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SFCE Nov 3
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Suntech and Tigo Introduce Creative Energy Optimization to the Solar Market
Nov 3, 2015 | PR Newswire
Suntech has announced today the introduction of a new smart solar module to its product portfolio. Officially unveiled in September, Suntech's smart DC modules integrate the Tigo's modular TS4 platform. The new application will enhance Suntech's smart DC module system's performance through the accessibility... -
Sighten closes $3.5M Series A funding from Obvious Ventures
Nov 3, 2015 | PV Magazine
Sighten announced it has closed a $3.5M Series A financing round. This financing is led by Obvious Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on world-positive businesses building solutions to the world’s systemic challenges. -
Solar software firm Sighten raises USD 3.5m Series A funding
Nov 3, 2015 | See News Renewables
By Plamena Tisheva
US solar software provider Sighten has closed a USD-3.5-million (EUR 3.2m) Series A financing round, led by venture capital firm Obvious Ventures. San Francisco-based Sighten said on Monday the investment would allow it to rapidly develop its end-to-end platform and support its growing customer base. -
Sighten Closes $3.5 Million In Funding From Obvious Ventures
Nov 3, 2015 | Solar Industry Magazine
San Francisco-based solar software developer Sighten has closed a $3.5 million Series A financing round led by Obvious Ventures. Sighten offers a software toolset for solar projects from initial lead to ongoing portfolio management. -
Global Photovoltaic Solar Panel Market at $19.6 billion will reach $125.5 billion by 2016
Nov 3, 2015 | Empowered News
A new study on Photovoltaic Solar Strategies, Technologies And Opportunities: Market Shares and Forecasts, Worldwide, 2010?2016. The 2010 study has 700 pages, 306 tables and figures. Large solar farms are more popular initially, but solar is anticipated to be built out on commercial roof tops in... -
China Maps Out Policies to Drive Emissions Reductions
Nov 3, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Michael Standaert
China's upcoming 13th Five-Year Plan and its Made in China manufacturing plan will be the driving forces behind the nation's emissions reductions efforts and industrial reform. These plans will help China on the road to becoming cleaner and more efficient, said speakers at the Oct. 29–30 Eco-Expo Asia in Hong Kong. -
EVs Can Save China (And The US) From Its Air Pollution Problem
Nov 2, 2015 | Clean Technica
By Joseph Nagle
Electric vehicles are off to the races. Sparked by eco-concern, the high maintenance cost of internal combustion vehicles, and the ever-dwindling oil supply, EVs have found a definite lasting foothold in the personal vehicle market. While eco-friendly vehicles have a lot of promise for the entire world, no place will benefit more from their rapid... -
Goldman Sachs to invest $150 billion in clean energy
Nov 2, 2015 | Fortune
By Katie Fehrenbacher
The investment bank is almost quadrupling its commitment to finance clean energy infrastructure around the world. Financial giant Goldman Sachs announced on Monday that it plans to invest $150 billion in clean energy projects and technology like solar and wind farms, energy efficiency upgrades for buildings, and power grid infrastructure. -
Surprising study finds that solar energy can also cause climate change (a little)
Nov 2, 2015 | The Washington Post
By Chelsea Harvey
Large solar arrays could have some surprising side effects, according to a new study, including causing changes in the local climate. On a global scale, these changes will be minor compared to what would happen if humans continue to burn fossil fuel for energy instead, but are still worth watching, scientists say. -
Judge Rejects Solar Fee for Rooftop Systems in Wisconsin
Nov 3, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Brian Eckhouse
Owners of rooftop solar systems won a legal fight against a Wisconsin utility in the latest clash with the power industry over the cost of distributed generation. A Wisconsin circuit court judge in a verbal ruling Oct. 30 overturned a fee authorized in December 2014 by the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin. -
First Solar to run at full capacity in 2016
Nov 2, 2015 | PV Tech
By Mark Osborne
Leading CdTe thin-film producer and project developer First Solar expects to be operating all its production lines at full capacity in 2016. First Solar said in last week's earnings call that the looming end to the US investment tax credit arrangement and efforts to rebuild its PV project pipeline after several mega-scale projects... -
Australia: Huge response to ARENA, CEFC, Queensland big solar tenders
Nov 3, 2015 | PV Magazine
By Giles Parkinson
As part of a major push into big solar projects, which have been slow to take off in Australia because of policy uncertainty, ARENA is making available $100 million in grants, CEFC is offering up to $250 million in finance, while Ergon and the Queensland government have separate tenders in progress.
Press Release - Suntech and Tigo Introduce Creative Energy Optimization to the Solar Market
Suntech News
Industry News
Full Text of Stories Below
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Suntech and Tigo Introduce Creative Energy Optimization to the Solar Market
Nov 3, 2015 | PR Newswire
Suntech has announced today the introduction of a new smart solar module to its product portfolio. Officially unveiled in September, Suntech's smart DC modules integrate the Tigo's modular TS4 platform. The new application will enhance Suntech's smart DC module system's performance through the accessibility of wireless communications, the optimization of power output, and the availability of real-time monitoring, while ensuring a reduction in the overall maintenance costs. Suntech plans to integrate the TS4 to a variety of its modules that cater to both rooftop and commercial markets in Europe and Australia.
