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.
AH looks better than I thought!
Solar3D, Inc. (SLTD) After Hours Trading
SLTD $4.08 -0.02 -0.49%
Get SLTD Alerts
*Delayed - data as of 08/06/2015 17:13 - Find a broker to begin trading SLTD now
Read more: http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/sltd/after-hours#ixzz3i5SCQgSQ
17:13 $ 4.08 Low 200
16:46 $ 4.12 200
16:46 $ 4.12 100
16:45 $ 4.16 50
16:36 $ 4.16 1,000
16:36 $ 4.19 2,500
16:32 $ 4.15 1,000
16:16 $ 4.15 200
16:13 $ 4.20 High 350
16:12 $ 4.15 250
16:12 $ 4.1499 1,000
16:12 $ 4.15 1,000
Read more: http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/sltd/after-hours#ixzz3i5Rjz83y
and you base this on???? Do you mean as being taken over ourselves?
Other companies are looking at US.....
https://www.webcaster4.com/Webcast/Page/916/9722
Just playing music now
Proof that this stock does what it wants when it wants and this lack of support today is certainly not what most would have expected.
Solar owners may not be able to use their own energy under Senate proposal
LANSING, MI -- Solar industry experts say that Senate legislation overhauling Michigan's energy policy would eliminate the ability of small-scale solar users to use their own renewable energy to offset their utility costs.
Currently small solar and renewable projects at Michigan homes, businesses and nonprofits are able to connect to the grid of their regulated utilities through a net metering program, which allows customers to offset their electricity costs with their own renewable energy and then potentially sell excess energy back into the grid.
A small but growing number of Michiganders have chosen to do just that. According to a report released by the Michigan Public Service Commission on Tuesday there are now 1,840 customers who use net metering.
But Senate Bill 438, which changes parts of state energy law as part of a legislative overhaul, would change how the system works. According to Amy Heart, spokesperson for The Alliance for Solar Choice, it would essentially eliminate net metering in Michigan.
"Instead of the homeowner having the ability to have solar on your home and have it reduce your energy at the end of the month... you are no long able to use that energy that you generated on your home," said Heart, whose organization advocates for rooftop solar all over the country.
Under the proposal, a homeowner with a solar installation would buy all of their electricity at retail rate and then sell all of the energy they produce back to the utility at what's essentially a wholesale rate.
Irene Dimitry, vice president of Business Planning and Development for DTE Energy, said while net metering pilot programs for solar had been successful, it's not a new technology anymore and we shouldn't be subsidizing or incentivizing it.
"We support solar when and where it makes sense, but we want to do it from an objective point of view where everybody understands the cost," Dimitry said.
But solar advocates say the way net metering is set up currently doesn't amount to subsidies.
"I don't see the way the program is set up as true subsidies, but it is beneficial to helping to provide a fair rate of solar," said Sarah Mullkoff of the Michigan Environmental Council.
Nationally, Michigan is one of 44 states that have authorized net metering, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Dimitry said DTE is not anti-solar. They have the most rooftop solar customers of any company in the state. But they've learned that large-scale utility solar installations are more cost effective than rooftop systems.
"It's more expensive to do rooftop systems because of the scale. And also people tend to work with what they've got in terms of their roof," Dimitry said.
That includes everything from selecting a grid size to working with the angle of one's roof, which may not be ideal for catching the most rays.
But Heart said utilities are backing the net metering changes because they're looking for more control.
"Utilities want to own it, control it and charge you for it," Heart said.
She cited it as a customer choice issue and a property rights issue.
Under the current system, solar installations are growing. At the end of 2014 net metering systems in the state had a 14,210-kilowatt capacity. That's a 25 percent increase over net metering capacity in 2013, but still represents just 0.015 percent of Michigan's total retail electric sales.
The legislation wouldn't eliminate solar as an option for homeowners, but it would change the economic equation of having solar installed.
Michigan's solar customers have been fueling a small solar industry in the state.
Tom Gallery owns Leelanau Solar in Northport, and said his company is the largest solar installer in Northern Michigan. But he said the proposed legislation would destroy the state's entire solar industry.
"Basically it will put every solar installer in the state out of business. I mean, it's as simple as that," Gallery said.
He said that currently customers hit the point where their investment in solar is completely paid off in 10 years. With the new regulation it would be more like 20 years, and he doesn't see people investing in that.
"We still have trouble getting people to understand the 10 year horizon, and when you push it to 20 it's pretty much a nonstarter, it's no deal," Gallery said.
Dimitry said that people could still make the decision to install solar on their homes, but from an objective point of view where everybody understands the cost.
"If someone wants to do solar just because they want to do it, if they're OK with an 18 or 20 year payback, they can do it," Dimitry said.
Competing energy legislation that's started in the House does not make changes to the current net metering set-up. The Senate bill that would make the change is pending before the Senate Energy and Technology Committee. The sponsor of the bill, Sen. John Proos, R-St. Joseph, was not immediately available for comment.
Meanwhile!
FSLR 51.7375 +16.26%
Sounds like there is a lot of work left to be done.
Some of these projects are taking us into Q1 2016
The news hasn't really hit the wires yet.....
COOL! We are now gaining a reputation as a great installation company.
Add the cell and we will REALLY be explosive.!
I see $6 really soon....
The thought something was coming up when I saw B/A of 3.98/4.05
It will go past it....
You may be surprised to learn who else finds solar's price to currently be a disadvantage to it: Solar3D.
It might be catching!
3.78 0.00 (0.00%)
After Hours: 3.90 +0.12 (3.17%)
Aug 4, 6:14PM EDT
Sign of things to come?
First Solar, Inc.(NASDAQ:FSLR)
44.50 +0.81 (1.85%)
After Hours: 48.50 +4.00 (8.99%)
Aug 4, 4:53PM EDT
–––––––––––––––
First Solar 2nd-quarter earnings rise sharply
Aug 4 U.S. solar company First Solar Inc on Tuesday reported sharply higher quarterly sales and earnings due to increased revenue from a large project in Nevada and the sale of majority stakes in two others in California.
Net income for the second quarter was $94.5 million, or 93 cents per share, compared with $4.5 million, or 4 cents per share, a year ago.
Revenue rose to $896 million from $544.35 million a year ago.
Analysts were expecting earnings per share of 36 cents, excluding items, and revenue of $751.72, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. (Reporting by Nichola Groom; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
https://www.google.com/finance?q=fslr&ei=cSfBVYjtPIuce_LGh_gP
Solar panel coating increases energy output by 30%
Megan Treacy (@mtreacy) Technology / Solar Technology August 4, 2015
http://media.treehugger.com/assets/images/2015/08/solar_panels.jpg.662x0_q70_crop-scale.jpg
C BY 2.0 ThomasKohler
While the cost of solar power has dropped significantly from the early 2000s, there is still plenty of room for the technology to become cheaper, making it even more attractive as a substitute for fossil fuels. Currently, the cost of the land to build solar installations on and the labor required are the most expensive parts of a solar project. The panels themselves only account for about 20 percent of the cost, but if the solar panels had a much greater energy output, there could be fewer of them generating the same amount of energy, meaning less land required and fewer labor hours.
Researchers at the University of California Riverside think they've developed a technology that achieves just that and could lead to much less expensive solar power in the future.
The scientists have developed a coating for solar panels that allows them to use the infrared portion of the light spectrum that usually passes right through solar cells without being converted into electricity, essentially wasted energy. They say the new material effectively reshapes the solar spectrum so that it better matches the photovoltaic materials in the solar cells. The infrared portion is then absorbed and used, boosting the conversion efficiency by at least 30 percent.
The coating includes cadmium selenide or lead selenide semiconductor nanocrystals combined with organic molecules. The resulting material does what they call "upconverting" photons so that they are readily absorbed by the solar cells.
© Zhiyuan Huang, UC Riverside
“The key to this research is the hybrid composite material – combining inorganic semiconductor nanoparticles with organic compounds. Organic compounds cannot absorb in the infrared but are good at combining two lower energy photons to a higher energy photon. By using a hybrid material, the inorganic component absorbs two photons and passes their energy on to the organic component for combination. The organic compounds then produce one high-energy photon. Put simply, the inorganics in the composite material take light in; the organics get light out,” said Christopher Bardeen, a professor of chemistry at the university and one of the lead researchers.
Besides making solar panels better, this material could also be used to improve things like biological imaging, data storage and organic light-emitting diodes.
Designing the Better Mousetrap for a Super Charged Lithium-ion Battery
By Jana Adkins SCVBJ Editor
Posted: August 3, 2015 6:00 a.m.
That plastic drinking bottle you’re about to discard just could be the solution of the next generation of higher capacity, lower cost, longer lasting lithium-ion batteries if BioSolar Inc. of Santa Clarita makes the breakthrough they think they’re close to achieving with the University of California-Santa Barbara.
While the company isn’t actually working with your discarded plastic bottles, it has developed an innovative method of using a new hybrid of conductive plastic polymers, said its founder, David Lee, PhD.
