Incentives Energize Solar
Industry
Offcuts
Bay-State Employers Face Strict Sub vs. Employee
Test
Two Guides to Energy-Saving Lighting
Design
Two initiatives aim to reduce
costs
Solar energy was first harnessed as a significant source of
electricity in the 1950s, when Bell Labs created silicon-based
photovoltaic cells to provide reliable power for telephone
service. These PV cells were able to convert 6 percent of the
sun's rays to electricity and required about one square yard to
generate 50 watts — a quantum leap from the 0.5 percent
efficiency of the available selenium-cell technology.
Fast-forward 50 years, and the average PV cell is now 15
percent efficient. Solar power has become an economical choice
for off-grid applications (such as off-shore oil platforms,
satellites, and other remote locations), but grid-connected
solar-generated electricity still hasn't achieved the
"break-even" point — when systems can pay for themselves
without subsidies. However, two significant programs announced
in January aim to make PV systems cost-effective: the
state-level California Solar Initiative (CSI) and the federal
Solar America Initiative.
Overseen by the California Public Utilities Commission and the
California Energy Commission, the CSI is the largest solar
incentive program ever launched in the U.S. The $2.9 billion of
rebates promised in the 10-year plan — in addition to
$300 million already allocated for 2006 — makes PV
systems more affordable for California homeowners. Also, the
generous time frame of the commitment gives the industry a
long-term guarantee of consumer demand.
The existence of a ready market will encourage solar companies
to invest in increased production; the greater volume, predicts
the Public Utilities Commission, will eventually lower unit
costs. Indeed, this has proved to be the case for solar
companies in Japan, one of the world's two major consumers of
solar technology (Germany is the other). After some 10 years of
massive subsidies, "the average system cost has fallen by about
75 percent," reports the Environment California Research and
Policy Center, and Japan "is approaching the point at which
government rebates will no longer be needed."
The goal of the California plan is to increase solar capacity
by 3,000 megawatts (one megawatt equals 1,000 kilowatts) in the
state by 2017. The initiative provides a rebate of $2.80 per
watt — approximately one-third the cost of an average
3-kilowatt residential system — for newly installed
capacity. The rebates will initially apply just to PV; solar
hot water (often neglected in solar incentive programs) and
solar heating and cooling systems will be added later this
year. Funding is drawn from surcharges on utility bills, and 10
percent will be set aside for solar projects for low-income
customers and affordable housing.
To keep pace with anticipated reductions in the costs of solar
equipment and installation, the rebate is scheduled to decrease
10 percent a year.
The federal Solar America Initiative, first announced in
President Bush's 2006 State of the Union Address, is
financially less ambitious than the California plan, but
nonetheless is being hailed as an important step by industry
experts, especially when considered along with the new federal
tax credits for PV and solar water heating systems (see In
the News, 10/05).
"Within 10 years, we estimate that this program will result in
10 gigawatts of grid-connected solar electric capacity," says
Rhone Resch, president of the Solar Energy Industries
Association. "That would be 20 times today's levels." Toward
that end, President Bush has included $148 million in his 2007
budget for research into solar technology, a 78 percent
increase over 2006 funding.
The future of solar looks bright but for one immediate logjam:
Due to increasing demand, PV manufacturers are facing a
shortage of processed silicon, and until silicon production
catches up, this will translate into higher PV-module prices.
Hemlock Semiconductor Corp., a major supplier of
polycrystalline silicon for PV systems, plans to double
capacity at its Michigan plant within two years. This and other
manufacturing expansions have industry analysts predicting that
the shortage will be resolved by 2008.
In the meantime, makers of solar thin-film products —
which require little or no silicon — are hoping to
capitalize on the shortage. Companies like United Solar Ovonic
(the Auburn Hills, Mich., firm that hosted President Bush as he
promoted his renewable energy plan) are ramping up production
to take advantage of limited supplies of PV panels and increase
thin-film market share from its current 7 percent. In an action
read by some as a vote of confidence in the future of
thin-film, Royal Dutch Shell agreed in February to sell its
solar crystalline production capacity to SolarWorld, and will
focus instead on thin-film technology that uses copper, indium,
and selenium rather than silicon.
