SACRAMENTO, California, October 21, 2008 (ENS) – The state of California has partnered with SunEdison to provide affordable solar power at 15 California State University campuses and the CSU executive office.

Under the power purchase agreement signed Monday, SunEdison will finance, build and operate the solar panels for 20 years. California State University will be able to buy the renewable power they generate at or below current retail rates while avoiding the cost of installing the system.

The public-private partnership will protect the environment by providing a zero-emission eight megawatt solar photovoltaic power system to the university campuses.

This amount of solar power covers five percent of the CSU system’s annual energy use. Over the life of the contract, the partnership will offset about 9,485 metric tons of carbon dioxide, the equivalent of removing 48,937 cars from the road, the university calculates.

“California is going green and we are doing it first and we are doing it fast,” said Governor Schwarzenegger. “With the partnership being announced today between California and SunEdison, we are seeing more tangible results and more follow through in reducing our state’s carbon footprint. This partnership is a good deal for the state, the planet and our economy – all at no cost to taxpayers.”

David Buzby, chief executive officer of SunEdison, said, “California leaders have turned the vision of renewable energy for the state into results. SunEdison is proud to be part of this important public-private partnership and to help make solar a meaningful part of California’s energy portfolio.”

SunEdison solar array at CSU Chico,
installed in 2006. (Photo courtesy SunEdison)

New SunEdison solar panels will be installed on rooftops, atop parking canopies and in ground-mounted arrays at the CA Maritime Academy in Vallejo and the 15 campuses at CSU Bakersfield, Channel Islands, Chico, Fullerton, Humboldt, Los Angeles, Monterey Bay, Pomona (Cal Poly), Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Bernardino, Palm Desert, San Francisco, San Marcos, Stanislaus, and the CSU Office of the Chancellor, Long Beach.

“California’s continued economic, environmental and social prosperity depends on sustainable energy and technology,” said CSU Chancellor Charles B. Reed. “As the nation’s largest university system, the CSU welcomes this opportunity to lead the way.”

CSU has been working with SunEdison since 2006.

Mike Bates, energy and facilities trades manager, CSU, Chico, said, “SunEdison was selected by the California State University system because there were no up-front costs to the university. The entire solar project, the installation, maintenance, and troubleshooting is covered by SunEdison with no out-of-pocket costs to the university.”

“Basically, we are leasing our roof to SunEdison, they come in and install their panels, and we pay them a fixed rate with an annual escalation for the power generated from the solar panels over the next 20 years.”

The solar power purchase agreement is expected to yield 20 megawatts of new renewable energy for the state.

In addition, five state prison sites and three state mental hospitals are scheduled to get a total of seven megawatts of solar power, according to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the Department of Mental Health.

Since 2006, 4.2 megawatts of solar power have been installed at eight other state facilities through similar power purchase agreements.

Anyone who wants to know where solar panels, fuel cells, wind turbines and other green energy technologies are generating renewable power at state office buildings, prisons, hospitals and college campuses can go to a new online database provided by the California Department of General Services, the agency that facilitated the solar power purchase agreements. Find it at: http://www.RenewableEnergy.dgs.ca.gov.

California’s push to fight global warming and increase renewable energy is expected to boost the state’s stressed economy by $76 billion by 2020, according to a economic study released Monday by the University of California at Berkeley and Next 10, a nonprofit organization promoting environmental innovation in California.

Tough state mandates requiring Californians to reduce their carbon footprints and use more homegrown renewable energy will create more than 403,000 “new efficiency and climate action driven jobs” in the next 12 years, the study shows.

California’s household incomes are projected to increase by a total of $48 billion, and the study found that consumers will even be able to save on their lighting bills.

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MIAMI, Florida, April 22, 2008 (ENS) – A new clean energy system is powering Miami City Hall, making Miami the first major U.S. city to power its City Hall with solar and alternative energy.

The City Hall’s entire interior lighting system has been upgraded with state-of-the-art energy efficient lamps and fixtures. In addition, four state-of-the-art photovoltaic solar panels have been installed on the south lawn. Together, these efforts will reduce over half of the City Hall lighting load and cut the building’s energy bill by an estimated $9,000 per year.

