Editor’s Note: The is a guest contribution by Angiolo Laviziano, President and CEO of REC Solar Inc. This is the third post in a series from the CEO’s of major solar companies. The first post was by the SolarCity CEO, Lyndon Rive, and the second was by groSolar CEO Jeff Wolfe. You can follow the complete series here.
Two phrases that are often repeated in the solar industry are “Grid Parity” and “Cost Roadmap”. Grid parity is generally considered to be a key goal of the solar industry. Grid parity will be achieved in the U.S. when customers are motivated to buy solar because the investment has a sufficient return WITHOUT any subsidies from the federal or state government. At present, most people consider PV to be a financially acceptable investment only if federal, state and rebate incentives are applied.
Currently, the rebates and tax credits offered by the government improve the financial return of a solar project together with other factors, such as the solar electric system cost (lower is better for the return), sun exposure on site (higher is better) and the cost of electricity that the solar system is substituting (higher is better).
The cost of electricity is of particular importance: solar substitutes for electricity demand on the customer’s side of the meter, where it competes with the retail price of electricity. This is in contrast to wind power, which is generated on the utility side of the meter, and therefore competes with the much lower wholesale rate of electricity.
By Timothy B. Hurst •
March 20, 2009
A Colorado family is living in fear that their house could go up in flames at any moment. Amee Ellsworth of Hudson can turn on a faucet in her kitchen or bathroom, light a match and watch as flames shoot out because natural gas from nearby wells have seeped into her groundwater supply.
Officials from the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission say the gas is likely leaking from one of the nearby eight wells, but they are not sure which well yet, nor are they even sure which of the two companies—Anadarko Petroleum Corp. and Noble Energy Inc.—operating in the area own it
By Timothy B. Hurst •
March 10, 2009
Shell Oil’s plan to acquire a junior water right for eight percent of Colorado’s Yampa River average April-to-June flow for oil shale development has been opposed by some twenty-five parties, all submitting letters of opposition to the Colorado Water Court in Steamboat Springs.
By Lisa Wojnovich •
February 28, 2009
Did you know that the Rocky Mountains contain more oil than Saudi Arabia? Most people don’t. The problem is that, unlike the easily accessed and processed oceans of liquid oil under Middle Eastern sands, the Rocky Mountains’ petroleum is found in rocks called oil shale. Oil shale, which must be mined, is a type of sedimentary rock that releases oil when heated in specific types of chemical processes. The problem, according to environmental groups, is that producing energy from oil [...]
When you’re looking to green your lifestyle, it helps to learn from the experiences of others rather than trying to reinvent the wheel yourself. That’s why, from time to time, I like to highlight the stories of various “eco-heroes” across the country.
In my last feature — “Going Green? Learn from these Pros” — some of the stars were folks like Mike Turner, who retrofitted an old Honda Civic for a super imrovement in mileage, and Elizabeth Rogers, creator of a new Website (Shift Your Habit) that demonstrates the money-saving power of eco-friendly habits. This time, I’ve got some new green success stories to share:
By Fred Etcheverry •
February 17, 2009
The European Union is investigating connecting a smart grid to solar thermal generators in Egypt and the Mediterranean. Mexico is also investigating solar thermal. Test plants have been built in Spain, California and Colorado.
By Timothy B. Hurst •
February 14, 2009
A proposal in Colorado to ban the use of plastic bags in supermarkets passed its first legislative hurdle as the the Senate Business, Labor and Technology Committee voted 4-3 to back the measure.
By Ariel Schwartz •
February 5, 2009
PG&E may be installing millions of smart meters in Northern California, but the nation of Malta (pop. 400,000) is about to become the world’s first smart grid island. IBM is building the island’s national smart grid network, which will consist of 250,000 smart meters placed in homes around the country.
By Timothy B. Hurst •
January 29, 2009
A solar photovoltaic station tucked away high in a high Colorado mountain valley will finish 2008 as the nation’s most productive utility-scale solar PV facility, but the short-lived title won’t last long.
At 7,500 feet above sea level, Sun Edison’s 8.22-megawatt Alamosa facility was America’s most efficient solar plant in 2008. The 82-acre solar photovoltaic facility in the San Luis Valley of Colorado produced enough power for 1,652 homes, making it the largest plant of its kind in the country. And if you think 1,650 homes isn’t very many, you’ve never been to the sparsely-populated San Luis Valley.
The project, which just opened in December of 2007, will be surpassed in terms of total output by the recently-completed ten-megawatt El Dorado Energy Solar facility in southern Nevada.
