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From: Eric	1/9/2012 12:09:27 PM
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Germany Installed More Than 2 GW of Solar in December The annual year-end rush to install solar in Germany—at $2.80 per watt The U.S. installed about 1.7 gigawatts of photovoltaic panels in 2011, according to Greentech Media Research. Germany installed more than 2 gigawatts of solar in the month of December alone. That's good news and bad news. Good news because there is still demand for solar and Germany is amazingly efficient at deploying solar panels; bad news because it reveals the market distortions provoked by subsidies and fading subsidies. December traditions in Germany involve Christmas, stollen, and a rush to install solar panels before the feed-in tariff subsidy drops. Installations for the full year will be nearly 7 gigawatts according to a =2012&tx_ttnews[month]=01&tx_ttnews[day]=04&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=14412&cHash=61f51bad3e486607cd4bdb1666a158d1]press release from the BSW (Bundesverband Solarwirtschaft, the German Solar Industry Association). Germany installed 7.4 gigawatts of solar panels in 2010. The feed-in tariff was subjected to a 15 percent reduction on January 1, 2012 and will likely be cut another 15 percent on July 1. According to the BSW, solar power contributes approximately three percent of the German electricity supply, with a goal of 10 percent by 2020. Note the drop in pricing for solar installations in Germany: Q3 2011 pricing was $2.80 per watt. These are "average end-customer prices" for PV systems under 100 kilowatts. Compare that to the $5.20 per watt average price in the U.S. greentechmedia.com

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From: Eric	1/9/2012 8:18:49 PM
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German Solar-Panel Installations Break Record in Rush to Beat Subsidy Cut Germany added a record amount of solar panels last year as developers raced to beat a subsidy cut in the world’s biggest photovoltaic market. December installations reached 3 gigawatts, the most that Germany ever added in a single month, the Bundesnetzagentur grid regulator said today. Volume for 2011 may be the country’s most ever, 7.5 gigawatts, according to preliminary estimates, a level that the BSW-Solar lobby group said will probably trigger an additional 15 percent subsidy cut starting in July. The figures add to pressure on Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government to curtail subsidies that have supported a three-year boom, making Germany the top market for solar power. They also indicate strengthening demand may help offset the plunging price of panels that’s depressed the shares of such manufacturers as Q-Cells SE (QCE) and LDK Solar Co. “Prices for solar systems are falling quicker than subsidies,” the grid regulator’s head, Matthias Kurth, said in an e-mailed statement. German Environment Minister Norbert Roettgen will invite the energy industry for talks about the installations, market developments and possible adjustments to solar subsidies next week, he said today in an e-mail. The year-end rush was sparked in part by “massive” panel inventory from Chinese manufacturers for large-scale solar plants, said Frank Asbeck, chief executive officer of Solarworld AG (SWV), Germany’s largest panel maker. ‘Dumping’ Panels? Solarworld is seeking to join forces with European peers to start proceedings against Chinese competitors for allegedly“dumping” panels on German markets at below-market costs in recent months, he said. Renewable energy subsidies in Germany need to decline to be more in line with the realities of the current economic climate, Economy Minister Philipp Roesler has said. A planned subsidy cut that took effect on Jan. 1 and Roesler’s proposal to cap yearly installations at 1,000 megawatts also helped cause the installation rush, Asbeck said. He suggested further cuts to subsidies for large solar plants. “It’s right that we now adjust” above-market rates paid to operators of photovoltaic power plants, Roesler told his pro-business Free Democratic Party colleagues in Stuttgart last week. “Survivability means commercial viability.” Cap Discussions Roettgen criticized the discussion about a cap, saying it prompted the year-end rush as investors feared the support would eventually disappear. The so-called breathing cap currently in place, which reduces subsidies depending on new installation levels, is “adequate” to further drive down costs for solar power, he said. Germany, which seeks to exit nuclear energy by 2022, added about 4,150 megawatts of panels in the fourth quarter of last year compared with about 3,400 megawatts in the first nine months. Installations of about 225 megawatts through April would trigger an automatic 15 percent cut in subsidies beginning in July, the regulator said. Germany installed about 7.4 gigawatts of panels in 2010 before Merkel’s government trimmed subsidies. Industry Struggles The country’s solar industry struggled with slowing demand in the first nine months of last year amid rising competition from manufacturers in China. Solon SE (SOO1), based in Berlin, and Solar Millennium AG (S2M) of Erlangen, Germany, filed for insolvency last month. Q-Cells, once the largest maker of solar cells, is looking for a buyer. The figures leave Germany on course to surpass the 52 gigawatts that it’s targeting to install by 2020, based on its National Renewable Energy Action Plan, London-based researcher Bloomberg New Energy Finance said. bloomberg.com

