|
Table
of Contents
Update on New England
Project Funding Opportunities
Connecticut
Residential PV Rebate Support Now Covers
10 kW Systems
On February 5, Connecticut’s Clean Energy Fund (CCEF) announced
changes to the Solar PV Rebate Program that increase the size of
residential ZPV systems eligible for rebates to 10 kW from its prior 5 kW
limit. Rebates up to $5.00 per watt are available for the first 5 kW of
equipment installed and as much as $4.30 for up to 5 kW more. Under the
revised formula, the maximum rebate available for residential PV systems in
Connecticut
is $46,500. Total rebates will also be subject to a maximum of a
customer’s average annual or expected electric usage.
CCEF notes that to date, 192 residential
PV installations have been approved with a total capacity of just over 840
kW. Of the 192 projects, 100 have been installed.
Click to read the CT
CEF press release.
Massachusetts
Keyspan Energy Solar Thermal Initiative
KeySpan Energy Delivery is one of the
first gas utilities in the country to provide incentives for its customers
to install solar hot water heating systems as a way to save energy, promote
renewable energy sources, and minimize greenhouse gas emissions. KeySpan's
Solar Thermal Program encourages customers to install highly efficient
solar thermal technologies in residential, commercial & industrial, and
multi-family sites.
This program is currently
only for KeySpan heating customers in Massachusetts
and New Hampshire
between May 1, 2006 and April 30, 2007. Awarded projects may be required to provide usage and/or
monitoring data of their solar thermal system to KeySpan as part of their
participation. Eligible Solar Thermal Installations for this program
include Solar Hot Water and Space Heating, Solar Make-Up Air Heating
(Transpired Solar Collector), as well as Solar Pool Heating applications.
Residential customers would receive an incentive based on 15% of the project's equipment and
installation costs, up to $1,500
per house, paid to the customer upon completion. KeySpan can support 20 residential solar projects through
this program through April 30, 2007.
Commercial customers must first have a free
Energy Audit in order to apply for and participate in the solar benefits.
This energy audit will identify applicable solar thermal recommendations,
as well as estimate natural gas savings associated with the measure.
KeySpan will determine the solar incentive based on projected savings from
the solar installation.
Offers and incentives are subject to
change without notice. Funds for participation may be limited. Email solar@keyspanenergy.com for more
information.
Massachusetts Technology Collaborative Incentives for Large PV
The Massachusetts Technology Collaborative
has allocated $3.5 million for Round 3 funding for renewables projects in
excess of 10kW under its Large On-Site Renewables Initiative (LORI) . $1
million will be reserved for PV projects, with a maximum grant of $250,000
per project. Round 3 applications are due at the end of February 2007.
Applications are available on-line at the MTC
web site.
Massachusetts Technology Collaborative Incentives for Small PV
Project support for PV installations under
10 kW continues to be available from the Massachusetts’ Renewable Energy
Trust. In October 2006, MTC committed an additional $12.9 million to the Small Renewables Initiative
(SRI) to take the program through June 2010. Applications
for funding are reviewed and approved on a rolling basis, not to exceed
$300,000 in any month. Information and details are available at the MTC
web site.
New Hampshire
Keyspan Energy Solar Thermal Initiative
This program is currently for solar
thermal projects installed by KeySpan heating customers in both Massachusetts
and New Hampshire between May 1, 2006 and April 30, 2007 only. Please
refer to the program description under Massachusetts above.
Vermont
In July, 2006, the Vermont Clean Energy
Development Fund authorized an additional $500,000 to the Vermont Solar and Small Wind
Incentive Program for incentives for renewable energy systems. In addition,
the Vermont
utility companies CVPS and GMP provided roughly $238,000 of incentive funds
to support qualifying solar electric and solar hot water systems for
customers in their service territories from their Nuclear Electric
Insurance Limited. Along with money left over from solar projects that were
not completed in the previous rounds, these contributions result in a total
of $980,000 of new incentive funding for all technologies.
The Renewable Energy Resource Center
(RERC), a project of the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation, administers
the incentive program and provides consumer education and support services.
The program was opened for new reservation
applications in September 2006. After an initial flurry of requests due to
pent up demand for support since the prior funding had been exhausted,
requests have averaged 3 – 4 each week.
Through the first week of February 2007,
$360,000 is still available for solar systems, with $325,000 of the solar
set aside reserved (95 requests). The program offers a maximum $8,750 per
residential applicant, based on $1.75 per watt of PV or $1.75 per 100
BTU/day for solar thermal.
