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Table
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SEIA Reports 2006 is Best Year Yet for Solar Energy
Solar energy is
having a terrific year, according to a "Year in Review" report
compiled by the Solar Energy Industries Association and the Prometheus
Institute. The report, unveiled at the Solar Power 2006 conference in
October in San Jose, Calif.,
attributed the industry-wide boom in the United States to rising
conventional energy prices and to "the expansion of federal and state
support for solar deployment."
Despite record high prices for silicon,
the main ingredient in most photovoltaic wafers, the PV panel installation
rate in the United
States is already shooting upward -- in
the past year, the installation rate grew by 20 percent, according to the
report. The installation rate "will be one of the highest in the world
this year as new federal and state programs begin to stimulate
demand," the report said. Another year-in-review report on the
industry, Michael Rogol's "Solar Annual 2006: The Gun has Gone
Off", observed that the solar market has been seeing a 40 percent to
50 percent annual production expansion. "Initially, this ... raised
concern that a 'glut' might reduce prices and margins," Rogol wrote.
He continued that interviewing hundreds of solar energy experts
"fortified our conviction that demand will significantly exceed supply
through the end of the decade."
Update on New England
Project Funding Opportunities
Connecticut
Program is continuing with
performance-based incentives implemented in June.
Massachusetts
Keyspan Energy Solar Thermal Initiative
KeySpan Energy Delivery is one of the
first gas utilities in the country to provide incentives for its customers
to install solar hot water heating systems as a way to save energy, promote
renewable energy sources, and minimize greenhouse gas emissions. KeySpan's
Solar Thermal Program encourages customers to install highly efficient
solar thermal technologies in residential, commercial & industrial, and
multi-family sites.
This program is currently
only for KeySpan heating customers in Massachusetts
and New Hampshire
between May 1, 2006 and April 30, 2007. Awarded projects may be required to provide usage and/or
monitoring data of their solar thermal system to KeySpan as part of their
participation. Eligible Solar Thermal Installations for this program include
Solar Hot Water and Space Heating, Solar Make-Up Air Heating (Transpired
Solar Collector), as well as Solar Pool Heating applications.
Residential customers would receive an incentive based on 15% of the project's equipment and
installation costs, up to $1,500
per house, paid to the customer upon completion. KeySpan can support 20 residential solar projects through
this program between now and April 30, 2007. Commercial customers must first have a free Energy Audit in order to apply for
and participate in solar benefits. This energy audit will identify
applicable solar thermal recommendations, as well as estimated natural gas
savings associated with the measure. KeySpan will determine the solar
incentive based on projected savings from the solar installation.
Offers and Incentives are subject to
change without notice. Funds for participation may be limited. Email solar@keyspanenergy.com for more
information.
Massachusetts Technology Collaborative Incentives for Large and
Small PV
The Massachusetts Technology Collaborative
has allocated $3.5 million for Round 3 funding for renewables projects in
excess of 10kW under its Large On-Site Renewables Initiative (LORI). $1
million will be reserved for PV projects, with a maximum grant of $250,000
per project. Round 3 applications will be due the end of February 2007.
Applications will be available on-line in December for feasibility
analyses, design, and construction.
In October 2006, MTC committed an
additional $12.9 million to its Small Renewables Initiative (SRI) to take
the program through June 2010. Applications for funding will be reviewed
and approved on a rolling basis, at steady rate of $3.6 million per twelve
month period and not to exceed $300,000 in any month. Some program
guidelines and incentive levels have been changed. Information and details
are available at the Mass.
Technology Collaborative.
New Hampshire
Keyspan Energy Solar Thermal Initiative
This program is currently for solar
thermal projects installed by KeySpan heating customers in both Massachusetts and New Hampshire between May 1, 2006 and
April 30, 2007 only.
Please refer to the program description
under Massachusetts
above.
Vermont
In July, 2006, the Vermont Clean Energy
Development Fund authorized an additional $500,000 to the Vermont Solar and
Small Wind Incentive Program for incentives for renewable energy systems.
In addition, the Vermont
utility companies CVPS and GMP provided roughly $238,000 of incentive funds
to support qualifying solar electric and solar hot water systems for
customers in their service territories from their Nuclear Electric
Insurance Limited and the American Nuclear Insurers funds due to the sale
of their interests in the Vermont Yankee Nuclear power plant. Along with
money left over from solar projects that were not completed in the previous
rounds, these contributions result in a total of $980,000 of new incentive
funding.
