Akeena Solar's Andalay AC Solar Panels Now Available at Lowe's Home Improvement Stores

"Plug-and-Play" AC Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Panel Systems Now On Shelves at Lowe's Energy Centers Throughout California

Akeena Solar of Los Gatos, California in December 2009 announced that its Andalay AC (alternating current) Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Panels are now available at 21 Lowe’s Energy Centers in Lowe’s home-improvement stores throughout California.

According to Clean Edge News, “The Lowe's Energy Centers aim to empower customers to create an energy plan that fits their budget and home-improvement goals. An information kiosk offers a touch-screen display to help customers evaluate their home's solar and wind potential, and the Energy Centers feature products that help them measure their energy use, reduce energy consumption and generate clean energy.”

Akeena Solar claims that its Andalay AC is the first fully “plug-and-play” AC solar power system. A White Paper, Video and Specifications provide evidence on “…how Andalay AC is the only rooftop system to take advantage of mainstream home AC electrical wiring standards, doing away with the need to work with dangerous DC circuits and resulting in faster, safer, more profitable installations with reduced engineering, inventory, supply chain and training requirements.” 

The White Paper “…examines how the innovations encompassed in Andalay AC not only revolutionize the way solar installation companies can do business, but also how consumers can benefit from the full promise of rooftop energy generation.” 

How Solar Power Works

Solar power systems turn sunlight into electricity. Silicon wafers capture photons from sunlight and turn them into DC power, which is then transformed into 120 volt AC power and connected to your existing electrical system — as well as the local electrical grid. When the sun shines, you can generate more power than you consume (your meter will literally spin backwards). At night you'll draw on utility company power, essentially using the electrical grid as a giant storage battery.

Image and text from Akeena Solar

From the December 10, 2009 Akeena Solar Press Release:

"The PC revolution in the computer industry occurred when new technology made PCs easy to use and affordable," said Barry Cinnamon, CEO of Akeena Solar. "Likewise, with panels becoming plug-and-play appliances, the solar revolution has started. The availability of solar panels in Lowe's stores makes it easy for homeowners to go solar and is a big step toward getting solar on every sunny rooftop."

“Andalay AC panels, developed by Akeena Solar in Silicon Valley, have integrated racking, wiring and grounding -- reducing the overall parts count by 80 percent and protecting against performance-threatening breakdowns that could happen with ordinary DC power systems.”

“Andalay panels also have built-in inverters that produce household AC power, so there is no high-voltage DC wiring. These safety and reliability benefits are achieved without compromising performance. In fact, Andalay AC panels produce 5 to 25 percent more energy output compared with ordinary DC solar panels. Because of the modular design of Andalay AC panels, homeowners could install a few panels now and gradually add on later, unlike DC systems that require a complete redesign when adding panels.”

"Buying panels off the shelf at Lowe's offers solar options to homeowners that they didn't have," continued Cinnamon. "Homeowners now can get a system as small as one panel. With Andalay's safe household AC power design, they are the only real choice for do-it-yourselfers."

“Participating Lowe's stores will stock the accessories required for installation, eliminating the need for do-it-yourselfers and contractors to pre-order components and enabling them to pick up what they need on the way to the installation.”

According to Akeena Solar, whereas direct-current (DC) solar power systems require special installation skills, Andalay’s alternating current (AC) solar system can be installed by electricians, Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) contractors, and experienced do-it-yourselfers without specialized training.

A video by Andalay shows components of the system and how it is installed.

Sopogy, Inc. Inaugurates World's First MicroCSP Solar Thermal power Plant In Hawaii

Solar Thermal Plant Produces 2 Megawatts (MW) And Energy Storage at Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii

Holaniku at Keahole Point, Hawaii Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) Array

Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii, Kona, HI and Sopogy, Inc. of Honolulu, HI inaugurated the World’s first MicroCSP Solar Thermal Plant December 10, 2009 at the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii.

According to the Sopogy Press Release the 2 Megawatt (MW) solar thermal energy project uses 1,000 Sopogy proprietary MicroCSP solar panels on 3.8 acres in the hot Kona desert.

