Astralux Solar Energy Blog

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Booth #170 - Right in Front!

September 20: 10am-8pm
September 21: 10am-7pm

Hope to see you there!

Hello out there in solar land,
I got a response back from a few people out there so I guess someone is reading this, or at least their spiders are scanning the site. Either way I will press on! Today I received an update from our primary supplier of panels that Sharp has received the Evergreen Award for excellence in environmentally friendly manufacturing. The award announcement follows:

“FOR ENVIRONMENTAL LEADERSHIP FROM THE U.S GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION-JANUARY 21,2008 In recognition of Sharp’s outstanding environmental practices and commitment to a sustainable future, the company has been honored with the Evergreen Award from the U.S Government’s General Services Administration (GSA) National Furniture Center (NFC), in the category of Technologies and Electronics. This award is granted to the government contractor that actively demonstrates the highest overall commitment to environmentally sound manufacturing and operating procedures. Sharp was one of only three companies awarded this year, as top environmentally conscientious business partners for their efforts in re-cycling, affirmative procurement and waste reduction.”

This is great news. It is our goal at Astralux to continually strive to do the same. It is not enough to simply sell and install a green product such as solar, but to actively attempt to reduce our business footprint at the same time. Sharp is obviously the world leader in solar panel production and what a superb message to sent to the rest of the manufacturers out there.

Sharps statement from the press release tell us that:
• Sharp’s goal is to minimize the environmental impact of their products by continually implementing and improving product technologies, designs and programs aimed at environmental conservation, from the materials used in the manufacture and packaging of their products, to their transportation, use and their safe disposal at the end of their product life.
• Sharp’s environmentally-friendly LCD television manufacturing facility in Kameyama, Japan features the world’s largest roof-mounted solar system.
• With a focus on global issues SHARP is putting renewable energy solutions such as solar energy to work in the production of AQUOS LCD TVs and countless other technologies.
• Sharp’s appliances and business products are among the industry’s most energy efficient.
• Sharp is the world leader in solar cell production.
• Sharp factories are working to eliminate waste and greenhouse gases, and achieve other environmental targets in twenty-one key areas.
• Sharp’s goal by 2010 is to have the emissions avoided through the use of Sharp's energy-creating and energy-saving products worldwide to equal their annual global emissions.
What a great vision for the future of manufacturing. If every company out there could commit to reducing their carbon footprint even a fraction of what Sharp is setting for itself, we would be on the fast track to a better future. They also said that:
• Sharp’s goal is to minimize the environmental impact of their products by continually implementing and improving product technologies, designs and programs aimed at environmental conservation, from the materials used in the manufacture and packaging of their products, to their transportation, use and their safe disposal at the end of their product life.
• The U.S Environmental Protection Agency created the ¨Plug-In to eCycling¨ program to reduce the environmental impact of electronic products during their production, use and disposal. The EPA joins with electronics companies to collect and safely recycle used equipment such as cell phones, computers and audio and video equipment. An active participant in the program since its inception in 2003 ,Sharp has been recognized by the EPA for its performance every year.

So lets get back to the question that I posed at the beginning of this entry—why does Astralux use Sharp Solar Panels? We are a proud supporter of Sharp not only because of its 50 year history in the photovoltaic market, not only because Sharp makes some of the best performing and most elegant systems on the market today, not only because Sharp has chosen to invest in the US market and to support its growth, but because all the while they are doing all that other great stuff, Sharp is also attempting to reduce, reuse, and recycle just as they are asking us to do. That is why Astralux says congratulations Sharp on your award, we are proud to be the premier installer of your product here in Colorado. Keep up the good work.

This is a cool clip that was with the release.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhMmctR18w4

All of the info contained in this report came from http://sharpgreen.smnr.us/

Hello Solar lovers! I am back and today we are talking about a downside of being in a really popular industry right now--the world wide panel shortage. Solar is booming and that is great news. People all across the globe are realizing the massive financial and environmental benefits of solar power. The downside is that there has been an increasing shortage of raw silicon, and consequently a shortage of panels. Since the US is relatively new in this game, we are suffering the most because our pull with international manufacturers isn’t as strong as the Europeans due to their long standing relationship with the big players in the industry.

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Editor and blogger Dan Hahn added this report which I think does a nice job discussing the topic. You can check out Dan and tons of other cool solar news at solarpowerrocks.com. This is his report from August 1st.

In California, the state rebate makes incremental drops as more and more people install solar. When the rebate is close to a drop point, solar salespeople make a large push for their fence-sitting customers to get panels now, as it’s a very powerful selling point… that works.

