A new survey conducted by Applied Materials, Inc. reveals that two-thirds of Americans believe solar technology should play a greater role in meeting the country's energy needs. In addition, three-quarters of Americans feel that increasing renewable energy and decreasing U.S. dependence on foreign oil are the country's top energy priorities.
According to the survey, 67 percent of Americans would be willing to pay more for their monthly utility bill if their utility company increased its use of renewable energy and 49 percent of consumers polled would be willing to pay $5 or more each month for an increased amount of renewable energy—a 14 percent increase from the results of Applied Materials’ 2009 survey.
“Americans are becoming more aware of the need for responsible energy solutions, like solar power, and increasingly want their government to drive policy and investment aimed at finding alternative ways to power our homes and economy,” said Dr. Charles Gay, president of Applied Solar, a division of Applied Materials. “With the right energy legislation in place, the U.S. could reap the benefits of one of the biggest economic job engines of this century – the clean energy revolution.”
Source: Renewable Energy World
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Monday, July 5, 2010
Italy Surpasses US in Solar PV
by: Paul Gipe (Renewable Energy World)
In a dramatic display of the power feed-in tariffs have in driving markets, Italy installed more solar photovoltaics (PV) in 2009 than the entire U.S. Moreover, within the first quarter of 2010, Italy's total installed solar PV capacity was expected to exceed that of the US.
The proposed revision to the feed-in tariff program (conto energia), currently waiting approval, reduces the tariffs and sets a new target of 3,000 MW for the three-year period from 2011 to 2013.
Italy installed 720 megawatts (MW) of solar PV in 2009, nearly all of that on rooftops. In contrast, the U.S. installed 435 MW during the same period, according to a draft report by the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC).
Italy introduced a system of feed-in tariffs for solar PV in February, 2007 after concluding that the previous program of Tradable Green Certificates was not delivering the results desired.
By the end of 2007, Italy had installed five times more solar PV than in the previous year. Despite numerous bureaucratic roadblocks, the solar industry took off in 2008 and installed nearly 350 MW, then a record-breaking number. Solar PV installations have been doubling since then and are expected to reach 1,500 MW in 2010.
Italy is three-fourths the size of California, with which it is often compared because of their similarly-sized economies. Italy has a population of 60 million, to California's 40 million. The population of the U.S. is five times that of Italy.
Italy is now the world's second largest annual market for solar PV, after Germany.
IREC estimates that there was 1,250 MW of total installed solar PV capacity in the U.S. at the end of 2009. Currently, the U.S. is installing 40-50 MW per month, and Italy 125 MW per month. At this pace, Italy surpassed the U.S. in total installed PV capacity before the end of the first quarter, likely by the end of February 2010.
Italy is installing more capacity--250 MW--every two months than California is installing per year.
By the end of 2010, Italy will have a total installed capacity of more than 2,500 MW. This is two and one-half times more capacity than is expected in California, and one and one-half times more than is expected in the U.S.
Italy's 2007 decree also set a solar PV target of 1,200 MW. They reached their target earlier this year.
Unlike Spain, the government has no plans to cut the program dramatically. The proposed revision to the feed-in tariff program (conto energia), currently waiting approval, reduces the tariffs and sets a new target of 3,000 MW for the three-year period from 2011 to 2013. The revisions are expected to be approved sometime this summer. The proposal cuts the tariffs 18% in three equal steps of 6% during each of the first three quarters in 2011.
According to Gruppo Imprese Fotovoltaiche Italiane (GIFI), 93% of all solar PV in Italy is installed on rooftops in distributed applications. Data from Gestore dei Servizi Energetici indicates that about one-fourth of all Italian solar PV installations are less than 20 kilowatts (kW) in size, or about 300 MW.
Read the full article here.
In a dramatic display of the power feed-in tariffs have in driving markets, Italy installed more solar photovoltaics (PV) in 2009 than the entire U.S. Moreover, within the first quarter of 2010, Italy's total installed solar PV capacity was expected to exceed that of the US.
The proposed revision to the feed-in tariff program (conto energia), currently waiting approval, reduces the tariffs and sets a new target of 3,000 MW for the three-year period from 2011 to 2013.
Italy installed 720 megawatts (MW) of solar PV in 2009, nearly all of that on rooftops. In contrast, the U.S. installed 435 MW during the same period, according to a draft report by the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC).
Italy introduced a system of feed-in tariffs for solar PV in February, 2007 after concluding that the previous program of Tradable Green Certificates was not delivering the results desired.
By the end of 2007, Italy had installed five times more solar PV than in the previous year. Despite numerous bureaucratic roadblocks, the solar industry took off in 2008 and installed nearly 350 MW, then a record-breaking number. Solar PV installations have been doubling since then and are expected to reach 1,500 MW in 2010.
Italy is three-fourths the size of California, with which it is often compared because of their similarly-sized economies. Italy has a population of 60 million, to California's 40 million. The population of the U.S. is five times that of Italy.
