more misguided US policy to alternative energy

Create incentives for all to build green energy plants, etc and they will. from earth2tech.com

The biggest barrier to building all these solar thermal power plants in the Mojave desert is, unsurprisingly, cost. At this week’s Fortune Green conference the CEO of California utility PG&E, Peter Darbee, said he’s had discussions about using PG&E’s deep pockets to buy their own solar thermal power plants. It’s a big deal because utilities don’t traditionally own solar power-generating systems, and PG&E’s $36 billion in assets could potentially provide much-needed funding for solar startups to get these plants up and running in California.

“There are some very compelling financial reasons for utilities to own solar plants,” explained PG&E spokesperson Keely Wachs. “One reason that Peter highlighted is the fact that utilities can leverage their assets to get relatively less costly access to capital.”

But PG&E says there are some hurdles standing between it and the solar power-generation business, namely the Investment Tax Credit (ITC). The ITC, a tax credit for 30 percent of a solar investment, has helped to reduce the costs of building solar systems for numerous solar companies. But as Wachs notes, it doesn’t extend to the utility industry — at least not now.

PG&E would obviously like to share in this credit, so much so that Darbee said he is actively trying to get the regulation amended so that utilities could qualify. But if it’s not, he says the company will look into creating a subsidiary that would qualify, ultimately giving PG&E access to the credit.

ITC or no, PG&E still wants to own solar plants. “I wouldn’t say that a lack of the ITC would prevent us from pursuing ownership of solar plants,” Wachs told us.

Utilities are increasingly being subject to state renewable portfolio standards, which means they have to make sure a certain percentage of their energy comes from renewable sources. This is likely driving utilities to become more aggressive in getting into the power generation business.

While some utilities have started acquiring wind projects, very few have moved to own solar thermal plants. Though Southern California Edison will own its distributed photovoltaic rooftop plan, which it announced back in March. And if PG&E does decide to own a solar plant, it won’t be the first time in its history that PG&E will generate power. Wachs explained that “prior to deregulation, the corporation did own other generating entities. The company was forced to sell these assets under deregulation.”

The solar startups building these plants in the desert would certainly support the idea of PG&E’s ownership plans. Some, like the CEO of solar thermal startup Ausra, Bob Fishman (our interview with him here), said, are expecting it. “I see utilities stepping into the space and becoming owners of plants,” he said at the Fortune conference.

Small solar power plants networked in cities - genius!

From Venturebeat:

Writing on Nanosolar’s blog, CEO Martin Roscheisen has unveiled the next prong in his firm’s business plan — a focus on municipal solar power plants of 2 - 10 megawatts in size. The idea is to build 10 acre lots on the outskirts of small cities that could feed into the municipal power grid directly.

Each lot, consisting of several rows of solar panels mounted on rails above ground, could provide up to 2 megawatts, enough to serve 1,000 homes. The panels would be mounted on rails to prevent them from affecting the surrounding wildlife and vegetation.

Nanosolar’s scheme could be scaled up to supply the needs of larger cities — for instance, 5 lots, which would generate 10 megawatts of electricity, could serve 5,000 homes. Unlike coal-fired plants, which typically take 10 - 15 years to build, solar power plants can be done in as little as 12 months — and much more cheaply.

Instead of "Plastics Benjamin", in 2008 it's "Silicon Benjamin"

From Red Herring

Suntech Power Holding’s weaker-than-expected earnings report caused solar stocks to dip Wednesday and heightened fears that high silicon prices could dampen industry profits in coming quarters.

“This makes everyone wake up to the polysilicon constraint in the near-term,” said ThinkEquity Partners Managing Director Jonathan Hoopes.

He said he and his team had expected Suntech’s solar PV cell production to ramp up in parallel with its production capacity. But in response to high prices for silicon—a critical component of conventional solar PV cells—the company chose to maintain its margins and limit its production last year.

That meant the Chinese solar cell and module manufacturer reported 2007 earnings and revenue that fell short of analyst expectations. The company had $1.348 billion in revenue for 2007, an increase of 125 percent from the year-ago period. But analysts on average had expected $1.37 billion, according to a survey by Thompson Financial.

Suntech reported earnings of $1.02 per share last year on a GAAP basis. But analysts had expected $1.09 per share.

The company’s shares plunged $5.65, or 12.31 percent, at the end of trading. Other solar stocks followed Suntech’s drop. China-based LDK Solar’s stock was down more than 6 percent at the market close, and shares of California-based SunPower dropped nearly 4 percent.

New Energy Finance analyst Nathaniel Bullard said those solar companies with silicon-supply contracts in place will fare better than those without. The research firm predicts the limited supply of the critical material will continue until mid-2009, when lower silicon prices should pass through to lower module prices.

In the meantime, Mr. Bullard said the global market for silicon has little transparency and prices are highly discretionary. That means companies with longer-term relationships get better prices, and new entrants have little bargaining power because the deals are hidden, he said.