What Happening with Solar Energy - March 31, 2008
Rosemead, CA, USA: Southern California Edison Plans 250MW of PV Installations
Southern California Edison (SCE) today launched the nation’s largest solar cell installation, a project that will place 250 megawatts of advanced photovoltaic generating technology on 65 million square feet of roofs of Southern California commercial buildings – enough power to serve approximately 162,000 homes.
“These are the kinds of big ideas we need to meet California’s long-term energy and climate change goals,” said Governor Schwarzenegger. “I urge others to follow in their footsteps. If commercial buildings statewide partnered with utilities to put this solar technology on their rooftops, it would set off a huge wave of renewable energy growth.”
“This project will turn two square miles of unused commercial rooftops into advanced solar generating stations,” said John E. Bryson, Edison International chairman and CEO. “We hope to have the first solar rooftops in service by August. The sunlight power will be available to meet our largest challenge – peak load demands on the hottest days.”
 Governor Schwarzenegger joined Southern California Edison on the rooftop of the ProLogis warehouse in Fontana to Announce the New Program |
SCE’s renewable energy project was prompted by recent advances in solar technology that reduce the cost of installed photovoltaic generation. When combined with the size of SCE’s investment, the resulting costs per unit are projected to be half that of common photovoltaic installations in California.
“The scale of this project is unprecedented,” said Mike Peevey, California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) president. “It clearly illustrates once again Edison’s leadership position in the development of new renewable technology.”
SCE today asked the CPUC for approval to install the solar cell technology during the next five years. The request estimates the total project cost will be $875 million (in today’s dollars). The utility plans to begin installation work immediately on commercial roofs in Southern California’s Inland Empire, San Bernardino and Riverside counties, the nation’s fastest growing urban region.
“These new solar stations, which we will be installing at a rate of one megawatt a week, will provide a new source of clean energy, directly in the fast-growing regions where we need it most,” said Bryson.
SCE sees numerous customer benefits from its new solar program, among them locating the new generation in areas of growing customer demand. And the clusters of solar modules SCE plans to install will be connected directly to the nearest neighborhood circuit, eliminating the need to build new transmission lines to bring the power to customers. Additionally, solar units produce the most power when customer usage is at its highest. SCE believes its commercial solar roofs program will boost several California environmental initiatives, especially the Million Solar Roofs program that provides incentives to encourage Californians to install solar projects by 2017. SCE’s solar program supports the state’s Global Warming Solutions Act requiring the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, as well as California’s renewable portfolio standard requiring that 20 percent of the state’s electricity be generated with renewable energy by 2010.
As part of the program, ProLogis, the world's largest owner, manager and developer of distribution facilities, has entered into an agreement to lease roof space to SCE.
In the initial phase of this program, the utility will lease 607,000 square feet of roof space at ProLogis' Kaiser Distribution Park in Fontana, California. The area will be used to install and maintain solar panels with a peak capacity of 2.2 megawatts, equivalent to the amount of electricity generation for 1,426 households for one year.
"This project has the potential to become a breakthrough solar energy program," said Jeffrey H. Schwartz, ProLogis chairman and chief executive officer. "We are thrilled to partner with SCE on their first rooftop solar installation and look forward to providing additional roof space as the project gains momentum, which will in turn support our own sustainability goals and leverage existing assets."
ProLogis also has a total of one megawatt of solar panel projects installed or under development in Europe. At ProLogis Park Chanteloup in France the company has installed roof-mounted solar panels, generating electricity that is incorporated back into the local French utility power grid. In Spain, at ProLogis Park Penedes, the company installed state-of-the-art, amorphous silicon solar panels that produce electricity using a wider spectrum of light than traditional crystalline technology, thus enabling maximum output.
"Our experience to date in France and Spain has shown that we can effectively use rooftop solar panels to generate environmentally conscious, renewable energy, meeting the needs of local communities while also enhancing the return on investment from our properties," said Jack Rizzo, managing director of global construction at ProLogis. "Our agreement with SCE is the first of its kind in the United States and lays the groundwork for similar programs throughout the country. With more than 500 million square feet of roof space worldwide, we see continued potential in harnessing the power of solar energy from our rooftops."
