Green Design » Energy

California Proposes Auction to Boost Solar Energy

Adam Stein — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 18:32:52 +0000

Kind of like a feed-in tariff, but possibly much better

California has proposed setting up an open bidding process for mid-size solar projects. Under the scheme, utilities would rank bids by price and accept all of the cheapest proposals that their budgets allow. The auction would be repeated twice a year, with the eventual goal of bringing an additional 1,000 megawatts of solar capacity online.

The scheme is somewhat reminiscent of feed-in tariffs, a dead-simple policy mechanism that has successfully boosted renewable energy in Europe. Essentially, a feed-in tariff is just a guaranteed, above-market rate paid for electricity from renewable sources. The rate depends on the technology used: one rate for wind, another for solar, etc.

The simplicity of feed-in tariffs is one of their primary virtues. Such programs are easy to administer and easy for investors to understand. By providing long-term price stability and guaranteed returns, feed-in tariffs do an excellent job of coaxing capital toward renewable energy projects.

The tariffs are not, however, without their problems. Picking prices is hard. Too low, and the incentive won’t work. Too high, and consumers overpay. Also, because different rates apply to different technologies, certain industries can become unfairly advantaged. (Note, though, that even if picking prices is hard, alternative policies aren’t necessarily better. In the U.S., we typically mandate that a specific percentage of our electricity come from renewable sources, which requires predicting future supply and demand — no easy feat. At least when you pick prices, you can plan a budget.)

Also, feed-in tariffs may suppress innovation by offering a guaranteed price to all providers, regardless of their underlying costs. This problem can be at least partially addressed by lowering the tariff over time. But when prices for solar energy have plummeted 40% in only six months, it seems unlikely that any simple descending tariff is going to keep up with the state of the art.

Auctions retain most of the simplicity of feed-in tariffs and address many of the problems. The auction mechanism ensures that the price is always right, neither too high nor too low. The price automatically adjusts with each new auction, capturing any changes in technology. And because the program specifically targets mid-size solar installations — defined as projects between 1 megawatt and 20 megawatts in size — it holds the potential to bring a lot of capacity online quickly, without the need for expensive new transmission infrastructure.

The system reminds me a bit of New England’s forward capacity market, an auction system that puts energy efficiency projects on equal footing with fossil fuel-powered energy projects. The California system hasn’t been formally approved yet, but solar providers seem excited about it, so hopefully it will move forward quickly.

This piece originally appeared onTerrapass Footprint

Learn more about California's solar initiatives in the WorldChanging archives:
Massive Solar Program in California
eSolar Launches First Solar Tower in US
Energy Autonomy in Southern California

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(Posted by Adam Stein in Energy at 10:32 AM)

California Proposes Auction to Boost Solar Energy

Adam Stein — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 18:32:52 +0000

Kind of like a feed-in tariff, but possibly much better

This piece originally appeared onTerrapass Footprint

Learn more about California's solar initiatives in the WorldChanging archives:
Massive Solar Program in California
eSolar Launches First Solar Tower in US
Energy Autonomy in Southern California

Help us change the world - DONATE NOW!

(Posted by Adam Stein in Energy at 10:32 AM)

Videos Of Chu, (Bill) Clinton, Gore, Pickens, Reid, Van Jones, Villaraigosa, Wirth, And Zoi At The National Clean Energy Summit 2.0

Joe Romm — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 19:18:49 +0000

Videos are now available (here) for the “National Clean Energy Summit 2.0 on Jobs and the New Economy” at UNLV in Nevada August 10.

Participants at the National Clean Energy Summit 2.0 in Las Vegas, NV, discussed ways smart federal and state-level policies can work to upscale existing markets for energy-efficiency retrofits, renewable energy, and energy infrastructure in a way that creates jobs, saves consumers money, and generates private investment. In conjunction with the summit, John Podesta and former Senator Timothy E. Wirth (D-CO) authored a short memo about the promise of natural gas as a bridge fuel for the 21st century, and CAP released a report with the Energy Future Coalition.

The videos represent an excellent six-hour workshop on the clean energy challenge and opportunity from some of the leading experts in the country (see also “An introduction to the core climate solutions“). Here is the agenda with the full list of Summit Speakers you can listen to:

Roundtable: Building the Clean-Energy Economy
Welcome and opening remarks by:United Nations Foundation President, Former Senator Tim Wirth (D-CO), Moderator
Dr. Neal Smatresk, acting president, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)
Former Vice President Al Gore
John D. Podesta, President and CEO, Center for American Progress Action Fund

Moderated Discussions:
The macro economic case for clean-energy investment
Bringing energy-efficiency retrofits to scale
Promoting the market for renewable energy and energy infrastructure
Participants include:

Denise Bode – CEO, American Wind Energy Association
Lucien Bronicki – Founder and Chairman, Ormat Technologies
Dr. Stephanie Burns – CEO, Dow Corning
Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA)
Secretary Steven Chu – U.S. Department of Energy

General Wesley Clark – Chairman, Growth Energy
Former Vice President Al Gore
Nevada State Senator Steven Horsford
Van Jones – White House Council on Environmental Quality
Rose McKinney James – Energy Foundation Boards
Terry O’Sullivan – General President, Laborers’ International Union of North America

