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In a Hertford County field where rows of corn once grew, rows of solar panels now stand - 20,000 panels that will soon convert sunshine into enough electricity to power a small town.

When finished next month, Duke Energy Renewables' project on 37 acres will be one of the state's largest.

About 40 miles to the southeast, on a 100-acre field in Perquimans County, a Charlotte company plans to build another solar farm, this one consisting of 83,000 panels. It would stand out as the largest in North Carolina.

With the two solar farms and at least three major wind farms in development, northeastern North Carolina has become a hot bed for renewable energy.

The region has plenty of open land, and a sunny, breezy coastal climate. It also has a major power transmission line running through it with ties to the PJM Interconnection, the largest competitive wholesale electricity market in the world.

"Alternative energy is one of our main economic niches now," said Vann Rogerson, president of North Carolina's Northeast Commission, which recruits industry to the region. "The big players know where northeastern North Carolina is now."

Rogerson is working on additional renewable energy development projects with at least two other green-energy companies.

Much of the surge in green energy ventures stems from North Carolina's 2007 mandate requiring utility companies to produce 12.5% of their power from renewable resources by 2021, said Julie Robinson, spokeswoman for the North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association. Utilities are actually ahead of schedule, especially in the solar field, she said.

"Solar energy in North Carolina has grown dramatically over the last few years," she said.

The more capacity in megawatts that a green project has, the closer that utilities get to reaching the state mandate, and the bigger the reputation gets within the industry.

Duke Energy Renewable's Murfreesboro Solar Project is expected to carry a 6.4 megawatt capacity and be able to power 700 homes. The North Carolina Electric Membership Corp. will buy the electricity.

The Perquimans project, built by Solar Green Development of Charlotte, plans to have a capacity of 20 megawatts, enough to provide electricity to nearly 3,000 homes - more than half of all the households in the county. It is expected to connect to Dominion Power.

The solar projects would complement the wind farms that have found their way to the region.

Iberdrola Renewables plans to build a wind farm with 150 turbines on 20,000 acres. In Camden County, Invenergy is seeking permits to erect 100 turbines on thousands of acres of open farmland. Together, the projects could power about 100,000 homes. Each wind farm is projected to involve a $600 million investment and would be among the largest in the nation.

Down in Beaufort County, Invenergy has announced plans to build a wind farm valued at $160 million that would power about 15,000 homes.

The northeastern corner of the state has plenty of inexpensive, open land, a sparse population, and officials who are receptive. The proximity of the major transmission line is also a big draw.

"When that wind is really blowing, then there is a lot of power coming out of those turbines, and you need a place to send it," Ellis said.

The Perquimans County solar farm will have a capital investment of $85 million.

Given that kind of investment, tax breaks are a major motivator. Among other state and federal tax breaks, North Carolina allows local governments to collect 20% of the property tax value from land on which renewable-energy projects are built.

"Twenty percent of $85 million is a good-sized tax boost," said Bobby Darden, Perquimans County manager.

Original article – Hamptonroads.com

...by Warren Kirshenbaum

The pilot program of Solarize Massachusetts will come to Scituate this month, as part of the statewide initiative to bring solar energy into the lives, homes, and businesses of South Shore residents.

Chosen as one of four communities throughout Massachusetts to participate, Scituate will host numerous presentations on the solar initiatives available to residents with the hopes that the coastal community will become greener than ever.

“We first started The Commonwealth Solar Rebate Program a number of years ago, and we’ve seen impressive numbers in terms of the number of solar systems installed in Massachusetts homes and businesses since then,” said Kate Plourd, the press representative for Mass CEC.

Scituate opted into the program early this year and was chosen at random to be the pilot town for this region.
Plourd hopes that the program’s success will dictate how else to deploy solar initiatives in other communities throughout Massachusetts, bringing more and more residents and businesses on board with the cleaner, greener, energy.

There has been significant growth of solar power in Massachusetts. This program is intended to educate homeowners and business owners about the ease of installing a solar system and the  financial benefits, both in utility bills and tax credits.

As part of the program, Scituate hosted a “Solar 101” meeting to discuss solar rebates, installation, and renewable energy tax credits.

There are three basic kinds of rebates available to locals – the Commonwealth Solar Rebate Program, the state tax credit, and the federal tax credit.

“Solarize Scituate” isn’t the only clean-energy initiative the town has its hands on right now.

With the soon-to-be-implemented Stretch Code mandates, which require more stringent, energy-efficient guidelines for new construction; a wind turbine to be installed in the fall; and with a large solar array being placed on the town’s capped landfill, Scituate will be relying on clean energy in no time.

“Between [all] those things … things are looking very green around Scituate,” she said.