The program was opened for new reservation
applications in September 2006. The Renewable Energy Resource Center
(RERC), a project of the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation, administers
the incentive program and provides consumer education and support services.
Information at: The
Renewable Energy Resource Center
New England PV Market Activity and
Member News
Nation's
Largest 'Brightfield' Dedicated in Brockton,
MA
Federal, state and local officials, solar
experts, environmentalists and community leaders gathered on October 26,
2006 to celebrate the completion of the Brockton Brightfield, a 425-
kilowatt (kW) photovoltaic (PV) solar energy system located on a 3.7 acre
environmentally-remediated brownfield in Brockton, Massachusetts.
The project is the largest solar energy system in New
England and the largest idle remediated "brownfield"
transformed into a solar energy generating station in the nation.
Eventually the city plans to increase the Brockton Brightfield's capacity
to 1 megawatt (MW).
Global Solar Inc. designed, built,
operates and maintains the Brockton Brightfield. In building the Brockton
Brightfield, Global Solar used 1,395 SCHOTT Solar ASE 300 modules built at
SCHOTT Solar's production facility in nearby Billerica, MA.
The cost to construct the Brockton Brightfield was $3.037 million, with
funding supplied by a $1.6 million city bond, $789,000 grant from the U.S.
Department of Energy, and more than $1 million from the Massachusetts
Technology Collaborative's Renewable Energy Trust. These organizations,
along with the US Environmental Protection Agency and NiSource, also
provided the city of Brockton
with planning and educational grants for the project.
Spire
Announces Sales to Manufacturers in Germany,
Taiwan, Hawaii
Spire Corporation has announced it has
entered into a contract with Prosperity Solar Power, Inc. of Taipei City,
Taiwan to provide Spire’s 10 MW turnkey PV module manufacturing
production line.
Spire Corporation also will be providing
First Solar, Inc. with eight more Spire solar simulators for a
manufacturing facility First Solar is building in Germany.
This brings First Solar's order to 12 solar simulators from Spire in the
last year. Spire's SPI- SUN SIMULATOR 350i is used to test the electrical
performance of photovoltaic modules during the manufacturing process. Spire's
simulators are used in the testing and qualification of thin film modules,
such as those produced by First Solar, as well as in the manufacture of the
more common crystalline silicon-based modules. First Solar will incorporate
the new simulators into their new, highly automated thin film solar module
production line.
Hoku Solar, based in Hawaii, has announced that it has signed
a contract with Spire Corporation for the purchase of a photovoltaic module
production line that will enable Hoku to manufacture up to 15 megawatts
(MW) of photovoltaic modules each year and is scheduled to be delivered in
the first half of calendar year 2007. Hoku intends to eventually increase
its module production capacity to 30 MW per year.
Spire
Completes 118 kW PV System in Gloucester,
MA
Spire Corporation also recently announced
that it has completed the design and installation of a PV system at the
office and distribution center for North Coast Seafoods. The 118-kW rooftop
system will be monitored in real-time using Spire’s InSpire Solar
Monitoring System, which also provides automatic data uploads to the
Massachusetts Technology Collaborative’s solar energy database.
GT
Equipment Changes Name to
"GT Solar Incorporated"
GT Equipment Technologies, Inc. has
changed its name to GT Solar Incorporated. GT's management and the
company's operations at its Merrimack,
NH headquarters remain
unchanged. According to GT Solar CEO, Kedar Gupta, "This name change
reflects the fact that most of the business we're conducting around the
globe is in the PV industry. Our name now makes it clear that we are in the
business of enabling technology, manufacturing and equipment solutions for
the PV industry worldwide." GT Solar designs and manufactures
multi-crystalline growth furnaces, reactors for poly-silicon production,
turnkey PV fabrication lines for wafers/cells/modules, cell process and
test equipment, and custom equipment to expand a customer's capabilities.
GT also conducts R&D on silicon feedstock production, solar cell
processes and crystal growth modeling.