T. Boone Pickens – Boone Pickens Capital Management
John D. Podesta – President and CEO, Center for American Progress Action Fund
Marc Porat – Serious Materials and Pegasus Investments
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)
Steve Roell – Chairman and CEO, Johnson Controls

Dr. Keith Schwer – Director, UNLV Center for Business and Economic Research
Secretary Hilda L. Solis – U.S. Department of Labor
Danny Thompson – Executive Secretary Treasurer, Nevada State AFL-CIO
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa – Los Angeles, California
John Woolard – President and CEO, Bright Source Energy
Michael Yackira – CEO, Nevada Energy
Former Senator Tim Wirth (D-CO) – United Nations Foundation Moderator

Special Remarks by President Bill Clinton

Clean-Energy Policy Community Town Hall

Vice President Al Gore
Senator Harry Reid (D-NV)
T. Boone Pickens
Cathy Zoi, Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Department of Energy
John D. Podesta, Moderator

Again, the videos are all here.

This piece originally appeared in Climate Progress.

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(Posted by Joe Romm in Energy at 11:18 AM)

Islay To Be Entirely Powered By Tides

WorldChanging Team — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 23:00:22 +0000

by Tim Webb

ScottishPower is to build turbines in the Sound of Islay that will generate enough electricity for the island's 3,500 inhabitants – and its famous distilleries

ScottishPower is planning a tidal energy project that will supply all the electricity for one of Scotland's most famous islands, the Guardian can reveal.

The company is close to signing a supply contract with Diageo, the drinks group, to provide electricity from the project to eight distilleries and maltings on Islay – including the makers of the renowned Laphroaig and Lagavulin whiskies.

The 10MW tidal project, one of the world's largest, will provide enough electricity for Islay's 3,500 inhabitants for 23 hours a day.

ScottishPower will submit a planning application in the next couple of months and expects the ten 30-metre underwater turbines to be operational in 2011. The turbines will cost about £50m to install.

The tidal waters in the Sound of Islay, the channel dividing Islay from the Jura, move at up to three metres a second.

Energy companies and representatives from the Scottish government will publish on Wednesday a "marine energy roadmap" outlining how to reach the target of generating up to 2GW (2,000MW) of electricity from tidal and wave power by 2020. It will call for more grants and revenue support to enable developers to build commercial scale demonstration projects, such as the Islay installation, over the next two years.

The renewable energy industry admits the techniques to generate electricity from marine energy are in their infancy. Morna Cannon, from Scottish Renewables, said: "This makes it very hard to pin down the costs of the technology at the moment."

Alan Mortimer, head of renewables at ScottishPower, admitted tidal energy is more expensive than offshore wind, which costs up to £3m for each megawatt built and itself is only barely economic. Tidal developers earn more subsidies under the Renewable Obligation Scheme than offshore wind, but only once schemes are operational.

Marine energy developers such as Martin Wright, managing director of start-up company MCT, complain that few investors want to risk their money. But the Islay project has heavyweight backers. ScottishPower is owned by Spanish group Iberdrola and has teamed up with Norwegian oil firm StatoilHydro to develop and finance the project.

There is also strong support on the island, although it is by no means universal. Kevin Sutherland, manager of the Islay group of Diageo distilleries, works at the Caol Ila distillery, which overlooks the Sound. The distillery, like the rest of the island, gets the majority of its electricity from the Hunterston nuclear reactor on the mainland. But the reactor is being decommissioned in 2016 and the distillery suffers frequent power cuts in stormy weather when pylons are blown over.

When the tidal project is built, the distilleries on the island will enjoy a much more secure electricity supply, confounding critics of renewable energy – primarily wind power – who say it is intermittent and unreliable.

One of the biggest obstacles for renewables in Britain has been planning permission. Onshore wind applications are frequently rejected because locals object to the visual impact. Because the Islay generators will be on the seabed, no one can see them and the Scottish government will have the final say on planning.

Operating underwater brings its own problems, says Cannon from Scottish Renewables. George J Gillies is a local fisherman who fishes for crab and lobster at either end of the channel in winter. He complains that his lobster nets could get tangled in the turbines and says the project threatens the livelihood of eight local fishing families. But he seems resigned: "If it's going to generate money, it will get the go-ahead."

The Islay Energy Trust, a community organisation chaired by Philip Maxwell, has been helping to lobby local politicians and opponents of the project. In return, it will receive a small slice of the revenue to fund community projects on the island, such as a swimming pool.

