Georgia legislature just introduced a new bill, HB 657, the Rural Georgia Economic Recovery and Solar Resource Act. This new bill was introduced by Rep. Rusty Kidd (l) late in the session so that lawmakers can study it and think about it for future sessions. Under the proposed legislation, Georgia’s Public Service Commission could allow a solar energy provider operate solar facilities and sell the electricity to Georgia Power, according to the Atlanta Business Chronicle. It’s about rural solar generation and distribution. However, there is a catch: a “community solar provider” must be certified by the Public Service Commission (PSC) instead of just setting up in business as in most states, and the PSC could certify only one state-wide monopoly;the summary in the front says “an independent community solar provider” as in only one, but the body of the bill says “any”. The bill requires the PSC to study changes in retail rates, but does not require timely public posting of who buys and sells which types of energy at which prices;nevertheless, it’s a good start. HB 657 is clean and simple;it’s just about solar energy (unlike HB 503, for Renewable Portfolio Standards, which includes biomass as a renewable energy source.) Perhaps after there will have been enough installations the benefits of solar will become more obvious and the PSC will certify a lot of community solar providers, including house and business rooftop solar. The main portion of the HB 657 is in Section 1. Section 2, 3, and 4 says community solar provider shall be considered as a customer generator, with energy flows measured the same way, and rates and quantities set the same way. Here is the text of the bill.
The bill would allow third-party ownership of solar in the Peach State, where Southern Co. subsidiary, Georgia Power has had exclusive rights to sell and produce power for 40 years. The legislation would benefit Georgia Solar Utilities Inc. The company is working on developing an 80-megawatt array near Milledgeville. In September of 2012, Georgia Solar Utilities Inc. said it plans to develop a 2-gigawatt portfolio of projects in the state. HB 657 would help to facilitate all of this while staying within the bounds of Georgia’s Territorial Act, which allows Georgia Power its sweeping range throughout the state. The bill has wary support from the Georgia Solar Energy Association (GSEA). The bill will make it easier for home and business owners in Georgia to go solar, according to Greentech Media’s Adam James. “For starters, the statute clears roadblocks like interconnection and grid access for generating assets, and the entire program is on an opt-in basis,” he writes. He says that competitive bidding will help create market incentives there to help drive down soft costs. “Since PV and solar farms are covered under the statute, neighborhood homes in Atlanta could have solar on the roof while unused fields in the country can host 30-megawatt solar farms.”
Much remains to be seen for the state of Georgia. But it is certain that the legislature in Georgia is paying attention to their glorious sunshine now.
~have a bright and sunny day~
Gathered, written, and posted by sunisthefuture-Susan Sun Nunamaker
Any of your comments and suggestions will be welcomed at sunisthefuture@gmail.com
I was ecstatic upon reading this news that I’ve decided to take a break from our reporting on Feed-In-Tariff. Below is the reason:
Fantastic news! Talk about leadership and initiative! The California City Council of Lancaster unanimously approved changes to the city’s zoning code that require housing developers to install solar for all of their future new homes. This is the latest piece in what Republican Mayor R. Rex Parris described at the City Council meeting as a plan to make Lancaster, CA, “The solar capital of the universe.”
The official Residential Zones Update of Lancaster now specifies, along with a range of green building provisions, that new single family homes meet minimum solar system requirements in the same way that they must meet minimum parking space requirements. “The purpose of the solar energy standards is to encourage investment in solar energy on all parcels in the city, while providing guidelines for the installation of those systems that are consistent with the architectural and building standards of the city.” It is further intended to “to provide standards and procedures for builders of new homes to install solar energy systems in an effort to achieve greater usage of alternative energy.”
For lots of 7,000 sq ft or more residential homes, they must have a solar system of 1.0-1.5 kw (kilowatts). Rural residential homes of up to 100,000 sq ft must have a system of at least 1.5 kw.
Besides some simple, commonsense rules for both roof-mounted and ground-mounted system, there are also some interesting issues:
A builder’s model home must show the kind of solar system the builder will offer.
Builders of subdivisions will be able to aggregate the houses’ requirements. If ten houses in a subdivision each have a one kilowatt requirement, the builder can install a single ten-kilowatt system, two five-kilowatt systems or four 2.5-kilowatt systems.
