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solar energy

Invenergy Announces 700 MW Wind & Solar Project For Long Island

Clean energy developer and owner Invenergy has announced it will develop a 700 MW wind and solar project for Long Island, the largest ever renewable energy project proposed for the region.

Invenergy, which owns, develops, builds, and operates clean energy operations in Europe and North America, announced on Monday the 700 MW Clean Energy Link project for Long Island, which will consist of four new wind farms and two new solar farms located within the 12-state PJM regional power market, and intended solely for Long Island.

Upon completion, Clean Energy Link will triple Long Island’s renewable energy portfolio, and move Nassau and Suffolk from 3% in 2015 to 10% upon completion in 2020.

Clean Energy Link, however, will not be built in Long Island, but rather in multiple states around the country, making use of rural areas where land is both less expensive and more readily available, and delivered to Long Island by way of a new buried HVDC transmission line, terminating at a net-zero converter station on Long Island itself.

“Long Island has never had an opportunity like the Clean Energy Link,” said Marcia Bystryn, president of the New York League of Conservation Voters. “In a single stroke, the Clean Energy Link will more than triple the green energy supply to Long Island. It’s a big step forward for Long Island and means we can stop talking about meeting the Governor’s 50 by 30 and begin actually achieving it.”

“Long Island is determined to protect our environment, and Governor Cuomo’s 50 by 30 mandate is the vehicle that ensures innovative methods for securing renewable energy is a part of the equation,” added Assemblyman Steve Englebright. “Long Islanders have long sought clean energy via wind and solar projects, but the proposal by Invenergy allows us to make a significant step forward without sacrificing open space as a consequence.”

October 25, 2016 0 comment

JinkoSolar, Marubeni Score Lowest-Ever Solar PV Bid At 2.42¢/kWh In Abu Dhabi

written by saurabh

The United Arab Emirates has seen yet another record-breaking solar power tariff bid. Abu Dhabi received the lowest-ever bid for a solar PV project at a shocking 2.42¢/kWh, taking back the title of cheapest solar power project from Chile.

The record-breaking bid has been submitted by a consortium of Chinese module manufacturer JinkoSolar and Japanese developer Marubeni.

Abu Dhabi Electricity and Water Authority received a total of 6 bids for the proposed 350 MW solar PV project planned to be built in the town of Swaihan, Abu Dhabi. Out of 6 bids, the lowest ever bid of 2.42¢/kWh has been submitted by the JinkoSolar–Marubeni consortium. The results of the tender are not out yet, as authorities will now evaluate the proposals for technical and economic viability.

The current bid of 2.42¢/kWh is the lowest so far globally, and by quite a bit — it is shockingly low. This bid is 20% lower than the previous record bid of 2.91¢/kWh submitted at an auction in Chile last month.

The second-lowest bid in the Abu Dhabi tender was reportedly not much higher, at 2.53¢/kWh, and was submitted by a local firm. These bids also beat the 2.99¢/kWh bid (shocking at the time … and still to some extent) submitted by a Masdar-led consortium for an 800 MW solar PV project in Dubai.

The Abu Dhabi solar park was initially planned for 350 MW. However, media reports state a possible increase in project size, as bidders were allowed to bid for larger capacities. The final capacity of the solar power park may well increase to 1 GW.

In recent months, large solar power parks around the globe have received bids less than 4.00¢/kWh — in India, Chile, the UAE, and elsewhere.

Many large developers — including Italy’s Enel, TSK, ACWA, Abdul Latif Jameel, and Engie — reportedly pulled out of the Abu Dhabi tender due to expected high competition and concern over a drastic drop in prices.

September 20, 2016 0 comment

Wind Energy Scores Big In Chile’s Electricity Auction

written by saurabh

Update #2: The lowest solar price bid is now 2.42¢/kWh.

Update: It was Solarpack that set the record-low bid, not SunEdison, as originally indicated in this article. The article has been updated accordingly.

A couple of companies managed to secure a huge share in the latest electricity auction held in Chile, and auction where a new record-low solar bid was set (globally) and wind projects took 40% of the auctioned power contracts.

According to media reports, Mainstream Renewable Power Ltd. and Empresa Nacional de Electricidad/Chile SA won more than two-thirds of the electricity supply auction in Chile.

Meanwhile, Solarpack set a new record-low solar bid at 2.91¢/kWh ($29.1/MWh). That beats the 2.99¢/kWh bid a Masdar Consortium provided for an 800 MW solar power project in Dubai earlier this year.

Overall, entities participating in the Chile power auction bid to supply a total of 12.34 TWh of electricity every year.

In this auction project developers had to place bids for the price of electricity without disclosing the source. About half of the electricity supply, around 6.17 TWh, will be supplied from existing infrastructure, while the rest will require an investment of $3 billion, the energy minister of Chile stated.

Mainstream has won rights to supply 3.7 TWh of electricity every year (30% of the auctioned electricity), while Endesa, a subsidiary of Enel, will supply 4.9 TWh (40% of the auctioned electricity). There was a significant correction in tariff in this auction compared to previous one. The average tariff bid in the auction declined 40% to US$47.59 per MWh compared to the previous auction.

