California ratepayer advocate complains of high solar power costs

California consumers will be paying too much for electricity generated by a large solar-thermal power plant being built in the Mojave Desert, the state's independent ratepayer watchdog agency said.

The Division of Ratepayer Advocates questioned the California Public Utility Commission's 4-1 vote Thursday to approve the Mojave Solar Project's 25-year power contract with Pacific Gas & Electric Co.

"The commission has the power to keep the cost of renewable energy reasonable," said the division's acting director, Joe Como. The commission, he said, "is signaling to the market that California will accept overpriced renewable energy and that it is willing to lock customers into higher rates for decades to come."

In a statement, the PUC confirmed that the contract "is more costly than other procurement opportunities available to PG&E," but said it "determined that the value of adding the Mojave Solar Project to California's fleet of renewable energy generation capacity warranted approving the project."

The contract had to be renegotiated higher because of an expected delay in upgrading the transmission network, the PUC said.

 PUC Commissioner Mark J. Ferron said he has "high confidence" that the Mojave plant will get built.

"The technology is tried and true, the financing is all wrapped up with the U.S. Department of Energy loan guarantee," he said, "and we're told that the hard hats are on and the bulldozers are ready to roll."

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-- Marc Lifsher

Photo: Mirrors concentrate solar power at Mojave Desert power plant. Credit: PBS

Biofuels, wind power show gains, but hurdles remain

Biofuels and wind power are having the biggest new impact in American power generation, according to a report released today by the U.S. Energy Department. Consumption of biofuels has risen 16-fold since 2000 and wind power use has seen an eight-fold increase during the same period.

Among renewable energy sources, only solar power is rising faster, the Energy Department said. But solar and photo-voltaic power are still the smallest contributors to the nation's energy needs, accounting for just 1% of the renewable total.

Hydroelectric power remains the biggest resource, at 31% of all renewable energy produced in the U.S., but it is not a growing resource. Wood is next, at 25%, followed by biofuels (23%), wind (11%), waste (6%), and geothermal (3%). Altogether, renewables account for 8% of U.S. energy production.

The Energy Department said that improved technology was part of the reason for the growth in electricity generation from wind power, which rose from about 6 billion kilowatt-hours in 2000 to about 95 billion kilowatt-hours in 2010. But the Energy Department also cited the importance of financial incentives in the form of federal production tax credits and grants.

The American Wind Energy Assn. is lobbying Congress to extend the tax measures amid partisan political wrangling over the issue, fearing the industry's ability to thrive without them.

Biofuels have made a huge splash recently. Earlier this month, Continental Airlines Flight 1403 made history when it landed at Chicago's O'Hare airport as the nation's first biofuel-powered revenue generating passenger flight. Alaska Airlines this week launched a round of 75 flights it said would be powered by biofuels.

But the biggest hurdle for renewables is cost. For 11 days of biofuel-powered flights, Alaska Airlines purchased 28,000 gallons of biofuel for a whopping $476,000. That works out to about $17 a gallon or about six times more than what it would have paid for regular jet fuel.

Also: New geothermal maps show vast energy resource

U.S. launches probe in China solar panels

California has one in four of U.S. solar jobs

--Ronald D. White

Photo: Turbines line the hillside at First Wind's power project in Sheffield, Vt., which is ready to generate power after an eight-year planning and building process. Photo credit: Toby Talbot/AP

New geothermal maps show vast potential energy source

Geothermal energy is hardly new. There is evidence that it was used in the U.S. as early as the 1800s. In 1904, a fellow named Piero Ginori Conti opened the first geothermal plant in Larderello, Italy. It was a dry steam reservoir that was used to generate electricity.

But geothermal, like a lot of alternative energy technologies, barely registers in a nation that still depends mostly on oil and coal. Currently, there is only about 3,000 megawatts of installed geothermal energy capacity in the U.S., according to the Southern Methodist University Geothermal Laboratory. That's in a nation with a total energy generating capacity, from all sources, of 1 million megawatts.

