4 MB 1St May 2015 US SMI Q2 2014 Full Report
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Town of Amherst Request for Proposals
TOWN OF AMHERST REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR OLD LANDFILL REUSE PROPOSAL Presented by: In partnership with: Letter of Transmittal............................................................................................................... 5 Executive Summary ................................................................................................................ 8 1. Evaluation Criteria ............................................................................................................ 10 1.1. Proposal protects the existing landfill caps. ...............................................................................10 1.2. Proposal protects operation of landfill gas systems...................................................................10 1.3. Experience of team proposing project........................................................................................10 1.4. Risk to human, health and the environment..............................................................................11 1.5. Effect on the environment..........................................................................................................11 1.6. Project compatibility with neighboring properties.....................................................................12 1.7. Noise levels from use of site.......................................................................................................12 1.7. Best compensation to Town of Amherst ....................................................................................13 -
Are DOE Loan Guarantees an Energy Policy Mistake?
Greentech Media http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/print/Are-DOE-Loan-Guarantee... RESEARCH & ANALYSIS | POLICY ERIC WESOFF: JUNE 2, 2011 Are DOE Loan Guarantees an Energy Policy Mistake? It’s the Liberals versus the Libertarians: Is the DOE Loan Guarantee Program a righteous creator of jobs and new industry or a wrongful use of taxpayer money? The United States DOE Loan Guarantee Program has disbursed $30.7 billion and claims to have created or saved 62,350 jobs. The loan program has three categories: Section 1703 of Title XVII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 authorizes the DOE to support innovative clean energy technologies that are typically unable to obtain conventional private financing due to high technology risks. Section 1705 is a temporary program designed to address the current economic conditions of the nation. It authorizes loan guarantees for certain renewable energy systems, electric power transmission systems and leading edge biofuels projects that commence construction no later than September 30, 2011. The Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing (ATVM) Loan Program consists of direct loans to support the development of advanced technology vehicles and associated components in the U.S. The more publicized loan guarantee recipients include Solyndra , BrightSource Energy , Ford, Fisker , and Tesla. (See the more complete list of loan recipients at the end of this article.) The Loan Program Office (LPO) has issued conditional commitments to 13 power generation projects with cumulative project costs of over $27 billion. This represents a greater investment in clean energy generation projects than the entire private sector made in 2009 ($10.6 billion), and almost as much as was invested in such projects in 2008 -- the peak financing year to date ($22.6 billion), according to the DOE. -
What Clean Energy Jobs? These Clean Energy Jobs!
What Clean Energy Jobs? These Clean Energy Jobs! A couple of months ago, Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2) noticed an outpouring of stories questioning the health and growth of the clean energy economy. This just didn’t agree with the reality we’re seeing in our daily work. All across America, we’re witnessing clean energy jobs being created almost every day—helping to rebuild our economy, address our energy problems, and improve our national security. So E2, whose 800+ members represent a broad cross-section of business leaders, including many on the front lines of clean energy, set out to document this growth with weekly newsletters that compile job announcements from news sources around the country.1 So far, we’ve published six of these newsletters, in an attempt to provide some perspective from outside the Beltway, where one solar company’s failure isn’t indicative of the downfall of an entire industry. You can find each newsletter at www.e2.org/cleanjobs. In the past six weeks, E2 has identified 118 energy-efficiency retrofits, and other announcements from announcements by more than 100 companies, the clean economy. These projects are taking place across organizations, and projects in various stages the country—in 40 states and 96 congressional districts. of development and completion. They include Based on these published reports, if all these projects from manufacturing plants, power generation projects, just the last six weeks come to fruition, 32,000 jobs could be created.2 For more information, please contact Judith Albert, Executive Director, Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2) at 212-727-4568. -
Solar Power in Florida
