Program helps homeowners upgrade for Energy Efficiency
January 15, 2012
KSL.com
SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Home Performance program says it has helped make more Utah homes more energy-efficient.
In 2011, more than 1,000 homeowners took advantage of the program, which offered up to $2,000 in cash rebates as incentives to homeowners making the upgrades as recommended in a Home Performance Assessment (HPA).
In addition, the program leveraged Rocky Mountain Power and Questar’s Demand Side Management programs, averaging $450 in rebates per home.
The program, which is funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, is projected to complete nearly 1,300 home upgrades by the time all funds are spent, which the Office of Energy Development estimates will be in spring of this year.
For more information on high-efficiency updates, visit www.utahhomeperformance.com or call 877-298-4675.
FOR A LIST OF ENERGY ASSESSMENT PROFESSIONALS CLICK HERE
Go Green to Stay Black
January 20, 2012
Marie Mischel, Utah Business
Going green can help you stay in the black. Not only are more consumers supporting energy-efficient companies, but cutting therms and watts saves companies money as well.
“We’re seeing in our research that the wise use of energy and our resources is something that consumers want, so it’s definitely a selling point and a marketing point for businesses to say that they have energy-efficient systems,” says Kevin Emerson, the energy efficient program associate with Utah Clean Energy, an independent, non-profit based in Salt Lake City.
The first step to developing an energy-efficient business is to conduct an audit to determine what needs to be done, Emerson says. He adds that the process will differ according to each individual company. “For businesses, there’s probably not a typical plan,” he says. “They probably want to start with lighting because it tends to be the easiest thing to do, and the least expensive. Oftentimes it’s something that folks can do in-house more easily than some of the other projects.”
Controlling heating and cooling systems also is at the top of the list for businesses looking to conserve energy and cut costs, Emerson says. One Utah firm offering products that makes it simpler for businesses to change their energy conservation in these areas is Ad Hoc Electronics, a three-year-old Orem firm that was among the Utah Valley Entrepreneurial Forum’s 2008 Top Five Under Five. Ad Hoc’s Illumra product line, launched last May, is a battery- and wireless-free way to control lighting and HVAC systems.
“They offer a lot of advantages that are specifically helpful to companies wanting to adopt a green stance or reduce their impact on the environment,” says Jan Finlinson, Ad Hoc vice president. “The most substantial way that they do that is by making it very easy to integrate occupancy sensors into a space so that lights and the heating and air conditioning systems can be turned off in unoccupied spaces.”
The products also reduce the carbon footprint because they don’t require batteries and, for retrofit projects, there’s substantially less new product such as conduits and copper wire.
A typical Ad Hoc system includes light and occupancy sensors, switches, and the actuators that communicate between the sensors and the heating and lighting electrical systems. The sensors allow the lights and HVAC systems to turn off automatically when people are no longer in the area. Though often used to control lighting and HVAC, this technology can be used for any device operated by a switch.
Finlinson says a substantial benefit to wireless technology is that it can be installed with almost no interruption to the workforce itself. “An electrician doesn’t have to take apart walls or anything at all to run new wires. They just get up on a ladder and there’s a 15-minute interruption right where the ladder is.”
Another benefit is that lights can be controlled individually. Rather than having an entire floor lit for one person working at a desk, with the Ad Hoc system each cubicle occupant can dim or turn off lights over their area.
The wireless systems are particularly attractive in retrofit situations, Finlinson says. “Even though these intelligent controls cost considerably more than a standard light switch, in many cases that is more than offset by the labor savings of not having to cut through walls and run additional conduit and copper wires to the locations where they want sensors and switches installed.”
Green Gold
Emerson believes the trend toward energy-efficient products and practices will continue as federal and state agencies continue to regulate energy consumption and says that in addition to controlling lighting and heating and air conditioning, businesses can turn to the federal government’s EnergyStar program for help with reducing energy consumption One tool that he recommends is the Portfolio Manager, a free, online energy management program that allows bus-inesses to track their energy or natural gas consumption, as well as compare their usage with like businesses across the country. “There’s no barrier to using it except that a lot of businesses don’t know about it,” he says.
Many manufacturers now offer of-fice equipment lines that qualify for an EnergyStar rating, which indicates the equipment is designed to use less energy to perform regular tasks and automatically turn off or hibernate when not being used. It’s estimated that $200 million would be saved annually if every home office product purchased this year in the U.S. had an EnergyStar rating.
Equipment that can qualify for the EnergyStar ratings range from water coolers to computers.
“There’s still a little bit of a myth that letting a computer sleep or hibernate is bad because it damages the computer, but that’s not the case,” Emerson says, adding that power management software is available for both individual computers and networks.
The Website, www.energystar.gov, lists the manufacturers who offer Energy Star rated equipment, and offers tips for conservation as well. In addition, Rocky Mountain Power and Questar have comprehensive energy-efficient programs to make it easier for businesses to undertake energy conservation projects, Emerson says.
Rocky Mountain Power also offers savings for EnergyStar qualified models of lighting fixtures and appliances such as air conditioning units and ceiling fans.
Another program that can aid executives looking to expand their green reach is EPEAT (Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool), which evaluates computers and monitors based on 51 criteria, including 23 mandatory environmental criteria.
Federal agency purchasing contracts require EPEAT products, and in De-cember, EPEAT announced that it had registered its 1,000th environmentally preferable computer product.
Products that earn the EPEAT registration have less cadmium, lead and mercury than traditional computers, are more energy efficient and are easier to recycle. The EPEAT system is managed by the nonprofit Green Electronics Council in Oregon. The Website is www.epeat.net.
Utah utility’s solar incentive program gets new life
12/29/12
By Steve Oberbeck, the Salt Lake Tribune
A Rocky Mountain Power program that since 2007 has offered financial incentives to encourage Utahns to install solar panels on their homes and businesses gets to stick around for at least another year — and maybe longer.
State utility regulators at the Public Service Commission have told the utility they want it to continue to offer its Solar Incentive Program through the end of 2012 and increase its budget from $314,500 a year to $385,000.
The five-year program was set to expire Saturday.
“Temporarily extending the program for one year will provide more time for the development of an ongoing program,” the PSC said in its order, which also indicated it wants the state’s Division of Public Utilities to lead that effort.
Sara Baldwin, a senior policy associate at renewable-energy advocate Utah Clean Energy, said the PSC’s order was an important victory for program proponents.
If the utility’s program had been allowed to expire, those who support solar power development in the state would have faced additional regulatory hurdles to get a similar incentive program re-established, she said.
Investing in renewable solar power makes sense for consumers and the company, Baldwin said, indicating Utah Clean Energy hopes to play a role in coming months in helping establish a long-term effort.
Baldwin pointed out earlier this month that compared with other nearby states, the size of Utah’s program was extremely limited. It had enough funding to encourage the development of only 30 or so systems annually, or around 107,000 watts, with the incentives paid out relative to the size of the systems.
“We’re surrounded by states that offer incentives for several megawatts per month,” she said.
Rocky Mountain Power wasn’t eager for the program to continue, arguing that it had accomplished its objectives and provided the company with valuable information about the use of solar power systems by its customers.
Still, the company said it was comfortable with the PSC’s decision. “We’re happy to do what [the PSC] thinks is best,” said utility spokesman Dave Eskelsen.
steve@sltrib.com
Twitter: @oberbeckbiz
Want Solar but can’t make the up-front investment?
1/30/11
Philip W. Stewart
If you have a backlog of proposals that you have given to people who want solar, but couldn’t make the out-front investment, here is a solution that you should know about.
Low cost renewable energy financing for home and business owners is available through The American Energy Independence or AEI Bond. Here are three key things you need to know:
1. Any licensed solar / renewable energy installer can sign their customers up for the AEI Bond.
2. The AEI Bond provides low-cost financing for home and business owners that want renewable energy technologies.
3. The time to act is NOW! There is no reason to wait, and some very good reasons to move fast.
Background
Jamey Johnston started on the AEI Bond almost two years ago. Jamey recognized that the out-front cost of going solar was a big barrier to home and business owners who wanted to be energy independent, and came up with a “let’s make solar affordable” plan. He talked to his Mayor, Alpine’s Hunt Willoughby, and Jason Burningham, a principal with the SLC investment banking firm of Lewis, Young, Robertson & Burningham (“LYRB”) and they helped to create the AEI Bond. Here is an overview of how it works.
Utah Installers and the AEI Bond:
• The AEI Bond is available to ANY licensed Solar Installer.
• If you want more information, contact The NRG Bureau’s Philip Stewart (nrg.bureau@gmail.com) / 770-862-4008. He can get you started.
How it Works:
• Participating home and business owners make a 20-25% down payment.
• They “assign” their State and Federal Tax Credits to further pay down the system cost.
• The balance owing is paid off over ten years. The monthly payment is about what the customer would pay to the utility for the power the system is generating.
• The interest rate is 5% to 6%, perhaps less.
• There is no pre-payment penalty.
The bottom line is that the AEI Bond makes it easier to sell solar and other renewable energy technologies. Call Philip Stewart to learn more -- (nrg.bureau@gmail.com) / 770-862-4008.
Utah renewable energy and energy efficiency industry host home and business tour
September 14, 2011
Utah Solar Energy Association
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah—The Utah Solar Energy Association today announced that Utah’s solar, wind, geothermal, and energy efficiency industries will be showcasing residential and commercial properties that incorporate their technologies to the general public in locations throughout the state of Utah.
The event will stretch over two weekends, with sites being showcased in St. George on Saturday, September 17th from 10am-4pm; and in Salt Lake, Summit, and Utah counties the weekend just following on Saturday, September 24th from 10am-4pm.
Garbett Homes, a nationally recognized homebuilder based in Utah, will host one of a small handful of kickoff events at its newest development in south Salt Lake City known as TerraSol. The developer has been recognized by the Department of Energy for its success in building and selling energy efficient homes with on-site renewable energy at affordable prices. The kickoff event will be held at TerraSol’s Green Learning Center, which is a model home whose walls and floors have been peeled back to expose all of the energy efficiency technologies that come standard with every pre-ordered home. The Center will provide attendees with a unique look at how on-site renewable energy in conjunction with energy efficiency can maximize an adopter’s return on investment.
Brief introductory courses on on-site renewable energy and energy efficiency will be provided at many of the major kickoff events. The actual residential and commercial sites will also provide additional educational content that is related to the technology installed. Goal Zero, a Utah-based company that designs and sells portable solar power products through major retailers such as Costco, will be raffling up to $2,000 of product to those who attend at least four sites. Attendees can pick up a raffle ticket at kickoff events and any of the tour sites.
Those who are interested in attending can find the address information for all of the kickoff events and sites on the Association’s webpage, as well as other important content and updates as the tour nears. One pre-tour teaser video will be posted on the website each week leading up to the tour to introduce viewers to some of the sites on the tour and the type of educational content they can expect to receive by participating.
The annual event, which is part of the National Solar Tour, is presented by the American Solar Energy Society (ASES) and is hosted by its state chapter, the Utah Solar Energy Association (UtSEA). Admittance is $5 per individual, $10 per family.
To learn more about the Tour’s Title sponsors, Garbett Homes and Goal Zero, please visit their websites, www.garbetthomes.com and www.goalzero.com.
PDF versions of the Utah Renewable Energy Conference 2011 Presentations Available Online!
6/29/2011
UtSEA
All the presentations from the Utah Renewable Energy Conference 2011 held on April 19th at the Salt Palace Convention Center are available on the Utah Solar Energy Associatio website. If you came to the conference and want to review what you learned or if you were not at the conference but want to see what you missed, come check it out!