The lower profile of a thin-film PV
roofing system like this one appeals to customers who object to
the bulky appearance of conventional PV panels.
The downside to the average thin-film module is that it is less
efficient than a conventional PV module and also loses
efficiency over time at a faster rate than panels. But it's
cheaper to manufacture, is less dependent on the supply of
silicon, and is making gains in both efficiency and
durability.
Solar cells made with amorphous silicon
(a-Si) are deposited on mile-and-a-half-long rolls of stainless
steel to create Ovonic's Uni-Solar thin-film PV material. Less
silicon is required for thin films than for conventional PV
modules, which use a crystalline form of silicon.
The global PV market grew 62 percent in 2004 over 2003, with
927 megawatts installed. Analysts at Solarbuzz, an
international solar-energy research and consulting company,
predict growth will continue, and by 2010, the annual worldwide
installation rate will be 3.2 gigawatts.
— Laurie
Elden
Offcuts
Former lead-paint makers are liable for
creating a public nuisance, a Rhode Island superior court jury
decided in February. Three companies — Sherwin-Williams,
NL Industries, and Millennium Holdings — lost their
cases; of the others named in the original lawsuit, Atlantic
Richfield Co. was found not liable and DuPont Co. settled last
year (In the News, 9/05). However, Judge Michael Silverstein
ruled that punitive damages would not be added to the as yet
undetermined cost of abatement, reports the Associated Press.
The three-month trial was closely watched by other states; in
March, a state appeals court reinstated a similar lawsuit
brought by California cities and counties against eight former
lead-paint manufacturers.
Runaway remodeler Craig J. Oliver is being
sought by the F.B.I. and the U.S. Marshals Service for scamming
more than $2 million from 68 homeowners for unfinished and
shoddy remodeling projects. The 52-year-old man was already
missing when he was sentenced in absentia in January by the
U.S. District Court to serve 20 years in prison and pay
$2,546,357.32 in restitution.
As a rule,
you don't want to know
what Roto-Rooter technicians find in a day's work, but the
company's top five drainpipe recoveries of 2005 aren't your
usual stoppages. The first item on the list is a live Civil War
cannon shell, found when a crew excavated a residential sewer
main (it was safely removed by an Army Ordnance team). Coming
in at No. 3 is a platoon of GI Joes that, along with a fleet of
matchbox cars, had been sent to Davy Jones' locker by a
3-year-old admiral with an apparent flair for flushing the
toilet. The remaining top recoveries were a live cat rescued
from a storm drain, a stash of drugs and cash retrieved as
evidence for a drug bust, and a collection of (empty) miniature
liquor bottles pulled out of the sewer main at a business
property. So, what's in your drain?
Giving new meaning to the phrase "take
the stairs,"
thieves swiped a banister from a Gilroy,
Calif., home that was in the process of being remodeled.
Clearly, the burglars had some appreciation for architectural
elements, as the wrought-iron balustrade was worth $120,000.
Also taken in the January theft, according to the San Francisco
Chronicle, were wood doors, tile, power tools, and sinks.
Some 14 percent of illegal
immigrants
were employed in construction last year, says
a Pew Hispanic Center report released March 7. The study also
found high percentages of illegal immigrants in certain
occupations: More than 20 percent of all insulation workers,
roofers, drywall and ceiling-tile installers, trades helpers,
laborers, brick masons, painters, and concrete finishers were
"unauthorized migrants."
Bay-State Employers Face Strict
Sub vs. Employee Test
Is that worker an employee or an independent contractor? The
difference matters when it comes to comp coverage, tax
withholding, eligibility for unemployment benefits, and more.
Nationwide, a longstanding 20-item IRS test spells out flexible
criteria for determining worker status. But states can also
weigh in on the question, and Massachusetts employers now have
a tough set of hurdles to overcome when taking on a casual
hire.
Passed in the summer of 2004, "An Act Further Regulating Public
Construction" contains amendments to the Massachusetts
Independent Contractor Law and creates a presumption that every
worker is an employee. To treat any worker as independently
self-employed, explains the attorney general's office, the
party receiving the services must establish that three factors
are present: "First, the worker must be free from the presumed
employer's control and direction in performing the service,
both under a contract and in fact. Second, the service provided
by the worker must be outside the employer's usual course of
business. And third, the worker must be customarily engaged in
an independent trade, occupation, profession, or business of
the same type."
