US solar company Onyx Service & Solutions has completed construction of a photovoltaic (PV) array at the West Bay Lodge Resort on the Honduran island of Roatan.

It is the first to use the company’s new 330W panels and is the first project the company has completed on the island.

The development forms part of a policy to target nations in Latin America and the Caribbean that currently rely on expensive diesel generation for power.

In September 2011, Onyx received permission to construct an 18.5MW PV system on Roatan that is expected to be complete in the second quarter this year and cost $84m to build.

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

US water company Aqua America has completed installation of a 1.5MW photovoltaic (PV) system adjacent to the company’s largest treatment facility in Pennsylvania.

The installation is expected to save the utility $250,000 annually and is the fourth solar project it has combined with its treatment plant. Aqua America is one of the largest publically-traded US water suppliers with three million customers throughout the north-east, south-east and MidWest of the country.

David Smeltzer, chief financial officer of Aqua America, said, ‘Our investment in solar makes perfect sense for us because we are such heavy consumers of electricity. Next to labour, it’s our greatest expense. We buy electricity at night when demand is lowest, which reduces our costs. During the day when pricing is highest and need is greatest, we reduce our dependency on the grid at the Pickering facility and get off the grid at the other three facilities.’

He added, ‘We produce enough power to sell some back to the grid during optimum periods. Our cost savings benefit Aqua customers because the expense savings are passed on to customers. Our usage savings benefit other electricity consumers overall because the excess power we sell back to the grid helps keeps pricing down for everyone. Additionally, there is an environmental benefit because we are producing power with greatly reduced emissions, which shrinks our carbon footprint and helps lower the need for the construction of new power generation facilities.’

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

North American companies Canadian Solar and HelioPower have completed installation of a 500kW photovoltaic (PV) array for the Guimarra Vineyards Corporation in California.

Utilising panels from Canadian Solar and components by HelioPower, the new system is expected to produce the majority of power required by Guimarra’s main production and cold storage facility in Bakersfield.

Sal Giumarra, president of Giumarra Vineyards Corporation, said, ‘Giumarra Vineyards has always been a proponent of sustainable and innovative practices for viticulture and other fresh produce. This installation is a significant milestone in our sustainability programme and effort to reduce electricity consumption throughout our growing and packing operations. Canadian Solar and HelioPower’s solar installation expertise was instrumental in our ability to further develop distributed clean energy sources to offset costs and carbon emissions.’

Alan King, general manager of Canadian Solar US, added, ‘Giumarra Vineyards is one of the largest and most innovative agricultural organisations in the US, with a rich history dating back more than 80 years. We are proud to be partnering with Giumarra Vineyards as it embraces the environmentally friendly, clean power of solar energy. We expect Canadian Solar’s power-efficient, high-quality PV modules will yield great financial savings for the vineyard. We applaud management’s commitment to renewable energy and sustainable business practices.’

At the start of this year, Canadian Solar was contracted to supply 1.5MW of PV equipment to Middle East conglomerate the Al Fahad Group.

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

Research conducted by the US’ National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has concluded that Chinese production of crystalline silicon solar technology for the US market exceeds the cost of US production when shipping is included.

The study has been welcomed by the Coalition for American Solar Manufacturing (CASM), which has launched an enquiry with the International Trade Association and US Department of Commerce against alleged anti-competitive practices by Chinese solar companies.

The NREL presentation claims that Chinese manufacturers have an inherent cost advantage over US producers of just one per cent and, when shipping is taken into account, this becomes a five per cent disadvantage.

Gordon Brinser, president of CASM leader SolarWorld, said, ‘This analysis from the renewable-energy research arm of the US government corroborates our view that an export drive sponsored by the Chinese government is improperly intervening in the US market. Highly efficient US producers like SolarWorld can vie with any company in the world in legal competition. But the government of China’s illegal trade practices are neither economically nor environmentally sustainable for anyone. Free trade is trade free of illegal foreign government intervention.’

He added, ‘We are countering the illegal trade practices of China and its state-sponsored industry only as a first step to reviving renewable-energy competition, manufacturing and jobs and augmenting national energy security and world environmental stewardship.’

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

The world’s largest offshore wind farm is now operational off the coast of Barrow-in-Furness in the north of England.

The 367.2MW Walney project was developed in a joint venture between Danish energy company Dong, UK utility Scottish and Southern Energy and OPW.

The facility consists of 102 turbines supplied by German electronics giant Siemens and cost £1bn to construct.

Edward Davey, Minister for Energy and Climate Change, said, ‘Britain has a lot to be proud of in our growing offshore wind sector. Our island’s tremendous natural resource, our research base and a proud history of engineering make this the number one destination for investment in offshore wind. And Walney is the newest, biggest and fastest-built jewel in that crown, providing clean power for hundreds of thousands of households.

‘Opening Walney during my first week in office lets me underline my commitment to continuing the Coalition’s work to make this sector a success story for the British economy, not least with the innovation it is driving and the employment it is creating.’

Anders Eldrup, CEO of Dong Energy, added, ‘Dong Energy is delighted to have developed this record-breaking wind farm. Not only is it the world’s biggest wind farm but it has been built in the fastest time ever and it marked a new era in terms of financing being the first project in the UK backed by institutional investors. Walney is a landmark in offshore wind and Dong Energy’s strong drive to further industrialise offshore wind power and cut costs. It demonstrates our commitment to invest in the UK.’

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

Swedish energy company Vattenfall recorded a 15.2 per cent decrease in net sales for 2011 to SEK181,040m (£27bn).

In total, the company sold assets worth SEK23bn ($3.5bn), of which SEK16bn ($2.4bn) was received in 2011. Operating profit was down by 22.3 per cent compared to 2010 at SEK23,209m ($3.5bn).

Øystein Løseth, CEO of Vattenfall, said, ‘Although 2011 was a tough year in many respects for the entire energy sector, Vattenfall successfully carried out a number of measures to boost profitability and improve its financial position. I am satisfied with the result we achieved in 2011, especially against the background of the large earnings charge of SEK10.5bn ($1.5bn) caused by the unexpected decision in Germany to phase out the country’s nuclear power.’

He added, ‘During 2011 we have experienced difficulties in some of our power plants, most notably an extended outage in one of the reactors at the Ringhals nuclear power plant in Sweden. It is clearly in Vattenfall’s interest to ensure that all our nuclear power plants are in operation. At the same time, safety comes first. We are doing everything we can to get our nuclear power plants operating at 100 per cent.’

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

US utility FirstEnergy will close three coal-fired power plants in West Virginia due to the recently finalised US Environmental Protection Agency Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS).

The facilities have a combined capacity of 660MW and represent around three per cent of the company’s generating portfolio. They will be retired before 1 September this year.

James Haney, president of West Virginia Operations for FirstEnergy, said, ‘The high cost to implement MATS and other environmental rules is the reason these Mon Power plants are being retired.’

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

Utility-scale commercial renewable projects are providing lower internal rates of return (IRR) than smaller developments, according to one European cleantech investor.

SUSI Partners is a Swiss-based investment house focused on renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. Speaking at a NewNet event this week, CEO Tobias Reichmuth said the company is now pouring its efforts into sourcing smaller renewable projects, less than 25MW for wind and 15MW for solar, to generate returns of ten per cent or more.

It currently has €210m invested in wind energy and €80m in solar, and Reichmuth explained that macro factors have driven the decision to go for smaller systems.

Reichmuth said, ‘Somewhere in 2011, large projects began to have lower IRRs than small projects, and this is counterintuitive as you would expect the bigger the project the better you can negotiate the price for the modules or wind turbines, which in fact is true. The problem is on the buying side and after Fukushima there was much more demand for large projects.’

However other investors have disputed this, arguing to NewNet that ten per cent is an easily achievable return for large-scale renewable generation projects and that they seek IRR in the region of 15 to 20 per cent.

The decision of Switzerland and Germany to move away from nuclear power has driven the heightened demand for large-scale renewable generation. This has allowed project developers to increase the price they charge for the acquisition of an asset, Reichmuth claims.

Reichmuth said, ‘The bigger a plant gets the more interesting it is for a utility and these companies want kW hours and don’t want to lose money, but they are not hoping for IRRs of ten per cent – if they get five per cent out of a big wind park it is fantastic. This means if you are a developer with a 100MW wind farm you are not selling to a fund that is looking for a ten per cent IRR, you are selling to a utility.

‘That for us is quite an important thing because we want to keep below the radar, we don’t want to be in competition with a utility because we wouldn’t have the results we want to achieve for our investors, so we focus on assets that are not interesting for a utility.’

The strategy at SUSI is now to look for smaller developments that can be bundled into a portfolio and then sold on to power companies after several years of operation. Through this strategy it still consistently generates IRR of ten per cent or more, it just takes slightly longer to get there, he said.

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

European photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing can survive in the face of competition from Asia because of its higher technical quality, according to the vice president of SolarWorld.

The Germany-headquartered company has led a coalition of companies in the US fighting against alleged Chinese anti-competitive practices. The accusation is currently being examined by the US-based International Trade Commission along with the Department of Commerce.

Vice president Milan Nitzschke spoke to NewNet to explain the issues and strategy going forward.

Nitzschke said, ‘A production base in Europe is superior to one in China in nearly all aspects. For example the technology, highly-qualified employees, elevated environmental and quality standards, as well as lower transport and transaction costs. Our labour costs are less than ten per cent of our production costs. However, Chinese manufacturers are massively subsidised by the government so the solar market is distorted.’

It will be interesting to see what, if any, effect the US case has on the world’s solar market as a whole and in particular the manufacturing of PV panels. Whatever the outcome, it seems unlikely that the price of modules will continue the fast-paced decline experienced in the past year.

Despite the prevalence of PV technology in Europe and to a lesser extent the US, SolarWorld still sees its main opportunity for growth in the more mature markets and has a particular eye on microgeneration and rooftop installations in the short-term.

Nitzschke said, ‘The most developed markets are still Europe and the US. We are also expecting growth in Asian markets and parts of Africa. In populous countries like Germany, solar installations on the roof are the most reasonable renewable installation system because rooftop solar has the advantage of decentralisation.’

Despite the recent revision of the feed-in tariff (FIT) in Germany, SolarWorld still anticipates its home country as being a major centre for business development, expecting the already high penetration of rooftop arrays expected to increase.

Nitzschke said that sentiment in the country towards the technology both from the public and government remains a key driver for the technology.

Nitzschke said, ‘According to German law the FITs must be regulated for prospective solar installations after the record high installation level in 2011. This system makes sense and the solar sector has to adjust to these decisions. In general, the political and public climate for the use of solar energy is positive. For the first time, the FITs for solar energy in Germany will be less than the price households have to pay for their electricity from the power outlet or socket outlet.’

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

US car rental giant Hertz has unveiled a programme called Living Journey designed to make the company more sustainable and reduce its environmental impact.

The initiative includes a commitment to offering customers rental options that are fuel efficient and utilise low-emission technology such as electric vehicles (EV) and hybrids.

It will look to make efficiency improvements, manage resources better and develop renewable energy facilities. Hertz also plans to make an impact on the communities it serves through philanthropic and volunteer efforts.

The company said that through existing efforts it has recycled more than 50,000 computer units since 2005, 680,000 gallons of used oil last year and has reduced paper use by 2.8 million pounds since 2006.

Mark Frissora, chairman and CEO of Hertz, said, ‘Sustainability has always been part of the culture at Hertz. In 2011, we made tremendous progress on Hertz’s industry-leading solar generation and [EV] initiatives in addition to ongoing efforts to operate in an environmentally responsible manner at our corporate offices and rental facilities. As a continuation of our success, we are excited to introduce Living Journey which encompasses all of our efforts as an organisation through partnerships, employee education and investments to reduce our impact on the environment, provide customer value, and manage our business sustainably.’

Last August, Hertz announced it would make an EV offering to customers in China.

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

Danish wind energy company Vestas recorded revenue of €5.8bn in 2011, significantly below the original forecast of €7bn and less than preliminary figures released in January, causing CFO and deputy CEO Henrik Nørremark to resign.

The company’s EBIT margin also fell short of predictions at just 0.7 per cent, compared to the expected seven per cent. Vestas attributed this to costs being higher than originally anticipated.

Firm and unconditional orders for turbines in the year reached 7,397MW with a value of €7.3bn, which was in line with company expectations. Net working capital amounted to a negative value of €71m, an improvement of €743m.

For 2012, Vestas expects to achieve an EBIT margin of between zero and four per cent, with revenue in the range of €6.5bn to €8bn.

In addition, at a Vestas board meeting discussing the annual report for 2011 the chairmans Bent Erik Carlsen and Torsten Erik Rasmussen, said they will not stand for re-election.

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

UK cleantech company Eco Environments has partnered with Hugh Baird College in Liverpool to open a renewable energy training facility.

The new centre will be utilised by the college to help train students for the City & Guilds 2399 Solar PV course.

It has been built on top of existing electrician training bays at a height of ten feet, designed to provide students with a realistic taste of the work of solar installers.

In addition, Eco Environment will take on two apprentices from the college and plans to create new jobs in the coming months.

Building the training facility forms part of its Energy4Education initiative, a project that has seen the company work with schools, academies, colleges and universities, to improve understanding of renewable technologies.

Mark Buchanan, commercial director of Eco Environments, said, ‘We have recently moved into a 9,000 square foot head office in Liverpool and the partnership we have forged with Hugh Baird is a further demonstration of our commitment to creating jobs and supporting training in Merseyside.’

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

Assessment of environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues are increasingly becoming an integral part of due diligence, as investors look to mitigate risk across a range of areas.

Jacques Garaïalde, partner at global buy-out firm KKR said, ‘We try to better understand what the environmental footprint of a product is that the company delivers, and what the internal processes are to deliver these products and services. First we check that the companies, factories etc do comply with local legislation, and we take specialised consultation for these themes.

‘We have an internal team able to assess beyond the business processes – what are the potential savings in terms of waste management, waste cost reductions, carbon dioxide emissions?’

The growing profile of ESG themes reflects both a greater engagement with the impact of investment and business, as well as an acknowledgement of a changing marketplace.

Garaïalde said, ‘We take CSR more seriously now than five years ago. The environment has changed, and there are many more risks than there were five years ago.’

On the social side, due diligence could be used to assess whether a company respects local legislation in the various countries in which it operates. Similarly, governance issues could encompass the structure of the company’s board, its approach to risk management and comparisons to best practices.

He said, ‘We identify the potential for improvements, and once we have invested we implement what has been recommended.

’Private companies, for example, very often do not have any risk management…external auditors come in to identify the risks and where we are in terms of risk management.

‘Beyond implementation we have action plans key metrics to measure month after month, year after year, the progress of the company that we have identified.’

Garaïalde added, ‘Our 100-day plans are a list of actions we believe a company should undertake to improve performance – performance being growth, cost management, cash management. Lately we have identified the issues of ESG, as part of this 100-day plan.’

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

New statistics have revealed that UK greenhouse gas emissions covered by the Kyoto protocol were estimated to be 590.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent in 2010, 3.1 per cent higher than 2009 when the figure was 572.5 million tonnes.

The largest increase came from the residential sector, which was up 15.1 per cent compared to 2009 levels, according to the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC).

Emissions from all other sectors were relatively stable.

CO2 accounted for 84 per cent of all UK greenhouse gas emissions in 2010, with net emissions estimated to be 495.8 million tonnes, 3.8 per cent higher than in 2009.

Again the residential sector led the increase, with emissions from households up 15.8 per cent. The energy supply sector also saw a 3.1 per cent increase of CO2 emissions in 2010.

Edward Davey, Climate Change Secretary, said, ‘Emissions were up in 2010 because of the exceptionally cold weather and greater use of fossil fuels. One year won’t knock the UK off meeting its long term emission reduction targets, but it serves to underline the importance of the coalition’s policies for insulating homes to cut bills and emissions and moving to greener alternative forms of energy.’

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

While private equity reporting on environment, social and governance (ESG) issues within investment portfolios is improving, reporting on this area still has some way to go before it can truly be said to influence investment decisions.

According to Maaike van der Schoot, corporate social responsibility officer at fund of funds AlpInvest Partners, responsible investment criteria are increasingly becoming part of due diligence.

‘We understand that the industry is maybe a few years away and it is still a little early to expect extremely high standards. We want to have a sense where GPs stand and we also want to have a good sense if it is a terrible performer [in CSR].’

With some 100 GPs surveyed, the firm is building out its understanding as to the varying approaches of its fund managers, although, van der Schoot said, operational scrutiny is already an active part of the private equity investment process.

‘Private equity in itself is relatively good at assessing risks at the start before they go to due diligence and are very thorough and where issues occur in their portfolios they handle them quite well.’

