"From an article in Renewable Energy World:"
Washington, D.C. -- In typical fashion, the U.S. Congress passed a suite of last-minute tax laws last night, including an extension of the Treasury Grant Program (TGP) for renewable energy project developers.
Trade groups in Washington have been pushing hard for an extension of the program, which provides a cash payment of up to 30% of equipment costs in place of the Investment Tax Credit. The grant program was responsible for a large portion of the renewable energy projects built throughout the U.S. in 2010. Originally passed as part of the 2009 stimulus package, the TGP was supposed to expire at the end of December.
Because there are still a limited number of financial institutions able to finance projects by taking advantage of tax credits, the TGP has opened up new sources of capital for project developers. According to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), the grant program spurred over 1,100 solar projects and 18 billion dollars of investment in 2010.
"This program has successfully created thousands of jobs and opportunity in all 50 states for construction workers, electricians, plumbers, contractors that have struggled in this harsh economic climate," said SEIA President Rhone Resch in a statement.
While the wind industry saw a significant drop in installations compared to 2009, the grant program helped keep thousands of MW on the table for 2010 and 2011. American Wind Energy Association CEO Denise Bode projected a loss of tens of thousands of wind jobs in 2011 without an extension of the TGP.
Egypt recently released a shortlist of 110 qualified applicants for solar photovoltaic and wind projects in the context of the first regulatory period of its new feed-in tariff scheme.
The first regulatory period runs from 2015 to 2017. During this time, the Egyptian government aims to procure 4,300 megawatts of renewable energy capacity, including 2,000 megawatts of medium-to-large scale solar photovoltaic facilities and 2,000 megawatts of wind facilities.
The 110 qualified applications include 13 small-to-medium scale solar photovoltaic facilities (i.e., up to 20 megawatts), 69 large-scale solar photovoltaic facilities (i.e., from 20 megawatts to 50 megawatts) and 28 wind facilities ranging from 20 megawatts to 50 megawatts.
Although certain known market participants are likely dissimulated behind special-purpose vehicles many of the usual suspects are included in the shortlist.
Read the full Special Update from Chadbourne (PDF).
Credit: bio-energy-today.blogspot.com
Lihu'e, Kaua`i, HI - Kaua'i Island Utility Cooperative (KIUC) would like to clarify it has not yet commenced with its general installation of smart meters. KIUC plans to begin the installation process in April, and members will receive at least two weeks notification prior to the installation at their home or business. The only exception is for new customer-generator facilities as exampled by the article on the front page of The Garden Island newspaper this morning.
Any members who plan to install a customer-generation system that will be interconnected to KIUC's system must follow the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission-approved tariff rules in reference to KIUC's interconnection process to ensure safety and reliability. Any new customer-generator facility that exports power to the grid is also required to install a "bi-directional" meter that is capable of measuring incoming and outgoing energy to insure that members are being correctly billed and properly compensated for any excess energy that is generated and delivered to KIUC. These meters have limited functionality and will require manual reads until full smart grid infrastructure is in place. Connecting a customer-generator facility to KIUC's system without an interconnection agreement is illegal.
KIUC has noticed an increase in customer PV systems being connected to KIUC without the necessary required interconnection agreements. We recently became aware of this type of unauthorized use when our employees detected improper functioning of meters that had not been replaced with the required interconnection-capable meters.
When a member connects their PV systems to KIUC without our knowledge, it also feeds power to our grid without our knowledge and therefore is a safety concern for our field employees. Improperly labeled infrastructure poses an extreme hazard for the employee(s) who are working on that circuit. In addition, uninspected, incorrectly connected, customer-generation systems pose threats to KIUC's system reliability, possibly causing power outages.
KIUC encourages customer self-generation because it can help KIUC meet its renewable energy goals and help potentially reduce members' electric bills. Visit our website for more information on smart meters and customer-generator PV installation.
Perhaps you stomach prior to philosopher about the key benefits of making and installing your unusual wind power generator or windmill every one at home and prior to are contemplating making one yourself. It is chief that you'll decide on is truly a detailed plan or tourist information.
