The "value of solar"— utility-scale or rooftop?

In his March 16 Camera column, "Renewables? Yes!" Bob Greenlee praised the recently announced plan by Xcel Energy to construct a large utility-scale solar PV project in Pueblo County which he claims will be "two to three times more cost-effective than smaller rooftop projects." Although a dubious claim, such a project might still seem like a good idea — to those unaware of the incredibly rapid changes taking place in the energy world. But the ground is moving under Greenlee's (and Xcel's) feet. Over the last year, and particularly in the last few months, the main debate has shifted from fossil vs. renewables to centralized renewables vs. distributed renewables — specifically rooftop solar PV. Just over one year ago, the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), the investor-owned utility policy and lobbying organization, issued a brief, but prescient report titled "Disruptive Challenges: Financial Implications and Strategic Responses to a Changing Retail Electric Business." The report offered its members a "heads-up" that their basic 100-year old business model was threatened by rooftop solar, and it recommended that they rethink their whole business. The costs of rooftop solar panels (called Distributed Generation or DG) have dropped so dramatically that in some places they are already cost competitive with utility-supplied electricity. The conventional economies of scale of centralized generation is simply gone — solar modules are just as efficient at small scale as large. Public pressure has been mounting for PUCs to adopt new tariffs that recognize the "Value of Solar" to society and to encourage its use by moving beyond the ancient "cost-of-service" regulatory model that does not recognize the externalized costs of traditional generation (e.g., to air, water, health, jobs, environment, etc.) or the benefits of DG. Late in 2013 utilities in California, Arizona, Colorado, and other states began asking their regulators to slash the net metering tariffs that have encouraged the growth of rooftop solar, and to impose onerous fees for solar customers connecting to the grid. In November, the public pushed back in Arizona and won a victory with regulators, in spite of millions spent by utilities on lobbying. In another landmark decision last week the Minnesota PUC actually adopted the nation's first "Value of Solar" tariff. The EEI study warned that a consequence of resisting the trend to solar DG would be that those who could afford to would go off-grid by adding storage to their solar, and then strand the utility as conventional costs were shared by fewer and fewer rate-payers — resulting in a utility "death spiral." Two weeks ago, the Rocky Mountain Institute issued a 70-page cost study that validated the EEI warning, "The Economics of Grid Defection: When and Where Distributed Solar Generation Plus Storage Competes With Traditional Generation." The following general guiding principles ought to be applied in evaluating the present and any future electricity generation projects: 1) produce power as close as possible to where it will be used, and local utilities should 2) only manage the "wires and poles," and 3) let the customers generate the power wherever possible. Some may ask, why not build large-scale renewable projects that could be located on spoiled, unproductive, or ecologically unimportant brown fields near existing transmission facilities? The answer is that society's preference should be to favor smaller-scale distributed renewables located at or near the point-of-use, and on fostering the markets for such technologies and products. Every dollar sucked up by a large utility-scale project is a dollar that cannot be invested in rooftop solar, smart inverters, battery storage, small scale hydro, smart appliances, and other mass market technologies that result in long-term community-based jobs and manufacturing. The big projects tend to be one-time deals that primarily feed short-term construction jobs for outsiders, as well as provide rewards for bondholders, investors, land speculators, and utility's rate-base return-on-capital assets. Transmission losses can waste 8-14 percent or more of the power. If Xcel builds their farm, what they will actually do with the power? Will they will then retire the Comanche (or any) coal plant? For a glimpse of how consumers might see solar in the future in America, look at the present in Germany (http://bosch-solar-storage.com/). Xcel's 900-acre solar farm may be obsolete long before it is off the drawing board. R.J. Harrington is with Clean Energy Action in Boulder; Timothy Schoechle is an engineer and entrepreneur who lives in Boulder.

Xcel approves $200M Colorado solar power project in Pueblo County

Xcel Energy said Tuesday that it plans to buy power from a $200 million solar installation to be built near its power plant in Pueblo County. The move underscores Xcel's move to focus on utility-scale solar, which the utility says is two to three times more cost-effective than rooftop solar. "This large-scale generating facility provides the advantage of renewable energy at a price that is right," said David Eves, chief executive officer of Xcel's Colorado subsidiary, said in a statement. Rooftop solar installers and leasing companies have been critical of Xcel's actions. The energy company is seeking to cut the "net meter" payment for electricity put on the grid by new rooftop systems. "Xcel would have saved its customers money if they'd invested in rooftop solar instead of this utility-scale plant," Meghan Nutting, policy and electric markets director for SolarCity, the largest solar lease company in the state, said in an e-mail. Edward Stern, president of the Colorado Solar Industries Association, said that "utility solar is key, but Coloradans need the option of installing solar on their homes." The project, to be built by Radnor, Pa.-based Community Energy, will meet 70 percent of the 170 megawatt solar generation goal in Xcel's current renewable energy plan. The plan was approved by the Colorado Public Utilities Commission in December 2013. The 120-megawatt Comanche Solar project will be the largest solar installation east of the Rocky Mountains, according to Eric Blank, president of Community Energy Solar, who is based in Boulder. Community Energy has solar projects in 10 states, including Colorado. The Comanche installation, with a price tag of more than $200 million, will be the largest by far, Blank said. At top performance, the system, slated to come online in 2016, will generate enough electricity to power more than 31,000 homes, Xcel said. "We were told by Xcel that is project was cost-competitive with the alternatives," Blank said. "This may be transformative, where solar becomes a real alternative." The installation, located on 900 acres of private land near the coal-fired Comanche Generating Station — will have about 450,000 photovoltaic panels on carriages that track the sun. Part of the cost-effectiveness of the project comes from being able to tap into the Comanche power plant's substation and transmission lines. "It is a very much cheaper interconnection," Blank said. Read more: Xcel approves $200M Colorado solar power project in Pueblo County - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_25271720/xcel-approves-200-million-solar-power-project-pueblo#ixzz2vyeLV2aT Read The Denver Post's Terms of Use of its content: http://www.denverpost.com/termsofuse Follow us: @Denverpost on Twitter | Denverpost on Facebook

New Website Highlights Popularity of Rooftop Solar, Opposition to Xcel’s Attacks on Solar

Coloradans support rooftop solar. They have made that abundantly clear time and time again. A recent poll demonstrated that 70% of Coloradans support net metering, a critical solar policy. In December, hundreds of residents descended on Xcel headquarters to oppose the utility’s attacks on rooftop solar. And at the beginning of February, Coloradans packed a Public Utilities Commission hearing room to voice opposition to Xcel’s proposal to limit energy choice in the state. Homeowners understand that rooftop solar can provide savings on their electric bills and pave the way for a strong, clean energy future. Xcel Energy has chosen to ignore the public – its own customers – and oppose rooftop solar. The utility wants to roll back net metering, a critical policy for Colorado’s environment and economic growth. In 43 states, net metering gives rooftop solar customers full retail credit for the excess energy they deliver back to the grid. Utilities like Xcel turn around and sell this exported energy at the full retail rate to the neighbors, even though they paid nothing to generate, transmit or distribute that cleaner power. Xcel wants to eliminate net metering to stifle rooftop solar and protect its monopoly. This week, The Alliance for Solar Choice (TASC) launched a new website highlighting Coloradans’ opposition to Xcel Energy’s efforts to undermine successful solar policy. The site, cosolarvoices.com features three Coloradans’ personal stories about why they support rooftop solar. Each of the speakers come from a different background but they share the conviction that rooftop solar is the key to Colorado’s energy future. These voices also share frustration over Xcel’s determination to hold onto its monopoly at any cost. “We should all be able to make the choices that we want to make,” says Jamie, a mom of two from Denver. “The utilities should not be controlling those choices.” Gary, a rancher and rodeo star agrees that “Xcel knows there went some profit for them, and that’s all they care about.” “It’s like they have the gimmes… gimme, gimme, gimme,” says Richard, a Veteran and lifelong Broncos fan. These personal stories echo across the entire state. Coloradans know that rolling back net metering now would have a chilling effect on Colorado’s solar industry, the jobs it creates, and the consumer energy choice it provides. Read more at http://cleantechnica.com/2014/02/25/new-website-highlights-popularity-rooftop-solar-opposition-xcels-attacks-solar/#AvJpwM08KSQeeB0Y.99

Top ten states for solar jobs: Colorado's on the list, but advocate says the news isn't all good

According to a solar jobs census conducted under the auspices of The Solar Foundation, Colorado ranked ninth in the U.S. for solar jobs, with 3,600 people employed by the industry here during 2013. See an infographic about the findings below. A cause to celebrate? Not according to Margaret McCall, an energy associate with Environment Colorado. That's because the state actually is lower on the roster than it was last year due to hiring stagnation. "In Colorado, we have the fifth greatest solar potential in the country because of all our sunshine," McCall says. "But we saw a 0 percent increase in employment between 2012 and 2013. And that's pretty disappointing." This holding action wasn't mirrored elsewhere, McCall adds. "Other states are bounding forward in terms of solar. Employment in the industry nationwide grew by almost 20 percent last year. But not here." The result was slippage in the solar-jobs rankings. As noted by the Denver Business Journal, Colorado fell three slots from 2012 in terms of both total jobs and solar jobs per capita; the state went from 7th to 10th in this last category between 2012 and 2013. In the view of solar boosters, the situation would have been worsened had a GOP attempt to repeal the rural renewable energy standard been successful; it was defeated last month. But McCall is still concerned about possible changes in net metering, which she describes as "fair credit for homeowners who have solar for sending excess energy back to the grid." As reported by Green Tech Media, Xcel Energy has asked for changes in the net metering standard that advocates believe would cost solar users currently benefiting from it. And while the Public Utilities Commission has not yet approved the plan, the proposal itself concerns McCall. "Our hypothesis is that uncertainty in the future of these policies is contributing to the slowdown," she says. How can Colorado reverse the current trend and begin climbing the solar-jobs list again? "We need to get a firm commitment from leaders with pro-solar policies to turn this around," McCall believes. "And it won't happen on its own."

Public Packs Both Public Utilities Commission Hearing Rooms on Behalf of Net Metering!