She pointed to KKR as an example of a firm that has stepped up both its approach and the method in which it reports on these factors. It is here where improvement is most needed, with a pressing need ‘tell the story’. This is not always the case, she said, and this could potentially hinder developments in this area.

‘They don’t report what they are doing, and by recording what you are doing and establishing these processes you can have better bigger benefits from ESG, because you see more and there is a more structured approach.

‘That is hopefully where the industry is going to enhance [its processes], through some sort of reporting framework whereby the industry can show what it is doing and how it is doing it,’ van der Schoot added.

AlpInvest is actively investing in the environmental space and is a backer of renewables investor Climate Change Capital.

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

Operation at the Bison 1B site marks the end of the first of three phases in the development, which will eventually have a capacity of 292MW. Bison 1A was completed one year ago.

The 15 turbines utilised on this stage were supplied by German electronics giant Siemens.

Work on Bison 2 and 3 has already started and is set to be completed by the end of this year.

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

The consumer revolution that has driven demand for locally-grown foods could pave the way for alternative transportation fuels if the right technology was in place, according to one expert.

US start-up Cyclone Power Technologies is in the process of prototyping an ‘external combustion’ transport engine that can run on any bio or traditional fuel type. The idea is this solution will usher in the mass deployment of alternative fuels, without the need for huge infrastructure changes.

President of the company Chris Nelson spoke to NewNet to explain the companty strategy to take on the automotive world.

Nelson said, ‘There is a huge movement in the US right now going towards organic, local-grown foods, you even have Wallmart buying foods from local farms, it has become a big thing. Could you imagine if locally-grown biofuels became as big of a sensation?

‘If you can process a biofuel locally, use it locally and not have to ship to a central refinery you would not have the cost of refinement or the cost of transportation there and back. Then biofuels could become very competitive, more so than traditional fossil fuels.’

Even if the desire was there this would not be possible without overcoming significant infrastructural hurdles, the main one being the vehicles themselves and how they run.

Nelson said, ‘Right now it seems impossible because of the logistics of biofuel to make it compatible with current engines, but our slogan or logo is ‘one planet, one engine’. Having the ability to consume any locally-grown fuel is a great boost not only for our engine but for external combustion technology generally.’

Cyclone Power is still perfecting the technology and is on the look-out for strategic investment from a larger partner in the automotive world, with a view to integrating the engine into an existing product lines.

The shake up in the global car world caused by the recession, combined with the desire from consumers for a cleaner solution, are making this an ideal time for innovators to break some of the dominance the big car-makers hold on the automotive sector.

Nelson said, ‘There will always be hurdles of getting a new technology into the product stream of these large manufacturers and some times the decision of what technology to pursue are less based upon scientific data, and more on politics and money. But there is a huge push towards newer ideas to create efficiencies for the automotive engine and to do so very cleanly.

‘There are more smaller concept cars companies popping up than ever before. The environment is open right now, there is large amounts of capital going to automotive to come up with the next new idea and there are smaller companies that are taking advantage of that and coming up with some really interesting designs.’

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

Fred Hochberg, chairman and president of the US Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) is set to meet with government ministers in Vietnam to discuss $1.5bn of infrastructure projects that include thermal power and renewable energy developments.

This financing would fulfil two memorandum of understandings, signed in 2010 and 2011, between the Ex-Im Bank and local bodies the Vietnam Development Bank and Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The agreements call for the facilitation of US exports to Vietnam in key sectors such as air transportation, power generation and transmission. There is an additional $500m available for these projects that the Ex-Im Bank hopes to close on in the near future.

Hochberg said, ‘We are here to roll up our sleeves and get these transactions done. Vietnam’s infrastructure continues to develop at a rapid rate, and I want to make certain that high-quality American goods and services are available for these projects.

‘Vietnam is a country of enormous potential, and it is vital that we work together and invest in projects that benefit both of our economies. Significant infrastructure developments are planned throughout Vietnam over the next several years, and I’m here to ensure that American companies invest in those projects, and that we maintain a dynamic and comprehensive partnership.’

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

Over the course of 2011, 71 per cent of all new power generating capacity brought online in the European Union came from renewable sources.

According to a report in the Financial Times, figures due to be released by the European Wind Energy Association show that last year a record amount of green power capacity was fitted in the bloc.

The amount of clean power in 2011 rose to 32GW, a jump from 23GW in 2010. This is compared to 3.5GW total renewable energy capacity in 2000.

There is, however, growing opposition to onshore wind farms and moves are underway in the UK to make the application process for these harder to get passed.

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

The decision at the start of the week by the Spanish government to put a temporary freeze on feed-in tariff (FIT) support for renewable energy facilities is an obvious concern for any company developing cleantech systems in the country.

Prompted by the country’s well-documented financial situation, every technology from wind to waste-to-energy will no longer qualify for FIT support, whatever scale it is built on.

Spain was one of the early players in the FIT market and as a result has one of the highest proportions of renewable capacity in the world.

In addition to this, it has developed world-leading cleantech companies that are now engaged in projects all over the world. This international aspect to their business is likely to shield many of them from this latest shock within the Spanish market.

For the stock round-up this week, NewNet examines the effect, if any, that the news has had on Spain’s cleantech players.

Acciona is a Spanish energy company that has been increasingly focusing its attention on the renewable deployment, in particular wind.

It is engaged in building facilities all over the world and last September became the largest wind energy asset owner in Mexico. A month later it commissioned its third wind farm in India and at the end of the year completed its first facility in Poland.

It is currently listed at €63.34, a €3 climb from the start of the week when the FIT freeze was announced. It does not seem to be affected by the government announcement and its current valuation is at the higher end of the scale for the year so far.

Meanwhile, Abengoa has a particular focus on solar energy and recently completed the first stage of a 100MW solar thermal project in central Spain.

Like Acciona, a lot of its business interest is outside Spain. At the end of last year it won a contract to build a solar facility in South Africa and in September 2011 completed India’s first solar thermal plant.

It is listed in Madrid and is currently valued at €16.75, a climb from the start of the week when it was trading at 16.45 a share. Its valuation does not seem to be affected by the news.

Iberdrola is another Spanish energy company that has developed a global renewable presence and has a particular focus on wind. Earlier this year it brought a 102MW wind farm online in Mexico and, at the end of December, moved a regulatory step closer to building a 200MW wind farm in the US.

The company also seems impervious to the news and is currently trading at its highest value of the week.

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

Japanese technology company Sumco has exited the solar market by dissolving two subsidiaries engaged in photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing.

The board of directors decided to close the Sumco Solar Corporation and Minamata Denshi, both of which produce wafers for the PV industry.

It said the decision was reached following a rapid deterioration of the business environment due to excessive supply, which resulted in a significant decline in prices around the start of the second quarter 2012.

The company said it would be difficult to improve the profitability of these businesses due to excesses in the global supply chain.

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

There are still significant market opportunities for European solar companies, but looking for the highest feed-in tariff (FIT) should not be a prerequisite to their success, according to one expert.

Incentives for solar energy in Europe have been dropping in recent months with uncertainty in both Germany and Spain, which historically have been two of the region’s largest markets. To survive, solar developers are looking for prospects outside of these increasingly crowded regions.

One such company is Germany’s Gehrlicher Solar, which recently entered the market in Turkey through a joint venture with a local business. Director of project business Dirk Lamottke and manager for Turkey Semru Mustafa spoke to NewNet to explain the strategy.

Mustafa said, ‘What is happening with PV incentive policies in countries like France, Italy and Slovakia is forcing companies in the PV industry to find new markets. We have learnt from the past that we have to look for sustainable markets, so countries that we consider sustainable according to our beliefs.’

Lamottke added, ‘Sustainable markets are not those with a high [FIT] because it is always the same story; the country or region introduces a high [FIT] and all the international investors go there, in the end the [FIT] is shortened and the market dies very early. We see a [FIT] in Turkey that some consider too low, but we think it is really what we need; an acceptable tariff, not one as high as possible.’

The way the Turkish FIT tariff is administered was also a driving decision behind Gehrlicher’s decision to create a presence in the country.

Mustafa said, ‘What is so interesting about the Turkish [FIT] law is that if you include a certain percentage of local content you get a higher rate, that’s what I see also in other emerging markets. There are so many countries in the world where they have sufficient expertise in the steel industry and they could locally produce mounting racks, for example.’

This strategy will obviously be beneficial for the Turkish economy, but Gehrlicher feel policies like these will also help reduce PV costs by creating efficient and localised supply chains.

Aside from the Turkish venture, Gehrlicher already has a global presence and is always on the look-out for other interesting opportunities.

With its high sunshine levels and encouraging government signals South Africa is exciting many in the industry. India, where Gehrlicher already has a subsidiary, is also potentially huge.

But attracting capital to develop projects in emerging markets can be problematic given the current international financial climate.

Mustafa said, ‘A lot of people are talking about Romania where they have a green carbon credit regime, it can become a future market in Europe provided project finance can be obtained. Financing is the bottleneck for Romania at the moment as for other emerging markets.’

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

Spanish cleantech company Abengoa has completed installation of a 50MW solar thermal plant in Cordoba, southern Spain.

It developed the Solacor 1 facility in partnership with the JGC Corporation, with commercial operation officially starting on 1 February. The second stage of the project Solarcor 2, which also has a 50MW capacity, is expected to come online shortly.

The systems consist of more than 60,500 mirrors concentrating the suns rays onto two towers that contain 50MW turbines. Abengoa will operate both facilities and will retain a 74 per cent stake in them.

At the end of last year, Abengoa was awarded two contracts to build solar thermal facilities in South Africa with a combined capacity of 150MW.

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

UK utility Thames Water has completed construction of three photovoltaic (PV) arrays with a combined capacity of 3.7MW at facilities it owns in the south of England.

The project was financed and implemented by the Amsterdam-based Europe Solar Utility (ESU) and Ennoviga Solar. Installing the systems was engineering, procurement and construction contractor B&W Energy.

As work at the sites began before the mid-2011 change in the feed-in tariff the arrays will qualify for the old subsidy of 30.7 pence per kWh. It is set to save the company around £100,000 a year from its electricity bill.

John Gilbert, head of carbon and energy management for Thames Water, said, ‘We snuck in under the wire on this one, keeping alive our goal to become Britain’s biggest on-site producer and industrial user of solar power, and further hedging ourselves from future upward fluctuations in the mainstream, non-renewable energy markets.This means we will spend a little bit less of our customers’ money on energy each year.’

Patrick Charignon, CEO of ESU, added, ‘ESU provided the finance and the project management expertise to progress this project against very tight deadlines and a changing regulatory environment. It is to the credit of all involved that the project has been a success and Thames Water can now benefit from the clean, renewable power it produces. Longer term the UK government’s proposed cuts to the feed-in-tariff have put the future of projects of this scale in doubt. However, utilities may still gain the benefits of solar PV through installations built around long-term power purchase agreements of the type used in this project.’

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

Water companies are starting to wake up to the potential of using smart technology as part of the upgrade process for an ageing infrastructure.

Sensus is a smart technology company looking to help water-based utilities understand the value of these solutions. General manager Jamie Longman told NewNet to explain that it wants to apply the advances being made in the energy sector to water.

Longman said, ‘Part of our proposition is to apply that sort of strategy into the water network and help assist utilities to address their major points of pain around operational efficiency; rising energy costs and leakages within the networks. Communication is at the heart of being able to do that.’

These companies use large amounts of electricity pumping water around the network and leakages add significantly to this already high cost base.

But the conservative water industry is only starting to understand the potential benefits of introducing new technology. A tight regulatory environment also increases caution in the sector, but Longman is starting to see new attitudes emerging in this traditional environment.

Longman said, ‘From a utilities perspective there is a real noticeable change in the mindset of how these companies have been run. Smart meters have been around a very long time and it’s really how they are looking to acquire this within the context of their business. The investment levels are going to improve, but there is still a lot of work to be done in terms of the business case around that and that is really what is going to enable the adoption of smart water networks and products like ours.’

As in the energy sector, finance is crucial and part of Sensus’ work is trying to explain the business case for more intelligent distribution and monitoring technologies. Ultimately it is modern equipment solutions that will be used to tackle old problems.

Longman said, ‘We are working with [water companies] to do technology trials and monetise the investment in technology with communication benefits and how that enables a very powerful data driven model for their business going forward. Issues such as leakage really underpin the case for smart water, the need for accuracy near real-time data and once you start to embrace that you can start to look at pressure management and leakage detection and minimise waste, reduce the pumping costs the production costs associated with those types of expenditures.’

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has recommended that public-private partnerships (PPP) are the best way to overcome key barriers to the implementation of energy efficiency programmes.

It identified a lack of access to finance as the key challenge and suggested energy users are generally unwilling to invest their own funds into efficiency projects, as other investments are considered higher priority.

Through a study the IEA found that financial institutions are generally reluctant to provide loans for energy efficiency activities due to a lack of knowledge and a perception that they are high-risk.

Thomas Dreessen, vice-chair of the Efficiency Valuation Organization, said, ‘One of the most significant barriers to the global implementation of … proven [energy efficiency] technologies is the lack of commercially-viable financing. The problem is not a lack of funds, but a lack of access to available funds at local financial institutions, caused by ‘disconnect’ between current lending practices and needs of energy efficiency projects.’

Small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) tend to be affected more by this disconnect than larger industrial firms with strong balance sheets. Therefore, the IEA recommends mechanisms that can scale-up lending to SMEs on national and international levels.

However, the IEA found even larger companies are often reluctant to take on additional debt for energy efficiency drives, because of the potential effect on their borrowing capacity for other types of investment.

The IEA identifies three PPP mechanisms that can be used to catalyse private investment in energy efficiency; dedicated credit lines, risk-sharing facilities and energy-saving performance contracts (ESPCs).

Dedicated credit lines can be provided by governments or public partners that incentivise energy efficiency financing through lending at low-interest rates. This allows financial institutions to lend at a higher rate that is still below market norms therefore encouraging energy users to take-up of this type of loan.

This can be combined with technical assistance to increase the capacity for banks to identify investment opportunities and project risks. Examples of the successful implementation of this type of system are the China Energy Efficiency Financing programme and the Thailand Energy Efficiency Evolving Fund.

Risk-sharing facilities can be used to address the perception that energy efficiency initiatives are inherently more risky then other types of investment. The government agency provides a guarantee to the participating financial institution to cover a portion of potential losses.

An example of this type arrangement is the Commercialising Energy Efficiency Finance programme covering six countries in Central and Eastern Europe.

ESPCs have proven to be effective instruments for overcoming financial barriers to energy efficiency in countries with very mature markets such as the US and Europe. Under this model, a commercial service provider designs an energy efficiency improvement project, with its remuneration connected to performance of measures implemented.

Generally the service provider will also organise finance for the project, both taking away risk for the customer and incentivising the service provider to realise significant energy efficiency potential.

The role of the public partner in an ESPC is to create an enabling environment through legislative and regulatory changes and to act as a client for ESPC services.

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

German solar company Conergy has completed three rooftop photovoltaic (PV) installations in France with a combined capacity of 6.1MW.

The systems were implemented with local project partner Soligest and consist of more than 80,000 thin-film modules on 67,000 square metres of roof space.

The largest was a 2.7MW array on the top of a logistics centre in the south-east of the country. There was also a 2.3MW installation in Vaucluse and a 1.1MW project in Maine-et-Loire.

Soligest conducted the building work and will also operate the systems.

Xavier Ansaldi, head of Conergy France, said, ‘This project has been a great success for Conergy France. It is our biggest project so far this year, and once again our expertise and many years of international experience in major free-field projects and rooftop installations has stood us in good stead.’

Arnaud Maillard, sales manager at Soligest, added, ‘We are delighted with the way everything went so smoothly with our partnership with Conergy, especially when you consider the size and complexity of the project. With the benefit of this experience we know that we now have a very strong team for carrying out future rooftop installation projects, both large and small. We can certainly envisage working with Conergy again.’

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

Finnish bioenergy company UPM is set to construct a €150m biorefinery that utilises wood-derived tall oil in Lappeenranta, south-east Finland.

The plant will be capable of annually producing 100,000 tonnes of biodiesel for the transport sector. The company said this fuel type can reduce emissions in transport by up to 80 per cent when compared to traditional fossil-based alternatives.

Construction at the new facility is will commence later this year with commercial operational expected by 2014.

Jussi Pesonen, president and CEO of UPM, said, ‘The biofuels business has excellent growth potential. The quality of our end product and its environmental characteristics has gained significant interest among a wide range of customers, and the investment is profitable. Lappeenranta is the first step on UPM’s way in becoming a significant producer of advanced second generation biofuels. This is also a focal part in the realisation of our Biofore strategy.’

