The Solar Boom Creates Opportunities for Eco-Entrepreneurs

Things are looking sunny for the solar industry, but it's not out of the woods quite yet. Even with tax incentives and rebates, cost is still a major factor for many. The $25,000 - $30,000 price tag for the average solar system remains a fair chunk of change for most, and a shortage of silicon limited production and increased prices for panels in 2006. But these limitations are temporary.

Producers are ramping up production, financing is improving, and costs will fall as production continues to increase. According to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) , the cost of electricity produced by solar panels will drop to about 8-9 cents per kilowatt-hour in the next ten years, low enough to compete with natural gas or coal.

To ride this green wave, eco-entrepreneurs are pursuing a plethora of opportunities.

One such opportunity for eco-entrepreneurs lies in breakthrough technologies that drive down the price of solar. Companies such as Solaria are concentrating the sun's energy with mirrors onto a small area of panels, reducing the cost of the overall system. Another solar strategy being developed by technology startups like Flisom and Powerfilm is to produce flexible thin-films that can coat a surface to produce electricity. Others are developing utility-scale solar power systems that heat water or oil to generate electricity.

In addition to creating the technologies of tomorrow, there are plenty of other opportunities for solar today. As production of solar power continues to grow and becomes increasingly competitive with electricity from other sources, who is going to install all of these systems? Today, most solar systems in the U.S. are installed in the states with the biggest rebates and tax incentives. If more states join in, or nationwide incentives become more attractive, expect the solar wave to spread across the nation, creating opportunities for eco-entrepreneurs to install the panels as fast as the industry can produce them.

And who is going to be up on the roof doing the actual work? It won't matter how many panels are produced if there are not enough trained workers to install them. Solar companies are already running into a shortage of trained, qualified people. The ideal worker has a strong background in construction and electrical skills, with certified training specific to solar systems. Gerald Zepeda at Sun Light and Power says, "We often hire people with construction, plumbing, electrical, or similar experience and train them ourselves," helping them achieve certification by the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP).

Van Jones, Executive Director of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, may have one answer for deploying renewable energy in America's cities and keeping the green wave growing. Millions of people in the cities left behind by economic and environmental progress provide a ready pool of renewable energy workers, given the right training. Training people for new "green collar jobs" installing solar panels will keep the solar power growing, and get these people on track to rewarding careers and lives. As Jones says, they are not just creating jobs, but building "green paths out of poverty."

Eco-entrepreneurs can create training programs that provide the solar industry with the skilled workers it needs. Solar installers are doing their best to train the workers they need, but cannot keep pace on their own. Universities, community colleges, vocational schools and others are building renewable energy programs, but also find it challenging to keep up with demand. Eco-entrepreneurs should look for opportunities to align with solar companies that want to outsource their training to focus on what they do best, putting in solar systems. One of the bright points in the energy bill just signed into law is that it will provide as much as $125 million dollars to grants to train tens of thousands of workers in green collar jobs. It's just a start but from the solar industry perspective, but according to Zepeda , "it's a step in the right direction."

Although solar is growing rapidly, solar panels are still found on only a few scattered homes. Those who see the glass half empty might be discouraged by this, but those who see the glass half full will see a huge opportunity for solar still waiting to be realized. Success will be when every home generates its own electricity.

The opportunity does not stop with solar. Wind power, energy efficiency technology, and biofuels are all growing at a similar explosive pace. By one estimate, renewable energy in general already employs 8.5 million people in the US and might employ as many as many as 40 million people by 2030, accounting for a big chunk of the US economy as a whole. The environmental challenges we face are great, but the opportunities for eco-entrepreneurs willing to take on these challenges are limitless.

by Glenn Croston

December Wind Blows in the Right Direction for Vestas

If one company’s sales are a bellwether for the industry then the wind energy industry is set for years of solid growth.

Vestas Wind Systems, of Randers, Denmark, with a 28 percent market share and more than 33,500 wind turbines in service worldwide, is the world’s largest wind turbine manufacturer.

In 2006, the company delivered turbines with a total capacity of 4,239 megawatts — an increase of 1,054 megawatts or 33 per cent over the prior year. In spite of this increase, Vestas’ market share remained unchanged at the end of the year: Meaning everyone else is growing at roughly the same rate.

