Domestic Fuel

Volkswagen (VW) has “powered up” the largest solar installation at an automotive manufacturing facility in the U.S. and the biggest solar installation in the state of Tennessee. The Volkswagen Chattanooga Solar Park is now part of the the company’s green auto plant and was the first in the world to receive the top LEED certification.The Volkswagen Chattanooga Solar Park occupies 33 acres, or half of the 66-acre land parcel adjacent to VW’s state-of-the-art manufacturing plant. The solar park contains 33,600 solar modules from JA Solar designed to produce 13.1 gigawatt hours of electricity per year.

The electricity produced from the solar park is expected to meet 12.5 percent of the energy needs of Volkswagen’s Chattanooga manufacturing plant during full production and 100 percent during non-production periods. The plant covers 1.9 million square feet and employs more than 3,000 people who manufacture the Volkswagen Passat sedan. For Volkswagen, the solar park in Chattanooga will rank as the automaker’s largest photovoltaic installation worldwide.

Frank Fischer, CEO and Chairman of Volkswagen Group of America, Chattanooga Operations LLC, said, “We are proud to power up the biggest solar park of any car manufacturer in North America today. The solar park,” he said, “is another proof point of Volkswagen’s worldwide commitment to environmental protection under its ‘Think Blue. Factory’ philosophy, a broadly focused initiative for all Volkswagen plants to achieve more efficient use of energy, materials and water and produce less waste and emissions.”
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During 2012, Europe installed and grid connected 239 offshore wind turbines – more than on per working day. There are now a total of 2,662 turbines in 61 offshore wind farms in 10 European countries. The 293 turbines installed in 2012 represent 1,165 Megawatts (MW), an increase of 33 percent compared to 2011 installations of 874 MW. This brings total offshore wind energy capacity to 4,995 MW.

Heading in 2013, EK remains the leader with nearly 60 percent of Europe’s offshore capacity, followed by Denmark (18%), Belgium (8%) and Germany (6%).

“Offshore wind power is growing solidly,” said European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) Policy Director Justin Wilkes. “But solid installation figures do not alter the fact that the wind industry is being hit by political and regulatory instability, the economic crisis, the higher cost of capital and austerity. Europe is a world leader in offshore wind energy and could be creating even more jobs if governments gave greater policy certainty to investors, and resolved grid connection problems.”

The turbines installed in 2012 represent investments of around 4 billion Euros in offshore wind farms. Offshore prospects for 2013 and 2014 are positive with 14 offshore projects under construction, due to increase installed capacity by a further 3,300 MW, and bring total offshore capacity in Europe to 8,300 MW.

Iberdrola Renewables has completed three new wind energy projects in the U.S. The wind farms were all commissioned in December 2012, representing a total investment of approximately $700 million, and most of the power has already been purchased via long-term contracts. The three projects include:

• The Manzana Wind Power Project located in Kern County, California includes 126 GE 1.5MW wind turbines, with the capacity to produce 189 MW of wind energy each year. Lease payments to landowners are estimated to be more than $30 million over the life of the wind farm.
• The Hoosac Wind Power Project is located in Monroe, Massachusetts and expands into Florida, Massachusetts. The wind farm consists of 19 GE 1.5 MW wind turbines with the ability to generate 28.5 MW annually. Lease payments to landowners are estimated to be $3 million over the life of the wind farm.
• The Groton Wind Farm is situated along two ridge features in the town of Groton, New Hampshire. The wind farm consists of 24 Gamesa G87, 2.0 MW wind turbines and has the capacity to produce 48MW per year.

“These projects have begun delivering the environmental benefits of clean, renewable energy, but they also create significant economic impacts resulting from hiring numerous local workers and companies, and making long-term tax and lease payments to the local communities,” said Martín Mugíca, president and CEO of Iberdrola Renewables, LLC. “Each project represents the culmination of years of hard work, and we could not do it without the vision and support of our shareholders, customers and employees.”

Earlier in 2012, Iberdrola Renewables completed a 46-MW project in Pennsylvania, a 100-MW project in Iowa and a 304-MW project in Ohio.

According to an article in Nature, researchers with Michigan State University (MSU) show that marginal lands can serve as prime real estate for meeting alternative energy production goals. By growing mixed-species cellulosic biomass, marginal lands could annually produce up to 5.5 billion gallons of ethanol in the Midwest alone.

