Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
5 Charts That Show How Coal Is Getting Killed in {Red State} Texas
The market, not regulation, is putting pressure on coal. by Katherine Tweed
October 17, 2016
Coal-fired power plants are facing increasing financial distress due to low prices in the Texas electricity market, a trend that is unlikely to reverse, according to a new report from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, The Beginning of the End.
The pressure on coal is coming primarily from cheap natural gas and low-cost renewables, and to a lesser extent environmental regulations, according to IEEFA.
The report evaluated seven large coal plants owned by merchant power producers and public power utilities. They total more than 8 gigawatts of capacity, about 40 percent of the total coal capacity in Texas.
“IEEFA considers it highly probable that these plants -- and many like them -- will be retired, a view that is consistent with those of other independent energy-market observers,” the report states.
Natural gas is the primary driver of electricity prices in Texas. Record-low prices for gas are the main reason coal is losing its competitive edge. Natural gas also now constitutes the dominant generation source in Texas, according to the Energy Information Administration.
While gas dominates, renewables, especially wind, are also playing a more important role. With additional transmission lines, Texas has been able to reduce its wind curtailment and wind has averaged more than 16 percent of total energy production for the first half of 2016.
SolPad: A Game Changer for Residential Solar?
Tom Lombardo posted on October 23, 2016 | 1 Comment | 811 views
http://www.engineering.com/ElectronicsDesign/ElectronicsDesignArticles/ArticleID/13481/SolPad-A-Game-Changer-for-Residential-Solar.aspx
Chart of the year: ‘Incredible’ price drops jumpstart clean energy revolution
New DOE report details latest advances in solar, wind, LED lights, batteries, and electric cars.
https://thinkprogress.org/clean-energy-revolution-now-81a8e61134c7#.bf9o7ewqh
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has released the 2016 update of its report, Revolution…Now: The Future Arrives for Five Clean Energy Technologies.
The must-read report reveals the game-changing progress core clean energy technologies have made over the last several years?—?specifically, solar, wind, LED lights, batteries, and electric cars. Accelerated deployment driven by smart government policies, both domestically and around the world, have created economies of scale and brought technologies down the learning curve faster than almost anyone expected.
“The clean energy revolution is too often always assumed to be something that would come along in 10 to 20 years,” Energy Secretary Earnest Moniz said Wednesday after the report’s release. “The message is: look around, it’s happening now.”
And these technologies have a very important synergy, as this chart shows:
Batteries are helping to enable the rapidly growing penetration of variable renewable sources like wind and solar (see my May piece, “Storing the sun’s energy just got a whole lot cheaper”). The DOE report notes that “the capacity of these grid-scale batteries has increased nearly 10-fold since 2008.”
Moreover, while “the lithium-ion battery packs used in the majority of grid-connected batteries” have declined more than 70 percent in the past decade, “analysts expect both utility and consumer scale batteries to decline in cost by another 20–27 percent in just the next two years.”
As a result, DOE projects “the total domestic energy storage market could be worth $2.9 billion by 2021, as compared to $350 million in 2015.” And that’s without considering the impact of emerging super-low-cost used (“second-life”) electric car batteries, which I discussed here.
DOE calls the soaring new battery storage market “Revolution Next,” which includes such transformational technologies as smart buildings, light-weight materials, and “Big Area Additive Manufacturing” (BAAM!), better known as 3-D printing.
The next time an opponent of climate action questions the cost-effectiveness and scalability of climate solutions?—?or the value of government clean energy policies?—?the top chart and indeed the whole report should be front and center in your response.
Wind, solar costs undercut new coal plants in South Africa
http://www.climatechangenews.com/2016/10/21/renewables-undercut-new-coal-plants-in-south-africa/
Wind and solar power are 40% cheaper than new coal generation today, analysis of government data shows
Wind turbines near Cape Town (Pic: Flickr/warrenski)
By Megan Darby
Wind and solar power is 40% cheaper than output from new coal plants in South Africa, according to the country’s leading research institute.
Renewable costs have fallen dramatically over a series of auctions in the past five years, challenging coal utilities’ dominance of the market.
The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research analysed government and industry data from recent procurement rounds.
It showed wind and solar PV prices dropping to 0.62 Rand/kWh (US$0.044) in 2015. Coal came in at R1.03/kWh from independent suppliers and R1.05-1.16/kWh from state utility Eskom – not counting a proposed carbon tax.
South Africa’s coal-heavy power mix puts it among the 20 highest emitting countries in the world, with energy demand only growing.
