Palm Desert Helps Secure Solar Tax Credit

Provisions in the economic stimulus package going to the U.S. House of Representatives today could make it easier for cities across the country to start Palm Desert-style energy loan programs.

Palm Desert city officials helped author the changes that would ensure residents who take out the loans can cash in on the 30 percent federal income tax credit for solar installations.

Another provision will allow cities and counties to issue tax-free bonds to fund loan programs.

The federal tax code allows cities to issue tax-free bonds only for public improvements. The proposed changes will include renewable energy installations in the definition of public improvements.

The bond provisions mean cities will be “able to access capital on the open market at a much lower rate than if you were to go out and get (taxable) bonds,” said Palm Desert City Councilman Jim Ferguson, who has pushed for the changes. “Taxable bonds depend on the credit- worthiness of a city. Municipal (tax-free) bonds are viewed as a safe investment.”

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California Solar Panel Installations Through The Roof In 2008

Despite a credit freeze that’s stunting renewable energy projects throughout the country, 2008 was a hot year for solar power in California.

Encouraged by state rebates, Golden State residents and businesses last year installed a record 158 megawatts of photovoltaic panels on their rooftops to turn the sun’s rays into electricity, the California Public Utilities Commission said Wednesday. That’s more than double the 78 megawatts installed in 2007.

Residential demand appears to be hanging tough in the face of the shaky economy. December saw the largest volume of homeowner rebate requests since the state launched the California Solar Initiative program two years ago.

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California Utility PG&E to Open Wallet for Solar Technology

INDIAN WELLS, Calif.–Pacific Gas & Electric, one of the country’s largest and most progressive utilities, will invest directly in solar power plants and solar panels distributed in different California communities.

CEO Peter Darbee said the move represents the first time that PG&E–already a large purchaser of solar and other renewable energy technologies–will build and own solar installations. Right now, the utility purchases clean energy from third parties.

Darbee mentioned the solar initiative during a discussion on Wednesday here at the Clean-tech Investor Summit.

He declined to specify how much the investment would be but said that it would be “significant.” After his talk, he acknowledged it would comparable in size to Southern California Edison’s program to spend $850 million over five years to put solar panels on commercial rooftops.

California utilities are some of the most important purchasers of clean technologies and vital customers for a raft of energy technology developers. The state mandates that utilities get 33 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2020.

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Eye on the Environment: Recycler Turns Silicon Scraps into a Product Now in Demand

Despite a worldwide drop in commodity prices and the painful consequences for the recycling industry, some types of recycling continue to thrive. Similarly, despite ongoing struggles over the state budget, some state programs still provide great benefits to local economies.

On Thursday in Camarillo, public and private recyclers will celebrate a milestone in economic development and environmental progress. The California Integrated Waste Management Board recently loaned its 100 millionth dollar through the Recycling Market Development Zone program.

The board, which channels these low-interest (4 percent fixed-rate) loans locally through the Ventura County Recycling Market Development Zone, will commemorate the achievement by joining with ersol Silicon Inc. in hosting an event showcasing the results of one of these loans.

Using a $1.6 million loan, ersol Silicon developed from a local scrap recycling center into an internationally renowned provider of recycled silicon. This loan, given eight years ago, helped the company turn waste from the solar and computer manufacturing industries into material useful to solar panel manufacturers.

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California Company Shows Off Solar Technology in Surprise Arizona

A “Green Machine” made a pit stop this week in Surprise, showing off the latest in solar hot-water technology.

City building inspectors got a sneak peek at how the SunGrabber Electric Hot Water System works and how it’s installed. Fafco, the manufacturer, brought the mobile model to the site of the environmentally friendly City Hall building under construction near Bullard Avenue and Bell Road

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Van Jones and the Green Jobs Revolution (Video)

Van Jones, President of Green for All and a Nation contributor, came to DC on Thursday to talk to the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming about a Green (and fair) New Deal. Testifying along with Jones were Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter and Trenton Mayor Douglas Palmer.

Jones spoke of the “new tools…new training…and new technology” that would “begin to put some green rungs on America’s ladder of opportunity.” He took on the “falsehoods and confusion” spread by “vocal opponents and naysayers” who oppose investing in a new green economy and breaking our dependence on fossil fuels.

Jones set the record straight on the notion that green jobs are a fantasy–”Buck Rogers jobs, or science fiction jobs, or George Jetson jobs”–and pointed to the section of the Green Jobs Act (passed in 2007, but not funded–evidence he said of the need to “move aggressively from inspiration to implementation”) that spells out the exact kinds of job-training programs and industries eligible for support, some of which are: energy efficient and retro-fitting construction jobs; renewable power industry; biofuels industry; and manufacturing of sustainable products using environmentally sustainable materials.

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California ISO Holds Solar Symposium

Folsom, Calif., – In order to stay one step ahead of an expected boom in large-scale solar power projects over the next five to ten years, the California Independent System Operator Corporation (California ISO) is holding a Solar Symposium to bring solar companies and forecasters together with ISO market and operations experts. It’s a way to ensure solar technologies are on equal footing with other renewable resources already participating in the ISO’s wholesale electricity markets.