After nine years of research and development in the renewable energy storage technology field, the firm’s breakthrough technology for a super battery is a step closer to reality for use in everyday products.
BioSolar just signed an agreement to extend funding for a research program at the UCSB for another year to further develop the technology. The company first started the jointly sponsored research in July 2014.
Technology, which electrical engineer and BioSolar’s CEO Lee helped design using a material never before used in lithium-ion batteries. BioSolar’s pioneering use the of a new material shows great promise in achieving Lee’s three goals – higher battery capacity, making the batteries cheaper, and longevity of the battery – all at a lower cost than today’s existing technology.
“Making truly green, renewable energy and making it affordable is the mission of the company,” Lee said.
A conventional lithium-ion battery uses materials that are sometimes very toxic and expensive to manufacture. Using an everyday plastic polymer allows BioSolar to lower the costs of production. And better yet, it’s designed to allow the transition from traditional production of its technology so simple that its process can slip right into a manufacturers’ existing process without having to change out their machinery or tooling - all without having any toxic waste disposal issues.
“Adaption of this technology is really simple,” Lee said. “And we’re proposing to use material that is non-toxic so it can be discarded later without causing environmental damage.”
Energy storage technology is the key to energy independence, and much of the technology developed in the last 10 years has been headed in this direction because renewable energy is cheaper than traditional fossil fuel energy, he said.
“We can make the environment cleaner for children. Our technology is based on using a new material that has never been used for lithium-ion batteries,” Lee said. “It’s the most promising technology that provides reasonable cost storage systems. And the costs are projected to go down with newer innovations.”
This isn’t BioSolar’s first foray into the field of storable energy either. The company’s first success was the creation of a bio-based material for solar panels that is not toxic or expensive and doesn’t create problems with disposing material into the environment in the manufacturing process.
Success on a broad scale, however, has had to wait out a cycle of cheap production in China which dramatically cut the cost for solar panels. However, the solar companies will soon be struggling with looking for solutions that allow the solar panels made in China to last through the warranty periods, Lee said.
He predicts solar panel companies will be looking for better, and cheaper, technology within the next few years that will push his firm’s technology into the forefront of the market.
BioSolar’s super battery technology was developed by Lee and UCSB - developed with UCSB’s Dr. Alan Heeger, a 2000 Nobel Peace Prize winner for the discovery and development of conductive polymers.
“I’m honored to have Dr. Heeger as a partner,” Lee said. “He gladly agreed to work with us.”
Also working on the project at UCSB is Dr. David Vonlanthen, a project scientist and expert in energy storage. UCSB itself boasts six Nobel Laureates (five in sciences and engineering) and one winner of the prestigious Millennium Technology Prize. The university was also ranked no. 7 in the world in 2014, by the Academic Ranking of World Universities, for Engineering/Technology and Computer Science.
“We are confident that this team of scientific professionals will continue to progress the technology closer to our goal of achieving a $100/kilowatt-hour cost milestone for energy storage," Lee said.
While the lithium battery field is competitive – Lee estimates thousands of new battery patents have been filed by a lot of major companies – as far as he knows most are taking the conventional approach to battery production, he said. Whereas BioSolar’s approach was to use a completely different material, making for a better outcome and using less costly technology.
“Polymers are generated a lot cheaper Most lithium-ion batteries are made from carbon or methane-based components. Some of those materials aren’t toxic, but the processes to make them are toxic,” Lee said. “Polymers are much easier to handle; the process is simple. You can dissolve them in water and anyway you want it without forming hazardous materials.”
Working hand-in-hand with UCSB, BioSolar turned their research into prototypes that could be adapted by companies for use in their devices, doubling the range of power for a car battery to a smart phone or storing solar energy for nighttime use. With the extension of the research project, the team plans to focus on building half-cell cathode prototypes – using a new cathode material which no one has ever tried before - for charging demonstration purposes in everyday products, Lee said.
As a small company, BioSolar is looking for partners who can use technology in their production and believes their super battery and supercapacitor energy-storing technology is highly attractive to many companies allowing them to produce longer lasting batteries for a much lower cost of manufacturing.
“I always had in back of my mind to use the skills I learned and technology I was familiar with to contribute to the environment of world,” Lee said. “These use an environmentally-friendly material which we are really proud of,” Lee said.”
World Moves Toward 100 Percent Renewable Energy – First Electricity, Then Heating/Cooling, and Finally Transportation
More and more municipalities, cities, states and even entire countries are setting 100 percent renewable energy targets but policy support is critical for success.
July 31, 2015 By Junko Movellan, Correspondent
The exclusive use of energy from renewable resources in at least one sector has now become a feasible goal for 8 countries. Diane Moss, Founding Director of Renewables 100 Policy Institute, discussed this remarkable development at one of the conference sessions at Intersolar North America 2015.
Denmark, Scotland, and Aruba are among the nations with 100 percent renewable energy targets. Besides the 8 nations, the Institute has so far mapped 55 cities, 60 regions and 9 utilities across the world that have officially established 100 percent RE goals, and Moss points out that there may be more and that those numbers are steadily increasing.
RE100 percent Around the World, Credit: Renewables 100 Policy Institute
Recent advancements in renewable technologies and rapid cost reductions have accelerated deployment of renewable energy, such as wind and solar photovoltaics (PV). Renewables have started becoming a mainstream energy source in many parts of the world.
According to the Global Status Report published by REN21, a Paris-based nonprofit group, the growth of renewable energy outpaced that of fossil fuels in the electricity sector in 2014, with a record 135 gigawatts (GW) of capacity added from wind, solar, hydropower, and other natural sources.
Renewable energy developments have been driven largely by government policies, which include the RE targets of cities, states, regions, and countries. Some governments or communities are driven to deploy more renewables to reduce dependency on imported fossil fuels (energy security), tackle climate change (environment), and/or stimulate local jobs (economy).
In recent years, many jurisdictions, in both developed and developing countries, mainland and island regions, and in urban and rural communities around the world, made their existing renewable targets more ambitious, and some have even raised their targets to 100 percent.
For example, this June the state of Hawaii in the U.S. raised its state Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) to 100 percent by 2045 from 40 percent by 2030. Having heavily depended on imported fossil fuels, the state is aiming to supply 100 percent of its electricity demand with renewable energy to become independent from imported fossil fuels.
The Fukushima prefecture in Japan pledged to transition to 100 percent RE by 2040 after the devastating Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident in 2011.The prefecture has made a strong commitment to become energy self-reliant by producing safe, clean energy locally for local consumption.
Energy use targets set by Hawaii, Fukushima, and many other entities are to meet 100 percent of their electric power demands with renewables.
Not Just Electric Power
Electricity, however, represents only part of the primary energy needs. According to Moss, the full definition of 100 percent renewable energy would have to cover all energy demands — electricity power, heating/cooling, and transportation — with sustainable renewable resources, including wind, solar, geothermal, wave, tidal, and sustainable hydro and bioenergy (primarily from waste). Moreover, all sectors of society should be covered, including residential, commercial, institutional, industrial, and agricultural sectors.
Moss also stated that it is most common that electricity is the energy sector to see 100 percent renewable targets because the electricity markets are the most mature and, at least to some degree, the transition to 100 percent renewable energy will involve greater reliance on the electricity sector.
“Starting with a 100 percent renewable energy target — not just for electricity but across sectors — and planning on a regional, system-wide basis could help avoid some inefficiencies,” Moss continued.
According to REN 21, by the end of 2014, renewable energy accounted for a 27.7 percent of the world power generating capacity installed, equivalent to supplying 22.8 percent of the global electricity demand, while renewable energy provided an estimated 19.1 percent of the global final energy consumption, combining electric power, heating/cooling, and transportation segments.
Image: Credit: REN21
Some regions are already striving to go beyond electricity and cover other energy sectors with RE also.
In 2013, the City of Sydney, the most populated city in Australia, developed a plan to transition to 100 percent renewable energy for electricity and heating/cooling by 2030. According to the plan, about 30 percent of the total carbon and nuclear free mix would come from wind and solar, and 70 percent from waste to gas from sources such as garbage, sewage plants, landfill sites, livestock, agriculture, and forestry.
Denmark, the first European country with such a far-reaching goal, wants to be off fossil fuels completely by 2050. As part of the country’s energy and climate strategy, its target is to meet 100 percent of its electricity and heating needs with renewable energy by 2035. Furthermore, the country aims to phase out fossil fuel consumption in the transportation sector with electric vehicles (EVs) by 2050.
Various regions have been implementing a variety of technologies, applications, and ordinances to achieve 100 percent RE targets. Entities can deploy utility-scale renewable projects, small to medium, distributed generations or combination of both, depending on availability of land space and natural resources.
For example, the City of Lancaster, California, has embraced a combination of utility-scale and distributed generation to reach its goal of becoming the world’s first net zero energy city by 2020. To achieve the goal, the city has hosted a 5-MW Sierra SunTower solar thermal plant, created an affordable solar financing program with SolarCity, and established the first mandate in the U.S. to require all newly constructed single-family homes to include at least 1.0 kW solar system starting January 1, 2014.