All the presentations are available as PDF downloads and you can access them here http://utsolar.org/index.php/renewable_energy_conference/overview/
First Wind Celebrates Commercial Operations at Milford II Wind Project
June 15, 2011
First Wind Press Release
Community and local leaders gather at ribbon-cutting event for 102 MW wind farm and to honor local student recipients of the 2011 First Wind Scholars
Milford, UT—June 15, 2011—First Wind, an independent U.S. wind energy company, hosted a celebratory barbeque event yesterday at the company’s Utah-based Milford Wind project. Local officials and members of the community were on hand to commemorate the start of commercial operations for the 102 MW Milford II Wind project, which officially went on-line last month. During the event, First Wind also recognized the local high school students that were recipients of the 2011 First Wind Scholars awards.
The 102 MW project, which features 68 1.5 MW GE turbines, is located north of the 204 MW Milford Wind Corridor Phase I project (Milford I). During the ribbon-cutting event, First Wind was joined by Milford Mayor Bryan Sherwood; Samantha Julian, Director of Energy and Natural Resources for the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development; Bart Whatcott, Millard County Commissioner; and Andy Swapp, a teacher at Milford High School and, together with his students, an inspiration for the Milford projects.
During the ceremony, First Wind also recognized the recipients of the 2011 First Wind Scholars academic award. A graduate of Delta High School, Joshua Lake was this year’s winner of the $5,000 award, which is renewable for up to four years. Joshua will use his scholarship at Utah State University where he plans to study Electrical Engineering. Kyle Goodwin of Beaver High School was the recipient of a one-time, $3,000 award, and will attend Southern Utah University to study Engineering.
“We are very happy to celebrate our continued partnership with the Millard and Beaver County communities and we are very pleased to see our Milford II project on-line and operating,” said Peter Sullivan, Director of First Wind. “It is a pleasure to come together with our friends here to celebrate Milford II operations and to acknowledge the incredible support First Wind has received from this community. In particular, we are excited to recognize the students from the region that were recipients of our company’s scholarship program as they represent the future leaders in the fields of environment, energy and the sciences.”
At 306 MW, the combined output of Milford I and II has the capacity to generate enough energy to power up to 64,000 homes. This clean power is the equivalent of avoiding almost 300,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually, calculated in accordance with the Environmental Protection Agency’s Emissions and Generation Resource Integrated Database.
About First Wind
First Wind is an independent wind energy company exclusively focused on the development, financing, construction, ownership and operation of utility-scale wind projects in the United States. Based in Boston, First Wind has wind projects in the Northeast, the West and in Hawaii, with the capacity to generate up to 635 megawatts of power and projects under construction with the capacity to generate up to an additional 121 megawatts. For more information on First Wind, please visit www.firstwind.com or follow us on Twitter @FirstWind.
###
For more information, contact:
John Lamontagne
First Wind
Director of Corporate Communications
617-960-9521
jlamontagne@firstwind.com
Solar Salt Lake Receives National Award
May 24, 2011
Salt Lake County / Utah Clean Energy Press Release
The U.S. Department of Energy has recognized the Solar Salt Lake Project with the “Mountain Mover Award,” for helping to remove barriers to solar energy. A collaboration of entities (see below), including Salt Lake County, Utah Clean Energy, and Salt Lake City came together to form Solar Salt Lake, with the underlying goal to make solar energy financially attractive and feasible for citizens, businesses and local government. The award recognizes Solar Salt Lake’s work to make Utah solar projects more efficient and cost-effective, specifically by improving Utah’s interconnection standards and clearing the way for third-party financing in the state.
“I am proud to see this recognition of Solar Salt Lake’s efforts to bring clean energy into our state,” said Mayor Peter Corroon. “Our collaboration will help make Utah a leader in the solar industry while improving our quality of life.”
Salt Lake City also plays a key role in Solar Salt Lake.
“Salt Lake City is working to install photovoltaics on its facilities to take advantage of our region’s abundant, carbon-free energy source and to lead out as a model for future construction in the Capital City,” said Mayor Ralph Becker. “At the same time, our work to eliminate barriers for solar installations through our sustainability code revision initiative is moving forward, and we continue to explore ways to encourage the adoption of solar energy resources both in our community and across the state.”
Utah Clean Energy has been one of the driving forces to bring groups together to advance solar power throughout the state.
“Receiving the ‘Mountain Mover’ award is testament to the fact that the Solar Salt Lake Project has been tremendously successful at removing notable barriers to the adoption of solar energy,” said Sara Baldwin, Senior Policy & Regulatory Associate of Utah Clean Energy. “We are honored to serve as the project manager and collaborate with such innovative partners who are truly committed to making solar mainstream in the Salt Lake Valley.”
Among its accomplishments, Solar Salt Lake has recently completed a fully-scoped city and county level Solar Implementation Plan to facilitate at least 10 megawatts of new solar installations in government, commercial, industrial and residential sectors by 2015.
Background on Solar Salt Lake:
Solar Salt Lake is a collaborative effort among Salt Lake County, Utah Clean Energy, Salt Lake City, the Utah State Energy Program, Ballard Spahr, Interstate Renewable Council, the Governor’s Office of Economic Development and Kennecott Land, with support from the Utah Solar Association. The effort is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy Solar America Cities Initiative. Salt Lake County/Salt Lake City, and partners were designated as one of the first 25 Solar America Cities by the U.S. Department of Energy in 2007.
Rocky Mountain Power Funds New Solar Array at K-6 Charter School
May 19, 2011
Rocky Mountain Power
NORTH SALT LAKE, Utah — Students at Wasatch Peak Academy, a public K-6 charter school in North Salt Lake City, have been working for months on exciting service-learning projects. On the evening of May 18, students exhibited their projects for parents and community members at the school’s annual Service-Learning Fair.
The projects included a new 10-kilowatt rooftop solar array funded by Rocky Mountain Power’s Blue Sky renewable energy program. Students in the 5th grade learned about renewable energy and coordinated plans for the solar array, which was installed by local contractor Wasatch Sun.
“Blue Sky funds have helped support the cost of 51 new community-based renewable energy projects in Utah since 2006,” said Steve Rush, Rocky Mountain Power customer and community manager. Rush said the utility’s voluntary green pricing program provides an easy way for customers to support renewable energy production and development in the region.
Through service learning, Wasatch Peak Academy’s students use what they learn in the classroom to solve real life problems. This year, students have focused on conservation. Each grade has sponsored a unique conservation service learning project or experience.
“Our students have learned ways to reduce their individual impact on the environment this year, “ said Sandy Shepard, Wasatch Peak Academy principal. “Through the service-learning program, they have shared that knowledge with their families and communities throughout the year.”
Wasatch Peak Academy utilizes service-learning to inspire students to gain an appreciation for community and country, a willingness to embrace leadership opportunities, and to achieve individual academic excellence. For more information, visit www.wasatchpeak.org.
More than 30,000 Utah residents and businesses participate in Rocky Mountain Power’s Blue Sky renewable energy program. Recently, the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory released its annual ranking of leading utility green power programs. For 2010, Blue Sky was No. 2 in the nation for the number of customers buying renewable power and No. 3 for renewable power sales volume. Blue Sky has ranked in the Top 5 nationally in these two categories for the past eight years. For more information, visit www.rockymountainpower.net/bluesky.
Media inquiries: 800-775-7950
University of Utah Recognized for Green Energy Use
May 2, 2011
Jeff Robinson
(KCPW News) The University of Utah is being recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency’s “Green Power Challenge” for purchasing the third-largest amount of green electricity of all the colleges and universities in the competition. That amounts to more than 85 million kilowatt-hours, or an estimated 31 percent of the university’s total power consumption.
“Every semester that someone registers for classes at the University of Utah, they pay a dollar, and so that allows the university to buy renewable power with this money,” says Ashley Patterson, Outreach and Education Coordinator for the U of U’s Office of Sustainability.
She explains the program was initiated by students in 2004. It includes renewable energy credits purchased through Sterling Planet, mostly for wind power, and two small solar installations.
Patterson says when it comes to spending money on renewable energy, there are trade-offs between the different options.
“If we put more money into buying solar panels on campus, we’ll have less renewable energy coming onto the grid, but it’s perhaps more visual and educational,” says Patterson.
She says there will be another request for proposals process this summer for the university’s renewable energy program.
Governor Says Tech Initiatives Can Power Utah’s Energy Future
4/19/2011
BRANDON LOOMIS
Utah’s future economy depends on responsible energy development including renewables that currently can’t compete with coal, Gov. Gary Herbert said Tuesday in opening the 2011 Utah Renewable Energy Conference.
The governor said he recently met with publisher Steve Forbes, whose magazine had named Utah a top place for careers. Forbes told him Utah’s longstanding status as a cheap-energy state was key. But with that status dependent on coal, and the public clamoring for cleaner energy, he said it’s also important for Utah’s universities and companies to keep seeking ways to make renewables cost-effective.
“The public is demanding now in the marketplace cleaner and yet affordable fuels,” Herbert said.
As a first and easier step, though, he urged Utahns to conserve energy.
“We do need to have a mentality that says, ‘Let’s turn off the lights when we leave the room. Let’s trip chain. We probably don’t need to go to the grocery store every day.”
Part of the 10-year state energy plan his administration released this spring calls for a research initiative among state universities and technology programs. He said he thinks Utahns can solve problems related to renewable-energy storage.
“The best resource we have here in Utah is the human resource,” he said.
Herbert spoke to about 200 people at the Calvin L. Rampton Salt Palace Convention Center, where about 400 had registered for the second annual conference co-hosted by the Utah Solar Energy Association and the Utah Technology Council. Throughout the day, organizers scheduled sessions about renewable-energy projects in the state, clean transportation initiatives and financing and permitting new projects.
Utah, as a commercial hub for the Intermountain West with abundant solar, wind and geothermal prospects, is well-positioned to be a leader, said Wendolyn Holland, an efficiency and renewable-energy commercialization adviser at the U.S. Department of Energy. By maximizing new energy technologies, she told the crowd, Utah can help lead the U.S. out of its economic slump.
“Energy efficiency and renewable energy are the key to our economic growth,” she said.
Rocky Mountain Power submits largest rate hike request ever
2/7/2011
STEVEN OBERBECK
Rocky Mountain Power is asking for the largest rate hike in its history, a $232.4 million increase that if approved by state utility regulators will raise the typical Utah homeowner’s electricity bill by approximately $120 a year.
And that may just be the beginning.
Due to what it describes as the rising demand for electricity throughout the state, the utility warns Utah consumers may see annual price increases of 8 percent to 10 percent annually for the next decade.
"Our Utah customers are using more electricity than ever before," Rocky Mountain Power spokesman Dave Eskelsen said.
Low electricity rates are attracting a lot of new industry, which puts pressure on existing generating capacity, he said.
The power company, which filed the rate hike request earlier this week without announcing it publicly, said it needs the 13.7 percent increase to help it deal with the steadily rising cost of producing electricity and to upgrade its existing generating facilities.
The $232.4 million requested increase dwarfs the utility’s previous record high request of $194.1 million in 2006, although in that case the power company eventually settled for a $115 million increase, or a 9.15 percent raise in its rates.
"Will they end up getting all of the $232 million? I seriously doubt it," said Michele Beck, director of the Utah Office of Consumer Services, which advocates for the state’s consumers and small business owners in utility rate cases.
"Generally, Utah consumers aren’t aware of how much electricity they consume," Beck said. "While the nation saw a 10 percent to 20 percent decline in electricity use due to the recession, here in Utah it just resulted in a slowing of the rate of growth."
