bluewater Wind Delaware, LLC, a subsidiary of Babcock & Brown, announced today that it has signed a 25-year contract with Delmarva Power to sell the utility up to 200 megawatts of power from an offshore wind farm that will be built 11.5 miles off the coast of Rehoboth Beach in Delaware.

"This contract is a significant step toward developing Delaware's first offshore wind farm, which will almost certainly be the first offshore wind farm in the country," said Hunter Armistead, head of Babcock & Brown's North American energy group. "This offshore wind farm will harness the strong winds off the coast of Delaware to bring clean and renewable energy, stable power rates and new jobs to the area."

"This is an historic day for our country," said Peter Mandelstam, founder and President of Bluewater Wind. "By signing this first-ever formal contract in the United States for the sale of pollution-free, stable-priced energy generated from our offshore wind farm, Bluewater Wind and Delmarva Power will usher in a new era of power generation that benefits from utility-scale power plants located far from our shores. We now expect even greater interest in offshore wind farms, the development of which will help reduce our dependence on foreign sources of fuel and will serve to aid in the fight against climate change and sea level rise."

Bluewater Wind Delaware, LLC, a subsidiary of Babcock & Brown, announced today that it has signed a 25-year contract with Delmarva Power to sell the utility up to 200 megawatts of power from an offshore wind farm that will be built 11.5 miles off the coast of Rehoboth Beach in Delaware.

"This contract is a significant step toward developing Delaware's first offshore wind farm, which will almost certainly be the first offshore wind farm in the country," said Hunter Armistead, head of Babcock & Brown's North American energy group. "This offshore wind farm will harness the strong winds off the coast of Delaware to bring clean and renewable energy, stable power rates and new jobs to the area."

"This is an historic day for our country," said Peter Mandelstam, founder and President of Bluewater Wind. "By signing this first-ever formal contract in the United States for the sale of pollution-free, stable-priced energy generated from our offshore wind farm, Bluewater Wind and Delmarva Power will usher in a new era of power generation that benefits from utility-scale power plants located far from our shores. We now expect even greater interest in offshore wind farms, the development of which will help reduce our dependence on foreign sources of fuel and will serve to aid in the fight against climate change and sea level rise."

Delmarva Power has agreed to purchase a 200-megawatt of the power produced by the wind farm that is expected to have an output of up to 600 megawatts. Bluewater Wind will determine the final size of the wind farm within two years, during which time the company will seek additional buyers of power. In addition to its contract with Delmarva Power, Bluewater Wind has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Delaware Electric Municipal Corporation for the sale of approximately 100,000 to 150,000 megawatt hours of power and 17 megawatts of capacity to its nine municipal members.

The agreement requires legislative approval of changes to the state's Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) to allow for renewable energy credits (RECs) from the offshore wind farm to be credited to Delmarva Power's account at a rate of 350% (or 3.5 credits) per REC. One REC equals one megawatt-hour of electricity, which equals the average monthly amount of energy used by a Delaware household. The parties will now immediately seek legislative action on the RPS amendment before the Delaware State Legislature adjourns later this month.

Following the necessary legislative changes to the RPS, the agreed-upon contract will be considered by the four state agencies, perhaps as early as July. Approval by the four state agencies will then lead Bluewater Wind to continue its development efforts. Final regulations regarding the leasing of land on the Outer Continental Shelf will need to be adopted by the U.S. Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service (MMS); draft final regulations are currently being reviewed by the President's Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The MMS said it hopes to adopt final regulations by the end of 2008.

In the interim, Bluewater Wind will begin the initial planning stages for the wind farm that will include avian studies, installation of a meteorological tower and onsite wave buoys, commencement of more site borings, designation of the final wind farm layout, and work on staging, operation and maintenance ports.

Babcock & Brown acquired Bluewater Wind in September 2007, following Bluewater Wind's selection by the four state agencies in a state-mandated competitive bidding process to negotiate a contract with Delmarva Power to provide new power generation from an in-state source.

Florida Power &Light Announces World’s Largest Photovoltaic Solar Project

Florida Power & Light Company, a subsidiary of clean energy leader FPL Group, Inc. (NYSE:FPL), today announced new solar energy projects that include the world’s largest photovoltaic solar plant and first “hybrid” energy center, coupling solar thermal technology with an existing combined-cycle generation unit.

“Pending regulatory approval, FPL will build 110 megawatts of solar power right here in the Sunshine State, making Florida No. 2 in the nation for solar energy,” FPL Group Chairman and CEO Lewis Hay, III announced today at the 2008 Florida Summit on Global Climate Change in Miami. “This is made possible in part by the strong support and determined leadership of Governor Crist and the Florida legislature, who crafted a progressive energy bill that put a supportive policy framework in place for solar power.”

