Green Tech

Bill Weihl, Google's green-energy czar.

(Credit: Google)

Failing to find many investment opportunities, Internet search giant Google has begun developing its own green technology and may soon have some breakthroughs.

That's according to Bill Weihl, Google's green-energy czar, who spoke at the Reuters Global Climate and Alternative Energy Summit that began on Tuesday.

In November 2007, Google announced a plan to invest hundreds of millions in technology to find a renewable-energy source for electricity cheaper than coal. Since then, the company has admittedly invested "less than $50 million."

Google had intended to invest much more, but it has not been able to find many qualifying companies or projects, Weihl told Reuters.

Rather than wait for better ideas to come along, the company has been developing its own technology, including better mirrors for solar-thermal plants and solar-powered turbines for generating electricity.

Google engineers believe that they've found a way to cut the manufacturing costs of heliostats, the mirrors used in solar-thermal farms, by making the mirrors and the mounts from "unusual materials," Weihl told Reuters.

"Typically, what we're seeing is $2.50 to $4 a watt (for) capital cost. So a 250-megawatt installation would be $600 million to a $1 billion," he said. "It's a lot of money."

The solar turbines Google is developing are actually gas turbines that, instead of running on natural gas, are being modified to be powered with solar energy, Weihl told Reuters.

The projects have been conducted independently of eSolar and BrightSource, two of the green-tech companies Google has invested in since the November 2007 announcement.

Solar Millennium's Andosol 1, a parabolic trough power installation in Spain that went live in December 2008.

(Credit: Solar Millennium)

Newly formed thermal solar energy company Solar Trust announced on Tuesday it acquired the rights to Solar Millennium's potentially lucrative agreement with Southern California Edison (SCE).

The power purchase agreement, which was announced in June, gives Solar Trust the opportunity to build up to 726 megawatts' worth of solar power plants.

If approved by the California Public Utilities Commission, the project would include the construction and installation of two or three 242-megawatt power plants that would be operational by 2013 or 2014.

Solar Trust's strategy is to offer what it calls a "turnkey solution" to thermal solar energy development. It says it will be a company that can provide not only the design, development, construction, and installation of a thermal solar plant, but also the running and management of the plant once it's functional.

But Solar Trust is actually a joint venture of two German companies making their way into the U.S. market. Solar Millennium AG is a company specializing in parabolic trough solar thermal power plants, and MAN Ferrostaal, which has an Ohio-based subsidiary, is an engineering and construction company.

Once formed, Solar Trust acquired Solar Millennium, Solar Millennium AG's Berkeley, Calif.-based subsidiary that already held the agreement with SCE.

"With thousands of fully-funded and completed industrial projects in the combined portfolios of our business partners, we expect to become the industry leader in the development and construction of these solar thermal power plants in the U.S," Uwe T. Schmidt, CEO of Solar Trust of America, said in a statement.

Parabolic trough solar thermal is the next generation of solar thermal tech. Companies like Ausra, eSolar, and Solel have already been raising money or developing projects with the technology.

Instead of using solar panels to convert light into electricity, the parabolic troughs used in these thermal solar plants reflect sunlight to heat liquid that in turn makes steam to generate electricity. While known to be one of the most cost-effective forms of renewable energy, it's most effective in sunny, desert areas like the southwestern U.S., Spain, and Egypt.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management, in conjunction with the Department of Energy, this week released six maps that could help determine the location of the next big push in solar energy.

The BLM maps cover areas within the six U.S. states most suitable for solar energy generation and transmission as judged by the U.S. government: Arizona (PDF and below), California (PDF), Colorado (PDF), Nevada (PDF), New Mexico (PDF) and Utah (PDF).

"Only lands with excellent solar resources, suitable slope, proximity to roads and transmission lines or designated corridors, and containing at least 2,000 acres of BLM-administered public lands were considered for solar energy study areas. Sensitive lands, wilderness and other high-conservation-value lands as well as lands with conflicting uses were excluded," according to a BLM statement released with the maps.

Arizona has two areas, Brenda and Bullard Wash, currently under in-depth study for solar energy generation use.

(Credit: U.S. Department of the Interior/U.S. Department of Energy)

The maps were release in conjunction with announcements from Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and U.S. Senator Harry Reid (D-Nev.) that the U.S. government has decided to let public lands possibly be used for solar energy development. (The BLM is part of the U.S. Department of the Interior.)

As part of that push, the U.S. government is beginning several environmental impact studies, opening solar energy permitting offices, and overhauling the application and review process for utilities looking to develop land for solar energy generation.

"Currently BLM has received about 470 renewable energy project applications. Those include 158 active solar applications, covering 1.8 million acres, with a projected capacity to generate 97,000 megawatts of electricity. That's enough to power 29 million homes, the equivalent of 29 percent of the nation's household electrical consumption," according to the statement released Monday by the U.S. Department of the Interior.