“Through the use of mirrors and optics and an integrated sun tracker, these panels achieve higher efficiencies than conventional solar panels. The system also uses a unique thermal energy storage buffer that allows energy to be produced during cloudy periods and to shift energy produced from the day to evening periods.”

Holaniku at Keahole Point, Hawaii Solar Thermal Energy Storage

“The project name: ‘Holaniku at Keahole Point’ comes from the Hawaiian term for a location that has everything required for self-sufficiency.”

“MicroCSP is an achievement in rugged, modular and cost effective solar thermal technology.” According to Darren T. Kimura, President and CEO of Sopogy, Inc., “The completion and demonstration of this 2 megawatt solar thermal project is an important first step in bringing the solution to the World.”

“With the initialization of the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative, the state has become a magnet for renewable energy project development. Sopogy and its local solar project development partner Keahole Solar Power have a goal to bring 30 megawatts of MicroCSP power to the state by 2015.”

Sopogy Total Solar Solutions

Contact: Ann Fitzgerald – Marketing and Public Relations Coordinator, Sopogy, Inc.

Email: afitzgerald@sopogy.com Tel: 808.237.2422

Sopogy Mirrored Solar Collectors, Holaniku at Keahole Point, Hawaii

Photo by Baron Sekiya, Hawaii 24/7

ROOFTOP & SMALL-SCALE CONCENTRATING SOLAR POWER NOW COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE

Sopogy SopoFlare Rooftop Parabolic Mirror Collector

This system for rooftop mounting measures 8 feet long by about 2 feet high with a mirror width of about 2.5 feet.

Sopogy of Honolulu, HI announced on October 27, 2009 that the company is releasing the world’s first commercially available rooftop concentrating solar thermal power system.

Sopogy claims that its SopoFlare MicroCSP parabolic mirror system is priced at 30 percent cheaper than competing rooftop solar technologies.

According to the Sopogy Press Release:

“The system easily retrofits into existing facilities, reducing natural gas consumption (and) giving users an estimated 3-year payback on installation.”

“SopoFlare's compact design at 8 feet long by 2.5 feet wide is perfect for quick and easy installation by local HVAC and Plumbing professionals.”

“This brings concentrating solar power to the commercial and industrial facility in a cost effective, space efficient and contractor friendly solution.”

Sopogy’s products illustrate the range of scalability of concentrating solar thermal power (CSP/CSTP) installations. CSP/CSTP can provide utility-scale solar thermal electric power in excess of hundreds of megawatts as well as residential- and commercial-scale power in the range of a few kilowatts. In addition, CSP/CSTP can be used for air-conditioning, water heating, space heating, and commercial process heating.

Concentrating Solar Thermal Power (CSP/CSTP) has a significantly higher conversion efficiency of sunlight into energy. CSP/CSTP systems currently boast efficiencies ranging from about 20 to 40 percent compared with about 15 percent for most commercially available solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. CSP/CSTP systems also are able to produce excess heat during daylight hours that can be stored for use during cloud cover, darkness, or to supplement peak power demands.

Concentrating Solar Thermal Electric Power Generation Schematic showing Parabolic Trough Mirrors and Thermal Storage Tanks. Parabolic trough mirrors focus solar heat onto a fluid-filled pipe. The heated fluid is carried to storage and/or to a heat exchanger that heats water into steam. The steam runs the turbine that generates electricity.

Andasol 1 Concentrating Solar Thermal Electric Power Plant Parabolic Trough Mirrors & People for Scale

Andasol 1 is one of three similar CSTP plants constructed or planned in the Aldeire and La Calahorra area, Marquesao del Zenete Region, Granada Province, Spain

Andasol Power plants 1, 2, & 3 are each designed using 209,664 mirrors. The solar field peak efficiency is about 70 percent, and the annual average solar field peak efficiency is about 50 percent. Molten salt thermal storage retains enough heat for about 7.5 peak load hours of operation during cloudy or dark conditions, or in response to demand. Each of the three Andasol CSTP plants is rated at about 50 megawatts (MW) of power. The peak efficiency of each CSTP plant is about 28 percent, with an annual average efficiency of about 15 percent. The estimated lifespan of the power plants is at least 40 years.

Smart Grid Basics

The Twilight of the Electric Grid?

