Solar Energy Firms Take Advantage of NJ's Pro-Renewable Energy Climate. By Tara Kolton, Bergen County Record, 4/3/11. “Solar opportunities are shining down on NJ homeowners as the state continues to be one of the best places in the country for homeowners to invest in clean and efficient solar power. At the end of the year, two key federal initiatives are due to expire -- a federal grant that covers 30% of the installation cost of a solar-energy system and a 100% depreciation tax credit… But while the future of some federal solar incentives may be uncertain, state rebates in New Jersey are still strong… New Jersey is currently the number-one state for renewable energy incentives and is second only to California in the total installations of renewable energy in the entire country. The Garden State is also a national leader with its Solar Renewable Energy Certificate (SREC) program, which allows home and business owners to sell clean energy credits back to utility companies.”

Germany to Add Record 8 GW of Solar Power in 2010. By Erik Kirschbaum, Reuters, 12/6/10. “Germany will add a record of some 8 gigawatt (GW) of photovoltaic capacity this year, widening its lead as the world's top solar power market… The surge in demand for photovoltaic systems would take Germany's total solar power capacity to between 17 and 18 GW -- five times greater than the next largest producer Spain with a total of 3.5 GW… Germany is the world's biggest market for photovoltaic, which turns sunlight into electricity. The industry boomed with the Renewable Energy Act (EEG) in 2000, that guarantees investors above-market fees for solar power for 20 years… ‘We've seen a bit of a cooling down in the second half after the FIT [feed-in tariff] was cut by an extra 16% on July 1,’ Carsten Koernig [Germany's BSW solar industry association] said. ‘But we're still confident the total added this year could be about 8 GW. The cuts in the FIT this year fueled demand.’ Utilities are obliged to pay higher rates per kilowatt hour of electricity produced for 20 years.”

$6 Billion California Solar Plant Gets Federal Approval. MSNBC, 10/25/10. “Calling it a major milestone, the Obama administration on Monday approved what investors say will be the world's largest concentrated solar power plant and one that more than doubles all of U.S. solar output and can power at least 300,000 homes. The project in the Mojave Desert near Blythe, Calif., is the sixth solar venture authorized on federal lands within the last month. All are in desert areas.

“‘The Blythe Solar Power Project is a major milestone in our nation’s renewable energy economy and shows that the United States intends to compete and lead in the technologies of the future,’ Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said in announcing the approval. Construction on the $6 billion plant is expected to start by the end of 2010, with production starting in 2013. Developer Solar Millennium, a company based in Germany, says the plant will generate 1,066 construction jobs and 295 permanent jobs.”

South Africa Unveils $29 Billion Plans for 'World's Biggest' Solar Power Plant. By David Smith, Guardian (UK), 10/25/10. “South Africa is to unveil plans this week for what it claims will be the world's biggest solar power plant -- a radical step in a coal-dependent country where one in six people still lacks electricity. The project, expected to cost up to 200bn rand ($29.15), would aim by the end of its first decade to achieve an annual output of five gigawatts (GW) of electricity - currently one-tenth of South Africa's energy needs. Giant mirrors and solar panels would be spread across the Northern Cape province, which the government says is among the sunniest 3% of regions in the world with minimal cloud or rain.

“The government hopes the solar park will help reduce carbon emissions from Africa's biggest economy, which is still more than 90% dependent on coal-fired power stations. In April, the World Bank came in for sharp criticism from environmentalists for approving a $3.75bn loan to build one of the world's largest coal-fired power plants in the country. Energy is already a high priority in South Africa where, at the end of racial apartheid, less than 40% of households had electricity. Over 16 years the governing African National Congress has undertaken a huge national expansion, with a recent survey showing that 83% are now connected, but power outages are still not uncommon in both townships and middle-class suburbs.”