RERC anticipates that additional funding
will be available through state legislature-authorized funds before current
incentives are exhausted. More information can be obtained at The
Renewable Energy Resource Center
New England PV Market Activity and
Member News
GT
Solar Continues International Growth
GT Solar signed a contract in December
with Solar Cells Hellas, S.A. of Patras,
Greece for the
sale of equipment and technology that will be used to produce 30 megawatts
annually of multi-crystalline solar wafers and cells. Solar Cells Hellas
will serve western europe from its location in the Greek port city of Patras.
In January, GT Solar Incorporated
announced an expansion of its presence in China
by the formation of a wholly owned foreign enterprise, GT Solar (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.
The main office will be in Shanghai, and an
additional office will be located in Beijing
serving customers in the north. Future plans include warehousing in the
Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone in PuDong. Said Jeff Ford, the General Manager
of GT Solar (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., "We
are committed to enhancing our customer base in China. Having a full-time
presence in the region will improve our ability to provide technical and
sales support to our customers."
GT
Solar Founder Retires
GT Solar also has announced that its
Co-Founder and CEO, Dr. Kedar Gupta, retired from the company effective
December 31, 2006. Company President, Tom Zarrella, will lead the company
and report to the Board of Directors.
In announcing his retirement, Gupta said
"I owe a sincere thank you to the outstanding employees of GT Solar,
to the customers who believe in what we do, and to individuals in New
Hampshire who supported this company in the beginning and ever
since..."
Kedar Gupta co-founded the company with
his long time business partner, Jon Talbott, in 1994 with $1,000 between
them. He has led the company for the past 12 years as Chairman and CEO.
During that time, GT Solar has grown to 120 employees.
groSolar
Acquisition
groSolar, a national solar energy firm,
announced in December that it has acquired Energy Outfitters, an
Oregon-based solar energy distribution company. The acquisition makes
groSolar one of the largest solar distribution and installation firms in
the U.S., with
additional offices in western and eastern Canada.
groSolar, based in White River Junction, Vermont, was founded
in 1998 as Global Resource Options, and is dedicated to fostering personal
and corporate energy independence and helping reverse global warming.
Energy Outfitters, has offices in Grants Pass,
Oregon; Calgary,
Alberta and Barrie, Ontario.
With five main points of distribution
throughout North America, groSolar is now
positioned to serve customers in any market. groSolar distributes solar hot
water and solar air heating systems in addition to solar electric systems,
providing a wider product base. groSolar will continue to use the Energy
Outfitters brand in their existing market areas, slowly transitioning to
the groSolar brand nationally.
SunEdison
Will Construct PV at Raytheon
The Massachusetts Renewable Energy
Purchasers (MREP) program announced in December that Raytheon Company will
be installing a solar electricity system for its Integrated
Air Defense
Center in Andover, Massachusetts,
using funding from the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust’s LORI
program. The 98 kW photovoltaic system will be constructed by SunEdison,
LLC beginning in early 2007. The system will produce approximately 111,000
kWh of electricity annually. The project is expected to pay for itself in
approximately 5 years.
MREP is a program that connects businesses
and higher learning institutions with top experts in the renewable energy
industry to explore clean energy options. MREP is free to members and
provides a unique opportunity for large energy buyers to aggregate their
purchasing power to obtain the best terms and services from renewable
energy vendors. Program participants interested in generating renewable
energy on their facilities work with experts through all steps of the
process to obtain systems that meet their electric needs and fit their
budgets. MREP is a strategic partnership of the Center for Resource
Solutions (CRS) and Think Energy, Inc.
In January, 2006 MREP made history when
program participants carried out the largest group purchase of clean energy
made by Massachusetts-based businesses and institutions. The purchasers
include: Amherst College; the John Merck Fund; Mount Holyoke College; the
Oak Foundation U.S.; PerkinElmer Optoelectronics; Sasaki Associates, Inc.;
Smith College; and the University of Massachusetts Lowell.
SunEdison
Installs Large Solar PV at Staples and Whole Foods in CT
The Connecticut Clean Energy Fund, Staples
and SunEdison hosted a dedication ceremony on January 16, 2007 to unveil
Staples’ 433-kWdc commercial PV system in Connecticut. The system, New
England’s largest solar project, is located on the 300,000 square
foot distribution center in Killingly, Connecticut. and was built with no
capital investment from Staples. CCEF provided a $1.7 million grant for the
project and SunEdison financed the remaining costs while designing and
installing the system.
