Monday, October 13, 2014

Bloodhound Gang Tracks Source Of China Distributed Solar Fail

It started with a mystery: what happened to the huge amount of distributed solar China was supposed to deploy in 2014?

We were a well-selected bunch of curious cleantech investigators: Alan Beebe and three of his colleagues from EY's cleantech practice, a solar finance expert from a US solar company, Julian Schwabe from China Greentech, and myself, Anders Hove, from Azure International. We were headed to Shunyi to visit Cai Yuanqing of Greenpeace, who had graciously agreed to host our group to discuss their office's rooftop solar system and all its pluses and minuses.



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Solar Stocks Rally on China Policy of Distributed Production - Yahoo Finance

China, the world's prime manufacturer of solar panels, is gradually emerging as the leading market for solar photovoltaic (PV.V) to meet the growing need for clean energy. The Chinese government announced new policies to encourage local governments to promote more solar installations on home and business rooftops, and ground mounted plants of up to 20 megawatt (MW).



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Saturday, October 11, 2014

Pueblo Chieftain | Solar garden grows in Antonito

ANTONITO — A project more than five years in the making has sprouted wings in this small San Luis Valley town near the New Mexico state line.

Work crews have begun installing a 500-killowatt array of solar panels on the southeastern edge of town that should be online by the start of the new year.

Read more: http://www.chieftain.com/news/2960719-120/project-antonito-solar-town


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Friday, October 10, 2014

Indiana: Tipmont Community Solar

"Community solar is a new thing, especially in Indiana," said energy management supervisor Jason Monroe. "We want to educate our members with what community solar is. That's why we're trying in community solar with community day."

Tipmont members can buy a portion of the solar energy by signing a 25-year lease agreement and will then have the ability to lease the output from one of 240 panels available.

http://thepaper24-7.com/main.asp?SectionID=23&SubSectionID=22&ArticleID=48603


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Friday, October 3, 2014

Jefferson County Cities Leading the Way on Embracing Solar Energy

 

                                Jefferson County Cities Leading the Way on

Embracing  Solar Energy

JeffCo leads state in cities certified as Solar Friendly

 

Golden, CO - Jefferson County communities are going solar in a big way, with nationally-leading policies that save money for their residents and reduce air pollution for everyone, leaders told a crowd of interested citizens Friday.

 

Leading JeffCo cities are installing solar energy on their own facilities to cut energy bills, supporting their residents' desire to go solar, and purchasing thousands of kilowatts of solar energy from community projects. And more projects are planned, they told attendees at the ''Building Community in JeffCo with Solar" on Friday, the first effort to look comprehensively at the cities' accomplishments.

 

The event took place the day before the Golden Tour of Solar Homes on October 4, the only such tour in Colorado this year as part of a national day of solar home tours.

 

While the cities encourage rooftop solar arrays on individual homes, they are also leading backers of community solutions. Jefferson County is home to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and NREL's Jason Coughlin noted that when the  lab opened 37 years ago gas was 62 cents a gallon, and solar power about $100 a watt. "Now a gallon of gas costs more than a watt of solar PV," he said. "And of course, we are so fortunate to be located in Colorado, one of the nation's leading solar states."

 

Four of the county's leading cities: Lakewood, Arvada, Westminster and Golden have been certified as Solar Friendly Communities for steps they have taken to make it faster, easier and more affordable for citizens to go solar. No other county has as many certified cities.

 

Lakewood, the county's biggest city, has installed more than 5,264 kilowatts of solar energy just since 2010 through 719 separate solar projects. The city also purchased 274 more kilowatts of solar energy over a 20-year period from a Community Solar Garden built by Clean Energy Collective in Golden.

 

"Lakewood is developing its first city-wide Sustainability Plan with an emphasis on expanding the use of renewable energy for both it its municipal operations and for its residents, institutions, and businesses," said city council member Tom Quinn, who spoke at the event. "Lakewood's investments in solar energy will help the City get off to a great start in achieving these goals."

 

"Arvada has issued 1,347 solar permits since 2007, with interest increasing dramatically in the past two years," said sustainability coordinator Jessica Prosser. "The city has more than 800 kW of solar mounted on city buildings and has purchased another 600 kW of solar from a SunShare Community Solar Garden," she added.