Image from "DOE Reports Paints Bleak Picture Of Our Electric Future," by John Timmer, Ars Technica, January 19, 2009. Timmer's Ars Technica article comments on the DOE Electricity Advisory Committee January 9, 2009 report,
"Keeping the Lights On in a New World."

The USA’s electrical transmission infrastructure consists of nine thousand two hundred (9,200) power plants including fossil fuel, nuclear, hydro, solar, geothermal, wind, and biofuel plants, and facilities that combine these power sources. Collectively, these plants have an electrical generating capacity of more than one million megawatts (1,000,000 MW). The power plants are connected to more than three hundred thousand (300,000) miles of transmission lines.

The USA's electrical transmission infrastructure has grown to its current size and complexity over the course of a century. Nonetheless, the USA electricity “grid” is outdated because it relies on obsolescent technology and contains vast inefficiencies that have accumulated during the course of its construction. Further, the “grid” was never designed for a future of lower carbon emissions and the newer technologies of high-speed computers, the Internet, clean energy power plants and distributed generation (DG).

The USA Department of Energy (DOE) is in charge of “…orchestrating the wholesale modernization of our nation’s electrical grid.” The DOE Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability formed a Smart Grid Task Force under the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. The Smart Grid Task Force is to lead the “grid” modernization effort.

DOE recently contracted with Litos Strategic Communication to produce the report, “The Smart Grid: An Introduction.”

According to the DOE, “It is the first book of its kind to explore – in layman’s terms – the nature, challenges, opportunities and necessity of Smart Grid implementation.”

On page 2 of “The Smart Grid: An Introduction,” the authors say:

“Our nation’s electric power infrastructure that has served us so well for so long – also known as “the grid” – is rapidly running up against its limitations. Our lights may be on, but systemically, the risks associated with relying on an often overtaxed grid grow in size, scale and complexity every day. From national challenges like power system security to those global in nature such as climate change, our near-term agenda is formidable. Some might even say history-making.”

The new report treats:
• the history of our existing national electrical grid
• what the Smart Grid is and what it is not
• comparing and contrasting the Smart Grid with existing systems
• what must be done first in creating the Smart Grid
• what the working platform of the Smart Grid looks like
• which Smart Grid efforts now being employed are succeeding
• what is the average person’s stake in the Smart Grid, and
• resources and glossary to help people learn the principles and language applied to the new technology.

The report provides fundamental information and resources for investigating our emerging new-technology electrical generation and transmission infrastructure. It is a guide to thinking about questions emerging in our national debate over our new energy economy:

How much electrical capacity do we now demand?

How much electrical capacity will we demand in the future?

How many new power plants and power lines will we build?

How many obsolescent technology power plants must we replace and how quickly?

Where is it appropriate to construct new power plants, transmission, and other "grid" infrastructure?

“Smart Grid” thinking, in fact, can defer the demand to spend billions of dollars on new electrical power transmission lines. A “Smart Grid” that operates with the flexibility available from modern computing technology provides huge opportunities for employing distributed clean energy power generation (DG). DG systems provide a very rapid installation, “plug-and-play” input to our national grid. DG systems produce electricity from many small energy sources, and electricity is generated very near where it is used.

On May 18, 2009 U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke and U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu issued a Press Release announcing progress on the USA Smart Grid, and "significant steps in Smart Grid development." Secretaries Locke and Chu "...announced the first set of standards that are needed for the interoperability and security of the Smart Grid and $10 million in Recovery Act funds provided by the Energy Department to the Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology to support the development of interoperability standards."

"Secretary Chu also announced that based on feedback from the public and Smart Grid stakeholders, the Department of Energy is increasing the maximum award available under the Recovery Act for Smart Grid programs. The maximum award available under the Smart Grid Investment Grant Program will be increased from $20 million to $200 million and for the Smart Grid Demonstration Projects from $40 million to $100 million. In making awards, DOE will ensure that funding is provided to a diversity of applications, including small projects as well as end-to-end larger projects."

