QUICK NEWS, April 17: TOP UTILITIES FOR NEW ENERGY; U.S. BABY STEPS TOWARD OCEAN WIND SUPPLY CHAIN; THE NEW LIGHT ECOSYSTEM

TOP UTILITIES FOR NEW ENERGY 2012 SEPA Top 10 Utility Solar Rankings Preview; Large-scale Solar Projects Drive New Market Growth

April 16, 2013 (Solar Electric Power Association)

"The Solar Electric Power Association’s (SEPA) sixth annual Utility Solar Rankings report analyzes the amount of new solar power interconnected by U.S. electric utilities in 2012. It covers more than 260 of the most solar-active utilities, representing more than 96 percent of the national U.S. solar electric power market...Three key trends emerged from the data...

"...[1] Annual solar capacity surpassed 2 gigawatts for the first time in 2012...Utilities integrated almost 2.4 gigawatts (GW-ac) or 2,384 megawatts (MW-ac) of solar electric capacity in 2012. This is equivalent to the construction of 8 natural gas combined cycle power plants. The U.S. now has more than 300,000 solar projects and almost 6.1 GW-ac installed across the country."

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"...[2] Utilities purchased more than 1 gigawatt of large-scale solar. The market share for large-scale solar projects (> 5 MW) was 1,106 MW or 46 percent of all annual solar capacity, a growth of almost 250 percent over 2011. This wholesale market segment encompassed more than 70 photovoltaic (PV) projects, including Pacific Gas and Electric’s purchase of the largest solar PV project in the world, the 250 MW Agua Caliente project. Utilities owned 12 percent and purchased the remaining 88 percent through power purchase agreements. No concentrating solar power (CSP) projects were completed in 2012, but at least six projects totaling 750 megawatts are anticipated in 2013...

"...[3] Customer-sited solar remains a large part of the solar market. Net metered projects, effectively the customer-facing part of the market, accounted for more than 99 percent of the number of installed systems in 2012. Utilities interconnected nearly 90,000 net metered projects totaling 1,151 MW-ac last year, representing a 46 percent growth over 2011. There are currently about 3.5 GW of net metered projects in the country, approximately 80 percent of which are concentrated in five states – California, New Jersey, Arizona, Hawaii and Massachusetts."

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U.S. BABY STEPS TOWARD OCEAN WIND SUPPLY CHAIN US takes cue from Europe to strengthen offshore wind supply chain; The likelihood of U.S.-based offshore manufacturing capacity will depend on turbine suppliers perceiving stable, long-term policy support and subsequent demand for offshore wind in the U.S. market.

Ritesh Gupta, April 15, 2013 (Wind Energy Update)

“…As offshore turbine designs continue to specialise and diverge from land-based designs, new facilities are likely to locate close to one another and near key ports, similar to the European model…The likelihood of U.S.-based offshore manufacturing capacity will depend on turbine suppliers perceiving stable, long-term policy support and subsequent demand for offshore wind in the U.S. market…In addition, they must have access to (or train) a sufficiently skilled workforce and appropriate logistical and installation capabilities…The opportunity…is highest in foundations/ substructures, towers, blade materials, and power converters and transformers…

“…[Three key factors are]…1) The expected timing of sufficient demand to support domestic manufacturing…2) the probability of shortfall in global offshore supply through 2015; and 3) The ease of transferability of land-based supply to serving the offshore wind market…Market barriers faced by new suppliers in the offshore wind industry fall into two primary categories…[inadequate production planning and inadequate production facilities]…”

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“Consistent policy will reduce the market fluctuation and supply chain disruptions…Strong and consistent demand will also make it more attractive for banks to lend to suppliers who want to invest in new equipment to build the larger components required by the offshore market. With a strong backlog of orders, suppliers will find it attractive to build port-side manufacturing facilities to reduce transportation costs and improve delivery times…

“There are multiple approaches for driving demand that have been used successfully in Europe. These approaches deal with lowering the cost of offshore wind; lowering or removing technical and infrastructure-related challenges; and removing regulatory challenges involved with siting and permitting of projects…”

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THE NEW LIGHT ECOSYSTEM LED Supply Chain Dynamics

2Q 2013 (Navigant Research)

“The lighting industry is on the verge of a large-scale shift away from the traditional technologies of fluorescent, incandescent, and high-intensity discharge (HID) lighting toward light-emitting diodes (LEDs)…as the efficacy and quality of LEDs surpass those of competing technologies and as prices fall to enable reasonable payback periods.

“This transition has been widely expected for a number of years, leading to the launch of new LED-focused companies and to the repositioning of existing lighting companies to take advantage of LED sales. Now…the repercussions are rippling up and down the LED supply chain.”

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“…[C]onsolidation…driven by a desire for vertical integration among the larger lighting companies…is being driven by the relentless demand for lower prices and higher quality. While the total number of vendors involved in the LED supply chain will likely shrink, other factors – including the expiration of existing patents, new interchangeability standards, new technologies, and an expected upsurge in creative product designs will create opportunities for new entrants at each level of the supply chain…

…Navigant Research forecasts that annual worldwide revenue from LED lamps will grow from just over $1.5 billion in 2013 to more than $8.5 billion in 2021…”

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