• Home
  • Sales Training
  • Q&A Episodes
    • Q&A
  • Blog
  • Calculate savings
  • Panels 101
  • Testimonials
  • About
  • Contact Us
  • Apply to Join Our Team
  James The Solar Energy Expert

New York Calls for 50% Renewables by 2030

12/4/2015

1 Comment

 
Picture
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has directed the state’s department of public service to enact a new clean energy standard that calls for half of the electricity consumed in the state to come from clean and renewable resources.
Under the Reforming the Energy Vision proceeding, New York already had a goal of 50 percent renewables by 2030, but the Department of Public Service will now codify that goal.
“By mandating a Clean Energy Standard, we ensure that this goal is converted from aspirational to actionable,” Cuomo wrote in the letter to the commission. The regulators will have to develop the standard by June 2016. The state’s 2015 Energy Plan already calls for cutting carbon emissions 40 percent by 2030.
New York gets more than 10 percent of its electricity capacity from hydro. Pumped storage and wind each account for about 4 percent of capacity as well. As a percentage of electricity consumption, however, renewables and hydro account for about 25 percent. 
New York is now in elite company in terms of RPS requirements. Earlier this year, California raised its RPS from 33 percent to 50 percent, Hawaii mandated 100 percent renewables by 2045, and Vermont passed a bill for 75 percent renewables by 2032.
But New York has a unique RPS operating model. Instead of each investor-owned utility being responsible for procuring renewables, utilities collect an RPS charge from customers, which go to a fund run by New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).
  • MOST POPULAR

  • MOST COMMENTS

  • Flying Robots Are the Future of Solar

  • Solar Stocks Continue to Plummet in a ‘Bizarre Confluence of Contradictory Events’

  • The Mercifully Short List of Fallen Solar Companies: 2015 Edition

White PapersThe New Face of Damage AssessmentDOWNLOAD NOWExecutive Briefing: The Future of U.S. SolarDOWNLOAD NOWNYSERDA then administers the RPS program through small- and large-scale projects. The large-scale portion of the program has had 10 solicitations that have contracted about 2 gigawatts of power.
New York is also unique in that the new RPS should be increasingly achievable under the Reforming the Energy Vision proceeding. The regulatory overhaul seeks to eliminate electricity peaks in the New York, spur customer demand for distributed, clean energy solutions, and transform the distribution utilities into clean energy platform providers.
By right-sizing the power system and eliminating peaks, fewer fossil-fuel peaker plants will be needed. Additionally, utilities will be asked to slash the nearly 9 percent in losses on the transmission and distribution systems, which will further drive down generation needs.
Cuomo also asked the commission on Wednesday to develop a process to prevent the premature retirement of upstate nuclear plants during the transition to more renewables. Nuclear energy accounts for 14 percent of electricity production in New York and has emerged as a messy battleground for Cuomo. He has called repeatedly for the closing of Entergy’s Indian Point plant, while trying to block the closure of upstate plants that are losing money in wholesale markets.
As cheap natural gas and increasingly cost-effective renewables come on the system, nuclear energy is having trouble competing. Cuomo said in his letter to the commission that closing upstate nuclear plants “would eviscerate the emission reductions achieved through the state’s renewable energy programs.”
As of now, it’s unclear what measures the commission may adopt to keep the plants open.  
To encourage faster development of its solar market, New York recentlylifted its net metering cap, and the state’s Green Bank and Green Jobs-Green New York program continue to invest in solar.
Next June will be a busy month for the New York regulators, as the utilities are also expected to file their distributed system implementation plans that month. 