This piece originally appeared on guardian.co.uk

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(Posted by WorldChanging Team in Energy at 3:00 PM)

Fighting Back, Several Senators Are Working to Strengthen the Climate and Clean Energy Bill

WorldChanging Team — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 20:36:46 +0000

by Brad Johnson

Guest blogger Brad Johnson has an excellent summary of efforts to make the American Clean Energy And Security Act stronger in a post first published here

Even as some of their colleagues try to place roadblocks on energy reform, several members of the U.S. Senate are attempting to strengthen the American Clean Energy and Security Act, the green economy legislation passed by the House of Representatives this June. As Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) take the lead to write the Senate draft, many of their fellow senators are fighting back against the armies of lobbyists and paid “grassroots” rallies of the oil and coal companies:

EMISSIONS LIMITS: Sens. Ben Cardin (D-MD), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) are calling for the legislation to strengthen its 2020 target for greenhouse pollution reductions to 20 percent below 2005 levels, instead of the current 17 percent target. “I like the House bill, don’t get me wrong,” said Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD). “But I think we can do better.” Lautenberg told reporters: “That’s the objective, as far as I’m concerned, because the glide path has to be established that enables us to get to 80 percent in 2050. You can’t get there unless you start aggressively pushing.”

GREEN TRANSPORTATION: Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE) is working to strengthen the bill’s funding for green transportation, pushing language that would “devote a guaranteed share of revenues from carbon regulation to transit, bike paths, and other green modes of transport.” The Clean, Low-Emission, Affordable, New Transportation Efficiency Act (S. 575 / H.R. 1329) would auction ten percent of carbon market allowances for clean transit improvement. Senators Arlen Specter (D-PA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), and Ben Cardin (D-MD) have co-sponsored the legislation.

COAL POLLUTION: Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE) is working with Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) to add language to “regulate power plant emissions of mercury, nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide.”

CARBON MARKET REGULATION: Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME) have introduced legislation to “prevent Enron-like fraud, manipulation and excessive speculation” in the carbon market that the ACES Act would establish. Boxer has told reporters she intends to include the Feinstein-Snowe language in her legislation.

RENEWABLE STANDARD: In February, Sens. Tom Udall (D-NM) and Mark Udall (D-CO) introduced legislation (S. 433) to set a federal standard of 25% renewable electricity by 2025, much stronger than the House bill. “The bill’s not perfect, but it is a beginning,” Mark Udall recently told reporters. “The Senate now has to work its bill, and there are a number of elements we could put in the Senate bill that would improve the House bill including passing a [stronger] renewable electricity standard for the nation.” Sens. Michael Bennet (D-CO), John Kerry (D-MA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) have cosponsored the legislation.

GREEN MANUFACTURING JOBS: Sen. Sherrod Brown’s (D-OH) Investments for Manufacturing Progress and Clean Technology (IMPACT) Act creates a “$30 billion Manufacturing Revolving Loan Fund to help small and medium-sized manufacturers finance retooling, shift design, and improve energy efficiency.” The IMPACT Act has been added to the Senate legislation. Ten Democratic senators, led by Sens. Brown and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), have urged President Obama to ensure the legislation includes “strong provisions to ensure the strength and viability of domestic manufacturing,” including a “border adjustment mechanism” if “other major carbon emitting countries fail to commit to an international agreement requiring commensurate action on climate change.” Brown and Stabenow are supported by Sens. Russ Feingold (D-WI), Carl Levin (D-MI), Evan Bayh (D-IN), Robert Casey (D-PA), Arlen Specter (D-PA), Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), Robert Byrd (D-VW), and Al Franken (D-MN).

A number of senators have committed to passing strong climate and clean energy legislation, including Sen. Tim Johnson (D-SD), who is “optimistic we can turn energy potential into reality and help create new job opportunities at home by producing more clean energy in the United States.” After telling a global warming skeptic that “climate change is very real,” Stabenow was eviscerated by the right wing. Both Brown and Specter have committed to voting against a Republican filibuster of climate legislation — a key move for President Obama’s progressive energy agenda.

After Boxer introduces her draft of the legislation in the beginning of September, the bill must pass out of the Environment and Public Works Committee, which has a strong Democratic majority with many liberal Democrats. “The move on the Senate floor will be rightward,” Sen. Whitehouse noted. “And therefore, we’ve got to do our job to keep as many possibilities open for the floor as possible.”

This piece originally appeared on Climate Progress

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(Posted by WorldChanging Team in Energy at 12:36 PM)

U.S. Government Seeks To Limit Federal Energy Use

Ben Block — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 20:25:45 +0000

The U.S. federal government is the single largest energy consumer in a nation that consumes more energy than any other in the world.

Overall, federal primary energy use has decreased by 25 percent from 1985 to 2008, due largely to building retrofits throughout some of the 3 billion-square feet of offices, research centers, and military bases managed by the U.S. government.

But White House officials, as part of their efforts to improve energy security, address rising energy prices, and mitigate climate change, are suggesting that these efficiency gains are too modest.

White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) Chair Nancy Sutley said at a conference last week that she hopes to find ways for the federal government to comply with more ambitious efficiency targets.

"We have to deal with greenhouse gases from the federal government," Sutley said at a U.S. Marine Corps-hosted energy summit in Washington, D.C. "It's important to take a look to see if we can update [efficiency standards]."

Congressional action may not be necessary to impose more stringent federal energy efficiency standards and monitoring programs, Sutley said.

"We hope to have an announcement shortly," she said.

Various U.S. energy bills have set efficiency standards for the federal government. Most recently, the U.S. Congress passed legislation in 2007 that directed the federal government to lead by example and reduce its energy intensity 30 percent from 2003 levels by 2015.

