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The Green-e Program of the Center for Resource Solutions announced that Clean and Green renewable energy certificates are now Green-e certified. Clean and Green, LLC joins the largest network of renewable energy providers who certify their high quality products with the nation's leading certification and verification program.
"We are very pleased to be accredited and certified by Green-e. The Clean and Green brand is intended to represent the highest level of community-based Renewable Energy Credits, and being Green-e certified demonstrates this commitment" said Clean and Green Executive Director, Gerry Dameron.
Clean and Green, based in Boulder, Colorado, provides 100 percent Wind "Clean and Green Credits" generated from nationwide locations. Clean and Green serves individuals, families, and businesses and also sells Clean and Green Credits in wholesale REC markets. "We are excited to be able to offer individuals, families, and business the opportunity to take action toward a cleaner, healthier and more sustainable future. Through purchasing Clean and Green Credits, you can offset your negative eco-footprint from turning the lights on in your home or driving your car; it is an easy and affordable way to take positive action for the planet today" said Kate Swayne, Clean and Green's Outreach Manager.
Green-e is the leading renewable energy certification and verification program in the U.S., and the Green-e logo is the national symbol for renewable energy excellence. The program provides independent, third party certification to ensure certified renewable energy meets strict environmental and consumer protection standards. Green-e's verification protects customers from paying for renewable energy that is "double sold" to other customers or used simultaneously to meet regulatory mandates. Through the display and recognition of the Green-e logo, a growing number of consumers are able to easily identify high quality, certified renewable energy options, as well as everyday consumer products that are "Made with Certified Renewable Energy.
"We are very pleased to certify the RECs offered by this new market participant. Clean and Green has come out of the gates full-tilt, and their community-based approach to renewable energy development has grabbed the public's attention," said Dan Lieberman, Green-e Program Manager.
Providers of Green-e certified renewable energy agree to abide by the Green-e Code of Conduct, and meet Green-e disclosure and truth-in-advertising requirements. As is the case with all Green-e marketers, Clean and Green will undergo an annual verification audit to document that the company purchased or generated enough quantity and type of renewable energy to meet customer demand and marketing claims. One hundred marketers and utilities throughout North America now offer Green-e certified renewable energy products. Collectively these suppliers sold 3 billion kWh of certified renewable energy in 2003. Source: CRS Release, 9/8/2005.
Geothermal energy is potentially one of the cleanest forms of renewable energy out there, and in certain locations, the cheapest. There is a great explanation of how it all works on Calenergy's Web site. Like any power plant (except photovoltaics), it all comes down to spinning a turbine, but in this case, with steam produced by the natural heat of the earth. But it's a little more complicated than that... have a look at the series of Quicktime Videos for more information on how geothermal power generation works! Source: Triplepundit.com, 9/13/2005.
Sacramento is considering the use of anaerobic digestion to generate renewable energy and compost from biomass. About 18 percent of the city's commercial garbage is food waste.
The Leftovers to Lights Project is looking for interested businesses in the City of Sacramento that would like to participate in the quick survey. By diverting this waste from local landfills, air and water pollution can be reduced as well as minimizing operating costs of storage and disposal.
Researchers from the University of California, Davis are working with the Sacramento Municipal Utility District to survey area commercial food processors and institutions, including restaurants, bakeries, hospitals and hotels to determine the availability of food waste for use in generating renewable energy. The Leftovers to Lights Project is looking for interested businesses in the City of Sacramento that would like to participate in the quick survey.
Anaerobic digesters are closed containers that use microorganisms to break down organic matter in the absence of air. In the process, biogas, consisting of methane and carbon dioxide is produced. Like natural gas, methane can be used to generate electricity, replacing fossil fuels. Wastewater treatment plants have been using this proven technology for over a century.
Other local projects being considered to produce both renewable energy and nutrient rich organic compost from food waste include a green waste/food waste to electricity project using anaerobic digestion technology, a dairy manure and food waste digester, and a converted wastewater treatment plant dedicated to food waste. Source: Renewable Energy Access, 9/9/2005.
The British monarch will install a geothermal heat pump at Buckingham Palace, to provide green heat for her official residence in London. A meeting is expected to approve final plans to spend £50,000 to drill a vertical borehole under a four-acre lake on the palace grounds. Additional funds will cover the cost of converting the heat pump with the existing heating system in the palace, but officials say the payback period will be seven years.
Queen Elizabeth ordered a small trial in 2002 to drill 120 m into the chalk aquifer beneath the palace grounds, which used heat pumps to provide air-conditioning for a new art gallery built to mark her golden jubilee. Sources say the results were so impressive that she is ready to expand the green heat system to replace conventional space conditioning technology for state rooms, the formal area of the palace.
The Queen undertook a small trial in 2002, drilling 400ft into the chalk aquifer beneath the palace grounds to run an eco-friendly air-conditioning system for a new art gallery, built at Buckingham Palace to mark her golden jubilee. The system will save public funds, as all the Queen's utility bills at Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle are paid by tax money. Media report say that a number of celebrities in Britain are installing earth energy, including Sir Elton John who installed a system on his 39-acre estate in Windsor in November 2003, to heat his house, 36-car garage and a greenhouse that has orange trees.