Entrepreneurs Bringing Clean Light to Poor Nations. By Lisa Friedman, ClimateWire, 10/20/10. “The poorest people on the planet together spent almost $40 billion last year on kerosene and other rudimentary and dangerous fuel-based lighting. Scientists say fuel-burning lanterns release 190 million tons of carbon dioxide each year: about the equivalent of 30 million cars. Now leaders in the field of solar portable lighting believe they can push kerosene lamps out of markets in much of the developing world and make a profit while they're at it… “Lighting Africa, based in Kenya, tries to help the private sector provide clean and affordable lighting on the electricity-starved continent. The organization -- like the Lumina Project, which is based out of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory -- is part of a small but growing field of market-based initiatives targeting what economists call the ‘bottom of the pyramid’ consumers… The portable solar lighting company D.Light… has delivered solar lamps to about 1.7 million customers at an average price of $20 apiece. The company's goal is lighting the homes of 50 million people by 2015.”

A Cheaper Route to Solar Cells. By Matthew L. Wald, NYTimes, 10/19/10. “A company that secured a Department of Energy grant to pursue a breakthrough idea in the manufacture of solar cells plans to announce on [October 19] that it has raised $20 million to commercialize its technique, which it says will reduce the price of solar panels by 40 percent. The company, 1366 Technologies of Lexington, Mass., has found a simpler way to produce the basic building block of solar cells: silicon wafers. It uses molten silicon to cast the wafers in their final form, six inches on one side and 200 microns thick, or about eight-thousandths of an inch. The current method is to cast the silicon in huge ingots or grow it in giant crystals and then saw off thin pieces, which wastes about half of the silicon."

71,400-Panel Solar Farm Planned for South Jersey. By Andrew Maykuth, PhillyInquirer, 10/20/10. “Developers will break ground in South Jersey on Wednesday on a $90 million solar-energy farm, one of the nation's largest photovoltaic projects and the latest sign of how renewable power is going mainstream. Con Edison Development and a subsidiary of Panda Energy International Inc., a power generator based in Dallas, will build the 20-megawatt solar farm in Pilesgrove Township, Salem County. The 71,400-panel solar facility, scheduled to take six months to build, will consume about 100 acres of agricultural land. It will feed the regional grid, so its power can be sold to customers throughout the area.

“‘It is a big deal,’ said Todd W. Carter, president of Panda Power Funds. ‘It will be the largest of its kind in the Northeast, and that's a big project.’ The market for solar energy is being stimulated by state mandates calling for an increasing volume of renewable power, such as wind, solar, and biomass. New Jersey and Pennsylvania are among 29 states that have adopted such standards, which force utilities to buy renewable power and pass the higher cost on to consumers.” Editor’s Note: As much as we are heartened to see projects such as this emerging, would it not be preferable to construct them over parking lots, highways and structures rather than consuming farmland, especially our more densely developed areas?

The Missing Link in Wider Adoption of Solar Power? Electricians. By Peter Behr, ClimateWire, 10/8/10. “The biggest roadblock for the commercialization of solar power in the United States is not the technology of the modules but the mundane back-end issues of permitting, installation, electrical controls and business practices, according to a report by the Rocky Mountain Institute. The report [Achieving Low-Cost Solar PV, PDF, 44 pp] summarizing the institute's design charrette in June, concludes that ‘balance of system’ (BoS) costs -- everything other than the modules themselves -- could be cut in half through streamlined, standardized approaches.”

California's Clean-Tech Industry is Booming. By Tiffany Hsu, LATimes, 10/7/10. “The clean-tech industry is booming in California, with more money being invested in solar and other alternative energy start-ups than anywhere else in the world. But the state's dominant position is being threatened by competition from China and an upcoming ballot initiative [Proposition 23] that could undercut the industry's growth, according to two new studies unveiled Wednesday. So far, the state's green-tech industry, which includes electric vehicles, eco-friendly buildings and solar energy projects, has provided California with a much-needed economic boost… Clean-tech companies in Los Angeles and the Bay Area together employ about 20,000 manufacturing workers, according to the Next 10 study [2010 California Green Innovation Index, PDF, 72 pp], which was conducted by Collaborative Economics. Competition from overseas is also intensifying. China's green industry has lower labor costs, higher productivity and better incentives, according to Clean Edge Inc., a Portland, Ore., research firm that also released a report [Clean Tech Job Trends, 2010, PDF 29 pp] Wednesday [10/6/10].”

