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1. National Smart Grid Juggernaut Rolls On: Reid to Unveil Energy Bill This Week
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2. Solar Thermal Heats up With eSolar deal
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3. The Eye in the Sky on Carbon Dioxide
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4. Competition Grows Fierce for Smart Grid Stimulus Funds
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5. Solar Prices Drop, Deeper Discounts Expected
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6. Baby Steps in Hard Times for Cellulosic Ethanol Makers
National Smart Grid Juggernaut Rolls On: Reid to Unveil Energy Bill...
Josie Garthwaite - Policy
Congressional wrangling over the stimulus package helped take the ideas of a national smart grid and utility decoupling out of wonky obscurity, but stopped short of mandating their implementation. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid wants to go further, to bulk up the federal muscle behind a grid buildout. The Nevada senator told a gathering of political, business, energy and labor heavyweights in Washington, D.C., today that he plans to introduce an energy bill late this week that, if passed, would expand government authority for siting transmission lines. It would, he said, put an end to an era in which one state can “hold up forever something that needs to be done for the good of the country.”
More importantly, such a move would make it easier to build infrastructure for carrying energy from places with abundant wind, solar and geothermal energy resources to population centers with higher demand for electricity. He said the bill will be bipartisan, but did not disclose a Republican co-sponsor.
Reid revealed his timeline and scant but important details about the bill at the National Clean Energy Project summit, an event that has in attendance such influential figures as former President Bill Clinton (who called for Congress to pass a federal decoupling mandate), former Vice President and Kleiner Perkins partner Al Gore, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, energy magnate T. Boone Pickens and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Asked in a press conference about potential resistance to the bill on the part of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, a group of 253 state regulators, Reid said, “Whatever we pass at a federal level trumps all of that.”
Not everyone supports this route. VantagePoint Venture Partners VC and longtime environmental advocate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., for example, didn’t express flat-out opposition at today’s summit, but he wondered if three systems — one for the East, West, and Texas regions, respectively — might offer a more viable solution. Each of the three regions has a workable balance of renewable energy supply and demand, and the smaller scale could simplify negotiations.
But the real friction is expected to come from state regulators, according to Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chair Jeff Bingaman. States that would get transmission lines but no energy (crossover states) have reason to worry about getting short shrift. Not so with Nevada — part of the reason Reid has championed the issue. He noted that his state has far more geothermal and solar resources than its population demands. “We can’t use it all,” he said. “We need to be able to take the energy where it’s needed.”
(For those of you who have raised the valid point in our comments section that distributed generation, such as residential solar power systems, can get going without such a massive investment, Gore added that long-distance transmission lines offer a way to transition off of faraway coal power plants, but could eventually be used to support distributed systems.)
Much of the resistance to a national grid stems from the issue of “exits” — in other words, where and how electricity gets dropped off along a transmission route. Here, the DOE may be able to help. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu said he plans to support development of advanced switches and industry-wide standards. With improved technology, off- and on-ramps along an interstate highway system for electricity would become more feasible, helping to bring crossover states on board. Chu clearly has the will. With fresh billions in his agency’s purse, he also has the means. Now Reid wants to give him the mandate.
Hear Microsoft, IBM, Dell and Cisco execs at GigaOM’s Green:Net.
Solar Thermal Heats up With eSolar deal
David Ehrlich - Big Green
Yes, Virginia, there is a solar thermal market. NRG Energy and eSolar have signed an agreement to develop up to 500 megawatts of solar thermal projects in California and throughout the Southwest region of the U.S., the two said today, marking the industry’s second big deal this month.
“We’re investing in eSolar, and we are also partnering with them on the development of these projects,” said Michael Liebelson, chief development officer of low carbon technology for NRG, in a conference call held to discuss the eSolar agreement.
Princeton, N.J.-based NRG, which with this deal is making its first move in solar, plans to put $10 million directly into the Pasadena, Calif.-based startup in return for an equity stake in the startup as well as development rights and power purchase agreements for up to 11 planned eSolar power plants spread over three sites. NRG will develop, build, own and operate the plants, selling the power to local utilities.
Details of where all the projects will be built and when they’ll be complete weren’t released. But details of at least one project were announced months ago — Southern California Edison signed a deal with eSolar last year for 245 MW of solar thermal in the Antelope Valley in Southern California, and that plant is part of the NRG package. It’s expected to start production in 2011.
Liebelson said eSolar has already secured the rights to all the sites on which the plants will be built, and has power purchase agreements that are either already in place or currently being negotiated. eSolar, which is backed by Idealab, Google.org and Oak Investment Partners, uses concentrated solar power technology, in which a field of sun-tracking mirrors reflect heat onto a thermal receiver that’s mounted on a central power tower.
