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Glenn Meyers

NREL Analysis: Extending Tax Credits Impacts Renewable Energy Deployment

by Glenn Meyers March 2, 2016

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has issued a new analysis exploring the potential impact of recently extended federal tax credits concerning the deployment of renewable generation technologies and related CO2 emissions from the US electric sector.

The report, Impacts of Federal Tax Credit Extensions on Renewable Deployment and Power Sector Emissions, details the use of state-of-the-art scenario modeling to explore these two questions:

How might renewable energy deployment in the contiguous United States change with these recent federal tax credit extensions?
How might this change in renewable energy deployment impact CO2 emissions in the power sector?

Federal tax credits for renewable energy, particularly the wind production tax credit (PTC) and the solar investment tax credit (ITC), have provided financial incentives for renewable energy deployment over the last two decades. In December 2015, the wind and solar tax credits were extended another five years from their initial scheduled expiration dates.

March 2, 2016 0 comment

Going Solar PV Rooftop Solar

SolarCity Claims 1/3 Of 2015 US Residential Rooftop Installations

by Glenn Meyers December 29, 2015

written by Glenn Meyers

2015 has been a good year for SolarCity after tallying over one-third of all residential rooftop installations in this country.

The five leading US installers accounted for more than half of all residential solar installations between Q1 and Q3 of this year. But SolarCity has claimed the lion’s share of this market pie, reporting 34% of residential solar PV installations in the first three-quarters of 2015, according to GTM Research’s ‘US PV Leaderboard: Q4 2015‘.

The market share of the leading US residential solar installers in this period are listed as follows:

SolarCity 34.1%
Vivint Solar 11.6%
Sunrun 2.6%
NRG Home Solar 2%
Sungevity 1.9%

GTM Research also reports this is the third year the US residential market has seen more than 50% growth. This encouraging data provides sound news for the solar energy industry and for renewable energy overall.

The research report concluded, “This rapid growth can largely be attributed to the widespread availability and increasing diversity of financing solutions.” Lower pricing should also be counted as a contributor to this growth picture.

The residential market is also expected to profit from the extension of the ITC tax credit for solar beyond 2022, with the current 30% level remaining until 2019. The ITC had been scheduled to close at the end of 2016 for residential systems with larger projects dropping from the current 30% level to 10%.

GTM Research expects the competitive landscape for this industry will continue evolving, pointing to new market entrants, acquisitions, and changing consumer finance options.

The US Department of Energy has reported,

“Since President Obama took office, the number of homes with rooftop solar has grown from more than 66,000 to 734,000. Last year, the solar industry added jobs 10 times faster than the rest of the economy and solar represented 40 percent of all new electric generating capacity brought online in the first half of 2015. Since the beginning of 2010, the average cost of a solar electric system has dropped by 50 percent. In fact, distributed solar prices fell 10 to 20 percent in 2014 alone. And since President Obama took office, solar power has increased twenty fold.”

We look forward to charting similar growth data for residential rooftop solar in the coming year.

Solar workers install solar panels via Shutterstock

Graphic via GTM Research

December 29, 2015 2 comments

Going Solar PV

Clean Energy Regulator Reports Australia Small-Scale Rooftop Solar Installations Climb Upward in 2015

by Glenn Meyers December 29, 2015

written by Glenn Meyers

Propelling a global boost in renewable energy, Australia’s Clean Energy Regulator has reported small-scale rooftop solar totaled 4.59 GW in 2015.

As reported by pv-magazine, data released by the Clean Energy Regulator shows 119,000 new small-scale PV installations have taken place in 2015. While not as sizable as 2014, this number distinguishes Australia with the highest portion of residential buildings with rooftop PV globally.

The Australia small-scale rooftop solar numbers also show the nation has maintained its world lead the world in deployment of rooftop solar. Counting a December 1 calculation, Australia has reached 1.49 million small-scale PV installations. This total is based on data released by this country’s Clean Energy Regulator.

The Clean Energy Regulator was established on 2 April 2012 as an independent statutory authority by the Clean Energy Regulator Act 2011, and operates as part of the Environment portfolio.

Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) estimates the nation will have another 300 MW of large-scale PV by the end of 2015.

“Renewable energy is essential to Australia’s future economic growth and prosperity in a carbon-constrained world and to helping lower Australia’s carbon emissions. The transformation of Australia’s energy sector will require around $100 billion in investment in the renewables sector over the period to 2050.”