Vestas expects that the present wind power share of about one per cent of global power consumption will grow to at least 10 percent by 2020. The targets for renewable power in the EU and China will account for 20 percent and 15 per cent, respectively, in 2020, and the USA is expected to adopt similar targets. These targets mean that installed capacity is set to rise from 75,000 megawatts in 2006 to at least 1,000,000 megawatts in 2020, which translates into annual growth of more than 20 percent.

Vestas doesn’t announce all of its sales, usually just significant orders, but all of the following came in the last month of 2007 making December a particularly good month for the company:

--- AES Corporation, of Arlington, Virginia, ordered 52, V90 series 3.0 megawatt turbines for use in an unspecified project. The contract with Vestas includes delivery, installation and commissioning of the turbines, as well as a five-year service and maintenance agreement.

Delivery is scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of 2008, with the project expected to be complete by the end of the following year.

AES is a worldwide developer of power projects of all kinds. The company entered the wind generation business in 2004, and now operates 1,000 MW of wind projects with another 4000 megawatts in the development pipeline.

Total nameplate capacity for this order - 156 megawatts.

--- UrbaenergÃŒa S.L., a subsidiary of the ACS/Cobra Group, ordered 32, V90 series 2.0 MW turbines for two projects in Spain. Twenty turbines will be for the Sierra de las Carbas project in the province of Zamora, and twelve will go to the Sargentes project in the province of Burgos. The order includes supply, installation, commissioning, and a five-year service contract.

Delivery of the turbines is scheduled to start in September 2008 and March 2009, for the Sargentes and Sierra de las Carbas projects, respectively. Commissioning is expected in February and September 2009, respectively.

Total nameplate capacity for this order - 64 megawatts.

--- From an undisclosed purchaser Vestas received an order for 36 turbines; 26, V90 series 2.0 megawatt units; and 10, V90 series 1.8 megawatt. The turbines will be for projects in Spain; Pujalt in Pujalt,Barcelona province and the Turo del Magre wind power plant stradled between San Guim de Freixenet, Lerida province, and Montmaneu, Barcelona province.

The two wind facilities will be the first established by Vestas in the Catalonia region of Spain. The region has a total installed capacity of 225 megawatts with a target of 1,000 megawatts planned for installation by 2010.

Delivery of the wind turbines is scheduled to start in December 2008 for the Pujalt project and in June 2009 for the Turo del Magre project. Commissioning is expected in July and December 2009, respectively.

Total nameplate capacity for this order - 70 megawatts.

--- Horizon Wind Energy, of Houston, Texas, placed an order for 242, V82 series 1.65 megawatt turbines scheduled for installation in various Horizon-owned wind projects in the US.

Vestas will supply and commission the turbines, and includes a five-year service and maintenance agreement. Delivery is expected to begin at the end of 2008 and will continue through 2009.

Horizon Wind Energy is a fully owned subsidiary of Portuguese utility Energias de Portugal, S.A. By the end of 2007, Horizon will have developed more than 2,200 megawatts of wind capacity and will be operating wind power plants with a total installed capacity of over 1,500 MW. Horizon has another 10,500 megawatts in over a dozen states in its development pipeline.

Total nameplate capacity for this order - 400 megawatts.

--- Duke Energy, of Charlotte, North Carolina, ordered 55, V82 series 1.65 megawatt turbines for the first phase of its Notrees Windpower project, located in Ector and Winkler counties in Texas.

Duke Energy, an electric and gas utility, has more than 1,000 megawatts of wind assets under development in the Western and Southwestern USA, including Texas and Wyoming.

Vestas will supply and commission the 55 wind turbines and provide service and maintenance for three years. The turbines are scheduled for delivery in the second half of 2008, and commissioning is expected to be completed at the end of 2008.

Total nameplate capacity for this order - 91 megawatts.

--- EarthFirst Canada, of Victoria, British Columbia, placed an order for 48, V90 series 3.0 megawatt turbines for its 144 megawatt Dokie Ridge project.

Dokie Ridge will be built in the Rocky Mountain foothills of the Peace River region in the northeastern part of the province of British Columbia, Canada.

