And a big solar industry Thank You for co-sponsoring the Amendment for the Extension and Expansion of the Federal Treasury 1063 Grant!

This program was originally part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The program is set to expire in the end of 2010. The benefit to this program is that it allows a qualified parties who invest in renewable energy, such as solar, to receive a grant in lieu of a 30% Federal Tax Credit.

Extension of this program is estimated to create over 143,000 jobs by the end of the year and enable 4,250 megawatts of renewable energy power projects to come on line.

Amendments offered also extends the Treasury Grant Program to non-profit power producers, the Tennessee Valley Authority, Real Estate Investment Trusts and provides technical clarification and elimination of a rule (“normalization”) and that normally would allow utilities to pass the grant money income to shareholders rather than reduce the cost of the project to the ratepayers.

June 10, 2010, 4:00 pm

A Stimulus Package With No Jobs?

By MATTHEW L. WALD

Is it possible to botch stimulus spending on renewable energy projects? Florida and the federal Department of Energy have found a way, according to the Energy Department’s inspector general.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act authorized $3.1 billion in grants for the state energy programs, and the Energy Department allocated $126 million for Florida, a vast increase over the average of the previous few years, which was $1.4 million.

There were some rules. The state had to decide where to spend the money by Sept. 30 of this year and actually spend it by April 30 of next year. And the spending was supposed to preserve and create jobs, save energy, and increase renewable energy.

In a report released on Thursday, the inspector general said that Florida had given $8.3 million in rebates “related to solar energy projects that had been completed prior to the passage of the Recovery Act.”

Florida had had its own rebate program, which ran out of money in early 2008, and it had a backlog of people waiting to collect. But the work had already been completed, so no jobs were created by Florida’s use of the money in this fashion. Still the Energy Department approved the expenditure.

At least that money was spent quickly. The state had set itself a deadline of pinpointing where all of the money would be spent by the beginning of this year, the audit said, but missed its deadline, partly because it chose projects that turned out not to be eligible.

The Energy Department office that oversees the program agreed with the findings but pointed out that no state energy program had ever encountered the “scale of funding” provided under the Recovery Act.

The state itself noted it was having some bureaucratic problems. For example, allocation of the money was subject to the review of the Florida Energy and Climate Commission, which is a volunteer body that meets only monthly.

And Florida complained that while the Energy Department had found one project ineligible last December, it had approved the same project two months earlier.

It involved the production of ethanol from algae, but the Energy Department eventually disapproved the grant because the company seeking the money had not begun commercial production.

Flooding a small state program with federal cash exposed another weakness. According to the inspector general, a single staff member was receiving rebate forms, recording them, approving the payments and then mailing the checks.

These duties should have been separated among several people “to minimize the possibility of theft,” the inspector general said. (No actual theft was identified.)

But the Florida program “has historically had a small staff,’’ the state replied. Now that it is doling out larger sums of money, those jobs are split among eight people, it said.

March 04, 2010|By Julie Patel, Sun Sentinel

The Sunshine State is poised to be the second largest solar energy producer in the country, thanks to three large solar plants Florida Power & Light will complete this year.

FPL kicked off operations at a solar plant in DeSoto County in October with great fanfare, including an appearance by President Barack Obama. Just two years earlier, former President Bill Clinton helped the company unveil its plans to build large solar plants.

When finished, the DeSoto plant and two others in Martin and Brevard counties to be completed this year will generate 110 megawatts of energy — enough to power 35,000 homes and prevent the emission of an estimated 575,000 tons of greenhouse gases over the 30-year life of the facilities.

Solar energy proponents say the benefits of switching from polluting fossil fuels to renewable sources are substantial – creating jobs, providing clean power sources and diversifying Florida’s power supply. But some consumer advocates and utility critics are raising concerns about the costs of solar energy – now many times higher than for other sources – and proposals to allow utilities to pass on the costs of such projects without traditional state regulatory oversight.

“We have got to look at all energy solutions,” said Sen. Mike Haridopolos, R-Melbourne, who is in line to be the next Senate president. “The ratepayers need to know exactly what the costs would be…In a very weak economy, asking consumers to pay three or four times more may be untenable.”

FPL’s solar plants were built under a provision in a 2008 law that allowed utilities to pass the costs of solar or wind projects generating up to 110 megawatts of energy without the normal regulatory review. FPL officials have said that kind of a provision is needed for it move forward with other solar projects, including a $300 million 75-megawatt solar plant as part of a sustainable city planned on Babcock Ranch in Charlotte County.

