Joseph Hargett asks: Is Solar Power Stock Bubble Looming for 2008?

article by Joseph Hargertt of Schaffers Research

We are about 2 full trading days away from the end of 2007, and technology stocks are looking for a strong finish, despite today's malaise sweeping the Street. The tech-laden Nasdaq Composite (COMP) is set to easily outpace its Wall Street brethren on the year, resting at a gain of nearly 12% at last check, compared to the Dow's gain of 7.6% and the S&P 500 Index's (SPX) rise of 4.6%. Still, the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLK: View sentiment for XLKsentiment, chart, options) has bested even the mighty COMP on a year-to-date basis, adding a hefty 16.5% since January 2007.

Looking at a long-term trend for the XLK, some key levels to watch for 2008 emerge. First, support at the 26 level should remain rather important for the trust, as it is not only home to former support/resistance, bit it also houses the exchange-traded fund's (ETF) 10-month moving average - which the XLK has not closed a month below since July 2006. As long as the trust utilizes these regions for support and buoyancy, it should continue to advance well into 2008.

The second point of interest is the hard level of potential overhead resistance for the XLK at the round-number 30 level. When the trust last encountered this region in April 2001, the XLK was soundly rejected; however, economic and global issues were different at the time (think dot-com bubble). Still, this region could pose quite a problem for the trust, and it could take more than just the meandering higher that the XLK has done recently to top this level. On the other hand, a solid breach of the 30 region could definitely be a bullish indicator for the XLK in 2008.

Full article continued at: Joseph Hargett Tech Corner: Is a Solar Energy Bubble Looming for 2008?

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Americans for Peace Now urges diplomatic efforts with Iran

article from:

http://www.iranian.ws/iran_news/publish/article_23643.shtml


Americans for Peace Now urged President Bush to open serious, determined and unconditional diplomacy with Iran. In a letter to the U.S. president Tuesday, the group's chair, Franklin Fisher, and president and CEO, Debra DeLee, said the recent publication of the National Intelligence Estimate on Iran "bolsters our conviction that the best interests of both the U.S. and Israel require direct, sustained, and unconditional U.S.-led diplomacy and engagement with Iran to resolve issues surrounding Iran�s nuclear program."

The letter urged Bush to view the intelligence report "as an opportunity to shift course, and to demonstrate the kind of real leadership and diplomacy necessary to deal effectively and responsibly with the challenge posed today by Iran."

Copies of the letter will be sent to all members of Congress and major presidential candidates.

The letter reflects Americans for Peace Now's longstanding contention that a U.S. policy toward Iran consisting of sanctions and threats of force is insufficient and potentially harmful to the interests of both the United States and Israel.



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Solar Energy Stocks Investing

Vancouver, Canada firms developing renewable power technology

The drive for clean energy sparks a B.C. gold rush
By Jeannine Mitchell
Publish Date: November 29, 2007
article from: http://www.straight.com/article-120347/the-drive-for-clean-energy-sparks-a-b-c-gold-rush

Long before Al Gore and the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change collected this year's Nobel Peace Prize, venture capitalists set their sights on a different prize: the massive profits going to oil firms. With the Arctic icecap melting before our eyes, their day is coming sooner than expected, as the clean-energy sector just keeps growing hotter with global warming. It helps that BP's global research shows only one barrel of oil is discovered for every nine we consume. No longer just an issue pushed by environmentalists, clean energy is becoming a money-making business.

World investment in this sector soared almost 400 percent between 2004 and 2006. Last year, 18 percent of energy investment–more than US$100 billion–went to renewable sources such as wind and solar. Professional-services firm Ernst & Young predicts that favourable government policies and high oil prices will drive yearly renewable-energy investment to US$750 billion by 2016.

Suddenly, this once-struggling "alternative" sector is tapping profits. Since 2002, clean-energy stocks have beaten the MSCI World Index by 64 percent. Small investors eager to "green" their portfolios are seeing good returns from North America's small but growing selection of clean-energy funds, which sometimes score well above the S&P 500 index.

When forecasts for investment in oil alternatives are closing in on a trillion dollars, something big is happening. And it's happening here in Vancouver.

In their 2007 book, The Clean Tech Revolution: The Next Big Growth and Investment Opportunity, U.S. authors Clint Wilder and Ron Pernick list Vancouver among the world's top 10 Silicon Valleys for clean energy. They credit fuel-cell pioneer Ballard Power Systems with sparking a wave of related technology startups around Vancouver. They also cite local academic research, venture capital, and a quality of life that attracts talent. The other cities in their top 10 were Copenhagen, Shanghai, San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Portland, Hyderabad (India), Austin (Texas), and Freiburg (Germany).

But Vancouver's clean-energy sector isn't limited to fuel cells. Energy efficiency and "bridging" helped Greater Vancouver companies dominate the Deloitte Technology Green 15 this fall, where innovation must be commercially viable. Seven out of the 15 Canadian awards went to companies such as West Vancouver's Sempa Power Systems Ltd., whose hybrid heating system lets you switch energy sources, and Burnaby's Xantrex Technology Inc., whose products feed wind, solar, and other renewable energies into power grids or a portable "powerhub".

Philippe de Weck, the Geneva-based manager of Canada's first clean-energy fund, speculates that Vancouver has "the combination of environmental awareness and innovative tradition [that] led to California being a hot spot for clean-tech". The Criterion Global Clean Energy Fund launched this fall, and its holdings range from Denmark's Vestas Wind Systems to two Vancouver firms that also made this year's Deloitte Green 15.

One is Westport Innovations Inc., a world leader in converting engines to use cleaner fuels such as natural gas, hydrogen, and biofuels, including landfill gasses. Westport owns half of Vancouver-based Cummins Westport Inc.–whose 300 employees produce the world's cleanest natural-gas truck and bus engines–and five percent of Clean Energy Fuels Corp., North America's largest supplier of natural gas for vehicles. Last year, Deloitte named it North America's second-fastest-growing tech company.

De Weck's other local buy was Plutonic Power Corp., a run-of-river hydroelectric developer planning a "green-power corridor" in the south coast's Toba Inlet area. In October, the groundbreaking for Plutonic's initial $660-million East Toba and Montrose Project won ceremonial blessings from three local First Nations: the Klahoose, Sechelt, and Sliammon.

Government policies driving clean-energy investment can have rapid effects. Beijing's pre-Olympics push for cleaner air gave a huge boost to Cummins Westport: the sale of 3,000 liquefied-natural-gas–fuelled buses. The European Union's target of generating 20 percent of electricity from renewables by 2020 is transforming whole economies. Denmark and Spain are almost there already. Germany, now at 12 percent, is switching so fast it runs more wind, solar, and biogas systems than any other country, and its "eco-sector" provides 250,000 jobs.

That kind of job and wealth creation encouraged California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to sign a deal in August 2006 with his Democrat-controlled legislature. The Global Warming Solutions Act requires California to cut greenhouse-gas emissions back to 1990 levels by 2020.

Three months after the act was passed, the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach said they would convert from dirty diesel by buying 5,000 cleaner and cheaper-running Cummins Westport LNG trucks. The Vancouver firm is now preparing its first 150 trucks–for $22 million.

So there must be cheers in Vancouver's clean-energy boardrooms now that British Columbia will be jumping on California's bandwagon. After years of environmental cutbacks, Premier Gordon Campbell told the Union of B.C. Municipalities this fall to expect imminent legislation cutting B.C.'s greenhouse-gas emissions to 33 percent below current levels by 2020. B.C. will adopt California's tailpipe-emission and low-carbon-fuel standards and mandate that all government operations, including schools, be carbon-neutral by 2010.

Although Campbell's plan may rely on some carbon-trading–in which polluters buy business-as-usual credits–California's legislation boosted clean-energy investment, so expect that here. And continued "hydrogen highway" buzz from Campbell and Schwarzenegger may pump up Vancouver's fuel-cell companies, including Ballard Power.

Of course, the dot-com boom of the '90s proved that even when a sector takes off as predicted, small investors can get burned. And going green can be complicated. Both Vancouver companies in de Weck's new fund illustrate key issues facing would-be green investors.

With Plutonic, it's the tradeoff required with energy transitions. Plutonic founder and CEO Donald McInnes seems taken aback by criticism of run-of-river hydroelectricity, including that contained in recent articles in the Georgia Straight. Instead of flooding habitat, he said, the diverted water is soon returned to the river "without heating or cooling or adding chemicals or anything; we're just borrowing it". Old logging roads are reused, he said, power-plant footprints are small, and water is tapped above steep waterfalls so no fish are harmed in the projects.

