USA Wind Energy in 2012 Gets Flying Start with Three New Farms

11 Jan, 2012
USA,Wind Energy

USA Wind Energy in  2012 has got off to a flying start with the announcement of 3 new wind farms being announced. While BP and Sempra have announced 2 new wind farms with 560 MW capacity with $1 billion in investment ,a Spanish company will build a 189 MW wind farm . Note 2010 was not a great year for wind energy in the USA though 2011 was better . GE will be the Wind Turbine Company supplying turbines to the BP Wind Farms while Accionia wind turbines will be used by the Spanish company . Note there is a severe competition in the Wind Turbine space with the biggest wind company Vestas facing a possible bankruptcy or consolidation in the future. However wind farm developers are having a good time at the expense of the wind equipment companies as prices of wind turbines reach very low levels. Wind Energy is being installed despite Gas Prices touching new lows below $3 /mmbtu as Utilities look to meet the RPS mandates and possible carbon prices in the future.

Read about the Pros and Cons of Wind Power

Wind Energy in 2010 had ground to a halt in the US after a record 10,000 MW were installed in 2009. The ARRA grants in 2009 which gave a 30% cash grant for wind farm development plus the 2008 pushed out orders led to a path breaking 2009 for Wind Energy in the US . Almost 30% of the total installed capacity in the US was constructed in 2009 alone.Wind Energy accounts for roughly 50  GW of electricity capacity in the US or roughly 5%  of the total 1000 GW capacity.

The Pennsylvania facility is a 141-megawatt wind farm being built by Renewable Energy Systems Ltd.’s U.S. unit that will use 88 1.6-megawatt wind turbines made by General Electric Co., BP and Sempra said. The facility has long-term contracts to sell the electricity to two electric cooperatives.The 419-megawatt Kansas wind farm will use 262 GE wind turbines and will be built by Blattner Energy, BP and Sempra said. The electricity generated will be sold to Associated Electric Cooperative Inc. and American Electric Power Co. unit Southwestern Electric Power Co. under long-term contracts.

NaturEner Wind Farm

The renewable energy company, a subsidiary of Spain-based NaturEner, expects Rim Rock to be operating by October. The power will be shipped on the western power grid, which includes several western states and Alberta and British Columbia in Canada.The wind farm, which would feature 126 Acciona wind turbines, is planned 20 miles northwest of Shelby near Kevin, or about 106 miles north of Great Falls.At 189 megawatts, the facility will produce enough energy to power more than 60,000 homes.

Solar Renewable Energy Certificate (SREC) Prices to get support from New Jersey Legislators

9 Jan, 2012
Solar Energy,USA

Solar Renewable Energy Certificate (SREC) Prices in New Jersey have been falling at a sharp rate from a high of $600 to $225 as high returns from falling solar panel prices and other tax breaks.This has led to a massive growth in solar installations in the state making it the 2nd largest state by solar capacity.New Jersey installations have crossed 500 MW and made it a huge green job driver in the state.However this boom has made the market driven SREC prices fall quite sharply.Though not falling as sharply as Pennsylvania where SREC prices have become a joke ,they are still low and falling.

New Jersey lawmakers are trying to rectify the situation with Assembly Telecommunications and Utilities Committee  approving two bills that seek to reverse a recent sharp fall in the value of the tradable Solar Renewable Energy Certificates.This will have the follwing measures like

1) Increase the PPA term to 15 years

2) Make non-utilities buy SRECs

to boost the falling SREC prices.

These measures should boost the solar EPC Companies  in USA as well as the domestic solar panel manufacturers.

Solar EPC/Installation Companies

11) Akeena/Westinghouse Solar (WEST) - The first US Solar Installer to list on the US Stock Exchange,the company’s operations are based mainly in California.The company also sells solar sytems through retail outlets which was a first.The company also has a unique solar system which reduces solar installation costs called Mandalay.

12) Real Goods Solar (RSOL)- The second US Solar Installer to list on the Stock exchange,Real Goods Solar is present in California and Colorado and it targets the residential and commercial segments of the market

13) Verengo Solar - The company also provides solar financing solutions and is present in the California market.