Now, the SMU laboratory has released a new series of geothermal maps of the U.S. that show a practically limitless source of energy -- if it can be tapped.

David D. Blackwell, a geophysics professor at the lab, said the "technical potential" of what could be tapped was roughly equal to about 3 million megawatts, or three times the nation's current energy production.

"The technical potential is our best estimate of what actually might be extracted," Blackwell said. "The question is, 'Do we have the will to go ahead and try to really develop it?'"

The new maps, such as the one displayed here at a depth of 6.5 kilometers underground, show heat sources that range from a relatively cool 50 degrees Celsius (about 122 degrees Fahrenheit) to 300 degrees Celsius.

Most of the hottest spots are in the Western U.S., but SMU officials said that newer technologies for tapping geothermal sources could take advantage of cooler hot spots in West Virginia, Texas and along the Gulf Coast.

"The eastern two-thirds of the country were always dismissed in terms of geothermal potential," said Cathy Chickering, an SMU lab geothermal specialist, adding that the newer technologies could produce energy in those areas.

As an example of the new technologies, Pickering cited the Chena Hot Springs in Alaska, where geothermal energy is being produced in water that is 74 degrees Celsius. "That's significantly cooler than the temperatures people think of as necessary for generating geothermal energy. Other technologies can exploit dry heat by injecting water underground.

The maps were funded in part using by a three-year $480,000 grant from Google. They can be viewed here.

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-- Ronald D. White

Graphic: One of the SMU Geothermal Laboratory's new "temperature at depth" maps of potential new sources of energy. Credit: Courtesy of SMU Geothermal Laboratory.

 

Energy watchdog warns against reliance on fossil fuels

The Paris-based International Energy Agency warned today that world governments are locking themselves into a potentially disastrous future that depends too much on fossil fuels. The message came as the IEA released its annual World Energy Outlook.

The IEA has served as a kind of energy watchdog for industrialized nations since the 1973-74 oil crisis.

"We cannot continue to rely on insecure and environmentally unsustainable uses of energy,” said IEA Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven, adding that recent events helped illustrate the dangers, "The Fukushima nuclear accident, the turmoil in parts of the Middle East and North Africa and a sharp rebound in energy demand in 2010, which pushed CO2 emissions to a record high, highlight the urgency."

The IEA has projected a growth in world energy demand of 33% by 2035, most of it driven by China, India and emerging economies. But it also believes that the share of global energy provided by renewable sources, under current mandates, will rise from 13% currently to only 18% during the same period.

That means that the demand for oil, for example, will only continue to increase, from 87 million barrels a day in 2010 to 99 million barrels a day in 2035, the IEA said. The use of coal, the IEA predicts, will rise 65% by 2035.

“Governments need to introduce stronger measures to drive investment in efficient and low-carbon technologies," van der Hoeven said.

The IEA said the modest rise in the share of energy gained by renewables by 2035 was also predicated on a growth in government subsidies from a current $64 billion to $250 billion by 2035, a rise that is by no means certain "in this age of fiscal austerity." The IEA also noted that government subsidies of fossil fuels amounted to $409 billion in 2010.

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A boom in U.S. oil production

Expected delay in pipeline decision

-- Ronald D. White

Photo: A National Transitional Council fighter patrols the Libyan Oil Refining Co. in Ras Lanuf, west of Tripoli. The Libyan civil war shut down that country's 1.6-million-barrel-a-day oil production. The unrest throughout the Middle East was a sign, says the IEA, of the peril of dependency on fossil fuels. Credit: Youssef Boudlal / Reuters

 

 

White House orders loan review to avoid more Solyndras

The White House, shifting its position on the Energy Department's loan guarantees, said it will now review the entire program for such ill-fated decisions as the much-publicized $535-million loan guarantee for California solar equipment maker Solyndra, which later fell into bankruptcy.

The step aims to defuse the embarrassing Solyndra episode, which has given rise to criticism that the Obama administration has wasted hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer money.

In a news conference this month, the president asserted that "the overall portfolio has been successful." He said: "It has allowed us to help companies, for example, start advanced battery manufacturing here in the United States. It’s helped to create jobs."