 

Westminster, located partially in Jefferson County, became Colorado's first platinum-level Solar Friendly Community last summer in recognition for its many efforts to streamline solar permitting. The city has also purchased significant electricity from a SunShare Solar Garden.


 Golden has opted to install its own solar projects and the city has spent $3 million on eight different projects on city facilities so far. They include the 90-panel solar thermal system heating the swimming pool at the community center and 600kW in PV solar arrays on other city facilities, with another project planned soon.

 
 

Solar thermal array on the Golden Community Center

 

Clean Energy Collective, which has built two Community Solar Gardens in Jefferson County -totaling 686 KW -reports overwhelmingly positive response.

 

SunShare, another Community Solar developer, has also found strong interest in Jeffco and Friday announced the building of another 1.5 MW Solar Garden outside Golden near White Ranch.  The current Solar Garden is more than 85% sold-out, SunShare said, with three municipal customers and dozens of homeowners.

 

"We are thrilled to be a part of these communities' success - it is leadership like that shown from each of the cities and citizens choosing to participate in our Jefferson County Solar Garden and other innovative solar programs that will drive greater adoption of renewable energy across the state," said Marc Bencivenni, Vice President of SunShare.

 

With the requirement that five percent of the energy go to low-income residents, CEC forecasts that its facility will deliver more than $120,844 worth of clean energy to residents over the program's 20-year term.  SunShare similarly estimates its facility will deliver more than $225,000 worth of clean energy to low-income residents in Jefferson County.

 

 "Jefferson County is also home to many solar thermal systems, which offer an attractive return on investment especially to propane and electric heating customers. Capitol Solar Energy, for example, has installed more than 2,500 kW of power capacity that represents annual savings of nearly $300,000 and avoided CO2 emissions of 1.5 million tons per year. Capitol Solar also services more than 100 older systems in JeffCo and although many are 35 years old they show no sign of wearing out,"said Capitol Solar vice-president Laurent Meillon.

 

 Jefferson County, one of Colorado's most populous located on the western side of the Denver metro area, has shown that locally-based decisions on solar energy can make a big difference for residents, said Rebecca Cantwell, Executive Director of the Colorado Solar Energy Industries Association, which organized the event. " Going solar is growing easier and more affordable every day and it just makes economic sense for cities,'' she said.

 

----

The public is invited to the Golden Solar Tour of Homes starting at 9 a.m. Saturday  October 4 at the American Mountaineering Center in Golden, finishing with a reception and green expo from 4 pm to 8 pm  at the Center, 710 10th St in Golden.

---

 

 Community Solar Discussion at the Golden Community Center

 

 For more information: Rebecca Cantwell, COSEIA, rcantwell@coseia.org,  or 303-333-7342

Jefferson County Cities Leading the Way on Embracing Solar Energy

 

                                Jefferson County Cities Leading the Way on

Embracing  Solar Energy

JeffCo leads state in cities certified as Solar Friendly

 

Golden, CO - Jefferson County communities are going solar in a big way, with nationally-leading policies that save money for their residents and reduce air pollution for everyone, leaders told a crowd of interested citizens Friday.

 

Leading JeffCo cities are installing solar energy on their own facilities to cut energy bills, supporting their residents' desire to go solar, and purchasing thousands of kilowatts of solar energy from community projects. And more projects are planned, they told attendees at the ''Building Community in JeffCo with Solar" on Friday, the first effort to look comprehensively at the cities' accomplishments.

 

The event took place the day before the Golden Tour of Solar Homes on October 4, the only such tour in Colorado this year as part of a national day of solar home tours.

 

While the cities encourage rooftop solar arrays on individual homes, they are also leading backers of community solutions. Jefferson County is home to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and NREL's Jason Coughlin noted that when the  lab opened 37 years ago gas was 62 cents a gallon, and solar power about $100 a watt. "Now a gallon of gas costs more than a watt of solar PV," he said. "And of course, we are so fortunate to be located in Colorado, one of the nation's leading solar states."

 

Four of the county's leading cities: Lakewood, Arvada, Westminster and Golden have been certified as Solar Friendly Communities for steps they have taken to make it faster, easier and more affordable for citizens to go solar. No other county has as many certified cities.

