- FPL customer bills to rise 16% by January due to fuel costs
- House Passes Climate Bill
- DOE Awards More than $204 Million for State Energy Programs in 10 States
- Does the "Sunshine" State have a sufficient solar resource to support solar energy applications?
- Google Rolls Out Home Energy Software
- A Brief Look Ahead: Innovation in Solar Energy Continues Despite Slowing Economy
- Secretary Chu: President's Energy Budget Creates Jobs, Restores America's Scientific Leadership and Puts Nation on the Path to Energy Independence
story
By Julie Patel
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
10:46 PM EDT, July 1, 2008
Florida Power & Light Co. customers should brace for two boosts in their monthly electric bills, the first coming in August.
The state Public Service Commission on Tuesday approved FPL's request for a 16 percent price increase, but delayed half of it until January.
The increase will help FPL raise the extra $746 million it needs to cover higher-than-expected fuel costs from late 2007 to 2008.
Commissioners rejected the power company's request for the full price jump next month because consumers already are coping with increases in food and transportation costs.
The fuel fee increase means that in August residential customers of FPL, the state's largest utility, will see a monthly boost from $102.63 to $110.77 for using 1,000 kilowatt-hours of power, slightly less than what the average customer uses. In January, the monthly electric bill will increase to $118.42 for the second half of the fuel charge.
Florida utilities typically propose fuel cost adjustments annually, but can revise them mid-year if their projections are off by 10 percent or more. By state law, they are not allowed to earn profits on the fuel fees passed to customers.
Utility customers, including representatives of businesses and school districts, told public service commissioners in Tallahassee the rate increase would have ripple effects for Florida's economy.
"The word 'shock' has been used a lot [today] but I can tell you we were shocked," said Jaime Torrens, chief facilities officer for Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Torres said the district is one the state's biggest employers and has been forced to lay off employees, shut down schools completely during summer vacations and cut educational programs to deal with major budget cuts in recent years. "This is a very traumatic situation for our board. ... Every dollar we cut is coming from the classroom," Torrens said.
After about five hours of debate about fuel charges for FPL and Progress Energy Florida, which serves Central Florida, commissioners approved the proposed increases by a 3-2 vote. They also delayed half of Progress' 8 percent increase.
"We understand this is very painful for the customer. We hate to do these increases," FPL spokesman Mayco Villafana said. "We know the pain and today's decision is not ... a victory for anyone. It is what's happening in worldwide fuel markets."
Commissioner Katrina McMurrian voted against the increases because she said they should take effect next month and not be partially delayed until next year when consumers will be hit with other fee increases. Commissioner Nancy Argenziano also voted against the hikes because she wants an investigation of the utilities' finances, including profits and executives' salaries, before approving the full increases.
"At some point, never-ending rate increases have got to be controlled. We have to allow our regulated entities to recover the cost of service and remain strong, healthy and in business," she said. "But the current structure of automatic fuel, conservation, and environmental cost pass-throughs — with the addition of nuclear and renewables construction next year — cannot continue in isolation. It is time for us to look at the entire structure of a utility's rates, not in isolated piece-parts, but in totality."
In addition to the additional fuel costs, FPL residential customers will see another $2.51 tacked onto their monthly bills in January for nuclear plant costs, bringing the bills for customers using 1,000 kilowatt-hours a month to $120.93. That will jump to 122.32 in June to help pay for a new natural gas generator in Loxahatchee.
Late Tuesday, commissioners also started discussing FPL's Sunshine Energy program, in which about 39,000 customers pay an extra $9.75 per month for alternative energy. Commission staff members have blasted the program for spending about 76 percent of $11.4 million collected from FPL customers on marketing and administrative costs instead of renewable energy. Commissioners started discussing options such as refunds for customers and limits on what FPL can spend on marketing.
Although FPL's power grid does not separate renewable energy from other energy types, FPL created the Sunshine Energy program in 2004 to allow customers to contribute to the utility's alternative-energy projects.
