Fifty Two Percent Annual Growth of US Solar PV Capacity Possible

California, United States [RenewableEnergyWorld.com]

With the renewal of the federal investment tax credit (ITC) for solar energy projects and within the framework of the current economic climate, EuPD Research surveyed the solar photovoltaics (PV) industry about their expectations for the solar PV market.
The results of this survey, according to EuPD show that companies in the industry anticipate that there will be growth in newly installed capacity in the United States from 200 megawatts (MW) in 2007 to 1840 MW in 2012. The companies also said that there will be a cumulative total installed capacity increase from 636 MW in 2007 to 5182.1 MW in 2012, or an average of 52% growth per year over the next five years.

Grand Valley Growth

Xcel Energy Lowers Solar Credits

"Xcel Energy Lowers Solar Credits, Angering Solar Installers"

By Ucilia Wang

"The recent passage of federal solar investment tax credits has prompted one Colorado utility to reduce the rate it will pay to solar installers by 40 percent and give the installers one day to submit paperwork to qualify for the old rate.
Xcel Energy (XEL), the state's largest utility, plans to reduce the rate it pays for renewable energy credits from $2.50 per watt to $1.50 per watt for solar energy systems with a capacity of less than 10 kilowatts, said Joe Fuentes, an Xcel spokesman. The change will largely affect residential solar installations, which average 4 kilowatts to 5 kilowatts in capacity in Colorado, the utility said.
While the decision to lower the rate wasn't a complete surprise, the way the utility delivered the news to solar installers had some fuming.
Xcel notified the rate change in an email to solar installers and in a letter to the state's Public Utilities Commission on Thursday afternoon. Xcel gave installers until 11:50 p.m. Mountain Time Friday to apply for the credits worth $2.50 per watt, Fuentes said.
The short notice has prompted solar installers to scramble to file paperwork, while also raising raised concerns about the outlook for the state's solar industry, an industry group said.
"We at Colorado Solar Energy Industries Association are concerned about how this will slow the growth of the industry moving forward," said Jim Welch, the association's president, in an email to Greentech Media. "We also are concerned [with] how the process went with Xcel where we had wanted to be involved on the discussion of rebate change and Xcel rebuked our requests for meetings."
The purchase of RECs is part of the Solar Rewards program set by Xcel in 2006 to encourage solar energy use and help the company meet a state mandate that requires investor-owned utilities, such as Xcel, to have 20 percent of its electrical power coming from renewable sources by 2020.
The utility has to tell the commission how it runs the program, but it doesn't require the commission's approval to set the rate.
In addition to buying RECs, Xcel also provides a $2 per watt rebate for all solar energy systems with up to 100 kilowatts in capacity, whether they are located on residential or commercial properties. The rebate remains unchanged, Fuentes said.
The utility decided to lower the REC rate that affects residential solar installations because it believes the new federal incentives for residential solar energy systems will bridge the difference, Fuentes said.
The U.S. government passed the solar incentives in early October as part of a large tax break package for many types of renewable energy (see Lawmakers Approve Energy Tax Credits, Bailout).
The legislation, to take effect in January, will remove the $2,000 cap for investing in residential solar energy systems. In effect, a system could cost 30 percent less for its owner as a result of the new law. Because of the high cost of solar energy systems, solar installers often own and maintain the residential systems and sell the power to the homeowners.
By Xcel's calculations, these new federal incentives will not increase the cost of owning a solar energy system by much. It would cost a solar energy system owner one percentage point more under the new REC rate, Fuentes said.
A 4.5-kilowatt system would cost about $14,175 after factoring in the new $1.50 per-watt REC rate, the $2 per-watt rebate and the new federal incentives, according to the letter Xcel sent to the utilities commission.
A 4.5-kilowatt system would cost $13,750 if the old, $2.50 per-watt REC rate and the $2 per-watt rebate stays in place and the federal incentives are factored in."

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new power rising: Use of solar increasing in county

A new power rising: Use of solar increasing in county

By MIKE SACCONE

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Given the role the sun has played every year literally growing local farmer Brant Harrison’s organic fruit and vegetable business, he figured it was time to take their business relationship to the next level.

With an eye on being more environmentally friendly and saving his business, Kokopelli Fruit and Produce, a little green, Harrison installed a solar panels atop his shop.

“Over a year’s time, averaging out, it will really decrease the amount of energy we have to consume, produced by the power plant right across the road,” Harrison said, referencing the Cameo coal-fired power plant across the Colorado River.

Harrison is not alone.

In fact, according to a report from the Grand Junction-based solar energy research institute, he is one of a growing number of Mesa County residents and businesses hooking up their solar arrays to the electrical grid.

According to projections by local energy analyst Lou Villaire, the number of individuals “tapping into” the grid with solar energy will grow from zero at the start of 2006 to 300 users by the end of 2008.

Villaire, who runs the Grand Valley Solar Center, said the Grand Valley’s solar usage parallels that across the state.