Obama’s defense opened him to charges that he has been tone-deaf to Solyndra’s implications. With the economy still weak and deficits topping $1 trillion, the White House can’t afford to be seen as lax overseers of taxpayer dollars.

Republicans have seized on the issue. As Obama crisscrosses the country pressing for his $447-billion jobs plan, Republicans have been citing Solyndra as an example of stimulus spending that backfired.

GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney, speaking at the Values Voter Summit this month, said: "I welcome renewable energy. But as an old venture capitalist myself, I can tell you this: There will be no more Solyndras."

White House chief of staff William Daley ordered the 60-day evaluation and asked for recommendations about "how to improve the loan monitoring process," according to the White House.

Leading the inquiry is Herb Allison, a former Treasury official who oversaw the federal bailout program for the financial sector.

In a statement, Daley said that "while we continue to take steps to make sure the United States remains competitive in the 21st century energy economy, we must also ensure that we are strong stewards of taxpayer dollars."

Investigators are poring over the Solyndra deal. The Justice Department and congressional Republicans have been investigating the loan since the company filed for bankruptcy. At the request of Republican-controlled congressional committees, the White House has turned over thousands of emails, some of which showed administration officials rushing to approve the deal in time for a glitzy photo op.

The White House has balked at releasing everything in its possession, including the president’s BlackBerry messages. Republicans are threatening to use subpoenas to get more information even as the administration prepares to release thousands more email communications in the coming months.

They aren’t stopping at Solyndra. Congressional investigators have recently turned their attention to loan guarantees granted by the Energy Department to two automakers -- Fisker Automotive and Tesla Motors -- and to the U.S. subsidiary of a steel company owned by a Russian firm.

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Photo: Solyndra's headquarters in Fremont, Calif. Credit: Robert Galbraith / Reuters

California lifts suspension of green energy tax credit

Members of a state commission unanimously voted to lift a month-long suspension of an alternative energy-related tax credit that had been imposed following the bankruptcy of Solyndra, a politically connected California solar panel company.

The California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority, after reviewing its operations and the granting of $25.1 million in sales tax credits to Solyndra, concluded it could tighten the way it handles applications.

Joe DeAnda, a spokesman for the commission's chairman, state Treasurer Bill Lockyer, called the program "transparent and accountable." But he noted that "we can improve the way we evaluate applicants."

Solyndra, which used a $535-million federal loan guarantee to open a factory in Fremont, Calif., filed for bankruptcy protection Sept. 6. The announcement set off a political controversy in Washington, with allegations that the Obama administration pressured U.S. Department of Energy officials to approve the assistance despite warning signs that the company was in trouble.

California's support for Solyndra was much smaller than the federal government's. Solyndra was one of 26 companies that have participated in the California program.

State Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima), who held a hearing on the Solyndra case as chairman of the Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee, said he supported the state commission's decision to restart the tax credit. At last week's hearing, a number of executives from solar panel manufacturing companies praised the tax credit for making it possible for them to build and operate plants in California.

"The facts provided at the hearing show that the program is working as intended," said Padilla. "California-based green jobs are being created."

The state Legislature will act to improve oversight of the alternative energy tax credit, Padilla said, "but we must not let the failure of one company deter us."

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-- Marc Lifsher

Photo: Workers install solar panels at the Sacramento Municipal Utility District. Credit: Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press

U.S. has a long way to go to reduce reliance on fossil fuels

At 407 pages, the U.S. Energy Department's just released Annual Energy Review contains more than you'll ever want to know about the nation's power production and consumption. On the other hand, you'll never be at a loss for words, or facts, on the subject.

Examples abound.

Is per capita household energy consumption in the U.S. declining because of programs emphasizing efficiency? Answer: no. It has remained essentially flat for 38 years, since the Arab oil embargo of 1973.

The reasons? A long-term shift to larger homes requiring more energy has been countered by a population shift to warmer climates in the South and West, requiring less heat. Electronic devices are far more efficient, but there are also a lot more of them around the typical home than ever before.

