State-owned investment arm InvestPenang has moved to deflect concerns about the 520 million euro solar-panel plant to be built in Batu Kawan by Germany’s Bosch Group.
InvestPenang head Lee Kah Choon pointed out that every industry produces waste.
"The critical component is whether it is properly treated and managed," he said in a statement.
"Solar energy industry is no different but environmental concerns of it being more serious than other industries are not valid. This is because it is considered not only a clean energy but also a renewable one encouraged by all countries.”
Gerakan has criticised Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng for allowing the project while objecting to the Lynas plant in Gebeng, Kuantan, because of potential radioactive hazards.
On safety and environmental issues, Lee said the Department of Environment (DOE) will ensure that the solar-panel project adheres to guidelines laid out in the National Policy on the Environment.
"I am confident that the DOE will carry out rigorously its requirements in compliance and enforcement of environmental guidelines in Penang," he said.
Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) has identified the photovoltaic (PV) industry as a main area for growth, Lee said.
Activities promoted include R&D; manufacture of core components; assembly, packaging and testing; and sales, distribution and services for PV.
"According to the ETP, Malaysia targets to be the world’s Number 2 producer of PV by 2020,” said Lee, who was once Gerakan’s Jelutong parliamentarian.
"This is in line with the target for renewable energy sources to contribute at least 5.5 percent of the country’s entire energy mix by 2015, as outlined in the National Renewable Energy Policy.”
Lee also said the International Trade and Industry Ministry has identified solar cells as a product that is eligible for incentives such as pioneer status or investment tax allowance.
Efforts to promote investment in the world’s fastest growing energy industry have now placed Malaysia as the world’s third-largest solar module manufacturer.
Malaysia, he said, has witnessed an influx of PV global players notably First Solar in Kedah, Q-Cells in Selangor, AUO SunPower in Melaka, and MEMC in Sarawak.
The most recent investment has come from Japanese electronics giant Panasonic which will set up a solar manufacturing base in Kulim, that will be operational in December.
Lee said Penang has always ensured that its economic directions are aligned with federal policies.
"Penang failed to attract First Solar when it first came in 2005 and as a result, (the state) lost 4,000 direct employment opportunities and the chance to participate in the PV industry," Lee added.
"The success in attracting Bosch Solar Energy is to plug that gap.”
2012年3月14日星期三
2012年1月30日星期一
Tariffs on solar panels from China would raise prices
US tariffs on solar panel imports from China would raise photovoltaic prices more than 25% and sharply cut new solar power installations, according to a new report funded by opponents of possible tariffs.
The Brattle Group, a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based economic consulting and analysis firm, modeled the impact of tariffs on Chinese PV modules at the request of the Coalition for Affordable Solar Energy, a group mainly composed of solar power developers, as well as a handful of China-based solar panel manufacturers.
Tariffs would "slow the growth in domestic demand for photovoltaic systems by homeowners, commercial establishments and power producers, resulting in substantial job losses," the report said.
Hillsboro, Oregon-headquartered SolarWorld and six unnamed US solar-panel makers have filed antidumping and countervailing duty petitions alleging that Chinese solar panel makers received illegal subsidies from the Chinese government, allowing those firms to dominate the solar market.
SolarWorld, a subsidiary of German solar panel giant SolarWorld AG, is requesting that the US impose tariffs of up to 250% on Chinese solar panel imports to counteract the alleged subsidies. The case only includes crystalline polysilicon panels, not thin-film modules.
The Brattle Group modeled tariffs of 50% and 100% on Chinese solar panels and found a sharp impact on demand and pricing.
Brattle estimated that a 100% tariff would decrease total demand for solar installations to 3,159 MW by 2014 from 4,894 MW, while a 50% tariff would cut demand to 3,350 MW by 2014.
The price impact of tariffs would also be significant, according to the study. Residential modules, for example, would rise from 85 cents/watt in 2012 without a tariff to $1.07/watt with a 50% tariff and $1.17/watt with a 100% tariff. The study predicted higher tariff rates would have little additional impact, since "China is already effectively priced out of the US market at the 100%-tariff level."
The report also predicted the tariffs could lead China to retaliate against the roughly $863 million of polysilicon the US exports there.
The Commerce Department is scheduled to make a preliminary ruling on the case March 2, a spokeswoman for Commerce's International Trade Administration said Friday.
The International Trade Commission, which also must rule on the trade case, issued a preliminary decision in December in favor of SolarWorld, although China's solar companies strongly disputed the charges. China's government has threatened to take unspecified action against US firms if the US imposes tariffs on solar panels made there.
The Brattle Group, a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based economic consulting and analysis firm, modeled the impact of tariffs on Chinese PV modules at the request of the Coalition for Affordable Solar Energy, a group mainly composed of solar power developers, as well as a handful of China-based solar panel manufacturers.
Tariffs would "slow the growth in domestic demand for photovoltaic systems by homeowners, commercial establishments and power producers, resulting in substantial job losses," the report said.
Hillsboro, Oregon-headquartered SolarWorld and six unnamed US solar-panel makers have filed antidumping and countervailing duty petitions alleging that Chinese solar panel makers received illegal subsidies from the Chinese government, allowing those firms to dominate the solar market.