More than 100 solar supporters showed up, filling both PUC hearing rooms and over-flowing into the halls. The crowd was a diverse mix including solar home owners and installers- but the message was consistent: Coloradans overwhelmingly support protecting policies that are making rooftop solar more affordable and accessible to Coloradans. Those who spoke were articulate and passionate, noting that rooftop solar makes the grid stronger, gives consumers control over their energy futures, helps our state diversify its economy and safeguards its environment. Many spoke of doing the right thing for our grandchildren. These impassioned rooftop solar supporters outnumbered the few detractors 16 to 1. The session was an opportunity for the public to let the Commission know that as they embark on evaluating net metering, the public wants a transparent and inclusive process that fairly values the benefits of rooftop solar. Public participation couldn't be more important right now. Xcel can't hold all of the cards when it comes to charting the path forward for Colorado's clean energy. If you couldn't make it out to the public comment session, it's still not to late to speak up in support of a fair and transparent process for evaluating rooftop solar. Go to this website http://action.votesolar.org/page/speakout/COfairprocess to let your Commissioners know that you are paying attention to this issue.

Colorado legislature votes Down Rolling Back Renewable Energy Standards

At the start of the 2014 session, Colorado legislators introduced four bills attacking the higher renewable energy standards set for rural electric co-ops in the 2013 session. By Jan. 30, three of the four bills were dead, killed in the first committees to hear them. The renewable energy backlash came in response to Senate Bill 13-252, which passed in the 2013 session under heavy controversy. SB 252 amended the state's existing Renewable Energy Standard for large rural electric co-ops and electric wholesalers serving co-ops. It requires large co-ops and wholesalers to provide 25 percent of their power mix from renewable energy by 2020, up from the previous requirement of 10 percent by 2020. In response, legislators introduced four bills this January that would cut back 252’s requirements. The House Transportation and Energy Committee killed two, House Bills 1067 and 1113, while the Senate State, Veterans & Military Affairs Committee killed Senate Bill 35. The only active bill is Senate Bill 82, the least aggressive of the four. It focuses on a sliver of the improvements achieved by SB 252, addressing the section governing what is called “distributed renewable energy,” which is the renewable energy systems owned by customers, such as rooftop solar PV. SB 252 requires that 1 percent of large co-op’s total renewable energy come from distributed energy, or 0.75 percent for smaller co-ops. The 2014 legislation, SB 82, would lower that level to 0.5 percent for all rural electric co-ops. SB 82 is sponsored by state Sen. Kevin Grantham, R-Canon City, and 11 other state senators have signed on as co-sponsors. It is assigned to the Senate State, Veterans & Military Affairs Committee. CLEER is tracking the 17 clean energy bills now moving through the state Legislature on a page on the Garfield Clean Energy website. To learn about all these bills, visit www.GarfieldCleanEnergy.org, and find the “State Legislature” link under the “Government” tab.

Colorado holds hearing on Xcel's solar panel plan

DENVER -- Colorado's Public Utilities Commission is reviewing Xcel Energy's plans for ensuring solar and other renewable sources remain part of the state's power mix as regulators debate rules for compliance with a renewable energy law approved by voters. A key issue at Monday's public comment session is expected to be an Xcel proposal for what it calls more transparency on who gains and loses financially when rooftop solar is fed into the grid. With utilities across the country challenging what is known as net metering as too costly, proponents of solar energy see Xcel's proposal as a possible first step toward reducing what rooftop solar producers are paid. Colorado was the first state in the nation to adopt a renewable energy standard by a vote of the people. After four consecutive years of failing in the Legislature, the measure was taken to the ballot through a citizen's initiative in 2004. Amendment 37 created a renewable standard for investor-owned utilities to be achieved by 2015. The measure also established net metering and interconnection standards for major utilities and programs for solar generation. Minneapolis-based Xcel operates in eight states. Coloradoans make up nearly half its 3.4 million electricity customers. Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/02/03/3910087/colo-holds-hearing-on-xcels-solar.html#storylink=cpy

CO Public Utilities Commission Decision Keeps Rooftop Solar Shining

Today the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) approved a motion from the Colorado Energy Office that will keep one of the state’s most successful solar programs in place for the near term and provide an opportunity for a diverse stakeholder discussion about the future of rooftop solar in Colorado. This decision follows strong public opposition to a plan from Xcel Energy to roll back the popular solar program, called net metering. Net metering gives solar customers full retail credit on their energy bills for the excess power they contribute to the grid for the utility to resell nearby. Xcel issued a proposal to weaken the popular solar program as part of its 2014 Renewable Energy Standard Compliance Plan docket (Docket No. 13A-0836E). Today’s PUC decision removes all issues related to net metering to a new docket that will allow a more thorough discussion of the value and design of Colorado’s net metering program. Today’s PUC decision was widely supported by businesses, environmental groups and other Colorado stakeholders: "The vast majority of Coloradans want rooftop solar to be more available and more affordable. This is truly about power to the people. This decision today helps ensure a thoughtful discussion about the value of rooftop solar. We appreciate the Colorado Energy Office and the Public Utilities Commission’s action on this issue," said Edward Stern, Executive Director of the Colorado Solar Energy Industries Association (COSEIA) , which represents a wide range of Colorado solar businesses including manufacturers, distributors, and installers. “Our future national security is directly linked to our ability to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and produce secure, clean and local energy. Private investment in rooftop solar is helping build that cleaner, safer and more resilient energy supply here in Colorado. Operation Free supports clearing the way for more Coloradans to harness homegrown solar energy and removing unnecessary barriers to solar adoption," said Brett Hunt, a veteran of the war in Iraq and the Colorado Spokesman for Operation Free. Operation Free is a nationwide coalition of veterans and national security experts working to secure America with clean energy. “We believe that every consumer who wants solar should have access to it. Colorado residents are becoming more aware of the benefits of solar energy because we care about our environment, our way of life and the future of Colorado. Solar power clearly avoids air emissions and water consumption, and rooftop solar provides the added benefit of transmitting power that is produced locally,” said The Reverend Elias D. Burgos, Executive Director of Colorado Interfaith Power and Light, a non-profit organization focused on a religious response to climate change. “Rooftop solar represents a huge opportunity for Colorado to harness pollution free energy with no fuel costs. We cannot roll back one of the most successful solar programs. Net metering is a fair and appropriate way to compensate people for energy they provide for Colorado's electric system," said Kim Stevens, Campaign Director for Environment Colorado, an organization dedicated to protecting our Colorado’s air, water and open spaces. Statements from additional supporting organizations are available at: http://www.oursolarrights.org/state-campaigns/colorado/puc-decision-statements Rooftop solar helps Colorado families, schools and businesses take charge of their power supply and their electricity bills. This private investment in local clean energy delivers economic, environmental and public health benefits to solar and non-solar customers alike. Groups supporting Colorado’s net metering program include: Advanced Energy Economy, Clean Energy Action, Clean Power Finance, COSEIA, Dynamic Integration, EnergyShouldBe.org, Environment Colorado, Five Star Consultants, Go Green Electric, Interfaith Power & Light, Namaste Solar, Operation Free, Real Goods Solar, Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), Sierra Club, Sierra Club Rocky Mountain Chapter, SolarCity, Sunrun, The Alliance for Solar Choice (TASC), Verengo Solar and Vote Solar. About net metering: Like rollover minutes on a cell phone bill, net metering gives solar customers full credit on their utility bills for the excess clean power they contribute to the grid. In place in 43 states, this simple crediting arrangement is one of the most important state policies for enabling Americans to generate their own power from solar and other renewable energy resources. Learn more at: www.OurSolarRights.org

The Alliance for Solar Choice Applauds Colorado Energy Office for Leadership on Critical PUC Decision

Today the Colorado Energy Office (CEO) filed a motion with the Public Utilities Commission to sever issues related to net metering from the 2014 Renewable Energy Standard Compliance Plan docket (Docket No. 13A-0836E) to a new docket. If adopted, this motion will lead to a broad and diverse stakeholder discussion about the critical role net metering plays in the solar marketplace. "We commend the Governor's Energy Office for taking a course of action that aligns with the best interests of Colorado's energy consumers and our state's growing economy," said Meghan Nutting, spokesperson for The Alliance for Solar Choice (TASC). "If approved, the CEO's filing will give stakeholders an opportunity to have a thorough discussion about the value of solar and ultimately allow Colorado continue to demonstrate national leadership in solar." Rooftop solar helps Colorado families, schools and businesses take charge of their power supply and their electricity bills. This private investment in local clean energy delivers economic, environmental and public health benefits to solar and non-solar customers alike. Grid benefits: Local solar energy systems reduce the need for expensive centralized power plants and transmission infrastructure, which benefits Colorado's non-solar customers. These grid benefits total up to $13.6 million annually for Xcel's ratepayers in Colorado. Job & economic benefits: More than 300 solar companies currently employ 3,600 Coloradans throughout the state. In 2012, private investment in installing solar on Colorado homes and businesses totaled $187 million. Energy Choice for Coloradans: Recent poll results show that statewide support for net metering exceeds 70 percent in every region around the state and is greater than 60 percent across all of the key voter groups in Colorado. Specifically, the CEO's motion makes the following recommendations: The CEO requests that the Administrative Law Judge refer to the Commission for their opinion as to whether the issue of net metering costs and benefits should be severed from the current proceeding. The CEO further recommends that a Miscellaneous Docket proceeding be initiated to address net metering. Further, CEO recommends that the Commission establish a scope and process sufficient to address the issue of system costs and benefits associated with distributed solar generation, as applicable to the electric utility systems regulated by the Commission. The CEO offers that, at a minimum, the Miscellaneous Docket should address the following concerns: What methodologies should be used to estimate the cost and benefits of net metered distributed generation? What are the effects of DSG on cost allocation and other components of rate design? Determine the appropriate procedure to conduct a study of costs and benefits. Conduct a study of solar distributed generation costs and benefits. The CEO requests a shortened response time of 5-days for parties to comment on this motion, and requests that the Commission act upon this motion by January 31, 2014.

