Renewable Energy Comes of Age, Part 9

Last week, I attended the Clean Economy Summit in Washington DC.  It was full of movers and shakers in the emerging markets of clean and green business.  The following series of posts are from an article by Don Schjeldahl, Vice President of Renewable Energy Strategies.

In Conclusion

“The country is also watching the states of New Mexico and California, both in the process of adopting cap-and trade regulations for greenhouse gases. State legislatures will monitor New Mexico and California programs to see what benefits may be derived from these initiatives.

The private sector will also drive investment to renewable energy as they respond to financial markets and regulatory trends emanating from climate change and sustainability initiatives. In response to these trends many companies have adopted sustainability policies that pledge to reduce their impact on the environment including zero solid waste and net-zero emission of greenhouse gases. Accounting and audit giant Ernst & Young guides corporations in being “carbon ready” – implementing a carbon management strategy to comply and account for existing and anticipated regulations.  Companies aligned with changing regulations and economics of energy are more likely to adopt renewable energy in the future and at the same time meet stockholder expectations.”
~
Part 7

Part 8

Renewable Energy Comes of Age, Part 8

Last week, I attended the Clean Economy Summit in Washington DC.  It was full of movers and shakers in the emerging markets of clean and green business.  The following series of posts are from an article by Don Schjeldahl, Vice President of Renewable Energy Strategies.

Continued Growth in Renewable Energy

“Congressional inaction aside, continued growth in renewable energy and related industries in the U.S. is expected but perhaps not as robust as it might be. Helping move the market forward in the leadership vacuum are federal and state regulators who will likely step forward to drive industry supporting initiatives. Guaranteed markets for renewable energy products exist in the 29 states that have adopted mandatory RPS. An additional seven states have RPS goals.

Limits placed on greenhouse gas emissions, such as carbon cap-and-trade legislation, would help renewable energy markets to develop by shifting demand from coal to non-emitting power sources. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has authority, under the Clean Air Act and confirmed by an April 2007 Supreme Court ruling, to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. However it is unlikely that the EPA will issue carbon regulations anytime soon.

Congressional and EPA inaction on carbon doesn’t mean the EPA won’t dramatically impact the future for renewable energy. By mid-2011 the EPA is expected to finalize power plant emission regulations for mercury, SOx (sulfur oxides) and NOx (nitrogen oxides) under the current Clean Air Act. With compliance targeted for 2015, up to 30% of U.S. coal plants could be decommissioned because they use older technology and plant upgrades are not economical. When this happens greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced by default and renewable energy systems become more attractive from both cost and clean air standpoints.”
~
Part 7

Part 9

Renewable Energy Comes of Age, Part 7

Last week, I attended the Clean Economy Summit in Washington DC.  It was full of movers and shakers in the emerging markets of clean and green business.  The following series of posts are from an article by Don Schjeldahl, Vice President of Renewable Energy Strategies.

United States Energy Policy

“The specifics of where and when the growth of new energy economy jobs will occur remains sketchy. Big winners in terms of job growth will be those jurisdictions that carefully nurture cluster development. Germany, Spain, Italy and Japan were early entrants in support of solar, wind and biomass in the 1980s and 90s and remain strong global competitors. Since 2000 China has outpaced everyone in developing products and they are gearing to dominate renewable energy markets worldwide.

As for the United States, a lack of continuity in government policy and the 50 state fragmentation of utility regulation have retarded domestic job growth. Continued bickering in Congress also does little to reduce uncertainty in domestic markets but goes a long way in bolstering development of foreign manufacturing clusters.

In the wake of the November mid-term elections it appears unlikely that Congress will pass significant energy legislation over the next two years – including legislation that would accelerate industry growth such as regulation of greenhouse gas emissions, a national renewable energy portfolio standard (RPS) that mandates renewable energy production, or initiatives in support of power grid redesign.”
~

Part 6

Part 8

Renewable Energy Comes of Age, Part 6

Last week, I attended the Clean Economy Summit in Washington DC.  It was full of movers and shakers in the emerging markets of clean and green business.  The following series of posts are from an article by Don Schjeldahl, Vice President of Renewable Energy Strategies.

