Archive for January, 2011

Recently, the Department of Energy hosted Dr. Tasios Melis, the UC Berkeley scientist behind a Department of Energy funded innovation that promises to triple the productivity of photosynthesis in plants and algae.

If you remember from high school biology class, photosynthesis is the process used by plants and many other organisms to convert sunlight into chemical energy. A molecule called chlorophyll serves to absorb sunlight for use in photosynthesis. Chlorophyll molecules can be stacked in arrays to help plants or algae absorb as much sunlight as possible. By tripling the productivity of photosynthesis, Dr. Melis’ breakthrough will dramatically improve light absorption and utilization, which could yield a 300 percent improvement in the conversion of sunlight to chemical energy. That chemical energy – read “fuel” – which can be harvested from algae, can come in different forms: bulk biomass (plant matter), hydrocarbons (the stuff of fuels like natural gas and petroleum products) or pure hydrogen gas, which fuel cells employ as an efficient way to store and deliver energy.

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Last week, President Obama told us in his 2011 State of the Union address that “we need to out-innovate the rest of the world”, especially in clean energy technology. As it turns out, energy innovators across the country are already working on doing just that. Hundreds of these energy leaders will be converging at a conference that the Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) is hosting one month from now.

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Oak Ridge National Lab and North Carolina State University scientists are helping to develop medicines that will block the spread of viruses. Using the Bio-SANS instrument at ORNL’s High Flux Isotope Reactor, these researchers are studying how viruses change their structure as they move between different host species. Through small angle neutron scattering they were able to compare the structural details of viruses from mammalian and insect cells.

The differences? Mammalian-grown viruses have larger diameters, higher levels of cholesterol and a different distribution of genetic material.

ORNL researcher Flora Meilleur explains, “These results suggest that structural changes are likely to be important in transmission between hosts. The chemical environment of the host cell appears to affect how the virus assembles itself.”

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When you ask people about New Jersey quite often the first things that will come up are Springsteen, the Soprano’s and the Jersey Shore.  What many people would not realize is that New Jersey is one of the best states in the country for solar power with substantial incentives to make solar power affordable for all of its residents.

New Jersey’s Renewable Energy Requirements

New Jersey has one of the most aggressive Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) in the United States. A Renewable Portfolio Standard dictates the schedule of the annual increases in the percentage of retail electricity that must come from renewable energy sources each year. The ultimate goal requires electricity suppliers to provide 22.5% of their retail electricity load from renewable energy sources by 2021. Part of this requirement must be from solar power systems. In early versions of the RPS, 2.12% of total retail electricity was to be required to be from solar power systems by 2021. In 2010, this requirement was updated from a percentage based goal to an ultimate goal of 5,316 gigawatts of solar energy by 2026 (New Jersey currently uses over approximately 82,000 gigawatts of energy a year).

PSE&G Solar Loan Program

To achieve the goals set out by New Jersey’s RPS program, the Renewable Energy Incentive Program was created. Begun in 2001, it offered cash rebates (per watt) up to 50% of renewable energy systems for residential and non-residential customers. Given the great success of the program, funds allocated for solar power systems were exhausted in 2010. However, the program is still active, with over $1 million in funding for renewable wind and biomass projects.

Before the funds were completely exhausted, New Jersey’s main public energy utility, PSE&G, which serves almost 75% of New Jersey’s population, opened the more economically efficient and sustainable Solar Loan program under the direction of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities. When it opened, the Solar Loan program had a $105 million budget to install 30 megawatts of solar PV capacity. Within a year, this popular program was operating on a waitlist basis. So, Solar Loan II was opened in December 2009. With an additional $143 million in available loans to support another 51 megawatts of installed solar capacity, New Jersey has developed an efficient program that will help them reach their solar goals with minimal cost to residents.

The Solar Loan II program offers loans which cover 40-60% of solar power system costs. These loans, which are funded by rate payers, offer residential systems 10 year loans at a 6.5% interest rate and non-residential systems a 15 year loan at an 11.3092% interest rate. The actual loan amount is based on how much energy the system is expected to generate in its’ lifetime. These loans are only available to systems smaller than 2 megawatts in installed capacity that are net metered (see below) and generate Solar Energy Renewable Credits (SRECs) (see below).

Solar Renewable Energy Credits

A Solar Renewable Energy Credit (SREC) represents 1 megawatt-hour of electricity generated from an eligible renewable system. Just like stocks, SRECs are sold on an open market at varying prices correlated to demand. Launched in 2004, New Jersey’s online SREC trading market was the first of its kind. In order to fulfill the RPS mandates, utilities need to buy these SRECs and because New Jersey has an aggressive RPS, SRECs are always in high demand and subsequently cost more than in other states. The high SREC prices have led some economic analysts to question whether New Jersey’s solar program is financial sound over the long-term. Whatever the case may be, New Jersey’s solar programs have already been and continue to be extremely successful in bringing clean, sustainable solar energy to thousands of homes and businesses.

What is interesting about New Jersey’s SREC market is that it essentially has a price ceiling and a price floor, providing much needed stability in a relatively new market. When an electricity supplier does not purchase enough SRECs to fulfill the solar RPS, the supplier must pay a Solar Alternative Compliance Payment per missing megawatt. The payment for the 2010-2011 reporting year is $675 per missing megawatt. If the price of an SREC were to rise above the $675 compliance payment, no SRECs would be purchased, therefore creating a price ceiling.

