Here is an article from earth2tech (5-12-2008):
The debate between massive solar thermal plants and distributed roof top solar projects continues to get more interesting every day. Duke Energy’s CEO Jim Rogers says the utility will build and operate solar power, and plans to invest $100 million in solar rooftops, both commercial and residential, according to the Charlotte Business Journal reports. Duke still needs to get permission from the North Carolina Utilities Commission.
This is part of an emerging trend of utilities throwing their considerable assets behind solar installations as a way to own solar power generation. Utilities are feeling pressure from their home states’ renewable portfolio standards to incorporate more renewable energy sources. (North Carolina has a renewable portfolio standard that goes into effect in 2012 and will require utilities to generate 12.5 percent of their energy from renewable sources by 2021.) Utilities are able to leverage their balance sheets to get capital at far better rates than small startups, allowing them to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in solar development.
Southern California Edison announced plans in March to invest $875 million in 250 megawatts of solar covering some 2 square miles of rooftops. PG&E’s CEO Peter Darbee recently told us that the company is in discussions to build and own its own solar power plants, but that there are some barriers for regulated utilities to cash in on the investment tax credits for solar. (Also check out our video interview with Darbee.)
Duke’s plan to spend $100 million on its own solar generation, is good news for an energy company that generates 70 percent of its power from coal, making it the third-largest consumer of coal in the United States. To his credit Rogers has been an advocate of backing renewable energy, and just last week called for “a small fee on every kilowatt-hour of electricity sold in the U.S.,” which he says would raise $11 billion annually for renewable energy research and development.
PG&E’s Darbee is calling for a change in policy whereby utilities could benefit from the investment tax credit (ITC) to build solar plants. Letting utilities tap into the ITC could be one of the best ways to connect considerable capital with solar power construction.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
So....... Solar!
Here is a press release from Duke Energy:
Duke Energy Announces Deal to Harness the Power of the Sun May 21, 2008 CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Duke Energy Carolinas today announced it will purchase the entire electricity output of the nation's largest photovoltaic solar farm to be built in Davidson County, N.C., north of Charlotte.
Under agreements signed with SunEdison, customers of Duke Energy Carolinas are expected to receive more than 16 megawatts of power from the solar farm beginning no later than Dec. 31, 2010. The agreements run for 20 years.
“We said we wanted to lead the way in the development of more renewable energy and we meant it,” said Keith Trent, group executive and chief strategy, policy and regulatory officer. “Today’s agreements, coupled with the other significant initiatives across our company, clearly demonstrate that renewable energy has an important place in our power generation portfolio.”
The SunEdison agreements are a result of a request for proposals, or RFP, that Duke Energy issued in April 2007. It was the first RFP of its kind in North Carolina and was specifically designed for potential renewable providers.
In addition to purchasing renewable energy from other providers, Duke Energy is advancing plans for its own distributed solar generation program. Distributed generation is energy created close to where it is used, rather than being produced in large power plants and sent to customers over the power grid. The company plans a filing with the North Carolina Utilities Commission in the near future that will seek approval for the program, and the authority to recover its investment. Under the plan, Duke Energy would install and operate distributed solar generation on customer rooftops and other spaces.
Duke Energy is also adding wind power to its generation portfolio. In April 2008, a wind farm in Indiana began supplying 100 megawatts of power to Duke Energy customers. In 2007, Duke Energy Generation Services entered the wind energy business and expects to have its first projects (about 180 megawatts) online later this year. Other wind development projects of more than 3,000 megawatts are planned in eight different western and southwestern states. In 2007, Duke Energy supported the development of the new Renewable and Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standard (REPS) in North Carolina. It requires the utility to satisfy 12.5 percent of its customers’ power needs with renewables or energy efficiency by 2021. Specific solar requirements are implemented in 2010. By 2018, at least two-tenths of one percent of total retail sales must come from solar energy. In Ohio, the company also supported that state’s new advanced energy portfolio standard, which sets a requirement of 12.5 percent of a utility’s sales to be met with renewable energy sources by 2025.
Broader use of renewable energy is part of Duke Energy’s comprehensive plan to create a sustainable energy future for the Carolinas while the company continues to work to reduce its environmental footprint. The plan includes building new power plants; robust energy efficiency programs to reduce demand; and supporting state and federal energy policies that encourage the development of new technology. Together, these initiatives will allow Duke Energy to continue to meet customers’ need for power in an environmentally sound way.
Duke Energy's Carolinas’ operations include nuclear, coal-fired, natural gas and hydroelectric generation. That diverse fuel mix provides nearly 21,000 megawatts of safe, reliable and competitively priced electricity to more than 2.3 million electric customers in a 24,000-square-mile service area of North Carolina and South Carolina.
Duke Energy, one of the largest electric power companies in the United States, supplies and delivers electricity to approximately 4 million U.S. customers in its regulated jurisdictions. The company has approximately 35,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity in the Midwest and the Carolinas, and natural gas distribution services in Ohio and Kentucky. In addition, Duke Energy has more than 4,000 megawatts of electric generation in Latin America, and is a joint-venture partner in a U.S. real estate company. Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Duke Energy is a Fortune 500 company traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DUK. More information about the company is available on the Internet at: http://www.duke-energy.com/?sec=content.
Sun Edison LLC is North America's largest solar energy services provider and operates across a global marketplace. SunEdison provides solar-generated energy at or below current retail rates to a broad and diverse client base of commercial, municipal and utility customers. For more information about SunEdison, please visit http://www.sunedison.com/?sec=content.