"Fear-mongering" is McInnes's answer to reports that B.C.'s run-of-river projects lack oversight. "There are 18 different federal, provincial, regional, and local government agencies you must engage with." Approval for East Toba and Montrose, he said, took three years of wildlife surveys, a 700-page application focused on environmental risks, seven public meetings, and 77 conditions on their application to build.

Asked if public rivers are being stolen, McInnes said licences are time-limited and water isn't free. "About 15 percent of revenue, straight off the top, goes right back to government for property, school, and water taxes." Additional contracts with First Nations are confidential, but the industry typically pays a "one- to two-percent gross-revenue royalty". Local jobs and training are also in the mix.

"We don't want a [Sumas-type] gas plant," McInnes said, "We're not having coal plants, not having nuclear. That leaves large-scale hydro dams or renewables; we have to settle on something. Right now, we're importing 15 percent of our electricity, and most of that's coming from coal plants in Alberta."

"Another thing," he added heatedly. "Some people are calling this a gold rush, which is absolute horse shit." Plutonic's Rainy River application near Howe Sound, he said, shows how some of the current 500-odd water-licence applications will fall by the wayside. After spending $3.15 million on preliminary planning, Plutonic pulled out this summer because fish showed up in the project area. "If we can't build something with minimal impacts on the land, then we're just not going to," he said.

According to McInnes, some projects will die, even after approval. "These guys," he said of critics, "would have you believe there's going to be 500 power plants built next week…It's nonsense. There's 16,000 mining claims existing in this province. How many mines do we have? Twelve?"

Powell River Mayor Stewart Alsgard praises Plutonic for "doing all the right things" with local stakeholders.

The habitat impacts of hydro power, de Weck noted, are a "complex issue" needing public debate. Climate change, he said, will shift our focus "from local pollution to global pollution", with inevitable tradeoffs.

"We see similar debates on wind power with respect to its impact on birds. Even solar power has detractors on grounds of altering landscapes…Our current lifestyle consumes a tremendous amount of power. While the best measure is to become more energy-efficient–a key area of investment for our fund–we can't eliminate energy demand. Choices have to be made."

Westport's case illustrates another big issue for green investors: waiting for research losses to become profits. Formed to market University of B.C.–developed pollution-cutting technology, Westport's early years were dogged by research-and-development losses and roller-coaster stock prices. Analysts lumped it in with the underperforming fuel-cell sector. Governance issues arose–all since settled, according to Jonathan Burke, Westport's vice president for corporate development. De Weck said Westport was "a terrible stock over the years–a very poor performer for shareholders".

So what's changed? "Right now, it's a hot sector," Burke said, "but a few years ago, it was really cold." He laughed. "Frigid." It was more than that, de Weck said: "In the past, its product offering wasn't ready for commercialization. Essentially, they were ahead of their time."

Big orders like the Beijing and California port deals showed that the market was finally catching up.

But profits take time. Burke says R&D cost $21 million last year–against record revenues of $60 million. "We have to maintain our global-leadership position," he said. "We don't intend to slow down; that's what's given us the credibility we have in the international marketplace."

That credibility is key to Westport's growth. Industry recognition includes this year's Blue Sky Merit Award for consistently beating emissions standards (they already meet U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards for 2010). The result? Partnerships and joint projects from Switzerland to China, including current work with BMW and Ford on hydrogen-fuelled internal-combustion engines.

Although "much of the work being done in Vancouver involves technology", de Weck expects hydroelectric power to be big here as well, given B.C.'s "tremendous resources in this field". Looking east, he sees "much more capital being invested in wind energy in Ontario and Quebec".

But which technologies will win the race to dislodge fossil fuels? De Weck gives solar the edge, because its costs are falling the fastest. But this race, he said, requires multiple approaches, from energy efficiency and renewables to the low-carbon transitional fuels Westport works with.

And that's a big opportunity for Vancouver's fledgling clean-energy industry.

Low Temperature Geothermal may save our biosphere

Canadian Homebuilder's energy plan goes green

from TheStar.com - Business:

http://www.thestar.com/printArticle/274220

Reid's Homes is constructing a Kincardine, Ontario subdivision that's heated and cooled entirely by geothermal power

November 07, 2007
Tyler Hamilton, Star Energy Reporter

Homebuyers have for years been hearing about the "green" benefits of using geothermal energy to heat and cool a residence, but ask most home builders in Canada's risk-averse housing sector if they plan to embrace the technology and the excuses start flying.

Geothermal systems and other technologies aimed at improving a home's energy efficiency are too expensive and complex to install, they argue. This has left most projects over the past decade in the hands of architects, custom-home builders and principled homeowners looking to do their own retrofits.

Now, one of the largest home builders in southern Ontario is breaking from the pack. Reid's Heritage Homes has unveiled plans to build the province's first residential community to be heated and cooled entirely with geothermal energy.

The 150-home subdivision will be located in Kincardine, about three hours northwest of Toronto, and could prove a wake-up call for other home builders across Ontario that have resisted the trend.

"Geothermal is going to be standard on all the homes," said Paul Mertes, chief executive officer of Clean Energy Developments, the Toronto-based company that is designing and installing the systems for Reid's Heritage.

He estimated that the systems, including radiant heating in the floors, add a premium of $10,000 to $12,000 on each home.

"It's pretty exciting," he said.

Reid's made headlines earlier this year when one of its homes in Guelph became the first in Canada to get LEED (leadership in energy and environment design) certification. It was also one of only a handful of homes in North America to achieve LEED's rigorous platinum rating.

Reid's spokesperson Rebecca Mountain said focus groups showed that 77 per cent of potential home buyers would prefer to purchase a property that was cooled and heated with geothermal energy, even if it came with a premium.

Based on that feedback, the company decided to make it a standard feature in its Kincardine development and likely for future projects, including a 1,000 home community in Owen Sound. Each home is expected to achieve 60 per cent energy savings.

"You pay the thing back in 4.7 years. That's a pretty fast payback," said Mountain, adding that consumers are increasingly looking at the ongoing costs of home ownership, not just an upfront price tag, when shopping around for a property.

Geothermal or "geoexchange" systems are based on technology that's decades old. They take advantage of the fact that two metres or more below the Earth's surface the temperature is a constant 10 to 15 degrees Celsius.

The systems work by circulating a glycol solution underground through a grid of tubing. The glycol absorbs heat from the ground in the winter and dumps it there in the summer, and a device called a heat pump manages the balance by switching between heating and cooling, depending on outside temperatures.

It's considered a clean-energy technology because it eliminates the need for natural gas or oil, though electricity is required to run the heat pump.

"Every subdivision should be done this way," said Ron Dembo, whose Toronto-based company Zerofootprint Energy is trying to push for broader acceptance of the technology. "It's such a no-brainer."

The systems are easier and less expensive to install in new subdivisions because, unlike retrofits on existing homes, all ground drilling, tube laying and equipment installation can be done before grass is laid and basements are finished, Mertes said.

Home developer Marshall Homes announced in February 2006 that it would give homebuyers the option of having a combined geothermal-solar system installed in homes at its Copperfield community in Oshawa.

The difference with the Reid's announcement is that there will be no option – all 150 homes will come with geothermal as a standard feature.

There are 200,000 new homes being built each year across the country, according to Statistics Canada. Provincial governments need to upgrade building codes to make it easier for home developers to pursue geothermal as a standard offering in planned communities, said Dembo. "This needs to happen on a big scale."

Clean Energy Developments was created to guide home developers in that direction. William Tharp, chief executive of Climate Change Infrastructure, a major investor and co-founder of Clean Energy, said the Kincardine subdivision is a major step for green housing in Ontario.

"There is no question that the scale of this residential project and the financial and market commitment being made by both the company and a leading property developer are ground-breaking," Tharp said.

"Financially, it's very viable – from homeowner through to developer, and from a climate change or environmental position, it's clear leadership."



Online Directory of Geothermal Energy Stocks

Solar Power 101 - Solar Energy Investing Basics

article from:

SustainableIndustries.com


Industry experts analyze the sea of solar investments

Solar tip sheetby Amy Westervelt - 11.2.07

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As the first cleantech sector to mature, the solar industry is entering a new phase filled with public stock offerings, mergers and acquisitions, and profitable businesses. However, analysts and industry players warn that solar still has some growing to do in order to bring prices in line with traditional energy resources (or “reach grid parity” in industry-speak) without the help of subsidies.
The solar industry has successfully commercialized residential, commercial and even utility scale products, making it attractive to venture investors looking for a safe bet as they arrive on the scene of the cleantech investment race.