Although Beck said she understands the company’s need to raise its rates, the size of the requested increase shocked her.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration expects the retail sale of electricity nationwide to fall by 2.1 percent this year. It forecasts that prices will increase only slightly over the next two years — around one half percent in 2011 and 1 percent in 2012.
In Utah, Rocky Mountain Power projects consumption will increase 7.1 percent over the next two years.
Eskelsen said a primary driver behind the company’s latest request is the increasing cost of producing electricity.
"We’re now primarily building natural gas-fired plants and wind generation," he said. "And while those are the lowest cost options today, they are about twice as expensive to build as the coal-first generation we were developing in the 1970s and 1980s," he said.
Tim Funk of the Crossroads Urban Center in Salt Lake City said that organization "definitely" will get involved in the rate case to represent the interests of low-income Utahns. "A rate increase request of that size is hard to ignore," he said.
Under state law, the Public Service Commission has 240 days to rule on Rocky Mountain Power’s rate increase request.
Giant solar project planned for Iron County
2/7/2011
MARK HAVNES
Cedar City • The sunshine in Iron County will become electric when a Norwegian company fires up a solar project expected to be the largest in Utah, if not the country.
The North America division of Oslo-based Scatec Solar plans to invest up to $500 million in the project, which would place photovoltaic panels on 650 acres of private land northwest of Parowan. Such panels convert direct sunlight into electricity, needing just enough water to keep the panels clean.
Planners say the project will be built in two phases over a couple of years and eventually produce 100 megawatts of electricity that could supply power to up to 80,000 homes.
Luigi Resta, Scatec sales and business development officer in charge of the solar farm, said Iron County is a prime spot for the project because it offers abundant sunshine, affordable land and is near a Rocky Mountain Power substation that can distribute the electricity.
The company has been planning the project for the past four years and will start construction when sale agreements are in place and building permits issued, hopefully by spring, he said.
The company needs to start construction by the end of the year to take advantage of federal tax credits and state incentives.
“The state has been very helpful,” Resta said.
Security fences are already going up around the property, including a special barrier to keep out Utah prairie dogs, a threatened species that lives on a special preserve on adjoining land.
Kevin Robinson, whose Cedar City company is erecting the seven-foot fence, said Friday that he just received his first shipment of 6,500 feet of fencing.
Resta said the company is finalizing contracts for the power, but would not specify with whom the company is negotiating.
He did say there’s a good chance some customers could be in Utah. The power is especially attractive to governments or companies that have a mandate to reduce their carbon footprint, he added.
“The future of the country depends on generating energy domestically,” said Resta. “Utah could become an exporter of [renewable energy]. … Solar does provide a hedge against the volatility and cost of carbon. The sun is free and [solar] maintenance low.”
Southwestern Utah is prime territory for renewable energy. A large wind farm is already producing power in Beaver County, as is a geothermal plant.
Eric Perreca, president and chief financial officer of Scatec North America, said the company plans to use local resources for construction and operation.
“This is a community builder and the state has been great to work with,” he said. “This will be a massive win for Utah. They have been the most supportive of any state I’ve dealt with. It will offer permanent, well-paid electrical engineering jobs and be a tremendous source of revenue for the county.”
Perreca points to Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream and Starbucks as examples of progressive companies that think green and says they will set a precedent for using renewable energy in the future.
Utah among six states to have solar energy zones
11/16/2010
ksl.com
Video Courtesy of KSL.com
Utah among six states to have solar energy zones
December 16th, 2010 @ 6:15pm
By ksl.com
WASHINGTON -- Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on Wednesday unveiled what he described as a "smart from the start" renewable energy plan that includes two dozen solar energy zones in six states, including Utah.
Comments are being sought over the next 90 days on the draft solar environmental impact statement, which proposes two dozen zones suitable for large-scale solar development that would power as many as 1 million homes.
Related
Feds identify best places for solar on US lands
A draft plan identifying prime areas for solar energy projects on public lands in the Southwest was released Thursday by the Interior Department in an effort to speed up development.
"This provides a common sense and flexible framework" in the next step to develop a new energy portfolio for the region, Salazar said in a D.C.-based teleconference.
Under consideration in Utah are nearly 17,700 acres, including Iron County's Escalante Valley, Beaver County's Milford Flats South and west central Utah's Wah Wah Valley.
The plan contemplates 677,400 acres of Bureau of Land Management property that also includes Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Nevada and California with high solar potential and on public lands with the fewest environmental and resource conflicts.
Utah zones hub of renewable energy
Three of 24 proposed solar energy zones are in desert valleys near Milford and Cedar City. With a big and expanding wind farm as well as geo-thermal facilities, the Milford area is becoming Utah's hub for renewable energy.
"Those areas that have been identified are the sunniest, the most days of sun. So, yes, it's intuitive, a lot of sun means good for solar," said Kent Hoffman, deputy state director of the U.S. BLM.
Levi Belnap, a spokesman for the solar energy industry in Utah, welcomes the new designation. It means the BLM has screened those zones not only for the amount of sun, but to make sure they are level, close to existing or proposed power lines and free from environmental conflicts.
"If those questions are taken out of the picture, it makes it a lot more feasible for a company to come in and invest in Utah, which is good news for us: More jobs, more renewables in the state," he said.
With a big and expanding wind farm as well as geo-thermal facilities, the Milford area is becoming Utah's hub for renewable energy.
Industry interest needed
Several years ago the BLM had three applications from companies that wanted to build solar farms in Utah, but all three withdrew for unknown reasons.
"But there has been interest," Hoffman said. "There's been renewed interest in moving forward in Utah with solar."
To facilitate industry interest, Salazar said the Interior Department will fast-track the permitting process and the U.S. Department of Energy will make millions available in tax credits and loan guarantees.
Belnap believes the Utah legislature hasn't done as much as other states to push utilities into wind and solar energy.
"Potential? Unlimited, right? We have resources that can match anyone in the country, but we don't have a binding renewable portfolio standard," he said.
That jargon means he wants the legislature to set mandatory targets for utilities, not just voluntary guidelines.
Public comment sought
In coming weeks, the BLM will hold 14 public hearings on the solar energy zones in six states, including Utah. A public comment period will be open until March 17, 2011. CLICK HERE for more information.
"We want feedback from the public on these renewable zones so we can incorporate local input," Salazar said.
The plan is scheduled to be released in final form in the fall of 2011. The first meeting will be held in Washington, D.C. on Feb. 2. Click to see original
Program bringing solar panels to Utah schools
11/9/2010
KSL
Video Courtesy of KSL.com
SALT LAKE CITY -- The state is using stimulus money to help schools go green. Monday, state and federal officials launched the Solar for Schools energy program at Hillside Middle School in Salt Lake City.
The program is aimed at educating teachers and students about energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies.
Gill Sperlin, with the U.S. Department of Energy, said, "It's so many wins, it's hard to imagine. It's all about improving our environment, reducing our dependence on foreign oil, creating jobs through a clean energy economy. And with schools, it's about educating."
As part of the program, solar panels will be installed at 73 schools across 41 school districts in Utah. Click to see original
Utah Solar Tour 2010 Saturday, September 25th
9/15/2010
Utah Solar Energy Association Solar Tour Board Committee
The Utah Solar Tour 2010 took place Saturday, September 25th at homes and businesses throughout Utah!
Visit the Solar Tour section of our website to participate in the virtual tour and see what you missed in the Utah Solar Tour 2010.
We hope to see you next year at the Utah Solar Tour 2011, and at our other exciting events.
Salt Palace to house largest solar-power installation in country
9/1/2010
John Daley
SALT LAKE CITY -- One of Utah's biggest public buildings will soon have a new distinction as a showcase for renewable energy.
The Salt Palace Convention Center will soon be home to what would be, if built today, the largest solar-power installation of its kind in the nation.
The solar modules will generate more than 3,330,000 kilowatt hours of electricity every year. That's 25% of the Convention Center's annual consumption or enough to power more than 350 homes in Utah.
The project is the brainchild of an unusual public-private partnership. Bella Energy will build the solar array and NexGen Energy will own, operate and maintain the system. Salt Lake County will then buy energy from NexGen at the same fixed rate it would have paid Rocky Mountain Power.
Salt Lake City has roughly 300 sunny days a year with a vast supply of currently unused rays zapping rooftops, like the large space atop the Salt Palace Convention Center.
Wednesday, an announcement aimed at changing that.
"We expect that this project will be the largest rooftop solar in the entire United States," said Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon.
"This project will put Utah at the forefront of the national on-site solar development world," said Ted Rose, vice president of NexGen Energy.
Lights in the Salt Palace garage are currently powered by a 20 kilowatt-array on the building's roof. The new project will dwarf that, covering the entire 600,000-square-foot building with a $10 million system, producing up to 2.6 megawatts -- a quarter of the annual electrical needs of the convention center, enough to power 261 homes a year.
"This solar installation will start moving solar development in Utah and it will put Utah on the map," said Utah Clean Energy Executive Director Sarah Wright.
Federal Subsidies
The $10 million solar energy system is subsidized by $5.7 million in federal money:
$3 million in tax credits
$1.5 million in tax write-offs for depreciation
$1.2 million in federal grant
The project is a public-private partnership, using a power purchase agreement financing model OK'd with new legislation last year.
The complex financing is funded in part by federal tax credits, grants and subsidized bonds through the stimulus -- about $5.7 million in federal money, all told, with no additional energy costs to county taxpayers.
"This project will not cost a dime because we have a private company coming in and doing the installation for us, and then we'll pay our utility bills to them," Corroon said.
In seven years, the county will have the option to buy the system for $800,000.
"What's innovative is its size, and it's a really large kickoff project for a state. It's very unusual to start a solar industry with one big project," said Bella Energy CEO James Welch.
There are still challenges to overcome before this project becomes a reality, including financing and coordinating with Rocky Mountain Power's grid.
"There's regulatory hurdles, there's financing hurdles," Welch said. "You've got to get the numbers to work. You need banks to finance the project."
"We also learn as an operating company and an engineering company how to integrate this large a generation source into our electric network," said Rich Walie, president of Rocky Mountain Power.
This one project alone will double solar capacity in Utah.
The plan is to install 11,319 solar panels in all. Installation is expected to start at the end of the year and be completed sometime next year.
E-mail: jdaley@ksl.com
In the West, Climate and Energy Policy Is Water Policy
7/19/2010
Dan Grossman and Bart Miller
As the West continues to struggle with a decade-long drought, declining river flows have left major storage reservoirs--like Powell and Mead--only 55% full. Whether these important storage vessels will ever be full again is in question as scientists are concluding that the extended droughts of the past may become the norm of the future. So what should we do about this bleak situation?
If we are serious about avoiding the biggest looming crisis of meeting the water needs of the West, we have to understand the energy-water connection and advance clean energy solutions.
A well-designed national climate and clean energy policy is vital to safeguarding the West's water resources--the lifeline of the West's economy and environment. The U.S. Senate must take action to curb carbon pollution. That's a critical step to ensure westerners continue to have clean, safe, reliable water supplies for the future.
The next few weeks are a key window of opportunity. Within that time, the U.S. Senate will make critical decisions that will determine--for many years to come--how our country utilizes our energy resources and revitalizes our economy. The stakes could not be higher. Water is the essential ingredient of life in the West, where we depend on scarce supplies for drinking water, to grow food that feeds our communities, to support a large and growing recreational economy, sustain the environment, and maintain our quality of life.
At the Western Governor's Association meeting last month, Montana's Governor Schweitzer said, "the demand for water across the West is beginning to outstrip supplies, and states have no time to waste in averting a potential crisis." His sentiment is shared by water managers, engineers, irrigators, and millions of others all across the West.
