As the Mall of Louisiana’s thousands of customers traverse its 1.5 million square feet of retail space on any given weekend, something is quietly happening above their heads: Hundreds of solar panels are collecting the sun’s rays and converting them into energy to help keep the lights on and the air conditioning blowing.

At nearly 1.3 megawatts of power, the Baton Rouge mall’s system is among the largest in the state. Solar Alternatives, a New Orleans-based solar firm, completed the installation without fanfare in November. At about the same time, the firm completed a 700-kilowatt project atop Gretna’s Oakwood Center.

In some ways, the projects represent where Louisiana’s solar industry, at least the rooftop side, currently stands. The demand for residential systems dried up almost entirely after a confluence of events — including the death of a state tax break for installations.

Now, commercial rooftops are where the money is, said Solar Alternatives owner Jeff Cantin. While his business once did almost entirely residential rooftops, it is now split 50-50 between businesses and homes.

As the rooftop part of the solar industry limps along, hoping for a lifeline from regulators or lawmakers, the other side of the solar industry — utility-scale power — is looking increasingly like the new frontier.

Can’t see video below? Click here.

New solar frontier

Solar prices have fallen dramatically in recent years, to the point where solar is threatening traditional fuel sources, even in Louisiana where natural gas is king.

In that regard, the mall rooftops don’t even scratch the surface of the potential for solar power in Louisiana. While easily in the top 10 of Louisiana solar projects in terms of megawatts, the Mall of Louisiana project will soon be dwarfed by another 50 times its size: Eagle Solar’s West Baton Rouge plant. If approved by regulators, it will generate 50 megawatts for Entergy Louisiana.

A couple of weeks ago, a 1.1-megawatt solar plant at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette went into service as part of a $4 million solar research center. Experts will study how to best scale the technology — and determine the overall feasibility of megawatt-scale solar plants in the state.

South Alexander Development LLC, a subsidiary of New Orleans-based Joule Energy, has plans for 12 projects throughout the state comprising 29.5 megawatts. Of those 12, six are slated in Calcasieu Parish; two in Tangipahoa; and one each in Livingston, Iberville, St. Martin and St. Landry parishes.

Entergy Louisiana also is in discussions with another developer for another 50-megawatt project.

Others are likely to come soon.

“What we’ve seen over the last several years is a pretty significant decline in the cost to install solar,” Entergy Louisiana President and CEO Phillip May said. “With where they are today, we’ll continue to see more adoption of solar.”

Costs still need to drop, May said, and battery or other storage technology needs to become more viable. Also, regulators at the Public Service Commission still have to approve the deal between Eagle Solar and Entergy. PSC Commissioner Foster Campbell last month promised to scrutinize the deal to make sure ratepayers are getting a good deal.

But the fall in solar costs in recent years has been dramatic. A recent study by the consulting firm Lazard found the levelized cost of solar fell from $359 per megawatt-hour in 2009 to $50 last year, making it $10 cheaper than natural gas.

May declined to provide specific energy costs associated with the West Baton Rouge solar plant but said the utility is “comfortable” with the deal’s effect on rates. He also said it will give a “good feel” for how to pursue more solar projects.

Lagging in Louisiana

Louisiana has long lagged behind the rest of the country in the adoption of solar power. While the state consumes more energy per capita than any other, and ranks fourth in the country for total consumption, the vast majority of that comes from natural gas.

According to the Energy Information Administration, Louisiana ranked 45th in the country in renewable energy consumption as a share of the state’s energy mix.

While northwest Louisiana was set to get power from the largest wind farm in the country — the $4.5 billion Wind Catcher project in Oklahoma — that project was scrapped Friday after regulators rejected it in Texas. It had gained approval from Louisiana regulators.

Part of the reason Louisiana has not embraced renewables is the abundance of natural gas in the state. As May notes, the state is home to the Henry Hub, in Erath, the place where gas is benchmarked for trading in the U.S. It is plentiful, and it is relatively cheap. Natural gas is cleaner-burning than coal, which has made Entergy’s portfolio cleaner than most, May said.

But solar advocates also say the state’s regulators and utilities have been slow to adopt policies that would make solar more attractive. In New Orleans, a fierce battle has played out over whether Entergy New Orleans  should build a new gas-fired plant or embrace more renewables like solar.

While most other states have Renewable Portfolio Standards — programs that set goals for the amount of renewable energy sold or generated — the Louisiana Public Service Commission several years ago opted not to adopt such a program.

Instead, the PSC laid out a Renewable Energy Pilot Program to get utilities to test the renewable waters. The 29.5-megawatt project from South Alexander Development sprang up out of this pilot program. Entergy then issued a request for proposals, which drew dozens of responses from renewable energy developers, most of them solar, and which culminated in the deal with Eagle Solar.

