Floating PV Expert Exhibits California Based Project and Launches 72 Cell Solar Floats at Intersolar North America

SAN FRANCISCO, July 12, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- International floating PV pioneer Ciel et Terre exhibits patented technology Hydrelio®, as a part of the California Solar Energy Industries Association (CALSEIA) pavilion at Intersolar North America.

Hydrelio®, created in 2011, is a platform that allows standard solar PV panels to be installed on large man-made bodies of water such as industrial reservoirs, dams or irrigation ponds. This is proven to be a beneficial source for energy and water intensive industries such as water treatment plants and reclamation facilities, wineries and dairy farms.

More recently, Ciel et Terre created two pilot programs in the US. The organization developed partnership with The University of Central Florida and installed a 5KW floating PV system on the campus's retention pond. The second pilot program is located in Sonoma, CA at the Kunde Family Winery. Ciel et Terre's innovative floating system conserves the reservoirs' water by reducing evaporation and limiting algae growth. The solar panels operate more efficiently and produce more energy due to the natural cooling effect emitted through the water.

This installation is the first on site study that will compare real electricity generation from traditional ground mount racking and the floating PV power plant. This will provide empirical data to show the natural cooling effect to optimize solar output in Northern Californian weather conditions.

Currently, Hydrelio® is leading the industry with floating PV systems utilized by the most solar dependent countries including Japan, Korea, China, UK and Brazil. These existing systems combined have a total peak capacity of 44 MWP megawatts using approximately 170K floating solar panels.

Ciel et Terre is continuously making strides to position their patented technology as one of the most beneficial sources of renewable energy. The Hydrelio® system manufactured in Atlanta, GA can now accommodate installations up to 60 cell and 72 cell modules to better answer the US market demand.

For more information or to schedule an interview stop by Booth #7145 at the Moscone Center -West Hall, Level 1 California Pavilion.

About Ciel et Terre
Established in 2006 as a renewable Independent Power Producer (IPP), Ciel et Terre has been fully devoted to floating solar PV since 2011. The company pioneered the first specific and industrialized system –named Hydrelio to make solar panels float on water, with criteria such as cost-effectiveness, safety, longevity, resistance to winds and waves, simplicity, drinking water compliance and optimized electrical yield.

Source: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/floating-pv-expert-exhibits-california-160000492.html

SDG&E becomes first California utility to hit net metering cap

By Krysti Shallenberger, UtilityDIVE

Dive Brief:

• San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) hit its net metering cap late yesterday afternoon, according to the utility's real-time net metering application tracking dashboard. 
• SDG&E is the first major utility in California to hit the cap, which limits distributed generation projects eligible for net metering to 5% of a utility's peak demand. 
• New applications will now be shifted to the new time-of-use rates and fees established in California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC)'s decision earlier this year that outlined the successor tariff for net metering. 

Dive Insight:

It was only a matter of time before SDG&E hit the cap after sounding the alarm a year ago that net metering applications were piling up fast.

SDG&E is the first California utility to breach the cap. While such an event typically induces panic in solar advocates (as seen in states like Nevada and Massachusetts), California regulators acted swiftly enough to ensure a plan was in place for when the cap would be hit. 

Under CPUC's January decision, new net metering customers will be able to keep retail rate remuneration for energy exported to the grid after the cap is hit, but they will also pay a one-time interconnection fee between $75 and $150, a non-bypassable monthly charge ranging from $0.02/kWh to 0.03/kWh, and will be moved onto time-of-use rates.

The solar industry isn't particularly worried about the impacts of a California utility hitting its net metering cap. Bernedette Del Chiaro, executive director of California Solar Energy Industries Association (CalSEIA), doesn't anticipate any slowdowns in rooftop solar installations in SDG&E's service territory after the cap is hit, according to PV Tech.

"If anything, we anticipate a return to growth as more consumers realize that NEM 2.0 isn’t a threat to the economics of solar and that now is just as good to go solar as ever," she said.

The other two major California utilities, Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas & Electric, aren't far behind SDG&E in reaching their own net metering caps. As of June 19, the last time PG&E's net metering tracker was updated, the utility was about 289 MW away from reaching its 2,409 MW cap. SCE, which hasn't updated its tracker since April, was about 621 MW away from its 2,240 MW cap.

Source: http://www.utilitydive.com/news/sdge-becomes-first-california-utility-to-hit-net-metering-cap/421819/

As SDG&E edges closer to net metering cap, solar installations not expected to slow

By Krysti Shallenberger, UtilityDIVE

Dive Brief:

• San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) will likely be the first utility in California to surpass its net metering cap (5% of its peak demand) and enter into the new rates and fees designed by the NEM 2.0 proceeding, PV Tech reports. 
• According to SDG&E's real-time net metering dashboard, the utility is 4.7 MW from hitting its 617 MW cap, with 37.4 MW of net metering applications left in the queue. 
• Once the cap is breached, new net metering customers will shift to the new net metering fees and time-of-use rates set by the California Public Utilities Commission in their net metering decision earlier this year. 