It relies on the polluting fuel for nearly 90% of electricity, has another 8.7GW under construction and 5.8GW in the pre-build pipeline, according to Coal Swarm.
In its contribution to the Paris climate deal, South Africa pledged to peak greenhouse gas emissions by 2025.
Harald Winkler, director of energy research at the University of Cape Town, told Climate Home the pre-construction coal projects were incompatible with that commitment.
The government’s preferred alternative is nuclear, with plans for a 9.6GW fleet by 2030, but critics say it is too expensive. A lack of transparency has fueled suspicions – officially denied – that Russia has already won the contract.
Article pretty much covered the positives and negatives....
FWIW: Zacks Investment Research Lowers Sunworks Inc (SUNW) to Hold
October 20th, 2016
http://www.dailypolitical.com/2016/10/20/zacks-investment-research-lowers-sunworks-inc-sunw-to-hold.html
Sunworks Inc (NASDAQ:SUNW) was downgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.
According to Zacks, “Sunworks, Inc. provides solar power solutions. The company focused on the design, installation and management of solar power systems for commercial, agricultural and residential customers. Sunworks, Inc., formerly known as Solar3D, Inc., is based in Roseville, United States. “
Back in "the day" solar was the goody goody thing to do. Now it's becommingthe most practical thing to do. Solar has a payback, Making it unstoppable, unless a better tech comes out.It's a worldwide competition. If we don't compete we give the tech away to China. Remember how we gave away half of our auto industry away.... We don't want to do it again...
US energy shakeup continues as solar capacity set to triple
Solar expected to almost triple in less than three years by 2017 as coal continues to fall, solidifying gas as country’s chief electricity source, reports Climate Central
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/oct/21/us-energy-shakeup-continues-as-solar-capacity-set-to-triple
A road divides solar panels at the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System in the Mojave Desert, Nevada. Photograph: Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Solar power capacity in the US will have nearly tripled in size in less than three years by 2017 amid an energy shakeup that has seen natural gas solidify its position as the country’s chief source of electricity and coal power continue to fade, according to monthly data published by the US Department of Energy.
Cutting carbon dioxide emissions from electric power plants is a major part of the US strategy for tackling climate change as the country seeks to meet its obligations under the Paris climate agreement and keep global warming from exceeding more than 2C (3.6°F).
Reducing those emissions requires changing the fuels used to produce electricity, including using more natural gas and renewables than coal, historically the country’s largest single source of greenhouse gas emissions driving climate change.
Renewables still make up only a fraction of the US power supply – 8% this year. That’s expected to grow to 9% next year, and the biggest driver of that growth is solar.
Solar power has been on a tear in recent years partly because of cheaper solar panels and a federal tax credit for solar installations. Congress extended the solar tax credit early this year, helping to fuel a 39% annual growth rate for solar power-producing capacity, to 27 gigawatts by next year from about 10 gigawatts in 2014, or enough to power about 3.5m homes, the data show.
“Because of pent-up demand due to uncertainty over the federal tax credit, solar had a record year in 2016,” said Doug Vine, senior energy fellow at the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions. “Solar capacity buildout is expected to be similar next year.”
By contrast, wind power generating capacity is expected to grow by about 8% next year after growing nearly 15.5% in 2016.
For most of the past century, coal has been king in the electric power industry. But it has begun to falter as a major energy source in the US because falling natural gas prices have encouraged electric power companies to build more gas-fired power plants.
Advertisement
At the same time, new mercury pollution regulations for coal-fired power plants have taken effect, renewable energy has become cheaper to produce and electric power companies have begun to gear up for the Clean Power Plan – the Obama administration’s climate policy aiming to slash carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants.
For the first time in history, more electricity is produced using natural gas than with coal. That has helped to reduce greenhouse gas emissions because natural gas releases roughly half the carbon dioxide as coal.
This year, 35% of US electricity is expected to be produced using natural gas, and 30% will be produced using coal, according to the data. Last year, each produced about 33% of US electricity.
With natural gas prices rising, the share of US electricity produced with coal is expected to rise slightly to 31% in 2017. But with natural gas expected to generate 34% of America’s electricity next year, it is expected to remain the biggest player for the second year.
“Coal is now in many markets the marginal player,” said Daniel Cohan, professor of environmental engineering at Rice University. “There’s definitely been switching from coal to gas, and many analysts think that the majority of coal power plants are losing money.”