To provide more renewables at affordable rates, the city launched a community choice aggregation (CCA) program called “Lancaster Choice Energy.” Under the program, it is authorized to procure power on behalf of all of the electrical accounts within the city. “All energy (under the program) is currently procured from Direct Energy, with a current mix of biomass and wind. Our goal is to procure as much locally generated energy as possible. In the very near future, we will supplement current energy supply agreements and support future renewable energy requirements with locally developed renewable energy projects,” stated Patti Garibay, Energy Manager of the Lancaster Choice Energy Program.
CCA’s, which are legally possible in 6 states in the U.S., have also been established in Sonoma and Marin Counties to forward ambitious renewable energy and greenhouse gas reduction targets, and are being seriously explored in several other cities in California for this purpose, including San Diego and San Francisco, which also have 100 percent RE goal at the city level.
So, is it possible that the vision of a100 percent renewable energy future will become a reality? What is the biggest challenge or roadblock toward 100 percent RE?
“Numerous experts agree that the biggest challenge is not technical or financial, but gathering political will. This requires leadership at every level of government and business governance, as well as building momentum at the grassroots level. While we still have far to go, we've come a long way in recent years with hundreds of cities and regions now formally committed to 100 percent renewable energy targets in at least one sector, along with 8 countries, dozens of major corporations and thousands of businesses and several non-profit and institutional campaigns for 100 percent renewable energy. We need to massively build on that, gleaning best practices along the way to avoid repeating mistakes and reinventing the wheel,” said Moss.
Lead image: Fukushima Transits to 100 percent RE, Credits: Fukushima Prefecture
Solar industry growing too fast for power company, state law to keep up
By Kyle Roerink (contact)
Monday, Aug. 3, 2015 | 2 a.m.
The battle between residential rooftop solar companies and NV Energy has pervaded the Las Vegas Valley this summer.
Like a family bickering over whether the temperature is too hot or too cold, NV Energy and the solar companies have been arguing about Public Utilities Commission policies neither thinks are right.
The rooftop solar market exploded in Nevada last year, growing by more than 1,000 percent to 6,000 jobs. About 3,000 Nevadans have installed solar panels to power their homes and receive credits on their energy bills for sending power back to the electric grid.
The utility argues the credits are a subsidy that costs the company — and ratepayers — millions of dollars each year. Every new megawatt of solar energy costs NV Energy more than $8 million, company officials said — and 20 megawatts come online each month.
Over the past decade, the state limited how many customers could receive the solar credit and set a cap on residential solar installation. The solar industry, led by rooftop leasing companies SolarCity and Sunrun, spent the recent legislative session battling NV Energy over an increase on the cap.
After months of behind-closed-door meetings and intense lobbying, both sides reached a compromise. The solar industry received a temporary bump on the cap and assurances it one day would be lifted. NV Energy was promised it could add a new fee to solar bills to recover lost revenue. Lawmakers also ordered the Public Utilities Commission to handle the solar issue going forward, asking regulators to issue new regulations in December.
During the legislative session, NV Energy told lawmakers consumers wouldn’t hit the cap until March 2016. But the power company’s projections turned out to underestimate drastically the growth of solar.
In July, NV Energy announced the cap would be hit by the end of August — seven months ahead of schedule. If that happens before the Public Utilities Commission approves NV Energy’s new fee, it remains unclear whether the residential solar industry will stall and whether customers who acquire solar panels after the cap was hit but before the new rules were enacted would pay the new fee.
“That’s the $64,000 question,” commission Chairwoman Alaina Burtenshaw said.
A solar trade group filed a petition asking the commission to clarify. It’s scheduled for review Aug. 12, but a final decision could take months.
August is the most expensive month for power customers. And with the solar debate raging on, temperatures aren’t all that’s heating up the valley.
How will Nevada handle Obama's historic anti-pollution push?
SLTD Solar?
http://www.nevadaappeal.com/news/17528140-113/how-will-nevada-handle-obamas-historic-anti-pollution-push
The Obama administration is embarking on an unprecedented push to limit the amount of carbon pollution from the nation’s power plants, and Nevada expects to find out this week how much it needs to reduce emissions.
While some Republican governors have vowed not to comply with the rules being set by the federal Environmental Protection Agency, Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval’s administration is largely on board with the goals of the Clean Power Plan.
“My position is there’s no state better positioned to be able to comply with those standards,” said Paul Thomsen, head of the Governor’s Office of Energy. “We’ve been ahead of the federal government for some time. We think they won’t have much of an impact.”
Here are some questions and answers about the effort, which aims to cut carbon emissions from U.S. power plants by 30 percent from 2005 levels by 2030.
WHAT IS THE CLEAN POWER PLAN?
The rule will set the first national limits on carbon dioxide coming from existing power plants and set in motion one of the most significant U.S. actions ever to address global warming. The United States limits emissions of arsenic, mercury and lead pollution from power plants, but there are no national limits on carbon pollution from power plants.
While the federal goal has already been set, the EPA is planning this week to release goals specific to each state, based on their resources and potential to switch away from fossil fuels to more clean energy sources. From there, states will have roughly a year to come up with a detailed plan to reach the EPA’s benchmark.
HOW CLEAN IS NEVADA ENERGY?
About two-thirds of Nevada’s net electricity generation comes from natural gas, while about 14 percent comes from coal and that figure is falling. Representatives from the Sierra Club environmental group said Nevada’s strides to phase out heavy polluting coal-fired power plants and develop solar plants puts it in a better position than states such as West Virginia and Kentucky that get about 90 percent of their power from burning coal.
The Legislature passed a bill in 2013 to shut down southern Nevada’s aging Reid Gardner coal-fired power plant by the end of 2017. Units at the plant are as old as 50, and the owners just struck a $4.3 million deal to settle claims that its coal ash sickened Moapa Paiute tribe members who live nearby.
The bill also called for Nevada to cut down coal-fired power generation by 800 megawatts by 2019, something NV Energy will accomplish by getting rid of its stake in the coal-fired Navajo Generating Station in Arizona.
Nevada has also seen homeowners install rooftop solar panels at a rapid pace, and several large-scale solar plants that are in the works are helping the cause.
Still, environmental groups aren’t completely happy with NV Energy’s current 15-year plan because it relies heavily on natural gas — a substance that produces about half the carbon dioxide emissions as coal but is not totally “clean.”
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS?
The overall goal is to limit the destruction of the ozone layer and curb climate change, but proponents are using more than just altruism to sell the plan.
The Sierra Club contends that moving to cleaner and more efficient energy sources will help companies save money on their power bills in the long term, even if it requires new up-front investment. They say the benchmarks laid out in the plan will help spur more energy development here in Nevada, reducing the state’s need to import coal or gas from other states or countries.
Thomsen said the state stands to gain from the benchmarks because they will prod other states to buy more geothermal and solar power from Nevada.
WHAT DO CRITICS SAY?
Congressional Republicans have vowed to block the rule, bristling against perceived government overreach. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who represents the coal-producing state of Kentucky, argued that the measure would put struggling coal miners out of jobs and drive manufacturing overseas to countries such as China that have worse records on pollution.
Opponents include Nevada Republican Rep. Cresent Hardy, who criticized “top-down, heavy regulation” and cited a study that predicted an average 15 percent electricity price increase over 16 years among 31 states that produce or depend more heavily on coal. Nevada was not included in the analysis, which was commissioned by the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity.
“Nevada should be free to safely, strategically develop a plan tailored to its unique energy resources, not be forced to hastily comply with some East Coast bureaucrat’s demands,” Hardy said in a statement.
WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS?
Once Nevada receives its benchmark from the federal government, the Nevada Department of Environmental Protection will spearhead an effort to come up with specific ways to meet the goal.
Thomsen said state officials have already talked with EPA officials about some of their concerns, including whether the EPA will give Nevada “credit” for the large quantity of solar energy it produces but exports to California. He said they’ll be looking to see whether the new rules address those issues.
If rules survive legal challenges, they could help shut down coal-fired plants like the Ghent Generating Station in Kentucky.
Not about BS directly, but a good read...
b]How battery-powered homes are unplugging Australia
Date August 1, 2015 - 12:09AM
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/business/energy/how-batterypowered-homes-are-unplugging-australia-20150731-giogk2.html
Lithium-ion batteries have been on offer to Australian homes and businesses for the last year or so.
A brief history of the battery
When Jane Whiltsher used to open her power bill it grated.
"I always felt that I was being ripped off," she says.
The implications from a large re-engineering of the nation's power supply, if that happens, are everywhere.
"It's just the way they operate. It keeps going up and up."
Two months after having a rooftop solar and battery system installed, it's a different story.
Whiltsher's bill has more than halved. She enjoys the novelty of watching her "new toy" transforming the flow of energy around her house, leaving her largely independent of the wires outside.
The battery set-up of Jane Whiltsher. Photo: Bradley Kanaris
At approaching $40,000, it hasn't been a cheap investment. But that's not the point.
"As far as I am concerned if it takes me off the grid then it's paid for itself already," she says.
