The past year was a busy one
for the smart grid, with advanced energy meters and other major grid
improvements being rolled out everywhere from Mexico and China to South Korea and
the U.S. So what does 2012
hold? Chris King, who’s chief regulatory officer for the smart-grid firm eMeter (recently acquired by Siemens),
offers his predictions:
Electric Utilities Investing $4.1
Billion by 2018
Dec. 2011
Utilities are expected
to invest in cyber-security measures to protect electrical grids as they
upgrade the infrastructure to include smart meters and other technologies.
Increasing risks to
the electrical grid will require utilities to invest a total of $4.1 billion
between 2011 and 2018 in cyber-security for industrial control systems,
research firm Pike Research said Aug. 23. The investments will be part of the
larger upgrade to the nation's energy grid, which include the installation of
smart meters.
In Pike's report,
"Industrial Control Systems Security," the clean-tech market
intelligence firm analyzed the market for industrial control systems (ICS) for
smart grids as well as performed an assessment of the major risks facing smart grids. The cyber-security investments will increase
at a relatively steady rate over the next seven years, rising from $309 million
in 2011 to $692 million annually by 2018, Pike said in its forecast.
“The smart grid
changes everything, but when it comes to cyber-security issues, much of the
story remains the same,” said Pike Research senior analyst Bob Lockhart.
In the past,
electrical grids were controlled by electro-mechanical and pneumatic devices.
Today, they are controlled by computers running either Windows or Linux
operating systems on standard IP networks, according to Pike. Wireless and Bluetooth
capabilities are being added to supervisory control and data acquisition
(SCADA) devices that are integral to the grid backbone's day-to-day operations.
While the technology is intended to make utilities more efficient, they also
open up a plethora of risks because these systems are no longer isolated within
the facilities, Pike said. They are now directly accessible from the Internet
and can no longer rely on the facility's perimeter defenses.
The discovery of the
Stuxnet worm highlighted the security vulnerabilities in electrical grids and
other critical infrastructure, as well as the "fragility" of SCADA systems, Lockhart said. "Nearly overnight, ICS
security went from being a non-issue to being critical," he said.
Investments in ICS
security will include control consoles and systems, telecommunications
security, human-machine interfaces, system sensors and collectors, Lockhart
said. The enhancements will benefit areas such as distribution automation,
substation automation and transmission upgrades, according to the report.
The investments will
also create new professional opportunities, such as development and maintenance
of security reference architectures for utilities' control networks,
development of security policies and procedures, maintenance of employee
security awareness programs for ICS and change management, the firm said.
An unfair fight for renewable energies
By Arnold Schwarzenegger, former governor of California - published: December 4
More
energy from the sun hits Earth in one hour than all the energy consumed on our
planet in an entire year.
In
those terms, it is absurd that our federal government spends tens of billions
of dollars annually subsidizing the oil industry, which pulls diminishing
resources from underground, while the industry focused above ground on wind,
solar and other renewable energies is derided in Washington.
Federal
support for development of new energy sources is lower today than at any other
point in U.S. history, and our government is forcing the clean-energy sector
into a competitive disadvantage. To bring true competition to the energy
market, ensure our national security and create jobs here rather than in China
or elsewhere, we must level the playing field for renewable energies. In this
presidential primary, Americans need to hear where the candidates stand on this
critical issue.
Don’t
get me wrong — we should not demonize fossil fuels. For more than 200 years,
the United States has rightly invested in developing new sources of energy.
From the land grants for timber and coal in the 1800s to the tax expenditures for
oil and gas in the early 20th century to the investment in developing nuclear
energy, support for energy innovation has always helped drive America’s growth.
Renewable
energies, however, have not been treated the same way. When the oil, gas and
nuclear industries were forming, federal support for those energies totaled as
much as 1 percent of federal spending. Subsidies available to the renewables
industry today are just one-tenth of 1 percent.
If
our goal is to encourage competition in the energy marketplace, then the
conversation in Congress shouldn’t be about attacking green energy or cutting
all oil subsidies. The conversation should be about leveling the playing field
so that renewables are bound by the same rules as fossil fuels. We must make it
a national priority to clear the red tape and bureaucracy that puts renewables
at a disadvantage. If the candidates running for president believe in energy
independence as a matter of national security — regardless of whether they
agree with the science behind climate change — then the issue of investing in
renewable energies must be front and center in the campaign.