National climate and clean energy polices will play an important role in guiding our energy choices towards more sustainable options. Our energy choices have significant carbon and water implications. Traditional fossil fuel power plants have a large carbon footprint--thus contributing to climate change--and they consume lots of water. Most renewable sources of energy use no freshwater and emit zero carbon.
The figures are compelling - thermoelectric power plants in just 5 southwestern states (CO, AZ, NM, NV, and UT) now consume nearly 300 million gallons of water a day - enough water to meet the consumptive use of the cities of Denver, Albuquerque, and Phoenix, combined. Oil shale, if developed as a transportation fuel, could impose a heavy burden on the water resources of northwestern Colorado, driving it from an agricultural economy to an industrial one.
In contrast, energy efficiency and many forms of renewable energy--such as wind power and solar photovoltaics--use little or no water. And the West sits at the center of tremendous renewable resources. Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and Nevada are a hotbed for solar power. Colorado and Wyoming have tremendous wind resources. And many states have geothermal potential.
Westerners are pursuing innovative solutions today, and would be further compelled to action by national climate and clean energy policies. For example, Colorado's 2010 Clean Air-Clean Jobs Act will transition Colorado's oldest, dirtiest coal plants to cleaner sources of energy, and in the process, may free up water now used by the coal plants to instead sustain a reach of the South Platte River that is an important ribbon of life just west of the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge in north Denver. Transitioning from carbon- and water-intensive sources of energy to clean renewable sources not only protects our air quality, health, and environment, but can also free up new water supplies for the region.
Among other benefits of federal policy, creating an environment of regulatory certainty will enable businesses to invest and innovate on an even playing field. Limiting carbon pollution will provide the most durable, efficient incentive for investments in cleaner energy -- thus leveraging innovation by the private sector, and unleashing lasting investments in a more efficient, stronger economy.
The President's and Senate's strong leadership in putting in place a durable national climate and clean energy policy is essential. Now is the time for action. Our businesses and our nation are poised to lead the race to clean energy innovation in the global marketplace - but we need well-designed policies to ensure strategic investments that protect our environment and strengthen our economy.
Climate and clean energy legislation will accelerate the solutions we need to meet our future needs and maintain the West's prosperity. Renewable energy, energy efficiency, water conservation, water re-use, and finding innovative strategies for transitioning away from the dirtiest, water-thirsty power plants in the region - these are all part of the picture.
These key messages delivered and explained in new report, Protecting the Lifeline of the West: How Climate and Clean Energy Policies Can Safeguard Water, written by Environmental Defense Fund and Western Resource Advocates. It gives more details about why, in the West, climate and clean energy policy is water policy - and why we need the Senate to pass a strong climate and clean energy bill now.
Intermountain Wind & Solar, a UtSEA business member, recognized for work on Solar for Schools!!!
7/8/2010
Elise Bassett
SALT LAKE CITY — Going green is the new wave in education, and 73 public schools across the state have solar panels being installed.
Salt Lake City's Rowland Hall became one of the first private schools in the state to become part of the trend Thursday, when the school began installation of 48 solar panels.
"In terms of how much it's going to offset our power, it's a small amount. It's less than 5 percent," said Mary Jacquin, director of sustainability at Rowland Hall.
"What we're just hoping to accomplish is to educate and set an example. It's a great learning opportunity for these kids."
Every teacher on the campus will have computer access for their students so that they can monitor all the data that comes from the solar panels.
"There's a vast amount of data they'll be able to manipulate," Jacquin said. "Like, this amount of power represents x number of cars being taken off the road, or x amount of carbon being produced."
They'll also be able to monitor how much power is generated on each day, and how it is affected by the weather.
"Not only will that data be available to all the teachers and students," Jacquin said, "but there will also be a panel available here in the lobby so that anyone coming into the school can just take a look at that information."
The panels are part of a project that has been in the works for two years. The school has several other sustainability programs in the works.
— Elise Bassett
Sign on to the Solar Bill of Rights
7/1/2010
SEIA
http://www.solarbillofrights.us/
This Fourth of July, before you fire up the grill and light up the fireworks, we are asking you for one more act of patriotism to help with a new kind of American independence –energy independence. It is more evident now than ever that we need to move to clean, safe and abundant renewable sources like solar energy.
But we need your help to make it a reality. Please ask your work colleagues, friends and family to join the cause. Take these easy, but significant steps to help guide America toward a clean energy future. Here’s what you can do:
· Send an email to 10 of your work colleagues, friends and family with your note inviting them to sign the Solar Bill of Rights.
· Post a comment on your Facebook profile or tweet about why you signed the Solar Bill of Rights and encourage your friends to sign on too.
· Add the Solar Bill of Rights link to your company’s site if you work in solar or a related field.
These simple steps will help spread the word about our new struggle for independence this Fourth of July weekend.
Thanks for your support!
Visit the Solar Bill of Rights page and sign it! http://www.solarbillofrights.us/
LDS Church unveils green meetinghouse prototype
4/27/2010
Kristen Moulton
Farmington » LDS Church leaders Tuesday unveiled the meetinghouse of the future -- and it's a "green" one.
They showcased one of five prototypes, a Farmington stake center that sports 156 solar panels, xeriscaped landscaping, even designated parking for electric cars.
"There is something very doctrinally sound when we talk about conservation of resources," said H. David Burton, presiding bishop of the 13.8 million-member faith.
Latter-day Saints, he said, might consider their own environmental stewardship.
"This is a teaching moment," Burton said. "This aspect of our culture has become a vital part of our DNA."
Journalists from along the Wasatch Front toured the new meetinghouse, which the church built to silver standards of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification.
It will be the second LDS building to earn such status. The first was the new Church History Library, completed last summer in downtown Salt Lake City.
The stake center, which can serve three wards, or congregations of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is one of five such buildings under construction in Utah, Nevada and Arizona to assess the benefits of going green.
Dean Davies, managing director of physical facilities for the Utah-based faith, said he expects every future meetinghouse -- the church builds more than 200 a year -- to spring from the
prototypes, including one without solar power under construction in the Utah County community of Eagle Mountain.
The others, with flatter roofs, are going up in Apache Junction, Ariz., and Logandale and Pahrump, Nev. The Farmington meetinghouse will be ready for occupancy in a month or six weeks.
One change that has less to do with the environment than members' worship experience is the new shape of chapels inside the building.
Instead of horizontal rows, the pews will be arrayed in a fan to create a more "intimate" connection between the pulpit and congregation, Davies said. Cultural halls, doubling as gyms and auditoriums, will be perpendicular to the chapels.
Employing "green" technologies is not new to the LDS Church. Indeed, Tuesday's news conference highlighted past earth-friendly efforts such as the geothermal plant built in the 1980s to power a California meetinghouse and the fact that rainwater has been collected since the 1950s at Pacific Island church buildings.
"This is another step," Burton said, "in our program to be environmentally responsible."
Davies said the church also will weigh whether older church buildings can be modernized with green features.
"One of the questions we're asking," he said, "is whether we should retrofit all of our meetinghouses [with solar panels]."
Elaine Emmi, one of the founders of Utah Interfaith Power and Light, said she was "doing a happy dance" after Tuesday's announcement.
The group has been encouraging -- with some success -- faith communities to retrofit buildings or adopt energy-saving measures. It even provides energy audits.
The LDS initiative is huge, she said, given its predominance in Utah. " It's the key to everything. They will become a leader in getting other faith communities to follow suit."
The new Farmington meetinghouse, Davies said, will be about 30 percent more energy efficient than any ever built by the church. It is insulated with polyurethane foam, uses highly efficient windows, carpet made from recycled materials, tankless water heaters and European-style toilets that offer the choice of little or lots of water with each flush.
The heating and air-conditioning system will be fully automated for optimum efficiency. Sensors will turn off lights when people are not in rooms.
Recycling bins for paper, glass and plastics will be a first for an LDS meetinghouse, Davies said.
A monitor in the church's materials center, or library, will show congregants just how much electricity the solar panels are generating and how much is being used.
Outside, about 70 percent of the landscaping is in rock or bark, and the irrigation system has sensors to guide watering based on need rather than a schedule.
Davies said the environmental measures added about $1.84 per square foot to the building tab, an amount he considers "almost inconsequential." It will be repaid through energy savings. The solar panels, which cost several hundred thousand dollars, will provide all the electricity, shaving costs by $6,000 a year.
"The long-term total cost," he said, "will actually be less with this building."
Burton said such savings are good, but there is more to the increased environmental awareness.
"We want to be responsible members of the community as well, and I mean the community of man."
Where are the 'green' LDS meetinghouse prototypes
Farmington, Utah
Eagle Mountain, Utah
Apache Junction, Ariz.
Logandale, Nev.
Pahrump, Nev.
New Utah State Energy Program Renewable Energy Rebate Application is now available!
4/19/2010
Utah Solar Energy Association
If you attended the Utah Solar Energy Association's Utah Renewable Energy Conference 2010 you learned about the Utah State Energy Program's new Renewable Energy Rebate. You also learned that the application was not yet available, but as of Monday, April 19th 2010 the new rebate application is available!
To see the new application and learn more about the details to qualify for this new rebate visit the Utah State Energy Program's wesite:
http://geology.utah.gov/SEP/stimulus/sep_formula/renew_energy_rebate.htm
Make sure and contact a certified solar contractor in Utah to help you with the application process. For a list of solar contractors visit our Business Member Directory by clicking on the "Directory" tab at the top of this page.
Utah Renewable Energy Conference 2010
2/15/2010
Utah Solar Energy Association
Now is the time to go solar! Take advantage of the new renewable energy rebate for home & business owners while it lasts!
The Utah State Energy Program will be offering a new rebate for home and business owners that install solar energy. That means if you install solar energy on your home or business you could get a check in the mail for thousands of dollars back! Whether or not you have ever thought about solar energy now is the time to learn about how it can save you money on your monthly bills and increase the value of your home. This year might also be the best time to go solar as more than 50% of the cost may be covered with the available tax credits and the new rebate.
The solar rebate is an exciting new program intended to stimulate economic growth and create jobs, but it will not last forever and everyone will have questions about how it works. To help answer those questions the Utah Solar Energy Association's Utah Renewable Energy Conference 2010 will focus on the new rebate and provide a physical location where you can come and learn about the details of the new rebate and how much money it could save you. In addition, the conference will have information sessions on energy efficiency upgrades for your home, different solar technologies, and other topics. Solar installers and other renewable energy companies will also be on site so you can ask specific questions about how energy efficiency and renewable energy upgrades would work for your home or business.
This event will be held on Saturday, March 27th from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm and it will be located at the Salt Lake Community College Miller Campus off I-15 at 9750 South in Sandy. Admission is $5 for an individual or $10 for a family, and your conference admission will get you $100 off a solar energy system from any of the solar installers participating in the conference! Register now, and check back often for updates! To register and pay via PayPal use the button below:
Click to see original
Utah Makes the Grade for Solar and Distributed Renewable Energy
1/12/2010
Utah Clean Energy
Utah Makes the Grade for Solar and Distributed Renewable Energy
Utah Clean Energy helps Utah earn an ‘A’ for net metering policies
In the school of distributed solar and renewable energy, Utah is moving to the head of class, thanks to the efforts of Utah Clean Energy, the Interstate Renewable Energy Council, and numerous supporters. In a recent report published by the Network for New Energy Choices, Freeing the Grid: Best and Worst Practices in State Net Metering Policies and Interconnection Procedures, 2009, Utah received a distinguished ‘A’ grade on the state net metering report card (redeeming itself from the ‘F’ and ‘D’ it received in the 2007 and 2008 reports, respectively). This annual report evaluates each state’s distributed generation policies and regulations and highlights state efforts to enact best practices and encourage the adoption of renewable energy. Additionally, IREC’s legal team of Keyes & Fox placed Utah in its list of top four states that deserve high fives for their interconnection and net metering best practices. After years of hard work and perseverance, Utah is finally making the grade and getting noticed.