To supply the contracted electricity Mainstream will develop 7 wind energy projects with a total capacity of 985 MW. To achieve this capacity, the company is expected to invest $1.65 billion over the next 5 years. Electricity generated from these projects will be sold at tariffs between $38.8 per MWh and $47.2 per MWh.

Endesa will sell 4.9 TWh of electricity every year at an average tariff of $50.83 per MWh. Media reports do not mention the type of technology Endesa will use to supply the electricity, but solar and wind power are possibilities and it’s hard to see anything else competing with them at such a low price. Enel commissioned a 160 MW solar power project in the country earlier this year.

Another boost to renewable energy development may come from Spain’s Acciona, which will supply 506 GWh electricity every year.

Fresh investment commitments from renewable energy project developers, like Mainstream, come as no surprise as the government recently approved legislation that will create a new interconnected transmission network to be established alongside a new independent operator. This will ensure that power generated from renewable energy projects located in remote regions of the country is supplied to population centres.

“Nobody expected the energy price in the PV block to go below $30/MWh, but it is important to keep in mind that the tender cannot be evaluated just by its lowest price bid,” Christian Siemoneit, Managing Partner at Hansalia, told Cleantechies in response to the news. “In general we can see the high competitiveness of the Chilean energy market but also the low costs of capital of Enel / Endesa and Mainstream. The competition of utilities and IPPs with large-scale solar projects is very hard at the moment. But there are still opportunities in this sector, especially for wind parks and smaller solar projects. We see very attractive investment conditions and decent returns with renewable energy in Chile also over the next few years.”

Images by vectoropenstock.com and CleanTechnica

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August 18, 2016 0 comment

Lessons Learned: 3 Tips to Ensure a Successful Commercial Microgrid

written by CleanTechies.com Contributor

The Konterra Solar Microgrid Project in Laurel, Maryland, taught us important lessons we will use in future microgrid projects.

By C.J. Colavito, Director of Engineering, Standard Solar

As the solar industry searches for solar + storage solutions, microgrids continue to be a hot topic at educational conferences across the country.

A microgrid is a group of interconnected loads and distributed-energy resources within clearly defined electrical boundaries that acts as a single, controllable entity with respect to the grid. Furthermore, it can connect and disconnect from the grid to enable it to operate in both grid-connected or island-mode.

But designing and installing a microgrid does present its own specific challenges because of its inherent complexity. During Standard Solar’s work on the Konterra Solar Microgrid Project in Laurel, Md., we learned valuable lessons on what it takes to make such projects successes:

1. Coordinate the financial model with the project’s technical details.

To have a successful microgrid project, the cost-benefit analysis must be done with painstaking precision.

This includes totalling up the potential revenue streams—incentives, avoided costs, grid-support payments and the value of backup power/resiliency, and subtracting the costs associated with running and maintaining the system, including everything from the energy consumed by the system and operations-and-maintenance to ISO dispatch fees and insurance.

Customers are going to want to know exactly what they can expect in revenues, so it’s critical to take into account all these factors. Which naturally leads into No. 2 on the list.

2. Manage customer expectations about what the technical capabilities and financial performance of the microgrid will be.

We’ve all been in customer meetings where we’ve talked about the eventual performance of the system and what the client can expect. But what we sometimes don’t do is listen to what the client is telling us with regard to their expectations of what the system will do. And if you miss this critical piece of the project’s development, it leads to headaches down the road.

Understand what customers are expecting, and educate them if their expectations don’t match the reality of how the microgrid will function. And because the solar industry is changing rapidly every day, talk to them about engineering flexibility into the system to accommodate new technologies and changing market conditions in the future.

3. Select the appropriate storage technology for the application.

Choosing the proper storage technology is a must for microgrids. You should select the right energy-storage technology based on expected cycle frequency and discharge depth.

High-power batteries are great for shallower discharge and high instantaneous power over many discharge cycles, while high-energy batteries have long charge and discharge times, as well as deep discharge depth. Whichever you decide to use, communicate with the client what you are using and why — the more your client is educated, the less chance there will be misunderstandings at the end.

Although this is hardly an exhaustive list of what it will take to make a commercial microgrid project a success, these three tips will put you on the right path.

June 3, 2016 0 comment

700 MW Of Solar Planned For Argentina Region By German Company

written by CleanTechies.com Contributor

Originally published on Sustainnovate.

The province of Jujuy in Argentina will be developing 700 megawatts (MW) of new solar photovoltaic (PV) projects with the German company Photovoltaic Park following the signing of letter of intent between the two, according to recent reports.

The new solar PV generation capacity will be spread across 3 different projects, located in different parts of the province, and will cost somewhere around $1.4 billion to develop.

The electricity generated by the projects will reportedly be fed into the Sistema Interconectado Nacional (SIN) network for wider use.

To be more specific on locations, the development plans call a 300 MW project in Villa Union, a 100 MW project in Chamical, and a 300 MW project just east of the capital city of La Rioja.

The governor Sergio Casas commented that diversifying the province’s energy mix was an “important” motive behind the plans, and also that there would be over 1,000 construction jobs and 150 permanent ones created by the development.

