Below is a repost from one of our sister publications, Windermere Sun:
Sun Rays (credit: Windermere Sun-Susan Sun Nunamaker)
December 19, 2011- Kyle Travis, left and Jon Jackson, with Lighthouse Solar, install microcrystalline PV modules on top of Kevin Donovan’s town home. (Photo by Dennis Schroeder)
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The stage is set. The time is ripe. With the cost of both solar and wind having dropped tremendously in the past three years, solar technology having enabled greater efficiency, the incoming Tesla’s Powerwall, Powerpack solving the storage problem, and Tesla’s integrated and cost effective solar roof… the inevitable Solar-Renewable Tsunami is knocking on our door. Astute green investors and lenders could all hear the knock and are ready to finance solar energy projects and fund power developments of renewable-sustainable energy resources. In the U.S., a mix of federal production tax credits and individual state renewable portfolio standards (RPS) are definitely pushing the market. To better understand various policies and incentives for renewables and efficiency by states, please click HERE. For example, state of CA has 187 such policies and incentives whereas state of FL has 77. Of course the incentives of some of the E.U. nations are also fueling the market. But most importantly, it is the simple fact that the cost of solar have dropped so much that it is now a more secure investment than putting one’s money in the bank (bank has a rate of return of about 0.8%-1.1% without inflation protection whereas investing in solar provides a rate of return ranging from about 3% (in AK without any tax credit or incentive, it is 4.4% with tax credit and incentives) to 24.4% (in HI with tax credit and incentives, location-climate-incentive dependent, and this is with inflation protection).
For a simple Solar Investment Payback Formula:
Total System Cost/Value of Electricity Generated/Your Annual Electricity Usage = Payback Time
1/Payback Time = Rate of Return on Investment
This means:
a 6 kW grid-tied system that costs about $10,000 (subject to market fluctuation, excluding fees and incentives)
The average American household uses 10,932 kWh of electricity per year (source: EIA)
They pay an average of $0.12 per kWh for it
Therefore, using American national averages: $10,000 system price/$0.12 per kWh/10932 kWh per year = 7.62 years = Payback Time
Therefore, 1/Payback Time = 1/7.62 =0.13 1 or 13.1% = Rate of Return on Solar Investment, keep in mind that this is with inflation protection (utility bills are always going up).
At this point, I’d like to share with you all a site that had already done the work for you, state by state, Solar Power Rocks., in figuring out the Investment Return (IRR), with consideration of respective state’s tax credits and incentives.
As a result, there are much opportunities for high yielding rates of return on investment in solar as well as other green renewable sources. In the coming decades, there will be so much transformational developments waiting to be planned out and completed. If you have a project ($multi-million project) in mind, with a plan but insufficient funding, please contact me via: info.WindermereSun@gmail.com so Windermere Sun may be able to introduce you and your plan/project to potential investors/lenders. If you are an angel investor, potential investor or lender for solar projects, please feel free to contact me at: info.WindermereSun@gmail.com so we can spread the sunshine globally while saving our planet earth!
Investment Criteria for Joint Venture Financing: financing for all types of commercial real estate and alternative energy projects. In general, they must meet the following criteria: • The project 5% down or more; • The project must be shovel-ready–defined as ready to break ground in 90 days or less; • The project must be sponsored by an experienced developer with a significant financial stake. • Asset-based loans, including In-Ground Assets; • Corporate expansion loans; • International Funding; and • Hard money loans. Joint Venture Financing Project Types: (NEW DEVELOPMENT ONLY) • Hotel Resorts and Casinos • Assisted Living/Senior Housing • Apartment Buildings/Multifamily Housing • Alternative/Renewable Energy (i.e., solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, etc.) • Green Energy (i.e., biofuel/biodiesel, biomass, waste-to-energy, etc.) • Hospitals and Health Care Facilities • Infrastructure (roads, highways, rail, etc.) • College and University Buildings • Public-Use and Recreational Facilities • Industrial Projects • Other Related Types Locations: USA and International, Joint Venture Financing Terms: • 95% equity financing • Typically three to five year term • Non-recourse financing • No interest payments during term of investment • Minority equity stake in lieu of interest • Take out with permanent financing or sale Time to Closing: 90 to 120 days.
Taiwain (the island at right), Taiwan Strait (Public Domain)
First Solar Powered Stadium in the World: Dragon-shaped Solar Stadium in Kaohsiung, Taiwan (credit:http://imgur.com/a/duB8w )
Dragon-shaped Solar Stadium in Kaohsiung, Taiwan (credit: Peellden)
The First Solar Powered Stadium in the World: Dragon-shaped Solar Stadium in Kaohsiung, Taiwan (credit: Peellden)
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Positioned with People’s Republic of China to the West, Japan to the Northeast, and the Philippines to the South, Taiwan is the most populus non-UN state and the largest economy outside of the UN.
