Here’s a feel-good post, right around the corner for Thanksgiving: a recent poll of 20,790 respondents from 21 countries has found extremely robust support for increased renewable energy—mainly solar and wind—usage in government utilities and more energy-efficient business practices, even if doing so would require energy costs to rise. What’s more, in all the nations polled (save Russia), a majority expressed support for the belief that switching to alternative energy sources would save money in the long run.

The poll was administered by WorldPublicOpinion.org, an international collaborative project initiated and managed by the Program on International Policy Attitudes at the University of Maryland, from July 15, 2008, to November 4, just a few weeks ago. Coordinating the poll in each country through telephone or face-to-face interviews, which were conducted by various local, national and international research centers, WorldPublicOpinion.org polled roughly 600 to 1000 people in each country (for more on methodology, see here). Some results at a glance:

• Countries polled: Argentina, Azerbaijan, China (plus Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, although their results were not included in the global averages), France, Germany, Great Britain, India, Indonesia, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, the Palestinian territories, Poland, Russia, South Korea, Turkey, Thailand, Ukraine and the United States.

• 77 percent (average of 21 countries) of those polled believed more emphasis should be placed in their countries on installing solar or wind energy systems.

• 74 percent believed that buildings should be modified to become more energy efficient.

• 40 percent believed that the government should build more coal or nuclear-powered plants

Of course, the results differed greatly from country to country. South Korea led the pack in percentage of those polled in favor of installing more solar or wind utilities (89 percent), followed closely by France, Italy and Kenya (all 88 percent), and then the US (87 percent). The least supportive was Russia (50 percent). When posed with the question of whether or not they would support the increased use of alternative energy in utilities, should the costs of energy rise in the short run, respondents followed a similar trend: 96 percent for South Korea (does this make sense, given that only 89 percent of South Korean respondents supported increased utilization of renewables?), 88 percent for France, 88 percent for Taiwan, 87 percent for Kenya, 66 percent for the US, and so on.

While stating their support for something doesn’t necessarily guarantee that people will carry through with it—especially considering today’s turbulent economic climate, and the fact that Hong Kong was the only location in which this poll was administered before news of the economic crisis hit—there’s something reassuring about knowing that there’s a pretty solid market for all the green technology, solar and others, getting developed around the world. Was I the only one (pleasantly) surprised by the fact that so many people around the world—in both developed and developing nations—are willing to sacrifice some hard-earned money in lieu of increased energy efficiency.

At GetSolar, while each of our individual interests diverge, we share a common belief that solar energy makes sense. That is, we believe solar PV is a viable means of producing electricity for individual homeowners, as well as for companies and other collective interests. We believe that solar can be a good investment and can make sense even when most large-value projects are being put on hold.

Now, while we’re firm believers in solar, we’re not blind to the challenges, both present and future. Read up on GetSolar.com about the reasons we remain optimistic about solar–even in tough times.

In Massachusetts, Governor Deval Patrick has been a proponent of renewable energies from the beginning of his term, and a new press release from the governor’s office shows he’s still committed. What he proposes is moving towards building codes that mandate the use of at least some solar power for buildings greater than 50,000 square feet (big box stores and malls, not that there’s been much construction of either, lately). Patrick is also pushing a voluntary building code that municipalities could vote in for stricter energy conservation guidelines; this code should be available to municipalities in the state sometime next year. These measures are amorphous right now: the high efficiency building code is completely optional and the press release doesn’t offer any details about how solar for big construction projects will be incentivized more than it is already.

The city of Boston already has an impressive measure in place for buildings of this scale: they must be LEED-certified. Solar is pushing this idea of sustainable new construction even farther. Earlier this year, as well, mayor Tom Menino introduced Solar Boston, a two-year movement to have 25mw of solar power running Boston buildings by 2015. The initiative is minimally funded (about half a million), but with the strong incentives Massachusetts has in place for solar adoption, there shouldn’t be too much of a need to increase them–just to advertise them and make it clear that the state smiles on those who choose to pursue the solar option. Currently, MA offers reduction of or exemption from the excise tax, a 3-year production incentive of 3 cents/kwh, and a rebate that starts off as $3.26/w (higher for using MA-made components or for public buildings, and decreasing on a sliding scale as the system gets larger) and is capped at a generous $1.6 million per year.