Colorado Governor Appoints New PUC Rep

Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper confirmed the appointment of Glenn Vaad (R) to the state public utilities commission over protests from solar energy advocates. Thousands of petitioners opposed Vaad’s appointment because of his affiliation with the American Legislative Exchange Council, a conservative lobbying group known for introducing legislation in more than a dozen states to eliminate renewable energy portfolio standards. Vaad served as of the group’s Commerce, Insurance and Economic development task force in 2011 and 2012. ALEC counts the Koch brothers, Exxon Mobile and the Edison Electric Institute among its members. The Edison Electric Institute published a report in 2013 declaring distributed rooftop solar a “significant threat” to the central utility business model. The Colorado Public Utilities Commission is scheduled to hear arguments on Feb. 3 over an Xcel Energy request to cut net metering payments – credits on solar customers’ utility bills for the excess power they feed back into the grid – from 10.5 cents per kilowatt hour to 4.6 cents, something solar advocates say would cripple the state’s growing rooftop solar industry. Several states have recently battled utility company challenges to net metering. California’s solar industry counts new legislation securing the future of net metering there as a victory. Arizona solar advocates triumphed when the Corporations Commission there voted to allow Arizona Public Service to raise rates for solar customers by up to $5 a month instead of the $50 to $100 the utility requested. The Alliance for Solar Choice, a newly minted lobbying group for the solar industry, said it and other solar advocates spent about $350,000 campaigning to save net metering in Arizona while the utility and lobbyists spent $9 million. Despite a major investment in unraveling net metering benefits and public support for distributed solar energy generation in Arizona, the utility lost. TASC is watching Colorado carefully, considering it the next major battleground for net metering benefits. With the PUC hearing on the horizon, solar advocates have been on high alert and were quick to oppose Vaad’s appoint once it learned of his involvement with ALEC. Watchdog group Common Cause even reported that Vaad received scholarships in 2006, 2007 and 2008 that included funds from Xcel Energy. "There is a clear conflict of interest," said Gabe Elsner, executive director of the Energy and Policy Institute said in a statement. "Vaad was a high-ranking representative of a corporate lobbying group that is coordinating a national attack on clean energy.” When Hickenlooper announced on Jan. 7 that he was confirming Vaad, his assistant told the Denver Post that Vaad’s affiliation with ALEC couldn’t be considered in a vacuum. As a former member of the state House of Representatives, Vaad voted in favor of increasing renewable energy requirements for rural electric cooperatives and moves to replace aging coal-fired power plants with natural gas generation, according to the Denver Post article. Vaad’s term has already started and one of the first issues he hears as a new member will be Xcel’s proposal to reduce net metering benefits.

Report: Net Metering Rollbacks Will Not Impact U.S. Solar Markets This Year

Despite efforts from some U.S. states to reevaluate their net-energy metering (NEM) policies, the impact of any potential changes on the U.S. photovoltaics industry is expected to be negligible this year, according to a new report from IHS Inc. IHS reports that 85% of distributed solar PV capacity installed to date in the U.S. is located in states with full retail-rate NEM. An estimated 70% is located in states that are reviewing their NEM policies. The debates in Arizona, Colorado and California has focused on determining the value of NEM PV power to non-NEM ratepayers, and how to recover the difference - if any - between the retail rate and this value. "The proceedings in Arizona, Colorado, and California all indicate that avoided utility costs are emerging as the way to determine NEM PV’s value," says Wade Shafer, senior analyst for North American PV at IHS. "However, with no single methodology for determining avoided costs, the debate over NEM benefits to the greater power system are likely to continue. Given that Arizona is currently positioned for NEM reform in 2015, and that California must create a new NEM tariff by 2016, the arguments are likely to continue through 2014 and 2015." Avoided fuel costs, capacity and distribution losses seem to be common areas of value, but what percentage of these utility-cost categories are avoided will be debated, IHS says. Other categories that are likely to be the subject of debate are avoided transmission and distribution investments, renewable power purchases and emissions. In addition to these debates being shaped by local power market dynamics, IHS says the local political environment will also influence the final determinations and lead to fragmented outcomes across the U.S. Shafer acknowledges that these debates have spurred some concern about the development of distributed solar in the U.S., since NEM incentives are critical to supporting the customer-sited PV market. However, with utility costs generally seen as increasing over time and PV costs expected to continue to decline, he says the future of distributed PV generation could be promising in select areas. "After examining proposed changes and recent utility commission rulings, IHS has determined that net metered PV project economics will not be significantly impacted in 2014," Shafer says. IHS advises distributed solar developers to focus on driving project costs lower through improved installation, streamlined customer acquisition and innovative financing/business models in order to prepare for a future of avoided-cost valuations.

DOE invests $13 million to drive U.S. solar power manufacturing

The Department of Energy announced more than $13 million for five projects to strengthen domestic solar power manufacturing and speed commercialization of efficient, affordable photovoltaic and concentrating solar power technologies. As part of the DOE's SunShot Initiative, these awards will help lower the cost of solar electricity, support a growing U.S. solar energy workforce and increase U.S. competitiveness in the global clean energy market. According to a new U.S. solar industry report, the U.S. solar market continues to grow — reaching record-breaking levels. In Q3 2013, the U.S. installed 930 MW of photovoltaic, up 20 percent over Q2 2013 and representing the second largest quarter in solar installations in U.S. history. Cumulatively, solar capacity has already surpassed 10 GW and by the end of the year more than 400,000 solar power projects will be operating across the country. Matched by over $14 million in private cost share, the DOE's investment will help five companies in California, Colorado, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Oregon develop cost-effective manufacturing processes for photovoltaic and concentrating solar power technologies. For example, Colorado-based Abengoa Solar will develop new methods to produce concentrating solar power trough systems, helping to lower overall production costs and support easy and quick on-site assembly. PPG Industries, headquartered in Pennsylvania, will lead a project to cut solar module manufacturing costs in half, while Georgia-based Suniva will develop a low-cost highly efficient silicon photovoltaic cell.

Xcel receives approval to increase wind, solar capacity in Colorado

The Colorado Public Utilities Commission has approved Xcel Energy’s request to increase the amount of wind and solar power on its system in Colorado by 620 MW, according to a report from the Denver Business Journal. The increase will boost Xcel’s renewable energy capacity in the state by 25 percent. According to the report, 450 MW of the new capacity will come from wind power projects and 170 MW will come from utility-scale solar projects. The new power supplies will meet the power demand for Xcel’s customers in the state through at least 2018, the company stated. Xcel currently has 2,427 MW of renewable energy in its portfolio, with 250 MW coming from solar power and 2,177 coming from wind power projects, according to the Business Journal.

Signatures Delivered to Xcel Energy in Denver

DENVER - A petition bearing 27,000 signatures asks Xcel Energy to withdraw a recent proposal about solar energy. It was delivered with a protest outside Xcel's headquarters in Denver on Wednesday. In their 2014 Renewable Energy Standard Compliance Plan, Xcel writes that they want to open a dialog about changes to the incentives offered in the on-site solar program. They specifically want to discuss "the equity of that incentive." "Customers deserve credit for all of the solar that's produced on their rooftops and that shouldn't be undermined by Xcel's proposal and it shouldn't be undervalued by Xcel," said Meghan Nutting, Director of Policy and Electricity Markets for SolarCity. But Xcel says the goal is to provide better service. "The folks that have solar on their homes are not going to see any change in incentives they receive," said Xcel spokeswoman Ethnie Treick. "It's merely starting a conversation, making sure it's fair for all of our customers." One of the changes proposed by Xcel for 2014 is to include the cost of new installations in the Renewable Energy Standard Adjustment but credit an equal amount to the Electric Commodity Adjustment. The utility wrote they are hopeful the change will inform debate about the "appropriate level of incentives going forward." For customers who install their solar systems after the start of 2014, Xcel also proposes a surcharge to the Renewable Energy Standard Adjustment. They called it a "fair share surcharge." The utility's RES Plan specifically states, "We do not propose any changes for customers who have currently installed on-site [photo voltaic] systems." In another immediate repercussion of the RES, Xcel is hanging its future plans for distributed generation on the decision about the "transparency" proposal. If the plan is refused, Xcel tells the Public Utilities Commission it will plan to cut the growth of distributed solar generation through two programs by nearly 70 percent. With 237,800 renewable energy credits annually, Xcel's proposal shows it will already be compliant with its distributed generation requirements for 2014. The proposal is currently in the hands of the Public Utilities Commission.

New Poll People of Colorado Oppose Xcel Energy Proposed Changes to Net-Metering

According to a new poll, Colorado residents support solar net metering, a standard policy in dozens of states across the country, but one that has been a bone of contention with Xcel Energy, the state’s largest power provider. Net metering is the process in which homeowners and businesses with solar panel systems are credited with the retail rate of electricity for any excess power they send back to the grid. In other words, it’s basically the same as if they had cut their electricity use by that amount. The bipartisan research team of Public Opinion Strategies and Keating Research recently completed the survey of 400 voters throughout Colorado regarding their perceptions of a proposed change to net metering for rooftop solar systems. The survey finds strong and widespread support for the practice of net metering, and a rejection of the changes proposed by Xcel Energy. Opposition to the proposal is broad based and widespread, but is particularly strong among Xcel’s own customers. Specifically, the survey found nearly four in five Colorado voters (78 percent) support the practice of net metering. Survey respondents received a brief, neutral explanation of net metering in order to ensure all respondents had the same level of information on the topic. Only 11 percent of the state’s electorate indicate opposition to the policy, with a mere 5 percent strongly opposed, and another one in ten (11 percent) unsure of their views on this policy. Support for net metering is just as strong among Xcel Energy customers (79 percent support). In fact, support exceeds 70 percent in every region of the state and exceeds 60 percent with every single key sub group of voters that were examined. Conversely, voters expressed adamant opposition to Xcel Energy’s proposal to change net metering and reduce the credit it provides to rooftop solar energy producers. For its part, Xcel Energy defends it proposal to reduce solar subsidies. The problem, said David Eves, chief executive officer of the utility’s Colorado subsidiary, is that the benefits of rooftop solar do not cover the program’s costs. “This is not about putting the brakes on solar,” Eves said. “It’s about having an honest discussion about costs and benefits.” If changes aren’t made, however, Xcel said it wants to cut back its Solar Reward program to 6 megawatts of new solar arrays from a planned 36 megawatts.

