Drive for clean energy: Companies set to back 20000 megawatts of solar expansion

NEW DELHI: India could start installing 20,000 megawatts of solar power capacity as early as April after companies pledged to support the government’s drive for clean energy, an official told Reuters.

Details of the plan, which has drawn commitments from US, German and Chinese companies, will be announced on Friday, said Upendra Tripathy, secretary of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.

“We have got commitments from very established industry, both foreign and domestic for next year,” he said in an interview at his office.

Foreign companies will be allowed to decide where they manufacture the required equipment, he said.

The rapidly falling cost of solar power, which is expected to reach parity with conventional energy by 2017, has ignited interest in its potential in India.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has looked to industry for help in funding what could be a $100 billion expansion in clean energy.

For its part, the government will have to find the land required to build the solar panels on.

Modi aims to make India one of the world’s largest renewable energy markets, targeting 100,000 MW of output by 2022 from just 3,000 MW currently.

One megawatt can power roughly 1,000 US homes although this varies widely, depending on the amount of heating or cooling needed, for example.

Despite more than 300 days of sunshine a year, India relies on coal for three-fifths of its energy needs while solar supplies less than 1 percent.

US-based First Solar and SunEdison Inc , Canadian Solar and China’s JA Solar are among the companies keen to expand into India.

Yet analysts say India’s target will be difficult to reach given the weak finances of electricity distribution companies that would buy in solar energy and the slow pace at which land for plants is made available.

“There’s a lot of interest, but there are concerns as well,” said Ajay Goel, chief executive of Tata Power Solar, one of India’s largest solar manufacturers and a unit of Tata Power Ltd . “Who is buying the power and do they have the ability to pay?”

Drive for clean energy: Companies set to back 20000 megawatts of solar expansion

Karen Ribeiro, Sarah Partan & Madeleine Charney: Valley chapter of 'Mothers Out Front' targets ...

AMHERST — The Pioneer Valley chapter of Mothers Out Front would like to thank Scott Merzbach for his Gazette article on Jan. 22. We appreciate the additional invitation from the Gazette to elaborate on our work.

Mothers Out Front is a rapidly growing community of mothers and others who are motivated by the strong drive to protect our families from current and future risks of climate change. Why mothers? First, everyone has one. Second, mothers cut across boundaries — political, racial, ethnic, socioeconomic — and even those who don’t consider themselves activists can see in their children’s faces a compelling reason to protect the planet.

Third, mothers and other caretakers know how to get things done: We are not afraid to clean the rotten lettuce out of the back of the fridge, or the dirt out of a scraped knee. We are fixers and caregivers, and our climate is now in need of fixing and care. We can join in and get this done.

Since February 2014, the Pioneer Valley chapter of Mothers Out Front has hosted more than 20 neighborhood house parties and gatherings, engaging more than 200 people including mothers, fathers and others.

House parties are designed to teach about climate change, provide a space for brainstorming and introduce actions that will make a difference and empower individuals to build their civic muscle. We follow up on the house parties by continuing to promote local actions, encouraging our community to become more “civically fit.”

For example, every week we send out Monday Actions, which are short, doable deeds that can be accomplished in a few minutes between other tasks, such as calling the governor’s office or speaking with a neighbor about climate change.

We also offer the opportunity for deeper engagement with the issues by hosting monthly discussion groups in a supportive environment.

In addition to building a community passionate about fighting climate change, Mothers Out Front is running a statewide campaign to green the electric grid. This campaign, Power Up for our Children’s Future, aims to switch 1,000 households away from fossil fuels and to renewable energy in partnership with Mass Energy.

Anyone who pays an electric bill (owners or renters) can switch, even without installing solar panels, thanks to green energy providers such as Mass Energy. These third-party providers enable homeowners and businesses to purchase renewable energy (wind, solar, hydroelectric) delivered to their homes via their regular energy provider (e.g. National Grid or WMECO). There is a small additional charge for the green energy, which is tax deductible because Mass Energy is a nonprofit.

An additional benefit is that Mass Energy uses power from Massachusetts and New England sources. To date, 537 households statewide have switched to green energy through Mothers Out Front’s partnership with Mass Energy.