Solar Alternatives owner Cantin, who also serves as head of the Gulf States Renewable Energy Industry Association, said the program didn’t go far enough. He chided what he calls a lack of “interest and willingness” from utilities and regulators to more thoroughly embrace renewables.

“It sounds like there’s projects in the pipeline, but we’ve also heard that for many years,” he said. “I think you have to have friendly utilities, friendly regulators. You don’t need big incentive programs. The technology pays for itself pretty well at this point.”

The utilities regulated by the PSC are currently crafting their Integrated Resource Plans, which serve as long-term road maps for what types of power generation they’re going to build, among other things.

Simon Mahan, director of the Southern Renewable Energy Association, spends much of his time advocating for renewables to be a greater part of those plans. He pointed out that Entergy Corp. CEO Leo Denault said in a letter to shareholders in April that the utility giant was evaluating 1,000 megawatts of renewable energy resources.

“That’s a really big deal,” he said. “But those numbers aren’t showing up in the IRP process here in Louisiana.”

One reason is what Mahan calls problems with the modeling software and economic assumptions used to run analyses.

Still, he thinks the solar projects are going to happen. There are indications they will.

Twenty-nine proposed power plant projects are in the “queue” run by MISO, which operates the grid system in Louisiana. Of those, 24 are solar projects, accounting for 2,682 megawatts of power. Not all will happen, but Mahan said it is a good indication of the interest solar is attracting.

Cleco Corp., the Pineville-based utility, said it is in active discussions with solar developers and has 3,500 customers who have installed residential systems. The utility’s Integrated Resource Plan will include grid-scale solar, said spokeswoman Jennifer Cahill.

Residential to business

While utility-scale projects are poised for a breakout, the other side of the industry — distributed generation, or primarily rooftop installations — is languishing.

At its peak, when the state was still doling out a generous tax credit for solar installations, Cantin estimates there were more than 4,000 solar-related jobs, and dozens, if not hundreds, of active companies.

Now, there are maybe a dozen firms operating in the state, and perhaps 500 jobs, he said.

A few of the surviving companies have shifted their focus to commercial rooftops, but most have shut down or gotten out of the solar business entirely.

Richard Carroll installed his first solar system in 2007 on his own home in Zachary after losing power for extended periods of time during hurricanes Katrina and Gustav. Shortly thereafter, he installed one for his brother; then his neighbor.

The state instituted its tax credit in 2008. By 2012, Carroll’s Structure Green Solar was doing a steady two installations a week. During the busy season, he had one or two a day.

Now, he does two a year, if that.

“It’s definitely been a difficult, difficult market,” Carroll said. “It’s tough to hang in there.”

Carroll and several others in the industry tell a similar story: Lawmakers began allowing solar leasing, which the critics say gave rise to bad operators who cheated customers and put a stain on the industry. Then the Legislature capped the program retroactively, leaving homeowners who had bought solar systems out in the cold.

There’s also the net metering debate, which boils down to how much utilities should pay residents for their excess solar power.

The residential side of the industry is less financially lucrative than the utility-scale projects, largely because of the rate structure. The state tax credit program offered 38 percent credit on the first $20,000 to install a residential solar system, and it could be coupled with a similar federal tax program to cut down costs.

By the time the state began making homeowners whole again, it was too late.

Now, Cantin said he’s been able to find enough business from companies looking to install solar systems on their roofs or carports to continue his business. But many other companies weren’t so lucky.

“We had something like 4,000 solar and related jobs at the peak of the market,” he said. “I believe the state could have preserved quite a lot of those.”

Researching solar feasibility

On a 6-acre patch of land in Lafayette, off Eraste Landry Road, is a 1-megawatt solar plant that provides 3 percent of the University of Louisiana-Lafayette’s power on an annual basis.

The 4,500-panel plant is part of the $4 million PART Lab at the university, run by Terrence Chambers. Besides its role as a power generator for the school, Chambers said the facility will serve as an important applied testing lab for the industry. It was funded by an investment from Louisiana Generating LLC, a subsidiary of NRG.

“We hope to serve as a resource to the community to provide accurate information about what type of solar technologies work in Louisiana,” Chambers said.

Wind and solar are intermittent sources of energy, he noted, which is why utilities need a mix of different types of generation. But there are ways to get around that, he said, such as combining wind, which works better at night, and solar, which works better during the day, to create a more stable source of energy.

Over the next decade, Chambers expects a huge adoption of renewable energy, but not because of the state’s public policies. Rather, the adoption of solar will come precisely because it makes financial sense.

“If you’re building a new power plant, for new capacity, it’s cheaper to put in solar than even a natural gas plant,” he said. “Ultimately, these decisions are driven by economics.”

According to myth, Charybdis was a sea monster that consumed ships by sucking them into deadly whirlpools.

