ACCIONA Windpower (AWP), a subsidiary of the ACCIONA group that designs, manufactures and commercializes wind turbines, has signed a turbine supply contract in Brazil with the renewable energy generation holding company Atlantic Energias Renováveis for a total of 54 MW.

The push to promote wider use of rooftop solar comes amid growing health concerns tied to smog within its own population and from foreign companies. It also adds to the nation’s push to be a leader within the global climate community.

The figures show the changes. Coal made up 64 percent of China’s electricity mix in 2013, down from 68 percent in 2010, according to Bloomberg data. Solar’s proportion of electricity generation capacity rose to 2 percent, from 0.08 percent four years ago, doubling nuclear power’s share last year.

“Solar is actually the most attractive when you do rooftop because it eliminates transmission and distribution investment,” said Ahmad Chatila, chief executive officer of St. Peters, Missouri-based SunEdison Inc.

Dirtiest Air

Producing so much power in isolated areas creates bottlenecks in the grid. So-called distributed power, smaller systems installed locally, eliminates the need for costly transmission cables and will speed the country’s transition away from the coal-fired power plants that help create some of the world’s dirtiest air.

SunEdison is in talks with a Chinese partner to build a factory in the country and agreed last month to jointly create a $220 million fund to develop as much as 1 gigawatt of solar projects there. China’s distributed solar market is going to be “enormous,” Chatila said.

China’s National Energy Administration introduced policies in September aimed at boosting the use of distributed solar power. Companies both in China and in other regions are responding. For instance, Solar Power Inc., a U.S. developer backed by the Chinese manufacturer LDK Solar Co., said it would build 19 megawatts of rooftop systems in Shandong.

The country installed about 13 gigawatts of panels last year, almost matching the total amount of solar power in operation in the U.S., and 94 percent of that capacity came from utility-scale projects.

Identifying Sites

The agency asked local authorities to identify potential sites for rooftop plants and smaller, ground-mounted projects. These would include industrial and commercial companies with large rooftops, and public buildings such as railway stations and airport terminals. China has set a goal of installing 8 gigawatts of small systems this year and 6 gigawatts for larger projects.

Distributed solar will look different in China, where land is state-owned and single-family houses are still relatively rare. While homeowners are driving the rooftop solar market in the U.S. and Europe, panels in China will be mostly found atop industrial and commercial buildings, as well as vacant lots, greenhouses, intertidal zones and the empty spaces around fishponds and lakes.

Solar Bankruptcies

China is expected to add as much as 8 gigawatts of distributed solar systems in 2015, out of 15 gigawatts of total photovoltaic power, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

That forecast has China installing in one year about twice as many panels atop factories, office buildings and other distributed sites as there are currently in operation in Australia, one of the world’s sunniest countries.

Chinese manufacturers sold about $5 billion of shares from 2005 to 2010, and wrested control of the market from companies in the U.S., Germany and Japan. The added capacity drove down prices and pushed dozens of manufacturers into bankruptcy. Solar panels sell for 72 cents a watt now, compared with $2.01 at the end of 2010. The price has slipped 12 percent this year.

“Beijing’s solar policy of concentrating on distributed generation with ongoing tweaks to make it more effective is actually very solid in the mid- to long-term,” said Charles Yonts, head of sustainable research at brokerage CLSA Asia- Pacific Markets in Hong Kong.

More Projects

JinkoSolar Holding Co., China’s third-largest panel maker, arranged in July as much as 1 billion yuan ($161 million) in financing from China Minsheng Banking Corp. for distributed solar. An 88.8 million-yuan loan for a 20-megawatt rooftop solar project in Zhejiang province will be the first under the agreement. JinkoSolar is planning three more projects of comparable size in Jiaxing, also in Zhejiang province.

“Policies are relatively good, and companies are competing for rooftop space,” said Sebastian Liu, Jinko’s director of investor relations. Rooftop projects will account for a third of Jinko’s developments in 2015, up from 10 percent this year.

“Investors have hesitated to start projects in the past because returns weren’t clear,” said Meng Xiangan, vice chairman of the China Renewable Energy Society, which acts as a liaison between the government and industry. Developers “should grasp the opportunities favorable for distributed projects to install more panels.”

Copyright 2014 Bloomberg

Lead image: Rooftop solar via Shutterstock

Siemens has received an order from the U.S. energy company MidAmerican Energy for the supply of 448 wind turbines. With a total capacity of 1,050 MW, this represents the largest single order for onshore wind power awarded globally to date. The wind turbines, each with a nominal rating of 2.3 MW and a rotor diameter of 108 m, are to be installed in five different projects in Iowa.