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

French energy company GDF Suez has announced plans to build two wind farms in Eastern Europe with a combined capacity of 100MW.

The company is set to develop a 48MW project in Romania and a 51MW facility in Poland. The installations will help the company achieve its target of a 50 per cent increase in its installed renewable capacity by 2015 from 2009 levels.

Gérard Mestrallet, chairman and CEO of GDF Suez, said, ‘The development of the group’s wind projects in Romania and Poland demonstrates our desire to improve the diversification of the GDF Suez energy mix and to continue its expansion in promising markets through the best use of the group’s expertise and technical synergies.’

In October last year, GDF contracted German company REpower to supply 23 turbines for two projects in the Burgundy region of France.

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

US business Joseph Company International is set to launch the world’s first self-chilling beverage can that utilises carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere.

The company’s West Coast Chill energy drink will have an activation button that it claims can lower the drink’s temperature by 30 degrees in minutes.

The process involves activated carbon from a vegetable source in combination with gas taken from the atmosphere. It does not require energy and eliminates the need for refrigeration.

Mitchell Joseph, CEO of Joseph Company International, said, ‘The Chill Can will revolutionise the beverage industry and the way the consumer perceives a cold drink.’

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

German photovoltaic (PV) component manufacturer Q Cells has agreed in principal to a deal with major bondholders that will restructure its three convertible bonds in a move to stave off bankruptcy.

The company said the agreement includes a €20m cash payment to holders of its convertible bond, due to mature this year. In addition, two bonds due in 2014 and 2015 will be restructured through a debt-to-equity swap, it was reported in Reuters.

Q Cells said the deal will require approval from bondholders, shareholders and relevant authorities and expects the restructuring to take place in the second half of this year.

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

Oil-rich economies are increasingly look to implement clean technologies in order to save dwindling petroleum resources for when demand peaks and prices spike, a fund manager told NewNet.

Daniel Colbert, lead fund partner at Wermuth Asset Management, said nations reaching peak oil levels are quickly recognising the importance of developing and deploying green energy technologies.

Wermuth Asset Management recently launched a fund in conjunction with the Republic of Tatarstan, which committed €100m to the vehicle, in order to move the region away from its oil and gas past towards a low carbon economy.

‘I also have past experience working in the Middle East and in both regions it is about them recognising that they can extract maximum value out of their remaining resources if they elongate the time period over which those resources can be used.

‘Oil prices are only going to go up over time, so if you lengthen the time you can sell your oil, you are going to make more money. By introducing renewable energy, it is possible to do this.’

Colbert told NewNet that it was targeting three specific institutional investor groups to reach its €200m, including traditional limited partners, multinational corporates and development banks.

He said the fact that the region has such as oil-rich legacy adds to the fund’s attraction as it has suffered from environmental issues in the past and now recognises that it can not live off its traditional industries much longer.

‘It is one of the oldest oil regions in Russia and some of the fields are now three-quarters depleted. Tatarstan is looking to get in front of the curve by reinventing its economy and additionally a lot of environmental issues have occurred because of its exploration past. We saw the perfect storm of opportunity.’

He said that while renewable energy will be play a strong role in where the fund allocates, Wermuth is also keen to invest in energy efficiency technologies and further down the value chain in green materials and chemicals.

And, while the focus is on making this fund a success for the coming years, it is a structure Colbert would not be averse to replicating going forward.

‘It is one of my greatest hopes. We are hoping Tatarstan will become a centre of cleantech entrepreneurialism in Russia. I think there is every reason a different region could also be a centre.’

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has temporarily suspended trading of US clentech company Onyx due to uncertainties around the accuracy and adequacy of publically distributed information.

The order came into effect prior to the market opening on 27 January and is set to last until 9 February.

Today, Onyx made the following statement on the matter, ‘At this time, the company has no knowledge as to any specific grievance of the SEC, nor has it received any subsequent communication from the SEC. The company has engaged Whitley LLP Attorneys at Law as counsel in this matter in order to obtain further information regarding the reasons behind the suspension order.

‘Once the company receives additional information pertaining to the suspension it will be made available on the company’s website. Once the company has obtained the reasons for the SEC’s suspension order, the company may decide to appeal the order so that trading may resume in the company’s securities.’

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

US venture capital (VC) firms invested $4.9bn into cleantech companies in 2011, a decline of 4.5 per cent compared to the 2010 when the figure was just over $5bn.

This came from a total of 297 financing rounds, slightly down on the 300 made in 2010, according to an Ernst & Young analysis based on Dow Jones VentureSource data.

As well as overall numbers being down, it appeared investors were more cautious in the deals they made as 69 per cent of VC capital went to companies in the revenue-generating stage, compared to 50 per cent in 2010.

California continued to lead cleantech investment with businesses in the state raising $2.8bn, although this was down significantly on the $3.2bn raised in 2010. In the last quarter of 2011, California accounted for 67 per cent of all VC cleantech investments, generating $629.5m through 26 deals.

Throughout the US, investment was highest in companies focused on energy and electricity generation, with $1.5bn raised through a total of 71 rounds, a five per cent decrease compared to 2010. In the last quarter of 2011 financing for solar dominated VC deals by accounting for $284.5m worth of finance, 91 per cent of the generation total for the quarter of $312.9m.

Industry products and services closed the second largest amount of cleantech funding with $1bn of deals completed in the year, down 34 per cent from 2010. In the last quarter, the transportation sector led investment by raising $203.2m out of a total of $256.2m, a 36 per cent increased compared to the last quarter of 2010.

The energy storage segment fared better than most with a huge surge in investment. The number of deals in the year was up 47 per cent and the amount of capital raised increased an enormous 253 per cent to $932.6m when compared with 2010.

Investment in energy efficiency companies fell by 29 per cent to $646.9m, although the sector led in terms of the number of rounds with 78 completed in the year.

There were five initial public offerings (IPO) in the year, up from three in 2010. Biofuel companies led with Solazyme, Gevo and KiOR all launching IPOs in the year. A total of $688.3m was raised through all cleantech IPOs in 2011.

Jay Spencer, Americas cleantech director for Ernst & Young, said, ‘Cleantech is still in the early stages of a long-term journey. We’ve reached a point where new products and services are ready to be launched, and as these products come to market, we’re seeing renewed interest, innovation and opportunity in cleantech. There’s a strong appetite among cleantech companies to go public and we see tremendous opportunity as this industry continues to mature. The growing IPO pipeline shows viable, long-term potential.’

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

US utility Constellation Energy has completed installation of three photovoltaic (PV) arrays with a combined capacity of 4.29MW for the Buckeye Union High School District in Arizona.

Constellation will own and maintain the systems, with the school district purchasing all electricity generated at a fixed rate for 25 years. The three systems should produce enough electricity to power the high schools where they are located, meeting up to 70 per cent of the school district’s electricity need.

The facilities were developed by GV Enterprises and REgeneration finance, with Core Construction building the arrays. It was supported by the APS Renewable Energy Incentive Program, an initiative that offers financial incentives covering up to 40 per cent of renewable energy installation costs to homes and businesses in Arizona.

Beverly Hurley, superintendent of Buckeye Union High School District, said, ‘We’re pleased to celebrate the addition of three solar installations in our school district. This addition will play an important role in meeting the district’s electricity needs and will serve as an educational tool for our students to learn about solar energy production.’

Michael Smith, senior vice president of green initiatives for Constellation Energy, added, ‘Constellation Energy congratulates Buckeye Union High School District for its commitment to renewable energy and is proud to have worked with REgeneration Finance, Core Construction and APS to make this project a reality. Solar as a power-generation source helps schools control operating costs by providing a fixed electricity rate over the long term, while demonstrating to students, faculty and the community the ways that clean energy resources benefit the environment.’

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

Samsung Heavy Industries will locate a £100m offshore wind turbine plant in Scotland in a further major boost to the country’s renewables ambitions.

The company will build the plant to manufacturer its 7MW offshore turbine and create 500 jobs in the area

According to a report in Bloomberg today, the wind turbine plant will be located at the Fife Energy Park in Methil.

The Scottish government has welcomed the move, with First Minister Alex Salmond stating that it is fast becoming the European ‘centre for research and development’.

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

The valuation of companies across the renewable energy and cleantech spectrum are undervalued, as a handful of bankruptcies have made investors overly wary, an industry expert said.

Speaking in London recently, Steffen Kroner, director at turnaround advisory business Alvarez & Marshall said he thought public valuations are likely to stay low for some time yet.

‘The whole sector is undervalued in the stock market and we think this will be the case for some time.’

He said with the possibility of bankruptcies still on the horizon, direct investing in renewable energy companies would also be closed off to some investors.

‘Direct investments in solar companies especially are quite a risky thing but there will be more Asia-based investors coming into the market.’

He said the latter half of 2011 saw a dramatic fall-off of transaction volume in the sector but a trend towards M&A is likely to give a boost to activity.

‘In Western Europe and the US, the solar industry is undergoing a period of consolidation. In addition, major utilities such as EDF and Iberdrola are reducing the importance of nuclear and focusing more on renewables.’

A key driver of the market in general, Kroner predicted, will be smart grid technologies that allow the greater penetration of renewable energies.

He said, ‘Energy consumption technology will be a key driver going forward to balance the supply of electricity.’

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

The London 2012 Olympics provides the opportunity to showcase how to develop a sustainable, green city, those involved with the site’s development have said.

Speaking in London this week, Nicolas Reynolds, senior principal of architects Populous, said as key element of making the Games sustainable is using as many temporary buildings as possible.

‘Our motto for the design of the build was reduce, reuse and recycle. Forty per cent of the main stadium will be made out of recycled materials. We have used many more temporary elements than the Sydney Olympics and the permanent elements we have designed are adaptable, transformable buildings.’

Populous was heavily involved in the design of the Sydney Games and Reynolds said that although lessons have been learnt, each project represents fresh obstacles.

‘Half way through the construction of the Olympics site in Sydney the brief changed, throwing our plans up into the air. Now with London, we have got to tackle fresh challenges again. Here, the main challenge is, how do you showcase a whole city without building everything from scratch?’

He said the best way to make buildings sustainable is to use them as much as possible, and as such any temporary ‘pods’ will be redeployed as classrooms, public toilets or temporary health clinics.

Jason Pyre, from environmental and energy company Aecom, said the location of the London 2012 site has historically been a place of serial failure. A key element in his company’s work was turning this fate around.

‘It could now be the poster child and a global model for how to be a sustainable city. The Olympics provides an opportunity to showcase, and London has made astonishing moves in that respect. It has captured the knowledge gained in Sydney and built on that.’

Aecom is now involved with preparing the Rio de Janeiro site, for when it holds the Games in 2016.

He said in this development effective deployment of water management technologies will play a bigger role than energy system developments. In addition, rolling out sustainable transport systems will also be integral in ‘greening’ the Brazilian Olympics.

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

Indian conglomerate Welspun Energy has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to develop 500MW of wind power in Andhra Pradesh.

The company has recently entered the country’s booming wind sector, having also recently been awarded the rights to develop a 50MW solar project.

The MOU has been signed with the government of Andhra Pradesh and specifies that the projects will be complete by the end of 2014.

The government will now help in obtaining the necessary permits, registrations and clearances for the development of the wind farms.

‘Welspun Energy is setting up large grid-connected solar and wind power projects across India. Short gestation periods for installing wind turbines, and the increasing reliability and performance of wind turbines has made wind power a favoured choice for capacity addition in India,’ Vineet Mittal, managing director and co-founder of Welspun Energy said.

The cumulative installed capacity of grid connected wind energy in India at the end of September 2011 was estimated to be 14.9MW. It ranked as third in the world in terms of capacity additions during the year.

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

Lark Energy, a division of a UK-based construction and development group, has submitted plans for a £35m solar project in Leicestershire.

According to a report in the BBC, Lark Energy has proposed to build a 150-acre site facility near Loughborough, which will generate enough energy to power 6,000 homes.

The site is a former airfield runway and, if approved, construction will begin later this year.

In addition, Lark Energy has also said the panels can be removed in 30 years-time when energy production ceases, to return the site to its former state.

In July, the developer connected the largest UK solar facility to the grid ahead of the drop in feed-in tariffs for 5MW installations. This facility was 4.9MW and is located near Nottingham.

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

Solar power generator BlueChip Energy has completed the first residential solar power system for KB Home’s newest community of ‘built to order’ homes in Central Florida.

The company will be providing its SunHouse solar energy systems for the 52-house community in Apopka, and the systems are estimated to result in energy bill savings of 50 per cent.

The initial solar installation on the model home features 22 high efficiency solar panels in a PV system approved by the Florida Solar Energy Center.

To date, BlueChip Energy has completed more than 150 residential and commercial systems in Florida totalling 2MW.

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

Reservoir Capital has received three-year permitting extensions for two run-of-the-river hydroelectric plants in Serbia.

The awards have been granted by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy for the Brodarevo-1 and Brodarevo-2 facilities.

Miljana Vidovic, president and CEO of Reservoir said, ‘These extensions are a very important vote of confidence in Reservoir from the Serbian government and ensure we have the time to complete our feasibility studies, permitting and project finance in an orderly manner.’

The permits will bring the total capacity of the projects to 58.4MW, with each fitted with three turbines for an average installed flow of 150 cubic metres per second

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

The renewable energy sector is providing avenues for engineering companies to expand and diversify their business activities.

Once such business is Hutchinson Engineering, based outside of Liverpool in North West England. It started life in the late 1970s supporting the local petro chemical industry, eventually evolving to serve the telecommunications sector, as well as other niche steel applications.

Part of the business is now focused on the UK’s renewable energy sector, producing towers for small wind turbines used in microgeneration installations. Managing director Dean Drinkwater told NewNet that this diversification strategy has brought a number of benefits to the company.

Drinkwater said, ‘We wanted to expand the business so about five years ago we looked for new markets, and because of our design expertise we decided small wind turbines was an ideal fit for us. We had the in-house design capability and the manufacturing capability.’

Hutchinson now produces towers for companies such as Quiet Revolution, Evance and nova wind, and has recently signed a deal to produce at least 30 structures for Harbon Wind Turbines following the completion of a 60kW project.

Rather than going after the utility-scale developments, the company saw microgeneration systems as the right fit for its skill set.

Drinkwater said, ‘We thought the volume was better on the smaller ones and it fit better with our manufacturing capability, although we are growing as a business now and are increasing our capacity going up to the 50kW, 60kW size, there is a lot of demand for the larger turbines in the UK.’

In just five years producing towers has become a major part of the company’s business and provides long-term growth potential. Along with the UK, Hutchinson ships towers to France and Denmark and is always looking for other partners through which it can expand this side of its business.

Drinkwater said, ‘Our team’s experience translated quite well to tower design, luckily our design director has a lot of experience with fatigue with frequency analysis which is critical for wind turbines, so that helped. Now we are busier on wind turbines we have extended our team so the design team is up to seven guys now where as before it was four or five. It’s becoming more significant and is up to about 30 per cent or 40 per cent of the business, it is certainly where we see growth coming from.’

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

The future of photovoltaic (PV) panels will not be silicon, according to an expert developing what he says will be a cheaper and eventually more efficient alternative.

The fall in PV panel prices over 2011 is well-documented, but now Israeli start-up 3G Solar claims to have designed a solution that can be manufactured for 70 per cent less per MW than current options.

Company CEO Barry Breen spoke to NewNet to explain how 3G’s dye solar technology could change the sector and how the company plans to advance it.

Breen said, ‘In the first stage of our development we created a structure to make the largest dye solar cell in the world and we were able to do that by designing a unique conductor system. The main point of the dye solar cell is that it is an electro-chemical device like a battery, but where energy is coming from the outside through a photosynthesis process which can convert the solar energy into. This can be done at a much lower cost to silicone.’

However, scaling this up is also problematic as the electrolyte process that creates electricity has damaging effect on traditional metal frames. The company believes it has found a solution and is now engaged in testing processes to improve the efficiency of the technology.

Breen said, ‘We have a full year of research and development ahead, having commercialised the dye cell we now have to boost the efficiency so we can start going to market, from there we will keep improving efficiency. We have a low-cost process providing an efficiency that will be better than thin-film and rivalling silicone. In 2013 we hope produce our first pilot line.’

Raising capital to fund development was an international process involving backing from companies all over the world. It was supported in the early-stage through Israel’s incubator system, before securing Angel Investments from US and Israeli companies, as well as subsequently raising venture capital funding through UK-based firm.

The process now is finding strategic partners to move the technology on as well as looking to establish global manufacturing centres.

Breen said, ‘One of the partners to join us has been the Israel Electric Company, who we have investment from and we are looking for other strategic partners. Now we have the venture backing we are looking to add companies who can invest and add strategic value. The Electric Company is one and we are looking at potential strategic investors both in Europe and in Asia. We hope to have something over the next few months.’