The U.S. Department of Defense uses the most energy in the federal government. Vehicles and equipment consume two-thirds of federal energy supplies; across the military, aviation demand requires the most fuel, according to Richard Kidd, a manager of the U.S. Department of Energy's Federal Energy Management Program, who also spoke at the conference.

Although the department is reducing its overall energy use, soldiers' electrical devices and greater use of more heavy vehicles has required more energy resources. American forces in Iraq and Afghanistan use more fuel each day than during any previous war in U.S. history.

"Everything we're building right now is bigger than what it is replacing," said Lt. Gen. George Flynn, a Marine Corps deputy commandant, to military leaders at last week's conference. "If you help me to make things lighter, I will help you to use less energy."

Energy inefficiency is a security threat and economic strain for the United States. The rise in energy prices last year cost the Department of Defense an additional $7 billion, and half of military casualties are estimated to be associated with convoys such as fuel transportation.

In response, several bases have incorporated more solar and wind power installations. The military also wants to find affordable renewable energy options that can power the 9 pounds (4 kilograms) of batteries that, on average, each soldier carries.

Another cause of increased energy use throughout the U.S. government is the growing reliance on computers. Government data centers alone may undermine energy efficiency targets, Kidd said.

"If we keep using the energy required in our data centers, it will cancel out all other energy efficiency progress," Kidd said. "If we don't get in front of the problem of energy use in data centers, nothing else will matter."

Increased Internet use is draining energy supplies throughout the United States and the world. The total electricity required for data centers doubled worldwide between2000 and 2005, a Stanford University study found. Energy demand is expected to double yet again by 2020 to power the world's computers, data storage, and communications networks, a McKinsey & Company analysis said last year.

As part of the energy efficiency legislation that the U.S. Congress passed in 2007, the federal government is directed to buy products that consume only 1 watt of electricity when the device is turned off, known as standby power.

The U.S. economic stimulus package, enacted in February, provides $4.5 billion for state and local governments to increase energy efficiency in federal buildings. The funds were provided to assist several agencies in accelerating projects such as green roofs, renewable energy, and more efficient electricity grids.

Correction: The story originally stated that the U.S. government's leading use of energy is jet fuel. In fact, jet fuel is the leading use of energy for the Department of Defense.

Ben Block is a staff writer with the Worldwatch Institute. He can be reached at bblock@worldwatch.org. This article is a product of Eye on Earth, Worldwatch Institute's online news service.

Photo credit: Flickr/Army.mil, Creative Commons License.

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(Posted by Ben Block in Energy at 12:25 PM)

ReneSola Awarded £425m Contract To Build Solar Power Station In China

WorldChanging Team — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 20:08:01 +0000

By Terry Macalister

The sun came out on a London-listed solar company, ReneSola, today when it was awarded a deal to develop a $700m (£425m) power plant in northern China, to become operational next year.
Shares in the group surged 19% to 178p on the back of a letter of intent from the Taiyangshan Development Zone to construct a 150MW plant near the city of Wuzhong.

The move is particularly important for ReneSola, which was listed on Aim at 79p in August 2006, because it allows the Chinese firm to move from being a manufacturer of solar wafers, cells and modules into a full-blown scheme developer.

"The emergence of downstream projects in the domestic market represents a significant opportunity for ReneSola to create new revenue streams and expand local market share," said chief executive Li Xianshou.

The contract, which is about the same size as some of the larger wind farms in Britain, also underlines the way China is pressing ahead with its own renewable energy plans amid concern about the country's position as the world's largest carbon emitter.

Li's comments came as former prime minister Tony Blair said after a meeting with Chinese premier Wen Jiabao on Thursday that the country appeared committed to taking stronger steps to contain greenhouse emissions.

A study by some of China's top climate change advisers published this week recommended setting firm targets to limit greenhouse gas emissions and ensure they peak no later than around 2030.

The rise in ReneSola's share price means the stock has now gained 5.5% so far this year, much less than the 35% jump for the index of 100 leading Aim shares. But the current surge in price is a good sign following a fall from a high of 700p reached in November ahead of a global crash in the price of solar wafers as subsidies were cut back and credit for new projects dried up.

Analysts at Goldman Sachs said European manufacturers would struggle to compete in future with Asian competitors and singled out ReneSola, formally based in the British Virgin Islands but with all its manufacturing operations in China, as an attractive investment. Chinese companies had a 30% cost advantage over European firms, said Goldman.

Renesola recently completed the acquisition of rival JC Solar and has been ramping up its annual polysilicon production capacity, which is expected to reach 2,900 tonnes by the end of next year compared to 400 to 500 tonnes over the current 12 months.

The Chinese company reported a pre-tax loss of $2.9m in the second quarter compared to a deficit of $62.8m in the first while earlier in the week German solar module maker Solon reported a bigger-than-expected second-quarter loss and sales also missed forecasts. Three other firms – Q-Cells, Conergy and LDK Solar – also reported big losses last week.

British-based PV Crystalox said on Wednesday that pricing pressure would continue into the second half of 2009, with average pricing expected to be significantly lower than in the first half.

