According to the New York Times, we may be on the brink of a new phase of solar innovation: Solar Valley. With San Jose-based Nanosolar and SunPower Corporation and Campbell-based REgrid in on the solar action, the bandwagon may spread to make Silicon Valley a solar industry capital.
Silicon Valley is poised to stand out for numerous reasons. As exemplified above, it’s where the big guns come out to play. Smaller companies, such as Ausra, soon follow suit. Originally based in Australia, Ausra offers solar thermal electric power stations for utilities. Also, financial observers see the commonality between the solar cell and the computer chip that once made Silicon Valley soar. There’s also the promise of mass adoption by companies such as SolarCity in Foster City, which looks toward future innovations that will eventually make solar power more affordable and ubiquitous.
Consumer behavior can be fickle, but concern for the environment is looking to become more a lifestyle than a trend. It’s a lifestyle that solar panels definitely fit into, especially when they’re built to last. With solar research generating new solar products and possibilities, government support in the form of incentives, and growing public interest, investors are paying attention and hoping that Solar Valley will not become another Silicon Valley bust.
del.icio.usThe New York Times takes a cursory look at the state of interest in solar power, noting that solar power has captured the public imagination, but so far failed to capture much by way of significant technology advancements. The story itself, however, seems a bit lacking in imagination, at various points concluding that "there is limited encouragement to take up the challenge" and "[solar power] is not an arena where private energy companies are likely to make the breakthrough". Vinod Khosla - and Silicon Valley in general - are mentioned by name, but there's no mention of the amount of money pouring into solar power R&D from the venture capital community. Over the past couple years it's amounted to hundreds of millions of dollars into dozens of companies. Not to mention the successful IPO/spinoff of SunPower, SunPower's acquisition of PowerLight, movement by talented entrepreneurs from "dot-com" tech into solar businesses such as SolarCity and Akeena Solar. All of this provides plenty of evidence that private companies - provided they're given a level playing field through government policy - can and will lead the charge. On that note, the article makes a good point: nearly three times as much federal money is spent on coal R&D than on solar. So it goes.
Add Macy's to the quickly the growing list of retailers who are making a significant deployment of solar energy systems on some of their California stores. This list includes Whole Foods, Staples, Kohl's, and Wal-Mart, who are all pursuing solar energy service arrangements by which they purchase electricity from a solar generation system located on their roof but owned by someone else. In this case, SunPower/PowerLight will build 26 systems, sell 15 of them outright to Macy's, and operate the remaining 11 under solar energy services Power Purchase Agreements. The solar energy services model is compelling - clearly a lot of big names are jumping on board - but Macy's, at least, seems willing to explore the financial and logistical impact of owning the solar photovoltaics compared to just buying the output.