Sir Richard Branson of Virgin Airlines is also quoted as a potential consumer, and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen is installing a borehole at a property he is renovating in Belgrave Square, close to Buckingham Palace. The Queen has switched her state cars to liquefied petroleum gas, and so has the taxi used by the Duke of Edinburgh to drive anonymously around London. Plans are underway to install small hydro generators on the Thames River for Windsor Castle and another hydro facility at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, which is expected to become self-sufficient in power and to provide surplus electricity to 1,000 local homes.
Two cogeneration (Combined Heat & Power) units are used at Buckingham Palace, and the candelabra was fitted with energy-efficient lightbulbs. In 1995, heat resonance imaging was used to pinpoint areas of heat loss, and monthly meetings are held with English Heritage to ensure that any changes to energy efficiency do not affect the integrity of the building as a heritage site.
The UK government has a fund of £10 million to provide grants of £1,200 to homeowners to offset the average cost of £5,000 to drill for geothermal heat pumps. Four months ago, an additional £2.5 million was added to the fund but Buckingham Palace says it will not be seeking a subsidy for that installation. "The Royal Household is constantly looking at new ways of saving and supplying energy so as to remain as environmentally friendly as possible well into the future," says the palace internet site. Buckingham Palace holds numerous receptions and houses 600 staff, and the earth energy system was considered for its ability to heat and cool the palace, as well as provide hot water. Source: Refocus Weekly - Renewables Update, 9/7/2005.
For energy-hungry Asian governments, the answer could literally be blowing in the wind. Across the region, renewable energy such as solar, wind and geothermal power is gaining ever greater credence as a way to curb the region's appetite for oil and cut runaway import bills. With oil prices near $70, and expected by many analysts to stay over $50 through the end of 2006, governments believe alternative energy will help keep their economies growing.
Renewable energy in China, a strategic future? With a host of environmental and domestic social concerns — and potential future international conflict — China could be well suited to pursue renewable energy sources. China's failed bid for American petroleum firm Unocal may prompt it to further focus on its development of alternative energy sources. The country has recently passed a renewable energy law that requires power operators to buy electricity from alternative energy producers and the government has increased spending for research on wind, solar, biofuel, and tidal technologies.
The environmental benefits are also dawning on populous nations such as China, where pollution from burning fossil fuels is causing health costs to soar and growing urbanization combined with a booming economy means more appliances from hairdryers to air-conditioning are plugged in to an already-stretched grid.
"In the next 20 years China will be building (the equivalent) of a new Shanghai each year ... we have to find a way to absorb these people in a way that doesn't bring down the planet," said Robert Watson, Director of the International Energy Project at the U.S.'s Natural Resources Defense Council. Air pollution could be one catalyst for change, according to David Dollar, World Bank director for China.
"China has 20 of the 30 most air-polluted cities in the world, and that is primarily because of the use of coal for power generation and in industry. This imposes a very direct health cost on China," he said at an energy conference this week. One of the world's biggest energy consumers, it already aims to get one-tenth of its energy from renewable sources by 2020 but is considering setting its sights even higher.
"By 2020 renewable energy (could) account for 15 percent of energy production in China, including large-scale hydropower projects," Shi Lishan, director of renewable energy at the policy-setting National Development and Reform Commission, told the conference. China plans to build its first offshore wind power plant next year, while Greenpeace has estimated Chinese wind power potential at 1 million megawatts (MW), more than twice China's current total installed power generating capacity of 440,700 MW. Source: By David Fogarty, Reuters, 9/9/2005.
The Scottish Executive announced that deputy first minister and enterprise minister Ninol Stephen informed Offshore Europe delegates at the new Science and Energy Park in Aberdeen of plans to take action to award additional renewable obligation certificates to wave and tidal output, with the aim of putting Scotland at the global forefront of marine energy.
"The changes I am announcing today will unlock Scotland's marine powerhouse," said Stephen. "Tens of millions of pounds of support will be available — with the potential for hundreds of millions to be invested in new wave and tidal projects around Scotland's shores. Our aim is to generate up to 10 percent of Scotland's electricity from the sea around us. Industry experts predict that wave and tidal energy could create up to 7,000 new jobs in Scotland."
According to Stephen, while Scotland has "already done much to support the sector," he noted that, compared to wind power, the country has so far "seen no significant commercial projects for wave or tidal power."
"To deliver, we need to do more," said Stephen. "The costs of installing and producing energy from marine devices remains high. Development on a large scale will drive down costs and make it possible for these devices to power the engine of a sustainable Scotland. Amending the Renewables Obligation Scotland will mean that wind schemes continue to get support — but wave and tidal projects will get an even greater boost. A group of industry experts have advised us that the potential exists to install over one gigawatt of wave and tidal capacity in Scottish waters." Source: EIN Renewable Energy Today, 9/7/2005.
Green Energy Resources has offered Louisiana and Mississippi hurricane recovery assistance. Green Energy Resources pledged to purchase up to one million tons of hurricane storm damaged wood from each state. The plan alleviates landfill demand, creates jobs, develops new export markets, and provides the states with badly needed revenue streams.