Whiltsher's enthusiasm to invest hard-earned cash for a home power system that may take as long as 12 years to pay for itself is being echoed around the country as Australians race to install batteries.
Ian Smith was looking for a way to cut his power costs. Photo: Glenn Hunt
While the much-hyped Powerwall home battery system from Californian electric car pioneer Tesla Motors won't be available locally until 2016, lithium-ion batteries have been on offer to Australian homes and businesses for the last year or so.
High-tech, adaptable and controllable and typically the size of a small fridge, these systems have left clumsy and ugly lead acid batteries far behind.
Less than a week after the soft launch of the sleek Powerwall and larger Powerpack batteries in late April, Tesla was said to have sold out until mid-2016 after about $US800 million of orders for some 55,000 Powerwalls and 25,000 commercial units.
Jane Whiltsher poses with her "new toy" - the battery that powers her home. Photo: Bradley Kanaris
In Australia, the 1.4 million homes with rooftop solar panels are the battleground for battery providers and retailers.
Others, like Whiltsher, are starting from scratch, having batteries and rooftop solar fitted at the same time. Even for homes without solar PV panels, batteries could make economic sense down the track, many say.
Massive growth
Tesla sold out of its battery within a week.
Certainly that's what experts predict. The International Renewable Energy Agency predicts the global market for battery storage will grow from $US220 million ($302 million) in 2014 to $US18 billion by 2023.
Ivor Frischknecht, chief executive of Australian Renewable Energy Agency, calls it an "energy revolution".
"If batteries are cheap enough this value proposition will ensure that most homes have solar and storage within a few years," he says.
With the world's highest uptake of residential solar per capita, Australian demand for batteries that allow households to better match up the power generated from their rooftop panels with when they want to use it is primed to take off.
The implications from a large re-engineering of the nation's power supply, if that happens, are everywhere one looks from housing design to streetscapes without powerlines and the electricity grid and its power stations to rent in office buildings.
Morgan Stanley estimates that 2.4 million east coast homes will have batteries installed within the next few years. That has real implications for retailers such as AGL Energy and Origin Energy.
Those retailers are in turn making sure they are in on the action. AGL has started offering suitcase-sized batteries with a 6 kilowatt-hour lithium-ion system, storing enough to power a home for a few hours.
Origin is set to introduce its battery offer within weeks, while Snowy Hydro's Red Energy retail business is trialling a Panasonic battery.
"We felt there was such a market in the 1.4 million that have solar that you can't turn away from it," says Snowy chief executive Paul Broad.
"Our customers have clearly said they are into the whole renewable alternative energy source, so we will respond."
ActewAGL managing director Michael Costello puts it more bluntly: "It's what our customers want, and if we don't supply, they'll ask another retailer."
Supply is coming
Lithium-ion batteries from maker such as China's Tianjin Lishen are already available in Australia, while consumer electronics giant LG Chem is also targeting Australia, as are California's Enphase Energy and the Warren Buffett-backed BYD, also based in China.
Luring them here is the popularity of rooftop solar, which has created a huge market for storage systems that can soak up the excess power generated by solar PV panels during the day, which otherwise has to be fed back into the grid at little financial gain to homeowners.
Instead of having to draw on peak-tariff electricity from the grid in the evenings, a household can then use stored energy, saving money and helping prevent the grid from overloading. Batteries also provide back-up power for computers, lighting and life-support systems that have to stay on during power cuts.
Households could in theory even move into energy trading, based on power from their battery storage system.
John Grimes of the Energy Storage Council describes storage as "the missing link" and expects strong demand among those with rooftop solar, partly driven by the slashing of the tariffs paid by state governments for electricity fed back into the grid.
"Feed-in tariffs for solar PV around the country have really been cut to a punitive level so many people are now receiving 6¢ or 8¢ per kilowatt hour for the energy that they feed into the grid and are having to buy energy back at the full retail rate of 25 to 28¢ per kilowatt hour," Grimes says.
With batteries such as Panasonic's able to be controlled remotely by a utility company, suppliers and network owners also benefit from being able to match energy demand more closely with supply.
Large thermal power stations then need to be ramped up and down less frequently, while bottlenecks on the grid can be relieved. For intermittent renewable sources, whether solar or wind, storage allows more renewable power to be used.
"In a world envisaged to be entirely solar and wind, you'd better have batteries otherwise you'll be spending a lot of time in the dark," says Origin chief executive Grant King.
"[But] I believe there are other fuels such as hydro and nuclear, for example, that should be in that mix and they don't need batteries. Hydro is a battery."
Not cheap, yet
But while costs have already plunged for solar and are reducing for storage, the economics are far from compelling, particularly for those wanting to move largely or entirely off the grid.
A Powerwall or equivalent battery is expected to cost $7000-$10,000 including an inverter to convert direct current to alternating current, control system and installation costs. But one 7 kilowatt-hour Powerwall on its own would do little to reduce reliance on the grid, requiring several units to be installed.
Grattan Institute puts the cost of taking a home 95 per cent off the grid at $37,000, for a 7 kilowatt solar system plus 35kWh of storage. But that surges to $72,000 if the same house cannot rely on a centralised network for back-up and goes off grid altogether, requiring a much larger 15kW solar system plus 85kWh of storage.
Panasonic hasn't disclosed how much it will charge for its battery, which can produce 2kW of power for four hours and which the company says could double a household's "self-consumption" rate from rooftop panels – the proportion of a home's energy use that it generates itself – to 60 per cent from 30 per cent.
Panasonic Australia head Paul Reid says it will be "competitive" with similar products but acknowledges that initially prices will be "somewhat high" as they will be for any battery system, but come down over time.
Still, Reid reckons the take-up will be faster than many are predicting, even as King, Broad and others predict only limited adoption in the first few years until prices fall.
"It's important to realise that consumers make purchasing decisions for lots of different reasons; very rational economic considerations are one reason but it's not the only reason. We shouldn't only look at financial economic payback periods as the only determination of potential take-up."
Still, economics are still a driver for many of the households that have chosen to sign up so far, suppliers say.
Cost motivates
"For 90 per cent of our customers their first priority is the reduction in the cost of living or the stabilisation of costs, plus a reliable power source," says Darrell Wilson at Off Grid Power Solutions in Brisbane, which supplied Whiltsher's system.
"If they are helping the environment as a result that's great but it's not their first consideration."
Grimes says many are being motivated by the low prices they get for selling excess power from their panels back into the grid.
"People really hate the idea that they are really donating that energy to the bottom line of the utilities, because that energy is just sold next door and goes through your neighbour's meter at the full rate," he says.
Grimes says the trend will be reinforced at the end of 2016 when generous feed-in tariffs in NSW come to an end, falling from 60¢ or 44¢ a kilowatt hour to just 4¢ for some 130,000 homes.
"Those people who do more than cover their own base needs, who export to the grid and have probably been getting over-generous tariffs, will be looking for a solution."
Other consumers just feel disempowered when it comes to energy supply and want to take control after suffering a spiralling in prices in the past several years.
"For me it was a thing of trying to cut the bills and also probably just a way to keep my hand on my own destiny," says Ian Smith, who spent about $28,000 in July to have a 6kW solar and 10kWh battery installed in the garage of its home in Banjo near Brisbane airport.
Smith says he missed the boat on the "huge" solar rebates on offer a few years ago and was keen to cut his typical $900 quarterly bill in summer to power three airconditioning units and "two kids living in bedrooms about 20 hours a day".
"I was thinking about if I get solar now it's only good during the day and all my power [use] is at night," he says.
On the day Smith spoke to BusinessDay, his home had generated 22kW of power, and was consuming 13.5kW. The battery got charged back up to 100 per cent at 3pm.
No power had been taken from the grid all day, but some had been returned into the network, for which Smith gets just 4¢/kWh.
Grimes says batteries "give people back a sense of control" over their energy use and costs, posing an issue for suppliers.
"The reality is that energy companies have come to be at the centre of the energy market, but what they have failed to recognise is that consumers are and should be at the centre of the energy market," he says.
Still, retailers are showing they're determined not to get left behind in the way that some were in the rush to solar PV.
"We sat back on the solar PV explosion and this time we have to be cognisant that this is a fundamental change in the market," Red Energy's Ramy Soussou says.
"We at Red have decided we want to play in the market. I think you'll see in particular the big four retailers getting heavily involved."
Suppliers should also benefit from being able to better manage network costs, and potentially allow them to defer or avoid investments in grid bottlenecks.
Illustration: Simon Bosch
"Network storage will allow energy companies to defer or avoid upgrading networks, which ultimately leads to lower energy bills for consumers," Mr Frischknecht said in June.
"I'm confident that retailers and network companies will come to see network storage as something they can also greatly benefit from."
Regulators catching up
Aside from the cost, several other hurdles still have to be overcome however for batteries to realise their potential. Regulations in the ACT, for example, are designed with old-fashioned lead-acid batteries in mind and prohibit the installation of a home battery system indoors, while high installation costs could double the cost for a household.
