MORE NEWS, 11-25: HOUSES W/O UTILITY BILLS; HEARTLAND WIND FROM ENEL, WINDSTREAM; THE SUCCESS OF NET METERING; UTILITIES AND SOLAR POWER PLANTS

HOUSES W/O UTILITY BILLS
Port Washington homes could lack utility bills
Tom Dayton, November 23, 2009 (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

"Developer Mike Speas acknowledges that the nine "green" houses he plans to build in Port Washington could lack some features, such as attached garages or granite kitchen countertops…[or] monthly heating and electricity bills.

"The homes will include geothermal systems, which absorb heat from beneath the ground as a substitute for conventional furnaces. The building frames will use heavily insulated panels, instead of studs, to provide a higher level of insulation…the larger windows [will face] south, to absorb more sunlight. And the roofs will have solar panels for hot water heaters, with additional room to allow homeowners to install solar panels to provide electricity."

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"The proposed nine-lot subdivision, called the Terraces at Mineral Springs [and planned for a 5.7-acre parcel on S. Division St., on the city's south edge], just won conceptual approval from the Port Washington Plan Commission…Speas plans to build homes of about 1,200 square feet, with three bedrooms and two bathrooms, and sell them for about $200,000.

"The heavy insulation, solar panels and geothermal systems, which are reversed during the summer to cool the house, cost "a ton of money" compared with conventional home building techniques…To keep the price around $200,000, he might not include the detached garage, which the homeowner could build later…[and not finish] the basement [or include] photovoltaic solar panels…"

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"But home buyers who decide to install the photovoltaic panels will be generating their own electricity. Among other things, that solar power will run the geothermal system to provide cooling and heating…It's that energy savings - not necessarily a "green consciousness" - that Speas says will help sell the homes…

"[T]he houses will have an aesthetic appeal, Speas said, with a traditional arts-and-crafts bungalow design that blends with the city's older homes…But energy-producing houses are often aimed at wealthy buyers…[whereas the] Port Washington homes will target more middle-class families who make an investment on the front end that will be repaid through lower energy costs…Rebates from the state's Focus on Energy program, along with federal tax credits for buying and installing solar panels, can help reduce those upfront costs…"


HEARTLAND WIND FROM ENEL, WINDSTREAM
Enel unit to develop 4,000 MW US wind projects
November 24, 2009 (Reuters via Forbes)
and
Wind turbine maker plans southern Indiana plant
November 23, 2009 (AP via Chicago Tribune)

"Italy's biggest renewable energy company, Enel Green Power [plans] to develop more than 4,000 megawatt of wind projects in the United States after buying a minority stake in Minnesota-based Geronimo Wind Energy.

"Under a strategic partnership agreement, Enel Green Power [the green energy arm of Italy's biggest utility] will inject capital to develop the project pipeline and also have the priority right to buy, own and operate wind projects developed by Geronimo…It did not say how much it paid for the stake or how much it planned to invest in developing new US wind projects…

"…[Enel reportedly plans]several small-size acquisitions in wind power generation by the end of this year, targeting small companies with assets and project pipelines…Enel Green Power, with over 4,500 MW of installed solar, wind and other renewable energy capacity around the world, has been boosting its U.S. clean energy portfolio. It has a similar investment in TradeWind Energy based near Lenexa, Kansas."

click thru to learn more about ENEL

"WindStream Technologies Inc. said…its [planned development and production facility for small-scale wind turbines in Indiana] could have more than 260 workers by 2012. The company is now based in California and plans to begin hiring as facility and equipment upgrades are made at the site in the Purdue Research Park of Southeast Indiana.

"WindStream says its TurboMills are designed to capture wind energy in urban areas. The devices are intended as a low-cost way to supplement a customer's electricity needs.

"The Indiana Economic Development Corp. offered WindStream up to $1.5 million in performance-based tax credits for the project."


THE SUCCESS OF NET METERING
Grading the Net-Metering Program, One State at a Time; A consortium of U.S. net-metering advocates have graded each state for its net metering and grid interconnection policies to see who’s naughty or nice
Ucilla Wang, November 24, 2009 (Greentech Media)

"A group of net-metering advocates in the United States has released a report grading each state's policies on allowing residents and businesses to get compensated for feeding excessive electricity from their renewable energy systems to the electric grid.