For those eager to invest in solar in 2008, Sustainable Industries spoke with industry experts and analysts about what to watch for as solar hits its zenith.

Market trends
According to Tim Woodward, managing director of San Francisco-based Nth Power — one of the first venture firms to invest in solar more than 10 years ago — the public market for solar is now close to saturated. Solar companies began going public in a big way in 2005, most notably with the storied initial public offering (IPO) of SunPower (Nasdaq: SPWR), during which the company’s stock jumped 41 percent on the first day, prompting comparisons to dot-com IPOs. Solar companies have continued to go public with far less fanfare in the years and months since.

Solar companies looking to go public now need to be offering a unique product or service in order to differentiate themselves enough to pique investor interest, says Woodward. That wisdom goes for American venture-backed startups, as well as the large number of Chinese solar manufacturers gaining traction in the market. Meanwhile, the consolidation of the solar market, which analysts have been predicting for the last two years, finally began with SunPower’s acquisition of PowerLight in January 2007. The trend is likely to continue, with more solar mergers and acquisitions rumored for late 2007 and beyond.

Many mergers in 2006 were driven by a silicon shortage, as larger companies bought up small or struggling companies in order to secure access to more silicon. Now, consolidation is characterized by larger energy companies buying into the solar market, or by companies that are strong in one area of the value chain buying into another, as manufacturer SunPower did when it acquired installation and service provider PowerLight. Which is not to say the silicon shortage or its effects are over, despite reports to the contrary. “The biggest short-term problem for the solar industry remains silicon supply and pricing,” Woodward says, adding that, as more supply comes online, it is being consumed by the increasing demand for solar, which has resulted in costs not coming down as quickly as people thought they might.

Continental drift

The $75 million, 11-megawatt solar system in Serpa, Portugal, designed by SunPower, tracks the sun's movement across the sky. Courtesy SunPower Corp.

To the surprise of some West Coast residents, the majority of solar demand continues to be driven by the European market, where subsidy programs are lucrative and straightforward. In the United States — even in California, which has what Woodward calls a “fantastic” incentive program — customers and solar providers have to deal with large amounts of paperwork and headaches to cash in on credits.


In Europe the process has been streamlined, making solar far easier and more popular. Tom McCalmont, CEO of REgrid Power and president of Solar Tech, a Silicon Valley-based consortium of solar companies, says customers in California fill out 40-odd pages of forms and wait several months to redeem their credits for installing solar power — a stark contrast to Germany, where the form is a single page that is processed almost immediately. The European market is also attractive to American manufacturers, which can sell panels and installation services for euros, and favorably exchange the currency for U.S. dollars.


In the not-so-distant past, the combination of a favorable exchange rate and a booming market made Europe so attractive to solar exporters that the U.S. market was suffering from a supply shortage, according to Woodward. “Panels can be shipped to Europe easily, so you’ll ship to Europe until you fulfill that demand because you get a premium over there,” he says, adding that more suppliers and favorable policies in states such as California and New Jersey have helped ease the supply problem.

Nerds of a feather
The incentive programs in California, Washington, New Jersey and other states have been at least partially helped along by a variety of industry associations that have sprouted up as the solar industry matures. In Washington, D.C., the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) lobbies for national policies that are favorable to the solar industry; the Solar Alliance was recently formed in Boulder, Colo.; and in 2006 Silicon Valley-based companies, including SunPower (Nasdaq: SPWR), REgrid, Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE: PGE), Miasolé and SolFocus, joined together to form Solar Tech and work toward establishing the Silicon Valley as the center of the U.S. solar industry.

All three groups work essentially toward the same goals: straightforward incentive programs, national net metering (it’s currently only legal for customers to sell excess power back to the local utility in 38 states) and federal interconnection legislation (connecting a solar installation to the grid can currently take up to several weeks). Solar Tech is also working on setting up training programs and installation standards to drive down the costs associated with installation, which industry experts agree is one of the primary areas where solar costs can and should be reduced.

Solar Tech founder McCalmont says his group and others in the industry are also lobbying Congress to eliminate a $2,000 cap on tax incentives for residential solar projects and to provide federal incentives to companies that manufacture solar panels in the United States. “The manufacturing process for solar is automated, so you don’t have to go with a Chinese manufacturing plant to save on labor costs,” McCalmont points out. “Companies manufacture elsewhere because other companies offer them incentives that the U.S. government does not provide.”
As has been the case with several policies in the current administration, a number of state legislatures, predominantly in the West (with the exception of New Jersey) have taken incentive issues into their own hands.

While federal incentives that can be universally applied and easily accessed by both individuals and businesses are the ultimate goal, state programs are helping to fill the void until such policies are put in place. California’s SB1 established a 10-year, $3.3 billion incentive program that, combined with the state’s renewable portfolio standard (RPS), sends a clear signal to investors that the solar market in California is here to stay. The policy helped to increase both venture capital investments in California solar startups and corporate and individual investments in solar systems.


Utility scale solar projects are a key piece of the industry's growth, fueling investments in system and component manufacturers.


Oregon’s Business Energy Tax Credit (BETC) and recently passed RPS have spurred solarindustry growth in the state and helped it to attract what is slated to be America’s largest solarmanufacturing plant, Germany-based SolarWorld’s planned 500-megawatt facility, to Hillsboro. SolarWorld executives cited BETC and Oregon’s skilled labor pool as primary incentives for locating its plant in the state [see “SolarWorld plant brightens Oregon,” SI, April 2007].

The state of Washington passed two solar incentive laws in 2005. Senate Bills 5101 and 5111 provide, respectively, a base credit of 15 cents per kilowatt-hour of electricity generated from photovoltaic (PV) systems to residences and business, and a 40 percent reduction of the state’s business and occupation tax for manufacturers and wholesale marketers of solar PV modules or silicon components of those systems [see “Washington: the new Sunshine State?”, SI, February 2006].

Unlike incentive programs in California, New Jersey and Oregon, which pay based on system size, Washington’s utilities pay solar-energy-producing individuals and companies for the actual output from their systems. If a system under-performs or breaks down, the owner doesn’t get paid. The hope is that the law will promote careful installation have worked to retain existing Washington-based manufacturers and even to encourage some expansion: Moses Lake-based Renewable Energy Corporation broke ground on a new polysilicon plant in 2006, and Vancouver, B.C.-based Xantrex Technologies is considering expanding its Arlington, Wash., inverter plant. But to date, they have yet to attract new manufacturers to the state. In addition to state incentive programs, the Western Governors Association officially made increasing renewable energy production a goal for western states in 2006.

In 2007, the governors of Arizona, California, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah and Washington set up a regional system to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 15 percent below 2005 levels by 2020. Should state programs and Solar Tech’s efforts succeed in creating national incentives, there could be an increase in solar-manufacturing companies stateside.

But they will continue to encounter stiff competition, particularly from China, where solar manufacturing companies have succeeded in penetrating the global solar market over the past two years. “No one is pointing to Chinese manufacturing companies as cutting-edge innovators, but they are providing low-cost manufacturing,” Woodward says.

Solar Power Investing Site

EcoWorld.com promotes power os solar energy in India

India's Solar Power

GREENING INDIA'S FUTURE ENERGY DEMAND

by Avilash Roul, www.ecoworld.com

Editor's Note: Using sunlight to create electrical and thermal energy remains the most promising source of clean renewable energy, and projections as to how quickly solar power takes off could be grossly understated. As the author points out, the costs for photovoltaic electricity, for example, have dropped by an order of magnitude in the last 30 years.

The challenge however lies in just how much energy solar power would have to displace if it were to become the dominant source of energy in the world. In 2006, according to the International Energy Agency, 80.3% of the world's energy came from fossil fuel: Oil (34.3%), coal (25.1%) and gas (20.9%). Fully 90.9% of the world's energy came from combustion, because alongside these fossil fuels in 4th place are "combustible renewables," mostly wood (10.6%). Include nuclear power (6.5%) and hydro-electric power (2.2%), and you have accounted for 99.5% of the world's energy!

So where does solar fit into this equation? Most of this last half-percent of one percent of the world's energy, .41%, is provided from geothermal sources. The energy we love so much, wind and solar, currently only provide .064% and .039% of the world's power requirements. Put another way, for solar energy achieve its potential and replace all other sources of energy in the world, this .039% would have to increase 2,500 times.

Moreover, since nations such as India and China have only begun to industrialize, and since the industrialized nations only comprise approximately 20% of the world's population yet consume over 50% of the world's energy production, it is unlikely that global energy production will not have to increase. It is these sobering realities that should inform any reading of the potential of solar power. - Ed "Redwood" Ring

India's Solar Power - Greening India's Future Energy Demand
by Avilash Roul, May 15, 2007

Human civilization has been witnessing a gradual shift towards cleaner fuels-from wood to coal, from coal to oil, from oil to natural gas; renewables are the present demand...