He continued: “We have already presented to the President of the Nation and the ministers of Interior and Energy the concrete possibility that La Rioja can produce over 1,400 MW between different forms of generation, wind, solar, and hydro with the Blanco river in the mountains. In this way it will be changing the profile and the matrix of the province.”

The province is reportedly set to produce more electricity than it uses within only 2 years, thereby becoming a net energy exporter.

Image by La Rioja government

March 19, 2016 0 comment

Retail Investment Expands in Clean Energy Markets

written by Kat Friedrich

Retail investment in clean energy is starting to flourish. Historically, investments in clean energy were only available to institutional investors. Recently, access has become available to retail investors through new investment vehicles such as solar bonds.

On Nov. 18, Clean Edge presented a webinar exploring this topic. The event, “Clean Energy Retail Investing: The Rise of Bonds, REITs, Yield Cos, and other Investment Vehicles,” was co-hosted by SolarCity.

The webinar featured panelists with expertise in this changing market environment. They explained the details of these newly-available investment options, described the impetus behind these changes in the market, and examined the future for retail investors in this burgeoning space.

“Whenever you have a disruptive technology, you have massive investment opportunities,” said Tim Newell, vice president of financial products at SolarCity. “There hadn’t been much opportunity for retail investors to invest in solar. We wanted to attract individuals by giving anyone the opportunity to invest.”

To attract investment into clean energy, SolarCity began offering an innovative option for individual investors through solar bonds. These are corporate bonds issued by SolarCity with interest rates of up to 4 percent. Typically, they have a one-year duration.

“The investors attracted to this option range from individuals who are putting some small savings into solar bonds to people putting in hundreds of thousands of dollars,” Newell said. “They also attract people who don’t necessarily have access to solar energy in their homes. So now, with solar bonds as an option, even though they may not be able to save money on solar, they can earn money on solar.”

When speaking about the risk profile of these bonds, Newell said that the one-year duration of the SolarCity bonds provides more liquidity than a longer duration might offer. However, the bonds are unrated since they are corporate bonds issued through SolarCity, which is unrated at this time. SolarCity wanted to give individuals access to solar quickly, so the company started with unrated bonds. This may change if SolarCity becomes rated.

Investment in clean energy has seen growth from both institutional investors and retail investors. Newell said this is the result of the cost of solar coming down dramatically in the past five years. It has now become the economical option for consumers. Newell believes technological innovation as well as financial innovation will continue to drive growth.

Nancy Pfund, founder and managing partner of DBL Investors, said there is an innovation cycle in clean energy which will continue to drive impact investing now and in the future. “It’s where value meets value – the ability to invest in opportunities that make returns but also create solutions that achieve your personal values, such as improving the environment and helping with climate change.”

“To avoid global warming issues and achieve our emissions goals, we need to get significant investment,” said Amy Davidsen, executive director of North America for The Climate Group. “About one trillion dollars of new investments are needed, which is about triple what is done today, so we really need to scale the solutions even faster. New investment vehicles have the ability to bring in money from retail investors as well as more investment from institutional investors.”

Pfund said it is realistic to be able to scale up investments in clean energy to the point where we can significantly impact carbon reduction. “Now that solar is showing that it can be the more economical option for consumers, there is significant opportunity in the space and the ability for solar to surpass fossil fuels.”

Disclaimer: Nancy Pfund is a member of the advisory board of Clean Energy Finance Forum.

This article was originally published by Clean Energy Finance Forum, a news website sponsored by Yale University. To subscribe to our newsletter, please visit our website.

The author, Randall Brown, is an MBA candidate at Yale University. He writes regularly for the Clean Energy Finance Forum, a news website which is sponsored by the Yale Center for Business and the Environment.

January 6, 2015 1 comment

Clean Energy and Job Creation Go Hand-in-Hand in San Antonio

written by CleanTechies.com Contributor

While many are prophesizing the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan (CPP) as doomsday for the electricity sector, Texas utilities are telling a different story. The CPP will limit – for the first time ever – carbon emissions from existing power plants. One utility in particular, CPS Energy in San Antonio, “has already embraced a low-carbon strategy that anticipates this rule,” making it the most well-positioned utility in the state, if not country.

Homegrown energy, literally

CPS Energy has excelled using its commitment to create local, clean energy jobs. In its Request for Proposal (RFP) for a 400 megawatt (MW) solar energy plant, the utility included a specification for the creation of local solar jobs. And it worked. Most recently, the utility announced the launch of the Mission Solar Energy Plant – a 240,000 square foot manufacturing plant that will employ upwards of 400 San Antonians. To assist with future expansions, CPS also helped create a program at Alamo Colleges to train its future workforce for clean energy jobs and, admirably, almost one out of every five employees is a veteran.

Follow the jobs

CPS Energy is a national leader in its ability to recruit cleantech companies to San Antonio by tying the RFP to manufacturing. When the utility requests proposals for clean energy projects, it gives preference to companies willing to relocate offices to Texas – much like OCI Solar Power, the solar developer for the 400 MW Alamo solar plant. When CPS Energy selected OCI Solar Power to install the solar panels in San Antonio, the company moved its headquarters to San Antonio, bringing 800 permanent jobs and investing at least $115 million locally.

