Solar Power

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates - Covering nearly 300 football fields in a remote patch of desert, the Shams 1 solar project carries plenty of symbolic significance for the United Arab Emirates. It will be the first large-scale solar project in the oil-rich country when completed at the end of the year, and the largest of its kind in the Middle East. At full capacity, the 100-megawatt, concentrated solar project will be able to power 20,000 homes. For those behind the project, it's the surest sign yet that solar is coming to the region in a big way. "We truly believe solar will be a major contributor to meeting our own requirements," said Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber, the UAE's special envoy for energy and climate change and the chief executive officer of government-funded Masdar, which is the majority investor in the project.

A Cinnaminson solar investor has sued Public Service Electric & Gas Co. in New Jersey over its much-ballyhooed program to install 200,000 photovoltaic panels on utility poles, claiming that PSE&G drove down the value of solar power by producing so much of it. Mark Napier, a solar entrepreneur, alleges that the utility is unable to measure precisely how much power it generates from the solar panels. PSE&G's method of estimating its solar production "is inaccurate at best and fraudulent at worst," according to the lawsuit.

When Beth Brody of Trenton and her fiance, Robert Burger of Princeton, set out to build their "solar dream house" near Lambertville, N.J., they talked to a lot of builders about solar energy, but they didn't seem familiar with it. Finally, through an advertisement in a telephone book, the couple located Paul Peters of Sellersville, one of a handful of local builders keeping the solar faith as the urgency of the 1970s-born energy crisis fades....

The sun has not yet officially set on this year's legislative session in Harrisburg, but it has on an effort to increase the state requirement for use of solar power. "For all practical purposes, it's dead," Maureen Mulligan, lobbyist for Pennsylvania's two largest solar-advocacy groups, declared in an e-mail Monday. It's the third time in two years that a legislative proposal to boost the state's commitment to alternative energy has failed to even reach a vote in the full House or Senate.

Hoping to profit from the growing demand for renewable, large-scale solar energy, Lockheed Martin Corp. will start constructing a solar test center today at its Moorestown facility. The company said the Solar System Test and Engineering System (SolSTES) Array test bed in South Jersey will provide Lockheed Martin engineers with the opportunity to research a variety of solar technologies and materials. "This will allow us to test and model different ways to produce solar arrays and allow us to do risk reduction," Ken Ross, a spokesman for Lockheed Martin, said yesterday.

Chronar Corp. of Princeton yesterday said that it had found a partner with which to build the world's largest plant for converting sunlight to electricity. Chronar said the plant would cost about $125 million and produce 50 megawatts of electricity, seven times more than any than any other plant that uses photovoltaic cells to convert sunlight into electricity. Previously, the price of photovoltaic cells has been so high that a solar electric plant was not considered economical.

Please don't dismiss this as the ranting of some "eco-nut" or tree hugger. Just consider these points: With about 4 percent of the world's population, the United States creates about 24 percent of all greenhouse-gas emissions associated with global climate change. Energy from fossil fuels creates smog, air pollution and acid rain; poisons waterways with mercury; and causes increasing human health problems worldwide. Climate change, many scientists contend, leads to rising sea levels and flooding, unstable weather, and increased storm damage.

A year and a half after first announcing plans for solar power at the Eagles' stadium, the franchise announced Thursday that it had teamed up with a new partner - solar giant NRG of Princeton. NRG will design, build, and operate an array of more than 11,000 solar panels and 14 micro wind turbines that, over the course of a year, will provide six times the power used during all Eagles home games at Lincoln Financial Field, the team said. This time, the Eagles are working with a major player, a company that has already done a similar project at the Redskins' stadium, in the suburbs of Washington.

If NFI Industries' calculations are right, the three acres of solar panels just installed on the roof of its Cherry Hill headquarters will save $750,000 in energy costs over 15 years and become a green feather in its cap. The 1.32-megawatt project could also be a launchpad. It is the first renewable development designed and installed by NFI Solar, a new division in the 77-year-old trucking and logistics company, which the Brown family started as a coal-hauling operation in North Jersey.

Pennsylvania will start issuing rebate checks in July to help homeowners offset the cost of installing solar-powered energy systems, but don't expect an immediate stampede to plug into the sun. Even with a state rebate of up to 35 percent, on top of maximum federal tax credits of 30 percent, going solar requires a sizable investment. The typical four-kilowatt residential system costs about $35,000. In all but affluent households, that is an unthinkable expense, says David Blumenfeld - especially now, when "everybody is hurting, everybody is scared about losing their job. " So he is offering another pathway to the sun. By offering homeowners the option of leasing solar systems - a deal that would not involve the up-front costs typical of buying such equipment - Blumenfeld's new company, Urban Eco Electric, hopes to raise a bumper crop of solar panels across Philadelphia's rowhouse rooftops.