This beautiful island of what used to be called Formosa, is progressive in many ways. In May of 2016, Taiwan has elected its first female president, Tsai Ing-Wen, of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). Soon after the election, the new government formed by the DPP announced its ambitious plans to install 20GW of solar, while phasing out nuclear. Installing 20 GW of solar would mean using land on the island or in a country where land is an expensive commodity. The new government is tackling this issue by releasing 10,000 hectares of government controlled agricultural land for utility scale PV installations and dual use systems. Its policies also enable water-based solar installations.
Early in October of this year, Taiwan’s Bureau of Energy issued its plan for Feed-in-Tariffs (FIT) in 2017.Within this plan:
the residential rooftops (1 kW to below 20 kW) would receive a FIT of NT$6.103/kWh (US$0.193/kWh)
the ground-mounted PV power plant would receive a FIT of US$0.144/kWh
the floating solar power plants would receive a FIT of US$0.156/kWh
As some of the solar companies in USA such as First Solar and Sun Power, many Taiwanese formerly dedicated solar cell producers are shifting their attentions or businesses to also include manufacturing modules and PV project developers. One can imagine that such a shift will pick up its speed as the new FIT system becomes implemented in 2017.
To better understand such a group/country of wonderfully resilient people, I will share some videos about this beautiful island, Formosa or Taiwan, below, with you:
Sunisthefuture Team at Kiva ranked 4th place on Sep. 3, 2016
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Hurray! Sunisthefuture Team at Kiva ranked 4th place today, after: Hewlett Packard Enterprise, The Mindful Bunch, and Carnegie Mellon University teams! Thank you, team members, for a job well done! With Amendment 4 being passed in Florida and Sunisthefuture Team at Kiva placing in top ten teams at Kiva, it is a Fantastic Week for Solar future!
We want to spread more sunshine throughout the planet earth by increasing opportunities that would make this planet earth a better place to live. This is accomplished via micro-finance. With as little as $25, any one is able to participate in helping another entrepreneur on planet Earth via the platform of Kiva.
About us
We are hopeful and optimistic that sun, water, wind, and geothermal energy will lead us into a world free from pollution and war. Let us earthlings look for ways to make this a reality! Sunisthefuture Team supports entrepreneurs from USA and various developing nations in starting/maintaining businesses in solar energy/renewable energy/recycling/energy efficiency.
Click on “Loans” and “Members” at Sunisthefuture Team at Kiva web site to see which small businesses we’ve supported and who are members on Sunisthefuture Team at Kiva.
To see what Green Loans are currently needing help to be funded, click on “Lend” on top of the page, then select (placing a check mark inside the box next to…) for “Green” under ATTRIBUTES in the left hand margin. At the end of the transaction, be sure to click on “complete order” in order to complete the transaction. Then check to see if the number of loans has been correctly added for your individual profile and for the team you’ve attributed the loan to.
Below is a repost from our sister publication, Windermere Sun.
Firework, by Saifon Narongrat (brought to you by WindermereSun.com)
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The votes are in. Amendment 4 passed with the vast majority of Floridians across the state voting YES to support solar power in the Sunshine State (at 73% vs. 27% margin, the measure needs 60% to win)! The victory would not have been possible without the effort of thousands of volunteers and organizations throughout Florida that worked tirelessly to get the necessary votes. Thank you for all of your dedication and support.
This is a huge step to usher the Sunshine State from being blocked
Sun blocked by clouds, by Windermere Sun-Susan Sun Nunamaker
into the Solar Energy Age and on the way in becoming a leader in the solar industry!
Sun is shining, no longer blocked by clouds, by Windermere Sun-Susan Sun Nunamaker
Amendment 4 will help Floridians to lower energy costs by reducing the tax burden for solar equipment. With lower taxes for homeowners and businesses, more solar energy development is anticipated for Floridians to lock in energy savings, create jobs, spur economic development, and bring much needed diversity to Florida’s energy mix!
Solar Panels Reflecting the Sky, by Debbie Mous, brought to you by WindermereSun.com
Solar Growth by huntr004, brought to you by WindermereSun.com
Solar Panels by Neville Mecallef, brought to you by WindermereSun.com
Now, Floridians, please remember to Vote “No” for Amendment 1 on November 8 because it’s a Trojan Horse that the utility companies are using to block further solar development. More on Amendment 1 in a future post.