"2015 has been an exciting year for Suntech, with the launch of several new products that we've brought to the solar market," says Victor Xiong, president of Suntech. "This smart DC module design eliminates module-level or cell string mismatch, reduces the chance of module malfunction, and increases the overall cell performance. The Tigo TS4 is a remarkable new product application that we're adding to many of our existing modules, particularly the HyPro module. The smart DC module offers increased safety, flexible system design, reduced O&M costs, and real-time monitoring. This new module enriches Suntech's portfolio by differentiating its products from others in the market."
The TS4 Platform replaces the traditional JBox (junction box), allowing customers to install different functional covers to their solar panels. The covers currently offer a range in functionality from diodes and rapid shutdown to full functional long string and optimization – all providing unique, customized unprecedented capabilities. These personalized covers are selectively deployed on each module at different price points, utilizing predictive IV (PIV) technology to maximize energy harvest at minimal cost.
Compared to a traditional module, the smart DC module provides system with greater connectivity, efficiency, and output. The smart module with the Tigo TS4 is fully integrated and compatible with all leading inverters, monitoring equipment, and mounting solutions. By providing shade tolerance at the cell level, the Suntech smart DC modules will produce more energy than modules equipped with the leading DC optimizers or micro-inverters. Increasing power output in constricted installation spaces, the Suntech smart DC module offers up to 30% longer strings which reduce system BOS cost.
"Tigo is distinguished in the industry as being the sole company to offer a modular platform where customers can cater their PV Module behavior according to their needs by simply replacing the covers," says Zvi Alon, Tigo CEO. "We are focused on partnering with tier 1 solar companies in order to focus on spreading our innovation and energy optimization. By combining our leading technologies with Suntech, we will be able to provide the solar market with the finest solar energy generation products and management systems."
About Wuxi Suntech Power Co., Ltd.
Wuxi Suntech Power Co., Ltd., a company incorporated in the PRC in January 2001, produces industry-leading solar products for residential, commercial, industrial, and utility applications. Suntech is a Bloomberg New Energy Finance's tier 1 solar company, based on its bankability and has delivered more than 30 million photovoltaic panels or 9 GWs of installed capacity to more than 1 thousand customers in more than 80 countries. Suntech's pioneering R&D creates customer-centric innovations that are driving solar to grid parity against fossil fuels. Suntech's mission is to provide reliable access to nature's cleanest and most abundant energy source.
About Tigo®
Tigo is a Silicon Valley company founded in 2007 by a team of experienced technologists. Combining a unique systems-level approach with expertise in semi-conductors, power electronics, and solar energy the Tigo team developed the first generation Smart Module Optimizer technology for the solar industry. Tigo's vision is to leverage power electronics and communications technology to drive the cost of solar electricity down. By partnering with tier 1 module and inverter manufacturers in the industry, Tigo is able to focus on its key innovation and leverage the broader ecosystem. Tigo has operations in the USA, across Europe, Japan, China, Australia and the Middle East.
PR Newswire (English): http://en.prnasia.com/story/archive/1539296_EN39296_0
PR Newswire (German): http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/suntech-und-tigo-bringen-kreative-energieoptimierung-auf-den-solarmarkt-539722241.html
PR Newswire (China): http://www.prnasia.com/story/archive/1539296_ZH39296_1
Your Renewable News: http://www.yourrenewablenews.com/suntech+and+tigo+introduce+creative+energy+optimization+to+the+solar+market_123189.html
SYS-Con Media: http://news.sys-con.com/node/3534895
Virtual-Strategy Magazine: http://www.virtual-strategy.com/2015/11/03/suntech-and-tigo-introduce-creative-energy-optimization-solar-market#axzz3qQiIGyLm
Finanzen.net (German): http://www.finanzen.net/nachricht/aktien/Suntech-und-Tigo-bringen-kreative-Energieoptimierung-auf-den-Solarmarkt-4588264
Finanz Nachricten (German): http://www.finanznachrichten.de/nachrichten-2015-11/35464519-suntech-und-tigo-bringen-kreative-energieoptimierung-auf-den-solarmarkt-007.htm
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Sighten closes $3.5M Series A funding from Obvious Ventures
Nov 3, 2015 | PV Magazine
Sighten announced it has closed a $3.5M Series A financing round.
This financing is led by Obvious Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on world-positive businesses building solutions to the world’s systemic challenges.
The investment is one of the largest in solar software to date, and enables Sighten to rapidly develop its end-to-end platform and support its growing customer base.
“The solar industry is at a turning point. While we have seen significant advances in solar hardware, financing, and sales, software has grown more slowly and still involves horizontal tools and point solutions,” said Andrew Beebe, managing director of Obvious Ventures.
“A complex industry like solar benefits from dedicated software which acts as a standard platform for all parties in the value chain. When we got to know the Sighten team and fully grasped the scope and depth of their software, it became a very easy decision to support their growth.”