OCI Solar Power is not an outlier either. Consert Inc., a smart home energy management company, moved to San Antonio (and pledged to create 150 jobs) after CPS Energy selected the company to help reduce San Antonians’ electricity bills – by as much as 250 megawatts over the next four years, or enough energy to power 50,000 homes. So far CPS has recruited cleantech companies OCI Solar Power, KACO, Sun Action Trackers, Consert, and Greenstar for a total of 957 new jobs through its resource procurement process.

Not only is CPS Energy bringing more jobs to the city that can’t be outsourced, it is also saving money for residents and businesses. This is a win-win for everyone.

Time to take the bull by the horns

EPA’s Clean Power Plan presents an opportunity to grow and sustain Texas’ economy through clean energy. Much like CPS Energy has trail-blazed a new business model that serves its community in several ways, Texas needs to take the bull by the horns and create a plan that serves Texans and local industry. This is not rocket science and it’s not end-of-the-world superstition. The CPP is a smart policy well within Texas’ reach. All we have to do is amplify current trends – rely on more West Texas wind, take advantage of the state’s abundant natural gas supply, widen the use of Texas’ largely untapped solar potential, and use electricity more efficiently. We can start by looking at San Antonio and other progressive utilities in El Paso, Austin, and elsewhere, as well as by coupling Texas ingenuity with clean energy to give us more jobs and clean air. Let’s seize this opportunity, lest we lose economic growth to other states embracing the clean energy future.

Article by Jim Marston, Vice President, US Climate and Energy Program, Environmental Defense Fund.

November 24, 2014 0 comment

Will California Protect Customers’ Right to Self-Generate?

written by The Vote Solar Initiative

Should you be able to reduce the amount of energy you buy from your utility by generating your own power? Or does a utility have the right to demand that you buy all your power from them, even if you have a solar system on your roof?

This question is at the heart of California’s new proceeding to determine the future of net metering in the state. In comments to the California Public Utilities Commission in October, California’s three big investor-owned utilities argue that net metering should be unavailable to new customers after the current 5% program cap is reached, and that customers should have to move to a ‘buy all-sell all’ feed-in tariff (FiT) instead. Customers who want to go solar after 2016, the utilities argue, should no longer be allowed under state law to reduce the utility-generated energy they buy by generating their own renewable energy onsite. Instead, they want their customers to have to buy all the electricity they use from the utility, and sell all their onsite renewable generation back to the utility at a pre-determined price.

What price, you ask? Well, the utilities are all over the map on that one.

PG&E proposes the FiT price should vary by technology and should be set at “the avoided cost of the energy minus any costs incurred accommodating the generation that are not paid by the participating customer” (this would equal approximately 4 cents/kWh, minus integration costs). PG&E proposes an adder could be included if needed to allow continued growth of rooftop solar, with that adder declining over time.
SDG&E proposes that the FiT price should vary by technology like PG&E, but argues the price should be set based on production cost, rather than on the value of the energy to the rest of the system. (SDG&E follows up by proposing yet another alternative for determining the price: that it be based on the competitively-set ReMAT price already being used for systems of 1-3 MW.)
So Cal Edison agrees with PG&E that “the FiT rate should be based on market price benchmarks in the wholesale energy markets, such as the CAISO’s default load aggregation point (DLAP) prices” but says the price should not vary by technology and doesn’t suggest an adder to go on top of the short-run energy-only price.

We see some significant problems here. Foremost among them is that throwing out net metering and replacing it with a ‘buy all-sell all’ arrangement would be at odds with Americans’ fundamental right to self-generation. Net metering allows customers to first meet their own electricity needs with the clean energy they generate, and then receive full retail credit on their utility bill for excess electricity they send back to the grid. In California, about two thirds of the power generated from net metered systems is currently used by customers onsite. A FiT is something else entirely – the utility credits customers for all of their solar power production at a set price. In this situation, solar customers are no longer self-generators empowered to use their solar energy to primarily reduce their own load. They instead become power producers that must send all of their power to the utility.

A FiT that accurately values the net benefits of rooftop solar generation— fully building in public health, environmental, economic and grid benefits– is a fine option for those who want to be in the business of delivering power to the utilities, but it should be the customer’s choice whether they move to a FiT or choose to primarily use their solar energy onsite as a way of reducing their electricity purchases from the utility. PURPA, a federal law approved by Congress back in 1978, affirms this common-sense customer right to self-determination. (See our earlier blog post if you’d like to read our principles for designing an expanded net metering program, highlighting the importance of the right to self-generate.)

Beyond the issue of customer rights, there are other practical concerns. Arriving at the right FiT price to compensate customer-sited renewables is a difficult and contentious proposition. As outlined above, the utilities’ proposals for how that price should be calculated vary greatly from each other—and none inspire much confidence in reaching proper valuation. In fact, in recent years several CPUC proceedings considered developing value-based renewable procurement programs (AB 1969 expansion, AB 920 implementation, SB 32 implementation), and in each of those proceedings, utilities fought comprehensive valuation of clean energy tooth and nail. And the Edison Electric Institute, the trade association representing all investor-owned utilities in the US, has repeatedly stated its opposition to crediting distributed renewables with any value beyond the short term price of polluting fossil-fuel generation: see Greentech Media articles here and here. Until the monopoly utilities are willing to properly value distributed generation, a policy that secures value for customers by offsetting retail purchases is a much more pragmatic approach.

