Solar News

A recent article points to Canada as a model for American energy and environmental policy. According to a piece published in Yale Environment 360, Ontario has shut down nearly every coal-fired plant, a final step in a plan laid out back in 2003."The decade-long process to replace a quarter of the province's electrical generating capacity with new plants fueled by natural gas and renewable energy sources represents one of the most ambitious low-carbon generating strategies in the world." The shift away from coal-fired power plants has lead to legislation including "...feed-in tariff provisions, modeled after similar programs in Denmark and Germany, which offered 20-year contracts to purchase wind, solar, biomass and biogas-fueled electricity from producers at generous prices."

Germany has been known as the gold standard for installing panels and producing solar energy. Forget that Germany is at approximately the same latitude as Alaska. It has installed about 30 gigawatts of solar capacity, which is impressive considering that the juggernaut of solar installations in the U.S. has managed a paltry 6.4 gigawatts, tiny by comparison. Everything sounds sweet for the solar industry in Germany, right? Possibly not. The huge growth has caused some problems, very different in nature but nonetheless problems. The first problem is that the work for installers is now beginning to dry up. The second problem is that competition has become even more intense and solar energy parts manufacturers will face even more severe competition. The other problem to hit the news in Germany is the effect on utilities.

The latest data from last year is in, and although some manufacturers took it in the shins, the boom for solar panel systems continued--big time. GTM Research and the Solar Energy Industries Association (yes, we know that there is room for bias, but we will take the findings as they are) just published their findings on the results from last year. According to their report, PV installations increased year over the previous year 76% to a total of 3,313 megawatts. In just one year, 83, 000 homes in the U.S. went solar, bringing the total to more than 300,000 homes throughout the US that have solar panel systems. The report documents the dramatic decline in solar module prices, down 41% in just one year. The sizzling growth is not expected to continue next year, but still the GTM/SEIA research project forecasts a further increase in 2013 of 30%.

Suntech Power is one of the leading manufacturers of solar panels in the world. But maybe not for long. Suntech missed a $541 million bond payment last Friday and some analysts are saying that the company is on the brink. Suntech has been adjusting its strategy to stay alive as solar panel prices continue to fall and demand declines. Even if Suntech exited the competitive solar manufacturing market, there are still plenty of manufacturers that are poised to fill the void.

This cannot be good news for Sunrun. Sunrun is a company that offers homeowners a lease or power purchase agreement as an alternative to purchasing solar panel systems. Many homeowners find that the upfront cost for purchasing and installing solar panels is too great an obstacle to allow them to go solar. Sunrun and other companies provide an approach that allows the homeowner to avoid paying the hefty purchase price for the solar equipment. Greentechmedia broke the story about a class action filed in California against Sunrun for various ills, including carrying on business without a contractor's license, inaccurately representing trends in electricity rates, and misrepresenting the termination provision in the homeowner contract. We could not find any other news reports about this class action and do not know whether the lawsuit will even survive what will no doubt be vigorous attempts by Sunrun to get the action dismissed. It doesn't cost much to file a lawsuit. Nevertheless, the solar industry and consumers alike will watch how the lawsuit progresses.

You would think that Hawaii and solar would be a good combination, but there have been a series of articles about why there may be trouble brewing in this solar paradise. The Los Angeles Times ran an article last year detailing the triumphs of the solar industry in Hawaii and some of the challenges that the fast growth have posed for Hawaii. According to the article, solar power has taken off in Hawaii because of "friendly tax credits, the highest average electricity rates in the nation and the most aggressive renewable energy program adopted by any state." Unlike in other states, solar in Hawaii is becoming a large component of the energy on the various islands. This has meant that numerous small installations have contributed to an unstable grid.

