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SunEdison

Cheapest Solar Panels? Google’s Project Sunroof Partners Compete For Your Signature

by Jake Richardson December 2, 2015

As we wrote months ago when it launched, Google has a free online service that uses its mapping information and partner offers from solar installers to try to hook you up with the cheapest solar panels on the market — by providing fast estimates of how much a homeowner might save by investing in a solar power system from various solar companies. Dubbed “Project Sunroof,” it also provides information on things like the number of square feet available for solar panels on your roof based on 3D modeling, the number of hours of usable sunlight per year based on weather pattern analysis, net savings over 20 years, an average monthly electric bill, and recommended solar power system size.

Currently, the Google service can provide information in the Boston area, the San Francisco area, Fresno, Napa, Sacramento, and Long Island. Partners for the project were not initially listed in the press releases, blog posts, and media coverage, so we decided to dig in and see who they are. Seeing offers from SunPower, American Solar Direct, Pick My Solar, Sungevity, SunEdison, NRG Home Solar, we can see that these are the highly regarded solar companies Google decided to partner with (in the initial San Francisco area where I live, at least).

Providing this information for free is a great service, because it brings rapid clarity to those who are curious or interested but don’t know how to gather basic information about what kind of solar power system might work with their home and how much they could save by going solar.

For example, do you know the square footage of your roof? Everyone knows how much they pay for their electricity each month, but you also know what size solar power system would cover your electricity usage?

December 2, 2015 1 comment

Solar $

SunEdison Beats Own Forecast With Record Third Quarter, Stocks Plummet

by Joshua S Hill November 11, 2015

written by Joshua S Hill

Despite a record third quarter delivery, the world’s largest global renewable energy development company, SunEdison, saw its stocks plummet 22%.

SunEdison has been under intense pressure over the last six months to perform across all metrics, a task that shareholders do not believe the company is living up to. In its third quarter financial earnings announcement, SunEdison revealed that it had delivered 640 MW through the quarter, smashing its own previous guidance of delivery between 540 MW to 600 MW. This puts the company up 343 MW year-over-year, with another 2.9 GW of projects under construction, and a pipeline of 7.9 GW and backlog of 5.5 GW.

The company brought in revenue of $476 million for the quarter, including reported adjusted revenue of $153 million from their widely publicized yieldco, TerraForm Power, and reported revenue of $29 million from the company’s newest yieldco, TerraForm Global.

However, despite relatively decent performance across the board from the company — and only slight losses for its two yieldcos — SunEdison also reported a loss of $0.92 per share — originally forecast to be only $0.60 per share — which subsequently managed to scare investors enough to cause the stock price to plummet.

“During the third quarter, we continued our track record of execution within the development business by delivering over 600 MW, more than double versus the prior year,” said Ahmad Chatila, SunEdison chief executive officer. “In addition, we made the difficult, but necessary decision to optimize our organization in the face of the current market conditions within the yieldco space. These changes will not only set up the business for long-term success, but also should position the development business to generate positive cash flow in mid 2016.”

MarketWatch is reporting that Wall Street has not lost any of its confidence in the company, despite its performance on the stock market today, with some analysts describing investors reaction to SunEdison’s earnings report as “unwarranted.”

SunEdison’s shares have been on a months-long downward-trend, after second quarter earnings which reported a net loss of $263 million that sent investors scurrying for safety — despite the confusion of many analysts. Investor reaction has forced SunEdison to refocus their attentions from acquiring capacity and equity, and to begin building up revenue. SunEdison announced that it would form a new $1 billion warehouse investment vehicle that it hoped would be the first sign it was turning their ship around, followed last month by the decision to lay off 15% of its work-force.

The long-term gains of SunEdison’s original acquisition-phase would have been of long-term benefit to investors, but short-term gains seem to be the order of business. The most telling factor will be the reaction over the next several months, and in particular, following the company’s fourth quarter and full-year 2015 earnings report due early next year.

November 11, 2015 0 comment

Activism Jobs

1,000 New Solar Jobs For US Military Veterans

by Tina Casey November 10, 2015

written by Tina Casey

In advance of Veterans Day, the non-profit solar installer GRID Alternatives has announced a hookup with Wells Fargo to kick off “Troops to Solar,” a three-year program aimed at training more than 1,000 military veterans for jobs in the burgeoning solar industry. The program will also train service men and women who are still on active duty, which will help foster a seamless transition to employment once they return to civilian life.