 

Lakewood, the county's biggest city, has installed more than 5,264 kilowatts of solar energy just since 2010 through 719 separate solar projects. The city also purchased 274 more kilowatts of solar energy over a 20-year period from a Community Solar Garden built by Clean Energy Collective in Golden.

 

"Lakewood is developing its first city-wide Sustainability Plan with an emphasis on expanding the use of renewable energy for both it its municipal operations and for its residents, institutions, and businesses," said city council member Tom Quinn, who spoke at the event. "Lakewood's investments in solar energy will help the City get off to a great start in achieving these goals."

 

"Arvada has issued 1,347 solar permits since 2007, with interest increasing dramatically in the past two years," said sustainability coordinator Jessica Prosser. "The city has more than 800 kW of solar mounted on city buildings and has purchased another 600 kW of solar from a SunShare Community Solar Garden," she added.

 

Westminster, located partially in Jefferson County, became Colorado's first platinum-level Solar Friendly Community last summer in recognition for its many efforts to streamline solar permitting. The city has also purchased significant electricity from a SunShare Solar Garden.


 Golden has opted to install its own solar projects and the city has spent $3 million on eight different projects on city facilities so far. They include the 90-panel solar thermal system heating the swimming pool at the community center and 600kW in PV solar arrays on other city facilities, with another project planned soon.

 
 

Solar thermal array on the Golden Community Center

 

Clean Energy Collective, which has built two Community Solar Gardens in Jefferson County -totaling 686 KW -reports overwhelmingly positive response.

 

SunShare, another Community Solar developer, has also found strong interest in Jeffco and Friday announced the building of another 1.5 MW Solar Garden outside Golden near White Ranch.  The current Solar Garden is more than 85% sold-out, SunShare said, with three municipal customers and dozens of homeowners.

 

"We are thrilled to be a part of these communities' success - it is leadership like that shown from each of the cities and citizens choosing to participate in our Jefferson County Solar Garden and other innovative solar programs that will drive greater adoption of renewable energy across the state," said Marc Bencivenni, Vice President of SunShare.

 

With the requirement that five percent of the energy go to low-income residents, CEC forecasts that its facility will deliver more than $120,844 worth of clean energy to residents over the program's 20-year term.  SunShare similarly estimates its facility will deliver more than $225,000 worth of clean energy to low-income residents in Jefferson County.

 

 "Jefferson County is also home to many solar thermal systems, which offer an attractive return on investment especially to propane and electric heating customers. Capitol Solar Energy, for example, has installed more than 2,500 kW of power capacity that represents annual savings of nearly $300,000 and avoided CO2 emissions of 1.5 million tons per year. Capitol Solar also services more than 100 older systems in JeffCo and although many are 35 years old they show no sign of wearing out,"said Capitol Solar vice-president Laurent Meillon.

 

 Jefferson County, one of Colorado's most populous located on the western side of the Denver metro area, has shown that locally-based decisions on solar energy can make a big difference for residents, said Rebecca Cantwell, Executive Director of the Colorado Solar Energy Industries Association, which organized the event. " Going solar is growing easier and more affordable every day and it just makes economic sense for cities,'' she said.

 

----

The public is invited to the Golden Solar Tour of Homes starting at 9 a.m. Saturday  October 4 at the American Mountaineering Center in Golden, finishing with a reception and green expo from 4 pm to 8 pm  at the Center, 710 10th St in Golden.

---

 

 Community Solar Discussion at the Golden Community Center

 

 For more information: Rebecca Cantwell, COSEIA, rcantwell@coseia.org,  or 303-333-7342

'Solar garden' proposal opens access to savings | Electric Power News | Energy Central

Lawmakers and Hawaiian Electric Co. want to give utility customers who don't own rooftop space the opportunity to take advantage of certain benefits of renewable energy.
The plan is to create community solar farms or "solar gardens" that give people the option to invest in large-scale solar systems and lower their electrical bills.
Community solar will be one option for residents in the near future, HECO said at a legislative briefing Sept. 19 . The utility proposed community solar as part of an energy transition plan it filed with the state Public Utilities Commission in August.
Read more: http://www.energycentral.com/news/en/33839679/-Solar-garden-proposal-opens-access-to-savings


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