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From: Eric	1/9/2012 8:32:26 PM
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The Wind Beat: 1603 and the PTC for Keystone XL? Congress is killing the renewables’ lifelines, but the president could trade them for the tar sands pipeline. The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart once said he does not like political jokes because they too often get elected. Yet this is an election year. Vital federal support of renewables depends on some of those jokes. The failure of Congress to extend the Section 1603 Treasury Program when it expired on the last day of 2011 will not help solar be more competitive. The 1603 program allowed commercial solar system purchasers to take an upfront grant for 30 percent of the system's value instead waiting a year for the Investment Tax Credit (ITC). It imposes no greater federal budget burden, but is much more attractive to investors. The Solar Energy Industries Association bemoaned the loss of 1603. Congress also appears ready to let the wind industry’s production tax credit (PTC) expire at the end of 2012. The American Wind Energy Association said expiration will cost 37,000 domestic wind industry jobs and prompt a two-thirds drop-off of private investment in the $15 billion industry. The political games being played with the solar and wind sectors are already creating near-term booms and long-term busts. But some energy industry insiders who regularly work Capitol Hill and the halls of power see a potential path through the morass. It is hard to find congressional advocates for the 1603 program on the right side of the political spectrum right now, because moderates who might otherwise support renewables are terrified of an attack from the right, spiked with the clarion call, “ Remember Solyndra.” Wind has a wider bipartisan base, as evidenced by strong calls for support of it in 2012 kickoff speeches from both Republican Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell and Democratic New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. Neither the PTC nor 1603 came up in the Iowa Republican primary campaign and they are unlikely to be discussed in other primaries, because renewables support comes from the moderate part of the Republican party and the candidates are preaching to their fervent base. If renewables come up at all, they will be disdained as something the president supports. Hope lives, however, in a deal that could be made. Headlines watchers will remember that 2011 closed with an attempt by congressional conservatives to get approval of the proposed but delayed Keystone XL pipeline that would deliver Canadian tar sands oil to refineries on the Texas Gulf Coast. An announced review of the pipeline by the State Department is not expected to be complete until after the November election. Last month, House Republicans seeking to force President Obama to betray either labor supporters who want the pipeline’s jobs or environmental supporters who abhor the pipeline demanded the president approve the pipeline in return for their extending of the payroll tax holiday. The tactic backfired when the president called their bluff and invited them to earn national disdain for ending the popular tax holiday. The issues will be revisited early in 2012. Renewables advocates want to attach the PTC and 1603 to that debate as part of a large tax extenders package. A Congress interested in compromise might welcome the idea. But this congress, as one insider said, “is probably more polarized than at any time since that one congressman beat another with his cane before the Civil War.” Another line of reasoning would convince conservatives who are driving primary politics to the extreme right and blocking conciliatory efforts on the Hill that cancelling the PTC and 1603 is tantamount to raising taxes on the renewables industries. Raising taxes is theoretically anathema to them, especially those who have taken the Grover Norquist pledge never to do it. But during the December fight over the payroll tax holiday extension, those fiscal conservatives found convoluted reasoning that convinced them -- led by that “ Remember Solyndra” clarion call -- that the pledge does not apply to renewables incentives. The deal: It is just possible, after the Republican nominee is chosen and the party begins courting moderates, that conservatives might agree to a broad tax extenders package with strong support for renewables, including lengthy extensions for the PTC and 1603, in return for approval of the pipeline. And it is just possible those on the far left might buy in. Such a deal might win support for Republicans in crucial swing states with renewables constituencies like Colorado, Iowa, Florida, Virginia, and Nevada. It might win support for the president in crucial swing states with labor constituencies like Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Ohio. Emerging bipartisan softening on the pipeline and on renewables incentives would signal the deal is on. The problem: The deal works for the president. That is, an insider pointed out, exactly why Republicans committed to seeing him defeated in November would not make it, even though it works for their side, too. If the deal fails to win over the parties' extremists, the president will simply announce he cannot decide on the pipeline until the State Department review is completed. Republicans will then spend the election season accusing him of blocking it, but he will legitimately tell both labor and environmentalists they might still get their way. If the deal fails and the renewables incentives are lost, it would demonstrate what Will Rogers’ meant when he observed that Congress in session “is like a baby getting hold of a hammer.” greentechmedia.com