So…it doesn’t seem like those 35 permanent jobs promised by the Keystone XL oil pipeline project will be missed.

Solar Jobs For Solar Veterans

As the US Department of Defense ramps up its transition to renewable energy, more servicemen and -women are becoming exposed to solar power. That includes both utility scale solar and rooftop solar for housing and other facilities at permanent military bases, solar canopies and solar-enabled microgrids for forward bases, and even portable solar gear to carry into the field.

That familiarity is one factor that could make military service an attractive background for solar employers. However, there are deeper elements at work. Nat Kreamer, a veteran and Board Chairman of the trade organization SEIA (Solar Energy Industry Association), explains:

As an industry, we are completely committed to hiring more veterans. Today, America’s solar energy companies already employ twice as many veterans as the average U.S. business. We hire veterans because they come trained, ready and passionate. The solar industry is filled with people who are motivated to build our economy, improve our environment and strengthen our national security.

[snip]

…Solar, like the military, is not just about the paycheck; it is also about working for something larger than oneself.

Last spring SEIA locked arms with First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden in support of Joining Forces, an initiative aimed at rallying support for US service members and veterans, with a commitment to fill 50,000 solar jobs with veterans by 2020.

That initiative includes on-base solar job training for active duty service members under an Energy Department pilot project that just graduated its first class earlier this year at Camp Pendleton.

GRID Alternatives And Solar Jobs (And Wells Fargo)

With its goal of 1,000 trained solar workers, the new GRID Alternatives Troops to Solar program will take a nice little bite out of the 50,000 mark.

The three-year program, funded by a $750,000 grant from Wells Fargo, will provide placement services leveraging Grid Alternatives’s existing network services as well as solar job training and solar job training.

As part of Troops to Solar, GRID Alternatives is launching a new focus on Native American veterans and “high-need” communities on tribal reservations.

Wells Fargo notes that it is a longtime partner of GRID Alternatives, having invested more than $3.8 million (including the latest grant) since 2007. The funding has gone to GRID Alternatives’ twin goals of installing solar systems for low-income households, including veterans, while also training veterans for solar jobs.

For those of you unfamiliar with GRID Alternatives, here’s a rundown:

GRID Alternatives is America’s largest non-profit solar installer bringing clean energy technology and job training to low-income families and underserved communities through a network of community partners, volunteers, and philanthropic supporters. GRID has installed nearly 6000 rooftop solar systems with a combined installed capacity of over 20MW, saving $155 million in lifetime electricity costs, preventing 450,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions, and providing over 22,000 people with solar training.

GRID Alternatives works all over the country, with a solar project in Baltimore being one recent example, and this year it also formed a powerful solar jobs training partnership with industry leader SunEdison.

As For Keystone…

Now that the dust has settled over President Obama’s decision to deny a federal permit for construction of the pipeline, at least one conservative observer has hinted that the President did TransCanada — and its investors — an enormous favor by effectively killing the project. It doesn’t make sense in today’s glutty oil world, as described by The New Republic (cited in a longer New York Magazine piece):

Tar sands oil is remarkably expensive to cultivate…Oil is currently trading at less than $50 a barrel and there’s increasing speculation that the stuff will remain cheap for a long time to come. The plunge in oil prices is already affecting tar sands production: Earlier this year, Shell cancelled plans for a major investment in the tar sands. Nor are they the only ones calling off future development. The plunge in oil prices and fall-off in investment means that Keystone simply no longer makes economic sense.

We’re thinking that all of those pipeline jobs “lost” over Keystone will be made up by the renewable energy industry, and then some. SEIA’s commitment alone tops the 42,000 temporary construction jobs promised by TransCanada for building Keystone XL, and the Joining Forces initiative is backed up by other Obama Administration solar jobs initiatives.

However, take a look at one of our favorite news blogs — FuelFix.com — and you’ll notice that those zombie oil and gas pipeline jobs could very well spring to life in eastern states, so stay tuned.

Follow me on Twitter and Google.

Photo credit: Portable solar canopy deployed in Djibouti via US Army.

November 10, 2015 0 comment

Solar Projects

SunEdison Completes New Hampshire’s Largest Solar Power Plant

by Joshua S Hill November 9, 2015

written by Joshua S Hill

SunEdison has completed the construction of New Hampshire’s largest solar power plant, a 942 KW project located in the town of Peterborough.