Several Florida lawmakers are proposing doing just that. They have filed a half-dozen renewable energy and energy efficiency bills, including one that have would allow utilities to pass to customers the costs of solar plants generating up to 700 megawatts of energy in the next few years.

The House version of the bill, proposed by Rep. Trudi Williams, R-Fort Myers, would allow utilities to earn a profit on shareholders’ investment for the plants that is a half-percent more than the high-end range approved by regulators. That would allow an 11.5 percent profit for FPL.

FPL officials said they’re not taking formal positions on bills at this point but legislators consulted with utility executives, including FPL Vice President and Chief Development Officer Eric Silagy, on the measures. “As the state’s largest solar energy producer, we support legislation that encourages further investment in the expansion of renewable energy production and solar technologies in Florida,” FPL spokesman Mayco Villafana said.

Like the provision in the 2008 law, the legislation this year does not limit the cost to customers and does not require the utility to explore options that might produce more renewable energy at a cheaper cost. FPL’s three solar projects cost $659 million – adding up to about 25 cents per month for a typical customer for 25 years – but the plants and another project that has been shelved would only bump up the utility’s renewable energy capacity from about 1.4 percent in 2007 to about 1.9 percent.

A study by Navigant Consulting commissioned by the Public Service Commission estimated that building a large ground-mounted solar panel plant in 2009 would cost about $7,100 per kilowatt of energy capacity but the price is projected to drop to $4,300 by 2020. The study said the price of other renewable energy options is cheaper for now and is expected not to change much by 2020. For instance, Navigant estimates solid biomass plants cost $4,000 per kilowatt; wind farms cost $2,470; and solar water heating costs $1,700.

Critics say the bill would allow utilities who use the provision to essentially boost rates and profit margins after the PSC all but rejected large base rate hikes for FPL and Progress Energy this year. It would strip the PSC of one of its core functions: determining whether new plants and additional energy is actually needed.

Michael Dobson, president of Florida Energy Producers – a group of about 40 renewable energy producers, project developers and economic development groups – said the Williams bill is appealing to his group and lawmakers because job creation is critical. But he said it would “allow for a unique return on investment that I’m not sure is the best thing for consumers.”

“Let’s just call it what it is: it’s a utility bill,” he said. “It does encourage more renewable energy but the bad thing is, it still maintains the status quo in that it passes additional costs to consumers.”

Dobson told the House utilities committee last week that utilities and independent renewable energy producers should be allowed “to fight it out” for business instead of any group receiving advantages.

But Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, who proposed the Senate’s version of the bill said it would boost the state’s economy and jumpstart its renewable energy industry. “We’ve got to find ways to encourage renewable energy [by] either subsidizing them or coming up with a financing program that will allow people to put renewable energy products in their house,” he said.

Dobson’s group and other environmental and renewable energy groups support another approach they say would do the same thing: a measure proposed by Sen. Nancy Detert, R-Venice, requiring 20 percent of the state’s energy production to be from renewable resources by 2022.

A bill proposed by Bennett and Rep. Michelle Rehwinkel Vasilinda, D-Tallahassee, could encourage home and business owners to install solar panels and solar water heaters to their homes through rebates funded by a 25 cent monthly fee for utility customers.

Justin Hoysradt, a vice president of Jupiter-based Abudant Energy, which installs solar systems, said small businesses like his would stand to benefit. He said installing solar systems on location doesn’t require electricity to travel through hundreds of miles of power lines – as it does when utilities build large renewable energy plants.

Julie Patel can be reached at and jpatel@sunsentinel.com.

Most solar professionals and environmentalists love this idea. For Hawaii, an energy restricted state it makes a lot of sense also. Being and island state has its benefits, but not when it comes to energy. The cost of energy is pretty substantial in comparison to many places in the continental United States since most of the fuel has to be imported and there are no major grid lines to connect the islands to the mainland.

The use of a solar water heater vs. a conventional electric water heating system will save a home owner in most cases nearly $1,000 annually based on current electric rates. With electricity rates constantly on the move (typically upward), the lower overall cost of ownership of the home is reduced by hundreds of thousands of dollars over, providing a significant lifetime value for the solar water heater.