Uncertainty over how electricity tariffs will be restructured is also a problem. Introducing time-of-use tariffs should help drive battery take-up, but that still leaves the problem of network costs, given networks face a reduction in revenues because of a lower volume of power flowing through their distribution grid but still face high costs from peak demand, which may fall only modestly.
"Batteries only have a certain amount of storage so at night on really hot days when everyone turns on their airconditioning, batteries for the foreseeable future will not meet that demand," Broad says.
Still, it's a problem for the networks given that for all the drive toward self-sufficiency in power supply, few households are likely to move off the grid completely, relying on it for back-up yet potentially drawing little power from it.
Whiltsher is running her Brisbane home "in the high 90s" per cent range in self sufficiency and doesn't expect much change in the summer given she has no airconditioning.
"It's fantastic. I'm really happy with it."
How battery-powered homes are unplugging Australia
Date August 1, 2015 - 12:09AM
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/business/energy/how-batterypowered-homes-are-unplugging-australia-20150731-giogk2.html
Lithium-ion batteries have been on offer to Australian homes and businesses for the last year or so.
A brief history of the battery
When Jane Whiltsher used to open her power bill it grated.
"I always felt that I was being ripped off," she says.
The implications from a large re-engineering of the nation's power supply, if that happens, are everywhere.
"It's just the way they operate. It keeps going up and up."
Two months after having a rooftop solar and battery system installed, it's a different story.
Whiltsher's bill has more than halved. She enjoys the novelty of watching her "new toy" transforming the flow of energy around her house, leaving her largely independent of the wires outside.
The battery set-up of Jane Whiltsher. Photo: Bradley Kanaris
At approaching $40,000, it hasn't been a cheap investment. But that's not the point.
"As far as I am concerned if it takes me off the grid then it's paid for itself already," she says.
Whiltsher's enthusiasm to invest hard-earned cash for a home power system that may take as long as 12 years to pay for itself is being echoed around the country as Australians race to install batteries.
Ian Smith was looking for a way to cut his power costs. Photo: Glenn Hunt
While the much-hyped Powerwall home battery system from Californian electric car pioneer Tesla Motors won't be available locally until 2016, lithium-ion batteries have been on offer to Australian homes and businesses for the last year or so.
High-tech, adaptable and controllable and typically the size of a small fridge, these systems have left clumsy and ugly lead acid batteries far behind.
Less than a week after the soft launch of the sleek Powerwall and larger Powerpack batteries in late April, Tesla was said to have sold out until mid-2016 after about $US800 million of orders for some 55,000 Powerwalls and 25,000 commercial units.
Jane Whiltsher poses with her "new toy" - the battery that powers her home. Photo: Bradley Kanaris
In Australia, the 1.4 million homes with rooftop solar panels are the battleground for battery providers and retailers.
Others, like Whiltsher, are starting from scratch, having batteries and rooftop solar fitted at the same time. Even for homes without solar PV panels, batteries could make economic sense down the track, many say.
Massive growth
Tesla sold out of its battery within a week.
Certainly that's what experts predict. The International Renewable Energy Agency predicts the global market for battery storage will grow from $US220 million ($302 million) in 2014 to $US18 billion by 2023.
Ivor Frischknecht, chief executive of Australian Renewable Energy Agency, calls it an "energy revolution".
"If batteries are cheap enough this value proposition will ensure that most homes have solar and storage within a few years," he says.
With the world's highest uptake of residential solar per capita, Australian demand for batteries that allow households to better match up the power generated from their rooftop panels with when they want to use it is primed to take off.
The implications from a large re-engineering of the nation's power supply, if that happens, are everywhere one looks from housing design to streetscapes without powerlines and the electricity grid and its power stations to rent in office buildings.
Morgan Stanley estimates that 2.4 million east coast homes will have batteries installed within the next few years. That has real implications for retailers such as AGL Energy and Origin Energy.
Those retailers are in turn making sure they are in on the action. AGL has started offering suitcase-sized batteries with a 6 kilowatt-hour lithium-ion system, storing enough to power a home for a few hours.
Origin is set to introduce its battery offer within weeks, while Snowy Hydro's Red Energy retail business is trialling a Panasonic battery.
"We felt there was such a market in the 1.4 million that have solar that you can't turn away from it," says Snowy chief executive Paul Broad.
"Our customers have clearly said they are into the whole renewable alternative energy source, so we will respond."
ActewAGL managing director Michael Costello puts it more bluntly: "It's what our customers want, and if we don't supply, they'll ask another retailer."
Supply is coming
Lithium-ion batteries from maker such as China's Tianjin Lishen are already available in Australia, while consumer electronics giant LG Chem is also targeting Australia, as are California's Enphase Energy and the Warren Buffett-backed BYD, also based in China.
Luring them here is the popularity of rooftop solar, which has created a huge market for storage systems that can soak up the excess power generated by solar PV panels during the day, which otherwise has to be fed back into the grid at little financial gain to homeowners.
Instead of having to draw on peak-tariff electricity from the grid in the evenings, a household can then use stored energy, saving money and helping prevent the grid from overloading. Batteries also provide back-up power for computers, lighting and life-support systems that have to stay on during power cuts.
Households could in theory even move into energy trading, based on power from their battery storage system.
John Grimes of the Energy Storage Council describes storage as "the missing link" and expects strong demand among those with rooftop solar, partly driven by the slashing of the tariffs paid by state governments for electricity fed back into the grid.
"Feed-in tariffs for solar PV around the country have really been cut to a punitive level so many people are now receiving 6¢ or 8¢ per kilowatt hour for the energy that they feed into the grid and are having to buy energy back at the full retail rate of 25 to 28¢ per kilowatt hour," Grimes says.
With batteries such as Panasonic's able to be controlled remotely by a utility company, suppliers and network owners also benefit from being able to match energy demand more closely with supply.
Large thermal power stations then need to be ramped up and down less frequently, while bottlenecks on the grid can be relieved. For intermittent renewable sources, whether solar or wind, storage allows more renewable power to be used.
"In a world envisaged to be entirely solar and wind, you'd better have batteries otherwise you'll be spending a lot of time in the dark," says Origin chief executive Grant King.
"[But] I believe there are other fuels such as hydro and nuclear, for example, that should be in that mix and they don't need batteries. Hydro is a battery."
Not cheap, yet
But while costs have already plunged for solar and are reducing for storage, the economics are far from compelling, particularly for those wanting to move largely or entirely off the grid.
A Powerwall or equivalent battery is expected to cost $7000-$10,000 including an inverter to convert direct current to alternating current, control system and installation costs. But one 7 kilowatt-hour Powerwall on its own would do little to reduce reliance on the grid, requiring several units to be installed.
Grattan Institute puts the cost of taking a home 95 per cent off the grid at $37,000, for a 7 kilowatt solar system plus 35kWh of storage. But that surges to $72,000 if the same house cannot rely on a centralised network for back-up and goes off grid altogether, requiring a much larger 15kW solar system plus 85kWh of storage.
Panasonic hasn't disclosed how much it will charge for its battery, which can produce 2kW of power for four hours and which the company says could double a household's "self-consumption" rate from rooftop panels – the proportion of a home's energy use that it generates itself – to 60 per cent from 30 per cent.
Panasonic Australia head Paul Reid says it will be "competitive" with similar products but acknowledges that initially prices will be "somewhat high" as they will be for any battery system, but come down over time.
Still, Reid reckons the take-up will be faster than many are predicting, even as King, Broad and others predict only limited adoption in the first few years until prices fall.
"It's important to realise that consumers make purchasing decisions for lots of different reasons; very rational economic considerations are one reason but it's not the only reason. We shouldn't only look at financial economic payback periods as the only determination of potential take-up."
Still, economics are still a driver for many of the households that have chosen to sign up so far, suppliers say.
Cost motivates
"For 90 per cent of our customers their first priority is the reduction in the cost of living or the stabilisation of costs, plus a reliable power source," says Darrell Wilson at Off Grid Power Solutions in Brisbane, which supplied Whiltsher's system.
"If they are helping the environment as a result that's great but it's not their first consideration."
Grimes says many are being motivated by the low prices they get for selling excess power from their panels back into the grid.
"People really hate the idea that they are really donating that energy to the bottom line of the utilities, because that energy is just sold next door and goes through your neighbour's meter at the full rate," he says.
Grimes says the trend will be reinforced at the end of 2016 when generous feed-in tariffs in NSW come to an end, falling from 60¢ or 44¢ a kilowatt hour to just 4¢ for some 130,000 homes.
"Those people who do more than cover their own base needs, who export to the grid and have probably been getting over-generous tariffs, will be looking for a solution."
Other consumers just feel disempowered when it comes to energy supply and want to take control after suffering a spiralling in prices in the past several years.
"For me it was a thing of trying to cut the bills and also probably just a way to keep my hand on my own destiny," says Ian Smith, who spent about $28,000 in July to have a 6kW solar and 10kWh battery installed in the garage of its home in Banjo near Brisbane airport.