Miami Mayor Manny Diaz says these two measures reduce power use at City Hall by 60 percent, “not too bad for an old building like ours!”

“At Miami City Hall we are going help use the Sun to save tax payer dollars by harvesting clean energy,” said the mayor at the ribbon-cutting ceremony April 2. “Public-private partnerships leverage tax payer dollars so we can invest in other critical programs.”

The public-private partnership Mayor Diaz has made to fund these improvements is with EcoMedia, an environmental media company that operates the award-winning EcoZone Program, as well as several corporate sponsors.

Miami Mayor Manny Diaz surveys the new solar panels on the lawn of City Hall. (Photo courtesy Office of the Mayor)

“Mayor Diaz and the City of Miami are leading the way by adopting green technologies and making use of clean, renewable energy,” said Paul Polizzotto, founder and CEO of EcoMedia. “Thanks to a successful public-private partnership, what we have here is a revolutionary model at work – corporate advertising dollars are being used to clean the environment.”

EcoMedia utilizes its traditional media offerings such as television, radio, out-of-home, online, interactive and event marketing to help corporations build their businesses. In turn, revenues are generated and used to make a positive environmental difference in the communities in which these companies and their employees live, work and do business.

EcoZone funds provided for the two energy management upgrades at Miami City Hall.

“The support we’re getting from the City of Miami and our many generous sponsors is exactly what we need to carry out EcoMedia’s vision of creating solutions for environmental challenges,” said Polizzotto. “Corporations are going to spend money on advertising anyway, so why not do it in a responsible way that improves the quality of life and the environment.”

Current and previous EcoZone Program sponsors include APL, Hyatt Regency, Miami Herald, Mercy Hospital, Kimco Realty, AbTech, Panther Real Estate Partners, the Romano Group, Method, Wild Oats, Terra Cycle, Nestle Waters’ Zephyrhills brand, Royal Caribbean, Waste Management, FPL, WCI Communities, Ferrous Processing, Publix Supermarkets and Montenay/Onyx.

Also in Miami, EcoZone’s relationship with AbTech has led to an in-kind sponsorship of the AbTech Smart Sponge, a water sanitizing product that acts as a filtration system for water running off the city streets.

The Smart Sponge device is installed inside stormwater drains to trap debris, oil, pollution, bacteria, pathogens and trash to keep them from entering waterways.

A collaborative effort led by the EcoZone program, AbTech and its Florida distributor, GlobeTec Construction, supported the installation and maintenance of the Smart Sponge on City Hall property and throughout the city.

Mayor Diaz is serious about greening the city. He introduced Miami’s first Citywide Tree Master Plan and a Green Fleet which requires all city vehicles to meet or exceed fuel efficient standards.

The mayor created the City of Miami Green Commission to bring together a cross-section of local experts and community representatives to help mold the city’s environmental policy in the areas of climate action, green buildings, urban forestry and bicycle transportation.

His efforts are paying off. In March, Miami was ranked #1 on the Forbes.com list of America’s Cleanest Cities. Mayor Diaz says this month’s efforts to green City Hall will further solidify the city’s standing as one that guards the environment for future generations.

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HONOLULU, Hawaii, April 6, 2008 (ENS) – The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory has signed a memorandum of understanding with a Massachusetts-based wind farm company to establish a remote research affiliate partner site on Maui.

It is the first such partner site for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s wind technology program outside of its base in Colorado.

UPC Wind Partners LLC will use the site to study the integration of wind technology into the Hawaii utility system.

The 30 megawatt UPC Wind Partners Kaheawa wind farm is located in the West Maui Mountains high above Maui’s coastline. It generates enough power to supply nine percent of Maui’s electrical needs.

Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle announced the collaborative public-private partnership to establish a wind technology program on March 31 in Honolulu.

“The establishment of a partner site of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory on Maui recognizes our islands’ abundant renewable resources, and the advancements we are making to transform Hawaii into one of the world’s first economies based primarily on clean energy resources,” said the governor.

