301 Moved Permanently
DOE Secretary Chu
Steps Down
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Steven Chu has formally announced his resignation, following months of speculation. In a letter to DOE employees, Chu recapped the department’s numerous initiatives to further the U.S.’ development of renewable energy, especially solar power, under his leadership.
PV installations have nearly doubled in each of the last three years, he noted. The SunShot Initiative, which aims to reduce the costs of utility-scale solar power, has progressed through several rounds over the years, focusing on everything from PV system permitting to cutting-edge module research.
SunShot’s goal of making solar power cost-competitive by 2020 is now within reach, Chu said in his letter. “When we first discussed this goal, the industry did not take it seriously,” he wrote. “Today, they tell me that our input challenged them to rethink their road maps, and [they] now agree that it is an achievable goal.”
The private sector has similarly shifted its views of solar during Chu’s tenure, as project deployment has boomed, costs have come down and bankability has increased. High-profile solar investors now include such names as Warren Buffett, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Google, Chu pointed out.
Other solar-related highlights of Chu’s term as DOE Secretary include building up the Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy, which focuses on early-stage technology research, and helping to launch the Clean Energy Ministerial, an international program intended to share best practices in renewable energy development.
However, during his tenure, Chu also became associated with the infamous bankrupt module manufacturer Solyndra, which had received a $535 million loan guarantee from the DOE.
During the extensive congressional investigations that followed Solyndra’s collapse, Chu and his colleagues from the DOE were forced to defend their decisions to lawmakers who believed the Solyndra loan was the result of inappropriate political influence.
The hearings and independent investigation into the entire DOE loan-guarantee portfolio received widespread mainstream media attention and turned Solyndra into a household name.
In his resignation letter, Chu stressed the overall success of the loan-guarantee program, indirectly referencing the Solyndra ordeal. “While critics try hard to discredit the program, the truth is that only one percent of the companies we funded went bankrupt,” he wrote. “That one percent has gotten more attention than the 99 percent that have not.”
Overall, although the U.S. has made significant strides in clean energy deployment, much more work remains to be done - even if some investments and approaches do not pan out, Chu stressed in his letter.
“The test for America’s policymakers will be whether they are willing to accept a few failures in exchange for many successes,” he wrote. “America’s entrepreneurs and innovators who are leaders in [the] global clean energy race understand that not every risk can - or should - be avoided.”
At press time, the Obama administration had yet to publicly name Chu’s replacement.
Upon announcing his resignation, Chu promptly received praise from the leaders of several industry organizations for his work on advancing renewable energy.
“SEIA applauds Secretary Chu for his outstanding leadership of the Department of Energy and for his work to foster the growth of clean energy technologies to power America,” said Rhone Resch, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association, in a statement.
Resch applauded Chu for the launch of the SunShot Initiative and the expansion of the loan-guarantee program, among other efforts.
Similarly, the American Council On Renewable Energy (ACORE) praised the “superb work” Chu has performed at the DOE.
Chu oversaw the rapid expansion of renewable energy technology and deployment in the U.S., with nearly 85 GW of installed renewable capacity by 2013, ACORE noted.
“Secretary Chu led America forward toward a cleaner, more sustainable future powered by increasing amounts of renewable energy,” said Ret. Vice Admiral Dennis McGinn, president of ACORE, in a statement.
“If you look at the significant achievements during the secretary’s tenure, you can’t help but be impressed that he’s done a remarkable job in moving us forward to a more secure and prosperous energy future,” McGinn added.
New Interior Secretary
Appointed
U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar plans to leave the Department of the Interior (DOI) and return to his home state of Colorado by the end of this month. The DOI notes that Salazar has fulfilled his promise to President Barack Obama to serve four years as DOI Secretary.
Under Salazar’s leadership, the DOI has played a keystone role in developing a secure energy future for the U.S., the department says. One of his first actions in 2009 was to issue a secretarial order making renewable energy development a top priority.
Salazar also oversaw the development of a comprehensive Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for solar energy development, a blueprint for solar projects in the West.
Obama has nominated Sally Jewell, president and CEO of outdoor apparel provider REI, to replace Salazar. Jewell, whose business experience also includes stints in the oil industry and banking sector, understands the deep connections between sustainability and job creation, Obama said during a press conference announcing the nomination.