The world’s largest renewable energy development company made the announcement last Friday upon completion of the 942 kilowatt DC solar power plant, which will now generate solar power for the town over the next 20 years, and save local taxpayers an estimated $250,000 on energy. Specifically, the solar system will generate more than 100% of the town’s waste-water treatment facility’s electricity needs, and offset electricity at other municipal buildings.

“The town of Peterborough welcomes the new solar power plant, which is a part of our plan to reduce our carbon dioxide emissions while generating energy savings,” said Rodney Bartlett, Peterborough’s town administrator.

“The town of Peterborough is blazing the trail for more renewable energy projects in New Hampshire,” added Tom Leyden, SunEdison’s vice president of partner development.

“Solar projects like this one save taxpayers money and bring new economic activity to the area in the form of construction jobs and land lease payments. And because we’ve worked with dozens of municipal customers, we know how to meet their unique needs in even the most challenging circumstances—in this instance we’re constructing the solar system on a capped waste water lagoon at the town’s waste water treatment plant.”

The Peterborough solar power plant is expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 17 million pounds over the 20-year period the project is estimated to run for, which is approximately the same as sequestering carbon dioxide in more than 6,300 acres of US forest in one year.

Despite a skittish Q2’15 earnings report that saw the company’s shares plummet as a result of fears it was overstretching, SunEdison has continued to develop and invest in the renewable energy sector around the globe.

SunEdison was one of several winners in Brazil’s Leilão de Reserva solar auction held at the end of August, taking away 16 MW. And earlier this month, SunEdison announced that it had secured an entire 500 MW-worth auction in India, by setting a new Indian record for lowest tariff bid for solar PV.

November 9, 2015 0 comment

Solar Records

SunEdison Wins 500 MW Solar PV Bid In India At Record-Breaking Tariff

by Saurabh Mahapatra November 4, 2015

written by Saurabh Mahapatra

US-based renewable energy project developer SunEdison has set a new Indian record for lowest tariff bid for solar photovoltaic power plant.

The lowest bid for solar PV project in India is now belongs to SunEdison. The company participated in a 500 MW auction under the revamped National Solar Mission. While a number of companies participated in the auction, SunEdison secured the entire 500 MW capacity. The company placed a bid of Rs 4.63/kWh (US¢7.12/kWh).

For the first time in India, a company secured a winning bid of lower than Rs 5.00/kWh (US¢7.7/kWh). In fact, as many as 10 companies quoted a bid below Rs 5.00/kWh while a total of 15 companies placed bids below Rs 5.50/kWh (US¢8.5/kWh).

The 500 MW auction was oversubscribed 10.5 times. A total of 30 prospective project developers submitted bids for a total of 5.5 GW capacity. Some of the foreign developers were among the first-time participants in an India solar power auction. These included companies like Trina Solar and SBG Cleantech (a joint venture company between SoftBank, Foxconn, and Bharti Enterprises).

Other major participants included SkyPower, ACME Solar, Aditya Birla, Essel Energy, Tata Power, Azure Power, Welspun Energy, Hero Future Energies, ReNew Power, and Suzlon Energy.

SunEdison beat the lowest bid record of SkyPower which secured a 50 MW project under Madhya Pradesh solar power policy earlier this year. A subsidiary of SkyPower won the 50 MW project at Rs 5.05/kWh (US¢7.7/kWh). The lowest winning bid before that was by First Solar at Rs 5.25/kWh (8.27¢/kWh) for a 40 MW project in Andhra Pradesh.

The bid by SunEdison is at 34% discount to the tariff determined by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission for the current financial year. While SunEdison would be paid Rs 4.63/kWh (US¢7.12/kWh), the utilities would be buying this solar power bundled with power from coal-based power plants. The utilities would thus pay just Rs 3.50/kWh (US¢5.38/kWh).

The Indian government expects that tariff bids would fall further over the coming months. By the end of March 2015, around 4.8 GW solar power capacity is expected to be auctioned. A total of 6,781 MW solar power capacity has been allocated through competitive auctions for feed-in tariffs in India between December 2010 and September 2015. During the auctions, the bids have fallen by over 50%.

Earlier this year, SunEdison had pledged to install 10 GW of solar power capacity in India over the next 5 years.

