We’ve uploaded a few new pics to our Flickr page, mostly updated images of the Sun Simba and some other prototype images. This one is my favourite:
Third Generation Sun Simba HCPV Prototype - Much more advanced prototypes coming soon.
Also, the new Provincial Budget just came out. Some of the Infrastructure investments, “Growing the Green Economy” measures and Innovation and Manufacturing measures seem good, but it’s to really tell how some of these measures will play out. Fingers crossed. The budget overview is online, and I’m especially interested in the various Jobs of Tomorrow investments, the improvements in electrical transmission capacity and the smart grid investments (along with the FIT Rates).
Very busy as we get ready for Solar Power International 2008 next week, but a couple of things caught my eye that were worth passing on.
Possibly the most useful link I’ve stumbled across lately, How Electric Power is Measured in Watts. I’ve seen this explained before, but this explanation is simple and easy to understand, without sacrificing accuracy.
Energy, unsurprisingly, is turning into a major election issue in the US this year. With the latest round of ads with the two candidates hitting each other over energy, it seems like a good time to start talking solar politics.
Over the next few months I’ll be summarizing various legal and political issues regarding solar, including tax incentives, legal requirements for renewable energy, political platforms on energy and solar and generally trying to summarize events in solar politics.
But, to start, let’s look at the two new Energy policy ads in the US:
As it pertains to solar, Obama mentions the German national renewable energy plan that began in 2000 and which made Germany the clear world leader in energy (50% of all the world’s solar power is implemented in Germany). So it’s encouraging that it’s being talked about. It doesn’t have to just be solar (or even mostly be solar) but a real focus on renewable energy has to be the cornerstone of any realistic energy policy.
Coming soon, an analysis of Obama and McCain’s Energy and Environmental Policies, especially as they pertain to solar.
Oh, and for the record, we’re Canadian, so we don’t get to vote and so I’m really not interested in taking sides – they’re both proposing positive changes to National Energy policy, and personally I don’t think either are progressive enough or committed enough to breaking US dependence on oil and coal. (Not that Canada is much better.)
The Investment Tax Credit is the major US Federal incentive for Solar Energy in the US. The most basic description of it would be that it’s a 30% tax credit on the installation of a Solar Power system. The credit is worth up to $2000 for individuals, and with no cap for businesses provided they have sufficient tax liability. It’s currently valid through to the end of 2008, and is up for renewal right now.
But, it’s completely bogged down in partisan politics and it’s starting to look like it’s not going to go through (article dated Sunday, July 20, 2008). Basically, the Republicans want to kill it more than the Democrats want to save it. While at Intersolar 2008, almost every speaker raised the importance of the ITC to the US Solar Energy Industry. The general consensus was that without it, solar would grow in the US but slower, and with European and other non-American Solar Energy companies pulling further ahead of their American competitors.
Here are some articles and analysis that summarize different view points rather well:
No Tax Credit, No Solar Power – A the title is alarmist, the article is specifically about two Abengoa projects that could be halted without the ITC. Good analysis though and worth reading.
Finally, a quote from Dr. Fred Morse, senior adviser of U.S. operations for Abengoa Solar, from this Greentech Media Q&A.
Q: Many companies expect a one-year extension to pass before the renewable-energy tax credit expires at the end of the year. Will that be enough to keep CSP moving forward?
A: A one-year extension is of zero value. It takes about four to six years to get a CSP plant sited, permitted, built and up and running. The [investment tax credit] only applies when the plant comes online. And, if you want to finance the plant today, the banks … won’t finance the project unless the [credit] will be there when it’s needed.
So what does all of this mean for the solar energy industry in general? Well, it looks bad, but the reality is that it’s “less good”. Basically, even without the ITC, analysts predict a record year for Solar in California and the rest of the US, if it passes with the 8 year extention that Democrats want, then it will be a banner year. Or put another way, it weeds out the mediocre projects and the mediocre companies. Solar investment will still be in the Billions this year and more solar farms will be built this year than last year.
Signs of a booming industry example:
Q1 2008 Solar Investment is already 30% over Q1 2007 – Source Cleantech.com
States are moving in to fill the funding gap, especially California and parts of New England
Electricity is expected to double in price in the next five years while Solar energy prices continue to drop.
Not to say that the Solar Tax Credit isn’t essential for many US companies and many solar projects, but the industry in general is doing great.
More details available from the Solar Energy Industry Association (SEIA Solar Tax Credit pdf file) and if you’re trying to do research and want as thorough a description as possible, check the Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency’s (DSIRE) Federal Incentives Page.
