QUICK NEWS, February 17: AS THE SOLAR PRICE DROPS, THE SOLAR ECONOMY GROWS; SOUTH DAKOTA COMMUNITY WIND ADVANCES; DOE FUNDS ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES

AS THE SOLAR PRICE DROPS, THE SOLAR ECONOMY GROWS U.S. Solar Sector Jobs Rest On A Foundation Of Low-Cost Solar Panels

10 February 2014 (Solar Industry)

"…[T]he most important driver in the expansion of solar sector jobs in the U.S. has been the precipitous drop in the cost of solar power and the corresponding increase in installed capacity…[according to findings in National Solar Jobs Census 2013; The Annual Review of the U.S. Solar Workforce]…[T]he price of solar panels has declined 80% since 2008…[A] nationwide survey of solar sector employment that showed job growth in 43 states, plus the District of Columbia…Regional growth was uneven, [according to Andrea Luecke, president and executive director of The Solar Foundation (TSF)], and this can be attributed to differences in outlook for the near future…Since the start of the annual census in 2010, U.S. solar sector employment has increased 53% and now employs more than 142,000 people at about 18,000 locations…” click here for more

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SOUTH DAKOTA COMMUNITY WIND ADVANCES Research phase to begin for Dakota Power Community Wind

February 10, 2014 (Watertown Public Opinion)

"With over 80 landowners ready to dedicate nearly 20,000 acres to one of South Dakota’s largest wind projects, Dakota Power Community Wind is ready to begin the research phase of the operation...The Rock Island Clean Line, a transmission project slated to cross the state of Iowa, is the catalyst for Dakota Power. The Clean Line will allow power captured in the Midwest to be connected to new markets in the Eastern United States…The 20,000 acres of farmland currently signed up for the project are sufficient to support a 300-megawatt windfarm…the largest single windfarm in South Dakota and would add nearly 50% to the state’s wind production…[There is wind potential for a 1,000 megawatt project that could produce revenues exceeding] $8 million annually and increase over the life of the project…[as well as over 1,000 construction jobs and] over 70 permanent, on-site jobs…Statewide direct economic impacts could be in excess of $200 million.” click here for more

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DOE FUNDS ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES … Energy Secretary Moniz Announces New ARPA-E Solar Projects

February 6, 2014 (U.S. Department of Energy)

“…Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz [announced] $30 million in funding to 12 ARPA-E projects to develop transformational hybrid solar energy technologies that…will help advance solar energy beyond current photovoltaic (PV) and concentrated solar power (CSP) technologies…[The awards will come] through ARPA-E’s Full-Spectrum Optimized Conversion and Utilization of Sunlight (FOCUS) program, which is aimed at developing new hybrid solar energy converters and hybrid energy storage systems that can deliver low-cost, high-efficiency solar energy on demand…[The] projects will develop advanced solar converters that turn sunlight into electricity for immediate use, while also producing heat that can be stored at low cost for later use as well as innovative storage systems that accept both heat and electricity from variable solar sources…” click here for more

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