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US PTC stalemate
News/Roundup
US PTC stalemate The battle over funding for the US Production Tax Credit (PTC) is still in a stalemate, the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) reports. The PTC is set to expire at the end of the year, and although the Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Democrats) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnel (Republicans) agree the PTC should be extended, no agreement can be reached on how to fund it. The Democrats favour offsetting the cost of tax extensions, whereas the Republicans say offsets are unnecessary, and so the tug of war continues. The wind industry itself has received backing from an unlikely source, however. Oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens has launched a campaign to boost wind power production as a measure to strengthen the US economy and energy security. The public campaign dubbed the Pickens Plan, intends to increase the use of wind energy for electricity generation and using natural gas saved from the electricity sector for transportation fuel. The self-funded, multi-media advertising and internet education campaign is designed to focus attention on what Pickens calls the “single biggest crisis facing America toady”. Under the Pickens Plan the US could cut imported oil by one-third, saving more than US$230 billion a year. In line with the US
Department of Energy (DoE), Pickens calls for wind to supply 20% of electricity in the USA. He proposes to get most of the wind energy from the “wind corridor” stretching from Texas to Canada. “The plan I am unveiling today is doable in 5-10 years if we can get Congress and the administration to act quickly,” says Pickens. “It is based on domestic resources and it’s clean. The plan provides a bridge to the future where renewable energy can become an even greater portion of our energy framework.” AWEA says it welcomes the Pickens Plan, but Randall Swisher warns that “in order to make this happen, the US government will need to play its part and enact short- and long-term policies to transform many of our current practices. Of critical and immediate importance is an extension of the federal production tax credit, so that the industry can move ahead with planned investments and keep people at work. Of equal importance will be longer-term policies to plan for more transmission to bring large amounts of wind power from windy areas to population centres.” The wind power industry employs around 50,000 Americans, according to the AWEA, and created 10,000 new domestic jobs in 2007 alone. The association warns that if the PTC is not extended, more than US$11bn investment in clean energy will be at risk.
Solar storage revolution from MIT Researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) say they have hit upon a simple, inexpensive, highly efficient process for storing solar energy. Daniel Nocera, the Henry Dreyfuss Professor of Energy at MIT and senior author of a paper describing the work in the Science journal, believes the discovery will enable us to “seriously think about solar power as unlimited...and soon.” Nocera and postdoctoral fellow Matthew Kanan at Nocera’s lab were inspired by the photosynthesis performed by plants, and developed a process in which the sun’s energy is used to split water into hydrogen and oxygen gases. The oxygen and hydrogen may later be recombined inside a fuel cell to create electricity. The key component is a new catalyst that produces oxygen from water, and another catalyst produces hydrogen. The new catalyst consists of cobalt metal, phosphate and an electrode placed in water. When electricity – whether from a photovoltaic (PV) cell, a wind turbine or any other source – runs through the electrode, the cobalt and phosphate form a thin film on the electrode, and oxygen is produced. Combined with another catalyst, such as platinum, that can produce hydrogen gas from
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renewable energy focus
ref0905_p12_17.indd 14
water, the system can duplicate the water splitting reaction that occurs during photosynthesis. According to Nocera, the new catalyst works at room temperature in neutral pH water, and it’s easy to set up. James Barber, the Ernst Chain Professor of Biochemistry at Imperial College London, comments: “The importance of their discovery cannot be overstated since it opens up the door for developing new technologies for energy production, thus reducing our dependence for fossil fuels and addressing the global climate change problem.” However, work remains to be done. Currently available electrolysers, which split water with electricity and which are often used industrially, are not suited for artificial photosynthesis because they are very expensive and require a highly basic (non-benign) environment that has little to do with the conditions under which photosynthesis operates. And more engineering work is required to integrate the discovery into existing photovoltaic systems. Nocera says he is confident that such systems will become available “to homeowners within 10 years”.
in brief The Florida Municipal Power Agency (FMPA) has signed a letter of intent with SunEdison for a 20-year power purchase agreement, to provide 10 MW of solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity at several locations throughout the State. The agreement includes installation, construction, monitoring and operation of the solar systems. Phoenix Solar AG has connected what is says is the largest photovoltaic (PV) plant in Greece to the grid in Pontoiraklia, near Thessaloniki. Phoenix Solar was responsible for planning and construction of the plant. The owner and initiator of the power plant with a peak output of 944 kW is SunErgy A.E. First Solar Inc. will build a 10 MW photovoltaic (PV) power plant for Sempra Generation near Boulder City, Nevada. First Solar will design, engineer and construct the turnkey PV power plant, and will provide monitoring and maintenance services for the plant over its lifetime. Sempra Generation will be the developer for the project, and will own and operate the PV power plant once completed. Construction began in July, and the 10 MW PV power plant is expected to be completed by the end of 2008. GE Energy Financial Services, a unit of GE, and Grupo Corporativo Landon will invest US$350 million in Fotowatio, said to be one of Spain’s largest and most successful solar power project developers. Fotowatio owns, operates and is developing almost 960 MW of solar projects in the fast-growing solar power markets of Spain, Italy and the USA. Community Windpower Ltd has submitted a planning application for the proposed Davidstow Community Wind farm, to North Cornwall District Council Planning Department, UK. The wind farm would provide approximately 50% of the remaining installed capacity required for Cornwall’s 2010 renewable energy target of 93-108 MW in one development in a remote area. The proposed 20 wind turbines would be capable of generating up to 50 MW.