“Understanding the environmental impact of widespread biofuel production is a major unanswered question in the U.S. and worldwide,” said Ilya Gelfand, lead author of the paper. “We estimate that using marginal lands for growing cellulosic biomass crops could provide up to 215 gallons of ethanol per acre with substantial greenhouse gas mitigation.” According to Gelfand, this is the first study to provide an estimate for greenhouse gas benefits, and an assessment of the total potential of these lands to produce significant amounts of biomass.

Researchers from MSU, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the University of Maryland used 20 years of data, focused on 10 Midwestern states, from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Kellogg Biological Station (KBS) Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) site. Kellogg Biological Station is one of 26 such NSF LTER sites in ecosystems around the world from grasslands to deserts, coral reefs to tundra.

“The study underscores the critical role that long-term basic research plays in determining the optimum balance between economic prosperity and environmental sustainability,” said Saran Twombly, program director in NSF’s Division of Environmental Biology. “Long-term basic experiments suggest that wise management of marginal lands, rather than wholesale conversion of valuable agricultural lands, could contribute significantly to a sustainable future.”
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A European consortium, consisting of DNV KEMA, Fraunhofer ISE, EMD International, RAH and RFVV, have begun an EU funded project to develop modeling and simulation tools for optimally integrating electrical vehicles (EVs) into electricity networks. The project, Novel E-Mobility Grid Model (NEMO), will play a key role in the continued development of electric mobility in Europe and will also be an important element in the further development of smart grids.

As electric vehicle adoption grows in Europe and charging stations are installed and connected to the existing grid, the NEMO project will support European grid operators and service providers in assessing the impact of EVs on the power grid, and to evaluate possible solutions such as grid extension or load management.

The consortium will develop a NEMO simulation and optimization tool suite based on the existing complementary simulation tools PLATOS, SimTOOL and energyPRO, which were each developed by the respective NEMO core partners. When combined, the simulation tools will address both market-oriented and technical problems that may result from the predicted influx of EVs on the electricity grid, such as identifying grid constraints in the network or determining the optimal use of available electricity generators.

“Our three tools will be further extended and integrated into one single tool suite to assess the impact of a large volume of EVs on both the electricity network and energy markets in its entirety. The combined project team will be able to offer cooperative services that none of the partners could offer individually,” said Dr. Martijn Huibers, NEMO project coordinator at DNV KEMA.

The project team aims to enable the exchange of simulation data between the models of each tool, and the NEMO consortium will work closely with stakeholders to ensure the suite addresses key market needs.

Newport, Oregon has been selected as the home for future site of a utility-scale, grid connected, wave energy test site. The project will be hosted by the Pacific Marine Energy Center (PMEC) and run by the Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center (NNMREC) based at Oregon State University. As part of the project, PMEC, will test energy generation potential and the environmental impacts of wave energy devices, at an ocean site about five miles from shore. Subsea cables will transmit energy from the wave energy devices to the local power grid, and data to scientists and engineers at on-shore facilities.

“PMEC represents a major step toward the development of energy from Oregon’s ocean waters,” said Jason Busch of the Oregon Wave Energy Trust. “I’m certain that Oregon will reap benefits from PMEC for many years to come, and the research and development performed at PMEC will help usher in this new form of reliable electricity from the sea.” The first installment of funding for PMEC was received in September, 2012, consisting of $4 million from the U.S. Department of Energy, along with a non-federal cost match.

PMEC design and specific site characterization will begin soon, along with the permitting and regulatory process. The exact ocean location for the PMEC site will be finalized in the next few months in a zone that has been selected in collaboration with ocean stakeholders. The goal is to install the wave energy technology in an area that will not impede shipping lanes and takes environmental impacts into consideration.

The project will consist of four “test berths,” open spaces of water dedicated to testing individual devices or small arrays of devices, each of which will be connected to the community’s electrical grid. Data associated with environmental and human dimension impacts will also be collected. Completion will take several years.

“This site selection builds on the global reputation of Oregon State University in both renewable energy research and marine science,” added Rick Spinrad, OSU vice president for research. “Future research results from this site will help ensure our state’s leadership in these critical areas.”