“She helped turn a stalling outdoor retailer into one of America’s most successful and environmentally conscious companies,” he said, adding that REI utilizes 20% renewable energy to power its stores.
Salazar likewise praised the selection of Jewell as a “stellar” decision, explaining that she is expected to continue the Obama administration’s “all of the above” energy agenda, which includes increasing domestic energy production using both renewable and nonrenewable sources.
Salazar’s tenure included the authorization of 34 solar, wind and geothermal energy projects - totaling 10,400 MW - on public lands. “Today, the largest solar projects in the history of the world are coming up out of the deserts of the U.S.,” he noted at the press conference.
Jewell’s appointment now awaits confirmation by the U.S. Senate. At least two lawmakers with leadership positions on key committees that work closely with the DOI have publicly applauded the nomination. Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., called Jewell an “inspired choice.”
“Her experience leading a nearly $2 billion outdoor recreation company, combined with her years of work in the financial sector, puts her in a position to bring a new vision to the Interior Department,” Wyden said in a statement.
Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., the Ranking Member of the Natural Resources Committee - which has jurisdiction over the DOI - also expressed in a statement his hope that Jewell will be confirmed.
FERC Rule Would
Speed Interconnection
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has issued a proposed rule that will, if finalized, expedite and reduce the cost of solar project interconnection while maintaining electric system reliability and safety, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA).
In 2005, FERC issued Order No. 2006, which for the first time established national interconnection procedures applicable to generation projects that are 20 MW or less in size and subject to FERC’s wholesale jurisdiction.
Order No. 2006 was groundbreaking, and the procedures were voluntarily adopted by many states to apply to the retail interconnection process, SEIA says. However, demand for solar energy has grown dramatically since Order No. 2006 was issued more than seven years ago. Certain aspects of the order have become unnecessary barriers to cost-effective and timely interconnections.
Seeing a need for updated federal standards, SEIA filed an interconnection rulemaking petition with FERC in February 2012. The proposed rule will allow solar projects that meet certain technical screens to qualify for a fast-track interconnection process, thus eliminating the need for costly and time-consuming studies. As a result, the amount of solar considered under the fast-track processes is expected to as much as double, according to SEIA.
“We applaud FERC for recognizing the challenges facing wholesale distributed generation development, which is one of the fastest-growing segments of the solar energy industry,” says Rhone Resch, president and CEO of SEIA. “This important proposed rule has the potential to roughly double the amount of solar generation capacity eligible to be fast-tracked in the U.S.
“SEIA also urges the states to consider using FERC’s proposed updated rule as a model and starting point for updating their own interconnection rules,” Resch adds.
Did 1603 Program
Help Foreign Firms?
The U.S. House of Representatives’ Energy and Commerce Committee has released a new report stating that non-U.S. renewable energy companies have “benefited extensively” from the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Section 1603 program, which was popularly utilized by solar projects.
The report, part of the committee’s ongoing investigation into the implementation of the 1603 program, says that one out of every four dollars from the program benefited foreign firms - i.e., U.S. subsidiaries of “large European and Asian corporations.”
“The 1603 green energy program failed to deliver the jobs promised, and now we learn that a significant portion of these taxpayer-funded grants are benefiting foreign competitors rather than boosting American industry,” says Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Tim Murphy, R-Pa.
“We will continue our rigorous oversight of this program to help protect taxpayers’ dollars, now turning our attention to the sourcing of major components manufactured overseas for stimulus-supported projects,” he adds.
According to the committee, the 1603 program has been criticized by a number of groups, including some Senate Democrats.
DOI Finalizes
New Solar Zones
The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) has designated 192,100 acres of public land across Arizona as potentially suitable for utility-scale solar and wind energy development.
The publication of the record of decision (ROD) for this initiative, known as the Restoration Design Energy Project, caps a three-year, statewide environmental analysis of disturbed land and other areas with few known resource conflicts that could accommodate commercial renewable energy projects, the department says.
The ROD also establishes the Agua Caliente Solar Energy Zone, the third solar zone on public lands in Arizona and the 18th nationwide. The Solar Energy Zones are designed to facilitate solar energy development by identifying areas in six states in the West with high solar potential, few resource conflicts and access to existing or planned transmission.