If a housing tract is built in phases, each phase must meet the requirement.
Multifamily developments can meet the requirement with a rooftop system or a system on a support or shade structure.
Builders “may choose to meet the solar energy generation requirement off-site by providing evidence of purchasing solar energy credits from another solar-generating development located within the city.”
Lancaster, with a population of about 150,000, built approximately 200 new homes in 2012 and on tract to build just as many (or more) in 2013, which translates into 200 more kilowatts of rooftop solar. “In Lancaster, a solar installer is issued a permit within fifteen minutes,” Mayor Parris said, “but eight miles south in Palmdale, it takes two months.”
Allow me to introduce you to Mayor Lancaster in this next video clip:
Parris’ next targets will be:
Requiring all new homes to meet LEED certification standards
Requiring grey water systems on all new homes
Requiring, when partner BYD’s batteries are certified, battery systems for new homes’ solar systems so they would be energy-independent for up to four days, and
Using LED bulbs and batteries so the city’s street lights will be entirely off-grid.
Parris commented, “The salvation of this planet, if it is not already too late, will be from the bottom up, and there is no reason Lancaster can’t be the example for the world.”
Hear! Hear! Mayor Parris! We need more local leaderships and city mayors such as Mayor Parris. Will political leaders in San Francisco, Los Angeles and various other parts of the USA also consider taking this step, doing the right thing for all of our future?
~have a bright and sunny day~
Gathered, written, and posted by sunisthefuture-Susan Sun Nunamaker
Any of your comments or suggestions will be welcomed at sunisthefuture@gmail.com
The proposed feed-in-tariff at which the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) will buy the power generated by solar systems set up under private initiative is Rs.12.49 a unit in the case of rooftop installations with capacity to generate up to 100 kW. The proposed feed-in-tariff in the case of rooftop or ground-mounted solar installations with capacity to generate between 100 kW and 1 MW of power is also Rs.12.49 a unit. Solar energy generated by ground-mounted systems with capacity exceeding 1 MW is proposed to be bought by the KSEB at a rate of Rs.10.41 a unit.
The commission clarified that the solar systems had been put under two categories — megawatt-scale ground-mounted systems and kilowatt-scale rooftop systems — in view of the differences in size, scale and investment required to set up the installations.
The quantity of electricity that will flow into the grid from solar installations will be metered separately for determining the amount the KSEB will have to pay the power developers concerned.
The discussion paper suggests that in view of the decreasing trend in the cost of solar power installations and the need for encouraging the solar energy sector, the feed-in-tariff can be reduced by 7 per cent at a compounded level after each year till 2016-17. The tariff proposed for the first year shall be applicable from the date specified by the commission for projects synchronised before March 31, 2014. Thereafter, the tariff is proposed to be reduced by 7 per cent every year from April 1.
~have a bright and sunny day~
Gathered and posted by sunisthefuture-Susan Sun Nunamaker
Any of your comments & suggestions are welcomed at sunisthefuture@gmail.com
II. Learning From The German Transition To Renewable Energy, by Julius Fischer. German policy makers played a crucial role in the evolution of feed-in-tariffs (FITs) for renewables. FITs are the most elegant and effective policy instrumental in incentivizing renewable energy deployment in a cost-effective manner. Germany also has an impressive record of success in deploying renewable energy (esp. solar), and set high targets of efficiency improvement and renewables deployment. It is clear that we can use German example to show that renewable energy can and does create jobs and lower costs. The discourse surrounding the energy transition has ranged from whether the grid expansion can keep up with renewable energy deployment to whether the grid liability can be maintained (and yes it definitely can), and whether shutting down nuclear power in Germany will only result in imports of nuclear power from France or the Czech Republic (it hasn’t). There are also questions of whether household electricity consumers or industry should pay less, and whether the energy transition can be done cheaper.