November 4, 2015 0 comment

Energy Storage PV Rooftop Solar Solar Projects Solar Research

SunEdison To Provide Battery Storage For Californian Net-Zero Pilot Project

by Joshua S Hill September 22, 2015

written by Joshua S Hill

SunEdison has revealed that it will be providing advanced energy storage systems to a net-zero pilot project in California.

SunEdison, the world’s largest renewable energy development company, announced last week that it will be supplying advanced battery systems to a net-zero energy homes pilot project being developed in Fontana, California. The project is being led by Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), with the support of the California Public Utilities Commission, with lead project partners Meritage Homes and local utility Southern California Edison.

The Electric Power Research Institute is leading the project in an effort to determine the impact on the local electricity grid of net-zero energy homes that generate and store their own energy.

“With this project, we’re pioneering solutions that will help Californians prepare for the future of the grid, where homes and businesses will be generating their own electricity on a much greater scale than we’re seeing today,” said Tim Derrick, SunEdison’s general manager of Advanced Solutions. “By installing SunEdison’s advanced battery systems on these net-zero energy homes, we’re able to store solar-generated electricity and better manage the interactions of that electricity with the grid.”

“EPRI is leading this project to gain insights into how a community of net-zero homes interacts with the local grid,” said Ram Narayanamurthy, EPRI’s project lead. “We’re using advanced controls and energy storage to manage these mini, distributed power plants that are expected to play a much larger role in the grid of the future.”

“Meritage Homes is excited to participate in this pivotal project,” said C.R. Herro, Meritage Homes’ vice president of Energy Efficiency and Sustainability. “Net-zero energy homes will be energy efficient, more cost effective to run, and have backup power in the event of a power cut.”

September 22, 2015 0 comment

PV Solar Projects

SunEdison Selects Chinese EPC Contractor For 59 MW Phillippines Solar Project

by Saurabh Mahapatra September 14, 2015

written by Saurabh Mahapatra

SunEdison and partner Aboitiz Power have taken a major step towards fulfilling their target to add 300 MW of solar power capacity in the Philippines.

SunEdison and Aboitiz Power have selected China’s Nari Group to set up a 59 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant located in Negros Occidental. The project would be one of the largest projects of its kind when it become operational in Q1 2016.

A subsidiary of Aboitiz Power, Aboitiz Renewables, and SunEdison Philippines Helios BV formed a joint venture company to set up solar power projects in the southeast Asian country. The joint venture – Maaraw Holdings San Carlos – will invest around $75 million in the project.

Aboitiz Power owns a 60% stake in the joint venture, while the balance is owned by SunEdison Philippines Helios BV.

The two companies announced last year that they would collaborate on setting up 300 MW of solar capacity in the country.

The Philippine government had earlier announced a plan to have over 15 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030 to meet half of the country’s total electricity demand. The government has launched a number of programs to achieve this target. A new feed-in tariff regime was introduced which offered attractive tariffs for hydro, biomass, wind, and solar power projects.

Over the last few months, the Philippine renewable energy sector has seen increased activity with domestic as well as international investors and companies rushing to make investments.

In June, real estate developer Gregorio Araneta announced that it will set up a 100 MW solar PV power plant in Cadiz city, at an estimated investment of $175 million. First Solar signed an agreement with OrionGroup to set up a joint venture company, FSO Energy Solutions, which will set up large-scale solar power projects to cater to the power demand of commercial and industrial entities in Philippines.

September 14, 2015 0 comment

Today's solar panels are fine for tomorrow's needs says a new report from MIT

Solar Projects

Brazil Releases Full List Of Public Solar Auction Winners

by Joshua S Hill September 9, 2015

written by Joshua S Hill

The results of Brazil’s huge Leilão de Reserva solar auction held at the end of August have been trickling in slowly, and now the full list of winners has been revealed.

We had already seen that Enel Green Power was the biggest winner, walking away with three separate projects totalling 553 MW. Canadian Solar also did fairly well, with five separate projects totalling 185 MW.

However, the full list of recipients is now available, and looks like this:

Enel Green Power — 553 MW
Canadian Solar — 185 MW
Conergy — 60 MW
SunEdison — 16 MW
Solatio — unknown
Martifer Energy — unknown

Reports were also floated that Russian energy company Renova had also acquired some measure of success in the auction, but this appears to have been proven incorrect.

In total, the Brazilian government handed out capacity contracts totalling 834 MW at an average price of 301.79 Real per megawatt-hour, or around US$0.0842/kWh — which was around 13.5% below the maximum price set for the auction.