1 Comment

NRG Energy CEO David Crane Resigns

12/3/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
NRG Energy Inc.’s high-profile chief executive stepped down on Thursday in the face of investor unhappiness over his investments in renewable energy and this year’s 59% drop in the power-generation company’s share price.
CEO David Crane, a Harvard-trained lawyer and onetime investment banker who led NRG for a dozen years, resigned effective immediately and was succeeded by the company’s chief operating officer, Mauricio Gutierrez.
“My sense is that over the course of my business life I probably have talked too much and this might be a good time to err on the side of speaking too little,” Mr. Crane wrote in an email, declining to comment further on his departure.
The Princeton, N.J.-based company is one of a dwindling number of merchant power companies that sell electricity to utilities.
Mr. Crane, 56 years old, was the architect of its bold strategy to greatly expand NRG’s fleet of gas- and coal-burning power plants and build a presence in solar and wind power.
AdvertisementBut a billion-dollar investment in renewable energy failed to generate the profits that Mr. Crane had anticipated and became a drag on earnings and the company’s stock, which ended 2014 at $26.95. It closed at $10.97 a share in 4 p.m. composite trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday.
In September, Mr. Crane announced a new strategy to split off NRG’s renewable-energy enterprises, including a residential rooftop solar business, and find investors willing to sustain them until they become profitable. In an interview that month with The Wall Street Journal, he said he expected the unit, which he called GreenCo, to be created and capitalized by the middle of 2016.
His abrupt departure raises questions about whether that split will occur. An NRG spokeswoman said the company would have no comment beyond its disclosure of the management change.
Mr. Crane has agreed to assist in the transition through month’s end, NRG said.
Analysts have said NRG should have moved earlier to hive off its money-losing enterprises and focus its attention on wholesale power and on selling electricity through a retail arm. Its consumer business has about three million retail customers.
“It has been a tough time for merchant power in general and NRG got pushback on the new strategy,” said Ali Agha, a SunTrust Banks Inc. analyst. But, he said, what likely drove Mr. Crane’s departure was “the hit to the stock price.”
In an interview two months ago with the Journal, Mr. Crane said the company’s directors hadn’t talked to him about leaving. “The board has been very supportive,” he said. “They want to see the plan implemented and they believe I’m the best one to implement it.”
But he also acknowledged “there are at least two sets of people above my pay grade—shareholders and the board of directors,” who would decide who was most capable of leading the company.
Like many other companies, NRG failed to predict the price of natural gas would tumble to about $2 a million British Thermal Units this year, a collapse that reduced wholesale power prices and cut NRG’s revenues. The company lost roughly $78 million on revenue of $11.6 billion in its first three quarters this year.
This week, NRG said it would sell two plants—a coal-fired plant in Pennsylvania and a natural-gas plant in Illinois—for $138 million combined, a fraction of what it would cost to build them.
NRG said the cost of maintaining the plants would outweigh their contributions to earnings.
Mr. Crane had told the Journal earlier that investors made clear they would rather have had profits from the power-generation business returned to them through dividends and stock buybacks and not poured into the fledgling clean-energy enterprises.
“We’ve been willing to try new things and have an appetite for risk,” said Mr. Crane in October. But, he added, “We have to be mindful that industry logic and investor logic do not always coincide.”

0 Comments

The List of Fallen Solar Companies: 2015 Edition

12/2/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture

2015
  • Enecsys (microinverters) bankrupt -- Enecsys raised more than $55 million in VC from investors including Wellington Partners, NES Partners, Good Energies and Climate Change Capital Private Equity for its microinverter technology.
  • QBotix (trackers) closed -- QBotix had a two-axis solar tracker system where the motors, instead of being installed two per tracker, were moved around by a rail-mounted robot that adjusted each tracker every 40 minutes. But while QBotix was trying to gain traction, single-axis solar trackers were also evolving and driving down cost. QBotix raised more than $19.5 million from Firelake, NEA, DFJ JAIC, Siemens Ventures, E.ON and Iberdrola.
  • Solar-Fabrik (c-Si) bankrupt -- German module builder
  • Soitec (CPV) closed -- France's Soitec, one of the last companies with a hope of commercializing concentrating photovoltaic technology, abandoned its solar business. Soitec had approximately 75 megawatts' worth of CPV projects in the ground.
  • TSMC (CIGS) closed -- TSMC Solar ceased manufacturing operations, as "TSMC believes that its solar business is no longer economically sustainable." Last year, TSMC Solar posted a champion module efficiency of 15.7 percent with its Stion-licensed technology. 
Sale
  • SkyFuel (parabolic troughs for CSP) -- China's Sunshine Kaidi New Energy Group acquired SkyFuel’s parabolic trough technology. 
Watch list
  • Spire Corp. -- According to an SEC filing, on October 22, 2015, "Spire Corporation announced a small reduction in force and, due to insufficient financial support, the suspension of all non-essential operations until further notice. Certain employees will continue to work to maintain day-to-day activities. As previously announced, the Company has engaged an investment banking firm for the purpose of assessing strategic alternatives for the Company, including, but not limited to, a potential sale of the Company or certain of its assets." 
  • Andalay Solar -- OTC stock price is currently $0.00.
  • Abengoa -- Seeking bankruptcy protection

Here's the collection from previous years.
2009 to 2010 Bankrupt, closed, acquired
  • Advent Solar (emitter wrap-through Si) acquired by Applied Materials
  • Applied Solar (solar roofing) acquired by Quercus Trust
  • OptiSolar (a-Si on a grand scale) -- OptiSolar’s utility projects were acquired by First Solar; its manufacturing line was sold to NovaSolar.
  • Ready Solar (PV installation) acquired by SunEdison
  • Solasta (nano-coaxial solar) closed
  • SV Solar (low-concentration PV) closed
  • Senergen (depositing silane onto free-form metallurgical-grade Si substrates) closed
  • Signet Solar (a-Si) bankrupt
  • Sunfilm (a-Si) bankrupt
  • Wakonda (GaAs) acquired by Siva