SolarWorld, a subsidiary of German solar panel giant SolarWorld AG, is requesting that the US impose tariffs of up to 250% on Chinese solar panel imports to counteract the alleged subsidies. The case only includes crystalline polysilicon panels, not thin-film modules.
The Brattle Group modeled tariffs of 50% and 100% on Chinese solar panels and found a sharp impact on demand and pricing.
Brattle estimated that a 100% tariff would decrease total demand for solar installations to 3,159 MW by 2014 from 4,894 MW, while a 50% tariff would cut demand to 3,350 MW by 2014.
The price impact of tariffs would also be significant, according to the study. Residential modules, for example, would rise from 85 cents/watt in 2012 without a tariff to $1.07/watt with a 50% tariff and $1.17/watt with a 100% tariff. The study predicted higher tariff rates would have little additional impact, since "China is already effectively priced out of the US market at the 100%-tariff level."
The report also predicted the tariffs could lead China to retaliate against the roughly $863 million of polysilicon the US exports there.
The Commerce Department is scheduled to make a preliminary ruling on the case March 2, a spokeswoman for Commerce's International Trade Administration said Friday.
The International Trade Commission, which also must rule on the trade case, issued a preliminary decision in December in favor of SolarWorld, although China's solar companies strongly disputed the charges. China's government has threatened to take unspecified action against US firms if the US imposes tariffs on solar panels made there.
2012年1月3日星期二
Solar Gardens a Offer Solar Power Without the Installation
The U.S. has seen a dramatic rise in interest in solar installations across the country, with a record added capacity through the first three quarters of 2011 and similar records projected for the rest of the year, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association.
But many Americans still face difficulty taking advantage of the potential savings and stability offered by solar power because of limited access to solar systems. Now, though, a growing number of new options are available for financing solar installations, some of which can offer people access they might not have had otherwise.
One of the most important developments in the solar industry in recent years was the emergence of two financing options known as solar leasing and power purchase agreements. Both options allow home and business owners to add a rooftop solar installation with little or no money down up-front. Solar leases require fixed payments, the same as a standard loan, while a power purchase agreement obliges people to buy the electricity generated by a solar system for a fixed rate, sometimes with the option to eventually purchase the panels.
Each of these systems offers a means of long-term income and short-term business for solar installers, and they tap into an important and growing market segment. While residential solar installations have remains relatively stable, commercial solar installations have grown dramatically, in large part because of these new options.
But they do not provide access to solar for everyone. Homeowners who either are not allowed to add solar panels or lack good locations for such installations, renters and businesses that do not own their property all would still have no chance to invest in solar through these systems.
However, Forbes reports that a new type of solar financing has emerged that could provide an answer for this group. So-called solar gardens take the recent idea of group financing for solar projects and condenses it into a single project. Whereas solar leasing offers homeowners the opportunity to own a solar installation at low cost, solar gardens instead offer just the solar electricity.
The solar installer will build a large solar system on otherwise unused public property, potentially making use of undesirable lands such as landfills, and then sells limited shares in the plant panel-by-panel, similar to the way in which some communities have come to support local farms through co-ops.
While traditionally solar panels have helped reduce electricity bills through net metering, in which the power used by a home or business is offset by the power produced by the solar installation, solar farms instead rely on virtual net metering. In this system, the production of the solar farm is divided by the number of shares and the output in a month is divvied between members based on the number of shares they hold on the account itself.
"With the traditional solar leasing model, if you approach a typical institutional investor they’ll say what happens when Bob the homeowner defaults on his lease, what’s the salvage value? And they’ll assume zero," Lee Barken, energy and cleantech practice leader at consulting firm Haskell & White, told Forbes. "The elegance of the solar garden approach is that people buy in and pay a share, so if Bob stops paying his subscription, you don’t have to go remove his solar panels, you just sell his share to the next person."
The primary limitation of this method of financing at the moment is that not all states' laws allow for it. According to the Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency, all but seven require net metering up to a certain level, but only Massachusetts and Colorado currently specifically allow virtual net metering, though California is considering making the change.
But many Americans still face difficulty taking advantage of the potential savings and stability offered by solar power because of limited access to solar systems. Now, though, a growing number of new options are available for financing solar installations, some of which can offer people access they might not have had otherwise.
One of the most important developments in the solar industry in recent years was the emergence of two financing options known as solar leasing and power purchase agreements. Both options allow home and business owners to add a rooftop solar installation with little or no money down up-front. Solar leases require fixed payments, the same as a standard loan, while a power purchase agreement obliges people to buy the electricity generated by a solar system for a fixed rate, sometimes with the option to eventually purchase the panels.
Each of these systems offers a means of long-term income and short-term business for solar installers, and they tap into an important and growing market segment. While residential solar installations have remains relatively stable, commercial solar installations have grown dramatically, in large part because of these new options.
But they do not provide access to solar for everyone. Homeowners who either are not allowed to add solar panels or lack good locations for such installations, renters and businesses that do not own their property all would still have no chance to invest in solar through these systems.