Italy is now the world's second largest annual market for solar PV, after Germany.
IREC estimates that there was 1,250 MW of total installed solar PV capacity in the U.S. at the end of 2009. Currently, the U.S. is installing 40-50 MW per month, and Italy 125 MW per month. At this pace, Italy surpassed the U.S. in total installed PV capacity before the end of the first quarter, likely by the end of February 2010.
Italy is installing more capacity--250 MW--every two months than California is installing per year.
By the end of 2010, Italy will have a total installed capacity of more than 2,500 MW. This is two and one-half times more capacity than is expected in California, and one and one-half times more than is expected in the U.S.
Italy's 2007 decree also set a solar PV target of 1,200 MW. They reached their target earlier this year.
Unlike Spain, the government has no plans to cut the program dramatically. The proposed revision to the feed-in tariff program (conto energia), currently waiting approval, reduces the tariffs and sets a new target of 3,000 MW for the three-year period from 2011 to 2013. The revisions are expected to be approved sometime this summer. The proposal cuts the tariffs 18% in three equal steps of 6% during each of the first three quarters in 2011.
According to Gruppo Imprese Fotovoltaiche Italiane (GIFI), 93% of all solar PV in Italy is installed on rooftops in distributed applications. Data from Gestore dei Servizi Energetici indicates that about one-fourth of all Italian solar PV installations are less than 20 kilowatts (kW) in size, or about 300 MW.
Read the full article here.
Obama gives $2 Billion to Solar Energy Companies
US President Barack Obama announced on Saturday the awarding of nearly two billion dollars to two solar energy companies that have agreed to build new power plants in the United States, creating thousands of new jobs.
US President Barack Obama (R) tours a solar energy centre in Arcadia, Florida in 2009. Obama has announced the awarding of nearly $2 bln to two solar energy companies that have agreed to build new power plants in the US, creating thousands of new jobs.
"We're going to keep fighting to advance our recovery," Obama said in his weekly radio address. "And we're going to keep competing aggressively to make sure the jobs and industries of the future are taking root right here in America."
One of the companies, Abengoa Solar, has agreed to build one of the largest solar plants in the world in Arizona, which will create about 1,600 construction jobs. When completed, this plant will provide enough clean energy to power 70,000 homes.
The other company, Abound Solar Manufacturing, is building two new plants, one in Colorado and one in Indiana.
These projects will create more than 2,000 construction jobs, and over 1,500 permanent jobs as the plants produce millions of solar panels each year, according to White House officials.
"So that's some of what we're doing," Obama said. "But the truth is, steps like these won't replace all the jobs we've lost overnight. I know folks are struggling."
The president warned that it would "take months, even years, to dig our way out" of the most recent economic recession.
The announcement came as the US government reported the US unemployment rate fell to 9.5 percent last month as more than half a million people abandoned the job hunt, fueling doubts about the economic recovery.
The Labor Department reported on Friday a net loss of 125,000 jobs last month.
The biggest cause for concern had been the weakness of the private sector, which created a modest 83,000 jobs in June, well up from May's revised total of 33,000.
Faced with an uncertain outlook and poor access to credit, US firms have been reluctant to rehire workers.
Source: AlterNet
US Solar Industry on Track to Install 10 Gigawatts of Solar Annually by 2015
Rhone Resch, President and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), has recently released the following statement after announcing an industry-wide goal of installing 10 gigawatts of solar capacity annually by 2015. Resch made the announcement during a presentation at the 35th IEEE Photovoltaics Specialist Conference in Honolulu, Hawaii:
“Over the last few months, we have seen disaster after disaster caused by the fossil fuel industries and Americans are calling for a new direction for our energy future. And in communities across America, people are asking for an energy source that is clean, reliable, safe and creates economic opportunity. That energy source is solar.
“Even during the recession, the solar industry grew by 37 percent in 2009 and created 17,000 new American jobs. We are confident that we can reach 10 gigawatts of new installations annually by 2015, which will power two million households with clean, safe solar energy and support 440,000 domestic jobs. As the U.S. rapidly becomes the largest solar market in the world, the solar industry will help usher in a new era of clean, reliable power that will be the backbone of America’s economy.
“The leaders of the solar industry have set this target to show Americans that solar can and will become the nation’s largest source of new electricity generation by 2013. We are already cost competitive with fossil fuels, and by 2015 we expect solar energy to be the lowest cost source of retail electricity in all fifty states. But to reach our goal, we need to ensure that effective policy mechanisms are in place to give consumers the choice to go solar – a choice more than 90 percent of Americans support.
“The solar energy industry – invented and commercialized in the U.S. – is the solution for our country’s addiction to fossil fuels. It’s time we get this country moving in the right direction."
Source: Renewable Energy sources
“Over the last few months, we have seen disaster after disaster caused by the fossil fuel industries and Americans are calling for a new direction for our energy future. And in communities across America, people are asking for an energy source that is clean, reliable, safe and creates economic opportunity. That energy source is solar.