Solar Power in Florida September 20, 2016 Shelly Whitworth Renewable Program Manager Tampa Electric Company Background: Florida’s Regulatory Environment • Scope of comprehensive regulation of investor-owned electric utilities by the Florida Public Service Commission (FPSC) – Rates – Reliability – Territorial boundaries – Quality of service – Conservation/DSM – Safety • PW Ventures Decision (1988) – Florida Supreme Court clarified that only electric utilities are allowed to sell electricity at retail – The sale of electricity to a single retail customer makes the provider a public utility subject to FPSC regulation – Court ruled that sales of electricity outside the FPSC’s jurisdiction would lead to uneconomic duplication of facilities • Duke Energy Decision (2000) – Florida Supreme Court rules that non-utility entities could not access the State of Florida’s power plant siting process – The court clarified that the Power Plant Siting Act and the Florida Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act were not intended to authorize the determination of need for a power plant with output that is not fully committed to serving retail load • Relevance to solar: 3rd party sales of power at retail are prohibited in Florida Solar Potential Florida is called the “Sunshine State” • Solar Energy Industries Association ranks Florida 3rd for rooftop solar potential • NREL ranks Florida 8th for rooftop solar potential and 9th for overall solar energy potential • Florida has lots of sunshine, but lots of clouds, too, unlike southwestern states Policies Favoring -
BNEF Long Form
THE EVOLVING LANDSCAPE FOR EPCS IN US RENEWABLES 14 OCTOBER 2014 SECTION 4. THE PLAYERS This section of the report analyzes players in EPC for solar and wind in the US. About this analysis This section is based mostly on data gathered from companies’ websites. Much of this analysis relies on linking firms to projects in our database, which contains nearly 3,000 wind and solar projects in the US at various stages of development. The information mapping projects to their EPCs is captured in our Industry Intelligence database, available to subscribers of our service. There are a number of assumptions, caveats, and methodological points that are important to note in the context of this analysis; an Appendix at the end of this report identifies these. 4.1. LEAGUE TABLES The charts below show the top EPC firms for solar and wind, ranked strictly in terms of historic activity – ie, this does not reflect any kind of qualitative assessment about firms’ competencies. • Top-ranked solar EPCs includes the three vertically-integrated giants – SunPower, First Solar, and SunEdison – and some EPC specialists, like Bechtel and Fluor, that have performed a small number of very large projects. • The league tables for wind are headlined by Mortenson, IEA, RES Americas, and Blattner (with Blattner under-represented, as explained in the Appendix). Figure 8: Top EPC firms for US utility-scale solar (GW of Figure 9: Top EPC firms for US wind (GW of ‘active’ ‘active’ projects) projects) 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 0 4 8 12 SunPower MA Mortenson Co First Solar Inc IEA / White Construction MA Mortenson Co RES Americas E Light Wind and Solar Michels Corp Abengoa Blattner Energy Inc Bechtel Power Corp Wanzek Construction SunEdison Fluor Rosendin Electric Inc AMEC Tetra Tech Construction Inc Strata Solar LLC Signal Energy LLC Blymyer Engineers Dashiell Swinerton Inc TVIG / American Helios Blattner Energy Inc Reed & Reed Inc Baker Electric S&C Electric Co Blue Oak Energy Inc Barton Malow Co ARB Jay Cashman, Inc. -
2015-SVTC-Solar-Scorecard.Pdf
A PROJECT OF THE SILICON VALLEY TOXICS COALITION 2015 SOLAR SCORECARD ‘‘ www.solarscorecard.com ‘‘ SVTC’s Vision The Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition (SVTC) believes that we still have time to ensure that the PV sector is safe The PV industry’s rapid growth makes for the environment, workers, and communities. SVTC it critical that all solar companies envisions a safe and sustainable solar PV industry that: maintain the highest sustainability standards. 1) Takes responsibility for the environmental and health impacts of its products throughout their life- cycles, including adherence to a mandatory policy for ‘‘The Purpose responsible recycling. The Scorecard is a resource for consumers, institutional purchasers, investors, installers, and anyone who wants 2) Implements and monitors equitable environmental to purchase PV modules from responsible product and labor standards throughout product supply chains. stewards. The Scorecard reveals how companies perform on SVTC’s sustainability and social justice benchmarks 3) Pursues innovative approaches to reducing and to ensure that the PV manufacturers protect workers, work towards eliminating toxic chemicals in PV mod- communities, and the environment. The PV industry’s ule manufacturing. continued growth makes it critical to take action now to reduce the use of toxic chemicals, develop responsible For over three decades, SVTC has been a leader in recycling systems, and protect workers throughout glob- encouraging electronics manufacturers to take lifecycle al PV supply chains. Many PV companies want to pro- responsibility for their products. This includes protecting duce truly clean and green energy systems and are taking workers from toxic exposure and preventing hazardous steps to implement more sustainable practices. -
Fire Fighter Safety and Emergency Response for Solar Power Systems