The European Commission (EC) has announced draft plans to fund the provision of sustainable energy services to 500 million people by 2030, including details of its new Electrification Financing Initiative, or ElectriFI. From early 2015, this will provide early stage development risk capital in the form of convertible grants, which will later turn into subordinated debt. This fund will have an initial allocation of EUR 75 million, part of a wider plan to allocate more than EUR 3 billion worth of grants over 7 years. These funds will be allocated to projects in 30 countries around the world, which have chosen energy as a key focus for their national development goals.

“This is just the start,” Roberto Ridolfi of the EC’s EuropeAid directorate said at a stakeholder event in late September, adding that the EC hopes to help leverage investments between EUR 15-30 billion in loans and equity. ElectriFI is largely aimed at Sub–Saharan Africa, but not exclusively. Ridolfi said that it is not as difficult for developers to find finance for big projects such as large hydropower projects as it is for relatively smaller projects in rural areas where there is no grid connection. 1.3 billion people around the world lack any access to electricity, which is why the United Nations (UN) and many other institutions have been busy supporting “energy access” initiatives to bring modern energy services to those who don’t have any.

IRENA supports “transformative idea”

Adnan Amin, Director General at the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), welcomed the proposals. “75 million won’t change the world overnight but it could create a transformative idea of how to use financing to reduce risks,” he said. The EC already assists larger projects through blending facilities in conjunction with the European Investment Bank (EIB) and other lending institutions, but the blending system does not work as well for energy access projects.

The traditional way the EC has dealt with smaller scale energy access projects is through “call for proposals”. This has worked for non profit organisation– led projects which have benefited from grants to promote clean energy access and poverty reduction. However, in order to meet both climate change and energy access goals, observers say far more needs to be done, and on a larger scale. EC officials hope ElectriFI will bring together the non profit community with the private sector and the finance world to scale up projects that so far have been in a pilot phase, turning them into something that can reach millions of people.

Large banks prefer IPP model

There are already a number of entrepreneurs and small companies currently working on offgrid or minigrid electricity solutions, which are often the best option for bringing electricity to rural areas far from the grid. According to Marc Buiting of Dutch development bank FMO, not all of these entrepreneurs have business models suitable for reaching a larger scale of investment, or they may simply not be adaptable to the needs of large international banks.

Large banks are used to one basic model, according to Buiting: the independent power producer (IPP) model originating from the US and exported globally, with 40 % equity, 60 % debt. They like to see one borrower, one off-taker, one guarantor, and a syndicate. “Every banker has this model in mind…and the solutions we are looking for should be as similar to this as possible,” he said.

In Africa fewer than 30 projects of this kind of IPP model have been developed, and most concentrated in a handful of countries. Yet, according to Buiting, there is currently a strong momentum for private sector investment in African renewables, with the lower cost of clean energy technologies being one factor. In addition, another factor is that more long term funding is becoming available for clean energy in developing countries, as development finance institutions are mandated by their governments to “green” their investments.

Successful efforts in South Africa have also helped attract interest in African renewable energy potentials. The country has embarked on a large scale renewable electricity program, aiming to reach 3,725MW by 2016. This has attracted developers from richer countries seeking new markets while government support was being reduced back home.

ARE welcomes ElectriFI

The Alliance for Rural Electrification, an international business association representing the decentralized energy sector in developing and emerging countries, welcomed the EC proposal for a new funding mechanism. “ElectriFI will strengthen the strong engagement of the private sector to make universal access to clean energy a reality by facilitating and thus multiplying small and medium scale private investments and operations in sustainable energy projects,” said Marcus Wiemann, ARE Secretary General. Yet one academic study commissioned by ARE questioned whether risks for investors are still too high and profits too low because of expectations by end use customers over the level of tariffs.

Other observers are worried that ElectriFI proposals – as outlined so far – may be workable for large European businesses wanting to invest in Africa, but not as realistic for Small and Medium–sized Enterprises (SMEs) from Europe and the developing world. The EC has suggested that SMEs in target countries could team up either with European companies or other local entrepreneurs, in order to bundle smaller projects together.

Others stressed that rural electrification in Europe and US have been historically driven by the public sector. “We believe there needs to be a strong [role for the]public sector in Africa too,” said Christian de Gromard, energy expert at the Agence Française pour le Développement (AFD). Gromard highlighted how Morocco has recently achieved impressive growth in electrification rates, moving from 20 % to 95 % in 12 years. For this effort, AFD provided soft loans, and other loans were provided by Germany’s development bank KfW and others, and a large part of the effort was public sector led, he said.