2011Bankrupt, closed
  • EPV Solar (a-Si) bankrupt
  • Evergreen (drawn Si) bankrupt
  • Solyndra (CIGS) bankrupt
  • SpectraWatt (c-Si) bankrupt
  • Stirling Energy Systems (dish engine) bankrupt
Acquisition, sale
  • Ascent Solar (CIGS) acquired by TFG Radiant
  • Calyxo (CdTe) acquired by Solar Fields from Q-Cells 
  • HelioVolt (CIGS) acquired by Korea's SK Innovation
  • National Semiconductor Solar Magic (panel optimizers) exited systems business
  • NetCrystal (silicon on flexible substrate) acquired by Solar Semiconductor
  • Soliant (CPV) acquired by Emcore

2012 Bankrupt, closed
  • Abound Solar (CdTe) bankrupt
  • AQT (CIGS) closed
  • Ampulse (thin silicon) closed
  • Arise Technology (PV modules) bankrupt
  • Azuray (microinverters) closed
  • BP (c-Si panels) exits solar business
  • Centrotherm (PV manufacturing equipment) bankrupt and restructured
  • CSG (c-Si on glass) closed by Suntech
  • Day4 Energy (cell interconnects) delisted from TSX exchange
  • ECD (a-Si) bankrupt
  • Energy Innovations (CPV) bankrupt
  • Flexcell (a-Si roll-roll BIPV) closed
  • Gadir Solar (a-Si PV) Spain-based customer of Oerlikon Solar closed
  • GlobalWatt (solar) closed
  • GreenVolts (CPV) closed
  • G24i (DSCs) bankrupt in 2012, re-emerged as G24i Power with new investors
  • Hoku (polysilicon) shut down its Idaho polysilicon production facility
  • Inventux (a-Si) bankrupt
  • Konarka (OSCs) bankrupt
  • Odersun (CIGS) bankrupt
  • Pramac (a-Si panels built with equipment from Oerlikon) insolvent
  • Pairan (Germany, inverters) insolvent
  • Ralos (developer) bankrupt
  • REC Wafer (c-Si) bankrupt
  • Satcon (BoS) bankrupt
  • Schott (c-Si) exits c-Si business
  • Schuco (a-Si) shutting down its a-Si business
  • Sencera (a-Si) closed
  • Siliken (c-Si modules) closed
  • Skyline Solar (LCPV) closed
  • Siemens (CSP, inverters, BOS) divestment from solar
  • Solar Millennium (developer) insolvent
  • Solarhybrid (developer) insolvent
  • Sovello (Q-Cells, Evergreen, REC JV) bankrupt
  • SolarDay (c-Si modules) insolvent
  • Solar Power Industries (PV modules) bankrupt
  • Soltecture (CIGS BIPV) bankrupt
  • Sun Concept (developer) bankrupt
Acquisition, fire sale, restructuring
  • Oelmaier (Germany, inverters) insolvent, bought by agricultural supplier Lehner Agrar
  • Q-Cells (c-Si) insolvent, acquired by South Korea's Hanwha
  • Sharp (a-Si) backing away from a-Si, retiring 160 of its 320 megawatts in Japan
  • Solibro (CIGS) Q-Cells unit acquired by China's Hanergy
  • Solon (c-Si) acquired by UAE's Microsol  
  • Scheuten Solar (BIPV) bankrupt, then acquired by Aikosolar
  • Sunways (c-Si, inverters) bought by LDK, restructuring to focus on BIPV and storage