This piece originally appeared in The Guardian.

Photo credit: Flickr/Port of San Diego, Creative Commons License.

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(Posted by WorldChanging Team in Energy at 12:08 PM)

Ambitious Solar Project to Use Recycled City Wastewater

WorldChanging Team — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 23:40:00 +0000

By Daniel Flahiff

Four thousand acres of private land in the Mojave desert are slated to become the site of an ambitious new concentrating solar power (CSP) plant: Hualapai Valley Solar (HVS). Named one of the Top 100 US Strategic Infrastructure Projects by CG/LA Infrastructure LLC, HVS is expected to produce 340MW of electricity, provide hundreds of new jobs and attract new business to the local area.There's only one problem — water.

HVS will consume an estimated 800 million gallons of water each year, placing significant pressure on the local aquifer. According to an article in the Kingman Daily Miner:

...the water issue may remain a substantial hurdle for HVS in the coming months, since the Mohave County General Plan states that the county will only approve power plants using air-based "dry cooling" technology when the aquifer is threatened with depletion or subsidence. An advisor to the project, Chris Stephens, has maintained that the aquifer holds more than enough water to accommodate the next century's worth of growth.

In a bold move to keep the project alive, the nearby city of Kingman, Ariz. has agreed to explore the possibility of providing treated city wastewater to help power and cool the project's steam turbines. Kingman will explore the feasibility of delivering "treated effluent" from its Hilltop Wastewater Treatment Plant to the HVS site. Preliminary estimates show that the city could provide more than half of the water that HVS will require. If the numbers pencil and the water issues can be resolved in a timely manner, HVS hopes to begin construction in November 2010 and open for operations by June 2013.

While the treated effluent cooling solution is to be commended, HVS would still put significant pressure on the local aquifer even after using all the city wastewater. We wonder if there is another possible solution to the turbine cooling problem. This situation highlights the desert southwest's resource allocation dilemma: an abundance of one resource, solar energy, and a scarcity of another required to harvest it, water.

And the water issue is not going away. Scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography last year forecast that "within 13 years Lake Mead and Lake Powell along the Colorado River, the two largest reservoirs in the southwest United States, could become 'dead pool' mud puddles." (Read more in Alex Steffen's recent feature, Dead Pool.) In our haste to develop subsidized, renewable energy resources are we losing sight of the bigger picture?

We'll be keeping an eye on HVS here at Worldchanging. Each new, renewable energy project that comes online puts us one step closer to a carbon neutral world. To do this while preserving and protecting our planet's fragile ecosystem is real, sustainable change, and that's change worth celebrating.

HVS current site overlay

HVS solar trough

HVS technology diagram

Daniel Flahiff is a writer, designer and filmmaker based in Seattle. He is a co-founder of Big Fig Design Group, a multi-disciplinary group of artists, designers and roustabouts who like to make all sorts of things. Daniel’s film and video work has been screened at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, the Los Angeles Times Media Center, and at the 2000 Telluride International Experimental Cinema Exposition. His essays, interviews and criticism has appeared in Inhabitat and (incli)NATION.

Photo credits: flickr/mitchell.dong, © All rights reserved.

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(Posted by WorldChanging Team in Energy at 3:40 PM)

Ambitious Solar Project to Use Recycled City Wastewater

WorldChanging Team — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 23:40:00 +0000

By Daniel Flahiff

Four thousand acres of private land in the Mojave desert are slated to become the site of an ambitious new concentrating solar power (CSP) plant: Hualapai Valley Solar (HVS). Named one of the Top 100 US Strategic Infrastructure Projects by CG/LA Infrastructure LLC, HVS is expected to produce 340MW of electricity, provide hundreds of new jobs and attract new business to the local area.There's only one problem — water.

HVS will consume an estimated 800 million gallons of water each year, placing significant pressure on the local aquifer. According to an article in the Kingman Daily Miner:

...the water issue may remain a substantial hurdle for HVS in the coming months, since the Mohave County General Plan states that the county will only approve power plants using air-based "dry cooling" technology when the aquifer is threatened with depletion or subsidence. An advisor to the project, Chris Stephens, has maintained that the aquifer holds more than enough water to accommodate the next century's worth of growth.

In a bold move to keep the project alive, the nearby city of Kingman, Ariz. has agreed to explore the possibility of providing treated city wastewater to help power and cool the project's steam turbines. Kingman will explore the feasibility of delivering "treated effluent" from its Hilltop Wastewater Treatment Plant to the HVS site. Preliminary estimates show that the city could provide more than half of the water that HVS will require. If the numbers pencil and the water issues can be resolved in a timely manner, HVS hopes to begin construction in November 2010 and open for operations by June 2013.

While the treated effluent cooling solution is to be commended, HVS would still put significant pressure on the local aquifer even after using all the city wastewater. We wonder if there is another possible solution to the turbine cooling problem. This situation highlights the desert southwest's resource allocation dilemma: an abundance of one resource, solar energy, and a scarcity of another required to harvest it, water.