Heliotronics
Expands School Monitoring Services
Heliotronics of Hingham, MA is expanding
its monitoring services for solar school programs in Missouri,
Rhode Island, and Indiana. This second round approval adds
22 monitored photovoltaic systems to the 23 installed in the first round of
these programs thanks to funding from the Missouri Department of Natural
Resources, Rhode Island State Energy Office, and Cinergy Corporation. The
Heliotronics monitoring package includes real-time AC and DC
current/voltage monitoring, in addition to tracking power, energy
production, displaced emissions, wind speed, irradiance, ambient
temperature, and module temperature. Data is displayed in the classroom via
the fun and easy to use SunViewer(TM) educational display. The display
features dynamic gauges updated once per second, which engages the students
and invites further inquiry.
SunPower
Develops New High Efficiency Solar Panel
Recent SEBANE member SunPower Corporation,
based in California,
has announced its newest solar panel, offering significantly higher power
output and conversion efficiency than its current products. The new SPR-315
solar panel utilizes the company's newly developed 22-percent-efficient Gen
2 solar cells and carries a rated power output of 315 watts. The new design
incorporates 96 of SunPower's Gen 2 solar cells that offer improved panel
efficiency through a combination of enhanced cell architecture and improved
packing density. Compared with conventional solar panels, the new SPR-315
allows customers to generate up to 50 percent more power per square foot of
roof area with half as many panels. The new SPR-315 solar panel is planned
for commercial availability in the spring of 2007.
Evergreen
Solar to Supply SunEdison and Mainstream Energy
Evergreen Solar will ship approximately
$200 million of photovoltaic modules to SunEdison, LLC over the next five
years. SunEdison offers clients Solar Power Service Agreement (SPSA), a
finance and service model that allows public, private and nonprofit
organizations to buy and use solar electricity generated at their
facilities without capital investment. This supports Evergreen's ultimate
goal of converging the cost of solar power with retail grid pricing.
Evergreen Solar also has announced a
four-year supply contract with Mainstream Energy, LLC, which has systems
integration and distribution subsidiaries involved in the sales,
distribution and installation of residential and commercial solar electric
systems nationwide. Under the terms of the agreement, Evergreen Solar will
ship approximately $100 million of photovoltaic modules to Mainstream
Energy over the next four years.
The two agreements are Evergreen
Solar’s fifth and sixth major contract in the past 12 months. The
value of these six contracts totals more than $700 million over the next
five years. The photovoltaic modules will be manufactured at Evergreen
Solar’s plant in Massachusetts
and at EverQ’s German factory, which is currently being expanded.
Akeena
Solar Recognized for Contributions
On October 16th the town council of the
Town of Los Gatos, CA presented SEBANE-member Akeena Solar, Inc. with
special appreciation, commendation and thanks for outstanding contributions
to the community. Akeena Solar is a leading designer and installer of solar
power systems serving residential and small commercial markets nationwide.
The town council cited Akeena Solar, which was founded in 2001 and became a
publicly traded company in August 2006, for its commitment to producing
clean electricity directly from the sun, which provides many benefits to
the environment and economy. Akeena Solar is an integrator of residential
and small commercial solar power systems across the United States, serving customers directly in
California, New
Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Pennsylvania.
Solar
Works Installs 121 kW System
in Lawrence, MA
Riverwalk Properties in Lawrence is the host to a new 121-kilowatt
/ 392 panel solar PV energy system. The Riverwalk Properties, a refurbished
mill building that was once powered by hydro-power from the Merrimack River, is home to 50 tenants, in a broad
range of businesses all of whom are impacted by rising energy costs. The
project is a collaborative effort of Solar Works Inc.’s engineering
and installation team, and is comprised primarily of Massachusetts
manufactured components from Solectria Renewables LLC of Lawrence, MA and
Schott Solar of Billerica,
MA.
The installation will include an
interpretive display in the lobby of Sal’s Pizza Restaurant and
Function facility located on the first floor of the building. This display
will help educate the restaurant’s patrons about the benefits of
renewable energy. According to Sal Lupoli, CEO of Sal’s Pizza,
“We are so excited about demonstrating our sincere regard for the
environment to the community and that solar energy is a viable alternative
today”.