Mike Twomey, a lawyer for AARP, the senior citizens advocacy group, said he suspects most customers wouldn't sign up for the project if they knew that three-fourths of the money collected from them went to administrative costs and that some of the rest of the money went to projects outside of Florida.
"But I've got a more fundamental question," he said. "I have to wonder why it took [regulators] so long to realize what FPL was doing. This thing should've been audited the first year and every year after."
Julie Patel can be reached at jvpatel@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4667.
![[House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (center) speaks as (from left) Democratic Reps. Henry Waxman, Steny Hoyer, James Clyburn, Ed Markey, and John Larson listen after a vote on the Clean Energy and Security Act on Friday.]](http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/OB-DY579_climat_F_20090627084059.jpg)
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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (center) speaks as (from left) Democratic Reps. Henry Waxman, Steny Hoyer, James Clyburn, Ed Markey, and John Larson listen after a vote on the Clean Energy and Security Act on Friday.
WASHINGTON -- Landmark legislation to curb U.S. greenhouse-gas emissions was approved by the House of Representatives in a close vote late Friday, securing an initial victory for a cornerstone of President Barack Obama's agenda.
After months of negotiations, the Democratic-controlled House has narrowly passed sweeping legislation calling for the nation's first-ever limits on pollution linked to global warming. Stephen Power explains the bill's implications.
The 1,200 page bill -- formally known as the "American Clean Energy and Security Act" -- will reach into almost every corner of the U.S. economy. By putting a price on emissions of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, the bill would affect the way electricity is generated, how homes and offices are designed, how foreign trade is conducted and how much Americans pay to drive cars or to heat their homes.
The House climate bill, approved by a 219-212 vote Friday evening, would mandate that 15% of the nation's electricity come from renewable sources such as wind and solar power by 2020, potentially expanding the market and profit potential for companies in those sectors. Towards that goal, it seeks to boost nascent industries such as wind-generated electricity and solar power.
But it isn't clear how much of the sprawling House bill will survive in the Senate, where moderate Democrats and Republicans could form a majority that backs less ambitious action. Among the potential problem areas: the House bill has a provision that would impose tariffs on goods imported from countries that don't match U.S. carbon dioxide restrictions -- a slap at China and India that some business interests fear could provoke a trade war.
Business factions split on the measure. The Edison Electric Institute, which represents investor-owned utilities, backs it. Other companies -- particularly those with big investments in alternatives to fossil fuels -- praised the vote. "The House has taken an important first step on a road that will help the industry scale to a point at which we no longer need government incentives," said Bryan Ashley, vice president of Suniva, Inc., a Georgia-based solar cell manufacturer.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers lobbied against passage. Groups that represent airlines, oil producers and mining companies expressed disappointment, saying the bill, if enacted, would lead to onerous new costs to consumers. "It will affect every aspect of the American economy, harming our ability to compete in the world and provide secure and affordable energy to American consumers and businesses," the National Mining Association said in a statement.
Mr. Obama and House leaders struggled to win over a large group of rank-and-file Democrats who expressed doubts about the climate bill. The president lobbied hard personally and through top aides to secure votes from wavering members over the past several days. But in the end, 44 Democrats defected, joining 168 Republicans in opposition. Eight Republicans crossed party lines to support the bill.
Mr. Obama and other top Democrats insisted the measure will spur job-creating investments in "green" technologies, while lessening U.S. reliance on foreign oil. They said the fear that higher energy costs will result is overblown, in part because savings from energy-efficiency investments could offset most or all of the costs to consumers.
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The Avaaz Climate Action Factory, the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, and the Energy Action Coalition held a rally Friday to urge the House to pass the climate bill.
"We cannot be afraid of the future. And we must not be prisoners of the past," Mr. Obama said in his regular Saturday radio address. "Don't believe the misinformation out there that suggests there is somehow a contradiction between investing in clean energy and economic growth."
