Solar Industry Shines Despite Minimal Support
There are three major hurdles facing the solar industry today: lack of long-term uninterrupted government support, lack of government and private investment capital and difficulty with project permitting. People interested in the solar industry can learn how to clear these hurdles by attending the Solar Power Generation USA conference, being held in Las Vegas, Nevada January 20-21, 2010.
“The solar industry in the United States has faced numerous tectonic shifts in support of solar energy. Today, the shift is in favor of the solar industry moved by the need for the country to find ways to reduce its dependence on fossil fuel based energy sources,” said Sarah Ellis, Managing Director, Green Power Conferences. “With this new fast-paced movement, companies must learn how to capitalize on the opportunities in front of them.”
The goal of this conference is to help companies develop successful utility scale solar projects. One area in particular that companies struggle with is understanding the key environmental, land use and permitting issues.
With the recent influx of funds, The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has received a large number of proposed applications for renewable energy projects. “We have responded by partnering with the Department of Energy on the Solar PEIS, by working through the Federal budget cycle to fund Renewable Energy Coordination Offices and renewable energy related positions, and by developing a coordinated, focused effort to move projects through the environmental review and permitting process more quickly but without taking shortcuts,” said Mike Nedd, Assistant Director – Minerals and Realty Management with the BLM.
Nedd is just one of dozens of insightful speakers scheduled. For a full list of speakers and to register, visit www.solarpowercongress.com. Enter code 4RC-201 for 20 percent off the current registration rate.
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Solar Industry Shines Despite Minimal Support – Domestic Fuel | Future of Solar Panels
[...] here to read the rest: Solar Industry Shines Despite Minimal Support – Domestic Fuel Categories: all about solar panels Tags: government-support, industry-today, [...]
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In Touch With Solar - Domestic Fuel
[...] Permit acquisition is one of the largest barriers to seeing solar utility projects come to fruition. Mike Nedd, Assistant Director – Minerals and Realty Management with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) notes that the BLM has received a large amount of proposed applications for renewable energy projects and have set in motion ways to respond to the applications in a timely manner. [...]
In Touch With Solar
[...] Permit acquisition is one of the largest barriers to seeing solar utility projects come to fruition. Mike Nedd, Assistant Director – Minerals and Realty Management with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) notes that the BLM has received a large amount of proposed applications for renewable energy projects and have set in motion ways to respond to the applications in a timely manner. [...]
Kurt Newick
Executive Summary of Commercial PV Permit Fee Report , 10/5/2010, by Sierra Club, Loma Prieta Chapter
A mid-2010 survey by the Sierra Club revealed wide variation in permit fees charged for commercial rooftop photovoltaic (PV) energy systems by municipalities in three counties in the San Francisco Bay Area. The survey found that fees for commercial PV projects of 131 kW in size varied from $0 to over $13,000. High fees can discourage businesses from making good, long-term, high-yield investments in solar power. 37% of the surveyed municipalities are charging fees that exceed the maximum cost-recovery levels identified in this report.
The time needed for city staff to review and inspect a commercial PV project does not vary linearly by system size. For instance, interviews conducted in the preparation of this report revealed that the difference in time needed to process a 100 kW PV project is about twice as long as a 10 kW project (not ten times as long). Basing fees on the value of the solar equipment inflates permit costs to unreasonably high levels, especially for larger, more expensive solar power projects To recover costs, therefore, permit fees should be based on specific review times and billable hourly rates and not on PV project valuations.
The authors of this study have developed a free, public fee calculator spreadsheet to help municipalities determine cost recovery: http://www.SolarPermitFees.org/PVFeeCalcCommercial.xls.
This report recommends best practices that municipalities can adopt to assure greater consistency, and help businesses develop an energy source that leads to a healthier, safer, and more stable community. These include setting permit fees at cost-recovery levels, and instituting streamlined permit processing procedures.
Links:
Sierra Club, Loma Prieta Chapter PV permit fee campaign web site: http://www.SolarPermitFees.org.
Commercial PV Permit Fee Campaign web site: http://www.SolarPermitFees.org/commercial.html
Commercial PV Permit Fee Report (Oct. 2010): http://www.SolarPermitFees.org/PVFeeStudyCommercial.pdf
Commercial PV Permit Summary of Recommendations: http://www.SolarPermitFees.org/PVPermitRecommendCommercial.pdf
Residential PV Permit Fee Report 2008 (Northern California): http://www.SolarPermitFees.org/NorCalPVFeeReport.pdf
Residential PV Permit Fee Report 2009 (Southern California): http://www.SolarPermitFees.org/SoCalPVFeeReport.pdf
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