Solar Energy Battle in Colorado

How much for a ray of sunshine? In Colorado it's becoming a hotly contested question. Almost 30,000 Coloradans signed a petition that was delivered to Xcel Energy executives asking the company to withdraw its proposal to reduce the current credit rate for solar power generated by homeowners' rooftop systems from 10.5 cents per kilowatt hour to 4.6 cents per kilowatt hour. Back in July, Minneapolis-based Xcel Energy -- the leading power provider in Colorado -- proposed a plan to roll back the state's net metering program and reduce its "Solar Reward" rebate levels to less than a penny per kilowatt hour -- or in the words of the Vote Solar Initiative (which is against the proposal), "make solar a bad deal for customers in its service territory." Net metering is used as an incentive to sell solar power, paying homeowners full retail credit on their energy bills for the excess power their solar installations send to the grid. According to Xcel, the current rate includes a "hidden subsidy" that its other customers without solar panels are having to pay for their neighbors' rooftop systems, The Denver Business Journal reported. "Coloradans are not going to let Xcel get away with a dramatic rollback of the state’s most important solar policy. If approved, Xcel would be able to drastically cut the credit solar customers receive for electricity they put on the grid," said Annie Lappe, solar policy director at The Vote Solar Initiative, in a statement. "This proposal is anti-progress, anti-consumer, and simply unfair. Colorado’s solar customers deserve full credit for the valuable power they produce, which is building a safer, cleaner, more resilient grid for all of us." According to a poll released by Public Opinion Strategies and Keating Research last week, 78 percent of Coloradans support solar net metering and 80 percent oppose Xcel’s proposal to change the policy. The U.S. Solar Market Insight for the 3rd Quarter of 2013 even ranked Colorado 7th in the country for solar capacity with enough energy to power over 56,000 homes. “Monopoly utilities across the country, like Xcel, continue to fail repeatedly in their attempts to stop solar competition.” said Bryan Miller, TASC President and VP of Public Policy for Sunrun, in a statement. “In every net metering battle, from Idaho, to Louisiana, to California, to Arizona, states have preserved net metering. The verdict of 2013 is that net metering is here to stay.”

STAND UP FOR SOLAR RIGHTS!

Rally in Denver! Rooftop solar is helping Colorado build a cleaner, safer and lower cost energy supply. It's great news for Coloradans, but now Xcel Energy is asking to change the rules to penalize Coloradans who go solar. Learn more about the utility's anti-solar, anti-consumer plan here. Help us send a clear message that Xcel needs to withdraw its unfair proposal TODAY and keep solar shining in Colorado! Join us at noon on Wed, Dec 11 as we deliver our solar petition to Xcel. We'll have solar-powered coffee, hot chocolate and plenty of good company to keep us warm! Time: Wednesday, December 11, 2013 12:00 PM - 1:15 PM MST Host: Vote Solar, The Alliance for Solar Choice, COSEIA, Environment Colorado, Sierra Club, and others Location: Skyline Park (Denver, CO) 1732 Arapahoe Street Denver, CO 80265

Denver Rally 12/11/13 to Support Solar in Colorado

Rooftop solar is helping Colorado build a cleaner, safer and more resilient energy supply. But now Xcel wants to change the rules on Coloradans who go solar by drastically cutting the credit these customers would receive for electricity they put onto the grid. If the utility is successful, they could destroy the economics of going solar in our state. This proposal from Xcel is a thinly-veiled attempt to protect profits and stand in the way of energy innovation and customer choice. On Wednesday, December 11, we’re going to send a clear message to Xcel executives that Coloradans support fair credit for solar power. Will you join me? Here are the details: What: Stand Up for Rooftop Solar Event and Petition Delivery When: Wednesday, December 11, 2013 12:00 PM - 1:15 PM MST Where: Skyline Park (Denver, CO) 1732 Arapahoe Street Denver, CO 80265 12:30: Move to Xcel's Headquarters 1800 Larimer St Denver, CO 80265 Why: Xcel wants to change the rules on its customers who invest in rooftop solar, which helps Colorado build a cleaner, safer and more resilient energy supply. The utility has proposed drastic cuts to the credits it provides for the excess clean energy solar customers deliver to the grid, and that Xcel then sells to their neighbors. If Xcel is successful with this proposal, new solar customers could see bill-saving credits cut in half. More than 20,000 Coloradans have already voiced their opposition to Xcel Energy’s anti-solar plan. At noon on December 11, we will gather in downtown Denver to deliver our petitions in person to Xcel.

Poll: Xcel Energy’s anti-solar proposal is a nonstarter for Coloradans

Poll: Xcel Energy’s anti-solar proposal is a nonstarter for Coloradans A new poll released today shows that an overwhelming majority (78%) of Coloradans support the state’s existing net metering program, an important rooftop solar policy that’s being targeted by the state’s major utility, Xcel Energy. The poll also found that a whopping 4 in 5 of Xcel’s own customers oppose the utility’s proposal to weaken net metering, a view that remains strong among solar and non-solar customers alike. Net metering makes sure that homes, schools and businesses receive full retail credit for the excess energy they deliver to the grid for the utility to sell to their neighbors. This policy is helping Colorado harness its plentiful sunshine to build a cleaner, safer and more resilient energy supply. And as today’s poll results show, Coloradans clearly feel strongly that they want more solar power – and fair, full credit for it. So why is Xcel Energy working against its own customers to penalize investment in homegrown solar energy? Xcel wants to change the rules on Coloradans who have gone solar by drastically cutting the credit these customers receive for electricity they put onto the grid. If the utility is successful, solar customers could see their bill-saving net metering credit cut in half. On Wednesday, December 11, we’re going to send a clear message to Xcel executives that Coloradans support fair credit for solar power. If you live in Colorado, here are two ways you can help: Sign our petition: More than 20,000 Coloradans have already voiced their opposition to Xcel Energy’s anti-solar plan. ADD YOUR SIGNATURE HERE! http://action.votesolar.org/page/s/XcelPetition Show up in person: At noon on December 11, we will gather in downtown Denver to deliver our petitions in person to Xcel. We’ll have solar-powered coffee, hot chocolate, and plenty of good company to keep warm. RSVP TODAY! http://action.votesolar.org/page/event/detail/event/rtl Xcel’s is the latest in a series of attacks on net metering from utilities that are trying to protect their old way of doing business by preventing continued solar adoption among their customers. Within the last year, these traditional energy interests have tried and failed to roll back net metering in states that run the gamut from California and Arizona to Idaho and Louisiana. In all cases, the utilities’ anti-solar proposals were met with strong opposition from a public that increasingly wants to generate its own power from the sun. Let’s do it again! Help us spread the word that Xcel needs to withdraw its anti-solar proposal and keep Colorado solar shining today.

Competitive Solar And Natural Gas To Advance Hand-In-Hand

Unsubsidized utility-scale solar electricity will become cost-competitive with gas by 2025, according to a new report from Lux Research. Moreover, the analysis firm says, increased gas penetration actually benefits solar by enabling hybrid gas/solar technologies that can accelerate adoption and increase intermittent renewable penetration without expensive infrastructure improvements. The U.S. Department of Energy says between 11-21 GW of concentrating solar power can be integrated with existing fossil power plants in the U.S. The levelized cost of energy (LCOE) from unsubsidized utility-scale solar closes the gap with combined cycle gas turbines to within $0.02/kWh worldwide in 2025, a Lux analysis of 10 global regions found. Solar’s competitiveness is led by a 39% fall in utility-scale system costs by 2030 and accompanied by barriers to shale gas production - anti-fracking policies in Europe and high capital costs in South America. "On the macroeconomic level, a 'golden age of gas' can be a bridge to a renewable future as gas will replace coal until solar becomes cost-competitive without subsidies," says Ed Cahill, a research associate at Lux and lead author of the report. "On the microeconomic level, solar integrated with natural gas can lower costs and provide stable output." Lux Research analysts created a bottom-up system cost model and analyzed LCOE to evaluate solar, gas and hybrid technologies' competitiveness under different gas price scenarios across 10 regions around the world through 2030. Solar can be competitive with natural gas as early as 2020 if gas prices are between $4.90/MMBtu and $9.30/MMBtu, depending on the solar resource, Lux says. In the report's scenario of gas prices above $7.60/MMBtu, solar will be broadly competitive by 2025 in all 10 regions. Lux expects solar power prices to fall to $1.20/W by 2030. According to the report, utility-scale thin film leads the pack with installed system prices that fall from $1.96/W in 2013 to $1.20/W in 2030, primarily due to increasing module efficiencies. Nevertheless, the transition from a subsidized solar sector to an unsubsidized one will be turbulent. The report says turmoil is imminent because standalone solar will not yet be competitive when subsidies start expiring in top solar markets of China, the U.S. and Japan. Companies will need to diversify geographically and transition to areas with fewer gas resources - or develop hybrid systems that take advantage of low gas prices, Lux says.

Energy stream: Colorado Mesa, GJ firm link solar, natural gas

Energy stream: Colorado Mesa, GJ firm link solar, natural gas There’s no shortage of sun and natural gas in western Colorado, making it a prime location to learn how to marry the two energy sources. Colorado Mesa University and Atlasta Solar Center, 111 S. Seventh St., teamed up to do exactly that, joining together a solar energy system with a 14 kilowatt-hour generator that runs on natural gas. CMU’s Unconventional Energy Center and Atlasta each chipped in $6,900 for the needed equipment and Jose Morales, a CMU mechanical-engineering technology student, helped build the system that ultimately will provide heat, electricity and light. Eventually, said Lou Villaire, one of three co-owners of Atlasta, “We want to see it get to the point that we use the utility as a backup” instead of as a prime energy source. The proposal by Atlasta, a 35-year-old Grand Junction company, fit the mission of the university’s Unconventional Energy Center, which provides funding for workforce development and research, said Derek Wagner, vice president for intergovernmental and community affairs for CMU. For Morales, a 2009 Grand Junction High School graduate, the venture provided real-world experience that he said he hoped to use after graduation. His interest in alternative energy was kindled in his youth, visiting his grandparents in Mexico. “I was interested to see if there were other ways to provide energy,” Morales said. The next step in the project is to create seamless switching from natural gas to solar to the grid, as conditions warrant, including the current price of each source. On Tuesday, Morales manually pulled down the switch taking the building’s interior systems from solar to natural gas. His next job is to set up the system so all those decisions are automated, one he hopes to complete during his final semester at CMU, Morales said.

Business coalition gets behind solar campaign

A coalition of more than 280 businesses and others, along with more than 11,000 people, called on Gov. John Hickenlooper and other state leaders to help reach a goal of installing 3 gigawatts of solar energy statewide. The Denver conservation group Environment Colorado said this week that support for the initiative included businesses in Fort Collins, such as Odell Brewing Co. and Equinox Brewing Co. Inc. The coalition includes farmers, ranchers, government officials and environmental organizations. The Colorado solar industry announced the goal, known as a Million Solar Roofs, earlier this year, but this week's announcement indicated broad support for the campaign. A similar campaign is under way in California. Three gigawatts of solar, which the solar industry aims to install by 2030, would multiply the state's solar capacity by 10. The goal would raise solar's contribution to 10 percent of the state's energy generation. The goal includes everything from rooftop arrays to solar farms. Solar thermal systems are also included in the campaign. Policies such as net-metering, where people who invest in solar panels receive credit from utilities for excess electricity they supply to the grid, can help reach the goal, Environment Colorado said.