~have a bright and sunny day~
Gathered, summarized, and posted by sunisthefuture-Susan Sun Nunamaker
Any of your comments or suggestions are welcomed at sunisthefuture@gmail.com
Another informative summary concerning state of Iowa’s passage to renewable energy, from our friend Paul Gipe, below:
Proposal Four Times Comparable Size of Los Angeles DWP’s Solar FIT
Comparable to Gainesville, Florida’s Annual Per Capita Rate
Payment for Wind to be Based on Utility’s Rate of Return
Could the conservative heartland state of Iowa breach the dam holding back feed-in tariffs for renewable energy in the US when self-styled “progressive” states such as California continue to dawdle? That is the possible implication of a vote by the Agriculture Committee of Iowa’s state Senate Thursday, 7 March 2013.
Political observers and the media often overlook mid-western states in deference to presumably more trendsetting states on the west coast. However, many of the progressive movements in US history have grown out of grassroots campaigns in the nation’s heartland. The same could be true for feed-in tariffs.
The bill, SSB 1234, has a long ways to go should it ever become law, and the odds against it, as in most other states, are very long as powerful forces begin aligning against it. Nevertheless, the bill now moves to the Senate floor.
Significantly, the bill passed the Agriculture Committee unanimously. That is, the bill not only received the support of Democrats in the Democratically controlled chamber, but also support by Republicans on the committee. This bodes well for at least consideration by the Republican controlled House should the bill pass the Senate.
In another departure for much of the current discussion across the country and in particular on proposals for feed-in tariffs, SSB 1234 is not about solar photovoltaics. No, the bill is aimed at distributed wind energy and is limited to projects less than 20 MW.
Iowa knows a lot about wind energy and it is comfortable with the technology. In 2012, Iowa produced 24.5% of generation by in-state wind energy, far more than the one-time leader California’s 5%. Even in absolute numbers, Iowa’s 14 TWh of wind generation exceeded that of California’s 10 TWh in 2012.
However, nearly all wind energy in Iowa is found in large wind power plants developed by multinational utility companies. Only a very small percentage of Iowa’s wind generation is produced by small, distributed projects and even less is owned by Iowans themselves.
The bill allows distributed wind projects to account for one-half of the annual growth in residential electricity consumption. One estimate is that this could be up to 60 MW per year. If true, Iowa’s proposal is four times greater than the much heralded, some would say over hyped, feed-in tariff program of Los Angeles’ Department of Water & Power that is limited to 20 MW per year.
Iowa’s SSB 1234 is a milestone in renewable policy proposals in the US since Tea Party reactionaries seized legislatures across the country in 2010. As one activist suggested, this could finally be a sign of brightening fortunes for feed-in tariffs.
Unlike advocates in other states, where solar only bills monopolize feed-in tariff discussion, renewable proponents in Iowa are more inclusive. Proponents of SSB 1234 hope to add biomass and solar once the bill reaches the floor of the Senate.
One of the bill’s key features is using the connecting utility’s regulated rate of return in calculating the tariff that would be paid under the standard offer contract. Renewable advocates have long proposed that distributed or locally-owned renewables should be paid a tariff that includes calculation of a rate of return equal to that granted electric utilities. In most countries and in most proposals in North America, however, regulators use a much lower rate of return for investment in distributed renewables than the utilities receive themselves. Sometimes the return acceptable to regulators for distributed renewables is half that received by regulated utilities.
Summary of Key Features
Program cap: ½ of annual retail electricity consumption growth
Project cap: 20 MW
Geographic limit: only on agricultural land
Interconnection: mandatory for utilities
Tariff determination: based on cost to utility, inclusive of the utility’s regulated rate of return
I’d like to share with you what the state of Maine is introducing, Feed-In-Tariff Legislation. Below, is an article prepared by Paul Gipe, a long time proponent for renewable energy.
After a long period of quiescence, Maine’s state legislature has again taken up feed-in tariffs. Legislative document 1085 to establish the Renewable Energy Feed-in Tariff was introduced 19 March 2013 and referred to the Committee on Energy, Utilities and Technology.
Introduced by Senator Chris Johnson (D) and co-sponsored by Senator Jim Boyle (D) sponsors of the bill included three other Democratic state senators, one unaffiliated state senator, two Democratic state representatives, and one Republican state representative.
Committee hearing of the bill has not been scheduled.
This is not Maine’s first attempt at feed-in tariff legislation. The state has a pilot community-based feed-in tariff that became law in 2009. That program limited total capacity to 50 MW with an effective limit of 25 MW. As elsewhere in the US, progress since then has been stymied.