Green Energy Resources has challenged FEMA to have vision and abandon its present policy of dump and burn, according to Joseph Murray, CEO. Last year FEMA, and its cozy relationship with certain contractors, according to a Wall Street Journal report, failed to take advantage of the opportunity to benefit and protect Florida residents and U.S. taxpayers. Each hurricane provides a new opportunity to strengthen our economy, energy security, and develop new export markets to improve our balance of trade deficits. The abundance of biomass for renewable energy from each natural weather event could power up to 10 percent of America's total energy demand.
Green Energy Resources has unveiled its UTCS software prototype. The software program tracks sources of wood biomass, helps reduce green house emissions, preserves landfill space, coordinates multiple agency data, and creates chain of custody documentation. The software will begin nationwide distribution in late 2005 or early 2006. The software, the first of its kind, will provide Green Energy Resources with an exclusive worldwide market position. Source: Green Energy Resources, 9/12/2005.
The largest FRONIUS IG system in the US was recently completed by SolarCraft Services of Novato, California. At 118 kWp, the system will supply a significant percentage of the energy used by Woodlands Market – the Kentfield, California supermarket. The system uses 22 FRONIUS IG 4500-LVs that use the MIX Concept. By using FRONIUS IGs instead of a large central inverter, the owners take advantage of a higher energy yield, greater system reliability, and a better financial incentive from the State of California. Although ‘string' inverter installations of this size are only gaining popularity in the US at this time, German installers have been installing large systems like this for years due to their inherent advantages – many exceeding a half Megawatt! Source: FRONIUS Solar eBulletin September 2005.
Scientists have proposed a way to control the distribution of contaminants in silicon, potentially opening up the use of cheaper, "dirtier" starting materials for making solar cells. In a study published in the September Nature Materials, the researchers predict that the strategy could lower production costs of solar cells.
Silicon is the second most abundant element in Earth's crust, but nature's primary sources of silicon-sand and quartz-are tainted with metals. Converting silicon from these sources into superpure crystals is an expensive and time-consuming process.
While there had been enough pure stock for the electronics industry, the needs of the growing photovoltaic industry-which uses silicon for more than 90 percent of its solar cells-caused overall demand to exceed supply in 2004, notes Eicke R. Weber, a materials scientist at the University of California, Berkeley and the Lawrence Berkeley (Calif.) National Laboratory. This triggered a drastic price increase in pure silicon, dealing a blow to the solar cell makers.
Silicon stock that is less pure and therefore less expensive is available, says Weber. But the increased amounts of iron, copper, and other metal contaminants in these stocks reduce solar cell efficiency. Clusters of these metal atoms attract the solar cell's charge-carrying electrons, reducing the amount of current that the cell can generate. Weber and his colleagues set out to see whether they could minimize the toll taken by these clusters without having to get rid of them.
To do this, they turned to Lawrence Berkeley's synchrotron, a circular accelerator approximately 65 meters in diameter. The machine generates X rays intense enough to identify within silicon samples individual metal clusters on the order of tens of nanometers in diameter. Weber's team mapped the distribution of the clusters and used a sophisticated technique for measuring how far charges traveled in the samples, an indicator of the material's efficiency in converting sunlight into electricity.
The researchers found that silicon hosting larger but fewer numbers of clusters performed better than did samples with smaller but many more clusters. They tested this result by heating samples and then cooling them at different rates, which enabled the researchers to control the distribution of the metal. Weber's team found that silicon with micrometer-size clusters, spaced hundreds of micrometers apart, was four times as efficient as silicon with more-finely-distributed, nanosize clusters.
"Without changing the total metal content-only changing the way it is distributed-we get a drastic change in the electrical property," says Weber. "If it is possible to concentrate the metals in a few big clusters, in principle, one can make good solar cells out of dirty starting material."
"It's excellent work," says Bhushan Sopori, an electrical engineer at the Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colo. But he cautions that "you often do not have as much control [over metal impurities] as you think" when growing silicon crystals. Source: By Aimee Cunningham, Science News, 9/10/2005.
Mark Your Calendar! The 10th annual National Solar Tour day is Oct. 1. Learn from your neighbors how they trim their energy bills, and watch electric meters run backwards. Tours are held nationwide from September through November centered on the National Solar Tour day, the first Saturday of every October, which is National Energy Awareness Month. At last count, tours are scheduled in 43 states plus the District of Columbia. Many tours are now listed, and more are being added every day.
Space is still available for the 10th National Green Power Marketing Conference, set for Oct. 24 to 26 in Austin, Texas. The conference reviews the status of green power marketing in electricity markets and explores strategies to increase the development of renewable energy resources through customer choice programs. Conference organizers include the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and Center for Resource Solutions.
