Solar power investment in America continues to defy stock market trends, with US solar power company Sungevity announcing a funding deal with Citigroup Inc. to provide for $50 million in residential solar leases that will allow the company to expand into new territory on the East Coast.

Sungevity has experienced rapid growth since 2010, reporting $120 million in residential solar installations. The company offers a zero-dollars-up-front leasing arrangement to homeowners wishing to install rooftop solar power systems. Last month, Sungevity partnered with home US improvement giant Lowes to allow customers in-store access to Sungevity’s iQuote satellite imaging system that can provide customers with instant quotes without need for onsite assessments from technicians.

“Citi’s new tax equity fund will support our rapid growth and momentum, including our recent expansion to the East Coast and our significant partnership with Lowe’s,” said Mac Irvin, Chief Financial Officer of Sungevity. “Citi is a valuable addition to our sources of project finance as we look to provide more customers with our easy, affordable solar lease option and spur the mass adoption of solar.”

The company says that since the solar lease program was introduced in 2010 solar installations have grown ten-fold. This encouraged Sungevity’s launch of its “Rooftop Revolution” in July aimed at new markets in five Northeast states, including New York, Maryland and New Jersey.

According to a company release, “Sungevity is now in a hyper-growth phase and will hire approximately 200 new employees by the end of 2011, doubling its current headcount.”

The Citigroup funding deal could be seen as a signal that renewable energy is a safe bet for the USA in uncertain financial times, with private-sector cash buttressing against unpredictable federal schemes for solar energy projects.
Sourced & published by Henry Sapiecha

Sourced & published by Henry Sapiecha

]]> http://www.energy-options.info/2010/12/1025/feed/ 0 http://www.energy-options.info/2010/11/taxation-ruling-on-income-from-solar-power-generation/ http://www.energy-options.info/2010/11/taxation-ruling-on-income-from-solar-power-generation/#comments Sun, 28 Nov 2010 21:55:02 +0000 Editor http://energy-options.info/?p=946 Edited version of private ruling by Australian tax office

Authorisation Number: 92788
This edited version of your ruling will be published on the public Register of private binding rulings after 28 days from the issue date of the ruling. The Information about private rulings fact sheets have more information.

Please check this edited version to be sure that there are no details remaining that you think may allow you to be identified. Contact us at the address given in the fact sheet if you have any concerns.

Ruling

1. Are credits or payments you receive for power generated by solar panels on your residence, assessable for income tax?

Answer: No.

2. Are you entitled to either an outright deduction or a decline in value deduction for the cost of the solar panels?

Answer: No.

3. Are you entitled to any deductions in relation to funds borrowed in order to purchase the solar panels?

Answer: No.

This ruling applies for the following period(s):

Year ended 30 June 2008

Year ended 30 June 2009

Year ended 30 June 2010

Year ended 30 June 2011

Year ended 30 June 2012

The scheme commences on:

1 July 2007

Relevant facts and circumstances

You have a solar electric system on the roof of your principal residence.

You are not registered for GST

You intend to expand your current system.

Under the legislation, the electricity retailer will be required to credit you 50.05 cents/kwh for the electricity exported to the grid.

Your purpose for installing your current system was to offset the cost of electricity now and in the future, and to contribute to greenhouse emission reductions.

Your reasons for wishing to expand your system are to offset 100% of the electricity consumed in your home and to generate income from a green source.

Relevant legislative provisions

Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Section 8-1.

Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Section 6-5.

Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Section 6-10.

Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Section 40-25.

Reasons for decision

While these reasons are not part of the private ruling, we provide them to help you to understand how we reached our decision.

Income

Sections 6-5 and 6-10 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (ITAA 1997) provide that the assessable income of a resident taxpayer includes ordinary income and statutory income derived directly or indirectly from all sources during the income year. Generally, if an amount received is not considered ordinary income or statutory income, it is not included in assessable income.
Ordinary income has generally been held to include three categories, namely, income from rendering personal service, income from property and income from carrying on a business.
Amounts that are not ordinary income, but are specifically included in assessable income by a provision of the taxation legislation, are called statutory income and are also included in assessable income.
There are no specific legislative provisions relating to payments or credits received for the supply of electricity. Therefore the payments or credits are not considered to be statutory income.

Consequently, it is only necessary to consider if the payments or credits should be included as ‘ordinary income’. They will be ordinary income if you are carrying on a business of generating electricity.