Sighten offers the most advanced software toolset for solar—a comprehensive and flexible platform spanning the entire project lifecycle from initial lead to ongoing portfolio management.
To date, solar companies and investors have had to navigate a patchwork of solutions or build in-house tools, creating inefficiencies, increasing costs, and holding back growth. By consolidating key functionality into a single platform, Sighten allows its customers to focus on what they do best and not worry about building or integrating software.
“We are excited to partner with Obvious Ventures and continue to help our clients succeed through technology,” said Conlan O’Leary, CEO and co-founder of Sighten.
“Our team of industry veterans have decades of experience working in solar and the scar tissue to prove it. We’ve built every aspect of the Sighten toolset with specific industry challenges in mind and our partners appreciate the domain-expertise embedded in our software. With funding and counsel from Obvious Ventures, we will rapidly scale the organization to further develop our platform and continue to support our customers throughout the solar ecosystem.”
Andrew Beebe will join Sighten’s board of directors as part of the investment. Beebe was previously vice president of distributed generation for NextEra Energy and chief commercial officer at Suntech.
Link: http://www.pv-magazine.com/services/press-releases/details/beitrag/sighten-closes-35m-series-a-funding-from-obvious-ventures_100021829/#axzz3qL66gxSr
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Solar software firm Sighten raises USD 3.5m Series A funding
Nov 3, 2015 | See News Renewables
By Plamena Tisheva
US solar software provider Sighten has closed a USD-3.5-million (EUR 3.2m) Series A financing round, led by venture capital firm Obvious Ventures.
San Francisco-based Sighten said on Monday the investment would allow it to rapidly develop its end-to-end platform and support its growing customer base. The company says its platform spans the entire project lifecycle from initial lead to ongoing portfolio management, helping solar companies and investors to overcome the need to navigate different solutions or create in-house tools and the inefficiencies and higher costs involved.
Andrew Beebe, managing director of Obvious Ventures, said that while solar hardware, financing and sales had advanced significantly, software had grown more slowly. "A complex industry like solar benefits from dedicated software which acts as a standard platform for all parties in the value chain," he added.
As part of the investment, Beebe, who was previously vice president of distributed generation for NextEra Energy and chief commercial officer at Suntech, will join Sighten's board.
(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.908)
Link: http://renewables.seenews.com/news/solar-software-firm-sighten-raises-usd-3-5m-series-a-funding-499973
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Sighten Closes $3.5 Million In Funding From Obvious Ventures
Nov 3, 2015 | Solar Industry Magazine
San Francisco-based solar software developer Sighten has closed a $3.5 million Series A financing round led by Obvious Ventures.
Sighten offers a software toolset for solar projects from initial lead to ongoing portfolio management.
Andrew Beebe, managing director of Obvious Ventures, will join Sighten's board of directors as part of the investment. Beebe was previously vice president of distributed generation for NextEra Energy and chief commercial officer at Suntech.
"While we have seen significant advances in solar hardware, financing and sales, software has grown more slowly and still involves horizontal tools and point solutions," Beebe says. "A complex industry like solar benefits from dedicated software, which acts as a standard platform for all parties in the value chain."Link: http://solarindustrymag.com/e107_plugins/content/content.php?content.15821
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Global Photovoltaic Solar Panel Market at $19.6 billion will reach $125.5 billion by 2016
Nov 3, 2015 | Empowered News
A new study on Photovoltaic Solar Strategies, Technologies And Opportunities: Market Shares and Forecasts, Worldwide, 2010?2016. The 2010 study has 700 pages, 306 tables and figures.
Large solar farms are more popular initially, but solar is anticipated to be built out on commercial roof tops in increased quantity. The electricity generated will be fed to local substations and distributed to homes from there. The electricity generated will be used for both stationary power and to charge electric vehicles. Photovoltaics PV market growth depends on volume production to achieve economies of scale.
Solar energy market driving forces relate to the opportunity to harness a cheap, long lasting, powerful energy source. Solar energy can be used to create electricity in huge quantity. Solar panels are mounted in a weatherproof frame, are mounted in areas with direct exposure to the sun to generate electricity from sunlight.
Solar power systems are comprised of solar modules, related power electronics, and other components. Solar panels are used in residential, commercial and industrial applications. Solar compositions of arrays that comprise electric utility grids appear to be the wave of the future.
The demand for solar energy is dependent on a lower prices for solar and higher prices for petroleum. A combination of economies of scale being realized in the manufacturing along with increases in the current prices for petroleum will drive solar energy adoption.
The overall solar market has attained enough critical mass to boost competitive technologies of thin film and monocrystalline, polycrystalline, and multicrystalline silicon based systems.
First Solar, the market leader, in commercial systems is participating in the solar markets at a level of $1.9 billion of a total 2009 market of $19.6 billion for 2009. First Solar is well positioned to gain significant market share over the next five years. First Solar basically does monolithic integration on glass, making things on the module level.
First Solar PV modules are thin film PV modules. The achievement of reaching 1GW of modules in installations bodes well for the entire industry, bringing credibility to the solar energy effort. To support the growing demand, First Solar continues to push the limits on volume manufacturing. First Solar is integrating each production step.
