By: Mike Hall

When I started working in the photovoltaic (PV) industry in late 2002, the Chinese were nowhere to be seen. On a recent trip to China, my executive team and I were blown away by the number of billboards for solar cells and modules while traveling between Shanghai and Wuxi. I’m going to go out on a limb and say there are more billboards for solar cells and modules between Shanghai and Wuxi then there are in all of North America. We thought the U.S. was the new hub of solar innovation today, but we couldn’t recall ever seeing this many billboards advertising solar in the U.S.

As one of the larger developers of solar PV projects in the U.S., we felt like we knew all of the players. It is rare that we encounter a module manufacturer that is not already on our radar. What was amazing about the drive outside of Shanghai is that we came across so many advertisements for solar companies that we had never heard of. Although we already believed this to be true, this trip proved to us that China has taken the lead in solar cell manufacturing.a position the country will NOT be giving up any time soon.

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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced final rules regarding HCFC-22 equipment installation and servicing as well as production allowances of HCFC refrigerants. This ends almost 12 months of waiting since the rules were first proposed. The rules take effect Jan. 1, 2010.

The final rules reflected many of the changes the HVACR industry had asked for after the proposed rules were first published Dec. 23, 2008. Those changes were initially addressed in an EPA clarification published last Jan. 14 and the final rules pretty much fell in line with the clarifications.

“This is a positive outcome,” said Talbot Gee, vice president of Heating, Airconditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI).

“Our concerns were addressed in our favor,” said Charlie McCrudden, vice president of government relations for Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA).

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By: Steve Kirsch

Our country is making a huge mistake in the way we are dealing with global warming. Instead of following the old adage, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” we are doing the opposite: committing massive dollars for mitigation strategies while at the same time refusing to build the most promising new clean base-load power generation technologies developed by our nation’s top energy scientists.

The International Energy Agency tells us that every year of delay in action to tackle global warming costs $500 billion.

So what are doing about it?

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced that the U.S. would join others in securing a $100 billion annual fund by 2020 to help developing countries cope with climate change.

Pouring money into token mitigation strategies is a non-sustainable way to deal with climate change. That number will keep rising and rising every year without bound.

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By: Stephen Cowell

“What’s in a name?”

Shakespeare’s famous phrase rings true for many things, but not when it comes to “Cash for Caulkers.” This nickname has become adopted by the mainstream media and the blogosphere to refer to a planned residential efficiency program called Home Star. Now that the President’s Economic Recovery Board has unanimously voted in favor of this plan to weatherize America’s homes, there will be much more attention paid to the plan.

Relating Home Star to “Cash for Clunkers” is an easy way to convey the general concept. Both programs are based on a similar “incentive” model. But equating the details could lead to misunderstandings about a program designed to help give America and American homeowners the economic boost they so desperately need.

Home Star cash is not just for caulkers. The workforce that will benefit from its incentives includes a wide range of skilled workers. These include insulators, air sealing technicians, heating and cooling technicians, electricians and many more. These workers are part of an industry that brings these various skills and trades together to install measures than can lower energy costs for consumers. Depending on the amount of work being done, homeowners will be able to save anywhere up to 30 to 35 percent of their energy costs, making their house more comfortable and affordable.

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New energy entrepreneurs in Canada are exceeding expectations A Toronto project featuring both wind and PV solar is moving faster and experiencing more demand than what most people thought possible.

Similar to a much smaller recently launched project in Vermont, than 2,400 individuals, community organizations, and companies in Ontario have applied to the Ontario Power Authority’s feed-in-tariff (FIT) program. The program pays green power producers a subsidized rate for the renewable electricity they sell onto the grid. This program is patterned after one like it in Germany and Spain.

Referred to as “microFIT” applications, most are for rooftop solar-power systems. More than 1,400 applications have been filled for small scale PV solar electric systems capable of producing 5 – 10 kilowatts. All told the green generating capacity is expecting to total over 5,000 megawatts.

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