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- Date: 27 Aug 2006 06:50:47 -0700
EERE Network News
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August 23, 2006
News and Events
California Approves Legislation for Million Solar Roofs Plan
Increased Solar Silicon Production Chases Demand
First Geothermal Plant in Alaska Starts Power Production
BLM Approves 200-Megawatt Wind Project in South-Central Idaho
Seven Northeast States Set Rules for Greenhouse Gas Reductions
USDA Proposes 20 Biobased Product Categories for Federal Purchases
Energy Connections
Despite Slow Start, NOAA Predicts an Active Hurricane Season
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
News and Events
California Approves Legislation for Million Solar Roofs Plan
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger put the final pieces in place
for his Million Solar Roofs Plan on August 21st when he signed Senate
Bill 1 (SB 1) into law. Back in January, the California Public
Utilities Commission (CPUC) put the major piece of the plan into effect
when it created the 10-year, $2.9 billion "California Solar Initiative"
to offer rebates on solar power systems. However, because the CPUC only
has authority over investor-owned utilities, the rebates were funded by
the customers of those utilities and only available to those customers.
SB 1 expands the program to municipal utilities such as the Sacramento
Municipal Utility District and the Los Angeles Department of Power and
Water and allows the total cost of the program to increase to as much
as $3.35 billion. It also increases the cap on the number of utility
customers that can sell their excess solar power generation back to the
utility. That number was previously capped at 0.5 percent of the
utility's customers, but is now capped at 2.5 percent of the customers.
And starting in 2011, SB 1 requires developments of more than 50 new
single-family homes to offer solar energy systems as an option.
The governor's Million Solar Roofs Plan aims to install solar power
systems on one million homes by 2017. The state estimates that the
million homes would have a total solar power capacity of 3,000
megawatts. See the governor's press release, his "Protecting Our
Environment" Web site, and the text of SB 1.
Increased Solar Silicon Production Chases Demand
Viewed through protective glass, a silicon crystal is drawn from a
molten ingot of solar silicon. Most of the solar cell industry depends
on a steady supply of solar silicon.
Credit: Jim Yost Photography
Renewable Energy Corporation (REC) started construction in mid-August
on a new $600 million production facility for solar grade polysilicon
in Moses Lake, Washington. The plant will nearly double the company's
polysilicon production capacity, adding 6,500 metric tons to bring
total capacity to close to 13,000 metric tons. Solar grade polysilicon
is the raw material used to produce most solar cells, and REC's
polysilicon is used in 20 to 25 percent of all solar cells in the
world. Once the new facility is brought online, one year's production
will yield enough solar cells to power about 75,000 homes. See the REC
press release.
REC's expansion is part of a worldwide push to increase manufacturing
capacities for polysilicon and to lock in polysilicon supplies for
solar cell manufacturers. In June, another polysilicon supplier,
Germany-based Wacker, announced plans to increase its annual
polysilicon production by 4,500 metric tons to total 14,500 metric tons
by the end of 2009. In July, SunPower Corporation and ErSol Solar
Energy AG both made long-term deals for polysilicon supplies that will
allow the solar cell companies to each achieve an additional production
output of at least 300 megawatts (MW). And SolarWorld AG plans to
nearly double its annual production of solar silicon wafers to 350 MW
by 2008, drawing in part from a facility that can produce 1,200 metric
tons of solar polysilicon from lower-grade polysilicon and recycled
polysilicon scraps. The company has also entered into a joint venture
with Degussa AG to begin producing solar grade polysilicon starting in
2008. SolarWorld AG recently finished acquiring the Shell Group's
assets for producing polysilicon solar cells. See the Wacker press
release; the July 10th and July 13th press releases from SunPower; the
ErSol press release; and the June and July press releases from
SolarWorld.
This expanded production capacity in the solar industry is largely in
response to an increasing demand for solar power and materials that is
not being met by the supply. Photon Consulting's 2006 Solar Annual
report predicts that solar power demand will "significantly exceed
supply" through 2010. Demand today is estimated at 5,000 MW, with a
supply of only 2,400 MW, but demand in 2008 is estimated to reach as
high as 10,000 MW, while supply may only reach 5,000 MW. As the
industry ramps up production, the company projections point to a total
capacity of 10,000 MW by 2010. See the executive summary of the 2006
Solar Annual report.