Net metering is a simple and proven policy tool for supporting self-generation, and has been enormously successful in California. The real issue here is rate design, where solutions are available, as noted in a recent DOE Sunshot paper that proposes three-pronged approach of revenue decoupling, a minimum bill and time-of-use rates that are gradually phased in for all customers. Since the CPUC is set to approve changes to residential rate structures in 2015 that will kick in over the next several years, we simply can’t know yet how the benefits of net metering to all Californians will stack up against costs (though a proper accounting of both sides is very likely to show continued net benefits for everyone). Meanwhile, California remains far from achieving its long-term goals to protect the climate, and we need to expand solar access to more Californians who live in disadvantaged communities. We hope that in 2015, solar supporters all across the state will come together to urge the CPUC take a common sense approach: extend and expand net metering beyond 2016, enabling more Californians to help tackle our collective climate challenge, and to control their own energy future.

November 17, 2014 0 comment

China is Top Developing Nation for Clean Energy Investment, Analysis Finds

written by Yale Environment 360

China is the most attractive among developing nations for low-carbon investment and deployment, according to an analysis by the Climatescope project, a partnership among various international development agencies and Bloomberg New Energy Finance. China received top marks because it is the largest manufacturer of wind and solar equipment in the world, has the largest demand market for wind and solar energy, and has taken major strides to improve its domestic policy framework score, the analysis said.

Brazil ranked second, largely due to the country’s aggressive approach to clean energy development and the availability of low-cost capital through its national bank, the report said. South Africa ranked third, and the analysis noted the nation had attracted $10 billion in clean energy investments in 2012 through 2013. The project ranked 55 developing countries on their past, present, and future ability to attract investment for clean energy companies and projects.

October 31, 2014 1 comment

Top Ten Twitter Tips for an Optimized Solar Power International 2014

written by Lisa Ann Pinkerton

In a few weeks, the solar industry will converge on Las Vegas for three jam-packed days of sun worship. Not at the pool, but in the halls and among the exhibits at Solar Power International (SPI) 2014.

Brands big and small routinely lose out on a vast array of opportunities and lucrative connections at large conferences, because they have not yet implemented a strategy that puts them in multiple places at once. You can’t possibly see it all or meet everyone at North America’s largest solar trade show, but with a little help from a scout called Twitter, and a few simple tweeting skills, you can maximize your exposure.

While B2B activities on Twitter might seems like its just 100’s of people talking at each other, it’s conferences where Twitter really becomes invaluable. It’s your best source for latest news, must see sessions and which parties are worth showing up for. Twitter can bring the industry into your hands, put your voice on par with the biggest brands in the business, and dramatically improve your team’s ROI.

As you gear up for SPI 2014, here’s a list of our top 10 Twitter skills you can try out to make the show your most significant trip of your year. I’ve offered up some top examples for each, either from current SPI activity (#SPI2014) or from South By Southwest Eco (#SXSWEco), which I recently attended in Austin.

1. Start with a pre-party

The weeks leading up to SPI are often a whirlwind of preparation and deadlines. Regardless, get yourself into the habit of watching two SPI hashtags, #SPICon and #SPI2014 starting around October 16. Around this time, you’ll notice companies starting to announce their news for the show. A quick scan every other day will give you a good sense of what the show’s themes may be.

When you see news from a colleague or prospect, it’s a perfect excuse to reach out to them. Inquire if they’ll be attending the show, and see if you can set up a meeting. Even if you don’t know them!

@[handle]: Hi Rich I am at #SPI2014 Booth XXXX. We’ve talked on Twitter but never met – will be under the same roof tomorrow.

Additionally, use this time to retweet (RT) people you want to notice you and start brushing up on your posting power.

@GlennaWiseman: RT @RainaRusso: 4 football fields worth of walking at #SPICon that’s 10,000 steps a day easy! Win a Fitbit via @ibts_solar booth 5309 #SolarChat

2. Live tweet everyday

Once SPI starts, make a commitment to tweet from the show in real time. In social media marketing, we call this “Live Tweeting.” This activity can take many forms, but should start with your announcement on your feed that you’re traveling to SPI and why you’re excited. This heads-up post, gives your followers and others following the hashtag a chance to know that you’ll be there and connect with you.

@RainaRusso: See you there! RT @ibts_solar: We’re headed to Vegas, baby! Stop by booth 5309 at @SPIConvention Oct. 21-23 #SPIcon pic.twitter.com/hrQakNmklX

@lisapinkerton: There’s something magical about being at a conference the day before it starts. #SXSWEco

In Sessions:

The conventional live tweet from a session usually includes sounds bites from speakers and questions posed by the audience. I often use my session posts as a way of taking notes on the panel. Be careful not to just post the sound bites from speakers, as it’s so common that you’ll notice everyone doing it. You want to be unique and stand out, so that other people with retweet and follow you. So instead, try to build on the commentd given, either by posing a question, a challenge or furthering the idea with your own insights.