New homes are not the only ones who are able to benefit from solar water heating. Making the switch can be just as easy and as cost effective as replacing your existing energy-hog hot water heater. Typically solar has been branded as significantly more expensive, but solar energy tax credits and rebates as well as other creative financing vehicles have made the up front costs competitive to conventional. Long term, the solar water heater will pay for itself and then some.

Do you think home builders should be required to use solar energy in all states? You can make a comment below, just by clicking “add comment”.

.

Crews use heavy equipment to safely lift solar panels to the roof

Stuart, Florida (PRWEB) November 19, 2009 – The largest solar energy array in Martin County began construction a little over 4 weeks ago after the town was able to quickly issue permits to the solar energy contractor, Abundant Energy Inc. (www.abundantenergy.com) Though South Florida solar energy companies have been making little headway in the commercial energy market with the exception of a few small projects, the first panels at the Sawgrass Business Park were installed this week. The Sawgrass Business Park is unlike anything Florida has seen before and is quite possibly the largest privately owned solar energy array in South Florida. “In Florida there is nothing like it, FPL just opened their Desoto Plant and Kennedy is coming online shortly, but as far as private investments this is definitely the biggest,” says Justin Hoysradt, VP of Sales at Abundant Energy, “This is just the tip of the iceberg, we are hiring and  have hired and trained six new full time installers for this project alone, not to mention we have a few more projects that are slightly smaller plus a healthy pipeline of residential projects, we have chosen not to participate in the recession.” The Sawgrass array will consist of over 550 solar photovoltaic electricity generating panels, offering enough clean energy to power 20 homes, and is specially designed for high wind speeds in South Florida.

Multiple investors which own the majority of the units in the Sawgrass Business Park made this project possible when they made the decision to install the array in late April of 2009. The project experienced slight delays with association approvals, securing some bank financing as well as additional guidance regarding the process for making application for a Federal Stimulus Grant. Fortunately Abundant Energy was able to leap each of these hurdles efficiently and professionally. The biggest issue was financing, “Even though this is a large project, the recovery was too quick for most banks to have an appetite for it, most banks are looking for projects over $20 Million in this industry, fortunately we were able to finance a portion of it ourselves to get the project moving.” says Hoysradt “it would have been a great opportunity for a bank to get its name out there in a positive way.” This project will fit the criteria for the investors to recuperate 30% of their initial investment within 90 days of completion with a grant issued by the Federal Government created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. In addition to Federal stimulus money, the project also qualifies for funds from the Florida Solar Energy Rebate program.

Aside from solar energy incentives and stimulus money the investors are also looking to attract tenants for their units of which many are currently vacant. The offer of discounted utility bills and being able to work in an all “green” office park should attract quality tenants looking to build a strong, sustainable business in the Stuart area. Commercial Real Estate Broker, Derrick Christenson who is the listing agent for the properties says, “We have been getting a lot of interest, business leases are ending and owners are aggressively seeking better pricing as well as better benefits for their business. You don’t get a much better benefit than great prices and solar power, the office is perfect for Green businesses.”

For additional information or news about this project you can contact Justin Hoysradt at Abundant Energy Inc at 800-748-3202 and for leasing information contact Derrick Christenson at Christenson Commercial at (772) 419-5076.

About Abundant Energy Inc.:

Abundant Energy Inc. is a premier installer and integrator of solar energy systems in Florida (CVC 56729). Founded in 1987 Abundant Energy has been operating as a solar energy company in Florida for the last 22 years. The company specializes in Commercial and Residential solar energy installations, design and consulting for both solar electricity and solar domestic water heating. Abundant Energy is a groSolar Medallion Dealer offering the benefits of high quality clean energy systems, financial strength, installation training and pricing incentives. groSolar is North America’s premier distributor, installer and integrator of solar energy solutions for residential and commercial installations. Founded in 1998, groSolar is the largest 100 percent U.S. owned distribution company in the solar industry. Learn more at abundantenergy.com or call 800-748-3202.

About Christenson Commercial Real Estate:

Christenson Commercial is a Full Service Commercial Real Estate Company and investment sales organization specializing in sales, leasing, management, consulting, market research, and development in the South East Central Florida area. Christenson Commercial is now offering auctions and complete property appraisals to help accelerated the sale of commercial, residential and personal property. Christenson Commercial can provide owners and buyers with comprehensive acquisition and disposition services for office, industrial, retail, multi-family, hotel and senior housing properties as well as undeveloped land. Learn more about Christenson Commercial or call (772) 419-5076