California's Largest Solar Photovoltaic Plant to Start Construction. By Tiffany Hsu, LATimes, September 24, 2010. "Southern California has gotten the bulk of the solar industry's attention lately. But photovoltaic activity is about to kick up farther north as a project set to become the largest of its kind in California readies for construction in the Central Valley. NGR Solar, partnering with Eurus Energy America Corp., is about to launch on a 45-megawatt project in Kings County. Split into three parts, the 20-megawatt Sun City portion and the 19-megawatt Sand Drag section will start going up by the end of September, while the final Avenal Park piece will follow in about a month. NRG, a subsidiary of NRG Energy Inc. of Princeton, N.J., owns the state's previous record-holder -- a 21-megawatt facility in Blythe, CA. The incoming installation is expected to produce enough power to meet the energy needs of 36,000 homes."

Wal-Mart to Try Thin-Film Solar Technology. Reuters, September 20, 2010. "Wal-Mart plans to expand the use of renewable energy in its stores by installing thin-film solar panels in up to 30 of its locations. This would be first time that Wal-Mart, which already has solar installations in 31 other sites in California and Hawaii, would use thin-film solar technology to generate power." Wal-Mart's New Solar Power Initiative. By Julie Schmit, USAToday, September 20, 2010.

World's Largest Solar Plant Wins Key Approval in California. By Sarah McBride, Reuters, September 15, 2010. "The world's largest solar power plant cleared an important hurdle on Wednesday, laying the groundwork for a dramatic expansion in solar energy generation in the United States and around the world. The proposed $6 billion-plus Blythe, California plant, originally proposed by Chevron Corp. and Solar Millennium, won clearance to build from the California Energy Commission. The plant has a capacity of 1,000 megawatts. By comparison, for all of last year, the U.S. installed about 481 megawatts of solar energy, according to the Solar Energy Industry Association. The largest solar plants to date are in the 200-350 megawatt range."

1000 Megawatt Plant in California Marks Mew Milestone in Solar Expansion. By Scott Steater, Greenwire, August 27, 2010. "Federal regulators are nearing final approval of what would be the largest solar power plant in the world, a milestone that sets a new standard for the industry and marks a major advancement in the Obama administration's efforts to expand renewable energy production nationwide. The Bureau of Land Management has issued a final environmental impact statement (EIS) for the Blythe Solar Power Project in southeast California. When fully operational, the solar thermal power plant would have the capacity to produce 1,000 megawatts of electricity -- enough to power roughly 800,000 homes... The California Energy Commission, which must also render a decision on the Blythe plant, formally recommended this month that the project be approved... Solar Millennium, the project developer, said it will take at least six years to complete all four phases of the $6 billion project, which will be located on 7,025 acres of BLM land in Riverside County, about eight miles west of the city of Blythe."

New German Solar City Produces 4X the Energy it Consumes. By Andrew Michler, Inhabitat, August 16, 2010. "Although net-zero projects have been creating a lot of buzz lately in the field of green building, the Sonnenschiff solar city in Freiburg, Germany is very much net positive. The self-sustaining city accomplishes this feat through smart solar design and lots and lots of photovoltaic panels pointed in the right direction. It seems like a simple strategy -- but designers often incorporate solar installations as an afterthought, or worse, as a label. Designed by Rolf Disch, the Sonnenschiff (Solar Ship) and Solarsiedlung (Solar Village) emphasize power production from the start by smartly incorporating a series of large rooftop solar arrays that double as sun shades. The buildings are also built to Passivhaus standards, which allows the project to produce four times the amount of energy it consumes!"

The Challenge of Storing Clean Power. By Lauren Sommer, NPR, August 18, 2010. "Solar and wind power are booming in California, but there are times when the sun doesn't shine and the wind doesn't blow. So California utilities are looking to smooth out those bumps by doing something rarely done on the grid today: storing electricity."

