A bright future

By Kimberly Dickey

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The renewable energy industry, whether we are discussing in global, national or local terms, could accurately be described as volatile. It certainly has these qualities: powerful and assertive, yet not particularly stable, subject to sudden change.

In recent weeks, the world cheered when German solar power plants reportedly produced a world record of 22 gigawatts of electricity per hour - equal to 20 nuclear power stations at full capacity.

This news was, however, juxtaposed with headlines that not only American manufacturers but Chinese photovoltaic leader LDK Solar is reportedly headed for bankruptcy according to industry observers within China, due to its immense debt burden and a global downturn in the solar energy market.

But solar is not alone in these market fluctuations: Just two weeks after hitting Chinese solar manufacturers with tough new duties, the U.S. is bringing down the hammer on wind turbine tower manufacturers from China having made a preliminary determination that Chinese producers/exporters have received government subsidies ranging from 13.74 percent to 26 percent.

Nationally in recent weeks, leaders of a bipartisan effort on Capitol Hill joined the U.S. wind power industry to sound an urgent call for the House Ways and Means Committee to find a vehicle as soon as possible for extending the successful federal wind energy Production Tax Credit (PTC) and avert thousands of layoffs already beginning in factories across America.

This news weighs heavily on the minds of manufacturers and American workers who have invested everything in getting this kite off the ground, including many mid-career workers who have gone back to school to learn new skills to make themselves more marketable to an industry that needs an employment base with a specific skill-set.

Meanwhile locally, Kirkwood Community College recently brought its 2.5 megawatt wind turbine online proving it is possible to power one third of its campus demand with energy from local wind resources.

In May, unincorporated Linn County was designated a Small Wind Innovation Zone by the Iowa Utilities Board. The designation allows owners of small wind energy conversion systems (100kW or less) to take advantage of an expedited local approval process and a streamlined interconnection process makes it easier for homeowners to connect to the grid and take advantage of existing programs that may reduce their monthly energy costs.

On May 25, Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad signed off on legislation to provide state tax credits for solar electric, solar hot water, and geothermal systems. The state tax credits are up to $15,000 for solar energy for businesses, up to $3,000 for solar energy for homeowners, and up to 20 percent of the federal credit for geothermal heat pumps.

Last week, leaders in energy and transportation across Iowa rolled out a plan to jump-start our economy and reinvigorate our workforce while moving Iowa toward a cleaner, reliable, and more affordable energy future. The Iowa Renewable Energy Jobs 2020 coalition has a plan to create 20,000 clean energy jobs and save consumers at least $1 billion in energy costs per year by 2020. And finally, two leaders of Iowa's renewable energy non-profits, Iowa Renewable Energy Association and Iowa Solar/Small Wind Energy Trade Association, announced formation of the Iowa Solar Energy Cooperative, a consortium of member property owners and solar installers who will work toward the cooperative goal of getting 2.5 MW of additional solar capacity installed in 250 Iowa residential and 50 commercial systems by the end of 2012 (more information at).

www.iowasolarcoop.com).

There is a great deal of good news in renewable energy, yet the situation is still volatile. It is up to all of us, citizens, business owners, educators and politicians, to listen and learn and come together, cooperatively in the face of uncertainty and volatility.

Kimberly Dickey, of Cedar Rapids, is board chair of the Iowa Renewable Energy Association. Comments: www.kimberlydickeydesigns.com