The movement toward green energy is catching on: Mass Energy has partnered with groups around the state and so far has switched nearly 5,000 households from fossil fuels, demonstrating to our political leaders that there is a strong will in the constituency to pursue renewable energy.

Among these groups is the town of Amherst, which we applaud for its pioneering work to provide its citizens with the incentive to help “green the grid.” There is no end date to switching to Mass Energy for the Amherst program.

We hope and expect to see other Massachusetts towns and organizations making the same effort, inviting their residents and members to switch to green energy as quickly as possible.

This is a banner year for the climate, as countries around the world work to set emissions limits in advance of the potentially historic Paris 2015 international climate talks, which will take place in November. We invite everyone reading this article to show both Gov. Baker and President Obama that Massachusetts — and the whole nation — is ready for swift and bold action to combat climate change. We can demonstrate that political will by taking immediate action to switch our own houses from fossil fuels to renewable energy.

Karen Ribeiro, Sarah Partan and Madeleine Charney work locally with Mothers Out Front.

To switch to Mass Energy through Mothers Out Front, go to www.mothersoutfront.org and click on Make the Switch. To switch through the town of Amherst, go to www.massenergy.org/Amherst.

To learn more about the Pioneer Valley chapter of Mothers Out Front, go to www.mothersoutfront.org/amherst_community_team.

Karen Ribeiro, Sarah Partan & Madeleine Charney: Valley chapter of "Mothers Out Front" targets ...

Report: "Mold, mildew, no ventilation" at some Harrisburg schools

Teachers within the Harrisburg School District say the air quality inside the city’s school buildings are making them sick.

Video: Watch Porcha Johnson’s report

When multiple teachers complained about becoming sick, the district hired a company to check filters and test for mold and overall air quality.

Rich Askey, president of the Harrisburg teachers union, believes some of the schools are not safe. He says he has the pictures to prove it, including some from Camp Curtin Elementary School on North 6th Street.

“We have students and teachers that are getting nose bleeds in the middle of the day for no reason at all and having respiratory issues,” said Askey.

The district hired Siemens, an international engineering company, to examine the condition of the schools.

According to the report released on Monday, Siemens found there was ample evidence of “mold, mildew, no ventilation, and inadequate temperature control.” It also found that air filters hadn’t been replaced since 2008.

However, in a press conference held Wednesday, Siemens said it overstated its findings.

The teachers union is expected to push for a resolution to the air quality issue.

Report: "Mold, mildew, no ventilation" at some Harrisburg schools

Virginia private colleges looking for long-term solar energy solutions

EMORY, Va. -

Private colleges are moving forward when it comes to solar energy, and two southwest Virginia colleges are leading the way.

Emory & Henry started operating the community radio station by solar panels in November, and now they’re part of a 15 college council receiving more than $800,000 from the federal government to extend solar energy plans long-term.

There are people at Emory & Henry who have been waiting a long time to talk about solar energy on campus. Professor Ed Davis is one of them.

“There have been a group of people at this college dreaming of this for a decade,” he said.

A three year grant from the Department of Energy is making this a long-term conversation. Emory & Henry’s experience allows them to help create a model for efficiency when it comes to using solar power.

“The state’s policies are relevant here, how the county deals with taxation of a construction project, all these things lead to what you might call uncertainty,” Davis said.

The Appalachian School of Law in Grundy is also one of the participating colleges. Buzz Belleville helped develop a Live Client Clinic, where students will contribute legal expertise to the 15 schools.

“A number of students will be looking local ordinances to see if they have any building codes or zoning restrictions that would apply to or affect solar installation in those communities,” Belleville said.

He said other students will look at company utility policies to see if anything would prevent solar installation, while others are looking at making the document filing process easier.

“When we have to apply them to the state corporation commission, for our license for instance, we will be ready to do that when that time comes,” he said.

Other private colleges across the state will also contribute architectural and energy expertise.

The first meeting with all 15 schools will take place on Friday, Feb. 13.

Virginia private colleges looking for long-term solar energy solutions

One Reason Why Solar Stocks Are Up: Yingli Green Energy Hold. Co. Ltd. (ADR) (YGE), First Solar ...