With the fluctuating high cost of petroleum, minimizing dependence on importing conventional energy resources, stewardship to protect the Planet and providing affordable energy to all, countries including India have stepped up their energy path for harnessing indigenous renewable resources. To tap the infinite energy and transform as well as transmit it to each household, the Indian government has accelerated promotion of the use of universally available Solar Energy.

India due to its geo-physical location receives solar energy equivalent to nearly 5,000 trillion kWh/year, which is far more than the total energy consumption of the country today. But India produces a very negligible amount of solar energy - a mere 0.2 percent compared to other energy resources. Power generation from solar thermal energy is still in the experimental stages in India. Up till now, India's energy base has been more on conventional energy like coal and oil. However, India has now attained 7th place worldwide in Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Cell production and 9th place in Solar Thermal Systems. Grid-interactive renewable power installed capacity as on 31.10.2006 aggregated 9,013 MW corresponding to around 7 percent of the total power installed capacity which equates to over 2 percent of total electricity.

Worldwide photovoltaic installations increased by 1,460 MW in 2005, up from 1,086 MW installed during the previous year. That was a 67 percent increase over the 750 MW produced in 2003. In 2002 the world solar market increased 40 percent. Solar Energy demand has grown at about 25 percent per annum over the past 15 years. In 1985, worldwide annual solar installation demand was only 21 MW. According to the IEA's factsheet, "Renewables in Global Energy Supply," the solar energy sector has grown by 32 per annum since 1971. Worldwide, grid-connected solar PV continued to be the fastest growing power generation technology, with a 55 percent increase in cumulative installed capacity to 3.1 GW, up from 2.0 GW in 2004, as per "Renewable Global Status Update Report 2006" (www.ren21.net). Similarly, India witnessed an acceleration of solar hot water installations in 2005. Global production of solar PV increased from 1,150 MW in 2004 to over 1,700 MW in 2005. Japan was the leader in cell production (830 MW), followed by Europe (470 MW), China (200 MW), and the US (150 MW).

India: Status of Solar Energy:

The solar PV program was begun in the mid 70's in India. While the world has progressed substantially in production of basic silicon mono-crystalline photovoltaic cells, India has fallen short to achieve the worldwide momentum. In early 2000, nine Indian companies were manufacturing solar cells. During 1997-98 it was estimated that about 8.2 MW capacity solar cells were produced in the country. The total installed manufacturing capacity was estimated to be 19 MW per year. The major players in Solar PV are Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. (BHEL) (http://www.bhel.com/bhel/home.php); Central Electrtonics Ltd., and Rajasthan Electricals & Instruments Ltd., as well as by several companies in the private sector. The latest, 100 million dollars investment from Tata BP Solar in India is the pointer towards the booming solar market in India. Of late, the market is growing for SPV applications based products with the active encouragement of the government.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (www.mnes.nic.in), earlier known as the Ministry of Non-conventional Energy Sources - have initiated innovative schemes to accelerate utilisation and exploitation of the solar energy. Number of incentives like subsidy, soft loan, 80 percent accelerated depreciation, confessional duty on import of raw materials and certain products, excise duty exemption on certain devices/systems etc. are being provided for the production and use of solar energy systems. The Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) - http://mnes.nic.in/annualreport/2004_2005_English/ch12_pg1.htm - a Public Limited Company established in 1987- provides revolving fund to financing and leasing companies offering affordable credit for the purchase of PV systems. As a result, the Renewable Energy Sector is increasingly assuming a greater role in providing grid power to the Nation as its total capacities reached about 9,013 MW. This apart, the Electricity Act 2003, National Electricity Policy 2005 and National Tariff Policy 2006 provide a common framework for the regulation of renewable power in all States/UTs through quotas, preferential tariffs, and guidelines for pricing 'non-firm' power.

However, in the Draft New and Renewable Energy Policy Statement 2005, which is yet be approved, the federal government is very cautious about the status of renewable energy in the future. It says, "despite the fact that the biomass-solar- hydrogen economy is some decades away, it should not make industry and the scientific & technical community of the country unduly complacent into believing that necessary steps for expected changes can wait."

Present Scenario of Solar Power:

The MNES has been implementing installation of solar PV water pumping systems for irrigation and drinking water applications through subsidy since 1993-94. Typically, a 1,800 Wp PV array capacity solar PV water pumping system, which cost about Rs. 3.65 lakh, is being used for irrigation purposes. The Ministry is providing a subsidy of Rs.30 per watt of PV array capacity used, subject to a maximum of Rs. 50,000 per system. The majority of the pumps fitted with a 200 watt to 3,000 watt motor are powered with 1,800 Wp PV array which can deliver about 140,000 liters of water/day from a total head of 10 meters. By 30th September, 2006, a total of 7,068 solar PV water pumping systems have been installed.

A total of 32 grid interactive solar PV power plants have been installed in the country with financial assistance from the Federal Government. These plants, with aggregate capacity of 2.1 MW, are estimated to generate about 2.52 million units of electricity in a year. In 1995, an aggregate area of 4 lakh square meters of solar collectors were installed in the country for thermal applications such as water heating, drying cooking etc. The thermal energy generated from these devices was assessed at over 250 million kwh per year. In addition, solar PV systems with an aggregate capacity of 12 MW were installed for applications such as lighting, water pumping, communications, etc. These systems are capable of generating 18 million kwh of electricity per year. In 2003 alone, India added 2.5 MW of solar PVs. For rural electrification as well as employment and income generation, about 16,530 solar photovoltaic lighting systems were installed during 2004-05. Over 150,000 square meters of collector area has been installed in the country for solar water heating in domestic, industrial and commercial sectors making the cumulative installed collector area over one million square meters. State-wise details of cumulative achievements under various non-conventional energy programmes, as on 31.03.2006 are shown in the table below:

MINISTRY OF NON-CONVENTIONAL ENERGY FUNDED PHOTOVOLTAIC OUTPUT BY STATE

Government-funded solar energy in India only accounted for approximately 6.4 megawatt-years of power as of 2005

Similarly, India's Integrated Rural Energy Program using renewable energy had served 300 districts and 2,200 villages by early 2006. More than 250 remote villages in seven states were electrified under the program during 2005, with additional projects under implementation in over 800 villages and 700 hamlets in 13 states and federal territories (see table below). Rural applications of solar PV had increased to 340,000 home lighting systems, 540,000 solar lanterns, and 600,000 solar cookers in use.

INDIA'S INTEGRATED RURAL ENERGY PROGRAM

REMOTE VILLAGES SELECTED FOR SOLAR ELECTRIFICATION

By 2006 over 2,400 off-grid villages in India had
received solar thermal and photovoltaic systems

Future Plans:

An Expert Committee constituted by the Planning Commission has prepared an Integrated Energy Policy that aims at achieving integrated development and deployment of different energy supply sources, including new & renewable energy. The grid-interactive renewable power installed capacity is expected to reach 10,000 MW as on corresponding to a share of over 2 per cent in the electricity-mix, by 31.3.2007. Further capacity addition of 14,000 MW is envisaged during the 11th Plan (2007-12) leading to a then share of around 5 per cent in the electricity-mix but mostly through hydro-power. A 10 million square meter solar collector area capable of conserving electricity equivalent to that generated from a 500 MW power plant is expected to be set up by 2022. India has recently proposed to augment cooking, lighting, and motive power with renewable in 600,000 villages by 2032, starting with 10,000 remote off-grid villages by 2012.

External Support:

A four-year $7.6 million effort was launched in April 2003 to help accelerate the market for financing solar home systems in southern India. The project is a partnership between UNEP Energy Branch, UNEP Risoe Centre (URC), (http://uneprisoe.org/) two of India's major banking groups - Canara Bank and Syndicate Bank, and their sponsored Grameen Banks. As per the existing policy, Foreign Direct Investment up to 100 percent is permitted in non-conventional energy sector through the automatic route. The FDI received in non-conventional energy sector from January 2003 to September 2006 is estimated at around Rs.35 crore. The Multilateral Development Banks like World Bank and Asian Development Bank are also helping India to achieve its potential on renewable resources. But, the funding from MDBs on solar energy enhancement is negligible compare to other clean energy support in India.

Challenges and Constraints:

Solar energy is facing three fundamental challenges of cost, its manufacturing procedure as well as its waste products that have any impact on the environment and the land acquisition for erecting solar PVs.