You may offer your opinions on and applications for developing the USA's "Smart Grid" by tracking and responding to posts on the web site of the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

New Solar Photovoltaic Power Facilities Planned For Colorado & New Mexico

New CO & NM Solar PV Plants Have Small Power Output Compared With Solar Thermal Plants

Xcel/SunPower Solar PV Project in Southern Colorado

Xcel Energy of Minneapolis, Minnesota and SunPower Corporation of San Jose, California on April 7, 2009 announced an agreement to build a 17-megawatt (MW) solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant near Alamosa, Colorado. The facility will use Sunpower® Tracker systems that generate up to more than 30 percent more energy per land area than conventional systems.

The new solar PV power is an expansion of the existing 8.24-megawatt (MW) Xcel/SunEdison solar PV power plant located west of Colorado State Highway 17 about one mile north of Mosca, Colorado. See the post of March 26, 2009 below for photographs of the existing Xcel/SunEdison facility's solar PV heliostats and panel arrays.

In the announcement, SunPower CEO Tom Werner says, “Today, high-efficiency solar PV technology is competitively proceed for power plant applications. It’s fast to install, and reliably delivers clean power, particularly during peak demand hours.”




SunPower Trackers are arrays of solar photovoltaic (PV) panels mounted on axles aligned in a north-south orientation. The panels rotate on the axles allowing the panels to track the sun from east to west throughout daylight hours.

Cimarrón I Solar Project in Northern New Mexico

Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association of Westminster, Colorado, and First Solar of Tempe, Arizona, on March 24, 2009 announced an agreement to build a 30-megawatt (MW) solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant between Cimarrón and Springer, New Mexico. Click on the box below to bring up and enlarge an artist's depiction of the solar PV facility.


Cimarrón I Solar Project Visualization Still Frame 3. The view is from east to west on the high plains of New Mexico just northwest of Springer, NM and west of U.S Interstate Highway 25. The eastern foothills and peaks of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains are on the horizon, and include snow-covered Baldy Mountain in the upper right which is on Philmont Scout Ranch property. Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association provides outstanding visualizations, animations, and still photographs of the site.

The Cimarrón I Solar Project will use 500,000 (five hundred thousand) solar PV panels, each 2 (two) by 4 (four) feet, installed on 250 (two hundred fifty) acres of land. Construction is to begin in April 2010, and the first part of the system should be producing power by August 2010. Click on the box below to bring up and enlarge an artist's depiction of the solar PV facility.


Cimarrón I Solar Project Visualization Still Frame 6. The view is from west to east on the high plains of New Mexico east of Cimarrón and northwest of Springer. The hills south of Raton, NM are on the horizon, the tallest of which is Laughlin Peak which is about 20 miles southeast of Raton. Note the transmission facilities in the foreground. Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association provides outstanding visualizations, animations, and still photographs of the site.

Solar Photovoltaic & Concentrating Solar Power Production Numbers In Perspective

The announcements for the two solar PV power plants indicate they are among the largest of their type in the world. Although these projects may indeed be large in comparison with other power plants relying exclusively on solar photovoltaic panels, the two NM and CO facilities together will produce only about 47 (forty-seven) megawatts (MW) of power. This amounts to about 13 (thirteen) percent of the power now being generated, for example, by the 354-megawatt (three hundred fifty-four MW) concentrating solar thermal power (CSTP or CSP) facilities at Kramer Junction, Harper Lake and Daggett, California.

The facilities at Daggett, Kramer Junction, and Harper Lake, CA were built from 1984 through 1990 and are known as Solar Energy Generating Systems (SEGS) I through IX. The nine SEGS concentrating solar power plants generate from 14 (fourteen) to 80 (eighty) megawatts (MW) of power. The SEGS solar thermal power plants have operated continuously and have been commercially successful for the past 20 to 25 years.

The Solar Electric Industries Association (SEIA) in its US Solar Industry Year in Review 2008 report notes that no new concentrating solar thermal power (CSTP or CSP) plants came online in the USA in 2008. However, CSTP/CSP projects in the planning or construction stages currently total more than six gigawatts (GW; 6 GW = 6,000 megawatts).

Among these are projects planned for California's Mojave Desert, Arizona and Florida. The Arizona projects include the Abengoa 280-megawatt (MW) solar CSTP/CSP plant near Gila Bend, AZ, and the Albasia 200-MW Solar CSTP/CSP plant near Kingman, AZ.

