Renewable Energy News

A shortage of biofuel credits needed for gasoline sales in the U.S. may lead to an increase in exports of the fuel from America in 2014, according to the International Energy Agency.

Yesterday, the West Australian State Government reversed its decision to apply retrospective changes to its feed-in tariff. The WA government realized that its proposal to halve the payment given for excess solar electricity had angered 70,000 voters all in order to save a paltry $51 million. This remarkable turn-around occurred in the space of fou

Graphene, first produced in a lab at the University of Manchester in 2004, is a single layer of carbon atoms, arranged in a honeycomb lattice. The material has been long sought-after, having been predicted to possess excellent charge carrier mobility and mechanical strength greater than steel, accompanied by a collection of exotic physical phenomena unprecedented in the world of materials.

It’s often said that you can make only one first impression. Whether that’s meeting your in-laws for the first time, sending an email to a potential solar client, or designing a solar tradeshow booth, you must represent yourself authentically, yet consider your client’s values and expectations as well. I bring this up because I constantly receive e

Dong Energy A/S, Denmark’s state- controlled utility, is leading a drive to cut offshore wind- power costs by as much as 40 percent by the end of the decade.

Germany, Europe’s biggest electricity market, is beating up its traditional utilities. RWE AG and EON SE are getting hurt by falling power prices and a shrinking market share this year. They’re set to report second-quarter earnings this week just as RBC Capital Markets said both may need to raise capital.

Western Australia’s government today announced a reversal of its earlier decision to retrospectively halve its AUD $0.40/kWh feed-in tariff (FiT) for residential solar power, only four days after announcing it.

On the 8th of August 2013, the Western Australian Government handed down a tough budget. Although Western Australia should be one of the worlds wealthiest State's due to it's massive endowment of minerals, the government somehow has a budget black hole. It was therefore no surprise to see some pretty deep cuts being made in Australia's biggest stat

For almost two months, the Lillgrund offshore wind farm in Sweden stood idle. Work to repair the export cable which transmits the electricity from the wind farm to the substation on land had to be carried out during this time. This failure raised some important questions: should cable reliability be considered in the design stage of a wind farm? What are the financial implications of failure, and is there any way it could have been planned for?

Habitat for Humanity has been turning increasingly to the sun for energy solutions that will save homeowners money on utility bills. A donated solar installation in Bridgeport, Conn. will help a family with two disabled sons save on electricity expenses.  Now they can better afford the health care they need.  This is just the latest in a long strin

For 50 years we strived for cheaper solar panels. Then...BANG...over the last few years prices for this key component of a system dropped down below $1/watt. But completely installed systems are still expensive, about $5/watt for a typical residential system in the U.S. Even if solar panels were FREE, you'd still need an inverter and other electrical equipment, installation labor, financing, and all kinds of paperwork. So how much lower can these costs go? Where are the cost reduction opportunities?

Venture capital funding in the wind sector was unusually high in the second quarter of this year, according to Mercom Capital’s quarterly wind funding and M&A report, with US $195 million going to two companies in India. Both companies are project developers, said Raj Prabhu, Mercom’s CEO.

The latest signs coming from bankrupt solar panel maker Suntech (NYSE: STP) indicate a Beijing-led overhaul for the struggling sector may not be coming after all, and that local governments and other stakeholders may instead become the main rescue agents for these companies. Reports last year had hinted that Beijing was working on a broad plan to r

The U.S. wind energy industry is continuing to pay off for those who have invested in it, both in terms of power generated as well as manufacturing and jobs. This is according to a pair of studies the DOE has made public. More than 13 GW of wind energy capacity was added onto the U.S. grid last year. That's double what was added the year before. To

Solar power co-operatives are fast emerging has an innovative way for local communities to gain access to renewable energy generation. Over the last few years, several such initiatives have been successfully launched in the UK — with new schemes opening in a number of cities including London and Bristol. So, how do such schemes work? And what benefits can they provide to local people?

New statistics from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) reveal exactly how much land is needed to site a solar plant of various sizes and technologies, based on actual plants and projects and not models or projections. The takeway: your mileage may vary.

Wind turbines can, and do, fail. And, when they do fail, they do so in spectacular fashion. A quick search on YouTube for “wind turbine failures” yields numerous videos of exploding wind turbines, wind turbines on fire, or involved in other high-stress calamities.

At Clean Edge, we’ve said for years that clean energy and energy efficiency should not be partisan issues — that benefits like quality American jobs, reduced dependence on imported oil, leadership in technology innovation, and cleaner air and water should appeal across the political spectrum.

For the first time in decades, Congress appears serious about tackling the issue of comprehensive tax reform.  But for the solar industry, there’s a real risk is that some members of Congress will try to eliminate all renewable energy tax credits in order to reduce corporate tax rates — and that could roll back the tremendous progress solar has mad

Flexing its muscles yet again, thin-film solar PV leader First Solar has quietly acquired GE's similar solar intellectual property portfolio, but questions linger about whether and when the company will see the benefits.