Solar Has $1.42 Billion Economic Impact in Colorado

Colorado’s growing solar industry has contributed more than $1.42 billion to the state’s economy since 2007, according to a recent study from the Solar Foundation. The Solar Foundation is a national nonprofit focused on researching the economic impact of the solar industry. The organization’s 2012 solar jobs census found that more than 119,000 Americans were working in the solar industry, which was a 13.2 increase over 2011. Colorado’s Solar Friendly Cities Initiative, which was organized with U.S. Department of Energy SunShot Initiative funding and run by the Colorado Solar Energy Industries Association, commissioned the economic impact study from the Solar Foundation. The study found that Colorado’s solar photovoltaic industry has created more than 10,700 full-time equivalent jobs since the technology first started to become popular six years ago. Workers have collected more than $534 million in wages since then and installed nearly 250 megawatts of solar electricity in the state. State tax revenue collected from increased solar development between 2007 and the first quarter of 2013 falls somewhere between $34.1 million and $59.7 million. “Solar energy is ready to play a major role in Colorado’s future,” said Rebecca Cantwell, Director of the Solar Friendly Communities Program. “It creates jobs, strengthens local economies, cuts air pollution and conserves our precious water supplies. This report puts some hard numbers on a lot of those benefits for the first time.” While the economic impact has been significant, such rapid growth is expected to continue. COSEIA set a goal of installing 3 gigawatts of solar photovoltaic capacity by 2030, which is the equivalent of 1 million solar rooftops. The Solar Foundation study found that increased solar installation to such a degree would create almost 32,500 full time equivalent jobs. Employees of such jobs would earn a projected $1.9 billion. In addition to generating clean energy, the economic impact would top $3.85 billion. These types of growth opportunities are immense and Colorado solar industry leaders are expected to use the data from the study to promote state policies that will remain friendly and encourage industry growth. “The hard statistics in this report illustrate the unquestionable contribution solar development makes to state economic development,” said Piper Foster, COSEIA board president. “COSEIA is proud to publicize facts about the jobs engine that is solar energy.

Almost All New US Electricity Generation Coming from Solar

The U.S. brought online nearly 700 MW of new electricity generation in October, and practically all of it was large-scale solar energy, according to data from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (FERC) Office of Energy Projects. Out of a total 699 MW of new build and expansions that FERC tracked, 504 MW of that came from 12 solar projects. Interestingly they're spread all over the country, and most have long-term PPAs in hand: Abengoa's 280-MW Solana Generating Station project in Maricopa County, AZ Southern Company's 139-MW Campo Verde Solar project in Imperial County, CA NRG Energy's 36-MW California Valley Solar Ranch Phase 4 project in San Luis Obispo County, CA Southern Company's 30-MW Spectrum Solar project in Clark County, NV eT Energy Solutions' 10-MW Indianapolis International Airport Solar Farm Phase 1 project in Marion County, IN WGL Holdings' 3.8-MW Bellingham Solar project in Worcester County, MA Constellation Solar's 2-MW Owens Corning Delmar Solar project in Albany County, NY St. Albans Solar Partner's 2-MW St. Albans Solar Farm project in Franklin County, VT Envirepel Energy's 2.8-MW biomass fueled Kittyhawk Energy Phase I project in Talladega County, AL Besides a whole bunch of solar, two wind projects and four biomass projects came online during the month of October, contributing 66 MW and 124 MW respectively. For the 10 months through October, 12.3 GW of new installed capacity has been brought online; 2.5 GW of that solar, roughly 1 GW wind, 360 MW biomass, and 117 MW of hydro, says FERC. Meanwhile, about 6.6 GW of natural gas was brought online, plus 1.5 GW of coal. Compared with FERC's statistics from a year ago, it's clear that larger solar projects are really ramping up in the U.S. From Jan-Oct. of this year 190 solar projects came online with 2.5 GW installed generating capacity; through the same period last year there were many more projects but with less than half that amount (260 projects, 1.25 GW). Also note the additions of wind energy have slowed to a trickle: roughly 1 GW through October of this year across 11 projects, compared with 107 projects and 6.2 GW from Jan-Oct. 2012, though activity seems to be picking up in these last couple of months. Still, solar energy's slice of total generating installed capacity is just a drop in the bucket for the nation's overall profile, roughly 0.6 percent (6.79 GW) out of a total 1,158 GW, lagging well behind wind (60.29 GW, 5.21 percent) and biomass (15.33 GW, 1.32 percent), while geothermal keeps steady at 3.79 GW/ 0.33 percent. All the renewable sectors together minus hydro tally up to about 88 GW, or 7.6 percent of the U.S.' total installed operating generating capacity; adding hydro more than doubles that to 184 GW and roughly 16 percent.

Solar Industry Wins In Arizona: Net Metering Preserved

The solar industry has been fighting in the trenches for the past few months as the utility, Arizona Power (APS), used under-handed ways to eliminate net-metering. Despite an unprecedented multi-million-dollar campaign, Arizona regulators rejected the utility's drive to eliminate net-metering for solar systems in the state. About 1,000 people showed up to protest before last week's vote. While state regulators did decide to impose a monthly fee for people that have solar systems, at 5% it is much smaller than APS requested. Regulators voted for a fixed fee of $0.70 per kilowatt (kW) starting next year, which amounts to $7 for a 10 kW system. Existing solar systems will not be charged. "Any tax on solar hinders market growth, but at this level at least the industry can continue to grow," says The Alliance for Solar Choice (TASC), which vows to continue opposes similar moves in other states. Closely watched by utilities across the country, it would have set a problematic precedent had Arizona Power won. Background on the Case Arizona's net-metering law, in place since 2009, allows homeowners and businesses that have solar systems to sell excess electricity back to the grid. Over the past few years, strong growth of small solar systems has resulted in utilities running scared. As we've reported numerous times, their traditional business model of making money by selling more energy is threatened by the increasing number of independent power generators. Utilities argue that customers with rooftop solar aren't paying their fair share to maintain the grid - they are being "subsidized by customers who don't have solar." As more people rely less on grid-based solar, they say, that puts the burden of paying for utilities' services on fewer and fewer people. This isn't true - people that run on solar still pay the same monthly service charges. In this case, Arizona Power wants to charge people that have solar systems a separate $50-$100 per month, creating a disincentive for investing in solar. Money Rolls In To win its campaign, Arizona Power went so far as to channel millions of dollars through shady, conservative front groups that ran ads discrediting the solar industry. One of the groups - 60 Plus - is among the too-many-to-count Koch Brother funded-groups. And APS quietly joined ALEC. Uncovered by the newspaper, Arizona Republic, the utility lied about it to ratepayers, reporters, and state regulators. The revelation came after Bob Burns, Commissioner of Arizona Corporation Commission ordered the utility to disclose all funds spent to kill energy competition in Arizona, says TUSK (Tell Utilities Solar Won't be Killed). "The monopoly utility, when not wasting ratepayer funds concocting new propaganda materials, continues its scheme to reduce the rate it pays for solar so it can sell it at a higher profit. Net metering requires utilities to fairly compensate rooftop solar customers who send electricity back to the grid. APS is seeking to end this successful policy. In the meantime, APS ignores its own subsidies as subsidies for solar in the state of Arizona have largely come to an end. Since 1985, APS has received federal and state subsidies for nuclear and fossils in the range of $900 million to $1 billion, reports TUSK. "First they say they have nothing to do with ads attacking Arizona rooftop solar customers. That turned out to be a lie. Now it turns out that they are spending millions to launch these attacks. It makes you wonder where their priorities are. If they had put this amount of time and energy into actually being innovative and planning for solar expansion, they would not have found themselves in this position," says Barry Goldwater Jr., the son of the famous Republican, who chairs TUSK. Arizona Power spent $3.7 million on the effort and trade association Edison Electric spent another $520,000 on a 10-day ad campaign on television. The solar industry spent near $500,000 to fight the proposed changes. 43 states and the District of Columbia have net metering laws - a key driver for industry growth along with state Renewable Portfolio Standards. Learn more and get involved: Website: http://dontkillsolar.com/site/

As Xcel Follows National Playbook to Attack Solar, Ballot Results Say ‘Not in Colorado’

On the heels of Xcel’s second failure to stop the citizens of Boulder from taking control of their electricity, the utility is attacking energy choice on another front: rooftop solar. Xcel wants to penalize solar customers and eliminate the fair credit they receive for excess clean energy they deliver to the grid. The utility’s disregard for consumer choice is an attempt to protect its monopoly status and inflated profit margins. Tuesday’s election results show that Xcel faces an uphill battle in trying to stifle rooftop solar and consumer demands for choice and independence on energy matters. On two separate votes related to Boulder’s effort to create its own utility, pro-municipalization positions outpolled pro-Xcel positions 2:1. Meanwhile Lafayette, Boulder, and Fort Collins all passed restrictions on hydraulic fracking. “These results demonstrate a clear public desire for more choice, local control and more renewable energy,” said Meghan Nutting, Colorado resident and representative of The Alliance for Solar Choice. “Coloradans know last century’s fossil fuel status quo and a centralized monopoly doesn’t work for a 21st Century Colorado.” In 2011 and 2013, Xcel spent more than $2 million telling the citizens of Boulder that the utility knows better than the community. Consumers did not buy it. Now Xcel is asking the Public Utilities Commission for permission to pay rates below market value to rooftop solar customers who feed electricity back into the grid. Xcel’s proposal would undermine a policy called net metering and prevent consumers from receiving fair credit for the rooftop solar power they produce. Net metering is currently in place in 43 states. “We all should have the choice to produce our own power from the sun without being penalized,” said Nutting. “But Xcel wants to increase their monopoly over our power sources and eliminate this freedom.” Xcel’s attempts to end net metering and rooftop solar align with a national playbook outlined by the utility’s own trade association Edison Election Institute (EEI). EEI’s January 2013 report “Disruptive Challenges” warns that increased consumer adoption of distributed solar will lead to “declining utility revenues, increasing costs, and lower profitability potential, particularly over the long-term,” and proposes efforts to eliminate or counter net metering. Utility monopolies across the country have responded with political force. Just this month, EEI disclosed that it spent more than half a million dollars over a ten-day period on anti-rooftop solar advertising in Arizona.