As more and more companies are required to install expensive scrubbers on their coal-fired power plants to reduce mercury and other air pollution, the future of coal plants in many areas is likely grim, he said.
“If they’re losing money or breaking even, it’s not going to make sense for them to put in scrubbers,” Cohan said. “It’s likely to tip a growing number of coal plants to shut down.”
The picture says it all...
Target passes Walmart as top US corporate installer of solar power, Ikea lights 90%+ of stores
Target is the top corporate installer of solar power in the USA with 147MW installed on 300 stores. Walmart is close behind with 140MW, while Ikea has installed solar on 90% of its retail locations. The Solar Energy Institute of America (SEIA) report shows over 1,000MW of solar installed in almost 2,000 unique installations by the largest corporate entities in the country. Additionally these groups have more than doubled their installation volume year on year, with 2015 seeing a total of 130MW, while 2016 is projected to be closer to 280MW.
Renewable energy juggernaut Apple, who is building and managing their own ‘electric utility’ in the USA while aiming for 4,000MW solar power globally, proudly defended their clean energy investments – “If you want (Apple) to do things only for ROI reasons, you should get out of this stock.” But it turns out, Solar is pretty damn good for ROI…
Big box retail locations offer some of the best potential spaces for solar power to be installed – on top of square, flat structures and in previously built parking lots. The average size of an installation by a company in this group is about 500kW – 75X the size of an average residential solar installation. The RE100 organization has signed up 81 global corporations (many on the SEIA list) who have pledged 100% renewable energy.
Calculated attempt to deceive Florida voters about solar vote uncovered by Miami Herald
Calculated attempt to deceive Florida voters about solar vote uncovered by Miami Herald https://t.co/dvwaU87PmG
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 19, 2016
Now that we are getting the obstructionists out of the way we can start booming. This will get exciting.
{I think solar to methanol will replace solar to electricity eventually imo.}
Did you ever deal with methanol?
When they ran methanol in Indy cars when they parked the cars overnight they would put in gas because methanol was so corrosive.
Better batteries and solar will take over,,,
Solar=new oil well
Electric=new gas
Batteries=new gas tank
Over $50 mil in debt. It's against JN's nature....
Unless he can form some sort of debt free merger...
The Far-Reaching Effects Of The Evolution Of Energy Sources
David Thomas, Contributor
http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2016/10/14/the-far-reaching-effects-of-the-future-of-energy/#3dc930175df4
Last month in Algiers, the 14 members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) voted to lower oil production by almost one million barrels per day. The agreement boosted crude oil prices back to around $50 per barrel. OPEC had not voted to cut in eight years and the oversupply drove oil prices from $100 to $30 per barrel. Amazingly only a 3% gap between supply and demand can cause this much volatility. Is there something else on the horizon adding to this picture?
Are we going back to nuclear energy? Nuclear reactors were designed with slide rules back in the 1950s. They are basically just steam engines with a different fuel, but they get only 0.7% of the energy from the uranium. One 16 oz. can of depleted uranium has the equivalent energy remaining of 120,000 gallons of gasoline. There are 700,000 metric tons of nuclear waste which can power the world for 1,000 years. Terra Power is a company that burns nuclear waste attempting to accomplish this goal and Bill Gates is the chairman of this company.
There are other forms of energy on the horizon that may make the high capital cost of nuclear energy inefficient. Wind energy accounts for 6% of energy production today but is not on an exponential growth curve. Solar energy production currently provides less than 1% of energy needs and has been on an exponential curve for 30 years. Only now are we starting to see the impact.
Solar energy has come down from a prohibitively expensive $77 per kilowatt hour, and now a Bloomberg article declaires that Chile has set the new record for solar power rates at 2.9¢ per kilowatt hour. That’s half the cost of coal. U.S. rates are not far behind. There is a doubling every two years of the amount of solar energy being created per dollar cost as scientists now apply nanotechnology to solar panels.
More work for solar!
Germany’s Bundesrat votes to ban the internal combustion engine by 2030
http://arstechnica.com/cars/2016/10/germanys-bundesrat-votes-to-ban-the-internal-combustion-engine-by-2030/?comments=1
The resolution is non-binding, but it's still a powerful signal.
Jonathan M. Gitlin - 10/10/2016, 9:46 AM
Is the tide turning for the internal combustion engine? In Germany, things are starting to look that way. This is the country that invented the technology, but late last week, the Bundesrat (the federal council of all 16 German states) voted to ban gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles by 2030.