However, Forbes reports that a new type of solar financing has emerged that could provide an answer for this group. So-called solar gardens take the recent idea of group financing for solar projects and condenses it into a single project. Whereas solar leasing offers homeowners the opportunity to own a solar installation at low cost, solar gardens instead offer just the solar electricity.
The solar installer will build a large solar system on otherwise unused public property, potentially making use of undesirable lands such as landfills, and then sells limited shares in the plant panel-by-panel, similar to the way in which some communities have come to support local farms through co-ops.
While traditionally solar panels have helped reduce electricity bills through net metering, in which the power used by a home or business is offset by the power produced by the solar installation, solar farms instead rely on virtual net metering. In this system, the production of the solar farm is divided by the number of shares and the output in a month is divvied between members based on the number of shares they hold on the account itself.
"With the traditional solar leasing model, if you approach a typical institutional investor they’ll say what happens when Bob the homeowner defaults on his lease, what’s the salvage value? And they’ll assume zero," Lee Barken, energy and cleantech practice leader at consulting firm Haskell & White, told Forbes. "The elegance of the solar garden approach is that people buy in and pay a share, so if Bob stops paying his subscription, you don’t have to go remove his solar panels, you just sell his share to the next person."
The primary limitation of this method of financing at the moment is that not all states' laws allow for it. According to the Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency, all but seven require net metering up to a certain level, but only Massachusetts and Colorado currently specifically allow virtual net metering, though California is considering making the change.
2012年1月2日星期一
Storehouses for Solar Energy Can Step in When the Sun Goes Down
If solar energy is eventually going to matter— that is, generate a significant portion of the nation’s electricity — the industry must overcome a major stumbling block, experts say: finding a way to store it for use when the sun isn’t shining.
That challenge seems to be creating an opening for a different form of power, solar thermal, which makes electricity by using the sun’s heat to boil water. The water can be used to heat salt that stores the energy until later, when the sun dips and households power up their appliances and air-conditioning at peak demand hours in the summer.
Two California companies are planning to deploy the storage technology: SolarReserve, which is building a plant in the Nevada desert scheduled to start up next year, and BrightSource, which plans three plants in California that would begin operating in 2016 and 2017. Together, the four projects will be capable of powering tens of thousand of households throughout a summer evening.
Whether the technology will be widely adopted remains to be seen, but companies like Google, Chevron and Good Energies are investing in it, and the utilities NV Energy and Southern California Edison have signed long-term contracts to buy power from these radically different new power plants.
One crucial role of the plants will be complementing solar panels, which produce electricity directly from sunlight. When the panels ramp down at dusk or on cloudy days, the plants will crank up, drawing on the stored thermal energy.
That job will become more important if photovoltaic panels, which have plunged in price lately, become even cheaper and sprout on millions of rooftops. As the grid starts depending more heavily on solar panels or wind turbines, it will need other energy sources that can step in quickly to balance the system — preferably ones classified as renewable.
Most utilities are trying to generate as many kilowatt-hours of renewable energy as they can to meet stiffer state requirements on incorporating more alternative energy, said Kevin B. Smith, the chief executive of SolarReserve.
“As we move forward, we’ll get more and more traction with the fact we can provide more capacity,” Mr. Smith said, referring to his company’s storage technology.
The Energy Department seems to agree: in September it gave SolarReserve a $737 million loan guarantee for its project in Nevada. The plant will generate 110 megawatts at peak and store enough heat to run for eight to 10 hours when the sun is not shining.
The public’s view on loan guarantees for solar projects has soured somewhat since the bankruptcy of Solyndra, a California company that received a $535 million loan guarantee to build a factory to make solar panels — only to see the market for the modules crash.
But the outlook has always been clearer for companies that make electricity, which, unlike solar modules, is generally presold by contract.
Technical details of the SolarReserve and BrightSource plants vary slightly, but both will use thousands of computer-operated poster-size mirrors aiming sunlight at a tower that absorbs it as heat.
SolarReserve absorbs the heat in molten salt, which can be used immediately to boil water, generating steam that turns a conventional turbine and generator. Hot salt can also be used to retain the heat for many hours for later use. BrightSource heats water that can be used immediately as steam or to heat salt for storage.
The plants rely on salt because it can store far more heat than water can. But once molten, it must be kept that way or it will freeze to a solid in part of the plant where it will be difficult to melt again. “You’ve made a commitment to those salt molecules,” said Paul Woolard, the chief executive of BrightSource.
The technology is not complicated, but the economics are.
The simplest, least expensive path for solar thermal is to turn the heat into electricity immediately. But the companies are a bit like the farmer who harvests the grain and stores it in a silo rather than shipping it straight to market on the expectation that prices will be higher later. They are betting that in revenue terms, the hour at which the energy is delivered will be more important than the amount generated.
The notion is that widespread adoption of solar panels — whether on rooftops or in giant arrays in the desert — will change the hours at which prices are highest.
Today, electricity prices usually peak in the late afternoon and evening on hot summer days. “Photovoltaic panels will do a pretty good job of chopping that peak” in the late afternoon, said Paul Denholm, a solar specialist at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Boulder, Colo.
