QUICK NEWS, 12-7: BIGGEST U.S. PV PLANT ONLINE; COAL’S LONG GOODBYE; EU WILL BUILD SUPERGRID; RENT AN EV FROM HERTZ

BIGGEST U.S. PV PLANT ONLINE
Sempra Generation Completes Largest U.S. Photovoltaic Solar Power Plant
6 December 2010 (PR-USA.NET)

"Sempra Generation, a subsidiary of Sempra Energy… has completed construction on the largest photovoltaic solar power plant in the U.S…The 48-megawatt (MW) Copper Mountain Solar facility, located in Boulder City, Nev., about 40 miles southeast of Las Vegas, is now generating enough emission-free electricity to power about 14,000 average homes…

"Construction on Copper Mountain Solar began in January 2010 at the 380-acre desert site. About 350 construction workers at peak installed nearly 775,000 thin-film photovoltaic solar panels, which convert sunlight directly into electricity…First Solar of Tempe, Ariz., supplied the solar panels and served as the engineering, procurement and construction contractor."

Copper Mountain Solar (click to enlarge)

"The power from Copper Mountain Solar and Sempra Generation's adjacent 10-MW El Dorado Solar plant has been sold to Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) under separate 20-year contracts. California utilities are required to procure 20 percent of their energy supply from alternative sources by the end of 2010, increasing to 33 percent by 2020.

"Sempra Generation is expanding its renewable energy portfolio throughout the Western U.S. [aimed at developing more than 1,000 MW of solar projects in California, Arizona and Nevada]…The company expects to begin construction on the first phase of a 600-MW solar project in Arizona next year, and recently received approval to build a 200-MW solar farm in Kern County, Calif. The company also recently announced that it has become an equal partner with BP Wind Energy in the development of a 250-MW wind project in Colorado that is currently under construction…"


$2.5 MIL FROM WIND TO PROTECT BIRDS
Energy company to pay $2.5 million, replace wind turbines to reduce raptor deaths
Denis Cuff, December 6, 2010 (Contra Costa Times via Kansas City Star)

"…[NextEra Energy Resources, the] largest wind energy producer in the Altamont Pass area in California's Alameda and Contra Costa counties has agreed [with the state and several environmental groups] to replace 2,400 wind turbines within four years and pay $2.5 million in a legal settlement to reduce deaths of eagles, hawks and other raptors hacked by turbine blades…

"[Michael Lynes, conservation director for the Golden Gate Audubon Society] praised the deal as a model for producing wind energy while minimizing the heavy toll the whirling turbine blades take on hundreds of raptors each year…"

Altamont was one of the few large-scale sites where bird deaths were a real problem - and now that will be rectified. (click to enlarge)

"The settlement resolves a debate about whether the company was making sufficient progress toward a previous legal pledge to reduce bird kills by 50 percent from 2007 to 2010…New wind turbines are much larger and produce much more energy than old ones, reducing the number of blades that birds can fly into."

Altamont was built before the crucial role of siting was well understood. (click to enlarge)

"Under the deal, NextEra agreed to replace 2,400 of its turbines within four years. If it falls behind schedule, the company also pledges to shut down all its existing turbines no later than 2015…The company also pledged to put the new turbines in environmentally friendly locations…Many turbines installed in the Altamont Pass in the 1970s and 1980s were placed in swales between ridges where golden eagles like to soar when looking for prey…

"The wind company said it would contribute $1.25 million to the California Energy Commission for research on reducing bird kills at Altamont Pass…[and] give another $1.25 million to the East Bay Regional Park District and the Livermore Area Recreation and Park to improve and protect raptor habitat…The Altamont Pass is a prime breeding and migratory area for raptors."


COAL’S LONG GOODBYE
Report: A dramatic drop in coal-fired power by 2035 in the U.S.
December 6, 2010 (Reuters)

"Coal’s share of the United States’ electricity market will drop dramatically over the next two decades as supplies of low-cost natural gas expand and new pollution controls come into effect, according to a new study by Black & Veatch, the engineering and consulting giant.

"The firm projects that coal-fired power plants will provide 25 percent of the nation’s electricity in 2035, down from 49 percent today. Natural gas-powered facilities’ share of electricity generation will rise to 40 percent, up from 21 percent. Renewable energy production will spike from four percent to 11 percent while nuclear generation increases slightly from 20 percent to 21 percent in 2035 under Black & Veatch’s scenario…"

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"Black & Veatch predicts that about 16 percent of the U.S.’ coal-fired fleet will be retired in the coming years to avoid the cost of complying with new pollution control measures…[But] the future is rife with uncertainty over how low natural gas prices will go and for how long. Complicating matters are the prospects for national climate change legislation that would impose caps on carbon emissions. While chances of Congress of passing a cap-and-trade system in the next two years are slim to none…legislation will eventually be enacted."

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"Electric cars and their potential to stimulate electricity demand pose another unknown…In other words, technological changes potentially could render investments in multibillion-dollar power plants and infrastructure white elephants.

"During the recession year of 2009, electricity demand fell 4.1 percent in the United States, the biggest drop in 60 years. Demand increased 4.7 percent in 2010 but…[it is not certain] that uptick [is] a sign of a resurgence in power generation…Accounting for the unseasonable weather, actual demand growth will be less than two percent in 2010 [and about the same is expected in 2011]…"


RENT AN EV FROM HERTZ
Hertz to rent electric Smart cars
James R. Healey, December 6, 2010 (USA Today)

"…[S]ome car shoppers rent a car like the one they're considering to see if they like it before signing the check…[so] Hertz, the big rental-car company, and Smart, the tiny-car brand, are teaming to let you rent an electric Smart ForTwo…in New York City (starting Dec. 15), Washington (first quarter 2011) and San Francisco (second quarter 2011).

"Hertz says the electric Smart -- not available for general sale through Smart dealers until 2012 -- can be rented through its Hertz Rent A Car and its Connect by Hertz sites…Rates weren't set [yet]…"

The Smart EV (click to enlarge)

"Smart forecasts a range of 84 miles on a charge, more or less. Recharging takes three and a half hours to hit 80%-full on a 220-volt circuit, eight hours to charge 100%. Roughly double those times if you're using 110 to 120 volts, Smart says…Hertz says it'll put lists of recharging stations in each car. Eventually the stations will be noted on the Hertz-supplied vehicle navigation systems.

"You also can lease an electric ForTwo now from Smart: $2,500 down and $599 per month for four years. Smart says its iPhone app eventually will tell you where to find charging sites…Smart's only bringing 250 of the 2011 electrics to the U.S., so finding one to lease or rent could be tricky until the 2012 regular production begins."