Sharp, the market leader, has achieved remarkable penetration of residential markets. Mass production of tandem?type thin?film solar cells means two types of cells are offered—crystalline types suitable for colder temperatures at high latitudes, and thinfilm types better suited to warmer regions. Sharp is a unique manufacturer in that they offer both types.
Key market transitions are being made relative to smart grid, the increasing centrality of the local power substation, and implementation of the smart grid as a distribution center for electricity generated by solar power.
Solar energy is being adopted because the petroleum reserves are facing depletion. Solar offers plentiful, cheap energy source with panels that have a 25 year life and payback within 10 years. The payback is within 8 months if the solar electricity generated is used to charge an electric vehicle.
Thin film batteries and new utility level electricity storage are evolving. Thin film batteries are expected to power electric vehicles and sit on the ground outside homes and apartment buildings to store the electricity generated by solar. Thin film batteries provide the bridge to offer electricity when the sun it not shining.
Thin film batteries fuel growth in solar markets. These markets are set to evolve even faster than anyone has thought. Sharp, First Solar, Trina Solar, Suntech, and Ascent Solar Technologies are among the companies anticipated to benefit from the build out of solar energy. These are the companies positioned to leverage solar energy market growth. These market participants continue to be very aggressive in both internal innovation commitments, as well as partnership and acquisition strategies.
According to Susan Eustis, President of WinterGreen Research, “Worldwide solar markets are poised to achieve significant growth as solar energy is widely adopted, creating economies of scale and funding new technology efficiencies. Manufacturing efficiencies are expected to create new uses and permit users to leverage existing ones. Costs of solar panels are expected to decrease rapidly in response to the continuing economies of scale. Market strategies of the leaders Sharp First Solar, and Trina are compelling in their innovation and flexibility”.
Emerging markets depend on 100 successful trials and reference accounts. Solar energy has now surpassed that magic number and is poised for rapid growth. The reference accounts are in place, the prices of the solar modules are decreasing at a faster pace than the industry had predicted, grid parity has been achieved in some places and is on track to be achieved everywhere.
Investment in solar energy is anticipated to continue. Participants will come and go, industry consolidation and high growth patterns will alternate until the nascent industry stabilizes, but solar energy is here to stay.
Solar energy is in place. It works, it is no longer a dream or a long shot, it is real. Read the study, look at the pictures of the large number of installations, this is an amazing market, emerging long after early efforts to bring these technologies to reality: Why is it here now? Solar energy is evolving because the price of gasoline in going to continue to climb.
Solar energy markets are big. At $19.6 billion in 2009 solar panels are anticipated to reach$125.5 billion by 2016. Market growth comes because the technology has caught the imagination of everyone, consumers, vendors, governments, politicians, oil producers, and the utility industry. The technology works, its benefits have a positive ROI over the useful life of the panels, even a significant payback. Solar provides the cheap, clean, dependable energy source needed to drive industrial growth, available.
Report Methodology
This is the 437th report in a series of market research reports that provide forecasts in communications, telecommunications, the internet, computer, software, and telephone equipment. The project leaders take direct responsibility for writing and preparing each report. They have significant experience preparing industry studies. Forecasts are based on primary research and proprietary data bases.
Forecasts reflect analysis of the market trends in the segment and related segments. Unit and dollar shipments are analyzed through consideration of dollar volume of each market participation in the segment. Market share analysis includes conversations with key customers of products, industry segment leaders, marketing directors, distributors, leading market participants, and companies seeking to develop measurable market share. Over 200 in-depth interviews are conducted for each report with a broad range of key participants and opinion leaders in the market segment.
Link: http://empowerednews.net/global-photovoltaic-solar-panel-market-at-19-6-billion-will-reach-125-5-billion-by-2016/1858525/
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China Maps Out Policies to Drive Emissions Reductions
Nov 3, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Michael Standaert
China's upcoming 13th Five-Year Plan and its Made in China manufacturing plan will be the driving forces behind the nation's emissions reductions efforts and industrial reform.
These plans will help China on the road to becoming cleaner and more efficient, said speakers at the Oct. 29–30 Eco-Expo Asia in Hong Kong.
The official 13th Five-Year Plan document will be released at the annual National People's Congress meetings in Beijing in March 2016.
While many of its anticipated actions are carry-overs from the current 12th Five-Year Plan, one significant item mentioned but not yet detailed is aligning local environmental protection bureaus directly with provincial-level environmental protection bureaus instead of the local governments, which they are subservient to.
The new five-year plan also calls for more in-depth air, water and soil pollution action policies to be enforced under China's tougher amended Environmental Protection Law (EPL), which took effect Jan. 1 (52 DEN A-7, 3/18/15).
“The biggest change has been in legislative philosophy with the amendments to the EPL giving environmental protection a new priority that elevates it to the level of basic national policy,” Chen Xuebin, a partner at the law firm Li & Partners in Shenzhen, said Oct. 29. “The amended law gives environmental policies as much or greater priority than economic and social development.”