Fire Fighter Safety and Emergency Response for Solar Power Systems Final Report A DHS/Assistance to Firefighter Grants (AFG) Funded Study Prepared by: Casey C. Grant, P.E. Fire Protection Research Foundation The Fire Protection Research Foundation One Batterymarch Park Quincy, MA, USA 02169-7471 Email: [email protected] http://www.nfpa.org/foundation © Copyright Fire Protection Research Foundation May 2010 Revised: October, 2013 (This page left intentionally blank) FOREWORD Today's emergency responders face unexpected challenges as new uses of alternative energy increase. These renewable power sources save on the use of conventional fuels such as petroleum and other fossil fuels, but they also introduce unfamiliar hazards that require new fire fighting strategies and procedures. Among these alternative energy uses are buildings equipped with solar power systems, which can present a variety of significant hazards should a fire occur. This study focuses on structural fire fighting in buildings and structures involving solar power systems utilizing solar panels that generate thermal and/or electrical energy, with a particular focus on solar photovoltaic panels used for electric power generation. The safety of fire fighters and other emergency first responder personnel depends on understanding and properly handling these hazards through adequate training and preparation. The goal of this project has been to assemble and widely disseminate core principle and best practice information for fire fighters, fire ground incident commanders, and other emergency first responders to assist in their decision making process at emergencies involving solar power systems on buildings. Methods used include collecting information and data from a wide range of credible sources, along with a one-day workshop of applicable subject matter experts that have provided their review and evaluation on the topic. -
Renewable Energy Risking Rights & Returns
` RENEWABLE ENERGY RISKING RIGHTS & RETURNS: An analysis of solar, bioenergy and geothermal companies’ human rights commitments SEPTEMBER 2018 CONTENTS CONTENTS Executive summary 1 Introduction 4 Analysis 6 1. Leaders and laggards 6 2. Public commitment to human rights 12 3. Commitment to community consultations 12 4. Access to remedy 14 5. Labour rights 16 6. Supply chain monitoring 17 Recommendations 19 Annex 21 Photo credit: Andreas Gücklhorn/Unsplash EXECUTIVE SUMMARY EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Key messages Renewable energy is key for our transition to a low-carbon economy, but companies’ human rights policies and practices are not yet strong enough to ensure this transition is both fast and fair. Evidence shows failure to respect human rights can result in project delays, legal procedures and costs for renewable energy companies, underlying the urgency to strengthen human rights due diligence. We cannot afford to slow the critical transition to renewable energy with these kinds of impediments. As renewable energy investments expand in countries with weak human rights pro- tections, investors must step up their engagement to ensure projects respect human rights. Renewable energy has experienced a fourfold bioenergy and geothermal industries, increase in investment in the past decade. echoing findings from ourprevious analysis of Starting at $88 billion in 2005, new wind and hydropower companies. investments hit $349 billion in 2015.1 This eye-catching rise in investments is a welcome Alongside the moral imperative, companies trend and reflects international commitments can also avoid significant legal risks, project to combatting climate change and providing delays and financial costs by introducing access to energy in the Paris climate rigorous human rights due diligence policies agreement and the Sustainable Development and processes. -
Environmental and Economic Benefits of Building Solar in California Quality Careers — Cleaner Lives
Environmental and Economic Benefits of Building Solar in California Quality Careers — Cleaner Lives DONALD VIAL CENTER ON EMPLOYMENT IN THE GREEN ECONOMY Institute for Research on Labor and Employment University of California, Berkeley November 10, 2014 By Peter Philips, Ph.D. Professor of Economics, University of Utah Visiting Scholar, University of California, Berkeley, Institute for Research on Labor and Employment Peter Philips | Donald Vial Center on Employment in the Green Economy | November 2014 1 2 Environmental and Economic Benefits of Building Solar in California: Quality Careers—Cleaner Lives Environmental and Economic Benefits of Building Solar in California Quality Careers — Cleaner Lives DONALD VIAL CENTER ON EMPLOYMENT IN THE GREEN ECONOMY Institute for Research on Labor and Employment University of California, Berkeley November 10, 2014 By Peter Philips, Ph.D. Professor of Economics, University of Utah Visiting Scholar, University of California, Berkeley, Institute for Research on Labor and Employment Peter Philips | Donald Vial Center on Employment in the Green Economy | November 2014 3 About the Author Peter Philips (B.A. Pomona College, M.A., Ph.D. Stanford University) is a Professor of Economics and former Chair of the Economics Department at the University of Utah. Philips is a leading economic expert on the U.S. construction labor market. He has published widely on the topic and has testified as an expert in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, served as an expert for the U.S. Justice Department in litigation concerning the Davis-Bacon Act (the federal prevailing wage law), and presented testimony to state legislative committees in Ohio, Indiana, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Utah, Kentucky, Connecticut, and California regarding the regulations of construction labor markets. -
First Solar Investor Overview
