QUICK NEWS, 7-12: WIRES FOR WIND COSTS, BENEFITS;UTILITIES BUILDING NEW ENERGY; LITTLE MEIGS, OHIO, TO BUILD BIG SOLAR; GERMANY WANTS 100% NEW ENERGY

WIRES FOR WIND COSTS, BENEFITS
Costs add up, but so do benefits
Editorial, July 10, 2010 (Indianapolis Star)

"…[It] behooves consumers of electricity to keep [the multibillion-dollar cost of transmission lines for wind power] in perspective.

"Alternative energy is not free, or even cheap. Wind, solar and other renewable fuels will not surpass, much less replace, coal and oil in the near future…[but] green power has proven itself to be a worthwhile, indeed necessary, investment. It can cut significantly into the dominance of fossil fuels, reducing the nation's dependence on foreign oil and offsetting the inevitably increasing costs of gasoline, coal-fired electricity generation and their emissions control."

Surely tt would be a shame to be pennywise and foolishly squander the rich wind resources of the Midwest. (click to enlarge)

"Wind, solar and their cousins mean jobs and income for landowners…They're impervious to embargoes by faraway dictators. Their environmental impact will not be 100 percent benign, but the negatives won't compare to the pollution tonnage of fossil fuels…

"[T]he Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will be deliberating on a $2-a-month question for Indiana electricity customers…It is not a trivial matter. The commission must decide who is to pay how much for the massive infrastructure -- $16 billion worth of power lines, the industry says -- that will be needed to move wind energy from the wide open spaces where it's generated to the cities and towns…"

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"…[C]oncern has arisen that consumers will get stuck with the entire tab -- and that some…will pay disproportionately. Wind farmers insist they can't afford to shoulder even 20 percent. If customers take on 100 percent, as the multistate utility-backed organization that monitors the grid has tentatively proposed, the average monthly Indiana electric bill is expected to rise at least $2.

"Fairness is at issue as the federal commission meets with state regulators and others in attempting to arrive at a plan for allocating costs…Least-cost is always a desirable goal. But getting the job done is paramount. In the days when coal and oil were cheap, or seemed so, alternative energy was a fringe pursuit for the wealthy and the eccentric. Today and tomorrow, it had better be mainstream, because the alternative is unaffordable."


UTILITIES BUILDING NEW ENERGY
California Approves Edison-Millenium Solar Power Contract
Cassandra Sweet, July 8, 2010 (Wall Street Journal)

"California regulators…approved a solar-power contract between units of Edison International and Solar Millenium AG.

"The California Public Utilities Commission approved a 20-year contract that Southern California Edison signed with Solar Millenium development units to buy the output from two 242-megawatt solar-thermal power facilities in California."

A parabolic trough solar power plant in California's Mojave Desert. (photo by NewEnergyNews - click to enlarge)

"The plants, proposed for different locations in the arid southeastern part of the state, will use parabolic mirrors to collect heat energy from the sun and beam it to a tube filled with fluid that will generate steam to drive power turbines…Both plants are expected to be completed by mid-2014 and generate about 550 gigawatt-hours each a year."

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"The CPUC also approved a 5-year contract between Sempra Energy unit San Diego Gas & Electric Co. and Calpine Corp. for 25 megawatts of geothermal power from existing facilities in northern California…Terms of the deals have not been disclosed.

"Edison, SDG&E and PG&E Corp.'s (PCG) utility are required to use renewable sources for a fifth of the power they sell by the end of this year. Pending legislation would expand that mandate to one-third renewables by 2020."


LITTLE MEIGS, OHIO, TO BUILD BIG SOLAR
AMP signs deal to develop solar plant
Beth Sergent, June 2010 (Pomeroy Daily Sentinel)

"American Municipal Power… has partnered with Standard Energy, an affiliate of Standard Solar, to develop up to 300 megawatts of new solar energy generation capacity.

"The agreement between the two companies is for 30 years…[for] one of the largest groups of solar electricity facility developments in the country…The power generated by this venture will be offered to AMP’s 128 member utilities in six states which include Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Virginia, Kentucky and West Virginia."

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"AMP’s announcement left many in the local community wondering what, if anything, this means to the possible development of AMP’s property in Letart Falls into a natural gas-powered power plant."

Are those guys from AMP? (click to enlarge)

"Perry Varnadoe, Meigs County economic development director, said AMP developing its energy portfolio to include more solar energy has nothing to do with the company deliberating the development of a natural gas plant…

"Varnadoe said a rough figure concerning how much a natural gas plant would generate is around 500-700 MW. As for the 300 MW solar development project, Varnadoe was not surprised, saying he knew this was a project AMP had been working on for some time to expand their power portfolio…"


GERMAN 2050 AIM - 100% NEW ENERGY
Germany targets switch to 100% renewables for its electricity by 2050; Germany already leads the world on renewable energy and could become first G20 country to kick the fossil-fuel habit
7 July 2010 (Reuters via UK Guardian)

"Germany could derive all of its electricity from renewable energy sources by 2050 and become the world's first major industrial nation to kick the fossil-fuel habit, the country's Federal Environment Agency said…

"The country already gets 16% of its electricity from wind, solar and other renewable sources – three times' higher than the level it had achieved 15 years ago…"

Germany is beating the wind rich nations of the world to the jobs and the money... (click to enlarge)

"Thanks to its Renewable Energy Act, Germany is the world leader in photovoltaics: it expects to add more than 5,000 megawatts of photovoltaic capacity this year to reach a total of 14,000 megawatts. It is also the second-biggest wind-power producer after the United States. Some 300,000 renewable energy jobs have been created in Germany in the last decade."

...And shaming the sun-rich nations. (click to enlarge)

"The government has set goals for cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 40% between 1990 and 2020, and by 80-85% by 2050…[It] could be achieved if Germany switches completely to renewable sources by 2050…

"About 40% of Germany's greenhouse gases come from electricity production, in particular, from coal-fired power plants…[S]witching to green electricity by 2050 would have economic advantages [as well], especially for the vital export-oriented manufacturing industry. It would also create tens of thousands of jobs…"