Shares of solar and renewable-energy companies were gaining sharply on Monday, in sympathy with higher conventional-energy stocks. If one sector is sensitive to market fall and lower crude oil prices, it is the alternative energy sector — including solar energy. As the price of crude oil gains, the demand for alternative forms of energy becomes much stronger. This is why oil and solar stocks, for example, often trade similarly. Analysts in recent years have debated whether alternative energy stocks are directly correlated to the price of crude oil. Some contend that pricier oil pushes renewable energy companies higher, as investors and consumers search for cheaper alternatives to fossil fuels.

Yingli Green Energy Hold. Co. Ltd. (ADR) (NYSE:YGE), Trina Solar Limited (ADR) (NYSE:TSL), First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) and SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ:SPWR) all were among noteworthy gainers.

Crude oil prices rose on Monday as investors shrugged off a U.S. refinery strike and focused on a falling U.S. rig count that signaled lower production down the line.

“There were a lot of people on the sidelines waiting for an opportunity to buy,” said Bjarne Schieldrop, chief commodity analyst at SEB.

“Brent has struggled sideways for a long time but it closed above the 20-day moving average on Friday for the first time since July, and the rig count is falling sharply. So now they think, maybe this is the time to buy.”

Brent crude speculators raised their net long positions by 1,056 contracts to 143,039 in the week to Jan. 27, ICE said on Monday, as some investors took the view that the oil price was beginning to bottom out. [O/ICE]

Both contracts rallied about 8 percent on Friday, fuelled by month-end short-covering and a record weekly drop in the number of U.S. oil rigs employed, according to industry data from Baker Hughes. The count is down 24 percent from its October peak.

“Most market observers have been surprised by the scale of the decrease, and expectations of U.S. oil output this year will no doubt be lowered accordingly,” analysts at Commerzbank said in a note. “The foundation for a steady price recovery in the second half of the year has thus been laid.”

However, in the short term the price increase has been exaggerated as there is still considerable oversupply, they said.

In the United States, union workers were on strike for a second day on Monday at nine refineries and chemical plants as they sought a new national contract with oil companies covering labourers at 63 plants.

This boosted refined oil products prices in the United States and Europe, as traders anticipated more arbitrage opportunities opening up to the west.

“Values are following through to the upside this morning as U.S. product markets gather additional bullish momentum off of labour strikes at several U.S. refiners,” Jim Ritterbusch, president at Ritterbusch & Associates, said in a research note.

One Reason Why Solar Stocks Are Up: Yingli Green Energy Hold. Co. Ltd. (ADR) (YGE), First Solar ...

Lack of importance given to air pollution in Delhi polls campaign is appalling

The election to the 70-member Delhi assembly is round the corner and the three main parties — the BJP, the Congress and AAP — are pulling out all the stops to woo voters.

The last few weeks have been interesting yet chaotic: Defections, surprising choice of candidates by parties, trading of charges between candidates and a slew of promises ranging from free water to regularisation of illegal colonies. While the Congress and AAP have released their manifestos, the BJP is yet to release its, though the latter has cleverly said that it will not release a manifesto but a ‘vision document’. Such delays in releasing manifestos only defeat the purpose of the exercise: The people have been left with little time for a debate on the merits or demerits of the promises that political parties make.

In the din many important issues have been overlooked, and one of the most important among them is the issue of air pollution in Delhi. In fact, none of the three parties spoke extensively on it or came up with solutions to improve the air quality. A study released by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2014 had found New Delhi to have the dirtiest air among the 1,600 cities it surveyed, with an annual average of 153 micrograms of small particulates, known as PM2.5, per cubic metre. The issue again came up for discussion just before US President Barack Obama’s visit when a study conducted by Greenpeace India at six locations, including Raj Ghat and Hyderabad House, which Mr Obama visited, revealed that the air quality was ‘unhealthy and hazardous’. It also  said that Delhi residents had been breathing extremely poor air this winter with PM2.5 averages peaking at 320 micrograms/cubic metre, which is six times the Indian safety limits and 14 times that of the WHO’s. A report in Washington Post said that the US embassy ordered 1,800 air purifiers though it is not clear whether any of those air filters made it into Mr Obama’s bullet-proof enclosure during the Republic Day Parade. Could anything have been more embarrassing than this? The Congress mentions air pollution in its manifesto and promises to bring it down, but does not give any concrete proposals. AAP’s manifesto is mum on the issue. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress president Sonia Gandhi hit the campaign trail on Sunday but neither spoke on this important issue.