Xcel Energy also issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) on January 9, 2009 for installing 600 (six hundred) megawatts (MW) of solar CSTP/CSP in southern Colorado.

The Xcel/SunPower and Tri-State/First Solar PV power plants and other similar plants of relatively small electrical output produce power appropriate for a portion of local demand. The Tri-State/First Solar PV plant output is estimated to serve about 9,000 residences, for example. Such plants could serve as models for distributed generation (DG) solar PV power with short transmission distances that could be installed almost anywhere in the USA or the world where the sun shines.

Tracking The Sun

Solar Panels On Rooftops, Ohta, Japan, Focus Solar, 2008

Solar Photovoltaic Power Costs In USA Drop 30 Percent Over Past Decade

The Environmental Energy Technologies Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California released a new report, “Tracking the Sun,” that documents the installed costs of solar photovoltaic (PV) power in the USA from 1998-2007.

The February 27, 2009 revision of the 42-page document indicates a positive outlook for the future of customer economics of solar PV. Primary indicators include an oversupply of solar PV modules in the near future together with lifting the cap on the Federal Investment Tax Credit (ITC) for residential PV will reduce costs for residential installations. Large commercial solar PV promises to be the dominant growth market because of economies of scale, but both large and small solar PV systems stand to make major gains in reduced costs per unit of energy generated.

The report examines 37,000 grid-connected solar PV systems installed in 12 USA states from 1998-2007. Among these, average costs before financial incentives or tax credits declined from $10.50 per watt in 1998 to $7.6 per watt in 2007 – roughly a 35 percent cost reduction over ten years.

Non-module costs such as inverters, mounting hardware, labor, permitting and fees, shipping, overhead, taxes and profit were responsible for the bulk of cost reductions.

Systems less than 5 kilowatts in size exhibited the largest cost reductions; however, data are lacking for larger solar PV systems with output greater than 100 kilowatts.

Average costs for all systems flattened and remained almost unchanged from 2005-2007.

Installed costs of solar PV show economies of scale. Systems less than 2 kilowatts averaged about $9.00 per watt in 2006-2007, and systems greater than 750 kilowatts averaged about $6.80 per watt during the same period.

State and utility cash incentives for solar PV installations declined from 2002 through 2007.

The increase in the Federal ITC in 2006 tended to stimulate commercial-scale solar PV from 2007-2009; however, residential solar PV should gain cost advantages in 2009 with changes in the Federal residential ITC.

In its introduction, the report says: “Despite the significant year-on-year growth, however, the share of global and U.S. electricity supply met with PV remains small, and annual PV additions are currently modest in the context of the overall electric system.”

Nonetheless, the growth of solar PV is encouraging. The data on its declining costs with time offer a promise of even more accelerated growth in the next few years.

A February 25, 2009 brief at WorldChanging expands upon the following:

Business Green reported on February 23, 2009 that the price of solar PV panels could fall by as much as 40 percent by the end of this year. Other analysts have been predicting this price drop that is based on huge increases in polysilicon supplies leading to a drop in production costs.

New Energy Finance also predicts a fall in solar PV module prices because of recent global investments in increasing silicon production.

China-based solar PV panel manufacturer Suntech Power Holdings estimates that demand from the USA could reach 700 megawatts (MW) during 2009 as a result of President Obama’s new stimulus package.

Climate Progress suggests if the dramatic price drop for solar PV panels materializes, solar PV will become "...one of the largest job-creating industries of the century, projected to grow from $20 billion two years ago to a $74 billion industry by 2017."

Solar Electric Power And Renewable Energy Futures For Colorado

SES Stirling Energy Systems Solar One Power Plant in the Mojave Desert near Barstow, CA will develop 500 megawatts (MW) of electricity generating capacity with an expansion option to 850 MW. The plant will use 20,000 to 34,000 solar Dish/Stirling concentrators like the ones shown here.

A recent report on the renewable energy future of Colorado assesses the state’s potential to meet its own renewable energy standards (RESs) while also producing renewable energy for export to other markets.