When the technology is ready for production Breen sees the company having localised distribution channels. He said the advantage of a lower-cost production process means that panels can be produced near to their target market, reducing transportation costs.

Breen said, ‘We will have production and sales according to region because it is a low cost production line and doesn’t require the huge investments as you do for something like silicone. So you could have production supplying the local area and that lowers the cost for logistics.’

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

Only five per cent of Britons think the London 2012 Olympics will result in improving the country’s green credentials, a major report has found.

A new study, From Stadium to Street, conducted by General Electric (GE) has found that although the majority of the UK public (61 per cent) think the Olympics will be a force for good, there is little awareness about how clean technologies deployed at the Olympic site will result in a low-carbon legacy.

Speaking at the launch of the report in London today, Mark Elborne, CEO and President GE UK, said London will become the only city to stage the Olympics three times and that it provides a perfect opportunity for companies to work together and push forward green technologies.

He said, ‘It is about how we supply our best technology to support the most sustainable Games ever held.’

London’s bid proved successful because it rested on a promise to be the greenest Games to date, with a lasting legacy that would result in local regeneration and a commitment to advancing sustainable development.

Elborne said, ‘The Olympic Games focuses attention on the wider infrastructure issues we will face in the future and how we could potentially tackle them. By providing a highly concentrated environment – a microcosm of our cities and communities – it allows us to test technology such as smart meters, clean energy and electric vehicles.

‘The Games also helps us understand the difficulties in deploying such technology and helps inform how we might approach such challenges on a wider scale.’

The fact that only a minority of people that think the Olympics will result in lasting green credentials in London is a trend also mirrored in Rio, which is to host the Games in 2016. In the study, it found that just 17 per cent of Rio residents believe it will result in a lasting ‘greening’ of their country, but 76 per cent did state that they see it as a force for good.

In addition, only 12 per cent of Britons believe that after the Olympics East London will have buildings that showcase green technologies, while eight per cent think it will have sustainable energy generators.

Also speaking today, Gareth Wynn, head of the Olympic programme at EDF Energy, said that the emotional buy-in that the general population experiences with the Olympics can be a powerful tool in prompting ideas to a wider community.

‘The Olympics is something that people feel emotional about and that emotional power gives the opportunity to engage ordinary people.’

He added, ‘It is a great catalyst and it gives us a way for companies to work together with a common deadline and a shared ambition.’

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

The California Association of Sanitation Agencies (CASA) is spearheading an initiative to educate the public, regulators and local, state and federal leaders on the role they need to play in achieving new state and national clean energy targets.

This follows California governor Jerry Brown calling for the addition of 20,000MW of renewable energy facilities by 2020, as well as President Barack Obama setting a goal of producing 80 per cent of US electricity through renewables by 2035.

The CASA programme is not only aimed at education but will also look to identify opportunities in public forums to advocate investing in its members’ renewable energy production, as well as removing obstacles for funding and production.

Gary Darling, president of CASA, said, ‘California’s clean water agencies are ready to be active partners at the state and national level to achieve these clean energy goals. Local wastewater treatment and recycled water facilities are the ideal places to look at when investing resources into clean energy generation. Increased clean energy production at local wastewater facilities is just one of the ways we are protecting the environmental and local waterways.’

He added, ‘Clean energy production is a relatively new industry, both the public and the decision-makers need to understand dollars invested today will reap benefits in the future by helping to significantly reduce our reliance on traditional, and rapidly dwindling, energy supplies such as oil.’

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

This week US President Barack Obama used part of his State of the Union address to call for clean energy tax credits to support the sector that has ‘never looked more promising’.

Recent news of the bankruptcy protection sought by electric vehicle (EV) battery maker Ener1 would indicate otherwise, as would the spate of high profile Chapter 11 filings that characterised the second half of 2011 for US cleantech. But the world’s largest economy still has significant clout in the alternative power and efficiency business. This week NewNet takes a look at the fortunes of some of these players.

First Solar is a giant of the photovoltaic (PV) world and one of the companies that struggled in 2011 as a result of the poor European economic situation and Chinese competition. It ended 2011 revising down forecasts, predicting net sales for the year in the range of $2.8bn to $2.9bn, compared to the original expectation of between $3bn and $3.3bn.

The company is listed on the Nasdaq and is currently trading at around the $40 mark. This represents a strong run so far this year as the company closed 2011 valued at $33.71 a share.

It may, however, be some time before First Solarcomes back to the $100 per share valuation that it experienced from August 2008 to November last year.

Alternative fuels specialist KiOR is also having a promising start to the year as far as its Nasdaq listing is concerned. The company opened the year trading at $9 and has steadily climbed to $12.31 a share at the time of writing.

The upswing will be encouraging for the company following the second half of 2011 that saw its listing fall from a high of around $16, to the $8 to $9 range it closed the year with.

Enova is a developer of hybrid and EV engine systems targeting the commercial fleet market. It is a US-based company although is listed on London’s AIM exchange.

Last year, its share price fell rapidly between the start of August through to the opening of October, going from £45 per share to just £16 a unit. The year so far has looked more promising with the business currently listed at £29.80, after opening 2011 at less than half that value.

NextEra Energy is an 85-year old utility that has started to increasingly pour its efforts into renewable energy generation. Subsidiary companies develop alternative energy facilities all over the world and are involved in some of the largest US projects, such as the 250MW solar thermal Riverside development in California.

Being an established company with decades of history makes NextEra shares slightly less susceptible to wild fluctuations. However, its value has been up the last month with the company trading at between $58 and $60 a share, compared to a range of $50 to $56 from August 2011 to the end of the year.

With valuations like these and compared to the problems of last year, Obama could be right about the current state of the sector.

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

Solar power can be used to transform the lives of rural communities in developing nations, while still making a profit for the installer.

The difficulty in using the sun’s power to change the lives of those in poverty is creating a model that does not rely on indefinite charity to function.

Eight19 has developed a solution it believes can solve this issue, company CEO Simon Bransfield Garth spoke to NewNet to explain the principal behind its offering.

Garth explained, ‘When I go and speak to people in Kenya, many of them are using kerosene lights. They put out a pretty poor amount of light, but what they do put out is a lot of fumes. Watt for watt, customers in Kenya are spending about 1,000 times more on a given amount of light then you would spend if you had lights installed. This is a problem which is quite common; people who have the least end up spending the most on basic essentials.

’Solar power is a really good alternative for customers like that. The problem, however, is if you have a customer who is earning $3 a day, they don’t have the $60 that it would cost to go and buy a solar home lighting system.’

To target this issue, Eight19 has developed the IndiGo module, consisting of a photovoltaic (PV) panel connected to two lights and a mobile phone charge point.

It is installed for between $5 and $10, with customers paying around $1 a week to use it through a scratch-card system. This initial step then paves the way for more technology, but in a way that is affordable.

Garth said, ‘What it means is that people are able to use their current kerosene spend on solar. In rural areas of Kenya individuals are spending around $2 a week on a combination of kerosene and charging their phone – we are charging them $1 a week for solar. Not only are they getting clean lighting and the ability to charge their phone, but they also cut down their energy spend by 50 per cent.

‘Once the unit is paid back, which typically takes about 18 to 20 months, then they can buy the unit if they want to own it, or we give the opportunity to upgrade to the next level of system. A family that started off relatively disconnected to the modern world moves to eventually having access to media, refrigeration and a lot more benefits that we take advantage of in the West but don’t exist in many of these developing countries.’

The company has launched a $200,000 fund with charity Solar Aid called Kickstart. This will cover the first 4,000 installations in Kenya, with Eight19 also set to trial the technology in Zambia and Malawi. It is also looking at other countries in Africa that could benefit, as well as India.

The initial capital for the project will come from private individuals, philanthropic funds and corporations, which can give as donations or loans. But the idea is that after a certain point the company will become self-sustaining and function like any other business.

Garth said, ‘Once we have around 20,000 paying customers then the project will be bankable and we will seek commercial finance to roll the units out. The point of Kickstart is a mechanism to take IndiGo over the next 12 months to the point it has the critical mass so conventional banking will finance it in the normal way.

‘There are a number of organisations looking to help development in emerging countries. Our proposition to them is very different in that we are not asking for a handout, we are asking for a loan that will be repaid in a relatively short amount of time. That is actually a very positive message to funding organisations and the sums of money we are looking for by global standards are quite small, they are a few million dollars and those sorts of sums are in the remit of development organisations.’

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

The US’ Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has issued its first pilot project licence for a tidal energy project to Verdant Power.

The 1MW facility is known as the Roosevelt Island Tidal Energy Project and will be installed in New York City’s East River. The pilot licence allows the company to demonstrate and test its system over a ten-year period.

It will involve the installation of 30 underwater turbines, which Verdant said it will iomplement in stages.

Jon Wellinghoff, chairman of FERC, said, ‘Issuing a pilot license for an innovative technology is a major step in the effort to help our country meet our renewable energy goals. FERC’s pilot process is doing what it should; allow for exploration of new renewable technologies while protecting the environment.’

Linda Church Ciocci, executive director of the National Hydropower Association (NHA), added, ‘NHA congratulates Verdant Power on receiving the first-ever commercial license from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for their Roosevelt Island Tidal Energy project in New York’s East River. The granting of this licence is an important step in developing new water power technologies which present a tremendous growth opportunity for clean, renewable electricity. Marine and hydrokinetic technologies could provide nearly 15,000MW by 2025 with the right polices in place; enough energy to power approximately 15 million American homes each year.’

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

US photovoltaic (PV) company KDC Solar has commissioned a 4.88MW rooftop system in New Jersey, US, one of the largest of its kind in the country.

The facility was constructed for food wholesaler White Rose at its warehouse in Carteret in the north of the state. KDC built the system as part of a joint venture with the US’ Nugen Capital Management, a company established to develop, own and operate commercial solar facilities.

The 22,000 panel facility is expected to generate 60 per cent of electricity required by the warehouse. It utilises units supplied by China’s LDK Solar and was installed by SPI Solar.

John Annetta, senior vice president of operations at White Rose, said, ‘White Rose is excited to enhance our presence in New Jersey with this rooftop solar installation. The reduction of our carbon footprint is allowing us to expand our environmental stewardship in the local community and the state.’

Hal Kamine, CEO of KDC Solar, added, ‘We are very pleased to have worked with Nugen Capital in this joint venture. This facility is the second largest roof-mounted PV solar facility in New Jersey and will supply clean, lower cost, long-term solar energy to White Rose. The White Rose facility is a successful model that we intend to replicate as KDC Solar pursues its commitment to ‘behind-the-meter’ solar electric systems for business/government and institutions, which in turn creates or preserves long-term jobs for the state.’

At the start of this year, SPI Solar secured $64m from the China Development Bank to support rooftop solar projects with KDC in New Jersey that utilise LDK Solar modules.

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

US car manufacturer Ford is set to triple production of vehicles that include its fuel-efficient EcoBoost engine design.

Ford will offer the technology in 11 cars, up from seven last year. The company said the EcoBoost system improves fuel economy by up to 20 per cent compared to its standard model.

In 2011, Ford sold 127,833 vehicles equipped with EcoBoost engines.

Sue Cischke, vice president of sustainability, environment and safety engineering, said, ‘EcoBoost expansion and availability in high-volume nameplates such as the all-new Ford Escape and Fusion will take this affordable, fuel-saving technology to the heart of the market. Ford is committed to delivering class-leading fuel economy for our customers, which benefits the environment and helps the US move toward greater energy independence.’

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

Europe needs an integrated approach to electricity regulation in order to accelerate the introduction of smart technologies, according to one expert.

Ugo Govigli, vice president of smart grid solutions for NEC Europe, said one of the main issues in introducing new innovations to European electricity networks is the lack of oversight consistency.

Govigli said, ‘Regulation today is one of the factors hindering the roll-out of advanced technologies. Any advanced technology that is not part of the traditional network is probably not part of the national regulation, so it has to be treated as a new topic and each regulator usually finds its own way of doing it. If we want to harmonise, we should start with regulation because every market in Europe is different.’

Energy usage within Europe varies hugely based on lifestyle, sunlight, the distribution of industry and other factors. Innovative companies are looking to develop universal solutions to serve these differing requirements

Govigli said, ‘If you add different regulations on top it turns into a nightmare for companies like NEC who have to supply technology. For us to make technology available to the market in a viable way, which means the right technology, with the right features, at the right price, we can only leverage on economies of scale.

‘This means the more we can replicate the same technology the better for us, and as such the more markets are similar to each other the more we can introduce technology in a wide spectrum. Harmonisation and integration yes, but on the regulatory side.’

A consistent framework across borders would open up the market and allow the technology developers to start manufacturing on a more cost-effective scale.

The usual issue that comes up in conversations more about smart technology is interoperability. If different systems cannot interact it defeats the purpose of installing them, but Govigli does not think this will be a serious concern because of the potential benefits to consumers, as well as suppliers, of keeping networks open.

New technologies will help utilities to manage the integration of renewable generation and sophisticated management will reduce the cost of distributing electricity.

Govigli said, ‘Interoperability cannot be an issue, one of the differences between the traditional world of energy and future smart grids is that already today you see many more players then you could in the past. The fact that you are adding IT, telecommunication and you are also opening services allows new companies to enter into the game. It is in the interest of utilities to open interfaces as much as possible.’

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

US community wind farm developer Juhl Wind has completed a 4.35MW installation for healthcare specialist the Gundersen Health System in Winona County, Minnesota.

Corey Juhl, vice president of development for Juhl Wind, said, ‘We are seeing an increased demand for large commercial and industrial organisation projects such as Gundersen’s as they fit extremely well within Juhl Wind’s area of expertise. This community-based project will provide significant economic benefits to the region. As one piece of their Envision program, the wind farm project will help Gundersen Health System achieve their goal of becoming 100 per cent energy independent by 2014.’

Jeff Rich, executive director, GL Envision, added, ‘As a healthcare organisation, it is important for us to lead by example. Creating renewable energy through programs, like the GL Wind project in Lewiston makes good business sense, creates local jobs during construction and ties directly to our mission of improving the health of the communities we serve. The money we generate from renewable energy projects, like the wind farm, and the money we save through energy conservation can be passed on to patients in the form of lower healthcare costs..’

Earlier this year Juhl was selected as a development partner for a 15MW to 30MW project near Ithaca in New York state.

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

Solar company Conergy has completed a 1MW solar park in Greece, and have said the country’s financial problems are not impacting its strategy in the country.

The company brought online a number of projects in Greece in 2011 and this latest installation – Volos – is in the north of the country.

‘The country benefits from very high irradiation levels and its Renewable Energy market is an important pillar for Greece’s economy,’ said Stefanos Melissopoulos, head of Conergy’s Greece business.

‘Therefore, the Greek market is and will be an important market for Conergy and we see a lot of potential there – despite the difficult financial situation of the country.’

Conergy first entered the Greek market in 2004 and has since grown its business there substantially.

‘In the future, we aim at maintaining and further expanding our strong market position in the country. With this new solar park, we highlight once again our key player position as well as our dedication,’ said Melissopoulos.

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

Despite cuts to the feed-in tariff (FIT) and tough financial conditions, opportunities still exist in the Italian solar market, according to a prominent company working in the country.

Amplio Solar has recently secured €16m from an unnamed Italian bank to invest in solar installations, which increases its total investments in the company to around €120m. It is developing a 30MW portfolio of facilities, many of which have come through acquisitions, and is on the lookout for potential new sites.

CEO Alberto Dalla Rosa spoke to NewNet to explain the challenges of working within Italy, as well as other opportunities it is looking to develop.

Dalla Rosa said, ‘The FIT went down in Italy but the turnkey costs also went down substantially, so we believe the return on investment is still there. The focus of our activity is no longer on the larger-scale gound-mounted photovoltaic plants becuase that has basically become an impossibility in the Italian context. Now we are focusing on rooftop mounted projects that are less than 1MW in capacity.’

Attracting capital to projects has become more challenging in Italy given the current financial situation. However, Amplio believes it has found a strategy to ensure it can support the construction of its project pipeline.

Dalla Rosa said, ‘Securing more finance is quite difficult because of the lack of liquidity. Most of our projects are already financed, except for the projects where we are leasing the area in which we are working with Italian banks and we expect to reach an agreement soon. Players that rely on project and balance sheet financing become more vulnerable. What we are trying to do is move to a financing model for 100 per cent equity, we believe that is the only option available in today’s financial conditions.’

The company is also looking at opportunities in other markets. It recently scrapped a plan to offer solar in the UK – where its parent company has a water management business – due to uncertainty over the government’s FIT policy.

But other areas in Europe and beyond are presenting attractive growth opportunities.