Well that’s exactly what’s happening in Germany right now, but it’s a much bigger deal. Germany will pay you for your energy production for TWENTY YEARS with what’s called a “feed-in tariff.” Well, you can imagine that if you’re thinking of building a solar farm in Germany, you’d like to lock in the current twenty year payment price before it drops, right? So that’s one hell of a selling point.
This massive last minute push for solar in Germany before the drop is causing many distributors of photovoltaic panels to ship overseas, adding to the problem of an already painful shortage of solar panels in the US. Couple that with exploding demand in the US due to powerful new subsidies in places like New Jersey, Maryland, Hawaii, Colorado, (along with others states and municipalities), and we’re in trouble.

I don’t blame the distributors. With a strong Euro and the ability to get 125% - 150% as much money for their panels there, why wouldn’t they? It’s business. What can we do? Not much. Supply will converge with demand at some point, though the problem will likely worsen before it gets better.

What can YOU do? Make sure to ask your installer what their fulfillment issues are with the shortage and if they can get panels… and try to get an honest answer. Get a few bids for solar. Bigger players may have more sway with their distributors or carry a more diversified product line. Most importantly, get solar now and stop thinking about it. There’s never been a better time than right now.
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Dan makes a great point. While us in the “biz” don’t mind the fact that solar is more popular than ever, we are all in this for one reason—to get solar to YOU, the customer who wants it! Shortages may help a few people get nudged over the edge who are thinking about getting a system, but for others it simply delays the installation of a project that they are very anxious to have completed.

The other distinct downside to all of this is that costs are going up! Demand in Europe and in Germany specifically is driving up prices on panels worldwide. Ken Alltucker of the Arizona Republic commented in a recent article—“In addition to a spike in demand, Hayden said, the escalating cost of silicon is contributing to higher costs for solar systems. While getting enough solar panels is a challenge, the industry's increase in demand has created other hurdles for dealers, too.”

So what does this mean for you the customer? Well it means that as the article said, if you are sitting at home thinking strongly about getting yourself a solar system, now may very well be the best time to do it. With an uncertain future for the tax credits, increasing costs, and ever increasing wait times for panels, today looks like the right day to GO SOLAR!

Osea

Hello to the vast space that is the internet. This is Osea Nelson here. I have been given the privilege of adding some thoughts, news, and anything else solar related to our solar energy blog. This is my first entry, with many more to come. I hope you enjoy the discussion, and please feel free to leave comments or to contact me directly at nelson@aessolarenergy.com.

The recent 2 MW solar array installation at Denver International Airport (DIA) has sparked an interesting debate among the renewable energy community. DIA is receiving grand praise for its new installation which will be one of the largest at any airport in the country. The installation is also drawing criticism from some who see DIA as a huge energy hog. It is an interesting debate that is just as applicable to a small two bedroom home or a huge international airport.

How much does a renewable energy installation really do if the structure it is producing for is massively energy inefficient?

It raises the dreaded “c” word that many interested in solar energy don’t want to talk about—conservation. Renewable energy without conservation is akin to an electric car that is plugged into an outlet power by the coal fired plant down the road. It loses much of its impact. One of the biggest changes for our customers when enjoying their new solar systems on their homes is the immediate awareness of the areas of wasted energy in their home. Solar installations can turn people into energy super savers. Knowing that a fixed amount of power is coming from the roof installation, people tend to start finding many different ways to start saving power, and continually reducing usage.

The same is the crux of the critics’ argument about DIA and its usage. Ken Zemach commented on an article that the Denver Post ran 10/01/07 written by Andy Vuong. While DIA managers certainly deserve high praise for their forward looking environmental planning, Ken’s point is that that there are areas that could easily bring down the total power usage of a building such as DIA and increase the impact of the solar array. Ken notes that “all the horizontal people movers (those moving walkways) have no IR sensor on them to have them stop when there's no one on them. (if you put a sensor on, it knows when someone enters it and runs for as long as it needs to + 10 sec). Instead, ALL of them run full-time” His point is well taken that often times conservation assessments of existing systems can have a huge impact on overall power usage.

Now I am not picking on DIA, I think what they have done is amazing! I do think it is a great way to talk about the same ideas in our own homes. Often when new customers come to us looking for a solar installation and they have a given demand load for their home and they want to offset 100% of the load that they use. Depending on the size of the roof or structure that solar will be installed on this is simply not possible. No need to fret. Simple conservation steps can easily bring an average home load down 10-30% with a negligible impact on comfort and livability. Renewable energy is only a part of the solution to our energy demand issues. Adding solar to a home which then in turn adds more load, does not impact the problem. When renewable technologies are coupled with simple conservation the true power of these systems is realized.

Do not fear the word conservation. It is not a dirty word, and it does not mean that we have to give up our lifestyles. It just means we can all take small steps to make a huge impact in our overall daily power usage.

