Energy Secretary Chu Approves Loan Guarantee to Record Hill Wind Project

U.S. Energy Secretary Chu has announced the Department of Energy’s $102 million loan guarantee to Record Hill Wind, LLC has been approved. The loan, to be given in combination with an investment by the Yale University Endowment, will support the Record Hill wind project – a 50.6 megawatt wind power plant near the town of Roxbury, Maine. The new project will not only supply green energy to thousands of residents but will fund 200 construction jobs. “This innovative project creates jobs in Maine while boosting domestic wind generation in order to achieve the Administration’s goal of doubling clean energy produced in America by 2035,” said Secretary Chu. “Clean energy is a major driver of American competitiveness, and investments like these are essential to secure our position as global leader.” The Record Hill project will use 22 turbines and new transmission lines to connect with the local power utility. Innovative Turbine Load Control (TLC) technology will be used to install the turbines, which involves a system that will reduce wear on the turbines, preserve the lifetime of turbine components, as well as reduce operation and management costs.

DOE Issues Conditional Loan to “Direct Wafer” Solar Development Project-

The U.S. Department of Energy Secretary, Steven Chu, has announced a conditional loan guarantee of $150 million to 1366 Technologies, Inc., that is in development of a multicrystalline wafer manufacturing project. This breakthrough process, called Direct Wafer, could potentially slash manufacturing costs of silicon wafers by 50 percent — significantly reducing the price of solar power. The project will create 70 permanent jobs and 50 seasonal construction jobs. “This project is a game-changer that could dramatically lower the cost of photovoltaic solar cells. It is exactly the kind of innovation that puts America at the forefront of the global clean energy race,” said Secretary Chu. “As global demand for solar cells increases, this kind of technology will help the U.S. increase its market share and be more competitive with other countries such as China, which currently accounts for 60 percent of the world supply of multicrystalline wafers.”

Investment Platform OnGreen.com Receives Series A Round Funding-

OnGreen, an online social forum linking green entrepreneurs with investors, has received a $1.4M Series A round by China Southern Hong Kong Investment Ltd. Acting as an intermediary of sorts, OnGreen.com helps people with good ideas find the funding and resources they need to make their vision a reality. In a September survey, more than 50 percent of start-ups who completed their online business profile said they were connected with angel or VC investors with the help of OnGreen.com. CEO Nikhil Jain proudly calls the company the “LinkedIn” of cleantech investing. “We don’t just connect people with people, we connect ideas with money,” Jain said in a press release. Since its launch in July, OnGreen has received more than 300 business profiles from entrepreneurs around the globe looking for community feedback and funding. Roughly 40 percent of the users are outside the U.S. “OnGreen provides an exciting platform to find deals in a wide range of CleanTech industries. Just as important, is their easy to use functionality in finding specific industry experts who can analyze the opportunities we are evaluating,” said Peter Cowen, whose firm, Groundwork Equity, specializes in taking start-ups from idea to market. The company says it will use the investment to design new strategies for supporting green entrepreneurs on their road toward revolutionizing tomorrow’s cleantech industry.

Program Provides Solar Installations for Needy Families in CA-

MASH, or Multifamily Affordable Solar Housing, is a program using $108 million from the California Solar Initiative to help provide solar panels to lower income families. MASH has recently finished its first solar installation on Hacienda Townhomes, an inexpensive housing complex owned by the San Diego Community Housing Corporation. Several tenants living there only bring in around $27,000 annually for a family of four. This installation of 96 solar photovoltaic panels will produce 34,726 kWh of energy, lower electricity bills, and will reduce carbon emissions by 595 tons over the course of 25 years. To boot, the project created 5 temporary jobs and 3 permanent jobs. One of the Hacienda Townhomes residents, Omega Hatch, said that she has seen her August electricity bill drop from an average of $90 to $56. “Thank God,” she told Greenwire, “because I could use the money elsewhere. I have a 7-year-old, he’s about to go back to school. Any penny helps me get what I need to do for him.” To help programs like MASH grow throughout the United States, please sign this Change.org Petition and urge your government representatives to support affordable solar.

With New PV Installation, DIA will be Largest Solar Producer in CO-

In addition to its 3.6-megawatt (MW) ground-mounted solar array, Denver International Airport (DIA) will be implementing another 4.4 megawatts of renewable energy this fall. With a grand total of 8 megawatts, the installation will place DIA as the largest photovoltaic energy producer in all of Colorado. Constellation Energy will finance, own and operate the solar installation and DIA will purchase the electricity produced by the system from Constellation over a 20-year period. “Denver’s airport has a widespread reputation as a green airport. Our partnership with Oak Leaf Energy, Constellation Energy and Intermountain Electric not only expands our sustainability efforts, but is a great example of public-private partnerships advancing the green economy,” says Kim Day, aviation manager for the airport. Yingli Green Energy will supply the PV panels for the project. Construction will begin early this fall and is expected to wrap up early 2011. The new installation will reportedly supply the airport with 7,000 MWh of electricity and reduce 5,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions per year.