14) Borrego Solar - The company is similar to Verengo Solar but mainly concentrates on the commercial market.The company signed a deal with Chinese solar panel producer Yingli for procuring solar panels.The company is headquartered in California like most others.

US Solar Projects available at Fire Sale Prices by Insolvent Solar Millennium, Solar Trust Bankruptcy

6 Jan, 2012
Solar Energy,USA

US Solar Projects including the 1000 MW Blythe Solar Project is now available for solar developers,installers at fire sale prices. The Insolvency Administrator is looking to sell parts and the whole of the solar project business of Solar Millennium and its US subsidiary Solar Trust of America.Note before filing of bankruptcy,the solar project developer had around 2000 MW of solar projects in the pipeline.

Note the talks between German developer Solarhybrid are still on for buying the two large approved solar projects in California. US Solar Installers would be the most interested in such projects as it would give them business for a relatively long time and save on the approval time of around 3-4 years for such large projects.

Note Solar Thermal Companies have been dying like flies now as cheap solar panels prices have touched almost 80c/watt a price unthinkable even  6 months ago. This is almost 60% cheaper than the prices of $2/watt a year ago. It has thrown not only thin film solar companies but also higher cost silicon solar companies into trouble.LDK and Sunpower would have been bankrupt if not the backing of others.

German insolvency could lead to sale of Oakland solar subsidiary

Solar Millennium AG’s insolvency administrator is seeking to sell parts or all of the German developer of sun-powered plants.

Volker Boehm of Schulze & Braun said today in a statement that it’s seeking buyers for the company’s 60 or so project units and stakes, including Oakland-based Solar Trust of America LLC, which is planning the world’s biggest solar plant.

Solar Trust currently has multiple projects in development across the southwestern U.S., including the world’s largest permitted solar power plant facility near Blythe, CA. The Blythe Solar Power Project will deliver 1,000 Megawatts (MW) of capacity to the California power grid. That is enough electricity to power approximately 300,000 single-family homes each year.

Solar Thermal Energy has been losing out in the last couple of years to solar photovoltaic energy which is seeing a huge increase in demand amidst very low prices.Some of the major solar thermal energy projects in the globe have been converted into solar pv installations due to its lower costs.Some of the major solar thermal energy companies like Solar Millennium have sold their solar thermal portfolios to other companies while Stirling Power Systems has gone bankrupt.Tessera has sold its solar thermal plants which had gotten DOE Loan Guarantees in California to Solar Developers who have made these solar thermal plants into solar panel ones.However there are some companies like eSolar and Brightsource Energywhich are powering ahead with their technologies and projects with backing from big industrial MNC  conglomerates like GE and Areva.Their Power Tower Technologies are supposedly more efficient than the mainstream parabolic toughs that are used.

Disadvantages of Solar Thermal Energy

1) High Costs – Solar Thermal Energy costs at least Euro 3.5/watt and has not declined too much in the last 3-4 years .However these costs are too high  as Solar PV already costs Euro 2.5/watt and even on a conservative basis will have its costs reduced by 5% in the next 10 years making it attain half the cost of Solar Thermal Technology by 2020

2) Future Technology has a high probability of making CSP Obsolete – Solar Energy has become a Hotbed of Innovation with daily news of some new breakthrough in materials and process in PV Technology.Oerlikon has come out with a radial new a-Si Technology while CIGs player are touting increased efficiencies.Chinese Solar Companies have captured large chunks of the Solar Market through low cost leadership while number of Global Heavyweights like Posco,Samsung,Hyundai,Sharp,GE,TSMC promise to further decrease these costs.