The CEFC Act has provided that a minimum of 50% of the CEFC portfolio be invested in renewable energy technologies, related enabling technologies and hybrid technologies that integrate renewable energy technologies by 1 July 2018.

CEFC reports on Australian solar potential

The CEFC has stated, “With the highest average solar radiation per square metre of any country in the world, and substantial cost reductions in solar technology over recent years, there is significant future opportunity for growth in deployment of solar technologies in Australia.”

CEFC has invested in both large and small-scale solar projects using solar photovoltaics. It reports the demand for solar financing continues to be strong, with solar projects valued over $3 billion.

The clean energy report shows a solid foundation for small-scale solar is in place.

Image: Rooftop solar panels via Shutterstock

December 29, 2015 0 comment

Consumer Electronics PV Rooftop Solar Solar Modules Solar PV Manufacturing

27-Year PV Power Warrantees Announced By Vikram Solar

by Glenn Meyers November 11, 2015

written by Glenn Meyers

West Bengal, India–based PV module manufacturer Vikram Solar has announced some of its 60- and 72-cell multi-crystalline silicon solar modules now come with a linear power warranty up to 27 years.

The warranty includes modules belonging to the ELDORA Prime, Ultima, Neo, Grand, and Grand Ultima Series.

Warrantee Power Degradation Plan

The warranted power degradation will be 2.5% in the first year, dropping to 0.67% year-on-year from second year until the 27^th year, finally ending with 80.1% of the original power measured under STC conditions, at the end of the 27^th year.

According to press information, Vikram Solar has run extended in-house reliability test programs on all warranted modules for the past year. Testing has included collecting data on failure mechanisms and reliability models prior to announcing its “industry leading warranty terms.”

“We stand by our commitment to global markets and constantly challenge ourselves to deliver lowest cost of ownership to our global customers,” said president and chief technology officer Ivan Saha. “By validating these differentiated and best-in-class warranty terms, our research and development team has helped us to position our modules as the natural choice for long-term investments.”

Name-brand solar panels typically have a 20- or 25-year warranty concerning power output. SolarEnergy writes, “Most manufacturers guarantee at least 80% output (for the specified number of years).”

“Product variables concerning materials and process conditions used for manufacturing include weather conditions across various geographies, impact of long-term UV degradation, humidity, and temperature.”

Founded in 2006, Vikram Solar specializes in high-efficiency PV module manufacturing and comprehensive EPC solutions. It presently has a product presence in more than 32 countries.

Testing was based on a process starting with detailed Failure Mode Effect Analysis (FMEA) for each stage of design, manufacturing and usage of materials, sub-components, and processes. That was followed with material level testing and life estimation, process modifications with ‘Design for Reliability’ concepts, outdoor testing of modules, and long duration testing under ‘Highly Accelerated Stress Test’ (HAST) conditions.

The company stated it is rolling out this warranty term for all the named product types manufactured and shipped as early as December 1, 2015.

Image and video via Vikram Solar

November 11, 2015 0 comment

New Technology PV Solar PV Manufacturing

Tandem Solar Cell Achieves Record Efficiency

by Glenn Meyers November 11, 2015

written by Glenn Meyers

A new tandem solar cell featuring monolithic perovskite and silicon has produced electricity with record efficiency, reports Helmholz-Berlin.

“Teams from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin and École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland, have been the first to successfully combine a silicon heterojunction solar cell with a perovskite solar cell monolithically into a tandem device.”

THZB reports this hybrid tandem cell has shown an efficiency of 18%, and while not the highest solar cell efficiency rating, this is the highest reported value for this particular type of cell architecture.

Organic-inorganic perovskite materials are said to represent a great step forward in ongoing solar cell research. Increases in efficiency continue to be reported for perovskite solar cells, which can be manufactured from solution and cost-effectively printed on large surface areas.

A heterojunction silicon cell provides the base for the tandem cell. A very thin layer of transparent tin dioxide was deposited on this bottom cell, followed by 500 nm of perovskite as well as 200 nm of spiro-OMeTAD hole-conductor material. Thin MO3 serves as a protective layer between this hole conductor and the transparent top electrode of ITO. Image: S. Albrecht / HZB

Explaining Randem Cell Technology

Perovskite layers are known to efficiently absorb light in the blue region of the spectrum. But combining these with silicon layers, which convert long-wavelength red and near-infrared light, has proven to be difficult.