The higher industrial emissions targets included in the Made in China 2025 Manufacturing Plan, released earlier this year, mean that industry will “have to deploy cleaner production technologies” to survive and thrive, said Tsang Kam Lam, deputy chairman of the Green Strategy Alliance, a nonprofit group in Hong Kong.
The manufacturing plan has embraced several of the key strategic industry goals outlined in the 12th Five-Year Plan and added others as well, including reducing coal ash waste (190 DEN A-11, 10/1/15)
In addition, China's 2012 Clean Manufacturing Promotion Law has been a boost to transforming traditional industry and will be upgraded in the next five-year plan (62 DEN A-14, 4/2/12).
Under this amendment, companies have to meet more stringent air pollution targets for sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions, as well as water emissions measurements of chemical oxygen demand and ammonia nitrogen reduction; increase controls on emissions of volatile organic compounds and solid wastes; and improve energy efficiency and carbon intensity reductions, according to Huang Jianping, chairwoman of Guangdong Provincial Cleaner Production Association.
Together, the two plans will compel companies that have outdated production systems to either upgrade technologies to meet the tougher emissions standards or shutter operations that are no longer efficient, according to the expo speakers.
Link (subscription needed): http://news.bna.com/deln/DELNWB/split_display.adp?fedfid=78600959&vname=dennotallissues&fn=78600959&jd=78600959
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EVs Can Save China (And The US) From Its Air Pollution Problem
Nov 2, 2015 | Clean Technica
By Joseph Nagle
Electric vehicles are off to the races.
Sparked by eco-concern, the high maintenance cost of internal combustion vehicles, and the ever-dwindling oil supply, EVs have found a definite lasting foothold in the personal vehicle market. While eco-friendly vehicles have a lot of promise for the entire world, no place will benefit more from their rapid growth than China.
China, already the most-populated nation on Earth, combined with rapid industrialization and a fast-growing economy, has the expanding middle-class hungry for more modern luxuries. China is now the world leader in car production and thanks to a vehicle-hungry marketplace 1 billion strong, with traffic jams that can take up 50 lanes and last for days, the problem is already here and, just like their economy, growing rapidly.
Smog and dust particulates are a daily occurrence in Beijing, at times getting so thick it forms a noxious fog throughout the city, and breathing that level of polluted air is equivalent to smoking 40 cigarettes per day. Now imagine sitting in a car, surrounded by other cars, with the AC sucking in all that pollution and blowing it directly into your face. It’s no wonder Teslas need a bio-weapon defense mode, as all that pollution certainly warrants it.
EVs, however, offer hope to a country that is literally drowning in its own fumes. 200 million vehicles are projected to be on the road in China by 2020 and the market is only going to continue to increase. Replacing all those internal combustion engines won’t be easy, but with the market still ramping up it has to be done.
China happens to be a world leader when it comes to investing in sustainable energy. By dumping billions of dollars into solar, wind, hydro, and nuclear power over the past several years, China is quickly trying to fix factory-born air pollution. With electrical production being generated from sustainable net-zero sources, EVs take China’s air pollution down even further. With a high number of EVs on the roads, air pollution could easily become a thing of the past.
Even replacing one third of those vehicles with EVs, air pollution begins to take a big hit, which is also good news for the west. China’s air pollution problem isn’t just China’s problem. Although they suffer the most from it, trade winds can carry that pollution directly into the US. It’s estimated that nearly one-third of San Francisco’s air pollution comes from mainland China and if the trend continues the US will surely be drowning in fumes too. Electric vehicles take pollution out of the equation for both China and the US. According to the EPA, motor vehicles collectively cause 75 percent of carbon monoxide pollution in the U.S, while the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) estimates that on-road vehicles cause one-third of the air pollution that produces smog in the U.S. Add all that with the rapid growth of motor vehicles in China, and we see a very smog-filled future for the entire world. Getting EVs to stay has already happened, now it’s time we start to make a real difference with them.
Link: https://cleantechnica.com/2015/11/02/evs-can-save-china-and-the-us-from-its-air-pollution-problem/
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Goldman Sachs to invest $150 billion in clean energy
Nov 2, 2015 | Fortune
By Katie Fehrenbacher
The investment bank is almost quadrupling its commitment to finance clean energy infrastructure around the world.
Financial giant Goldman Sachs announced on Monday that it plans to invest $150 billion in clean energy projects and technology like solar and wind farms, energy efficiency upgrades for buildings, and power grid infrastructure.
The investment bank previously had a target to invest $40 billion in clean energy technologies by 2012, and will now almost quadruple that amount by 2025.
Goldman Sachs GS 1.16% has long been bullish on clean energy and was an early financier of solar and wind farms around the world. This summer the company signed a pledge, organized by the White House, to take measures to curb greenhouse gas emissions and invest in cleantech.
In September, Goldman Sachs managing director and head of the environmental markets group, Kyung-Ah Park, saidat Fortune’s Brainstorm E conference that the renewable energy sector has “reached an inflection point” with more renewable energy systems installed this year than conventional systems.
At the same time, the market for solar and wind technologies could take a hit in the U.S. in 2017. An important federal initiative that gives residents and businesses a 30% tax credit for installing renewable energy systems is set to expire at the end of 2016 and will be replaced by a 10% credit. While the tax credit could be extended by Congress, it’s still causing uncertainty in the clean energy markets in the U.S.