In other words, the new price peak will be pushed to later in the day, to just before and after sunset, when solar photovoltaic production is small or nonexistent, he and other experts say.
That challenge seems to be creating an opening for a different form of power, solar thermal, which makes electricity by using the sun’s heat to boil water. The water can be used to heat salt that stores the energy until later, when the sun dips and households power up their appliances and air-conditioning at peak demand hours in the summer.
Two California companies are planning to deploy the storage technology: SolarReserve, which is building a plant in the Nevada desert scheduled to start up next year, and BrightSource, which plans three plants in California that would begin operating in 2016 and 2017. Together, the four projects will be capable of powering tens of thousand of households throughout a summer evening.
Whether the technology will be widely adopted remains to be seen, but companies like Google, Chevron and Good Energies are investing in it, and the utilities NV Energy and Southern California Edison have signed long-term contracts to buy power from these radically different new power plants.
One crucial role of the plants will be complementing solar panels, which produce electricity directly from sunlight. When the panels ramp down at dusk or on cloudy days, the plants will crank up, drawing on the stored thermal energy.
That job will become more important if photovoltaic panels, which have plunged in price lately, become even cheaper and sprout on millions of rooftops. As the grid starts depending more heavily on solar panels or wind turbines, it will need other energy sources that can step in quickly to balance the system — preferably ones classified as renewable.
Most utilities are trying to generate as many kilowatt-hours of renewable energy as they can to meet stiffer state requirements on incorporating more alternative energy, said Kevin B. Smith, the chief executive of SolarReserve.
“As we move forward, we’ll get more and more traction with the fact we can provide more capacity,” Mr. Smith said, referring to his company’s storage technology.
The Energy Department seems to agree: in September it gave SolarReserve a $737 million loan guarantee for its project in Nevada. The plant will generate 110 megawatts at peak and store enough heat to run for eight to 10 hours when the sun is not shining.
The public’s view on loan guarantees for solar projects has soured somewhat since the bankruptcy of Solyndra, a California company that received a $535 million loan guarantee to build a factory to make solar panels — only to see the market for the modules crash.
But the outlook has always been clearer for companies that make electricity, which, unlike solar modules, is generally presold by contract.
Technical details of the SolarReserve and BrightSource plants vary slightly, but both will use thousands of computer-operated poster-size mirrors aiming sunlight at a tower that absorbs it as heat.
SolarReserve absorbs the heat in molten salt, which can be used immediately to boil water, generating steam that turns a conventional turbine and generator. Hot salt can also be used to retain the heat for many hours for later use. BrightSource heats water that can be used immediately as steam or to heat salt for storage.
The plants rely on salt because it can store far more heat than water can. But once molten, it must be kept that way or it will freeze to a solid in part of the plant where it will be difficult to melt again. “You’ve made a commitment to those salt molecules,” said Paul Woolard, the chief executive of BrightSource.
The technology is not complicated, but the economics are.
The simplest, least expensive path for solar thermal is to turn the heat into electricity immediately. But the companies are a bit like the farmer who harvests the grain and stores it in a silo rather than shipping it straight to market on the expectation that prices will be higher later. They are betting that in revenue terms, the hour at which the energy is delivered will be more important than the amount generated.
The notion is that widespread adoption of solar panels — whether on rooftops or in giant arrays in the desert — will change the hours at which prices are highest.
Today, electricity prices usually peak in the late afternoon and evening on hot summer days. “Photovoltaic panels will do a pretty good job of chopping that peak” in the late afternoon, said Paul Denholm, a solar specialist at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Boulder, Colo.
In other words, the new price peak will be pushed to later in the day, to just before and after sunset, when solar photovoltaic production is small or nonexistent, he and other experts say.
2011年12月25日星期日
Western Australia Solar Power Safety Report Questioned
An audit of a small number of home solar power systems in Western Australia carried out by EnergySafety has raised concerns about the prevalence of shoddy installation quality. However, none of the installations posed an immediate electric shock or fire hazard and the nature and timing of the report has been called into question.
EnergySafety, a state government department, is responsible for the technical and safety regulation of all Western Australia's electrical industry and most of the gas sector.
Of the 260 inspection checklists reviewed by the agency, 50% of solar power installations were found to be defect free. 50% presented at least one defect; ranging from infractions such as incorrect or no labeling through to issues including incorrect wiring of DC isolating devices.
12% of installations inspected were found to have incorrect DC isolator wiring - considered a Category 1 defect. DC isolators disconnect the solar panels from the solar inverter and isolate the modules from cabling.
11% of installations had a Category 2 defect, which includes failure to provide adequate mechanical protection to cables.
27% of solar installs were found to have a Category 3 defect; either having no labelling or incorrect labelling of components and/or incorrect/missing safety instructions and warnings.
In its report, EnergySafety said while none of the sub-standard installations posed an immediate electric shock or fire hazard, or was disconnected as a result of the inspections, the defects identified require rectification. Inspector's Orders that required the electrical contractors responsible to rectify the defects were issued in each case.
The report was welcomed but also strongly criticised by the Sustainable Energy Association of Australia (SEA).