Subsection 6(1) of the ITAA 1997 defines ‘business’ to include ‘any profession, trade, employment, vocation or calling, but does not include occupation as an employee’. However, this definition simply states what activities may be included in a business. It does not provide any guidance for determining whether the nature, extent, and manner of undertaking those activities amount to the carrying on of a business. For this purpose it is necessary to turn to case law.

The cases provide a number of indicators that are relevant to determining whether activities constitute the carrying on of a business. These indicators are set out below.

Significant commercial purpose or character

The ‘significant commercial purpose or character’ indicator is linked to the size and scale of activity, the repetition and regularity of activity and the profit indicators. A way of establishing that there is a significant commercial purpose or character is to compare the activities with those of a taxpayer who is carrying on a similar activity that is a business.

The intention of the taxpayer

The intention of the taxpayer in engaging in the activity is a relevant indicator. This indicator is particularly related to:

- whether the activity is preparatory or preliminary to the ultimate activity

- whether there is an intention to make a profit, and

- whether the activity is better described as a hobby or the pursuit of a recreational or sporting activity.

Prospect of profit

We believe it is important that the taxpayer is able to show how the activity can make a profit. Stronger evidence of an intention to make a profit occurs when the taxpayer has conducted research into his/her proposed activity, consulted experts or received advice on the running of the activity and the profitability of it before setting up the business.

Repetition and regularity

It is often a feature of a business that similar sorts of activities are repeated on a regular basis. The repetition of activities by the same person over a period of time on a regular basis helps to determine whether there is the carrying on of a business.

Is the activity of the same kind and carried on in a manner that is characteristic of the industry?

An activity is more likely to be a business when it is carried on in a manner similar to that in which other participants in the same industry carry on their activities

In considering this indicator the following factors might be compared with the characteristics of others engaged in the same type of business:

- the volume of sales
- the sort of expenses incurred by the taxpayer

- the amount invested in capital items

- previous experience of the taxpayer

Organisation in a businesslike manner and the use of system

Business should be conducted systematically. A business is characteristically carried on in a systematic and organised manner rather than on an ad hoc basis. An activity should generally conform with ordinary commercial principles to amount to the carrying on of a business.

Size or scale of the activity

The larger the scale of the activity the more likely it will be that the taxpayer is carrying on a business. However, this is not always the case.

Hobby or recreation

The pursuit of a hobby is not the carrying on of a business for taxation purposes. Money derived from the pursuit of a hobby is not regarded as income and therefore is not assessable. Expenses incurred in relation to the hobby activity are not allowable deductions. However, we recognise that a hobby can sometimes turn into a business.

Application to your circumstances:

One of your reasons for wishing to expand your solar panel system is to receive income. This is a factor which points towards the carrying on of a business. However, the following factors point towards the opposite conclusion:

· the solar panel system will be attached to your home rather than located at a dedicated business facility.

· although large for a home system, it is designed for domestic rather than commercial use.

· your other reasons for expanding the system are to offset 100% of the electricity consumed in your home and to support the production of renewable energy.

· although you wish to receive income from the system, given its substantial capital cost, there is no prospect of profit in the short or medium term. The likelihood of profit in the long term is also questionable as it is dependant both on the length of time the panels will remain effective before requiring replacement and you not changing residences. As you intend to borrow the funds needed to expand the system, the prospect of profit is even further reduced due to the additional interest expenses that will be incurred.

· your activity will not be carried on in a manner similar to other participants in the electricity generation industry. Commercial electricity providers operate on a size and scale vastly larger than the activity that you propose.

Having regard to all of the above, it is considered that you would not be carrying on a business of generating electricity. Therefore, any payments or credits you receive from your solar panels will not be assessable income.

Deductions

The general deduction provision is section 8-1 of the ITAA 1997 which allows a deduction for all losses and outgoings to the extent to which they are incurred in gaining or producing assessable income, except where the outgoings are of a capital, private or domestic nature, or relate to the earning of exempt income.

The cost of an asset used to produce assessable income is not deductible outright under section 8-1 of the ITAA 1997 as the expenditure is capital in nature. However, a decline in value deduction claimed over the effective life of the asset is available under section 40-25 of the ITAA 1997.