Dalla Rosa said, ‘We are looking at other European countries in particular in Eastern Europe. Also, outside Europe we find a few countries that are interesting such as South Africa and Chile for instance, where we are trying to establish a market position. They [Eastern European countries] are now quite easy to move into because we have established relationships with EPC contractors that are moving there and we join them as investors.’

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

The recent legal battle between the UK government and the solar industry has helped raise awareness of the benefits of solar, but many who have the most to gain are still in dark about its potential, according to one expert.

Cleaner Air Solutions (CAS) is an integrated cleantech business with a special interest in photovoltaic (PV) for the microgeneration market. Commercial director Terry Skee spoke to NewNet to explain how the court dispute has affected the sector.

Skee said, ‘Whilst the legal action that is going on has sent out mixed messages it has helped raise the awareness of solar PV within the UK. If you look at the profile of some of our customers, however, they have been largely between 45 and 75, were slightly more educated and aware, with the time to do a bit of research before making a decision. A lot of the population still don’t understand solar PV – the awareness is changing but the industry and the government could certainly do a lot better through education.’

Many of the established players in the market, including CAS, have argued the new rates will still allow for growth within this sector, which is relatively immature in the UK. In addition, reduced returns may deter or help rid the industry of cowboy builders installing inappropriate systems.

But one of the crucial concerns is on free solar offerings that aim to help some of the UK’s poorest people.

Skee said, ‘From the numbers that we have worked free solar is still viable, but we are waiting to hear what our investors say. Some of the companies who have, to be flippant, jumped on the bandwagon, will perhaps take a second look at it and say ‘we will just go back do what we were doing’, which wouldn’t necessarily be bad news for the industry.

‘There is still a sustainable, viable PV industry in the UK. We now need some stability, some cohesion and for the government and DECC to stick to their policies. That has been the underlying issue. It will still get you a better return then you will get on your typical ISA.’

The fall in PV panel prices has been well documented but for grid parity to be achieved other areas will have to come down in cost too.

Skee pointed out that components such as inverters and mounting systems have not come down at nearly the same rate as the PV modules themselves. But reductions could be made with a more holistic approach to installing.

Skee said, ‘Integration with other trades, for example the scaffolding industry, has been slow to get off the ground. Some of the scaffolding companies are now seeing that supporting business in the renewable industry, carrying out above-roof and in-roof installations, is an area of the market they can enter into. If we can place an order with a scaffolding business that is going to give them 50 to 100 installs a month, then there will be economies of scale benefits. It is chipping away at all these little areas that allows the supply chain to reform.’

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

Today’s finding by the Court of Appeal upholding a previous ruling that the UK government’s plans to retroactively slash the solar feed-in tariff were illegal should result in a short breath of life being given to the industry, HomeSun CEO Daniel Green told NewNet.

HomeSun, which alongside Friends of the Earth and Solarcentury, was today victorious as the government lost its appeal against the High Court ruling that the government acted unlawfully.

Speaking after the result from the Court of Appeal, Green told NewNet that much of the damage had already been done but is hopeful of a revival of the industry in the coming months.

‘It is great news that we have now had four senior judges, one in the High Court and three in the Court of Appeal, demonstrate and confirm that the Secretary of State Chris Huhne was acting illegally on the retrospective slashing of the solar subsidy.

‘But, the truth is that much of the damage has been done to the industry. This was an industry with 30,000 people working in it, which was growing quickly and generating almost £300m a year for the Treasury. Obviously the confusion and now what has been shown to be the illegality of the government’s actions decimated the industry. ‘

He added, ‘We are, however, hoping this ruling and short breath of life we are going to get before the tariff is cut will help revive some of that.’

The new tariff of 21 pence per kilowatt-hour – down from 43 pence – was due to come into effect on 1 April – but in October the government said the reduced rate would be given for any installations installed later than 12 December.

This was despite a consultation on proposals that did not close until 23 December.

Today, Huhne said the battle may not end here. He said, ‘The Court of Appeal has upheld the High Court ruling on FITs albeit on different grounds. We disagree and are seeking permission to appeal to the Supreme Court.

‘We have already put before Parliament changes to the regulations that will bring a 21 pence rate into effect from April for solar photovoltaic installations from 3 March to help reduce the pressure on the budget and provide as much certainty as we can for consumers and industry.’

It is unclear whether the case will now be taken to the Supreme Court but the ruling that retrospective actions by the government are illegal should – at least for now – give hope to investors in the renewable energy sector.

Green said, ‘The Court ruled that retrospectively acting on any event is illegal, which should give security to the financial markets that the government cannot go back on what it promised people and on the basis people invested.’

But Green said there is still uncertainty about the aggregator tariff. He said, ‘We are still very concerned about the aggregator tariff, which is an even lower tariff for people who supply free solar and solar for those people on very low incomes. It just means the market that is left is only going to be made available to people who are wealthy and have thousands of pounds languishing in their bank accounts. We hope Huhne returns the one tier system, not the two tier system which he is threatening to do.’

Green insists that despite the fiasco, the image of the industry is still intact with the average consumer keen to end their reliance on energy provided by the ‘Big Six’ utilities in the country.

‘This has been the most popular micro-generation and energy efficiency measure the country has ever seen. At HomeSun alone, one third of a million people have applied. This is not just about money it is about people being desperate to move out of the hands of the Big Six.

‘The government is continually looking to push us back into the hands of the Big Six because it has its own agenda such as nuclear power which it wants the big energy companies to do and we all suffer because of this. This is a first opportunity for the British public to generate their own energy and climb a little bit out of the clutches of forever rising energy bills.’

Caroline Flint, Labour’s Shadow Energy and Climate Change Secretary, warned that the government must now begin rebuilding trust.

‘The government has wasted time and money fighting the High Court ruling and created huge uncertainty, putting thousands of jobs in renewable energy at risk. The government must now go back to the drawing board and bring forward more measured proposals that guarantee the continued growth of the solar industry, put feed-in tariffs on a sustainable footing and are fair to the public.’

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

Swedish furniture giant IKEA has completed installation of a 1MW photovoltaic (PV) array at a store in West Chester, in the US state of Ohio.

IKEA contracted REC Solar for the project, which covers 128,000 square feet and consists of 4,186 panels.

It is the fourteenth PV installation IKEA has made in the US, with 23 more locations underway. The intention is to produce 85 per cent its electricity demand from the technology, with a generating capacity of 30.8MW.

Heather Spatz, IKEA West Chester store manager, said, ‘Our mission is to create a better everyday life for the many people, and at IKEA West Chester, we just added to this effort. A solar energy system will help reduce our store’s carbon footprint and represents another investment toward our future in this community. We appreciate the support of West Chester Township, Butler County, Duke Energy, and REC Solar, our partners in this project.’

IKEA is also engaged in the implementation of electric vehicle charging stations at many of its stores. In the last two months of 2011, it added the technology to outlets in Carson and Emeryville, both in California.

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

India will achieve and most likely exceed its targets for solar energy, according to one expert.

Companies from all over the world are cashing in on the opportunity and installing solar panels in India as the country aims to increase its generating capacity from the technology to 20GW by 2022.

Azure Power was one of the early India-based players in the sector and is now engaged in projects under local government initiatives in every state of the country. It has a plan to add 100MW of new capacity to the country’s electricity grid by 2014, enough to power 1,600 villages in India.

Founder and CEO Inderpreet Wadha spoke to NewNet about India’s growing solar sector and suggested the targets are not as ambitious as some have made out.

Wadhwa said, ‘I believe that India will be able to exceed its goal of 20GW faster than 2022, which will primarily be driven by increase in cost of conventional power, reduction in solar power prices and increase in clean energy demand in the country in years to come. If the policies and the legal framework continues to be conducive then we can expect to achieve the given targets. A recent report by KPMG says that the total solar power capacity is expected to reach 68GW by the end of 2021.’

As with any immature industry, there are issues in the administration of projects and the way that the technology is regulated.

Wadhwa said, ‘Typically, the projects have to be constructed within six to eight months. The short gestation periods do not take into account some of the clearances required for energy projects, but initiatives like solar power parks are mitigating some of these challenges. On ground solar installation data from similar solar plants is also necessary for independent assessment. This is also being addressed by agencies like C-WET. Most of these are teething issues of a new industry and will be addressed over time.’

Capital has been flowing in to the country to aid the construction of solar facilities. The Asian Development Bank provided a $100m loan to support the solar drive in the state of Gujarat last September and in November the US’ Export-Import Bank approved financing worth $103.2m for two projects.

But internal lending for projects involving solar is still in the early stage, with some types of finance more readily available than others.

Wadhwa said, ‘In India, the solar power sector is at a nascent stage, hence balance sheet financing is possible whereas non-recourse finance is cumbersome. Lending from foreign banks is possible but requires a good understanding of the regulatory framework and mitigation of foreign currency risk.’

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

Shares in German solar company Q-Cells dropped sharply today as the company said it would carry out financial restructuring and warned it would not be profitable until 2014.

A statement released by the company revealed it had carried out ‘intensive negotiations’ with different creditor groups but still is yet to come to an agreement with holders of a convertible bond due at the close of February.

It also said that it does not expect to record a positive EBIT before 2014 and the next few years will see reasonably heavy losses.

Q-Cells said it expects further losses in the 2012 financial year but even this business plan rests on securing its convertible bonds.

A statement said, ‘The business plan of Q-Cells, validated by the management consultancy McKinsey, expects further losses in the challenging financial year 2012. Revenues are set to reach €865m, EBITDA before restructuring costs are to amount to minus €14 m and EBIT before restructuring costs is to reach minus €90m. A fundamental precondition for generating profits based on the mid-term business plan, is a timely implementation of the financial restructuring of all three outstanding convertible bonds.’

The news sent its shares spiralling today and at 3pm GMT they were trading at €0.42, down from a high of €0.51 yesterday and €1.41 over the past three months.

In November, an influential report found that the falling subsidies in Germany and increased competition in Asia would present increasingly hard business environments for domestic photovoltaic companies.

Q-Cells, alongside Conergy, Solar-Fabrik and Sunways were identified as those in a most vulnerable position, the report by Bank Sarisin warned.

But in December the company had positive news when it announced it had achieved a new record in thin-film efficiency, with the Solibro Q.SMART reaching a module efficiency of 17.4 per cent.

Q-Cells today, however, acknowledged that on going price wars could interfere with a price premium strategy but said a positive EBITDA of €61m should be reached in 2013, with eventually a positive operating income seen in just under three years.

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

India-based giant Tata Steel is increasing its involvement in the renewable energy sector, with a particular focus on European wind and marine energy.

The company was recently contracted by Siemens to supply 25,000 tonnes of profiled steel plate for use in wind turbine towers, the first big deal to come out of the company’s dedicated wind facility in North East England.

Russell Codling, marketing manager for Tata, told NewNet that the company’s strategy for taking advantage of opportunities in the renewable sector rests on becoming more than purely a provider of raw material for the industry.

Codling said, ‘Rather than just supplying basic steel products, we are looking at how we can start to process those steel products to make them ready to use in a particular application. The contract we have with Siemens is the result of that strategy – rather than producing basic steel products and plates, here we have invested in being able to profile that plate and shape it in a form that is ready to be used in the right sequence to produce wind towers.

‘Instead of having a lot of profiling or processing of steel at the many different tower production works, it seems to us to be more efficient to invest in the capability up stream and then those people that are producing towers can just focus on producing towers, rather than all the initial processing work.’

The company is looking beyond the production of towers, paying close attention to other renewable technologies to identify potential innovations it can support.

With a huge pool of resources to work with, the 80,000-strong business has the capacity to generate significant savings due to economies of scale. It also has the financial backing and knowledge pool to support smaller organisations in commercialising their technology.

Codling said, ‘We are constantly looking around the market place for where the new developments are going to come and we would like to work with some of those new developers in the marine renewables area, as well as the turbine manufacturers and other people who have got new technologies to both improve efficiency and reduce costs. We are looking at how we can apply our scale and position in the supply chain to support those other companies.’

Tata sees a big opportunity to use its knowledge in the offshore wind sector. This immature industry is still developing the infrastructure necessary to serve demand, with supply bottlenecks frequently adding additional cost to the already expensive technology.

Tata is looking at how it can utilise its expertise to help alleviate some of that shortfall and improve the efficiency of the supply chain.

Codling said, ‘We are also looking at how we can provide components and deliver them in the right sequence for the growth of the offshore foundation sector. For jackets and other similar structures going forward there is going to be a big demand on offshore fabricators to produce many foundations at a very high productivity rate, suggested up to 100 foundations or more a year from a given facility.

‘That means they are going to have to change their processing philosophy. A lot of them will have come from the oil and gas industry where an offshore structure will be a one off and very much a bespoke development produced over a year. In the offshore wind sector there is going to have be a much higher processing rate.’

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

US technology company Honeywell has launched a smart grid project to aid UK utility Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) connect 30 commercial and industrial buildings to the grid in the Thames Valley area.

The system will have the facility to reduce consumption in the buildings when overall usage is up, helping alleviate transmission and distribution bottlenecks. It is also aimed at aiding property owners in decreasing energy usage and emissions.

The project is part of the £30m New Thames Valley Vision (NTVV), awarded to SSE by UK energy regulator Ofgem. Honeywell will install automated demand response solutions, with SSE working with customers to trim peak use, reducing strain on local networks that are currently nearing capacity.

Stewart Reid, NTVV project director at SSE Power Distribution, said, ‘NTVV has the potential to revolutionise our existing networks, and help us to manage resources and equipment more effectively as the UK heads toward a low-carbon economy. We’ll need to collaborate with our customers to achieve these goals and see auto demand response as a one of the key tools to make that a reality.’

Paul Orzeske, president of Honeywell Building Solutions, added, ‘A smarter grid is essential to balancing supply and demand in the most efficient, sustainable way possible. But utilities also need to connect with their customers in new ways and Auto DR creates those bonds. It’s flexible enough to meet a variety of energy challenges, from daily grid congestion issues to intermittency concerns that stem from micro-generation.’

At the start of the year, Honeywell announced its involvement in smart grid demonstration project in China.

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

US company PowerPlay Solar Development has completed a 2MW photovoltaic (PV) installation for Berkshire School in Sheffield, Massachusetts.

PowerPlay designed and constructed the plant in collaboration with Spire Solar Systems, with panels supplied by SolarWorld.

The nine acre, ground-mounted facility is currently the largest of its kind for any school or college in New England. It is predicted to generate around 45 per cent of the electricity requirement of the school, which is aiming to be carbon neutral by 2016.

Steven Levine, senior development partner at PowerPlay Solar Development, said, ‘Committing to this solar project is a significant statement by Berkshire School on environmental stewardship. It’s been exciting for our team to develop this impressive solar power plant in support of the School’s sustainability and energy goals.’

Mike Maher, Berkshire’s head of school, added, ‘This is a tremendous opportunity for Berkshire School–financially, educationally and environmentally. Using our own land to generate clean electricity is the right and responsible thing to do.’

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

Peter Bladen

UK photovoltaic (PV) installer BSolar has relaunched its training arm in preparation for the Green Deal.

The company said that strong demand in anticipation of the government’s household efficiency programme has prompted it to re-establish its educational arm.

The training division, called the Energy Foundation, offers qualifications for energy assessors including Energy Performance Certificates (EPC).

It will offer courses around the country in domestic and non-domestic EPCs, as well as specific training for solar PV installers. All courses include ABBE registration, assessment and exams.

Peter Bladen, managing director of BSolar, said, ‘Previously to BSolar, I’d been working for five years training energy assessors and with the advent of the Green Deal there is now a huge demand for this training again.

‘From October, installers, be it solar panel installers or those putting in cavity wall insulation or any other form of technology will need to first conduct an Energy Performance Certificate of the property in order to be part of the Green Deal programme. EPC training is essentially vital if you want to work in the industry. The courses are proving extremely popular, with firms often preferring to be taught by tutors like ourselves who work in the industry as well as being qualified trainers.’

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

UK green energy company Ecotricity has diversified into the marine power sector and revealed it is developing a device that it believes can address the issues of intermittency and cost.

It is launching the wave energy device Searaser, which is the brainchild of British engineer Alvin Smith.

Ecotricity founder Dale Vince said, ‘Our vision is for Britain’s electricity needs to be met entirely from the big three renewable energy sources – the wind, the sun and the sea.

‘Until now, the sea has been the least viable of those three energy sources and we believe that Searaser will change all of that. Indeed, we believe Searaser has the potential to produce electricity at a lower cost than any other type energy, not just other forms of renewable energy but all ‘conventional’ forms of energy too.’

Ecotricity’s move into wave power comes as the UK government and leasing body the Crown Estate make changes that they hope will encourage more development of wave-power in the country.