"...For a report that was based on work commenced in June 2011 to be issued on the day before the Christmas break to offer advice that has alarmed customers about a potential but low probability risk to contact their supplier is alarmist and irresponsible," said Professor Ray Wills, SEA Chief Executive.
Of the installations with Category 1 defects, Professor Wills questioned the provenance of these systems.
"What was the nature of the 31 installations that were faulty? Was every one of these installations done by different installers, or was there a cluster of faults with one or several particular business?"
An earlier survey carried out by SEA with a far larger sample - 5,000 systems compared to EnergySafety's 260 - paints a very different picture, with 18% of systems likely defective according to the EnergySafety definitions of Category 1, 2 and 3 issues.
"Fewer than 2.1% are likely to be suffering a Category 1 defect reported at 12% by EnergySafety," said Professor Wills.
According to solar solutions provider Energy Matters' CEO Jeremy Rich, the results of the audit need further scrutiny.
"I encourage EnergySafety to engage with the SEA and the industry, and then perform a follow up study," said Mr. Rich.
"As far as I am aware, the audit process from which the inspection checklists were sourced is a probabilistic method, where newer installers or installers with recent defects are sampled at higher rates than established installers with low inspection defect rates. As such, the data is not going to be representative of the entire installation sample - it will always demonstrate higher defect rates due to the nature of the sampling."
Mr. Rich also pointed out Energy Matters and most other solar installation companies have internal quality control programs in addition to ORER /Western Power audits to prevent the types of issues reported occurring.
EnergySafety, a state government department, is responsible for the technical and safety regulation of all Western Australia's electrical industry and most of the gas sector.
Of the 260 inspection checklists reviewed by the agency, 50% of solar power installations were found to be defect free. 50% presented at least one defect; ranging from infractions such as incorrect or no labeling through to issues including incorrect wiring of DC isolating devices.
12% of installations inspected were found to have incorrect DC isolator wiring - considered a Category 1 defect. DC isolators disconnect the solar panels from the solar inverter and isolate the modules from cabling.
11% of installations had a Category 2 defect, which includes failure to provide adequate mechanical protection to cables.
27% of solar installs were found to have a Category 3 defect; either having no labelling or incorrect labelling of components and/or incorrect/missing safety instructions and warnings.
In its report, EnergySafety said while none of the sub-standard installations posed an immediate electric shock or fire hazard, or was disconnected as a result of the inspections, the defects identified require rectification. Inspector's Orders that required the electrical contractors responsible to rectify the defects were issued in each case.
The report was welcomed but also strongly criticised by the Sustainable Energy Association of Australia (SEA).
"...For a report that was based on work commenced in June 2011 to be issued on the day before the Christmas break to offer advice that has alarmed customers about a potential but low probability risk to contact their supplier is alarmist and irresponsible," said Professor Ray Wills, SEA Chief Executive.
Of the installations with Category 1 defects, Professor Wills questioned the provenance of these systems.
"What was the nature of the 31 installations that were faulty? Was every one of these installations done by different installers, or was there a cluster of faults with one or several particular business?"
An earlier survey carried out by SEA with a far larger sample - 5,000 systems compared to EnergySafety's 260 - paints a very different picture, with 18% of systems likely defective according to the EnergySafety definitions of Category 1, 2 and 3 issues.
"Fewer than 2.1% are likely to be suffering a Category 1 defect reported at 12% by EnergySafety," said Professor Wills.
According to solar solutions provider Energy Matters' CEO Jeremy Rich, the results of the audit need further scrutiny.
"I encourage EnergySafety to engage with the SEA and the industry, and then perform a follow up study," said Mr. Rich.
"As far as I am aware, the audit process from which the inspection checklists were sourced is a probabilistic method, where newer installers or installers with recent defects are sampled at higher rates than established installers with low inspection defect rates. As such, the data is not going to be representative of the entire installation sample - it will always demonstrate higher defect rates due to the nature of the sampling."
Mr. Rich also pointed out Energy Matters and most other solar installation companies have internal quality control programs in addition to ORER /Western Power audits to prevent the types of issues reported occurring.
2011年10月17日星期一
Solar Energy's Future Remains Bright
Spending less on one's monthly energy bill -- that's appealing. Saving the environment at the same time, says Ryan Park, "that's icing on the cake."
In an August video interview, Park, director of business development for California-based REC Solar and a recent finalist on the reality television show The Bachelorette, told HuffPost that he sees solar as an "important piece of our energy future."
Two months later, many critics would question such optimism. The recent failure of another California solar panel manufacturer, Solyndra, which received half a billion dollars in loan guarantees from the federal government before crashing, has left the viability of solar under intense scrutiny.
In a recent follow-up interview, Park acknowledged the Solyndra bankruptcy has "cast a shadow over the whole industry," but added that the response to a single company's demise was "way overblown." He said Solyndra's failure was "not indicative for the future real winners," suggesting the current state of the solar industry is analogous to technology industry during the dot-com era, when several companies rose rapidly while others experienced dramatic demises.
As Thomas Maslin, a senior analyst for the North American solar power sector with IHS Emerging Energy Research, told HuffPost's Tom Zeller last month that such competition is just a sign of the solar industry "becoming more mature."