The report is entitled, “Connecting Colorado’s Renewable Resources to the Markets -- Report of the Colorado Senate Bill 07-091 Renewable Resource Generation Development Areas Task Force Revised Edition July 2008”

The 64-page document treats wind, solar, hydroelectric, and geothermal power generation, and biomass, ethanol, and biodiesel fuels. The report sets these energies in the context of policy, economics, power transmission, land-use, and related elements. Importantly, the Task Force assesses electricity generation costs for different carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions penalty scenarios.

For wind and solar power, the Task Force identified “Generation Development Areas” or GDAs indicating power generation potential from specific regions of the state.

For wind power, the GDAs lie on the High Plains east of the Rocky Mountain Front and within which the Task Force found a potential for ninety-six (96) gigawatts (GW) of wind power generation. I will treat the implications of wind power development for Colorado and other regions in a future post.

For solar power, the Task Force defined two GDAs in the southern part of the state together having a potential to generate as much as thirteen hundred (1,300) gigawatts (GW) of electricity.

One "Central Solar Power" GDA is the San Luis Valley of south-central Colorado. The other, larger GDA includes a region extending from the eastern base of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains well into the High Plains of southeastern Colorado along the Colorado-New Mexico border.

The Task Force acknowledges the impracticality of the 1,300-GW scale of generation, saying that all the land in the GDAs would need to be covered with solar generation equipment. Further, the 1,300-GW output would be more than one hundred (100) times the current peak energy demand for the state.

The Task Force makes no specific recommendation for the level of solar power generation, but says about two (2) percent of the total land area of the two GDAs would allow production of about twenty-six (26) gigawatts (GW) of electrical generation capacity.

The Task Force then describes three utility-scale solar technologies currently available and operating elsewhere in the USA and the world. These technologies are grouped under the heading of Concentrating Solar Thermal Power (CTSP), frequently referred to in other reports and the media as Concentrating or Concentrated Solar Power (CSP).

The three technologies are Parabolic Trough Systems, Dish/Stirling Systems, and Solar Tower Systems. In each of these systems, large mirrors focus reflected solar radiation onto receivers that transform the intense heat into energy.

Parabolic Trough Systems focus solar radiation onto oil-filled pipes, and the heated oil is used to boil water, creating steam to drive electricity-generating turbines.



Sandia National Laboratories Researcher Rich Diver poses with a Parabolic Trough solar power concentrator, Albuquerque, NM, May 15, 2007. The parabolic mirrors focus sunlight on the oil filled pipe running above his head. The oil then flows though a heat exchanger to generate steam to power a turbine to generate electricity.

As illustrated by SES Stirling Energy Systems, Dish/Stirling Systems use large, mirrored, lens-shaped dishes to focus solar radiation on a Stirling engine mounted at the focal point of the lens. The heated fluid in the Stirling engine expands, creating pressure to drive pistons or turbines for electrical power generation.



The SES Stirling Energy Systems SunCatcher is a 25-kilowatt (kW) Solar Power System consisting of a 38-foot diameter dish structure that supports 82 curved glass mirrors. The system is also called a heliostat because it tracks the movement of the sun throughout the day. The device labeled "Power Conversion Unit (PCU)" is the Stirling engine and its housing.

Solar Tower Systems use a mirror array to concentrate and focus solar heat on a tower containing molten salt. The heated salt is used to produce steam to drive electricity-generating turbines.



Solar Tower System at Sandia National Laboratories National Solar Thermal Test Facility, Albuquerque, NM. In this 2006 view the nine-acre test facility at Sandia consists of a 200-foot-high solar tower, 212 computer-controlled mirrors called heliostats, and a separate five-story control tower. The heliostats focus sunlight on the tower to generate heat that produces steam to drive electricity-generating turbines.

Each of these three industrial-sale systems has different land-use and water-use requirements plus heat storage potential across a broad range of existing and evolving technologies. Despite many references to steam, the Task Force does not assess water use for different industrial-scale solar power systems in the July 2008 revision of its report.

In fact, Parabolic Trough and Solar Tower Systems can either consume significant quantities of water through evaporation as steam, or they can minimize water consumption using closed-loop and other dry-cooling systems. Dish/Stirling Systems operate at high temperatures, and require essentially no water other than what is needed to wash the mirrors from time to time.