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has estimated the bill would have a modest impact on family budgets. The CBO projected an annual economy-wide cost in 2020 of $22 billion, or about $175 per household. The CBO's study didn't consider the broader effect of the legislation on employment or gross domestic product.
Republicans argued that the CBO's estimate lowballs the actual cost of the bill for families. They contended the measure amounted to a job-killing tax on consumers and businesses. "The Waxman-Markey bill promises to destroy our standard of living," said Rep. Frank Lucas (R., Okla.).
House Minority Leader John Boehner lambasted the Democratic bill for more than an hour Friday evening before the final vote. He mocked provisions covering everything from energy-efficient loan standards for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to the definition of "renewable biomass" to the establishment of "green" banking centers. "Is there anything we're not regulating in this bill?" he said.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) followed Mr. Boehner to close debate, but spoke only briefly to urge passage. "Just remember these four words: Jobs, jobs, jobs and jobs," she said, reinforcing her party's portrayal of the bill as good for the economy.
The big-money piece of the bill is a proposal to require companies to buy permits to emit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that scientists have linked to changes in the earth's climate, causing such phenomena as melting polar ice caps. The bill would put caps on those emissions, with the goal of reducing overall U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 17% from 2005 levels by the year 2020, and 83% by mid-century.
In a series of deals meant to ease the impact on businesses and their customers, Democratic leaders agreed to give away to the business community more than 60% of pollution permits in the early years of the program.
Supporters say the bill will have a modest impact on electricity ratepayers, and in many cases will save them money. That is because the legislation directs state regulators to make sure electricity-producing utilities that receive free pollution permits pass along the savings.
The measure could result in higher gasoline and diesel prices. But New Energy Finance, an energy consultant, said it expects gasoline prices to rise about 17 cents a gallon, a relatively small amount compared with recent fluctuations in pump prices.
The legislation also would let companies avoid cutting their own emissions by purchasing "offsets" -- activities such as protecting rainforests in Brazil -- that are deemed climate-friendly.
For original please refer to: online.wsj.com/article/SB124610499176664899.html
June 24, 2009
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Steven Chu today announced more than $204 million in Recovery Act funding to support energy efficiency and renewable energy projects in ten states. Under DOE's State Energy Program (SEP), states have proposed statewide plans that prioritize energy savings, create or retain jobs, increase the use of renewable energy, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This initiative is part of the Obama Administration's national strategy to support job growth, while making a historic down payment on clean energy and conservation.
"This funding will provide an important boost for state economies, help to put Americans back to work and move us toward energy independence," said Secretary Chu. "It reflects our commitment to support innovative state and local strategies to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy while insisting that taxpayer dollars be spent responsibly."
The following states are receiving 40% of their total SEP funding authorized under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act: Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Minnesota, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, and Washington.
With today's announcement, these states will now have received 50% of their total Recovery Act SEP funding. The initial 10% of total funding was previously available to states to support planning activities; the remaining 50% of funds will be released once states meet reporting, oversight, and accountability milestones required by the Recovery Act.
Under the Recovery Act, DOE expanded the types of activities eligible for State Energy Program funding, which include energy audits, building retrofits, education and training efforts, transportation programs to increase the use of alternative fuels and hybrid vehicles, and new financing mechanisms to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy investments.
The Recovery Act appropriated $3.1 billion to the State Energy Program to help achieve national energy independence goals and promote local economic recovery. States use these grants at the state and local level to create green jobs, address state energy priorities, and adopt emerging renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies.
Transparency and accountability are important priorities for SEP and all Recovery Act projects. Throughout the program's implementation, DOE will provide strong oversight at the local, state, and national level, while emphasizing with states the need to quickly award funds to help create new jobs and stimulate local economies.
The following states are receiving awards today.