It's a strong statement in a nation where the auto industry is one of the largest sectors of the economy; Germany produces more automobiles than any other country in Europe and is the third largest in the world. The resolution passed by the Bundesrat calls on the European Commission (the executive arm of the European Union) to "evaluate the recent tax and contribution practices of Member States on their effectiveness in promoting zero-emission mobility," which many are taking to mean an end to the lower levels of tax currently levied on diesel fuel across Europe.
Europe bet big on diesel, something that now seems increasingly misguided with continuing revelations about companies cheating their emissions tests and the growing awareness of the health implications of diesel particulates.
The resolution—which passed with support from both sides of the German political spectrum—is non-binding, so this isn't a sure thing, but it's evidence of a trend that has been gathering steam in Europe with increasingly tough emissions laws and moves by individual cities to restrict the use of fossil-fuel powered vehicles.
Whether German (and other European) automakers take this move lying down or lobby hard to fight it is as yet unclear. But the big three German car makers have all been making increasingly loud noises signaling a commitment to going electric.
Solar prices dropping. Much sooner towards FREE ENERGY!
http://www.computerworld.com/article/3128255/sustainable-it/rooftop-solar-installation-prices-drop-as-does-payback-time.html
Rooftop solar installation prices drop as does payback time
Solar shingles could change the rooftop market
By Lucas Mearian Follow
Computerworld | Oct 6, 2016 11:20 AM PT
The cost of rooftop solar installations continues to decline but not as quickly as it did in previous years, according to a report from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL).
National median installed prices in 2015 declined year-over-year by $0.2 per watt (/W), or 5%, for residential systems, by $0.3/W, or 7% for non-residential systems of less than 500 kW, and by $0.3/W, or 9%, for non-residential systems of more than 500 kW.
Solar installation price declines have been partially offset by falling state and utility rebate and tax incentives, according to the LBNL's Tracking the Sun IX solar market report. Rebates and performance-based incentives have declined from $3 to $8 per watt of installed solar power at their peak to less than $1/W (or zero) in most major markets.
U.S. solar installation prices, the median cost of which is about $4.49 per watt of installed solar capacity, are higher than in most other major national photovoltaic markets, LBNL stated. For example, the starkest difference was with Germany, where typical pricing for residential systems in 2015 was around $1.7/W.
ADVERTISING
While U.S. costs are higher than in other nations, the costs have still dropped, leading to a substantial decline in the amount of time it takes to pay off the average residential rooftop solar system.
Since the first half of 2015, the payoff time for the average rooftop solar system has dropped from 8.2 years to 7.5 years in the first half of 2016, according to the EnergySage Solar Marketplace Intel Report.
Founded in 2009, EnergySage is similar to Expedia or Kayak in that it's a free online service that allows users to input their information and retrieve standardized quotes for a service -- in this case, the installation of a rooftop solar system. EnergySage generates revenue from fees paid by solar suppliers and is part of a nascent industry that includes other, smaller players such as Geostellar.
According to Vikram Aggarwal, CEO of EnergySage, customers using his marketplace service pay a $3.63 median cost per watt of installed solar capacity compared with the $4.49 median cost cited by the LBNL's report.
Along with decreasing costs, photovoltaic (PV) panels are increasing in efficiency. The average efficiency rating for today's rooftop solar panels is about 15% to 16%. That means that 15% of the sun's photons that strike the panels are converted into electricity.
"We're now seeing ratings as high as 19% from some providers. SunPower is touching on 21%. Panasonic also has good performers," Aggarwal said.
Panasonic and other solar panel manufacturers have been in an efficiency battle, going back and forth on which can produce the better performing product. Last year, Panasonic announced a PV module with 22.5% efficiency.
With greater efficiency, however, comes higher prices.
As the cost of rooftop solar has plummeted, the share of residential solar energy systems owned by third parties, such as SolarCity, Vivint Solar and Sunrun, has also begun to drop. Initially, third party ownership grew from 42% of the market in 2011 to 66% in 2013, but that peaked in 2014 at 68%, according to GTM Research.
Beginning in 2015, the expansion of residential solar loan programs and alternate financing mechanisms such as property-assessed clean energy programs drove the market toward direct ownership.
By 2020, third party ownership of distributed solar power systems will drop to 54%, meaning direct ownership of rooftop solar systems will account for 46% of the forecasted 5.2gW (gigawatt) market, according to GTM Research.
"Solar loans are becoming widely available with many more options to choose from than in the past, and declining system costs are making direct ownership affordable for more homeowners," Nicole Litvak, GTM research analyst and the report's author, said in a statement. "As a result, the share of third-party-owned solar has already begun to come down in leading state markets, including Arizona and Massachusetts."