And the water issue is not going away. Scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography last year forecast that "within 13 years Lake Mead and Lake Powell along the Colorado River, the two largest reservoirs in the southwest United States, could become 'dead pool' mud puddles." (Read more in Alex Steffen's recent feature, Dead Pool.) In our haste to develop subsidized, renewable energy resources are we losing sight of the bigger picture?

We'll be keeping an eye on HVS here at Worldchanging. Each new, renewable energy project that comes online puts us one step closer to a carbon neutral world. To do this while preserving and protecting our planet's fragile ecosystem is real, sustainable change, and that's change worth celebrating.

HVS current site overlay

HVS solar trough

HVS technology diagram

Daniel Flahiff is a writer, designer and filmmaker based in Seattle. He is a co-founder of Big Fig Design Group, a multi-disciplinary group of artists, designers and roustabouts who like to make all sorts of things. Daniel’s film and video work has been screened at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, the Los Angeles Times Media Center, and at the 2000 Telluride International Experimental Cinema Exposition. His essays, interviews and criticism has appeared in Inhabitat and (incli)NATION.

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(Posted by WorldChanging Team in Energy at 3:40 PM)

eSolar Launches First Solar Tower in US

Christa Morris — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 20:15:49 +0000

Here at Worldchanging, it feels like we’ve been following the brilliant possibilities of concentrated solar power (CSP) since Archimedes and the Greeks set Roman ships ablaze with sunlight reflected off their bronze shields. Finally, on August 5, eSolar launched the Sierra SunTower on a sunny stretch of desert in Lancaster, California; the first CSP solar tower of its kind in the US.

While equally heroic, the SunTower is more technologically advanced than Archimedes attempts; instead of bronze shields, it uses 24,000 mirrors angled by sophisticated computer algorithms to concentrate the sun’s energy, and the energy is redirected, instead of at Roman soldiers, to the top of a tower where it heats water and creates steam pressure, powering an engine.

This solar system materialized in only 12 short months, proving that eSolar’s pre-fabricated, patented, and pioneered technology is practical as well as sustainable. Furthermore, eSolar’s decision to build on private land allocated for industrial development gives environmentalists even more to rejoice about; many solar projects are built in public land on otherwise pristine desert.

Experts have estimated the costs for CSP will settle to be less than $.10 per kilowatt hour, well below the current retail rate of California power. At the SunTower unveiling, CEO Bill Gross proudly claimed it was the lowest cost solar project in history.

Though SunTower is a relatively small establishment — producing 5 megawatts of power, enough to supply about 4000 homes in Lancaster — its unique success in speed of construction, efficiency, and cost has eSolar signing contracts to build 465 more megawatts of these solar towers at three sites in California and New Mexico, and a licensing agreement for 1 gigawatt of energy with India-based ACME Group. eSolar is doing more than jumping on the CSP bandwagon; they are leading the way.

Want to learn more? Read the press release here and look into the Worldchanging archives:
World’s Largest Solar Power Plants With Thermal Storage To Be Built In Arizona
World’s Second* Largest Solar Plant To Be Built in Florida
Concentrated Solar Power Goes Mainstream

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(Posted by Christa Morris in Energy at 12:15 PM)

Solar Into Space

WorldChanging Team — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 21:43:01 +0000

By Anna Simpson

California buys energy generated in space

Californians could be catching the rays come rain or shine if the world’s first space-based solar power project gets off the ground. Plans to send a solar farm into orbit are awaiting final approval after a major power provider signed an agreement to buy solar energy generated in space.

The satellite power station, intended for launch in 2016, will have a total capacity of 1,000MW. It will supply up to 200MW energy to major Californian power provider Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), with the aim of delivering 1,700GWh per year over a 15-year term. The power generated will be converted into radio frequencies and collected by an Earth-based receiving station. This in turn will convert the waves back into electricity for use on the grid.

The concept of space-based solar farms has drawn interest since the 1960s, with researchers at NASA pursuing the obvious advantage of more or less continuously available sunlight.

One of the major obstacles to space solar power has been cost.

But Solaren – a company founded in 2001 to make the concept a reality – claims to have come up with a design that will minimise the size and weight of the power station, making it both easier and cheaper to launch. Instead of being held together by heavy cables and struts, the station’s free-floating components will be aligned through remote control software, and a giant inflatable mirror will concentrate light onto highly efficient cells.

If the plan – to be approved by state regulators by the end of October – goes ahead, PG&E will enter a 15-year contract with Solaren. According to PG&E’s Brian Cherry, the new technology “would represent a breakthrough in the renewable power industry”.

Professor Philip Eames from the Centre for Renewable Energy Systems Technology calls it “an exciting and feasible idea, with nice new ways of making the reflectors lighter”. He adds that the cost remains “quite high, compared with competing technologies such as wind – but it’s the first attempt, and the price may come down in the future”. Meanwhile, Solaren will be looking for investment of $5 billion to fund the manufacture and launch.

This piece originally appeared in Green Futures, published by Forum for the Future, one of the leading magazines on environmental solutions and sustainable futures. Its aim is to demonstrate that a sustainable future is both practical and desirable – and can be profitable, too.