Dive Insight:

SDG&E sounded the alarm last year that the aggregate caps on net metered systems in California were close to being hit.

Now looks likely to receive the distinction of being the first utility to hit its limit. But unlike in other states, it's not a panic-inducing circumstance since the CPUC already has a solution in place.

Under a January regulatory decision, new net metering customers be able to keep retail rate remuneration for energy exported to the grid after the cap is hit. But they will also pay a one-time connection fee between $75 and $150, a non-bypassable charge from $0.02/kWh to 0.03/kWh, and will be switched to time-of-use rates.

The solar industry welcomed the new regulatory scheme, saying the commissioners understood the importance of retail rate net metering to sustain rooftop solar. Bernadette Del Chiaro, executive director of California Solar Energy Industries Association (CalSEIA) doesn't anticipate any slowdowns in rooftop solar installations in SDG&E's service territory after the cap is hit, according to PV Tech.

“The California Public Utilities Commission did a good job of making the change to net metering small enough to not cause significant harm to the market while also addressing some of the utility’s concern," she told the outlet. "It was a balancing act but one in which the California solar industry is primed and ready to step up to the plate and do its part to lower costs so that consumers feel no difference between the two different programs. If anything, we anticipate a return to growth as more consumers realize that NEM 2.0 isn’t a threat to the economics of solar and that now is just as good to go solar as ever."

Source: http://www.utilitydive.com/news/as-sdge-edges-closer-to-net-metering-cap-solar-installations-not-expected/421312/

Imperial Irrigation District must support rooftop solar

By The Desert Sun Editorial Board

Imperial Irrigation District has taken a lot of heat lately.

The community-owned utility that provides electricity to customers across a significant portion of the Coachella Valley – including Mecca, Thermal, La Quinta, Coachella, Indio, Bermuda Dunes, Thousand Palms, Indio Hills and Sky Valley – has drawn fire for its handling of rooftop solar.

In February, IID abruptly announced it had reached its cap and would not be enrolling new customers into its net energy metering program, which pays for excess electricity generated by home and business solar arrays that is sent to the grid. That action left in a lurch hundreds of customers who had already installed arrays or who were in the process of doing so.

During a recent meeting with The Desert Sun Editorial Board, General Manager Kevin Kelley acknowledged that IID’s handling of the situation was “ham-handed” at best.

IID, California's third-largest public power utility, can go a long way in making amends for what has been a public relations nightmare by following through on creation of a new, robust solar incentive program.

The plan – which will be the focus of public hearings next month -- should make whole those customers who were prevented from going forward with their attempt to help the environment and better manage their electricity costs.  It also must offer a real incentive to motivate more to make this “green” power shift.

IID officials acknowledge that rooftop solar must be a key component of the utility’s future. Kelley and Energy Manager Vicken Kasarjian told the editorial board that they would like to see IID’s Board of Directors approve a new, “unlimited” net energy metering program, but with much lower compensation rates for those who enroll.

Under its previous NEM program (which has terms that continue for those already taking part), customers with solar receive about 12 cents per kilowatt-hour for the excess electricity they send to the grid. Kelly and Kasarjian say the new program IID staff will push for approval likely will set the compensation rate at closer to 4 cents per kWh.

IID should approve a NEM plan with an incentive that goes beyond merely paying a wholesale rate for the power it buys from rooftop solar customers, but offers them a reason to make the personalinvestment in their properties that the utility itself acknowledges is beneficial to the entire system.

Officials from California's solar industry, which employs thousands, say the 4 cent rate being considered doesn’t “pencil out” and leaves rooftop solar in IID as attractive mainly to the altruistic wealthy.

“That would significantly slow down, if not pretty much kill the rooftop solar market. You can't take the economic profile of solar and reduce it by a third, and expect the market to just rebound overnight," Bernadette Del Chiaro, executive director of the California Solar Energy Industries Association, told The Desert Sun’s Sammy Roth.

Ideally, IID staff will work closely with industry officials to develop a new NEM program -- perhaps with additional layers such as system maintenance and access charges -- that offers a compensation rate to spur continued solar acceptance while it equitably supports the IID grid for all customers moving forward.

Finally, Kelley, Kasarjian and their staff must convince the agency’s board that solar is a boon for IID. While the board has given its OK for IID staff to develop a new NEM concept, some board members have been dismissive or even openly hostile toward solar.

“If we dropped all tax credits and everything else, it would go away. That's where I stand,” board member Stephen Benson said at the panel’s May 10 meeting. “I'm up for re-election in December. You can vote me in or vote me out.”

Source: http://www.desertsun.com/story/opinion/editorials/2016/06/21/our-voice-iid-rooftop-solar-incentives/86202150/