WIND ENERGY

Vestas has received an order for 73 wind turbines for an expansion of the Alta Wind Energy Center near Tehachapi, Calif, that totals 219 MW of power generation.

Overall, the expansion will install 100 V90-3.0 MW turbines as 27 were already purchased in 2010. The order has been placed by subsidiaries of Alta Wind Holdings, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Terra-Gen Power, LLC.

The contract includes delivery and commissioning along with a five-year service and maintenance agreement for the 300-MW project. Delivery is scheduled for fall 2011 and commissioning is expected late this year.

GAS STORAGE

Merchant Energy Partners, LLC, hosted a groundbreaking ceremony this week for its East Cheyenne Gas Storage (ECGS) project near Sterling. More than 200 attended the event, including industry and government officials and Governor John Hickenlooper, who spoke at the groundbreaking ceremony.

“We need these alternative sources of revenue and a more diversified economy in the state of Colorado, and I think that’s what wind energy does, and that’s what this gas storage facility is going to do,” said Governor Hickenlooper.

“Energy should be the backbone of that diversification.”

“It was our honor to mark the exciting next phase of this project alongside the people and governmental leadership of Colorado,” said Andy Lang, president of Merchant Energy.

“The availability of gas storage enables the successful implementation of Colorado’s Clean Air-Clean Jobs Act of 2010. Power generators will be able to more efficiently produce electricity by augmenting their gas supply portfolio with gas storage from facilities like East Cheyenne.”

SOLAR (leasing)

Sen. Mark Udall has introduced a bill that would allow the Department of Energy to insure the value of solar panels and other renewable energy systems leased by homeowners.

Udall says the Renewable Energy Access through Leasing (REAL) Act would be paid for by charging premiums for companies to participate in the insurance program and would come with zero cost to taxpayers.

Co-sponsored by Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., and Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., the REAL Act is aimed at solving the problem of high upfront costs for installing residential solar and other home renewable energy projects.

“The REAL Act is a creative, bipartisan solution to cutting the prohibitive costs of greening Colorado homes by offering wider leasing options for residential projects,” Udall said in a release.

“Making renewable energy more affordable for more Coloradans shifts our country’s reliance on fossil fuels toward cleaner sources that create lasting jobs within our state’s burgeoning renewable energy industry and pump dollars directly into our economy,” he added.

SOLARCITY, U.S. BANCORP TEAM UP FOR FUNDING 

SolarCity®, has announced the creation of a new fund to finance an additional $158 million in commercial and residential solar projects in 2011 in partnership with a subsidiary of U.S. Bancorp.The $158 million fund increases the company’s total solar project financing funds to more than $1 billion, and the company now has more than 14,000 solar customers.

SolarCity®,  recently opened an operations facility sales in southeast Denver to go along with a Thornton location that launched last year. The California-based company said it will use the new fund to finance its SolarLease® and power purchase agreement (SolarPPA™) offerings for customers. SolarCity’s chief competitor in the PV leasing market, SunRun announced earlier this year that it had received additional funding of its own.

SolarCity operates from 24 operations centers in Arizona, California, Colorado, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington D.C.

CHANGING RENEWABLE ENERGY BUSINESS MODELS

Boulder-based Pike Research, LLC  has published a white paper which states that business models in clean energy industries are being rapidly transformed against a backdrop of regulatory uncertainty.

“Clean Energy: Ten Trends to Watch in 2011 and Beyond” notes the diversification of technologies in the solar sector, investor-owned utilities returning to ownership and development of renewable energy generation and the revival of direct current (DC) transmission and distribution.

“As the clean energy industry matures and as it simultaneously comes to grips with economic challenges, market leaders are experimenting with new business models, both at a large scale and on a distributed basis,” says Pike Research Senior Analyst Peter Asmus.

“At the same time, key industry players are utilizing an increasingly wider diversity of technology options, especially in the solar and wind sectors.”

The report states that clean energy industries are emerging from a challenging period caused by the global economic downturn. It also notes that many clean energy industries are returning to business models that were previously abandoned. More information is available HERE.