The ISO launched its Participating Intermittent Resource Program (PIRP) designed to foster renewable resource development in 2002. That early effort, aimed at wind energy, set up forecasting tools and adjusted market rules to accommodate wind power’s fluctuations in output as a result of changing wind speeds. Solar power can also benefit from accurate and timely high-tech forecasting and communication tools as well as industry collaboration. Read more

The Grapevine: Eco-Friendly Wineries in California

Just how big is your carbon footprint? Most of us haven’t a clue. We recycle. We use our own shopping bags. Does it make a difference?

You bet your sweet zinfandel!

Fetzer Vineyards, of Mendocino, Calif., made an eco-friendly decision to switch to lightweight glass bottles in 2009. The decision to lose the weight, i.e. drop from a 20.3-ounce bottle to a 17-ounce bottle, will reduce Fetzer’s production of greenhouse gases by 14 percent, or 2,985 tons of carbon dioxide (after factoring in the energy required to produce and ship the heavier glass vs. the new version).

As we know, trees process carbon dioxide and release oxygen. The impact of Fetzer’s decision within the span of one calendar year is the environmental equivalent of planting 70,000 trees and growing them for 10 years. Three years later, the impact will be akin to planting 210,000 trees and letting them grow for 10 years.

The reduction in glass alone (2, 173 tons) eliminates more than 4 million new wine bottles going into circulation each calendar year. If you do your part and recycle the lightweight bottle, you will also reduce the equivalent of 5.9 lbs worth of carbon dioxide emissions per bottle.

But it is the generation of electricity that is the leading contributor to air pollution in the United States. Most generator plants burn fossil fuels; this dumps millions of tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere every year.

So Fetzer went solar. Its clean energy program, a 901-kilowatt photovoltaic project positioned on the roof of the bottling facility and red barrel room in Hopland, Calif., generates more than a million kilowatt hours of energy a year, supplying them with 80 percent of the electricity needed to function each year.

By sourcing its energy this way, Fetzer has further reduced its carbon footprint by eliminating 960,000 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions per year. The impact is akin to taking 80 cars off the road for 12 months.

But Fetzer isn’t the only eco-conscious wine producer on the market. In 2003, Rodney Strong Vineyards, of California, put solar panels on the roof of its 100,000-square-foot barrel house. This reduced energy use by 35 percent and electrical costs by 40 percent. The solar project generates enough clean energy to power 800 homes and reduces their carbon footprint by eliminating more than 8,700 tons of greenhouse gas production over the next 25 years. Again, to use the tree analogy, they’ve done the equivalent of foresting 2,500 acres with trees.

Shafer Vineyards, of California, went 100 percent solar in 2004. Its project will have the air-purifying equivalent of planting 17,000 trees.

Domaine Carneros, also in California, went solar in 2003. The energy generated by the photovoltaic system on its Pinot Noir winery handles 40 percent of the facility’s electrical load. Frog’s Leap Winery generates 100 percent of its own electricity with solar power.

Constellation Wines, now the largest wine company in the world (representing such brands as Simi, Franciscan, Robert Mondavi Winery, Kim Crawford, Ruffino, Tintara, Mouton Cadet, Arbor Mist, Cooks and Vendange), is going solar also. Their project, currently under production, is projected to eliminate the release of 1.6 million pounds of carbon dioxide, 1,636 pounds of sulfur dioxide and 2,909 pounds of nitrogen oxide each year, the equivalent of taking 2,000 cars off the road for 12 months.

When the winery is not using its electricity, that clean energy will be routed to supply energy for a quarter of the 1,695 households in the town of Gonzales, California.

Kudos to Constellation and the rest of the earth-friendly bunch. We should all give them a toast (serving their own eco-friendly wines, of course), then recycle those empty bottles. Together, we can do a world of good.

Lisa Airey
The View

Southern California Solar Company Phat Energy Sponsors Sundance Eco Event

LOS ANGELES - (Business Wire) Phat Energy has made it into the Sundance Film Festival. The Los Angeles-based company that designs and installs solar energy systems, is a co-sponsor of “2009: A Green Odyssey,” a part of the festival dedicated to environmentally-themed films. The largest eco-event in Sundance history, Green Odyssey will be held on January 16^th from 8 p.m. to midnight at Village on Main in Park City.

Phat Energy sees itself as more than a supplier of renewable energy products; it’s also a promoter of environmentally responsible lifestyles. Its sponsorship of the Sundance event is a way to get its message to a particularly influential crowd. “The entertainment community can and must energize our green economy,” says Phat Energy General Manager Philippe Hartley. “We applaud the filmmakers who lead that charge; that’s why Phat Energy is proud to support this event.”

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Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition Calls for Solar Industry Clean

Despite its reputation, solar power isn’t completely clean.

Most solar cells are made of silicon, and the process of refining it produces waste that can damage the environment. Some newer solar cells use other materials that are themselves toxic and require proper handling.

Now an environmental watchdog group wants to make the industry cleaner.

The Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition will release a report today detailing the potential environmental problems facing the solar business, which has grown quickly as the world looks for alternatives to fossil fuels.

The report does not argue that sticking a solar panel on your home poses a health risk. Instead, it focuses on the environmental effects of manufacturing solar cells. And it calls for creating a recycling program for used solar panels so they don’t end up in landfills.

The point is not to stifle the industry, said coalition Executive Director Sheila Davis. She wants the solar industry to make sure its entire supply chain is as clean as possible before the industry gets bigger.

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