Will the country move sharply away from fossil fuels in the coming decade? Answer: maybe. Even with mandates for greater use of renewable energy, the nation still has as very long way to go. Energy consumption by source is as follows: petroleum 37%, natural gas 25%, coal 21%, nuclear 9%, renewable energy 8%.

The breakdown on renewables: hydroelectric power 2.5%, wood 2%, biofuels 1.9%, wind 0.9%, waste 0.5%, geo-thermal 0.2%, solar/photovoltaic 0.1%.

What about U.S. energy production by share of source? It's still firmly entrenched in fossil fuels. About 22% comes from natural gas. Another 22% comes from coal. About 12% comes from crude oil. The remainder comes from nuclear (8%), biomass (4%), natural gas liquids (3%) and hydroelectric (3%). Geothermal, solar/PV and wind together amount to just 1%.

What states consume the most energy? Texas is well ahead of No. 2 California on that score. But California, by far the nation's most populous state, shines in a related category: it's fifth among states with the lowest per capita energy consumption, behind New York, Rhode Island, Hawaii and Massachusetts. Texas is among the five states with the highest per capita energy consumption.

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— Ronald D. White

Photo: Solar panels cover the parking structure at the Applied Materials Inc. Maydan Technology Center in Santa Clara. Even with new mandates to increase energy from renewable sources, it still supplies only a fraction of the nation's energy needs. Credit: David Paul Morris / Bloomberg

California drops to No. 2 in energy efficiency rankings

The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy's latest assessment of the states, released Thursday, showed California edged out of first place for the first time in the five years that the rankings have been conducted.

The council's State Energy Efficiency Scorecard showed Massachusetts in the top spot, edging out California with a score of 45.5 out of a possible 50 points. California had 44 points, then there was a drop to New York in third with a score of 38, followed by Oregon (37.5). Washington, Vermont and Rhode Island were next with identical scores of 34.

The scores were based on weighted criteria that gave more credit to states that offered utility and public benefits funds and also had the best efficiency programs and policies (20 points possible). That was followed in importance by transportation, building energy codes and state government initiatives.

California finished first or second in every category except the one gauging appliance efficiency standards.

ACEEE representatives said the report card showed that many states were taking the problem of energy efficiency seriously in spite of a sour economy and severe budget constraints.

“Energy efficiency is America’s abundant, untapped energy resource and the states continue to press forward to reap its economic and environmental benefits,” said ACEEE Executive Director Steven Nadel.
“The message here is that energy efficiency is a pragmatic, bipartisan solution that political leaders from both sides of the aisle can support. As they have over the past decades, states continue to provide the leadership needed to forge an energy-efficient economy, which reduces energy costs, spurs job growth, and benefits the environment,” Nadel added.

There was some irony in the report. The state with the lowest ranking, North Dakota, with a mere 2.5 points out of 50, is the state with the nation's fastest growing crude oil production.

See more on the ACEEE Scorecard.

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— Ronald D. White

Map: The ACEEE ranked the states in terms of their efforts to improve energy efficiency. The nation's leaders are clustered on the West Coast and in the Northeast. Credit: American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy

Solar energy jobs growing in U.S. and California, study says

One in every four solar energy jobs in the United States is held by a Californian, and growth in the clean-tech industry is burgeoning nationwide, a new study said.

In August, California had an estimated 25,575 of the 100,237 solar-related jobs nationwide, according to the National Solar Jobs Census 2011, scheduled for release Monday by the Solar Foundation, a research and education organization in Washington.

The total for California was four times greater than the runner-up, Colorado, with 6,186 solar jobs as of last summer.

California ranked first in the nation for generating electricity from both photovoltaic solar panels and concentrated solar power systems that use mirrors to focus the sun's energy to create steam to run turbines, the study said.

"This report shows that the solar industry is not only creating green jobs across California but that the industry is forecast to continue growing at a much faster pace than the overall U.S. economy," said MIchelle Kinman, a clean-energy advocate for Environment California. "California industry and policymakers have a tremendous opportunity to build on this solid foundation and make solar a centerpiece of the state's energy policy."