Sungevity has completed a series of venture capital and project financings securing up to $125 million. The funding includes $40 million in equity financings raised in 2012 led by Oakland-based impact investment fund, Brightpath Capital Partners, and home improvement retailer, Lowe’s. New equity investors Vision Ridge Partners, Craton Equity Partners and Eastern Sun Capital Partners, LLC, also participated. The funding also includes a combined $85 million in new project financing commitments from two parties including Energy Capital Partners (ECP) and an undisclosed commercial bank.

According to the company, the funds will be used to support the development of solar projects across nine U.S. states. The company also has a presence in Europe through Netherlands-based, Zonline, and in Australia through a joint venture called Sungevity Australia.

“Our ability to attract substantial investment from a list of respected backers is a powerful vote of confidence in our highly scalable growth model and customer-centric approach to doing business,” said Andrew Birch, Sungevity’s Chief Executive Officer. “We believe this new funding will take us into the next phase of growth and allow us to deliver on our mission of building the world’s most energized network of customers who power their lives with sunshine.”

In 2012, the company optimized its Solar Social Strategy, which helped the company overcome the sector’s common hurdle of high-cost customer acquisition. Key components of the strategy include partnerships along with software that allows Sungevity customers to make referrals. The company also leverages Internet and satellite technology to circumvent the high overhead costs related to providing potential customers with pricing quotes, and it partners with a network of preferred local installers to offset staff-related installation costs. As a result, the company has reduced installation costs by 30 percent in 2012.

Nazar Massouh, who leads ECP’s energy-focused mezzanine investment activities, added, “Energy Capital is excited to partner with Sungevity to provide an innovative and flexible capital solution to efficiently finance its on-going solar installations. Sungevity’s unique customer acquisition approach, scalable business model and stable cash flow generated by its established customer base, is a natural fit for our diversified energy portfolio.”

A new report shows that advanced energy became a $1.1 trillion market globally in 2011, outpacing even pharmaceutical manufacturing worldwide, and the U.S. sector is expected to have grown by 19 percent last year, with American revenues rising to $157 billion. The report from Advanced Energy Economy highlights how in 2011 alone, this advanced energy sector, including hydropower, solar, wind, geothermal, waste and biomass, generated more than $20 billion in federal, state and local taxes:

“Advanced energy is what happens when energy meets 21st Century technologies,” said Graham Richard, CEO of Advanced Energy Economy, a national business organization. “This report defines precisely, for the first time, the size, breadth, and scope of the advanced energy industry. With a $1 trillion global market and a U.S. industry that is already bigger by revenue than trucking, advanced energy is a significant contributor to the economy today and has greater potential for tomorrow.”

AEE defines advanced energy as the best available commercial technologies for meeting energy needs today and tomorrow. With global energy consumption projected to rise nearly 40 percent by 2030, future prosperity depends on meeting this growing demand with energy that is secure, clean and affordable.

Officials compare the potential of the advanced energy sector to transform society and the economy to how the Internet has created so many new opportunities. AEE admits that its estimates might be a bit conservative, understating the size and extent of advanced energy economic activity in the U.S. and around the world.

Evance Wind Turbines, a manufacturer of small wind turbines, has received full certification from the Small Wind Certification Council (SWCC) for its 5kW R9000 turbine. The SWCC is a U.S.-based independent body that certifies small turbines for performance and safety. The Evance R9000 successfully passed rigorous safety, function, performance and durability testing, in accordance with the American Wind Energy Association Standard (AWEA), to become one of only four turbines to achieve full certification from the SWCC.

Kevin Parslow, CEO of Evance Wind Turbines said, “It is great news that we have received full SWCC certification for our R9000 turbine. There are R9000 small wind turbines installed across some 17 states, and we’re looking to expand this significantly during 2013. Customers already know our turbine is highly efficient and durable; however, it’s good to receive independent confirmation from the SWCC – not only promoting consumer confidence and industry credibility, but also helping to establish pathways to qualify for incentives.”

Mike Langert, who lives in Montana, installed a R9000 to generate wind energy to power his home. “Our home has been built to be energy efficient – with well-planned windows, lighting, insulation, and a GSHP heating/cooling system – but we still use 12,000 to 15,000kWh of electricity a year. With the Evance turbine now generating up to 75 percent of our requirements, we are saving a substantial amount on energy costs and reducing our use of power generated from fossil fuels,” explained Langert.