The hunt for better, cheaper solar cells is due in India. Solar PV now cost one tenth of what they did in early 1980s. Despite the fact that the price of solar photovoltaic technology has been coming down over the years it still remains economically unviable for power generation purposes. During 1999, the cost of solar cells being manufactured in the country was estimated to be in the range of Rs. 1.35 to 1.50 lakhs per kW. The average cost of solar PV modules was around Rs. 2 lakhs per kW. At present the initial cost of both types of solar energy systems is higher compared to the cost of conventional energy systems and also the other non-conventional energy systems. However, the estimated unit cost of generation of electricity from solar photovoltaic and solar thermal route is in the range of Rs. 12 -20 per kWh and Rs. 10 - 15 per kWh respectively in India. With present level of technology, solar electricity produced through the photovoltaic conversion route is 4-5 times costlier than the electricity obtained from conventional fossil fuels.

There are number of R & D projects are going on solar PV Program in India. The Solar Energy Centre (http://mnes.nic.in/solarenergy1.htm) has been established by Government of India as a part of MNES to undertake activities related to design, development, testing, standardization, consultancy, training and information dissemination in the field of Solar Energy. Recently, development of polycrystalline silicon thin film solar cells and small area solar cells concluded at the Indian Association for Cultivation of Science at Jadavpur University. The National Physical Laboratory, New Delhi is working on development of materials and process to make dye sensitized nano-crystalline TiO2 thin films. The Centre for Materials for Electronics, Pune has been working on development of phosphorous paste for diffusion of impurities in solar cells. Under a joint R&D project of MNES and Department of Science & Technology (DST), the Indian Association for Cultivation of Science (IACS), Kolkata continued to work on optimization of process for fabrication of large area double junction amorphous silicon modules.

However, considering the fact that solar energy systems do not require any fuel, the running costs are lower. Therefore, the cost of some of the solar energy systems such as solar water heaters, solar cookers and solar lanterns can be lower than that of conventional energy products when calculated over the life of the systems. The other advantages of solar energy systems are modular nature, long-life, reliability, no recurring requirement of fuel, low maintenance and so on.

In the very near future, breakthroughs in nanotechnologies promise significant increase in solar cell efficiencies from current 15% values to over 50% levels. These would in turn reduce the cost of solar energy production. However, capital costs have substantially declined over the past two decades, with solar PV costs declining by a factor of two. PV is projected to continue its current rapid cost reductions for the next decades to compete with fossil fuel. However, the realisation of cost reductions is naturally closely linked to market development, government policies, and support for research and development.

Environmental Costs:

In India, of late there has been a debate regarding whether hydro-power and solar power are green or renewable? Since solar power systems generate no air pollution during operation, the primary environmental, health, and safety issues involve how they are manufactured, installed, and ultimately disposed of. Also, an important question is how much fossil energy input is required for solar systems compared to the fossil energy consumed by comparable conventional energy systems. Another concern area is installing solar cells on the land area. The large amount of land required for utility-scale solar power plants - approximately one square kilometer for every 20-60 megawatts (MW) generated - poses an additional problem in India. Instead, solar energy in particular requires unique, massive applications in the agricultural sector, where farmers need electricity exclusively in the daytime. This could be the primary demand driver for solar energy in India.

Conclusion:

Even though energy from renewable energy sources is growing rapidly, with markets such as solar cells, wind and biodiesel experiencing annual double digit growth, the overall share is only expected to increase marginally over the coming decades as the demand for energy also grows rapidly, particularly in many developing countries. In India, the scientific focus is deliberately moving towards transforming coal into clean energy as well as harnessing hydropower. The recent surge in nuclear energy is also diverting focus from the solar energy enhancement. In all probability, the Indian government will support off-grid solar energy production through a decentralized manner. In spite of this, India needs to focus research on solar energy and cheaper photovoltaics to provide affordable energy to all.

Additional State Info on Solar Energy:

Andhra Pradesh

The Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF) (http://www.self.org/) founded the Solar Electric Light Company (SELCO) Photovoltaic Electrification Pvt. Ltd. The SELCO was established in 1995 to market, install, and service Solar Home Systems (SHS) in south India. The SELCO has achieved international recognition as the first company to concentrate on marketing and servicing SHS in the rural Indian market. The Company uses TATA-BP solar modules and deep-cycle batteries purchased on the Indian market, while manufacturing its own lights and charge controllers. Currently, its primary products are 22 and 35 watt SHS, and it will be introducing a 50 Wp system to customers shortly.

The Ministry had sanctioned a project to Non-conventional Energy Development Corporation of Andhra Pradesh Ltd., Hyderabad for installation of 50 solar dryers to individual users in rural areas with a view to promote the technology and show its potential in income generation and leading to development of entrepreneurship. The dryers were developed by Society for Energy, Environment and Development (SEED), Hyderabad.

West Bengal

Since 1995, with the help of the US Department of Energy (www.eren.doe.gov/international.html) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (http://www.nrel.gov/), the Ramakrishna Mission, a non-governmental organization in West Bengal (http://www.sriramakrishna.org/) has installed more than 500 PV domestic lighting system and has established 'Aditya' - a solar shop in the mission campus in Narendrapur, which sells PV systems up to nearly 10 in each day. The systems are manufactured in India and the US. The technical staff of the Mission has expected to establish six more Aditya solar shops and more than 2000 additional domestic lighting system and seven-community systems in the West Bengal. Through 2005, 73 Aditya Solar Shops were established in India.

About the Author: Avilash Roul has been writing, advocating, researching, and creating knowledge on Environment and Development in various English Daily media since 2000. He has worked with Down To Earth (fortnightly magazine published in New Delhi, India) for the last three years. He has also contributed a Sunday column in New India Express on the environment and development. Right now Mr. Roul is working as an Assistant Coordinator for the Bank Information Center (www.bicusa.org), an independent, non-profit, non-governmental organization that advocates for the protection of rights, participation, transparency, and public accountability in the governance and operations of the World Bank, regional development banks, and the International Monetary Fund.

See also:

Alternative Energy Investments

UK renewable energy investment funds back ethanol, wind power

Buyout groups struggle to invest to save the planet

by Catherine Craig, www.financialnews-us.com

In spite of Sir David Walker’s admonition in his review of the private equity industry published last week that legislation requires company directors to pay regard to “the impact of the company’s operations on the environment”, large buyout firms trying to invest in assets that are environmentally sustainable face big challenges.

Opportunities to put money into mature companies with a green agenda remain sparse, say industry specialists.

As a result, few mainstream private equity firms have a co-ordinated green investment strategy, where they may be susceptible to interest-rate fluctuations and legislative uncertainty, according to research by Financial News. Most firms say their priority lies with generating returns to investors, not saving the planet.

In the UK the Kyoto protocol, discussions on which began in 1997, has resulted in commercial opportunities in the renewable energy sector to reduce carbon emissions. The Carlyle Group recently backed Ensus Ethanol, a wheat-based bioethanol plant in northern England. But 3i, the listed private equity group, which leads by value in renewable energy according to research firm New Energy Finance, invests only on an ad hoc basis in venture and buyout opportunities in the sector.

There are few UK buyout funds that invest in mature renewable energy companies. Research group Private Equity Intelligence lists only one such fund – HgCapital – that specializes in clean technology investment. Its €300m ($414m) renewable energy fund, Renewable Power Partners, was raised last year by Tom Murley, a lawyer with investment experience in renewables.

The fund invests mainly in mature European wind energy projects. Ian Armitage, chairman of HgCapital, said: “We set the fund up for our existing investors looking to hedge against inflation as well as new investors looking for exposure to low carbon economies. Hg substantially invests in proven technology; it has no interest in investing heavily in technology that is not tried and tested.”

Thomas Rottner, a director with Platina Finance, which owns the UK’s largest onshore wind farm at Burton Wold near Kettering, said: “On assets only, we expect targeted returns of about 12%.

Developed infrastructure assets tend to be safe but you can inject a bit of excitement into returns by putting a small portion of the fund into development.” For this reason, Platina invests in early-stage wind technology and wind farm development projects and has achieved an internal rate of return of 30% on its early stage fund. Hg also invests in wind power development projects in Europe on which it has first refusal once the plants are set up.

The disparity between investment in mature clean-technology opportunities and venture investment is borne out by the fact that private equity investment, including buyout and growth capital, fell in the first half of this year to $3.2bn, while venture capital investment rose to $5.4bn, according to New Energy Finance.