The U.S. Department of Energy, Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) in 2006 published comparative water uses for coal, coal IGCC (Integrated Gasification Combined-Cycle), other fossil fuels, biomass, nuclear, geothermal steam, solar trough, solar tower, natural gas, and hydroelectric power. This report for the USA Congress is entitled “Energy Demands on Water Resources,” and the water demand tables are on pages 17 and 38.

I will devote a future post to land- and water-use requirements for specific renewable energy technologies. I will also devote a separate post to rapidly developing opportunities and technologies for storing solar and other forms of renewable energy.

In concluding the section on solar power generation potential for Colorado, the Task Force discusses solar photovoltaic systems (Solar PV), distributed solar photovoltaics (DG), and current and necessary future policy for Colorado regarding solar power development.

Solar Power Milestones In 2009

Capturing The Energy Of The Sun, iStockphoto image in Science Daily, August 25, 2008.

The solar power industry continues its rapid evolution as evidenced by important milestones reached within the past few weeks. Progress in the solar power sector is being driven by practical economic, energy security, and environmental protection factors.

Guinness Atkinson Funds on December 31, 2008 for example argues that the long term prospects for solar power and other clean energies remain sound, in fact showing the potential to be one of the first sectors to emerge from the current financial downturn.

Guinness Atkinson invests in a wide variety of companies engaged in the production, exploration and discovery or distribution of energy, whether derived from fossil fuels or an “Alternative Energy” suite of solar, wind, hydro, efficiency, geothermal, biomass and biofuel.

Consistent with this appraisal, Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. announced on January 9, 2009 that it has reached 1 gigawatt (GW) of solar photovoltaic (PV) cell and module production capacity in Wuxi, China. Suntech is the first solar photovoltaic company in the world to achieve 1 GW of solar cell and module production.

Suntech’s announcement comes in contrast to other companies that are scaling back production estimates for 2009 because of global credit and stock market declines. Suntech is headquartered in Jiangsu Province, People’s Republic of China, with offices in Schaffhausen, Switzerland; San Francisco, California; New South Wales, Australia; Munich, Germany; Madrid, Spain; Gangnam-gu, South Korea; and Tokyo, Japan.

In the United States, SunEdison on January 9, 2009 announced one of the largest solar distributed generation (DG) programs ever conceived. SunEdison is partnering in the venture with Developers Diversified Realty, a Cleveland-based real estate investment trust (REIT) engaged in the development and management of shopping centers.

Under the terms of the deal, SunEdison “…has the rights to deploy solar energy systems at more than 200 shopping centers, covering up to an estimated 30 million square feet. Potential capacity of the program is up to 259 MW and the centers are located in 24 states and in Puerto Rico.”

“Once a particular system is operational, Developers Diversified will be able to purchase energy from SunEdison. In addition, shopping center tenants can benefit and realize energy savings by opting to purchase the power generated through the program at rates lower than retail energy rates.” SunEdison spokesman Brian Jacolick stated, “…a typical sized solar energy system in the program will avoid an estimated 10 million pounds of carbon dioxide pollution.”

Also in the USA, the Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA) on January 7, 2009 released a new research report, “Facilitating Utility Use and Integration of Solar Electric Power.”

This report is based on work supported by the
US Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy through the Solar America Initiative.

The report contains two informative summary tables. One documents large-scale USA utility solar photovoltaic projects [those projects of more than 20 megawatts (MW)] either completed or in development as of September 2008. The second documents large-scale USA concentrating solar thermal power (CSP) projects either completed or announced as of July 2008.

The report says, “This year has seen an unprecedented number of utility-scale photovoltaic and concentrating solar thermal project announcements – some 3,000 to 5,000 megawatts over the next five years.

“However, SEPA believes this is only the cornerstone of what’s to come. The effect of the long-term extension of the federal investment tax credit—which includes eligibility for utilities—combined with the expansion of global solar manufacturing, rapidly declining cost and price curves, and federal and state environmental policies, is laying a foundation for utility solar innovation at unprecedented scales.”

The SEPA/DOE research offers critical insights into policy and procurement innovations that are possible with the solar power industry, but not possible with old technology power production and distribution. Because solar power is available everywhere the sun shines - albeit in greater or lesser degrees - utility companies are not limited to solar power solutions based on a central-station power generation, long-distance power transmission construct.