Stop Xcel’s Profit Grab

Attn: David Eves, President and CEO, Public Service Company of Colorado, an Xcel Energy company Cc: Colorado Public Utilities Commission Dear Mr. Eves, We, the undersigned, are Colorado electricity customers. We urge Xcel to immediately withdraw its proposal before the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to penalize rooftop solar customers who deliver solar electricity to the grid. Private investment in local solar power delivers numerous financial benefits to all of your customers, even those without solar on their roofs: savings on expensive and polluting conventional power; reduced investments in transmission and distribution infrastructure; reduced electricity lost during transportation over power lines; and savings on the cost of meeting future carbon regulation. Recent independent analysis found that these benefits of net metered power outweigh the costs, with a total net value of between $7 and $11 million per year in Xcel Energy’s Colorado territory. Overall, solar power has brought $1.42 billion to Colorado’s state economy since 2007. Your proposal significantly undervalues rooftop solar power at the expense of your own customers. We urge Xcel to stop trying to stifle rooftop solar. Instead, it’s time to innovate your business model to make room for customer participation in our energy marketplace. Please withdraw the net metering rollback plan in docket 13A-0836E at the PUC today. Sign the Petition here: http://protectnetmetering.org/state-campaigns/colorado/

Fight Over Future of Solar in Colorado

Geoff Vezzetti of Solar Side Up lifts a panel onto the roof while installing solar panels on a home in Golden on Sept. 17, 2013. (Seth McConnell, Your Hub) An attempt to find common ground on state policies for rooftop solar started Tuesday with a sharp exchange between Xcel Energy and solar-energy advocates. The session ended with Xcel's refusal to withdraw its proposal — which is pending at the Colorado Public Utilities Commission — to cut rooftop-solar incentives. In turn, the representatives from Vote Solar, a solar-energy advocacy group, said they were not sure of the value of continuing the talks. The session, hosted by the Colorado Energy Office, brought together representatives of utilities, state government and the solar-energy industry. The goal was to try to balance the interests of utilities and the solar industry "before it degenerates into contention," said Jeff Ackermann, director of the energy office. The contention, however, was evident in opening statements. Xcel's concern is that the credit given to homes and businesses with solar panels that add kilowatt-hours to the grid is too high and burdens other customers, said Frank Prager, an Xcel vice president. In a PUC filing, Xcel is calling for a cut in the credit, the so-called net-meter charge. The credit is equal to the price a residential customers pays: 10.5 cents a kilowatt-hour. If the credit isn't cut, Xcel wants to reduce new solar installations in its Solar Rewards program by 83 percent to 6 megawatts. "Utilities are working to stop and slow down these innovative technologies," said Rick Gilliam, Vote Solar's director of research. In turn, Prager objected to the proposal that how a utility conducts its business and its planning to accommodate new technology should be part of the discussion. "This was a missed opportunity," said Edward Stern, executive director of the Colorado Solar Energy Industries Association, a trade group. "(Gov. John Hickenlooper) got all the relevant parties to the table, and that was a great step," Stern said. "But Xcel forcing net-metering into its renewable-energy-compliance plan makes it hard to have a discussion." Challenges to Xcel's plan must be filed with the PUC in two weeks. "There just isn't enough time to do everything," Stern said. The energy office is, however, planning another session. "We are optimistic because we see that people are willing to put forward their points of view," Ackerman said in an e-mail. "The prospects for consensus should not be judged by one meeting."

US Bureau of Land Management to auction Colorado solar sites

The US government’s land agency, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), will hold its first competitive auction of public land for solar development today. BLM’s Colorado office will auction off three parcels of land totalling 3,705 acres in two ‘solar energy zones’ in Conejos and Saguache counties in the south of the state. SEZs are areas of public land in the US designated by the government for development of PV arrays. If fully developed the two SEZs in today’s auction, De Tilla Gulch and Los Mogotes East, could support up to 400MW of new solar capacity, BLM said. “These Solar Energy Zones (SEZs) are part of our effort to make sure that we’re developing clean energy in the right places and in the right ways,” said BLM’s principal deputy director Neil Kornze. “[Today’s] competitive auction is an important milestone as we seek to accelerate the development of clean energy on our public lands that hold enormous potential for the solar power and for generating jobs and revenue for local communities.” Successful bidders in the auction will be invited to submit detailed project proposals, which will subject to environmental impact scrutiny. The US department of the Interior has created 19 SEZs in the western solar plan aimed at stimulating solar development in the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah. The zones are in areas with access to planned or existing transmission lines and where impact on biological, cultural and historic resources are expected to be minimal.

Another 1 MW of Community-Owned Solar Comes Online in Colorado

Perched at 9,200 feet in the heart of the Rocky Mountains, two community-shared solar arrays began producing clean, local power this week for residents and businesses of the historic ski town of Breckenridge, Colo. and surrounding Summit County. Developed in tandem by Clean Energy Collective (CEC), the Breckenridge Sol Array and the Breckenridge Ullr Solar Array are the first and only community solar facilities in Summit County, Colo., and are the second and third community-owned projects to come online in Xcel Energy's young Solar*Rewards Community program. The two 500 kW facilities—which the Town of Breckenridge named for Ullr, the Norse god of snow, and Sól, the god of sun—have the capacity to generate locally-made clean power for up to 200 Summit County electricity customers. The Ullr Array is completely sold out. Residential, commercial, or non-profit customers can purchase 235-Watt panels in the Sol Array for $870 each, with a minimum of five panels up to as many as needed to completely power a home or business. Thanks to the Town of Breckenridge's enthusiastic support of the program, town residents and businesses will also receive a $0.10/Watt rebate. "Today, Breckenridge and Summit County residents have access to affordable clean power and can feel good about how they're energy is generated," said Paul Spencer, CEC's founder and president. Community solar serves utility ratepayers who want to use renewable energy but face unworkable barriers like shady roofs, they are renters, or lack the financial capability to build a full solar PV system on site. Members receive all of the same rebates and incentives of home-sited systems, and receive credit for the power produced directly on their monthly utility bills. Community-shared solar facilities are sited and maintained to produce more energy for much longer, which delivers a significantly faster payback and better overall financial return than most other renewable energy solutions. This marks the 12th community-owned solar array CEC has brought online in Colorado, representing nearly 5 MW of utility-scale projects. CEC is building a total of 11 community-owned solar gardens under the Xcel Solar*Rewards program, to serve Colorado customers in Boulder, Jefferson, Denver, Arapahoe and Summit Counties and the City of Aurora. CEC also has facilities operating or under construction in N.M., Minn. and VT. About Clean Energy Collective (CEC) Colorado-based Clean Energy Collective is a developer of community-based renewable energy facilities and a national leader in community power generation. CEC established the first community-owned solar garden in the country near El Jebel, Colorado in 2010. In just three years, CEC has partnered with nine utilities on 23 renewable energy sites, representing more than 10 MW of community-sited solar PV. CEC is currently in discussions with some 75 utilities in 22 states.

Xcel Energy Buying Utility-Scale Solar at Prices Competitive With Natural Gas

Is utility-scale solar close to crossing a pivotal price threshold? Utility Xcel Energy last month submitted a proposal to Colorado regulators that identifies 170 megawatts of solar and 450 megawatts of wind as the most cost-effective resources. It's the first time that Xcel Energy, which serves eight states in the West and Midwest, chose solar and wind in its planning process strictly for economic reasons, rather than to meet the state's renewable energy standard, according to the company. “This is the first time that we’ve seen, purely on a price basis, that the solar projects made the cut -- without considering carbon costs or the need to comply with a renewable energy standard -- strictly on an economic basis,” David Eves, CEO of an Xcel subsidiary, told the Denver Business Journal. Xcel Energy won't be building solar or wind farms. Its plan is based on bids from project developers of solar and wind farms. "A lot of those energy technologies have started to level the playing field and we are able to take advantage of that," said spokesperson Michelle Aguayo in an interview with Greentech Media. In addition to the 170 megawatts of solar, the investor-owned utility called for nearly half a gigawatt of new wind, which it would also add through power-purchase agreements with third parties. The utility would also use 317 megawatts of power from natural gas plants that already supply Xcel Energy. These plants can adjust their output to buffer variable wind and solar farms, Aguayo said. Although the cost to develop solar projects has dropped steadily in recent years, Xcel's plan to buy solar for purely economic reasons is an anomaly, said Shayle Kann, the vice president of research at GTM Research. Georgia's solar plan calls for adding solar outside of state renewable portfolio standards (RPSs), but otherwise, renewable energy mandates are driving utility-scale solar, notably in California and Arizona, where the bulk of new utility solar installations are located. In the years ahead, though, the utility solar market will need to create demand with cheaper kilowatt-hours. "This has to start becoming the norm before too long, because state RPSs won't be deciding utility solar, so there needs to be procurement on a pure economic basis," Kann said. "This should be the trend not only in Colorado, but in every other market for utility-scale solar to pick back up." The federal Investment Tax Credit will fall from its current 30 percent to 10 percent in 2017 for business-related projects. Xcel’s proposal is based on bids for projects that would be installed by 2018. Colorado has a renewable energy standard that requires investor-owned utilities to procure 30 percent of their energy from renewable sources by 2020. Xcel is already on pace to meet those demands, Aguayo says. As for maintaining grid stability in light of a higher penetration of renewables, she says that its current resource proposal does not include the addition of new transmission lines. Other components of the plan include permanently closing a 109-megawatt unit at a coal-powered station and converting an existing coal plant to natural gas at the end of 2017. If all the measures were adopted, Xcel Energy says it would reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by one-third compared to 2005 levels. The state commission needs to respond to and amend the proposal by December 9.