The maps show Solar Energy Study Areas, 24 separate tracts of BLM-administered lands totaling 670,000 acres that the government sees as prime for development pending study results (dark blue stripe area on maps), as well as areas under review for Solar PEIS (Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement to Develop and Implement Agency-Specific Programs for Solar Energy Development).

Maps have been rolled out before in an effort to encourage alternative energy utility infrastructure and set-up.

In April, the NRDC--in conjunction with Google and the National Audobon Society--also offered a set of maps for to guide energy developers of both solar and wind. The Path to Green Energy maps, which cover the Western U.S. and the Dakotas, indicate areas where developers would likely be welcome to set up shop, and which areas the NRDC saw as controversial or arguably inappropriate for development.

At the time, they, too, said their maps were an effort to expedite alternative energy development. In the U.S.

National Semiconductor on Thursday announced that it has delved deeper into its energy efficiency efforts with the acquisition of Act Solar.

National Semi, which expanded into the solar business last year, plans to use the privately held company's technology for monitoring solar arrays with its SolarMagic product line.

Under the deal, whose financial terms were not disclosed, Act Solar's business for monitoring technology, which is designed to improve the efficiency of solar panels by balancing, or recirculating energy, will be folded into National Semi's SolarMagic business.

Power efficiency is an issue with electronic devices, given that it effects the life of powering a device and the amount of heat a device can generate. And the output of solar panels can be affected by shade, debris, different panel styles, and aging panels.

"Now with Act Solar, we can further improve the performance and efficiency of solar systems, at the same time providing monitoring capabilities not available before," said Mike Polacek, senior vice president of National's Key Market Segments. "This will make solar installations more efficient and ultimately reduce the cost of solar energy for everyone."

Update at 10:51 a.m. PDT, with analyst comment.

Energy Conversion Devices' shares plummeted 30.3 percent in morning trading on Tuesday, after the solar-equipment maker warned investors that its third-quarter earnings would fall short of earlier projections amid a weakening economic environment.

The company, which issued its warning after the markets closed on Monday, announced that it would cut 70 positions, issue a two-week production stoppage, and consolidate some of its manufacturing facilities. It also erased its third-quarter and fiscal-year forecast, noting that the financial climate had become too murky to predict, sending its stock down as low as $12.85 a share during intraday trading.

The company, which makes thin-film solar-laminate products, said the credit crunch is impacting projects in the global pipeline for photovoltaics.

Other solar stocks fell into the red in morning trading, as investors apparently were spooked by Energy Conversion's announcement and that of Canadian Solar, which reported weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter results Tuesday. SunPower, JA Solar Holdings, Trina Solar, and First Solar were all down in morning trading, while the broader markets moved into the black.

(Credit: Yahoo Finance)

Canadian Solar was also down, falling as low as 16.2 percent, to $3.25 a share, in intraday trading. It said its fourth-quarter revenues fell nearly 43 percent, to $73 million, from those posted last year. And it reported a net loss of $50.6 million, compared with a net gain of $6 million the previous year.

Shawn Qu, CEO of Canadian Solar, said in a statement:

The end of 2008 was a challenging time for Canadian Solar and for the industry. In Q4, difficult credit conditions for our customers, marketwide module and raw-materials inventory price declines, and winter weather in Germany directly affected our revenue growth and profitability.

The challenging environment for solar companies ironically comes at a time when consumers' awareness of green technology is on a steep rise, and government willingness to help offset the costs is growing.

Wall Street analysts at Jefferies & Co. still remain bullish on Energy Conversion Devices' long-term prospects but are cautious in the near term, according to the analysts' research note:

Energy Conversion Devices is well-positioned to serve a niche rooftop market without substantial direct competition for the coming couple of years, we believe. Yet near-term concerns around demand visibility leave us cautious.

As a result, Jefferies reduced its recommendation to a "hold" from a "buy." And it cut its expectations that Energy Conversion will hit $37 a share in the next 12 months to $15 a share.

California utility Pacific Gas & Electric on Tuesday announced a five-year program to produce 500 megawatts worth of solar energy from distributed solar panels.

Rather than build one giant solar power plant, PG&E plans to generate solar power from a collection of midsize projects, from 1 megawatt to 20 megawatts. This investment will cover half of the total target of power generation.

(Credit: Martin LaMonica/CNET Networks)

One megawatt is enough to power one large retail store or roughly 300 homes. A large solar installation at a single business, such as Google's rooftop array and solar carport, can be over 1 megawatt in generating capacity.

Solar photovoltaic panels will be mounted on rooftops or mounted on poles in PG&E's service area in Northern and Central California. The utility will seek to install the panels on land it already owns or near substations to avoid having to build new transmission lines, it said.

PG&E will rely on outside providers for the other 250 megawatts. If operating by 2015, the electricity will be enough to power 150,000 homes annually and account for 1.3 percent of PG&E's electrical demand.

The move is one of the largest solar-power projects to date and significant because it represents the first time in more than 10 years that PG&E has invested directly in renewable energy. Until now, it typically purchased electricity from third-party clean-energy project developers.