HZB writes, “This is because for high-efficiency perovskite cells, it is usually required to coat the perovskite onto titanium dioxide layers that must be previously sintered at about 500 degrees Celsius. However, at such high temperatures, the amorphous silicon layers that cover the crystalline silicon wafer in silicon heterojunction degrades.”

The team behind this project was led by Professor Bernd Rech and Dr. Lars Korte from the HZB Institute for Silicon Photovoltaics, working in cooperation with HZB’s PVcomB and a group headed by Professor Michael Graetzel at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL).

This group is the first to have fabricated this kind of monolithic tandem cell, depositing a layer of tin dioxide at low temperatures — to replace the standard titanium dioxide. A thin layer of perovskite was then spin-coated onto this intermediate layer and covered with hole-conductor material. In addition, a crucial element in the device architecture is the transparent top contact. Typically, metal oxides are deposited by sputtering, but this would destroy the sensitive perovskite layer, as well as the hole-conductor material. Therefore, the team from HZB modified the fabrication process and incorporated a transparent protective layer.

Understanding Perovskites

A number of chemical researchers believe perovskites open the door to a new era of high-efficiency, low-cost solar cells. If this is true, the economic impact on the photovoltaics market and the solar industry will be felt worldwide.

As CleanTechnica’s Tina Casey puts it: “Perovskites are easily synthesized, and their distinctive crystalline structure makes them a perfect match for the development of efficient solar cells that can beat the current gold standard, which is silicon.”

18% and High Open-Circuit Voltage

According to the research, this tandem cell attained an 18% efficiency level — nearly 20% higher than the efficiency of individual cells. The open-circuit voltage is 1.78 volts. “At that voltage level, this combination of materials could even be used for the generation of hydrogen from sunlight,” said Dr. Steve Albrecht, lead author of the paper that has now appeared in the journal Energy & Environmental Science.

Additional light catching structures may increase efficiencies

Right now the perovskite-silicon tandem cell is being fabricated on a polished silicon wafer. Efficiencies may change dramatically, states Dr. Lars Korte, head of the silicon heterojunction solar cell group at the Institute for Silicon Photovoltaics, if the wafer surface is textured using light-trapping features, like random pyramids. “The efficiency might be increased further to 25 or even 30%,” she added.

Beyond the discovery stage comes integration into existing silicon technologies

More important than maximizing efficiencies will be how this technology is integrated into existing technologies, pointed out Professor Bernd Rech;

“Silicon technology currently dominates 90% of the market, which means there are many established production facilities for silicon cells. The perovskite layers could considerably increase the efficiency level. To achieve this, the fabrication techniques only need to be supplemented with a few more production steps. For that reason, our work is also extremely interesting for industry. However, the problems of long-term stability and the lead content of perovskite solar cells still need to be solved in future research.”

Images via HZB

November 11, 2015 0 comment

Going Solar How Solar PV Works PV Solar Modules

Photons & Solar Panels

by Glenn Meyers November 10, 2015

written by Glenn Meyers

We talk plenty today about solar panels, but not many really grasp how they work — how they create electricity.

In his book, Let It Shine: The 6,000-Year Story of Solar Energy, author John Perlin takes readers back to Albert Einstein in 1905 for perspective on the matter of light: “Einstein showed that light possesses an attribute that earlier scientists had not recognized. Light, he discovered, contains packets of energy, which he called light quanta (now called photons).”

“Photons?” you might ask. “Isn’t that something they use on Star Trek?” Yes, the word was used in the fictional television series. Remember photon torpedoes? If you do, you should also know this word has nothing to do with make-believe.

To begin, we need to understand light, or photons, posts Arizona State University:

“If light is imagined as a flow of particles, the particles are called photons with each photon carrying a discrete packet of energy. For a beam of fixed energy photons, the intensity of the beam depends the number of photons per second. Light can also be described as waves with the distance between waves, the wavelengths, inversely proportional to energy. The low energy radio waves have wavelengths of meters and the high energy x-rays can have wavelength of a millionth of a meter or less.”