This year's conference will celebrate and build on a decade of success by examining the growth of green power markets, with particular emphasis on communicating "best practices" for product design and marketing, and program implementation. Attendees will hear from national and regional experts on important topics such as best practices in green power product design, effective marketing strategies and tools for acquiring customers, defining renewable energy attributes and values, using green premiums to finance renewable energy projects, and the interplay of voluntary and compliance markets. For more information on the conference, access the Green Power Network. Source: Energy Analysis at NREL - August 2005
Plan now to attend the Geothermal Resources Council 2005 Annual Meeting on Sept. 25 through 28 at the Reno Hilton Nevada Conference Center. Co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, this year's Annual Meeting theme is Geothermal Energy-The World's Buried Treasure, highlighting geothermal energy technologies as a premium renewable base-load generation resource in the United States and globally. With its Technical Program and other events, the GRC 2005 Annual Meeting will also provide a unique opportunity for exhibitors to showcase their projects, equipment and services at the Geothermal Energy Association Trade Show.
The GRC 2005 Annual Meeting will feature distinguished Keynote Speakers at its Opening Session, as well as Technical and Poster sessions on a broad range of timely geothermal resource and development topics. This year's event will also offer Technical Workshops; Field Trips to nearby geothermal projects; the GRC Banquet and Annual Awards Luncheon; and the GRC Golf Tournament.
For more information on the GRC 2005 Annual Meeting visit the GRC web site or contact them at Geothermal Resources Council, 2001 Second St., Ste. 5, P.O. Box 1350, Davis, California 95616 • USA, Phone: (530) 758-2360, Fax: (530) 758-2839.
The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority has teamed with Clean Power Research to develop PowerClerkTM for its Power NaturallySM PV Incentive Program. PowerClerk is an Internet-based software service for government, power utilities, and other organizations with clean energy programs. It processes incentive applications, generates program reports, and analyzes results.
"PowerClerk does an excellent job of managing the information that accompanies incentive applications," says Dr. Joseph Visalli, NYSERDA's Director of Energy Resources, Transportation and Power Systems, and Environmental Research. "PowerClerk helps us monitor equipment and installation costs, making it easier for us to track market trends. Furthermore, it simplifies program reporting and data analysis and has even enabled us to post real-time program information on our website."
"NYSERDA is an ideal agency to launch PowerClerk and we are excited to be working with them," says Dr. Thomas Hoff of Clean Power Research. "We expect that NYSERDA's efforts in developing PowerClerk will benefit many other programs and could even facilitate the integration of results from clean energy programs throughout the U.S." Source: Clean Power Research Release, 9/7/2005.
The International Energy Agency has finalized a study which reviews the first series of commercial-scale offshore wind installations, and addresses the barriers and achievements of the early developments.
"Significant barriers have been encountered in the past and valuable lessons have been learned," explains ‘Offshore Wind Experiences.' "It is only through a wide sharing of this experience and the lessons that can consequently be drawn that these goals can be achieved and offshore wind can secure its place in the future energy mix."
The report concentrates on five offshore windfarms in northern Europe that were installed between 2000 and 2004. It identifies "issues that will be key to ensuring that offshore wind technology progresses on its path towards a commercially competitive energy technology," and summarizes the points which the offshore wind industry "currently faces and needs to take into account to progress further along the learning curve that will ultimately deliver expected cost reductions."
The projects were not the first offshore windfarms but had "significant risks for developers, contractors and authorities," and many challenges in all aspects of development were met. The report emphasizes that lessons learned from the early installations must be used in the evolution of future practices, while "sharing of these lessons is very valuable and that sharing should be promoted."
The development experience is "on the whole positive," which is reflected by an absence of problems and the growing ability for developers to address problems as challenges. "A common theme was the need for political support and momentum for a positive experience," and the report says political support "feeds through positively to administration and implementation of policies."
"The offshore wind business is no different from onshore wind nor the wider power industry, and will thrive in stable markets which reward the investment risks," it adds. "Through its immature phase, a combination of premium rates and other incentives were required to encourage development" and installation costs "must be reduced in time to ensure the offshore wind business has a sustainable future."
New financiers can be attracted as the experience of early projects, and their solutions, are communicated to stakeholders. "The technical challenges have been well-met and experience has highlighted the importance of thorough planning and attention to detail," it adds.
Technology-associated costs were higher than anticipated, and "it is clear that offshore wind has specific challenges of its own needing bespoke solutions," the report explains. "Despite significant progress in the past, technical issues remain and doubtless some are yet to be identified," and a role remains for research in offshore developments.
"Political support which feeds through to a shared agenda across government departments has been instrumental in successful policy implementation," it concludes. "Stable framework conditions have supported the start-up phase of this new technology; absence of such conditions have lead to delays in investment."
The report also examines legal and administrative issues, environmental and social concerns, and network integration issues. On the last point, the large number of projects planned for the North Sea and Baltic Sea provide "significant potential for the sharing of transmission lines and costs," and recommends that governments establish clear rules for the allocation of costs and access to the grid. Source: Refocus Weekly - Renewables Update, 9/7/2005.
Nov. 15-17 is the first Native Renewables Energy Summit - Solutions For Tribes & Cities conference will take place in Denver, Colo. The core theme of the conference is: Tribes and Cities can help each other. State, local and tribal governments can support Native Renewables both in capital markets and for local "healthy" community development. With Green Tags and Renewable Energy Credits, Native Renewables projects can generate immediate financial rewards to revitalize Native economies. In the long run, they offer Tribes a way to invest wisely in sustainable economic development. For towns & cities, Native Renewables offer clean electricity to mitigate air pollution and climate change.