ARIZONA - $22.2 million awarded today
Arizona will use its State Energy Program funding for a series of innovative programs aimed at advancing energy efficiency and renewable energy investments statewide, while supporting renewable energy manufacturers and products made in the state. Arizona will establish a revolving loan program in order to provide a sustainable financing mechanism for small business owners who are looking to fund energy efficient building improvements or install solar projects at their facilities. The state will offer revolving loan funds for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects in commercial buildings, along with loans to manufacturers of renewable energy or energy efficiency equipment and technologies.
After demonstrating successful implementation of its plan, the state will receive an additional $27 million, for a total of $55 million.
CONNECTICUT - $15.4 million awarded today
Connecticut will use its SEP funding to create or protect jobs and save energy with several projects, including in-home energy audits and the deployment of a variety of technologies, such as alternative-fuel vehicles. In one project, Recovery Act funds will enable more residents to take advantage of inexpensive in-home energy audits designed to reduce energy bills and encourage energy efficiency. For each home, a specialist will perform an energy assessment, find and professionally seal critical leaks and drafts, replace incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent lamps, provide and install water conservation devices, and check insulation and appliances.
The state will also use funding to support four Clean Cities coalitions—Greater New Haven, Clean Cities of Southwestern Connecticut, Norwich Clean Cities and Capital Clean Cities—to support their efforts to facilitate the adoption of alternate fuels and petroleum-reducing technologies in Connecticut.
After demonstrating successful implementation of its plan, the state will receive an additional $19 million, for a total of $38 million.
FLORIDA - $50.4 million awarded today
With its Recovery Act SEP funding, Florida will advance energy efficiency efforts and encourage the production, availability and use of renewable energy and alternative fuels. Under the program Florida will create several loan and grant programs to promote investment and commercialization of various energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies.
After demonstrating successful implementation of its plan, the state will receive an additional $63 million, for a total of $126 million.
IDAHO - $11.4 million awarded today
Idaho will utilize Recovery Act SEP funding to launch a set of programs, including a Renewable Energy Business Development Program, that will help increase the use of renewable energy while creating new jobs and stimulating the state's economy. Two initiatives encourage state schools to reduce energy costs by adopting renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. Other initiatives seek to stimulate the state's economy by creating new zoning regulations in order to attract renewable energy developers to build new projects.
After demonstrating successful implementation of its plan, the state will receive more than $14 million in additional funding, for a total of more than $28 million.
KANSAS - $15.3 million awarded today
Kansas will distribute its SEP funding to several initiatives that will benefit overall efficiency for commercial buildings, increase financial options for investing in renewable energy, and increase costs savings for individual home owners across the state. The funding will also be applied to developing a robust work force of energy auditors. A portion of the funding will go toward developing a new utility rate pricing plan as well as an energy audit rebate plan for home and small-business owners. To improve the quality and breadth of the energy auditor industry in the state, Kansas will subsidize costly technical audit equipment and also provide scholarships for additional professional training.
After demonstrating successful implementation of its plan, the state will receive more than $19 million in additional funding, for a total of more than $38 million.
MINNESOTA - $21.7 million awarded today
Minnesota will put its Recovery Act funds to use improving energy efficiency in residential, commercial, and government buildings, as well as increasing the amount of renewable energy produced in-state. Minnesota will award grants to small, medium, and large businesses to help provide for the design, financing, and installation of various energy efficiency improvements and retrofits. The state will also administer grants to work with utilities to develop programs that leverage Recovery Act funds to promote energy efficiency with customers, such as low-interest loans and grants.
Minnesota is also prioritizing community outreach and trainings for energy professionals to ensure broad participation in its SEP programs. For example, the State Energy Information Center will organize Clean Energy Resource Teams comprised of local organizations and citizens to perform outreach and communications about the programs.
After demonstrating successful implementation of its plan, the state will receive more than $27 million in additional funding, for a total of more than $54 million.