The Staples PV system covers 74,000 square
feet of roof space, equal to 1.5 times the area of a football field, and
has the capacity to power 14% of the distribution center.
This project follows upon the recent the
unveiling of a 121-kilowatt solar photovoltaic system installed on the
rooftop of the Whole Foods Market
Distribution Center
in Cheshire, Connecticut. Covering about 10% of the
150,000 square foot roof of the Whole Foods Market building, the
installation is the largest in the State of Connecticut, generating approximately
137,500 kilowatt hours per year and supplying 10% of the facility's total
energy needs. Again, the Whole Foods Market project was launched through
the combined effort of the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund, SunEdison which
will own the equipment for at least ten years, and the host who will
purchase "clean power" during that time period. This is
SunEdison’s fourth facility deployment with Whole Foods.
Fat
Spaniel Completes 500th Installation
In December, Fat Spaniel Technologies
(FST) announced the 500th installation of its distributed energy monitoring
on Kadavu, an island approximately 100 kilometers south of the main island of Fiji. The deployment monitors an
off-grid hybrid wind and solar generation system owned by Vodafone Fiji and
maintained by Clay Engineering. The FST solution delivers a real time,
web-based data dashboard that helps Clay Engineering ensure superior
renewable energy system performance while reducing maintenance costs for
the remote site.
The hybrid wind and solar system provides
constant power to a Vodafone Fiji cellular phone repeater station atop a
1,500-foot mountain outside the village
of Muani. The
Vodafone Fiji base station delivers mobile phone coverage for a radius of
approximately 40 kilometers providing more than 10 villages with phone
services that were previously only available via satellite. From Clay
Engineering's headquarters in the capital city, Suva, in-person access to the system
requires travel by airplane, boat and foot. FST is providing a reliable,
real-time monitoring solution that minimizes costly maintenance trips while
ensuring a high level of quality service to Vodafone Fiji and,
by extension, its cellular customers.
SolarOne
Solutions Activities
SolarOne® Solutions has announced that TSG
Equity Partners of Stow, Massachusetts has placed a private investment in
the company in January. The investment will accelerate technology
commercialization and expand the market opportunities while supporting
on-going development activities. The investment represents TSG’s
first investment in the Clean Tech space.
Recently, SolarOne® Solutions also
announced that its solar LED lighting systems are now 60% brighter for the
same amount of solar energy. The company’s new HL600 lamp delivers
600 lumens at steady-state operating conditions. At over 70 lumens per
watt, the HL600 effectively surpasses the lumen per watt performance of
many fluorescent bulbs. Outdoor conditions can adversely affect the
efficiency of fluorescent bulbs, particularly in cold weather, whereas
LED’s efficiency increases under the same conditions and are
excellent for general illumination of parking lots, pathways, bus shelters
and other pedestrian and low speed areas. The increased efficiency and
brighter lights will result in lower costs to the customer, whether due to
greater distances between lighting poles or smaller solar panels and
battery banks required for the same light output.
Spire
Receives a TPV Cell Development Contract
In January, Spire Corporation announced a
$600,000 contract from NASA’s John Glenn
Research Center
to further develop a new type of thermo photovoltaic cell (TPV). TPV cells
have potential applications for NASA to generate electricity from heat
produced by radioisotope sources for long duration space missions.
Commercial applications of TPV cells include electricity generation using
heat from combustion.
Konarka
Technologies Founder Receives Award
Konarka Technologies, Inc. announced in
January that the Organizing Committee of the Eni Italgas Prize has awarded
the Science and Environment Prize to Dr. Alan J. Heeger, the company's
co-founder and chief scientist, for his innovative research on solar cells
made with flexible materials. The Prize recognizes scientists who have
achieved relevant results in research on energy sources and its relation to
the environment.
In 1987, to mark the 150th anniversary of
the company's foundation, Italgas instituted the "Italgas Prize for
Research and Technological Innovation" for a 10 year period with the
aim of promoting and creating value in social and civil development fields.
The Prize was only open to candidates from the European Union, Central and Eastern Europe and Mediterranean Countries. In July
2002, the Italgas Board of Directors launched a new three year cycle of the
Prize, emphasizing the environmental aims and extending it worldwide. This
year, candidates originated from 19 countries, with 103 submissions for the
"Science and Environment" award. The Prize will be given by the
President of Italgas Paolo Caropreso during an Official Award Winning
Ceremony to be held in Torino in March
2007.