First Geothermal Plant in Alaska Starts Power Production
Chena Hot Springs announced on August 10th the successful commissioning
and startup of the first geothermal power plant in Alaska. The unique
200-kilowatt power plant also holds a record for producing power from
the lowest temperature resource yet: a well producing 162.5 degree
Fahrenheit water. That's scalding hot water, but far from boiling. To
produce power from the well, the company teamed with DOE, United
Technologies, and Carrier Corporation to fashion a binary power plant
from commercial air-conditioning equipment, using the air conditioning
compressor as a turbine. The system essentially runs in reverse: the
geothermal heat vaporizes the refrigerant; the refrigerant vapor passes
through the compressor, spinning it and a generator to produce power;
and then a condenser removes heat and converts the vapor back into a
liquid. To make the system more efficient, Chena Hot Springs pipes its
cooling water in from a well at a higher elevation, allowing gravity to
push the water through the power plant without a need to pump it. See
Chena Hot Springs' announcement, power plant description, and technical
paper on the power plant (PDF 220 KB). Download Adobe Reader.
Chena Hot Springs is a resort that makes the most of its renewable
resources, using the same gravity-fed water to irrigate its greenhouse
and gardens, and employing geothermal energy to heat its 46 buildings.
The resort is built around geothermal hot springs, but the company also
erected the Aurora Ice Hotel in January 2004 to showcase ice art. When
that structure melted during record temperatures in July 2004, the
resort built a new structure, the Aurora Ice Museum, and cooled it with
an absorption chiller that draws on geothermal energy. The new
structure, built in January 2005, survived more record-setting
temperatures that summer while hosting 10,000 visitors. The absorption
chiller won an award from the Geothermal Resources Council last year.
See the Chena Hot Springs Web site.
BLM Approves 200-Megawatt Wind Project in South-Central Idaho
St. Paul Island, one of the Aleutian islands, already features a
225-kilowatt Vestas wind turbine, which has stood up well to Alaska's
harsh subarctic climate.
Credit: TDX Power
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced on August 15th its
completion of an environmental review and approval of a right-of-way
grant for the 200-megawatt Cotterel Wind Power Project in Cassia
County, Idaho. The wind project is the largest on federal land in 25
years. It will consist of 98 turbines along a ridge on 4,500 acres of
land managed by BLM, and the power generated by the project will be
distributed through the existing regional power grid. The right-of-way
grant clears the way for the project to proceed while including
important measures for mitigating its effects on wildlife resources,
including sage-grouse, raptors, bats, and migratory birds. An
interagency team of federal and state biologists developed the
mitigation plan and will continue to monitor wildlife impacts. The
project is being developed by Windland, Inc., which plans to begin
construction in the fall and bring the plant online next year. See the
BLM press release and the project description on the Windland Web site.
The BLM is part of the U.S. Department of Interior, which is also
providing a $128,000 grant to help install wind turbines in Alaska. The
grant will go to the Aleutian Pribilof Islands Association, Inc.-a
non-profit tribal organization in Anchorage-to hold public meetings
and perform environmental assessments to support the installation of
hybrid wind and diesel electrical generators for six native communities
located along the state's Aleutian Island chain. The Alaska Energy
Authority and the U.S. Department of Agriculture are funding the
purchase and installation of the wind turbines for the six communities.
The region is blessed with the Class 7 wind resources, the highest
class and the best for wind power development. See the Interior
Department press release.
Seven Northeast States Set Rules for Greenhouse Gas Reductions
The seven Northeast states participating in the Regional Greenhouse Gas
Initiative (RGGI)-an effort to set a cap-and-trade system for
greenhouse gas emissions-released a model rule for the program on
August 15th. The model rule will form the basis for individual state
regulatory or statutory proposals to implement the program.
Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, and
Vermont are participating in the program, while recent legislation in
Maryland requires the state to join RGGI by June 2007.