During his second inaugural speech, President Barack Obama told the country that the new administration will "respond to the threat of climate change." What this means to the solar energy industry and to other renewable energy was of course not detailed in the short speech. The few lines devoted to combating global warming in Obama's speech have been the subject to considerable speculation, particularly how this new emphasis on "responding" to the threat of climate change will be translated into specific government policy in the coming weeks and months. Time asks the question that is on everyone's mind: can Obama translate his vision into policy. Its headline reads: "Obama Talked Climate Change in His Inaugural Address. Now Can He Do Something About It?" Although Congress considered passing a comprehensive energy bill during the first Obama Administration, the issue of climate change dropped down on the list of policy priorities after the mid-term elections.

It may be all well and good for the federal government and even the states to try to encourage solar energy, but the battle lines are squarely drawn at the local level. As we entered the New Year, throughout the country, homeowners faced some challenges as they tried to install or take advantage of the power from solar panel systems. Neighbors, homeowner associations and utilities are setting the terms of the argument for solar power. As solar becomes more popular, you can expect more of these arguments to become more common--and more acrimonious.

In an ideal world, we would get low cost power without significantly damaging the environment.  While such an idea currently seems like a dream, new research findings suggest this could be a reality within the next two decades. Thanks to recent advances in solar and wind technologies, the U.S. has the potential to rely primarly on solar energy and other renewables in the future. The University of Delaware and Delaware Technical Community College recently concluded a study, the findings of which suggest that by 2030, the energy needed to power a large electrical grid could come 99.9% from solar and other renewables. Even better, renewables could provide the necessary power at prices that are comparable to current electricity expenses. 

American solar manufacturing giants, First Solar and SunPower, announced on Monday that they will be bringing their technologies to China.  While these companies are leaders in the US market, they will have to overcome obstacles to succeed in the expanding Chinese market.  Forbes claims that it is difficult for non-Chinese solar manufacturers to make it in China because "the country already has an ample supply of home-grown ones."  However, there is some chance for success.  The majority of Chinese manufacturers use silicon, but the Chinese are interesting in developing other forms of solar technologies, making First Solar and SunPower attractive partners. 

The successes and failures of companies seeking to become public are as old as the stock market itself. The new cleantech industry has produced its own list of companies that have experienced varying levels of success on their offerings. A recent Reuters article points out that the list of actual IPS in cleantech is growing, while the list of successful cleantech IPOs is shrinking. SolarCity Corporation filed for an IPO last month, hoping to reverse this trend. SolarCity's business model is relatively straightforward. It builds solar panel systems for both residential and commercial customers. It sells the power from these systems back to the customers at lower than market rates. NC Solar, like SolarCity, has also recently filed for an initial public offering, but the companies are on vastly different planes. The company intends on installing solar panels on warehouse roofs, but unfortunately only has one client, Duke Energy. While it is too early to discern the future of both of these companies, December should be an exciting month for the cleantech industry. With SolarCity planning on going public this holiday season, and NC Solar attempting to follow in its footsteps, cleantech IPOs will stay on the radar screen of investors.

Hurricane Sandy left millions along the east coast without power for days, and in many cases, weeks. The storm highlighted our dependence on electricty and exposed the fragility of our power grid, according to Forbes. Even those homes with solar panels were left without power. The New York Times pointed out that "despite the popular perception that installing solar panels takes a home 'off the grid,' most of those systems are actually part of it, sending excess power to the utility grid during the day and pulling electricity back to run the house at night." There are ways to harness solar energy when the grid goes down such as adding batteries to a home system or using the kinds of independent solar generators that appeared in the wake of the storm.

It may be too early to predict last week's election results on the solar industry, but what is clear is that the support for the solar industry will take a dramatically different trajectory in the next four years than if Governor Romney had been elected. During the presidential campaign, each candidate had very different plans for renewables. But the image of the solar industry has taken a hit with high-profile bankruptcy cases. There is still considerable debate about the effect of Chinese solar panel manufacturers and the production of cheaper panels flooding the U.S. market. An additional obstacle that needs to be overcome to help ensure future success of the solar industry is the low cost of natural gas. The fulfillment of state mandates serves as yet another possible hurdle the industry must overcome.The industry is plagued by uncertainty, and only time will tell how the industry will develop in the next four years.

