QUICK NEWS, July 9: CAPE WIND BEGINS PRE-BUILDING; TOP PV MAKERS TO COME BACK NEXT YEAR; THE ENERGY STORAGE MARKET RIGHT NOW

CAPE WIND BEGINS PRE-BUILDING Cape Wind Begins Major Offshore Operations with Commencement of Final Design & Engineering; Massachusetts-based Specialists are Part of Geology Survey Team

July 5, 2012 (Cape Wind)

“Cape Wind [America’s first offshore wind farm] has commenced a major geotechnical and geophysical survey operation as part of its construction design and engineering process and initial mobilization of the project on Horseshoe Shoal in Nantucket Sound.

“This multi-million dollar offshore program…will continue through September / October, involving up to 50 scientists, engineers, archeologists and geologists using specialized vessels…Fugro…the lead Cape Wind contractor…has performed similar work for a majority of the offshore wind farms built in Europe…”

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“…Fugro will be assisted by Massachusetts contractors including New Bedford based Fathom Research who will work together with the University of Rhode Island performing sediment analysis…Waltham-based ESS Group…[will provide] environmental engineering services and…[oversee] marine mammal monitoring…

“This work will build [in four phases] upon extensive geophysical and geotechnical work completed in obtaining the Federal permit for America’s first offshore wind farm over a nine year permitting effort…[1] acoustic imaging…[will] map the seafloor and the submerged layers below…[2] vibracore samples…[will] look for paleosols and… cultural artifacts…[3] Cone Penetration Tests (CPTs)…[will] measure soil characteristics…[and, 4] geotechnical exploration…”

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TOP PV MAKERS TO COME BACK NEXT YEAR Top-Tier Photovoltaic Polysilicon and Wafer Producers to be Profitable in 2013; Despite continuous price pressure, falling costs expected to enable positive margins for best of class suppliers

July 2, 2012 (SolarBuzz)

“PV (photovoltaic) polysilicon prices are forecast to drop 48% and wafer prices 56% year-over-year in 2012. With such severe price declines, only 12 Chinese PV polysilicon manufacturers are still producing, and more than half of these companies are running at significantly reduced utilization rates. Industry-wide, wafering plant utilization is forecast to average only 53% in 2012.

“But as prices approach current cash costs of even tier 1 makers, price declines are expected to slow to less than 7% per year. Average 2013 polysilicon prices are projected to be $23/Kg and wafer prices to be $0.25/W...[according to] NPD Solarbuzz…[A]t these low prices, top tier makers have a path to positive margins…”

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“Lower-priced polysilicon translates to lower-cost PV wafers. And wafer makers are continuing to drive down processing costs with holistic approaches to reducing slurry consumption, increasing recycling, reducing kerf loss, reducing electricity consumption, increasing conversion efficiency, and more productivity enhancements…

“In the new normal, low-priced PV polysilicon and wafer industry environments, cost reduction is critical for both survival and success…”

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THE ENERGY STORAGE MARKET RIGHT NOW Energy Storage Projects Continue to Increase Worldwide, Rising 8% in the First Half of 2012

July 5, 2012 (Pike Research)

“The market for energy storage is dynamic, but still immature. To date it has been dogged by three criticisms: the market is overstated (projects have been announced but are not online); energy storage is too expensive; and advanced storage technologies are dependent on government support…

“…[A]ccording to a new tracker report from Pike Research, the number of projects deployed on a global basis continues to rise as technologies move at a variety of speeds toward commercialization. The total number of energy storage projects deployed and announced (including inactive projects) rose 8%, from 600 to 649 during the first half of 2012, the tracker report finds…”

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“…The number of deployed projects increased over those 6 months from 482 to 514…The region with the largest base of energy storage is Asia Pacific, which has just over 60 gigawatts of cumulative installed capacity. Reflecting the large domestic base of R&D and manufacturing for battery technologies, the technical diversity of energy storage projects in Asia Pacific is quite wide…

“…While advanced batteries are staged to play a large role in the development of power systems across Asia Pacific, bulk energy storage technologies such as pumped hydro will play an increasingly important role in emerging markets like China…”

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