The new 2,550-acre Agua Caliente Solar Energy Zone is located in Yuma County near Dateland. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management estimates that the zone could generate more than 20 MW through utility-scale solar projects.
The ROD does not directly authorize any solar or wind energy projects; any proposal will need to undergo a site-specific environmental review, the DOI notes.
Obama Reiterates
Renewables Support
Renewable energy garnered a mention in a high-profile political speech in January, as President Barack Obama included discussion of “sustainable energy sources” in his inaugural address.
Obama, newly sworn in to his second term, called for the U.S. to transition to these energy sources in order to fight climate change and create new jobs.
“We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations,” Obama said. “Some may still deny the overwhelming judgment of science, but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires and crippling drought and more powerful storms.
“The path toward sustainable energy sources will be long and sometimes difficult,” he continued. “But America cannot resist this transition; we must lead it. We cannot cede to other nations the technology that will power new jobs and new industries - we must claim its promise.”
Although the speech did not specifically mention solar energy, Rhone Resch, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association, applauded the president for re-stating his support for clean energy.
“We praise the president for emphasizing that a transition to sustainable energy sources is vital - and that the U.S. must lead it,” Resch said in a statement. “Solar is the fastest-growing and most affordable, accessible and reliable clean energy technology available today.”
In his State of the Union address to Congress in February, Obama once again urged the U.S. to pursue renewable energy, including solar power.
“Today, no area holds more promise than our investments in American energy,” Obama said, praising the country’s growth in both renewable energy and domestically produced natural gas.
But in order to both combat climate change and maintain global competitiveness, the country must become even more active in the clean energy market, he added.
“Solar energy gets cheaper by the year - let’s drive down costs even further,” Obama said. “As long as countries like China keep going all in on clean energy, so must we.”
He also urged Congress to adopt a “bipartisan, market-based solution to climate change.” Although the specifics of this type of legislation were not discussed, they could include carbon-tax mechanisms or other features that could spur a shift to renewable energy.
Ontario To Shutter
All Coal-Fired Plants
Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty has announced that the province will shut down 17 of 19 coal plants by the end of this year and eliminate coal as a source of electricity production by the end of 2014.
The last of the coal plants in the southern part of the province will be retired by the end of this year - a year ahead of schedule.
The early closure of Ontario’s two largest coal-fired electricity plants, Nanticoke and Lambton, comes as a result of the province’s improved, smarter electricity grid, increased efficiency, strong conservation efforts and diversified supply of clean energy, the provincial government says.
Arizona Regulators
Cut Solar Incentives
The Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) has voted to reduce support for Tucson Electric Power (TEP) customers that install solar.
Under the plan, residential PV incentives will be cut to $0.10/W, in contrast to the $0.50/W level that TEP had proposed, according to the Arizona Daily Star. Solar thermal customers will receive incentives of $0.40/kWh-equivalent, also a reduction from the $0.50/kWh-equivalent proposed by TEP.
Additionally, the ACC voted to eliminate TEP’s incentive program for commercial solar installations. The utility had already met its commercial-scale renewable energy goals for the next several years, the commission noted.
Solar installers that attended the meeting reportedly told the commission that the incentive cuts would make deals difficult to close, therefore hurting their business.
Vermont Sending $5M
To Clean Energy Fund
Gov. Peter Shumlin, D-Vt., has proposed to send $5 million in funding to the state’s Clean Energy Development Fund (CEDF), which helps finance solar projects and other renewable energy initiatives.
“Our leadership in clean energy in Vermont is remarkable,” Shumlin said in his budget address, according to a transcript posted on his website. “We have more green jobs per capita than any [other] state in the country. Since I became governor two years ago, we have seen the amount of solar energy on our grid double.”
Renewable Energy Vermont (REV), a state-level trade association, applauded the governor’s action, which was initiated by the Vermont legislature’s emergency board.
Infusing the CEDF with new investment “is a win-win for Vermonters,” said Gabrielle Stebbins, executive director of REV, in a statement. “It promotes small-scale renewable energy generation, while spurring local economic development and local jobs.
“Every $1 invested by the CEDF in the state incentive program results in more than $4 in other funding,” Stebbins added.