3) Water Issue – Solar Thermal Plants use lots of Water which is Major Problem in Desert Areas. Using non-water cooling raises the cost of CSP projects too much.While using SeaWater has been proposed it remains to be seen if it possible to implement this solution as this would imply building Plants very near the Coastline

4) Ecological and Cultural Issues – The Usage of Massive Arrays of Mirrors is noted to heavily impact the Desert  Wildlife endangering the endangered species.California has already seen a massive fight on this issue with Project Developers curtailing the size of their Plants and spending money to move the wildlife

5) Limited Locations and Size Limitations – Solar Thermal  Energy can only be built in places which have the high amount of solar radiation.They can be built in deserts mostly and require a large land area.This means its not possible to build them in populated areas.Solar Thermal Energy also can only be built in large sizes which are at least 50 MW in size to be economical.This contrasts to Solar PV which is sold in sizes as low as 5 Watts

6) Long Gestation Time Leading to Cost Overruns – The Gestation Time for permitting,financing,drilling etc. can easily take 5-7 years to develop a concentrated solar thermal power plant.Compare this to 6 months for a small wind farm or 3 months for a Solar PV plant

7)  Financing is the biggest problem in developing projects particularly for small solar thermal developers in this industry.

Chinese Wind Tower Companies face Dumping Danger after Solar Panel Makers

3 Jan, 2012
China,USA,Wind Energy

Chinese Solar Panel Producers have become a famous target of an anti dumping petition brought on by Solarworld and other companies.Though US Solar Installers have opposed the move as it will increase the solar panel prices in US,ITC has gone ahead with the investigation.Though the charges of subsidies and efficiency can be debated,the fact remains that US Solar Panel Producers can’t compete with Chinese Solar Panels.Massive industrial overcapacity in China has made the prices of products very cheap and made it difficult for Western producers to compete in most areas such as Chemical,Renewable Energy,Textiles etc.The Chinese win because of their low interest rates,cheap labor,free land,massive government support.

Wind Tower makers in the USA are now bringing forth measures to stop Chinese and Vietnamese wind tower producers from  selling in the USA as well.With the trade relations between China and USA already quite bad,it remains to get worse still if the wind industry also becomes a focus point.Note Chinese wind turbines producers are already the world’s biggest.The price wars in China have made them look to exports and USA has been targeted by these companies.Sinovel and Goldwind are leading the charge.Its a matter of time before other companies target the wind turbine segment as well.Unlike solar panels ,most wind turbines in USA are made locally.

Read about the pros and cons of wind energy

Local wind tower manufacturers complain about Chinese pricing, sign petition

Claiming unfair pricing practices by Chinese and Vietnamese importers, two wind energy companies with local work sites have signed on to a petition asking trade regulators to investigate possible dumping of wind towers into the U.S. market at less than fair value.The group claims the Chinese government uses subsidies to push wind towers into the U.S. market. The petition asks that duties be placed on Chinese and Vietnamese tower imports by the U.S. Department of Commerce and also seeks an investigation by the International Trade Commission.

Green War between USA and China escalates with acceptance of 301 Filing

The Rise of American Protectionism has its chief enemy in the shape of China.Increasing unemployment and slow economic growth make Currency Wars seem  inevitable in the face of shrinking global demand and export loving countries.However Green Wars are something totally new.Clean Technology leadership has been slipping to China,as USA dithers and bickers on climate legislation and energy laws.China has been strategically pumping huge amounts of cash into the new age Green Industries.Other countries like South Korea,Singapore,Malaysia,Japan,Germany,Spain are also making a major push into the Renewable Energy Industry.USA despite its technology leadership has seen Green Jobs melting away towards China and Mexico.With American Public  Sentiment turning heavily against China in recent times,the US Congress and Administration have been pressurizing China on multiple fronts

Middle Class in America Getting Decimated – 30 Shocking Stats

3 Jan, 2012
USA

Income Inequality is a Theme that is getting played across the world in developing as well as developed nations.Most of the turmoil in 2011 in the Middle East and the Occupy Wall Street Movement can be attributed to the growing Income Gap between the Have and Have -Nots.The Great Recession in 2008 can also be looked upon as a fallout of this.Gini’s Coefficient which measures the income distribution gap has shown continued deterioration all over the world.The Middle Class is shrinking and growing poor by the day and it is not only the Poor Class that is getting affected.