In his research, Dr. Heeger has created a
new approach to efficient, low cost, large area, flexible and light-weight
solar cells. His work in this area over the past decade has provided a firm
scientific foundation for "plastic" bulk heterojunction solar
cells. He and his colleagues have made important progress toward the
commercial realization of this goal. The first "plastic" solar
cells fabricated from large scale, high speed printing were successfully
demonstrated in July 2006. Dr. Heeger shares the Prize with Armand Paul Alivisatos
for his studies on very thin solar cells composed of miniscule
photosensitive crystals (nanocrystals).
Akeena
Solar Helps Power California's
Green Dream
Akeena Solar, Inc. teamed with PG&E to
help provide the 100% carbon neutral energy that powered California
Governor Schwarzenegger's "Leading the Green Dream" inaugural
Celebration in Sacramento.
Solar power, delivered by an Akeena-installed 3-kW solar system, together
with biodiesel and purchased carbon credits powered the event. The system
provided for the Governor's Inaugural celebration was a typical 3,000 watt
system, enough to provide the electrical needs for a typical California
residence. At current prices and incentive levels, a system like this would
have an economic breakeven in about eight to twelve years in California.
The California Solar Initiative, or CSI,
went into effect on January 1, 2007 to support installation of solar
generated electricity across the state. Governor Schwarzenegger is a
driving force behind the CSI, which has the goal of installing one million residential
solar power systems over the next ten years. These systems would provide
the state with 3,000 megawatts of solar power, the equivalent to six large
fossil fuel generating plants.
SEBANE will once
again be exhibiting at the NESEA Building Energy 2007 Conference and Trade
Show from March 13 – 15, 2007 at Boston’s
World Trade Center.
The booth will provide a platform to showcase SEBANE’s members from
across the northeast and the services they offer. SEBANE members are
invited to display their marketing materials in SEBANE’s booth.
We believe that 2007 is going to be a
great year for solar in New England and
for SEBANE members. We look forward to seeing you at this year’s
show.
SEBANE Welcomes New Members
Anderson Electric has been providing
electrical and communications services to customers located in Connecticut and New York since 1976. The Greenwich, CT
firm offers services ranging from design-build to emergency power systems
to renewable energy. Tom Anderson is company president.
For over forty years, Atlantic Heating and Air Conditioning, Inc.
has been providing products and services organized as total home environmental
systems. As such, they are one of eastern Massachusetts' largest residential
electrical construction firms. They are located in Brookline, MA.
Borrego Solar designs and installs
residential and commercial solar power systems. The firm has multiple
offices in California and will be opening
a New England office in the summer of
2007. Brendan Neagle is Borrego's east coast representative.
New England Breeze, LLC is a
supplier and installer of small wind, solar photovoltaic, and solar water
heating systems for commercial and residential applications. Mark
Durrenberger is president. The company is based in Hudson, MA.
Westport Solar Consultants provides
expertise in the analysis, system design, and project management of solar
PV installations. Wesport Solar consults to companies, municipalities,
institutions, and specialized residential projects. John Rountree and Mark
Pizzi are the principals of the Westport,
CT firm.
March
8-10 - PV
Industry Week presented by
the Solar Energy International and the
Colorado Solar Energy Industries Association - Denver, CO
The seminar will provide a whole systems approach to renewable energy.
March 9 - MIT
Energy Conference is presented by the MIT
Sloan School of Business Venture Capital & Private Equity Club
- Cambridge, MA
The conference will introduce the most promising novel technology and
policy approaches addressing our global energy challenges and will
pressure test the viability of these discoveries through the lenses of
interdisciplinary expert panels of technologists, financiers, politicians
and entrepreneurs.
March 13-15 - Building
Energy 07 sponsored by
the Northeast Sustainable Energy
Association - Boston, MA
The 32nd annual conference is relevant to professionals involved in a
diverse range of fields: architects, planners, engineers, builders,
educators, university and hospital administrators, elected officials,
building inspectors, real estate professionals, finance professionals,
and many others. The significance of cutting edge issues such as energy
efficiency, value-driven sustainability, certification, and carbon
emissions, is being increasingly understood in all aspects of design and
construction. The event offers sessions at all levels of expertise.
|
|
