Photovoltaics
Solar Evolution-
by John Perlin
Legislation
Financial Incentives
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e-Clips
solar energy news from California
2001.07.10
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Welcome to Solar e-Clips. A weekly summary of news and information about solar energy issues in California. Brought to you by The Rahus Institute and Californiasolarcenter.org ************************************************ Solar News from around the State... CPUC launches Self-Generation
Program - The California
Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) today launched a program that will
offer incentives to encourage customers of Pacific Gas & Electric,
San Diego Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison, and Southern
California Gas to install "self-generation" units to lessen
the electricity load on the power grid. Under the $125 million per year
program-the Self-Generation Incentive Program-utility customers are encouraged
to install generation systems on their own property to supply all or a
portion of their on-site energy needs. Incentive funding will flow through
2004 to utility customers who purchase and install self-generation systems.
These systems include photovoltaics [30kW to 1MW in size], wind
turbines, fuel cells, microturbines, small gas turbines and, internal
combustion engines, and must be interconnected for parallel operation
with the utility grid in order to qualify for the program. CPUC
Press Release [refer to the CSC website for complete
incentive program listing.] 2001.07.03
Bekaert ECD Solar Systems receives 100 kW order from SMUD for its Building-Integrated Photovoltaics -UNI-SOLAR® roofing laminate will be installed on metal roofs and covered parking structures throughout Sacramento. United Solar Systems Corp. (United Solar), a joint venture between Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (ECD) (NASDAQ:ENER) and N.V. Bekaert S.A. (Bekaert), announced today that Bekaert ECD Solar Systems LLC (Bekaert ECD), its joint venture with Bekaert, has received an order for 100 kW of the UNI-SOLAR building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) roofing products from Sacramento Municipal Utilities District (SMUD). The order is for Bekaert ECD’s UNI-SOLAR roofing laminate (PVL) that will be bonded to metal roofing pans in the field. The PVL product will be installed on metal roofs and parking shade structures throughout the Sacramento area. The products will be shipped by the end of August. “We find many opportunities for the lightweight, aesthetically pleasing and easy to install UNI-SOLAR products in our territory,” said Dave Collier, Principal Electrical Engineer for SMUD.... Press Release 2001.07.09 Los Angeles Children's Museum to include Solar and Low-Energy Features -The Children's Museum of Los Angeles unveiled preliminary plans Friday for its two new museums, one at the Hansen Dam Recreation Area in the northeast San Fernando Valley, the other downtown. "We're really buzzed about it," said Edwin Schlossberg, 55, who will create the exhibits for both museums. Schlossberg and his New York-based firm have designed exhibits for dozens of cultural institutions, including several children's museums and the Immigration History Center at Ellis Island... PATRICIA BIEDERMAN in LA Times 2001.06.23 Renewable energy fades from
picture in rush for solution- The electricity crisis is putting the
squeeze on the renewable energy industry: the power plants that use the
sun, wind or underground heat. The environmentally friendly, alternative
energy provides about 12 percent of the state's power. But the energy
crunch and the state's effort to resolve it CEC to Conduct Auction for
New Renewable Energy Generation -The California Energy Commission
(CEC) has announced its third auction of renewable energy incentives.
The CEC has $40 million to provide to qualified power installations. Bidders
will submit projects with both an estimate of their anticipated power
production and the incentive they wish to receive, in cents per kilowatt-hour.
The CEC will fund qualified projects starting with the lowest incentive
bid and moving higher until the funds are exhausted. Successful bidders
will receive incentive payments of up to 1.5 cents for every kilowatt-hour
of renewable electricity they generate during their first five years of
operation. Press release on the CEC
Web site 2001.06.28 Seeking out alternate energy
sources - Sunland man founds group to promote home-produced energy. -
While many residents react to soaring electricity costs -- and the other
prices it's driving up -- with shock or simply by turning the air conditioning
down a notch, one local man is taking action. Sunland resident Edson Johnson
recently founded the Home Energy Research Organization (HERO) to promote
and study alternate energy sources, and is calling for a California Energy
Conservation Day to educate residents about alternative energy sources.
Johnson wants to draw attention to things like solar panels and solar
water heating methods. GRETCHEN HOFFMAN in LA
Times 2001.07.07 Church sees real power in
the sun - Religious Science congregation in Claremont looks to install
photovoltaic panels on roof of building to lower electricity costs. In
Genesis, God intones "Let there be light." In Claremont, one
local church is saying "let there be cheaper light." Prompted
by the energy crisis, Claremont Church of Religious Science member Steve
Chase used his expertise in installing a solar system at home to design
a $32,000 system for his church. This is probably the first applicant,
if not the first church in the city, to ask for permission to install
photovoltaic panels, said Lisa Prasse, Claremont city planner. Church
members could install the panels as soon as July 23, if the city approves....