@lisapinkerton: PicaSolar could save solar OEMs $140M in reduced silver use alone, + 15% increase in cell efficiency. #sxsweco http://ow.ly/i/78K3W

@AutoblogGreen: Brett Hauser from @greenlots: There have been some “colossal failures” because EV charging companies used proprietary systems. #sxsweco

On the exhibit floor:

As you wander the booths, take photos of things you think are cool, friends you run into or fun happenings. Post them on Twitter with your comment and where it happened, such as the booth number. If you see something you don’t like, there’s also an opportunity to tell the company via a post.

@austinECOdetail: Met Gabriel and his team #earth911 at #sxsweco last week. They had this super cool stool made of cork on display. pic.twitter.com/pi8coPEIbY

Corporate social media feeds are often managed by the marketing and public relations teams. So, done diplomatically, your comment will reach the people in the company who will care most about the company’s brand and reputation.

Regardless of how your posts shape up, always credit the speakers and companies either by adding their name in or their handle. And always remember to add the hashtag #SPI2014.

3. Party with your Tweeps

Networking on social media is a great way to build your brand and reach new people. But in person networking is where the real magic is. At the quarterly networking workshops I teach in San Francisco, I outline how one can seamlessly go from online networking to in person networking, and back to online as a way of extending networking time and opportunities.

Tweetups are sponsored happy hours where people who are active on Twitter meet each other face-to-face. Instead of meeting a group of strangers, Tweetups provide us with the opportunity to get to know better, people we already feel connected to. At SPI this year, there are two important Tweetups to hit:

SPI Tweetup – October 22, 12-2pm
#SolarChat’s Unplugged Solar Teams Rock – Oct 22, 8pm-10pm

4. Get your scan on

You can’t be everywhere are once. But Twitter can! Every morning, instead of looking at your usual news feeds, or playing that game you use to wake up in bed, scan the twitter hashtag. Within five minutes it would take you to review the replays of how your base got raided on Clash of Clans overnight, you’ll quickly get up to speed on the coming day at SPI. Also, at this time take a moment to post something about what you’re looking forward to, as another way of giving the SPI community a chance to meet you and connect with you.

5. Smart follow

Using Twitter at conferences, when the majority of your industry is paying attention, whether or not they are at the show, is a great way to build your audience. As a rule, you should follow everyone that follows you, as long and as much as you want to. When you do get a new follower, thank them for following you.

If people are using the hashtag, there’s a high likelihood they have some influence in solar and following them could add to your overall clout. So, at shows it’s advisable to follow people using the hashtag. They in turn may choose to follow you, and before you know it, you’ll have grown your following by at least 10-20 percent by the end of the conference.

6. Interact

Following those that follow you is just one part of interaction. The next step is to add to the conversation, either by retweeting what they have posted (indicated by RT in the post) or by modifying a person’s tweet and adding MT. You can also reply to a post and add your own insights, questions or comments.

This is where the interaction can take on a life of its own and lead to incredible networking opportunities you might not have had otherwise, both at the event and long after it’s over. You can even invite other people you know would have interest in a topic into the conversation by adding their handles in your posts. Twitter will notify them, depending on their account settings. Do this in compelling way and voilà, you have yourself a bonafide social media networking moment that can be taken off line for more in-depth interaction.

7. Review sessions and parties in the moment

Let’s face it, no matter how hard organizers try, some sessions are just boring, and some parties are just a flop. Wouldn’t you like to know that before you get to the location, or warn other before they meet your fate? Well, Twitter is an excellent vehicle for that.

When you’re in a session that’s dragging on without much substance, use Twitter to see what sessions other people are posting about. You can save yourself valuable session time by leaving ones that aren’t working for ones that are. The same thing goes for parties and happy hours.

You can also use Twitter to bring more people to something good. Don’t be afraid to post that a session is impressive, making sure to share the room number. Additionally, if you find yourself at a bouncing party, spread the love on Twitter. Make sure you credit the sponsors of the event, so that if others can’t get there before it’s over the organizers get your kudos, which is a goodwill gesture that helps to elevate their brand.

AndreaLearned: Fun @triplepundit party last night @CliveBarATX – thanks @nickaster and gang. #sxsweco

8. Make it visual

Thoughtful insights are critical to building your Twitter brand. However, well-selected photos and videos will often spread the message of your brand further than words can. People love images and videos. We love to look at them and share them.

When people retweet your multi-media, your handle (@yournamehere) gets added to the post and you get the credit. You may find a comment retweeted once or twice, while an image or video gets many more shares. A note of caution, before you share a photo or video, be sure to ask others in the moment if it’s okay. If they say yes, be sure to add their handles as well.

9. Give credit where credit is due

In the other steps, we touched on how selecting the retweet symbol in your Twitter app will automatically add the handle of the person you are retweeting into your post. Twitter also offers an “edit retweet” function in case you want to modify the tweet. Often we do this to add additional insights or if the original tweet was too long.

However, some people will use the “edit retweet” function to remove the handle of the person who originated the tweet as a way of claiming it as their own. This is not how you build a supportive community and people will notice if you try this too much. They might even call you out on it, publicly; I have. Keep your ego at bay and give credit where credit is due. Sometimes, when a post becomes too long, because of the RT handle(s) at the beginning, it’s advisable to add them to the end with the word “via” indicating where you got the information. This step can save you precious characters.

