Large-scale floating offshore wind power is finally here

Sami Grover for TreeHugger:  Offshore wind energy has been growing like crazy in the last few decades—so much so that there's even talk of serious talk of multi-gigawatt offshore wind farms in the US in the not too distant future.  But offshore wind has so far been limited to areas where the seafloor is relatively shallow, and where it's easy to build foundations for these gigantic turbines. Floating wind turbines are different. Instead of using fixed foundations, they are anchored to the sea floor using cables. And that means they can be located in deeper waters, opening up many more areas where wind conditions are favorable and concerns about views and/or bird migration routes are less relevant. Alongside opening up new areas for development, the other major advantage of floating turbines—once they are being developed at scale—could also be reduced costs.    Cont'd...

New process for manufacturing PV cells means cheaper solar power

Phys.org:  A major roadblock to the mass use of solar energy are photovoltaic (PV) solar cells. This is because the cost, inefficiency and negative environmental impact that the manufacturing of these cells outweighs any potential savings provided by the resulting solar energy. If, however, cost could be were minimised, then solar power would be more able to compete with traditional fossil fuel-based methods for generating energy. To overcome this hurdle, the EU-funded SOLNOWAT project has developed an innovative dry process for manufacturing PV solar cells. PV cells are typically created via a wet chemical process that etches away layers of silicon from a crystalline wafer, leaving behind the solar cell. The SOLNOWAT process replaces the expensive and inefficient wet chemical process with the use of atmospheric pressure dry etching technology – a process that cuts costs and speeds up production. Because less silicon is removed during dry etching, the resulting cells are darker, making them very efficient at absorbing light. In fact, they are so efficient that they have been classified as having zero global warming potential.   Cont'd...

Sollega Case Study: FastRack510 - IKEA 1.125 MW

Ikea, one of the leading retailers of finished goods in the world, has installed a 1.125 MW solar array on their new facility in Renton Washington. It is the latest Ikea in the US to be powered by the sun and the largest roof top install in Washington State.

US wind generation reached 5.5% of the grid in 2016

Iowa, South Dakota, Kansas, Oklahoma and North Dakota all sourced more than 20 percent of their electricity generation from wind power during 2016, according to new data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). It shows wind supplied over 5.5 percent of electricity nationwide, up from 4.7 percent in 2015.  With 99 percent of wind turbines located in rural areas, wind power's steady growth as a share of the nation's electricity supply has been accompanied by a surge of investment in rural America. The industry invested over $13.8 billion in new turbines last year, according to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), in addition to operating a fleet now over 52,000 turbines.   Full AWEA Press Release:

A World Premiere - The First Hybrid FPV and Hydroelectric Dam Power Plant System

The installed 840 floating PV panels have a total peak capacity of 220 kilowatts and is expected to generate 332 megawatts per hour in its first year - equivalent to the annual consumption of around 100 homes.

Global Annual Installed Capacity of Small and Medium Wind Turbines is Expected to Exceed 446 MW in 2026

Despite weakening policy drivers and competition from declining solar PV prices, the SMWT industry is still poised for growth. With a large amount of wind resource potential still available, plus several growing and emerging markets, the industry is anticipated to sustain itself into the foreseeable future. Click to tweet: According to a new report from @NavigantRSRCH, the global installed capacity of SMWTs is expected to grow from 176.4 MW in 2017 to 446.0 MW in 2026.  "With historically leading markets such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and China seeing declining annual installed capacities of small and medium wind in recent years, other countries such as Japan, Denmark, and Italy are emerging as forces in the distributed wind market thanks to favorable government incentives," says Adam Wilson, research associate with Navigant Research. "We're also seeing a shift with medium-sized turbines as their niche slowly shrinks as drivers continue to favor small wind turbines for distributed wind and larger multi-megawatt turbines dominating utility-scale applications."   Full Press Release:

Southern California Edison Reaches California's Solar Deadline

Under net metering 2.0, property owners are forced to pay non-bypassable charges, reducing the value of clean energy provided to the utility.

How drones are helping design the solar power plants of the future

Katie Fehrenbacher for T he Guardian:   At the edge of a plot of muddy farmland, a few miles down the road from the University of California at Davis, an engineer takes a few quick steps across crop rows and lets go of a three-foot drone. Within seconds, the device - which weighs less than 2lbs and carries a powerful camera - ascends hundreds of feet into the cold, clear, blue sky and begins to snap detailed photos of the ground far below, including a long row of large solar panels mounted on steel poles. This flight is just a test, demonstrated by Kingsley Chen, the drone fleet coordinator for SunPower at the solar companys research and development center, which is under construction and about a two-hour drive northeast of the San Francisco Bay Area. The drone will enable SunPower to survey a wide region and help design a solar power farm that can fit more solar panels on a piece of land, more quickly and for lower costs than it previously could.  Con'td...