Original article By Jessica Bartlett-Boston.com

...by Warren Kirshenbaum

The top state energy official in Massachusetts marked Earth Day this week by announcing a new solar power initiative. The pilot program is aimed at bringing the power of the sun to the masses.

A grassroots marketing effort will attempt to sell solar power house by house and business by business and through volume discount pricing attempting to overcome a chief drawback, the high cost of installing solar power systems. Richard Sullivan, Secretary of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs says the program called “Solarize Massachusetts” introduces a new business model for small scale solar projects for homes and businesses.

It is a way to aggregate and drive down the cost of installation.

Proponents of the program hope it will take solar energy in Massachusetts beyond the early adopters and reduce the need for substantial government rebates for solar. Sullivan says Massachusetts has one of the most ambitious clean energy programs in the country, but 80 percent of the roughly 22 billion dollars spent on energy annually in Massachusetts goes out of the state, most of it out of the country.

Since 2006, incentive programs have helped increase solar power by 20 fold in Massachusetts. The state has 45 megawatts of solar power installed and another 40 megawatts under contract for installation. By statute, 250 megawatts of solar power is to be installed by 2017.

The effort to increase adoption of solar power will begin this year in four pilot communities Hatfield, Harvard, Scituate and Winchester. These were selected at random from geographic regions and each meets certain criteria under the state's Green Communities Program.

The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, partnering with the state to run the pilot program, is seeking bids from companies willing to provide homeowners and businesses with a turnkey solar power system on a tiered price schedule that lowers the costs for multiple installations. Existing state and federal renewable energy credits would also be available for purchasing the solar power systems.

The director for the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center says funding is available for up to 400 projects.

Funding for the solarization pilot project comes from a clean energy surcharge on Massachusetts utility bills and from the sale of renewable energy credits.

Original news story can be seen and heard WAMC Northeast Public Radio - Paul Tuthill

...by Warren Kirshenbaum

California Governor signs 33% renewable energy standard into law; Iowa approves solar, wind tax credits; CO passes hydro bill; NY announces fuel cell incentives; Oregon mandates 5% biodiesel.

California Governor Jerry Brown today signed into law a bill that raises the bar on the state's renewable energy standard (RES).

The bill requires the state's pubicly-owned utilities to produce or purchase 33% renewable energy by 2020. Previously, the mandate was 20% by 2010.

This new RES is the most ambitious in the US by far. It was signed into law today at the opening of a new SunPower/Flextronics solar manufacturing facility in California. The facility is expected to create more than 100 renewable energy jobs.  

Iowa Senate Approves Solar, Wind Tax Credits

Solar and wind energy tax credits passed through the Iowa Senate this month. The credits equal 30% of the cost of construction or installation, subject to a maximum credit of $15,000 for commercial or agricultural construction.
If signed into law, the tax credits would be refundable or alternatively applied against tax liabilities for the following tax year. They will also be retroactive to Jan. 1.

According to a recent American Wind Energy Association report, Iowa now leads the US in wind power production. The state produces roughly 15% of its electricity with windpower, up from 7% in 2008. 

Colorado Passes Bipartisan Hydro Bill
 
The Colorado House by a 65-0 vote passed an amended version of a hydroelectric power bill (HB1083), which now moves to Gov. John Hickenlooper's desk awaiting his signature to become law.

It passed unanimously through two committee hearings, two votes in the House and a vote in the Senate - more than 180 votes cast, and not one in opposition. The bill adds hydroelectric and pumped-hydro operations to the list of new energy technologies that the Public Utilities Commission can consider.

The bill is seen as a first step in bringing an $800 million pumped hydro project to Colorado. TransCanada is considering building the project, known as South Slope. 

New York Announces Fuel Cell Incentives

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) announced an incentive program for businesses, hospitals or other large power consumers interested in installing fuel cells.

The technology allows users to generate some of their own power from clean energy, using less energy from the electric grid.

NYSERDA's Customer-Sited Tier Fuel Cell Program will provide up to $21.6 million through 2015. The program provides an incentive toward the cost of fuel cell installation, plus payments over the first three years of operation based on power produced.

Companies can collect a total payment of up to $1 million for fuel cells, based on the size of the project. Funding is awarded to applications received on a first-come, first-serve basis.
 
Oregon Mandates 5% Biodiesel Blend

On April 1, Oregon became the second US state to require that most diesel fuel contain at least 5% biodiesel (B5).
 
The state already had a 2% biodiesel (B2) requirement. Oregon's B5 requirement was scheduled to be triggered when the in-state production capacity reached 15 million gallons annually, which the biodiesel plants recently accomplished. The requirement will generate about 25 million gallons of biodiesel demand annually.

