The Yudelson Associates Blog: What's New

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Will the Credit Crunch Deal a Body Blow to Renewable Energy Projects?

A December 5th story in the Phoenix Business Journal describes that plans are on hold for the 280 megawatt $1 billion Solana Generating Station, Arizona’s largest solar plant, as funding dries up for large scale utility generating plants of all fuel types. In addition to the difficulty of getting bank loans, equity funding has dried up as a lot of large Wall Street investment banks such as Lehman Brothers either went our of business or were absorbed by other entities, as Merrill Lynch was purchased by Bank of America. Ironically, this situation may force utilities to move from their current arms-length stance of just acting as power purchasers to becoming the owners and developers of such facilities, since state utility commissions are holding firm on their renewable portfolio standards requiring a certain amount of renewable power online by fixed dates. Even if the lending environment eases next year, credit is likely to be more expensive and with more stringent terms and conditions attached. There is also the problem with wind power generating stations that the current energy production tax credit expires at the end of 2009, so that without further Congressional authorization most projects are likely to be smaller than otherwise anticipated.

Posted by Jerry on 12/10/2008 at 01:59 PM

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Monday, November 24, 2008

Location of Land-Intensive Renewable Power Sites Stirs Controversy

Fundamentally, solar and wind power plants are land-intensive.  Simple equation: solar radiation intensity is about 1.3 kW per square meter at the earth’s surface. If you want 1000 MW, at 10 percent net conversion efficiency, you have to cover 7 million square meters, or 1,700 (net) to 2,500 (gross) acres (4 square miles) per power plant. Not a lot, but enough to get people pretty riled up. Quite a bit more land will be needed for support facilities and transmission lines, or perhaps for thermal power storage if we’re talking concentrating solar power. We’re going to have to learn to live with both points of view. That’s what politics is all about.

Posted by Jerry on 11/24/2008 at 01:48 PM

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Thursday, February 21, 2008

Land planning critical to Green Buildings and Climate Change

The American Society of Landscape Architects made the following recommendations. For the full report, click here.
�� Encourage sustainable site planning for new communities and buildings of all types. (LEED addresses site planning in several ways, but much more could be done, especially in the area of building orientation for passive design)
�� Require open space and parkland preservation as a component of all public and private development, from small site-specific projects to regional land use plans. (This is addressed, but not very satisfactorily, in the LEED rating system)
�� Encourage the use of native and adapted vegetation in the built environment to take full advantage of the most appropriate plants to increase air quality, conserve water resources, and sequester carbon dioxide. (This is covered in the LEED rating system in several places)
�� Encourage the use of sustainable stormwater management practices that enhance the treatment and increase the infiltration of stormwater. (LEED covers this topic as well)
�� Encourage the use of green roofs on public and private buildings of all types. (LEED addresses green roofs and allows them to be used for multiple purposes)
�� Require comprehensive transportation and utility planning as a component of land use planning, matching infrastructure capacity with current and proposed land uses.
�� Encourage the development of smart growth communities. (LEED for Neighborhood Development will facilitate this development approach)
�� Enact policies that support design of safe transportation routes for all users, including pedestrians, bicyclists, and those who use wheelchairs.

Site planning is critical to green building’s long-term success. It’s great to see landscape architects stepping up to the plate on the climate change issue.

Posted by Jerry on 02/21/2008 at 11:05 AM

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Tuesday, January 22, 2008

How do green building teams get high-performance results?

I’ve been doing a lot of research lately on how project teams are delivering high-performance projects, those that save 30% or more energy against the ASHRAE 2004 standard, with lots of daylighting and other green features. Consider that LEED-Platinum projects, currently the highest attainment in green building, represent less than five percent of all LEED-certified projects in the U.S., and you’ll see that there’s a lot of projects that don’t get to the very highest levels. Here are a few lessons learned:

1. 1. It’s not easy doing it within budget.
2. 2. It probably won’t happen the first time.
3. 3. It takes a village to raise a building.
4. 4. Building is a team sport; the owner’s active leadership is critical.
5. 5. LEED is the best roadmap we have for sustainable building.

Posted by Sky on 01/22/2008 at 03:50 PM

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