Two Bay Area Companies Donate Solar Power to Local Food Bank-

Two companies in California’s Bay Area have made a collective donation to Second Harvest Food Bank. The cash offering will fund a $1.1 million, 322-kilowatt rooftop solar power system at the food bank’s facility in San Jose, CA. SunPower contributed their solar technology and Cypress Semiconductor supplied $700,000 to support the project. Two types of SunPower solar roof tiles will be utilized. Over the 25 year life of the system, it is anticipated to save the food bank roughly three million dollars on their electricity bills. “The rooftop solar system, so generously donated by Cypress and SunPower, will help us to continue meeting the needs of our community,” said Kathy Johnson, CEO of the food bank. The SunPower tiles are already built into a frame, so they can be installed more swiftly when compared to a standard rooftop solar system. SunPower CEO Tom Werner said, “We hope this unique solar gift will shine a light on hunger, and encourage other businesses to support this worthy cause.” Since 1989, Cypress Semiconductor has donated approximately five million dollars, and around 500,000 pounds of food to the Second Harvest Food Bank. They raised the $700,000 for the solar project through employee fundraisers, and grants. T.J. Rodgers, the company’s president said, “Cypress is pleased to help reduce the organization’s operating expenses so that it can focus on what it does best–feeding the community.” The project is expected to wrap up in September.

Government Grant for NMSU will Support Sustainable and Renewable R&D-

The International Relations Institute at New Mexico State University will receive $200,000 in federal funds to support the development of innovative energy sources for New Mexico farmers and ranchers. Most of the cash — $125,000 to be exact — will be apportioned to projects under the university’s Renewable Energy, Water and Arid Lands Task Force. Projects include a new solar system for a biodiesel project fueled by algae, a new solar power system for water distribution, and a solar system for an animal watering station. The remaining $75,000 will go toward a Migration and Immigration Task Force, as NMSU students and faculty are researching and teaching about immigration trends in New Mexico.

Legislation to Boost U.S. Grid Efficiency-

A new legislation was recently introduced in the Senate to provide an investment tax credit (ITC) to energy storage facilities. Senate Bill 3617 – the Storage Technology of Renewable and Green Energy Act of 2010 (the “STORAGE 2010 Act”) – would provide up to $1.5 billion in tax credits to storage projects which are connected to the U.S. electric grid. This initiative is intended to support intermittent energy sources, including wind and solar power, while moderating energy demands during peak hours and facilitating a “smart grid” that is thoroughly more reliable in order to improve the U.S. electric grid and provide cheap electricity to the nation. The STORAGE 2010 Act would help improve the efficiency, versatility and reliability of the U.S. electric grid, and would offer more affordable energy storage technologies for homes and businesses. It would offer ITCs for storage systems connected to the electric grid, and on-site energy storage for businesses and homes. The STORAGE 2010 Act would provide a 20 percent ITC for facilities that store energy for delivery or use at a later time, granted that such facilities are connected to the nation’s electric grid. This ITC is capped at $30 million per qualifying project. In tax credit allocation, the Energy Secretary would be required to select projects which are commercially viable and that represent a variety of technologies, applications, and project sizes. Priority would be granted to projects that provide the greatest increase of reliability or economic benefit, that enable the greatest improvement in integration of green energy resources with the grid, or that enable the greatest increase in efficiency in grid operation. The legislation would also offer a 30 percent investment tax credit to businesses and homeowners for on-site storage projects. Those ITCs would be capped at $1 million each year, per qualifying project. If the proposed bill becomes law, the tax incentives would help boost the economy and create a solid foundation for renewable energy generation throughout the nation.

**UPDATE: COMPANY SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN FRAUDULENT & CONFERENCE HAS BEEN CANCELED W/OUT REFUNDS. IF YOU HAVE LOST MONEY VIA ENGEX, CONTACT THE CALIFORNIA ATTORNEY GENERAL’S OFFICE.**
Expo Supports Presidential Policy to Double Exports in Five Years-

EngEx 2010, the first comprehensive engineering conference dedicated to environmental and economic sustainability, has announced a strategic initiative with the WORLD TRADE CENTER San Diego to create new export opportunities for attendees. “The benefit for our members is that they can identify opportunities in developing countries and markets, and learn how to access government resources to find international buyers,” said Bella Heule, President and Chief Executive Officer of the WORLD TRADE CENTER San Diego. EngEx will offer the unique opportunity to collaborate with researchers, businesses, non-profits and governmental agencies to share ideas concerning energy, water, transportation, infrastructure and environmental efficiency and development. “The partnership with the WORLD TRADE CENTER San Diego provides our attendees with a new opportunity to include foreign trade and exporting in their business development plans,” said Kausain Shaikh, Founder of EngEx 2010. “We are very excited to be supporting President Obama’s initiative to drive more foreign exports in the next five years, especially from green businesses.”

Small City in Texas Could be Entirely Solar Powered-

Pflugerville – a small city in central Texas – may soon be 100 percent solar powered. Officials are currently in negotiations with RRE Austin Solar and Travis County to develop a solar power plant that could generate enough renewable energy for every home in the city. The plant will potentially be located about fifteen miles away on a 600 acre farm, and will house roughly $750,000 worth of solar panels. Austin Solar, the company constructing the farm, is currently awaiting the tax incentives they’ll need to be able to begin construction on the facility. Without tax breaks, they say they can’t afford to do the work. If all preliminary provisions are in place, construction will begin at the end of 2010. The city’s mayor, Jeff Coleman said of the proposed development, “Pflugervillians, like most Central Texans, have a high degree of concern about the environment, and therefore I think our citizens will be proud that this opportunity is in Pflugerville.” If plans are approved, Austin Solar would be required to complete construction and become fully operational by 2014. Building the 60 MW plant will offer around 200-300 jobs, however operation and maintenance will only require about five employees.