QUICK NEWS, September 24: EVERYBODY WANTS MORE WIND; BIG MONEY IN SOLAR SERVICING; BUSINESS FACES CLIMATE CHANGE

EVERYBODY WANTS MORE WIND 19 Companies, Including Starbucks And Levi Strauss, Urge Congress To Extend Wind Tax Credit

Stephen Lacey, September 18, 2012 (Climate Progress)

“A group of 19 leading companies has sent a letter to Congress asking lawmakers to immediately extend a key tax credit for wind that is set to expire at the end of the year. The diverse coalition of firms, which includes Ben & Jerry’s, Johnson & Johnson, Levi Strauss, Starbucks, and Yahoo!, says that raising taxes on the wind sector would be bad for businesses that buy large amounts of wind electricity.

“These companies join a very large bi-partisan chorus of renewable energy supporters asking Congress to give the wind industry some certainty and put the sector on a level tax playing field with the oil and gas industry, which enjoys billions of dollars in permanent tax benefits…[T]his latest group of prominent companies is…[arguing that ending] support for wind isn’t just bad for the wind industry, it’s bad for downstream non-utility companies that procure energy from wind…”

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“These 19 leading companies are part of the Business for Innovative Climate & Energy Policy (BICEP), a project from the sustainability advocacy group Ceres. They say that failure to extend the wind credit will add new costs to businesses throughout the economy. Interestingly, far-right conservative groups aggressively opposed to raising taxes are the only ones coming out in opposition to the wind tax credit.

“Over last five years, wind has brought $20 billion of annual private investment to the U.S., according to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). There are now 75,000 jobs across the country in wind manufacturing, operations, maintenance and education…[F]ailure to extend the wind tax credit could result in up to 37,000 job losses in the coming year.”

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BIG MONEY IN SOLAR SERVICING PV Installed Base in US Offers New Revenue Prospects for Systems Providers; Post-Installation Service Contracts Adding Thousands of New Sales Prospects in the Near Term

September 11, 2012 (SolarBuzz)

“Previously over-looked opportunities are now emerging for photovoltaic (PV) systems providers within the United States by addressing the growing requirement for post-installation service contracts across multiple installation sites, such as municipalities and school districts…

“This incremental opportunity represents more than 2,000 immediate new targets for PV systems providers within the US, as a complement to the 37 GW of PV pipeline above the 50 kW level dating back to January 2010…”

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“Completed PV projects in the US now exceed those being installed or planned. More than half of the PV projects are completed, with less than a tenth in the installation phase and slightly more than a third in planning stages…A variety of opportunities now exist for PV systems providers targeting the multi-GW PV installed base…[including] post-installation service contracts across many individual and multiple sites, options to expand the size of existing PV installations, and the potential to up-grade original site installs with advances in PV technology…

Accessing comprehensive details of the back-catalog of completed PV installations above 50 kW in the US is critical to succeed within this new revenue segment. Establishing relationships with commercial PV systems owners also provides the scope for system expansion or new project development in the future… The NPD Solarbuzz United States Deal Tracker reports [in detail such] project activity…”

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BUSINESS FACES CLIMATE CHANGE Starting to tackle climate change

Trish Wheaten, September 20, 2012 (The Hill)

“…Corporate America is warming to the idea that profitability and environmental sustainability are not mutually exclusive. The world will not be able to stave off the environmental calamities threatening our planet --like climate change -- without a strong commitment from America's business community...[Profit is] an incentive to make that commitment.

“The threat climate change poses to our way of life is real…Elevated temperatures don't just damage the environment -- they have an adverse effect on the economy…The U.S. Department of Agriculture predicts that the severe drought that afflicted the Midwest this summer will reduce average corn yields to their lowest levels in 17 years. As a result, corn prices could soon rise to $8.90 per bushel, up from just $5 a bushel in June…[which] could drive up the cost of food -- and even lead to shortages. Both farmers and consumers could pay dearly…”

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“…[M]any U.S. and global companies are taking concerted action to go green…Procter & Gamble, Ford, [Best Buy] and Coca-Cola have all instituted rigorous carbon footprint targets…Nissan, Mitsubishi, and Tesla are all increasing production rates for cars powered partially or entirely by electricity. Ford launched the Focus Electric…And General Motors is working on new technology that could power an electric car for up to 200 miles on a single charge.

“Many firms have also started requiring their suppliers to develop and deliver products that meet aggressive environmental standards. Levi's, for instance, has committed to becoming carbon neutral and using renewable energy exclusively throughout its supply chain…75 percent of [WalMart’s] California stores now use solar power to run their operations…Because of their sheer size, corporate behemoths can have a sizeable positive impact…Wal-Mart, for instance, has more than 10,000 stores worldwide…”

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