Colorado Governors Energy Office

The gas station near our neighborhood has raised the price of a gallon of gas by nearly 20 cents in just one week. It's the same everywhere. Gas is climbing to nearly $4 per gallon — essentially a job-killing tax on consumers just as we are beginning to see the economy improve. Like Yogi Berra said, "It's déj… vu all over again." We have seen this play before. In 1973, responding to our first energy crisis, Gov. John Love left Colorado to become the nation's first "energy czar." His charge in Washington, D.C, was to develop a plan that would help America become energy independent. Forty years and seven presidents later, our country is finally beginning to achieve domestic energy independence. But as Thomas Friedman said, "The biggest energy crisis we have in our country today is the energy to be serious — the energy to do big things, in a sustained, focused and intelligent way." It is why the Obama administration is calling for an "all of the above" energy policy that promotes development of a diverse mix of energy resources, including solar, wind, biofuels, natural gas, oil and coal. An "all of the above" energy strategy makes sense for the country. It also makes sense for Colorado, where we are already leading the way. Colorado is recognized as a leader in wind, solar and geothermal energy, and for what former Gov. Bill Ritter called the "new energy economy." Colorado is also home to abundant supplies of natural gas and low-sulfur coal. Colorado was the first state to pass a voter-approved renewable energy standard. We have an ambitious but achievable goal of using 30 percent renewable energy by 2020, giving Colorado one of the nation's strongest renewable energy standards. In 2010, a bipartisan group of legislators approved the Clean Air Clean Jobs Act, legislation that will improve Colorado's air quality by using clean-burning natural gas to generate electricity. Thanks to the collaborative efforts of industry and the environmental community, Colorado now has the country's strongest public disclosure rule on the process of fracking. We have partnered with Oklahoma to lead an effort aimed at creating a market for compressed natural gas vehicles, which run cleaner, cheaper and keep jobs and dollars in the U.S. rather than exporting them to foreign dictatorships. Eleven other states have joined in the effort to leverage the purchasing power of state fleets. Thanks to the bipartisan leadership of Democratic state Sen. Pat Steadman and Republican state Rep. Jon Becker, we have an opportunity in House Bill 1315 to expand the mission of the Governor's Energy Office and recast this agency as the Colorado Energy Office. The new Colorado Energy Office will promote all types of energy that protect the environment, lower consumer costs and increase energy security. The Steadman-Becker bill will extend funding for the Colorado Energy Office for five years and focus the office on long-term energy projects that have broad job creation potential. In short, this legislation creates an "all-of-the-above" Colorado Energy Office that builds upon our state's national brand as a leader in energy conservation and renewable clean energy. It will also enhance Colorado's reputation for energy innovation. The Steadman-Becker bill focuses the state's energy work on promoting innovative energy technology, no matter if the fuel source is wind, gas or coal, as long as that energy can benefit the environment and save consumers money. Tens of thousands of Coloradans are currently employed in the energy sector, and with sustained focus on promoting energy resources and technologies, the Colorado Energy Office can help grow this diverse industry. We need this bipartisan legislation to pass the General Assembly this year. The Steadman-Becker bill will help Colorado's economy create jobs and buttress Colorado as a national leader in developing an energy strategy that is both environmentally sensitive and economically sound. Democrat John Hickenlooper is the 42nd governor of Colorado.

Major Closures for First Solar, Sunpower

Major Closures for First Solar, Sunpower


First Solar closing a German plant and idling 4 production lines in Malyasia. SunPower also shutting down part of its overseas operations.
New Hampshire, USA -- Two American solar heavyweights built on overseas manufacturing are scaling back operations in an effort to keep up with a shifting landscape.
On Monday, San Jose, Calif.-based SunPower announced it was closing a 125-MW capacity manufacturing facility in the Philippines and pushing some of those operations to its 575-MW Fab 2 facility also in the Philippines. The company’s 600-MW plant in Malaysia remains its biggest operation.

Then on Tuesday, Arizona-based First Solar announced an even more drastic move to cut operating expenses. The world’s biggest thin-film manufacturer will close its facility in Germany and idle four of its 24 lines at its mammoth facility in Malaysia. The company will cut 2,000 jobs, or 30 percent of its workforce. The cuts and shutdowns are expected to reduce costs by $30 to 60 million this year and between $100 and 120 million annually after that.