A Spanish Breakthrough in Harnessing Solar Power. By Richard Covington, Smithsonian, August 2010 issue. "Twenty miles west of Seville, the Solúcar solar farm, built by the company Abengoa, is part of Spain's push to produce more energy from renewable sources. The nation currently produces up to 3.65 gigawatts of power from the sun, second in the world after Germany. Those gigawatts make up about 3% of the country's power, the highest percentage in the world. (The United States generates less than 1% of its energy from the sun.)... The Solúcar farm is pioneering technologies that are being replicated in the United States, including concentrated solar power, or CSP... [which] deploys huge banks of mirrors to focus solar radiation... [which] drives steam turbines... 'If you want to be optimistic,' Tisdale [Reese Tisdale, solar research director for Emerging Energy Research in Cambridge] said, 'there could be as much as eight gigawatts supplied by solar power plants [in the United States] by 2025.' That would be enough to power a U.S. city of six million."

Feds Pull Plug on Cities' Green Home Loans. By Robert Selna, San Francisco Chronicle, July 7, 2010. “San Francisco's new, $150 million program to help property owners finance solar and other energy-saving programs is all but dead, according to city officials, after a federal agency announced Tuesday that the program and others like it across the state are potentially risky and inadvisable for mortgage lenders. The programs have been widely championed as a way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy bills and to create green jobs. Generally, the programs allow a property owner to obtain a low-interest loan from local governments that are backed by bonds. The property owner then repays the loan over 20 years through a tax assessment, which is attached to the home, even if it is sold… The problem, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency, is that the local loans attach to the properties as liens if they are not paid off and those liens, because they are property taxes, trump banks for who gets paid back first from proceeds of a foreclosed home... San Francisco launched its version of the idea, called GreenFinanceSF, with great fanfare in April and $150 million in financing, making it one of the nation's most ambitions efforts.”

A Spanish Breakthrough in Harnessing Solar Power. By Richard Covington, Smithsonian, August 2010 issue. ”Twenty miles west of Seville, the Solúcar solar farm, built by the company Abengoa, is part of Spain’s push to produce more energy from renewable sources. The nation currently produces up to 3.65 gigawatts of power from the sun, second in the world after Germany. Those gigawatts make up about 3% of the country’s power, the highest percentage in the world. (The United States generates less than 1% of its energy from the sun.)… The Solúcar farm is pioneering technologies that are being replicated in the United States, including concentrated solar power, or CSP... [which] deploys huge banks of mirrors to focus solar radiation... [which] drives steam turbines… ‘If you want to be optimistic,’ Tisdale [Reese Tisdale, solar research director for Emerging Energy Research in Cambridge] said, ‘there could be as much as eight gigawatts supplied by solar power plants [in the United States] by 2025.’ That would be enough to power a U.S. city of six million.”

Aluminum Maker Eyes Solar Industry. By Todd Woody, NYTimes, March 18, 2010. "Alcoa The aluminum manufacturer Alcoa wants to get into the solar trough business... [with] a new type of solar technology that the company said it believed will lower the cost of renewable energy. The company has replaced the glass in parabolic troughs with reflective aluminum and integrated the mirror into a single structure. Parabolic troughs focus sunlight on liquid-filled receivers suspended over the mirrors to create steam that drives an electricity-generating turbine. Parabolic trough technology has been in modern use in solar power plants since the early 1980s, but Alcoa executives said they saw an opportunity to refine the technology and get a foothold in the rapidly expanding renewable energy market."

Largest U.S. Gas Power Plant to be Coupled with 2nd Largest Solar Thermal System. By Jad Mouawad, NYTimes, March 5, 2010. "Across 500 acres [in Florida] north of West Palm Beach, the FPL Group utility is assembling a life-size Erector Set of 190,000 shimmering mirrors and thousands of steel pylons that stretch as far as the eye can see. When it is completed by the end of the year, this vast project will be the world's second-largest solar plant. But that is not its real novelty. The solar array is being grafted onto the back of the nation's largest fossil-fuel power plant, fired by natural gas. It is an experiment in whether conventional power generation can be married with renewable power in a way that lowers costs and spares the environment. This project is among a handful of innovative hybrid designs meant to use the sun's power as an adjunct to coal or gas in producing electricity. While other solar projects already use small gas-fired turbines to provide backup power for cloudy days or at night, this is the first time that a conventional plant is being retrofitted with the latest solar technology on such an industrial scale."