He cites 2004’s Amendment 37, which required that all of Colorado’s electrical utilities produce 10 percent of their energy through renewable means, as one of the primary reasons the state has so quickly encouraged residential and commercial solar production.

Colorado’s leaders doubled down on Amendment 37’s mandate last year, mandating that 20 percent of all retail electrical sales be produced from renewable sources by 2020.

As a result of these mandates, Villaire wrote, the state’s largest electricity producer, Xcel Energy, has paid out nearly $31.3 million in rebates to Colorado residents and companies through its Solar Rewards Program.

Grand Valley Power, which also provides power throughout the county, is not offering any solar credits.

For this growth to continue, Villaire said, it is essential that the federal government agree to extend a substantial credit it provides home and business owners to install solar equipment, totaling 30 percent of the equipment costs up to $2,000.

Tom Plant, director of the Governor’s Energy Office, said the credits have been “enormously important” is making Colorado one of the nation’s leaders in creating new solar electrical production.

“The investment tax credit is what drives our large-scale solar development,” Plant said of the credit, which Congress extended this month as part of an economic bailout package.

Colorado has installed 12.4 megawatts worth of solar cells as of 2007, up 61 times its 2005 solar cell output.

Plant said solar might not be the only way to meet the state’s renewable energy production standards, but it is the best way to include more individuals and businesses in meeting that goal.

“There’s no silver bullet, but there is silver buckshot,” Plant said, “so we’re trying to advance a number of different solutions.”

Solar facts
• Solar energy generation in Mesa County saves residents an estimated $200,000 every year
• The average size of a residential solar array tapped onto the electrical grid in Grand Junction is five kilowatts.
• The average size of a commercial solar array tapped onto the electrical grid in Grand Junction is 9.5 kilowatts.
• The average out-of-pocket expense for a solar array tapped onto the electrical grid in Grand Junction is $22,000.
• 10 percent of Xcel Energy’s solar grid ties in Colorado are in Mesa County.
Source: The Grand Valley Solar CenterSolar rebates  and tax credits
For households powered by Xcel Energy, the company offers:
• A $2.50 energy credit for every watt of your solar array’s capacity
• A $2 rebate for every watt of your solar array’s capacity paid upon installation
The federal government offers tax credits for:
• 30 percent of solar energy equipment, up to $2,000
• 30 percent of solar water heating equipment up to $2,000
Sources: Xcel Energy, U.S. Energy Department, Lou Villaire

Federal Solar Tax Credits Extended 8 Years

US House approves extending energy tax credits

Source: Reuters

By Ayesha Rascoe

WASHINGTON, Oct 3 (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation on Friday extending billions of dollars in tax credits for the solar, wind and biodiesel industries, ending months of uncertainty for renewable energy companies.
The House voted 263 to 171 in favor of the tax breaks Friday as a part of the $700 billion bailout package for Wall Street. This package was overwhelmingly passed by the Senate earlier this week. President George W. Bush will now sign the measure into law.
Legislation to extend the renewable energy tax credits, which were set to expire at the end of the year, had been stalled by a dispute between the House and the Senate over how to pay for the tax breaks.
However, attaching the energy tax credits to the economic rescue package gave them new life.
The legislation extends for one year the production tax credit for wind energy, with an eight-year extension for investment tax credits for businesses and homeowners to install solar energy equipment.
Buyers of plug-in electric cars would receive tax credits ranging from $2,500 to $7,500.
The bill also extends a $1 per gallon production tax credit for biodiesel through 2009. This measure closes a "splash and dash" loophole where companies mixed foreign biofuels with U.S. biodiesel to receive the U.S. subsidy, but then sold the fuel at a discount to European markets.
Renewable energy companies praised the House vote.
John Berger, chief executive officer of Texas-based Standard Renewable Industry, said the extensions of the tax credits will be a boon for the solar industry.
"We are at a critical time period in the solar industry in the country and around the world. We are just starting to see some economies of scale, some prices decreasing in the solar panels," Berger told Reuters. "Having the 8-year extension will absolutely cement in place getting solar to be part of conventional energy."
The news of including the tax credits in the bailout package did push shares of solar energy companies up sharply this week.
The Solar Energy Industries Association said the tax package provides the solar companies with "policy certainty" and said the package is "the most significant federal policy ever enacted for the solar industry."
The American Wind Energy Association said "these tax credits are essential to the continued growth of wind energy, to the economic and energy security of the United States and to a successful beginning in the fight against global warming."
Energy efficiency groups also applauded the bill's approval.
"It would have been unthinkable for the Congress to leave town for the elections having approved this massive rescue plan while ignoring the needs of beleaguered American consumers on Main Street who face spiraling energy costs," said Brad Penney, director of government relations for the Alliance to Save Energy.
Environmentalists have criticized the package, however, for extending tax credits for refineries that process oil from shale or tar sands.
In addition to the energy tax breaks, the Senate bill included tax incentives for other businesses and a one-year fix to the Alternative Minimum Tax so millions of Americans will not be subject to higher income taxes. (Additional reporting by Russ Blinch; Editing by Christian Wiessner)

A Local Green Ordinance That Will Protect Solar

Below is the text of a letter a group of people are going to read to the City Council Monday 15 September 2008 regarding a local ordinance that would protect a solar system's access to the sun. Come Monday to City Hall at 250 North 5th Street at about 5 minutes before 7PM.