Nationally, employment in all parts of the solar industry -- including manufacturing, installation, residential, commercial and large-scale power generation -- grew 6.8% in the 12 months prior to August, the study said. Overall U.S. job growth was less than 1% for the same period, it said.

Growth is expected to accelerate by 24%, creating 24,000 jobs over the next year, based on a survey of solar employers.

The industry's momentum is expected to continue despite bad publicity it received from a political scandal surrounding the bankruptcy of Northern California solar panel manufacturer Solyndra. The Fremont-based company recently closed after getting a $535-million federal loan guarantee.

"We have to look beyond the failure of one company and see the tremendous success that's occurring here," said Arno Harris, the chief executive of Recurrent Energy, a San Francisco solar developer.

Solar, added David Hochschild, vice president of another Fremont solar panel maker, Solaria Corp, "is on the cusp of playing a large role in mainstream markets."

Here's the census' list of the top 10 states by the number of solar industry jobs:

1. California          25,575

2. Colorado             6,186

3. Arizona               4,786

4. Pennsylvania       4,703

5. New York            4,279

6. Florida                4,224

7. Texas                 3,346

8. Oregon                3,346

9. New Jersey           2,871

10. Massachusetts    2,395

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Photo: Solar panels on the roof of a Fontana warehouse in 2008. Credit: Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times

Gov. Jerry Brown asks PUC to pass electric bill surcharge

 

Gov. Jerry Brown is asking his appointed members of the California Public Utilities Commission to come up with a way to continue tacking a surcharge on residential and commercial electric bills to pay for an energy efficiency program that did not get renewed by the Legislature last month.

The $400-million-a-year program is set to expire at the end of the year.

"We cannot afford to let any of these job-creating programs lapse," Brown said in a letter to PUC President Michael Peevey. The surcharges -- $1 to $2 a month on a typical residential bill -- pay for a 14-year-old levy called the Public Goods Charge. It pays for retrofitting structures to make them use less energy, for renewable energy subsidies and for research.

"I request that you take action under the commission's authority to ensure that programs like those supported by the Public Goods Charge are instituted -- and hopefully at their current levels," Brown wrote to Peevey.

The PUC will consider opening a legal and administrative proceeding on Brown's request at its Oct. 6 meeting in San Francisco, said spokeswoman Terrie D. Prosper.

"We're pursuing the fastest path to consider maintain funding levels for these programs and policies already underway," Prosper said.

Some environmentalists said they're supporting the governor's effort to revive the Public Goods Charge.

However, Sierra Club lobbyist Jim Metropulos lamented that Brown did not push earlier and more energetically to get enough bipartisan legislative support to pass the bill.

"We were disappointed that the governor put [his bill] out late, if it was one of his priorities," he said.

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Photo: A man looks at energy efficient washing machines at a mall in Baldwin Hills. Credit: Katie Falkenberg / For The Times

California treasurer: Put renewable-energy tax exemption on hold

The head of a California panel that hands out sales tax exemptions to renewable-energy manufacturing companies wants to suspend the program in the wake of the Solyndra scandal.

State Treasurer Bill Lockyer said he will ask fellow members of the California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority at a meeting Tuesday to not approve any new applications for exemptions from paying California sales tax. The exemptions are aimed at encouraging the purchase of equipment used to make solar panels and other energy-saving projects.

The program was authorized last year by the Legislature when it passed SB 71 by Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima).

A decision on the request is not likely to be made before late October, a spokesman for Lockyer said.

"SB 71 created a tax exemption for businesses that requires a level of transparency and public accountability rarely, if ever, seen in California or anywhere else," said Lockyer in a statement released by his office. "But every government program can be improved."

He added that "in light of recent events"-- the potential loss of a $535-million federal loan guarantee to Solyndra, a bankrupt Fremont solar panel manufacturer -- "we owe it to the taxpayers to see if there is more we can do to make sure we don't give their money to companies headed for a fall or companies that take California's money and run to other states to create jobs."