While Solyndra's concept of a lightweight, quickly installable panel was initially attractive, Park thinks it "never had a chance," especially as the price of more conventional silicon panels plummeted. In the end, the more efficient technology won.
"It's unfortunate that our government placed financial bets on the wrong technologies, but the good news is the industry as a whole is advancing rapidly down the cost curve," said Park, noting that during his 10 years in the business he's seen the solar cell prices fall from around nine dollars a watt to below three dollars a watt.
"Imagine where we'll be in 10 more" years, he added. "It's exciting."
It should come as no surprise that Park's house is fitted with solar panels and a tankless water heater. (People who watched the latest season of The Bachelorette may remember Park's long-winded pitch of the latter technology while on a date with Ashley.) He also drives a Prius, which he said he plans to replace soon with an all-electric car.
As Park told HuffPost, studies have shown that over 30 percent of electric vehicle owners also have solar electric systems. If the two are paired -- with the car, in effect, charged by the sun -- then the cost of driving a mile is 80 percent less than traveling by gas-powered car.
"It makes financial sense and environmental sense," he said.
In an August video interview, Park, director of business development for California-based REC Solar and a recent finalist on the reality television show The Bachelorette, told HuffPost that he sees solar as an "important piece of our energy future."
Two months later, many critics would question such optimism. The recent failure of another California solar panel manufacturer, Solyndra, which received half a billion dollars in loan guarantees from the federal government before crashing, has left the viability of solar under intense scrutiny.
In a recent follow-up interview, Park acknowledged the Solyndra bankruptcy has "cast a shadow over the whole industry," but added that the response to a single company's demise was "way overblown." He said Solyndra's failure was "not indicative for the future real winners," suggesting the current state of the solar industry is analogous to technology industry during the dot-com era, when several companies rose rapidly while others experienced dramatic demises.
As Thomas Maslin, a senior analyst for the North American solar power sector with IHS Emerging Energy Research, told HuffPost's Tom Zeller last month that such competition is just a sign of the solar industry "becoming more mature."
While Solyndra's concept of a lightweight, quickly installable panel was initially attractive, Park thinks it "never had a chance," especially as the price of more conventional silicon panels plummeted. In the end, the more efficient technology won.
"It's unfortunate that our government placed financial bets on the wrong technologies, but the good news is the industry as a whole is advancing rapidly down the cost curve," said Park, noting that during his 10 years in the business he's seen the solar cell prices fall from around nine dollars a watt to below three dollars a watt.
"Imagine where we'll be in 10 more" years, he added. "It's exciting."
It should come as no surprise that Park's house is fitted with solar panels and a tankless water heater. (People who watched the latest season of The Bachelorette may remember Park's long-winded pitch of the latter technology while on a date with Ashley.) He also drives a Prius, which he said he plans to replace soon with an all-electric car.
As Park told HuffPost, studies have shown that over 30 percent of electric vehicle owners also have solar electric systems. If the two are paired -- with the car, in effect, charged by the sun -- then the cost of driving a mile is 80 percent less than traveling by gas-powered car.
"It makes financial sense and environmental sense," he said.
2011年10月10日星期一
Research prowess powers Texas solar industry
As Austin-based AstroWatt's founders prepared to launch their solar technology company in 2008, they tallied the competition.
Solar energy startups were emerging around the world, fueled by global discussions about climate change and new government funding for renewable energy industries. The AstroWatt team wasn't the only one with a technology idea and the capital to invest in the booming industry of polysilicon solar energy.
"From Day One, we knew this was going to be a bloodbath," said co-founder Dharmesh Jawarani. "We counted 60 new entrants for polysilicon manufacturing in China alone."
At least three U.S. solar manufacturers have collapsed under the weight of that competition in recent weeks, including California-based solar-panel maker Solyndra.
Its bankruptcy is a hot political issue because the Obama administration touted the company's potential to create clean-energy jobs after it got $535 million in federal stimulus loans.
Those failures have led some industry watchers to conclude that China's low-cost panels have won the solar battle. But others still see hope for America's solar industry and suggest the flooded market is just shaking out the weakest companies.
The key, some say, is investing less in building panels and more on engineering them.
"It has become very hard to compete with Chinese manufacturers. Their labor costs are so low and they've been receiving giant subsidies from the Chinese government," said Keily Miller, a research associate for the Energy Forum at the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy at Rice University. "If the U.S. government is going to promote this form of energy, they should be promoting research and development."
Such a focus could be a boon for Texas, where high-tech research facilities and a skilled workforce have been attracting solar startups, like AstroWatt.
While Texas has been a leader in wind energy, it has fallen behind other states in solar. Proponents blame a lack of tax benefits and financial incentives for consumers and companies involved in solar energy development.
A 2010 report by the Solar Foundation estimated that Texas has about 170 solar-related companies employing some 6,400 workers. The majority of them are solar installers, as opposed to manufacturers, according to the report.
Incentives sought
Texas exempts companies that manufacture, sell or install solar panels from the state franchise tax. But it doesn't offer additional benefits like equipment and utility rebates on a statewide level, said Natalie Marquis, executive director of Texas Solar Energy Society, an advocacy group.