Minnesota was the first state to pass a B2 biodiesel requirement, which has since increased to B5. The state's required volume of biodiesel is scheduled to rise to B10 by 2012, and B20 by 2015.

Washington and Pennsylvania both have a B2 requirement in effect. Connecticut, Louisiana, Massachusetts and New Mexico have all passed similar legislation that hasn't yet taken effect.


Original article can be seen on SustainableBusiness.com News

...By Warren Kirshenbaum

Renewable energy is not yet able to be produced in quantities that will satisfy global energy demand, and renewable energy is more expensive than energy produced from fossil fuels, but great strides have been made in recent years in these areas. Furthermore, the costs that the production of fossil fuels are imposing, both on our environment, and financially on the companies producing oil and gas are not factored into the cost per gallon or kilowatt hour of energy production, and perhaps this is a line item that we should start to factor into the cost of the production of energy from fossil fuels if we are going to make a push toward serving the world’s energy needs with renewable resources.

This year, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill (which was both the biggest oil spill in U.S. history and the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry) released 185 million gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico for about three months and has inflicted devastating environmental and psychological damage on the coastal communities in the Gulf, affecting tourism, fishing and drilling, as well as subjecting residents to ongoing restrictions on fishing and shrimping that have affected the livelihoods of thousands of people. BP’s Gulf Oil Spill resulted in the deaths of 11 workers on the rig and injuries to 17 others. BP’s financial expenditures from the oil spill have so far reached $3.12 billion, excluding the $20 billion compensation fund they have set up to reimburse residents and businesses for their losses. Also this year we endured the Copiapo mining accident in Chile, which occurred when the copper/gold mine owned by San Esteban Mining Company collapsed and 33 men were trapped 2,300 ft below ground for 69 days. Fortunately, all of the 33 men were rescued with only one man suffering from pneumonia, and a few others experiencing dental problems. The cost to rescue the men was $20 million. The San Esteban Mining Company has allegedly violated mining regulations previously, and 8 of its employees have died at the mine in 12 years. Adding to the year’s disasters at fossil fuel production sites is the Pike River Mine accident in New Zealand where an explosion at the coal mine has left 29 miners trapped 4,900 feet from the mine’s entrance. The miners are still trapped in the mine and may not be alive. Gas sampling is being tested to ensure that any accidental spark will not ignite the mine when search and rescue operations are undertaken. The Gulf Oil Spill, Copiapo mining accident, and Pike River Mine accident were stark reminders that our pursuit of energy derived from fossil fuels is causing an irreversible deterioration of our planet, its natural resources, our environmental balance, and is subjecting us to unacceptable losses in human life.

There are a multitude of renewable resources, but this post will focus on solar and hydro energy production, as these methods of renewable energy production are, in my opinion, poised to experience significant growth in the next few years.

Solar energy production is significantly more expensive than hydro, due to the cost of the solar panels themselves. Hydro has languished for decades as a method of creating renewable energy, mainly due to the environmental objections that a hydro project creates, and the expensive federal regulatory requirements of such projects. However, both forms of renewable energy are attractive. Solar projects, unlike wind projects do not create a danger to birds, cattle, and other animals, solar fields are not large and aesthetically displeasing, and do not generate loud whirring sounds that intrude on people’s quality of life. Consequently, as solar installations have very little negative environmental effect, they are generally easy to permit. Solar energy is, however, expensive to produce, as the technology that underpins the solar panels have traditionally made the installation of solar fields expensive enough to impede their development as a commercial enterprise. As with all technology, as solar technology develops, its cost has begun to decline, which should make solar projects more viable. Hydro, is very clean and unobtrusive to the environment, and is relatively safe to produce, but it can affect the migratory pathways of fish, and a dam breach could be detrimental to downstream human habitats. Consequently, new dams have not been constructed in many years. In fact, the stock of dams has decreased over the decades. Moreover, the prospect of new dams being built is relatively slim (due to the environmental challenges and the time period involved in getting Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approval). Inorder for hydro production to increase, the capacity of existing facilities would need to be expanded. Legislative changes that limit environmental objections to the process of FERC approval, renewal, and re-licensing would need to be implemented to help to stimulate hydro production, this will require intensive lobbying, but it can be done.

Nevertheless, the point being made here is that, despite the higher cost of producing renewable energy, the cost of energy production from fossil fuels is enormous,not only the monetary cost, but the environmental cost as well as the cost of human life. This is more of an IOU being tagged to the planet than a current cost, which leads to the conclusion that we have no choice but to pay the higher monetary price for renewable energy now and retire the bigger IOU that future generations will inherit.