Sources: The Boston Globe; Boston Business Journal

The news out of Washington is that the leadership of the House Energy and Commerce Committee has changed its leadership, from Rep. John Dingell (D-MI) to Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA).

Election day gave Washington D.C. a new president-elect and a clear transition in party control of the government. The combination has made for a great deal of personnel changes in major (and minor) positions throughout the government. These are the kind of moves that can be lost in the post-election glow, but that will make a real difference over the next years.

President-elect Obama has made a strong commitment to energy policy reform, possibly as his first initiative out of the gate when he takes office, and if not, next in line to health care. The result is a renewed focus in the Senate on these issues.

The push for Waxman over Dingell may not be news on par with the changes in the White House – certainly neither one of them are household names – but it represents a serious substantive shift in leadership on energy issues. Waxman is a committed advocate for climate change legislation, perhaps owing to his Californian constituency. Dingell was a leader of integrity in the committee, and will remain a strong representative, but he was far more closely aligned towards business interests, and his views on climate change reform would have been out of sync with President-elect Obama’s beliefs on the importance of the issue.

It may seem like just a procedural change, but on a practical legislative level this is the best news to come out of Washington for clean energy in some time.

It’s the rare industry these days that isn’t getting hit by the global financial storm. Chinese solar stocks, after years of rosy prospects and burgeoning growth, are facing a mountain of a challenge, in the form of wobbly share prices, exorbitant costs of silicon and increased caution from investors. The decline of the euro and the wane of the once-generous solar subsidies in Europe, the world’s largest market for photovoltaic solar modules, has not helped matters any.

From Reuters:

“Chinese solar cell and module makers are the most exposed to a downturn, analysts and investors said, since they sell much of their product to Europe, have some of the highest costs, and some of the least differentiated products.”

Because of the current financial climate, investors are more likely to invest in the companies that have more established names and higher quality—which applies to primarily American and European companies—according to the above article. Indeed, share prices for Chinese solar companies JA Solar, LDK Solar, Canadian Solar Inc, Trina Solar Ltd and Suntech Power Holdings Co, Ltd all currently stand at less than four times 2009 earnings estimates, compared to 9.5 and 17 times for U.S. firms SunPower and First Solar Inc. Furthermore, Chinese solar cell manufacturers entered the market later than their western counterparts, who secured long-term contracts ahead of time that allow them to purchase silicon for $70 to $80 a kilogram, rather than the $200 to $220 (down from $350 earlier this year) the Chinese pay. And while the Chinese solar manufacturers are not sitting idle—JA Solar’s Chief Executive Samuel Yang has said that the company would press its polysilicon suppliers to cut costs—lowered prices could take weeks or even months to take effect. There hasn’t been any news yet (that I’ve seen) of the effects on Chinese solar thermal, which is what the majority of Chinese people use, but the big bucks are in the solar cell industry.

In spite of the doom and gloom above, however, not all financiers have run scurrying from the Chinese solar sector. Just last week, 400 American and Chinese entrepreneurs, policymakers and business and technology professionals gathered in Shanghai for the U.S.-China Green Tech Summit, a two-day long conference sponsored by the Bay Area Council. Green tech presentations, panels and marketing abounded, although the optimism was tempered by some caution from the venture capitalists present. Still, Intel’s $20 million investment in Chinese solar cell manufacturer Trony Solar Holdings Co, Ltd three weeks ago had some seeing a silver lining.

In recent weeks, a number of state governments have announced plans to cut back the per-watt rebate offered to residents who purchase a solar energy system. In October, the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund (CCEF) announced a downward revision ranging between $1.00 and $1.80 per watt, depending on system size. Xcel Energy, Colorado’s largest investor-owned utility and biggest provider of solar energy rebates, recently reduced the amount paid to solar owners in exchange for solar on-site renewable energy credits (SO-RECs). The level was cut by a dollar, from $2.50 to $1.50 per watt. The rebate, which stands apart from the SO-REC payment, will remain at $2.00 per watt, meaning that Colorado homeowners can expect to receive about $3.50 per watt of installed DC solar power. Not bad at all, but a far cry from the $4.50 ($2.00/watt rebate + $2.50/watt SO-REC payment) that was available up ’til now. (Details are outlined in a recent letter (PDF) from Robin Kittel, Director of Regulatory Administration at Xcel.)