Colorado Springs Solar gardens project draws competition

More than a month after Colorado Springs City Council voted in favor of a plan that would double the scope of the city’s community solar garden program, 10 contractors expressed interest in doing business in the local market. During a mandatory pre-proposal conference held by Colorado Springs Utilities last week, the 10 companies — half based in Colorado and the rest with headquarters in five other states — conveyed their interest in the contract, were briefed on the terms and were able to ask technical questions about the expansion. The project was approved by City Council in a 6-to-3 vote Aug. 14 after members rescinded the previous Council’s approval of a 10-megawatt expansion in April. Council passed the buck for the planned 2-megawatt expansion to Utilities’ customers at the rate of about 50 cents per year for the next 20 years. Council passed the buck for the planned 2-megawatt expansion to Utilities’ customers at the rate of about 50 cents per year for the next 20 years, according to Utilities’ request for proposals published in early September. “That figure has not changed,” said Utilities spokesman Dave Grossman. “Fifty cents a year is the average cost for each of our 189,000 residential electric customers. The program’s average cost per year for commercial and industrial customers would be higher since their bills are higher, on average, than those of residential customers. We have a total of 215,000 electric customers.” The deadline for bid proposals is Oct. 1, and Utilities said that they hope to award the contract in mid-October and complete the project within one year. The location of the systems included in the contract is up to the discretion of the developer, but must be within what Utilities calls its “certified electric service territory,” according to the RFP. The document also states that one or more developers will be awarded the bid depending on qualifications and minimization of risk. “Utilities is one of the largest four-service (electric, natural gas, water, waste-water treatment) municipal utility services in the nation and the second largest electric system in the state of Colorado,” according to CSU’s documents. “Being a municipal utility means that customers are the owners. Utilities is governed by the City Council for the City of Colorado Springs, which also acts as the Utilities Board.” Because only companies in attendance — physically or electronically — at the pre-proposal meeting are permitted to vie for the bid, the following 10 companies are in the running: SunShare is a Colorado Springs-based solar energy startup owned by Colorado College graduate David Amster-Olszewski. SunShare built and operates two community solar gardens in Utilities’ pilot program: one at Venetucci Farm and the other at Christa McAuliffe Elementary School. Clean Energy Collective is a Springs-based solar energy firm that is member owned and builds, operates and maintains clean energy facilities at a community level — specializing in community solar gardens. CEC has completed projects in Colorado, Minnesota and Vermont. El Paso Green Energies is a family-owned and -operated business based in Colorado Springs whose personnel are certified by the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners and works primarily in the Colorado market. Solar Power Financial is based in Boulder. This company develops and finances renewable energy and real estate projects as a consultant both in the United States and foreign markets. SPF has worked primarily in the Colorado, Hawaii and Mexico markets. Custom Solar is a renewable energy design and construction firm that is also based in Boulder. The Colorado company provides solar electric, solar thermal and green engineering solutions for residential and commercial clients throughout the state, according to CustomSolar.com. Ecoplexus Solar Solutions is a development, design, engineering, construction and financing contractor based in San Francisco that specializes in solar systems for commercial, municipal, nonprofit and utility markets both nationally and internationally. Some of Ecoplexus’ recent projects were in Colorado, Georgia and California. Affordable Solar is based in Albuquerque and specializes in all things solar, with more than 14 years of experience in the field, according to Affordable-Solar.com. The company also says on its website that it can “design and distribute renewable energy systems for residential, commercial and industrial use domestically and internationally.” Cornwell Group is headquartered in Kapolei, Hawaii, with a location in downtown Colorado Springs and is a strategic management firm that provides consulting, data research and analysis to clientele worldwide, according to CornwellGroup.com. Cascade Renewable Energy is a Grand Rapids, Mich., company with expertise in design, installation, program management and quality/safety assurance pertaining to such renewable energy operations as wind farms and solar systems, according to CascadeRenewableEnergy.com. HelioSage Energy is headquartered in Charlottesville, Va., and focuses specifically on solar energy project development. The firm has worked in 15 states since its inception in 2008 and “has been responsible for the construction of over 400 megawatts of renewable energy projects,” according to HelioSage.com. The only companies who were physically present at the meeting were representatives from SunShare and El Paso Green Energies — spokespersons from the remaining eight companies attended electronically. Original plans for the program’s expansion would have cost Utilities customers a 20-year total of nearly $22 million, according to earlier estimates, but that figure shrank along with the size and scope of the program. After the expansion is complete, customers within Utilities’ certified service area will have the option to purchase panel space — with a maximum customer benefit of roughly 13 cents/kilowatt hour. The community solar garden pilot program was launched by Utilities in September 2011, and is currently fully subscribed with around 400 customers. It features only three solar gardens – SunShare operates two and the Air Force Academy operates one – that make up a total power availability of 1.5 megawatts, and Utilities says a fourth is currently being completed to build the 2-megawatt pilot program. “Utilities was one of the first municipal utilities in the nation, working with the local solar industry, to offer a CSG option to its customers through a pilot CSG program,” according to the RFP. “Customers began receiving electric bill credits on their electricity bills in February 2012.” The concept of community solar gardens in Colorado Springs was spurred by state legislation that requires utilities to obtain 20 percent of their electricity from renewables. However, as a municipal utility, CSU is exempt but says they aim to meet that standard.

Xcel Energy Says Wind and Solar is Cheaper Than Natural Gas

Well, there goes the myth that cheap shale gas would price renewables out of the US electricity market. Xcel Energy, one of the country’s biggest utilities, has just announced a planned major expansion of its solar and wind investments – because they are “cheaper and more reliable” than natural gas. In a filing to the public utilities commission in the state of Colorado, Xcel Energy requested permission to include 170MW of new, utility-scale solar capacity and 450MW of wind energy capacity in the state. The reason, Xcel Energy said, was not to meet renewable energy targets (which in Colorado happen to be 30 per cent by 2020), but because these technologies were best placed to fill basic generation needs. Solar and wind, it said, were competitive with the cost of gas-fired generation. “Based on generation needs, the most reliable and most cost-effective resources happen to be solar and wind,” Xcel Energy spokeswoman Michelle Aguayo told the online publication SRN. “We are not taking on solar because we have to, but because it is cost-effective and economical.” A lot has been written about the shale gas boom in the US and its apparent impact on other technologies, particularly renewables such as wind and solar. But its principal victims in the short term appear to be coal-fired generation and nuclear, with neither able to compete on cost – particularly with the additional burden of emissions and/or safety regulations. Part of Xcel Energy’s plan out to 2018 include the closure of a 108MW coal facility and the switching of another to natural gas. Wind is now priced at less than $50/MWh in the US, and the proposed build out of wind will take Xcel’s total wind capacity to 2,650MW – nearly equivalent to Australia’s entire capacity. In an earlier filing, Xcel Energy had wanted to install 550MW of wind capacity, but the PUC only allowed 200MW because it was not sure it would be cost-effective. Excel insisted it would be, and is now pushing for the allowance to be lifted to 450MW. The cost of utility-scale solar is also falling fast. A recent auction in Palo Alto saw the local utility contract 80MW of utility-scale solar at a price of just under $70/MWh, and public utilities have recently contracted large-scale projects at around $90/MWh. The prevailing market price in that market is about $100/MWh. Xcel Energy already has 80MW of utility-scale solar and 160MW of rooftop solar from residential customers. It is now seeing utility-scale solar coming down – and from Xcel’s point of view – building large-scale solar, with single-axis tracking, would be a much cheaper option than rooftop solar. “For the first time ever, we are adding cost competitive utility-scale solar to the system,” said David Eves, the head of an Xcel subsidiary that deals with regulatory matters. “The 170 MW we recommend would triple Xcel Energy’s current utility-scale solar in Colorado and it equates to all of the customer-sited solar in the state of Colorado, at about one half of the cost.” It recommends around 42.5MW of additional rooftop solar. As John Farrell, from the Institute of Energy Self Reliance, writes in a blog on the same subject, even rooftop solar is meeting peak demand in the state of Colorado, at less than half the cost of peaking gas plant. “Solar not only meets this peak need at a lower per kilowatt-hour cost, but also without the harmful emissions from running a power plant on standby (or fracking its fuel out of the ground),” he writes. “What’s important to keep in mind when talking about solar and electricity prices is that solar energy production tends to align very well with the highest energy demand on a utility’s system. “It doesn’t have to be cheaper than a nuclear power plant built in 1965, it just has to be cheaper than the next kilowatt-hour the utility needs at 4pm on a hot, July afternoon. For many utilities (like Xcel, one of the 10 biggest in the US), it is. For many others, it will be soon, without subsidies. “And don’t forget, utilities buy power plants for 30, 40, or 50 years. With costs dropping by 10% per year, if solar power’s not cheaper now, it will be long before a new fossil fuel power plant is paid off.” Farrell also makes another point about the move by Xcel to embrace utility-scale solar: they are in fact competing with their own customers, because as more consumers add rooftop solar, that means lower revenues for the utilities. This is especially relevant in Colorado, where the community in Boulder (currently being hit by “biblical floods) has been trying to “break away” and establish its own municipal utility, on the basis that it can provide cheaper and greener electricity than a centralized utility. “Xcel’s Colorado plans suggest the utility is wising up, and that the era of customer-owned solar only lasts as long as people are willing to raise holy hell or legislatures are willing to tell them to do the right thing,” O’Farrell writes. “So the utility shift to solar is both bad and good. The bad news is that locally owned solar pours piles of cash into local economies, and utility-owned solar is going to suck it right back out again. The good is that even an anachronistic, monopoly utility can figure out the financial advantages to clean energy, and we need a lot of it to save the climate.” “Game on.”

Xcel Energy Counters Critics With Proposal For 170 MW Of New Solar

Colorado utility Xcel Energy is proposing to add new solar and wind energy resources to meet the state's future electricity needs, according to a report filed with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC). Xcel's recommendations include 170 MW of new utility-scale solar power, 450 MW of new wind power and 317 MW of natural gas generation that it says would provide operational flexibility the utility needs to reliably integrate renewable resources into its electric supply mix. "This request will add significant amounts of wind and solar energy to the system at the right price, and it makes good sense for our customers and the environment," says David Eves, president and CEO of Public Service Co., an Xcel Energy company. "For the first time ever, we are adding cost-competitive utility-scale solar to the system. The 170 megawatts we recommend would triple Xcel Energy’s current utility-scale solar in Colorado, and it equates to all of the customer-sited solar in the state of Colorado, at about one half of the cost." Xcel Energy’s announcement is in addition to 42.5 MW of on-site solar that the company has proposed through separate proceedings with the PUC, under the 2014 Renewable Energy Standard compliance plan. That proposal recently was sent to an administrative law judge with the PUC for further regulatory action. Xcel Energy has been under intense criticism from solar sector advocates as its recent proposals filed with the PUC also includes a request to re-evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the state's NEM policies. The utility maintains that some costs of NEM are unfairly shouldered by non-solar ratepayers, while critics, including the Vote Solar Initiative, say Xcel's analysis is flawed and NEM actually lowers grid costs. "This plan demonstrates the right way to advance clean energy because it keeps the focus on customer costs," says Ben Fowke, chairman, president and CEO of Xcel Energy. "We have a clear track record of implementing clean energy projects that create significant customer value and keep rates affordable. This plan continues that effort, and we are positioned to take advantage of very favorable pricing for some great projects." Details of the Xcel Energy proposal include the following: The addition of 170 MW of utility-scale solar generation would use single-axis tracking to maximize solar generation during the day. The company currently has about 80 MW of utility-scale solar and 160 MW of customer-sited solar generation; The addition of 450 MW of wind generation is an adjustment from the 550 MW the company initially recommended early this summer after its early wind request for proposal. This additional wind would bring the installed capacity on the company’s system in Colorado to 2.65 GW; and The proposed 317 MW of natural gas-fired generation would come from existing Colorado power plants that previously supplied Xcel Energy but would do so going forward at reduced prices. The company says this "flexible generation" allows it to start, bring up and turn down generation online in relatively short periods of time as wind and solar generation vary throughout the day. Xcel Energy’s proposal must be reviewed by an independent evaluator for the PUC and ultimately considered by the commission, which is scheduled to approve the plan as filed or make amendments to the proposal by Dec. 9, 2013.