Image credit: Flickr/acbo, Creative Commons License.

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(Posted by WorldChanging Team in Energy at 1:43 PM)

Energy Efficiency Gains in U.S. Could Cut Sharply Energy Use, Study Says

Yale Environment 360 — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 21:05:44 +0000

A crash program to improve the energy efficiency of American homes, offices, and factories could slash energy consumption by 23 percent by 2020 and produce $1.2 trillion in savings, according to a report by the McKinsey consulting firm. McKinsey said that taking steps such as better insulating buildings, replacing old appliances, and sealing ducts is the fastest and best way to cut the country’s energy consumption. The firm recommended an investment of $520 billion in energy efficiency programs over the next 10 years, an amount that dwarfs the $10 billion to $15 billion included in the Obama administration’s economic stimulus package. McKinsey executives acknowledged that carrying out such an efficiency program on a large scale faces numerous challenges, including the reluctance of homeowners and businesses to invest sizeable sums of money and a lack of tax breaks and other financial incentives for efficiency improvements. Still, the McKinsey report said that better education of homeowners and businesses, tighter building codes, stricter efficiency requirements for appliances, and the creation of greater incentives could go a long way toward cutting the U.S.’s wasteful energy use.

This piece originally appeared on Yale Environment 360

Creative Commons Photo Credit

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Does Green Building Have to Break the Bank?

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(Posted by Yale Environment 360 in Energy at 1:05 PM)

Home Solar Arrays Expand Rapidly in California

Yale Environment 360 — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 00:52:22 +0000

The number of California homes with solar panels has grown from 500 a decade ago to 50,000 today, helping California produce 500 megawatts of solar-powered electricity — equivalent to a major coal-fired power plant — during peak solar periods in early afternoon. The lobbying group Environment California reported that the state’s solar market has more than doubled in the past three years, making the state by far the largest solar power generator in the United States. New Jersey is second, with a peak production of 70 megawatts. Still, the expansion of solar power in California is far behind Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s goal of a “million solar roofs,” and the number of home solar arrays remains small. The city with the most solar roofs, San Diego, only has 2,262 homes with solar photovoltaic panels. Environmental advocates say that a key to far more rapid expansion of solar power is a so-called feed-in tariff, which would allow homeowners who install extra solar capacity to sell electricity back to utilities at a favorable rate.

This piece originally appeared on e360 digest

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(Posted by Yale Environment 360 in Energy at 4:52 PM)

How bad for the climate is algal oil?

Alex Steffen — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 18:26:42 +0000

Lots of people are buzzing about algal fuels, which promise to turn vats of seawater and CO2 into biofuels much like oil, and seem real enough that ExxonMobil is investing $600 million in the technology to make them.

But here's the question I can't seem to find answered: how much carbon is actually saved by running a car on algal oil instead of fossil oil? The press releases all pitch this as ALGAE THAT EAT CO2! Yet it would seem that the burning of the oil would release much of that CO2 back into the atmosphere, no? While I assume there are GHG savings in using that feedstock CO2 (presumably from coal plants or whatever) to create an oil-substitute instead of just releasing it into the atmosphere, this is also clearly not a carbon-neutral energy source (as implied by proponents). And, of course, changing fuels does nothing at all to change all the other climate impacts of cars.

Anyone got numbers, or educated perspectives on the issue? Good tech, half-measure or greenwash?

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(Posted by Alex Steffen in Energy at 10:26 AM)

How bad for the climate is algal oil?

Alex Steffen — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 18:26:42 +0000

Lots of people are buzzing about algal fuels, which promise to turn vats of seawater and CO2 into biofuels much like oil, and seem real enough that ExxonMobil is investing $600 million in the technology to make them.

But here's the question I can't seem to find answered: how much carbon is actually saved by running a car on algal oil instead of fossil oil? The press releases all pitch this as ALGAE THAT EAT CO2! Yet it would seem that the burning of the oil would release much of that CO2 back into the atmosphere, no? While I assume there are GHG savings in using that feedstock CO2 (presumably from coal plants or whatever) to create an oil-substitute instead of just releasing it into the atmosphere, this is also clearly not a carbon-neutral energy source (as implied by proponents). And, of course, changing fuels does nothing at all to change all the other climate impacts of cars.

Anyone got numbers, or educated perspectives on the issue? Good tech, half-measure or greenwash?

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(Posted by Alex Steffen in Energy at 10:26 AM)

Green Bundle of Energy

WorldChanging Team — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 23:00:32 +0000

by Roger Valdez
Portland joins Vancouver in code changes that encourage urban renewables.
Last week I heaped praise on Portland’s plans to revise their city building codes to encourage family-friendly courtyard housing.

This week, I am feeling the same way about another set of changes being considered that would make it easier to generate clean energy and reduce runoff in urban neighborhoods. A package of changes called the “Green Bundle” is being reviewed this summer by the City of Portland. The Planning Commission will have a hearing on the proposed changes on August 25.

Among many other nifty urban clean energy ideas like solar panels and green roofs, the Bundle would “allow small-scale wind energy systems to exceed Zoning Code height limits, either as stand-alone towers or when incorporated into building architecture.”