Did you know that last year Costa Rica was able to run on only clean renewable energy (from hydro, geothermal, solar, wind, and biofuel) for 299 out of the 365 days in 2015? In order to get to the finish line during our marathon of transitioning toward a clean and renewable future, we need to address the issue brought up by Monica Araya of Costa Rica. It is important for us to also move onto electric transportation vehicles in order to achieve healthy and clean future for our future cities. It is important to break free from vehicles running on fossil fuel.
As the temperature arrives at its highest level since the recorded history of homo sapiens, as the suicide rate of Indian farmers and farmers from elsewhere continues to rise, and various other signs and symptoms associated with climate change picking up its respective pace, there is greater need to slow down the climate change, CO2 emission, and to speed up our transition not only to solar and renewable energy sources, but also to EV (electric vehicles). We all need to act fast! Have you started researching for your EV’s?
Is it true that the wealthy elites do not want you to go solar?
In the interview with Brendan Fischer, General Counsel of Center For Media and Democracy, Screwed News reporter commented, there is a new solar power installation every 3 minutes in United States (according to SEIA, Solar Energy Industry Association) and much of the growth of solar power is on the local level. The above is a candid discussion in why and how individual rooftop solar is seen as a threat to the centralized production business model and therefore has been running into much resistance. More in-depth discussion on various topics pertaining to distributed individual rooftop solar may be obtained from Institute For Local Self-Reliance.(such as Walton Family Undermining Rooftop Solar, ILSR Finds, Energy Self Reliant States.) As we progress from an outdated centralized utility model into a new age of more distributed and greater local self-reliant model, be it applied to power generation or broadband, I encourage any one and every one to increase understanding how important local self-reliance in these matters is. I would further implore those truly interested in the future of solar/renewable energy to have better understanding of Value of Solar, for this is a much more fair and efficient way to distribute power than Net Metering. For better understanding of Value of Solar, please refer to these posts below:
Thames water EU’s and World’s (as of April, 2016) largest floating solar farm QE-press-release credit Thames water
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A quick note to let you know that the currently (as of April, 2016) World’s Largest Floating Solar Farm/Panel Array had been installed on London’s Queen Elizabeth II reservoir, near Walton-on-Thames, as part of Thames Water’s goal to self-generate a third of its own energy by 2020. The array features 23,046 solar panels and measures 57,500 sq meters ( or 618,925 sq ft). The reservoir is run by Thames Water. The solar farm is funded and operated by Ennoviga Solar and Lightsource Renewable Energy. The low carbon, solar energy produced will be used to power the nearby water treatment works to help reduce the power bills for drinking water. It will have a total installed peak capacity of 6.3 megawatts and is expected to generate 5.8 million kilowatt hours in its first year – equivalent to the annual consumption of around 1,800 homes.
Thames Water’s energy manager, Angus Berry said: “Becoming a more sustainable business is integral to our long term strategy and this innovative new project brings us one step closer to achieving our goal – this is the right thing for our customers, the right thing for our stakeholders and most importantly the right thing for the environment.”
The advantage of a floating array is the fact that the water would provide the welcomed benefit of cooling the solar arrays, in addition to not taking up space from agricultural area.
The British may still have the largest floating solar farm in Europe by 2018, but the title for the World’s Largest Floating Solar Farm may soon be replaced by the Japanese floating reservoir (the floating array on Yamakura Dam) with twice the size of Queen Elizabeth II reservoir in 2018.
The floating array on Yamakura Dam in Chiba Prefecture, will measure 180,000 sq meters and 13.7 MW, upon completion. Since the 2011 Fukushima disaster, Japan has created a number of solar farms on water as it has turned away from nuclear power, and land is in short supply. Considering the desirability of reducing evaporation from the reservoir through having solar panels above and cooling of the solar panels from water below, the concept of floating solar farm is simply a Win-Win phenomenon!
Nine Biological solar cells connected into a bio-solar panel. The panel has generated the most wattage of any existing small-scale bio-solar cells, 5.59 microwatts ( credit: Seokheun Sean Choi)
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Wow! The ingenuity and innovative potential of human mind continues to amaze me!
I’ve always been certain that there will be more wondrous works waiting to improve the efficiency level and reliability, decrease the cost of solar in decades to come. Here is one more in line to be investigated:
Few days ago, on April 11, 2016, Binghamton University researchers took the concept of using cyanobacteria, a phylum bacteria obtaining energy through photosynthesis, to produce clean energy. These researchers used nine biological solar cells, also known as bio-solar cells, and connected them to a biological solar panel, resulting in the continuous production of electricity from the panel. The amount of electricity it produced reached 5.59 microwatts, which is higher than what any small-scale bio-solar cells can produce.