The Imperial Valley Study Group, formerly known as the Salton Sea Study Group, is an offshoot of the Tehachapi Study Group, created in Phase 6 of the California Public Utilities Commission proceeding I.00-11-001. This proceeding currently has eight phases; Phase 6 focuses on the development of renewable resources in the state. The CPUC, in D.04-06-010, required the TSG to consider whether to form additional planning collaborative groups to develop transmission solutions to access renewable resources in other areas of the state. In response, the TSG established a committee and directed it to explore the formation of a study group to develop transmission solutions to access geothermal resources in the Imperial Valley. As a result, a study group for the Imperial Valley area has been created under this policy directive from the CPUC, and supported by several initiatives at the Energy Commission.
The Council of Energy Resource Tribes is pleased to announce its national Sustainable Energy Solutions conference in Denver, Colo., Nov. 9 and 10. CERT invites you to join Tribal leaders, federal government representatives and industry leaders in discussions and workshops exploring renewable energy in Indian country. A draft agenda and online registration will be available shortly.
This is the last week to nominate organizations for the 2005 Flex Your Power Awards and Congratulatory Advertisements! (We welcome self nominations as well.) Whether applying for an award and/or sharing best practices through the "Congrats Ads," finalists will be recognized for the energy and dollar savings in both their local community and the region. Entries must be received no later than 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 16.
The 2005 Flex Your Power Awards and Congratulatory Ads seek to honor companies, organizations and community leaders that have provided exemplary leadership in advancing California's efforts to save energy, water, and money over the past year. Award categories include Energy Efficiency, Demand Response and Conservation, Education and Leadership and Innovations for Products or Services.
On the Web site, you'll also find the California Energy Commitment. If you haven't already, please sign this voluntary pledge to make your best efforts to save energy through cost-effective measures. Together, we can demonstrate that market-driven efforts can bring energy reliability and environmental benefits to our region and to California. Please don't hesitate to contact us with any questions or concerns. Source: Flex Your Power Release, 9/8/2005.
Community Energy, Inc., a leading wind energy marketer and developer, has closed a $50 million investor financing package on two new wind energy generation facilities under construction in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. A group of leading private and public energy finance institutions joined in closing the financing, which will allow the new wind farms to come on line by the end of this year.
CEI partnered with Central Hudson Energy Group, Inc. and investment banking firm, Babcock & Brown, as the long-term owners of the wind projects, backed by project financing from a group of public and private funding sources. The Bear Creek wind farm, located near the Pennsylvania Turnpike just south of Wilkes Barre, PA, received financing from the five regional Pennsylvania sustainable energy funds and the newly authorized Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority. The first-of-its-kind Jersey-Atlantic wind farm on the site of the Atlantic County Utilities Authority wastewater treatment plant in
Atlantic City, New Jersey, received financing from the state's Clean Energy Program and a production grant from the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities.
"This first-rate finance team was able to translate the obvious fuel-free advantages of wind energy into market grade investments ranging from secure debt to long-term equity," said Brent Alderfer, President of CEI. ‘The exciting part of this deal is it opens the door for broader investor participation in the wind energy market."
The Bear Creek wind farm will install 12 wind turbines each providing 2 megawatts of generation capacity-the largest turbines in use in the U.S.- supplied by Gamesa Eôlica of Spain. The five regional sustainable energy funds in Pennsylvania providing financing to the Bear Creek project are the TRF Sustainable Development Fund, which also structured the financing on behalf of the regional funds, the Sustainable Energy Fund of Central Eastern Pennsylvania, the West Penn Power Sustainable Energy Fund, the Penelec Sustainable Energy Fund and the Metropolitan Edison Sustainable Energy Fund.
The Jersey-Atlantic wind farm will install five wind turbines, 1.5 megawatts each, supplied by General Electric. In a pioneering partnership with the ACUA, the wind farm will supply about one-half of the electricity used at the wastewater facility, and will be New Jersey's first commercial scale wind project, and the nation's first coastal wind farm. Source: Community Energy, Inc. Release, 9/7/2005.
Sections of the draft Western Governors' Association report on clean and diversified energy are being posted on the WGA Web site this week, along with a request for public comment. The wind task force report was one of those posted. The link to the draft report can be found in the left column sidebar on this page. Comments are sought from the public for 30 days. Once the comments are received and considered, the final report will be developed. The final report is not scheduled for completion until the first half of next year.
It would take a lot of solar panels to power the United States — so many, in fact, that they would fill almost 5 million football fields, says a spokesman with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. It's an area about one-twelfth the size of the Land of Enchantment. Public Service Company of New Mexico's proposed plan to make solar-power systems cheaper might help reach that goal one rooftop at a time.
The plan — submitted to the state Public Regulation Commission for approval — would allow PNM to pay its customers 11 cents for every kilowatt-hour of energy produced by its solarpower system, according to a PNM news release. Over 12 years, a participating customer would receive about $3,100.