Progress Energy
To Reduce Rebates
Progress Energy has submitted a filing with the North Carolina Utilities Commission seeking to cut residential solar rebates in its SunSense program from $1,000/kW to $500/kW. Participants will continue to receive a $4.50/kW monthly credit for five years.
The decision was made due to “dramatic declines” in installation costs, according to Southern Energy Management (SEM), which has urged its customers to submit their incentive applications before Progress Energy’s filing is accepted.
“We are disappointed that Progress Energy wants to scale back incentives, but we also see this as a sign of the strength of the solar industry in North Carolina,” says Maria Kingery, co-founder and CEO of SEM. “This request does not come as a surprise. Even with these changes, a solar array bought in 2013 will yield a higher return on investment than that same array would have several years ago.”
Although solar prices have declined more than 35% since 2006 and are expected to be cost-competitive without incentives by 2020, the playing field is not yet level, Kingery adds.
“Incentives have always played an important role in market development and are designed to help promising industries grow and create the jobs of the future,” she says. “The day will come when we don’t need them, but it is not here quite yet.”
California On Track
To Meet RPS
California is making steady progress in deploying solar power and other forms of renewable energy, according to remarks by Gov. Jerry Brown, D-Calif., during his State of the State address.
“We are … meeting our renewable energy goals - more than 20 percent renewable energy this year,” Brown said, according to a transcript posted on his website. “By 2020, we will get at least a third of our electricity from the sun and the wind and other renewable sources - and probably more.”
SEIA praised Brown for reiterating his support for the state’s 33% renewable portfolio standard (RPS). “With this stepped-up commitment, additional solar firms throughout California will be in a position to further their growth,” SEIA noted in a statement. A total of approximately 43,700 solar professionals are working at 1,505 California solar companies in California.
SEIA noted that the California Solar Initiative and net metering provisions have been key in allowing solar power to flourish in California. The state is currently ranked first in installed solar capacity.
Conn. Launches
PACE Program
Connecticut’s Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority (CEFIA) has launched a property assessed clean energy (PACE) finance program for commercial and industrial properties.
The offering, known as the C-PACE program, is designed to support building owners seeking low-cost, long-term, up-front financing for clean energy upgrades, such as solar installations. C-PACE is part of the state’s Energize Connecticut initiative.
Building owners in many municipalities have already adopted C-PACE, the agency notes. Like other PACE programs, C-PACE allows building owners to repay their energy investments through a benefit assessment charge on their property tax bill.
Pennsylvania Revives
Solar Program
Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has received $7.25 million in funding from the Commonwealth Financing Authority to complete the agency’s Sunshine Solar program.
The program had been in a waiting-list phase since August 2011 because the demand exceeded available funds.
“This additional funding will go a long way to help fund solar projects for homeowners and small businesses across Pennsylvania,” says Mike Krancer, DEP secretary. “The funding is enough to provide rebates for all projects currently on the waiting list and an estimated 400 additional installations this year.”
The DEP has also changed the way that contractors will apply for solar rebates on behalf of homeowners and advises that projects associated with previously reserved rebate money must be completed by June 1. Contractors with projects on the waiting list have received direct notification.
“The previous process had contractors applying for and reserving rebate money on behalf of homeowners, then having to submit additional information for reimbursement after the project was completed,” explains Krancer. “We have streamlined the process, allowing contractors to simply apply for a rebate after a project has been completed.”
$150M In Unused
Tax Credits Released
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury have made available $150 million in advanced energy manufacturing tax credits for clean energy and energy efficiency manufacturing projects across the U.S.
The advanced energy manufacturing tax credit - often referred to as the Section 48C tax credit - was established by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to support investment in domestic clean energy and energy efficiency manufacturing facilities through a competitively awarded 30% investment tax credit.
The initial round provided $2.3 billion in credits to 183 projects across the country. The $150 million in tax credits are being made available now because they were not used by the previous awardees, the DOE says.
These remaining tax credits will be allocated on a competitive basis. Projects will be assessed by the DOE based on the following criteria: commercial viability, domestic job creation, technological innovation, speed to project completion, and potential for reducing air pollution and greenhouse-gas emissions. The DOE will also consider other factors, including diversity of geography, technology, project size and regional economic development. S
Policy Watch
DOE Secretary Chu Steps Down