Renewable Energy News

"Treasury has consistently been racheting fees down" said John Marciano, Chadbourne Parke transactional attorney regarding U.S. Treasury evaluation of developer fees as part of solar energy system costs under its 1603 Grant Program.

China's beleaguered solar panel makers took another hit this week, announcing either shipment downgrades or job cuts in response to global oversupply and higher production costs tied to recent import tariffs imposed by the U.S. government.

The military biofuels debate continues with the release of a new report that claims military investment would generate more than 14,000 jobs by 2020 and $10 billion in economic activity, among other benefits. Commissioned by Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2), it claims that military investment would spark the biofuels industry and initiate further investment from other industries such as automotive and airline, but the upcoming National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) could derail progress.

If you follow the energy sector closely, then you know that many questions regarding the direction of alternative energy companies were looming during the 2012 campaign season. Was the country going to continue with the Obama Administration's "all-of-the-above" strategy with its strong emphasis on renewables, or would there be an accelerated domestic drilling and pipeline bonanza under Republican leadership.

Kenya Electricity Generating Co., the East African nation's biggest power producer, said it will reduce hydropower's share of total output to less than half within two years as geothermal production increases.

The outlook is bright for the future of solar projects worldwide, as evidenced by the news rolling in from a handful of global initiatives that are proving solar's not just a way to provide clean energy, but also an effective way to create jobs and spur economic growth.

Scores of clean tech company CEOs pitched their leading-edge ideas to seed capital angels and venture capitalists at this year's Clean Tech Open 2012 Global Forum, in San Jose, California. Held at the Hayes Mansion on November 8 and 9, the meeting is the culmination of numerous regional competitions by the organization, which has helped over 600 companies raise over $660 million in financing since 2006. After a 10-minute business plan pitch heard by over a thousand attendees, company finalists were quizzed by a panel of judges to compete for hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars in start up capital.

India, planning $1.4 billion of solar-thermal power stations, expects half of the projects to be delayed and some to be scrapped as U.S. supplies stall and dust-clouds diffuse the radiation required to drive generation.

Rare is the occasion when Democrats and Republicans share a common interest to resolve any particular issue. But wind energy has garnered large bipartisan support lately as proponents of the Production Tax Credit fight for its extension before the end of the year, when it is scheduled to expire.

Hot Rock Ltd., a geothermal developer, may build a 50-megawatt power plant in Peru within five years, a company official said.

In his stirring acceptance speech, re-elected President Barack Obama noted that climate change would be on the agenda in his second administration — despite its marked absence during the campaign.

It's been a year of both continued expansion and mounting challenges for the global solar industry. RenewableEnergyWorld asked solar industry executives to share their thoughts and insights on one burning question:

Japan's domestic shipments of solar cells and modules rose 80 percent in the July-September quarter after the government started an incentive program for clean energy in the first month of the period.

GT Advanced Technologies has bought an ultra-thin silicon wafer technology that it says will help reduce the price of producing solar electricity and creates new markets beyond solar for the company, said GT's CEO, Tom Gutierrez, on Thursday.

Is all this effort to save energy worth it? Consider this. Had we neglected energy efficiency from 1980 to 2010, worldwide energy use would be 35 percent higher. What does this mean? Look at the amount of energy used in the world’s two largest economies – the United States and China. That’s about how much energy the world saved.  This comes from Wo

Has the pressure to compete in a world market beset by an equipment glut and plummeting prices over the past two years led to an increase in poor quality solar panels?

Exxon Mobil Corp. is part of a growing coalition backing a carbon tax as an alternative to costly regulation, giving newfound prominence to an idea once anathema in Washington.

As I opened this week's 2012 Clean Energy Workforce Education Conference, I looked out at hundreds of faces, some long-time friends and associates, and many I’ve not seen before. The brain power in the room immediately struck me.  I explained the simple black slide that surrounded me on stage. It simply said: 5.5. We’ve held this conference 5 1/2 t

Raina Russo drives through the ravaged streets of her coastal neighborhood in New York, dodging downed trees and aware of the constant sirens that indicate emergency workers are responding to yet another fire. This is what she calls her "new normal" in her life post-Sandy.

Renewable energy deployment has increased in recent years thanks to two primary turbo chargers: federal tax policies that incentivize investment and state renewable portfolio standards (RPS) that require utilities to procure increasing amounts of renewable energy to serve their load obligations.