"Photovoltaic (solar-power) systems are still an expensive way to generate electricity," said Hugh Smith, senior vice president of energy resources with PNM, in a news release. "This program is an innovative way to partner with a substantial segment of our customers to bring solar into the PNM portfolio at a lower cost to PNM, while lowering the cost of a small PV (photovoltaic) system for our customers."
To meet its power demand, a typical midsize U.S. home would need a 3-kilowatt to 5-kilowatt solar-power system that would cost from about $23,250 to $38,750 for materials and installation, said Nick Babic, sales manager at Affordable Solar Group, an Albuquerque seller of solar-power systems around the world. Despite the cost, Babic said solar-power systems are becoming increasingly popular. "The industry is still small," he said, "but it's still growing at about 30 to 50 percent a year in the last few years." He attributes the growth to the rising price of more traditional energy sources and an increasing number of incentives and tax breaks for solar- power systems. A tax incentive in the national energy bill will further motivate people to buy when it goes into effect in 2006, he said.
Ben Luce, chair of the New Mexico Coalition for Clean Affordable Energy, said even more tax credits for solar power are likely to come from the state next year. He called PNM's proposed program a "big jump" for solarpower generation in New Mexico. If the plan is approved, PNM customers would be responsible for buying the solar-power systems and the meter — available from PNM — to measure the energy gathered by the solarpower system, said PNM spokesman Jeff Buell. There would also be a one-time administrative fee of $150 for residential customers, he said.
The proposed plan would join the net metering program, which has PNM crediting its solar-powered customers for any extra energy they return to PNM's power grid. Using one typical photovoltaic unit per home, it would take anywhere from 558 million to 929 million homes to power the United States. There were about 123 million housing units in the country as of July 2004, and about 826,000 housing units in New Mexico, according to the Census Bureau.
PNM hopes to increase the amount of solar generation tied to the PNM grid to 1.2 megawatts within eight years, according a company news release. Building a facility to generate that amount of electricity would cost PNM $7.5 million, whereas buying it from its customers' solar-power systems would cost $2.8 million, the news release states. The plan's hoped-for launch date is March 1, 2006. A similar plan for solar-power systems larger than 10 kilowatts will likely be submitted by PNM to the PRC in early 2006. Source: Albuquerque Journal via Energy Central, 9/9/2005.
The state of Oregon is actively promoting renewables and conservation, through action planning for renewables and recent legislative initiatives, the director of Oregon's Department of Energy told a Seattle audience in mid-August.
Oregon is fostering renewable energy and energy conservation through a variety of planning and legislative initiatives, the director of the state's Department of Energy told a renewables and energy efficiency conference in Seattle Aug. 11.
ODOE Director Michael Grainey, addressing federal and state policymakers, renewable energy developers, investors and proponents of green energy, focused on actions taken by the Oregon governor's office, the 2005 Oregon Legislature and his office, as well as initiatives undertaken in concert with neighboring Washington and California.
The ODOE's Renewable Energy Action Plan, presented by Grainey, was adopted by the Oregon governor's office April 12. It expresses a goal of "encouraging and accelerating sustainable production of energy from renewable resources while removing barriers to such development, stimulating economic development, particularly in rural parts of the state, and improving the environmental future of the state," according to an ODOE document addressing the action plan.
"The plan contains many actions to develop renewable energy, including solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, small hydro, wave energy and others," said Grainey in introducing the plan. "Some of the actions can be taken directly by agencies, individuals and businesses. Some require legislation, and the plan also has recommended federal actions."
The plan details long- and short-term objectives for the state. Long-term goals for electric power — defined as those happening between 2007 and 2025 — call for 10 percent of Oregon's load to be met by renewables by 2015. That would require about a 1-percent annual growth in renewables. By 2025, the plan said, renewables should account for at least 25 percent of the state's energy needs. For state government, the plan recommends 25 percent of total load should originate from renewables by 2010, and 100 percent by 2025.
Short-term goals — those to be achieved by the end of 2006 — call for 300 MW of new wind energy development, 10 percent of it community- or locally-owned, and a solution to east-west transmission bottlenecks that hinder development of renewables in the Beaver State. Twenty-five MW apiece of geothermal, biomass and new combined heat/power are to be built or under construction, along with 1 MW of solar, 5 MW of bio-gas from wastewater treatment, dairies and landfills, and up to 4 MW of hydropower, primarily through irrigation piping channels. A preliminary draft for a state renewables portfolio standard is also sought by the end of 2006.
The plan also outlines legislative initiatives to promote renewables development, many of which were adopted by the Oregon Legislature in its recently concluded 2005 session. It specifies that the governor's office should support a renewable energy working group coordinated by the governor's office and the DOE to guide the plan's implementation, as outlined in a number of resource-specific directives. According to the plan, the governor's office will coordinate with California's and Washington state's global warming and renewable energy ventures.
Among bills passed by the 2005 Legislature to further renewables and conservation development within the state, Grainey said, are solar energy tax credits, enhancements to Oregon's net-metering law, changes to the ODOE's energy loan program and energy efficiency standards for some commercial appliances and equipment.