EnergySage users are also increasingly choosing to own their solar panels instead of leasing or agreeing to a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA), according to Aggarwal.
"There are a couple of reasons we see that happening," Aggarwal said. "The economics for consumers are so much better when they choose the own the system. If you choose to own, you get 100% of the savings. If you lease or agree to a PPA, you get from 10% to 30% of the savings. The rest goes to the leasing company."
PPAs are typically 20-year contracts where the solar system provider covers the system costs but receives the federal or state renewable energy incentives and sells the power generated at a fixed rate back to the consumer.
SolarCity, for example, charges customers about 13 cents per kilowatt in Massachusetts, while the average utility rate is about 19.5 cents. Additionally, companies such as SolarCity increase what they charge a customer for solar power by a set amount - typically 2.9% per year, Aggarwal said.
"A lot of consumers are not comfortable signing up for a 20-year lease," Aggarwal said.
Solar for new construction even cheaper
The LBNL report also showed that residential new construction offers significant installed price advantages over systems retrofitted to existing roofs.
For example, residential new construction systems in California were $0.5/W less than retrofits in 2015, according to the LBNL's report.
Last year, the average residential rooftop solar system grew to 6.1 kilowatts (kW) of solar generating capacity. Non-residential or business-class rooftop solar also grew in size from last year to this.
One technology that promises to change the rooftop solar energy marketplace is solar shingles, Aggarwal said.
This month, the nation's largest residential rooftop solar installer, SolarCity, plans to unveil its first solar shingle product that it will begin selling next year.
rooftop solar prices
Five million roofs are replaced each year in the U.S., so swapping out old shingles with ones that generate solar power represents a multibillion-dollar market.
"If your roof is nearing end of life, you definitely don't want to put solar panels on it because you're going to have to replace the roof," SolarCity Chairman Elon Musk said during an analyst call in August. "So there's a huge market segment that's [been] kind of inaccessible to SolarCity.
Solar shingles are not new. Aggarwal said he got into the solar power business in 2005 to sell them. Back then, oil and gas giant BP (under BP Solar) and electronics manufacturer Sharp were both developing rooftop solar shingles, he said. "We were trying to build them and were not able to."
In 2009, Dow Chemical developed a solar shingle from thin-film cells of copper indium gallium diselenide. At the time, Dow predicted that solar shingles would garner as much as $10 billion in revenue by 2020, while also being cheaper and faster to install than traditional solar panels.
However, in June, Dow announced its PowerHouse Solar Shingles were being discontinued.
Still Aggarwal said the demand for a tightly integrated solar shingle is still there, "especially for new homeowners."
"I can easily see some consumers being willing to pay a premium for them," he said. "I'm curious to see what magic Elon can pull off here. I'll never underestimate him."
October 5, 2016
Americans strongly favor expanding solar power to help address costs and environmental concerns
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/10/05/americans-strongly-favor-expanding-solar-power-to-help-address-costs-and-environmental-concerns/
By Brian Kennedy
As the solar energy industry gears up to add more electricity-generating capacity than any other source this year,
October 6, 2016
Solar power gets 25% cheaper in just five months
by Brett Smith
Since the second quarter of 2016, the cost of solar power has fallen significantly in China and Abu Dhabi, a sign that renewable energy technology might be more affordable for some time.
“(T)here’s no reason why the cost of solar will ever increase again,” former clean energy executive Frank Wouters said in a recent interview with Electrek.
If governments and researchers keep on investing in solar the way they have been, it will likely keep the cost of technology in line with Wouters’ projection.
The Solar Energy Paradox: Why Solar Is Booming and Companies Are Going Out of Business
Why are solar companies going out of business as the industry grows?
The explanation is fairly simple, and it may continue to happen over and over again.
Travis Hoium
(TMFFlushDraw)
Oct 7, 2016 at 8:42AM
http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/10/07/the-solar-energy-paradox-why-solar-is-booming-and.aspx
There may not be a business with a higher potential than the solar industry has today. The sun provides enough energy to the earth every hour to power everything that consumes energy for an entire year, and if we can capture just a fraction of that potential, it would change the world. And that could upend a $4 trillion energy industry.
As you can see below, the solar industry is growing and cutting costs, leading to an even bigger market. By 2020, the solar industry is projected to install nearly 100 GW of solar annually, which would be enough to power 16.4 million homes.