For years, New Jersey has had bragging rights that prompted frequent double-takes. It was second in the nation in the amount of solar power installed. Whaaat? More than all those sun-basking Southern states? Not anymore. Thursday, with the release of a new solar market report, New Jersey's solar prowess slipped. To No. 3. Arizona edged into the No. 2, both in total solar power installed and the amount installed in 2012. The report, from the Solar Energy Industries Association, noted that Arizona's bump in the standings was due to large-scale utility installations.

Delivering on climate pledge President Obama's inaugural address pledge to "respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations" ("Environmentalists hail Obama climate change focus," Jan. 22), was a clear sign that he understands the urgency of addressing this problem. Now we're counting on him to follow up those words with action. We know what we need to do in Pennsylvania and nationwide to tackle global warming: clean up the largest sources of the carbon pollution fueling the problem.

A Cinnaminson solar investor has sued Public Service Electric & Gas Co. in New Jersey over its much-ballyhooed program to install 200,000 photovoltaic panels on utility poles, claiming that PSE&G drove down the value of solar power by producing so much of it. Mark Napier, a solar entrepreneur, alleges that the utility is unable to measure precisely how much power it generates from the solar panels. PSE&G's method of estimating its solar production "is inaccurate at best and fraudulent at worst," according to the lawsuit.

A Cinnaminson solar investor has sued Public Service Electric & Gas Co. in New Jersey over its much-ballyhooed program to install 200,000 photovoltaic panels on utility poles, claiming that PSE&G drove down the value of solar power by producing so much of it. Mark Napier, a solar entrepreneur, alleges the utility is unable to measure precisely how much power it generates from the solar panels. PSE&G's method of estimating its solar production "is inaccurate at best and fraudulent at worst," according to the lawsuit.

True Green Capital Management L.L.C. and CIT Group Inc. announced the closing of $35 million of financing for a 12.3-megawatt solar rooftop system to provide power for the privatized housing community at Joint Military Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in Burlington County. United Communities L.L.C., the owner of the 2,104-unit community, estimated the 13.7 million kilowatt hours produced each year by the system will provide about 40 percent of the community's annual electricity needs. United Communities is owned by First Montgomery Group of Marlton.

The queen of England has gone solar. The panels may not be on Buckingham or Balmoral. But there's one on the tiny black purse of a six-inch queen figurine, and the power it generates makes Her Majesty's white-gloved hand wave. This could be the best evidence yet that the technology is becoming better, cheaper, smaller, faster. More a part of our everyday world. If also, at times, a tad silly. This year, solar gadgets have proliferated. And by "gadgets," we mean everything from kitschy gizmos to emergency equipment to snazzy charging devices that will keep your cell phone topped off - even by mere lamplight.

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates - Covering nearly 300 football fields in a remote patch of desert, the Shams 1 solar project carries plenty of symbolic significance for the United Arab Emirates. It will be the first large-scale solar project in the oil-rich country when completed at the end of the year, and the largest of its kind in the Middle East. At full capacity, the 100-megawatt, concentrated solar project will be able to power 20,000 homes. For those behind the project, it's the surest sign yet that solar is coming to the region in a big way. "We truly believe solar will be a major contributor to meeting our own requirements," said Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber, the UAE's special envoy for energy and climate change and the chief executive officer of government-funded Masdar, which is the majority investor in the project.

SAN FRANCISCO - Federal officials on Friday approved a plan that sets aside 285,000 acres of public land for the development of large-scale solar power plants, cementing a new government approach to renewable energy development in the West after years of delays and false starts. At a news conference in Las Vegas, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar called the new plan a "road map . . . that will lead to faster, smarter utility-scale solar development on public lands. " The plan replaces the department's previous first-come, first-served system of approving solar projects, which let developers choose where they wanted to build utility-scale solar sites and allowed for land speculation.

Not long ago, Gov. Christie and New Jersey environmental groups wound up on the same side of an issue. Some of the groups actually praised the governor they are so frequently confronting. Hold the gasps. The rest of New Jersey residents can cheer as well, because it benefits them. The state took action that will make solar power somewhat more affordable. So if you're a resident who has been mulling the idea, now is the time to re-mull. Basically the state increased the amount of electricity that utilities must obtain from solar power.