If the credit does expire, investors like Goldman Sachs will just focus more on financing projects outside of the U.S. solar companies, similar to how alternative energy companies like SunPower SPWR 2.16% and First Solar FSLR 1.24% are starting to look more at booming overseas markets like China.
Despite the ups and downs of the clean energy market in the U.S., Goldman Sachs is still going long on the sector. AtFortune Brainstorm E, Goldman Sach’s Park said the transition to new energy technologies is still in the “early innings of an economy wide transition.”
The bank says that along with its new investment pledge, it will also seek to finance clean energy for the developing world, like home solar panels and cleaner cooking stoves, as well as look to help the development of carbon markets around the world.
Link: http://fortune.com/2015/11/02/goldman-sachs-clean-energy/
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Surprising study finds that solar energy can also cause climate change (a little)
Nov 2, 2015 | The Washington Post
By Chelsea Harvey
Large solar arrays could have some surprising side effects, according to a new study, including causing changes in the local climate.
On a global scale, these changes will be minor compared to what would happen if humans continue to burn fossil fuel for energy instead, but are still worth watching, scientists say.
Figuring out how renewable energy sources will affect their local landscapes is an increasingly relevant challenge for scientists, as more and more nations are vowing to slash their carbon outputs and switch to alternatives, such as solar and wind energy. Previous studies have shown that both solar arrays and wind farms have the potential to cause regional changes in temperature and precipitation by altering the amount of solar radiation absorbed by the Earth or disrupting local airflow patterns.
With this in mind, Aixue Hu, a climate change research scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, conducted a study, published Monday in Nature Climate Change, that attempted to predict the climatic effects of solar arrays.
For their experiments, Hu and his colleagues assumed a low-carbon scenario, in which global greenhouse gas emissions would start to decline after the year 2020 as renewable energy sources are more widely used.
The researchers then carried out a series of simulations. The first simulation included solar panel installations across the world’s deserts — the parts of the world likely to receive the most sunlight — and throughout all the world’s urban areas.
The second simulation mimicked that scenario, but also assumed that the world would continue to consume a lot of energy through the use of air conditioning.
The final simulation dropped the thermostat assumption and scaled back the number of solar panel arrays. This scenario is the “more realistic” of the bunch, according to Hu, and was meant to test whether a more modest solar panel installation would be able to address the global energy demand through the end of the century.
After running the simulations, the researchers found that the solar power generated in each of the experiments would be enough to satisfy global electricity demand by 2100. That was the good news. But the experiments also showed that the panels do have an impact on climate, at least regionally.
Solar panels change the way sunlight is reflected and absorbed by the Earth. Any radiation they take in is radiation that’s not being absorbed by the Earth. This leads to a cooling effect in the region surrounding the array. In fact, the first two simulations in this study, which assumed solar panel installations throughout the world’s desert and urban areas, produced a 2-degree Celsius regional cooling in the desert regions. This cooling was also associated with a 20 percent decrease in precipitation in the deserts. Other, slightly broader changes in precipitation and wind patterns occurred as a result in the regions surrounding the deserts.
In urban areas, the effects were a little different. In the first simulation, the model predicted a very small amount of cooling, with temperature falling approximately 0.26 degrees Celsius. In the second simulation, the one in which global thermostat regulation is significantly increased, the large amount of power consumed actually produced an urban heat island effect, in which human energy use releases heat into the environment and causes the regional temperature to warm up. In this scenario, the warming from the heat island effect essentially compensated for the cooling caused by the solar panels.
When considered on a global scale, these effects become much smaller. In the first simulation, the average change in global temperature is an average decline of about 0.34 degrees Celsius, relative to the temperature that would be expected under the same low-carbon climate scenario with no solar parks. In the second simulation, where the heat island effect is taken into account, there would be an average increase in global temperature of about 0.09 degrees Celsius.
However, the authors acknowledge that it’s unrealistic to assume such widespread solar panel installations in the future. So they looked to the third simulation for a more realistic view of what’s to come.
In the third simulation, which included fewer solar panel arrays, the climate effects are scaled down accordingly. The average global cooling observed in this simulation is only a decline of about 0.04 degree Celsius.
The study shows that, while large solar arrays can cause some significant regional changes in climate, “globally it will not affect the global climate much,” said Hu. “This is a big contrast with the fossil fuels.” According to most climate projections, human-caused global warming — the result of releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere — could lead to anywhere from 1 to nearly 3 degrees of global temperature increases under even moderate climate scenarios.
That said, the study does also provide some insight into how the local solar panel-induced climate effects might be minimized. The results suggested that local climate effects were smaller in urban areas than in the more remote desert areas and can be mitigated by the urban heat island effect. So while it’s tempting to place large solar arrays in desert areas, where they’re most likely to receive the greatest amount of interrupted sunlight, the authors note that “a more distributed solar panel installation could reduce the impact of the solar panels on regional and global climate.”