"To whom it may concern,

We are writing to ask that the city of Grand Junction join with other progressive cities across Colorado to enact an ordinance which would guarantee solar access for businesses and homeowners with solar energy systems.

Across the nation, alternative energy is being viewed as increasingly viable and in fact necessary to meet the energy demands of the future. Alternative energy is gaining increasing favor within Colorado as well. In fact, in 2004 Colorado passed Amendment 37, which requires any utility company that provides power to more than 40,000 customers to derive 10% of its energy from renewable sources by the year 2015. Of the many forms of alternative power which are available, solar energy is widely regarded as one of the most attractive and feasible.

Amendment 37 further states, "…in order to save consumers and businesses money, attract new business and jobs, promote development of rural economies, minimize water use for electricity generation, diversify Colorado's energy resources, reduce the impact of volatile fuel prices and improve the natural environment of the state, it is in the best interest of the state, …and the citizens of Colorado to develop and utilize renewable energy resource to the maximum practicable extent."

The popularity of solar power is reflected in the more than 300 solar installations which currently are in place, both residentially and commercially in Grand Junction. Additionally, considerable interest has been expressed by other Grand Junction residents who do not currently own solar systems but who state that they would be willing to do so if a solar protection ordinance were in place.

A solar installation represents considerable upfront expense, and, while it does more than pay for itself in the end, it is a long term investment, and as such, it is natural on the part of the owner to desire that their solar access be protected, thus ensuring their returns. In response to this need, many cities within Colorado have already enacted ordinances to ensure solar protection.

Grand Junction is particularly suited to capitalize on the many advantages of solar energy, as we receive more than 275 days of sunshine annually. This desirable climate and the excellent air quality have served to draw people and businesses to Grand Junction and have contributed to its rise as one of the fastest growing cities in the United States.

City manager Laurie Kadrich has cited the mission statement for the city of Grand Junction as being “the most livable community west of the Rockies by 2025”. To accomplish this goal, it is natural to seek to preserve those things which have long made the grand valley so desirable. By protecting and cultivating solar energy, we are preserving the quality of the air, helping generate business, and are taking a progressive step towards the vision of true livability. "

Remember:

Monday, Sept. 15th

6:55PM

250 North 5th Street (City Hall)

Thanks to Angela Fullerton

Report details Growth of “Grid-Tie” Solar Electric Systems in the Grand Valley of Colorado

Solar Energy is the single fastest growing energy source in the world. Solar cells that produce electricity are also known as “photovoltaics” (PV). PV uses semiconductor materials to convert sunlight into electric current (photons to electrons). Right now PV only provides a small portion of the world’s electricity - a generation capacity of 5,000 megawatts (MW). But due to technology improvements, cost declines, increase in fossil fuel costs, and favorable public and business policies in many states and nations, the annual PV production has increased by more than 25 percent a year. The largest markets for PV are in Germany, Japan, Spain, and the US. U.S. PV manufacturing grew by 74 percent in 2007 and U.S. PV installations grew by 45 percent in 2007 to 150 MW, both among the fastest growth rates in the world. Colorado is among the top 5 states in solar production and growth. And the Western Slope of Colorado, specifically, the Grand Valley is no exception.

Before the Spring of 2006, there were no “grid-tie” solar electric systems in the Grand Valley of Colorado. In the Spring of 2006, the first “grid-tie” was installed in a residence in GJ. Since the Spring of 2006, there have been over 200 “grid-tie” solar electric systems installed in the Grand Valley. And by the end of 2008, there will be approximately 300 “grid-tie” systems in the Grand Valley.

The Report “Residential and Commercial Customer Sited PV in Grand Junction, CO (GJGT)” will be released in the Fall of 2008 by the Grand Valley Solar Center.

Bio

The principal author of the Report is Louis A. Villaire. Mr. Villaire is a 25 year veteran of the energy industry, a former energy analyst at the Gas Technology Institute (oil and gas development), a researcher at the US Environmental Protection Agency, and now a solar industry market analyst and project developer. Mr. Villaire has an undergraduate degree in renewable energy engineering and environmental science and policy, a master’s degree in energy and environmental policy, and is a political science PhD candidate completing his dissertation in state energy policy.

Installed MW Solar PV 2007 by State

State
California
87.1
New Jersey
16.4
Nevada
14.6
Colorado
12.4
New York
4.4
Hawaii
2.4
Arizona
2.1
Connecticut
1.8
Massachusetts
1.4
Oregon
1.1
Other States
4.4

What is a "Solar Grid-Tie"

Grand Junction Median Household Income (Census 2000)