European venture capitalists have seen the merits of investing in clean technology and made an average return of 87% a year on venture investment in low carbon technologies since 1999, according to New Energy Finance. Apax Partners made one of the best venture returns in Europe when it floated solar energy specialist Q-Cells on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange last year, achieving 27 times its money on a investment of €11m over two years.

But investing directly in sustainable companies, whether in the renewable energy sector or elsewhere, may prove a red herring.

Forum for the Future, a non-government organization which lobbies businesses to use sustainability to their commercial advantage, published a paper at the European Private Equity and Venture Capital Association’s annual conference last year, suggesting that buyout houses could raise their profile with government and the public by acting and investing sustainably and find cost efficiencies through their own portfolios of companies.

The report said: “Where the private equity investor is seeking to grow a company over the medium term, then an integrated sustainable development analysis may add value.”

It suggested improving energy efficiency in portfolio companies by saving on water and other resources; undertaking an environmental audit to ensure that environmental compliance standards can be met or improved upon, and better supply chain management as a way to save on environmental and economic costs.


Clean Energy Investing Website

Zara Solar of Tanzania wins Africa Award

from AIDG.org Blog

Appropriate Technology Roundup 07/27/07
by Catherine Laine

July 27th, 2007
WorldBike: Bikes that Haul, for All from Treehugger

Big Boda Load Carrying Bicycle from WorldBike

[Worldbike, an] international amalgam of bicycle designers and bike industry types has teamed with international development folk, to conjure up “transportation solutions and create income-generating opportunities for the world’s poor.” As they say, “all across the developing world, people use bicycles the way we use pickup trucks and school busses. However, the bicycles sold in developing countries are those designed for recreation and are ill-suited to carrying loads.” Enter stage right the open source gurus. They make available bicycle and accessory blueprints, plus construction photos.

Award winning Solar Companies from Timbuktu Chronicles

Two African solar energy companies won Ashden Award prizes [this year]… Tanzania’s Zara Solar Ltd. won the first prize for the Africa Award (£30,000) for providing high-quality, reliable solar-home-systems at affordable prices to communities lacking access to a reliable source of energy. The second prize for the Africa Award (£10,000) was snatched by Deng Ltd of Ghana for “developing a viable and sustainable business for the provision of solar-home-systems to rural areas where access to grid supply is limited.”

Sun-powered ovens for China and Darfur from Inhabitat

Operation Blessing, a non-profit committed to “breaking the cycle of suffering” has taken the age-old technique of harnessing the sun’s heat to cook food, and turned it into a viable design for off-the-grid, minimal-resource third-world demographics. In the Gansu Province of China, and soon in Darfur camps, the sun-powered parabolic solar oven allows the suffering and hungry to cleanly cook and boil water and without firewood, using only that always-renewable energy source: the sun.

Wind Powered Cell Phone Base Stations from Afrigadget

The company WinAfrique designs and builds hybrid wind and diesel turbine systems for powering cell phone base stations. Kenya’s biggest wireless companies Safaricom and Celtel have contracted with WinAfrique.

HOW TO - Make DC Bicycle pedal power generators from MAKE

Here you can learn to create your own green power electricity using a pedal power bicycle generator. We setup the 24 bicycle power generators at the 2007 Coachella Music and Arts Festival, 60,000 people a day for 3 days in the desert - Indio California. The bike generators were used for charging cell phones.

Potential Power Source: The Ocean? from NPR

With green energy booming, cities around the country are getting creative in cutting energy costs while being environmentally conscious. San Francisco is looking at an unusual power source: the ocean.

Q&A: Solel’s president, Avi Brenmiller from Earth2Tech


Israeli solar thermal company Solel just scored a deal with PG&E to build an estimated $2 billion massive solar thermal plant in California’s Mohave Desert. Not a lot of people have heard of the 250-person company, or even really solar thermal technology for that matter. So we grabbed a few questions with Solel’s President Avi Brenmiller in downtown San Francisco:

I did not know this.

Q). What is the solar energy industry like in Israel?

A). We have the solar powered water heaters which are on each roof in Israel by law – and this is very advanced [emphasis added]. However at the end of the day it is less than 3% of the total consumption of energy in Israel. What we are trying to do is make it a major factor.

Sioux City, IA, Breaks Ground on “Poop to Profits” Plant from Sustainablog

Minneapolis-based Bison Renewable Energy broke ground on what will be the world’s largest methane gas facility in Sioux City, Iowa. When the plant begins operations early next year, it will hold up to 11 million gallons of cow manure, and turn that yucky stuff into methane gas.

Tsunami-proofing South India’s Coast From Grassroots Up from Treehugger

Current efforts to protect people living along South Asian coasts from another devastating tsunami do not necessarily entail high-tech, governmental schemes. In fact, it is now concerned local populations who are getting involved in the conservation of natural buffer zones such as mangroves and sand dunes, which have been shown to absorb much of the damage.

India's Solar Energy blessings mean a bright tomorrow

GREENING INDIA'S FUTURE POWER DEMAND

by Avilash Roul, www.EcoWorld.com


Editor's Note: Using sunlight to create electrical and thermal energy remains the most promising source of clean renewable energy, and projections as to how quickly solar power takes off could be grossly understated. As the author points out, the costs for photovoltaic electricity, for example, have dropped by an order of magnitude in the last 30 years.

The challenge however lies in just how much energy solar power would have to displace if it were to become the dominant source of energy in the world. In 2006, according to the International Energy Agency, 80.3% of the world's energy came from fossil fuel: Oil (34.3%), coal (25.1%) and gas (20.9%). Fully 90.9% of the world's energy came from combustion, because alongside these fossil fuels in 4th place are "combustible renewables," mostly wood (10.6%). Include nuclear power (6.5%) and hydro-electric power (2.2%), and you have accounted for 99.5% of the world's energy!

So where does solar fit into this equation? Most of this last half-percent of one percent of the world's energy, .41%, is provided from geothermal sources. The energy we love so much, wind and solar, currently only provide .064% and .039% of the world's power requirements. Put another way, for solar energy achieve its potential and replace all other sources of energy in the world, this .039% would have to increase 2,500 times.

Moreover, since nations such as India and China have only begun to industrialize, and since the industrialized nations only comprise approximately 20% of the world's population yet consume over 50% of the world's energy production, it is unlikely that global energy production will not have to increase. It is these sobering realities that should inform any reading of the potential of solar power. - Ed "Redwood" Ring (Editor)



India's Solar Power - Greening India's Future Energy Demand

by Avilash Roul, May 15, 2007


Human civilization has been witnessing a gradual shift towards cleaner fuels-from wood to coal, from coal to oil, from oil to natural gas; renewables are the present demand...

With the fluctuating high cost of petroleum, minimizing dependence on importing conventional energy resources, stewardship to protect the Planet and providing affordable energy to all, countries including India have stepped up their energy path for harnessing indigenous renewable resources. To tap the infinite energy and transform as well as transmit it to each household, the Indian government has accelerated promotion of the use of universally available Solar Energy.

India due to its geo-physical location receives solar energy equivalent to nearly 5,000 trillion kWh/year, which is far more than the total energy consumption of the country today. But India produces a very negligible amount of solar energy - a mere 0.2 percent compared to other energy resources. Power generation from solar thermal energy is still in the experimental stages in India. Up till now, India's energy base has been more on conventional energy like coal and oil. However, India has now attained 7th place worldwide in Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Cell production and 9th place in Solar Thermal Systems. Grid-interactive renewable power installed capacity as on 31.10.2006 aggregated 9,013 MW corresponding to around 7 percent of the total power installed capacity which equates to over 2 percent of total electricity.

Worldwide photovoltaic installations increased by 1,460 MW in 2005, up from 1,086 MW installed during the previous year. That was a 67 percent increase over the 750 MW produced in 2003. In 2002 the world solar market increased 40 percent. Solar Energy demand has grown at about 25 percent per annum over the past 15 years. In 1985, worldwide annual solar installation demand was only 21 MW. According to the IEA's factsheet, "Renewables in Global Energy Supply," the solar energy sector has grown by 32 per annum since 1971. Worldwide, grid-connected solar PV continued to be the fastest growing power generation technology, with a 55 percent increase in cumulative installed capacity to 3.1 GW, up from 2.0 GW in 2004, as per "Renewable Global Status Update Report 2006" (www.ren21.net). Similarly, India witnessed an acceleration of solar hot water installations in 2005. Global production of solar PV increased from 1,150 MW in 2004 to over 1,700 MW in 2005. Japan was the leader in cell production (830 MW), followed by Europe (470 MW), China (200 MW), and the US (150 MW).