The Poor are getting the most affected as Food Prices have increased rapidly.The globalization of agriculture is one reason that food prices are going out of hand.Hunger Riots were seen in 2008 and in 2011,expect such movements to continue.The revolution in Egypt was also caused by spiralling prices of wheat .2008 saw a sharp rise in commodity prices everywhere as asset bubbles found their way from commodities like oil,gold etc to food based commodities as well.The sharp increase in food prices has led to massive distress amongst poor population across the world.Riots related to Food Scarcity has been reported across 35 countries which has gone almost unnoticed by the global media.Virtual doubling of food prices in 2008 in a short span of time pushed people living  on a day to day basis into starvation.The unrestricted trading of food based derivative contracts had a major role to play in this spurt of prices.With the Lehman Collapse,the Food Prices also collapsed.However the global reflation being practiced by Central Banks is again fueling pressures on Food Prices.High volatility in Commodities which was almost unseen 10 years ago has become the “new normal”.Its no longer strange to find Oil prices moving 5% on a daily basis.With these commodities being treated more like financial assets rather than critical inputs of daily living,expect more Hunger Riots in the Future.

India

Income Inequality in India is quite shocking Income Inequality in India has been rising at an unprecedented rate in the  last couple of decades.The opening of the Indian economy has led to even starker levels of income disparity among the very rich and majority of the Indian citizens.The Crushing Income Disparity is seen in the world’s most expensive $2 Billion House set amongst 42% of the world’s hungry children.The latest Forbes report lists 50 Indian Dollar Billionaires with 2 in the Top 10.A 2007 report by the state-run National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector (NCEUS) found that 77% of Indians, or 836 million people, lived on less than 20 rupees

USA

30 Statistics That Show That The Middle Class Is Dying Right In Front Of Our Eyes As We Enter 2012

Once upon a time, the United States had the largest and most vibrant middle class that the world has ever seen.  Unfortunately, that is rapidly changing.

#1 Today, only 55.3 percent of all Americans between the ages of 16 and 29 have jobs.

#2 In the United States today, there are 240 million working age people.  Only about 140 million of them are working.

#3 According to CareerBuilder, only 23 percent of American companies plan to hire more employees in 2012.

#4 Since the year 2000, the United States has lost 10% of its middle class jobs.  In the year 2000 there were about 72 million middle class jobs in the United States but today there are only about 65 million middle class jobs.

#5 According to the New York Times, approximately 100 million Americans are either living in poverty or in “the fretful zone just above it”.

#6 According to that same article in the New York Times, 34 percent of all elderly Americans are living in poverty or “near poverty”, and 39 percent of all children in America are living in poverty or “near poverty”.

#7 In 1984, the median net worth of households led by someone 65 or older was 10 times larger than the median net worth of households led by someone 35 or younger.  Today, the median net worth of households led by someone 65 or older is 47 times larger than the median net worth of households led by someone 35 or younger.

#8 Since the year 2000, incomes for U.S. households led by someone between the ages of 25 and 34 have fallen by about 12 percent after you adjust for inflation.

#9 The total value of household real estate in the U.S. has declined from $22.7 trillion in 2006 to $16.2 trillion today.  Most of that wealth has been lost by the middle class.

#10 Many formerly great manufacturing cities are turning into ghost towns.  Since 1950, the population of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania has declined by more than 50 percent.  In Dayton, Ohio 18.9 percent of all houses now stand empty.

#11 Since 1971, consumer debt in the United States has increased by a whopping 1700%.

#12 The number of pages of federal tax rules and regulations has increased by18,000% since 1913.  The wealthy know how to avoid taxes, but most of those in the middle class do not.

#13 The number of Americans that fell into poverty (2.6 million) set a new all-time record last year and extreme poverty (6.7%) is at the highest level ever measured in the United States.

#14 According to one study, between 1969 and 2009 the median wages earned by American men between the ages of 30 and 50 dropped by 27 percent after you account for inflation.

#15 According to U.S. Representative Betty Sutton, America has lost an average of 15 manufacturing facilities a day over the last 10 years.  During 2010 it got even worse.  Last year, an average of 23 manufacturing facilities a day shut down in the United States.

#16 Back in 1980, less than 30% of all jobs in the United States were low income jobs.  Today, more than 40% of all jobs in the United States are low income jobs.

#17 Most Americans are scratching and clawing and doing whatever they can to make a living these days.  Half of all American workers now earn $505 or less per week.

