Archive for the ‘Commercial Solar Ventures’ Category

Will the US adopt EU type Feed-in Tariffs?

Friday, October 30th, 2009

An important and troubling issue from one of the closing sessions at this week's Solar Power International conference reveals that industry leaders are divided on the political feasibility and efficacy of Feed-in Tariffs.. Industry leaders discussed the issues and probability of Solar Feed-in Tariffs at state and national levels.  Stephen ...

Energy Freedom Is Not Free

Monday, October 26th, 2009

Co-authored by David M Adams of Buildings and Energy and Norman Brand, Ph.D., J.D, with support from Marsha Shenk, a pioneer of Business Anthropology  As tens of thousands arrive in Anaheim, California for the Solar International Convention there is lots to talk about: Renewable Portfolio Standards, Feed-in Tariffs, the Stimulus Package, ...

California’s Bold Experiments with Feed-in Tariffs

Thursday, October 22nd, 2009

On Sunday, October 11th, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed new legislation that creates a solar Feed-in Tariff paralleling solar policy in the EU.  A Feed-in Tariff (FiT) is a premium price paid for renewable energy, in this case solar power.  Under the new law, if you build a solar facility ...

Thoughts on Thomas Friedman’s Sept 15th Op-Ed on Solar Investment

Friday, September 18th, 2009

In a September 15th NY Time op-ed piece, Thomas Friedman makes that case that innovative solar technology is invented in the US, but only finds manufacturing customers overseas, primarily in China and Germany.  Applied Materials, he writes, is a US company that makes the machinery that produces microchips and another silicon ...

Oregon’s Surprising Solar Industry

Tuesday, September 15th, 2009

Oregon, ranked 27th by population, is ranked 9th in US solar energy according to the Solar Energy Industry Association.  At the close of 2008, Oregonians had installed 4.8 MW, a 330% increase over 1.1 MW in 2007. Oregon is 7th overall in cumulative US installations with 7.5 megawatts. This is due ...

6 Dangers Facing US Solar Energy

Thursday, September 3rd, 2009

All across the West, firefighters are forging through a long hot summer of wildfires.  Along with their boots, helmet, Nomex clothing, fire shelter, and canteen they carry a pocket-sized reference of "Ten Standing Orders" and "Ten Situations that Shout Danger."  A red skull and crossed bones smiles at them from ...

Signs of Recovery in Commercial Solar? Renewable Ventures moves forward on 65 MW in US as Fotowatio plans 1,000 MW worldwide.

Tuesday, August 18th, 2009

On August 13 of this year, Renewable Ventures (formerly MMA Renewable Ventures) announced a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) with NV Energy, Inc.  Renewable Ventures will fund, own, and operate a 26-megawatt solar power plant northeast of Las Vegas. The Apex, NV plant is expected to provide 200 new jobs ...

US Treasury to pay 30% of project costs for new solar.

Saturday, July 25th, 2009

In about 65 days, the US Treasury will begin to issue cash grants to owners of solar power systems of all sizes.  The grant is equal to 30% of the project's cost.  This includes households, solar developers, businesses, commercial buildings, and utilities.  The grant is scalable.  On a $34,000 home ...

Is Pacific Gas & Electric Opposing More Customer Generated Solar Power?

Friday, June 19th, 2009

The Green Wombat today alerted the Twitter world to a San Jose Mercury News post that California's largest utility, Pacific Gas and Electric, opposes two pieces of legislation pending in the California legislature.  Together, the two bills would play a significant role in achieving California's climate goals, the Million Solar ...

A Milestone Year for Solar, but Many Miles Yet to Go - Part 2

Thursday, June 11th, 2009

Much has been written about upstream development in US renewable energy. Tech advances are impressive, and there is a reason why renewable technology continues to attract venture funding. However, the US is failing on the downstream - the installation side of the renewable equation. SEIA reports that all US grid-connected solar ...