“Brazil’s auction was one of the most competitive in the world,” said Eduardo Abreu, Conergy’s General Manager in Brazil. “Of bids totaling 11,200MWp, only 833 MWp were approved, making Conergy’s projects among the top 7.5%. The team’s technical expertise enabled efficient site selection and project design gave the company a competitive advantage during the auction.”

September 9, 2015 0 comment

Investment PV Solar $Solar PV Manufacturing Yieldcos

SunEdison Creates $1 Billion Construction & Operating Asset Facility

by Joshua S Hill August 19, 2015

written by Joshua S Hill

SunEdison has announced that they will form a new $1 billion warehouse investment vehicle that will fund construction costs and acquire operating assets.

The decision comes on the heels of an odd market response to SunEdison’s record second quarter growth. SunEdison, the world’s largest clean energy developer, announced its second quarterly earnings earlier this month, including record growth and 1.9 GW worth of projects currently under construction. Nevertheless, shares fell as a response to the company’s $263 million net loss, as investors were left concerned over SunEdison’s many new acquisitions.

“SunEdison’s new $1 billion warehouse provides incremental capacity for SunEdison to construct and hold assets in advance of drop down to TerraForm Power,” stated Brian Wuebbels, SunEdison chief financial officer. “The WSIP Warehouse expands our capacity beyond our existing $1.5 billion First Reserve Warehouse and the $500 million dollar TerraForm Private Warehouse. Our new warehouse supports SunEdison’s 2016 guidance for growth, reinforces the depth of demand for investor participation in SunEdison’s warehouse platform and provides repeatable and scalable funding for the future.”

This new construction and operating asset warehouse investment vehicle will hopefully allay some investor fears.

The announcement includes involvement with West Street Infrastructure Partners III (WSIP), which will invest $300 million in equity (“subject to certain conditions”), and will be managed by Goldman Sachs. The debt structuring for the vehicle will be led by Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, and Deutsche Bank, and will provide commitments of $700 million of debt in the form of a $500 million, five-year term loan, and a $200 million, four-year revolving credit facility.

SunEdison will be left with the ability to expand the facility by up to $1 billion, to a total of $2 billion, subject to certain conditions, and SunEdison’s initial yieldco, TerraForm Power, will have an exclusive call right over the warehoused assets.

“We are excited to partner with SunEdison as we seek to expand our portfolio of investments in solar and wind projects,” said Edward Pallesen, head of the Infrastructure Investment Group for the Americas within the Merchant Banking Division at Goldman Sachs. “SunEdison and TerraForm Power have a proven track record of delivering high quality renewable energy projects, and we are pleased to be able to support their future growth initiatives.”

August 19, 2015 0 comment

PV Solar Projects

SunEdison Partners With Dominion For 420 MW Four Brothers Solar Project In Utah

by Joshua S Hill August 14, 2015

written by Joshua S Hill

SunEdison has announced it will partner with Dominion to create a joint venture around the 420 MW Four Brothers solar project in Utah.

The project is currently being developed and constructed by SunEdison, and is expected to become fully operational by mid-2016. Under the terms of the joint venture between SunEdison and Dominion, Dominion will invest approximately $500 million to acquire 50% of the cash equity of the Four Brothers project, and 99% of the tax equity, including funding of construction. SunEdison will contribute the remainder of the capital requited to complete the project, which it had already fully financed through a $150 million, four-year term loan with Deutsche Bank.

“We are very pleased to establish a great strategic partnership with Dominion, one of the nation’s largest and most innovative producers of energy in jointly owning the Four Brother project,” said Paul Gaynor, executive vice president of SunEdison EMEA & Americas.

“From a financial perspective, the Dominion partnership demonstrates the quality of our project and provides SunEdison and TerraForm Power with a complete solution for the construction and permanent financing of this 420 MW solar facility. This solar project will also bring clean, affordable electricity to Utah residents and businesses while providing attractive returns for its owners. This partnership represents a major investment in the Utah economy, and creates both local jobs and steady income for the state from property and other taxes.”

The Four Brothers project is already contracted under a long-term Power Purchase Agreement for 20 years with PacifiCorp, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Energy. Upon completion, the project is expected to produce the equivalent of enough electricity to power more than 90,000 local homes, and has already provided an estimated 500 construction jobs within the rural communities of Beaver and Iron Counties.

August 14, 2015 0 comment

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