And being aware of the way certain regions could be affected by large solar deployments, could help policymakers make decisions about how to distribute panels in these places and how to prepare for the local changes that could occur as a result, Hu said.
So future research may also examine how the distribution of solar arrays could be changed in order to maximize their positive effects on land use and minimize their negative ones.
In the meantime, this study reinforces the idea that a transition to renewable energy is imperative to protecting Earth’s climate future. While the transition won’t be without its own effects, the authors note that the alternative — a world in which fossil fuel burning is allowed to continue unabated — would be far worse.
Link: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/11/02/surprising-study-finds-that-solar-energy-can-also-cause-climate-change-a-little/
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Judge Rejects Solar Fee for Rooftop Systems in Wisconsin
Nov 3, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Brian Eckhouse
Owners of rooftop solar systems won a legal fight against a Wisconsin utility in the latest clash with the power industry over the cost of distributed generation.
A Wisconsin circuit court judge in a verbal ruling Oct. 30 overturned a fee authorized in December 2014 by the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin. We Energies, a Milwaukee-based utility, had requested permission to impose a so-called demand charge on customers that generate their own electricity, asserting that the fee is necessary to help the company recover costs—for poles, wires and meters—that are shifted to other customers.
The same question has been raised by utilities around the country as rooftop solar becomes more common. Customers use photovoltaic panels to reduce their monthly power bills, eating into utilities’ revenue and threatening the companies’ ability to cover the cost of operating the power grid.
Dane County Circuit Court Judge Peter Anderson didn't find sufficient evidence to justify the fee, rejecting We Energies's claim that the grid-operating cost amounts to a subsidy for owners of distributed generation systems.
Fee Called ‘Fundamentally Unfair.’
“It's fundamentally unfair to say the [distributed generation] user is deriving a subsidy,” said Anderson, according to a transcript of his comments provided by the Alliance for Solar Choice, a plaintiff in the Wisconsin case.
Alliance for Solar Choice, which advocates for several U.S. solar companies including Sunrun Inc., sued the Public Service Commission in January, saying the fee was discriminatory.
“From the beginning, it was clear that there was no...justification for the solar capacity charge,” said Amy Heart, senior manager of public policy at San Francisco-based Sunrun, in an interview Nov. 2.
We Energies disagreed. “We believe sufficient information was provided for the commission to include a demand charge on consumer generation,” spokesman Brian Manthey said in a statement. The utility is reviewing its options.
The Public Service Commission is “reviewing the ruling associated with the distributed generation demand charge,” Elise Nelson, a spokeswoman for the agency, said in an e-mailed statement.
Link (subscription needed): http://news.bna.com/deln/DELNWB/split_display.adp?fedfid=78600997&vname=dennotallissues&fn=78600997&jd=78600997
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First Solar to run at full capacity in 2016
Nov 2, 2015 | PV Tech
By Mark Osborne
Leading CdTe thin-film producer and project developer First Solar expects to be operating all its production lines at full capacity in 2016.
First Solar said in last week's earnings call that the looming end to the US investment tax credit arrangement and efforts to rebuild its PV project pipeline after several mega-scale projects in the US were completed over the last few years has resulted in almost 2GW of fully contracted projects and 650MW of projects with completions during 2016.
With a nameplate capacity of around 2.7GW, First Solar is effectively “fully allocated for 2016”, according to Jim Hughes, CEO of First Solar in the earnings call to discuss third quarter financial results.
The company noted in its earnings presentation that its average production utilisation rate across its production lines in the US and Malaysia were 94% in the third quarter, up from 85% in previous quarters, while production was 653.8MW (DC), up from 562.8MW(DC) in the prior quarter, a 16% increase due to “higher module efficiency, increased manufacturing capacity and less downtime for technology upgrades”, added Hughes.
This meant production was 46% higher on a year-over-year basis, which included the restart of manufacturing lines in Malaysia, previously idled and the addition of new capacity and improved module efficiencies. Module efficiency gains
Hughes also highlighted the module efficiency gains achieved by its latest efforts to upgrade all its production lines.
The production line average efficiency improved to 15.8%, up from 14.7% in the first quarter of 2015, while its best line average efficiency was 16.4% during the third quarter.
However, Hughes noted in the call that since the end of the third quarter the current fleet average efficiency has reached 16.1%.
Yet, Hughes also noted that the need to run lines at full capacity to meet demand in 2016 would lead to a halt of line upgrades in the first half of next year, so efficiency gains would not track those made in 2015.
“In the first half of 2016, we will prioritise full production utilisation in order to meet strong demand and then resume the implementation of new module efficiency programmes thereafter,” added Hughes.
However, due to executing on upgrades this year, its capital expenditure targets had not been affected and expected to meet previous guidance of US$175 million to US$200 million. Financial results
First Solar reported third quarter sales of US$1.3 billion, an increase of US$375 million from the second quarter of 2015. Gross margin was over 38%.
The increase in net sales from the prior quarter was due to initial revenue recognition on the sale of a majority interest in its partially constructed Desert Stateline project as well as higher third party module sales and an increase in systems revenue across multiple projects, according to the company.