The effects of pollution on health do not need reiteration. Yet what is appalling is the lack of importance that is being given to it by the parties in this election. The key reason for air pollution in Delhi is the spurt in the number of vehicles and parties will need to tackle the auto lobby, which wields enormous clout, if it wants to clean the air. As things stand today, no party seems to be keen to bell the cat; hence the chances that we can breathe a little easier are negligible.

Lack of importance given to air pollution in Delhi polls campaign is appalling

Flourishing Rooftop Solar energy Suffers Expanding Pains

The residence renovation trouble began, like so many do, with a trip to House Depot. There Richard Lindley, a 50-year-old contractor transformed general professional who resides in Somerville, Mass., ran into a couple of young men he called “sincere” and also that had what he assumed was a “actually fascinating company model.”.

Right here’s the pitch he listened to: A firm, in this instance SolarCity, will certainly pertain to your residence and set up a $20,000 solar system for you. You pay absolutely nothing. SolarCity likewise acquires all the authorizations and also essential permissions in return for your signature on a 20-year contract to purchase the electrical power created by those newly installed solar panels. Said power is offered to you at a price less than the neighborhood energy costs– in Lindley’s situation, approximately 11 cents for every single kilowatt-hour of electrical power made by sunshine in the first year (with an annual increase of 2.5 percent). Any kind of excess power produced is offered back into the grid, gaining you a considerably smaller sized expense from the neighborhood utility too.

To Lindley it seemed like a dream come true, specifically when he took into consideration the possibility to do something helpful for the atmosphere without needing to fret about guaranteeing, keeping or repairing a solar system. “They’re doing a really fantastic point with the eco-friendly energy,” he claims, “building an infrastructure based on solar as opposed to fossil fuel.”.

There is a catch though: the sychronisation of solar business, neighborhood energy and home owner might neglect– leaving the home owner in the lurch.

Solar is thriving, thanks to affordable photovoltaics, cutting-edge business designs like the one described over and federal government as well as state aids. Since 2010 solar installations in the U.S. have actually enhanced six-fold– from 2,000 to greater than 12,000 megawatts worth. At the same time, the price of mounting solar has fallen by a minimum of 60 percent. Leading the cost are business like SunRun, SunPower as well as SolarCity, the latter which installed Lindley’s system in 2013. SolarCity announced on August 7 that it had mounted 1.2 megawatts well worth of solar rooftops every day this springtime. “Now’s the time to catch the market and also grow as quick as we can,” stated Ceo Lyndon Rive when announcing those economic results.

But as with any type of boom, the growth may be outpacing the ability to supply excellent modern technology and also great client service.

In Lindley’s situation the bearded boys which scaled his roofing for SolarCity hooked up the 12-panel photovoltaic system to the wrong electrical power meter. As a result, Lindley did not view the almost 4,300 kilowatt-hours of solar electrical energy SolarCity approximated his panels would produce each year, nor did he view his power bill go down. And also his use of electricity seemed to rise, despite the fact that it was winter season. “Instead of seeing solar at work, what I acquired was not only a greater electrical power bill but SolarCity remained to bill me for the outcome of the photovoltaic panels,” he says.

In other words, Lindley was paying added to go green, especially considering that SolarCity reaped all available government and also state tax credit reports as well as subsidies (in addition to any type of future “incentives, renewable resource credit histories, green tags, carbon-offset credit ratings, energy rebates or other nonpower-system features of the system, are the home of as well as for the perk of SolarCity” as the contract reads in all uppercase). Months of back-and-forth with SolarCity’s customer service teams resulted in excuses: solar panels make less power in wintertime (real yet, in this instance, unimportant); it’s a damaged meter, so call the local energy to repair it (false and also unimportant); and, finally, many individuals that set up photovoltaic panels begin utilizing much more electrical energy. “Some individuals do,” claims Jonathan Bass, SolarCity’s vice president of interactions. “They crank the A/C because now they’ve obtained solar.”.