First Solar said that through the layoffs, the company’s average manufacturing cost is expected to improve to $0.70-$0.72 per watt in 2012, below prior expectations of $0.74 per watt. In 2013 the company estimates average module manufacturing costs will range from $0.60 to $0.64 per watt.

“These restructuring actions are difficult to make and take, given all the important stakeholders involved" said Mark Widmar, First Solar's CFO, in a conference call. "The solar market has changed and so must we,” he continued.

Widmar explained that the restructuring actions are to "align our business to a demand profile that is highly reliable and predictable, which largely is our captive pipeline.” He indicated that the market for First Solar in Europe is largely drying up. The German factory that the company is closing had primarily supplied modules to third-parties, he said. “Clearly, you should take away from the European reductions that we’re doing from an op-ex [operating expense] standpoint, largely is all third-party module business. We’re not doing much of any systems business in Europe.”

Rumors that First Solar was looking for a buyer were shot down immediately. “I would not say that these actions are at all any indication of window dressing to position the company for sale. It is not that at all. It is integrated into a long-range plan that we feel highly confident in,” said Widmar.

First Solar continues to eye new markets in unsubsidized emerging regions of the world. “Over the next couple of years, we also intend to make progress in sustainable markets,” he said. More details will be announced during the company’s first quarter earnings call, which is scheduled for early May.

The moves by SunPower and First Solar, two of the world's biggest solar manufacturers, underscore the shift already underway in the solar industry and across much of the clean energy industries. Shifting policy, overcapacity and falling pricing coming from China continue to threaten future operations for many international players. In the past month alone, Q-Cells and Solar Trust of America have filed for bankruptcy. Also this week, reports indicated that Danish wind energy pioneer Vestas may become the target of a possible takeover from Chinese competitors.

According to Sam Wilkinson, a senior analyst at IMS Research, the moves point to the mounting pressure to reduce costs, even for a company like First Solar, long billed as a cost leader. First Solar's move also has much to do with changing policy and the overall difficulty stemming from the European market.

Hickenlooper, Bennet tout Colorado's energy leadership

If the United States is to pursue an “all of the above” energy policy, Colorado will be the model for the nation, said Gov. John Hickenlooper, speaking Tuesday at the Global New Energy Summit at The Broadmoor.

Colorado is a leader in wind and solar energy both in manufacturing and in production potential, Hickenlooper said, and has some of the largest natural gas reserves in the country, along with oil and coal resources.

“It allows us to be that test tube case where all those energies and technologies can be implemented,” Hickenlooper said. “We’re open to anything.”

He said the nation’s first priority should be developing natural gas resources, where recent advances in drilling technology have led to a huge boost in production, but that it was smart to invest in renewable energy at the same time.

“We don’t think our house is going to burn down, but we spend a tenth of a percent or two of our home’s value for fire insurance,” Hickenlooper said. “Long term, if we’re convinced about climate change, we have to continue looking at solar and wind.”

However, he said, the country should be open to all energy sources, touting Colorado Springs’ Neumann Systems Group and its clean coal technology as an example.

“I wouldn’t rule out coal — there’s a company here in Colorado Springs, Neumann Systems, that has a scrubbing system to pull the carbon dioxide off of coal,” Hickenlooper said. “As long as it’s data-based and science-driven, I think we should be open to all of those.”

Sen. Michael Bennet, speaking on a panel with former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota and former Sen. Bob Bennett of Utah, also talked up Colorado’s potential as an energy leader, but bemoaned the inability of politicians to work together to advance national energy goals.

Bennet said government will never be the driving force behind energy trends and innovation, but that it could play an important role in boosting new technologies. Bennet said partisan bickering in Washington, D.C., is harming those efforts.

“I don’t think we’ll see a comprehensive energy policy soon,” he said.

He cited the inability to pass an extension of the wind energy production tax credit as an example of political dysfunction that is hurting Colorado businesses.

“Washington has become the land of flickering lights,” he said. “We create a two-month extension over here, a four-month extension over there. Part of what we need to provide is predictability over a period of time.”

Read more: http://www.gazette.com/articles/leadership-136631-pursue-bennet.html#ixzz1sG1HuXcz