Renewable Energy News
NLP Solar Sales Training Live Webinar February 8th & 9th
Ten Clean Energy Stocks for 2012: 10 Percent More than Other Top-10 lists
Maybe it was because Seeking Alpha did not carry my annual list of 10 Clean Energy Stocks for 2012 this year, but no one seems to have noticed that there were actually 11 stocks in the list. Call it the Spinal Tap of top-ten lists.
Solar Fred's 7 Keys to Why People Share Marketing Materials on the Web
What triggers you to press one of those share buttons above, or email this post — or any website link — to a colleague or friend? Think about it. Because the keys to knowing why people share things are the keys to so-called "viral" solar marketing.
Before we get to why we share, let's talk about how we used to share and how we share
Asia Report: India Sees 52 Percent Rise in Investments
The year 2011 may be remembered in clean energy circles as the moment when India became a major player across several industries.
Clean Energy: How Much Hot Air?
NewScientist’s January 28 issue is likely to unsettle clean energy advocates — but it is worth the read.
The cover article, “Power paradox: Clean might not be green forever,” posits that even renewable energy can warm the planet, and eventually change climate, if we continue to ratchet up power production to serve our ever
Suntech, DuPont to Collab on Solar Backsheets, Supply Chain
It's easy to think about modules as singular units of power output, but the reality is that they are a collection of diverse components, each with influence over the end system's total cost and performance. For DuPont, its focus is of course on the materials side, from metallization pastes used to form contacts on the solar cell, to backsheet materials that protect the panels themselves.
DOE's Untold Impact on Solar
The Obama Administration's $60 billion Loan Guarantee Program (LGP) for renewable energy is considered a failure because of Solyndra, Beacon Power, and potential 2012 bankruptcies. What is not well known is that 75 percent of the program's deployed funds went to relatively low risk power plants that will catapult the U.S. to a leadership role in the utility-scale solar sector. This is hardly the hallmark of a "failed program." The program is akin to Shakespeare's King Henry V, who said as a delinquent Prince: "I'll so offend as to make offense a skill, redeeming time when men think least I will."
Wind Power to the South: AEP Contracts to Lower Electricity Costs
In a series of deals the investor-owned utility says is good for consumers' wallets, American Electric Power subsidiary Southwestern Electric Power Co. (SWEPCO) recently signed long-term power purchase agreements for a total of 358.65 MW of capacity from wind projects in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas.
Miasolé Claims 17 Percent Efficient CIGS Device, 14 Percent In Production
Miasolé says it has created a 17.3 percent "champion" thin-film copper-indium-gallium-selenide (CIGS) solar photovoltaic device, results obtained in its own labs and not (yet) independently verified.
Offshore Wind One Step Closer to Reality in the Mid-Atlantic
Today the Obama administration moved forward with plans to develop the enormous offshore wind energy resources along the Mid-Atlantic coast, using a "Smart for the Start" approach designed to expedite the siting process while incorporating strong environmental protections.
Experts Predict End of Month for Ontario FIT Review Update
By late February the renewable energy industry should have direction from the Ontario government on some of the major changes ahead for the province’s landmark feed-in tariff program. “I am hoping we will have an announcement then with the megawatt (MW) targets and pricing, then new rules and contracts in March, and application processi
If Solar is Contagious, Can Utilities Help Spread the Bug?
You may have heard it before, but it is worth mentioning again: In residential communities, solar is contagious. But a recent study, "Peer Effects in the Diffusion of Solar Photovoltaic Panels," conducted by Bryan Bollinger of the NYU Stern School of Business and Kenneth Gillingham of the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, published in December sheds some new light on the phenomenon.
Executive Roundtable: The Future of Utility-Scale Renewables
Renewable energy in the United States is at a crossroads. With several federal tax grants set to expire by the end of 2012, utilities are trying to decide if the falling prices of solar and wind technology makes renewable energy competitive enough to invest in despite vanishing federal aid.
Understanding Wind Farm Exposures and Managing Risk
Wind energy is becoming one of the most widely used sources of renewable energy. In fact, according to the American Wind Energy Association, the wind energy industry has added more than 35 percent of all the new power generating capacity since 2007. As the industry grows in popularity, new developers continue to enter the market, and existing developers may likely expand their investments in wind farms.
Europe's 2011-2012 PV Installs: Two Tales of Growth
Two reports out in the past week examine Europe's solar PV market in 2011, indicating slowing growth in the flagship countries and promise in some smaller regions for 2012 and beyond. Note that the data that follows is preliminary; final 2011 numbers won't be known until later in the first quarter, including some likely revisions thanks to a stronger-than-expected fourth quarter in several key regions (more on that below).
Solar Trade Dispute: Behind the Jobs Numbers
A recent report has generated lots of buzz by finding that as many as 50,000 jobs could be lost over the next three years if a 100 percent tariff is placed on Chinese solar panels. Yet from where I'm sitting, I see a far different number from the same report: The industry could add 15,000 jobs by 2014.
Latin America Report: Energy Summit Headed to Rio
Twenty years ago, international leaders descended on Brazil to lay the groundwork for what would eventually become the Kyoto Protocol. This summer, a 20-member United Nations panel will once again head to Rio de Janeiro with an even more ambitious agenda.
China Set to Vigorously Develop Green Economy
Due to growing urbanization and resulting environmental threats, China has invested nearly US$50 billion annually into its renewable energy sector since 2009. China's five-year investment in environmental protection is on track to reach 3.1 trillion yuan (US$454 billion). By 2015, its environmental protection industry is expected to top 2 trillion yuan (US$317 billion).
A Low-cost, Low-risk Path to Meeting U.S. Biofuels Targets
Nine years from now, in early 2022, the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard will have reached its intended target, 36 billion gallons of biofuel blended into the U.S. domestic auto and truck fuel supply.
Global Concentrated Photovoltaic Market Growth and Investments
Concentrated photovoltaics (CPV) is an upcoming renewable market that promises to provide cost-effective power generation at high levels of efficiency. The performance of a CPV system is dependant on the direct normal irradiance (DNI). Because of this major performance parameter, the number of regions ideal for CPV system installations is limited. According to Prof. Humayun Mughal, the potential market destinations based on DNI for the CPV technology are Southwest US, Mexico, Chile, Southern Peru, Southwest Bolivia, Northwest Argentina, and Mediterranean countries, Australia, North Africa, Middle East, Western India and Western China.