A new image provided by NASA’s Operational Land Imager, an instrument aboard the Landsat 8 satellite, might have just revealed Charybdis’ real life lair, in the Baltic Sea. At the very least, this image proves that reality is ever more stranger than fiction.

This eerie-green vortex is actually an algal bloom roughly the size of Manhattan. Scientists aren’t sure exactly what is causing the hypnotic whirlpool action, but they suspect it to be an example of an ocean eddy that is pumping nutrients from the depths, thus providing a giant feeding trough for all of that algae, reports NASA’s Earth Observatory.

And perhaps even more terrifying than Charybdis, the bloom is probably toxic and likely to cause a marine dead zone– a region in the ocean depleted of oxygen, and thus devoid of most life.

The likely culprit behind these massive blooms is cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae, an ancient type of marine bacteria that captures and stores solar energy through photosynthesis like plants. When these blooms get particularly large, they cause dead zones by depleting the oxygen content of the water, a problem that is becoming a regular occurrence in the Baltic Sea where runoff from sewage and agriculture provides surges of nutrients for the blue-green algae to feast on. In fact, oxygen levels in recent years here have dropped to their lowest levels in the past 1,500 years.

According to researchers from Finland’s University of Turku, the dead zone this year is estimated to span about 27,000 square miles. These algal blooms are also toxic, and beaches all along the Baltic Sea must be regularly closed due to their presence.

To be fair, dead zones aren’t just a problem in the Baltic Sea. They are becoming more and more common around the world, and one of the largest in the world forms in the Gulf of Mexico, at the mouth of the Mississippi River.

Charybdis, it would seem, is multiplying. And as we continue to dump our waste into rivers around the world, we are feeding it with a conveyor belt of nutrients.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is part 2 of 2 in a series of a candidate questionnaire for Democratic and Republican candidates running in the Aug. 7 primary election for the Michigan 101st District House of Representatives. Part 2 includes responses from the candidates on the Republican ticket. Part 1, Democrat responses, was published in Friday’s edition.

MANISTEE COUNTY — In the Aug. 7 primary election, voters will decide which Democratic and which Republican candidate will represent the party in the general election on Nov. 6 for Michigan 101st District House of Representatives.

On the Democratic ticket, Edward Hoogterp, of Beulah, will face off against Kathy Wiejaczka, of Empire, and Republicans Carolyn Cater, of Ludington, and Jack O’Malley, of Lake Ann, will vie for the spot.

The Manistee News Advocate sent questionnaires to all candidates. Responses are only edited if they exceed the word limit.

MNA: Please introduce yourself and describe your background, professionally, politically or personally (100 words).

CATER: Michiganders need Younger, Stronger, Grassroots Leadership for Michigan. We need to start right now if we are to break free from the co-fraternity boys club controlling Lansing. I’m the only woman on the ship with men. Do you think that I have the cojones to stand up to Lansing, when I’m the only woman on the ship with a bunch of old guys? I’m a seafarer. That’s my background. That’s who I am. And I’m taking the high seas to Lansing. It’s time to Baptize the Swamp… Thank you for your vote.

O’MALLEY: I have been in broadcasting for almost 40 years. 34 of those at WTCM 103.5 and TV 9&10 here in Northern Michigan. Over those decades I have listened to the people of the 101st. I know who they are and what concerns them. I have never run for office before and only recently decided that I wanted to continue to serve and do what is right by the people of the region by going to Lansing. Common Sense and good communication skills will lead my efforts.

MNA: What are your top three legislative priorities and how would you address them? (200 words)

CATER: 1.) Cut your car insurance in half… 2.) Get rid of the state income taxes and your pension tax… 3.) Lower your electric bill.

Bottom line is I’m not going to take money from special interest and lobbyists in Lansing that’s going to change how I represent my 101st District. When you elect me your car insurance will get cut in half. When you elect me you will not be charged anymore state income tax, you won’t even have to file a state income tax return. You’re an hourly employee? You’ll be getting a 4.25{0b7da518931e2dc7f5435818fa9adcc81ac764ac1dff918ce2cdfc05099e9974} pay raise in your check every Friday. You’ll have 4.25{0b7da518931e2dc7f5435818fa9adcc81ac764ac1dff918ce2cdfc05099e9974} back in your pocket that you can spend on your family. Seniors won’t have to worry about paying income tax on their pensions. And on top of that your electric bill is going down and so is the cost of manufacturing because we’ll get more companies to come here and we will be competitive against Ohio and Indiana.

Patrick Colbeck has a plan to lower auto insurance and keep your good coverage, and I like it. There is $9 Billion of taxpayer waste in the $57 Billion budget.