Image source: First Solar investor presentation.
However, as the cost of solar falls and the number of solar installations grows, solar companies continue to struggle -- and even go out of business. In just over a year, First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR), SunPower (NASDAQ:SPWR), and SolarCity (NASDAQ:SCTY) have seen their stocks plunge, and SunEdison has filed for the biggest U.S. bankruptcy of the year. How does this paradox of broad industry success and specific company failure make sense?
The solar manufacturing paradox
One thing that's been amazing about watching the solar industry over the past decade is the number of manufacturers that have gone out of business. One major driver has been costs; they are falling so fast that by the time a plant is completed, the world has changed around a manufacturer (think Solyndra), and their cost structure might be obsolete.
Consider Canadian Solar (NASDAQ:CSIQ), one of the world's largest solar manufacturers. The company recently said its costs have fallen from $1.32 per watt in Q2 2011 to $0.39 per watt in Q2 2016 for internally produced solar panels. But even that may not be enough to make money. Last quarter, the company made just $40.4 million of net income on 1,290 MW of solar panels produced, or a margin of about $0.03 per watt. Since the end of the quarter, industry reports of panel prices falling $0.10 to $0.15 per watt to less than $0.40 per watt have emerged, which means Canadian Solar could be losing money by the end of 2016. One of the biggest, lowest-cost manufacturers is essentially selling product at cost. That's where solar manufacturing is today.
This dynamic has played out over and over again as companies build manufacturing plants (usually with borrowed money) with projections of one cost structure and watch panel prices plunge faster than expected. The result is a loss on every panel made, something that has plagued Suntech Power, LDK Solar, Yingli Green Energy, Q-Cells, and many others who have become insolvent.
Demand for solar panels is growing, but the falling cost of panels is literally killing manufacturers.
Why developers are having trouble making money
The beneficiary of falling solar panel prices should be solar developers, who can use lower panel prices to be more competitive with their own developments. In fact, SolarCity has been a major beneficiary of falling solar panel costs over the past few years.
The problem is that developers both love growth and are in constant need of financing. SunEdison and SolarCity are two great examples of companies who loved growth and invested heavily in expanding their businesses. This meant expanding sales and engineering staffs, which are fixed costs, which then put pressure on keeping more and more projects in the development pipeline.
To fund the growing pipeline of projects, solar developers are in constant need of financing. And if that financing dries up, they can quickly be in trouble. Look at how quickly SunEdison went from a $10 billion market cap to bankrupt, or how quickly SolarCity went from a hot stock to needing a bailout from Tesla Motors (NASDAQ:TSLA), and you'll see how the collapse of financing affects companies.
These high operating costs and financing needs then bump up with the competitive reality of developing solar projects. Solar is a growth industry, and everyone wants a piece of it, so companies are willing to take lower and lower returns just to win business. Consider Mexico, where in April 2016, a bid for solar projects came in at 5.07 cents per kWh. By September, the bids were down to 3.35 cents per kWh as developers accepted lower and lower returns on projects.
Solar developers are effectively bankrupting themselves by getting big eyes when it comes to growth, and then dueling each other to achieve that growth. The result is very little in the way of profit.
Is there a sustainable future ahead?
Will solar stocks ever be a good investment with healthy returns? It's possible, but more disruption is ahead.
For solar companies to differentiate themselves, I think there needs to be a focus on differentiation, and eventually a sustainable cost advantage driven by that differentiation. Higher efficiency, for example, should lead to lower land, labor, and other costs, leading to a competitive advantage if that efficiency is low-cost enough. First Solar and SunPower are operating on the efficiency-as-differentiation thesis.
Another way to differentiate is through smart energy solutions. Homeowners and utilities are increasingly valuing solar and energy storage that can provide multiple sources of value to the grid, and the algorithms that control the system will be a key differentiator. SolarCity, along with Tesla, see this as a way to differentiate themselves.
The problem with this differentiation thesis is that it will take time to play out -- if it plays out at all. Today, commodity solar panels are the dominant product, and developers are popping out of the woodwork trying to take some market share. And both sides are willing to scrape by just to stay in business. That's what differentiated solar products are up against.
With solar panel prices down 20%-25% in the last few months, and the cost of financing rising for some developers, we'll likely see more solar companies go out of business in the next two years. Whether or not that leads to a more sustainable industry or not -- only time will tell. If it does, the upside will be tremendous for the winners.
Apple's next project could stun investors
While the world watches the next iPhone, a Motley Fool analyst has caught wind of a secret project that could be far, far bigger.