Lockyer's authority had approved $37 million worth of sales tax exemptions for Solyndra, but the company only used $25.1 million to buy equipment before it closed.

The authority approved 32 sales tax exemption applications, valued at $104 million, of which $31.4 million was used, the treasurer's office said.

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Photo: President Obama talks with Solyndra Chief Executive Chris Grommet during a visit to the company's factory in Fremont on May 26, 2010. Credit: Alex Brandon / Associated Press

Solyndra: House committee grills officials over failed solar firm

A congressional investigative committee on Wednesday grilled officials from two agencies that backed a $535-million loan package to failed Northern California solar panel manufacturer Solyndra.

Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations said they want to know why the Energy Department approved the Solyndra loans in 2009 and then restructured the loan this February despite evidence that the company was struggling financially.

Solyndra, which was hailed by President Obama in 2010 as an innovative company that would use stimulus money to create jobs and lead the economic recovery, laid off most of its 1,100 workers Aug. 31 and announced it would cease operations. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Sept. 6.

Two days later, agents with the FBI and Energy Department's inspector general served a search warrant at Solyndra's Fremont headquarters. The company's failure and the criminal investigation have raised questions about the administration's decision to pour billions of dollars into clean-energy programs.

Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.), the subcommittee's chairman, pressed Energy Department loans director Jonathan Silver on Wednesday to explain how the agency could approve more than half a billion dollars in loans despite questions about the company's financial health.

He also cited internal emails that he said show White House officials appeared to be pressuring Energy Department and the Office of Management and Budget to speed up approval of the Solyndra loans.

"You should have protected the taxpayers and made some forceful actions here," Stearns said.

Energy Department expects solar energy project to create 900 jobs

The U.S. Energy Department hopes that a new solar energy project will result in about 900 construction and permanent operations jobs.

Energy Secretary Steven Chu said today that his department had finalized a $1.2-billion loan guarantee to Mojave Solar for the development of the Mojave Solar Project. When complete, the 250-megawatt solar generation project in San Bernardino County will increase the nation’s currently installed concentrating solar power capacity by approximately 50%. 

Abengoa Solar Inc., the project sponsor, is the source of the estimate on construction and permanent operations jobs. 

“Investments in solar generation facilities like the Mojave Solar Project are critical to our effort to create good, clean energy jobs in America and compete with countries like China in the global clean energy race,” Chu said. “This project will supply local utilities with energy, help drive down the cost of solar power and fund more than 900 American jobs, all at minimal risk to the taxpayer.”

The Department of Energy's Loan Programs Office administers the Title XVII Section 1703 and Section 1705 loan guarantee programs, and the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing (ATVM) loan program.

The Energy Department said that the Title XVII loan guarantee programs "support the deployment of commercial technologies along with innovative technologies that avoid, reduce or sequester greenhouse gas emissions, while the ATVM loan program supports the development of advanced vehicle technologies."

The Department has issued loans, loan guarantees or offered conditional commitments for loan guarantees totaling nearly $40 billion to support more than 40 clean energy projects across the United States.

Not all of those investments pan out. Federal agents recently executed a search warrant at the Northern California headquarters of solar panel manufacturer Solyndra Inc., which filed for bankruptcy protection last week despite receiving $535 million in federal stimulus loan guarantees.

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-- Ronald D. White

Image: Artist's rendering of the Mojave Solar Project. Source: California Energy Commission.

 

FBI, Energy Department raid offices of solar-panel maker Solyndra

The FBI and the Energy Department's inspector general's office are executing a search warrant at the Fremont, Calif., headquarters of solar panel maker Solyndra. The raid came just two days after the company declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a move that raised serious concerns about the Obama administration's granting of a $500-million-plus federal loan guarantee to Solyndra in the fall of 2009.

FBI Public Affairs Specialist Peter D. Lee confirmed that the company's headquarters had been targeted, adding that the raid was still underway late Thursday morning. Lee said he was unable to disclose further details about what the FBI and the Energy Department was hoping to find.