The paper was entitled “Biopower generation in a microfluidic bio-solar panel” written by Seokheun “Sean” Choi, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering in Binghamton University’s Thomas J. Watson School of Engineering and Applied Science together with graduating students Xuejian Wei and Hankeun Lee ’15, graduating in May, according to Science Daily.
The Binghamton University Nanofabrication Lab provided the fabrication facilities for the work, while the University Research Foundation (Interdisciplinary Collaborations Grants (ICG) Program/Transdisciplinary Areas of Excellence) provided the funding. The findings are currently available online and will be published in hard copy in the June edition of the journal Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical.
The breakthrough occurred last year, after this group of scientists attempted to innovate the dual-chambered bio-solar cell. They created a microfluidic-based single chambered device to house the bacteria, and they also changed the materials on the positive and negative terminals of the bio-solar cell. With further investigation, using a 3×3 pattern, the group installed nine identical bio-solar cells to form a bio-solar panel, which they observed for 60 hours. Their observation showed the continuous production of electricity due to the bacteria’s respiration and photosynthesis. It may be a very low amount of energy production as it can only produce 0.00003726 watts while a regular 60-cell rooftop solar panel generates 285 watts, but the great potential in this discovery may lead to a more reliable energy source, as reported by Energy Matters.
“Once a functional bio-solar panel becomes available, it could become a permanent power source for supplying long-term power for small, wireless telemetry systems as well as wireless sensors used at remote sites where frequent battery replacement is impractical,” said Seokheun “Sean” Choi.
When conservative naysayer commented to me,”What good is it?! It’s only able to generate such a small amount of power!” I’d retort, borrowing from one of Dr. Ben Franklin’s famous lines, “What good is a newborn baby?”, often used by Faraday as well….as we wait for the unfolding potential of one of many newborns in our Solar/Renewable Energy Age. This newborn baby offers great potential for a long-term, reliable power source in remote areas.
From our previous post, there was the mention of Elon Musk’s talk at the Sorbonne in 2015. Since I’ve come across several other discussions referencing this talk, I think it’d be a good idea to share this talk with you all, below:
Discussion of Climate Change, Carbon Cycle and the vertical climb within the last few hundred years: 5:10-15:47
Need To Address Climate Change Q & A: 16:18-17:27
Solar Energy As The Main Power Source : 30:50-31:40
Keep in mind that, if we wait to transition into the Renewables, the best case is postponing the inevitable transition to sustainable energy (believed by 3% of the scientists), and the worst case is more displacement and destruction than all the wars in history combined (believed by 97% of the scientists). As Elon commented, “this is the dumbest experiment in history EVER…why would you do this?!” He explains that the reason that there has been such a delay in transition into renewable/sustainable energy is because there is a hidden carbon subsidy (there is an annual $5.3 trillion subsidies for fossil fuels industry, according to IMF, International Monetary Fund) on all of the carbon emitting activities. Therefore, there is 35 gigatons of CO2 emissions per year from fossil fuels into our earth’s atmosphere,
Elon Musk’s Talk at Sorbonne-Atmospheric CO2 chart readings at Mauna LOA Observatory
equating to not paying for garbage collections. Of course, due to the existence of such a huge subsidy, there is great amount of resistance to removing the subsidy for fossil fuel or carbon emitters. He continues to explain the need for revenue-neutral carbon tax (carbon tax + tax cut somewhere else), ideally in a phased-in approach.
Overview:
Elon Musk’s Talk at Sorbonne-Carbon Cycle1
03:34. Carbon cycle & temperature rise 08.10. Fossil Fuels Era 10:44. Carbon Tax
Q&A
Elon Musk’s Talk at Sorbonne-Carbon Cycle3
16:18. Importance of climate change 17:35. Effectiveness of incentives 19:50. Storing CO2 21:07. Lithium availability 22:30. Tesla PowerPack big projects 24:13. Government role 26:43. Colonising Mars 27:52. Future energy sources 29:16. Nuclear fission / Nuclear Fusion 31:45. Advices to energy entrepreneurs 33:22. Government incentives 35:00. Artificial Intelligence 36:22. Fund raising challenges (Tesla insight)
38:54. Changing society energy behaviour 41:19. Green energy lobbying 45:55. COP21 in Paris 46:50. Getting CO2-dependent countries on-board 49:21. Batteries carbon footprint 51:50. Sustainable future roadmap
We all need to talk to our policy makers about Sustainable Future, Carbon Tax, and policies that will speed up the transition toward our Renewable/Sustainable Future! So Let’s Do It! Did you know that states (such as CA, HI, and CO) within USA and countries (such as Germany) within EU that are more progressive with their renewable energy policy all have much lower unemployments rates than those that are not progressive with their renewable energy policy?
