EnviroPolitics Blog

NRG president sees solar shift as federal subsidies end

NRG’s David Crane

Without
the availability of federal loan guarantees, a program that ended in
September, the wave of massive solar projects is probably over,
according to David Crane, president and CEO of Princeton-based NRG Energy said Thursday during a conference call with analysts.

Crane’s remarks were published on Friday by Platts Energy Week.

Wall Street does not have the capacity to provide
debt financing for the large projects, which have price tags of more
than $1 billion, Crane said. Looking ahead, utility-scale projects will
range from 20-MW to 100-MW, he said, noting that his company will pursue
those types of projects.

Solar
development will come more from rooftop projects, according to Crane.
“The distributed, residential is going to end up swamping the bag-scale
projects,” he said.

NRG
plans to install 733 MW of solar panels over four years on warehouse
owned by ProLogis under a partnership backed by DOE and Bank of America.

Dropping costs to bolster solar’s competitiveness

A
form of Moore’s Law – the doubling every two years of the number of
transistors that can be placed on an integrated circuit – applies to
photovoltaic technology, according to Crane. In the last two years, the
delivered cost of energy from PV was cut in half, he said.

NRG expects
the cost to fall in half again in the next two years, which would make
solar power less expensive than retail electricity in roughly 20 states,
he said. The expected drop in solar costs has “the potential to
revolutionize the hub and spoke power system, which currently makes up
the power industry,” he said.

While
the solar industry has benefited from federal support, the driver for
the industry has been state renewable portfolio standards, led by
California’s 33% mandate, according to Crane.

In
defense of solar in a “highly politicized post-Solyndra world,” Crane
said that PV puts less strain on air, water and land resources than
other forms of power generation. It is also more predictable and
reliable than wind farms, he said.

See full Platt’s story here

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Report: 75 % recycling rate would create 1.5 million jobs

On the eve of America Recycles Day, a report prepared by an alliance of recycling advocates and labor unions claims that reaching a national recycling rate of 75 percent by 2030 would create nearly 1.5 million jobs and reduce
pollution.

Entitled “More Jobs, Less Pollution: Growing the Recycling Economy in the U.S.,” the
report was prepared by the Tellus Institute for the BlueGreen Alliance,
Service Employees International Union, National Resources Defense Council, Teamsters, Recycling Works!, and the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives.

The report’s findings will be the subject of a panel
discussion tomorrow at 3 p.m. with Senator Tom Carper of Delaware and Representative Frank
Pallone of New Jersey at the
U.S. Capitol Visitor Center.

Key report findings

Achieving a 75
percent diversion rate for municipal solid waste (MSW) and construction
and demolition debris (C&D) by 2030 will result in:

A total of 2.3 million jobs: Almost twice as many
jobs as the projected 2030 Base Case Scenario, and about 2.7 times as
many jobs as exist in 2008. There would be a significant number of
additional indirect jobs associated with suppliers to this growing
sector, and additional induced jobs from the increased spending by the
new workers.

Lower greenhouse gas emissions: The reduction of
almost 515 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (eMTCO2)
from diversion activities, an additional 276 million eMTCO2 than the
Base Case, equivalent to emissions from about 72 coal power plants or
taking 50 million cars off the road.

Less pollution overall: Significant reductions in a range of conventional and toxic emissions that impact human and ecosystem health.

Unquantified benefits of reducing ecological pressures
associated with use of non-renewable resources, conserving energy
throughout the materials economy, and generating economic resiliency
through stable, local employment.

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EP Weekend Photo – How things look through your eyes

Here’s a great chance to share with our readers–and the world–

what you’re seeing through your eyes.

We welcome for publication your photos relating to energy, environmental and related political issues in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York and Delaware–the subjects that we cover in EnviroPolitics Blog.

This is a great opportunity to showcase your photos and, perhaps, to gain attention for the work of your business or organization.

Today’s photo (above) was submitted by the NY/NY Baykeeper, the organization that seeks to protect, preserve, and restore the environment of the most urban estuary on Earth – the Hudson Bay Estuary.

Founded with the help of Hudson Riverkeeper and the American Littoral Society
in 1989, Baykeeper is an independent nonprofit with a full and part time staff, Board of Directors, and many dedicated volunteers.