Here is a summary of the proposed program’s details.
Purpose: rapid and sustainable development of distributed renewable energy
Project size cap: 500 kW
Ownership restriction: can own no more than 500 kW of generation in total
Technologies included: Solar PV, solar thermal, concentrating solar PV, biogas, landfill gas, biomass, tidal, and wind
Carbon restriction: cannot use any fossil fuel or sequestered form of carbon
Connection requirement: utilities required to connect within 90 days
Interconnection costs: <500 feet from connection point, costs borne by ratepayers, >500 feet from connection point, costs borne by project developer
Contract term: 20 years
Tariff determination: rates sufficient to operate and attract capital with a minimum rate of return of 3% and not more than 7%, except for solar photovoltaics
Tariff for solar photovoltaics: minimum rate of return of 8% and not more than 10%
Local content premium: 20% for projects with 70% local content; 10% for projects with 50% local content
Public property premium: 5%
Biogas from natural sources: 10% for biogas from manure, decaying biomass, and landfills
Program cost distribution: non-bypassable surcharge on all ratepayer classes
Review: every two years
Reporting: every four years to Governor and legislature
Tariff determination and rate-setting by the Maine Public Utility Commission based on
Operation and maintenance costs
Annual principal and interest of loans
Cost of a contingency reserve
All other reasonable costs and expenses
The minimum annual return for new projects is reduced every two years by 0.5% for other than solar PV
The minimum annual return for new projects is reduced every two years by 0.5% for solar PV
I. If you are interested in supporting the petition for national FIT (Feed-In-Tariff), an incentive policy that is designed to accelerate the development of renewable generation projects up to 20 MW in size including solar, wind, biomass, and wave, please click on http://www.fitpetition.org
II. If you are interested in supporting solar/renewable energy bill in state of Florida, please contact Senator Geraldine F “Geri” Thompson at: http://www.flsenate.gov/Senators/s12, District Office: 511 West South Street Suite 204, Orlando, FL 32805, (407)245-1511, and show her your appreciation and support for having made the effort in introducing a renewable energy bill, despite all obstacles.
III. If you are interested in supporting Solar Initiative in any of the states other than Florida, please click on www.votesolar.org and check out “Policy Guidelines”,”Federal Initiatives”, “State Initiatives”, “Local Initiatives”, “Shared Solar” in the left hand margin.
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Something special for residents of Florida: please approach/write our state legislators to ask for implementation of these measures, below:
1. Setting Solar/Renewable Energy Goal for the state of Florida. For a better understanding of some historical background of Florida Solar Market and Policy Issues, please take a look at our video clip of SPI2012 below:
2. Implementing an effective Feed-In-Tariff policy (otherwise also known as the Renewable Energy Dividend Policy) that will be inclusive of small users as well as large-scale users. Feed-In-Tariff had proven to be the most effective incentive program/policy that would speed up the implementations of solar PV . The goal of Feed-In-Tariff (FIT) is to offer cost-based compensation to renewable energy producers, providing the price certainty and long-term contracts that help finance renewable energy investments.
3. Streamline the permitting process of solar PV and solar thermal so to reduce the cost and amount of time in completing the process. Residents at Broward County are now able to get a solar energy system permit online in just half an hour;please refer to Jefferery Halsey, Broward County of Florida’s Director of Pollution Prevention, Remediation, and Air Quality Division during the video clip at our Feb. 22, 2013 post of Sun Is The Future.
4. It seems feasible/optimal to introduce regulation to require solar thermal (solar hot water heating systems) when/where it is already a foregone conclusion that this would be an economically feasible approach in building design. Perhaps it is time to start the discussion in considering implementing this as part of the building code.
Let’s work together for a bright and renewable future!
I would suggest that all of you out there who are Florida residents and are concerned about our energy future to also visit this site, http://billnelson.senate.gov/contact/email.cfm and write a similar letter to remind Senator Nelson of our concern. For those of you from other states please refer to this site –> http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm and please approach/write your respective district legislators regarding 4 items above. Together, we will be able to gather enough strength and voice ! For Florida residents, you may find your respective District Representatives and District Senators at these two sites,
As the news of more solar installations sweep across the planet earth, our Sunshine State of Florida is still lagging behind other developed countries and other states in USA, being one of the thirteen states (by 2012) that does not yet have either RPS (Renewable Portfolio Standards) standards or goals. It is a pity that residents in Florida are not provided with optimal incentives to fully utilize our beautiful sunshine.