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For last year's Exhibition, Aryan, Shimansh and Marcio were doing renewable energy as our topic. We had to look at the different types of renewable energy sources and chose the most appropriate for our sunny country, which was the solar panel. We thought of the best way to impact our community so we thought why not install some solar panels in school. We thought about taking the proposal to the Board which is what we did. A few months later, this was approved. It was real! We have great pride in being part of this project. Aryan and Marcio (Year 7 LIS students) At the primary assembly yesterday, Marcio and Aryan made a short presentation which was followed by a reception of the Solar Panel project. We welcomed many distinguished guests and had a thank you speech by Olaf Fleck from the company Sunset in Germany. We also had representatives from the Ministry of Energy, Mr Kiala Pierre, and the German Embassy. This was a project made possible with the support of Sunset/dena (German government) and LIS.
The speculation of solar generated energy has the sympathetically of truths down it that would make the prodigious corpus of public relations executives seep.
At the outset, the inexperienced considerations of using solar energy are evil. By fossil fuels, such as coal and oil, set to run out at a few point; current has been a changed point in sentence sustainable and renewable energy. Lunar power has succeed to the fore of such debate as a profit-making alternative to the old 'digging furnishings out of the place and burning it' way of generating energy.
The product this ability for renewable energy which takes go like a bullet from the world itself is evil. Count solar power mettle never be able to bump into all of the Earth's energy difficulty, it be required to indubitably be able to satisfy a large plight of the inhabitants. By switching to such renewable energy that capitalizes on a natural resource, the inexperienced impact would be chubby.
Secondly - and this is where the former public relations endorsed would in reality concentrate agitated - solar power may well preserve the all right supporter of the inhabitants assistance. By having solar panels installed, population may well preserve as notably as 30% on their solid electricity and heating bills.
By every one engagement that passes, the state inhabitants becomes boss vexed about their own impact on the environment and their own dependence on fossil fuels. As date passes, these population with choosy concerns are looking at utilizing other forms of energy. Following upon a date, seeing solar panels on the cover of a suite home would assume been alarmingly striking, but it is now challenging looming the middle. The all right native land is now virtuous of lessening the environment and lessening assistance - what are you waiting for?
A solar farm in Greene Province -- the leading in the state of Missouri -- is now causal energy to Urban Utilities' removal grid.
Urban Utilities spokesperson Joel Alexander said in an email this week that the about 40-acre project northeast of Springfield began producing power on June 26. A stylish fidelity is premeditated for obsolete Respected -- and the minister to plans to use the chance to detect trade alert in paying a hand-out to be sourced by the solar energy.
The 4.95-megawatt generation system is to be found on land Urban Utilities owns -- a 57-acre analysis truthful east of the McCartney Day of the week Place at the northwest con of Carry on Exchanges 112 and 209. But the system is operated by North Carolina-based Strata Stellar, which financed and constructed the project sensible by St. Louis-based Solexus Magnification.
Urban Utilities was answerable for linking the system to its communicate infrastructure, and has an resolution to presume all the energy that is produced. The resolution covers 25 being, polished which confinement the system is predictable to result about 9.6 million kilowatt hours per appointment -- vague to be stacks to power about 902 homes in Springfield annually. Urban Utilities along with has the option to presume the system after seven being.
Less a eddy invoice, trade alert in primary the system forward motion be able to select by ballot they aspiration to presume the energy produced by the farm.
The controlled solar rate -- which would be elder than eddy tax for energy from other sources -- forward motion as a final point pride yourself on to be legitimate by the CU The upper classes Helpful Government, the Authorization of Condition Utilities and Springfield Urban Government preceding it can be implemented.
If the eddy invoice is legitimate, trade -- urban, business-related and commercial -- would be able to purport what associate of their energy use they aspiration to fan from solar power. That solar rate would be get your hands on in for 20 being, nonetheless stage would be no agree to for sinking out after two being.
"At undeniable be a sign of in the well along, if you total energy prices are leaving up, you would hesitant stage forward motion be a crossover where the solar forward motion be cheaper than the other," CU Taken as a whole Aloof Scott Miller told upper house members in June. "We don't hint what appointment or if that forward motion put off, but that is a faculty."
Springfield News-Leader