Leading Utah’s solar and renewable energy efforts is Utah Clean Energy, a local 501c3 non-profit organization (est. 2001), that partners to build the new clean energy economy. Well aware of the policy and regulatory barriers to renewable energy, Utah Clean Energy is determined to advance the solutions and help make distributed renewable energy a viable option for Utahns.
“We kept hearing from numerous individuals, businesses, solar installers, and local governments that there were significant barriers to the adoption of distributed renewable energy resources in Utah, and net metering was at the top of the list,” said Sara Baldwin, Senior Policy & Regulatory Associate with Utah Clean Energy. “We knew that addressing net metering was not going be easy, but that it was absolutely necessary if Utah had any chance of growing our clean energy market.”
Following several technical conferences hosted by the Utah Public Service Commission (PSC), it was determined that a legislative change would be needed to improve net metering. Utah Clean Energy worked closely with Salt Lake County, Rocky Mountain Power (Utah’s only investor-owned utility), the Utah Rural Electric Association and numerous supporters to dispel common misconceptions and concerns surrounding distributed generation and net metering. Thanks to their efforts, the Utah legislature adopted SB 84 – Net Metering Provisions (2008), which increased the commercial system cap size to 2 MW and made other improvements, while deferring some key decisions to the PSC. When the PSC opened a net metering docket, the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC), represented by Keyes & Fox, LLP, stepped up to provide their expertise and assistance. “With IREC’s knowledge and assistance, we were able to deliver a compelling argument to show that distributed generation is valuable to the utility grid and net metering is in the best interest of Utah ratepayers,” said Baldwin. Utah Clean Energy garnered support from over 30+ businesses, local governments, organizations, and citizens who submitted comments in support of best practices for net metering.
In the end, the Commission sided with the net metering supporters and adopted the following measures: a one-to-one kilowatt-hour (retail) credit for excess generation; a system-wide capacity equal to 20% of Utah’s Investor Owned Utilities 2007 peak demand (representing nearly 1 GW); clarification that customer-generated Renewable Energy Credits stay with the customer; and allowing large commercial customers to choose the most favorable means to credit their excess generation in an innovative attempt to address the disparity among commercial customers with high demand charges. In the end, the PSC’s landmark decision removed critical barriers to distributed renewable energy generation and helped Utah make the grade for net metering.
Simultaneous to the net metering proceedings, the PSC was undertaking a comprehensive review and revision of interconnection standards, which are expected to be finalized sometime early 2010. The PSC draft interconnection standards under consideration also reflect best practices with respect to key interconnection issues, such as aggregate meters, disconnect switch requirements, and appropriate levels and fees for different system sizes. Once adopted, Utah’s interconnection procedures will hopefully bestow Utah with top honors for net metering and interconnection in the next Freeing the Grid report.
In addition to progress on these fronts, Utah Clean Energy and partners continue their mission to remove remaining barriers to distributed renewable generation, especially solar. They are currently working to enable third-party financing, encourage consideration of smart grid standards and technologies, expand the utility solar rebate, and adopt Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) legislation. To stay informed of Utah Clean Energy’s activities on this front or learn more, please visit www.utahcleanenergy.org.
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About Utah Clean Energy
Utah Clean Energy is a non-profit public interest organization partnering to build the new clean energy economy through policy, regulatory, and educational initiatives. Utah Clean Energy advances renewable energy, energy efficiency, and clean energy technologies in Utah and the West. www.utahcleanenergy.org
About Interstate Renewable Energy Council
IREC is identifies difficult renewable energy issues and brings together the right team of technical and policy experts to produce innovative solutions. Through education and outreach, stakeholder coordination, technical assistance, workforce development, the adoption and implementation of uniform guidelines and standards, or consumer protection, IREC’s team builds networks, shares experiences and produces exemplary materials through easy access information channels. IREC has teamed up with the Database of State Incentives for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (DSIRE), the North Carolina Solar Center, and Keyes and Fox, LLC. www.irecusa.org
About Keyes & Fox, LLP
Keyes & Fox, LLP is represents clients in state utility commission rulemakings related to renewable energy policy development and implementation, including work on net metering rules, interconnection standards, community solar programs, feed-in tariffs and incentive programs. http://keyesandfox.com/
Provo Utah Passes Net Metering
9/23/2009
DANNY CHANDLER
Provo City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to approve a policy which will allow simultaneous use of electricity from renewable sources and from the city.
The ordinance amends a section of the Provo City Code that formerly banned residential homes with power generators, like solar panels or windmills, from being interconnected with Provo City’s power system.
“This would really allow renewable resources to offset a portion or all of the customer’s energy expenses,” said Kevin Garlick, executive director of Provo City Electric Energy.
Under the amended ordinance, the net metering system would allow a resident to generate power and receive a credit toward future energy purchases from the utility company.
Provo residents who take advantage of the new system will be able to generate their own power during the day — when power is most expensive — and apply credit toward energy purchased from the city during the night, Mayor Lewis Billings said.
“This is more the future than people realize,” Billings said. “It’s a pretty exciting future.”
The leading cause of child death in the U.S. is respiratory illness, most of which is caused by environmentally induced asthma, said Charles Nuckolls, medical anthropologist and professor of anthropology at BYU.
“Anything we can do as a municipality to reduce our reliance on polluting fossil fuels is a benefit to the welfare of the children,” Nuckolls said.
While the net metering policy in Provo will not offer incentives or rebates for generated electricity, the council agreed that the change will be beneficial to the city and its residents.
“I hope it’s the first in a series of steps forward in the interests of Provo and the environment,” city council member Sherrie Hall Everett said.
Provisions for the net metering system include a limit of 25 kW on energy production and a $100 application fee.
“There’s a slight inconvenience to the city, and that’s the reason for the $100 fee, but really we’re all winners in this,” city council member Steve Turley said. “There is no downside to this.”
Despite the amendment’s cap on energy production and focus on residential properties, the city would welcome larger commercial projects that would generate more electricity, Garlick said.
To protect the city’s power grid, the application process will include strict interconnection requirements that would allow city officials to safely and quickly disconnect the renewable source from the city’s power grid, Garlick said.
Solar cell phones take off in developing nations
8/21/2009
By Moni Basu and Faith Karimi
Only about 1.3 million of Kenya's 37 million people are connected to the national electrical grid, said Migwi Theuri, a spokesman for Kenya Power and Lighting Co. The east African nation, which gets most of its energy from hydro-generation, has been undergoing power rationing after a three-year drought.
Despite the limited availability of power, Kenya has one of the most vibrant cell phone markets in Africa, analysts say. An estimated 17 million Kenyans use mobile phones.
Some charge phones on bicycle-run generators, Joseph said. Or like, Gathungu, they pay businesses in major cities to charge their phones, sometimes waiting an entire day.
"There's an enormous need for a device like this," Joseph said of the solar phone, which can charge during talk time, as long as there are rays.
"They will continue to charge on natural light, even on cloudy days," he added.
Gathungu plans to buy one of the new environmentally friendly phones. For him, it's a matter of money and convenience. He earns 4,000 Kenya shillings ($53 dollars) a month as a waiter. Charging his phone for 50 shillings (70 cents) a week adds up. The solar phone would pay for itself, Gathungu said.
Until he buys one, he'll keep making the trek to the shopping center every Sunday afternoon after church. He wouldn't go into further detail about his mobile phone woes, not wanting to waste his battery charge on the call.
St. George ‘SunSmart’ solar project earns award
8/19/09
David Emille
BY DAVID DEMILLE • ddemille@thespectrum.com • August 19, 2009
ST. GEORGE - The city of St. George's Energy Services Department has been recognized with a "Smart Energy Innovation Award" for its new solar farm.
SunSmart, a joint program between the city and Dixie-Escalante Electric that was completed in January, is built around the state's largest solar farm, a 100-kilowatt facility housed on 17 acres on the south side of Bloomington.
During a meeting of the Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems - UAMPS - Aug. 13, St. George received the agency's newest award, which recognizes a municipal utility for "excellence in implementing energy efficiency programs and/or renewable projects."
"St. George's SunSmart solar program is a brilliant concept," said Doug Hunter, UAMPS general manager. "It provides a very viable means for the city's residents to invest in renewable solar generation at a central plant location, and to enjoy all of the benefits, including tax credits, without the hassle and complications of building and maintaining a system in their own back yards. Everyone benefits."
The program was developed as a way to take advantage of the St. George area's average of more than 310 days of sunlight per year. Each unit costs $6,000 - the cost to the city to build each unit - and residents receive the power credits and tax incentives that come with it for 20 years. Residents can purchase a one-kilowatt "unit" on the solar grid through a one-time payment, allowing homeowners unable to install solar panels at their own homes to tap into the sun's energy anyway.
While the purchase is unlikely to pay itself off at current power rates, ongoing discussion of carbon trading and increasing environmentally friendly legislation could spell rising costs in the future, making a unit a wise investment, said Phillip Solomon, the city's energy services director.
"We're trying to provide options for our customers so they can hedge their bets for the future," he said.
St. George is unique among Utah cities in that it only receives 40 percent of its power from coal-fired power plants. Nearly half the city's power comes from natural gas, and the SunSmart program raised the amount of renewable energy to more than 12 percent. Former Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. had set a goal for Utah municipalities to get 20 percent of their power from renewable sources by 2025.
The SunSmart solar photovoltaic facility, housed on 17 acres near the wastewater treatment plant on the south side of Bloomington, currently has a capacity of 100 kilowatts, but plans are in place to expand to 20 times that size.
Rene Fleming, the city's conservation coordinator, said additional efforts to improve efficiency and tap into renewable energy are on the table, including an energy-efficiency rebate program and a biomass gas generation facility that could be installed at the landfill.
"It's more than an economic thing," Fleming said. "It's being proactive about the environment."
Feed-in Tariffs for Solar Continue To Spread (NY Times Article)
7/23/2009
Felicity Barringer
Variations on the policy that jumpstarted Germany’s decade-long boom in rooftop solar systems are taking root in more cities in the United States.
The policy, called a feed-in tariff, offers small-scale producers of solar energy long-term contracts (usually at above-market rates) for the electricity they sell. Last week, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District, which serves 1.4 million people, approved a feed-in tariff that allows homeowners with solar panels a chance to sign up for 10, 15 or 20 years of guaranteed payments. The policy will take effect next January. The city of Gainesville, Fla., adopted a feed-in tariff this spring, as did Vermont. Washington state also has such a policy, and Hawaii is currently considering one.
While feed-in tariffs are most closely associated with solar photovoltaic panels, utilities managing the programs in Vermont and Sacramento will also pay a set price for electricity generated from other renewable sources, like wind.
The Sacramento program is open to homeowners who are not participating in another program, called net metering, which allows anyone whose system is producing more electricity than they need to sell the excess back to the utility, thus reducing their electric bill. But once their bill falls to zero, the homeowner gets no more money from the system.
Jon Bertolino, a spokesman for the Sacramento utility, said that customers with land to spare had been asking whether, if they put up small solar farms, the utility would buy the excess electricity.
As long as they are not part of the net-metering program and not seeking the $2.80$1.90- to $2.20-per-watt ratepayer subsidy for their new panels under the state’s “Million Solar Roofs” program, Mr. Bertolino said, small generators can sell their power to S.M.U.D. The rates would depend on the time of day the power is generated, ranging from a low of 5 or 6 cents a kilowatt-hour to 30 cents on a hot summer afternoon; the size of eligible systems is capped at 5 megawatts (and the program overall has a 100-megawatt cap).