Yet most observers recognize that this type of public sector–led project won’t be feasible in all countries, so new and innovative financing mechanisms are urgently needed to achieve a boost in clean energy investment and rural electrification. Kandeh Yumkella, CEO of the UN’s Sustainable Energy for All initiative, praised the content and timing of the EC proposal. But he also stressed importance of capacity building for African energy entrepreneurs.

According to Ridolfi, the European Union and the US – thanks to financial commitments they have made so far – can reduce energy poverty by 50 % by 2030. He added that a major event is planned in Gujarat in January to accelerate investment in renewables and storage to ensure energy access is also provided to 300 million people in India. In parallel, the EC is also putting some efforts into exploring feasibility of European–wide crowdfunding platforms – aimed at the general public – which it hopes may play a part in supporting ElectriFI and related initiatives.

IEA projects huge growth in African renewables

Power generation capacity in Africa is projected to quadruple to 385 GW by 2040, with half of this growth in the form of renewable sources, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in mid October, as it launched its Africa Energy Outlook special report in London. The projected share of power from renewables in the electricity sector could increase from today’s 23 % (mostly large hydro) to 40 % by 2040. Solar power, wind and geothermal could account for a third of the growth.

The IEA said this is the most comprehensive analytical study it has carried out to date on African energy and added this is “one of the most poorly understood part of the global energy system”. The report highlights renewable energy resources of Africa as key to meeting demand growth, including hydro in many countries, wind energy mainly in coastal areas and geothermal in the east African Rift. “Almost all this potential is currently untapped,” said chief economist Fatih Birol.

Growth in electricity generation is seen as crucial for the continent’s economic growth and also to tackle the lack of electricity for some 620 million people in Sub–Saharan Africa. For those that do have electricity access there, average residential electricity consumption per capita is currently around half the average level of China and a fifth of that in Europe.

Solar technologies have so far played a limited role in Africa. With most of the continent enjoying an average of more than 320 days of bright sunlight per year and irradiance levels of almost 2000 kWh per square meter annually (for comparison: twice that of Germany) – the potential is obviously high. However, the average cost of generating electricity from photovoltaics in sub–Saharan Africa currently exceeds $175 per MWh, above the cost of other grid technologies. In some cases these costs can be lower, as demonstrated in recent bids in South Africa’s IPP procurement programme, according to the IEA. In addition, photovoltaics become far much more competitive in offgrid or mini grid applications, where the main alternative are diesel generators, according to the report. For rural electrification – reaching populations too far away from the grid – key technologies would be photovoltaics, geothermal, mini hydro and microgrids, Birol said.

Geothermal in the east African Rift Valley is what the IEA dubbed “one of the most exciting prospects in the world”. This sector is currently competitive with fossil fuels, and with total potential between 10–15 GW, which could provide large amounts of base-load power to the continent. Wind power has so far been very limited compared to hydropower, with only 190 MW in the whole of Sub–Saharan Africa, whereas its potential is estimated at around 1,300 GW which would produce several times the current level of total African electricity consumption.

The IEA report recommends that a “sound policy and regulatory environment” is essential for the large scale development of renewable energy sources, particularly in the electricity sector.

As for smaller, offgrid projects, the IEA says they have the “potential to sidestep institutional weaknesses” but the hurdles there are the poor access to finance and to replacement and maintenance services.

Germana Canzi

With the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) annual meeting kicking off on Saturday, I wanted to take a moment to welcome the commissioners to San Francisco and talk a little about how important solar power is to the health of our nation, our economy and our grid.

NARUC is a national association of state Public Service Commissioners – the people who regulate utility services in California and around the country. Its members are responsible “for assuring reliable utility service at fair, just, and reasonable rates.” That means they are looking at things like where we get our power from, who pays for it and what they pay.

Commissioners, I urge you to look around you at what California has accomplished with solar energy. California has been a leader in grid integration – and it’s working. This year, a record amount of California’s energy has come from solar. According to the California Independent System Operator (CAISO), in May between 11:00 a.m. and noon, solar supplied 14 percent of the total power used.

California will continue to increase the deployment of solar beyond these record numbers without compromising system reliability because of the establishment of standards for mandatory advanced inverters, energy storage mandates and the recent implementation of CAISO’s Energy Imbalance Market, to name a few. In fact, the California Public Utilities Commission has been spearheading the storage and smart inverters proceedings.