Vestas will supply and commission the wind turbines, and delivery will begin in the first half of 2008 with commissioning expected to be completed in 2009. The order also includes a five-year service and maintenance agreement.

The Dokie Ridge project is expected to be the first wind power project installed in British Columbia, which has, as its goal, the acquisition of 90 per cent of its electricity generation from clean or renewable sources of energy.

Total nameplate capacity for this order - 144 megawatts.

--- Minerva, a project company of Alerion Energie Rinnovabili of Milano, Italy, ordered 27, V52 series, 850 kilowatt turbines for its project Castel di Lucio, near Messina in Sicily. The contract includes supply, installation, commissioning and a five-year service and availability agreement.

Delivery is scheduled to start in October 2008, and the project completed by March 2009.

Total nameplate capacity for this order - 23 megawatts.

All together, all orders, that’s 948 megawatts in turbine capacity ordered from one company in one month. It wasn’t too long ago when 948 megawatts was the entire industrywide, worldwide capacity built in one year.

The company calls itself No.1 in Modern Energy. Modern energy is precisely what wind energy is and will continue to be for some time to come.

Os inovadores que tiram água do deserto

Alexandre Mansur

Quem quiser entender como a humanidade poderá vencer a escassez de água deve olhar para um exemplo no planeta – o minúsculo Estado de Israel.

irrigaçãoO engenheiro Diego Berger, da empresa nacional de abastecimento de Israel, a Mekorot, começa de forma bem-humorada uma apresentação de slides que mostra os feitos de seu país no gerenciamento de recursos hídricos. “O povo de Israel historicamente apresenta soluções inovadoras para os problemas da água”, afirma. Ele então exibe na tela uma ilustração da passagem bíblica em que Moisés tira água da pedra com um cajado. Na cena seguinte, outra imagem do Antigo Testamento: Moisés abre o Mar Vermelho. “Nas últimas décadas, porém, nossa tecnologia foi bastante aprimorada”, diz Berger. A platéia ri.

A empresa de Berger é um exemplo de boa gestão da água. O sistema de abastecimento da Mekorot no país tem duas redes distintas. A primeira leva água potável para o consumo das casas, dos escritórios e indústrias. A outra rede irriga as plantações com a água recolhida de esgotos e tratada. Cerca de 72% da água tem segundo uso. Trata-se de um índice de reúso sem par no mundo. O país mais próximo disso, a Espanha, recicla apenas 12% da água.

Os israelenses precisaram se adaptar a uma faixa de terra que no sul é desértica e no norte, a área mais úmida, apresenta índices de precipitação equivalentes aos da região semi-árida no Brasil. Ainda assim, abastecem a população e exportam produtos agrícolas. A tecnologia para tratamento e reciclagem da água é vista pelos israelenses como uma vantagem no mundo globalizado. “Nossa vocação é virar a referência mundial no tema”, diz Booky Oren, coordenador da Watec, uma feira de tecnologias ligadas a tratamento de água que começará no mês de novembro. A feira pretende atrair milhares de visitantes. As duas centenas de empresas de água do país já exportaram US$ 900 milhões no ano passado. O setor tende a crescer com a crise global de água. E os israelenses são a maior referência mundial no assunto.

A idéia de promover as indústrias de água do país foi de Oded Distel, diretor de investimentos internacionais do Ministério da Indústria, Comércio e Trabalho. Em 2002, quando ele era adido comercial na Grécia, tentou vender uma instalação de tratamento de lixo para a ilha de Chipre. “Não ganhamos o contrato, mas compreendi claramente que não podíamos ficar fora daquele mercado”, diz. Ele conta que, na última década, Israel exportou empresas de segurança privada, explorando a imagem de eficiência do Mossad, o serviço de Inteligência do país. Agora o objetivo é fazer o mesmo marketing com a água. “É bem mais fácil de vender. Nosso sucesso com os recursos hídricos não tem lado negativo”, afirma Distel.