Instead
of a simplistic and misleading one-word argument against green energy — Solyndra! — I’d like to hear from the candidates that
government shouldn’t pick winners, as it clearly has with our lopsided
subsidies. Instead of talking about one terrible green investment or, for that
matter, any of the investments in fossil fuels that have cost billions, I’d
like to hear them talk about how to make sure we properly vet all our
investments to get a good return for the American people.
Federal
investment is critical to the success of the renewable energy industry. That’s
not a new idea. The same was true for coal, which would not have been
economically feasible without tax exemptions and incentives. It was also true
for offshore oil drilling, which was deemed unprofitable without royalty
waivers and favorable packaging of federal leases.
Imagine
what the renewables industry would look like if the federal government leveled
the playing field and showed the same dedication we have in California. Our
green sector is the brightest spot in California’s economy, having grown 10
times faster than any other business sector since 2005. Today, one in every four jobs in the U.S. solar industry is in
California. One-third of U.S. clean-tech venture capital flows into our state.
Nurturing the green-tech sector was the right thing for me to do as governor,
and it is the right thing for the federal government to do.
I
know from experience that it is frustrating for states to wait for the federal
government to take action. Around the world, countries await treaties and
international consensus. The United Nations convention on climate change is taking place in
Durban, South Africa. The U.N. leadership on this subject has been great, but I
don’t think we should just wait around. That’s why I am focusing on
sub-national work; states, provinces and regions have shown that the time for
action is now.
What
our nation needs — for our economy, our national security and our environment —
is more than a treaty signed by dignitaries. We need a level field on which the
United States allows renewable energies to develop by the same rules as oil. If
we can get there, the bountiful clean energy above our planet’s surface will
compete well with the oil beneath it.
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Putting Solyndra Into
Perspective
October 2011
Beyond
reducing pollution and the nation's dependence on foreign oil, the solar
industry employs 100,000 people within the United States, doubling the number
of solar related jobs from 2009. The industry is projected to employ almost
500,000 by 2016, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association.
What
makes Solyndra bankruptcy such a high profile event was
the Administration's decision to turn Solyndra into
the poster child for new clean tech economy. The administration took
a leap of faith with California-based Solyndra, expecting that its unique
panels to be competitive and possibly transformative in
the emerging clean energy industry sector, while providing the United
States a technology lead and global market advantage.
Solyndra
built panels of lightweight, curved film that captured more of the sun's power
than conventional flat panels. Its panels were easier to install and ideally
suited for flat roofs on commercial buildings, a growing market sector.
Solyndra's panels also weren't made of expensive silicon. But when silicon
prices plummeted, and China decided to flood the market with cheaper panels,
Solyndra unraveled.
The
company's failure, however, was made to order for a political season
marked by disinformation and unreasonable discourse.
The
FBI, Congress and inspectors general from the Departments of Energy and
Treasury are now looking into whether the Obama administration rushed to sign a
$535 million loan guarantee for the company without a thorough examination of
its finances or the market for its unique solar panels. Solyndra declared
bankruptcy Aug. 31, costing 1,100 jobs and putting taxpayers on the hook.
No
doubt, Republicans will continue to use the Solyndra development to keep this
story alive for as long as possible, especially in today’s polarized political
environment. The Solyndra investigation should not distract or keep
President Obama and Congress from taking responsible risks that are inherent in
launching and nurturing new clean tech companies, including those in the solar
energy sector.
After
all, this country continues to financially underwrite, subsidize, and
provide generous tax breaks to the legacy fossil-fuel energy sector,
while heavily subsidizing the entire nuclear energy cradle-to-grave waste
disposal process -- and neither energy group holds the promise of energy
independence or transitioning America to a clean and competitive energy
economy.
American
solar companies are making gains in the international market even though they
are competing against Chinese manufacturers that receive deep subsidies from
their government. It must not be forgotten that part of Solyndra's downfall was
due to China's undercutting competition with cheaper, subsidized panels.
