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SEIA Issues Call To Arms Over SolarWorld Suit

The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) has issued a communique to its membership denouncing SolarWorld’s recent anti-dumping suit against China. In no uncertain terms, SEIA says the legal action filed with the U.S. commerce department imperils the U.S. solar sector.

The document reads, “If imposed, the tariffs sought by SolarWorld, in excess of 165 percent for China and 75 percent for Taiwan, could result in a sharp increase in the cost of solar energy in the United States. Solar energy would then become less competitive with other energy sources like natural gas and wind, and the demand for solar would fall, resulting in a significant loss of jobs across the solar supply chain.”

In December, SolarWorld lodged a formal complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission as part of a long campaign against alleged unfair trade practices by China in the photovoltaic market. The suit charges that China is colluding with Taiwan to circumvent trade remedies the U.S. imposed a year ago.

SolarWorld’s complaint obliges the commerce department to conduct an investigation into the allegations. Industry observers say the investigative process all but ensures that commerce will decide in SolarWorld’s favor and that additional trade remedies should be imposed. This will inevitably result in retaliatory measures from China.

William Perry, a partner with the California-based international law firm Dorsey & Whitney, says SolarWorld’s anti-dumping cases could end up shrinking the U.S. solar sector by 50% once the fur starts flying.

“Throw a rock at China, and they will throw one back - or three,” Perry says.

The concern that Commerce will rule that dumping has occurred - and Perry says it almost certainly will if the investigation comes to term - is driving organizations like SEIA to mobilize whatever political juice they have to forestall such a ruling, even to the point of providing informal legal advice to the Chinese and Taiwanese side.

In particular, SEIA is hoping to build support for a plan for a negotiated settlement it floated last September. - Michael Puttré

 

Rooftop Solar Dominates Ontario’s New FIT

The Ontario Power Authority (OPA) says applications for rooftop solar projects have dominated the third round of its feed-in tariff (FIT) program. Nearly 1,700 applications were received for the FIT 3.0 procurement window, which ran Nov. 4 through Dec. 13 of last year. According to the OPA, rooftop solar applications accounted for 1,366 submissions - more than 75% of those received.

The OPA is currently reviewing applications submitted during this period for completeness and eligibility. Those that pass muster will be ranked according to a priority score and tested for transmission and distribution availability.

According to John Cannella, OPA spokesperson, the agency will award up to 123.5 MW in FIT 3.0 contracts in the next window, which will open in the second quarter of this year.

The OPA also accepted applications for the new Unbuilt Rooftop Solar Pilot program, which has a separate procurement target of 15 MW. The OPA received 184 applications for this program, representing a total of 45 MW.

FIT 3.0 applications are for renewable energy projects - solar, wind, waterpower and bioenergy - with a proposed capacity of more than 10 kW and up to 500 kW.

Large-scale projects - exceeding 500 kW - are no longer eligible under the province’s revamped FIT. Such utility-scale projects must go through a competitive procurement process, which Ontario is currently finalizing.

Michael Weizman, a partner at law firm McCarthy Tetrault, says several market factors have influenced the number of rooftop solar applications. “The scalable nature of the technology and a price tariff that offers rooftop solar projects the highest prices were significant factors,” he says.

Others suggest that FIT 3.0 represents a clever way to gain broader participation amongst a wide variety of stakeholders.

In fact, municipalities, aboriginal communities and community organizations accounted for nearly 80% of applications received, notes the OPA.

“It’s an attempt to broaden public support for the FIT program by encouraging small projects,” says Andrew Chant, managing director of renewable energy at Ortech Consulting. - Mark Del Franco

 

President Obama Signs Farm Bill Into Law

As expected, President Barack Obama has signed the farm bill, which passed the House and Senate on a bipartisan basis with the energy title intact. The legislation includes the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), which offers grants and loans to rural businesses and agricultural producers for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects, including solar and small wind power systems.

The House passed the bill on Jan. 29, and the Senate followed suit on Feb. 4.

The REAP provisions, described under Title IX, specify that $45 million be allocated in each fiscal year from 2014 through 2018 to fund energy efficiency and renewable energy. Applications for REAP funding are to be evaluated under the three-tiered approach, representing projects costing $80,000 or less, those over $80,000 but less than $200,000, and those costing $200,000 or more. The so-called energy title also provides funding for biofuel programs.

In his remarks before signing the bill into law, Obama told a crowd at Michigan State University that the legislation was a “Swiss Army knife” of tools for jobs, innovation, infrastructure, research and conservation. He singled out Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, for praise for shepherding the farm bill through her joint committee in a form that was acceptable to a majority in the recalcitrant House of Representatives. - Michael Puttré

 

Senate Bill Would Extend ITC For Unfinished Solar

U.S. Sens. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., and Dean Heller, R-Nev., have introduced a bill to allow firms to qualify for the investment tax credit (ITC) for solar projects that are under construction before the credit’s expiration date, rather than having to wait until those projects are completed and in service.