Things were starting to look dour for solar thermal last month, with startup Ausra saying it was dropping plans for commercial-scale solar thermal, and would instead work on smaller, less expensive projects due to a lack of financing. But a few weeks later SCE unveiled an agreement for 1.3 gigawatts of solar thermal power from BrightSource Energy, calling it the “world’s largest solar deal” at the time.
Despite Ausra’s planned departure from the commercial side of solar, more deals could be on the way, as energy companies sift through the details of the recently passed stimulus bill. Liebelson said he expects NRG to take advantage of the 30-percent renewable tax credit that was already in place before the stimulus was passed, but that his company is also looking at the bill to see if anything can be applied to the eSolar deal.
Hear Microsoft, IBM, Dell and Cisco execs at GigaOM’s Green:Net.
The Eye in the Sky on Carbon Dioxide
David Ehrlich - Big Green
It’s a bird … it’s a plane … it’s a carbon-spotting satellite from NASA! The U.S. space agency’s first satellite to study atmospheric carbon dioxide is set to launch tomorrow morning, a potential boon for environmental watchdogs, as well as cleantech firms looking to pitch their pollution-cutting wares or sell carbon credits to the biggest emitters of CO2 on the planet.
But if you just can’t wait till the satellite starts beaming its info from space, you can already check out the current data on CO2 across the U.S. through a newly-released map for Google Earth. Researchers at Purdue University put up the map last week, which can show pollution from factories, power plants, roadways, and residential and commercial buildings by state, county or population. The Purdue team is aiming to eventually have emissions data at the street level, and they plan to expand the project, called Project Vulcan, to other countries, starting with Canada and Mexico.
The free, easy-to-use Google Earth map, and the more detailed information that will come from the satellite, could help put pressure on companies to cut down on their fossil-fueled emissions, especially if a cap-and-trade program is introduced by the Obama administration, as has been promised. Cleantech firms could use the colorful data to convince municipalities and utilities to invest more in renewable energy and energy efficiency to comply with any new emissions standards.
Instead of digging through charts and graphs, anybody around the world can use the Project Vulcan map to check out, in 3-D, where the most CO2 is being spewed. And in some cases you can even see which individual power plants are pumping out the most pollution in your area. The Vulcan map can show facilities that use continuous emissions monitoring systems that are reported under the EPA’s Acid Rain Program.
There’s no word on whether that map will end up getting fed more detailed information once NASA’s satellite starts its carbon spy mission, but the Purdue team already has a space agency connection — Project Vulcan has received some funding, and images, from NASA — so it could end up on the inside track. The map currently gets its CO2 emissions data from the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy and culls population data from the Census Bureau. For now, Purdue said Project Vulcan will complement NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory, the official name for the new spacecraft, which is expected to map the globe once every 16 days for at least two years.
Hear Microsoft, IBM, Dell and Cisco execs at GigaOM’s Green:Net.
Competition Grows Fierce for Smart Grid Stimulus Funds
Josie Garthwaite - Policy
Jockeying will be the name of the game for smart grid companies over the next several months as funding from the economic stimulus package rolls out to state and federal agencies. As Bloomberg notes this morning, now that the $787 billion has been divvied up across U.S. industries, Round 2 of lobbying begins. Bloomberg calls out Xcel Energy, PG&E, Cisco and IBM as top rivals, but the race is on for the gamut of industry players (described in more detail in our smart grid FAQ) — from smart meter firms like Landis and Gyr and SmartSynch, to network companies such as Gridpoint and Tendril, to utilities like Southern California Edison and Sempra.
With most legislation, lobbyists work to get spending written into a bill and then move on to the next initiative. Steve Ellis, VP for the group Taxpayers for Common Sense, tells Bloomberg that the stimulus is different: “Now they get paid to make their project get funded.” That’s because lawmakers have left the process for doling out most funds fairly open — a result of Congress’s move to limit fights over earmarks by giving agencies dollars for general initiatives.
It will be up to the Department of Energy, for example, to interpret “a small allocation for innovative concepts for beneficial CO2 reuse,” a very broad award that the algae-based bioreactor industry worked hard to get into the bill, but one that comes without a guarantee that the resulting funds will go to the companies that lobbied for it. The field remains especially open for smart grid projects, as Bloomberg explains:
Because no one has built a smart grid yet, no one is sure how it will work or what technologies will win out. The stimulus package is giving companies a national stage on which to tout their ideas and get a leg up on the competition.
Of course, smart grid companies haven’t waited for the Presidential green light to position themselves for funds. General Electric started gunning its engine over Super Bowl weekend, launching a multimillion ad campaign to get its smart grid cred on the national radar. And then there’s Google, which unveiled plans to develop a web-based energy data tool called PowerMeter earlier this month, shaking the smart grid industry with questions about whether the company will be a competitor or a partner. For the long run, we have to wonder who would own the relationship with customers in a Google smart grid world — but for now, the looming question is who’s getting the money?
