Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Politics of Energy -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Road Walker who wrote (23778)	10/19/2010 8:34:30 AM
From: Eric	1 Recommendation Respond to of 86355

Strong U.S. Solar Industry Growth for First Half of 2010 SEIA®/GTM Research U.S. Solar Market Insight™ Report: U.S. solar electric industry projected to grow more than 100 percent in 2010 over 2009; Industry goal to power 2 million new U.S. homes each year by 2015 within reach Read the full press release here. The Solar Energy Industries Association® (SEIA®) and GTM Research today released the inaugural U.S. Solar Market Insight™ report with data for the first half of 2010 showing significant growth in the U.S. solar industry despite the continuing struggles of the overall economy. In 2010, the U.S. solar electric market, including both photovoltaic (PV) and concentrating solar power (CSP) installations, could achieve a major milestone by surpassing one gigawatt of installed capacity in a year for the first time – enough to power 200,000 homes. The report's baseline forecast projects that 944 megawatts of solar electric capacity (composed of 866 MW of PV and 79 MW of CSP) will be installed in the U.S. in 2010. This represents a growth of 114 percent over the 441 megawatts of solar electric capacity added in 2009. The report's high forecast projects as much as 1.13 gigawatts being installed by year's end, a 156 percent increase over 2009. California led states for solar electric capacity installed in the first six months of 2010 with 12 megawatts, followed by New Jersey, Arizona and Florida. In total, 341 megawatts were installed in the first half of the year. The report projects a stronger second half for 2010 because of one large CSP project, a number of large PV projects and continued strength in the residential and non-residential markets. The solar heating and cooling market also grew. The solar water heating (SWH) segment will have a sixth consecutive year of growth in 2010, growing 16 percent with approximately 3 million square feet (mmsf) of installed solar thermal collectors expected by year-end compared to about 2.6 mmsf in 2009. The projected 3 mmsf of collectors would provide hot water for nearly 50,000 homes, businesses and other facilities across the U.S. Hawaii installed the most square feet of solar water heaters, followed by Puerto Rico and California. The solar pool heating segment is expected to grow by 7 percent in 2010, installing approximately 11.5 million square feet. U.S. Solar Market Insight™ also projects market demand through 2015. The study's more aggressive projections forecast that annual U.S. solar electric installations will approach SEIA's® industry goal of installing 10 gigawatts per year by 2015, enough to power 2 million new homes annually, while its baseline forecasts fall short of that figure. "Our U.S. Solar Market Insight™ reports will give solar companies invaluable data that will help this industry achieve its goal of installing enough solar to power two million homes every year by 2015," said Rhone Resch, SEIA® president and CEO. "Detailed, regular updates are critical for a young but growing industry such as solar. For the first time, companies will have access to reliable data to plan for stable growth, cost reductions, and opportunities in new markets. Solar businesses armed with this data will have a distinct competitive edge in this increasingly competitive industry." "First half solar installations grew beyond expectations as a result of declining prices, continued government support and improving financial conditions," said Shayle Kann, Managing Director, Solar at GTM Research. "In spite of continued macroeconomic woes, the U.S. solar industry is on track to have a record year in 2010 for both installations and manufacturing." "Our partnership with GTM Research comes at the right time to provide a trusted resource on the size and growth of the fast-growing U.S. solar marketplace," said Tom Kimbis, Director of Policy and Research at SEIA®. "U.S. Solar Market Insight™ combines previously unavailable industry data with a top-notch analysis team to deliver critical information our industry and the public need." U.S. Solar Market Insight™ is a significant new tool for understanding the solar industry as it provides industry data, forecasts and analysis for PV, CSP, and SWH technologies, for all market segments – residential, commercial property and utility-scale – at both national and state levels. The release of this report highlights a new partnership between SEIA® and GTM Research to provide U.S. solar industry data on a quarterly basis. In addition to this quarterly data, the U.S. Solar Market Insight™ series will also include the information SEIA® traditionally issued each spring in its U.S. Solar Year in Review.™ Background Materials: Executive summary (free): seia.org Details on reports: seia.org Supplementary data table: seia.org The U.S. Solar Market Insight™ Brief Report and Full Report for 2nd quarter 2010 are available to purchase at gtmresearch.com. Third quarter data will be available in December 2010. Details on the solar energy companies operating in each state, plus examples of the jobs being created at the Solar Works for America site: www.SolarWorksforAmerica.com greentechmedia.com