Currently, in order for a project to qualify for the ITC, it must be “placed in service” by Dec. 31, 2016, meaning it must be complete and capable of generating power. The Bennet-Heller bill would replace this requirement to allow projects meaningfully under construction to be eligible for the credit, similar to a change made to the production tax credit for wind projects in 2012.

Solar sector advocates, including the Solar Energy Industries Association, have been lobbying for legislation to postpone the ITC sunset.

 

NY Green Bank Opens For Business

Gov. Andrew Cuomo, D-N.Y., says the New York Green Bank has started business operations. The program is intended to stimulate private-sector financing of renewable energy by providing financial support for creditworthy clean-energy projects in the state that have difficulty accessing financing due to various market barriers.

Through a request for proposal (RFP), the NY Green Bank seeks financing proposals from industry participants and financial institutions. Projects to be supported by the NY Green Bank include a range of commercially proven technologies, including solar, wind and other renewable energy generation technologies; residential and commercial/industrial energy efficiency measures; electricity load reduction; on-site clean generation; and similar projects that can support the state’s clean energy objectives.

Cuomo proposed the creation of a $1 billion green bank in his 2013 State of the State address as the financial engine to help mobilize private investment in clean energy projects. In December of last year, he announced $210 million in initial funding for the program.

 

Colorado PUC Keeps Net Metering In Place For Now

The Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has approved a motion from the Colorado Energy Office that will keep net-energy metering (NEM) for the present, splitting the issue off as a separate question to be considered after concerned parties have opportunities to make their cases.

The decision follows strong debate over Xcel Energy’s proposed plan to trim the solar incentive programs as part of its 2014 Renewable Energy Standard compliance plan. Xcel is proposing to cut incentives to customers to less than $0.01/kWh. It also has raised questions about the net metering credit that customers with solar installations get for electricity they send back to the grid.

The PUC says it took public comments on the issue at a meeting on Feb. 3. A PUC decision on the RES compliance plan is due by July.

The Vote Solar Initiative says the PUC decision removes all NEM-related issues to a new filing that will allow a more thorough discussion of the value and design of the program in Colorado.

Numerous solar advocacy groups also expressed their pleasure with the PUC’s decision.

 

CPUC Petitioned To Back Existing NEM Policies

A consortium of solar advocacy groups and industry associations delivered a petition with 50,000 signatures to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), urging it not to change net-energy metering (NEM) rules on existing solar customers.

Legislation passed last year requires the CPUC to consider new NEM rules for customers that install systems after July 2017. Solar and environmental advocates are calling for existing rules to continue for 30 years or more, commensurate with the expected lifespan of solar energy systems. Utilities, citing the costs of existing NEM policies, are arguing that NEM rates for existing customer be guaranteed for six to 12 years. The CPUC has a March 31 deadline to make a decision.

Groups organizing the petition effort include the Vote Solar Initiative, the California Solar Energy Industries Association, the Solar Energy Industries Association, the Sierra Club, Environment California and a number of companies in the solar sector.

 

U.K. Groups Challenge EU Over Energy Policy

The Renewable Energy Association (REA) and Solar Trade Association (STA), both based in the U.K., have expressed disappointment in the European Commission’s (EC) newly proposed 2030 energy and climate change framework because it does not establish binding targets for European Union (EU) member states.

The groups say the EC framework sets a binding renewable energy target for the EU as a whole of at least 27%. Instead of specific targets for member states, the proposal relies on national energy plans ensured by the new governance system based on national energy plans. The REA and STA are concerned that the U.K. government has been pushing strongly for a “technology-neutral” approach, downplaying the role of renewables.

“We’re about to find out what happens when theoretical economics meets the real world,” says Nina Skorupska, chief executive of the REA, in a statement. “Theory suggests a ‘technology-neutral’ approach is economically efficient. But experience shows that binding renewables targets do two things: First, they give a major long-term boost to investor confidence, helping accelerate market growth and technology cost reduction. Second, politics frequently trumps economics in the real world, and when politicians go wobbly on renewables, the targets help keep investment flowing.”

The groups say existing 2020 targets have been key to the recent growth in renewables and have been particularly valuable when negative rhetoric from ministers has damaged market confidence in the U.K.

“It’s shocking that the U.K. government, one of the poorest performers on renewables in Europe, sought to squash such a valuable target,” says Leonie Greene, head of external affairs at the STA, in a statement. “Now under this pan-EU target approach, we are likely to see a scenario where countries like Germany that take a long-term perspective continue to strongly back their renewables industry into the next decade, while we fall even further behind.”

The REA and STA pledge to continue to push for binding EU member state renewable energy targets. S