Smith says he missed the boat on the "huge" solar rebates on offer a few years ago and was keen to cut his typical $900 quarterly bill in summer to power three airconditioning units and "two kids living in bedrooms about 20 hours a day".
"I was thinking about if I get solar now it's only good during the day and all my power [use] is at night," he says.
On the day Smith spoke to BusinessDay, his home had generated 22kW of power, and was consuming 13.5kW. The battery got charged back up to 100 per cent at 3pm.
No power had been taken from the grid all day, but some had been returned into the network, for which Smith gets just 4¢/kWh.
Grimes says batteries "give people back a sense of control" over their energy use and costs, posing an issue for suppliers.
"The reality is that energy companies have come to be at the centre of the energy market, but what they have failed to recognise is that consumers are and should be at the centre of the energy market," he says.
Still, retailers are showing they're determined not to get left behind in the way that some were in the rush to solar PV.
"We sat back on the solar PV explosion and this time we have to be cognisant that this is a fundamental change in the market," Red Energy's Ramy Soussou says.
"We at Red have decided we want to play in the market. I think you'll see in particular the big four retailers getting heavily involved."
Suppliers should also benefit from being able to better manage network costs, and potentially allow them to defer or avoid investments in grid bottlenecks.
Illustration: Simon Bosch
"Network storage will allow energy companies to defer or avoid upgrading networks, which ultimately leads to lower energy bills for consumers," Mr Frischknecht said in June.
"I'm confident that retailers and network companies will come to see network storage as something they can also greatly benefit from."
Regulators catching up
Aside from the cost, several other hurdles still have to be overcome however for batteries to realise their potential. Regulations in the ACT, for example, are designed with old-fashioned lead-acid batteries in mind and prohibit the installation of a home battery system indoors, while high installation costs could double the cost for a household.
Uncertainty over how electricity tariffs will be restructured is also a problem. Introducing time-of-use tariffs should help drive battery take-up, but that still leaves the problem of network costs, given networks face a reduction in revenues because of a lower volume of power flowing through their distribution grid but still face high costs from peak demand, which may fall only modestly.
"Batteries only have a certain amount of storage so at night on really hot days when everyone turns on their airconditioning, batteries for the foreseeable future will not meet that demand," Broad says.
Still, it's a problem for the networks given that for all the drive toward self-sufficiency in power supply, few households are likely to move off the grid completely, relying on it for back-up yet potentially drawing little power from it.
Whiltsher is running her Brisbane home "in the high 90s" per cent range in self sufficiency and doesn't expect much change in the summer given she has no airconditioning.
"It's fantastic. I'm really happy with it."
Not About SLTD, but Solar is MOVING IN!
Partnership to focus on benefits of residential and commercial solar power tech
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., and BELMONT, Calif., (JULY 30, 2015) -- NASCAR and SunEdison, Inc. (NYSE: SUNE), the world's largest renewable energy development company, today announced SunEdison as the Official Solar Energy Partner of NASCAR Green. This new partnership builds on the expanded use of solar technology across the sport, particularly at race team shops and race tracks across the country.
Over the next three years, SunEdison and NASCAR will embark on an effort to educate millions of NASCAR fans on the financial and environmental benefits of solar power use. SunEdison plans to work with NASCAR partners, tracks and teams on commercial-scale solar solutions. The White House cited this newly forged partnership as a prime example of making renewable energy accessible to all U.S. homeowners.
"Solar power is a proven and reliable form of renewable energy and the technology is already making a significant impact throughout our industry," said Steve Phelps, NASCAR chief marketing officer. "Our strategic partnership with SunEdison will help NASCAR further reduce the sport's environmental impact and help continue to educate our fans on renewable energy."
"SunEdison is excited to be partnering with NASCAR to highlight the benefits of solar both at and away from the race track," said Vikas Desai, SunEdison senior vice president of residential and small commercial. "We look forward to being a strategic NASCAR Green partner and helping fans, partners and the sport save money while reducing their carbon footprint."
NASCAR has taken a holistic approach across its wide-ranging effort to help protect the environment and has been collaborating in earnest with teams, tracks, partners and fans to do that since 2008. NASCAR's efforts to champion sustainable behavior align with NASCAR fan values.
According to a 2014 study commissioned by NASCAR and conducted by Research Now, four out of five NASCAR fans believe the earth is going through a period of climate change, and two out of three of these fans feel a personal responsibility to do something about it. The study shows approximately two out of three NASCAR fans who believe there is climate change support buying cost-effective solar panels for the home. For additional information on NASCAR Green, visit www.nascar.com/green
In Case You Missed It, There’s a Clean Energy Jobs Boom in Tennessee
http://blog.cleanenergy.org/2015/07/31/in-case-you-missed-it-theres-a-clean-energy-jobs-boom-in-tennessee/
July 31st, 2015 › Electric Vehicles, Energy Efficiency, Other Reports, Renewable Energy › Taylor Allred ›
According to the Solar Foundation’s 2014 National Solar Jobs Census, there are 173,807 workers in the U.S. solar industry, which increased by 21.8% from 2013. By comparison, the latest data from the federal Energy Information Administration indicates that there were 80,396 workers in the U.S. coal mining industry in 2013, which was down 10.5% from 2012. That’s right – the solar industry already employs well over twice as many Americans as the coal mining industry, and the gap is increasing by leaps and bounds.
I thought it was something like 204 working days (essentially, 10 months) after approval.
Having read much. What is the expected completion date for Fresno?
Interesting TV series......
Unplugged nation about people looking to move off the grid.......
And using solar!
http://www.fyi.tv/shows/unplugged-nation/about/season-1
Large-Scale Solar Near Parity In World’s Three Biggest Markets
July 30th, 2015 by Giles Parkinson
http://cleantechnica.com/2015/07/30/large-scale-solar-near-parity-in-worlds-three-biggest-markets/
Originally published on RenewEconomy.
Utility scale solar is making such inroads into the energy business in the US that utilities are now longer fighting it, with large scale solar likely to be competitive even if current tax credits are removed.
That is the assessment of SunPower, one of the biggest solar module manufacturers and project developers in the US, which this week bought out the 1.5GW solar portfolio in the US built up by Australia’s Infigen Energy.
In a conference call accompanying its second quarter results, president and CEO Tom Werner said large scale solar barely accounted for 1 per cent of total generation in the US, but it had huge potential in the US, even if the investment tax credit (ITC) is removed in 2017.
That’s because of the declining costs. Werner pointed to one contract below $US50/MWh. Others have gone below $40/MWh.
“If you do the math on that and you project post-ITC, and you continue protecting our cost down and performance increases in our systems, that’s where we get our confidence in a potential post-ITC world,” Werner said.
“So, we think that our solar energy is interesting to utilities already post-ITC, assuming there is a post-ITC.”
Costs for large scale solar in the US are falling rapidly, helped by cheap finance from new asset classes and vehicles that analysts say will result in more investment than the oil and gas industries. Werner’s confidence is reflected in the company’s forecast for solar deployment over the next four years, growing at 30 per cent compound rate.
SunPower also pointed to the modular nature of large scale solar farms, which cut costs, particularly expensive labor costs, and improved efficiencies in solar modules.
The US is not the only market approaching wholesale price parity for solar. A recent report from Deutsche Bank indicated that India was about to reach the same level, an assessment reinforced by the local offshoot of Fitch Ratings. Deutsche believes that investment in large scale solar will outstrip that of coal generators within a few years.
China also set huge solar targets. SunCorp said this is being driven by the economics of solar and the need to improve air quality. Deutsche Bank expects China to lift its 100GW solar target for 2020. It expects around 120GW to be installed.
Solar PV is already beating new build fossil fuels in emerging markets such as Chile, Africa and the Middle East. But the fact that it is likely to take off dramatically in the world’s biggest energy markets underpin forecasts, including from the International Energy Agency, that solar will become the dominant energy sources within decades.
SunPower Development head Howard Wenger told the conference call that US utilities are “no longer really fighting solar” – they are trying to figure out a solution to combine solar with the traditional utility business.
One of the emerging new models, Werner suggested, is community solar, or shared solar.
NRG Energy, one of the biggest utilities in the US, this week announced a 1MW shared solar project to service about 200 homes in Massachusetts.
NRG Energy has more than 100 megawatts of shared solar projects already in the works in both Massachusetts and Minnesota, and are actively seeking to expand into other markets.
Steve McBee, the head of NRG Home, says shared solar could be a huge business opportunity. That’s because 73 per cent of people NRG approaches can’t put solar on their roofs — perhaps because they don’t own their home, have structural issues, or have too many obstructions that would limit the system’s output.
“If our customers want solar, they ought to be able to get it, and the only thing standing in their way is that there isn’t a regulatory scheme worked out that will allow that to happen,” McBee told Greentech Media.
“The technology is there, the market demand is there, the cost is right — we’re just waiting on a policy signal. That frustrates me.”
SunPower’s Werner said there are a number of different models that his company was working with utilities.
SLTD 3.5701 -10.52%
It could be worse!
ANRZ 0.0514 -31.56%
Another Coal into BK!
