Renewable Energy News

It is no secret that many renewable energy advocates are not in favor of large hydropower. The methods that have been used in the past to create its enormous energy generating facilities were sometimes destructive to the environment, flooding forests, destroying animal habitats and harming ecosystems.  The dams were often blamed for decreasing fish

While we in the energy sector are used to thinking of Germany as a global leader in the adoption of new energy technologies, recent analysis points to an area where this may not be the case — and it's mainly due to privacy issues.

Transmission lines hold much of the same challenge and promise of the interstate highway system a century ago. The transmission network – the high voltage, long distance power lines that carry electricity from power facilities and into communities – is currently a patchwork system, lacking centralized organization or planning. Assuming that America

On average, the sun shines in Sacramento, California, 265 days a year.  Well, it looks like even more clear skies and sunny days ahead as the state wrapped up its legislative session on a high note. Four significant solar-related bills were approved by the State Senate and State Assembly — and all four are expected to be signed into law by Governor

Maine's offshore wind is considered a leading potential energy resource for the entire U.S. — and now developing it has officially become a competition, with a second proposal now in play to tap the state's massive resource.

Quick, what’s the biggest cause of brain damage for solar developers when structuring a PPA? Financing. Along with a shortage of tax equity in the post-1603 environment, arranging debt financing can be even more onerous — most lenders still view the solar asset class as exotic with a high risk profile due to a lack of industry standardization.

The use of technology in power plants to automatically monitor systems has become industry standard, which isn't a surprise in an industry working to cut the cost of every kilowatt-hour. Although wind power isn't unique in the use of technology, the value of that technology may be more central to efficiently operating a wind power project.

Five years ago India, the world’s fastest growing economy, bolstered its overseas foreign exchange reserves by $92 billion. In the space of just twelve months. That was — and remains — an impressive feat for the BRIC economy. Providing many overseas investors with a shot of confidence to deploy capital and invest.

Solar nonprofit and indie rock band join forces to fight crime in Los Angeles: sounds like a movie plot. But this month, clean energy groups Everybody Solar and GRID Alternatives and the band Trapdoor Social have teamed up to help Homeboy Industries, a nonprofit which stops recidivism among former gang members, to go solar. The band is donating all

Engineers at U.S.-based Sandia National Laboratories, along with partner institutions Georgia Tech, Bucknell University, King Saud University and the German Aerospace Center (DLR), are using a falling particle receiver to more efficiently convert the sun’s energy to electricity in large-scale, concentrating solar power plants.

Five months ago, one of the country's ten largest electric utilities told regulators in Minnesota that it needed three new natural gas power plants to handle peak energy demand.  This week, the same company's Colorado division announced plans to use more solar power because it is cost competitive with gas. Maybe they need a memo to share the news:

In an effort to create its own renewably-powered utility, Boulder, Colo., is reaching out to the solar industry to explore how the city will transition from its current electric supply from Xcel Energy to renewables. Boulder’s efforts to create its own utility have drawn national attention from utilities and the renewables industries.  At the heart

If you’re a fan of The Simpsons, then you may remember an episode in which Homer accidentally creates a signature drink that Moe re-brands as a “Flaming Moe.” That unique beverage makes Moe’s Tavern famous…at least for a time. Here’s a clip:  While it’s a funny episode that satirizes Cheers and hot nightclubs, there’s a serious solar marketing less

Solar photovoltaic (PV) installations in Japan have now reached the 10 gigawatts (GW) milestone for cumulative PV capacity. Japan is only the fifth country to reach this mark, after Germany, Italy, China and the U.S. Both the U.S. and China reached 10 GW of solar PV within the past few months, according to new research featured in the NPD Solarbuzz Asia Pacific PV Market Quarterly Report.

The Scottish government approved an 86-MW tidal energy project, its energy minister announced today, which makes it the largest tidal stream energy project to be awarded consent in Europe.

Marubeni Corp. began a geothermal survey of Daisetsuzan National Park on the northern island of Hokkaido that will continue through February in the hopes Japan will discover more clean-energy sources.

An object lesson is a concrete example of a negative outcome often juxtaposed with a positive outcome, but it is a lesson that is almost always worth paying attention to.

The California legislative session ends this week with lawmakers passing four bills that expand and strengthen the state’s growing solar energy market. Together these pieces of legislation give residents, schools and businesses across the state more ways to participate in, invest in and benefit from our growing solar economy. All four bills now await the Governor’s signature to become law.

An explosion at a San Antonio power plant this week either bolstered the utility’s case for rate hikes to keep up with infrastructure maintenance demands or those of some critics who say the aged J.T. Deely coal plant — scheduled for decommissioning ahead of schedule in 2018 — should be shut down as soon as possible.

As more rooftop solar arrays are installed on residential and commercial buildings, firefighters are faced with new challenges when a blaze erupts. But with the proper training and preparation, these new hazards can be safely mitigated. A massive fire erupted in early September at the Dietz & Watson distribution center in South Jersey, a 300,000 sq