This latest partnership expands on the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative between the State of Hawaii and the U.S. Department of Energy that started in January and aims to have 70 percent of Hawaii’s energy come from clean, renewable sources by 2030.

UPC Wind Partners’ Kaheawa wind farm
in the West Maui Mountains
(Photo courtesy UPC Wind)

The Maui partner site at UPC Wind’s Kaheawa Wind Farm will conduct research and development on advanced wind energy technologies, including operational and control studies, energy storage options and integration of renewable electricity into existing grids.

“Governor Lingle has made a concerted effort to encourage wind power development in Hawaii, as the state seeks to grow its energy independence,” said Paul Gaynor, president and chief executive of UPC Wind Partners, LLC.

“We’re looking forward to participating in this partnership to help develop new technologies that can grow the wind industry as the leading provider of renewable power in the country,” Gaynor said.

The research aims to help maximize the integration of wind into Hawaii’s utility system so that this renewable resource can compete with traditional energy sources, providing a clean, renewable alternative for Hawaii’s and the nation’s energy needs.

“This partnership will provide Hawaii with invaluable technical assistance, access to leading-edge research, and relationships with additional national partners as we seek to develop innovative approaches to increase our energy independence and reduce our reliance on imported fossil fuels,” the governor said.

“The U.S. Department of Energy is pleased to commit the expertise of its National Renewable Energy Laboratory to help harness Hawaii’s unique abundance of natural resources and showcase the broad benefits of renewable energy technologies and alternative fuels at work on an unprecedented scale,” said Andy Karsner the Department of Energy’s assistant secretary for energy efficiency and renewable energy.

Karsner said, “We look forward to further public-private partnerships that will advance the goals of the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative and serve as an example to be replicated in the United States and other island communities around the world.”

“This is the first presence for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s wind technology program outside of its base in Colorado,” said NREL Director Dan Arvizu who was in Hawaii to sign the agreement and inspect the new Maui site.

“NREL recognizes the potential in Hawaii both to deploy wind technologies to meet our energy needs and to use successes here as models for other states and regions.”

Wind energy is one of many renewable resources and technologies being built into the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative.

“For Hawaii to achieve the bold 70 percent clean energy target in one generation, partnerships between the public and private sectors; among federal, state and local government entities and between research institutions and industry will be critical,” said Governor Lingle, a Republican. “It will require a fundamental transformation in how Hawaii generates, transmits and uses energy.”

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WASHINGTON, DC, January 31, 2008 (ENS) – Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman sent America’s clean coal program back to square one Wednesday when he tossed out the FutureGen low emissions coal gasification plant that the Bush administration has supported for the past five years.

FutureGen is a public-private partnership between the U.S. Energy Department and the FutureGen Industrial Alliance, Inc, a non-profit consortium of 12 American and international energy companies.

The site at Mattoon, Illinois, selected after a hard-fought battle with two sites in Texas and another in Illinois, was scrapped, and Bodman said the FutureGen Alliance will have to compete all over again with other commercial power companies and consortia.

The announcement raised howls of protest from the Illinois congressional delegation. Half the delegation declared in a letter to President George W. Bush Wednesday that they “have lost confidence in Secretary Bodman.”

“We feel that the Secretary misled us and the people of Illinois, creating false hope in a FutureGen project which he had no intention of funding or supporting,” they told the president.

“We are writing today to urge you to keep FutureGen on track, so that this project can begin construction and become a reality,” wrote the Illinois elected officials, including Senators Dick Durbin and Barack Obama, both Democrats, and Democratic Representatives Jerry Costello, Danny Davis, Rahm Emanuel, Phil Hare, and Jan Schakowsky, and Republicans Tim Johnson, Ray LaHood, and Peter Roskam.

Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman
(Photo courtesy Office of the
Secretary)

Bodman said he now favors “a restructured approach to its FutureGen project that aims to demonstrate cutting-edge carbon capture and storage, CCS, technology at multiple commercial-scale Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle, IGCC, clean coal power plants.”

