QUICK NEWS, December 4: INDIA-U.S. SOLAR TRADE WAR; MILESTONES FOR TIDAL POWER; WIND PUTS 25% OF POWER, 10 GW, ON MIDWEST GRID

INDIA-U.S. SOLAR TRADE WAR New Trade War Twist: India Now Investigating Solar Imports From U.S.

Jessica Lillian, 29 November 2012 (Solar Industry)

"Shortly after the completion of the U.S. Department of Commerce's investigation into Chinese solar exports, the U.S. now finds itself involved in…[India's] anti-dumping investigation into photovoltaic cells exported into India from the U.S…China, Malaysia and Taiwan…A coalition of India-based PV manufacturers, including Indosolar Ltd., Jupiter Solar Power Ltd. and Websol Energy Systems Ltd., filed the initial anti-dumping complaint…

"…India's trade association has long been ‘publicly critical’ of imports from the U.S…India's solar trade probe joins several other pending investigations around the world, including two separate module-dumping cases filed by SolarWorld-led European group EU ProSun against China, as well as an investigation by China's Ministry of Commerce into alleged solar polysilicon dumping by the U.S. and South Korea…India's case includes not only crystalline silicon solar products but also thin-film products…"

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"...[Use] of thin-film modules from…First Solar and other U.S. manufacturers in Indian solar plants has been a particular source of longstanding tension…India's Centre for Science and Environment…publicly accused the U.S. of ‘killing’ Indian solar manufacturing by offering Indian solar developers low-interest loans through its Export-Import Bank and Overseas Private Investment Corp. in exchange for mandating that the developers use solar products from the U.S…Although India's National Solar Mission rules require that projects eligible for the program use domestically manufactured modules, thin-film PV is currently exempt…

"…[Next steps and the basic timeline] are expected to closely resemble those of the U.S. and EU solar trade probes…[A] key component will be detailed questionnaires on import quantities and pricing…[I]n the Solarworld-led U.S. solar trade case against China…[the] tariff rate for companies that did not participate in the investigation soared as high as 254.66%, while others saw tariffs ranging from 23.75% to 30.66%...[I]t is too soon to begin speculating on whether tariffs ultimately will be imposed…[Ultimately,] U.S. suppliers…may simply need to adjust their supply channels [through uninvolved countries like Mexico]…"

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MILESTONES FOR TIDAL POWER Hat Trick for SeaGen Tidal Current Turbine

2012 November 28 (Siemens)

“The tidal current turbine installation SeaGen in Northern Ireland's Strangford Lough has achieved three power generation milestones…

“…[T]he tidal current turbine has fed [a record breaking] more than six gigawatt hours of electrical power into the grid [since installation in 2008]…”

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“…[The] leap from five to six gigawatt hours took only 68 days to complete…the narrowest time frame for the generation of a single gigawatt hour since the turbine started operation. This is even more remarkable since this period also included a 9-day outage due to a number of reasons, among them routine engineering inspections.

“During a strong spring tide on 14th October 2012, SeaGen achieved no fewer than 22.52 megawatt hours (MWh) - its highest level of power generation in a single day…”

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WIND PUTS 25% OF POWER, 10 GW, ON MIDWEST GRID Wind power output tops 10,000 MW in U.S. Midwest

November 28, 2012 (Reuters)

“Wind power output in the U.S. Midwest electrical grid surpassed 10,000 megawatts (MW) for the first time on Nov. 23, representing more than 25 percent of the generation being used at that time.

“MISO manages more than 11,000 MW of installed wind generation in service, with more than 7,000 MW of projects under construction or development…[One megawatt] powers about 300 homes.”

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“Wind capacity in the MISO footprint has grown dramatically since 2006, when the grid began integrating wind into its market operations…[U]tilities are buying more wind to meet consumer demand for cleaner energy and because several states require power companies to acquire some of their energy from renewable sources.

“MISO serves 11 U.S. Midwest states and the province of Manitoba in Canada…The biggest power companies in MISO include units of Duke Energy Corp, Xcel Energy Inc, Ameren Corp , Berkshire Hathaway Inc's MidAmerican Energy, DTE Energy Co and CMS Energy Corp…”

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