This also goes to crediting speakers and companies. You can use the search function in Twitter to learn if companies or people have twitter handles already and add them to your post. While you’re at it, you should follow them too. They will get your notification that you mentioned them and it helps you build a positive relationship with them over time.

10. Stay in the moment

One trick about live tweeting is that we pay too much attention to creating our posts, watching the hashtag feed or responding to alerts we get on our phone, because it’s right in front of us. Speakers certainly like to see their names and opinions trending on social media, but they also like an attentive audience. You can miss critical information when you are too busy multi-tasking. Therefore, try to keep your live posts to an average of one per ten minutes. This will help you keep your attention on the session and retaining the most amount of information possible. Additionally, it will keep your feed from dominating the hashtag as people are following it.

October 15, 2014 0 comment

Inexpensive Solar Cell Makes Hydrogen From Sunlight

written by Yale Environment 360

Researchers have developed a device that can store solar energy by inexpensively converting it to hydrogen — an important step toward making solar power available around the clock.

The technology, which which was recently described in the journal Science, is a type of “water splitter,” a device that can efficiently divide water into its constituent parts: hydrogen and oxygen.

The concept is important for solar energy storage because hydrogen gas can be used directly as fuel and is relatively easy to store, the researchers say. The device can convert 12.3 percent of the energy in sunlight to hydrogen, according to the report; conventional solar cells, in comparison, convert roughly 16 percent of energy from sunlight to electricity, but a significant portion of that energy is lost when converting it to a form that is easily stored.

The design of this water splitter is an improvement over previous iterations, the researchers explain, because it is made from inexpensive materials — nickel, iron, and perovskite, an abundant mineral that has recently been found to improve solar cell efficiency. They say the device’s longevity and reliability will need to improve, however, before it becomes a practical, large-scale solar energy storage option.

September 30, 2014 0 comment

Verizon Plans Major Expansion of Its On-Site Green Energy Program

written by CleanTechies.com Contributor

Verizon announced today that it will invest nearly $40 million to expand the on-site green energy program that it launched in 2013. This year, Verizon will install 10.2 megawatts of new solar power systems at eight Verizon network facilities in five states – California, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York. This investment nearly doubles the amount of renewable power generated by solar energy systems installed at six Verizon facilities last year.

To date, Verizon has invested nearly $140 million in on-site green energy. With the 2014 solar investment announced today, Verizon is on target to deploy upward of 25 megawatts of green energy upon completion of the new solar projects. The system will generate enough green energy to power more than 8,500 homes each year. Verizon’s total green-energy efforts are expected to offset 22,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually, which is equivalent to taking nearly 5,000 passenger vehicles off the road each year.

“Our investment in on-site green energy is improving the quality of life in the communities we serve by reducing CO2 levels and reducing strain on commercial power grids, while increasing our energy efficiency,” said James Gowen, Verizon’s chief sustainability officer. “By almost doubling the amount of renewable, solar energy we’re using, we are making further progress toward Verizon’s goal of cutting our carbon intensity in half by 2020, in part, by leveraging the proven business case for clean-energy alternatives to the commercial power grid.”

On Track to Be No. 1 Solar-Power Producer Among U.S. Comm. Companies

With this announcement, Verizon is on track to become the No. 1 solar-power producer among all U.S. communications companies, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association, the U.S. trade association for companies that research, manufacture, distribute, finance and build solar projects domestically and abroad.

“Based on its existing solar power capacity and on-site generating systems, combined with its new solar energy expansion plans for 2014, it’s clear that Verizon is on a path to become the solar-power leader in the U.S. telecom industry,” said SEIA president and CEO Rhone Resch. “In fact, we project that Verizon will be among the top 20 of all companies nationwide in terms of the number of solar installations it operates, and one of the top 10 companies in the U.S. based on solar generating capacity.”

Verizon contracted with SunPower Corp. to design and install all of the solar systems. The new equipment, consisting of high-efficiency rooftop, parking-structure and ground-mounted solar photovoltaic systems, will vary from site to site.

“With this milestone investment, Verizon is advancing its position among the handful of corporate leaders demonstrating how American businesses can serve their communities and control energy costs with on-site solar power generation,” said Howard Wenger, SunPower president, business units. “We are very pleased to extend our partnership with Verizon, helping the company lower the long-term cost of energy at more facilities with SunPower’s high performance technology and services.”

Sustainability Legacy

Last year, the company exceeded its 10 megawatt green-energy target, and has currently deployed 14.2 megawatts of on-site green energy using a combination of fuel cells and solar power systems. Verizon has long been focused on energy efficiency and instituting sustainable real estate practices. As an early adopter of fuel cell technologies, Verizon invested in one of the largest fuel cell sites of its kind in 2005 – helping to power a call-switching center and office building in Garden City, New York. Verizon also uses 26 solar-assisted cell sites in remote areas in the western United States to help power a portion of the nation’s largest and most reliable wireless network.