That
is not to say allegations of lax government oversight should be ignored. On the
contrary, all steps should be taken to protect taxpayers' interest.
The
United States once the global technology leader in green power, risks that loss
in technology leadership and the U.S. jobs connected with it in the absence of
a political will to break our nation’s oil addiction.
Green Manufacturing, Solar Jobs, and the Media
Sept.
2011
Over the last 36 months, more than 100 new U.S. renewable energy
and energy efficiency manufacturing plants have opened in the United States.
The
U.S. solar industry is booming. Stion just ribbon cut its new CIGs
photovoltaics manufacturing plant in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
Sunvia
(Norcross, Georgia), a U.S.-based solar photovoltaics (PV) manufacturer, in
January 2010 announced that the company had received 5.7 million U.S.-dollars
in Advanced Manufacturing Tax Credits (AMTC) to expand its solar cell
manufacturing facility in Norcross. Sunvia started producing mono-crystalline
solar photovoltaic (PV) cells at this facility in October 2008, and now
operates two solar cell production lines with an annual capacity of 100
megawatts (MW). Currently, the company is preparing to construct a third
manufacturing line, which could increase the total production capacity by 75 %
with half its output headed for export.
XMSolar
in Somerset NJ, a subsidiary of an Italian manufacturer that invested $145
million in the facility, opened its plant in December 2010 producing 65 MW and
plans to expand to 100 MW in 2011.
Yet,
the bad press surrounding Evergreen Solar and Solyndra recent bankruptcies is
distorting the status of the U.S solar industry and by default, all the green
industries.
Evergreen’s
demise was no surprise. Bloomberg News reported, “Since 2010, Evergreen has
been the worst-performing company on the Bloomberg Global Leaders Solar Index.
Solar-energy equipment makers are being hurt by excess capacity, the cutback of
subsidies in Europe and increased competition from manufacturers in China.”
Solyndra’s
failure has nothing to do with solar or green industries. Solyndra’s
failure also was not a surprise to many: the company’s costs for production
exceeded $3/watt and the product was brittle and had suffered a breakage rate
greater than industry standards.
Again,
House Republicans are using this incident to attack the Obama Administration,
even though they are also the ones that have consistently pushed through $65
billion+ of loan guarantee authority for the U.S. nuclear energy industry.
With
politicians throwing bricks at each other, the green industries are right in
the middle dodging these projectiles. Both political parties have embraced our
growth, yet the Solyndra demise is being held up as some symbol.
The
national media has picked up the story and the reporting has fallen short on
the facts.
The
solar and renewable industries' sales went up during the economic meltdown.
Sales and manufacturing capacity are increasing, not as fast as China, but
steadily increasing. Component manufacturing, installation and service jobs
have also increased dramatically in the United States.
In the meantime, China
has become global leader in manufacturing, providing land, tax forgiveness, and
huge domestic market subsidies for solar, wind, and virtually every other
renewable technology. Domestic markets help countries drive global markets.
And that sentiment was echoed by the Department of Commerce’s Renewable Energy
and Energy Efficiency Advisory Committee.
WASHINGTON,
Sept. 2011 -- The U.S. Department of Energy said its work on clean energy
innovation is putting the United States in the lead in the race toward a
greener economy.
Deputy
Energy Secretary Daniel Poneman said clean energy initiatives backed by the
White House under a federal stimulus package are having a positive impact on
the U.S. economy and the clean energy race.
"We are in a race to capitalize on the huge economic and job growth
potential of the clean energy economy," he said in a statement.
"Other countries like China are already moving aggressively to develop and
deploy these technologies but with continued investments in innovation, this is
a race we can win."
The White House is under fire from House Republicans over the bankruptcy of
solar panel company Solyndra, which received a $535 million loan guarantee from
the Energy Department. Critics said the White House was too aggressive in the
plan but President Barack Obama's administration counters that aggressiveness
is what's needed for a green economy.
As an economic powerhouse, Beijing is moving to include more renewable energy
on the national grid. The country set a goal of increasing its solar power
capacity significantly in the next five years.
Beijing's European rivals have started cutting back on solar power subsidies,
meaning China is set to become a world leader in
solar panel purchases.