"Our state government is not pushing for solar manufacturing and solar companies," Marquis said.
"There are so many other states that want to have that industry and the jobs, so they are offering great incentives," she said. "Texas is not doing that."
The state of Michigan gave Dow Chemical Co. $141 million in tax credits last year when the company decided to locate its new solar shingle manufacturing facility near its Midland, Mich., headquarters. The company also received a $12.8 million federal grant to develop a more advanced and lower-cost version of its solar shingles.
Dow expects the facility to create 1,275 jobs by 2015.
But where Texas has lacked the financial capital to attract the solar industry, it has provided human capital, says Ron Van Dell, chief executive officer of SolarBridge Technologies.
SolarBridge, which develops advanced technology for solar energy systems, moved to Austin in 2009 from Champaign, Ill. Van Dell said he wanted to draw from the skilled workforce of Austin's high-tech industries to build SolarBridge's staff. The company now has 60 employees, most of them from Austin, he said.
For AstroWatt, Texas provided the low-cost research facilities and equipment attractive to small startups. The company conducts its research and development of solar cells at the University of Texas at Austin's Microelectronics Research Center.
"That's the key to survival for startups: being capital-efficient," Jawarani said. "Most of the companies that went bankrupt … started with big investments in specialized equipment and new factories."
Solar energy startups were emerging around the world, fueled by global discussions about climate change and new government funding for renewable energy industries. The AstroWatt team wasn't the only one with a technology idea and the capital to invest in the booming industry of polysilicon solar energy.
"From Day One, we knew this was going to be a bloodbath," said co-founder Dharmesh Jawarani. "We counted 60 new entrants for polysilicon manufacturing in China alone."
At least three U.S. solar manufacturers have collapsed under the weight of that competition in recent weeks, including California-based solar-panel maker Solyndra.
Its bankruptcy is a hot political issue because the Obama administration touted the company's potential to create clean-energy jobs after it got $535 million in federal stimulus loans.
Those failures have led some industry watchers to conclude that China's low-cost panels have won the solar battle. But others still see hope for America's solar industry and suggest the flooded market is just shaking out the weakest companies.
The key, some say, is investing less in building panels and more on engineering them.
"It has become very hard to compete with Chinese manufacturers. Their labor costs are so low and they've been receiving giant subsidies from the Chinese government," said Keily Miller, a research associate for the Energy Forum at the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy at Rice University. "If the U.S. government is going to promote this form of energy, they should be promoting research and development."
Such a focus could be a boon for Texas, where high-tech research facilities and a skilled workforce have been attracting solar startups, like AstroWatt.
While Texas has been a leader in wind energy, it has fallen behind other states in solar. Proponents blame a lack of tax benefits and financial incentives for consumers and companies involved in solar energy development.
A 2010 report by the Solar Foundation estimated that Texas has about 170 solar-related companies employing some 6,400 workers. The majority of them are solar installers, as opposed to manufacturers, according to the report.
Incentives sought
Texas exempts companies that manufacture, sell or install solar panels from the state franchise tax. But it doesn't offer additional benefits like equipment and utility rebates on a statewide level, said Natalie Marquis, executive director of Texas Solar Energy Society, an advocacy group.
"Our state government is not pushing for solar manufacturing and solar companies," Marquis said.
"There are so many other states that want to have that industry and the jobs, so they are offering great incentives," she said. "Texas is not doing that."
The state of Michigan gave Dow Chemical Co. $141 million in tax credits last year when the company decided to locate its new solar shingle manufacturing facility near its Midland, Mich., headquarters. The company also received a $12.8 million federal grant to develop a more advanced and lower-cost version of its solar shingles.
Dow expects the facility to create 1,275 jobs by 2015.
But where Texas has lacked the financial capital to attract the solar industry, it has provided human capital, says Ron Van Dell, chief executive officer of SolarBridge Technologies.
SolarBridge, which develops advanced technology for solar energy systems, moved to Austin in 2009 from Champaign, Ill. Van Dell said he wanted to draw from the skilled workforce of Austin's high-tech industries to build SolarBridge's staff. The company now has 60 employees, most of them from Austin, he said.
For AstroWatt, Texas provided the low-cost research facilities and equipment attractive to small startups. The company conducts its research and development of solar cells at the University of Texas at Austin's Microelectronics Research Center.
"That's the key to survival for startups: being capital-efficient," Jawarani said. "Most of the companies that went bankrupt … started with big investments in specialized equipment and new factories."
2011年5月25日星期三
A Few Things to Know About Solar
Thinking of saving electricity by investing in a solar photovoltaic (PV) system? Here are a few good things to know, pulled from a recent Greenbiz.com webinar on Solar Powered Buildings: Worth Another Look as Prices Fall.