Under RGGI (pronounced "Reggie"), the seven states intend to launch a
regional cap-and-trade system that utilizes emissions credits or
allowances to limit the total amount of carbon dioxide emissions.
Beginning in 2009, emissions of carbon dioxide from power plants in the
region would be capped at current levels of 121 million tons annually.
The cap remains at the same level until 2015, after which the states
would then begin reducing emissions over a four-year period to achieve
a 10 percent reduction by 2019. Compared to the emissions increases the
region would see from power plants without the program, RGGI will
result in an approximately 35 percent reduction by 2020.
At least a quarter of each state's emissions allowances will be
dedicated to strategic energy or consumer benefit purposes, such as
energy efficiency or clean energy technologies. If a power plant buys
these allowances, the funds will support beneficial energy programs.
RGGI can also benefit projects in other states, since power plants can
meet some of their emissions cuts by investing in non-electricity
projects that cut greenhouse gases anywhere in the country. Such
projects might include landfill gas recovery efforts and energy
efficiency programs for natural gas users. Assuming all the states take
the necessary actions to adopt the program, RGGI will take effect in
2009. See the RGGI press release (PDF 48 KB) and Web site. Download
Adobe Reader.
USDA Proposes 20 Biobased Product Categories for Federal Purchases
A program to require the federal government to give preference to
buying biobased products is hitting its stride, as the U.S. Department
of Agriculture (USDA) has proposed 20 new categories of biobased
products for federal purchase. The USDA proposed rules, published in
two separate rounds in the Federal Register on August 17th, would
include the following categories of biobased products: adhesive and
mastic removers, insulating foam for wall construction, hand cleaners
and sanitizers, composite panels, fluid-filled transformers,
biodegradable containers, fertilizers, metalworking fluids, sorbents,
graffiti and grease removers, two-cycle engine oils, lip care products,
biodegradable films, stationary equipment hydraulic fluids,
biodegradable cutlery, glass cleaners, greases, dust suppressants,
carpets, and carpet and upholstery cleaners. According to the USDA,
these 20 categories will open the door for federal procurement of 1,500
biobased products. Comments on the proposed rules are due on October
16th. See the USDA press release and the Round 2 and Round 3 proposals
on the Federal Biobased Products Preferred Procurement Program Web
site.
Biobased products generally replace items produced from petroleum, so
they can potentially reduce our nation's petroleum dependence. They
often have environmental benefits as well. The USDA previously named
six categories of products in a rule that became final in March, and
within a year of that date, federal agencies must give preference to
biobased products when buying items that fall within those six
categories. The USDA's current catalog of biobased products lists 93
products under these six categories. See the online catalog.
Energy Connections
Despite Slow Start, NOAA Predicts an Active Hurricane Season
On August 22nd, 2005, a tropical storm was developing near the Bahamas
that eventually formed Hurricane Katrina, the 11th named storm and the
fifth hurricane of the 2005 Atlantic season. By comparison, this year's
tropical storm season in the Atlantic Ocean seems mild, with only three
named storms and no hurricanes as of August 22nd. But according to the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), we shouldn't be
fooled by this year's slow start. NOAA adjusted its forecast downward
in early August, but the agency is still calling for an above-normal
Atlantic hurricane season. NOAA is projecting a total of 12 to 15 named
storms, of which seven to nine will intensify to hurricanes, including
three or four hurricanes rated at Category 3 or higher. See the NOAA
press release.
The Atlantic may soon get its fourth named storm, as the National
Hurricane Center (NHC) is currently tracking Tropical Depression 4,
which is located near the Cape Verde islands and is expected to
strengthen. Meanwhile, the Pacific Ocean has been extremely active this
year: on August 22nd, the NHC was tracking Tropical Storm Ileana, the
ninth named storm in the eastern Pacific, while the Central Pacific
Hurricane Center was tracking Hurricane Ioke. And as of August 21st,
China had reported 441 dead from Typhoon Saomai, the eighth typhoon to
strike China this year. Typhoon Saomai struck mainland China as a
Category 4 super typhoon, the strongest to hit China in 50 years. See
the NHC and Central Pacific Hurricane Center Web sites and the news on
Typhoon Saomai, posted on the China Meteorological Administration Web
site.
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