Along with a previously announced photovoltaic solar installation at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, the projects will generate 110 megawatts of emissions-free electricity. The projects are:
- The DeSoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center. Planned for construction to commence by year-end 2008 on FPL-owned property in DeSoto County, Fla., the DeSoto project will provide 25 megawatts of photovoltaic solar capacity, making it the world’s largest photovoltaic solar facility.
- The Martin Next Generation Solar Energy Center. Planned for construction to commence by the beginning of 2009 at FPL’s existing Martin Plant site, the Martin project will provide up to 75 megawatts of solar thermal capacity in an innovative “hybrid” design that will connect to an existing combined-cycle power plant. When the power of the sun is producing electricity from steam, less fossil fuel is required.
- The Space Coast Next Generation Solar Energy Center. Planned for construction to commence by the beginning of 2009 at the Kennedy Space Center, the Space Coast project will provide 10 megawatts of photovoltaic solar capacity in an innovative public-private partnership.
These projects represent an accelerated implementation schedule of the commitments the company made at the Clinton Global Initiative in September 2007, which called for an initial 10 megawatt trial followed by the construction of 300 megawatts of solar power in Florida and 500 megawatts nationwide over seven years. With today’s announcement, FPL is meeting more than one-third of its Florida target in under a year.

Environmental Benefits
Together, the three sites will prevent the release of nearly 3.5 million tons of greenhouse gases over the life of the projects, which is the equivalent of removing 25,000 cars from the road per year, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In addition, photovoltaic solar systems, which convert sunlight directly to electricity, consume no fuel, use no water, and produce no waste. Solar thermal systems, which use the power of the sun to produce electricity from steam, use no fossil fuel, no additional cooling water and produce zero greenhouse gas emissions.

The 110 megawatts of photovoltaic solar and solar thermal power announced by FPL today is in addition to 250 megawatts of solar thermal power announced by FPL Energy on March 26. Together, the projects will dramatically extend FPL Group’s lead as the world’s No. 1 producer of solar energy. FPL Group is also the nation’s No. 1 producer of wind power.

The company has secured the necessary zoning approval and has access to the necessary transmission infrastructure for all three projects. The Martin and DeSoto County projects will be built entirely on FPL-owned land. FPL submitted a petition on May 16 to the Florida Public Service Commission to commence regulatory approval to build the three projects.

A Record of Clean Energy Leadership
With the announcement of these solar projects, FPL Group is further demonstrating its commitment to improving the environment and expanding its renewable energy portfolio:
- FPL is the nation’s No. 1 utility for energy conservation, according to U.S. Department of Energy data. FPL’s conservation programs have helped the company avoid the need to build 12 medium-sized power plants since 1980, more than any other utility.
- FPL Energy operates the world’s largest solar thermal field in California’s Mojave Desert and is the nation’s largest wind power company, with 5,410 megawatts of installed capacity at 56 sites in 16 states.
- Overall, FPL Group’s generation fleet, with a capacity of 38,105 megawatts, has one of the lowest carbon dioxide emission rates in the country.
In addition, FPL Group is one of the electric power industry’s strongest advocates for a mandatory, nationwide policy to place a price on carbon dioxide emissions. Hay has testified before Congress in support of a national carbon fee as the most efficient and effective way to slow, stop and eventually reverse the build-up of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. He has also expressed support for a cap-and-trade program that requires carbon emitters to bear the cost of their emissions rather than shift those costs onto society and incorporates appropriate price controls during the early transition years to minimize disruptions to the economy.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

What Do We Want? Cheap, Abundant Solar! When Do We Want It? Now!

By Jesse Jenkins, Associate Director, Breakthrough Generation. Cross-posted from the Breakthrough Blog

The solar industry is booming, ramping up production capacity and driving costs down steadily towards the mythical "Grid Parity" point - the price point when solar on your roof beats paying your utility bill. That's a game changer and the solar industry is steadily heading that direction.

But as Andrew Leonard (writing at Salon) recognizes, we could hit that magic grid parity point faster with leadership -- and major investment -- from the federal government. With energy prices rising, our economy faltering, and Americans crying out for something to be done, it's time for the clean energy investment that will unlock the potential of solar and other renewables and re-energize America for a new era of sustained prosperity.

Booming demand for solar power will drive worldwide investments in photovoltaic (PV) cells to the same level as the semiconducter industry by 2010, according to a new report from market intelligence firm iSuppli Corp.

PV cell production plants are expected to crank out as much as 12 Gigawatts (GW) of solar cells globally by 2010, up from 3.5GW in 2007, iSuppli predicts. The PV market is expected to grow by 40% annually until 2010 and sustain 20% annual growth rates after that, according to iSuppli chief PV analyst Dr. Henning Wicht.

As solar manufacturing ramps up, the price of solar falls as it speeds down a relatively predictable price curve. For crystalline silicon-based solar cells (the most mature type of PV cell), costs have historically fallen roughly 20% for every doubling in manufacturing capacity. Major PV cell manufacturers Q-Cells AG and REC Group predict price drops to continue as manufacturing ramps up. The two PV giants expect solar system costs to fall by 40 percent from 2006 to 2010.

So we're on the path to solar grid parity. But as prices at the pump and on our electricity bills continue to rise and Dr. James Hansen warns us again about the urgency of our climate situation, there's no time to lose. As Leonard writes, "What do we want? Grid parity. When do we want it? Now."