“Have we changed anything in our way of life? We examined that,” Lindley recollects. “Eventually, absolutely nothing has altered, absolutely nothing that would triple our use, which is just what it boiled down to.”.

After months of irritating back-and-forth that included SolarCity’s busted guarantees to send a repair work staff and, at some point, Lindley’s refusal to continuously pay, it became clear that the earnest, bearded young men from SolarCity had attached the solar system to the wrong meter. The regional grid had actually gotten some 3,200 kilowatt-hours of solar electrical energy that never registered on Lindley’s meter or made it run backward as assured.

As a result, SolarCity accepted Lindley for a year’s worth of repayments as well as began once again from absolutely no. “It’s just been a migraine. I actually want I had not put them on there,” Lindley says. “To now we do not comprehend fairly how it functions and that’s paying just what. I’m not satisfied with it.”.

Lindley is not alone. Property owners in Arizona have had problem obtaining solar firms to return their calls to obtain a solar system installed. Malfunctioning panels have impeded the production of power from sunlight because sun-blasted state. And energies have actually started to regurgitate resistance as well: the Hawaiian Electric Co. has actually prohibited the setup of new solar systems unless home owners pay to also secure the regional grid from excess solar power– a cost that includes thousands of bucks to the cost of a solar system as well as has detered solar development in that sunny state.

This solar civil war has actually matched local utilities– aided by outdoors interest groups such as the American Legislative Exchange Council– against homeowners which wish to go solar. “Considering that I’ve had solar there’s been two price hikes,” states Phoenix house owner Jerry Dieterich, one more basic service provider that, like most solar home owners, is very delighted with his strategy to get power from the sunlight though SolarCity rather than depending completely on the local energy. “It does not affect you when you have solar. I enjoy that.”.

Additionally complexing concerns is the perplexing welter of policies that vary from state to state as well as, in some cases, municipality to municipality. Whereas SolarCity clients in Arizona could enjoy a fixed-price lease that ensures a certain cost each month, SolarCity consumers in Massachusetts have to buy the power from their very own rooftop or offer it on to the neighborhood utility. That can place home owners, SolarCity as well as the utility on other sides: In Lindley’s situation, considering that SolarCity and the neighborhood energy continued to earn no person besides Lindley had a motivation to attempt as well as get his trouble fixed. “You type of require a master’s level in electric design to comprehend how your electric costs from the energy is linked right into SolarCity as well as the panels,” Lindley notes.

“We have a 20-year relationship with a customer,” claims Rive of the SolarCity contracts that last longer compared to numerous marriages. “If the customer is unhappy, we need to fix it. It’s not like either one of us is disappearing.”.

The ultimate development issue, nevertheless, might not be the customer care difficulties but a rebound in the cost of photovoltaic tools. Inhibited ability in China plus tolls enforced by the UNITED STATE have actually seen solar component rates rebound from almost 50 cents per watt to 60 cents each watt in recent months. That belongs to the factor that SolarCity has actually bought photovoltaic panel maker Silevo to make certain a steady supply of panels for expansion as opposed to relying upon producers like SunPower that are now entering the installation company themselves as direct competitors. “For the next phase of solar, you need large-scale manufacturing going to lessen the price,” Rive claims. “The point is to be able to have a remarkable item at a reduced cost to ultimately reach a factor where you can offer less costly tidy energy.”.

SolarCity estimates that some 30 million homes in the united state could profit from installing a solar system, compared to roughly 200,000 that have solar to date. In the meantime enlightening those future solar property owners regarding the possible difficulties of obtaining power from the sun does not appear to be high up on the to-do lists of either companies or regulators. “If we have actually made a mistake, we make it right,” Bass claims, keeping in mind the company’s high rankings from the Better Business Bureau and consumer feedback forms. “We are trying to take down an increasing number of obstacles to make solar mainstream.”.

Flourishing Rooftop Solar energy Suffers Expanding Pains