India: Status of Solar Energy:

The solar PV program was begun in the mid 70's in India. While the world has progressed substantially in production of basic silicon mono-crystalline photovoltaic cells, India has fallen short to achieve the worldwide momentum. In early 2000, nine Indian companies were manufacturing solar cells. During 1997-98 it was estimated that about 8.2 MW capacity solar cells were produced in the country. The total installed manufacturing capacity was estimated to be 19 MW per year. The major players in Solar PV are Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. (BHEL) (http://www.bhel.com/bhel/home.php); Central Electrtonics Ltd., and Rajasthan Electricals & Instruments Ltd., as well as by several companies in the private sector. The latest, 100 million dollars investment from Tata BP Solar in India is the pointer towards the booming solar market in India. Of late, the market is growing for SPV applications based products with the active encouragement of the government.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (www.mnes.nic.in), earlier known as the Ministry of Non-conventional Energy Sources - have initiated innovative schemes to accelerate utilisation and exploitation of the solar energy. Number of incentives like subsidy, soft loan, 80 percent accelerated depreciation, confessional duty on import of raw materials and certain products, excise duty exemption on certain devices/systems etc. are being provided for the production and use of solar energy systems. The Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) - http://mnes.nic.in/annualreport/2004_2005_English/ch12_pg1.htm - a Public Limited Company established in 1987- provides revolving fund to financing and leasing companies offering affordable credit for the purchase of PV systems. As a result, the Renewable Energy Sector is increasingly assuming a greater role in providing grid power to the Nation as its total capacities reached about 9,013 MW. This apart, the Electricity Act 2003, National Electricity Policy 2005 and National Tariff Policy 2006 provide a common framework for the regulation of renewable power in all States/UTs through quotas, preferential tariffs, and guidelines for pricing 'non-firm' power.

However, in the Draft New and Renewable Energy Policy Statement 2005, which is yet be approved, the federal government is very cautious about the status of renewable energy in the future. It says, "despite the fact that the biomass-solar- hydrogen economy is some decades away, it should not make industry and the scientific & technical community of the country unduly complacent into believing that necessary steps for expected changes can wait."

Present Scenario of Solar Power:

The MNES has been implementing installation of solar PV water pumping systems for irrigation and drinking water applications through subsidy since 1993-94. Typically, a 1,800 Wp PV array capacity solar PV water pumping system, which cost about Rs. 3.65 lakh, is being used for irrigation purposes. The Ministry is providing a subsidy of Rs.30 per watt of PV array capacity used, subject to a maximum of Rs. 50,000 per system. The majority of the pumps fitted with a 200 watt to 3,000 watt motor are powered with 1,800 Wp PV array which can deliver about 140,000 liters of water/day from a total head of 10 meters. By 30th September, 2006, a total of 7,068 solar PV water pumping systems have been installed.

article continued at:

http://www.ecoworld.com/home/articles2.cfm?tid=418



Green Energy website

World Bank backs Solar Power in India

from http://www.atimes.com

Earth, wind, solar fire fuel India future

By Siddharth Srivastava

NEW DELHI - There has been significant corporate movement to tap the alternative/renewable-energy situation in India.

Last week, a report released by the United Nations Environment Program said global investment in renewable energy, especially solar, wind and biofuel, rose from US$80 billion in 2005 to $100 billion last year, with an especially high rate of growth in developing countries such as India, China and Brazil. Renewable-energy investments in developing countries accounted for 21% of the total.

Biofuel
Recently, British bio-diesel major D1 Oil announced plans to expand operations in India. The company already has agreements with Mohan Breweries and Williamson Magor for jatropha (India's main bio-diesel weed) cultivation and processing. D1 already has 20,000 hectares of jatropha growing in four southern and central Indian states for Mohan Breweries.

The potential of using jatropha for bio-diesel has also attracted Chinese interest in India. A 13-member Chinese delegation was in India recently to explore the possibility of cultivating the weed and exchanging technology.

India's Reliance Industries has already bought large tracts of land in many states for jatropha cultivation, and wind-turbine producer Suzlon Energy Ltd has said it plans to enter the bio-diesel sector in the next four years. Others plunging into the bio-diesel pool include Indian Oil Corp, auto maker Mahindra & Mahindra, which is set to roll out its first biofuel vehicles by the end of the year, and Southern Online Bio Technologies, which has announced plans for a large bio-diesel production unit in Andhra Pradesh in an agreement with Lurgi Lift Sciences of Germany.

However, the enthusiasm for a biofuel future is tempered with not-unfounded fears of jatropha cultivation competing for precious land traditionally devoted to edible agriculture.

Others say India's biofuel drive has political acceptance because it will result in higher farm incomes. Examples of political favor for biofuel include New Delhi's plans to launch a nationwide biofuel promotion, with a special emphasis on jatropha, karanj and neem as plants that can be grown in wastelands and used as alternative sources of fuel to petroleum.

Bio-diesel has also been exempted from excise duty, and a National Biofuel Development Board is planned. Federal Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar has also been promoting ethanol in the face of recent bumper crops and falling prices, both domestic and global.

Solar and wind
California-based Signet Solar will invest US$2 billion over the next 10 years to set up three plants in India to manufacture solar photovoltaic (PV) cells. Currently, Moser Baer Photo Voltaic (MBPV) dominates Indian production of solar PV cells.

Each of the Signet Solar plants will have an annual output of 300 megawatts, and the initial investment will be $150 million.

The global photovoltaic market has seen high growth, and sales are expected to rise from the current $6 billion to $40 billion by 2010.

Solar-energy efforts were also recently boosted when New Delhi finally announced long-awaited incentives for semiconductor use and manufacturing that include tax exemptions and subsidies.

Taking advantage of the new semiconductor-incentive policy, MBPV announced that it would invest $250 million to expand its solar-cell-making capacity. MBPV is scheduled to ramp up its solar PV cell capacity to 200MW in 18 months from the current 40MW. International Finance Corp, a private-sector arm of the World Bank, recently forwarded a $22.5 million loan to MBPV to promote solar energy in India.

Meanwhile, US wind-energy company AES Corp is exploring the possibility of building a wind-turbine manufacturing unit in India. "We are looking at a low-cost destination, and India fits into this category," AES executive vice president Mark Woodruff said.

Several Indian state-run oil production, exploration and marketing companies are also investing in renewable-energy projects.

Oil and Natural Gas Corp, Hindustan Petroleum Corp and Bharat Petroleum Corp are planning to set up 50-100MW wind-energy projects for captive use and may also sell any surplus power to third parties.

India's state-run National Thermal Power is planning a joint venture with global equipment maker ABB to enter the wind-energy sector with plans for 1,000MW of renewable energy capacity over the next 10 years.

Indian wind-energy major Suzlon has successfully concluded its acquisition bid for Germany's Repower Systems AG, and now controls more than three-quarters of votes in the Hamburg-based company.

Suzlon also signed a contract for 400MW of wind-turbine capacity with PPM Energy of Portland, Oregon. "This agreement is Suzlon's single largest contract for wind-turbine capacity," said Suzlon.

Siddharth Srivastava is a New Delhi-based journalist.


Alternative Energy Website

Clean Power Index major components

Top 10 Index Constituents

As of March 30, 2007 % of net assets
Vestas Wind Systems A/S ecVWS 10.97%
Gamesa Corporacion Tecnologica S.A. eDGAM 7.98%
Renewable Energy Corp. ASA eoREC 6.84%
Q-Cells AG eiQCE 5.73%
SolarWorld AG eiSWV 5.33%
Verbund AG ejVER 5.21%
Kurita Water Industries Ltd. jT6370 4.82%
International Rectifier Corp. IRF 4.61%
Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. ADS STP 4.32%
Itron Inc. ITRI 3.61%


Data from:

Van Eck Global Alternative Energy ETF



See also:

Alternative Energy Investing

Canadian Wind Energy consolidating amid takeovers

Caught in the winds of change

story from: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20061020.RWIND20/TPStory/Business?pageRequested=all&print=true

Canada's highly fragmented windpower business is being swept up in a global consolidation, RICHARD BLACKWELL of Toronto's Globe and Mail writes

The consolidation of Canada's wind power business is under way.

With two takeover deals in the past 10 days, the industry is following the model taken by its more mature counterparts elsewhere in the world, where big, well-financed players predominate.

Just last week, Canadian Hydro Developers Inc. agreed to pay $6.3-million for Vector Wind Energy Inc., a small firm listed on the TSX Venture Exchange. And yesterday, Toronto wind farm developer Gale Force Energy Ltd. announced a takeover by an Irish-based multinational wind power firm, Airtricity Inc.

