QUICK NEWS, September 9: HAWAII GETS 91% FROM WIND ENERGY; BRINGING SOLAR MANUFACTURING BACK TO THE U.S.; NM-AZ TRANSMISSION LINE MOVES AHEAD

HAWAII GETS 91% FROM WIND ENERGY Maui Electric: Less Wind Energy Wasted, More Savings to Come

Nathan Eagle, September 4, 2013 (Honolulu Civil Beat)

“Thanks to a few operational changes [involving stationary and electric vehicle battery storage, grid integration methods and consumer-level automated efficiencies], Maui Electric says it is now using 91 percent of the Valley Isle’s available wind energy…The nearly 20 percent improvement is expected to trim $22 annually off a typical Maui home’s electric bill…The company expects to push it up to 98 percent — another $7 to $10 in savings — with changes over the next several years…” click here for more

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BRINGING SOLAR MANUFACTURING BACK TO THE U.S. Solar-cell manufacturing costs: innovation could level the field; Study shows that factors other than wages dominate trends in photovoltaic costs, raising the prospect of competitive manufacturing anywhere.

David L. Chandler, September 5, 2013 (MIT News Office)

“…China is [not] the world’s dominant manufacturer of solar panels because of its low labor costs and strong government support…[Though China accounted for 63 percent of all solar-panel production worldwide in 2011, a] new study by researchers at MIT and the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) shows that other factors are actually more significant — suggesting that the United States could once again become cost-competitive in photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing…[The] detailed analysis of all costs associated with PV production shows that the main contributors to [China’s] lower PV prices are economies of scale and well-developed supply chains — not cheap labor…” click here for more

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NM-AZ TRANSMISSION LINE MOVES AHEAD SunZia signs deal with wind energy company; Controversy remains over transmission project's plans to cross WSMR land

Milan Simonich, September 6, 2013 (Las Cruces Sun-News)

"SunZia, the company that hopes to build its [Southwest Transmission Project] stretching across 515 miles of New Mexico and Arizona…[has] signed an anchor tenant….First Wind Energy reserved up to 1,500 megawatts of transmission capacity…[for its] high-capacity wind generation projects in central New Mexico…[T]he line would transport solar and wind power to provide electricity for Western population centers…[and] New Mexico would land 24,600 construction jobs if the company's preferred route is approved by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. Arizona would get about 18,000 construction jobs…” click here for more

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