Schuco
and Sunlight Solar Partner on PV at Yale Dormitory
Schüco USA and Sunlight Solar have
completed a 40 kW flat roof photovoltaic (PV) system installed on a
dormitory building on the campus of Yale University in New Haven,
Connecticut. The 40kW grid-tied system, installed atop Fisher Hall at the Yale Divinity School
is comprised of 262 Schüco polycrystalline 158-SP PV modules each with a
+5%/- 0% performance tolerance each producing 158 watts of peak power. The
system was mounted with Schüco's SolarEZ mounting system which is suitable
for photovoltaics and solar thermal systems installed on flat roofs as well
as composite shingle,
S-tile, mission tile, and or standing seam metal pitched roofs. Schüco also
provided design and wiring layout --services on this project.
The installation was handled by Sunlight
Solar Energy, Inc. This project was made possible through the support of Connecticut's Clean
Energy Fund.
Connecticut's Largest Solar PV
Installation at Whole Foods Markets' Distribution
Center in Cheshire
The Connecticut Clean Energy Fund (CCEF),
SunEdison and Whole Foods Market recently hosted a dedication ceremony to
celebrate the unveiling of a 121-kilowatt solar photovoltaic (PV) system
installed on the rooftop of the Whole
Foods Market
Distribution Center
in Cheshire, Connecticut. Covering about 10% of the
150,000 square foot roof of the Whole Foods Market building, the
installation is the largest in the State of Connecticut, generating approximately
137,500 kilowatt hours per year and supplying 10% of the facility's total
energy needs. The installation at Whole Foods is five times the size of the
next largest solar installation in Connecticut.
The Whole Foods Market project was
launched through the combined effort of the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund,
SunEdison which will own the equipment for at least ten years, and Whole
Foods which will purchase "clean power" during that time period.
The entire system comes at no additional capital costs to Whole Foods and
will save them operating expenses on their energy bill immediately. This is
SunEdison’s fourth facility deployment with Whole Foods.
MA
Technology Collaborative Expands
Large PV Project Support
In addition to committing $3.5 million to
Round 3 of the Large On-Site Renewable Initiative (LORI), with $1 million
set aside for PV projects, MTC has retroactively expanded the LORI funds
available for applications received in Round 2 in August 2006.
August’s applications far exceeded MTC’s original $2.0 million
budget. In October, MTC’s Board authorized a new $4.0 million total
budget for August applications (with the retroactive commitment of an
additional $2.0 million). This will allow MTC to fund a larger number of
the worthy applications it had received. The announcement of specific
awards will be made in December after project contracts have been executed.
LORI
Grant information
SEBANE Welcomes New Members
EBM Consulting Services is an
independent energy services firm with an emphasis on renewables and
efficiency. Their services range from consulting to designing as well as
installing large energy efficient and renewable projects. EBM is headed by
Vicki Harkness and located in Millbrook,
NY.
Environmental Solar Systems
provides innovative energy efficient solar systems to industrial, business
and residential customers. For 24 years, ESS has been developing and
installing solar systems. They are located in Methuen, MA.
Paul Soucy is president.
NexGen Energy Solutions is a
renewable energy integration company serving commercial and residential
clients in northeast Massachusetts and
southern New Hampshire.
Nexgen specializes in solar electric, hot water, and active air heating
systems that work best in the New England
climate. Dan Leary is president and the firm is located in North Andover, MA.
Solar Systems, Inc. services and
repairs all types of existing solar thermal systems, and designs and
installs new solar thermal systems. Dan Gorman is president. The company is
based in Plymouth, MA.
November
28 - Solar
- the Path to Grid Parity presented by the TiE-Boston
- Waltham, MA
Without subsidies solar has an unclear path to economic viability in the
consumer and commercial markets. What are the influencers and obstacles?
How far off is grid parity?
December 7 - An Update
on Finance Market for Clean Technology is presented by the
Boston
Area Solar Energy Society - Cambridge,
MA
The BASEA forum features venture capitalist Katrina Funk. A reception
begins at 7 pm with the program beginning at 7:30 pm.
December 12 and January
31 - Residential
Green Building Workshops sponsored by Building for Social
Responsibility in collaboration with the Vermont Green Building Network,
and Efficiency Vermont - December 12 Norwich, VT; and January 31
Manchester, VT.
The one-day advanced residential green building training is geared
towards builders, remodelers, architects, interior designers, and other
interested professionals.
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