The Sun and Wind Show

“The December 2010 Small and Community Wind Conference and Tradeshow held in Portland, Oregon points to the expansion of this market segment. Attendance at this and other renewable energy industry trade shows continues to grow. Another sign of the growing maturity of the small wind segment was the recent adoption of uniform consumer labeling and testing standards by the Small Wind Certification Council (SWCC). SWCC advances uniform power testing of turbines at 11 meters per second (24.4 MPH), metrics for decibel sound rating, and other product performance standards.  Now consumers can buy products with greater confidence, an essential element in the maturing of any industry.

As for solar, there are four ways solar energy is harnessed: photovoltaics or PV (converting light to electricity), heating and cooling systems (solar thermal), concentrating solar power (utility scale), and lighting. Greater clarity about available solar technologies makes it easier to identify segments likely to grow and those not well suited for commercialization.

For example, solar PV encompasses a dozen or more technologies and an equal number for solar thermal. Four technologies dominate the PV market are; mono and polycrystalline silicon wafers, thin-film amorphous silicon, and thin-film cadmium telluride (CdTe). There are a couple of up-and-coming contenders including thin-film copper indium gallium (di)selenide (CIGS). But generally speaking disruption of the PV market by startling technologic breakthroughs is not likely in the near term.

The market for these products is huge. Installed solar, like wind systems, can be located at homes or businesses and on large-scale farms that act like central power plants. At year end 2009, the U.S. had 2,108 megawatts (MW) of installed solar electric capacity.  This included about 1,676 MW of PV, 432 MW of utility-scale concentrating solar power, and at least 24,000 MWTh (megawatts thermal equivalent) of solar water heating, cooling, and solar pool heating systems. In 2009 the U.S. ranked fourth in the world for new solar electric installations. Germany ranked first, Italy second, and Japan third.”
~

Part 5

Part 7

Renewable Energy Comes of Age, Part 5

Last week, I attended the Clean Economy Summit in Washington DC.  It was full of movers and shakers in the emerging markets of clean and green business.  The following series of posts are from an article by Don Schjeldahl, Vice President of Renewable Energy Strategies.

Renewable Energy is Growing

“Although renewable energy is a relatively small portion of total energy supply both globally and in the United States, renewable energy installations in both the world and in the United States nearly tripled between 2000 and 2008. In the United States, growth in sectors such as wind and solar photovoltaics (sunlight to electricity, also known as “PV”) signify an ongoing shift in the composition of the U.S. electricity supply. Markets for wind turbines continue to grow as economics become more favorable and product offerings expand. The U.S. wind industry installed nearly 10,000 megawatts (MW) of new generating capacity in 2009 - enough to serve over 2.4 million homes. The industry consists of at least four market segments as defined by the power output; offshore turbines (>5MW output), onshore big wind turbines (1 to 5MW output), community wind turbines (100kW to 1.5MW output) and small wind (<100kW output). Investment in each of these sectors is expected to grow in the coming years.”
~
Part 4

Part 6

Renewable Energy Comes of Age, Part 4

Last week, I attended the Clean Economy Summit in Washington DC.  It was full of movers and shakers in the emerging markets of clean and green business.  The following series of posts are from an article by Don Schjeldahl, Vice President of Renewable Energy Strategies.

Manufacturing Products for Efficient Buildings

“Manufacturers are also aligning products to work with more efficient buildings and the smart grid. General Electric (GE) is but one of many companies that are moving aggressively to develop appliances and devices that communicate with the smart grid and support the use of renewable energy. And why would companies jump at this market? GE invested $5 billion in Ecomagination, the green focused R&D program it began in 2005. Over the last five years products developed from the program generated $70 billion in revenue according to the company. It’s not surprising then that GE announced in November 2010 they will invest another $10 billion in Ecomagination over the next five years.”
~
Part 3

Part 5

Renewable Energy Coming of Age, Part 3

Last week, I attended the Clean Economy Summit in Washington DC.  It was full of movers and shakers in the emerging markets of clean and green business.  The following series of posts are from an article by Don Schjeldahl, Vice President of Renewable Energy Strategies.