The Vermont law caps the size of individual systems at 2.2 megawatts. Solar energy fetches a fixed price of 30 cents a kilowatt-hour, and other forms of renewables fetch lower rates.
New National Requirements For Energy Efficient Light Bulbs!
7/8/09
A.P.
It is a good day for Energy Efficiency! President Obama recently announced the new national minimum energy efficiency requirements for light bulbs. The new requirements will make the hundreds of millions of fluorescent tube lamps that light offices, stores, and factories more efficient, not to mention the millions of reflector lamps sold each year used for flood lighting and spot lighting. According the Department of Energy, the new standards will save up to 1.2 trillion kilowatt-hours over thirty years, an amount about equal to the total consumption of all homes in the U.S. in one year. Businesses and consumers will gain up to $35 billion in net savings and global warming carbon dioxide emissions will be cut by up to 594 million metric tons, an amount equal to the annual emissions of nearly 110 million cars.*
For more information, see ASAP/ACEEE/NRDC press release.
Click here to read the DOE final rule
Click here for the full White House announcement
* The President's announcement cited 594 million metric tons as equivalent to the emissions of 166 million cars. It is likely that their calculation used a higher mpg per vehicle (e.g. 30 mpg).
Talk to your representative about America’s Clean Energy Security Act of 2009
5/27/2009
UtSEA
Critical decisions are currently being discussed that will have far reaching impact on renewable energy nationwide and in Utah. The Waxman-Markey bill (America's Clean Energy Security Act of 2009) is an exciting first step, but as it has made its way to congress it has been pulled apart and weakened. It is important that we tell our representatives where we stand and how we want them to represent us on this issue.
As part of the American Solar Energy Society we have partnered with Solar Nation in an effort to make our voice heard nationwide. However, this only happens when we take the necessary steps at the state level to tell our representatives how we want them to vote on important issues. The link below to Solar Nation's site provides further information on this issue and an easy way to take action. Please take time to read about this issue, enter your zipcode at the bottom of the page and it will automatically find your representative and you can easily send them a message urging them to take a strong stance on this issue.
http://capwiz.com/re-action/go/HR2454
Google announces Google PowerMeter partners
5/19/2009
Ed Lu
Energized about our first Google PowerMeter partners
5/19/2009 09:36:00 PM
Earlier this year I blogged about energy information and a tool our engineers developed called Google PowerMeter, a Google gadget that can show consumers their personal electricity consumption right on a home computer. Our software relies on "smart meters" (or other metering devices) as a data source. Over the past several months we've been looking to partner with utilities that are installing (or have already installed) this equipment in their customers' homes. We're energized by our very first Google PowerMeter partners:
* San Diego Gas & Electric® (California)
* TXU Energy (Texas)
* JEA (Florida)
* Reliance Energy (India)
* Wisconsin Public Service Corporation (Wisconsin)
* White River Valley Electric Cooperative (Missouri)
* Toronto Hydro–Electric System Limited (Canada)
* Glasgow EPB (Kentucky)
Our initial partners include utilities with millions of customers as well as smaller ones. They are rural and urban, privately held and municipally run. Some are in the United States, others in Canada and India. They all have one thing in common — a desire to serve their customers by providing access to detailed information that helps save energy and money. For now, Google PowerMeter is only available to a limited group of customers, but we plan to expand our roll out later this year. Our utility partners are leading the charge to make the electricity grid smarter and we look forward to working with them and others.
In addition to utilities, we're also seeking partnerships with companies that can enable the implementation of our software. Our first such partner is Itron, a leading meter and data management company that serves over 8,000 utilities and is helping some of their customers, including San Diego Gas & Electric, integrate with Google PowerMeter. If you're a utility or company with a smart meter project that might be interested in plugging in to our efforts, visit our website for more information.
Posted by Ed Lu, Engineering team
Solar 101 thank you and slides from the presentation
5/6/2009
UtSEA Executive Committee
The Utah Solar Energy Association's Solar 101 event at Salt Lake Community College on April 16th was a great success. Thank you to all the presenters and attendees who made it an effective learning environment.
U.S. To Establish Clean Energy Investment Agency
5/6/2009
Clean Tech Brief
U.S. lawmakers introduced legislation this week that would establish a new independent agency to oversee government investment in clean energy.
Introduced by Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) and ranking member Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), the bipartisan bill would establish a Clean Energy Deployment Administration within the Department of Energy (DoE).
The agency would provide credit in the form of loans and loan guarantees to support green technologies that reduce carbon dioxide emissions and help diversify the country’s energy supply. In particular, the agency will offer support to technologies deemed “too risky” by private companies. Initial funding for the agency would come from collected payments and fees.
“New clean energy technologies will be needed to reduce America’s reliance on fossil fuels and lower the amount of greenhouse gases that our nation emits every day,” said Bingaman.
“This legislation is a bipartisan effort to position the U.S. to lead the development and deployment of clean energy technologies by ensuring that commercial financing for these technologies is readily available for the future,” he said.
At the moment, the DoE is struggling with a backlog of applications for clean energy loan guarantees authorized in 2005. In addition to the billions of dollars made available in 2005, the department has also received $6 billion for clean energy and transmission loan guarantees in the stimulus package.
Murkowski said the bill was a way to address climate change “without imposing new mandates or regulatory burdens.”
Introducing the Green Academy at Salt Lake Community College
4/30/2009
Salt Lake Community College
Salt Lake Community College has launched The Green Academy, offering education, training, and workshops in Energy Management, Green Design and Construction, Environmental Health and Safety, and Sustainability across many disciplines.
Energy Management Professional Training
Don't miss this opportunity to develop new skills or upgrade existing skills and knowledge to prepare for a career in this emerging field of energy as a technical professional! New, cutting-edge training in Energy Management is now offered at SLCC, including alternative and renewable energy (and it's ROI), an introduction to LEED training, HVAC controls and equipment, and energy audits. Additionally, students will learn about residential and commercial energy analysis, weatherization, indoor pollutants control strategies, and current needs and trends in the energy management industry, including a survey of career opportunities in this exciting field.
Classes start June 2nd.
Continuing Education @ Salt Lake Community College
www.slcc.edu/continuinged
1 (801) 957-5200
Bill to Help Californians Pay for Home Solar Systems and Energy Efficiency Initiatives Passes Senate
4/28/2009
California Political Desk
Sacramento, CA – A bill by Senator Loni Hancock (D-Oakland) allowing cities and counties to help property owners pay for solar energy systems and energy efficiency improvements passed the Senate today. The vote on SB 279 was 26-13.
"My bill will remove the primary financial hurdle that deters most homeowners from installing solar panels or making energy efficiency improvements – the upfront costs," said Senator Hancock. "Through this measure, cities and counties can assist homeowners by making solar energy and energy efficiency improvements much more affordable."
"SB 279 will dramatically increase the ability of individual homeowners and property owners to join the green building movement and use alternative energy to ´green´ their homes," according to Senator Hancock.
The bill gives cities and counties the ability to establish a local financing authority. This new authority would then help property owners pay for energy efficiency improvements and solar installations through a long-term assessment on the individual property tax bill.
Senator Hancock said that she introduced the bill because the upfront investment cost is often a deterrent to property owners who want to install solar systems or make energy efficiency improvements to their homes. This legislation will authorize all cities and counties to provide the initial funding from a bond fund that will be repaid through an assessment on the tax bills of the participating property owners.
The program is voluntary and paid for only by those property owners who choose to make the improvements to their property. The payments will be spread out over 20 years. If the property is sold, the assessment will be transferred to the next owner.
The measure is modeled on a successful program in the City of Berkeley. It will permit all cities and counties in California to adopt a similar program. The measure allows non-charter cities as well as charter cities and counties to issue solar installation and energy efficiency improvement bonds.
Texas Senate Passes $500 million Solar Incentive Bill
4/22/2009
Jim Vertuno
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- Texas would develop a $500 million solar energy rebate program to help make it easier for homeowners and businesses to tap into the power of the sun under a bill passed in the Senate.
Environmentalists hailed the 26-4 vote Tuesday as a big step toward a greener future for Texas. And by getting more Texans use solar power, consumers can reduce dependence on foreign oil, said the bill's sponsor, Sen. Troy Fraser, a Horseshoe Bay Republican.
The fund would be paid for with fees built into monthly electric bills. Homeowners would pay 20 cents, commercial users $2 and industrial users $20 a month.
It's a small price to pay for a program that could let Texans recoup thousands of dollars through rebates, federal tax incentives and lower energy bills, said Luke Metzger, director of Environment Texas.
The bill also requires developers to offer solar as a standard option in developments with 50 or more homes, creates a loan program for schools and prohibits neighborhood associations from banning homeowners from installing solar projects.
Although solar is becoming more mainstream as an energy source, the cost of installation can be too much for homeowners or businesses without rebates and tax incentives.
"This will help tens of thousands of Texans install solar on their rooftops, kick starting a solar industry in the state that will create good paying green jobs while helping protect the planet," Metzger said.
Fraser's bill is designed to collect up to $100 million annually over five years. It would pay rebates of up to 30 percent of the cost of installing solar technology. The federal government also allows tax credits of up to 30 percent.
Up to 70 percent of the fund could go toward utility-scale projects. For example, Austin Energy is considering building a large-scale solar farm. That project is already out for bid.
The fund expires after five years unless the Public Utilities Commission determines that there is a "substantial amount" of solar generation projects being manufactured in Texas. In that case, the program could be extended another five years. The bill provides additional rebates for buying technology made in Texas.
The Association of Electric Companies of Texas said it supports the incentives in the bill because they don't impose "an unreasonable financial burden" on customers or markets.
The group said it backs use of alternative energy technologies on a voluntary basis as they become economically viable and in demand.
Wouldn’t it be nice if the Utah Legislature could pass a bill like this?
Renewable Energy Fair at Milford High School
4/22/2009
UtSEA News
UtSEA NEWS - Monday April 20, 2009 Milford, located in Beaver County Utah, was the site for a Renewable Energy fair where Milford Valley was designated as one of Utah's Renewable Energy Zones by a legislative joint resolution. Gov. Jon M. Huntsman Jr. supported and acknowledged this historic occasion at the first renewable energy fair at Milford High School.
The Utah Renewable Energy Zone (UREZ) task force invited members of the Utah Solar Energy Association to attend and support the State’s legislative body in its plan to increase the expansion of renewable technology on a commercial scale. Utah Solar Energy Association's (UtSEA) new executive director Levi Belnap and board members Orrin Farnsworth, David Smith and Joan Somerville represented the Utah Solar Energy Association to help establish key relationships with the local and regional educational institutions to help promote an integrated approach to proper training and education of solar PV and Thermal technologies.
The event was hosted by Milford high School which is located in an open scenic valley in Beaver County and has a population around 6,500. An estimated 600 people - adults and students – attended the event that featured Huntsman as the keynote speaker, an electric car race, alternative energy focused exhibitors and demonstrations on the uses of alternative energy. A concluding panel discussion addressed the economics of renewable energy sources and was held in the Milford High school auditorium where classes were rotated in and out to accommodate the students and the local population who showed great interest in witnessing the ceremonial signing of Senate legislation.
Governor Huntsman signed the ceremonial bill for Senate Bills 188. this Bill provides development incentives for alternative energy projects and power production for areas located in remote areas near Bullfrog resort on lake Powell, these areas are not serviced by grid power and the Senate Bill creates the avenue for Utah Generated Renewable Energy and an Electricity Network Authority.
