Renewable Energy News

Investments in the renewable energy sector were a mixed bag during the second quarter of 2013, according to a trio of analyst reports and many of the same trends we've seen lately persist: the U.S. and Asia-Pacific regions were more active, and downstream activity continues to intensify.

Concentrating solar photovoltaic (CPV) technology focuses the sun on a tiny photovoltaic cell in order to create solar power. In areas of high DNI (direct normal irradiance) the technology is a perfect match for creating power, said Gaeten Borgers, Executive VP of Soitec Solar. With solar power plants in 18 countries worldwide, Soitec is slowly but steadily attempting to prove that it can be the lowest-cost power source in hot, sunny regions.

Europe’s offshore wind sector is twice as healthy as this time last year, according to a first look at mid-2013 statistics from the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA).

There's an art to Solar Guerrilla Marketing. In Part 1 of this intro to solar guerrilla marketing, I discussed an example of good solar marketing...from a non-solar company, Nivea skin care. This week, we’ll refer to that and also to an example of poor solar guerrilla marketing at last week’s Intersolar conference. First, let's define solar guerril

The U.S. geothermal industry recently scored a big win when its first enhanced geothermal system (EGS) project went online in April. ORMAT was able to stimulate a previously unproductive well at its Desert Peak project with EGS technology — injecting fluid into a well to reopen cracks and create a resource reservoir — and found an additional 1.2 megawatts (MW) of capacity. Renewable energy experts applauded the project, dubbing it a "game-changer" and a "shining moment" for the industry.

Ranchers are herding more than sheep and cattle — they’re rounding up the power of the sun. Farmers too are harvesting the sun's rays to increase their energy independence and power their farming operations.   In Cottonwood, Calif., rancher Bill Gibson installed solar panels to generate energy for his 1,000-acre ranch. Though a majority of the fami

Mexico’s first double-digit utility-scale solar projects are heading into the pipeline. The first 20-MW phase of Sonora80M’s proposed solar park in Hermosillo, located in the northern state of Sonora, is planned to begin construction this year and come online in the first quarter of 2014; ultimately Sonora80M is planning four stages totaling 80 MW of capacity.

The word "parity" is to the solar advocate as the word "abracadabra" is to the magician.  Through it, all things are possible.  But there's really two kinds of solar parity with electricity prices, and the difference is significant. Take this article from Renewable Energy World last month.  It claims that solar installations in New Mexico are at gr

China, the world’s biggest maker of solar panels, plans to increase fivefold its installed solar capacity to more than 35 gigawatts by 2015 to support an industry faced with declining profits, slowing exports and a supply glut.

India's scope for hydropower development is vast. Close to 150 GW of theoretical potential exists in the country today, with an estimated 84 GW of economically exploitable capacity, according to figures from the Central Electricity Authority (CEA). Simultaneously, there is a large population of rural poor with no access to grid electricity, an existing peak load deficit estimate at around 10 percent and a rapidly growing economy — and with it an associated increase in power demand.

Are renewable energy technologies really less competitive than non-renewables? And, given the recent uptake of renewables, is there still a business case for other forms of power generation?

Spain has again reformed feed-in tariffs for renewable energy installations, potentially hitting profits for renewable energy companies and the electric grid operator. The move is part of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s effort to eliminate a €4.5 billion deficit forecast this year for the industry.

SolarStrong strikes again — and it’s a good thing. SolarCity’s partnership with U.S. Renewables Group Renewable Finance and Bank of America Merrill Lynch to install solar on military housing units at bases across the country is making rapid progress this year. On July 3, it announced that it will install solar at more than 600 houses at New Mexico’

In May of this year Chile exceeded 1 GW of installed capacity of renewable energy, and is on track to possibly achieve 1.3 GW by year’s end, according to the Centro de Energías Renovables (CER). More than half of that comes from biomass and nearly a third from hydro. Chile has a growing appetite for renewables, though, with roughly 10.5 GW of projects approved or under assessment.

In hopes of reducing one of the more costly and time consuming steps in geothermal project development, the U.S. Department of Energy issued its Geo- thermal Regulatory Roadmap to “help developers navigate regulatory requirements at every level of government.” The DOE charged the National Renewable Energy Laboratory with the task of rounding up key industry representatives and federal, state and local officials to pinpoint areas where development may be streamlined.

Europe has been working towards legally binding renewable energy 2020 targets instituted by the European Union (EU) 20-20-20 package since 2009. The EU is now proposing further renewable energy targets through to 2030.

Using copper instead of silver to create the electrical contact lines on solar panels is one of the in-vogue technologies these days, judging by a panel that devoted to commercializing this process at Intersolar in San Francisco this week.

It's been a surprisingly busy week in the field of thin-film solar PV, specifically for the variety known as CIGS (copper-indium-gallium-selenide), and it spans the spectrum from positive (new funding and expansions) to not so upbeat (restructuring, missed payments, and acquisitions).

UK homeowners could be paid hundreds of pounds a year for heat generated by solar thermal panels, biomass boilers and heat pumps under the nation’s Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI), energy and climate change minister Greg Barker announced today. The RHI was initiated in 2009 but there have been significant delays in setting tariff levels, creating uncertainty in the renewable heating sector. Today’s long-awaited reveal was welcomed enthusiastically by the industry.

Image Credit: Suniva The handful of solar advocates rallying outside the state capitol Thursday morning set the stage for what would become a historic day for solar energy in Georgia. As the morning progressed, the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) conducted a public hearing that brought in both clean energy supporters and opponents to give t