So let’s discuss our sun, ultimate provider of light to Earth. The following information list comes from the US Department of Energy:

Enough energy from the sun hits the earth every hour to power the planet for a year
Sunlight is made up of tiny packets of energy called photons
These photons radiate out from the sun, and about 93 million miles later, they collide with a semiconductor on a solar panel here on earth. It all happens at the speed of light
A solar panel is made up of several individual cells, each with a positive and a negative layer, which create an electric field

Thus, the light with which we see and are warmed is made of photons.

As you might imagine, photons are not something that is seen by the human eye. But this video might help your PV vision.

Energy 101

Few of us are physicists, but this information will hopefully assist in understanding how photovoltaic panels work, as well as the miracle of light.

Image: Particle moving in a vacuum via Shutterstock

Energy 101 video via US Department of Energy

November 10, 2015 0 comment

Rooftop Solar Solar Incentives Solar Policy

SDG&E Utility Warns It Will Hit Net Metering Caps By Mid-2016

by Glenn Meyers November 4, 2015

written by Glenn Meyers

Last week San Diego Gas & Electric warned distributed energy enthusiasts it expects to reach caps on net metering in the summer of 2016.

According to pv-magazine, SDG&E’s numbers show that existing installations and pending applications take up 74% of available capacity in the program. This opens the door to what “net metering 2.0” might look like, pitting utilities and distributed energy advocates in a face-off.

Current estimates show 30 MW of rooftop solar is being added each month under net metering in the SDG&E service area. That is a lot of electricity to calculate in a net metering platform that utilities have argued unfairly benefits owners of rooftop systems at the expense of utility shareholders.

SDG&E reports some 452 MW of distributed solar through the net metering program in its service area. The utility expects it will reach caps on net metering in the summer of 2016.

SDG&E data on net metering interconnections shows that around 15 MW of net metered systems were added each month during August, September and October. With only 161 MW of capacity left, the cap of 617 MW will be reached next September at the current rate. These calculations don’t account for the rush of customers expected in the final months before the program changes.

SDG&E chronicles the history of net metering in California as follows:

California’s net-metering law, which took effect in 1996, requires all utilities (except LADWP) to offer net metering to all customers for solar and wind-energy systems up to 1 megawatt (MW) July 2005, AB 816 passed increasing SDG&E’s cap from 0.5% of the SDG&E’s aggregate customer peak demand to 50 MW’s. SDG&E filed AL-1741-E in Nov 2005 requesting an effective date for the new cap of Jan. 1, 2006. Legislation enacted in 2006 (SB 1) increased the aggregate limit of net-metered systems in a utility’s service territory from 0.5% to 2.5% of the utility’s aggregate customer peak demand. During 2010, AB 510 was passed that further raised the aggregate limit in a utility’s service territory to 5.0% effective January 1, 2011.

In an October 28 press statement on the pending caps, SDG&E is claiming families without installed PV pay an extra US$100 per year to support net metering.

Image: Electric meter via Shutterstock

November 4, 2015 0 comment

Going Solar Solar $Solar Research

Department Of Energy Updates Report On Utility Scale Solar

by Glenn Meyers November 4, 2015

written by Glenn Meyers

This 2014 report from the US Department of Energy provides an empirical analysis of project cost, performance, and pricing trends in the United States. It should be pointed out other utility scale solar projects are also being launched elsewhere in the world.

This introductory text, authored by Mark Bolinger and Joachim Seel from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory puts the significant growth of utility scale solar into perspective.

“Other than the nine Solar Energy Generation Systems (“SEGS”) parabolic trough projects built in the 1980s, virtually no large-scale or “utility-scale” solar projects – defined here to include any groundmounted photovoltaic (“PV”), concentrating photovoltaic (“CPV”), or concentrating solar thermal power (“CSP”) project larger than 5 MWAC – existed in the United States prior to 2007. By 2012 – just five years later – utility-scale had become the largest sector of the overall PV market in the United States, a distinction that was repeated in both 2013 and 2014 and that is expected to continue for at least the next few years. Over this same short period, CSP also experienced a bit of a renaissance in the United States, with a number of large new parabolic trough and power tower systems – some including thermal storage – achieving commercial operation.”

The authors state that this critical mass of new utility-scale projects now online “is ripe for analysis.” As such, this report analyzes everything from installed project costs and prices to operating costs and capacity factors. Importantly, it also reviews power purchase agreement (“PPA”) prices from a large sample of US utility-scale solar projects.

