This post was written by Paul O’Callaghan, founding CEO of the Clean Tech consultancy, O2 Environmental Inc. and lecturer on Sustainable Energy at the BC Institute of Technology.
There was much furore recently surrounding the story ‘Joule Biotech comes out of stealth with sun-powered biofuel’.

The premise is that the technology can take solar energy and use it to convert carbon dioxide directly into fuel. A one stop-shop to soak up carbon dioxide and produce a biofuel.

Having dug into it a little, the conclusion I came to is that it’s not as radical as it sounds. It is basically directed photosynthesis: same principle as oil from algae, or biofuels. The overall efficiencies are likely to be 10 times lower than that from solar PV processes, but, in terms of where biofuels are heading, it is on the right track.

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75-megawatt solar plant would also create hundreds of new green jobs

Not all of the big solar projects coming down the pike in the West will be on public land. A team of private investors today announced plans to build a solar photovoltaic plant in the state of Washington that would be the largest of its kind in the world.

The 75-megawatt Teanaway Solar Reserve will be located on 400 acres of formerly-logged private property four miles north of Cle Elum, in Kittitas County, Washington. If built, the plant would generate enough power for an estimated 75,000 homes. Currently, the largest solar photovoltaic plant in the world is a 60-megawatt facility in Spain.

Teanaway has not secured power purchase agreements with the major electricity providers, but project developers are confident they will find a buyer. Howard Trott, Managing Director and principal investor for the Teanaway Solar Reserve, said “We’ve had very good meetings with local utilities.”

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San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom’s plan to create one of state’s largest solar photovoltaic plants was approved by the city’s Board of Supervisors.

San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors Tuesday passed a proposal giving clearance to Recurrent Energy to Construct a 5 megawatt solar photovoltaic plant and sell energy to the city at a cost of about $2 million annually. The new plant, to be built in the city’s Sunset District, will be the largest municipal solar power project in California.

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Roof-mounted solar array in Atlantic City has peak capacity of 2.4 megawatts.

When I think of Atlantic City I think of blackjack tables, roulette wheels and boardwalks. Now I’ll have to add solar panels to that list.

The Atlantic City Convention Center can now lay claim to North America’s largest single roof-mounted solar array. The 13,400 modules on the roof of the convention center were manufactured by the Chinese company, Trina Solar (NYSE:TSL). The project, which provides approximately 2.4 MW at peak capacity, or, the equivalent energy needs of 280 American homes.

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But we also understand that very few of us Americans can afford $20,000+ for an installation of a solar PV system– especially these days!  That’s why we’re always on the look out for ways people can save on solar. So when I heard about what 1 Block Off the Grid (1BOG) is trying to do, I was intrigued.

1 Block Off the Grid (1BOG) is based in San Francisco, but they are launching a nationwide effort to create community-based buying clubs for solar power.  They claim that, “By aggregating consumers and negotiating on their behalf we take the fear out of buying new green technologies, decrease the purchase price, and increase the adoption rate of these technologies.”

If you’ve ever gotten and compared quotes for a solar installation, you know it can indeed be confusing and intimidating. Having a group discount negotiated by a third party sounds like a great idea to us.

1BOG did one set of installations in San Francisco in 2008, and they are just getting their 2009 group ready for another round. They are working with SolarCity for the new installations there.  The 1BOG website says they are launching a group for Los Angeles in February 2009.  Sign up quick!

I did some research and it seems that one of the participants in 1BOG’s inaugural program in San Francisco cut 43 percent off list price, according to co-founder Sylvia Ventura. But that is not necessarily a standard savings. For the average participant it would probably be closer to about 20 percent off.  For a $25,000 solar system, you could save $5,000 — and you’ll get additional goverment rebates as well.  Not too shabby!

We also want to remind everyone to always consider a solar hot water system if a solar electric system is too expensive.  Solar hot water systems cost in the $4-6K range and will still save you a TON off of your power bills.

Also, to find a solar installer near you click here.  You can also get quotes for wind power and geothermal power, depending on where you live.

Mayor Newsom Hails Approval of California’s Largest Solar Photovoltaic Installation at Sunset Reservoir

5 MW Project Will More than Triple San Francisco’s Total Solar Energy Output

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - Mayor Gavin Newsom today lauded the Board of
Supervisors’ approval of a five megawatt (MW) solar installation for the
roof of the Sunset Reservoir in San Francisco. When completed in 2010, the
project will be California’s largest solar photovoltaic (PV) installation
and more than triple San Francisco’s total municipal solar energy output
from 2 MW today to 7 MW. The Board’s approval of a 25-year contract between
the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) and San
Francisco-based Recurrent Energy will deliver clean, renewable solar power
for City municipal services and facilities, including public schools, San
Francisco International Airport, SF General Hospital, Muni and more. The
project will also create more than 70 local green jobs, including at least
21 jobs for individuals in the City’s workforce development programs.

“Today San Francisco took another major step towards achieving our
commitments to reduce greenhouse gases and grow our green economy,” said
Mayor Newsom, who sponsored the legislation. “With this single project, we
will more than triple San Francisco’s solar energy production, build
California’s largest photovoltaic system, and help lead the state towards a
future of clean, renewable energy.”

“I’m proud that my district will soon be home to California’s largest solar
PV installation,” said Supervisor Carmen Chu, who co-sponsored the
legislation with Mayor Newsom, and whose district includes the 8-square
block Sunset Reservoir, the City’s largest. “I want to thank the
environmental community, my colleagues on the Board, the SFPUC and
Recurrent Energy for forging this smart public-private partnership that
will rapidly expand our green power resources.”