From January 2012, the Crown Estate has reduced the burden of financial guarantees it requires from wave and tidal developers to obtain a lease option from £25m to £5m.

Inventor Smith said, ‘Most existing wave technologies seek to generate electricity in the sea itself. But as we know water and electricity don’t mix – and seawater is particularly corrosive – so most other devices are very expensive to manufacture and maintain.

‘But Searaser doesn’t generate the electricity out at sea. It simply uses the motion of the ocean swell to pump seawater through an onshore generator.’

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

German investment business the Deutsche Bank has completed a rooftop solar installation on the company’s Americas’ headquarters on Wall Street, New York.

The 122.4kW photovoltaic (PV) array is in place on the south and east portions of the company’s 50 story, 745 foot building. It is one of the largest installations of its kind in Manhattan and is currently the highest PV system in the world.

Michael Bloomberg, Mayor of New York City, said, ‘New York City has the most ambitious sustainability plan in the world in part because we’re working with private sector partners to reduce our carbon emissions, rely on cleaner energy sources, and meet the goals of our long-term sustainability programme, PlaNYC. Deutsche Bank’s landmark achievement builds upon our shared work to build a greener, greater New York.’

Seth Waugh, CEO of Deutsche Bank Americas, added, ‘We are firmly committed to being a leader in sustainability and innovation. This project is one part of a comprehensive global programme to reduce the bank’s consumption of fossil fuels and shift to more renewable sources of energy. Our goal is to neutralise the Bank’s global CO2 emissions by 2013.’

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

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There is a shortage of engineering skills and expertise in the UK marine sector for the impending roll-out of wave and tidal energy technology to translate to significant jobs, according to one expert.

David Ainsworth, business development director at Bristol-based innovator Marine Current Turbines (MCT), said the growth of the sector presents a real and untapped opportunity for the UK economy. The company has just received positive results from a comprehensive environmental monitoring of the deployment of one of its SeaGen devices in Ireland.

Ainsworth said, ‘There is an opportunity in the UK to pick up on the manufacturing side of this and also, if the facilities existed in the UK, for the installation and operation. But one of our big problems is when you look at construction and installation, most of the expertise and the crews are foreign. It is very difficult to find the right sort of people within the UK, with the right sort of background and expertise within the sector.’

He said that by contrast the oil and gas industry is well catered for in the UK, with many people he sees contributing to the development of tidal energy coming from that market. But outside this industry MCT finds a shortage of specialised marine personnel.

For MCT the plan is to have a 10MW commercial array in place for 2015. Applications for this project, which is located in Wales, were submitted in March 2011 and the company expects permission to be granted in the same month this year. Construction is then planned to commence in 2014.

The task now is one of looking at the production of the devices and studying ways to bring their cost down.

Ainsworth said, ‘With SeaGen everything was done piecemeal and we used contractors who could deliver the components on time and were in most instances paying premiums for those component But now we have a very forward looking structure with definite plans on the table for manufacturing, looking at the designs we have done to cut cost out of that. Working with suppliers to see how manufacturers can give us feedback on improving the design to reduce the cost.’

‘Also, one of the things we are doing with SeaGen is stretching the output from 1.2MW to 2MW and in doing that the manufacturing costs and the installation costs don’t change significantly, but you get more megawatt per pound and a reduced overall cost of the unit as well. It is very similar to what offshore wind is doing. They have increased their capacity quite significantly over the last five or ten years because of the economies of scale.’

SeaGen has the backing of electronics giant Siemens, which owns 45 per cent of the company. Ainsworth suggested this relationship will be key in developing their product offering and that having strong support from the larger organisation is an indication of MCT ‘s technology potential.

Ainsworth said, ‘If you look across the industry sector at the moment there are already significant original equipment manufacturers aligning themselves with tidal technologies. It is already possible to see key players emerging from the quagmire of the R&D sector. It has been estimated that there are more than 200 wave and tidal developers out there, so already you have four or five industry leaders aligning themselves with OEMs.

‘Siemens has committed to our R&D programme for the next couple of years and we are increasing our internal technical relationships with them to access more of their R&D facilities and more of their knowledge. Over the next twelve months our relationship is going to strengthen as well as their involvement in our product readiness.’

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

US house builder KD Home has announced that it will include solar panels as standard for new residences in select areas of Florida.

The systems are predicted to reduce the monthly energy bills of homeowners by as much as 50 per cent when compared to a typical building.

KD Home’s Fisher Plantation development in Apopka, near Orlando, will be the first community in the area to include solar power systems as standard.

George Glance, president of KB Home’s Central Florida division, said, ‘We’re excited to take a leading role in bringing solar power systems to the mainstream in central Florida. While many love the year-round warmth and abundant sunshine we are lucky enough to enjoy here in Florida, staying comfortable in this weather can also take a toll on our wallets when we get the monthly electric bill. Consumers who buy a built to order KB home with a standard solar power system get the value of a custom home-like experience plus the benefit of having the sun help reduce their energy bills.’

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

The UK-based Dearman Engine Company has said a team of UK academics and research experts have concluded that a demonstration of its liquid air engine concept could be built within two years.

It said the independent study, in part administered by consultancy Ricardo, identified potential engineering solutions that could meet most challenges the technology presents.

The Ricardo team said it is confident that given the system’s projected performance, there are numerous practical applications for the use of the technology such as competing with hydrogen fuels cells and battery electric systems.

Toby Peters, founder of Dearman Engine Company, said, ‘This is a rigorous independent technology review and engine feasibility study by a highly respected global engineering consultancy. Clearly we still have a long way to go to build a fully optimised demonstration engine and also get people to believe that using cold air as an energy vector is not a load of hot air. Ricardo’s thumbs-up gives us real confidence that we have something exciting.’

Nick Owen, project director for research and collaboration at Ricardo UK, added, ‘We look forward to working with Dearman Engine Company in the coming months to help bring its technology closer towards commercial maturity.’

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

Germany’s Environment Minister Norbert Rottgen has signalled his intention to accelerate plans of cutting the country’s feed-in tariff (FIT) for solar more rapidly than previously announced, resulting in mixed fortunes for the country’s renewable stocks.

Germany already lowered the level of support for installations at the start of the year, cutting it by 15 per cent. The plan was to decrease this by a further 15 per cent on 1 July, but Rottgen told a German newspaper that he is now considering monthly drops to avoid mass installations before the mid-year date.

The country’s trade association for the technology, BSW-Solar, said preliminary figures indicate that solar installations for 2011 would reach 2010’s volume of 7GW of new generating capacity, a level Rottgen said was too high to be sustained.

The result on valuations for Germany’s listed solar players was mixed.

Photovoltaic (PV) manufacturer SMA Solar saw the biggest decline on the back of this news. The company is currently trading at €44.97, after closing yesterday at €47.35. Its valuation has been fluctuating wildly anyway and spiked to more than €50 earlier in the month for the first time since September 2011, before falling back down around the €40 mark.

The company experienced a difficult 2011 and in August announced first half sales that were down by €100m compared to the same period in 2010.

Following the news solarhybrid also experienced a dip in valuation yesterday losing around €0.20, but today the company bounced back and is now trading at around the €6.

It has been trading around this level for three months and is down slightly on ranges experienced in May and November last year of between €8 and €9.

SolarWorld, one of Germany’s largest photovoltaic manufacturers, lost some of its value and is now trading at €4.04, compared with €4.30 at the yesterday’s close. But to put this in the context of the year so far, this valuation is actually a slight rally after being around the €3 mark for the first week and a half of January.

Other companies seem to have experienced no ill effects from the news and SAG Solarstrom is currently valued at €3.25, around the same level it has been trading since August last year.

Conergy is currently trading around €0.381, also fairly consistent with how it has performed all month. Like SolarWorld, this is actually compared to the end of 2012 when the company was consistently trading at below €3.

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

Legislation is driving growth in the energy efficient lighting market but manufacturers need to have a competitive pricing strategy if they are going to capture a significant market share, an analyst has warned.

Global analysis business Frost & Sullivan has estimated that the energy efficient lighting market in Europe is set to reach $1.92bn by 2018, from $1.15bn in 2011.

Strong EU regulations based on the phase out of incandescent lamps are pushing forward the adoption of light emitting diodes but it warned that prospects are being dimmed by concerns over the quality of energy efficient products, as well as their relatively high initial cost.

‘The EU’s objective of reducing carbon emissions by 20 per cent by 2020 has resulted in the implementation of several directives, including the Directive on Energy using Products and the Directive on Energy Performance of Buildings, which impose certain energy efficiency standards on buildings and EuPs, including lighting products,’ said Frost & Sullivan research associate Vivek Wali.

‘This has led to the EU-wide phase out of incandescent lamps and other inefficient light sources.’

The analysts have also warned that European consumers also exhibit a preference for the quality and colour of light provided by halogen and incandescent lamps over that of energy efficient alternatives, indicating that there may be technology development still needed in the sector.

It said along with cost, these factors have posed a significant hurdle in the widescale adoption of LED technologies.

Wali adds, ‘The high initial price of energy efficient lighting technology is a barrier for market penetration, especially in the price-sensitive residential sector.

‘Residential consumers, who constitute the largest end-user segment in the lighting market, also prefer the quality of light from incandescent lamps over energy efficient equivalents.’

It promotes that a competitive pricing strategy along with high-quality products will be vital to garnering market share.

‘While the price of CFLs and LED lamps are highly dependent on market pressures upstream in the supply chain, manufacturers need to assure the quality of their products,’ said Wali. ‘They also need to focus on maintaining competitive prices to gain market share.’

A report at the close of 2011 predicted that the market for organic LEDs (OLEDs) is set to explode over the coming years with use of the technology in the lighting sector predicted to grow from a value of just $12.7m last year, to $8.3bn in 2020.

In addition, the more mature market of using OLED technology for display monitors is expected to rise from $1.1bn in 2010 to more than $11bn in 2020, the study by GBI Research said.

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

Hawaii’s Kauai Island Utility Cooperative (KIUC) and REC Solar have commenced installation of a 12MW photovoltaic (PV) facility on north-east side of Kauai Island.

REC won a competitive bidding process to develop the plant in December and this is the second solar project the company has worked on with the KIUC. Once complete, KIUC will have a 20MW PV generating capacity on the island.

The funding to develop this project came after the US Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS) allowed the reallocation of $68m of previously approved funds to construct integrated PV and energy storage systems on Kauai. The money was originally approved for a 10MW combustion turbine generator, a portion will now be used for the REC project.

Lee Johnson, CEO of REC Solar, said, ‘The growth of the solar industry is due in part to the aggressive actions from forward-thinking utilities like KIUC. This coalition demonstrates the innovative spirit and concern for the environment that has made Hawaii home to the nation’s second highest installed solar capacity per capita, and we are excited to move this project forward. Solar is a bankable, proven way to grow KIUC’s renewable generation portfolio and meet the energy needs of Hawaii.’

Phil Tacbian, chairman of KIUC, added, ‘The benefits are significant. By using the RUS-approved funds for solar development, the cooperative effectively shelves the combustion turbine plant and moves closer to giving our members the clean, renewable energy they have asked for.’

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

Despite the wide spread adoption of the technology, there is still a huge investment opportunity in the UK onshore wind market, according to one expert.

David Wilson, project director on the UK wind team for global energy corporation AES, said the company’s strategy is to buy renewable projects in the development stage and bring them to permitting and financial close.

In 2012, the business is looking to put turbines in the ground for the large number of projects it has acquired over the last two years.

Wilson said, ‘In 2010, we made pipeline acquisitions in two countries. In the UK we bought the developer Your Energy and we have now integrated its people and projects into our team, and in Poland we bought a number of projects in a separate transaction. As a result in the UK, when combined with pre-existing Scottish developments, we have a pipeline of approximately 280MW over five projects in advanced development and an earlier stage pipeline of around 150MW at various stages of development. Our focus is to push those forward to permitting and financial close.’

He added, ‘We are concentrating on realising the value of inherent in those transactions. When you buy a development pipeline you buy potential and the potential is not realised until you reach financial close and go into construction.’

Wilson said the company will not work on these projects to the exclusion of other opportunities, but the AES short-term strategy for Europe will be geared around building, rather than purchasing.

The company exclusively looks to develop onshore wind opportunities, while keeping an eye on progress in the offshore sector. Some have suggested to NewNet that suitable sites for onshore wind developments are increasingly hard to come by, with many of the best place locations taken and the localism agenda stifling the already convoluted planning process.

But AES disagrees with this analysis and still sees huge potential out there.

Wilson said, ‘We still think there are onshore sites out there and the concept of suitability refers to a number of different things; wind speed, grid connection costs, sensitivity of the site design, political sensitivity at a local level, market regulatory issues, support for renewables and prevailing power prices. We still believe there is plenty of potential left in the UK for further development onshore, it’s one of the lowest cost renewable power sources on a meaningful scale, and there is significant scope for that left, it is certainly the cornerstone of what we are doing here.’

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

UK corporations are starting to demand clean electricity from suppliers and are increasingly looking to install their own renewable microgeneration systems, according to one expert.

Opus Energy provides electricity and gas to UK businesses and has around 110,000 clients that range from huge multi-national entities to small to medium sized businesses (SMEs).

The desire for green energy is on the rise, so Opus partnered with Danish company Nordjysk Elhandel (NEAS) to help source wind power and manage the risks associated with an intermittent supply

Louise Boland, director of risk management at Opus, told NewNet that the partnership will help drive its business forward.

Boland said, ‘NEAS are specialists in renewable generation and trading it, as well as managing the forecasting of wind and all the risks associated with that. So the cooperation we have got with them is really to give us some risk management, allowing us to price those risks into our offering and offset them.’

Managing power supply in a sophisticated way is becoming increasingly important for companies like Opus, with clients increasingly requesting renewables as part of their energy mix. There is also the added challenge of buying supply back from those with microgeneration systems in place, a phenomenon on the rise for UK business.

Boland said, ‘We definitely get some corporate partners that say ‘we want 100 per cent renewable power’, which we source for them and assure it is certificated with a guarantee of origin. We have a commitment that we will buy as much renewable energy as possible for our customers and to source it from lots of different places. We also find now with feed-in tariffs [FIT] and Renewable Obligation Certifcates many of our customers are actually installing generation on their own premises as well – a lot of wind and solar, although the latter has changed slightly with the recent change to the FIT.’

The idea for Opus is to increase its share of renewables without compromising on price, still the crucial factor businesses will make in choosing a supplier.

For smaller companies this can be hard to do because of the perceived cost. A study released by Opus last November found that 72 per cent of SMEs wanted to purchase renewable energy, but cited costs and complexities as reasons not to. Opus tries to mitigate this by not putting premiums on the clean energy they acquire.

Boland said, ‘Rather than have some kind of green tariff we simply say that for all of our customers we endeavour to buy as much as we can from renewable sources and keep the costs the same for everybody, that is the strategy we try to work to. So we are always looking at different ways to buy generation and the agreement with NEAS is another way we can find sources of power generated by renewables that would not have a premium on them so we can pass it through at a market rate to our customers.’

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

US companies Duke Energy Renewables, Integrys Energy Services and Smart Energy Capital have completed two photovoltaic (PV) installations for the Central Regional School District in Bayville, New Jersey.

The arrays have a combined capacity of 1.5MW and are expected to meet between 80 and 90 per cent of the electricity demand from the Regional Middle and High schools.

Kevin O’Shea, school administrator, said, ‘The district estimates it will avoid the release of approximately 19 million pounds of carbon dioxide in the first year of operation. Kiosks in each school will enable students, parents and community members to track the savings and energy produced by the system.’

Education centres all over the US are beginning to see the money-saving potential of rooftop solar. At the start of this month, Chevron Energy Solutions completed installing nine PV systems for schools in Huntington Beach, California and last December Vergona – Bowersox Electric won an $8m contract to add panels to schools in Florida.

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

CleanTech Innovations, a wind tower manufacturer with operations in the US and China, has filed an amended complaint in the Southern District Court of New York against the Nasdaq Stock Market and Nasdaq OMX Group, with accusations of racial profiling and discrimination.

CleanTech alleges the company’s delisting was a result of racist actions on the part of Michael Emen, head of Nasdaq listing qualifications. It argues the company complied with all Nasdaq listing standards and disclosure rules, was never late in its regulatory filings and has been in compliance with securities law.

It also alleges that in May last year, T Sean Bennett of the Nasdaq general counsel’s office, overturned a decision by the listing and hearing review council that ruled in favour of CleanTech remaining listed on the exchange. It believes the majority of council members had no knowledge or input in the company’s appeal process.