SOUTH CAROLINA - $20.2 million awarded today
South Carolina will use its Recovery Act SEP funding to provide grants and loans to improve energy efficiency in public school districts, public colleges and universities, and state agencies to reduce the burden of energy bills for taxpayers, while creating jobs and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. South Carolina also intends to provide financial assistance to various industrial, commercial and small business entities to support energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. This financial assistance, along with education and training programs included in the SEP, will help create clean energy jobs in the state and make business and industry more economically stable.
After demonstrating successful implementation of its plan, the state will receive more than $25 million in additional funding, for a total of over $50 million.
SOUTH DAKOTA - $9.5 million awarded today
South Dakota will use its SEP funding to support the Energy Efficient Government program and to provide revolving energy loans to state institutions. The programs will promote energy efficiency efforts while reducing energy costs in state owned buildings, which will directly benefit state residents. The state's energy office will administer the funds, provide technical guidance, and assure accountability and transparency for the state institutions who apply for the two programs. These programs coordinate with South Dakota's energy goals to promote and encourage energy conservation, energy efficiency, renewable energy and alternative fuels.
After demonstrating successful implementation of its plan, the state will receive more than $11 million in additional funding, for a total of more than $23 million.
UTAH - $14.1 million awarded today
Utah will utilize Recovery Act funds to improve energy efficiency in residential, commercial, public education, and government buildings. The state will provide financial incentives to low-income housing developments and commercial and government buildings that perform energy efficiency upgrades. For instance, low income housing units will qualify for free insulation upgrades and builders working on new construction developments will qualify for rebates if they build high performance buildings.
Utah will also use funding to collect more accurate data about the potential renewable energy resources in the state that can then be used to identify potential Renewable Energy Zones.
After demonstrating successful implementation of its plan, the state will receive more than $17 million in additional funding, for a total of more than $35 million.
WASHINGTON STATE - $24.3 million awarded today
Washington will use Recovery Act funding to implement two major programs: the Community-Wide Urban Residential and Commercial Energy Efficiency Program and the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Loans and Grants Program Fund. These two programs, along with several more to develop clean energy policy and promote energy assessments in the agricultural sector, will result in significant job creation and energy savings across the state. The Community-Wide Urban Residential and Commercial Energy Efficiency Program will enhance financial and technical assistance programs by directing municipal, state, and federal funds, as well as electric and gas utility funding, toward greater energy efficiency improvements and home weatherization efforts.
After demonstrating successful implementation of its plan, the state will receive more than $30 million in additional funding, for a total of over $60 million.
For original article please refere to: apps1.eere.energy.gov/news/daily.cfm/hp_news_id=175
Every so often, we get a call or email asking about the use of solar energy in Florida and whether the state has too many cloudy days and hazy sky conditions to support solar energy applications. Many people say they have heard that solar energy applications only work well in the clear skies of the desert southwest and just won’t be as effective in Florida’s weather conditions.
While it is true that the desert southwest has the largest solar resource in the continental U.S., this does not mean that Florida has a poor resource. Consider the following map that compares the solar resource for 2-kilowatt photovoltaic residential applications across the entire U.S.:
This image comes from a study the Florida Solar Energy Center conducted on the performance of 2-kW photovoltaic (PV) systems installed on highly efficient homes across the country. The results capture all aspects of PV system performance, including the temperature effect on cell performance as well as the efficiency of the conversion from DC to AC power through the inverter. The map clearly shows that the desert southwest has the largest solar resource in the continental U.S., but Florida is not very far behind with 85% of the maximum PV resource of any location in the country (7.2 kWh/day out of a maximum of 8.5 kWh/day). Consumers should note that many parts of the country that have more state financial incentives have a much poorer solar resource, making Florida a very cost-effective location for using solar energy. You can view the complete study at: www.fsec.ucf.edu/en/publications/html/FSEC-PF-380-04/.
There is Also Money Waiting for You in Florida!
