QUICK NEWS, May 15: MINNESOTA’S SOLAR AMBITIONS IN CONTEXT; RHODE ISLAND’S FIGHT OVER OCEAN WIND; VC MONEY FOR SMART GRID STEADY

MINNESOTA’S SOLAR AMBITIONS IN CONTEXT Minnesota’s Proposed Solar Standard in Comparison

John Farrell, April 25, 2013 (Institute for Local Self-Reliance)

“Some Minnesota legislators are getting a little weak-kneed listening to utility lobbyists make hugely ironic claims about the cost of the proposed solar standard and thinking about how much solar this is…Time for some context.

“The originally proposed 10% solar energy standard might have been ambitious by national standards, but the current 4% by 2025 target (with municipal utilities and cooperatives exempted – boo) might earn Minnesota the rank of #5 in solar sometime after 2020, if no one else joins the fray…”

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“…California and Hawai’i aren’t pictured because the former is already at 1.7% solar and the latter is approaching 3%, with such favorable economics that they don’t need a standard to drive adoption.

“Minnesota’s solar economics will be similarly robust in about eight years, but it’s the near term opportunity to establish a market and build manufacturing capacity to serve the Midwest that makes the standard a crucial piece of the state’s energy future.”

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RHODE ISLAND’S FIGHT OVER OCEAN WIND Block Island Gets First Chance To Weigh In On Wind Turbines

Judy Benson, May 10, 2013 (McClatchy News Service via Hartford Courant)

“...[A public meeting] offered the first chance in two years for [Block Island] residents to publicly take a side on the 30-megawatt turbine wind farm proposed for a site 3 miles off the southeast shore. It also was the first litmus test of island support since the $300 million project to erect five 650-foot turbines entered the permitting phase…The project is on track to be the nation's first offshore wind farm, though similar turbines have been operating in Denmark, Germany and elsewhere for several years…

“With an audience of about 100 of their neighbors, 24 speakers said Providence-based Deepwater Wind's proposal would benefit the island economically and environmentally, while setting an example for the rest of the country…Another 12 speakers argued that the turbines would compromise the views that are a main asset of the island's tourism-based economy and expressed skepticism and mistrust of Deepwater Wind. Three others did not express outright support or opposition but instead urged caution as the process proceeds…Several speakers qualified their support with admonitions that decision-makers ensure the company sets aside adequate funds to decommission the turbines when they no longer produce power…That point also was made by the Town Council in its letters of support…The five-member council supports the project 3-2…”

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“The hearing was called by the state's Department of Environmental Management, which is considering an application from Deepwater to dredge about 20 miles of trenches for cables connecting the five turbines to Block Island, and from there to landfall at Narragansett Town Beach and on to a National Grid substation…[A Narragansett hearing] drew a similar turnout, but more of the speakers were opposed…The cable to Narragansett would be Block Island's first power connection to the mainland, a $20 million to $40 million infrastructure upgrade the island has been seeking for 20 years.

“…[T]he Narragansett Town Council voted to put off until June 3 negotiations with Deepwater over easements..for the cable…[Deepwater] said that in response to concerns raised in Narragansett, it will propose [to underground the proposed cable]…Several Block Islanders supporting the wind farm said the reality of climate change convinces them that the island must do its part…[and] urged opponents to look beyond their concerns about views to the bigger picture…Maya Veldman Wilson, a school-aged resident…read a poem calling the turbines ‘heroes of the future’ and ‘giants’ that speak through the wind…’They only spin. They don't hurt anybody,’ she said…”

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VC MONEY FOR SMART GRID STEADY VC Funding in Smart Grid Sector Remains Flat in Q1 2013 with $62 Million…Pace of funding largely unchanged for last five quarters

May 2013 (Mercom Capital Group)

“…Smart grid venture capital (VC) funding in Q1 2013 totaled $62 million in nine deals. The quarter’s funding was nearly identical to the first quarter of 2012, when the same amount was raised by smart grid companies but in 10 deals instead of nine. With the lone exception of home security and automation company Alarm.com’s $136 million raise in Q3 2012, the pace of funding has remained largely unchanged for the past five quarters…

“The Top 5 VC deals in Q1 2013 raised a combined $52 million. The top two VC deals each raised $15 million. Cylance, a provider of cyber security products for the infrastructure industry, raised $15 million from Khosla Ventures and Fairhaven Capital in a Series A round, and Sentient Energy, a developer of advanced grid monitoring solutions…raised $15 million in an undisclosed round from Foundation Capital…”

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“There were only four M&A transactions in Q1 2013. One of the transactions; Toshiba Corporation’s acquisition of privately-held energy management company Consert, was disclosed for a total of $11 million. Last quarter, $22 million in M&A activity was disclosed in the same number of transactions.

“Despite a rather slow quarter, the smart grid sector saw a rare IPO. Silver Spring Networks, a provider of smart grid products and services to utilities, raised $81 million by offering 4.75 million shares at $17.”

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