QUICK NEWS, September 20: SIEMENS ABANDONS NUCLEAR; PV UP BIG ON DOWN PRICES; OLD ENERGY DOWN, NEW ENERGY UP IN U.S.; CYBERSAFE ON THE SMART GRID

SIEMENS ABANDONS NUCLEAR
Siemens announces nuclear pullout
James Quilter, 19 September 2011 (Windpower Monthly)

"Siemens has announced it will cease to design and manufacture components for the nuclear-energy sector…Siemens chief executive Peter Loescher said events at the Fukushima reactor in Japan and the opinion in its German home market were behind the decision.

"The decision comes as Siemens focuses €150 million of its resources on the expansion of its wind-power business…[T]he company is planning to open two research and development centres, and an offshore ‘centre of excellence’ in Denmark. The company, whose 3.6MW turbine is the most popular in the offshore sector, is currently developing a 6MW offshore turbine…"

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"As a mark of its ambition, Siemens…[said] it is prepared to accept a near-halving in the firm's wind profits to remain competitive in the sector and develop new technologies…Despite reasonably stable revenues, Siemens' renewables pre-tax profits in the third quarter of 2011 were almost half the €122 million for the same period last year, down to €68 million.

"This drop means Siemens' renewables profit margin for the three months to June was 6.97%, down from 12.8% in Q3 2010, based on revenues of €975 million and €953 million respectively…"


PV UP BIG ON DOWN PRICES
Solar Module Price Cuts Stimulate Massive Growth in US Photovoltaic Project Pipeline
September 12, 2011 (Solarbuzz)

"Large cuts in factory gate module prices over the summer have resulted in a significant increase in photovoltaic (PV) project development activity in the US. After standing at 17 gigawatts (GW) two months ago, the US non-residential pipeline has now increased to 24 GW.

"The September 2011 edition of the United States Deal Tracker database… identifies 1,865 non-residential projects totaling 25.9 GW either installed, being installed or in their development phase since January 1, 2010. Development phase projects include pre-RFP, going through the RFP process, or planned without RFP…"

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"The collapse in US factory-gate module prices over the past four months is only now starting to impact utility project prices, much more than system sizes below one megawatt. One-fifth of the installed system prices above one megawatt are now $3.75 per watt STC DC (Standard Test Conditions, Direct Current) or below…

"For those projects in the pipeline that have selected their module suppliers, the top three suppliers in MW terms are First Solar, SunPower Corporation, and Suntech Power. Yingli Green, Sharp and SolarWorld are increasing their presence in non-residential projects. The leading inverter suppliers to the pipeline remain Advanced Energy and SatCon Technology…"


OLD ENERGY DOWN, NEW ENERGY UP IN U.S.
Electric Power Monthly
September 15, 2011 (Energy Information Administration)

"Net generation in the United States was down 2.2 percent from June 2010 to June 2011. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported that the average June temperature across the United States was 1.4 degrees F above the long-term average for June. However, June 2011 was cooler than June 2010. The Federal Reserve reported that industrial production was 3.4 percent higher than it had been in June 2010, the eighteenth consecutive month that industrial production was higher than it had been in the corresponding months of the previous year."

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"The rise in wind generation was the largest absolute 'fuel-specific' increase as it was up 2,839 thousand megawatthours, or 35.5 percent…Generation from conventional hydroelectric sources showed the second-largest absolute increase for the same time period…Generation from coal, nuclear, and natural-gas fired sources — typically, by far the three most dominant fuels — were all down in June 2011 from June 2010 levels. Coal-fired declines in Ohio, North Carolina, and Virginia were the largest. Nuclear generation declines in Pennsylvania, Kansas, and Washington were the most substantial…"


CYBERSAFE ON THE SMART GRID
10 ways to deal with cybersecurity in a smart grid world
Ucilia Wang, September 16, 2011 (GigaOm)

"…The U.S. Department of Energy released [Roadmap to Achieve Energy Delivery Systems Cybersecurity]…that aims to help public and private sectors figure out ways to protect the electric grid against cybersecurity breaches."

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"Concerns about cybersecurity have actually grown with the deployment of smart grid technologies, which typically means using digital communication devices with common technical standards…[That] could lead to a hodgepodge of legacy and modern equipment in the transmission and distribution networks that don’t work well together. That also makes it difficult to implement rules and security technologies…[The report] includes a broader array of technologies and scenarios…[and] aims to encourage utilities to invest in cybersecurity measures…"