Lee said that the raid documents were under seal.

Solyndra is a manufacturer of solar power systems for rooftop applications on commercial buildings. Earlier this week, the company said in a press release that "global economic and solar industry market conditions" had forced it to suspend its manufacturing operations. The company has laid off its 1,100 full-time and temporary employees.

"Despite strong growth in the first half of 2011 and traction in North America with a number of orders for very large commercial rooftops, Solyndra could not achieve full-scale operations rapidly enough to compete in the near term with the resources of larger foreign manufacturers," the company said.

Solyndra was one of about 40 alternative energy projects funded over the last two years through an Energy Department loan program that helped companies involved with major wind, solar, nuclear and ethanol projects. At the time, the Energy Department said that it expected the combined projects to create about 60,000 jobs.

President Obama had visited Solyndra for a tour of the factor in May 2010, even as outside observers, such as PricewaterhouseCoopers, were already raising doubts about the company's ability to survive.

Solyndra had another Obama connection in that it was backed by Tulsa billionaire George Kaiser, a key supporter of the president.

-- Ronald D. White

Photo: FBI agent guards the Fremont, Calif., offices of Solyndra. Credit: Associated Press

California solar panel manufacturer ceases operations

The California solar panel manufacturer that received a high profile $535 million Energy Department loan guarantee announced today that it was ceasing operations, laying off 1,100 workers and will file for bankruptcy in the coming days.

Fremont-based Solyndra said that it had been rocked by stifling global economic conditions and a slow recovery from the great recession. It had also faced heavy competition from Chinese firms that were undercutting it on costs.

The company's website had not been updated to reflect the development. A terse voice mail announcement on one of Solyndra's contact information telephones said only the following: "Solyndra announced today in a press release that it has ceased operations and intends to file for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection," advising customers on how to contact the company for further information.

It was quite a fall from late May 2010, when the company hosted the president on a factory tour. Company officials announced then that they expected to be adding new employees. But in July of this year, the company was being grilled on Capitol Hill by House Republicans who said that there were indications that the company was in a weak financial condition and wasn't a good choice for the loan program.

Solyndra would become the third such company to file for bankruptcy in recent days. Spectrawatt Inc. of Hopewell Junction, N.Y., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Aug. 19. Evergreen Solar Inc. of Marlboro, Mass., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Aug. 15.

Experts said that solar energy was still among the most promising of all of the alternative energy sources, but they added that due diligence was necessary to pick the best companies. Other experts said that a brutal and wholesale consolidation of the industry was inevitable.

Bill Bathe, chief executive of U.S. Energy Services, a Minneapolis company that offers a portfolio of energy management services, said "there are a lot of companies competing for that space. There used to be 50 car companies in this country, but very few survived. For consumers, this is an exciting time, but for investors, this is still a very high-risk stage. You may hit a home run or be part of the experiment that delivers no pay out."

Another expert said that he was not familiar with the company, but added that it was an example of how the federal government will have to be far more careful in the future.

"There has to be a more efficient and effective way of making these kinds of decisions on loan subsidies," said Bruce Bullock, executive director of the Maguire Energy Institute at Southern Methodist University.

Tyson Slocum, director of the energy program at Public Citizen, said that there were lessons to be learned in the way that other nations, particularly Germany and Japan, have funded their renewable energy projects.

"You can't end loan subsidies for renewable energy. That would be a disaster. What we need to do is make better decisions about the subsidies we do deploy. In countries like Germany and Japan, which have a much larger footprint in this area, subsidies have been remarkably successful," Slocum said. "We can do the same here, if we are more careful."

Photo: Ben Bierman, left, and Chris Gronet take President Obama on a tour of the Solyndra solar panel company in Fremont, Calif. Credit: Paul Chinn/Pool photo

Also: Solar power in California is still a hot topic

Also: Investing: Green technology has big growth potential

-- Ronald D. White

 

Coca-Cola beefs up green fleet

The world's largest soft-drink maker, Atlanta-based Coca-Cola Co., wants you to know that your beverages may be delivered by a new hybrid or electric truck.

