Renewable Energy News

On Thursday, July 11th the state of Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) will take a vote on Georgia Power’s proposed Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) which lays the road map for providing electricity to Georgians over the next 20 years. While Georgia Power has already agreed to add 270 megawatts (MW) of solar energy to its system, its latest plan

Chinese solar manufacturers that are still trying to sell the cheapest panels have failed to adapt to an industry seeking more efficient products, said SunPower Corp. Chief Executive Officer Tom Werner.

Jeffrey Eckel has an investor relations problem. No, there has not been any scandal involving fudging the books or sweatshop labor. Rather, most investors simply don’t seem to “get” his company.

India’s biggest solar power-producing state is seeking to cut the subsidized rate it pays to plants by 28 percent, joining governments from Spain to Greece backtracking on clean-energy support to lower costs.

French company Albioma (née Sechilienne-Sidec) wants to invest 400 million euros (about US $528 million) over the next decade to tap into the confluence of two established and emerging sectors in Brazil: converting sug- arcane waste into electricity.

SolarWorld is closing down silicon wafer production at its Hillsboro, Oregon facility and laying off 100 workers, said to be the second and final phase of an ongoing corporate restructuring and attributed to persistent and unfair Chinese competition.

With the cost of solar continuing to fall rapidly (50 percent in the past five years) and electricity prices rising steadily, if slowly, the approach of solar grid parity is near. The following chart illustrates the trajectory of solar cost and electricity price, hinting at the coming intersection. The chart compares the cost of a residential solar

Russia’s Renewable Energy Source Development Measures (RESDM) that went into effect at the end of May have gotten off to a tepid start. Many Russian energy pundits are convinced that the renewables goals set in the trimmed bill will soon inevitably bump into major roadblocks on the path.

The past week has seen three more solar companies go belly-up, at both ends of the upstream and downstream side of the industry, all blamed at least partly on persistent global competition. Meanwhile, talks between Europe and China over solar trade issues might be getting closer to a resolution as the initial negotiating window starts to close.

The development of the UK’s offshore wind market is at risk because of “weak and unclear signals from government on the long-term future of renewable energy”, according to a report out today.

Late last Saturday night the solar-powered airplane Solar Impulse HB-SIA landed in New York, successfully concluding the last in its series of demonstration flights. This time the Swiss-made plane flew across the U.S., a total distance of 3,511 miles (5650 km).

At the end of 2012, Brazil had 2.5 GW of installed wind capacity, enough to power four million households, accounting for 2 percent of national electricity consumption. In 2012 alone, 40 new wind farms came online, adding more than 1 GW of new capacity to the Brazilian electricity grid and creating 15,000 new jobs. This represents an investment of

Europe’s biggest oil companies are scaling back work on the next generation of biofuels, a setback for the effort to create a gasoline substitute that doesn’t drain the food supply.

Although several major newspapers of record reported in May that China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) had proposed introducing a cap on greenhouse gases from 2016, the nation says it has no such plan.

A mini flurry of news from embattled solar panel makers seems to have the same singular message, designed to tell investors that they can survive an industry crisis now entering its third year. Of course the companies that emerge when the crisis finally subsidies could be far different from the ones that went into the crisis, which seems to be the

Connecticut’s Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority (CEFIA)— also called the CT Green Bank — has leveraged $9.5 million in ratepayer funds into a $50-million private capital investment to support solar leasing for homes and businesses under a public-private partnership. The fund created is expected to support roughly 14 megawatts of distrib

The past few weeks have seen announcements and de-stealths from several companies all targeting the same part of the solar photovoltaic supply chain: reduce costs by eliminating most of the silicon material and related processes.

In Illinois, the Midwest Aviation Sustainable Biofuels Initiative released their recommendations from MASBI’s year-long study of the potential for aviation biofuels in the Midwest. In the 28-page report, MASBI, policymakers and experts identified next steps in advancing biofuels development, which can reduce carbon emissions, create green jobs in the Midwest, drive innovation in clean technology, improve energy security and power a sustainable future for aviation.

China launched a series of policies at end of 2012 to encourage the deployment of residential solar photovoltaic (PV) systems that can generate sufficient power for one household. In the few months after the roll out of these policies, thousands of interested individuals contacted the State Grid Corporation of China to get more information about this novel form of power supply.

Statkraft SF, Europe’s biggest hydropower producer, is boosting capacity and trading in Turkey to offset falling demand and profitability in western Europe.