Labor lawyers say the second prong — work "outside the
usual course" of the employer's business — will be the
toughest to meet. Web-site commentary from the Boston law firm
of Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane notes, "Unlike the former
independent contactor law, it now appears … that a
company may not hire a worker to perform service that it
delivers as part of its business and classify that worker as an
independent contractor."
If you're a builder, for example, that essentially means all
carpenters on site are employees — regardless of whether
you and the workers want it that way.
The main backers of the new rules are union contractors bidding
on large government contracts. "They want to create a level
playing field," says Tom Messier, vice president of Mason &
Mason Insurance Agency in Whitman, Mass. "In Massachusetts if
you bid public work, you have to pay your workers union wage
whether you are a union shop or not. Nonunion shops get around
that by calling the guys independent contractors and paying
them piece rate. That's what the unions want to stop."
Even for small residential contractors, though, there's a big
potential downside to flouting the law. Hire a solo framer as a
sub on a remodel for nine or 10 weeks, and he could file for
unemployment benefits when the job's over — on your
ticket. If he gets hurt, he could file for comp benefits
— again, on your nickel. He could even be entitled to
charge time-and-a-half for any hours he works beyond 40 a
week.
So far, however, Massachusetts tax authorities say they'll use
the less rigid IRS 20-item test for deciding whether the
general contractor must withhold income taxes from a worker's
check.
But there's more: In Massachusetts, misclassifying employees
carries criminal and civil penalties. A first offense can earn
a six-month jail sentence and a $10,000 fine; for repeated
offenses, jail time could be two years and the fine $50,000.
Civil fines of $7,500 to $25,000 are possible on top of
that.
And if things really get ugly, the worker can sue for treble
damages plus attorney's fees.
Messier predicts the law will be modified as the ramifications
become clearer. "There has already been a lot of backwash," he
says. And with Massachusetts Attorney General Tom Reilly
entering the governor's race, Messier doesn't expect to see
broad enforcement efforts. "He can't afford to be seen as
antibusiness," says Messier.
Nevertheless, the strict new rules are changing the business
climate somewhat, Messier observes. "More and more, we are
seeing general contractors force the smaller independent subs
to buy their own liability insurance," he says. "And some of
the bigger builders won't even deal with a sole proprietor
anymore — you have to be incorporated, have a million
dollars' liability, and you have to cover all your employees
with workers' comp."
The new independent contractor definitions haven't really
affected the workers' comp landscape, says Messier: "The
workers' comp law in Massachusetts defines an employee as
anyone under any contract of hire to anyone else, and that
hasn't changed. I don't care who pays for the insurance, but if
your subs don't pay it, you're going to."
Messier's firm has never been loose about that, he says. "If
guys come in here and want to play games, I'll tell them to go
down the street." — Ted Cushman
Two Guides to Energy-Saving
Lighting Design
You don't have to live in California to
appreciate the practical suggestions contained in "Residential
Lighting Design Guide: Best Practices and Lighting Designs to
Help Builders Comply with California's Title 24 Energy Code."
This 25-page guide written by the California Lighting
Technology Center, an organization created by the California
Energy Commission and the University of California, Davis,
emphasizes the use of high-efficacy lighting, occupancy
sensors, and dimmers to lower energy consumption. Sections on
kitchens, baths, interior living spaces, and outdoor areas
detail specific lighting recommendations with accompanying
wattage. The guide can be downloaded for no charge from
www.cltc.ucdavis.edu.
While you're online, check out the "High Performance Lighting
(HPL) Guide" at www.ibacos.com/hpl1.html. Not a download, the
guide is actually the Web site itself, which was developed by
Pittsburgh-based Integrated Building and Construction Solutions
and funded through the U.S. Department of Energy's Building
America program. The goal of HPL is to reduce energy
consumption without sacrificing quality of light; the site
claims that using an HPL strategy can lower energy usage for
lighting by 66 percent to 75 percent. Floor plans and lighting
designs for eight rooms are supplemented by specifications for
bulbs and lamps, and a list of representative fixtures for
direct, indirect, and recessed lighting — with a declared
preference for those with an Energy Star rating.