“Even during the recession, the solar industry grew by 37 percent in 2009 and created 17,000 new American jobs. We are confident that we can reach 10 gigawatts of new installations annually by 2015, which will power two million households with clean, safe solar energy and support 440,000 domestic jobs. As the U.S. rapidly becomes the largest solar market in the world, the solar industry will help usher in a new era of clean, reliable power that will be the backbone of America’s economy.
“The leaders of the solar industry have set this target to show Americans that solar can and will become the nation’s largest source of new electricity generation by 2013. We are already cost competitive with fossil fuels, and by 2015 we expect solar energy to be the lowest cost source of retail electricity in all fifty states. But to reach our goal, we need to ensure that effective policy mechanisms are in place to give consumers the choice to go solar – a choice more than 90 percent of Americans support.
“The solar energy industry – invented and commercialized in the U.S. – is the solution for our country’s addiction to fossil fuels. It’s time we get this country moving in the right direction."
Source: Renewable Energy sources
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Europe Will be Powered by Saharan Sun in Five Years
The super-sized solar projects being built in the Sahara desert will start generating and providing Europe with clean energy within the next five years, according to the European energy commissioner. This is much sooner, than the initial 10-year time frame given to the project.
The EU and many European companies are helping to fund a large scheme of solar projects in Northern Africa called Desertec in hopes of using that energy to meet a target of having 20 percent of its energy come from renewables by 2020. The first phase of projects will have a capacity in the hundreds of megawatts, while over the next 20 to 40 years, the capacity will reach hundreds of gigawatts.
The electricity will be transmitted to Europe with new inter-connector cables being constructed under the Mediterranean Sea, but will also service African nations.
Source: Reuters, EcoGeek
Friday, July 2, 2010
Solar PV Installation to hit 17 GW in 2011, Research says
Global solar photovoltaic (PV) installations are forecast to reach 13GW by the end of this year and 17GW by 2011 on production growth and declining prices, a research paper shows.
The Goldman Sachs Global Clean Energy team bases its installation forecast on supply forecast of 20GW and 28GW in 2010 and 2011 respectively, and a downside risk in 2012 of 18-22GW.
Supply is likely to come from lower cost producers such as thin-film makers and Chinese crystalline module makers, the research paper says.
Supply is likely to come from lower cost producers such as thin-film makers and Chinese crystalline module makers, the research paper says.
“We think demand may arise where government mandates for increased renewable energy remain strong, finance is readily available, and where domestic and utility scale demand are expected to rise,” it says.
Germany “should remain the largest and most important solar market globally for the next two years.”
PV installation in Germany is predicted at 6.5GW and 7.5GW in 2010 and 2011 respectively. The German market’s feed-in-tariff (FIT) will likely be cut given the lower trend in ASPs by 15% and 12% in the second-half of 2010 and full year 2011 respectively, for European module prices.
PV installation in Germany is predicted at 6.5GW and 7.5GW in 2010 and 2011 respectively. The German market’s feed-in-tariff (FIT) will likely be cut given the lower trend in ASPs by 15% and 12% in the second-half of 2010 and full year 2011 respectively, for European module prices.
The research also believes that both Chinese crystalline module makers and thin-film makers will continue to gain market share due to their 30% lower cost advantage over European and Japanese manufacturers.
“This should encourage more installations so as to optimise production capacity and return on capital,” the paper says.
“We expect the ASPs of Chinese solar modules to fall by 27% and 15% in 2010 and 2011, in line with other regional players.”
Current cost reduction targets also suggest that cost parity between solar energy and conventional energy is within reach between 2012 and 2014, depending on the market.
Italy Solar Tariff Cuts Not as Bad as Feared
The latest important European solar market to debut a plan for solar feed-in tariff cuts is Italy, and Italy's plan is different in important respects from other notable feed-in tariff decline policies.
Italy is proposing a cumulative feed-in tariff decline of 18% in 2011, but the FIT decline will be spread out across four-month periods, with 6% FIT declines in each one. Italy has been expected to implement a feed-in tariff decline at the beginning of 2011, and so, the fact that it's now moving ahead is no surprise to solar. The reduction in solar module pricing has dictated a cut in Italy's FIT scheme. There is little doubt that all the solar companies are racing to make Italy a huge market once Germany's FITs decline. Italy is already the second largest market in Europe.
Earlier this year, in a conference call hosted by Credit Suisse, Italian solar company Kerself indicated that it expected FIT cuts of 15% to 28%.
Of course, it's important to remember that at this stage the Italian government is merely proposing the plan for an 18% feed-in tariff cut spread throughout the year. It's a long road to implementing the policy. Take Germany, where FIT reductions that have been debated throughout 2010 are supposed to go into effect in a week, and yet, the German upper and lower houses of parliament still have not come to agreement on the plan.
Source: The Street
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