Coca-Cola has nearly doubled the size of its greener fleet of trucks since 2010, company officials said, and they are making the claim of having the nation's largest low-emissions bottling fleet at a 1 p.m. event in downtown Los Angeles today.

The event will be held at Coca-Cola Refreshments of Southern California at 12th and Birch streets in downtown Los Angeles.

"We as a company are working very hard to get sustainability into our business practices, so we are transforming a good portion of our fleet with green technology with the intent to push our carbon footprint down and get better fuel efficiencies," said Tim Heinen, vice president of field operations for Coca-Cola's western region.

"By the end of the year, we will have more than 740 alternative-fuel vehicles operating throughout North America, and about 40% of them will be right here in California," Heinen said.

The Coca-Cola fleet currently has 691 hybrid electric medium-duty trucks, for example, with 43 more on order, he said

The total Coca-Cola fleet has about 10,000 trucks, Heinen said.

Ron Stassi, fleet manager for the company's western region, added that Coca-Cola hopes to be rolling out other new technologies, such as forklifts powered by hydrogen fuel cells for use in its warehouse in San Leandro.

He said the newer trucks have helped the company reduce its fuel costs by 22%.

Heinen said that more customers care about sustainability practices and are making purchases based on the efforts that businesses put into reducing their emissions footprint.

"We know that it does matter to people, and we want to show that we are trying to make a difference. We are committed to it," Heinen said.

-- Ronald D. White

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Oakland solar firm Sungevity expands east, woos customers with free ice pops

On the East Coast, does a free ice pop translate into new solar panel customers?

Sungevity is about to find out. The Oakland-based residential solar company is sending a bright orange truck stocked with the icy treats around the five Northeastern states where it is expanding its business.

The truck, powered by biodiesel and the sun, is also equipped with iPads where ice pop munchers can multitask by getting a free quote on solar panel installations.

The sweet setup will hit music festivals, farmers markets, minor league baseball games and other events in New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Massachusetts and Delaware. Last month, Sungevity bought up all the advertising space on an Amtrak line running through the states.

The company is hoping its unconventional advertising will help endear its solar offerings to the promising East Coast market. Like competitors and fellow Bay Area companies SunRun and SolarCity, which have already made headway in the area, Sungevity has a solar lease program designed to cut back the heavy upfront costs of installation.

RELATED:

Solar electric lease firm Sungevity expands to Los Angeles DWP service area

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-- Tiffany Hsu

Photo: Sungevity's biodiesel, solar-powered ice pop truck tours the Northeast. Photo: PRNewsFoto/Sungevity

Online calculator estimates savings from home solar systems

Ever wonder just how much benefit can be gained by adding solar panels to a new or existing home? Well, now you can go online, fill in the requisite details such as the address and the size of the solar system you're contemplating, and get an answer.

The California Energy Commission has launched the Solar Advantage Value Estimator, or SAVE, officials said, to provide a long-term and cost-effective method for calculating the added value of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems.

"This changes the perception of solar in the housing industry that benefits homeowners. Today's changing real estate market requires a credible method to determine a home's value with solar and this tool is an example of California's leadership to develop new methods to cultivate clean energy," said Energy Commissioner Carla Peterman.

Amy Morgan, a spokeswoman for the Energy Commission, added: "This is a tool for the homeowner. They may be looking to purchase a solar home or they may be selling one. This calculation will give you a monetary value to show potential buyers."

The SAVE calculator will offer an estimate of annual energy savings by using the address and solar system size by automatically combining it with specific climate zone data and local electric utility rates. The calculator is also designed to be used by real estate professionals, appraisers and builders to provide information to potential clients.

On the same Web page, visitors will find other calculators that may provide them with useful and related information. The Clean Power Estimator "calculates the potential costs and benefits of installing a PV system at your home or business."

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory's PVWatts calculator "determines the energy production and cost savings of grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) energy systems throughout the world." Just launch the viewer and enter a ZIP code to begin.

--Ronald D. White