JOANNA CORMAN in LA
Times 2001.07.06
Vallejo to produce its own
energy Conservation, generators expected to make city self-sufficient
- Vallejo leaders, looking to escape mounting gas and electric bills,
are planning to build enough new power generators that the city government
will be self-sufficient when it comes to energy. City officials said they
believe that Vallejo is the first city in the nation to take such an approach...
Jason B. Johnson in SF
Chronicle 2001.07.06 Vallejo gets grant to build
big solar farm -The city of Vallejo has received a $2.5 million grant
from the California Energy Commission to build a solar farm that will
generate up to one megawatt of electricity for the city. Vallejo officials
say they can now begin planning out what will be the largest solar "micro-utility"
in the country, in partnership with BP Solar. Officials of the Energy
Commission surveyed the 10-acre site in southwest Vallejo last week. The
site is part of a larger, city-owned parcel at Sonoma Boulevard and Mare
Island Way... SF
Chronicle 2001.07.05 Automatic wound treatment,
solar helmets could be in the Army's future -Trudging through a thick,
muggy jungle, the soldier remains cool, her body temperature precisely
controlled by her uniform. Incapable of seeing more than 10 feet ahead,
she is guided through an earpiece in her helmet by someone at base camp
who can trace her because a biomarker was in a nutrition bar she ate earlier.
Breaking the jungle silence, an alarm in her wristwatch goes off, detecting
the presence of a toxic chemical agent. The visor on her helmet drops
down, and the uniform that monitors her vital signs administers the drugs
necessary to keep her safe and enable her to complete her mission. It's
science fiction so far. But a study performed for the Army says advancements
in biotechnology may soon turn such fiction into fact.... REX W. HUPPKE
in SF
Chronicle 2001.07.05 AstroPower Rises with the Sun - Fearful of power blackouts this summer? Fed up with soaring electric bills? For many Californians, one obvious solution has been to slap solar panels on the roof and generate some power for themselves. Small wonder interest in solar energy systems is soaring in the Golden State. Yet few of the ``green'' energy companies that sell such gear make much money. The biggest stumbling block: price. Outfitting a single-family home with a solar power system can cost up to $25,000 -- and that's for just a small home of 1,800 square feet. It's a huge upfront investment, especially considering energy prices have fluctuated so greatly over the past 25 years. None of this has deterred AstroPower Inc. (NasdaqNM:APWR). Based in Newark, Del., the company has transformed itself from being primarily a research shop for solar cell technology at the University of Delaware into a fast-growing commercial venture. In 2000, revenues increased 48%, to $46.6 million, and the company posted a profit of $3.5 million, or $0.27 cents per share -- a 53% jump from 1999. Even better, the company projects revenues of $75 million for 2001, an increase of nearly 60%.... Heesun Wee in BusinessWeek Online 2001.07.03 Note regarding dead links: Most publications move stories into their archive after one or two weeks. Use the date provided here with individual stories to help find them after they have been moved. The articles originating from PowerMarketer are presented here in entirety, due to poor links for the full story. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT THE EDITOR TO CONTACT THE EDITOR: BACK ISSUES: ..........................
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2,300-mile
Solar Car Race Starts at Museum of Science and Industry - As many
as 40 cars powered by nothing but the sun will pull out of Chicago July
15 to begin the 
Class
at Diablo Valley College gets connected for solar age - Long before
the energy crisis became daily front page news, Tom Chatagnier could see
storm clouds building. His skills, he knew, might come in handy. So the
Diablo Valley College (Pleasant Hill, CA) instructor, who used to pedal
around the countryside looking to buy and restore broken windmills, began
creating a course on alternative energy. As far as he knows, it's the
first of its kind at a community college. His timing couldn't have been
better as Californians' electric bills soar and worries about the future
grow. Students in the class want to learn how to build solar electric
systems, solar water heating systems and wind turbines sothey can power
their lives with more environmentally friendly energy....Carrie Sturrock
in 
First
flight of unmanned, solar aircraft postponed - A test flight of the
solar-powered aircraft Helios at the Pacific Missile Range Facility (Hawaii)
was postponed again Saturday, marking another setback in its attempt to
reach record heights for an unmanned aircraft. The plane was on the runway,
minutes from takeoff, when one of its six data computers crashed, according
to John Hicks, who manages the project at 
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