Spain is proceeding with plans to cut prices for solar power from new generators, the Industry Ministry said, after talks on broader changes to renewable energy subsidies broke down last week.
Prices for power from ground-based panels may be cut by 45 percent while photovoltaic generators mounted on large roofs face a 25 percent reduction and plants on small roofs will see a 5 percent cut, the ministry said in a statement.
The price cuts are included in a draft law sent to the national energy regulator for consultation.
Discussions on broader changes to subsidies for solar power were suspended after ministers and company executives failed to agree on prices for existing plants. Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero’s government wants to keep a lid on electricity costs by paring back a 2007 law granting above- market prices for clean-energy producers.
Spain’s 52,000 photovoltaic-panel installations earn as much as 440 euros ($573) a megawatt-hour, or almost 10 times the futures price for 2011 power in the wholesale market.
A spokesman for Industry Minister Miguel Sebastian said in April the government may cut the rate paid to existing plants in addition to ones yet to be built, as the government seeks to boost the competitiveness of Spanish industry by reining in power prices.
Funds including London-based HG Capital and Denmark’s AP Pensions have argued that the government was reneging on its legal obligation to maintain the subsidies for 25 years.
The Spanish Banking Association estimated domestic banks have loaned 40 billion euros to renewable-energy projects. Some 600 photovoltaic plant operators may face bankruptcy if the subsidies are cut, the Photovoltaic Industry Association has said.
Source: Solar Knowledge Blog
Showing posts with label Proposed legislation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Proposed legislation. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Bill Gates and Jeff Immelt call for tripling clean-tech spending
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates and General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt hope to convince the federal government to triple clean tech investments.
The pair of corporate titans said Thursday they want $16 billion to go each year to research, develop and deploy technologies including wind energy, solar and nuclear fission. Their newly created American Energy Innovation Council includes fellow heavyweights John Doerr, a venture capitalist, and Bank of America Chairman Chad Holliday, among others.
On the surface, this flood of money makes obvious sense. But from another perspective, it is nothing new. Contained in proposed federal legislation that is now awaiting congressional approval is clean-tech spending that will increase to $50 billion a year by 2020, according to Mark Trexler, director of climate strategies and markets at risk management firm DNV.
About $13 billion comes from tax credits and other fiscal measures. The rest is the result of ratepayer increases for electricity and other energy.
The spending should lead to massive investments for wind, solar and carbon capture, Trexler said at the Cleantech Institute conference recently held at the University of California, Berkeley.
The trouble is that the legislation has a slim chance of passing and the stalemate over bills, such as Waxman-Markey, could last another five to six years, according to Trexler. If Democrats lose seats this fall and again in 2012, "it doesn't make sense that the numbers look any better," he says.
According to Maximilian Auffhammer, also in attendance at the Cleantech conference, the Waxman-Markey proposal has another big benefit for clean tech that is not well known.
Among the bill's important policy mechanisms are "the most stringent building codes we have ever seen," says Auffhammer, an associate professor at UC-Berkeley.
The bill would bring into existence the first nationwide system of building codes and tighten them every year through 2030. These codes will spark considerable demand for green building technologies, he says.
Source: greentech media
The pair of corporate titans said Thursday they want $16 billion to go each year to research, develop and deploy technologies including wind energy, solar and nuclear fission. Their newly created American Energy Innovation Council includes fellow heavyweights John Doerr, a venture capitalist, and Bank of America Chairman Chad Holliday, among others.
On the surface, this flood of money makes obvious sense. But from another perspective, it is nothing new. Contained in proposed federal legislation that is now awaiting congressional approval is clean-tech spending that will increase to $50 billion a year by 2020, according to Mark Trexler, director of climate strategies and markets at risk management firm DNV.
About $13 billion comes from tax credits and other fiscal measures. The rest is the result of ratepayer increases for electricity and other energy.
The spending should lead to massive investments for wind, solar and carbon capture, Trexler said at the Cleantech Institute conference recently held at the University of California, Berkeley.
The trouble is that the legislation has a slim chance of passing and the stalemate over bills, such as Waxman-Markey, could last another five to six years, according to Trexler. If Democrats lose seats this fall and again in 2012, "it doesn't make sense that the numbers look any better," he says.
According to Maximilian Auffhammer, also in attendance at the Cleantech conference, the Waxman-Markey proposal has another big benefit for clean tech that is not well known.