Most investors don't know about "Project Titan," but once you do it's easy to see why you might sell your shares of Apple to load up on three under-the-radar tech stocks instead.
Pray for Chiink.
He is right in the path of Hurricane Matthew.
http://www.accuweather.com/en/us/titusville-fl/32796/weather-forecast/404
http://www.accuweather.com/en/us/titusville-fl/32796/weather-warnings/404
Nice news Read read!
Printer spending $1.5 million to install one of largest solar arrays downtown
Oct 3, 2016, 12:55pm PDT
http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2016/10/03/printer-spending-1-5-million-to-install-one-of.html
Commerce Printing Services is spending $1.5 million to install a solar array that will generate almost as much energy as the massive system powering the Golden 1 Center.
One of the biggest expenses for the printer is electricity to run the presses, and the new array will “offset my power use 85 to 90 percent. That is a big-time savings,” said Gil Caravantes, president of the company at 322 N. 12th St. in downtown Sacramento.
He also plans to gain the benefits of solar energy for his company by buying the system, rather than leasing it. Caravantes said that the system will pay for itself, through energy savings, in about six or seven years.
“I’ve never been able to understand leasing," he said. "You pay for the system over and over. This way we get the equity."
More demand for solar?????
One of the first things wanted after buying an electric car is solar to power it for free...
Tesla’s Third-Quarter Sales More Than Double From a Year Ago
http://www.wsj.com/articles/teslas-third-quarter-sales-more-than-double-from-a-year-ago-1475435416
On Sunday, Tesla said third-quarter global deliveries of its vehicles more than doubled from a year earlier to 24,500. They included 15,800 Model S sedans and 8,700 Model X sport-utility vehicles. An additional 5,500 cars were in transit to customers and will be counted in fourth-quarter sales, said the company, which is based in Palo Alto, Calif.
Las Vegas Goes Green? Strip Casinos Leaving Nevada Power Grid
Read more at http://www.inquisitr.com/3557507/las-vegas-goes-green-strip-casinos-leaving-nevada-power-grid/#5M3sSqDV89TTvBbL.99
FWIW: New fluff piece....
BioSolar starts development of high energy battery anode technology
Published 28 September 2016
http://energystorage.cleantechnology-business-review.com/news/biosolar-starts-development-of-high-energy-battery-anode-technology-280916-5017731
BioSolar has started a new program for the development of a high energy anode for current and next generation lithium batteries.
While this anode is an independent technology, the Company will seek synergies with the Super Cathode technology it has been developing.
BioSolar’s cathode technology, which had been the primary focus of its university-led research and development efforts, exploits a new chemistry instead of conventional lithium-ion intercalation chemistries.
In contrast, BioSolar’s new anode technology is compatible with existing lithium-ion intercalation chemistries. There is also a possibility of consolidating with next generation energy storage systems such as lithium-air and lithium-sulfur batteries in the future, thus potentially addressing a larger window of commercialization opportunity.
BioSolar’s anode is expected to be compatible with existing battery manufacturing processes, thereby enabling seamless integration and speedy adoption.
The Company believes its new anode technology has the potential to reduce costs, improve range, and enable faster charging times across various markets, including electric vehicles, personal technology, and storage for renewable energy, such as solar.
BioSolar CEO David Lee said: “Scientists and researchers have long-chronicled the importance of complete chemistry overhaul as a means to reaching an energy storage cost of less than $100 per kilowatt-hour.
“By the addition of new anode development that is compatible with existing intercalation chemistries currently used by conventional lithium-ion batteries, we believe the Company is better positioned to work with the existing battery industry as well as potential partners seeking long term breakthrough battery solutions.”
BioSolar has recently announced that it had entered into a new sponsored research program at the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University to strengthen the engineering development efforts of its battery technology. Dr. Sung-Jin Cho, Assistant Professor in the Nanoengineering Department at the university, is the lead investigator of the newly initiated sponsored research program.
Yes I agree it's ON Topic...
Proof that we CAN power the world with solar.
Not counting wind and other sources.....
I researched the map following a BS discussion that if we powered the world with solar that we wouldn't have room for people.
So SUNW can power the world... End of that argument.
AND solar is getting CHEAPER and gives FREEDOM.
And if use use it for all uses of fossil fuels we might have to triple that area. Still a drop in the bucket.
So global warming is a fraud by 97% of all scientists? Geeze.
All these thousands of scientists are in a big scam against the world. Unbelieveable..... LOL!