Study: Colorado Solar Customers Deliver $11 M in Annual Benefits to Xcel Energy Grid

The Vote Solar Initiative (Vote Solar) today released new study findings indicating that distributed solar energy systems currently in the Xcel service area deliver as much as $11 million in annual benefits to Colorado ratepayers. The findings were submitted to the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) in opposition to a study from Xcel Energy that could be used to weaken one of the state’s most important solar policies, net metering. More than 17,000 Coloradans have urged regulators to reject the Xcel proposal and defend consumer solar rights. Released in July as part of the utility’s 2014 Renewable Energy Standard compliance plan, the Xcel proposal takes aim at net metering, a policy that encourages consumer investment in solar power. The utility used a cost and benefit study of its own design that had not yet undergone public or commission review to make its case against the successful solar policy. In today’s comments, advocates stressed that the Xcel study and subsequent proposal do not fairly account for the many benefits that rooftop solar delivers to Coloradans. “Xcel has significantly undervalued solar power from its customers and we are determined not to let their incomplete math be used to dismantle the most important rooftop solar energy policy on the books. While we understand that rooftop solar represents a change from the utility’s traditional way of doing business, it’s clear that Coloradans want that change. We encourage the Commission to look closely at the serious flaws in Xcel’s approach to assessing the impacts of this policy,” said Annie Lappé, solar policy director at Vote Solar. "Net metering is key to keeping Colorado homes and businesses going solar, reaching the state’s Million Solar Roofs goal, and revamping our antiquated energy system,” said Edward Stern, executive director of the Colorado Solar Energy Industries Association (COSEIA), a joint party to the PUC proceeding. “Xcel’s current proposal clearly falls well short of accounting for rooftop solar’s tremendous value to Colorado. If we're going to have a conversation about net metering, we need to make sure we're using good, updated, accurate information that ensures a fair deal for our state’s solar customers.” "Xcel created this study without adequate input from the Technical Review Committee (TRC) of industry experts that was mandated by the Colorado PUC," said Meghan Nutting, a Colorado resident, TRC member and member of The Alliance for Solar Choice (TASC). "This lack of best practices is exacerbated by the fact that the study uses non-current data from as far back as three years ago, and cites outdated studies, the most recent of which was completed more than four years ago." “Solar has become an affordable option for Colorado families, schools and businesses who want more control over their electricity supply and power bills. That is why we saw such a massive outpouring of opposition to the Xcel proposal,” said Nellis Kennedy-Howard, senior campaign representative, Sierra Club. “Xcel should be working with the PUC and stakeholders to support what the public wants and what’s good for the state’s economy and environment: more local solar power.” The new study, commissioned by Vote Solar and undertaken by Crossborder Energy, uses a Commission-approved methodology to assess the overall impacts of net metering in Xcel Energy’s Colorado territory. It finds that the financial benefits of net metered power outweigh the costs, with a total net value of between $7 and $11 million per year, depending on the price of natural gas, and the future cost of greenhouse gas regulations. Benefits include: savings on expensive and polluting conventional power; reduced investments in transmission and distribution infrastructure; reduced electricity lost during transportation over power lines, as net metered solar's surplus energy flows to the grid and is consumed locally; and savings on the cost of meeting carbon reduction and renewable energy goals. In addition to grid benefits, distributed solar is delivering economic, environmental and public health benefits to Xcel’s solar and non-solar customers alike. Colorado now ranks 5th in the country for the amount of solar installed with enough to power 50,500 homes. There are 275 solar companies employing 3,600 Coloradans throughout the state. In 2012, $187 million was invested in Colorado to install solar on homes and businesses. Groups opposing the Xcel net metering proposal include: Advanced Energy Economy, Clean Energy Action, Clean Power Finance, COSEIA, Dynamic Integration, EnergyShouldBe.org, Environment Colorado, Five Star Consultants, Go Green Electric, Namaste Solar, Real Goods Solar, SEIA, Sierra Club, SolarCity, Sunrun, TASC, Verengo Solar and Vote Solar. About net metering: Like rollover minutes on a cell phone bill, net metering gives solar customers full credit on their utility bills for the excess clean power they contribute to the grid. In place in 43 states, this simple crediting arrangement is one of the most important state policies for enabling Americans to generate their own power from solar and other renewable energy resources. Learn more at: www.protectnetmetering.org About Vote Solar: The Vote Solar Initiative is a non-profit grassroots organization working to foster economic opportunity, promote energy independence and address climate change by making solar a mainstream energy resource across the United States. Since 2002, Vote Solar has engaged at the state, local and federal levels to remove regulatory barriers and implement the key policies needed to bring solar to scale.

Multinational Corporation Real Goods Solar acquires Syndicated Solar

Real Goods Solar Inc., a Louisville-based installer of solar energy systems, has completed the acquisition of Denver-based Syndicated Solar Inc. to grow its residential market, officials announced Monday. Syndicated Solar has three regional offices in Grand Junction, Missouri and California. Syndicated Solar's efficient sales processes and integrated software tools allowed the company to rapidly grow in the residential sector, officials said in a news release. The company brought in revenues of $2.5 million in 2011 and $7.3 million in 2012 and is expected to double revenue year-over-year in 2013. Real Goods Solar (Nasdaq: RSOL) paid $2.5 million and issued 400,000 shares of its unregistered Class A common stock with the potential for the seller to earn up to $250,000 at the close of the 2013 fiscal year and an additional 1.3 million shares of unregistered Class A common stock over the next two and a half years. Over the next few months, Syndicated Solar is expected to be fully integrated into Real Goods Solar's residential division, officials said. The acquisition will add more than 40 employees to Real Goods Solar, including Justin Pentelute, Syndicated Solar's founder and CEO. Real Goods Solar on Friday also agreed to acquire Mercury Solar Systems in an effort to build its East Coast business. Real Goods Solar plans to issue 7.9 million shares of its Class A common stock for the Port Chester, N.Y.-based Mercury. Based on Real Goods Solar's $2.29 closing price Friday, the deal would be valued at more than $18 million. Mercury, founded in 2008, posted $35 million in revenue in 2012 and has cumulative revenue of $250 million, Real Goods Solar officials said. Under the terms of the transaction -- which is subject to shareholder and regulatory approval -- Mercury's workforce of more than 50 people would join Real Goods Solar as would three of its executives, including company co-founder Jared Haines, officials said.

NREL Study: Cost Gap For Western U.S. Renewables Could Narrow By 2025

By 2025, wind and solar power electricity generation in the western U.S. could become cost-competitive without federal subsidies if new renewable energy development occurs in the most productive locations, according to a new report from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The report, "Beyond Renewable Portfolio Standards: An Assessment of Regional Supply and Demand Conditions Affecting the Future of Renewable Energy in the West," compares the cost of renewables (without federal subsidy) from the West’s most productive renewable energy resource areas with the cost of energy from a new natural-gas-fired generator built near the customers it serves. A recent report from the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley, says that solar power could become a mainstream source of electricity in the Western U.S. by 2020 if the DOE's per-watt cost targets targets were met. "The electric generation portfolio of the future could be both cost-effective and diverse," says NREL Senior Analyst David Hurlbut, the report’s lead author. "If renewables and natural gas cost about the same per kilowatt-hour delivered, then value to customers becomes a matter of finding the right mix. "Renewable energy development, to date, has mostly been in response to state mandates," Hurlbut adds. "What this study does is look at where the most cost-effective yet untapped resources are likely to be when the last of these mandates culminates in 2025, and what it might cost to connect them to the best-matched population centers." According to NREL, the study’s key findings include the following: Wyoming and New Mexico could be areas of robust competition among wind projects aiming to serve California and the Southwest. NREL says both states are likely to have large amounts of untapped, developable, prime-quality wind potential after 2025. Wyoming’s surplus will probably have the advantage of somewhat higher productivity per dollar of capital invested in generation capacity; New Mexico’s will have the advantage of being somewhat closer to the California and Arizona markets. Montana and Wyoming could emerge as attractive areas for wind developers competing to meet demand in the Pacific Northwest. The challenge for Montana wind power appears to be the cost of transmission through the rugged forests that dominate the western part of the state. Wyoming wind power could also be a low-cost option for customers in Utah, which also has its own diverse portfolio of in-state resources. Colorado is a major demand center in the Rockies and will likely have a surplus of wind potential in 2025. However, the study suggests that Colorado is likely to be isolated from future renewable energy trading in the West due to transmission costs between the state and its Rocky Mountain neighbors. California, Arizona and Nevada are likely to have surpluses of solar resources. None is likely to have a strong comparative advantage over the others within the three-state market, unless environmental or other siting challenges limit in-state development. Consequently, development of utility-scale solar will probably continue to meet local needs rather than expand exports. New geothermal development could trend toward Idaho by 2025 since much of Nevada’s resources have already been developed. Geothermal power from Idaho could be competitive in California as well as in the Pacific Northwest, but NREL says the quantity is relatively small. Reaching California, Oregon and Washington may depend on access to unused capacity on existing transmission lines or on being part of a multi-resource portfolio carried across new lines. The study notes future electricity demand will be affected by several factors, including trends in the supply and price of natural gas; consumer preferences; technological breakthroughs; further improvements in energy efficiency; and future public policies and regulations. While most of these demand factors are difficult to predict, NREL says the study’s supply forecasts rely on empirical trends and the most recent assessments of resource quality. To read the full NREL report, click here.