The District Attorney's Office of Weld County, Colorado is conducting a criminal investigation of the officials of the now bankrupt Abound Solar. Abound Solar was a Loveland, Colorado based thin-film solar manufacturing company, which suspended operations this past June, then declared bankruptcy in July, and is now defunct.The DA's office is launching a three-pronged fraud investigation and is also looking into the circumstances surrounding Abound's eligibility to receive $400 million of Department of Energy loans.The US House Energy and Commerce Committee is conducting a separate investigation of Abound Solar. The investigations are leading to parallels being drawn between Abound and the now-infamous Solyndra.

Since the surge of Chinese solar panels, a number of solar companies have gone belly up. A recent report suggests that another 180 solar panel manufacturers will shut down or be acquired by 2015. The report examined more than 300 international solar panel makers to discern how likely they are to survive. The report also listed eight trends in the solar industry in the next three years that you will want to know about.

The federal government has created energy zones in the Southwest U.S., marking a new stride towards greater utilization of solar energy. Last Friday, October, 12, the United States took a significant step when the Obama administration approved a solar energy roadmap for utility-scale solar energy development on public lands. The solar energy roadmap applies to six southwestern states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah.  Seventeen new solar energy zones have been created in these six states to improve the government's previous method of handling utility-scale solar energy development.  The plan demonstrates that the government is taking a new approach concerning the development of renewable energy sources.

The nation's coal plants may be in trouble. Coal plants are closing down at an accelerated rate, higher than previously anticipated. Supporters of coal are falsely accusing regulations by the EPA for the hard hits to the industry. Realistically, the plunging costs of natural gas, campaigns by anti-coal activists, and to a smaller degree, EPA regulations are to blame. While this is unfortunate for the coal industry, it has the potential to be good news for the solar industry and the environment. With these closures comes an opportunity for solar power to fill a widening gap in the energy market.

The final hearing before the International Trade Commission (ITC) for the United States' trade case against Chinese solar manufacturers occurred last Wednesday, October 3. In order for the Commerce Department's proposed tariffs to be imposed, the ITC must find that cheap Chinese imports have caused material damage to the American solar industry. Both American supporters and opponents of the tariffs believe they will be imposed. The Commerce Department is expected to make its final decision October 10, but the ITC won't make its decision until November.

The doors of SoloPower's first plant will open September 27 in Portland, Oregon. This is "a major step toward allowing it to tap a $197 million government loan guarantee awarded under the same controversial program that supported failed panel maker Solyndra," according to Reuters. These federal loans will add to the "$56.5 million SoloPower has collected in loans, tax credits and incentives from the state of Oregon and...Portland." Additionally, the company has raised "more than $200 million in venture funding from investors including Crosslink Capital, Hudson Clean Energy Partners, Convexa Capital Ventures and Firsthand Capital Management." SoloPower is receiving attention because of the similarities they share with the now-defunct Solyndra. To help reassure critics, John Cavalier, a managing partner with Hudson Clean Energy Partners, stated "before one dollar of the DOE loan is relied upon it will be demonstrable that this is a company that absolutely can manufacture a product that there will be verifiable demand for."

The Solar Power International Conference concluded last week in Orlando, Florida. Despite some huge challenges, according to the head of one industry association, "even in the worst economic times, our industry is growing." According to a report by GTM Research and SEIA released at the conference on September 10th, "the U.S. achieved its best quarter in history for the utility solar sector in the second quarter of 2012..." A recent San Jose Mercury News article discussing this report stated, "solar installations spiked in the second quarter of this year as large solar power plants came online...More solar was installed in the second quarter than in all of 2009." A large portion of this second quarter growth can be attributed to the completion of over 20 large solar plant projects in states like California and Arizona, the leading solar states.