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Aluminium maker invests in community solar power
SOLAR NEWS
NEWS IN BRIEF Solar PV record? Spectrolab, Inc., a subsidiary of The Boeing Company, claims to have achieved a record conversion efficiency for a terrestrial concentrator solar cell of 36.9%. The terrestrial solar cell is a modified version of Spectrolab's Improved Triple Junction (ITJ) space solar cell and measures approximately one-quarter of a square centimeter in area. www.spectrolab.com First Solar expand First Solar, a US-based manufacturer of solar modules has announced the formation of a wholly owned subsidiary, First Solar GmbH, Germany. Dr Rainer Gegenwart has been appointed MD of the new company based in Germany. First Solar GmbH will focus on supporting the needs of major solar product distributors and solar power plant developers in Germany. www.firstsolar.com
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Aluminium maker invests in community solar power Aluminium maker Alcoa has announced a $1,000,000 program to fund the installation of solar panels at schools and nonprofit agencies in cooperation with Chelan County Public Utility District (PUD). The aluminum maker's endowment will provide direct funds to purchase $439,740 in solar power equipment, plus arrange for labour valued at $666,810 to be donated by Alcoa employees to install the solar systems. Installation of 35 systems in Chelan County, Washington state, USA will be completed by the end of the year. Half the revenue from solar power generation at each site funded by Alcoa will be returned to the school or nonprofit organization. The other half will be placed into a trust fund to be used at Alcoa's discretion for community projects. Payments to the participants for the energy generated will be made through
September/October 2003
the public utility district's awardwinning SNAP (Sustainable Natural Alternative Power) program, which relies on customer donations for support. SNAP is a unique way of pricing solar energy. The price (up to a $1.50 per kWh) is determined each year by dividing the total voluntary contributions received by the total kilowatt-hours of solar power generated each year. Estimates for the revenue that will be returned to the schools and nonprofit groups range from $164,000 to $300,000 over 10 years, depending on the number of panels at specific locations, the amount of energy generated and the community support for SNAP. The estimates are based on the installation of over 50 kilowatts of solar generation under the Alcoa endowment. Chelan County PUD launched the SNAP program in 2001 and has four local solar power producers and two local wind power pro-
REFOCUS
www.re-focus.net
ducers. The program generated 30,722 kilowatt hours of electricity in 2002-03 (See Refocus, Jan/Feb 2003, p.26). About 700 Chelan County PUD customers are SNAP purchasers. They agree to pay from $2.50 to $50 a month to support the local wind and solar power producers. A SNAP "starter kit" is available for other utilities to start their own local SNAP program, as well as more information about the program is available on the PUD Web site at www.chelanpud.org/ SNAP. The program is also available free of charge to other organizations interested in promoting local production and purchase of alternative or green power. Contact: Jim White, P.E., Senior Energy Services Engineer, Chelan County Public Utility District, 327 North Wenatchee Ave., Wenatchee, Washington 98801, USA. Tel: +1 509 661 4829; [email protected]
NEWS IN BRIEF Solar PV record? Spectrolab, Inc., a subsidiary of The Boeing Company, claims to have achieved a record conversion efficiency for a terrestrial concentrator solar cell of 36.9%. The terrestrial solar cell is a modified version of Spectrolab's Improved Triple Junction (ITJ) space solar cell and measures approximately one-quarter of a square centimeter in area. www.spectrolab.com First Solar expand First Solar, a US-based manufacturer of solar modules has announced the formation of a wholly owned subsidiary, First Solar GmbH, Germany. Dr Rainer Gegenwart has been appointed MD of the new company based in Germany. First Solar GmbH will focus on supporting the needs of major solar product distributors and solar power plant developers in Germany. www.firstsolar.com
10
Aluminium maker invests in community solar power Aluminium maker Alcoa has announced a $1,000,000 program to fund the installation of solar panels at schools and nonprofit agencies in cooperation with Chelan County Public Utility District (PUD). The aluminum maker's endowment will provide direct funds to purchase $439,740 in solar power equipment, plus arrange for labour valued at $666,810 to be donated by Alcoa employees to install the solar systems. Installation of 35 systems in Chelan County, Washington state, USA will be completed by the end of the year. Half the revenue from solar power generation at each site funded by Alcoa will be returned to the school or nonprofit organization. The other half will be placed into a trust fund to be used at Alcoa's discretion for community projects. Payments to the participants for the energy generated will be made through
September/October 2003
the public utility district's awardwinning SNAP (Sustainable Natural Alternative Power) program, which relies on customer donations for support. SNAP is a unique way of pricing solar energy. The price (up to a $1.50 per kWh) is determined each year by dividing the total voluntary contributions received by the total kilowatt-hours of solar power generated each year. Estimates for the revenue that will be returned to the schools and nonprofit groups range from $164,000 to $300,000 over 10 years, depending on the number of panels at specific locations, the amount of energy generated and the community support for SNAP. The estimates are based on the installation of over 50 kilowatts of solar generation under the Alcoa endowment. Chelan County PUD launched the SNAP program in 2001 and has four local solar power producers and two local wind power pro-
REFOCUS
www.re-focus.net
ducers. The program generated 30,722 kilowatt hours of electricity in 2002-03 (See Refocus, Jan/Feb 2003, p.26). About 700 Chelan County PUD customers are SNAP purchasers. They agree to pay from $2.50 to $50 a month to support the local wind and solar power producers. A SNAP "starter kit" is available for other utilities to start their own local SNAP program, as well as more information about the program is available on the PUD Web site at www.chelanpud.org/ SNAP. The program is also available free of charge to other organizations interested in promoting local production and purchase of alternative or green power. Contact: Jim White, P.E., Senior Energy Services Engineer, Chelan County Public Utility District, 327 North Wenatchee Ave., Wenatchee, Washington 98801, USA. Tel: +1 509 661 4829; [email protected]