September/October 2008
21/08/2008 10:04:38
US PTC stalemate The battle over funding for the US Production Tax Credit (PTC) is still in a stalemate, the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) reports. The PTC is set to expire at the end of the year, and although the Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Democrats) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnel (Republicans) agree the PTC should be extended, no agreement can be reached on how to fund it. The Democrats favour offsetting the cost of tax extensions, whereas the Republicans say offsets are unnecessary, and so the tug of war continues. The wind industry itself has received backing from an unlikely source, however. Oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens has launched a campaign to boost wind power production as a measure to strengthen the US economy and energy security. The public campaign dubbed the Pickens Plan, intends to increase the use of wind energy for electricity generation and using natural gas saved from the electricity sector for transportation fuel. The self-funded, multi-media advertising and internet education campaign is designed to focus attention on what Pickens calls the “single biggest crisis facing America toady”. Under the Pickens Plan the US could cut imported oil by one-third, saving more than US$230 billion a year. In line with the US
Department of Energy (DoE), Pickens calls for wind to supply 20% of electricity in the USA. He proposes to get most of the wind energy from the “wind corridor” stretching from Texas to Canada. “The plan I am unveiling today is doable in 5-10 years if we can get Congress and the administration to act quickly,” says Pickens. “It is based on domestic resources and it’s clean. The plan provides a bridge to the future where renewable energy can become an even greater portion of our energy framework.” AWEA says it welcomes the Pickens Plan, but Randall Swisher warns that “in order to make this happen, the US government will need to play its part and enact short- and long-term policies to transform many of our current practices. Of critical and immediate importance is an extension of the federal production tax credit, so that the industry can move ahead with planned investments and keep people at work. Of equal importance will be longer-term policies to plan for more transmission to bring large amounts of wind power from windy areas to population centres.” The wind power industry employs around 50,000 Americans, according to the AWEA, and created 10,000 new domestic jobs in 2007 alone. The association warns that if the PTC is not extended, more than US$11bn investment in clean energy will be at risk.
Solar storage revolution from MIT Researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) say they have hit upon a simple, inexpensive, highly efficient process for storing solar energy. Daniel Nocera, the Henry Dreyfuss Professor of Energy at MIT and senior author of a paper describing the work in the Science journal, believes the discovery will enable us to “seriously think about solar power as unlimited...and soon.” Nocera and postdoctoral fellow Matthew Kanan at Nocera’s lab were inspired by the photosynthesis performed by plants, and developed a process in which the sun’s energy is used to split water into hydrogen and oxygen gases. The oxygen and hydrogen may later be recombined inside a fuel cell to create electricity. The key component is a new catalyst that produces oxygen from water, and another catalyst produces hydrogen. The new catalyst consists of cobalt metal, phosphate and an electrode placed in water. When electricity – whether from a photovoltaic (PV) cell, a wind turbine or any other source – runs through the electrode, the cobalt and phosphate form a thin film on the electrode, and oxygen is produced. Combined with another catalyst, such as platinum, that can produce hydrogen gas from
14
renewable energy focus
ref0905_p12_17.indd 14
water, the system can duplicate the water splitting reaction that occurs during photosynthesis. According to Nocera, the new catalyst works at room temperature in neutral pH water, and it’s easy to set up. James Barber, the Ernst Chain Professor of Biochemistry at Imperial College London, comments: “The importance of their discovery cannot be overstated since it opens up the door for developing new technologies for energy production, thus reducing our dependence for fossil fuels and addressing the global climate change problem.” However, work remains to be done. Currently available electrolysers, which split water with electricity and which are often used industrially, are not suited for artificial photosynthesis because they are very expensive and require a highly basic (non-benign) environment that has little to do with the conditions under which photosynthesis operates. And more engineering work is required to integrate the discovery into existing photovoltaic systems. Nocera says he is confident that such systems will become available “to homeowners within 10 years”.
in brief The Florida Municipal Power Agency (FMPA) has signed a letter of intent with SunEdison for a 20-year power purchase agreement, to provide 10 MW of solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity at several locations throughout the State. The agreement includes installation, construction, monitoring and operation of the solar systems. Phoenix Solar AG has connected what is says is the largest photovoltaic (PV) plant in Greece to the grid in Pontoiraklia, near Thessaloniki. Phoenix Solar was responsible for planning and construction of the plant. The owner and initiator of the power plant with a peak output of 944 kW is SunErgy A.E. First Solar Inc. will build a 10 MW photovoltaic (PV) power plant for Sempra Generation near Boulder City, Nevada. First Solar will design, engineer and construct the turnkey PV power plant, and will provide monitoring and maintenance services for the plant over its lifetime. Sempra Generation will be the developer for the project, and will own and operate the PV power plant once completed. Construction began in July, and the 10 MW PV power plant is expected to be completed by the end of 2008. GE Energy Financial Services, a unit of GE, and Grupo Corporativo Landon will invest US$350 million in Fotowatio, said to be one of Spain’s largest and most successful solar power project developers. Fotowatio owns, operates and is developing almost 960 MW of solar projects in the fast-growing solar power markets of Spain, Italy and the USA. Community Windpower Ltd has submitted a planning application for the proposed Davidstow Community Wind farm, to North Cornwall District Council Planning Department, UK. The wind farm would provide approximately 50% of the remaining installed capacity required for Cornwall’s 2010 renewable energy target of 93-108 MW in one development in a remote area. The proposed 20 wind turbines would be capable of generating up to 50 MW.
September/October 2008
21/08/2008 10:04:38