Gross margin was over 38%, compared to 18.4% in the second quarter and was higher than expected due to the majority sale of the Desert Stateline project, improvements in systems project costs and a decrease in module collection and recycling obligations, which reduced cost of sales by US$70 million and operating expenses by US$10 million.
“Since the inception of the module end-of-life programme, we have continued to pursue engineering and process improvements to reduce the cost of collecting and recycling the modules,” said Mark R. Widmar, CFO of First Solar. “Our continuous improvement efforts have resulted in an automated and continuous flow process, which is significantly lowering the cost of the end-of-life programme.”
First Solar reported an operating profit of US$398 million compared to an operating profit of US$57 million in the prior quarter. Order momentum
First Solar noted that its bookings in terms of expected revenue had increased to US$7.4 billion by the end of the third quarter, while potential bookings opportunities were said to have reached 17.4GW (DC), an increase of approximately 700MW from the prior quarter.
Mid-to-late stage bookings were said to have reached a record 3.9GW (DC) at the end of the quarter, up 900MW (DC) from the prior quarter.
International bookings were noted to have accounted for over 85% of the potential mid-to-late stage bookings, indicating strongly First Solar’s post ITC plans and totalled around 13GW (DC), with Latin America and India being the largest regions. Guidance
The company reiterated previous sales guidance of US$3.5 billion to us US$3.6 billion for the full-year 2015, with EPC and solar modules used in system projects to be in the range of 90% to 95% of the total revenue for the year.
However, First Solar raised its gross margin guidance to 24% to 25%, up from 21% to 22%. Operating expenses were also lowered slightly (US$10 million reduction) to US$395 million to US$405 million.
PV module ship guidance for the full-year was unchanged at 2.8GW to 2.9GW.
Link: http://www.pv-tech.org/news/first_solar_to_run_at_full_capacity_in_2016
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Australia: Huge response to ARENA, CEFC, Queensland big solar tenders
Nov 3, 2015 | PV Magazine
By Giles Parkinson
As part of a major push into big solar projects, which have been slow to take off in Australia because of policy uncertainty, ARENA is making available $100 million in grants, CEFC is offering up to $250 million in finance, while Ergon and the Queensland government have separate tenders in progress.
RenewEconomy understands that several new international players have been drawn to the Australian market, reversing a trend that saw some pack up and leave under the policies of the federal government under the leadership of Tony Abbott.
There have been several gigawatts in capacity proposed for the tenders, which is not surprising given that the call for expressions of interest by the ACT government for 50MW of “next generation” solar with storage drew nearly 1 GW of proposals.
In Queensland, alone, there are more than 2.5 GW of large-scale solar projects with local council approval, merely waiting for contracts with local utilities, or financing to enter the merchant market.RenewEconomy has been told that nearly all of the proposals for the ARENA/CEFC tender are for fixed tilt, solar PV projects, with Queensland accounting for most interest, closely followed by New South Wales and Western Australia.
Interestingly, there was a fair bit of appetite for “merchant” projects, where the developer takes the pricing risk by selling into the wholesale market, although these were focused on Queensland and Western Australia, where the wholesale prices, and solar resources, were higher.
That suggests that the results could be well below the $135/MWh cut-off point identified by ARENA. Indeed, solar auctions in India, the US, and Chile show bids of between $US50 and $80/MWh, but Australia’s costs are higher because there is not much of a supply chain here.
The Solar60 program – the 60 MW of capacity to be auctioned by the Queensland government under its attempts to kick-start the large-scale solar industry in the state – has also attracted strong interest because of the 20-year power purchase agreements on offer.
Ergon Energy, meanwhile, has also closed its offer of 150 MW of large-scale renewables, and is sorting through the applications. It expects to whittle down a short list soon, with the intention of entering into contracts before the end of the year or in early 2016.
A spokesperson for Ergon Energy said the tender had sparked interest from a range of projects across regional Queensland, and the total megawatts proposed was “well in excess” of requirements.
There was no indication of technology, although there have been numerous analyses – from groups such as Bloomberg New Energy Finance to utilities such as Origin Energy – that solar makes a lot of sense in Queensland because of the solar resource and the high wholesale prices.
Renewable energy certificates have also been trading at or below the $70/MWh mark, more than enough for solar projects to match on costs – although the newness of the technology in Australia means that most financiers want to lock in long-term contracts from customers.
The Ergon spokesperson said the Expressions of Interest received included new renewable energy projects offering to supply electricity and large-scale renewable energy certificates. An announcement will be made soon regarding shortlisted proposals.
“Ergon Energy Retail will carry out a thorough assessment of these submissions and will only partner with companies that have a solid reputation in this space,” the spokesman said.
“Successful proposals will need to demonstrate they will contribute significantly to Ergon Energy Retail commitment to source even more renewable energy for its customers.”
The ARENA projects are unlikely to be contracted until towards the end of 2016, according to its documentation. Spokespeople for ARENA and CEFC were not able to comment.
Link: http://www.pv-magazine.com/news/details/beitrag/australia--huge-response-to-arena--cefc--queensland-big-solar-tenders_100021831/#axzz3qL66gxSr
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