As our legislative body is in session at Tallahassee, Florida, until early part of May, 2013, we hope that our Florida Senators and Representatives will consider fully some of the General Solar Talking Points that’s been gathered by the FlaSEIA (Florida Solar Energy Industries Association), below:
SOLAR CREATES JOBS:
America’s Solar Industry now employs more than 119,000 workers at 5,600 companies across the nation (most of which are small businesses)
The solar industry grew 13.2% over the last year despite difficult economic times, this is 6 times faster than the overall economy growth rate of 2.3%
Solar employment is expected to grow by 17.2% over the next 12 months indicating a potential of 20,000 new workers
Installers added the most solar workers over the past year, more than offsetting declines in manufacturing
Solar industry employment has grown by 27% to a figure that outstrips the 91,611 U.S. coal miners
SOLAR DRIVES OUR ECONOMY:
38 states and/or U.S. territories have some form of renewable portfolio standard, goals, or incentives as part of their energy plan
Some of the largest corporations and retailers in the world are utilizing solar energy in order to help reduce operating costs and increase profits (Wal-Mart, Macy’s, IKEA, Costco, Dow Jones and more)
Florida imports all of the fossil fuels we use to produce electricity, which means we send more than $15 billion out of state every year to buy natural gas and coal
Florida Solar means Florida jobs and a thriving economy. This applies to various industries including construction and roofing, manufacturing, engineering, architecture, education, banking and more
SOLAR IS A SOLUTION, NOT A PARTISAN ISSUE:
approximately 9 out of 10 voters (92%) believe it is important for the U.S. to develop and use solar power
85% of U.S. voters and 87% of swing voters support solar over all other energy sources.
78% of voters are eager to see government support solar through financial incentives
94% of democrats, 89% of independents, and 75% of Republicans support the use of solar
86% of voters said they want leadership on moving from coal and nuclear energy to wind and solar (72% of Republicans, 83% of independents, and 97% of Democrats)
FLORIDA CANNOT AFFORD TO WAIT:
If Florida does not create a market demand for PV soon, we will only be trading our imported fossil fuels for imported solar electric panels.
Florida will miss out on revenue and economic activity occurring from new jobs and the opportunity to export Florida made solar panels and products
Florida will continue to trail other states that are aggressively pursuing solar energy until elected officials with vision and political capital convince others that the state should be a leader in this field
DID YOU KNOW?
Enough sunlight hits the Earth’s surface in one hour to power the world for an entire year
FlaSEIA: 2555 Porter Lake Drive, Suite 106, Sarasota, FL 34240, Phone: (800) 426-5899, FAX: (941)366-7433, info@FlaSEIA.org, www.FlaSEIA.org
Gathered and posted by sunisthefuture-Susan Sun Nunamaker
any of your comments & suggestions are welcomed at sunisthefuture@gmail.com
In the coming two weeks, I’d like to share with you what other parts of the USA and/or world have done or are planning to do in the process of optimizing their solar and/or renewable energy potentials. For starter, I want to share a recent press release concerning Japanese PV market and Japan’s FIT (Feed-In-Tariff) from IHS-IMS Research, below:
Japan to Install More than 5 Gigawatts of PV Systems in 2013 – Overtaking Germany and the US
The Japanese photovoltaic (PV) market is set to grow by 120 percent in 2013 and install more than 5 gigawatts (GW) of new capacity, according to a new report, “The PV Market in Japan,” from IMS Research, now part of IHS Inc. (NYSE:IHS). Benefiting from the world’s most attractive PV incentive policy, Japan’s solar market is currently booming, with installations expected to exceed 1 GW in the first quarter alone, causing it to become the second largest market in 2013.
Overly Generous Incentives Spurs a Booming Market
Japan’s PV market currently benefits from a feed-in tariff (FIT) paying up to ¥42 per kilowatt hour, even though this is likely to be reduced by approximately 10 percent beginning April 1.