Arlen Specter, former US Senator representing CleanTech, said, ‘As noted in my letters of 12 January 2012 to Secretary of Commerce Bryson and Trade Representative Kirk, I have undertaken representation of CleanTech because of evidence of racist discrimination against the company because it is Chinese. Nasdaq’s delisting of CleanTech has resulted in losses of more than $200m in CleanTech’s shareholders’ value and loss of opportunities to bid on more than $100 million in contracts for wind energy towers on New Jersey’s coast, which would have resulted in US jobs. This matter involves more than a private dispute against two litigants and impacts on US diplomatic relations with China.’

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

US company First Wind has received approval from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for a 99MW extension to a proposed wind farm in Aroostook County.

The Oakfield project was originally planned to be 51MW, but in June 2011, First Wind submitted the revised application that has now received unanimous permission from the DEP.

The facility has been designed with input from the local community and will consist of 50 3MW turbines. Construction is expected to create 300 local jobs and over 20 years the plant should provide $14.7 tax revenue and $12m in community benefits to the area.

Matt Kearns, vice president of business development at First Wind, said, ‘We are very pleased that the DEP has approved our plans in Oakfield. The local review process on this project has been unprecedented. We provided resources for the town to hire independent sound experts, engineers, and lawyers and participated in a lengthy and robust review process in which issues of local interest were fully reviewed. We did that both for the originally planned project, and again based on the revised project layout. We’re looking forward to moving ahead with the project soon.’

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

Chinese photovoltaic (PV) specialist JinkoSolar has connected an 18MW system to the grid for the China Guangdong Nuclear Power Company.

Located in the city of Dunhuang, central China, the 76,000 module system covers an area of 400,000 square metres. JinkoSolar is now providing more than 15 per cent of the provinces solar capacity.

David Li, chairman of JinkoSolar, said, ‘Solar power has become one of the most efficient energy solutions. I am very pleased to see the role our products have played in this process.

‘We are witnessing the tremendous support for the photovoltaic industry from the government, developers and investors in China. JinkoSolar will continue to provide our customers with high-quality PV modules, while ensuring a long-term and stable return on investment for solar power plant investors.’

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

The UK solar industry must look at reducing costs in all aspects of the supply chain, not just panels, to achieve grid parity and sustainable growth, according to one expert.

The last couple of years have seen huge decreases in the price of photovoltaic (PV) technology as a result of new innovations and increased competition. This decline is likely to lose momentum as systems become more efficiency and harder to fine tune, but there are other areas where costs can go down and these reductions will be vital to achieving grid parity and create an industry not reliant on the feed-in tariff (FIT).

Alan Proto, managing director of UK solar installer The Green Home Company (TGHC), spoke to NewNet to explain the relationship between the FIT and panel prices.

Proto said, ‘Reductions in the cost of panels in the future are going to be a lot smaller than in the past, but where we do see further savings being made are with inverter prices, where supply is coming into line with demand as is happening with panels. As an industry, we have to get better at cost management through the whole supply chain.’

He added, ‘It is not as simple as saying it is a straight line connection between the [FIT] and panel prices. Panel price reductions will be much smaller than we have seen in the past 12 months, but there is scope for further reductions in the [FIT] because of the ways in which we can drive the costs down in other parts of the supply chain.’

When the proposed cut was first announced last year, the TGHC management team was initially apprehensive. But fears quickly receded and the main concern, as with the majority of industry participants NewNet has spoken to, was the timing of the decision and the uncertainty that followed.

Proto said, ‘In hindsight, I think the government got the rate of the level of the cut at that particular time right, but they could have done everyone a favour by signalling it much earlier. We prepare ourselves every day for a world in which [FITs] do not exist and that will happen far sooner than anybody could have guessed when the structure was put in place originally. So £0.21 is fine for now and undoubtedly there will scope for it to go lower over the course of 2012, but what makes life incredibly difficult is if you do not have any clear signs if when it might change and by how much.’

Based on the current uncertainty around the FIT, TGHC is holding off predictions on domestic solar market for 2012. Proto hopes to continue the pace of development that has built up in the still immature UK market, but expects it may have to shift its focus to keep up growth.

Proto said, ‘If you get to thinking about whether solar PV is going to be as big in 2012 as it was in 2011, the truth is I do not think anybody knows because the government arrangements are so complex and so swiftly changing at the moment. As such, it cannot be a bad idea to diversify. I do foresee commercial installations growing again, relative to where they are currently, whether that will absorb the slack from what I am sure will be a reduction in the rate of residential installs, it’s a shame but I don’t know the answer to that.’

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

Torresol Energy has brought online two 50MW parabolic trough plants, located in located in the South of Spain.

Torresol, which is a joint venture between Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy company Masdar and Spanish engineering and construction firm SENER, has commissioned both the Valle 1 and Valle 2 plants based in Cadiz.

Construction of Valle 1 and Valle 2 began in December 2009 and was completed in December 2011.

The company said the construction involved more than 4,500 workers over the twin projects.

Enrique Sendagorta, president of Torresol, said, ‘With these twin plants in Spain, Torresol Energy completes the first stage of our Strategic Plan. We now have three plants up and running, Valle 1 & Valle 2 and Gemasolar, in the South of Spain, and a proven track record that we can operate and carry out the maintenance of CSP plants both in power tower technology and parabolic trough technology.

‘We expect to start soon on other CSP projects in different countries located in what is referred to as the sun-belt region.’

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

US cleantech company Chevron Energy Solutions has completed installation of photovoltaic (PV) arrays on nine schools in Huntington Beach, California.

The 592kW project is expected to save the school district more than $15m over its lifetime. It is combined with an energy education campaign designed to inspire students to learn about and experience clean energy technologies.

The solar systems should provide 30 per cent of the district’s demand for electricity and Chevron also implemented improvements to campus lighting, heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, expected to reduce consumption further.

Jon Archibald, Huntington Beach City School District Assistant Superintendent of Administrative Services, said, ‘Today marks the beginning of a new chapter for environmentally sustainable operations at the Huntington Beach City School District – one that allows the community to experience the benefits of clean power without negatively impacting limited resources. In fact, a unique benefit of this solar project is providing protective shade for our students. We are grateful to all those involved for their dedication that has enabled the Huntington Beach City School District to realise the benefits of solar energy to our community.’

Jim Davis, president of Chevron Energy Solutions, added, ‘Huntington Beach City School District is demonstrating fiscal and environmental leadership by improving their energy efficiency and use of renewable power. The project also improves the classroom learning environment, which is an important element in boosting student achievement.’

At the end of last year, Chevron completed solar installations for four schools in San Diego.

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

A comprehensive environmental assessment of a tidal energy device has concluded that the underwater turbine does not have a negative impact on its surroundings.

The report was conducted by environmental consultancy Royal Haskoning and looked at the effect of the 2008 deployment of a 1.2MW Marine Current Turbine device in Northern Ireland’s Strangford Lough.

It said the system had no major impact on the environment and that there was no change in the abundance of seals or porpoises in the area. In fact, researchers observed the animals frequently swimming past the device without concern.

The only change observed after three years of observation was a relatively small difference in the distribution of seals and porpoises in the vicinity of the SeaGen unit.

Divers were used to monitor the seabed and reported that life surrounding the unit’s turbines had recovered following the initial installation. In addition, there was no evidence of significant change to tidal speeds and flow directions within the Strangford Narrows.

Studies also concluded that bird life in the area did not seem to be affected.

A science group made up from representatives of the Northern Ireland Environment Agency, Queen’s University Belfast and the Sea mammal Research Unit, also contributed on the research.

Alex Attwood, Environment Minister for Northern Ireland, said, ‘I must commend David Erwin, colleagues at the Department of Environment and every single member of the environmental monitoring team. SeaGen has been a pioneering project with interest around the world not only in its energy performance but also its environmental impact. Marine Current Turbines has proven that the power of the seas can be harnessed in harmony with marine life. The results of their work will give everyone greater confidence in realising the economic and environmental benefits that tidal and wave energy can offer to Northern Ireland, elsewhere in the UK and Ireland as well as other parts of the world.’

Arlene Foster, Energy Minister for Northern Ireland, added, ‘SeaGen has drawn the world’s attention to Northern Ireland and the potential of our offshore renewable energy resources which can contribute to the Executive’s 40 per cent renewable energy target by 2020, and beyond. Following The Crown Estate announcement of our Offshore Renewable Leasing Round in December, companies are now expressing very positive interest in this opportunity. The key lessons learned from this extensive environmental monitoring programme at SeaGen can be used as tidal developments are taken forward around Rathlin and Torr Head as part of this Leasing Round.’

Companies around the world are currently vying to deploy the first utility-scale marine energy system. In November last year, an expert explained to NewNet that commercialisation of wave energy systems should be achieved in Europe by 2015.

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

Spanish energy company Iberdrola has completed the installation of the 102MW La Venta wind farm in Mexico.

The facility is located in Oaxaca state, in the south-west of the country, and consists of 121 turbines supplied by Gamesa. It is supported by a 20-year power purchase agreement with the Mexican Federal Electricity Commission.

With the new development coming online, Iberdrola now has 208MW of installed wind capacity in the country. All of its wind facilities in the country utilise Gamesa technology.

In November last year, the Inter-American Development bank approved a $72m loan to help finance the construction of a 396MW wind farm, also due to be located in Oaxaca.

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

The US Department of Defense (DoD) could generate 7GW of solar electricity on just four bases in the California desert, according to details of research released by the DoD’s Office of Installations and Environment.

A year-long investigation, conducted by consultancy ICF international, looked at seven military sites in California and two in Nevada to establish the feasibility of adding solar panels.

It found that 96 per cent of the surface area of the nine basis is unsuitable for solar development because of military use, endangered species and other factors. However, the compatible area is large enough to generate more than 30 times the usage of the California bases, around 25 per cent of the energy the state’s utilities will be required to produce by 2015.

The DoD is looking to deploy renewable resources to reduce its $4bn per year energy bill and to make the organisation less dependent on the commercial electricity grid.

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

US company Abound Solar and Solar Integration Systems India have completed the installation of a 1MW photovoltaic (PV) facility in Andhra Pradesh, south-east India.

The project was commissioned under the Rooftop and Other Small Solar Power Generation Plant scheme as part of the Jawaharla Nehru National Solar Mission.

Craig Witsoe, president and CEO of Abound Solar, said, ‘India is a key market for Abound Solar due to our US-made CdTe panel’s excellent performance in India’s climate, our commercial focus over the past two years and our successful use of US Export-Import Bank financing. We have a significant installed base in India and see this growing in 2012. [Solar Integration Systems India] is a good partner for us, offering project and local industry expertise.’

Outside investment into the solar sector in India is increasing as the government pushes ambitious national targets. Last November, the US Export-Import Bank approved financing worth $103.2m for two projects in the country.

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

Wen Jiaboa, Prime Minister of China, stated that the country intends to generate 11.4 per cent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2015, up from 8.4 per cent in 2010. More importantly for the rest of the world, he also confirmed a commitment to working alongside other nations to develop new renewable technologies.

But in the light of the row between US wind and solar manufacturers over trade practices, should the Prime Minister’s assertions be treated with scepticism?

Many companies have done fairly well out of developing relationships with China, one of them being Spanish wind energy specialist Gamesa. At the end of last year, Gamesa opened its sixth manufacturing plant in the country, giving it a production capacity on the country of more than 1GW. The company employs 1,200 people in China and has been rewarded for its dedication with significant orders

For example, in September last year, the state-owned Huadian New Energy company contracted Gamesa to supply turbines with a capacity of 200MW.

US companies have benefitted too, with photovoltaic (PV) project developer SPI Solar, for example, recently securing financing worth $44m from the China Development Bank to fund PV installations in New Jersey.

The pay-off for China is that modules produced in the country by KDC will be used in the projects, a similar operation to how the US’ Overseas Private Investment Corporation finances international projects.

Other recent examples include energy storage specialist PowerGenic, which formed a joint venture with the state-run China City Construction Corporation to develop and manufacture advanced batteries for the electric vehicle and other markets. A factory will be built in China as part of the agreement.

Earlier this year technology company Honeywell was selected by the Tianjing Economic-Technological Development Area to help implement a smart grid response project in China. Even Japan is getting involved and at the end of last year several companies from both countries formed a memorandum of understanding to create a energy efficiency fund.

These examples surely point to a strategy of cooperation, but what about the US complaints?

At this point, investigations are still in the preliminary stage and tangible evidence will not be revealed to the public for several months. That the International Trade Commission voted in favour of further examination of the solar issue will be telling in some people’s eyes.

The danger with this is that evidence of wrong doing by a few companies could result in the whole of China being cast in the same light. Evidence of illegal government will be far more serious.

But whatever the outcome with renewable opportunities slowing in the West, globally focused companies are likely to continue to look to China as a potentially huge opportunity.

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

Technologies converting waste into fuel are becoming increasingly valuable as companies throughout the world push towards greater efficiency. Now carbon-intensive businesses are getting in on the action and looking to innovative start ups for solutions to utilise their by-products.

Oxford Catalysts has developed a technology that turns waste products into a fuel that is essentially identical to refined oil, with the advantage that this can be utilised within traditional infrastructure and does not have to be blended with another substance to ensure compatibility.

Feedstocks the company’s technology can process include bio-based waste products or more conventional supplies such gas, which in traditional methods is burnt to get at the oil beneath. The advantage of the Oxford Catalyst system is that as a recycling technology it can process waste on a small-scale and still be economically viable where conventional systems would not be.

Susan Robertson, chief financial officer for Oxford Catalysts, told NewNet, ‘Where we are unique is our end product is identical to oil, it does not have some of the issues that biofuels or alternative fuels may have in terms of needing to make changes to the infrastructure or diluting with other fuels. It is a very clean and pure form of oil and that gives it a very unique selling point. We are in a space alongside renewables, but we are also alongside more conventional technologies as well.’

Despite the global economic climate, political unrest in traditional oil producing nations and increased demand from Asia has led to extremely high oil valuations.

This has helped to catalyse the market for alternatives and, in the interest of energy security, countries are looking at non-conventional ways to shore up supply.

Robertson said, ‘Where there is enormous potential at the moment – and where there has been a really exciting transition over the last 18 months – is with shale gas in the US and the huge amount of gas available there. There is a huge disconnect now between gas and oil prices that has widened now to a point where oil prices are so much higher relative to energy content than gas. The US has huge amounts of gas available, but in relatively small quantities. We can transform that gas into an oil equivalent, which is exactly what the small-scale owners want and so there we are seeing a huge opportunity.’

These owners have funded much of Oxford’s progress so far, providing capital to develop systems in exchange for certain rights and usage of these technologies. This model has helped the company up to this point, but it is fast becoming a self-sustaining entity without the need to be supported by larger players.

Robertson said, ‘The major advantage of having your partners funding you is that they are then very committed to being involved and taking you through that process. The downside to that is they will want some share and some rights to your technology in return and we have tried to balance that. As we get closer to commercialisation, the range of opportunities gets wider and it allows us to be more selective about the type of rights we want to give up.’

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

The photovoltaic (PV) division of Abu Dhabi-base cleantech company Masdar has completed installation of an 11.7MW solar plant in Thuringa, central Germany.

The facility, located on a former military property, consists of 5,000 panels that were erected in less than two months. It is the largest solar plant in the province.

United Arab Emirate (UAE) system integrator Environmena Power Systems designed and constructed the facility using Masdar technology and equipment.

Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, CEO of Masdar, said, ‘This project is the largest PV installation of solar modules in Thuringia and the first application of our new micromorph silicon technology using full size modules at high efficiency. It supports the UAE leadership’s vision of making Masdar a preeminent source for knowledge and development of renewable energy. The effective project management and coordination with the State of Thuringia and system integrator were the major reasons for the fast construction of the park. This enables us to further contribute to the region’s power supply with renewable energies.’

Sami Khoreibi, CEO of Enviromena, added, ‘We are very pleased to be associated with Masdar PV on this important utility scale project. Of particular interest to us were the logistics associated with the first installation of Masdar PV’s full size modules. More than half of the 11.7MW plant are at 5.7 metre -squared size, each substantially larger than any other solar module. We found the full size modules quite efficient to handle and in fact were able to install the entire field in less than six weeks.’

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

The announcement from Danish wind energy giant Vestas that it is to cut its workforce by at least 2,300 was an ominous way for the sector to start the new year.

The company’s share value had already lost around €2 following a profit warning last week and the latest news is likely to damage investor confidence further, although yesterday’s revelation has not sent its value too far south, as of the time of writing.

So what effect has this had on other players in the sector?

Project manager PNE Wind, which has strong supply agreements in place with Vestas, is currently trading at around €1.77. The news has not really affected its share price, which traded fairly steadily at this sort of level for the past six months, although it is still slightly behind its 2011 high, recorded in April, of €2.53.