There are also substantial federal income tax credits (30% of the cost of a solar hot water system) and State of Florida rebates ($500 for a system) for the installation of solar systems in Florida. In addition, one Florida utility, Progress Energy Florida (PEF), recently implemented a new program that offers additional utility incentives of $450 for the installation of solar water heating systems. These combine to offer a considerable buy-down for a solar water heating system.
If you are interested in photovoltaics, there is a federal income tax credit of up to $2,000 plus a State of Florida rebate of up to $20,000 for home applications and up to $100,000 for commercial applications.
[Actually, the federal tax credit is unlimited and based on 30% the adjusted value of the PV or thermal system!
- FL GREEN ENERGY]
Additional information on these solar energy tax credit, state rebate and utility incentive programs can be found by clicking on the following links:
- Federal tax credits: http://www.fsec.ucf.edu/en/media/enews/2005/2005-03_EPAct2005.htm
- State of Florida tax rebates: http://www.fsec.ucf.edu/en/media/enews/2006/2006-04-R1_Energy-act.htm
- Progress Energy incentives: http://www.progress-energy.com/custservice/flares/save/solarheater.asp
Florida citizens express their opinion on solar energy for Florida:
For original article please refer to:
May 20, 2009, 11:31 am
Google’s Power Meter provides near real-time energy use information.
Google’s initiative to allow people to monitor their energy use on their computers took a step forward on Wednesday, as the company announced partnerships with eight electric utilities that will be the first to use its “Power Meter.”
Essentially, the secure software gadget will interact with the intelligent metering devices currently being installed by utilities for their customers. The software will “show consumers their home energy information almost in real time, right on their computer,” the company says.
Googlers testing the device, which includes a graphic-rich, Web-based interface, have reported learning which appliances cause the largest spike in home energy use — causing them to make changes like ensuring that an energy-intensive dishwasher or washing machine is fully loaded.
“One of my colleagues learned that her pool pump had been operating for years,” said Dan Reicher, the head of climate change programs at Google.org, with whom I spoke last month.
Another time, he said, while monitoring his own home’s energy usage from afar: “I called up my daughter and said, ‘I think you may have left the lights on in your room.’”
Google cites studies that suggest consumers could cut their electricity bills by 5 percent to 15 percent if they had access to information about how much electricity they are consuming.
The eight electric utilities include one in India and one in Canada, as well as six in the United States.
(These are: Glasgow EPB in Kentucky; TXU Energy in Texas; San Diego Gas & Electric in California; White River Valley Electric Cooperative in Missouri; JEA in Florida; and Wisconsin Public Service in Wisconsin.)
SDG&E, one of the largest participating utilities, says that its smart-meter customers should be able to view their energy-use profile on Google’s Web site by the end of the year.
Hal Snyder, the utility’s vice president of customer solutions, said in a statement: “This is about choice, control and convenience for our customers.”
For original article please refer to:
http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/20/google-rolls-out-home-energy-software/
May 7, 2009
by Justin Moresco, Contributor
California, United States [RenewableEnergyWorld.com]
Solar industry buffs likely spent the first weeks of April eagerly waiting earnings reports from the publically traded solar giants. But on April 14 the team over at Abound Solar had other priorities in mind. The Fort Collins, Colo.-based startup was celebrating the official opening of the company’s first full-scale production facility for its thin-film solar panels.
Tight credit markets and a slumping global economy might grip the rest of the world, but the solar industry is still innovating. Big companies are devoting millions of dollars in research and development to maintain if not grow their market shares, and engineers at nimble startups continue to turn their ideas into commercial products. New solar technologies, in other words, are still marching to the market.
The technology developed by Abound Solar, formerly called AVA Solar, is one of them. The two-year-old company, which raised US $104 million in equity financing late last year, aims to triple the annual capacity of its new plant to 200 megawatts (MW) by 2010, according to Russ Kanjorski, Abound’s vice president of marketing. The modules use a cadmium-telluride semiconductor, like those produced by Tempe, Ariz.-based First Solar, a world leader in thin-film solar panel manufacturing.