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From: Eric	1/12/2012 11:27:42 AM
	of 14234

Wind Energy Venture-Capital Funding Up 33% In 2011; Offshore Sector Gaining Ground Global venture-capital (VC) funding for wind energy totaled $369 million in 14 deals in 2011 - up from $277 million in 11 deals in 2010 and $189 million in 20 deals in 2009, according to a new report released by Mercom Capital Group. Wind power start-up ReNew Wind Power's $202 million raise was the top VC funding deal. Boulder Wind Power and Wind Energy Direct came in second and third, with $35 million and $29 million raised, respectively. Project-specific funding also was higher than in previous years, reaching nearly $11 billion - $1.6 billion more than in 2010. Offshore wind projects represented $3.4 billion in five deals, and onshore wind raised $7.5 billion in 46 deals. The top project in 2011 was the 400 MW Global Tech I offshore wind project in Germany, which raised $1.5 billion. Other top project deals were WindMW’s 288 MW Meerwind wind farm, which raised $1.2 billion, and the 272 MW Canadian wind farm being developed by Boralex, Gaz Metro and Valener’s Selgneurie de Beaupre, which raised $713 million. The U.S. saw the most VC funding deals in terms of companies ($294.7 million in nine deals) and projects ($2.9 billion in 19 deals). Germany was a close second in investment, with $2.8 billion in large-scale project funding, followed by Canada, with $1.1 billion. The most active project investor was the European Investment Bank, which was involved in eight transactions. The International Finance Corp. had seven transactions, and four other investors had four transactions each. Debt funding was dominated by China, which accounted for $6.8 billion of the $11 billion announced in 2011. Denmark and Spain announced $1.9 billion and $1.7 billion in debt, respectively. The U.S. was fifth overall, with $201 million. The single largest deal was the $5 billion credit facility issued to Guandong Ming Yang Wind Power Industry Group Co. by the China Development Bank. Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity amounted to $1.7 billion in 17 deals, the largest of which was the $724 million acquisition of wind gear maker Hansen Transmissions, a subsidiary of Suzlon, by ZF Friedrichshafen. The $596 million acquisition of Brazilian wind power operator Jantus by CPFL Energia was the second-largest deal of 2011. Wind component companies accounted for $1 billion, and wind downstream companies accounted for $700 million in M&A activity in 2011. There was also significant wind project M&A activity, with $4 billion transacted in 61 deals. Top deals were the acquisition of 50% of DONG Energy’s Anholt offshore wind farm by a consortium of Pension Danmark and PKA for $1.1 billion, and the acquisition of 11 wind farms from Auxiliar de Construccion y Servicios by Bridgepoint for $850 million. nawindpower.com