Alpha to sell six mines, chapter 11 expected
This IS a $10 Mil deal.
TheyDO deserve some answers.
Amateurs!
Well we do have next week to look forward too...
20% up for the week is good...
What is interesting is big oil profits are taking a hit. It's just a matter of time before they'll get into the solar business. It's coming!!!
This sort of applies..... WE NEED THAT BATTERY!
Warren Buffett and Elon Musk to spark Lithium Boom
London, 29 July 2015
The age of electrification across the transportation sector, the solar panel revolution, and Tesla's battery gigafactory are igniting a battle for the cheapest battery. That will transform lithium into a boom-time mineral and the hottest commodity on the energy investor's radar. It has been easy to take lithium for granted. This wonder mineral is the backbone of our everyday lives, popping up in everything from the glass in our windows to our mountains of electronics.
And while investors have long appreciated the steady rise in demand for this preferred mineral, the number of new applications continues to multiply. Smart phones, tablets, laptops, and other consumer electronics demand more lithium. But the largest driver for future lithium use will be in electric vehicles and home batteries for solar panels. That has lithium on the verge a boom for which supply can no longer be taken for granted.
Not since the shale boom have we seen a market transformation of such significance. Lithium has long been used for a variety of mundane purposes, and while the variety is spectacular—with applications in everything from glass, ceramics and greases to a line-up of industrial process—it has flown under the radar for most investors.
Supply has always largely managed to keep pace with steadily rising demand for lithium, and while the mineral is slated for growth with or without the 'battery explosion', Tesla's gigafactory will spark a phenomenal spike in demand that will be no less exciting than the shale boom.
Not only will battery gigafactories change an already attractive lithium demand picture, but the suppliers themselves will change, making way for newer entrants—with more foresight and better technology--that will provide some of the best investment opportunities in the sector.
The lithium story cannot be told without first telling the Tesla story. Tesla Motors (NASDAQ:TSLA) is developing a cheaper line of electric cars for release later this decade, and to achieve this it is constructing a $5-billion gigafactory to build 500,000 electric cars with the objective of lowering the cost of batteries by at least 30 percent.
Tesla's Battery Factory under construction
Moreover, around one-quarter of the plant's capacity may be for Tesla's stationary storage business, which also sells backup batteries for homes, businesses and utilities—all fueled by lithium.
According to Tesla's brainchild, Elon Musk, demand for stationary storage batteries has skyrocketed to the point that an expansion of the gigafactory may have to be considered before it is even built.
Musk is eyeing a "complete transformation of the entire energy infrastructure of the world to completely sustainable zero carbon," and what he's talking about here is lithium-battery production on a mind-blowing scale. Tesla is planning to produce more lithium-ion batteries in this factory than in the entire global marketplace combined.
Lithium—the lightest and most versatile of the metals—is the backbone of this exploding battery market. Lithium is already a key part of our everyday lives, but as batteries become the rule of the day in a new global energy picture, demand for lithium is soaring—and we are only at the beginning of this curve.
Battery manufacturers across the board are moving to lithium because it has the highest electric output per unit weight. And nowhere will this demand soar more than with the production of hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles used by everyone from Toyota (NYSE:TM), Honda (NYSE:HMC), Nissan (NYSE:NSANY), Renault (EPA:RNO), and Mitsubishi (NYSE:MSBHY), to Ford (NYSE:F), Chevrolet and GM (NYSE:GM). And of course Tesla Motors. Without lithium, there will be no gigafactory. In fact, this factory alone will need 15,000 tons of lithium carbonate a year just to get started.
We are on the edge of a profound competition over batteries as Tesla drives down lithium-ion battery production costs, lowers the benchmark and increases cost competition. The response will be new entrants to this market, and competing battery gigafactories.
Tesla's competitors will make this one of the biggest battles of the century—a battle the entirely depends on lithium supply. Tesla's biggest rival will likely be Build Your Dreams (BYD), the Chinese automaker backed by Warren Buffet. Already, BYD is building electric buses on American soil and has global gigafactory ambitions. By the end of the year, according to Reuters, BYD should have 10 GWh of battery production capacity, which it expects to increase to 34 GWh by 2020 with a new factory in Brazil—about the same capacity as Tesla's.
Other Tesla rivals rushing to the battery production scene will be iPhone manufacturer Foxconn and LG Chem, which is already one of the top three battery makers. Samsung is also hot on the trail, having just acquired Magna's battery production division.
According to Credit Suisse, the lithium industry is "poised for significant volume growth," which could lead to shortages of supply. As a result producers of lithium are set to enjoy significant earnings throughout the decade.
Even before Tesla's gigafactory – and its rivals – entered the picture, global lithium consumption had doubled in the decade before 2012, driven largely by its use in lithium-ion batteries for cell phones and power tools. Then electric cars hit the scene in earnest, further boosting demand for lithium, while Tesla's gigafactory is expected to use up as much as 17 percent of the existing lithium supply, according to Fortune magazine, citing Goldman Sachs.
For investors who are just catching on to the lithium battery revolution, the best way to play the game is to look past the traditional lithium producers. In this boom scenario, investors will be looking at companies with the lowest market caps, solid management and highly prospective deposits.
Currently, lithium is not traded as a commodity; rather, it is managed through a kind of oligopoly situation where there are three or four major suppliers globally and they have rather successfully managed supply and demand for lithium over the past decades. Because of this, everything is priced on a contract basis.
"The problem is that these three or four major suppliers have been responsible for supply and demand but they are not going to be able to meet new demand for lithium," Dr. Andy Robinson, a Ph.D. in Geochemistry and the COO of Pure Energy Minerals (OTMKTS:HMGLF), told Oilprice.com.
As Robinson points out, however, not all lithium is equal. It's sold in different types for different prices. For instance, lithium carbonate sells for around $6,000 per ton and is used to make some of the materials for new battery technology. However, many of the new battery technologies—particularly those used by Tesla—use lithium hydroxide as the starting material, which trades at around $2,000 more per ton than lithium carbonate.
And lithium found in salty water, or brines, is by far the most cost effective. According to Dr. Robinson, "brine is the best way to produce lithium because it's so cheap, as nature has done all the hard work in rendering the lithium into a form that is easy to extract from the ground. All you have to do is drill a few wells and pump the liquid brine."
Furthermore, there are only a few places in the world where lithium is present at high enough concentrations in these salty brines and the most famous is in the Atacama Desert, in the "Lithium Triangle" of Bolivia, Argentina and Chile. Supply here is threatened by corruption and politics, making it difficult to capitalize on burgeoning demand.
When Tesla's gigafactory comes online, everyone will be looking for cost-effective lithium sources closer to home, which brings us full circle to the state of Nevada, where Pure Energy Minerals has the only potential future brine resource in North America. The only other brine resources are located in China, are much smaller and are controlled by Chinese companies.
Lithium is increasingly the tech of choice for battery banks across the board, and when Tesla's gigafactory is producing batteries one year from now, the winners in this emerging battery boom will be those behind the lithium, and those following the brine.
Ends --
By James Stafford of Oilprice.com
Missed this one: It's fluff though, no real new info.... When do we get our battery??????
BioSolar's Super Battery Technology Can Significantly Lower the Cost of On-Site Energy Storage
2 days 5 hours 5 minutes ago - DJNF
BioSolar's Super Battery Technology Can Significantly Lower the Cost of On-Site Energy Storage
Rising Demand for On-Site Energy Storage Creates Demand for a Cost Effective Battery Solution
SANTA CLARITA, CA--(Marketwired - Jul 28, 2015) - BioSolar, Inc. (OTCQB: BSRC), developer of breakthrough energy storage technology and materials, today commented on the abundance of possible applications for the Company's Super Battery technology currently under development that can drastically reduce the cost of on-site energy storage.
According to a recent study performed by GTM Research and the Energy Storage Association, it is predicted that the energy storage market in the United States will triple in 2015, and will grow from $128 million in 2014 to $1.5 billion by 2019. Currently, the market is very concentrated, as over 70% of installed energy storage capacity uses lithium-ion batteries, as the technology is proven and bankable.
Furthermore, data from the GTM Research indicates the demand for rooftop solar paired with energy storage systems will reach $1 billion in the U.S. within four years, creating pent up demand for cost effective solar energy storage solutions. Pairing solar panels with low cost batteries means users can effectively store power during the day and use it at night, reducing electricity bills. Those savings would be more significant for customers who pay higher rates for electricity during peak periods. Tesla recently emphasized this point at a large solar conference in San Francisco, stating that battery costs will fall faster than expected, and the same for the demand for energy storage equipment that will be paired with solar panels.
The market for energy storage technologies has expanded as well, as utility power companies, once challenged in managing the grid, are now installing battery storage as an alternative to adding expensive generation capacity required to handle peak electricity demand. Battery storage offers several benefits over traditional power sources, such as being cleaner, responding faster, can be located directly at load centers, and is increasingly less expensive than other options for tackling peak electricity demand.