Energy Efficiency – A Partner in the Growth of Renewable Energy

“In support of an expanding smart grid and adoption of renewable energy systems are initiatives to design & manufacture efficient buildings and energy consuming devices including household appliances. The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHREA) develops standards for buildings and mechanical systems. The forthcoming ASHREA 189.1 Standard for the Design of High Performance Green Buildings promotes energy savings in a number of ways including the inter-connectivity of building information systems with power supplies.”
~
Part 2

Part 4

Renewable Energy Coming of Age, Part 2

Last week, I attended the Clean Economy Summit in Washington DC.  It was full of movers and shakers in the emerging markets of clean and green business.  The following series of posts are from an article by Don Schjeldahl, Vice President of Renewable Energy Strategies.

Smart Meter Standards

“The prospect of more meters and a functioning smart grid network in the near term got a boost in October 2010 when the Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) advised the Federal, Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) that it has defined five “foundational” sets of standards for Smart Grid, interoperability and cyber security. These are considered essential for efficient and reliable grid operations. The standards emerged from the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007, where Congress directed NIST to coordinate development of communication protocols and other standards to achieve an inter-operable smart grid.”
~
Part 1

Part 3

Renewable Energy Coming of Age, Part 1

Last week, I attended the Clean Economy Summit in Washington DC.  It was full of movers and shakers in the emerging markets of clean and green business.  The following series of posts are from an article by Don Schjeldahl, Vice President of Renewable Energy Strategies.

The New Energy Economy: The Smart Grid

“A characteristic of the new energy economy is how technologies and markets are interlaced. The smart grid provides a mechanism for accommodating power generation alternatives like solar, wind, and geothermal.  The smart grid also provides an opportunity for increased protection from cyber attack and will facilitate the incorporation of power storage. One power storage option gaining strength is the integration of after-market electric car batteries for storing distributed power from renewable sources such as solar modules on a residential rooftop. Incorporation of storage batteries on the power grid would accelerate adoption of both electric vehicles and distributed renewable energy. The smart grid’s backbone is the digital electric meter that supports two-way communications between users and producers.  Nearly 15 million smart meters are already deployed in the U.S., with over 50 million expected by 2014,  and many more in subsequent years.”

~

Part 2

Clean Energy Summit, 2011, Washington DC

I’m excited to let you know I’ll be attending the Clean Energy Summit in Washington DC next week.  I’ll be speaking about the real estate and construction industry.  Buildings are one of the largest users of energy, and optimizing their efficiency will be key to stabilizing and decreasing our energy use in the future.  I’ll be discussing ways we can make buildings more efficient and green while we also keep costs down.

Here is a summary of what the Summit is about:

“On January 24-25, 2011, the Clean Economy Network Education Fund will host its first annual Clean Economy Summit.   The Summit will convene the existing and emerging leadership of the clean economy business community from across technology silos and across the nation.    With stimulus investments coming to a close and the 112th Congress officially beginning, the Summit will take advantage of the political reset to evaluate the landscape.   It will engage delegates to surface and prioritize policy proposals with the greatest potential to unleash economic growth and job creation in the sector, while also helping identify market opportunities existing within the current policy and political constraints.

SUMMIT PARTICIPATION

The Summit is not a conference.  It is an annual invitation only event with no fee to attend that will produce concrete outcomes for the clean economy community. Attendance is limited to those invited leaders from both the business and policy communities that have the capacity to engage and add value to the final outcomes.  Given the significant requirements for attendance and cap at 150 participants, the Summit will be ripe with high-level relationship building opportunities with other senior business and policy leaders.

The creation of a clean economy requires long-term consistent public policy necessary to create market clarity and certainty.  Consistent policy requires consistent engagement by this community in the policy development and political process.   To that end, unlike a conference composed of random individuals with minimal connections and widely varying levels of expertise, the Summit will annually convene those who have made the ongoing commitment to assume leadership roles in building a clean economy.   It will bring together CEN’s executive and corporate members, chapter steering committees, CEOs of affiliated organization, the CEN and CENEF boards of directors, and key legislative and administration staff.”