Renewable News | August 2013
Welcome to Renewable News, a newsletter that covers a range of renewable energy topics, including innovative initiatives in our state, technological advancements, financial incentives, trainings, and events. If you would like to change preferences for the newsletters you are currently subscribed to or if you want to unsubscribe, please use the links provided at the bottom of this page.
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2013 energy legislation update
The 2013 Minnesota Legislature set several new policies intended to boost the state’s distributed generation, defined as the generation of electricity on-site or close to where it is needed in small facilities designed to meet local needs. The Minnesota Department of Commerce was charged with developing policy in several areas. Progress is reported in developing the Value of Solar Tariff, the Made in Minnesota Solar Incentive Program, and various energy studies and Commerce-led stakeholder processes. Read more.
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Still time to visit the Home Energy exhibit at the Minnesota State Fair
The Home Energy exhibit at the 2013 Minnesota State Fair has been warmly received by fairgoers over the first several days of the Fair. The exhibit, located at the Eco Experience on the north end of the fairgrounds, includes educational displays to demonstrate many ways homeowners can improve the efficiency, comfort, safety, and sustainability of their homes. Renewable energy is prominently featured, with several displays dedicated to solar and wind energy. Read more.
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Wind News
2012 wind report: Minnesota among leaders in wind power production
Minnesota remains one of the leading wind power producing states, according to the 2012 Wind Technologies Market Report and the 2012 Market Report on Wind Technologies in Distributed Applications. Minnesota ranks seventh in the nation for cumulative wind power capacity with 2,987 megawatts (MW) through 2012. Texas ranks No. 1 with 12,214 MW. Minnesota ranks fourth in percentage of in-state wind generation, with 14.3 percent of its electricity generated from wind. Minnesota is also leader in the installation of distributed wind energy systems. Read more.
ITAC adds Bergey Excel 6 to its Unified List of small wind turbines
The Interstate Turbine Advisory Council (ITAC), a project of the Clean Energy States Alliance (CESA), recently added the Bergey Excel 6, a fully certified small wind turbine, to its Unified List of wind turbines. The Excel 6, a 5.5 kW turbine, joins the Excel 10 and five other turbines on ITAC’s small wind turbine list. These turbines meet the ITAC listing requirements, a unique set of eligibility criteria that address the performance and reliability of turbines with a rotor swept area of less than 200m2 (meters squared). The list is used by ITAC-member clean energy programs across the United States that have pooled resources to efficiently review and evaluate turbines. The Minnesota Department of Commerce, Division of Energy Resources is a member of ITAC and collaborates with other member states to improve coordination in the distributed market. The list of ITAC turbine requirements and the full list of qualified turbines, including mid-size turbines, is available on ITAC’s web page.
Solar News
City of Royalton benefits from solar PV system, efficiency measures
The City of Royalton is pleased that energy efficiency measures and a new 7.55 kW solar photovoltaic (PV) system have helped decrease electric costs at City Hall by about one third. On the roof of Royalton’s 12,000 square-foot City Hall, the Rural Renewable Energy Alliance from Pine River, Minn., installed the solar PV system. The solar panels are made by tenKsolar, a Minnesota solar manufacturer. Royalton’s clean energy initiatives are described in a case study published by the Minnesota Department of Commerce, Division of Energy Resources.
Price to install solar PV continues to decline
The installed price of solar PV power systems in the United States fell substantially in 2012 and through the first half of 2013, according to a Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory report called “Tracking the Sun VI: An Historical Summary of the Installed Price of Photovoltaics in the United States from 1998 to 2012.” In 2012, prices fell 14 percent for systems less than 10 kW, 13 percent for systems 10-100 kW, and 6 percent for systems more than 100 kW. Read more.
Funding Opportunities
Commerce issues RFP to examine energy-savings goal
The Minnesota Department of Commerce, Division of Energy Resources requests proposals from qualified contractors to conduct public meetings with stakeholders and members of the public to address a series of issues related to Minnesota’s energy-savings goal and to produce a report on findings and legislative recommendations. The contractor will organize, facilitate, document, and report on the results of this stakeholder process. The RFP and required forms are available at the Commerce website RFP page. Proposals for this RFP must be received by Commerce no later than 3:00 p.m. CDT, Monday, Sept. 9, 2013.
Also, check the Commerce website RFP page for a value of solar thermal study RFP, to be posted Sept. 3.
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