Solar Energy Tax Credit May Be Saved By Washington Gridlock
A stalemate in Washington next year over tax reform could help solar developers by preserving the 30 percent investment tax credit for solar projects until it expires at the end of 2016.
Regardless of who wins the Nov. 6 U.S. presidential election, Congress is expected to target tax loopholes and government subsidies as part of an effort to rein in federal spending and cut the deficit.
But an agreement between Democrats and Republicans is not expected to come easily, and an impasse could keep the ax away form the tax credit.
"It's one of those unusual situations where the gridlock that prevails around Congress could actually work to our benefit," Paul Detering, chief executive of San Francisco-based solar project developer Tioga Energy, told the Renewable Energy Finance Forum conference in San Francisco on Thursday.
Smart Cities: Intelligent Transportation and Smart Grid Standards - Part 2
Standards-based solutions were instrumental in the exponential growth of the Internet. For the Smart City, public electrical infrastructure ecosystem to expand, development, application and worker training of interoperability standards is an important strategic foundation from which to grow. This convergence of intelligent transportation systems with the Smart Grid, is allowing the Smart City concept to gain hold in many areas of the US and around the world.
States Advance Fuel Cell Growth
The fuel cell industry offers tremendous opportunity for manufacturing, engineering, and business development jobs, and once the supply chain, integrators, and service providers are factored in, could help the U.S. rebound and thrive in a competitive marketplace.
Solar Project Insurance
Typical insurance claims include solar module failures, inverter failures, start-up delays and damage caused by weather driven events such as floods, hail, and earthquakes
Bankable Data and Interoperability Standards
Data quality derives from the combination of accurate instruments plus Data Encoding Standards: one can take highly accurate data samples but if there is no agreement as to what the data means, the data could be considered to be of low quality because of its inability to improve the decision making process.
A Modular Hydrogen Facility at a University Campus
This facility is based around a modular platform, which provides maximum flexibility for the customer. It contains a hydrogen production component (electrolysers) and a hydrogen storage component (compressed gas cylinders).
The Trouble With DIY Solar
There is much to consider before pulling the trigger on a DIY solar kit and attempting a solar panel installation for your home (even if there is a YouTube video that shows you how easy it is to build your own solar panels).
Recent Cost Reductions Driven By Racking Innovation
Several new mounting systems have been developed that utilize polymers to enable cost reductions. Polymers are also roof friendly and non-corrosive, making this material a more attractive alternative to metal on flat roofs.
Aluminum Continues KnowledgeSurge in Cost-driven Solar
Light weight, strength and corrosion resistance represent three of the benefits. "Aluminum profiles can be made as structurally strong as needed for most applications,"
GE / Xtreme Power Partnership
GE's product technology provides the capability of producing vast quantities of energy and XP's controls and system integration technology provides the capability to connect to the electricity grid and manage the movement and storage of electricity.
Sharp to End Solar Panel Business in U.S., Europe, Kyodo Says
Sharp Corp. plans to end production and sales of solar cells and modules in the U.S. and Europe by March as part of a restructuring, Kyodo News said.
Sharp also plans to sell three manufacturing plants for solar products in Japan’s Nara, Osaka and Toyama prefectures and consolidate production at its Sakai plant, Kyodo reported today, without saying where it got the information.
Sharp wasn’t the source of the report and nothing has been decided, Miyuki Nakayama, a company spokeswoman, said by phone.
Osaka-based Sharp plans to cut more than 10,000 jobs, or about 18 percent of its workforce, and is in talks to sell plants as it tries to return to profit, two people with knowledge of the proposal said yesterday.
The job cuts and sales of television factories in Mexico, China and Malaysia, as well as U.S. solar developer Recurrent Energy LLC, were in the plan Sharp presented to lenders Sept. 24, the people said, declining to be identified because the matter isn’t public.
Brazil Expects $235 Billion in Renewable Energy During Decade
Brazil will see $235 billion of investments in renewable-energy and biofuel projects during the next ten years, Edison Lobao, the country’s mines and energy minister, said today at a United Nations event on sustainable energy in New York.
The nation will install 36 gigawatts of hydroeletric plants, 12 gigawatts of biomass plants and 11 gigawatts of wind farms during that time, according to a transcript of the minister’s speech acquired by Bloomberg News.
U.S. poised to hand over $197 million to another solar panel start-up
A tiny solar company named SoloPower will flip the switch on production at a U.S. factory Thursday, a major step toward allowing it to tap a $197 million government loan guarantee awarded under the same controversial program that supported failed panel maker Solyndra.
SoloPower has initiated a strategy to differentiate it from struggling commodity players in the solar panel industry. Still, there are several similarities between SoloPower and Solyndra - which became a lightning rod in the U.S. Presidential campaign this year after taking in more than $500 million in government loans and then filing for bankruptcy.
Like Solyndra, SoloPower is a Silicon Valley start-up and uses the same non-traditional raw material in its solar panels. And, like its now-defunct peer, SoloPower is one of just four U.S. panel manufacturers to clinch loan guarantees under the Department of Energy's $35 billion program to support emerging clean energy technologies. The DOE payments to SoloPower will come on top of the $56.5 million SoloPower has collected in loans, tax credits and incentives from the state of Oregon and the city of Portland, where its first factory will be located.
First Solar and LDK: Two Solar Power Stocks Headed in Opposite Directions
The past few years have been brutal for solar power stocks. First, the 2008-2009 financial crisis scared away customers and depressed sales. Some solar firms benefited from government stimulus packages during the recession, but their prospects have since dimmed as debt-saddled governments rein in spending—including on subsidies for new solar projects.
Looming in the background is a glut of solar panels that has lasted for more than two years. That has depressed prices and put severe pressure on the profits of many solar power stocks.
This Solar Power Stock’s Downward Spiral Is Continuing
Case in point: LDK Solar (NYSE: LDK), which just reported a net loss of $254.3 million, or $2.00 a share, in the second quarter. That was much wider than the $87.7 million, or $0.62 a share, that the company lost a year earlier. It was also far worse than the $1.42 a share that the Street was expecting. Revenue dropped 53%, to $235.4 million, also missing the consensus estimate of $237.5 million.
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Suntech cuts solar cell production capacity
Suntech Power Holdings Co Ltd, the world's largest solar panel maker, said it temporarily shut a portion of its solar cell production capacity in China, as it grapples with weak selling prices and import duties in the United States.
Suntech's operational solar cell capacity will temporarily be reduced to 1.8 gigawatts (GW) from about 2.4 GW.
The cut at the Wuxi facility is expected to affect about 1,500 employees in China. Most of these employees would be offered positions at other production facilities but some would face severance, Suntech said.
Suntech said it is on track to reduce recurring operating costs by 20 percent in 2012.
The company last month estimated weak margins for the second quarter and cut its full-year shipment outlook.
Another solar equipment manufacturer, China's LDK Solar Co Ltd, reported on Monday a much bigger loss, downgraded its sales forecasts and said it was in talks with potential investors.
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