Israel entrou no mercado internacional de água no início dos anos 60, quando os fazendeiros desenvolveram um novo sistema de irrigação, por gotejamento. Em vez de despejar a água diretamente no solo, tubos de plástico com furos deixam passar, gota a gota, a quantidade mínima para o crescimento das plantas. Isso reduz a perda por evaporação e a salinização do solo. A técnica permitiu um uso mais eficiente da água. Hoje, mais de 80% da produção agrícola de Israel é exportada. E o país passou a vender a tecnologia de gotejamento. Estima-se que as empresas israelenses controlam metade do mercado mundial desse tipo de irrigação, que movimenta US$ 1,2 bilhão por ano.

O orgulho mais recente dos israelenses é sua indústria de dessalinização da água do mar. Próxima à conflagrada Faixa de Gaza, a usina de Ashkelon, de US$ 250 milhões, foi inaugurada no fim de 2005, às margens do Mediterrâneo. Ela é a maior do mundo em seu gênero. Produz o suficiente para abastecer uma cidade de 1 milhão de pessoas. A água captada no mar é injetada em alta pressão dentro de 40 mil tubos de plástico. No interior deles, um feixe de membranas, como as camadas de um palmito, extraem o sal da água. O líquido que sai do outro lado é tão puro que os técnicos precisam adicionar de volta alguns sais minerais que compõem a água potável comum.

O governo pretende instalar duas outras grandes usinas como essa. Hoje, as 31 usinas de dessalinização do país produzem 15% da água que a população consome. A meta é chegar a 40% nos próximos cinco anos. Com uma usina de dessalinização própria, o kibutz – uma espécie de fazenda coletiva – Ma’agan Mikhael, um dos mais ricos do país, situado no litoral, retira água salobra do subsolo arenoso. Com ela, produz morangos suculentos como os da Califórnia e cria carpas para exportação.

Embora representem o que existe de mais avançado em reciclagem de água, as tecnologias israelenses não podem ser vistas como solução para todos. Antes de pensar em dessalinizar água do mar, países como o Brasil podem investir em soluções mais simples, como reduzir o vazamento na rede de distribuição. A verdadeira lição de Israel foi ter enfrentado limitações de recursos naturais criando uma política de incentivo à inovação tecnológica. Israel investe 4,8% do PIB em pesquisa e desenvolvimento, porcentual superior à de quase todos os países desenvolvidos.
SAL DA TERRA - Oded Distel exibe uma usina de dessalinização de água do Mediterrâneo. É a maior instalação do tipo no mundo dessalinização

A maior parte desse dinheiro é disputada por centros de pesquisas e incubadoras de empresas, para estimular a competitividade. O governo paga apenas 35% do orçamento do Instituto Weizmann, um dos principais centros de pesquisa do país. Os pesquisadores têm de buscar recursos na indústria ou em fundos privados. Isso gera pesquisas mais conectadas com a necessidade das empresas. E estimula pesquisadores e engenheiros a lançar seus produtos no mercado. No fim do ano passado, cerca de 108 pequenas empresas chegaram ao mercado com tecnologias inovadoras de água. Segundo o governo, investidores aplicaram US$ 1,2 bilhão em 2005 para capitalizar empresas do setor. Nos próximos três anos, o governo destinará US$ 2,2 milhões para incubar ainda mais negócios na área.

As empresas geram produtos que chamam a atenção no mercado internacional. Um deles é um depurador industrial de água que mata os microrganismos usando raios ultravioleta. O processo, recentemente patenteado por um grupo de pesquisadores da empresa Atlantium, chegou ao mercado em 2006. No início do ano, a companhia foi apontada pela revista de negócios e tecnologia americana Red Herring como uma das cem mais promissoras do mundo. Eles têm em quem se mirar. Há duas décadas, um grupo de engenheiros do kibutz Amiad desenvolveu um filtro com cartuchos revestidos de membranas de tecido sintético que é autolimpante. A tecnologia hoje sustenta uma empresa que exporta filtros de US$ 30 mil para agricultores na Austrália e fatura cerca de US$ 40 milhões por ano. Para o Brasil, que tem a maior bacia hidrográfica do mundo, Israel serve como exemplo de país que constrói sua competitividade a partir não da abundância de recursos naturais, mas justamente de sua escassez. (Alexandre Mansur - Revista Época - http://www.beth-shalom.com.br)