QUICK NEWS, March 25: WIND REACHES UP; NEW FED BACKING FOR BIG SOLAR?; BIG BUILDING LIGHTING GETS EFFICIENT

WIND REACHES UP Wind Industry’s New Technologies Are Helping It Compete on Price

Diane Cardwell, March 21, 2014 (NY Times)

“The wind industry... is reaching for the sky. With new technology allowing developers to build taller machines spinning longer blades, the industry has been able to produce more power at lower cost by capturing the faster winds that blow at higher elevations...in places like Michigan, Ohio and Indiana, where the price of power from turbines built 300 feet to 400 feet above the ground can now compete with conventional sources like coal…[And] a start-up called Altaeros Energies is preparing to introduce BAT — or Buoyant Airborne Turbine — the enormous, white helium-filled doughnut surrounding a rotor will float about 1,000 feet in the air and feed enough electricity to power more than a dozen homes through one of the cables tethering it to the ground…” click here for more

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NEW FED BACKING FOR BIG SOLAR? A new sunrise for CSP in Section 1703 loan guarantees? U.S. loan guarantees for renewable energy ended in 2011. Or did they?

Heba Hashem/Susan Kraemer, March 21, 2014 (CSP Today)

“…Energy Secretary Moniz declared that the Loan Programs Office (LPO) has remaining loan-guarantee authority – of $40 billion…[R]enewable energy loan guarantees under new funding of Section 1705 of the 2005 Energy Policy Act…[gave] birth to the giant new Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) projects in the US that are just starting to tumble past the finish post four years later. Solana and Ivanpah are now in operation. Crescent Dunes and Mojave are close behind…[D]espite the success of almost 100% of all the loan-guaranteed projects…Section 1705 was allowed to sunset [because of one bad renewable loan, Solyndra]…Energy Secretary Moniz referenced is the first funding under a different authority of the 2005 Energy Policy Act - Section 1703…The DOE is now preparing to offer new loan guarantees…[of $1.5 billion to up to $4 billion] for renewable energy loan guarantees…These funds will be for innovative projects that employ new or significantly improved energy technologies…” click here for more

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BIG BUILDING LIGHTING GETS EFFICIENT High-Bay Lighting; Energy Efficient Lighting and Lighting Controls for Warehouse, Industrial, Sporting, Retail, and Transportation Facilities

1Q 2014 (Navigant Research)

“High-bay lighting must meet the stringent demands of illuminating spaces from afar while minimizing contrast, reducing glare, and in many cases meeting strict safety and hazardous environment requirements. Until very recently, light-emitting diode (LED) technology was not able to meet these requirements, at least not at a reasonable price. In 2013, however, several high-bay LED products were launched that provide exceptional quality in a price range that allows for acceptable paybacks from energy savings…Navigant Research forecasts that global sales of high-bay luminaires and lamps will peak at almost $17.0 billion in 2017 and then decline to $15.9 billion in 2021…” click here for more

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