Not only that it's the extreme weather.
ISIS has the oil. So what, we have the sun.
Imagine NO MORE WARS OVER OIL.
Interesting fact.
READ THIS!
Animal agriculture is BY FAR THE WORST for the environment.
http://www.cowspiracy.com/facts/
Renewable energy makes up almost one-third of the world's electrical capacity
http://www.computerworld.com/article/3122843/sustainable-it/renewable-energy-makes-up-almost-one-third-of-the-worlds-electrical-capacity.html
San Jose is one of several major California cities that have committed to 100% renewable energy over the next decade. Here, eBay’s 650kW rooftop solar panel installation in San Jose is made up of 3,248 individual solar panels that span 60,000 square feet on five separate buildings. The panels were installed by SolarCity. Credit: SolarCity
Nearly one-third of the world's power sources are now made up by renewable energy technologies, accounting for nearly a quarter of its electricity production, according to a new report.
The report, published by the World Energy Council (WEC), used information from 32 country case studies, representing about 90% of installed wind and solar capacity worldwide.
Renewables, including hydroelectric power, account for about 30% of the total global installed power generating capacity, and 23% of total electricity production, the report stated. London-based WEC is a 92-year-old organization whose mission is to promote sustainable energy. It has more than 3,000 member organizations in 90 countries, which include governments and members of industry.
Top renewable energy installations by state.
Last year, WEC's report noted, a record $286 billion was spent installing 154 billion watts (gigawatts or GW) of new renewable capacity worldwide, and 76% of it was represented by new wind and solar power, the report noted.
Wind and solar installations, by far, overtook investments in conventional power-generating facilities, such as coal-fired power plants, which accounted for just 97GW of new energy installations.
"In the last 10 years, wind and solar... have witnessed an explosive average annual growth in installed capacity of 23% and 51% respectively, although their combined contribution to the global electricity production is around 4%," the report stated.
The bulk of renewable energy capacity remains hydroelectric power from dams, the report indicated.
Driving an uptick in renewable energy deployments were regulations supporting new energy technologies, as well as increased volatility of oil prices where an era of high oil prices over a longer period of time was followed by a drastic collapse in 2014; that, combined with increased tensions in the Middle East, Latin America and Russia, influenced all fossil fuel prices, the report said.
Additionally, "the shale gas revolution" in the U.S. reduced coal demand for electricity production and increased the use of gas, leading to growing exports of U.S. coal at low prices. In addition, the Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan "has practically stalled future development of nuclear power in many countries."
The report noted that in 2015 the majority of nations around the world had implemented policies that support the growth of renewable energy, and of 164 countries that have those policies, 95 of them were developing countries, compared with 15 in 2005.
"There was a general market shift from developed countries to emerging economies. China alone accounted for 36% of global renewable energy source investments," the report stated.
In developed countries, the 2015 renewable energy investments reached $48.8 billion in Europe (21% less compared to 2014), $44.1 billion in the U.S. and $36.2 billion in Japan.
For the first time, the researchers said they were able to document the consequences of nations reducing renewable energy subsidies and other incentives. Over the past four years, as the European Union decreased renewable energy subsidies, its share of global solar PV installed capacity plummeted from 75% to 41%, and the share of wind power dropped from 41% to 33%.
In 2014, for example, German lawmakers made major revisions to the country's Renewable Energy Act to curb subsidies by limiting how much wind, solar and biomass could qualify.
"This decrease was not fully matched by increasing investment in developing countries," the report stated.
Conversely, the combination of improved renewable energy technologies and cost reductions has driven down capital expenditures and operational costs, particularly for solar photovoltaics (PVs).
Challenges to renewable energy deployment, however, remain. For example, ensuring wind and solar power are deployed in the most effective locations (where consistent wind and sunlight dominate), and efficiently integrating that power into existing grid systems continues to be a challenge.
Burlington, Vermont, is one of a handful of U.S. cities that have already proclaimed 100% renewable energy use. Above is a 500kW solar array on the roof of the Burlington International Airport parking garage that began commercial operations in February 2015.
Effective and affordable technology, such as more sophisticated weather forecasting and better energy storage systems (i.e. battery and other technologies) will help decrease or eliminate the challenges.
"Appropriate policies, including regulation and market design play a fundamental role in both development of variable renewables and their efficient integration in electricity systems," the study stated.
State of emergency in 6 states for gas shortage after pipeline spill.
NOT a worry if you own a SOLAR POWERED EV.