No deductions are available for any of your expenditure in relation to your solar electric system (including expenditure relating to funds borrowed to purchase the system such as interest) as the payments or credits you receive in relation to the system are not assessable income.

DISCLAIMER

You cannot rely on the rulings in the Register of private binding rulings in your tax affairs. You can only rely on a private ruling that we have given to you (or to someone acting on your behalf). For more information about relying on rulings refer to the relevant private rulings fact sheet(s).

The Register of private binding rulings is a public record of private rulings issued by the Tax Office. The Register is an historical record of rulings, and we do not update it to reflect changes in the law or our policies.

The rulings in the Register have been edited and may not contain all the factual details relevant to each decision. Do not use the Register to predict Tax Office policy or decisions.

© Commonwealth of Australia 2010

This work is copyright. You may download, display, print and reproduce this material in unaltered form only (retaining this notice) for your personal, non-commercial use or use within your organisation. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968 all other rights are reserved. Requests for further authorisation should be directed to the Manager, Commonwealth Copyright Administration, Intellectual Property Branch, Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, GPO Box 2154, Canberra ACT 2601, or by email to commonwealthcopyright@dcita.gov.au

Sourced & published by Henry Sapiecha

Green Resources Group Limited (GRG) is a public holdings company registered in November 2009 with 3 subsidiary Pty Ltd companies:

The management team has conducted extensive market research, due diligence, feasibility study and strategic business planning prior to the launch of this organisation and its business model since mid 2009.

GRG wholly owns and operates the 3 subsidiary companies each responsible for a different operation catering for different market sectors. GRG’s core business is built around the latest technology in renewable energy – Solar Photovoltaic System.

1. First Renewable Energy: First Renewable Energy is responsible for the sourcing, procurement and importing of a comprehensive range of solar products and supplies. FRE also conducts wholesale and distribution of solar photovoltaic panels and parts in high volume in both domestic and international markets.
2. Inspire Solar: Inspire Solar is in charge of sales & marketing, supply and installation of solar photovoltaic systems for residential homes, strata management building, warehouses, schools and commercial buildings in NSW, the company will expand to QLD and WA in August 2010.
3. Perpetual Solar: Perpetual Solar is the founder of the franchise system for retail solar shops Australia-wide. The product range includes Solar Photovoltaic Systems and a wide range of solar devices and gadgets. An online shop is in operation which complements the retail franchisee shops.

COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES

• Successful procurement and importing of the full range of products/parts for solar PV systems
• Experienced Industry Leading Management Team
• Supplying the best solar panels in NSW (most advanced technology and A grade quality)
• Procured Exclusive & None-Exclusive Distributorships for solar products.
• Strong Government Accredited Installation & Operation teams – shortage of accredited installers only 100 or so in NSW.
• Strong Sales, Operations team
• Strong cash flow & finance backing

KEY INVESTMENT HIGHLIGHTS

• Fast exit strategy – IPO in October 2010
• Minimal and managed risk
• Multiple revenue streams
• High but realistic ROI
• Tangible asset base – $2 Million+ of land, plant, equipment, stock
• Strong sales records
• Aligned interest between shareholders & senior management team (All shareholders work in the business)
• Zero debt, no gearing.
• Strong finance backing & favourable trading condition for future stock purchase & acquisition.

BOARD & MANAGEMENT

Richard Sharp – Managing Director (Bachelor of Mathematics – Beijing University. Master of Business Administration – University of Technology Sydney)

Self-made billionaire (in today’s economical scale) by the age of 28.Experienced in founding business from the ground up to industry leading corporations.World-class visionary and entrepreneur.Extremely well connected with manufactories in China.

Leo Li – Chief Executive Officer (Bachelor of Computing Science – University of Technology Sydney)

Professional negotiator & charismatic leader with strong business acumen and all-round management skills. Experienced in Mergers & Acquisitions of domestic & international multi-million dollar projects.

Kenneth Norris – Group General Manager (Diploma in Marketing)

Over 30 successful years in the B2C market and is responsible for the creation and growth of the largest Home improvement companies in Australia.

Proven leadership and change management abilities that have a “Fast to Market” result which is paramount and critical to this fast growing new industry.

Green Resources Group is also seeking additional Board members.

CORPORATE STRUCTURE

Investor will be purchasing the shares in the Parent Company – Green Resources Group Limited which wholly owns and operate the 3 subsidiary companies.

