Wind power needs subsidy to compete in US, says Siemens
The US wind power industry still needs subsidy to compete with fossil fuels, according to Germany’s Siemens, one of the world’s largest wind turbine manufacturers.
Lisa Davis, who took over in August as the head of Siemens’ global energy business, told the Financial Times that although wind power in the US was close to “grid parity” – the level at which it becomes competitive with other sources of electricity – “we’re not there yet”.
Her comments come as the US industry is urging Congress to reinstate the tax credit for wind generation, which expired at the end of last year. The American Wind Energy Association has warned that the industry could face falling investment and employment if the credit is not restored quickly.
Lazard, the investment bank, calculated recently that in parts of the US with strong wind, it could be a cheaper source of power than gas-fired generation, after steep declines in the cost of turbines.
However, Ms Davis argued that costs still needed to be cut further before wind could compete on equal terms with gas.
“We’ve not yet got to the point where it’s truly self-sustaining,” she said. “We’ve got to focus on cost competitiveness.”
A solar cell that stores its own power: World's first 'solar battery' runs on light and air
Is it a solar cell? Or a rechargeable battery? Actually, the patent-pending device invented at The Ohio State University is both: the world's first solar battery.
In the October 3, 2014 issue of the journal Nature Communications, the researchers report that they've succeeded in combining a battery and a solar cell into one hybrid device.
Key to the innovation is a mesh solar panel, which allows air to enter the battery, and a special process for transferring electrons between the solar panel and the battery electrode. Inside the device, light and oxygen enable different parts of the chemical reactions that charge the battery.
The university will license the solar battery to industry, where Yiying Wu, professor of chemistry and biochemistry at Ohio State, says it will help tame the costs of renewable energy.
"The state of the art is to use a solar panel to capture the light, and then use a cheap battery to store the energy," Wu said. "We've integrated both functions into one device. Any time you can do that, you reduce cost."
He and his students believe that their device brings down costs by 25 percent.
SPI 2014 - APS Now Shipping New YC1000 Microinverter, a Groundbreaking 277/480, 3-phase Unit for Large-scale Commercial Applications
APS, a global leader in solar microinverter technology, will showcase its new YC1000 microinverter for the domestic market at Solar Power International, Oct. 20-23 in Las Vegas.
Southern California Startup Is Changing The Way We Purchase Solar
Pick My Solar provides bids, evaluation and advocacy to make shopping solar easy.
Energy Storage North America Opens With Record Participation
Honors Top Storage Projects and Industry Champions With ESNA Innovation Awards
Canadian Solar Completes the Sale of Three Solar Power Plants to TransCanada
The William Rutley project closed on September 29, 2014 followed by Liskeard 3 & 4 on September 30, 2014
EDF Renewable Energy and Microsoft Corporation Break Ground on the Pilot Hill Wind Project
More than 100 people attended the ceremony including U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Ill., who called it a historic day for the state of Illinois and the nation.
NRG Energy Acquires Pure Energies Group, Adding Stronger Online Platform for Customer Access to NRG's Rapidly Expanding Residential Solar Business
Pure Energies builds on recent acquisitions to empower customers to go solar in an easy and streamlined way
Abengoa Yield's Solana Solar Power Plant in Arizona Wins an Energy Storage North America Innovation Award
Solana's molten-salt thermal energy storage system is able to generate
power at maximum capacity for six hours without solar radiation.
---- Solana is the first commercial plant in the United States to use this
new
thermal energy storage technology.
SunShare and Hyland Hills Water World Sign one of the Nation's Largest Community Solar Agreements
Denver area's water park signs up to be powered by SunShare's Solar Gardens
Renewables sector welcomes Scottish contribution to marine energy research
Scottish Enterprise to contribute £450,000 to European research programme
GLOBAL CLEAN ENERGY INVESTMENT SUSTAINS ITS RECOVERY
Figures for the third quarter show another year-on-year rise, with a solar boom in China the biggest single contributor
Green Energy Ohio tour features GEM Energy's Anthony Wayne Solar Array
The 2.1-MW Anthony Wayne Solar Array, developed by GEM Energy, is featured on the Green Energy Ohio tour of clean energy and green design projects. GEM Energy will host an open house at the solar array from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, October 3, at 671 Spencer St, Toledo, Ohio.
New "Solar School" Contest Challenges Asheville-Area Students to Compete for Free Solar Array
Asheville and Buncombe County (N.C.) schools invited to participate in "The Solar Schools Challenge" and Explore Solar Power as Way to Meet Energy Needs
Energy Storage Association and GTM Research Partner on US Energy Storage Market Analysis
"Energy storage is vital for the future of the grid, and we believe the market is on the cusp of a dramatic acceleration."
Records 10321 to 10335 of 27846
First | Previous | Next | Last
Solar & Wind - Featured Product
STI Norland - First dual-row tracker in the market
Developed in 2017, the STI-H250™ is consists of two linked torsion beams that rotate simultaneously following the sun's path. They are moved by just one motor, cutting supply and maintenance costs. STI-H250™ dual-row tracker includes backtracking mode to avoid shadowing between adjacent rows and stow function to protect the tracker in extreme wind conditions. For cleaning, vehicles can pass between trackers and each row can be placed in a different position.
