Renewable Energy News

While much of the focus is on the timing issues of the Europe/China anti-dumping investigations, it is the scope of any such actions that remains the key uncertainty for the industry as a whole.

The Backbone Campaign's community solar project was motivated by a generous production incentive offered in Washington State for solar projects installed on public property.  Campaign organizer Bill Moyer and many residents of King County, WA, hoped to keep more energy dollars in the local economy by using this incentive to create a community solar

MA SREC prices have rallied since mid January, with Vintage 2012 prices increasing from $205 to trade as high as $235 in March. Over the same period the vintage 2013 SRECs rallied stronger than 2012’s, moving from $155 to as high as $230, with the spread narrowing from $50 to $5. The timing of this run up seemed to coincide with the issuance of two

Overcapacity, tightening margins, intense demand fluctuations, uncertain subsidy support and severe price competition: wind turbine manufacturing isn't for the faint-hearted these days. Wind turbine original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are now redesigning their businesses from the ground up to compete effectively in today's ultra-competitive global marketplace.

As wind power's share of electricity generation has increased, so have the financial consequences of risks associated with its inherently high variability - risks which don't just affect wind power producers but reverberate vertically through the value chain and horizontally to affect a range of electricity market players. Large utilities can manage risk with a combination of all three basic risk management strategies: limiting exposure to specific energy sources, diversifying, and engaging in extensive trading activities to hedge several types of risks across their operations.

Wind turbine manufacturers are balking at a new rule in Brazil requiring them to buy or make parts domestically to qualify for lower-cost loans from the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES), which could put a crimp in the anticipated growth of one of the more promising market regions for wind energy.

Governor Cuomo just announced the first round of awards for the NY-Sun Competitive PV Program – and boy is it looking bright! The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) awarded $46 million for 76 large-scale projects totaling 52 megawatts (MW) of new solar capacity, enough to power nearly 9,000 New York homes. We're excited about the early results of the program and the state's continued commitment to bringing reliable clean power and local solar jobs to New York.

Marubeni Corp., the biggest investor in electricity generation among Japan's trading houses, is working on how to revive the geothermal industry and tap heat that powers volcanos as an alternative to nuclear reactors.

I recently had some car battery trouble, which was taken care of by AAA. They did a good job, and after testing my battery and giving me a jump, the AAA service person gave me his card and told me that I may receive a customer survey. That survey hasn’t come in yet, but it’s a reminder that solar companies in all sectors need to send these out too.

President Barack Obama wants U.S. scientists to pursue an "all-of-the-above" strategy in developing new sources of domestic energy.Agricultural Research Service agronomist Paul Adler is providing complete cost-benefit breakdowns for using switchgrass pellets instead of fuel oil to heat homes and businesses in the Northeast.

One of the leading voices on the environment said the only way to address global climate change and the growing demand for energy was to invest in renewables.

By 2015 the global market for small and medium wind turbines (SMWT) is forecast to double, especially in developing and emerging markets, reaching U.S.$634 million. These technologies already have a track record of success in rural electrification projects. For instance, in China, SMWT started to be implemented in 1980, and by 2010 there were some 400,000 systems reported.

RenewableEnergyWorld.com has learned of secret meetings that have been held between UN energy ministers and Martian ministers of energy regarding the terawatts of easily exploitable geothermal energy that Mars possesses.

Germany's solar industry is set to benefit from the financial crisis in Cyprus as investors seek a haven in the guaranteed returns provided by clean-energy plants.

Sanaa, the capital of Yemen, may be the first capital city in the world to run out of water. Due to Yemen's defunct government, water-guzzling addiction to a drug called qat, and lack of conservation practices, Sanaa's 2 million people may become "water refugees" by the year 2025. Furthermore, water shortages compound the country's chronic poverty, malnutrition, and tribal fighting over scarce resources. Solar desalinization combined with more efficient water management can help save Sanaa.

Across the U.S., large and small-scale solar power development is booming, yet many projects still face the threat of permitting and construction obstacles.

Five years ago it seemed possible that solar water and space heating would break through into the mass market. Oil and gas prices were rising quickly and collector manufacturers had invested in larger production lines. But the successes of 2008 have not continued since. According to the latest projections by BDH, the German heating industry association, German plumbers installed 1.2 million square meters of solar collectors in 2012. This is 5 percent less than in 2011 and 40 percent less than in the boom year of 2008.

eSolar was a high-profile startup five years ago when concentrating solar power (CSP) or concentrating solar thermal power, drew huge interest from U.S. utilities and the company touted a design that aimed to build power plants efficiently. Then it became fairly quiet in the past two years.

After a long period of quiescence, Maine's state legislature has again taken up feed-in tariffs. Legislative document 1085 to establish the Renewable Energy Feed-in Tariff was introduced 19 March 2013 and referred to the Committee on Energy, Utilities and Technology.

U.K. renewable power generation surged 20 percent last year, boosted by new offshore wind farms, the Department of Energy and Climate Change said.