Following the actions of Connecticut and Colorado, California and New Jersey have opened the issue for debate, and lawmakers from New York are also considering a reduction in that state’s juicy $3-$5/watt rebate. For individuals looking to make a solar purchase, it may be fair to ask, “What the heck is going on here?” And, “Should I be worried about my ability to finance a solar energy system?”

An answer to the first question is offered by the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund:

On October 3, 2008, President Bush signed into law the “Energy Improvement and Extension Act of 2008,” which extended for eight years the 30 percent Federal Personal Income Tax Credit on qualified solar systems, but eliminated the $2,000 incentive limit.  The federal tax incentive benefits Connecticut’s electric ratepayers by increasing the allowable federal contribution, thus decreasing the need for the CCEF’s ratepayer funded contribution for residential solar systems in Connecticut.

To maintain the same percentage of “out-of-pocket” expenses for residential solar systems as was previously offered to applicants under the CCEF’s Solar PV Rebate Program, the CCEF Board has approved reductions to the solar rebate cap levels (excluding solar lease applications) as follows:

Previous Rebate Level: $5.00 for the first 5kW; $4.30 for the next 5kW

New Rebate Level: $4.00 for the first 5kW; $2.50 for the next 5kW

These new solar rebate levels will apply to all solar systems commissioned on or after January 1, 2009. The previous rebate levels will continue to apply to those solar systems commissioned prior to January 1, 2009.

The extension in October of the Investment Tax Credit (ITC) means that you can claim a tax credit representing up to 30 percent of the costs of your solar energy system. For a 3-kW residential system costing $27,000 (at $9.00 per installed watt), the eligible credit would be worth over $8,000. There are limits on how much of the credit you can take in a given year, but it’s clear that the new federal rules are a real boon for buyers of solar energy systems. So, from the state lawmakers’ perspective, it makes sense to reduce the rebate levels available. As Barron’s blogger Eric Savitz notes,

… Xcel said that because customers will get a bigger boost from Uncle Sam, it could cut its own discount without much of a change in overall consumer system costs. The [Denver Post] story notes that Xcel now estimates that a typical rooftop solar system of 4.5 KW will cost customers $14.175 after all credits and rebates, versus $13,750 before Xcel’s credit reduction. While not a big change in overall costs, the move does have the effect of sharply increasing upfront costs, since the tax credit is not received immediately.

What does all this mean for you, a potential solar buyer? Should you be worried? As noted in the preceding quotation, a lower per-watt rebate need not sink your solar aspirations. Bolstered by tax support at the federal level, you can still reduce the financial burden associated with purchasing a solar PV system. A lower per-watt rebate does mean, however, that you’ll likely need to foot a bit more of the upfront costs. Of course this is a pain in the butt for many of us, but there are many new financing options and lenders available.

In the end, the move by states to reduce individual rebate payouts shouldn’t be viewed as a new era of doom and gloom for renewable energy. As solar technologies continue their upward march in efficiency (and downward march in price), prospects will continue to brighten. And as the market for renewable energy credits (RECs), like New Jersey’s, are strengthened, there will be increased opportunities for PV owners to derive cash value from their system’s output.

Recently, two states have taken greater steps towards energy independence by taking stronger action than has been federally mandated. Most states already have programs in place, and some states offer quite strong incentives for residential and commercial entities to adopt renewable energy technologies (Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, California, Arizona…). It’s good to see these two, previously among the more laggardly states, joining rank.

Hawaii: A partnership between the State of Hawaii and the US Department of Energy (DOE), the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative was announced in January 2008. According to the DOE, “The partnership aims to have 70% of all of Hawaii’s energy needs generated by renewable energy sources by 2030, cutting crude oil consumption in the state by 72%.” Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle and the DOE have worked hard to create a plan for implementing this agreement, and they finally released it in late October. This is truly great news for Hawaii, a state with limited conventional energy sources but a superabundance of sun, wind, tidal, and geothermal sources. The implementation plan includes elements such as:]

• the addition to HI’s electric grid, over the next 5 years, of 700 megawatts of power from already identified renewable energy sources (with another 400mw to follow);
• doubling the current RPS to 40% by 2030;
• a feed-in tariff;
• no construction of new coal plants;
• lifting the current cap on net metering;
• providing energy cost safety for low-income families;
• biofuel and electric vehicle initiatives;

…and a heck of a lot more besides. It’s a whopping move from a state that has heretofore been a bit sluggish with renewables, considering Hawaii’s real need for change.