“For us, it is all about manufacturing and scalability,” said Kanjorski. This focus shouldn’t be surprising since Abound has its origins in the lab of Colorado State mechanical engineering professor W.S. Sampath. Over more than a decade, Sampath developed a continuous, automated manufacturing process for solar panels using glass coating with cadmium telluride. Based on that work, Abound’s manufacturing process can now turn a piece of glass into a solar module in less than two hours, a time Kanjorski believes is the fastest in the industry.
Abound’s modules convert 10 percent of sunlight into electric power, and within four years that number should rise to about 12 percent, Kanjorski said. Abound’s engineering team believes the plant, once at full capacity, will produce panels at less than $1 per watt.
[Editor’s note: for more on Abound’s origins and professor W.S. Sampath, check out REW.com feature article from Dec 12, 2008: Pushing the Envelope: Renewable Energy R&D Bolstered Through Public-private Partnerships]
First Solar, by comparison, is already below that target, having announced as part of its first quarter earnings an average manufacturing cost of US $0.93 per watt. Its panels have an efficiency of about 11 percent. The Abound team, however, is not discouraged. That’s because the company is not so much competing with First Solar as it is with silicon-based solar panels, Kanjorski said. As rapidly as thin-film technology is growing, conventional solar panels still account for more than 80 percent of the market.
Abound isn’t the only startup with high hopes for 2009. John Benner, who manages solar industry partnerships for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s National Center for Photovoltaics, said a number of other thin-film startups could start shipping products this year. Benner said one of them is Austin, Texas-based HelioVolt, which raised $101 million in venture funding in 2007 and uses a mixture of copper indium gallium and selenide as the semiconductor material for its panels. The startup has been working with researchers at the national lab to develop a new process for preparing these materials before they are reacted together to create the semiconductor. Benner said the new process will reduce costs and speed up manufacturing, though he declined to say by how much.
“There are a number of companies with factories that are at a stage where the equipment is in and they’re expecting to ship products this year,” Benner said. “Some won’t work as planned, but some probably will.”
Edward Yu, professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of California, San Diego, believes thin-film technologies over the next few years will provide the largest reductions in costs across the industry. But he said the longevity of the panels could be a stumbling block—they’ll have to compete with conventional silicon-based panels which are typically guaranteed for 25 years. Yu also said the new thin-film producers will have to prove they can maintain the efficiency rates of their panels while ramping up production and keeping costs down.
While thin-film technologies attract a lot of attention, innovation is happening in the conventional silicon-based market, too. Benner, of the national lab, said that there are at least two dozen individual steps involved in turning a silicon wafer into a module. Improvements in any of them, from cleaning a piece of glass to changing electronic properties of silicon, could help drive down the average industry production costs of about $2 per watt.
Advent Solar’s team believes they’ve struck on a few improvements. The Albuquerque, N.M.-based company, which has raised about $118 million in venture funding, has developed a manufacturing process for high-efficiency cells. Its so-called emitter wrap through technology creates a back-contact cell that eliminates the grid lines found on the top of conventional cells. This design maximizes the amount of sunlight turned into electricity. Another technology, called the monolithic module assembly, borrows a page from the semiconductor industry, said Naresh Baliga, vice president of marketing. Like the semiconductor industry, Advent’s process uses robots in a planar production flow to drive up throughput and yield.
Advent announced in April that its cell efficiencies are now: 18.2 percent for mono- crystalline wafers, 17.2 percent for multi-crystalline wafers, and 16.56 percent for wafers made from so-called upgraded metallurgical silicon, which is cheaper than conventional silicon but has slightly lower conversion efficiencies. Baliga said the company will drive down production costs to $1 per watt by 2010 using upgraded metallurgical silicon.