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From: Eric	1/12/2012 11:28:54 AM
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Wind Companies, Universities Studying Offshore Wind Energy Generation Potential Off The Carolinas AWS Truepower LLC, a provider of renewable energy consulting and information services, says it has been selected to collaborate with Duke Energy, ABB Inc., the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill (UNC) on the Carolinas Offshore Wind Integration Case Study. The project is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and is designed to study the benefits and challenges associated with developing offshore wind generation facilities in the waters off the coasts of North and South Carolina. According to AWS Truepower, the results will be critical to making rational policy and commercial decisions related to offshore wind energy. The study will assess viable wind deployment sites, evaluate the impact of development of three different amounts of installed offshore wind generation capacity, determine the effect of various collection and interconnection technologies and methods, and assess the operational impacts to Duke Energy Carolinas electric power system. The results of the study will provide utility planners, industry participants and policymakers with new information so they can make informed decisions related to offshore wind development. For key stakeholders, such as utility planners, the information will help with the system additions and operational changes needed to accommodate development. Industry participants will review the cost, timing, preparations and suitability of specific sites for offshore wind development, and policymakers will receive detailed information about the costs and system impacts of offshore wind, AWS Truepower explains. “Our goal is to fully understand how the abundant wind resource off the coast of the Carolinas - and North Carolina, in particular - can help reshape our long-term energy outlook,” says Duke Energy Vice President Christopher Fallon. “We’ve assembled a project team with tremendous expertise and talent, and we look forward to sharing the results of our study with interested parties in the Carolinas and throughout the country.” AWS Truepower’s primary role in the project will be to create wind generation profiles for hypothetical offshore wind farms. This will be accomplished through the firm’s proprietary site-selection algorithm, which selects likely locations for offshore wind farm development and simulates the potential project build-out. The selection process will build on the work previously performed by UNC. The firm’s numerical weather-prediction models will then be used to simulate multiple years of wind and weather profiles, which will be converted into energy-output profiles at each simulated offshore site. The study will help to quantify the likely impact to consumers from the operational changes and system upgrades necessary to integrate offshore wind energy. It also will provide an opportunity to demonstrate how offshore wind can enable a region with relatively poor onshore resources, like the Carolinas, to meet their renewable portfolio standards, AWS Truepower adds. nawindpower.com

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From: Eric	1/12/2012 11:31:38 AM
	of 14234

Ontario Wind Energy Shatters Numerous Records In 2011 A record 3.9 TWh of wind energy was produced in Ontario in 2011 - up substantially from the 2.8 TWh produced in 2010, according to new annual data from the Independent Electricity System Operator. November 2011 marked the highest monthly wind output ever seen in Ontario, with production in that month alone exceeding 0.56 TWh. In annual terms, wind generation represented 2.6% of the province's total output. In addition, a record capacity of new wind energy projects was commissioned in both Ontario and all of Canada last year. More than 5 GW of wind energy projects are already contracted to be built over the next five years. In 2011, Canada’s wind energy industry represented more than $3 billion in new investments that have created 17,000 person years of employment, according to the Canadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA). Canada is now ranked ninth globally in terms of total installed wind energy capacity. "Wind energy is proving itself a key partner as Ontario builds a stronger, cleaner and affordable electricity system,” says Robert Hornung, president of CanWEA. “Increased growth of wind energy in Ontario means cleaner air, new jobs and local investments for the communities that host wind energy projects. Maintaining Ontario’s leadership position will require continued commitments to aggressive targets for wind energy development and a stable policy framework." nawindpower.com