So what can we do to speed solar along it's merry way towards grid parity - and hasten the day when cheap and abundant solar can slash both our energy costs and our greenhouse gas emissions?

How about a healthy dose of federal government leadership?!


Let's start by cutting through the political demagoguery and posturing in Congress and pass the much-needed extensions of critical renewable energy incentives -- including an eight -year extension of the solar Investment Tax Credit.

As Thomas Friedman wrote this weekend, it's time to "broker passage of legislation that has been stuck in Congress for a year," the Renewable Energy and Job Creation Act (H.R. 6049), a bill that "could actually impact America's energy profile right now -- unlike offshore oil that would take years to flow -- and create good tech jobs to boot."

Passing a long-term extension of the solar incentives will create a stable investment environment for solar in the United States, encourage the expansion of US solar manufacturing, and drive solar towards grid parity -- all while strengthening our economy.

If instead, Congress fails to act, preferring to politicize votes over clean energy and offshore oil drilling instead, these incentives -- as well as the critical Production Tax Credit driving record growth in the wind power industry -- will expire at the end of the year. If they do, more than 100,000 good American jobs and tens of billions of dollars in investment will wind up on the chopping block, not exactly smart policy at a time of economic downturn and soaring energy costs.

"Already clean energy projects in the U.S. are being put on hold," Rhone Resch, president of the Solar Energy Industries Association told Friedman, as solar and other renewable energy companies try to limit risk in the face of a very uncertain and highly politicized investment environment.

So just as solar is ramping up and prices are coming down, Congress is playing political games, putting the breaks on a booming economic sector and delaying the day when solar energy is cheap and abundant.

If we want the new American energy sources that will cleanly power a new era of economic prosperity, we need to put our money on the table. We need to government leadership and federal investments that can ignite a clean energy future and unlock the potential of 21st Century energy sources like solar.

So let's start with with a long-term extension of the solar Investment Tax Credit and other critical renewable energy incentives. But let's not stop there! America's economy can't wait for the day when clean renewable energy sources can provide abundant, affordable and secure energy, and we can hasten it's arrival by:

  • Ramping up investment in research, development and demonstration of cutting-edge clean energy technologies -- including next-generation solar technologies like thin-film photovoltaics and concentrating solar-electric plants.Economist Jeffrey Sachs recently called on the United States to "increase our annual energy-research budget to $30 billion." In December 2007, a group of over 30 energy scientists called on Congress (pdf) to invest a minimum of $30 billion/year on new clean energy sources and ways to use energy more efficiently. Let's put at least that much money on the table for clean energy innovation and deployment and secure a clean energy future.

  • Major new public works projects could lay the enabling infrastructure necessary to truly unlock the potential of America's abundant renewable energy reserves.A new American supergrid - the interstate highway system of the electrical system -- would unlock the vast solar energy potential of the Desert Southwest and the wind energy reserves of the Great Plains, the "Saudi Arabia of Wind" (see this report for an example - pdf). Just as federal public works projects -- like the federal dams and the interstate highways system -- laid the foundations for the economic booms of the 20th Century, it's time to invest in the infrastructure that will underly a new century of sustained American prosperity.

  • The federal government has enormous purchasing power. The government can accelerate the road to clean, cheap renewable energy by committing to purchase solar panels for government facilities. Just as government purchasing helped buy-down the cost of microchips and laid the foundation for the communications revolution, a solar procurement program can help secure the clean, cheap energy that will power the 21st Century.


Coal fueled the Industrial Revolution of the 19th Century. Oil powered the economic growth of the 20th Century. But these fuels are the fuels of the past -- their supplies are dwindling, their costs are rising and our dependence on them is imperiling our economy and our climate. It is time to unlock the energy sources -- including affordable solar -- that will power the 21st Century.

If we want our energy to be cheap, we want it to be clean, and we want it fast, we need to invest in the energy sources of the future, not the past. It's time for new American energy!

Tuesday, June 03, 2008

DOE Annual Report on U.S. Wind Power Installation, Cost, and Performance Trends

The U.S. wind industry experienced unprecedented growth in 2007,
surpassing even optimistic projections from years past. This rapid
pace of development has made it difficult to keep up with trends in
the marketplace. Yet, the need for timely, objective information on
the industry and its progress has never been greater. This report -
the second of an ongoing annual series - attempts to meet this need by
providing a detailed overview of developments and trends in the U.S.
wind power market, with a particular focus on 2007.
Full report:
http://eetd.lbl.gov/ea/ems/reports/lbnl-275e.pdf
Powerpoint summary of the report:
http://eetd.lbl.gov/ea/ems/reports/lbnl-275e-ppt.pdf

Monday, June 02, 2008

Bosch to Acquire Ersol

Robert Bosch has agreed to buy 50.45 percent of solar power company
Ersol for 546.4 million euros ($845.7 million) from Ventizz Capital
and plans a public offer for the rest, Bosch and Ersol said.

Press release: Agreement between Ventizz and Bosch regarding sale of
majority stake in Ersol;
http://www.ersol.de/en/newsmediarelations/pressreleases/pressrelease/news/1212386257/?tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=35&cHash=41b8c9b284