In addition to various solar and fuel cell installations at Verizon Data Centers, the company has also implemented better cooling efficiency and energy-consumption reduction measures in its data centers. In 2009, Verizon developed new standards for energy consumption on select telecom equipment, with a target of 20 percent greater efficiency.

All of Verizon’s energy-efficiency strategies support the company’s ultimate goal of cutting its carbon intensity – carbon emissions produced per terabyte of data flowing through Verizon’s global wired and domestic wireless networks – in half by 2020.

August 25, 2014 2 comments

New Yorkers Speak Up in Support of Solar for All

written by The Vote Solar Initiative

New York made notable progress this legislative session on a proposal to open up access to affordable solar energy to all energy customers. Assembly Bill 9931 / Senate Bill 7727 would have enabled shared solar arrangements in which customers could subscribe to a local solar or wind project, and receive credit on their utility bills for their portion of the clean power produced.

This legislation would have built on the impressive success of the New York solar market to date – in 2013, $343 million was invested in NY to install solar on homes and businesses, with enough solar installed in the state to power 41,700 homes. Yet the traditional panels-on-your-roof approach to solar simply doesn’t work for the majority of New Yorkers, including renters, families and businesses in multi-unit buildings, homeowners with shaded roofs, and plenty of other would-be solar customers. Shared solar legislation would give these New Yorkers the opportunity to choose affordable solar energy for the first time.

The bill, sponsored by Democratic Assemblywoman Amy Paulin and Republican Senator George Maziarz, made it all the way to the Assembly floor on the last day of the legislative session (June 19) but ultimately the legislature did not vote on it this year.

At Vote Solar we know all too well that passing important legislation is often a multi-year endeavor, and so the broad coalition of organizations supporting this campaign – including local environmental groups, solar businesses, affordable housing advocates, and even our favorite Oscar-nominated renewable energy advocate Mark Ruffalo – deserves a shout out for its work this session:

We held dozens of positive meetings with legislators on both sides of the aisle, discussing how shared clean energy can benefit New Yorkers from Buffalo to Binghamton to the Bronx
8,115 New Yorkers signed a petition or sent letters of support to their elected officials
The shared solar approach was even featured in the New York Times

New York is turning heads with its forward-thinking approaches to energy planning, and we’re confident that with your help the Empire State can make solar for all a reality in 2015.

July 2, 2014 1 comment

GoSolarSF Progress Report: Economic & Environmental Benefits of San Francisco’s Solar Program

written by The Vote Solar Initiative

Massive reductions in the price of solar means that more Americans are benefiting from this bill-saving, job-creating homegrown resource. Residential solar adoption is through the roof even as incentive programs have wound down in major markets like California. In fact, more than one out of every three new U.S. residential solar energy systems installed in Q1 of this year did so without state incentives. And those installations are overwhelmingly occurring in middle-income neighborhoods – an impressive testament to our nation’s solar progress.

With cost-competitive solar increasingly within reach for the middle class, there remains an important role for incentive programs that are focused on bringing those same benefits to disadvantaged families. In 2008, the City of San Francisco launched GoSolarSF to do just that. The program provides a one-time incentive payment for solar on homes, businesses and non-profit organizations (including local government facilities) with additional support for consumers meeting low-income requirements. And while any local solar development means local job creation, GoSolarSF was designed to further ensure that those jobs are accessible to disadvantaged San Franciscans through a workforce development program.

In order to help quantify the real-world impacts of GoSolarSF, we produced a report on the market, economic and environmental benefits of solar energy systems installed or in the queue for the program as of April 2014. Top level findings include:

Solar Market Development:

More than 3,070 solar energy systems on San Francisco homes, businesses, non-profits and local government facilities
Nearly 10,160 kW of total solar capacity
An impressive 37% of residential capacity (kW) was installed on qualifying low-income single-family and multi-family homes

Economic Development:

Installations driving $65 million in investment in the local San Francisco economy
Installations supporting more than 400 local jobs and $19.5-$22.8 million in wages that can be reinvested in the local economy
Workforce Development program providing 121 direct solar job placements for San Francisco residents who otherwise face barriers to employment
Workers of color representing the largest populations served by the Workforce Development program with 40% Black/African American and 22% Latino/Hispanic job placements
31 solar companies participating in the local Workforce Development program
National solar leaders have chosen employ hundreds of local workers because of GoSolarSF and the City’s nationally-recognized culture of solar policy innovation

Environmental Benefits:

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions by more than 172,631,800 pounds over the lifetime of installed systems, helping meet the City’s climate action goals
Reducing the need for fossil-based peak power generation, which has historically disproportionately impacted the health of low-income families

In short, GoSolarSF has encouraged significant private investment in San Francisco’s local solar market, which has in turn delivered economic and environmental benefits to the greater community. The City by the Bay’s solar program has given thousands of San Francisco energy consumers control over their electricity sources and utility bills by making solar power a cost-effective option. And – most exciting – the program’s focus on empowering low-income and underserved members of the community to participate in and benefit from the city’s growing solar economy has proven particularly successful.

You can read and download the full report for yourself below. Big thanks to our friends at Brightline Defense, Luminalt, and Asian Neighborhood Design for their help with this report as well as their huge role in bringing solar benefits to those who need them most via GoSolarSF.

June 24, 2014 0 comment

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