EXIT STRATEGY

Company will conduct an IPO and be listed on a suitable exchange platform on October 2010.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Leo Li (CEO – Green Resources Group)

M: 9748 3879 /  0410 566 862

E: Leo.Li@GreenResourcesGroup.com.au

Sourced and published by Henry Sapiecha

China’s Solar Firms Get A Boost

Government loans give Chinese solar companies an

even bigger edge over U.S. rivals.

GET YOUR HOME ASSESSMENT NOW

Step 1 - Book your free home sustainability assessment
At no cost, a qualified home sustainability assessor will visit your home to investigate energy and water consumption patterns to identify actions that your household can take to save energy and water.


Step 2 - Receive your tailored home sustainability assessment report
valid for six months, including:
the best water and energy saving changes you can make to your home
practical information to get your household started.

Step 3 - Choose which recommended actions you will take to improve your home

The report is the first step in qualifying for an interest-free Green Loan of up to $10,000 from one of the Green Loans participating financial institutions.

Only one Green Loan is provided per home sustainability assessment report—but one loan can support many individual actions.

Your household may simply accept the report and implement the simplest recommendations.

For more information go to

www.greenloans.org.au or www.energy-options.info

mandatorydisclosureconsultants@hotmail.com

Mandatory Disclosure Consultants [Aust]

or call Michelle – BA Comm.JP Qual.[Qualified Assessor]

direct on 0447776379.

I service the Fraser Coast Area (Hervey Bay, Maryborough, Howard, Torbanlea, Childers, Burrum Heads and Apple Tree Creek areas,the hinterland and everywhere in between.

Produced and published by Henry Sapiecha 18th Jan 2010

Mandatory disclosure will encompass the effective proof of the worthiness and compliance of all residences to standards set for the eco values that apply for an efficient use of energy throughout the home.

Greenhouse gases and global warming amongst other factors have determined our direction for ensuring we all comply.

This section of the site will elaborate on all aspects of the regulations that apply to mandatory disclosure for all residences in complying with eco regulations.

Watch this space as we populate it with relevant data.

More info here

or go to CATEGORY – MANDATORY DISCLOSURE

on the right hand side of this site.

We are qualified in ensuring your compliance, so contact us for our assistance @

Michelle Hislop.  BA. Comm. JP Qual. [Qualified Assessor]

fistof curry@hotmail.com

The Australian Government has allowed each householder to have their residence assessed for eco friendliness and if you qualify give you an interest free loan up to $10,000 for improvemnts to the residence in supplying and installing any such facilities that will ensure compliance to the latest eco friendly standards.

THIS SECTION WILL BE EXPANDED IN DUE COURSE AS INFO BECOMES AVAILABLE TO GIVE YOU THE OPPORTUNITY TO APPLY FOR THESE INTEREST FREE LOANS.

WATCH THIS SPACE -more info

or GO TO CATEGORY-GREEN LOANS on right hand side of this site.

In the meantime if you have any queries about green loans address your enquiry to

fistofcurry@hotmail.com

Michelle HislopBA.Comm. JP Qual.[Qualified Assessor]

Don’t miss out-Apply now

Two years ago the MDHCC brought in anew high-efficiency gas engine tri-generation plant .

The results have beensignificant in the high energy savings and
reduction of CO2 emissions.
Since the installation of the new system, MDHCC has raised COP by 0.5 points and has achieved a 24% reduction of fuel
consumption and cut CO2 emissions by 24,000t/a.
This saving of energy and reduction of CO2 emissions results from the best mix of optimum layout and design of highefficiency equipment such as gas engines which generate power using clean natural gas as fuel and optimum operational technology.
Two high-efficiency Wärtsilä engines with a power generation efficiency of
45.6% have been introduced for the firsttime into Japan. Electrical power
produced by the gas engines runs theelectric turbochiller to produce chilled water. The surplus electrical power isused to power the plant and is also sold to generate cost benefits.
The Wärtsilä gas engines not only produce high levels of efficiency but they also provide low costs of operation as natural gas costs less than fuel oil and the consumption of lubricating oil is at a minimum level.
A heat recovery system uses the gas engine’s waste heat to produce steam to power the engine’s waste heat boilers toproduce large amounts of steam which drives absorption chillers that produce chilled water. Additionally, no steam is Steam operations in Japan

Clever utilisation of steam is at the heart of the Makuhari District Heating and Cooling Centre located just outside Tokyo. Many consider it the perfect model of trigeneration.Wasted as it is actively used as a heat
source in all kinds of situations at theoperator’s facilities.
The beneficial aspectsSteam created by the furnace flue boiler becomes the heat source for customer’s heating and is also used as a heat source
for the steam absorption chiller.