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From: Eric	1/12/2012 11:36:51 AM
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More wind news: REpower Supplying Turbines Designed To Operate In Hot Climates by NAW Staff, Jan. 12, 2012 REpower Systems SE says it has finalized a contract with an East Coast U.S. wind power developer for the delivery of 73 wind turbines. The REpower MM92 turbines, which have a [read more] E.ON Makes Progress On Offshore Wind Farm In Scotland by NAW Staff, Jan. 12, 2012 E.ON says it is preparing to begin construction on the second phase of its Camster offshore wind farm in Caithness, Scotland. The wind farm will be located between Lybster and Watten, [read more] UpWind To Provide O&M Services For Oklahoma Wind Farm by NAW Staff, Jan. 12, 2012 Oklahoma Gas and Electric has awarded UpWind Solutions Inc. a two-year operations and maintenance (O&M) agreement for post-warranty O&M services for UpWind's Centennial wind farm in Laverne, Okla. Under the agreement, [read more] Idaho Utility Seeking Approval Of Wind Project Agreement by NAW Staff, Jan. 12, 2012 Utility Idaho Power Co. is asking the Idaho Public Utilities Commission to approve a 20-year sales agreement with High Mesa Energy LLC for a 40 MW wind project near the town [read more] 3Power Signs Deal For Wind Energy Assessment In Italy by NAW Staff, Jan. 12, 2012 3Power Energy Group Inc. says it has entered into an agreement to develop 240 hectares of land for wind energy assessment in the Nuoro region of Sardinia, Italy, at an elevation [read more] Natural Power To Perform Energy-Yield Assessment For Offshore Wind Farm by NAW Staff, Jan. 11, 2012 Renewable energy consultancy group Natural Power says it has been awarded a contract from utility E.ON to carry out an energy-yield assessment and site classification study for the permitted 230 MW [read more] Researchers Using Offshore Buoy To Study Wind Resource In The Great Lakes by NAW Staff, Jan. 11, 2012 Catch the Wind Ltd., a provider of laser-based wind sensor products and technology, says the deployment of its Vindicator Laser Wind Sensor (LWS) in AXYS Technologies Inc.'s WindSentinel offshore wind buoy in Lake Michigan [read more] Austal Nets First Contract For New Offshore Wind Vessel Design by NAW Staff, Jan. 11, 2012 Austal, a designer and manufacturer of aluminum vessels, has entered a contract for a fourth wind farm support vessel for Turbine Transfers Ltd. According to Austal, this is the first order for the company's [read more] Community Wind Companies Receive USDA Grants For Feasibility Studies by NAW Staff, Jan. 11, 2012 National Renewable Solutions LLC (NRS), a community wind project developer, has announced that Dakota Wind Energy, Norfolk Wind Energy and Little Rock Wind each have received notice of approval of $50,000 in technical feasibility [read more] BP Wind Energy, Sempra Collaborating On 560 MW Of Wind Projects on 11 Jan 2012 by NAW Staff BP Wind Energy and Sempra U.S. Gas & Power have announced plans to further expand their relationship by jointly developing the Mehoopany Wind Farm in [read more] Community Wind Companies Receive USDA Grants For Feasibility Studies on 11 Jan 2012 by NAW Staff National Renewable Solutions LLC (NRS), a community wind project developer, has announced that Dakota Wind Energy, Norfolk Wind Energy and Little Rock Wind each have [read more] Natural Power To Perform Energy-Yield Assessment For Offshore Wind Farm on 11 Jan 2012 by NAW Staff Renewable energy consultancy group Natural Power says it has been awarded a contract from utility E.ON to carry out an energy-yield assessment and site classification [read more] Fuhrlander Acquires Majority Interest In Wind Energy Engineering Company on 11 Jan 2012 by NAW Staff German wind turbine manufacturer Fuhrlander AG has announced that it has acquired a majority interest in wind energy engineering company W2E Wind to Energy GmbH. [read more] NaturEner Secures Financing For Rim Rock Wind Project on 11 Jan 2012 by NAW Staff San Francisco-based developer NaturEner USA LLC says it has secured a $320 million construction loan with Morgan Stanley that will enable construction of the 189 [read more] Gamesa Opens New Blades Factory In India on 11 Jan 2012 by NAW Staff Spain-based Gamesa has announced the opening of a new blades factory in India where it will produce components for its G5X-850 kW and G9X-2.0 MW [read more] NRG Signs Agreement To Install Condition Monitoring System on 11 Jan 2012 by NAW Staff NRG Systems, a manufacturer of measurement systems for the renewable energy industry, has signed a collaborative agreement with TechnoCentre eolien that allows NRG Systems to [read more] Ex-Im Bank Lends Assistance During 'Critical' Time For Wind Industry on 10 Jan 2012 by Mark Del Franco Manufacturers looking to expand beyond the U.S. this year can find help right here at home in the form of the Export-Import Bank of the [read more] Christie Vetoes Bill That Would Have Streamlined Wind Energy Siting on 10 Jan 2012 by NAW Staff New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has vetoed a bill that would have streamlined the process of building wind turbines on farmland. The bipartisan bill, introduced [read more] BPA Files For Rehearing On FERC's Environmental-Redispatch Order on 10 Jan 2012 by NAW Staff The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) has filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) a request for clarification and rehearing of FERC's order regarding BPA's [read more] Wind Energy Generation Represented 8.5% Of Texas' Energy Usage In 2011 on 10 Jan 2012 by NAW Staff Wind generation now makes up 8.5% of total energy consumption in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas' (ERCOT) territory, ERCOT announced in its new generation [read more] Goldwind Nets Contracts For Several U.S. Wind Projects on 10 Jan 2012 by NAW Staff Goldwind USA has announced turbine sales to new customers: Enel Green Power North America, Wind Energy Developers LLC and Debenham Energy. Each agreement is for [read more] 3Floorsup Releases New Web Portal For Wind Farm O&M Data on 10 Jan 2012 by NAW Staff Australia-based 3Floorsup has released Owner View, a Web portal designed to bring operations and maintenance (O&M) data to wind turbine owners and operators. The portal [read more]

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