O’MALLEY: I entered this race saying I come with no personal agenda, if I had an agenda it was common sense solutions to our everyday issues. I would say that is still my driving force, but since knocking doors and talking to the people of the 101st, I’ve heard from the people that good jobs, better schools and training for the trades along with roads and no-fault insurance reforms are tops on their lists. Along with this comes housing issues and diminishing child care due in large part to excessive regulations. I’m looking forward to leading the way!

MNA: What policies do you support to increase jobs and help Michigan residents improve their economic positions? (200 words)

CATER: Lowering the cost of living for you and the cost of doing business for companies is my platform. Bottom line: If we had 14 million people living in Michigan like all the other states around the country right now, instead of teetering back and forth between 9 and 10 million, we would have plenty jobs, affordable housing, and competitive labor.

You elect me, I will go down and get on the insurance committee, and make sure that we get rid of no-fault and hold the insurance companies accountable for their MCCA Fund; Boom, we cut car insurance in half. It’s not rocket science. Even though a rocket scientist is helping to create this plan. (It’s no secret that I support Patrick Colbeck for Governor and Principled Solutions.)

If we get cheaper car insurance…instead of paying $2,000 a year, how about $1,000 per year? Do you think that would help the Working Poor? If you’re making $50,000 a year and you’re paying 4.25{0b7da518931e2dc7f5435818fa9adcc81ac764ac1dff918ce2cdfc05099e9974} income tax, then you’re paying $2,000 per year in state income tax. I can get car insurance cut in half, get rid of the state income tax, and while voting for me, I just put $3,000 in your pocket.

O’MALLEY: There is a misconception that Government can create jobs. Jobs are created in the private sector. Government needs to make

sure that the infrastructure is in place to attract new business and help current business expand. We cannot forget the employers already in place. If we have good schools for families, a trained work force and a region that is attractive to relocate to…you will succeed. At the State level we need to work to help the local Governments make these things happen. Looking to get broadband to rural areas like Northern Michigan is a huge piece of this as well. I will work with the local Governments to represent them and coordinate planning through the district.

MNA: What steps do you propose Michigan take to improve educational outcomes and accessibility for students from early childhood through post-secondary education? (200 words)

CATER: Here’s what Michiganders need: School Choice. Consumerism can bring down prices and build a better product. It’s the same with education. We will procure better schools, efficiency, and better teachers, and better pay for teachers. Teach real academics, real history, then we won’t need safe rooms and 70{0b7da518931e2dc7f5435818fa9adcc81ac764ac1dff918ce2cdfc05099e9974} of high schoolers graduating won’t come out communists. It’s time to get some smart legislatures that will actually end Common Core dumbing down the youth. And a legislature that is willing to repeal the Blaine Amendment. It’s time to bring trades and vocational classes to the high schools and local community colleges that have dwindled over the years. It just takes a little courage folks… It takes parents to want it bad enough for their children’s future. Vote #August7thPrimary

O’MALLEY: I mentioned earlier the Child Care issue in the area. If a family can’t afford day care or that single mom has to choose between working and crazy expensive day care or staying home and being on assistance that is not good. We need to reduce the regulations when it comes to that. Our public school funding is interesting. Prop A of 20+ years ago might need to be re-thought. Things are different from when I was a kid…early childhood preparations are huge. We need to get our 3rd grade reading skills up. We finally seemed to have had the pendulum swing and are back to understanding college is not for everyone, getting the trades back into the mix is very important. Those years newborn to 5 years old are critical. As a society we need to make sure our children are getting the attention they need in those years.

MNA: What actions or policies do you support to protect Michigan’s water, air and land for current and future generations, while meeting the state’s energy needs? (200 words)

CATER: First of all, I will force the DEQ to undo that license with Nestle to suck water from our underground aquifers. I know it’s a business and I’m a Republican and I’m pro-business, but that deal sucks. That deal that they got from the DEQ sucks. And it sucks water. They can go suck the spring water out of somewhere else.

“Let the market decide” works. State mandates do not. Solar energy and military grade nickel-cadmium batteries have made breakthroughs in technology. Even a casino calculated that it was worth paying the state utilities a $90 million settlement to go off grid.

The Great Lakes touches five different states and another country, which is above my pay grade… there’s not a whole lot that I can do at the state level. I’m running to be a State Representative, not a Congresswoman… Not yet.

(Being that we are sitting on the largest body of freshwater in the world, I would like to see future stranded nuclear assets to be addressed though…)

O’MALLEY: There of course is a move to renewable energy’s as our times and technology advance. This is evident in the major suppliers moving to this end. I do firmly believe that a common-sense approach to the environment is important. Protecting the air, land and water is not exclusive to those who espouse the message. Economic growth and environmental concerns are not exclusive. No one wants to soil their nest. Reasonable regulations that do not damage the economy, but support and encourage growth and care for the environment are good. So, everything needs to be talked through and not be dictated by the loudest voice in the room.