With big wind projects eating up considerable amounts of capital, and some provinces specifying that only well-financed companies will get electricity contracts, much of the industry is expected to end up in the hands of big energy firms and power utilities. Some wind assets may be held by income trusts that spin off to investors the steady cash flow that comes from generating power.

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Canada's wind energy business -- now fractured among players ranging from small entrepreneurs to energy giants -- is almost certain to evolve in a similar fashion to Europe and the U.S., where the wind sector has already consolidated dramatically, said Josh McGee, an analyst at Emerging Energy Research, a worldwide consulting firm based in Cambridge, Mass.

"Wind power globally has gone from being a kind of boutique, idealistic, source [of power] to a real competitor that requires scaling, a large in-house balance sheet, and in-house expertise on project management," he said.

In the U.S., large energy companies and financial players have snapped up most small wind power producers, and in Europe "there are only large transnational wind development companies left that are competing in the [large] markets," Mr. McGee said.

Currently, the Canadian industry is highly fragmented, with players that include private companies (such as SkyPower Corp.), publicly traded ventures (Canadian Hydro Developers), energy giants (Suncor Energy Inc.) and utilities (SaskPower).

Over the past few years, several dozen wind power projects have been built Canada, in all provinces except British Columbia. They range from huge wind farms with dozens of turbines to tiny single-turbine operations. Currently, Alberta has the biggest installed base with about 285 megawatts of wind on-stream, followed closely by Ontario and Quebec.

According to the Canadian Wind Energy Association, Canada passed the 1,000-MW mark in wind energy production in June, putting us among the top dozen producers worldwide. But we're nowhere near the world leaders -- Germany and Spain have more than 18,000 MW and 10,000 MW in production, respectively.

In Canada, wind fulfills only about half a per cent of our electricity demand, compared with Denmark, which generates almost 20 per cent of its electricity from wind.

Still, the Canadian industry is expanding rapidly, with several new projects soon to link to the power grids and dozens more in the planning stages. The burst of activity has been ignited by provincial governments, many of which have set wind energy targets, then used competitive tendering processes to choose suppliers.

Ottawa has also helped boost the industry through the Wind Power Production Incentive -- essentially a subsidy that pays wind power producers about 1 cent for each kilowatt-hour they produce. The WPPI is currently in limbo under the Conservative government, however, and the wind industry is holding its breath to see how it fares in the ongoing environmental policy revisions.

There has been a smattering of mergers in the Canadian wind businesses in past years. In 2002, Alberta power firm TransAlta Corp. bought Vision Quest Windelectric Inc., at the time the country's second-biggest wind energy producer. Then, in 2004, TransCanada Corp. bought 50 per cent of Cartier Wind Energy Inc., one of Quebec's major wind power firms, and in 2005 boosted its stake to 62 per cent.

But the demands for capital inherent in the wind energy business are likely to push many more firms together in the coming months and years.

"I think what you're going to see ultimately is fewer companies," said Stephen Probyn, chief executive officer of the Clean Power Income Fund, an investment trust that owns the recently opened 99-MW Erie Shores wind farm in Ontario. "The privately financed entrepreneurial companies will either evolve . . . so they have access to capital, or they'll get consolidated."

Foreign wind energy giants -- seeing the Canadian market in a fast-growing phase that mirrors where Europe was 10 years ago -- will likely be among those buying up smaller Canadian wind industry players or joining Canadian joint ventures. There have already been a few international forays into the Canadian market, before Airtricity's purchase of Gale Force:

Spanish wind giant Acciona is a partner with Suncor and Enbridge in several projects, including the soon-to-open 30-MW Chin Chute wind farm in Southern Alberta.

This summer German financier HSH Nordbank AG, a big investor in energy projects, bought a minority stake in private Toronto wind farm developer SkyPower Corp.

British-based Renewable Energy Generation Ltd. paid $29.1-million for AIM PowerGen Corp., an Ontario developer that has projects planned in six provinces.

North Dakota-based heavy steel fabricator DMI Industries has opened a wind-tower manufacturing plant in Fort Erie, Ont.

"Outside entities have begun to realize that Canada is going to be a very good market for wind power," Mr. Probyn said, particularly with government incentives making the economics of the business more favourable. " I think you'll see more foreign entrants into Canada."

While there will likely be fewer players fighting for the big wind farm contracts over the next few years, there will still be room for some very small players, said Robert Hornung, president of the Canadian Wind Energy Association.

"[The provinces have] a growing interest in developing small-scale wind energy projects of one or two turbines," he said. Nova Scotia, for example, has awarded about a dozen contracts for projects of 2 MW or less, and Ontario is going to launch a similar program for projects under 10 MW.

The idea, Mr. Hornung said, is to broaden participation by "encouraging municipalities, co-operatives, or groups of farmers to proceed with their own projects."

CANADA'S TOP WIND POWER PLAYERS

TransAlta Corp. The Alberta-based power generation firm has three wind farms in southern Alberta, operated through its VisionQuest subsidiary, that now generate almost 200 megawatts of power. It has proposed several new wind farms in Ontario.

SaskPower The provincial government-owned utility this year opened its 150-MW Centennial wind farm near Swift Current, the biggest operating wind facility in Canada. SaskPower also has another 11-MW wind plant in southeastern Saskatchewan.

Canadian Hydro Developers Inc. This TSX-listed firm, which also runs hydro and biomass plants, has three wind power operations in southwestern Alberta that generate almost 50 MW of electricity, and it recently opened the 68 MW Melancthon wind farm in Ontario. Several others are in development.

Axor Group Inc. The Montreal engineering firm built Canada's first large-scale wind farm, the 100-MW Le Nordais project in Quebec's Gaspésie region.

Clean Power Income Fund An investment trust that holds biomass and hydro power assets in Canada and the U.S., and owns the recently opened 99-MW Erie Shores wind farm in Ontario.

Nexen Inc. This Calgary-based energy firm is completing a 70.5-MW wind farm near Fort McLeod, Alta., with partner GW Power Corp.

Algonquin Power Income Fund This investment trust owns several power-generating facilities, and recently bought all the units of AirSource Power Income Fund, a Manitoba-based limited partnership with a 100-MW wind farm near St. Leon, Man.

Northland Power Income Fund An independent power producer that owns the 54-MW Mont Miller wind farm in the Gaspésie region of Quebec.

Brookfield Power The power generating and distribution arm of Brookfield Asset Management Inc. is completing a 189-MW wind farm near Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. About 99 MW have recently been connected to the Ontario power grid.

Creststreet Power and Income Fund This investment trust owns and operates a 54-MW Mount Copper wind project in Quebec and a 30-MW Pubnico Point wind farm in Nova Scotia.

Ventus Energy Inc. This Toronto company is developing projects in six provinces. It recently began construction of a wind farm in Prince Edward Island.

SkyPower Corp. A Toronto-based private company that has several wind and solar projects planned across the country. Its first will open soon near Rivière-du-Loup, Que.

Epcor Utilities Inc. The Edmonton-based natural gas, power and water company opened the 40-MW Kingsbridge Wind Power Project on the shores of Lake Huron in Ontario this spring. A second phase will add another 160 MW.

Enbridge Inc. The income trust arm of the Calgary energy company jointly owns, along with Suncor, wind farms in Alberta and Saskatchewan that generate about 40 MW of power. It also has plans for a 200-MW Ontario wind farm on the shore of Lake Huron, although the project has been delayed because of snags in the approval process.

TransCanada Corp. The Calgary-based energy infrastructure firm owns 62 per cent of Cartier Wind Energy Inc., which has been awarded six major projects by Hydro-Québec. The first, the 110-MW Baie des Sables project, is expected to be added to the power grid by the end of this year.

Suncor Energy Inc. The big oil sands player owns wind farms in Alberta and Saskatchewan that generate about 40 MW of power, with another 30-MW Alberta project starting up this month. A 76-MW project on the shores of Lake Huron in Ontario is in the works.

-- Richard Blackwell

Wind power generation, by province (megawatts)

PROVINCE INSTALLED PROPOSED
British Columbia 0 325
Alberta 285 235
Saskatchewan 171 25
Manitoba 104 0
Ontario 221 1,059
Quebec 212 1,244
New Brunswick 0 20
Nova Scotia 41 61
Prince Edward Island 14 39
Newfoundland 1 0
Yukon 1 0

SOURCE: CDN. WIND ENERGY ASSOCIATION

Canada's installed wind power capacity (megawatts)

2000 137
2001 198
2002 236
2003 322
2004 444
2005 683
2006* 1,049

*to June 30

SOURCE: CDN. WIND ENERGY ASSOCIATION



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