“At ¥42 Japan’s FIT is by far the most attractive globally—overly generous perhaps, which could lead to overheating of the market,” explained Ash Sharma, senior director of solar research at IHS.
“And while a 10 percent reduction in tariffs is widely expected by industry players, this will have little effect on both internal rates of return and market demand. Furthermore, many systems that have already applied for the higher FIT are able to benefit from this rate of ¥42 even if they are installed after April 1,”
The report reveals that installations are estimated at over 1 GW in the first quarter of 2013—the final quarter of Japan’s fiscal year—and forecast to exceed 5 GW for the whole of 2013. This would see Japan leapfrog ahead of Germany, Italy, and the U.S. to become the world’s second largest PV market.
A Lifeline for Japanese Manufacturers
IHS research found that domestic PV installations are proving to be a lifeline for struggling Japanese companies that are able to sell both modules and inverters at high margins, despite their competitiveness at an international level falling behind their overseas peers. Providers of residential ‘system kits,’ EPCs and project developers are also seemingly enjoying the high margins that come with a generous FIT and its resulting high system prices.
“Residential system prices in Japan are roughly double than those installed in Germany. The ability to sell modules and inverters at significant premium compared to the rest of the world, coupled with high demand and growth, provides a much-needed profit stream for Japanese suppliers,” commented Frank Xie, report co-author and IHS senior analyst for PV and solar research.
Although Japan has been reportedly attempting to attract foreign PV companies to its shores in order to help accelerate supply—and hence, installations—the report found that it remains a tough market for non-Japanese companies in which to compete.
“While many Chinese and even U.S. module suppliers are now serving the Japanese market, they remain the minority and have largely needed to resort to OEM agreements and partnerships with Japanese manufacturers, despite being highly regarded brands in the rest of the world. Simply put, Japanese customers want to buy Japanese modules. Non-Japanese inverter companies have found it even harder to serve this market as tough regulations from the certification board—JET—and even more stringent requirements from utilities have meant that substantial product redesigns are required before they are able to target this market effectively. As a result, the market is currently suffering from a bottleneck in inverter supply,” observed Sharma.
Mega Demand for ‘Mega Solar’ – But for How Long?
Projects more than 2 megawatts in size—or ‘mega solar’—in Japan are a major driving force behind the country’s triple-digit growth rate, but this is expected to be short-lived, according to the report, and the projects will face a decline after 2013.
“These so-called ‘mega-solar’ projects are being deployed at a rapid rate, and we expect they will account for approximately 25 percent of total demand in 2013,” Xie noted. “Government policy is in clear support of these projects while the country grapples with severe energy shortages following its shunning of nuclear power. However, this is likely to be short-lived and decline after 2014 once the current pipeline of approved projects is completed, largely because of a shortage of land in the country.”
Sharma concluded: “Another segment of the market that gets fewer headlines, but should not be neglected, is commercial rooftops. Systems in the range of 10-50 kilowatts are in very high demand in Japan due to high incentives, high electricity prices, power shortages for commercial properties and relatively simple regulations for installations of this size.”
I am more convinced than ever before that Solar/Renewable Energy is here to stay as a major league player!
Yesterday the post on Elon Musk’s affirmation for Solar Energy was quite encouraging for those of us rooting for the Sun. But then I saw a link in Pinterest today, http://pinterest.com/appealmagazine/chanel-fashion-show-2013/, full of photos of Chanel’s “Renewable-Energy-Themed” Fashion Show for Spring/Summer collection of 2013, with slender models strutting down the catwalk above shimmering solar-panel-like flooring and below towering wind turbines. Even though they were not after the electricity generation, but the looks of the panels and the rhythm of the wind machines, creating the theme of a fresh and clean futuristic world that spoke loudly of the acceptance and worthy aesthetic of our renewable energy future. Take a look at the video clip below:
Can you imagine the same kind of display setting near an oil refinery, a coal mine, or a nuclear power plant? Doesn’t it seem quite clear what the people want in our energy future?
~have a bright and sunny day~
Gathered, written, and posted by sunisthefuture-Susan Sun Nunamaker
Any of your comments and suggestions are welcomed at sunisthefuture@gmail.com