The agreement between the SFPUC and Recurrent Energy leverages a 30%
federal tax credit available only to the private sector through a “Power
Purchase Agreement” (PPA) to dramatically lower project costs. Over the 25
year life of the contract, the City estimates that the power purchased from
the project will cost $50.3 million, $36 million less than the lifetime
cost of $86.3 million had the City built and financed the system
themselves. Under the agreement, Recurrent Energy also assumes all the risk
of financing, building and operating the project. The SFPUC is only
responsible for purchasing the solar power produced at a competitive rate.
The measure was also co-sponsored by Supervisors Bevan Dufty, Michela
Alioto-Pier, and Eric Mar.

“With this agreement San Francisco can continue to be a leader in
developing the solar energy markets while taking concrete steps towards
meeting our renewable energy and greenhouse gas reduction goals,” said
SFPUC General Manager Ed Harrington.

“Recurrent Energy is proud to partner with the City of San Francisco to
create local green jobs now and deliver clean solar public power for the
future,” said Recurrent Energy’s CEO, Arno Harris.

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.

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• Mitsubishi Chemical already produces materials for the solar industry but sees opportunity to produce the cells themselves
• Sanyo is an established producer of crystalline solar cells, but has opened an Advanced PV Development Center in Gifu, Japan to concentrate on developing thin film technology.

This is good news for solar energy advocates, as these companies have the capital and the knowledge base to ramp up production more rapidly than startups, while increasing efficiency and cost savings. According to Sanyo’s Makoto Tanaka:

“‘Our target date for volume production was 2012, but in order to move that up, we’ve decided to invest an additional US $14 million,’ said Tanaka, bringing total investment … to some US $70M through 2010. He noted that the production ramp should be eased because part of the new process is very similar to that already used in Sanyo’s mainstay heterojunction with intrinsic thin-layer (HIT) cells, which sandwich a single-crystal silicon substrate between layers of amorphous silicon thin films.”

Sadly, the United States is not one of the countries competing on this scale with Sanyo and Mitsubishi, who see their main competition coming from China and India. Though the U.S. company Nanosolar has been a leading innovator in thin film, and Open Energy is making big inroads in the production of Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) modules using thin film tech, they are still comparatively small players in the space, along with FirstSolar. Let’s hope that the U.S. steps up to provide the kind of legislative support that U.S. companies need to move forward at a faster pace in developing new solar technologies.

Image Credit: Ovonic.com

Related Posts:

A Thin-film Solar Installation

Solar Thin-film Ready to Ramp Up Production?

Mayor Newsom Hails Approval of California’s Largest Solar Photovoltaic Installation at Sunset Reservoir

5 MW Project Will More than Triple San Francisco’s Total Solar Energy Output

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - Mayor Gavin Newsom today lauded the Board of
Supervisors’ approval of a five megawatt (MW) solar installation for the
roof of the Sunset Reservoir in San Francisco. When completed in 2010, the
project will be California’s largest solar photovoltaic (PV) installation
and more than triple San Francisco’s total municipal solar energy output
from 2 MW today to 7 MW. The Board’s approval of a 25-year contract between
the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) and San
Francisco-based Recurrent Energy will deliver clean, renewable solar power
for City municipal services and facilities, including public schools, San
Francisco International Airport, SF General Hospital, Muni and more. The
project will also create more than 70 local green jobs, including at least
21 jobs for individuals in the City’s workforce development programs.

“Today San Francisco took another major step towards achieving our
commitments to reduce greenhouse gases and grow our green economy,” said
Mayor Newsom, who sponsored the legislation. “With this single project, we
will more than triple San Francisco’s solar energy production, build
California’s largest photovoltaic system, and help lead the state towards a
future of clean, renewable energy.”

“I’m proud that my district will soon be home to California’s largest solar
PV installation,” said Supervisor Carmen Chu, who co-sponsored the
legislation with Mayor Newsom, and whose district includes the 8-square
block Sunset Reservoir, the City’s largest. “I want to thank the
environmental community, my colleagues on the Board, the SFPUC and
Recurrent Energy for forging this smart public-private partnership that
will rapidly expand our green power resources.”

The agreement between the SFPUC and Recurrent Energy leverages a 30%
federal tax credit available only to the private sector through a “Power
Purchase Agreement” (PPA) to dramatically lower project costs. Over the 25
year life of the contract, the City estimates that the power purchased from
the project will cost $50.3 million, $36 million less than the lifetime
cost of $86.3 million had the City built and financed the system
themselves. Under the agreement, Recurrent Energy also assumes all the risk
of financing, building and operating the project. The SFPUC is only
responsible for purchasing the solar power produced at a competitive rate.
The measure was also co-sponsored by Supervisors Bevan Dufty, Michela
Alioto-Pier, and Eric Mar.

“With this agreement San Francisco can continue to be a leader in
developing the solar energy markets while taking concrete steps towards
meeting our renewable energy and greenhouse gas reduction goals,” said
SFPUC General Manager Ed Harrington.

“Recurrent Energy is proud to partner with the City of San Francisco to
create local green jobs now and deliver clean solar public power for the
future,” said Recurrent Energy’s CEO, Arno Harris.

The solar panels on the roof heat the water (and they seem positioned to shade the air conditioner, another energy-saver). An article in Kiplinger.com summarizes “sunshine economics”:

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