The SEPA/DOE report lists several benefits for utility companies to find ways to increase their portfolio of renewable energy in general and solar power in particular.

"Utilities need to compare solar costs with peak generation costs [and/or new plant acquisition] rather than base load [or avoided cost] electricity generation;

"The distributed nature of PV adds to grid reliability;

"The distributed generation of PV has limited transmission and distribution costs;

"Solar project developers actively pursuing residential and commercial customers to install their own solar generation are taking business away from utilities and driving utilities to acquire solar resources to remain competitive;

"In a carbon-regulated world, solar will offer utilities credits rather than costs that will be incurred for their carbon polluting generation;

"Increasing solar integration will be aided by and will in turn aid adoption of 'smart grid' technologies;

"Utilities improve their image to the public by taking voluntary environmental measures;

"Solar 'fuel' will remain free while costs of coal and natural gas continue to fluctuate in volatile markets.

"Although, historically, utilities outside of the Southwest have played a lesser role in the direct growth of solar power, within a decade solar power is expected to be cost-competitive in most regions of the U.S. on both a wholesale and retail basis.

"As utilities and others scale up their solar efforts, they are reaching economies of scale unlike anything seen in the past."

Signet Solar Plans Large Solar Panel Facility In New Mexico

SunPower/Johnson & Johnson Ground-Mounted 739-kilowatt Solar Power System, New Jersey, USA.

Signet Solar, an international company with USA corporate headquarters in Menlo Park, California, will open a solar panel production facility in New Mexico in 2010. The company will produce large area, thin-film silicon photovoltaic modules for commercial rooftop and ground-mounted solar power systems.

Ground-mounted solar power systems are an important and growing contribution to distributed generation (DG). Ground-mounted systems are much more economical to install than rooftop systems, and can be integrated into communities and/or the existing power grid everywhere. A video by Applied Materials, a global company with corporate headquarters in Santa Clara, California, illustrates installation of a 10-megawatt (MW) ground-mounted solar power system in Germany.

Signet Solar plans an initial annual production of 65 megawatts (MW) growing to 300 MW per year, and creating 200 high-wage jobs growing to 600 as the New Mexico facility expands.


Renewable Energy World/Signet Solar/New Mexico

December 18, 2008

Signet Solar to Build 300-MW Production Facility in New Mexico

New Mexico, United States [RenewableEnergyWorld.com]

New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson announced that Signet Solar will build the company's first North American solar panel production facility in Belen, New Mexico. The first phase of the plant will bring 200 high-wage jobs to the state and is scheduled to begin operations in 2010. Signet's long-term plans call for expansion and the creation of a total of 600 jobs.

“As Governor, I’ve been dedicated to making New Mexico a national leader of renewable energy and the creation of green jobs,” Richardson said. “At a time of economic uncertainty, this project will create hundreds of jobs and reaffirm New Mexico as a clean energy state and major player in our nation’s effort build a new clean energy economy.”



The Signet Solar facility will produce large area thin-film silicon photovoltaic modules for commercial rooftop and ground mounted solar power systems. The first phase of the plant will have an annual production capacity of 65 megawatts (MW). Long-term plans call to increase production capacity to 300 MW per year with a 600,000 square foot production facility.



“New Mexico was an obvious starting point for Signet Solar’s expansion into the growing US renewable energy market,” said Rajeeva Lahri, Signet Solar’s Co-Founder and CEO. “Under Governor Richardson’s leadership, New Mexico has demonstrated commitment to renewable energy through public-private partnerships, leveraging its skilled workforce and world class research institutions.”

RenewableEnergyWorld.com's Stephen Lacey talked with Dr. Keshav Prasad, vice president of business development for Signet Solar about the Applied Materials' SunFab line it uses for production and the company's growth plans at Solar Power International in October.

Applied Materials, Inc. (Nasdaq:AMAT) is the global leader in Nanomanufacturing Technology™ solutions with a broad portfolio of innovative equipment, service and software products for the fabrication of semiconductor chips, flat panel displays, solar photovoltaic cells, flexible electronics and energy efficient glass.