“Under this strategy,” Bodman said, “the U.S. Department of Energy, DOE, will join industry in its efforts to build IGCC plants by providing funding for the addition of CCS technology to multiple plants that will be operational by 2015.”

“This approach builds on technological research and development advancements in IGCC and CCS technology achieved over the past five years and is expected to at least double the amount of carbon dioxide sequestered compared to the concept announced in 2003,” Bodman said.

“The FutureGen concept announced in 2003 planned the creation of a near-zero emissions, 275 MW power plant that produced hydrogen and electricity from coal on a smaller-than-commercial-scale, serving as a laboratory for technology development,” said Bodman.

The FutureGen Alliance today said Bodman’s assertions were untrue. “The Mattoon site and FutureGen, as currently configured, can sequester approximately two million tons per year. The environmental impact statement considered as much as 2.5 million tons,” said the Alliance.

“FutureGen is commercial scale,” the Alliance said. “The facility will be built around a commercial-scale gasifier and commercial-scale frame 7 turbine.”

In annoucing the restructuring, Bodman raised the issue of government funding for FutureGen. “Under this plan, DOE’s investment would provide funding for no more than the CCS component of the power plant – not the entire plant construction, compared with the FutureGen concept announced in 2003 where the federal government would incur 74 percent of rising costs.”

Again, the FutureGen Alliance disagrees with Bodman.

“Project costs have increased, but DOE’s share has not doubled – not even close. When President Bush first announced FutureGen, the DOE share was $800M. DOE’s current estimated share is $1.1B with the increase due to inflation,” the Alliance said today.

“The Alliance has offered to provide DOE with partial-to-full repayment to ease the final cost to the taxpayer. The costs are manageable,” the Alliance said.

“Alliance member contributions, thus far, have been cash donations. The Alliance has told DOE that it still expects a majority of its contributions will come from cash donations. Proposed financing is small relative to traditional projects. The Alliance includes some of the world’s largest companies; DOE’s notion that they might default is nonsense. The Alliance has fulfilled all its responsibilities thus far,” the consortium said.

On Wednesday, FutureGen Alliance chief executive Michael Mudd said, “The Alliance remains committed to keeping FutureGen on track.”

In their letter to President Bush, the Illinois congressional delegation too challenged the energy secretary’s statement that funding concerns are behind the withdrawal of support for FutureGen.

“When the Secretary was assured that we were prepared to provide adequate funding and to resolve any other outstanding issues between the Administration and the FutureGen Alliance if he would take steps to move FutureGen forward, he unequivocally refused. Given that, it is hard to believe that cost concerns constitute his real objection to this project,” the letter states.

“Many have argued that this abrupt about face by Secretary Bodman was the direct result of the FutureGen Alliance choosing Mattoon, Illinois as the site, over Texas applicants,” the congressional delegation wrote. “While we’d like not to believe this theory, there is no other plausible explanation.”

The president has not yet commented on the FutureGen controversy.

The Energy Department today issued a Request for Information that seeks industry’s input by March 3, 2008, on the costs and feasibility associated with building clean coal facilities that achieve the intended goals of FutureGen.

Bodman said the president’s Fiscal Year 2009 budget requests $407 million for coal research, including development of more efficient gasification and turbine technologies, innovations for existing coal power plants, and large-scale CCS injection tests, and $241 million to demonstrate technologies for cost-effective carbon capture and storage for coal-fired power plants, including $156 million for the restructured FutureGen approach and $85 million for DOE’s Clean Coal Power Initiative.

“This $648 million request represents a $129 million increase from the president’s FY2008 request and is the largest amount requested for DOE’s coal program in more than 25 years,” said the energy secretary.

The FutureGen Alliance, a non-profit organization, represents some of the world’s largest coal companies and electric utilities including: American Electric Power, Anglo American, BHP Billiton, the China Huaneng Group, CONSOL Energy Inc., E.ON U.S., Foundation Coal, Luminant, PPL Corporation, Rio Tinto Energy America, Peabody Energy, Southern Company, and Xstrata Coal.

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