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With the U.S. commonly predicted to be the next big, booming market for
solar, and the U.S. government pinning hopes for economic recovery on
the job-creation potential for solar, the solar-friendliness of
policies and provisions implemented by the federal government this year
will undoubtedly help determine whether both sets of lofty expectations
can be met.
At a recent hearing held by the Senate's Environment
and Public Works Committee and Subcommittee on Green Jobs and the New
Economy, high-profile solar company executives and government officials
outlined the most crucial steps that the federal government must
promptly take in order to ensure continued growth in the country's
solar market. Ken Salazar, Secretary of the Interior, noted that
the installation of large-scale solar projects has created a major
shift in operational tactics at the Department of the Interior (DOI).
"For the first time ever, environmentally responsible renewable energy
deployment is a priority at this department," he stated, according to
prepared remarks released by the Senate.
Salazar stressed that
the DOI, which oversees 20% of the U.S.' land, must expedite its
processing of the 128 utility-scale solar project applications -
totaling approximately 77,000 MW - that the Bureau of Land Management
is currently evaluating. Renewable Energy Coordination Offices, project
fast-tracking and the identification of 1,000 square miles in the West
as Solar Energy Study Areas are expected to help maintain the momentum.
In
conjunction with the Department of Energy (DOE), the DOI is also
preparing for a release late this year of a Solar Energy Development
Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement, designed to provide a
"landscape-scale plan for siting solar energy projects on our public
lands in the Southwest that have been identified as having the best
potential for utility-scale solar energy development," Salazar added.
Robert
Rogan, senior vice president at concentrating solar thermal (CSP)
company eSolar, urged the Senate committee to help remove existing
barriers to solar development both on and off DOI land.
"Almost
every solar project developer, especially CSP providers, has
encountered significant obstacles in the environmental permitting
process for both private and federal public lands," he pointed out. "We
ask for your support in streamlining the environmental permitting
processes to ensure these solar facilities are built on reasonable
timelines."
Complications associated with connecting completed
solar facilities to the grid and transmitting the power produced also
ranked as high priorities for the solar executives who testified. Rogan
called for a "coherent national transmission network plan, including
expedited permitting for new transmission lines that carry renewable
energy."
Existing transmission siting and interconnection rules
developed several decades ago must be updated, agreed First Solar CEO
Rob Gillette, who cited transmission constraints as one of numerous
potential threats to the U.S.' solar energy deployment - as well as the
job-creation benefits that go along with it.
"Without a growing
and predictable domestic market, the U.S. risks losing the global race
for solar technology and associated green jobs and could be relegated
to an importer of products developed and manufactured in other
countries," Gillette warned.
To effect a positive policy
outcome, the government must first extend the Treasury's Section 1603
cash-grant program, through Dec. 12, 2012, in an upcoming jobs bill,
said Gillette, whose recommendation was echoed by other industry
executives. The program is currently set to expire at the end of this
year.
"A defining feature of the Treasury grant program is that
it vastly extends the pool of investors who are attracted to the
stable, long-term return on investment that a utility-scale solar plant
provides," explained Gillette. "The grant program also benefits the
debt side of solar financing by lowering the cost of debt at a time
when financing continues to be tight."
Similarly, the DOE's
loan-guarantee program, another financial backstop intended to mitigate
the effects of the U.S.’ still-shaky economy, must be extended to 2016,
according to the solar executives who testified.
Gillette
explained that this new timetable would better synchronize the program,
which is set to expire in 2011, with the lengthy development timelines
typical of the projects it supports.
"Additionally, I strongly
encourage the Senate to adopt the House’s position on H.R.2847, which
will allow for multiple DOE loan applications for a single technology,"
added eSolar's Rogan. "Currently, our development partner NRG can only
access DOE loans for our New Mexico project, but cannot use DOE loan
guarantees for either of our two California projects."
Some of
the other key policy issues highlighted in the Senate hearing,
including a national renewable electricity standard and cap-and-trade
mechanisms for curbing carbon emissions, are likely to have
far-reaching effects across the solar market.
For residential
and other small-scale solar installations specifically, Jeff Wolfe, CEO
of solar distributor groSolar, suggested three actions to boost
deployment and create jobs.
Wolfe first called for the Senate to
approve the 10 Million Solar Roofs program, an initiative based on
California's Million Solar Roofs program that was recently introduced
by Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. This initiative helps
defray solar system costs for homeowners and small businesses.
In
addition, Wolfe requested that the tax credit for residential solar
installations be expanded to 50% of the cost of an eligible solar
system.
"Third, and last, is to open up the ability to finance
smaller projects as part of the proposed Green Energy Bank," said
Wolfe. "Giving large banks the ability to lend has not created within
them the desire to lend."
For each of these recommendations,
Wolfe stressed the economic benefits for both the homeowner or
small-business owner that purchases a system and the solar-sector
workers involved with the manufacturing and installation of the
equipment.
Annually, each megawatt of solar photovoltaic systems deployed in the U.S. creates 25 jobs, he noted.
"Most
of those jobs are impossible to send offshore, because they are on the
ground and on the roof," Wolfe continued. "It's simply hard to install
solar panels in this country unless you are in this country."
Original E-Feature Article on Solar Industry Magazine
