1000 Megawatts and Counting: US Solar Installations Shine Bright

According to a report by the Solar Energy Industry Association (SEIA), Q3 2011 solar installations in the U.S. smashed previous records with 449 megawatts of new capacity in just three months.  This increase represents attainment of a yearly milestone of 1,000 megawatts in solar installations, surpassing the 887 megawatts completed throughout all of 2010.  This 140% growth year-over-year would be impressive trending numbers in any industry. 

Grid Parity

As the wholesale price of solar panels continues to drop - a study published in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews indicates a decline between late 2009 and mid 2011 of as much as 70% - the cost of traditional “grid” electricity generated by coal and gas plants has been steadily increasing.  As described in a recent FastCompany article, “As those two trends continue, solar electricity will soon become as cheap and cheaper than regular retail electricity. That moment is called ‘grid parity’ (i.e., when solar reaches parity with grid electricity) and it’s exciting because once we reach grid parity, solar power won’t just be the eco-friendly option—it’ll also be the economical option.”

What does this trend mean to business owners?

For many business owners, decision to go solar is purely pragmatic and financial.  Decreasing costs of solar panels, along with tax incentives and more readily available leasing options, are fueling growth and making the specter of going green more attractive to those focused purely on bottom line measures.  

Erica Lynn Johnson, Director, Community Relations & Development with Sullivan Solar Power, describes the impact of lowering costs and more flexible arrangements as follows: 

"As solar energy becomes more heavily adopted, … more and more financing options exist. As a result, solar energy is now at a tipping point where it is becoming available to the masses and you don't necessarily have to come up with the upfront cost to purchase the equipment. Leases or Power Purchase Agreements (PPA's) allow most people to go solar for a monthly payment less than their current electric bill with little to no upfront cost. “

To what extent are decisions driven by government subsidies or tax credits?

SEIA warns that solar’s growth is threatened by the potential expiration of the Treasury Department’s 1603 Program which provides a cash grant in lieu of a tax credit.  While 1603 payments are not made until after the energy property is placed in service, and the phase-out for construction start dates is upon us, it is a powerful incentive, even with these restrictions.

Johnson offers another perspective, stating that the Federal Tax Credit still provides incentives to go solar. "It is a one-to-one credit against tax liabilities, not a write-off and covers 30% of the out-of-pocket cost. This is scheduled to last through 2016.  And even in utility territories in which the rebates are extremely low, the continued deployment of solar has not been slowed.”

If this year’s 1000+ MW milestone is any indication, any shortcomings of the respective incentive programs don’t seem to be dimming the widespread implementation of solar power.  

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Our Guest Writer is Diane Bucka, Freelance Business Writer and Founder of Responsible Business Registry. Diane is a sustainability advocate, and communications consultant with more than 15 years of writing, editing and marketing experience. Follow her on Twitter and Facebook; view her profile on LinkedIn.

Clean Energy Businesses Power Climate Change Progress at COP 17

The recently concluded United Nations Climate Change Conference in Durban, South Africa, (COP 17) brought world leaders in government, business and NGOs together to try to forge progress on climate change. Despite dismal news that global carbon dioxide emissions from industry rose about three percent to hit record highs in 2010, the ultimate agreement seemed unable to overcome significant political and diplomatic obstacles to strong international policy.

David Victor, a political scientist at the University of California, San Diego who has followed the UN process closely since its beginnings in the early 1990s, decried the results of COP 17, stating,

“In terms of substance, they have not really achieved much. They've agreed to have negotiations about what they might agree to in the future."

In his book, Global Warming Gridlock, he describes a pattern of un-kept promises that has plagued these diplomatic efforts.

One outcome that did emerge, however, is an alternative leadership paradigm in which collaboration and innovation prevailed. In his opening remarks at the conference, President Zuma pointed to business leaders, charging,

“The green economy can expand regardless of the COP outcome, but clear policy outcomes will accelerate growth. Business need not wait for outcomes in Durban. Forge ahead. There are many opportunities to pursue [to build a green economy]."

Down the road from the convention center, representatives from 600 corporations, NGOs and other organizations gathered for the World Climate Summit to highlight the role of the private sector and take action – with or without clear advances in formal climate policy.

Additional evidence of businesses integrating sustainable policies abound:

· A recent GreenBiz article points to companies such as Siemens, Coca-Cola and Nedbank, demonstrating ways in which they are not only embedding sustainability into their operations, but turning green into a competitive advantage.

· Overseas Private Investment Corporation recently announced that green lending jumped eightfold in 2010 to top $1 billion.


· The Sustainable Landscapes Partnership (SLP), begun as a partnership among Conservation International, USAID, the Walton Family Foundation and the Indonesian government, represents an innovative public-private partnership focused on preventing CO2 emissions through conservation and sustainable forest and land management, which will support the creation of markets for sustainably sourced products and supply chain efforts.