The Evance R9000 is a UK-designed and manufactured 3-blade, upwind, horizontal axis wind turbine with a swept area of 23.8 m2. The AWEA Rated Annual Energy is 9,160kWh, for one year based on an average wind speed of 5 m/s (11.2 mph), and the AWEA Rated Power is 4.7kW at 11 m/s.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s Office of Energy Projects has released its latest “Energy Infrastructure Update,” and finds that renewable energy sources including biomass, geothermal, solar, water, and wind, accounted by 49.10 percent of all new domestic electrical generating capacity installed during 2012. The total was 12,956 MW and more than a quarter of that new capacity, or 3,276 MW, came online during December 2012 alone.

Wind power led the way in 2012 with 164 new “units” totaling 10,689 MW installed. Solar power followed with 240 units totaling 1,476 MW installed. Biomass added 100 new units totaling 543 MW while geothermal steam and water each had 13 new units with installed capacities of 149 MW and 99 MW respectively. By comparison, during 2012, new natural gas generation in service totaled 8,746 MW (33.15%) followed by coal (4,510 MW -17.09%), nuclear (125 MW – 0.47%), and oil (49 MW – 0.19%).

New capacity from renewable energy sources in 2012 increased by 51.16 percent compared to 2011 when those sources added 8,571 MW. In 2011, renewables accounted for 39.33 percent of all new in-service generation capacity. Renewable sources now account for 15.40 percent of total installed U.S. operating generating capacity: water – 8.47 percent, wind – 4.97 percent, biomass – 1.30 percent, solar – 0.34 percent, and geothermal – 0.32 percent. This is more than nuclear (9.24%) and oil (3.57%) combined.

“If there were still any lingering doubts about the ability of renewable energy technologies to come on-line quickly and in amounts sufficient to displace fossil fuels and nuclear power, the 2012 numbers have put those doubts to rest,” said Ken Bossong, Executive Director of the SUN DAY Campaign. “Not only has renewable energy become a major player in the U.S. electrical generation market, but it has also emerged in 2012 as THE reigning champion.”

Ceres has been awarded the top prize in the non-governmental organization (NGO) category of the Zayed Future Energy Prize that honors innovative companies who have had a positive impact and shown strong leadership in the renewable energy and sustainability sectors. The award is part of the World Future Energy Summit, and this year’s awards attracted 579 submissions from companies in 88 countries.

“We believe that investing in people is the future of our collective prosperity,” said His Highness General Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, at the awards ceremony. “Through the Prize, we are not only recognizing tremendous achievement, but also providing support to help accelerate promising technologies and fund organizations, schools and individuals committed to impacting communities around the world.”

Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, President of the Republic of Iceland and Chairman of the Zayed Future Energy Prize Jury, noted that the winners show that change is possible and that vision and innovative thinking hold great promise through practical endeavors.

“Ceres is honored to receive a Zayed Future Energy Prize, and we believe it will enable us to have an even greater impact in our work,” added Mindy Lubber, President of Ceres. “In order to tackle the global challenge of climate change, we must expect even bolder action from investors, businesses, and policymakers. We will use the Prize to expand international investor leadership on clean energy and to grow our ongoing work with leading companies that are striving to integrate sustainability into their operations by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improving energy efficiency and sourcing renewable energy.”

January 15, 2013 is Iowa Wind Day at the Capitol, in Des Moines, Iowa. Iowa Governor Terry Brandstad will be a featured speaker during the event and other speakers include Kathleen Law, the Iowa Wind Energy Association’s (IWEA) Board of Directors President, and Harold D. Prior, IWEA’s executive director.

The free event will feature more than 20 exhibitors representing many aspects of Iowa’s wind energy industry. Exhibits are open from 8 a.m. until 12 noon for legislators and renewable energy enthusiasts to learn more about the wide diversity of opportunity in the wind energy industry.