Senate Bill 31 increases the residential tax credit fourfold, from $1,500 to a maximum of $6,000 for solar photovoltaic systems, Grainey told conferees. SB 84 amends Oregon's net-metering law by adding biomass to the solar, wind, fuel cell and small hydroelectric facilities previously eligible for the program. It also allows the Oregon Public Utility Commission to raise the size of qualifying net-metering projects, by rule, for customers of investor-owned utilities.
Senate Bills 735 and 5503 change ODOE's energy loan program by streamlining funding for renewable energy projects and by authorizing up to $125 million in bonds earmarked for energy conservation and renewable energy project loans. Under SB 5503, funding for certain private-sector projects, otherwise ineligible for tax-exempt financing, would become eligible for the program. About $30 million of the $125 million will fund conservation upgrades on Oregon college campuses.
House Bill 3363 establishes minimum efficiency standards for commercial appliances and equipment not covered by federal efficiency standards, such as washers, dryers, heaters, traffic signals and external power supply units. The standards will be identical to those already adopted in Washington, California and several other states. Most of the standards will become effective in January 2007 — one year after they go into effect for the huge Golden State market.
"The standards set by 3363 are the same as those created by the California Energy Commission," Grainey said. "By adopting the same standards in each of our states, we have given manufacturers one standard to meet for each of these products. As a result, we expect Oregonians will save millions each year in electricity and natural gas, and just as important, hundreds of millions of gallons of water every year."
Asserting that energy is the largest contributor to pollution and greenhouse gases, Grainey added that Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski would join Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in their West Coast Governors' Global Warming Initiative, a cooperative program that includes promotion of renewables and conservation.
"Our three states are showing the energy path I believe we should be on," said Grainey in his closing points. "The federal energy policy should be going in the same direction, but I don't believe that's true. We shouldn't base our energy policy on draining America first, nor should we meet our energy challenges of the 21st century by a 19th century policy of drilling, digging and burning all our natural resources" [Penelope Kern]. Source: Energy Prospects via Energy Central, 9/8/2005.
Even a Kentuckian will tell you New Hampshire isn't Washington. Aside from the obvious geographical disparity, Washington is recognized as a leader in this country for the promotion of renewable energy. Commercial and state initiatives have encouraged many residents and businesses in that state to take a green approach.
New Hampshire, in contrast, is the only New England state without a standard that requires a mandatory percentage of renewable energy generation. But a group of legislators wants to change the climate, figuratively and literally. A Senate-House committee is studying the potential of renewable energy and it wants to offer a substantial alternative to oil.
"We have to get together and work together," state Sen. Richard Green said. "We cannot keep relying on fossil fuels." The committee, endorsed by Gov. John Lynch, initially was to review only geothermal energy, but its scope fanned out to include all renewable energy: biomass, geothermal, wind and solar. It won't examine automobiles because the state can't regulate that industry.
Instead, the committee will focus on renewable energy for homes and buildings. It will determine what obstacles prevent residents and corporations from pursuing alternative energy, and what steps can be taken to make it easier and more attractive, Green said. The technology exists, but the state has to give people a financial incentive to buy it, Green said. The committee's biggest challenge may come in devising a way to offer those incentives without incorporating them into the tax structure, he said.
"We've got our work cut out for this," Green said. Green, a Republican from Rochester, joins Reps. Lee Slocum, R-Amherst, Sam Cataldo, R-Farmington, and Suzanne Harvey, D-Nashua, on the committee. The group will report its findings to the Legislature by Nov. 1, and it wants the study to generate legislation.
Stiff opposition could come from the construction industry, Green said. The committee will review how builders can implement renewable sources into construction, and this may mean considerable change in their craft, he said.
"People like builders and plumbers, they all have their turf," Green said. "I respect that, but all people in all of these trades have to understand there have to be changes, and we have to install systems that require change. I'm sure lobbying will be fierce. "But if things get bad enough, and enough people get upset over the situation, that's the best time to make meaningful changes."
Green also recognizes that people oppose wind turbines because they feel the large machines create a blight on the rural landscape. "Well, if you're going to complain about that, you can't complain about the cost of oil," he said. The committee will study:
The committee hasn't reached any conclusions, Green said. It's in the process of hearing testimony. The nonprofit New Hampshire Sustainable Energy Association has helped the committee in its work, and its president, Laura Richardson, is pleased the state is taking action. She finds some consolation in starting later: She wants to use what works in other states and learn from their mistakes.
There is some incentive to use renewable energy, but not as much as in other countries, Richardson said. Germans who send electricity back onto the grid through solar panels are compensated at four times the cost rate of electricity. This encourages them to maintain and maximize the input of their technology, she said.
"This country offers a lot of rebate programs, but people slap it up and don't take care of it," Richardson said. Another advocacy group, the Plymouth Area Renewable Energy Initiative, started because of a frustration with federal and state progress on a viable energy plan, said its co-founder and co-director, Sandra Jones. The initiative offers various programs that allow people to work together, including members helping install solar panels on others' homes.