· The Clinton Global Initiative’s annual meeting in September reflected great progress, as panelists from such multi-national companies as Barclays, PepsiCO, and Unilever, among others, touted the positive impacts of sustainability on their triple-bottom-line. Barclay’s Bob Diamond stated,

“In the financial services industry, we know a lot of things have to change. On Africa, it’s very, very important what lending can do to create sustainability. Food shortages are coming and going in many nations. Aid can help relieve the problem, but it can also help create sustainable solutions….It’s a virtuous circle: the producers, the farmers are willing to invest; the banks are willing to take risks. The moral of the story here is sustainable solutions are the best for creating jobs, creating economic growth and creating better lives.”

Private sector investment in green technology, while plunging 44% in the second quarter of 2011 in the U.S. to $1.1 billion, hit the $1 trillion mark globally just as the Durban conference was underway, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. The annual growth rate of clean energy investing has been 29 percent since 2004, with $243 billion invested in 2010.

“Clean tech financing levels remain strong in the context of investment levels over the past several quarters,” said Jay Spencer, Ernst &Young Americas’ Cleantech Director. “We’re seeing continued commitments to solar, electric vehicles and energy efficiency technologies from the venture community, as well large corporate and private investors.”

A recent LA Times article announced that even as overall venture funding declined by about 50%, clean-tech venture funding rose by 73% over the previous year, with green companies raising almost $1.2 billion in the third quarter. California firms received more than half of that infusion of cash.

While the ideal circumstances would have business and policy aligned in support of one another, these accomplishments underscore the potential of collaboration and innovation in meeting today’s environmental imperatives.

Our Guest Writer is Diane Bucka, Founder of Responsible Business Registry. Diane is a sustainability advocate, and communications consultant with more than 15 years of writing, editing and marketing experience. Follow her on Twitter and Facebook; view her profile on LinkedIn.

CleanTech OC Presents “Understanding California’s New Self-Generation Incentive Program”

Leading the charge to reduce peak both electricity demand and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) recently adopted changes to the Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP) to facilitate deployment of certain distributed generation technologies at discounted rates. On November 15^th, CleanTech OC held its second Business Development Series workshop explaining the SGIP, clarifying implementation and application guidelines which will enable qualifying facilities to obtain financial incentives of up to 60% of overall project costs for their conversion to renewables.

The panel discussion started with historical information presented by PUC’s Neal Reardon about the origins of SGIP, from its legislative roots of reducing peak demand resulting from the energy crisis in 2001 to the 2009 GHG emission reduction requirements in SB 412. Reardon explained that the structure of the SGIP is to offset upfront capital investment while ensuring performance; utilizing their annual $75 million incentive budget, they pay 50% upon application approval and 50% based on performance. Billy Gamboa from the California Center for Sustainable Energy (CCSE) presented a synopsis of some key information from the SGIP Handbook, particularly the documentation, equipment and efficiency requirements.

The next three panelists presented specific project conversion options; each depicted cost-effective methods for qualifying conversions to achieve SGIP objectives, earn the incentives, and continue to generate clean energy in extremely cost effective ways:

• Tracy Reid with FuelCell Energy - ultra-clean stationary fuel cell power plants utilizing an electrochemical device that combines hydrogen fuel and oxygen from the air to produce electricity, and useable heat and water. Sidestepping the conventional combustion reaction, fuel cells produce DC electricity with twice the efficiency of conventional fossil fuels plants even as they reduce emissions of pollutants such as nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur oxides (SOx), and particulate matter as well as dramatically lower emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2).
• Mike Levin, from FlexEnergy - a revolutionary solution that combines a modified gas turbine with an adaptation of a proprietary thermal oxidizer to convert previously unusable, harmful waste gas into clean, green energy. The Flexidizer completely oxidizes air with dilute methane mixtures (1.5% methane), tolerating both moisture and siloxanes in the landfill gas. The Flex is the only complete clean energy solution that runs directly on low pressure, low flow, and low Btu fuel gas.
• Matt Swindle from Nline Energy - in-conduit, hydroelectric renewable power generation. Their “Water to Energy Recovery System” (WATERS™) captures wasted energy at pressure reduction valve sites and converts it into renewable electricity. WATERS™ consists of a turbine-generator, energy storage devices, electronic controls, bypasses and fail-safes, environmental and security equipment, sensors, communications and data equipment, and an information collection, control and reporting system capable of operating either manually or autonomously.

Most commercial, industrial, local, state or federal facilities with a natural gas or methane source and a need for continuous heat and power, as well as certain wind and energy storage customers will qualify for the SGIP. This can include locations such as wastewater treatment plants, dairy farms, food and agricultural operations, and other locations that operate biomass digesters or have usable biogas.

For more information, visit the Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP) page on the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) website, along with the relevant page on the CCSE site.

Our Guest Writer is Diane Bucka, Founder of Responsible Business Registry. Diane is a sustainability advocate, and communications consultant with more than 15 years of writing, editing and marketing experience. Follow her on Twitter and Facebook; view her profile on LinkedIn.