Among the bill's important policy mechanisms are "the most stringent building codes we have ever seen," says Auffhammer, an associate professor at UC-Berkeley.
The bill would bring into existence the first nationwide system of building codes and tighten them every year through 2030. These codes will spark considerable demand for green building technologies, he says.
Source: greentech media
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
SEIA Weighs in on Kerry-Lieberman Climate Bill's Impact on Solar
Following the introduction of the American Power Act, presented by Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) President and CEO Rhone Resch has issued a statement on the legislation, which, noticeably, does not include a national renewable electricity standard.
Resch praised the bill's carbon mechanisms but called for greater efforts to stimulate the deployment of solar energy and other forms of renewable energy.
"[T]o really make a difference, we need to ensure that any revenue from this legislation is targeted directly at deploying renewable energy like solar - an energy source that 92 percent of Americans say they want greater use of - now," Resch said.
"We also believe that for any climate legislation to succeed, it must embrace one of solar's key strengths - its diverse applications," Resch continued. "Distributed generation solar, like photovoltaics and solar water heating, as well as utility-scale solar power, are both crucial to fighting climate change and should be rewarded for generating clean energy."
Resch also urged policy-makers to address protection for the voluntary renewables market. "Under previous climate bills, no effort on the parts of homeowners and businesses to generate their own carbon-free energy was recognized in lowering the cap," he noted. "We hope that this major issue has been addressed and individuals have been empowered to have a real impact on the amount of pollution released into our environment."
SOURCE: Solar Energy Industries Association
Resch praised the bill's carbon mechanisms but called for greater efforts to stimulate the deployment of solar energy and other forms of renewable energy.
"[T]o really make a difference, we need to ensure that any revenue from this legislation is targeted directly at deploying renewable energy like solar - an energy source that 92 percent of Americans say they want greater use of - now," Resch said.
"We also believe that for any climate legislation to succeed, it must embrace one of solar's key strengths - its diverse applications," Resch continued. "Distributed generation solar, like photovoltaics and solar water heating, as well as utility-scale solar power, are both crucial to fighting climate change and should be rewarded for generating clean energy."
Resch also urged policy-makers to address protection for the voluntary renewables market. "Under previous climate bills, no effort on the parts of homeowners and businesses to generate their own carbon-free energy was recognized in lowering the cap," he noted. "We hope that this major issue has been addressed and individuals have been empowered to have a real impact on the amount of pollution released into our environment."
SOURCE: Solar Energy Industries Association
Renewables Industry Disappointed with Proposed American Power Act
On Wednesday, Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT) released the details of their energy and climate change legislation. The bill includes few provisions designed to directly support renewable energy. These provisions include a statement from Congress on the importance of large-scale deployment and accelerated progress in the areas of renewable energy and energy efficiency, direction for how the allowances distributed to states and Indian tribes should be used for the purposes of promoting renewable energy and energy efficiency programs, and a statement supporting voluntary renewable energy markets.
Noticeably absent from the package was either a renewable portfolio standard, or renewable electricity standard, which the industry has been lobbying for over the course of the last year.
This is in direct contrast to bills introduced over the last year. President Obama's proposal called for 25% renewable electricity by 2025, 100% new building efficiency by 2030 and the phase-out of traditional incandescents by 2014. The Waxman/Markey bill mandated 15% renewable electricity with an added 5% efficiency by 2020, 75% new building efficiency by 2030, as well as appliance and lighting efficiency standards.
Overall, however, the bill may indirectly benefit the industry through the reduction of emissions. The bill mandates that utilities, starting in 2013 and other industries in 2016, must participate in a cap and trade system that places a price on carbon. The goal of these measures is to reduce economy-wide global warming pollution to 95.25 percent of 2005 levels by 2013, 83 percent by 2020, 58 percent by 2030, and 17 percent by 2050.
Overall, however, the bill may indirectly benefit the industry through the reduction of emissions. The bill mandates that utilities, starting in 2013 and other industries in 2016, must participate in a cap and trade system that places a price on carbon. The goal of these measures is to reduce economy-wide global warming pollution to 95.25 percent of 2005 levels by 2013, 83 percent by 2020, 58 percent by 2030, and 17 percent by 2050.
Source: Renewable Energy World Read the full article here.
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