German manufacturer Nordex is currently traded at around €4.30 and it has not, as yet, seen a dent in its value following the Vestas announcement. The company has actually experienced a slight rally in recent times after falling below €4 last September.

It is worth pointing out though that its current valuation is still well below last year’s highs of between €6 and €9, achieved from April to late July. This is a fairly typical situation for the whole cleantech industry, but the fact its shares are moving upwards is surely a positive sign.

Canadian company Western Wind is one of North America’s largest wind farm developers with more than 500 turbines in operation.

It is listed on the Canadian Venture Exchange and is currently valued at C$1.92 per share ($1.87). It has also seen increased activity of late and has consistently been trading at around the C$2 ($1.95) mark, its highest level since the financial crisis in 2008.

The acquisition of REpower by India’s Suzlon has turned the already large company into a international giant. Its shares are traded on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the company opened the year valued at Rs20 ($0.39) per share.

The Vestas news has done little to dampen its rally and the company is now trading at Rs22 ($0.43). However, like Nordex, it has lost significant value compared to the same time last year when shares were trading at around the Rs50 ($0.97) mark.

Also in Asia, the China Windpower Group trades on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and is currently listed at HK$0.30 ($0.04), which has been fairly consistent with its performance over the last six months. However, prior to this its shares were trading at double the price, but obviously this cannot be attributed to the Vestas situation.

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

The UK government’s recent decision on the solar feed-in tariff (FIT), and in particular the way it was implemented, may have damaged its much anticipated Green Deal initiative, according to one expert.

The Green Home Company (TGHC) is a UK solar business offering residential and commercial installations. Managing director Alan Proto spoke to NewNet to explain the ripple effect caused by the solar FIT row.

Proto said, ‘What the government has done to the industry and in particular to those that finance the industry, will make it very much harder for them to get a sympathetic ear from the people they will need to support the Green Deal, which is the banks. Certainly I have been in meetings with senior bankers at the largest banks operating in the sector who were spitting teeth about the damage the government has done to their business models in relation to the feed-in tariff.’

One senior banking figure told him, in language we cannot repeat here, that there was no chance his organisation would support the Green Deal because of the damage to their business model caused by the solar FIT situation.

Proto said, ‘They have made it much more difficult for themselves to find bankers that will be willing to trust them. What has happened is the bankers we deal with have put an enormous amount of money and effort into creating structures that would provide the kind of free [solar] deals we are doing. They have lost a great deal of money because those structures were meant to be put in place for a decade and they have lasted, in effect, six months and that was very unhelpful. So I question whether the government will pull off the Green Deal.’

He added, ‘There were precious few banks working in the sector, as far as I am aware that number will deteriorate materially further come April.’

Proto said he is actually happy with the new proposed rate, suggesting there was scope to reduce this further as non-panel supply chain costs begin to drop.

His main worry is the effect the changes will have on the TGHC free solar offer, which has the potential to transform the lives of some of UK’s most vulnerable people by giving them vital funding towards their electricity bills.

Proto said, ‘I am saddened that at the moment the government has chosen to apply a reduced feed-in tariff after March to aggregated installations, which seems designed specifically to prevent future free solar installs. The customers I meet for this product, the great majority of them are in fuel poverty and for them the £200 to £250 this can save from their electricity bill makes all the difference to whether they are sitting shivering through the winter or can actually turn the heating on. It seems insane that the government is attacking a product that is there to save people from fuel poverty.’

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

US wind farm developer Pattern Energy has received approval from the California Public Utilities Commission for a 20-year power purchase agreement with the Pacific Diego Gas & Electric, which will support the 315MW Octillio wind farm.

The facility will be located in southern California and, once all approvals and permits are met, Pattern plans to commence construction in the first half of the year and have the site operational by the close of 2012.

Once construction begins, Pattern intends to begin numerous mitigation measures to benefit causes in the region including providing $3.5m to the Parks Department for ecological work.

Mike Garland, CEO of Pattern, said, ‘We appreciate the strong support we have received across a broad spectrum of interests for this project, which will create 300 immediate construction jobs in a community with the highest unemployment rate in the nation. Pattern is proud to implement cutting-edge measures for avoiding impacts on cultural and environmental resources. We will continue to work closely with the community and Native Americans, as well as environmentalists and local agencies to ensure the region’s cultural heritage and environmental resources alike are preserved and protected.’

Johnny Simpson, spokesperson for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, said, ‘The commitments made by the project on work within the jurisdiction of Local 569 will result in the employment of local workers, and will maintain area wage and benefit standards. The Project will also support the training of IBEW apprentices in programmes approved by the California Apprenticeship Council. These commitments will ensure that project construction provides maximum economic and employment benefits to the local communities in the vicinity of the project.’

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

US cleantech company BlueChip Energy has signed a land lease agreement with the City of Eustis, Florida, to develop 300 acres of land into a 60MW solar plant.

The site is adjacent to the 40MW Sorrento photovoltaic (PV) facility, which is currently under construction. An existing agreement with Progress Energy and Seco will provide connection the grid for the enlarged plant.

Paul Berg, city manager of Eustis, said, ‘This agreement is beneficial for both the city and BlueChip. It provides BlueChip a location with immediate access to the grid, and the city benefits from using alternative energy source to power its water and wastewater facility as a portion of BlueChip’s lease payment. Ultimately, the lease will provide over $150,000 in payments to the city for the use of the property, and the energy provided will be fully renewable over a long period of time.

BlueChip had received permission for the extension Florida Department of Environmental Protection in November last year.

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

The shares of Vestas, one of the most globally-recognised names in the wind business, continued to fall today as CEO Ditlev Engel said he understood if the public views it to be in a state of crisis.

He warned, however, that the redundancies made this morning may go up as the company fears a pullback in US activity. During a press conference, Engel openly apologised for the redundancies – and said he recognised the company now had a credibility problem – but said there may be more dark days ahead if a key tax break in the US expires.

He said, ‘I am truly sorry that we have to say goodbye to so many skilled and loyal Vestas colleagues. The expected layoffs are one of many steps that we now take in order to bring down costs allowing continuous development of our products and services and optimising our already global presence in a highly competitive wind energy market.’

Vestas said there would be an initial 2,335 employees as it ceases manufacturing at a factory, merges production units and centralises administrative functions.

In all, the Danish turbine maker will look to reduce fixed costs by more than €150m and said a further 1,600 jobs may go at factories in the US if the Production Tax Credit expires – as scheduled – on 31 December 2012.

‘We will continuously adjust Vestas according to the most active markets so that we, in the most efficient way, take advantage of the fact that we are a global company. This is why we may have to further reduce capacity and costs later in 2012.’

Engel said he ‘understands’ why the Danish public perceive Vestas as a company with an ‘iron fist’ due to its three employee lay-off rounds in three years and why many view it to be in crisis.

‘I can certainly understand if employers as well as people outside Vestas consider us to be in a state of crisis. The challenges we have faced in the fourth quarter of 2011 have given us a credibility problem. It is not undeserved.

‘We have to work our way out of this situation and the only way we can do that is by proving that we with our global presence, high customer satisfaction and the industry’s best performing wind power systems will come out stronger after the elimination race which is currently taking place within the renewable energy sector.’

The shares of Vestas – which have been on a steady decline over the past three months – continued to lose value after the press conference before recovering slightly.

Engel, whose job appears to be secure for the time being, will now try to move forward with a streamlined operating structure. It said it has formulated this to fulfil the needs of its four main shareholder groups in order of importance: customers, shareholders, employees and politicians.

Changes include merging the separate tower, control system and nacelle units into two, as well as intensifying the use of sub-suppliers to reduce the vested capital of the company. In addition, it said financial reporting and cost control must be operated more efficiently through improved decision-making processes.

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

The biomass sector has generated a certain amount of controversy due to the perceived impact it is having on food supply, but some companies are proving feedstocks do not have to be grown on a large scale to produce energy.

Global waste-to-energy specialist DP CleanTech manufactures technology that utilises agricultural waste, primarily straw, as a feedstock for biomass plants. Its equipment is in place throughout the world and it has recently opened new offices in the UK and Denmark in anticipation of increased opportunities there.

In the UK, the rebranding of Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROC) for biomass and the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) are helping to catalyse the development of new plants.

Brendstrup said, ‘The UK incentives are driving the development of biomass projects and making it better for the developers. We – as a supplier – try to follow up on that. It seems that the projects are coming in the UK but of course there are problems with the financing as there seems to be everywhere these days, but we expect the market to take off and that we will expand our presence there.’

Scandinavia is also a big driving force as countries seek alternatives to fossil fuels to keep heating and lights on throughout harsh winters. But elsewhere in Europe the economic situation is having an impact on the company’s project pipeline.

Brendstrup said, ‘The biggest challenge in the market is the general one of strategy because we have industry uncertainty all over due to the financial situation. That really is difficult because we can see a lot of projects that are not really moving. A lot of projects we were looking at last year in southern Europe are basically dead now; they are not going to happen within the next couple of years.’

The other growth area for strong growth is in Asia. DP CleanTech has offices in China and Thailand and is looking to expand its presence in India. The need for heating is less than in Europe and the infrastructure to distribute is not there. But on the other side there is an increasing appetite for sustainable power and huge resources of agricultural waste that can be tapped into.

Brendstrup said, ‘In India they have built a large number of plants that use wood chips but now there is not much of that left but there is a lot of agricultural waste, so that is where the market is heading. In Korea and Japan it is big but in southern and South East Asia it is still in a very different stage, we do think it will come. Also, because labour is so cheap there, the collection of agricultural waste is possible in a way that it is not in Europe.’

The collected waste is paid for and this can be an added benefit to farmers in the region, many of whom are very poor. For example, in China, many of the farmers providing straw for plants with DP technology can receive sums the equivalent of one or two months salary, for something that would have otherwise been thrown away. In this way money goes to local people, food chains are not disrupted and clean electricity is produced.

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

US photovoltaic (PV) inverter manufacturer Solectria Renewables expanded its workforce by 65 per cent in 2011 with plans to increase it by a further 50 per cent this year.

The revelation is surprising following a year that saw many solar companies in the US and Europe experience financial difficulty and bankruptecy. Several Chinese manufacturers also recorded revenues significantly below 2010 levels.

James Worden, CEO of Solectria Renewables, said, ‘Solectria Renewables is proud of its persistent growth and expansion in North America and worldwide, especially during the worldwide economic decline. Currently, we have 25 open positions in various departments in North America.

‘We will be adding sales, customer service, engineering and manufacturing positions in the coming months to also support our factories in the expanding Indian and Chinese markets.’

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

US alternative fuel company CoolPlanet Biofuels has received permission from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to begin fleet-testing its negative carbon gasoline product.

CoolPlanet converts low-grade biomass such as grass and wood chips into fuel and this process creates a by-product that can be used to sequester carbon and act as a soil conditioner, making the fuel carbon neutral.

It will begin trials by combining its gasoline alternative with traditional California standard E-10 petrol with a view to developing a fuel that will meet the state’s goal of a ten per cent reduction in carbon intensity by 2020 compared to today’s standard pump products.

Dean Simeroth, one of the co-authors and former chief of the CARB branch responsible for the development of California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard, said, ‘Cool Planet’s cellulosic based renewable gasoline is the first such technology to be granted CARB approval for fleet testing. Cool Planet’s test blend is designed to address California’s 2020 Low Carbon Fuel Standard which mandates a ten per cent reduction in carbon intensity versus today’s gasoline.’

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

Danish wind energy giant Vestas is set to make 2,335 employees redundant as part of a strategy to reduce fixed costs by more than €150m by the end of 2012.

In addition, the company said it is prepared for a slowdown of operations in the US should it not receive an extension on its Production Tax Credit. This may result in the further loss of 1,600 workers at Vestas plants in the country, potentially leading to savings greater than the targeted €150m.

The company will also increase its executive management team to six members in a move to give greater focus on specific departments. New roles and appointments have not yet been announced.

Lastly, Vestas plans to create a global solution and services unit to improve the performance of existing and upcoming wind farms and accelerate the development of the company’s servicing business.

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

The US Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) is helping to mitigate risk for US cleantech companies developing projects in emerging markets.

It has just had a record year that saw it support renewable projects worth $1.1bn. Lynn Tabernacki is head of OPIC’s renewable energy group, she spoke to NewNet to explain how it is promoting the green message abroad and how it decides where the money goes.

Tabernacki said, ‘We deal with both very large enterprises as well as SMEs. Most of the large enterprises know us, have experience globally and are able to come to us when they think it’s appropriate to use OPIC-type financing. With the SMEs it can be a little bit more challenging because it’s usually a one-off project they are starting and they are getting their first foray into different markets. So we are going out to conferences, meeting people in the sector to get our name out there and we seem to be doing a much better job at that given the ramp-up that we had in the last year.’

The investment philosophy is one of mutual development. OPIC loans are there primarily to help US businesses enter new markets, but the projects they support must work within a framework that benefits the target country.

Tabernacki said, ‘We underwrite every project both from the credit side as well as from the policy developmental side. For each project that comes in the door that we consider supporting we will do an evaluation of how many jobs are created, whether the ripple affects the economy, what is the impact on the balance of payments, how many workers will get trained and what the environmental impact will be.

‘OPIC does have priority countries and sectors the agency really does beat the bushes harder in trying to encourage and motivate investments. For instance, we’re really looking to have a greater foothold in developing sub-Saharan Africa projects and we are also very focused on activities in the Middle East because with economic development comes stability.’

Many of these countries are encouraging renewable development anyway, diversifying facilities to promote economic growth and energy security. But some proposals fall short when it comes to addressing risk and this makes it hard for US companies to invest or attract finance, this is where OPIC can close the gap.

Tabernacki said, ‘Many of the countries are looking to have standardised [power purchase agreements]. While that is a good thing because it will save time, not all of the PPAs are up to international standards. They have a view that because they are offering X number of GWs for sale, people will just try to sign up and participate taking on more risk then they have in the past. It’s been very difficult for lenders to do that and so what has happened is the multilaterals and the bilaterals have had to take on those risks and step into the markets where private lenders and financial institutions would not be able to.’

Tabernacki said the $1.1bn, which was a threefold increase on 2010, was higher than expected. But with renewables increasingly significant on the global agenda, she expects 2012 to be another bumper year.

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

Solar businesses in Germany received stronger than expected demand at the end of 2011, spurred by cut in feed-in tariffs (FIT) for the technology that came into force at the start of this year.

BSW-Solar, the trade association for solar professionals in the country, said preliminary indications suggest 2011 installations will match the previous year. In 2010, there were 250,000 new solar facilities connected to the grid in Germany, adding 7GW of generating capacity.

This year, support for solar will be dropped significantly with changes coming in two stages, the initial 15 per cent reduction to the FIT was initiated at the start of the year. A further 15 per cent cut is expected on 1 July, meaning tariff levels will be lowered at twice the pace of 2012.

Remuneration payments are now in the range of €0.18 to €0.24 per kWh, the same level of household electricity prices in Germany. As of 1 July, support is expected to drop to between €0.15 and €0.21.

Those in the industry argue that costs to the consumer arising from FIT support are now insignificant, due to the fall in panel prices.

Carsten Körnig, CEO of BSW-Solar, said, ‘In the future, newly installed photovoltaic systems will have only a minimal impact on the consumer apportionment for renewable energy sources.’

Copyright © 2012 NewNet

Sales of clean diesel vehicles in the US rose by 27.4 per cent in 2011 compared to the previous year. Hybrid vehicles fared less well in the US, seeing a decrease in sales of 2.2 per cent compared with the previous year.

Clean diesel vehicles are defined by having lower emissions and greater fuel efficiency than traditional automobiles and currently make up three per cent of the US market, according to research conducted by Baum and Associates.

Baum expects this proportion to increase to between six per cent and 6.5 per cent by 2015, with researcher JD Power & associated expecting the vehicles to account for 7.4 per cent of the US market by 2017.

Allen Schaeffer, executive director of the Diesel Technology Forum, said, ‘Without a doubt, 2011 was a key year for the industry’s effort to reestablish clean diesel automobiles in the United States. This 27 per cent increase in annual sales is a strong sign that American drivers are understanding the benefits of new clean diesel technology in terms of better fuel efficiency and reduced emissions. I fully expected clean diesel auto sales to increase further as several new diesel cars enter the US market in the next couple of years.

He added, ‘The new federal fuel efficiency standards that will required a 54.5 mpg average by 2025 will also boost clean diesel auto sales, as diesel cars are 20 to 40 more fuel efficient than gasoline versions. While most auto makers have clean diesel autos on the market in Europe, Asia and Australia, there are growing indications that even more diesels are on their way to the US market.’

Copyright © 2012 NewNet