Let the sun shine,
Osea

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) made a controversial (and very poor) decision last month to put a moratorium on all solar project on federal land to do a so-called 2-year "environmental study" on the impacts of installing solar on the land, vegetation, etc. At first, I couldn't believe what I was reading. It is readily apparent to anyone with even a passing knowledge of environmental impacts that solar power's clean energy would far outweigh any nominal negative impact it might have putting it on land. Plus, the oil industry has wreaked havoc on many local eco-systems.

Fortunately, the BLM came to its senses and lifted the moratorium. Below is the story from Forbes...

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Last Wednesday, Vermont's Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders was criticizing a "very unfortunate"--and somewhat obscure--month-old decision from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management in a meeting on Capitol Hill.

The bureau (BLM) decided to stop accepting applications to build solar plants on federal land until a two-year environmental impact study was complete in 2010. Sanders, with a long history of backing environmental causes, was livid at the decision.

But in the middle of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee meeting, Sanders unexpectedly got word that the BLM reversed its decision. "I congratulate the bureau for making the change and for understanding the enormous potential of solar energy," Sanders said.

The turnaround was a welcome development for backers of the technology--and, more important, demonstrates the alternative energy industry's coming of age in Washington after decades of behind-the-scenes lobbying effort.

What happened? "After six weeks of public outcry and inquiries from Congress, BLM reversed their position," says Katherine Gensler, the manager of regulatory and legislative affairs for the Solar Energy Industries Association.

This chapter in the solar saga started in May, when the BLM announced it would no longer take applications. Since 2005, the bureau has received 130 applications to develop solar plants across 1 million acres of federal land.

Before accepting any more, the bureau wanted to complete a "programmatic environmental impact study" to assess the process of building solar plants. Such studies typically take 18 to 24 months. For the solar industry, the delay was seen as a dangerous threat.

The BLM controls 12 million acres in Arizona, 15 million in California, 8 million in Colorado, 13 million in New Mexico, 48 million in Nevada and 23 million in Utah. A lot of that land is sun-drenched empty desert, some of the best land in the country for collecting solar energy.

"It was a blow for the industry, and it was a surprise," says Gensler. "It certainly caused fear in a lot of developers' hearts."

Lengthy delays can jeopardize the funding of some projects, and the longer projects wait in the pipeline, the longer companies must wait to reap the revenue from their investments.

"Right away we started to hear from folks," says Heather Feeney, a spokeswoman for the BLM. "Solar energy is incredibly popular, and the BLM recognizes that and is willing to encourage that."

Projects have to carry out environmental assessments individually, but with a rush of applications to develop so much land, the BLM planned for a wider impact study that could be used to streamline the applications coming in.

BLM got the message: Do the impact study, but don't stop accepting applications. On Wednesday, the bureau reversed course and said applications would continue apace. "That's what our planning process is built around, people telling us their comments and us responding as best we can," says Feeney.

The solar power industry may not have been wrong to worry. Just take the cautionary tale of U.S. WindPower. Founded in 1974, U.S. WindPower became the early champion of the industry. Its founder, Stanley Charren, a graduate of Brown University with a master's degree in engineering from Harvard, recruited an adept management and technical team from Harvard and Yale. They were the best and brightest stars of alternative energy.

But after nearly two decades of struggling to compete with rock-bottom oil prices and hostile Reagan-era policies against alternative energy, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the BLM suspended construction of a wind-farm project that would have kept U.S. WindPower alive.

The EPA said it needed to complete an environmental impact statement before the company could complete construction of a massive new wind farm on Foote Creeke Rim, a remote, treeless plateau between Laramie and Rawlins in southeastern Wyoming. The flat-rim rock is one of the windiest places in the U.S. and has since been developed by Tacoma Power. The company collapsed while the review dragged on. Renamed Kenetech, the company declared bankruptcy in May 1996.

In the 1980s, the U.S. had over half of the installed wind capacity worldwide. After the collapse of Kenetech, European companies like Vestas leaped into the lead of the wind power technology.

The solar power industry, and its proponents on Capitol Hill, were not about to see the same thing happen to them.

"I am glad the Bureau of Land Management has arrived at this good decision. Nevada is the Saudi Arabia of solar energy and is poised to lead a global clean energy revolution," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., in a statement. "We need to do all we can to encourage public and private investment in projects to develop this amazing potential."

Overturning BLM's moratorium isn't the biggest struggle facing the solar industry, though. They're desperate to preserve the Investment Tax Credit that effectively subsidized the industry. Without it, the industry estimates it could lose $8 billion next year alone. The lobby needs all the leverage it can muster for that battle.