Duke Energy Announces Deal to Harness the Power of the Sun May 21, 2008 CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Duke Energy Carolinas today announced it will purchase the entire electricity output of the nation's largest photovoltaic solar farm to be built in Davidson County, N.C., north of Charlotte.
Under agreements signed with SunEdison, customers of Duke Energy Carolinas are expected to receive more than 16 megawatts of power from the solar farm beginning no later than Dec. 31, 2010. The agreements run for 20 years.
“We said we wanted to lead the way in the development of more renewable energy and we meant it,” said Keith Trent, group executive and chief strategy, policy and regulatory officer. “Today’s agreements, coupled with the other significant initiatives across our company, clearly demonstrate that renewable energy has an important place in our power generation portfolio.”
The SunEdison agreements are a result of a request for proposals, or RFP, that Duke Energy issued in April 2007. It was the first RFP of its kind in North Carolina and was specifically designed for potential renewable providers.
In addition to purchasing renewable energy from other providers, Duke Energy is advancing plans for its own distributed solar generation program. Distributed generation is energy created close to where it is used, rather than being produced in large power plants and sent to customers over the power grid. The company plans a filing with the North Carolina Utilities Commission in the near future that will seek approval for the program, and the authority to recover its investment. Under the plan, Duke Energy would install and operate distributed solar generation on customer rooftops and other spaces.
Duke Energy is also adding wind power to its generation portfolio. In April 2008, a wind farm in Indiana began supplying 100 megawatts of power to Duke Energy customers. In 2007, Duke Energy Generation Services entered the wind energy business and expects to have its first projects (about 180 megawatts) online later this year. Other wind development projects of more than 3,000 megawatts are planned in eight different western and southwestern states. In 2007, Duke Energy supported the development of the new Renewable and Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standard (REPS) in North Carolina. It requires the utility to satisfy 12.5 percent of its customers’ power needs with renewables or energy efficiency by 2021. Specific solar requirements are implemented in 2010. By 2018, at least two-tenths of one percent of total retail sales must come from solar energy. In Ohio, the company also supported that state’s new advanced energy portfolio standard, which sets a requirement of 12.5 percent of a utility’s sales to be met with renewable energy sources by 2025.
Broader use of renewable energy is part of Duke Energy’s comprehensive plan to create a sustainable energy future for the Carolinas while the company continues to work to reduce its environmental footprint. The plan includes building new power plants; robust energy efficiency programs to reduce demand; and supporting state and federal energy policies that encourage the development of new technology. Together, these initiatives will allow Duke Energy to continue to meet customers’ need for power in an environmentally sound way.
Duke Energy's Carolinas’ operations include nuclear, coal-fired, natural gas and hydroelectric generation. That diverse fuel mix provides nearly 21,000 megawatts of safe, reliable and competitively priced electricity to more than 2.3 million electric customers in a 24,000-square-mile service area of North Carolina and South Carolina.
Duke Energy, one of the largest electric power companies in the United States, supplies and delivers electricity to approximately 4 million U.S. customers in its regulated jurisdictions. The company has approximately 35,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity in the Midwest and the Carolinas, and natural gas distribution services in Ohio and Kentucky. In addition, Duke Energy has more than 4,000 megawatts of electric generation in Latin America, and is a joint-venture partner in a U.S. real estate company. Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Duke Energy is a Fortune 500 company traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DUK. More information about the company is available on the Internet at: http://www.duke-energy.com/?sec=content.
Sun Edison LLC is North America's largest solar energy services provider and operates across a global marketplace. SunEdison provides solar-generated energy at or below current retail rates to a broad and diverse client base of commercial, municipal and utility customers. For more information about SunEdison, please visit http://www.sunedison.com/?sec=content.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Heat your home naturally
The great secret that has undoubtedly eluded your local "professional" house-builder is captured in two words: Passive Solar. Low tech, very effective, well understood by the "uncivilized" and "primitive" inhabitants who preceded us here in the good old US of A, passive solar design is making a come-back. Find out all about it on Saturday, June 14.
What: Guilford Solar Monthly Meeting.
When: 10:00AM - 11:30AM, Saturday, June 14, 2008.
Where: Barn Kitchen Meeting Room, Guilford County Agricultural Center, 3309 Burlington Rd., Greensboro, NC 27405.
Cost: Zero.
Description: This month’s presentation will be about Passive Solar Design. Passive Solar is the system of making use of the sun’s energy without mechanical devices. It’s a system that was already used by the native Indians, but was “forgotten” in the modern world due to the availability of air-conditioners and heaters. Passive solar principles are now slowly making a comeback in buildings in the US.
Presenter: Our presenter is Michiel VanderSommen. For more information, contact Michiel directly, at 336-558-4405.
What: Guilford Solar Monthly Meeting.
When: 10:00AM - 11:30AM, Saturday, June 14, 2008.
Where: Barn Kitchen Meeting Room, Guilford County Agricultural Center, 3309 Burlington Rd., Greensboro, NC 27405.
Cost: Zero.
Description: This month’s presentation will be about Passive Solar Design. Passive Solar is the system of making use of the sun’s energy without mechanical devices. It’s a system that was already used by the native Indians, but was “forgotten” in the modern world due to the availability of air-conditioners and heaters. Passive solar principles are now slowly making a comeback in buildings in the US.
Presenter: Our presenter is Michiel VanderSommen. For more information, contact Michiel directly, at 336-558-4405.
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