"Neighbors trust neighbors more than the government," Jones said. "We chose to start at a local level." Green, though, believes the state can make a difference. But he acknowledges not even the best legislation will resolve every energy problem. "Energy costs get higher and higher," he said. "This is too much a part of the economy. It affects everybody. The question is, ‘What have we got to do?' We have to make sure what we recommend makes sense. . . . "We're not going to solve this whole problem. Obviously, it's bigger than us." Source: By Albert McKeon, Telegraph Staff, 9/11/2005.
Leaders of a Mainland company are seeking to use some existing equipment at the old McBryde Sugar Company Koloa mill site (owned by officials with Grove Farm) to help develop a renewable-energy source to sell to leaders with the Kaua'i Island Utility Cooperative.
According to KIUC management, the utility's monthly rates are the highest in the state in part because of their significant dependence on oil-based products to generate electricity. Milan Kluko, president of Fountainhead Engineering Ltd., thinks he has a viable solution that will be mutually beneficial. He is in discussions with both officials with Grove Farm and KIUC.
"We know we can generate power cheaper (than KIUC) is doing now," he said. Kluko's plans call for using biomass as an alternative energy source. Biomass is plant matter such as trees, grasses, agricultural crops (including sugar cane) or other biological material. It can be used as a solid fuel, or converted into liquid or gaseous forms, for the production of electric power, heat, chemicals, or fuels, Kluko explained.
Using one boiler, Kluko said the facility could generate 7.5 megawatt hours. According to Kluko, another boiler would be added to double the output. Kluko met with KIUC officials a couple of weeks ago. He said he hopes to have a proposal ready for KIUC possibly by next month.
KIUC President and Chief Executive Officer H.A. "Dutch" Achenbach said the cooperative leaders have to take a wait-and-see stance on such proposals. "Since the price of oil has gone up, a lot of folks have come out of the woodwork," Achenbach said. "There are all sort of things to look at here. We have to make sure it works."
Kluko is also angling to handle the county's solid waste, which would then be incinerated. Hypothetically, if and when all logistical and feasibility issues are settled both with Grove Farm and KIUC officials, the parties could then enter into a power-purchase agreement, wherein those with Kluko's entity would agree to provide a certain amount of firm power, and KIUC leaders would determine how much they would pay for such power.
Some leaders at Kluko's company work as consulting engineers and feasibility experts for Environmental Forest Solutions, a company whose officials already operate a biomass wood waste-to-energy plant in Eagar, Ariz., and sells power to officials with a New Mexico utility company. Kluko has been in negotiations with Grove Farm officials about using the Koloa facility, specifically its turbine generators. Kluko said boilers would be brought in, as well as other equipment as needed. Though studies are not yet complete, Kluko said the entire project could cost anywhere from $15 million to $20 million.
Cooperative officials currently charge consumers (members) 29 cents per kilowatt hour, the highest rate in the state. Kluko said that, tentatively, the estimate charge to KIUC leaders to buy power from officials at Environmental Forest Solutions would be 14 cents to 16 cents per kilowatt hour.
Kluko said the plan calls for 6,000 acres to be utilized for the growth of biomass. He said he did not know at this juncture what would be planted. KIUC leaders said they have more than met a state mandate requiring operators of utilities in Hawai'i to create more electricity from renewable-energy sources, ac-cording to KIUC's Joe McCawley.
KIUC officials have reached a 13.2-per-cent "renewable-portfolio standard" as of 2004, he said. Under the state law to en-courage leaders of utilities to become less dependent on oil for electrical generation, operators of utilities are to reach a 15-per-cent mark by 2015, and a 20-percent mark by 2020. Source: By Andy Gross, The Garden Island, 9/11/2005.
Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman announced today that the Department of Energy (DOE) will provide $16,509,819 for 178 energy efficiency and renewable energy projects in 42 states. The funding for these energy-saving projects is being provided through DOE State Energy Program Special Projects competitive grants, and will be awarded in September.
State energy offices will use these funds to improve the energy efficiency of schools, homes and other buildings; promote energy-efficient industrial technologies; and support renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and biomass. Some projects will create opportunities for distributed energy resources. These competitive DOE awards will provide specialized funding in addition to annual formula grants given to each state energy office.
Summary of FY 2005 Awards by Category:
For more details on these projects contact your State Energy Office. Source: DOE Release, 8/30/2005.
RNK Capital LLC, a manager of environmental investments, announced last week that it aims to invest $25 million in the U.S. renewable energy and energy efficiency market and is inviting interested parties to submit an Expression of Interest. The company hopes to receive offers for renewable energy and energy efficiency projects that will result in renewable energy credits, sulfur dioxide emissions allowances, nitrous oxide emissions allowances, or other environmental credits. As an active participant in the markets for emissions trading and renewable energy credits, RNK Capital will consider either buying the credits or allowances generated by the projects or providing debt financing for the projects. The company did not set a specific due date for responses. Source: SEPA Bi-Weekly News, 9/9/2005.
The Southern California Public Power Authority is soliciting proposals for up to 75 megawatts of renewable energy resources. Source: SCPPA, 8/30/2005.
This news item comes to you as a service of Western's Renewable Resources Program.
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