QUICK NEWS, 5-11: WIND FACES ITS FOES; SUN TO 2015; COMPETITION IN OCEAN WIND; BIG SUN NEEDS BATTERIES

WIND FACES ITS FOES
Is Wind Energy The New Wedge Issue For Conservatives?
Jeff Siegel, 27 April 2011 (North American Windpower)

"…Wind, after being the darling of the media, business and state governments for much of its history, has suddenly found itself on the receiving end of negative publicity, questions about its value as an energy source and even calls for an end to wind development…Texas, Wisconsin and Minnesota, all considered wind-friendly states, have recently pursued policies that can be seen as anti-wind.

"Some of this shift is due to the industry's natural maturation…Some of the backlash against wind also stems from the recession, which has not only hampered wind development but has made even previously wind-friendly regulators and legislators question its cost…[but pushback] is genuine and something that the industry needs to address…[It] is being powered by a combination of small-government conservatives who see wind and other renewables as a waste of money and by others who consider wind a technology that will never be as effective as oil, coal or natural gas…"

Wind has staying power. (click to enlarge)

"Certainly, not all has gone badly for wind…[AWEA] estimates that the U.S. wind power industry grew by 15% in 2010 and provided more than one-quarter of all new electric-generating capacity. Also, California, despite its fiscal problems, will require one-third of the state's electricity to come from renewable sources by 2020.

"But…The Wisconsin State Legislature is considering a bill that would restrict the development of approximately $500 million worth of projects over the next two years…[and] voted in March to suspend wind farm siting rules…Texas comptroller, Republican Susan Combs, has decried wind as an expensive boondoggle…[and the] GOP-controlled legislature may limit the ability of local school districts to give tax abatements…The 2012 extension of the production tax credit could be in jeopardy…"

Bring it. (click to enlarge)

"…[R]hetoric debunking climate change has increased markedly over the past several years, more or less in relation to how many Americans believe that climate change actually exists. If fewer Americans believe in climate change, fewer Americans will support wind and other renewables…This goes a long way toward explaining the difference in the current political and media attitude…Also important, say wind industry analysts, has been the length and depth of the recession…

"Has the backlash irreparably damaged wind? Has the momentum and goodwill built up over the past 20 years been lost? The answer is complicated and depends not only on what happens during the 2012 presidential and congressional elections, but on what the wind industry does over the next several years to regain lost momentum…Education also remains key…Focusing on the long-term benefits of wind is important. If the green argument fails to work, there is always the economic one…"


SUN TO 2015
Global Market Outlook for Photovoltaics Until 2015
May 2011 (European Photovoltaic Industry Association)

"Over the past decade, the photovoltaic (PV) market has experienced unprecedented growth…[L]ast year, the photovoltaic market has reached a cumulative installed capacity of roughly 40 GW world-wide, with an annual added capacity of 16.6 GW…[PV] is well on the way to becoming a fully competitive part of the electricity system in the European Union (EU) and an increasingly important part of the energy mix around the Globe. But much of the progress…[has] been very heterogeneous…due to several factors, the most important being different national regulations and incentive schemes as well as varying availability of financing…

"These are just some of the findings in EPIA’s Global Market Outlook for Photovoltaics until 2015…EPIA market figures are a credible and authoritative source of short-term market forecasts as well as long-term scenarios. With the massive growth of the PV market, data reliability is becoming a crucial issue…[for] industry players, electric utilities and policy makers…to orientate their decisions, launch investments or plan updates on legislation. EPIA advocates the availability of quick, transparent and reliable market information and, therefore, encourages the adoption of effective monitoring systems…"

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"The PV industry experienced significant growth in 2010. Capacity additions grew from 7.2 gigawatts (GW) installed in 2009 to 16.6 GW in 2010. The total installed capacity in the world now amounts to around 40 GW, producing some 50 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electrical power every year.

"This major increase was linked to the rapid growth of the German and Italian markets. With 7.4 GW installed in Germany in just one year, the country continues to dominate the PV market world-wide. Italy installed 2.3 GW, starting to exploit some of the potential of its huge solar resources…The Czech Republic experienced a burst to 1.5 GW in 2010 that is, however, unlikely to be sustained in 2011. Japan and the USA almost reached the gigawatt mark with 990 and 900 megawatts (MW) respectively, installed last year. France reached over 700 MW, while Spain regained some ground by installing 370 MW after two years of strongly adverse conditions. Belgium connected more than 420 MW of PV capacity to the grid in 2010. The entire European Union installed slightly more than 13 GW of PV capacity in 2010 while the rest of the world accounted for over 3 GW."


COMPETITION IN OCEAN WIND
Wind farm developers want same area
Chris Barrett, May 3, 2011 (Providence Business News)

"Two developers want the same approximately 45 square miles of ocean as a place for wind farms, a federal agency said…In December, Providence-based Deepwater Wind and Massachusetts-based Neptune Wind told the U.S. Department of Interior they were interested in leasing an area roughly between Block Island and Martha’s Vineyard…But Neptune never publicly shared its exact location, leaving to speculation if it and Deepwater would go directly head-to-head for the same plot of ocean.

"…[T]he Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement held an informational session about the leasing process. Officials showed a map outlining the boundaries of an area where the federal government will likely accept proposals for wind farm leases…Deepwater and Neptune’s desired areas overlap in the eastern part of the proposed area available for lease requests. Both companies also expressed interest in areas where their competitor expressed no interest."

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"Deepwater wants to construct a farm with 200 turbines about 15 miles off the shore of Rhode Island. Neptune has not made its plans public…The companies submitted the notices of interest on their own and their proposals could change when the bureau opens its formal leasing process…The bureau may also shrink the area that developers can seek to lease. It is presently undertaking a review of the roughly 300-square-mile area and could remove portions of it based on concerns from other agencies…

"Once the bureau finalizes the area, Neptune and Deepwater may submit refined proposals or let their informal ones submitted last year stand as their official requests. Other companies could also seek leases…The area sought by Deepwater is for a project separate from where the company wants to construct a smaller farm with six to eight turbines. That area, about 3 miles off the coast of Block Island, sits in state waters and a project there will go through a different approval process."


BIG SUN NEEDS BATTERIES
Utility-Scale Solar Driving Increased Demand For Energy Storage
2 May 2011 (Solar Industry)

"The demand for high-energy-density batteries is expected to surge to meet the needs of the growing number of utility-scale solar plants, and revenues for high-energy-density batteries for solar power storage are expected to reach $763 million by 2016…

"Solar power plants are already being heavily promoted by large solar panel firms in anticipation of lowered photovoltaic (PV) subsidies for consumers…and the solar energy industry is expected to use $953 million in energy-storage systems in 2016, rising to $1.5 billion in 2018."

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"In the wake of reduced feed-in tariffs for PV, large commercial users will want to better manage the energy they generate and sell back to utilities…[E]nergy storage will become a key part of this…[and] take sales of lead-acid and lead-carbon batteries for solar power storage to $465 million by 2016.

"The efforts toward re-engineering the lithium-ion battery to serve the smart grid are already showing signs of paying off in early solar energy-storage projects. By 2016, sales of lithium-ion and related batteries for solar energy storage will be worth $274 million…"