Water tube boiler is operated primarilyto drive the steam turbine turbo chiller.
Heat generated during cooling of the gas engine is sent to the hot water absorption chiller to be used as a heat source for the air conditioning.
In addition, high temperature heat generated by the gas engine is used to
create steam at the heat recovery boiler,which is used as the heat source to produce chilled water for air conditioning at the steam absorption chiller.
The cooling towers are installed on the upper portion of the pyramid and serve to radiate heat generated to the chillers.
The district heating and chilling pipelines are installed in purpose-built culverts which run throughout the city
The tri-generation power plant contributes to the local environment by
significantly reducing CO2 emissions and preventing air pollution by reducing both NOx and SOx emissions.
The heating and cooling of buildings is, in many cases, installed by independent air conditioning systems. The buildings must each provide everything from installation of various heating and cooling sources to management, operation and maintenance.
On the other hand, district heating and cooling generates ‘heat’ such as chilled water and steam collectively at a single energy plant.
This is a centralised system that supplies this through pipes to multiple buildings located within a fixed area. By entrusting such matters to energy professionals, customers are able to use ‘heat’ that is safe,secure and environmentally-friendly.
A spokesman for the MDHCC told IPA:
“The concept of tri-generation is now a proven, cost effective alternative for a continuous supply of electricity, heatingand cooling needed all year round.”
www.wartsila.com
Internet link
IPA

Sourced and published by Henry Sapiecha 16th July 2009

Mitsubishi Heavy to Test CO2

Recovery from Coal-fired Flue Gas

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd (MHI) and Southern Company, a major US power company, will jointly launch a field test in 2011 to recover high-purity carbon dioxide (CO₂) from coal-fired flue gas.

The two companies will set up a CO₂ recovery demonstration plant, which is designed to be built at a medium-scale thermal power station in Alabama, the US. Based on the results of this demonstration plant, they will aim to commercialize the recovery plant in the future.

The field test will be subsidized by the US government. The demonstration plant will be constructed in Plant Barry, a coal-fired power station owned by Southern’s subsidiary Alabama Power. Recovered CO₂ will be compressed and stored in an aquifer deep underground.

The demonstration plant is composed of various facilities such as those for pre-processing, CO₂ absorption/reclamation (absorption and reclamation towers) and CO₂ injection. The plant will recover 500t of CO₂ per day (equivalent to that produced when 25,000kW electricity is generated). The recovery rate is 90% or higher. The purity of recovered CO₂ is expected to be 99.9%.

The recovery process is as follows. Coal-fired flue gas contains not only CO₂ but also ‘impurities’ such as SOx, NOx, heavy metals and halogen compounds. These impurities are removed as much as possible in the pre-processing facilities, and the flue gas is cooled to near room temperature.

Flue gas with most impurities removed is taken into the absorption tower. Inside the tower, the gas is brought into contact with an absorbing solution so that only CO₂ is absorbed into the solution. The solvent, “KS-1,” is an amine-based material co-developed by MHI and Kansai Electric Power Co Inc.

Next, the solution containing CO₂ is sent to the reclamation tower, where CO₂ and the solution are separated from each other by heating. Then, CO₂ is recovered, and the solution is recycled.

MHI has already commercialized a system to recover CO₂ from natural gas-fired flue gas. But, in order to apply this system to coal-fired flue gas, an additional process is required to remove heavy metals and halogen compounds because the impurities contained in natural gas-fired flue gas are only SOx and NOx.

Electric Power Development Co Ltd is also testing a CO₂ recovery plant for coal-fired flue gas at its Matsushima Thermal Power Plant. However, the amount of CO₂ recovered at the plant is only 10t per day. Therefore, a field test needs to be carried out using a larger scale plant for commercialization.

In addition to the field test announced this time, MHI is planning to construct a demonstration plant with a recovery capacity of 3,000t per day in the UK and intends to start trial operations in 2015.

Sourced and published by Henry Sapiecha 1st July 2009