Follow the Patents: For Solar Power, the Devil Is in the Details

Alec Schibanoff for Electric Light & Power:  There actually is a crystal ball that permits you to see into the future. All you have to do is follow the patents. The latest patents in any technology will show you where that technology—and the businesses that use that technology—are going. This month, we take a look at the future of solar panel installation. The first solar power generator was displayed at the Universal Exposition in Paris in 1878. The first U.S. Patent for a solar power device was awarded the next year to Edward Weston. He actually received two patents: U.S. Patent No. 389,124 for an “Apparatus for Generating Solar Radiant Energy” and U.S. Patent No. 389,125 for the “Art of Utilizing Solar Radiant Energy.” It was not until 1954 that Bell Labs developed the first silicone-based solar panel.   Cont'd...

Over 3 Million in U.S. Now Work for Clean Energy

Today, national business groups representing the range and breadth of clean energy companies in the United States cheered government statistics showing their industries support more than 3 million American jobs - equal to the employment of retail stores across the country, and twice as many jobs as involved in construction of buildings. This is based on 2016 data recently released by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in its second annual U.S. Energy and Employment Report.   Full Press Release:

7,000 Railways Stations In India To Go Solar

Saurabh Mahapatra for CleanTechnica:  Almost every railway station in India will soon be fed with solar power if the plans announced in India’s latest union budget are implemented. The Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced that the 7,000 railway stations across the country will be fed with solar power as per the Indian Railways mission to implement 1,000 megawatts of solar power capacity. The minister made the announcement during the union budget speech on 1 February 2017. The minister stated that work to set up rooftop solar power systems at 300 stations has already started, and soon this number will increase to 2,000 stations. According to data released by the Minister of Railways, India had 7,137 railway stations at the end of March 2015. These rooftop solar power systems are expected to be implemented through developer mode, wherein the project developer will sign long-term power purchase agreement with Indian Railways.   Cont'd...

The Global Corporate Demand for Renewable Energy

We spoke with Tom Lindberg and Stein Amble Haugan, Managing Director and Key Account Manager of ECOHZ, who attended the World Future Energy Summit (WFES) in Abu Dhabi 17-18 January 2017.

California demand for wind power energizes transmission firms

Nichola Groom for Reuters:  A firm controlled by Philip Anschutz, the billionaire entertainment and pro sports magnate, will soon build the largest wind farm in the United States to serve utilities in California, where officials have set ambitious green power goals. The $5 billion project, however, will be constructed 700 miles away in Wyoming, a state better known for coal mines and oil fields. The vast distance between the two states provides a different Anschutz-owned firm with another big opportunity: a $3 billion project building transmission lines to deliver the power - one of a dozen similar power-line projects by other companies across the West. (Map: How wind power will get from Wyoming to California click here) In all, about 5,700 miles of transmission lines are in development with the goal of delivering renewable energy to California from other states, according to the Western Interstate Energy Board.   Cont'd...

High-tech canopy helps generate solar power while providing shade

Barbara Eldredge for Curbed:  Imaginative architect and designer Carlo Ratti has had some bonkers ideas over the past year, including an exercise-powered gym barge and a mile-high skyscraper park. But his latest project is on the sunnier side of feasibility. Literally. The Sun&Shade is a light-reflecting canopy made of mirrors that automatically rotate to catch the sun’s rays and fling them at a photovoltaic panel, “located a safe distance away.” This generates clean electricity up top while cooling the shaded area beneath. A working prototype of the mirrored structure just debuted at Dubai’s Museum of the Future as part of its “Reimagining Climate Change.”   Cont'd...

Energy Powers Our Lives

The First Law of Thermodynamics states that energy cannot be created or destroyed. It can, however, be transferred from one location to another and converted to and from other forms of energy.

Records 1171 to 1185 of 3860

First | Previous | Next | Last

Solar Power - Featured Product

Introducing RockIt Smart Slide

Introducing RockIt Smart Slide

Introducing RockIt Smart Slide - the ultimate solution for fast and easy installation of the rail-less RockIt racking system on composition shingle roofs. Smart Slide conforms to UL 441 and TAS 100 (A)-95 for wind and wind-driven rain, providing a super-strong watertight seal that is achieved through compression, in most cases without the need for additional sealant. The waterproofing sealant is embedded deep into the granules of the shingle, thanks to the integrated flexible foam layer that provides cushioning. This ensures a secure fit that conforms to any architectural-style shingle. With UltraGrip Technologyâ„¢, you can rely on a secure installation, as it absorbs the movement created by thermal expansion and contraction. The pre-installed sealing pads are compatible with all composition shingle roofs, making it the ideal choice, even in ambient temperatures as low as 5 degrees.