March 26, 2008
Juno Beach, CA, USA: FPL Energy Advances its Solar Strategy
FPL Energy, the country’s leading generator of wind and solar thermal power, announced today an important step in its strategy to add significantly to its solar power generating capability. FPL Energy, through a wholly-owned subsidiary, has filed an Application for Certification with the California Energy Commission (CEC) to construct, own and operate a 250-megawatt solar plant in the Mojave Desert to be called the Beacon Solar Energy Project.
FPL Energy’s solar generation strategy centers on utilizing proven and scalable parabolic trough solar thermal technology that has been used commercially for more than 20 years. FPL Energy has nearly 20 years of experience operating similar technology at its SEGS solar thermal facilities in the Mojave Desert.
As first announced at the Clinton Global Initiative last September, FPL Group, the parent company of FPL Energy, is committed to and plans to invest significantly in new solar generating facilities over the next several years. FPL Energy has set a goal of adding at least 600 megawatts of new solar by 2015. FPL Energy has already identified 1,100 megawatts of new solar sites and has leased, optioned or owns outright a significant amount of land in the west and southwest U.S.
“FPL Energy is a leader in producing energy from clean and renewable sources,” said Mitch Davidson, president of FPL Energy. “At a time of rising and volatile fossil-fuel costs and increasing concerns about greenhouse gases, solar electricity can have a meaningful impact in reducing carbon dioxide emissions that scientists believe contribute to global warming. We believe that solar power has similar long-term potential as wind energy, and we are well positioned to play a leading role in the growth of this renewable technology.”
The proposed Beacon Solar Energy Project will be located on an approximately 2,000 acre site in eastern Kern County, California. The more than 500,000 parabolic mirrors will be assembled in rows to receive and concentrate the solar energy to produce steam for powering a steam turbine generator. The generator will produce electric power for delivery to the nearby electric grid.
FPL Energy expects to begin construction on the project late in 2009 and take approximately two years to complete.
Golden, CO, USA: NREL Sets New CIGS Thin Film Efficiency Record
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory have moved closer to creating a thin-film solar cell that can compete with the efficiency of the more common silicon-based solar cell.
The copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) thin-film solar cell recently reached 19.9 percent efficiency, setting a new world record for this type of cell. Multicrystalline silicon-based solar cells have shown efficiencies as high as 20.3 percent. The energy conversion efficiency of a solar cell is the percentage of sunlight converted by the cell into electricity.
“This is an important milestone,” said NREL Senior Scientist Miguel Contreras. “The thin film people have always looked for matching silicon in performance, and we are reaching that goal.”
Researchers were able to set the world record because of improvements in the quality of the material applied during the manufacturing process, boosting the power output from the cell, Contreras said.
Members of the record-setting team at the National Center for Photovoltaics include Contreras, Ingrid Repins, Brian Egaas, John Scharf, Clay DeHart and Raghu Bhattacharya.
NREL is the U.S. Department of Energy's primary national laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development. NREL is operated for DOE by Midwest Research Institute and Battelle.
Further details about: National
Renewable Energy Laboratory
Paris, France: EDF Energies Nouvelles Orders an Additional 60 MWp of Thin Film Modules
EDF Energies Nouvelles and US company First Solar, which manufactures photovoltaic modules using thin-film technology, have signed a supplemental agreement to their July 2007 deal. Under the revised agreement, the size of the order has increased from 230 MWp to 290 MWp.
The modules provided by First Solar will be used to build primarily ground-based photovoltaic plants in Europe and especially in France.
This additional order is consistent with EDF Energies Nouvelles’ policy of securing its supply of photovoltaic panels (430 MWp already secured between 2007 and 2012). It is intended to cover the acceleration in its expansion in solar energy.
The Group aims to build 400 MWp in photovoltaic power plants for its own account and for third parties by 2011.
Founded in 1990, EDF Energies Nouvelles is a world-class player in the green electricity generation market, with gross installed capacity of 1,443 MW worldwide at 31 December 2007, plus 1,100 MW in gross capacity under construction. With a presence in nine European countries and in the United States, EDF Energies Nouvelles operates in four renewable energy segments (wind, solar, biomass and hydro). Wind energy currently accounts for more than 80% of its installed capacity.