"…[Freeing the Grid, from the Network for New Energy Choices, Vote Solar, the Interstate Renewable Energy Council, the Solar Alliance and the North Carolina Solar Center,] gave 15 states an "A" or "B" for making it relatively easy and affordable to connect their solar, wind or other types of systems to the grid…[I]n 2007, only one state got the high mark…[Also, the new] report gave 27 states an "A" or "B" for net-metering rules that allow residents to get credit for sending unused electricity to the grid. That's also a big jump from 2007, when 13 states won that recognition…"

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"…[M]any states with mandates for their utilities to boost their offerings of renewable electricity also have incentives in place to entice consumers to install renewable energy systems. Net-metering policies exist in 42 states and Washington, D.C…California, which has been ahead of other states in adopting policies and subsidies that are friendly to renewable energy, has scored well…Texas, the big wind energy producing state, has no net-metering program…States that flunked in…[net metering or interconnection] included Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Wyoming, Utah and Minnesota.

"Net-metering policies are meant to promote generating solar, wind or biomass electricity where it's consumed. Solar energy system owners could export extra electricity to the grid and get credits on their bills that are equivalent to the retail price…But writing and deploying effective net-metering programs is far from simple. And whether they are cost effective is subject to debate."

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"In California, a legislative effort to raise the cap for net-metering customers prompted utilities to question whether net metering benefits a small group of people at the expense of those who can't afford or choose not to install solar. Utilities typically recoup the cost of the programs…[with] rate hikes…to their overall customer base…The California Public Utilities Commission is due to release a report in January that will examine this and other issues…Efforts to raise the net-metering cap in California didn't succeed…

"…[In the report] good interconnection standards refer to rules that clearly spell out the technical and legal mandates. They also do not impose expensive fees or add costs by requiring devices such as redundant disconnect switches, which the report said adds to the cost of installing solar without providing the intended safety assurances…Good net-metering rules should make it easy for consumers to earn credits from their utilities for feeding excessive electricity to grid…[and] advocates want states to forego restrictions on the size of solar energy systems or the types of customers…"


UTILITIES AND SOLAR POWER PLANTS
Hedging bets: Why the utilities can’t afford to ignore CSP
Rikki Stancich, 23 November 2009 (CSP Today)

"CSPToday: …[W]hat policies need to be in place to support the continuing development of CSP in the US?..."

[Dr Fred Morse, Chair, Utility-Scale Solar Power Division/U.S. Solar Energy Industries Association, and co-Chair, Western Governors’ Association Solar Task Force, and senior US operations advisor, Abengoa Solar Inc, and former Executive Director of the White House Assessment of Solar Energy as a National Energy Resource and senior executive in charge of solar R&D and market development, U.S. Department of Energy:] "…[A] variety…including financial incentives, siting & permitting, transmission planning, and a cap on greenhouse gas emissions…[T]he most important is access to long-term, low-interest financing, which is what built our hydro resources many decades ago, to the long-term benefit of the country…[N]o public land has been approved for solar project development, despite a long history of fossil fuel development…[so] SEIA is working with the Bureau of Land Management and other agencies to ensure there is a clear and thorough review process…Transmission is another key issue…Finally, setting a price on carbon will be important for utilities and consumers to realize the long-term value of solar and other clean, renewable energy resources."

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"CSP Today: What is likely to kick-start project financing in the US? Does the loan guarantee program hold any promise for CSP?…[Morse:] There was a meltdown in the financial markets…But when you speak about a CSP plant in the hundreds of megawatts, you are talking about US$1 billion…So the U.S. Congress included a federal loan guarantee in the stimulus bill…[M]ost CSP developers believe this federal loan guarantee program is one of the keys to getting CSP projects built in the U.S.

"CSP Today: What challenges exist in the US, in terms of transmission, and what solutions are emerging?…[Morse:] Our power grid is out-dated and requires new lines to connect solar-rich areas to growing population centers…Just as our highway system was constructed through a national planning effort, we need to plan for our transmission needs on a regional and interconnection-wide basis…[S]preading the costs of new transmission across an entire interconnection or region will make it much easier to finance…Finally, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission should have back-stop authority to approve the siting of new transmission…"

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"CSP Today: Is thermal storage likely to become a pre-requisite in US CSP projects?…[Morse:] Thermal storage is profoundly valuable to the utilities…Abengoa Solar's project in Arizona does incorporate thermal storage. But it would not have been selected without it; the utility (Arizona Public Service) required it…[A] solar resource during the daytime is of little value to the utility in terms of managing peak loads. They need energy during the morning and evening peaks…Thermal energy storage allows a CSP plant to meet that demand.

"CSP Today: What is the ceiling for CSP in the US? What will its overall share of the electricity generated be and how central will it be to energy strategy?…[Morse:] Today, there are about 8,000 MW of CSP projects with signed PPAs. That means the utilities who signed those PPAs accepted the price for electricity generated by those CSP plants…[I]f CSP is already competitive enough to get PPAs for 8,000 megawatts signed, I believe that CSP will continue to capture a growing part of the future electricity demand in the Southwest and, with adequate new transmission, begin to meet electricity demand across the United States..."