Here is a snapshot of what is included in this report:

Installation Trends

Installed Prices

Operation and Maintenance (“O&M”) Costs

Capacity Factors

PPA Prices

This report concludes the amount of utility-scale solar capacity will maintain its present momentum through 2016. At the end of 2014, there was at least 44.6 GW of utility-scale solar power capacity making its way through interconnection queues across the nation (though concentrated in California and the Southwest).

The authors conclude: “…it will still mean an unprecedented amount of new construction in 2015 and 2016 – as well as a substantial amount of new data to collect and analyze in future editions of this report.”

Obtain a PDF version of this report on utility scale solar. It is well worth the read.

Image via SEIA

November 4, 2015 0 comment

Going Solar Microgrids Solar Research

Study Points Out Infrastructure Requirements To Obtain Near 100% Renewable Electricity

by Glenn Meyers November 3, 2015

written by Glenn Meyers

To reduce contributors to climate change and grow worldwide renewable electricity use, having the proper infrastructure in place is critical ingredient.

Due to increasing environmental concerns, numerous studies report on the best ways to reduce GHG emissions. One of the most effective actions that can be taken is to reduce emissions by increasing the share of renewable energy sources in the electric sector and by increasing the share of electrification in some highly energy intensive sectors, such as transport and heating.

And to accomplish this requires infrastructure.

To this end, a timely study from Leonardo Energy explores infrastructure requirements necessary for supporting possible pathways to a 100% or near-100% renewables energy sources electric power sector in Europe.

The study points to transport and heating as energy intensive sectors that must increase their share of renewable energy sources in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But this is no simple process, states Leonardo Energy:

“This will certainly require an extreme transformation of those sectors, and it will require very significant infrastructure expansions. The magnitude of those expansions will probably be enough to have a strong impact in the economy, probably requiring an effort to develop suitable technical solutions and an increase in production capacity in some industrial sectors, all of which require time and careful planning.”

Most of us may understand that change is inevitable; making changes, however, to an existing delivery infrastructure is a daunting undertaking. Such an infrastructure includes businesses and employees, banks, new technology and governments.

Fifteen scenarios are analyzed in this study, “according to a set of indicators in order to assess both the objective quality of the analysis performed in each one of them, and the usefulness of the data provided for the objectives of this report: to provide some insight on the consequences of reaching 100% RES regarding infrastructure investments.”

For renewable energy officials in both Europe and elsewhere, this is a study worth knowing.

For more, see: ESTIMATING INFRASTRUCTURE REQUIREMENTS FOR A NEAR 100% RENEWABLE ELECTRICITY SCENARIO IN 2050.

Image: Pylons at sunset, via Shutterstock

November 3, 2015 0 comment

PV Rooftop Solar Solar $Solar Incentives Solar Policy

New York Net Metering Cap Suspended For Now

by Glenn Meyers October 31, 2015

written by Glenn Meyers

Adding to the distributed energy/net metering debate involving utilities and solar panel owners, New York State for now has lifted the cap on net metering.

pv-magazine reported last week that New York regulators have suspended the existing cap on the state’s net metering program. This suspension will remain in effect until a new valuation is concluded under the Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) process.

Among other goals for 2030, New York’s REV is targeting 50% of all New York’s energy will be generated from renewable sources.

New York will continue to install solar under net metering until REV is finished, regardless of caps. Regarding impact on distributed energy providers, the New York Public Service Commission (NYPSC) ruled that utilities must continue to enroll solar PV systems in the state’s net metering program under its existing policies.

“The Commission orders:

“1. Central Hudson Gas and Electric Corporation, Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc., New York State Electric & Gas Corporation, Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation d/b/a National Grid, Orange and Rockland Utilities, Inc., and Rochester Gas and Electric Corporation are directed to file, by October 30, 2015, tariff leaves implementing revisions to the ceilings on the interconnection of net metered generation in conformance with the requirements set forth in the body of this Order. The tariff leaves shall become effective November 6, 2015.”

“The convention of net metering has proven a very successful tool to support the growth of the solar industry, and Staff recommends that it continue to be used,” noted NYPSC staff in a REV white paper issued last July.

For now, rooftop solar owners will be satisfied with the NYPSC ruling.

Image: solar panels, via Shutterstock

October 31, 2015 1 comment

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