#18 Food prices continue to rise at a very brisk pace.  The price of beef is up9.8% over the past year, the price of eggs is up 10.2% over the past year and the price of potatoes is up 12% over the past year.

#19 Electricity bills in the United States have risen faster than the overall rate of inflation for five years in a row.

#20 The average American household will have spent a staggering $4,155 on gasoline by the end of 2011.

#21 If inflation was measured the exact same way that it was measured back in 1980, the rate of inflation in the United States would be well over 10 percent.

#22 If the number of Americans considered to be “looking for work” was the same today as it was back in 2007, the “official” unemployment rate put out by the U.S. government would be up to 11 percent.

#23 According to the Student Loan Debt Clock, total student loan debt in the United States will surpass the 1 trillion dollar mark at some point in 2012.  Most of that debt is owed by members of the middle class.

#24 Incredibly, more than one out of every seven Americans is on food stamps and one out of every four American children is on food stamps at this point.

#25 Since Barack Obama took office, the number of Americans on food stamps has increased by 14.3 million.

#26 In 2010, 42 percent of all single mothers in the United States were on food stamps.

#27 In 1970, 65 percent of all Americans lived in “middle class neighborhoods”.  By 2007, only 44 percent of all Americans lived in “middle class neighborhoods”.

#28 According to a recent report produced by Pew Charitable Trusts, approximately one out of every three Americans that grew up in a middle class household has slipped down the income ladder.

#29 In the United States today, the wealthiest one percent of all Americans have a greater net worth than the bottom 90 percent combined.

#30 The poorest 50 percent of all Americans now collectively own just 2.5%of all the wealth in the United States.

GlobalWatt bails out of constructing a Solar Panel Plant in Michigan – Not Surprising

2 Jan, 2012
Solar Energy,Solar Panels,USA

GlobalWatt a USA Solar Panel Manufacturer has bailed out of going ahead with building a solar panel plant in Michigan with  a $177 million investment.Note even the Best Solar Panel Manufacturers are facing a torrid time with some established comapnies like Solon,Evergreen Solar going bankrupt.Almost 5000 solar comapnies in Germany have gone bust this year according to BSW.Given the massive glut of solar panel capacity it is not surprising that Globalwatt has abandoned its plans of adding to more global capacity of solar panels.

Calif. company cancels $177M Saginaw solar plant

A California-based solar power company is canceling plans to build a $177 million solar panel factory in Michigan, the chief executive said. When the project was announced in 2009, San Jose-based GlobalWatt Inc. said it would create 500 jobs. At that time, Saginaw was one of two communities in the running for the project.
But GlobalWatt chief executive Sanjeev Chitre said the Saginaw project is now on hold, because of a struggling economy and overseas markets.

The Chinese solar  panel producers too are facing tough times with many companies running at low utilizations and almost everybody running losses.Some companies with huge debt burdens like LDK are running because of government largesse as they are effectively insolvent for all purposes.Expect more bankrutpcies in the coming year .It will take a very foolish or a very brave company to expand solar capacity this year.

Only USA Solar Installers are having a good time with below cost solar panels availabe increasing the returns and leading to massive increased.It looks like 2012 will be a good year for US solar installers who are expanding rapidly to take advantage of the falling solar module prices.Even Buffett is going all into solar development space  acquiring billion dollar project in a classical case of vulture investing.

MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co., Warren Buffett‘s energy company, said Friday it will add to its nascent position in renewable power by investing in a second solar farm.MidAmerican will buy a 49% share of a $1.8 billion solar-power plant owned by NRG Energy Inc. that U.S. solar-panel maker First Solar Inc. is building in the Arizona desert. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

First Solar and NRG obtained a $967 million government loan guarantee for the 290-megawatt project, called Agua Caliente, which the companies have said could generate enough electricity for about 56,000 homes.Earlier this month, MidAmerican, which is controlled by Buffett investment arm Berkshire Hathaway Inc., said it agreed to buy a $2 billion California solar farm from First Solar, putting the Iowa-based owner of utilities, wind farms and conventional power plants in the solar-power business for the first time.

 

Page 1 of 25
1 2 3 4 5 →
...
Last

Most Popular

Recent Comments