QUICK NEWS, April 2: SOLAR AND WIND POLL FIRST; THE BIGGEST SOLAR BUILDERS; CONNECTICUT RENEWABLES STANDARD THREATENED

SOLAR AND WIND POLL FIRST Americans Want More Emphasis on Solar, Wind, Natural Gas; Oil, nuclear, and coal are more popular with Republicans and in the South

Dennis Jacobe, March 27, 2013 (Gallup)

“…[T]wo in three Americans want the U.S. to put more emphasis on producing domestic energy using solar power (76%), wind (71%), and natural gas (65%). Far fewer want to emphasize the production of oil (46%) and the use of nuclear power (37%). Least favored is coal, with about one in three Americans wanting to prioritize its domestic production.

“Democrats' and independents' top choice is solar power, while natural gas places first among Republicans. Republicans and Democrats disagree most on the priority that should be given to oil as a future energy source -- with 71% of Republicans wanting more emphasis placed on it, compared with 29% among Democrats. Republicans are also much more supportive than Democrats of coal (51% vs. 21%) and nuclear power (49% vs. 30%).”

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“…[Americans] living in the South tend to be more supportive of traditional energy sources…[but] for Americans in every region, including the South, solar power is the top choice, or is tied for the top spot…

“Americans overall and across political and socioeconomic groups generally are most likely to call for more emphasis on solar and wind power…[but] sharply divided politically over achieving greater domestic energy production using more traditional energy sources such as oil, coal, and nuclear power…This leaves natural gas, which 59% of Democrats, 62% of independents, and 79% of Republicans say should have more emphasis…But questions remain about the safety of "fracking technology" -- meaning public support may not be enough…”

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THE BIGGEST SOLAR BUILDERS Who Was The Largest Solar EPC In 2012?

28 March 2013 (Solar Industry)

“For the first time, U.S.-based First Solar became the world's largest photovoltaic engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor in 2012, with more than 500 MW of projects completed. This total represented an increase of 50% over 2011's total, according to a new report from IMS Research, now part of IHS Inc.

“…[A] major shift in global rankings occurred in 2012 due to the explosive growth witnessed in Asia and the Americas at the expense of Europe…Just four European EPCs appeared in IHS' top 10 rankings for 2012. Two other U.S.-based EPCs - SunEdison and SunPower - were also featured in the top 15, installing 390 MW and 190 MW, respectively…”

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“First Solar and SunEdison were found to have benefited from the huge utility-scale PV pipeline being constructed both in the U.S. and many other countries over a number of years. These projects include the 550 MW Topaz solar farm and the 290 MW Agua Caliente solar project…[Also high in the 2012 rankings were] Chinese companies linked to state-owned utilities and industrial companies that benefited from massive domestic demand in ground-mount projects…

“…[A]n Indian company, Larsen & Toubro, appeared in the top 10 ranking for the first time…[with] nearly 200 MW of projects in 2012, nearly double the amount that it completed the year before. Like their Chinese counterparts, Indian EPCs remain in an excellent position to capitalize on the high growth of domestic ground-mount projects, according to the report…11 of the 30 largest EPCs last year were European, installing 2 GW of new capacity between them…These same companies are also becoming increasingly active in new emerging markets around the world, including Latin America and Asia…”

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CONNECTICUT RENEWABLES STANDARD THREATENED Proposed Changes To CT's RPS: Great For Hydro, But Bad For Wind And Solar?

21 March 2013 (Renew Grid)

“The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) is recommending that the state restructure its renewable portfolio standard (RPS)… to increase the standard's procurement requirements and allow large-scale hydropower to count toward the RPS.

“Connecticut's RPS requires 27% of utilities' sales to come from renewable energy resources by 2020, with a Class I requirement of 20% by 2020. Under the state's current RPS, Class I resources include energy derived from solar power, wind energy…[and other renewables including] hydropower facilities not exceeding 5 MW…The DEEP recommends changing the state’s RPS to increase the Class I target from 20% by 2020 to 25% by 2025, and to allow the state to run a competitive bid process to buy a portion - 7.5% by 2025…to bring down the overall ratepayer cost of the RPS…”

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“However, the DEEP is also proposing to allow large-scale hydropower projects of greater than 30 MW to qualify as a Class I resource…That means large-scale hydropower could fulfill the requirement currently reserved for renewable energy resources like wind and solar…According to New England Clean Energy Council, because large hydro is a mature technology, it should not be eligible for the financial support that renewable energy credits (RECs) provide under the regular RPS. Instead, a clean energy standard or a separate RPS could allow large hydro to be incorporated into Connecticut's energy portfolio.

[New England Clean Energy Council:] "If counted toward RPS targets, large hydro will meet a large portion of the demand created by those targets, reducing demand for smaller, local and regional renewables, lowering REC prices and thereby revenues to support new renewable projects…"

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