Representatives of the Governor's Utah Renewable Energy Zone Task Force - comprised of 20 appointed members from utilities; renewable energy generation developers; environmental organizations; federal, state and local government representatives; and energy advocate representatives took the opportunity to see firsthand the enthusiasm of the students and faculty members in demonstrating alternative energy technology as well as touring wind, geothermal and solar sites in the regional area.
The purpose of the task force is to promote the development of renewable energy resources to meet Utah's goal to have 20 percent of Utah's electricity needs produced by renewable sources by 2025. Milford's current and potential role in achieving this goal inspired the event.
Southwest Applied Technology College (SWATC) plays an important role in providing guidance and resources to the Milford high school's renewable training program. UtSEA plans to meet with the SWATC which hosts a 20,000-square-foot facility, located in Southern Utah and discuss the future plans and possible collaboration with UtSEA in developing a state wide education plan for Solar PV and Thermal. SWATC will provide training for the rapid growing green energy industry; help to establish practical applications for homeowners and potential research opportunities in and around the Southern Utah region.
Cap and trade OK, with strings attached
Jeff Postelwait
The idea of a federal cap-and-trade system is becoming more accepted in the power generation industry as a way of cutting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. But industry leaders favor a scheme they say will be less expensive to implement.
In a carbon cap-and-trade scheme, emission credits (also called permits or allowances) can be given away freely to regulated entities, sold at a federal auction or distributed using a combination of auctions and allocations.
In general, power producers open to cap and trade favor a system in which the credits are distributed freely rather than auctioned off. They say such a system would allow them to pass on fewer costs to their customers.
Attitudes are changing perhaps because of growing signs from the Obama administration and the Environmental Protection Agency that carbon and other GHGs will be regulated at the federal level soon.
Regional Differences
In a recent statement, President Barack Obama reiterated his support for moving toward cap and trade.
"I think cap and trade is the best way, from my perspective, to achieve some of those gains, because what it does is it starts pricing the pollution that's being sent into the atmosphere," Obama said. "The way it's structured, it has to take into account regional differences. It has to protect consumers from huge spikes in electricity prices."
Tom Williams, director of external relations for Duke Energy, took the president's mention of regional differences as a sign that the administration might be moving away from its earlier preference for a federal carbon credit auction. Proceeds from such an auction could be used as a revenue stream for federal tax relief provisions.
"Cap and trade was designed to be a transitional policy, not a punitive one," Williams said. Duke opposes a 100 percent auction system for distributing credits.
Williams said that as the third largest coal-burner in the U.S., Duke supports cap and trade, but wants to "get it right." Duke's 35,000 MW generation portfolio is 71 percent coal-fired.
The 25 states that rely on coal-fired generation for more than half of their electricity would be hit especially hard financially under such a system, he said. Duke is a founding member of the United States Climate Action Partnership, which also opposes auctioning emissions credits.
Auction as a Tax
Frank Prager, vice president of environmental policy for Xcel Energy said his company supports a federal climate change policy that can achieve cuts in carbon emissions, but favors free distribution of credits over a federal auction.
"We do support mandatory federal action on the climate, but not just any federal action. It's got to be something that reflects the reality of where the technology is and it should recognize our ability to control costs to our consumers as a result of the policy," Prager said.
Prager said a 100 percent federal auction scheme for distributing credits would have roughly the same effect on the industry as an across-the-board carbon tax--both of which would have unnecessarily negative affects on the power generation industry.
"An auction is nothing more than an enormous tax on energy," he said. "If the allowances are distributed through an auction, it's effectively a carbon tax. You end up charging people through the auction just as you would with a carbon tax."
Instead of either system, Xcel supports free distribution of credits as the best way to achieve cuts at the lowest cost.
"We support a large allocation of the credits to the utility industry and other industries," Prager said.
Xcel's portfolio of about 18,000 MW is more than 50 percent coal-fired, and about 30 percent natural gas-fired.
Transition to Auction
Southern Co. supports the greenhouse gas regulation stances held by the Edison Electric Institute. According to Valarie Holpp, spokesperson, that means both EEI and Southern Co. favor a cap-and-trade program, but remain open to a carbon tax or hybrid approach.
In one of several points of agreement with EEI, Southern Co. recommends increasing generation from renewables, nuclear power and pushing development of carbon capture and sequestration to achieve long- and short-term carbon emission reductions.
Southern Co. also recommends that allowances be allocated in the early years of a climate program, with a gradual transition to a full auction.
Southern Co. generates more than 50 percent of its 42,000 MW portfolio from coal, with another 25 percent from natural gas.
Melissa McHenry, spokesperson for American Electric Power, said any cap-and-trade system must take the development of new technologies into account in a realistic way.
"We think cap and trade is a demonstrated approach that has worked in the past, but it needs to have timetables and targets that will allow for the development of technologies that will reduce carbon. We can't do an immediate switch," McHenry said.
Like Southern, AEP also favors a gradual transition with an allocation scheme for distributing carbon credits. McHenry said that a 100 percent auction scheme would increase the cost of achieving reductions without adding any additional environmental benefit.
AEP's generation portfolio is about 70 percent coal-fired, with more than 26,000 MW generated from coal plants.
Skeptical Leaders
Consulting firm Black & Veatch commissioned a survey of industry attitudes toward GHG regulation schemes and found that energy company executives were skeptical of climate change legislation on a personal level. However, they still wanted their companies to be viewed as leading the charge for lower emissions.
Bill Kemp, vice president for business strategy and planning for Black & Veatch, said it is logical for large power generators to oppose an auction-based scheme form credit distribution.
"It's in the self-interest of the industry," Kemp said. "In buying credits at an auction, they would have to compete against other generators and incur the costs of buying those credits. If credits are distributed freely, costs would not be passed along to customers."
A cap-and-trade system that provides credits to regulated entities without requiring a buy-in would upset the fewest people, he said.
"Besides narrow self interest, there's also concern for customers. I think there is an economic logic to a slow transition and putting the full price of carbon onto customers more gradually," he said.
As talk of regulating carbon at the federal level with a comprehensive climate change bill ratchets up, Kemp said all types of power generating entities are weighing their compliance options carefully.
"It's a challenging time in the industry to be an executive or a decision maker. They are all looking for ways in which their options are for reduce their emissions. Plant optimization is one thing you can do for increasing efficiency in existing plants, and certainly everyone will be taking a look at that," Kemp said.
Solar 101 Today at the Salt Lake Community College!!!
4/16/2009
UtSEA
Solar energy is the source for solar power. Solar power is what you create when you convert the sun's power, or solar energy, into electricity.
Solar power is the cleanest source of energy. It is also versatile, with a growing number of applications for home and business being developed. Some of current uses for solar power include heating water, lighting landscapes and gardens, providing green electricity for powering machines, appliances and lighting.
A powerful use of solar power is in the generation of electricity for use at the place where it is generated. Photovoltaic (PV) cells and panels are currently the most widely used method for turning sun into electricity.
Learn how Solar Panels work. Photovoltaic (PV) and Thermal (Heat)
Learn what and Inverter is and what it does
Learn the importance of Monitoring of the system
Learn to need for qualified Electrical Panel installation
Learn how a Grid Tie system interacts with the Electric Grid
Learn how the sun can provide hot water and reduce your energy bills.
New Tax regulations and what they mean to you
Photovoltaic Systems Classes at SLCC
Jan Harris
Basic Photovoltaic Systems. Session One begins on May 12th and ends on June 4th. Session Two begins on June 2, 2009 and ends on July 2, 2009. Classes will be held at SLCC's Larry H. Miller campus in the MFEC Building, room 207 on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Classes start at 6:00 pm and end at 9:00 pm. Thirty hours of instruction will be provided. Tuition is $499.00, the textbook is $80.00. Information contained in the textbook includes material for both the Basic Photovoltaic Systems course and the Advanced Photovoltaic Systems course. This class provides an overview of the design and installation of basic solar photovoltaic systems. Students will learn how to evaluate a suitable site, prepare a basic electrical and mechanical design, choose the electrical and mechanical components required, and assemble them. This class is preparatory to more advanced knowledge and experience needed to become a licensed solar contractor in the State of Utah. Students who successfully complete this class will be eligible to take NABCEP's (North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners) Entry Level Certificate Program.
Advanced Photovoltaic Systems begins on July 7, 2009 and ends August 18, 2009. Class will be held at SLCC's Larry H. Miller campus in the MFEC Building, room 207 on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. It will begin at 6:00 pm and end at 9:00 pm. Forty hours of instruction will be provided. Tuition is $999.00. This course builds upon the foundation of knowledge students acquire in the Basic Photovoltaic Systems course. After successful completion of course work in both the Basic and Advanced classes and additional field work, students will be able to: safely work with photovoltaic systems; conduct site assessments; select appropriate system designs; adapt mechanical designs; adapt electric designs; install subsystems and components on-site; perform system checkouts and inspections; maintain and troubleshoot photovoltaic systems. These skills, plus field experience will enable them to qualify to sit for the NABCEP PV Installer Certification examination.
To register for classes call 801-957-5200. For more detailed information, go to NABCEP's website and Utah's Division of Occupational Licensing (DOPL). Please check DOPL's website for current rules and regulations. You may also call Jan Harris at Salt Lake Community College. Her number is 801-957-3931.
SLCC - http://www.slcc.edu/continuinged/featuredcourses/solarvp.asp
DOPL- http://www.dopl.utah.gov/
NABCEP Entry Level http://www.nabcep.org/certificates/entry-level-certificate-program
Jan Harris
Program Coordinator
Continuing Education
801-957-3931
Jan.Harris@slcc.edu
Renewable energy bills piling up
March 27, 2009
Jeremy Duda
Advocates in the Legislature are making a push to lower residents’ utility rates, attract businesses to Arizona and ease the burden on the state’s power grid with a series of bills aimed at promoting renewable energy.
Peoria Republican Rep. Tom Boone wants to cap municipal fees that he feels make solar energy systems prohibitively expensive for many homeowners. Sen. Barbara Leff, a Paradise Valley Republican, wants to encourage renewable energy industries to set up shop in Arizona. And Rep. Lucy Mason, a Prescott Republican, has nearly a dozen bills related to renewable or alternative energy.
In addition, Mason has a bill that would require state agencies, universities and school districts to use renewable and nonpolluting sources for 10 percent of their energy needs by July 2015. The bill also requires all state buildings constructed after July 1, 2010, to conform to green building rating standards.
Other bills are aimed at the individual instead of the community. One of Boone’s measures would limit the fees that cities charge residents for installing solar energy systems on their homes. The capped fees range from $100 to $375, depending on the type of system installed and the type of inspection that is required.
“Most cities are within that now, and counties, some are actually less,” Boone said of the $375 limit. “But there are several in some of the high growth areas, unfortunately, that are way above that. Some actually approach, I think, upward of $1,000.”
Michael Neary, central regional director for the Arizona Solar Energy Association, said some cities, such as Mesa and Bisbee, don’t require permits for solar systems, while others, such as Gilbert and Queen Creek, are “overdoing it.”
“Peoria now, for example, is requiring a structural analysis by an engineer on all homes that put solar on. That’s a deal killer. If you find an engineer who is cheap, you may get by with $600, more likely $1,000, for every system. In a sense, Peoria is saying they don’t want solar on their homes,” Neary said. “It’s generally a deal-breaker.”
Boone has also introduced a bill that would allow school districts to establish savings accounts for money to fund energy and water-saving projects.