Dr. David Lee, the company's CEO, said, "A battery contains two major parts, a cathode and an anode, that function together as the positive and negative sides. Today's state-of-the-art lithium-ion battery is limited by the storage capacity of its cathode, while the anode can store much more. Inspired by nature, we are developing a novel cathode based on inexpensive conductive polymers and organic materials that can fully utilize the storage capacity of conventional anodes."
Based on the company's internal analysis, a super battery built using its technology can double the capacity, cost four times less, and can potentially break the $100/kWh cost barrier needed for mass market adoption of energy storage. Achieving the $100/kWh cost barrier would effectively reach what is referred to as the "holy grail" for energy storage.
The Company recently announced that it has jointly filed a patent application with the University of California, Santa Barbara ("UCSB") in order to protect intellectual property rights which forms the basis for the company's super battery technology.
BioSolar is currently funding a sponsored research program at the University of California, Santa Barbara ("UCSB"), to further develop its super battery technology. The lead inventors of the technology are UCSB professor Dr. Alan Heeger, the recipient of a Nobel Prize in 2000 for the discovery and development of conductive polymers, and Dr. David Vonlanthen, a project scientist and expert in energy storage at UCSB.
About BioSolar, Inc.
BioSolar is developing a breakthrough technology to double the storage capacity, lower the cost and extend the life of lithium-ion batteries. A battery contains two major parts, a cathode and an anode, that function together as the positive and negative sides. Today's state-of-the-art lithium-ion battery is limited by the storage capacity of its cathode, while the anode can store much more. Inspired by nature, we are developing a novel cathode based on inexpensive conductive polymers and organic materials that can fully utilize the storage capacity of conventional anodes. By integrating our high capacity, high power and low-cost cathode with conventional anodes, battery manufacturers can create a super lithium-ion battery that can double the range of a Tesla, power an iPhone for 2 days straight, or store daytime solar energy for nighttime use. Founded with the vision of developing breakthrough energy technologies, BioSolar's previous successes include the world's first UL approved bio-based back sheet for use in solar panels.
To learn more about BioSolar, please visit our website at http://www.biosolar.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
Matters discussed in this press release contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When used in this press release, the words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "may," "intend," "expect" and similar expressions identify such forward-looking statements. Actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those contemplated, expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained herein. These forward-looking statements are based largely on the expectations of the Company and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. These include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties associated with: the impact of economic, competitive and other factors affecting the Company and its operations, markets, product, and distributor performance, the impact on the national and local economies resulting from terrorist actions, and U.S. actions subsequently; and other factors detailed in reports filed by the Company.
Investor Relations Contact:
Tom Becker
BioSolar, Inc.
Email Contact
(877) 904-3733
For Media Inquiries:
Eric Fischgrund
FischTank Marketing and PR
Email Contact
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
July 28, 2015 03:05 ET (07:05 GMT)
Pre-market: 3.50 -0.49 (-12.28%)
They are trying their best to manipulate it down... Don't worry......
Bid/Ask is 3.71/4.43 though
With the cell. If it is as advertised this is a Billion $ company. $60
Why can't the US have this kind of intelligence? The coal union knows that Renewables are replacing coal. So they are offering an assistance package to the workers. Win win!
Why has Australia's largest coal mining union backed Labor's Renewable Energy Target?
http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2015/s4282591.htm
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Broadcast: 28/07/2015
Reporter: Matt Peacock
Australian's largest coal mining and energy union was the surprise backer of Labor's 50 per cent Renewable Energy Target at the party's national conference, so what moved them to support it when Prime Minister Tony Abbott claims there will be a massive cost for consumers.
Transcript
SABRA LANE, PRESENTER: Endorsement of the latest push for a substantial increase in Australia's Renewable Energy Target is coming from an unlikely quarter. Australia's largest coal mining and energy union, the CFMEU, says it's inevitable that many of the country's coal-fired generators and mines will close and not be replaced, with thousands losing their jobs as a consequence.
But the union support for Labor's renewable energy target has come at a price. In a surprise move at the ALP conference on the weekend, the union backed Labor's 50 per cent Renewable Energy Target in return for an unprecedented assistance package. Matt Peacock reports.
MATT PEACOCK, REPORTER: The Latrobe Valley, heart of Victoria's brown coalfields and generator of 80 per cent of the state's power.
But even here, people know that change is coming.
Coal is no longer king.
LUKE VAN DER MEULEN, CFMEU VICTORIA: I live in this community, I'm part of the community and I'm really concerned for it.
MATTHEW WARREN, CEO, ENERGY SUPPLY ASSOC. AUST.: We're going to see potentially jobs lost in regional communities where the power stations are, the ones that are reaching the end of their life.
MATT PEACOCK: Australia's unexpected surge in solar rooftop power has transformed the electricity market and the days of even giant coal-fired power stations like this one, AGL Loy Yang, are numbered.
TONY MAHER, PRESIDENT, CFMEU: You've got a Loy Yang power station, the biggest power station in the country, on the rooftops of Australian homes. That is exceeding expectations and it's having an effect on the market share. That's the reality that we're facing.
MATTHEW WARREN: 10 years ago we had around 700 households in Australia with solar panels, today it's approaching 1.4 million. So that's a relatively aggressive technology boom in that sector and it's likely to continue.
MATT PEACOCK: Labor's adoption at the weekend of a 50 per cent renewable target in 15 years would only hasten the demise of coal.
BILL SHORTEN, OPPOSITION LEADER: We will not be intimidated by the ridiculous, ignorant, fear-mongering scare campaigns that will come.
MATT PEACOCK: Already Prime Minister Tony Abbott has pounced on Labor's policy.
TONY ABBOTT, PRIME MINISTER: You've got this massive and unnecessary commitment to renewables which will cause a massive overbuild of wind farms, all of which has to be paid for by the consumers.
TONY MAHER: Geez, it's like a bloody swimming carnival with all the green and the red.
MATT PEACOCK: But the unexpected seconder of Labor's renewable energy target was the head of Australia's largest coal mining and energy union, Tony Maher.
TONY MAHER: We've got to face the reality in domestic coal-fired power. The companies, led by AGL and Energy Australia, have announced that they will all close their fleet by 2050, one by one. So - and they won't be building other ones to replace them, so we have to deal with that.
GREG COMBET, FMR CLIMATE CHANGE MINISTER: Just imagine the coal miners union itself endorsing a policy to increase renewable energy generation.
TONY MAHER: Renewables are winning the investment race. And the introduction of battery storage, cheap battery storage in homes is very attractive to consumers and they'll vote with their feet and you'd be a mug not to see that.
MATT PEACOCK: Australia exports 80 per cent of the coal it mines and nearly half of that is to make steel, not electricity. The union says these mines still have a secure future.
But it's a different story for domestic coal. The union's now got Labor to agree to a special government agency to find new jobs for the workers to be displaced.
LUKE VAN DER MEULEN: There's ways of making sure that those people that are in the power station can exit in an orderly manner with voluntary departure packages and things like that and they can be transitioned to still-running power stations. So that can minimise the impact.
GREG HUNT, ENVIRONMENT MINISTER: You've got an ALP which has literally made it up on the run and electricity prices are guaranteed to go up, not by a little amount, but obviously by a massive amount or they wouldn't be preparing for major job losses.
MATT PEACOCK: Tony Maher's price to support the Labor resolution is high. He wants more than the dole for his displaced members.
But, I mean, a lot of your members are paid 100 grand or more.
TONY MAHER: Lots of money. Yeah, worth every cent. And that's how they did it in Germany - it was income support or early retirement and it all costs money. And what we want the - the - Labor in government to do is to provide the funding, to do the calculations, to establish the agency and to tell us how they're gonna solve the problem.
GREG HUNT: The Labor Party, when they set up the carbon tax, gave the brown coal generators $5.5 billion. ... Now, what we see is another compensation plan for a policy which they haven't prepared, nobody can say where it came from and it's an extraordinary example of policy being fabricated and with real-world impacts.
MATT PEACOCK: The transformation of Australia's industry has already begun, warns the electricity suppliers.
MATTHEW WARREN: We've already seen it begin. In South Australia we've seen 440 full-time jobs go or going in the township of Port Augusta and that's a big hit for that town and that region. So, this is real and it's gonna keep happening over the next decade and beyond.
LUKE VAN DER MEULEN: Any change is gonna impact on the Latrobe Valley community very hard because we are a very big coal producer and generator for the Victorian community.
GREG COMBET: The economy's always adjusting. We're seeing industries decline, industries grow. The important thing when that's happening is not to say, "Look, stop the world." You can't stop change. But to support people through the process of change.
MATT PEACOCK: For the electricity industry, there's an even bigger problem. That's the need for coherent planning free from partisan politics.
MATTHEW WARREN: What frustrates us is we're talking at the moment about how we ice the cake and we haven't baked the cake. We actually need to see and deliver the serious policy structure that delivers the transformation and then we can talk about how we're gonna manage the consequences of that, not the other way around.
SABRA LANE: Matt Peacock reporting.
markp, it is Carbon Sciences stock we own.......not a company in Australia! Good Grief!
Rain, rust, hail, dust, etc