The Office of Management and Budget has released a preliminary implementation plan for the stimulus package. We’ll be sorting through that and other details as they emerge to keep you posted on how to get in the running for funds.
Hear Microsoft, IBM, Dell and Cisco execs at GigaOM’s Green:Net.
Solar Prices Drop, Deeper Discounts Expected
Jennifer Kho - Energy
As many industry insiders have predicted, solar-equipment prices are indeed falling as supplies are growing faster than the demand in a bear economy. According to Solarbuzz’s February price survey, U.S. panel prices have fallen 4 cents since December to $4.81 per watt of peak capacity, while European panel prices are down 6 euro cents to €4.62 per watt. In the last month, they have fallen 3 cents and 1 euro cent, respectively.
That may not sound too dramatic, but some companies say they are seeing larger price cuts. The anecdotal evidence could indicate that wider declines are coming or just that some buyers are getting better deals.
Mike Hall, president of installer Borrego Solar Systems, says he’s seen solar-panel prices drop some 15 percent in the last few months, and he calls this the first “real drop” in PV prices in the last three or four years. “They’re back to where they were when I started in the industry in 2002,” he says. “There’s no question they’ve dropped a lot and across the board. I haven’t heard of anyone who hasn’t been affected by price, some more than others.” Borrego Solar ditched its residential solar division last week.
The lowest prices have reached $3.57 per watt for a thin-film panel, $3.89 per watt for a monocrystalline panel and $3.99 per watt for a multicrystalline panel, according to Solarbuzz.
Jenny Chase, a senior associate at New Energy Finance, predicts prices could plummet as low as $2.40 per watt. The admittedly “very bearish” view would represent a 40 percent drop from the $4-per-watt prices she saw in the third quarter of last year.
But Chase adds that she expects to continue to see a spectrum of prices, with some companies — such as those with better reputations or higher-efficiency panels — commanding higher prices than others. “I think customers would rather buy from a company that is transparent and that has a warranty they think is worth something, rather than buying from a company that might not be able to replace their panels, if they didn’t work,” she says.
Despite some companies able to negotiate higher prices, this year is looking dark for solar across the board. Last week, Lux Research said it expects cell and module capacity to reach 10.4 GW, outpacing demand nearly twofold, and the overall market will shrink to $29 billion and 5.3 GW, down from $36 billion and 5.5 GW in 2008. Lux senior analyst Ted Sullivan said, "While oversupply in the solar market has been looming for some time, the correction has been more aggressive due to the economic crisis.”
Hear Microsoft, IBM, Dell and Cisco execs at GigaOM’s Green:Net.
Baby Steps in Hard Times for Cellulosic Ethanol Makers
Katie Fehrenbacher - Biofuels
With many of the next-generation ethanol makers being forced to drag their heels on plant construction during the downturn, it’s becoming rare to hear about progress on cellulosic ethanol plants. But here’s a small step for a small demo plant: Next-gen ethanol maker ZeaChem says it is still on track to start construction of its 1.5 million gallon per year demo plant in Boardman, Ore., this year, and the company says engineering work on the plant has already started with contractor CH2M Hill.
It’s a baby step, far from commercial scale production, but 7-year-old ZeaChem seems to be keeping on the steady track that it has set for itself. We took a tour of the lab last month, and witnessed the process by which the company takes a common microbe (found in termite guts and regular soil) and uses it to break down trees and plants into ethanol. The company claims its hybrid process, which combines the microbe steps with a gasification step, enables it to produce 40 percent more ethanol per ton of biomass than competitors.
In this economic climate, in which project financing for large plants has dried up, cellulosic ethanol makers are routinely pushing back plant construction plans. The financial whirlwind that hit at the end of 2008 was just sudden and intense enough to have left companies that were planning to spend hundreds of millions on building ethanol plants this year in the lurch.
As we noted last week, cellulosic ethanol maker Verenium, which has a joint venture and investment from oil giant BP, says its first commercial plant won’t likely break ground in 2009 as previously planned, but will now start construction closer to 2010. Cellulosic ethanol startup Coskata told us back in December that with economic conditions slowing project financing, its 50-100 million gallon per year commercial plant would probably be producing ethanol by 2011, instead of the projected late 2010.
ZeaChem has been moving slower on commercial production than those folks, but it was able to raise a round recently, demonstrating that investors think the company’s technology is valuable. Last month, ZeaChem said it has raised $34 million from giant petroleum refiner Valero Energy Corp., as well as Globespan Partners, Mohr Davidow Ventures, and Firelake Capital. While ZeaChem won’t likely be the first to produce cellulosic ethanol at commercial scale — that’s looking to be Range Fuels for now — it looks like it’s one of the more solid firms that can weather the current recession.
Hear Microsoft, IBM, Dell and Cisco execs at GigaOM’s Green:Net.
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