QUICK NEWS, October 11: PARADIGM SHIFT IN SUN; SO DAKOTA COULD BOOST WIND; KEYSTONE NOT THE PROBLEM – WASHPOST

PARADIGM SHIFT IN SUN
The New Utility-Scale Era? Major Project Acquisition Spells Tech Changeover
Jessica Lillian, 6 October 2011 (Solar Industry)

"Solar Millennium AG and solarhybrid AG, both based in Germany, have entered into an agreement under which solarhybrid will acquire Solar Millennium's solar project portfolio in the U.S. Southwest…[and] the entire project pipeline - which totals 2.25 GW - will be converted to PV technology.

"…[T]hree main projects in the U.S - the 1 GW Blythe project, the 500 MW Palen project and the 500 MW Amargosa Farm Road project - were all originally planned as concentrating solar power (CSP) plants."

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"Development of the massive Blythe plant, currently under way in California, has already…[been converted to PV] as CSP continues to fall out of favor for large-scale solar development in the U.S…[as was] K Road Power Holding Co.'s 850 MW Calico solar project…Developers have cited better project financeability and reduced land impact as primary reasons for turning to PV technologies.

"solarhybrid USA, a wholly owned subsidiary of solarhybrid AG, will serve as general contractor and perform the engineering, procurement and construction duties for Solar Millennium's plants. Construction may begin on the Blythe plant as early as 2013…Solar Millennium says it will now focus on CSP and hybrid power plants in Europe, Asia, North Africa and Latin America, although it is still expected to retain a financial stake in its U.S. projects…"


SO DAKOTA COULD BOOST WIND
SD panel urges cut in wind farm construction taxes
5 October 2011 (CNBC)

"A legislative task force recommended…the state cut construction taxes for wind farms to help South Dakota compete with nearby states in attracting projects that generate electricity from wind…[but] the Wind Energy Task Force will leave it up to Gov. Dennis Daugaard and the full Legislature to decide exactly how to reduce the contractor's excise tax and sales tax that apply to construction costs of wind farms.

"…[T]he task force...found that South Dakota's construction taxes are substantially higher than those charged by neighboring states…[C]onstruction taxes play an important role in determining the cost of a wind project, and South Dakota's contractor's excise tax puts it at a disadvantage to other states that do not have the tax…"

A huge asset, worth spending to develop (click to enlarge)

"Deputy Revenue Secretary David Wiest, also a task force member, cast the only vote against the recommendation to reduce construction taxes, saying he is not convinced South Dakota's taxes on wind farms are significantly higher than other states. South Dakota has other advantages, such as wind that keeps turbines turning a higher percentage of the time than in other states, he said…

"South Dakota charges a 4 percent sales tax on materials used in constructing wind farms and other projects. It also levies a 2 percent excise tax on a contractor's gross receipts for a project…[A]n analysis done by developers…found the South Dakota sales tax and contractor's excise tax on a 200-megawatt wind project, with an estimated price tag of about $360 million, would be $12.9 million under current law. Construction taxes on the same project would be $2 million in North Dakota, $2.8 million in Minnesota and $3.4 million in Iowa…"


KEYSTONE NOT THE PROBLEM – WASHPOST
Keystone XL pipeline is the wrong target for protesters
October 10, 2011 (Washington Post)

"…The activists [fighting the Keystone XL pipeline] have the wrong target…[T]he petroleum that comes from Alberta’s “tar sands” isn’t very clean; it produces more carbon emissions than light sweet crude. And…pipelines can leak, as recent ruptures in Michigan and under the Yellowstone River demonstrate…But rejecting the pipeline won’t reduce global carbon emissions or the risk of environmentally destructive spills.

"Canada’s government — and rising world petroleum prices — guarantee that the country will extract the oil from its tar sands, and that Asia will take it if America doesn’t...burning fossil fuels and risking ocean spills along the way. China already has a large stake in Canadian oil production. Plans are already in the works to build the necessary pipelines."

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"…[Critics say] petroleum companies want to export much of the Canadian oil abroad after refining it in Gulf Coast facilities…But if export markets are that attractive, Canadian crude will reach them…and American refineries will get their low-grade crude from somewhere else…The more American refineries source their low-grade crude via pipeline from Canada and not from tankers out of the Middle East or Venezuela, the better, even if not every refined barrel stays in the country.

"Producing energy is a dirty business, and it will remain so for a long time, even with the right policies. Part of facing this reality is admitting that how the world produces energy must change over time. But another part is accepting that oil production will continue for decades and clear-headedly managing the risks — not pretending we can wish them away."