QUICK NEWS, January 21: BIG BOX SOLAR GETS BIGGER; MAINE OFFSHORE WIND GETS ANOTHER GO; BUILDING AUTOMATION TO GROW STEADILY

BIG BOX SOLAR GETS BIGGER US Large-scale Commercial PV Segment to Show Strongest Growth in 2014

Michael Barker, January 14, 2014 (SolarBuzz)

"While ground-mount utility projects dominated the US market in 2013 and will still make up the majority of market demand in 2014…[s]mall-scale commercial applications less than 100 kW are projected to grow by approximately 40% Y/Y, while large-scale commercial projects will see almost 70% annual growth…[That is about] double and triple the growth rate, respectively, compared to ground-mount PV systems…The shift to distributed generation building-mount commercial applications is being driven by…the favorable economics for these systems in the Northeast and West of the US, as well as changing incentive policies in a number of US states…This trend has implications for component supply as well as project development…” click here for more

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MAINE OFFSHORE WIND GETS ANOTHER GO UMaine’s offshore wind energy pilot project wins initial OK

Whit Richardson, January 15, 2014 (Bangor Daily News)

"The Maine Public Utilities Commission…approved in a 2-1 vote a term sheet for Maine Aqua Ventus’ [two six-megawatt turbine] pilot offshore wind energy project…The decision clears a hurdle for Maine Aqua Ventus [consortium] in its path to receive electric ratepayer support as it tests new offshore wind technology...[that could harvest some of Maine’s 150 gigawatts of offshore wind, enough to power the state] 70 times over…[The pilot project] follows the university’s June 2013 deployment of] a one-eighth scale model of VolturnUS, its prototype floating turbine…[and] the first offshore wind turbine in the Americas to send electricity into the power grid…[The long-term goals are] a 500-megawatt offshore wind farm project in the Gulf of Maine…[and wind-generated electricity at 10 cents per kilowatt hour by the mid 2020s…” click here for more

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BUILDING AUTOMATION TO GROW STEADILY Smart Buildings Networking and Communications; BACnet, LonWorks, KNX, Modbus, and Proprietary Building Control Technologies for Networked Building Automation: Global Market Analysis and Forecasts

1Q 2014 (Navigant Research)

“Networked building controls cover a variety of building systems, including HVAC, lighting, fire and life safety, and security and access systems. These devices include a wide range of sensors, controllers, actuators, switches, air handlers, alarms, and detectors. When networked together by one or more protocols, they can drastically reduce energy usage and costs, alert building operators to repair or maintenance needs, and provide significant upgrades to occupant comfort and safety…While the introduction of Internet Protocol (IP)-enabled devices is helping to ease this transition, full utilization of open, IP-based networked controls and devices is projected to be years away. Navigant Research forecasts that global revenue for networked building automation control devices will grow from $20.1 billion in 2013 to $34.7 billion by 2021…” click here for more

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