Leff’s bill would provide up to $70 million a year in income and property tax credits from 2010 to 2014 for local renewable energy businesses that want to expand or new businesses that want to locate in Arizona. The bill seeks to attract high-wage jobs to the state, and in order to qualify for the tax credits a business would have to pay a majority of its workers a salary that is at least 125 percent of Arizona’s median annual wage. Any business that does not stay in Arizona would be subject to a callback of its tax credits.
Income tax credits, which would be capped at 10 percent, would require that companies create at least 1.5 jobs for each $500,000 invested in manufacturing facilities, or at least one job for each $200,000 of capital investment in a headquarters facility. Companies that meet those provisions can also be reclassified to a 5 percent property tax for 10 years, but that timeframe can be increased to 15 years if companies pay at least 51 percent of their employees 200 percent or more of the state’s median wage.
Leff said the bill also includes a provision that companies must show that they will bring in more tax revenue to Arizona than the state will pay out in incentives.
With the plethora of other benefits Arizona provides to solar manufacturing companies — such as a high number of sunny days, a skilled technical workforce from its semiconductor industries, and the state’s right-to-work laws — Leff feels that the incentives her bill would create are enough to make Arizona a national leader in solar technology.
“Some incentives could close the deal for us. No incentives is not doing it. They’re not coming here,” Leff said. “I’ve met with a couple of CEOs who have said that they are extraordinarily interested in moving here. They’re bottom line requires an incentive package, yes. And if we pass this, they’re ready to come.”
Neary agrees that companies have been shunning Arizona due to a lack of incentives that are offered routinely in competitor states.
“That’s been one thing where we’ve been losing out on is the potential for manufacturing jobs because of the fact that so many other states are much more attractive than we are and have tax-incentive programs,” Neary said.
Among the handful of energy-related bills Mason has introduced in the 2009 session are two that would allow residents of counties and municipalities to petition their counties or municipalities to form improvement districts for renewable energy projects. Unlike most improvement districts, which require a majority vote by people in the proposed district area, these districts would be created by petition, and only those who wanted to be part of the district would benefit from the new energy source or pay the new taxes.
The participating residents in a district would have to show their financial viability and prove that they would be able to pay for the bonding for the renewable energy projects by taxing themselves. The projects that would be created could be generating stations powered by wind, solar or other renewable energy sources, or they could be solar panels on the homes of those who are taking part in the district.
Mason said the renewable energy projects would allow residents to provide electricity for high-growth areas at a cheaper rate without overburdening the state’s power grids. By reducing electricity rates and demand on the power grid, Mason said the improvement districts would be a win-win situation for Arizona residents and utility companies.
Mason said she is also emphasizing the use of natural gas as an alternate energy source with a bill that would ease cumbersome restrictions on storage tanks. The bill would exempt natural gas storage tanks from some water aquifer protection regulations.
“There’s a lot of natural gas that is producing electricity for our plants. We need to have natural gas storage in the state. We’ve never had it. Well, now we have an opportunity with one of the bills that I’m doing to allow natural gas storage in the state,” Mason said.
Much of the legislation — including Mason’s bills on improvement districts and natural gas storage, and both of Boone’s bills — has cleared committee. But Gov. Jan Brewer has asked lawmakers to refrain from sending her any non-emergency bills until a 2010 budget deal is reached, and both House Speaker Kirk Adams and Senate President Bob Burns agreed before the session to make the budget their top priority, with Burns declining to even assign bills to committees until the budget deficit is resolved.
The resulting backlog of proposed legislation is expected to leave many bills unheard when the session comes to a close, but Mason and Boone are hopeful that their bills, some of which have been introduced in past sessions, will get past the bottleneck.
“It’s always a concern. I certainly hope that members over there by now understand the reasons and understand it’s good policy for the state of Arizona, and for economic recovery,” Mason said.
Solar Company Shares Jump On Chinese Energy Subsidy
MARCH 26, 2009
Shara Tibken
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Shares of solar companies soared Thursday after the Chinese Ministry of Finance said on its Web site that it will offer a subsidy for solar energy.
The subsidy will provide RMB20 ($2.93) per watt for projects over 50 kilowatts, according to analysts. Raymond James analyst Pavel Molchanov said the subsidy is comparable to what California is paying as part of its solar-rebate program.
Analysts called the subsidy generous and some estimated it could cover more than half the cost of a solar panel.
"This is the first time we've seen a national solar subsidy in China," Hapoalim Securities USA Inc. analyst Gordon Johnson told Dow Jones Newswires. "China is a huge market, and there's a lot of energy consumption done in China. The assumption behind this is that the government will support a lot of these companies that need help."
Johnson added he believes the market reaction is overdone because the subsidy's impact on demand for solar projects is going to be relatively minor.
Chinese-based solar companies gained the most Thursday, as Cowen & Co. analyst Robert Stone told Dow Jones Newswires that these companies stand to benefit the most from any Chinese subsidies. He added that the Chinese companies also advanced more than others because they had been trading at a discount to U.S. and international stocks.
"The valuation gap is closing somewhat today," Stone said.
In recent trading, Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. (STP) soared 47% to $11.50, and Yingli Green Energy Holding Co. Ltd. (YGE) rose 44% to $5.98. LDK Solar Co. Ltd. (LDK) jumped 40% to $8.25, and Trina Solar Ltd. (TSL) rose 46% to $12.65. China Sunergy Co. Ltd. (CSUN) climbed 34% to $3.35, and JA Solar Holdings Co. Ltd. (JASO) gained 43% to $3.79.
Meanwhile, SolarFun Power Holdings Co. (SOLF) jumped 28% to $4.58 as Canaccord Adams analyst Jonathan Dorsheimer upgraded SolarFun's stock rating to hold from sell, saying margins have likely bottomed out. On Wednesday, the company reported it swung to a fourth-quarter loss on inventory write-downs and falling prices.
Non-Chinese companies also traded higher, though they are less likely to benefit from the subsidies.
First Solar Inc. (FSLR) gained 13% to $151.43, while SunPower Corp. (SPWRA) rose 16% to $27.95. Both are U.S. companies.
Analysts at Piper Jaffray said the Chinese subsidy is a long-term positive, but "it is premature to bid up solar stocks significantly on this news alone."
And some analysts expressed caution over how much the subsidy would help the companies.
Cowen's Stone said it's unclear whether the subsidy is restricted to building-integrated PV, or BIPV, cells - which means the modules have to be an element of the building structure - or whether it could also be used for retrofit modules, which are less expensive and can be put on an existing building.
Hapoalim's Johnson said BIPV solar panels are a small niche market in China and account for only about 2% to 3% of solar demand.
Barclays Capital analyst Vishal Shah said in a note the program is applicable for both BIPV and regular solar module applications, but analysts at Piper Jaffray said in a note only building owners and manufacturers of PV products can take advantage of it.
In addition, analysts at both Piper Jaffray and Barclays said the new subsidy program likely won't be capped.
Soar Energy Giants Discovering Ontario
Mar 19, 2009
TYLER HAMILTON
A coming green-energy law and the promise of long-term incentives for producers of renewable power have put Ontario on the radar of some big-name solar companies looking for certainty in a volatile marketplace.
This month alone, Tempe, Ariz.-based First Solar Inc., one of the world's leading suppliers of next-generation solar modules, and solar power supplier Recurrent Energy Inc. of San Francisco have acquired and plan to develop multi-megawatt solar projects in Ontario.
Meanwhile, San Jose, Calif.-based Nanosolar Inc. tells the Toronto Star that it is seriously eyeing Ontario as the location of a regional assembly plant for its thin-film solar modules. Nanosolar is also working with French energy giant EDF Energies Nouvelles to map out project potential in the province.
"The Ontario policies are very promising and we are now actively tracking this," said Nanosolar founder and chief executive Martin Roscheisen. The new prices the province is willing to pay for solar power, he said, "could tip the balance in favour of investment in Ontario."
The Star has learned that at least two other firms - one of them domestic - are planning to set up solar-cell manufacturing operations in Ontario.
It's the early response the McGuinty government was hoping to get when it tabled its Green Energy Act last month and, more recently, announced a new renewable-power purchase program that offers a generous premium for green power - electrons that flow from solar panels, wind turbines, hydro facilities and biomass systems.
The Ontario Power Authority has proposed European-style "feed-in tariffs" that would see it pay, as part of a 20-year contract, 80.2 cents for every kilowatt-hour of power that comes from a residential rooftop solar photovoltaic system.
As systems grow larger the feed-in tariff declines. The power authority would pay 71.3 cents for rooftop systems up to 100 kilowatts, dropping to 63.5 cents for systems up to 500 kilowatts and 53.9 cents for anything above that. Such systems would likely be found on the rooftops of schools, commercial buildings and big-box stores.
The lowest tariff, 44.3 cents, applies to "ground mount" systems that don't exceed 10 megawatts. This would apply to the massive solar farms that sprawl across acres of empty fields.
All prices replace a fixed 42-cent tariff that applied to all system categories that existed under a previous program, which itself was a continental first when introduced two years ago.
Arno Harris, CEO of Recurrent Energy, said the new tariffs make Ontario an attractive market for his company, which yesterday purchased a project pipeline totalling 350 megawatts from Chicago-based UPC Solar.
Harris said Recurrent and other large developers are taking advantage of the economic downtown to consolidate the market. The "vast majority" of projects acquired from UPC, he said, are based in Ontario.
"Adding a pipeline like this to our business increases our bargaining power," said Harris, explaining that economies of scale allow the company to lower costs by placing bulk orders for solar modules. "Our goal is to develop over 100 megawatts and get it into commercial operation by 2012."
In early March, First Solar purchased a pipeline of more than 2,000 megawatts of solar projects from Hayward, Calif.-based OptiSolar Inc. in a stock deal valued at $400 million (U.S.). About 10 per cent of those projects are based in Ontario.
Not all developers, however, are convinced that the tariffs are high enough to lure the kind of investment and green-collar jobs the government is counting on. Though praising the rooftop tariffs, some say the tariff for the large ground-mount systems is too low in the current market environment, where the cost of capital is simply too high to make such projects economically feasible.
"It's just a bit low at this point," said Ron Mantay, country manager for SunEdison Canada, which hopes to build several large rooftop and utility-scale ground systems in the province.
"It's the utility scale projects that are the key to job creation and cost reduction, and the current proposed rules might not be enough to motivate manufacturers to shop here in Ontario."
Other developers that have contacted the Star say they would need a tariff of 50 cents to get their projects financed and built in the current market climate, or, alternatively, loan guarantees that would lower their cost of borrowing.
"No fields, no factory," said one backer of a manufacturer that wants to lay roots in Ontario.
The power authority says the tariffs have only been proposed and could change after eight weeks of consultation with industry players. "Anyone having concerns with the proposed pricing should provide their feedback to the agency," said energy ministry spokeswoman Amy Tang.
The trick for the government, experts say, is to find a price that doesn't overly reward developers but doesn't block development, manufacturing and ultimately job creation.
It's a difficult balancing act in a turbulent economy when credit markets can ease just as quickly as they tighten, and when today's scary cost realities likely aren't a reflection development costs one or two years from now. Solar module prices, for example, are expected to fall dramatically this year and into 2010.
Roscheisen, for one, said the 44 cents proposed for ground systems was "wisely chosen" because it will weed out the strong, which have an easier time raising capital, from the weak, which as riskier bets end up paying more.
He also said that offering long-term contracts under a feed-in tariff model is superior to U.S. approaches that tend to be based on upfront tax incentives that create short-term sales spurts.
A feed-in tariff, said Roscheisen, "makes the market predictable and thus investible for the kinds of long-term, fundamental technology improvements and investments that will ultimately make solar a mainstream energy source.
"We congratulate Ontario for its forward-looking thinking," he said.
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