Many project developers and financiers are unable to take advantage of the 30 percent renewable-energy tax credit because they don't anticipate having a tax bill. Because PG&E has a "tax appetite" and can take advantage of the tax credit, the utility is investing directly in solar energy, CEO Peter Darbee said last month when he first mentioned the solar project.

California has a renewable portfolio standard that mandates that utilities get 33 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2020. In the past month, two other large solar projects--one with NRG Energy and one with Southern California Edison--were announced.

Because the recently passed stimulus package now allows utilities to take advantage of the 30 percent tax credit, more utilities will build and own solar facilities, said Julia Hamm, the executive director of the Solar Electric Power Association, in a statement.

Environmental advocacy group Natural Resources Defense Council lauded the PG&E plan because building distributed solar power is a relatively quick way to deploy the technology.

"PG&E's intent for development of these projects--on already developed land close to transmission and distribution--is exactly where it needs to be to reduce environmental impacts and speed development," said Sheryl Carter, Energy Program co-director at the NRDC, in a statement.

PG&E said that it submitted the plan on Tuesday to the California Public Utilities Commission and that it could be approved later this year.

GroSolar announced plans Thursday to acquire Borrego Solar Systems' residential solar installation business, in a move to expand its footprint nationwide.

The acquisition will enlarge GroSolar's presence in California, bolstering its efforts to be a national player in residential solar installations. Currently, the industry is largely made up of local installation companies.

GroSolar, which operates in 12 states and Canada, will add Silicon Valley, Berkeley, Sonoma, Orange County, San Diego, and Massachusetts with the Borrego Solar acquisition.

The company's acquisition comes at a time when the industry is poised to reap the benefits of solar tax credits receiving an eight-year extension as part of the federal stimulus bill.

"Dealers in GroSolar's existing distribution network will see immediate benefit, as we roll out additional best practices to serve our local installers, launch new programs to give homeowners easy access to solar power, and expand the largest distribution warehouse network in the industry and in California," Jeff Wolfe, GroSolar CEO, said in a statement.

Borrego Solar Systems plans to focus on its commercial and government business, following the acquisition. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The Maui Electric Company and General Electric are joining up to test a unique smart-grid technology on the Hawaiian island's electrical grid.

The Maui, Hawaii, project includes the usual smart-grid tech: developing a substation with battery storage capability to remove and store excess electricity generated from connected wind and solar energy sources. The electricity supply is then released from the substation to the main power grid when it's needed during peak usage times.

Many companies are interested in smart-grid energy technology. Google wants users to confront their home energy use appliance by appliance. IBM is jockeying to be a key supplier for smart-grid tech to utilities. Venture capitalists are investing in smart-grid start-ups.

What's interesting about the Maui Smart Grid project is that it's enlisting regular people to allow their appliances to participate in an electrical grid experiment.

General Electric released news of its Maui Smart Grid project via its employee-authored research blog, From Edison's Desk, on Wednesday.

"For example, consumers may 'opt in' to utility programs that automatically adjust high energy consuming devices, such as water heaters, during periods of peak demand and higher electricity prices," Devon Manz, an energy systems engineer and the project manager for General Electric's Maui Smart Grid, wrote in his blog.

The goal of the project is to see if regulating consumer energy demand can be used to deal with the fluctuations in energy production from renewable resources, according to Manz.

The work will help "GE identify the most relevant technologies for enabling significant penetrations of wind and solar power around the world," he wrote.

Clearly, it's an area the company is truly interested in.

GE's Consumer and Industrial division has already been experimenting with "smart appliances" used by Kentucky residents. The appliances wait for a signal from the power grid that it's a good off-peak time to run non-essential systems.

A sampling of green-tech news with quick commentary:
• Small actions add up to big impact on climate change - Wall Street Journal
  American consumers contribute 65 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, according to McKinsey & Co. The report suggests that individuals making small changes in driving habits and energy use could slow climate change.

Increasing acidity, shown in pink and caused by atmospheric carbon, would enable high-pitched sounds to travel deeper in the ocean, researchers say.
(Credit: Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, David Fierstein)
• Imitating electric eels to power medical implants - ZDNet
  Researchers say artificial energy-producing cells could mimic those of electric eels, and would be ideal for firing up tiny medical devices. It's an example of biomimicry, which patterns technologies after structures found in nature.
• Suntech plans aggressive expansion - The Associated Press
  The Chinese solar company, snapping up EI Solutions, aims to dominate one third of the U.S. solar market.
• Noise will pollute warmer, acidic oceans - Live Science
  As oceans become more acidic due to higher levels of carbon dioxide, noise can travel to greater depths. Sounds in the soprano range will reach deeper and could interfere with communication among whales and ships, according to a study from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute.
• Will America run out of gas soon? - Treehugger
  Energy investment banker Matt Simmons say a scarcity of oil soon could eclipse the financial crisis. Whether you agree with the alarm, the worst-case scenario may be worth imagining.