Rooftop solar means that utilities have to spend less on building new power plants, and it means electricity is used right at the point of generation, putting less strain on the grid. In fact, a Nevada study found that rooftop solar has benefits for all utility customers. 

There are 50,000 solar jobs in California. Last year, it was a $7-billion industry, and since a year ago, the industry has continued to grow at an astounding rate. There is enough solar energy generated in the state to power nearly 2 million Californian homes. In fact, if California were a country, it would rank 7^th in solar capacity in the world.

California already gets 5 percent of its electricity from solar. This investment in clean, renewable energy reduces greenhouse gas emissions each year equal to not burning 10.2 billion pounds of coal. Picture 500 miles of railroad cars – a line from here to San Diego – full of coal. That’s been taken away, put back in the ground and not burned. That’s 9.5 metric tons of carbon dioxide not put into our air. That’s 2.5 coal-fired power plants not pumping particles into our air.

Half of the solar installed in 2013 was in California. That’s a feather in California’s cap, for sure, but it’s also a sign that the rest of the country needs to do more. Commissioners, as you gather this week with your colleagues, ask yourself: How can my region add clean, renewable solar energy to the mix?

After the successful conclusion of the certification process in June 2014, OffTEC has now fulfilled all the requirements for the Basic Safety Training Standards set by the Global Wind Organisation (GWO). Bureau Veritas has accredited OffTEC as a provider of GWO safety training courses in first aid, manual handling, fire awareness, working at heights and sea survival. With the opening of the Maritime Training Centre (MTC) it will now be possible to hold all GWO training courses at the main OffTEC base in Enge-Sande.

LOS ANGELES, CA —(eSolarEnergyNews)—KB Home, one of the nation’s largest and most recognized homebuilders, today announced it has completed its 3,000th new solar home, which is located in its Harmony at the Lodge community in Eastvale, Calif. With this important milestone that reflects the company’s forward-thinking approach to sustainability, KB Home estimates that owners of its solar-powered homes could benefit from nearly $12 million in total energy savings over the next five years.

While the bulk of the builder’s solar-powered homes are located in California, its solar offerings extend across the country to additional KB Home communities in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada and Texas. KB Home has built more than 3,000 new homes powered by SunPower’s (NASDAQ: SPWR) solar power systems in just three years. These high-efficiency solar panels are mounted to the roof during construction and are designed to meet most of each home’s electricity demand with clean, renewable solar power.

In addition to the significant potential energy and cost savings, according to estimates based on U.S. Environmental Protection Agency calculations, the solar power systems installed at KB Home communities offset the production of more than 8,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year, which is equivalent to removing 1,728 passenger vehicles from the road annually.

“KB Home has a distinguished history of continually raising the bar when it comes to sustainable homebuilding,” said Steve Ruffner, president and regional general manager for KB Home Southern California. “Completing our 3,000th solar-powered home demonstrates our industry-leading commitment to providing lasting value to our homeowners in terms of energy and cost savings.”

“SunPower is pleased to partner with KB Home, which is a leader in making solar a standard feature in new home communities,” said Howard Wenger, SunPower’s president of business units. “Homebuyers today value high quality, energy efficient new solar homes that increase comfort and control their energy bills. SunPower delivers turnkey energy solutions that include the world’s most efficient and reliable solar technology and energy services, working with leading homebuilders like KB Home.”

KB Home estimates that at current residential electric rates, a 1.4 kilowatt high-efficiency photovoltaic system installed as standard with a 1,748 square-foot, ENERGY STAR® certified home at Harmony at the Lodge in Eastvale would yield average energy cost savings of $171 per month, or approximately $20,520 over ten years, compared to a typical resale home without these features.

The Lodge in Eastvale is a lovely community with exceptional amenities that include three beautiful parks with a play yard for children, basketball and tennis courts, picnic areas, open green space, and a dog park. There is also a central recreation area that includes a 3,123 square foot clubhouse with a Junior Olympic pool, spa, children’s pool, BBQ and lounge area with a fire pit.

Harmony at the Lodge in Eastvale is served by the acclaimed Corona-Norco Unified School District, and offers convenient access to shopping, restaurants, outdoor recreation and parks, I-15, Highway 91, Highway 71 and Highway 60, as well as the Ontario International Airport. For more information about KB Home communities in California or elsewhere, visit www.kbhome.com, or call 888-KB-HOMES.