As complicated as this is, the SRECs can really help consumers. For every megawatt of electricity your solar system produces, whether you use the electricity of not, you will receive an SREC. As an alternative to cash payments from selling SREC’s on the market, customers may sign over their SRECs to PSE&G to repay any or loan payments on their solar power system, if any.

PSE&G buys SRECs at a minimum basement price of $420 and $380 per megawatt, for residential and small commercial systems, respectively, so this creates a price floor. The price floors decline semi-annually depending on system size and sector. If the price per SREC is higher than the basement price (they usually are) customers will receive the market price and this will help reduce the principle amount on the loan for your solar power system. If the loan is repaid early, PSE&G retains the right to purchase the SRECs at 75% of the market price for the remaining loan term. After the loan term, customers will retain the rights to any generated SRECs, although according to state laws a solar system is only eligible to produce SRECs for the first 15 years of operation.

When you install a solar power system, you not only receive tax exemptions, negligible monthly electricity bills….but you will be paid for just having them there!  For the average family with a 5 kW system, an SREC is produced about every 2 months. SRECs have an average price of about $560, meaning, if you sell them on the market, you’ll have about $280 back in your pocket every month! Otherwise, you can sell them to your utility to reduce any loan on your solar power system.

Net Metering

In New Jersey, all investor owned utilities must provide net metering, as do some municipal, such as PSE&G…this is critical to consumers receiving SRECs as well. Net metering means that you only pay for the net amount of electricity that you use. With net metering, homeowners with solar installed are able to “bank” the excess electricity their solar system generates and receive credit up to 100% of their electric use bill at the full retail electricity price that they can use later.

Additional Incentives

While New Jersey does not provide any cash rebates, it does offer a number of attractive tax incentives. All solar energy equipment is exempt from sales tax, which currently is about 7%. Also, commercial and residential property is exempt from any property tax on the value added by installing a renewable energy system. Along with the 30% federal tax credit on renewable energy equipment (or a solar energy grant in some commercial cases), installing a solar energy system is financially feasible when factored into your current tax situation

It is important to note that some municipal and investor owned utilities have modest, sometimes even cash, rebates. In addition to Solar Loan II, there are also many different ways to finance the purchase of a residential solar system so that you do not have to come up with a large cash outlay at one time yet ensure that you are still spending less than your current electric bill even with financing. Your solar installer should be able to help you with any additional financing mechanisms or municipal/utility rebates.

Conclusion

New Jersey is an absolute leader of solar energy generation in the United States. For the last decade, they have been revising and increasing their solar goals and incentives, maintaining their position as the state with the second largest installed solar capacity. New Jersey installed over 110 MW of solar PV systems last year, bringing total installed capacity to approximately 250 MW. That’s enough to power approximately 50,000 homes with sustainable, clean energy! While New Jersey has exhausted its cash rebate program, they are now focused on consistent market growth and private investment through system financing and Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SRECs). Given the number of systems installed last year, it certainly looks like its working.

Prior to moving forward with a solar installation, it is always a good idea to seek professional advice. This is especially true in today’s climate, with many solar incentive programs struggling to keep up with demand. A licensed solar installer can help you figure out the cost of a system, financing options, and the incentive for which you qualify.

For those interested consumers – homeowners and commercial business owners – that are unsure about solar power and how they should go about evaluating whether solar is right for their situation, please know that there are answers to your problems and all you need to do is a little research at great sites like the U.S. Department of Energy, Solar Energy Industries Association, and Solar Energy Installers. Remember, solar power is potentially a large investment, so it’s advisable to look into both the technical and financial considerations before either getting the wrong solar panel system or dismissing the chance to save with solar.

Editor’s Note:This entry has been cross-posted from energysavers.gov.

Have you ever had a question—maybe about energy efficiency, renewable energy, the Department of Energy or the like—and not had any idea where to find the answer? Have you ever gone through the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s website and not known where to find what you’re looking for?

The reason I am asking all these questions is because I want to bring your attention to a well-established resource that you might not know about: the EERE Information Center!

You can call us, e-mail your question, or contact us through a new “live chat” system, which lets you ask questions right from your browser window. And if you have a common or basic question, you might want to check out the Frequently Asked Questions page first.

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The closest most people get to a vehicle before it is offered to the general public is seeing it on TV or at an auto show. But five fortunate Clean Cities coordinators were able to test Toyota’s plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) as part of the demonstration project for the PHEV Prius, which is expected to be released in 2012. Clean Cities is an initiative in the Department’s Vehicle Technologies Program that is focused on reducing petroleum use in transportation – which makes this demonstration a perfect fit.

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The faces of America’s future success in science and engineering are everywhere. She might be the friendly employee at a neighborhood store… or be seated with the First Lady at the State of the Union.

In the case of Mikayla Nelson, she’s both. Last night, the high school freshman from Billings, Montana was seated next to the First Lady. Mikayla earned her place there – as well as personal recognition from the President – by leading her team to a first place finish at the Department of Energy’s National Science Bowl for the design document of their solar car.

During her visit to D.C., Mikayla came by the Department’s headquarters and met with Secretary Steven Chu and Director of Science Bill Brinkman. She also answered a few questions about her experiences and inspirations.

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