This is a pretty big deal when you think about it. Many people might see the words “stand-alone towers” and start speed-dialing city officials to oppose the idea of a neighbor erecting a noisy, whirring monster in their backyard.

But a quick review of the existing technology shows that there are actually a variety of options in the wind industry that are designed in a way that would allay these fears and could gain support—they’re smaller than you’d think, and quieter. Here is an example from Oregon Wind of a combination street light and wind turbine.

Here is a video of another example from a designer in the UK appropriately called Quiet Revolution.

The QR5 is not likely to be the kind of wind generation installed on a house. Here is a video of one the first urban windmills in the United States in operation.

But these clean energy technologies are arguably less ugly and dangerous that our existing electrical infrastructure. Here they are side by side.

These are hardly the monsters we are used to thinking of when we think of wind power.

The code changes also include making it easier for homeowners to install solar panels and green roofs. Green roofs are becoming a lot more common in the Northwest. A Seattle architecture firm, B9 Architects, has already made a practice of including them in many of its residential projects. And, setting an example, Seattle’s City Hall has a green roof as well.

Vancouver, BC, actually has changed its code to require that new homes have appropriate piping built in to accommodate solar panels and another local initiative rewards builders for each unit they build with solar generating capacity.

Portland has also included code changes that remove barriers to installing rain barrels, requirements for bike racks and allowing the construction of larger eaves which can improve energy efficiency.

While some of these ideas may seem a bit far fetched now, the technology and incentives are beginning to make them a lot more likely. And the pull of creating more green jobs is another big incentive—somebody’s got to have the expertise and equipment to install this stuff. A recent study completed by the University of California Berkeley suggests that renewable energy “generates more jobs per megawatt of power installed, per unit of energy produced, and per dollar of investment,” than fossil fuel energy.

Portland is making some important steps to prepare for a time when urban renewable energy becomes as prevalent—and accepted—as conservation efforts already underway (think recycling or energy retrofits).

This piece originally appeared in Sightline Institute's blog, The Daily Score.

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(Posted by WorldChanging Team in Energy at 3:00 PM)

Video: A Greener Empire State Building

Julia Levitt — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 19:52:40 +0000

The U.S. government PR team celebrates the green retrofitting of the Empire State Building with this 2-minute video, which features the the building management, commercial tenants and others lauding the "simple tactics" used to achieve massive energy savings.

I think the best point made here comes from Anthony E. Malkin at the Empire State Building Company, when he says, "It's great to build green, but it's more important to begin to look at energy efficiency in the existing built environment."

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(Posted by Julia Levitt in Energy at 11:52 AM)

Video: A Greener Empire State Building

Julia Levitt — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 19:52:40 +0000

The U.S. government PR team celebrates the green retrofitting of the Empire State Building with this 2-minute video, which features the the building management, commercial tenants and others lauding the "simple tactics" used to achieve massive energy savings.

I think the best point made here comes from Anthony E. Malkin at the Empire State Building Company, when he says, "It's great to build green, but it's more important to begin to look at energy efficiency in the existing built environment."

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(Posted by Julia Levitt in Energy at 11:52 AM)

Obama To Open U.S. Lands To Large-Scale Solar Power Projects

Yale Environment 360 — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 23:30:46 +0000

U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said his department is studying whether 670,000 acres of federal lands in six Western states are suitable for the construction of large-scale solar power projects. Salazar, appearing in Las Vegas with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, said the Obama administration is doing “everything we can to put the bulls-eye on the development of solar energy on our public lands.” He predicted that by the end of next year, 13 commercial-scale solar power projects could be under construction on U.S. government lands in Nevada, Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Energy announced new efficiency standards for fluorescent and recessed lighting fixtures, set to take effect in 2012. Energy Department officials said the tighter standards would save as much as $4 billion annually in energy costs and avoid 594 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions from 2012 to 2042 — the equivalent of removing 166 million cars from the road for a year.

Photo Credit: Flickr Creative Commons/Abi Skipp.

This article originally appeared on Yale Environment 360.

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(Posted by Yale Environment 360 in Energy at 3:30 PM)

Obama To Open U.S. Lands To Large-Scale Solar Power Projects

Yale Environment 360 — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 23:30:46 +0000

U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said his department is studying whether 670,000 acres of federal lands in six Western states are suitable for the construction of large-scale solar power projects. Salazar, appearing in Las Vegas with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, said the Obama administration is doing “everything we can to put the bulls-eye on the development of solar energy on our public lands.” He predicted that by the end of next year, 13 commercial-scale solar power projects could be under construction on U.S. government lands in Nevada, Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Energy announced new efficiency standards for fluorescent and recessed lighting fixtures, set to take effect in 2012. Energy Department officials said the tighter standards would save as much as $4 billion annually in energy costs and avoid 594 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions from 2012 to 2042 — the equivalent of removing 166 million cars from the road for a year.

Photo Credit: Flickr Creative Commons/Abi Skipp.

This article originally appeared on Yale Environment 360.

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(Posted by Yale Environment 360 in Energy at 3:30 PM)