FIRST SOLAR INVESTOR OVERVIEW IMPORTANT INFORMATION Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements This presentation contains forward-looking statements which are made pursuant to safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements concerning: effects resulting from certain module manufacturing changes and associated restructuring activities; our business strategy, including anticipated trends and developments in and management plans for our business and the markets in which we operate; future financial results, operating results, revenues, gross margin, operating expenses, products, projected costs (including estimated future module collection and recycling costs), warranties, solar module technology and cost reduction roadmaps, restructuring, product reliability, investments in unconsolidated affiliates, and capital expenditures; our ability to continue to reduce the cost per watt of our solar modules; the impact of public policies, such as tariffs or other trade remedies imposed on solar cells and modules; our ability to expand manufacturing capacity worldwide; our ability to reduce the costs to construct photovoltaic (“PV”) solar power systems; research and development (“R&D”) programs and our ability to improve the conversion efficiency of our solar modules; sales and marketing initiatives; the impact of U.S. tax reform; and competition. These forward-looking statements are often characterized by the use of words such as “estimate,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “project,” “plan,” “intend,” “seek,” “believe,” “forecast,” “foresee,” “likely,” “may,” “should,” “goal,” “target,” “might,” “will,” “could,” “predict,” “continue” and the negative or plural of these words and other comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements are only predictions based on our current expectations and our projections about future events and therefore speak only as of the date of this presentation. -
Thin Film Cdte Photovoltaics and the U.S. Energy Transition in 2020
Thin Film CdTe Photovoltaics and the U.S. Energy Transition in 2020 QESST Engineering Research Center Arizona State University Massachusetts Institute of Technology Clark A. Miller, Ian Marius Peters, Shivam Zaveri TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary .............................................................................................. 9 I - The Place of Solar Energy in a Low-Carbon Energy Transition ...................... 12 A - The Contribution of Photovoltaic Solar Energy to the Energy Transition .. 14 B - Transition Scenarios .................................................................................. 16 I.B.1 - Decarbonizing California ................................................................... 16 I.B.2 - 100% Renewables in Australia ......................................................... 17 II - PV Performance ............................................................................................. 20 A - Technology Roadmap ................................................................................. 21 II.A.1 - Efficiency ........................................................................................... 22 II.A.2 - Module Cost ...................................................................................... 27 II.A.3 - Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) ....................................................... 29 II.A.4 - Energy Payback Time ........................................................................ 32 B - Hot and Humid Climates ........................................................................... -
United States Department Ofthe Interior
United States Department ofthe Interior FISH AND Wll.DLIFE SERVICE Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office ·' 2493 Portola Road, Suite B Ventura, california 93003 Dl REPLY IUiFlIIlTO: Bl440-201G-F-D096 . 8-8-1G-F-24 , : October 1.2010 ,I DATE-, (CCTO 1 201/) ,1"_ - -.. ". ~ Memorandum. " REeD; (OCT :~ 8 201 To: District Manager, California Desert'District, Bureau ofLand Management, Morenoyalley. CalifO~ From: FielJ?~~v~ru:m FiSh and Wildlife Office. Ventura. California Subject: Biological Opinion on BrightSource Energy's Ivanpah Solar E;lectric Generating System Project, San Bernardino County. California [CACA-48668, 49502, 49503, 49504] (8-8-1O-F-24) This document transmits the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (Service) biological opinion based on our review ofthe Bureau ofLand Management's (Bureau) proposed issuance ofa right-of way grant to Solar Partners I. LLC. Solar Partners II, LLC, and Solar Partners VIII. LLC for the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System (ISEGS) and its effects on the federally threatened desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizil) in accordance with section 7 ofthe Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). Because BrightSource Energy is a parent company for all Solar Partner Companies, this biological opiniO:J;l refers to the project proponents collectively as BrightSource. 'The proposed project involves construction, operation, maintenance,and decommissioning of a 370-megawatt solar thermal power plant and associated infrastructure and facilities on 3.5~2 acres ofpublic land managed by the Bureau. Your December 7, 2009 request for formal consultation was received on December 8, 2009. This biological opinion is based on information that accompanied your December 7, 2009 request for consultation and additional information regarding changes in the project description and tranSlocation strategy obtained from Bureau staff during the formal consultation p~ocess.