2013Bankrupt, closed
  • Array Converter (Module-level power electronics) bankrupt, IP to VC investor
  • Avancis (CIGS) discontinuing production
  • Bosch (c-Si PV module) exited module business
  • Concentrator Optics (CPV) bankrupt
  • Cyrium (CPV semiconductors) bankrupt
  • Direct Grid (microinverters) closed
  • GreenRay (microinverters) closed
  • Helios Solar (c-Si modules) bankrupt
  • Hoku Solar (silicon) bankrupt
  • Honda Soltec (CIGS thin-film modules) closing
  • Infinia (Stirling engine CSP) bankrupt
  • Nanosolar (CIGS) closed
  • Pythagoras Solar (BIPV) closed
  • Solarion (CIGS) went bankrupt but restructured and in limited production
  • SolFocus (CPV) bankrupt
  • Sunsil (module level electronics) closed
  • Suntech Wuxi (c-Si) bankrupt
  • Tioga (project developer) closed
  • Willard & Kelsey (CdTe panels) bankrupt
  • ZenithSolar (CHP) bankrupt
Acquired
  • Agile Energy (project developer) acquired by RES Americas
  • Bosch (c-Si PV module) acquired by SolarWorld
  • Diehl (Germany inverters) inverter division sold to PE firm mutares AG
  • GE-Primestar (CdTe technology acquired from PrimeStar)  acquired by First Solar
  • Global Solar Energy (CIGS) acquired by Hanergy
  • Infinia (Stirling engine CSP) assets acquired by Israel's Qnergy
  • MiaSolé (CIGS) acquired by China's Hanergy  
  • NuvoSun (CIGS) acquired by Dow
  • Suntech Wuxi (c-Si) acquired by Shunfeng Photovoltaic International for $492 million
  • Twin Creeks (kerfless Si) IP and other assets acquired by GT Advanced Technology
  • Wuerth Solar (installer) business turned over to BayWa
  • Wuerth Solar (CIGS line) taken over by Manz
  • ZenithSolar (CHP) acquired by Suncore
2014 Bankrupt, closed
  • Areva's solar business (CSP) closed -- Suffering through a Fukushima-inspired slowdown in reactor sales, Areva exited its concentrated solar power business. Areva's solar unit consisted of the remains of the acquired startup Ausra. 
  • HelioVolt (CIGS thin-film PV) closed -- HelioVolt was founded in 2001 and aimed to fabricate CIGS solar panels. Thirteen years and more than $200 million in VC later, HelioVolt had shipped no commercial product and finally admitted defeat. A thin-film expert offered this take: "Founded on the idea of a transfer process (FAST) which never worked, HelioVolt went to a two-step process and finally adapted co-evaporation. However, the co-evaporation process the firm decided to copy was that of Solibro -- using point sources and an upward deposition orientation -- something with severe limitations in manufacturing."
  • LDK (vertically integrated module builder) filed for bankruptcy
  • Masdar PV (a-Si) closed its SunFab-based amorphous silicon PV factory in Germany.
  • SolarMax (PV inverters) -- Swiss inverter maker SolarMax's parent firm, Sputnik Engineering, filed for insolvency.
  • Sopogy (small-scale CSP) closed -- Sopogy promised smaller-size CSP for the distribution grid or even the rooftop. The startup collected more than $35 million in VC and strategic financing from investors including Southern California Gas Company, 3M, Mitsui & Co., Kolohala Ventures, Enerdigm Ventures, Black River Ventures, Pierre Omidyar and TWC.
  • TEL (a-Si) withdrew from its a-Si solar business -- In 2012, the a-Si equipment division of Oerlikon was divested to Tokyo Electron (TEL) in a $275 million deal. In 2014, TEL withdrew from the PV panel production equipment business. Low efficiencies (below 11 percent), high costs, and cheap Chinese panels doomed a-Si and Oerlikon's effort.
  • Xunlight (a-Si) went bankrupt -- Xunlight was adept at winning tax credits and government grants but never commercialized its roll-to-roll a-Si BIPV technology.
Acquisition, sale
  • Emcore's CPV business -- Suncore acquired the remaining interest in Emcore's CPV business. Its space business was purchased by SolAero Technologies (formerly known as Photon Acquisition), an affiliate of private equity firm Veritas Capital.
  • RSI (CdTe PV panels) sold to Chinese strategic -- RSI, a VC-funded cadmium telluride thin-film solar module startup formerly known as Reel Solar, was acquired by an undisclosed "Chinese strategic," according to the company's CEO. RSI employs an electroplating process that works at a lower temperature than First Solar's and allows the use of larger glass sizes with an electrodeposition technology "inherited from Monosolar." According to the CEO's viewpoint, larger glass sizes drive down installed costs. 
  • Solar Junction (CPV semiconductors) sold to Saudi strategic -- Solar Junction raised more than $30 million from VC investors ATV, DFJ and NEA, but was sold to Saudi entity KACST and one of its investment arms, TAQNIA, according to sources close to the company. Solar Junction had developed record-setting triple-junction solar cells.
  • SAG Solarstrom, a bankrupt PV project developer, was sold to Shunfeng Photovoltaic, the owner of PV panel builder Suntech, in an $85 million deal. Germany's SAG Solarstrom ranked among the top ten of PV O&M providers in the world in 2013.  
0 Comments

    James Ramos,BPI

    I'm your go to solar energy expert here to guide you step-by-step through all of your solar options.  

    Archives

    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    February 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • Sales Training
  • Q&A Episodes
    • Q&A
  • Blog
  • Calculate savings
  • Panels 101
  • Testimonials
  • About
  • Contact Us
  • Apply to Join Our Team