To: Road Walker who wrote (23778)	10/19/2010 9:10:18 AM
From: Eric	1 Recommendation Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 86355

The National and Environmental Impact of California’s Prop 23 “If we don’t stop Prop 23, we’ll never get a chance to grow the clean economy.” California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger opposes it. He called it a fight between good and evil. So do California gubernatorial candidates Meg Whitman and Jerry Brown. Venture capitalists like John Doerr, Vinod Khosla, Marty Lagod and Rodrigo Prudencio oppose it. Khosla has donated more than $1 million and Doerr $500,000 to the cause. Alan Salzman of VantagePoint Venture Partners is throwing a 'No on 23' event featuring Elvis Costello at Salzman's home next week. Tickets are a bit spendy -- more information here. Firelake Capital's Lagod said that the measure threatens the future of thousands of VC-funded renewable energy startups that entrepreneurs have created in last the five years with more than $10 billion in funding. Oil companies Shell and BP are not for it. Many solar companies oppose it. Support and opposition cut across party lines. George Shultz, secretary of state during the Reagan administration opposes it. It's California's Proposition 23 -- and as goes this upcoming vote in California, so goes the nation's greentech future, according to Donnie Fowler of CEN (the Clean Economy Network) and Dogpatch Strategies. According to Fowler, "Oil companies are on the wrong side of the issue. But don't underestimate them -- they are fighting a two-front war. There is almost nothing that our President and allies in Congress can do to fight them. They just succeeded in Washington D.C. in stopping progress in climate and energy, and now they've turned to California, the second front. They want to turn the clock back in California and if you turn the clock back in California -- there is not a single senator in D.C. that's going to come our way. There's not a single state capital that will go forward." "They want to stop competition," added Fowler. And by competition he means renewable energy and cleantech companies. In Favor of 23 Who's for it? Oil magnates the Koch Brothers (another interesting link on the Koch Brothers here) and oil refinery firms Valero Oil and Tessoro Oil. They claim that the measure will cost consumers jobs and money. And these parties have spent and will continue to spend lots of money to pass Proposition 23. Fowler said the proponents of the measure have vowed to spend up to $50 million. They've raised $8 million so far. A list of money donors from Ballotpedia includes Valero ($4 million), Tesoro ($1.5 million), Flint Hills resources ($1 million) and Marathon Petroleum ($500,000). Here's a link to a Yes on 23 website which calls 23 the "California Jobs Initiative" and labels it "a common-sense approach to protecting jobs, preserving environmental protections, and holding the line on costs for California’s struggling families. Proposition 23 would simply suspend California’s global warming plan until the economy stabilizes, we get people back to work and we can afford these investments." Carly Fiorina, Republican Senate candidate and former HP CEO, is a supporter of Prop 23. Her opponent, Senator Barbara Boxer, opposes 23. Follow the Money According to Fowler, 97 percent of the money supporting the proposition is from oil companies and the Koch brothers. What Does Prop 23 Do? Prop 23 suspends AB 32, The Global Warming Solutions Act of of 2006, California's landmark clean air legislation. Proposition 23, if enacted by voters, will freeze the provisions of AB32 until California's unemployment rate drops to 5.5% or below for four consecutive quarters. California's unemployment rate, which currently hovers around 12 percent, has been at 5.5 percent or below for four consecutive quarters only three times since 1970. AB 32 requires that greenhouse gas emission levels in the state be cut to 1990 levels by 2020, slated to begin in 2012. According to Sheridan Pauker of law firm WSGR, a key policy at risk is California's Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS). Pauker said that if the 33 percent renewable portfolio is lost, the impact could be up to $60 billion in GDP and half a million jobs. Jim Watson of CMEA Capital adds, "We have fought hard to keep the air clean, and a yes on 23 relaxes those laws and allows more CO2 to be released into the atmosphere." Stay Tuned There are still three weeks to go. According to Fowler, "If we don't stop Prop 23, we'll never get a chance to grow the clean economy." greentechmedia.com