Missouri: On November 4th, a few states had clean energy questions on the ballot in some form. Proposition C in Missouri put forth an RPS of 15% by 2021, and was voted in by a gratifying margin (66% of voters were for it). Missouri, a state with traditionally low incentives for renewable energy adoption, was a surprise here–California’s similar prop didn’t pass by about the same margin. So way to come on board with style, MO! Hopefully that RPS, which is not terrifically strong but is a great first step, will get strengthened over the coming years. Since the prop was voted in with such enthusiasm, it seems safe to expect MO residents to continue to support development of renewable energy resources and implementation.

Cargo ships from China’s biggest shipping company will soon use solar-powered sails from Australian renewable energy company Solar Sailor to power its journeys across the seas. The sails will be 30 meters long—rivaling the wings of a Boeing 747 or Airbus A380 in size, made of aluminum and covered in solar panels. What’s more, these computer-controlled sails will harness wind power as well, with the goal of using wind to cut fuel consumption by 20 to 40 percent and using solar to meet five percent of a ship’s energy requirements by partially meeting the energy needs of the crew and electronic navigation devices. Computers will angle the sails for maximum wind and solar capacity, and the sails are expected to have a payback time of four years. Chinese company COSCO will be fitting the sails—which can be “retro-fitted to existing tankers”—to a tanker ship and a bulker ship, which is less than an ideal number, but a start nevertheless.

Considering how much China exports (although the global financial crisis and a succession of unpleasant food and product scandals over the past two summers have put a damper on business) or just trades in general, this is some pretty exciting news, with perhaps a dash of relief on the part of environmentalists everywhere.

While China is one of the most practical places to utilize this technology, another Asian country actually beat it to the punch: Japan announced in July that it was currently working on an enormous freighter (carrying capacity: 6,400 automobiles) equipped with 328 solar panels, which the developing countries hoped would produce 40 kilowatts of power (0.2 percent of the ship’s energy consumption). Expected to be completed by December and built for the purpose of transporting vehicles for Toyota, this mega-cargo ship is, according a Japanese official, the world’s first (partially) solar-powered cargo ship. Although it certainly won’t be the last, here’s to hoping it’ll be the first in a definitive trend.

How well does my state government support renewable energy?

OK, so you’re looking into buying a PV system for your home or business. Like any rational consumer, you want to know first and foremost about cost. We totally agree. But before you start investigating prices, you should make sure you understand some of the larger issues at work — namely, government programs that provide incentives for citizens to install renewable energy systems.

Read here for a GetSolar.com overview of how, exactly, this is commonly done.

With solar subsidies starting to dwindle in Spain and Germany no longer the world’s solar poster child, the search for the next big solar power—in terms of both market and production—has been going on ever since Germany slashed its subsidies. There are of course the usual heavyweights, such as the U.S. and Japan, and developing countries such as China and India. This article from BusinessWeek joins the foray as it makes a case for and suggests ways for the Philippines to become a solar power.

Already home to several large solar manufacturing facilities belonging to Silicon Valley-based photovoltaic giants such as SunPower and Solaria, with exports from SunPower alone totaling $220 million in 2006, the Philippines is one of many sun-drenched countries positioned to benefit from solar energy. It already has both on-grid and off-grid solar projects in the works—the latter particularly important, as country consists of 7,100 islands, many of which are not connected to the grid. The Philippine Congress also recently passed a renewable energy bill which includes investment incentives such as tax credits and net metering. Dennis Posadas, the author of the piece, posits that the country’s solar sector could grow substantially if industry and academe increased collaboration, a viewpoint that seems to be validated worldwide by the sheer number of results that appear when you Google “solar power university.”

But perhaps the next big solar power is right in our own backyard—or, rather, we are living in it. Many industry experts, both from home and from abroad, have pinpointed the U.S. as the biggest user of solar energy within the next decade—and with such a burgeoning American solar market, manufacturing jobs appear to be trickling back in.