But it won’t be Advent who achieves that milestone. That’s because late last year the seven-year-old firm decided to take a new tack. With financing hard to find, company executives decided to abandon their plans for building solar panels and instead license their technology to existing manufacturers. Baliga said Advent is in talks with several “major players” in North America and Europe, and he expects products based on Advent’s technology to be available on the market by 2010.
Germany’s Q-Cells, the world’s largest cell manufacturer, is also working to improve silicon-based technology. One of the biggest changes is the company’s increasing shift toward using upgraded metallurgical silicon, said Joerg Mueller, head of the firm’s cell research and development technology department. Producing upgraded metallurgical silicon consumes less energy and has cost savings potential compare with conventional silicon in today’s market, he said. But it has meant that Q-Cells has had to adapt some of its production processes, such as the way it purifies the materials, to maintain high efficiencies.
Mueller said he believes the company will produce multi-crystalline cells with 18 percent efficiencies in two or three years. He said the company’s production cost target is to reach grid parity, and that his team is convinced that can be done with silicon-based technology in “the near future.” Q-Cells Chief Executive Anton Milner has said publically that PV system costs should reach grid parity in Italy by 2010 and in Germany by 2014, if current trends continue.
Besides the use of cheaper silicon, Mueller said the cell maker is working on other improvements. One is optimizing the front surface metallization of the cells to maintain high conductivity of the metal fingers while reducing shading. He also said the back surface of the cells could be improved to drive up efficiency.
So innovation is happening in the solar industry, and those changes should make their way to commercial products soon. The results should be more efficient systems and lower costs. Looking out even further, say five or 10 years from now, the University of California’s Yu said he expects very high-efficiency cells to reach the market. These include multi-junction cells, which stack layers of conducting material each tailored to absorb different parts of the electromagnetic spectrum and have already reached efficiency levels of 40 percent. But today they are expensive and only practical in space applications.
It will be challenging, Yu said, but by combining these cells with optical concentrators he thinks they could find a viable market for terrestrial power generation.
Justin Moresco has been writing about sustainability and green issues since 2005, first as a correspondent in West Africa for IRINnews. He now focuses mainly on emerging clean technology and is based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Before becoming a journalist, he was a licensed civil engineer.
For Immediate Release
May 7, 2009
Washington D.C. --- U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu today detailed President Barack Obama’s $26.4 billion Fiscal Year 2010 budget request for the Department of Energy, highlighting the Administration’s commitment to transformational discoveries, breakthrough science, and innovative technologies in the nation’s effort to secure reliable, clean, safe and secure energy, create new jobs and fight climate change. While the budget makes important investments in energy independence and job creation, it also cuts back on programs that don’t work as well or are no longer needed.
“The President’s budget for energy reflects his commitment to ending our dependence on foreign oil, restoring our scientific leadership and putting Americans back to work through investments in a new green energy economy,” Secretary Chu said. “It also demonstrates his commitment to using taxpayer dollars wisely – cutting spending on programs we don’t need so we can make strategic investments in our economic future.”
The President’s FY10 budget complements $38.7 billion the Department of Energy will invest as part of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Specifically, the President’s FY10 budget:
- Cuts funding for programs that aren’t needed or aren’t as effective as other investments – like more than $200 million in oil and gas company research that the companies can and do fund on their own.
- Substantially expands the use of clean, renewable energy sources while improving energy transmission infrastructure.
- Supports the Administration’s goal to develop a smart, strong and secure electricity grid.
- Helps restore America’s leadership in scientific research and innovation – including transformative science that can lead to a new generation of clean energy jobs.
- Makes significant investments in low-emissions plug-in and hybrid vehicles, nuclear energy, and clean coal technologies, as part of the Obama Administration’s aggressive effort to reduce greenhouse gas production.
- Supports the ongoing security of our weapons stockpile, continued efforts at nuclear non-proliferation and ongoing environmental cleanup and legacy management as part of the Department’s long-term stewardship responsibilities.
U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Public Affairs, Washington, D.C.