Powerhouse Solar Shingles
Federal tax credits— The 30 percent residential renewable energy tax credit is good through 2016. This gives you up to a 30 percent credit for the cost and installation of a solar PV, solar thermal, wind, geothermal heat pump and fuel cells. There is no ceiling, and excess credit can generally be rolled forward to the next tax year. So if you’re interested in solar technology, it’s a good idea to start pricing and planning now. You can find federal and local incentives at dsire.com
Micro-inverters— The traditional solar PV setup includes an inverter that converts the DC energy created at the solar panel to AC for your home’s use. But one inverter for an entire array can pose limitations on how much energy you realize from your PV system. It’s complicated, but by using one inverter, a solar panel that’s shaded or not performing well can lower a centralized inverter’s maximum power point, and thus the amount of electricity you receive from the system. So in some smaller systems, a micro-inverter is used for each panel. These cost more, but your system may perform better. Some reports indicate that micro-inverters can boost energy harvesting in residential systems up to 15 percent.
DC optimizers—< Also called power boosters, these can be placed on every panel and used with a central inverter to maximize the power coming from the panels and eliminate issues such as shading on one of more panels.
Costs— According to Greg Sheppard, chief research officer for IHS iSuppli, residential solar costs continue to fall, from about $2.50 per watt per module (or panel) in 2009 to about $1.50 per watt today, and costs are expected to drop to almost $1 per watt (or about $200 per panel) in 2015. Though these are panel costs, not installation costs. According to the Open PV Project from NREL (National Renewable Energy Lab), the average cost for solar panel installation in the United States was $6.94 per watt in 2010. Manufacturing costs will certainly continue to decline. “Manufacturing is a lot more efficient,” Sheppard says. “A lot of [assembly of solar panels] was done by hand up to a couple of years ago.”
Thin Films are Coming— Most solar panels today are made with crystalline silicon, though expect to see more flexible, thin panels that use technologies like CIGS (copper indium gallium selenide), Cadmium Telluride (CdTe), and amorphous silicon, though for now the efficiencies of crystalline silicon are better. The best efficiencies in available high-end monocrystalline silicon panels are about 19 percent, according to Sheppard. Look for thin-film technologies in BIPV (built-in photovoltaic) systems like roofing shingles. This year Dow Chemical will introduce its Powerhouse Solar roofing shingles, with the solar panels provided by Global Solar. The flexible CIGS panels are built right into asphalt shingles.
Energy Monitoring— Good energy monitoring systems exist for solar arrays, and are recommended to properly measure a PV system’s performance. An inverter, for example, will display the output of electricity but not what goes into it. So an improperly working inverter may go unnoticed without energy monitoring. Systems that can monitor a solar array’s energy production include eMonitor, EcoDog and Agilewaves.
Powerhouse Solar Shingles
Federal tax credits— The 30 percent residential renewable energy tax credit is good through 2016. This gives you up to a 30 percent credit for the cost and installation of a solar PV, solar thermal, wind, geothermal heat pump and fuel cells. There is no ceiling, and excess credit can generally be rolled forward to the next tax year. So if you’re interested in solar technology, it’s a good idea to start pricing and planning now. You can find federal and local incentives at dsire.com
Micro-inverters— The traditional solar PV setup includes an inverter that converts the DC energy created at the solar panel to AC for your home’s use. But one inverter for an entire array can pose limitations on how much energy you realize from your PV system. It’s complicated, but by using one inverter, a solar panel that’s shaded or not performing well can lower a centralized inverter’s maximum power point, and thus the amount of electricity you receive from the system. So in some smaller systems, a micro-inverter is used for each panel. These cost more, but your system may perform better. Some reports indicate that micro-inverters can boost energy harvesting in residential systems up to 15 percent.
DC optimizers—< Also called power boosters, these can be placed on every panel and used with a central inverter to maximize the power coming from the panels and eliminate issues such as shading on one of more panels.
Costs— According to Greg Sheppard, chief research officer for IHS iSuppli, residential solar costs continue to fall, from about $2.50 per watt per module (or panel) in 2009 to about $1.50 per watt today, and costs are expected to drop to almost $1 per watt (or about $200 per panel) in 2015. Though these are panel costs, not installation costs. According to the Open PV Project from NREL (National Renewable Energy Lab), the average cost for solar panel installation in the United States was $6.94 per watt in 2010. Manufacturing costs will certainly continue to decline. “Manufacturing is a lot more efficient,” Sheppard says. “A lot of [assembly of solar panels] was done by hand up to a couple of years ago.”
Thin Films are Coming— Most solar panels today are made with crystalline silicon, though expect to see more flexible, thin panels that use technologies like CIGS (copper indium gallium selenide), Cadmium Telluride (CdTe), and amorphous silicon, though for now the efficiencies of crystalline silicon are better. The best efficiencies in available high-end monocrystalline silicon panels are about 19 percent, according to Sheppard. Look for thin-film technologies in BIPV (built-in photovoltaic) systems like roofing shingles. This year Dow Chemical will introduce its Powerhouse Solar roofing shingles, with the solar panels provided by Global Solar. The flexible CIGS panels are built right into asphalt shingles.
Energy Monitoring— Good energy monitoring systems exist for solar arrays, and are recommended to properly measure a PV system’s performance. An inverter, for example, will display the output of electricity but not what goes into it. So an improperly working inverter may go unnoticed without energy monitoring. Systems that can monitor a solar array’s energy production include eMonitor, EcoDog and Agilewaves.
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