Iowa leads the nation in the number of wind manufacturers and wind related businesses and was the first state to exceed 20 percent of its electrical generation from wind. The state also leads the nation in the number of wind jobs and its ranked third nationally behind Texas and California in installed capacity. According to IWEA, Iowa is one of four states that would benefit the most from increased wind investment and has outstanding wind resources. Iowa’s central location, access to two navigable rivers and the U.S. Interstate Highway system are also distinct advantages leading to further growth of the wind energy industry in Iowa. Lastly, Iowa has many planned electrical transmission projects that will help move wind power (aka all power) to Iowans living throughout the state.

Los Vientos I & II wind farms have been completed in south Texas and now operational, have the capacity to produce 402 megawatts of wind power. Both projects are owned by Duke Energy Renewables and the project marks the company’s largest wind-power project to date. With the geographic location, approximately 120 miles south of Corpus Christi and 20 miles inland from the Gulf of Mexico, the two wind farms will generate the majority of their power during the day, when peak power demand is highest.

“2012 was a very significant year for us,” said Duke Energy Renewables President Greg Wolf. “With five new windpower projects and three new solar power projects commissioned into service, we added 800 megawatts of clean, emissions-free energy to our fleet last year alone. Now that Los Vientos I and II are on line, our total renewable power capacity grows to more than 1,700 MW, enough to power about half-million homes.”

All of the output and associated renewable energy credits from the 200 MW Los Vientos I Windpower Project in Willacy County are being sold to San Antonio-based CPS Energy under a 25-year agreement. In addition, Austin Energy is buying all of the output and associated renewable energy credits from the 202 MW Los Vientos II Windpower Project, sited in Willacy and Cameron Counties.

Duke Energy Renewables Vice President Milton Howard added, “We’re proud to be partnering with CPS Energy and Austin Energy to bring renewable energy to this region. And, we couldn’t have done it without the foresight of the leaders, landowners and people of Willacy County. Thanks to them, we were able to bring 600 jobs to the area during construction, and going forward, the Los Vientos projects will continue to boost economic development, support the local school districts, and be a source of dependable tax revenue for years to come.”

According to a new report, companies that invest more money in the research and development more efficient means of producing renewable energy, the better able the company is to satisfy consumers and drive growth. Additional growth is, and can be continued, through government subsidies and initiatives. Recently, there has been an increase in investments in the renewable energy field, especially in solar and wind energy.  Companies such as First Solar and SolarCity prove that R&D drives both growth and greater profits.

Last week First Solar announced a partnership with Intermolecular to increase conversion efficiency. SolarCity has recently announced a 117 percent growth of the amount of energy the company installed in 2011 (72 MW). Early indications show that 2013 is expected to beat the company’s original projections.

The report concludes that if consumers continue to see the long-term benefits of renewable energy, green energy companies should expect to have a strong and stable position in the overall market. The report anticipates a strong macro trend towards companies focusing on renewable resources and “green” products. In addition, institutional funds are adding corporate responsibility, ethical investing and environmental concerns as priorities when screening for new investments. The report believes that this change in dynamic within the investment community will create a “mass exodus” of investment dollars from aggressive cost-cutting companies towards companies focused on ethical approaches to business, consumers and the environment.

There is a little secret in the renewable energy sector that many don’t know about – New Markets Tax Credits. These tax credits provide incentives for private investors to help fund projects that create jobs and diversify economics, and were extended for another year as part of the American Tax Relief Act.

Congress first established the program in 2000 to stimulate investment and economic growth in low-income and under-served rural and urban communities that are often overlooked by conventional capital markets. Investors receive a seven-year, 39-percent federal tax credit as incentive to finance loans and investments in businesses and economic development projects in distressed communities. They are not restricted to energy projects.

According to CEO Charles Spies, CEI Capital Management is a national leader in awarding New Markets Tax Credits, having invested nearly three-quarters of a billion dollars in the last nine years. CEI Capital Management has its own triple bottom line investment criteria, where projects must benefit the local community, demonstrate economic gain and have a positive impact on the environment.

Last year, CEI Capital Management allocated $20.7 million in new markets tax credits to the $275 million Burgess BioPower Plant in rural Berlin, New Hampshire. Built on the site of a defunct paper mill, the plant will produce 75 megawatts of power from 759 thousand tons of sustainably grown wood annually. The project currently employs about 300 construction jobs and is on track to sustain 40 jobs in management and plant operations plus hundreds more in the woods associated with harvesting and transporting biomass.
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