US Replaces China as Top Clean Energy Investor
The United States has regained its place as the world's number one investor in clean energy, reclaiming the top spot from China, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. In 2011, U.S. total investment in clean energy surged to $55.9 billion, up 33 percent from 2010; China saw investment rise just 1 percent to $47.4 billion over the same time period. This is the first time that the U.S. - and not China - has held the number one spot since 2008. Bloomberg attributes the increase in U.S.investment in large part to support initiatives such as the federal loan guarantee program and a Treasury grant program which have now expired. The country's principal remaining support measure for renewable energy, the Production Tax Credit, is currently also scheduled to fall away at the end of 2012 unless it is extended. As a result, Bloomberg suggests that there may be a rush to get projects completed in 2012, followed by a slump in investment in 2013, if the credit does, in fact, expire. Vestas, the world's largest maker of wind turbines in terms of revenue, warned that 1,600 U.S. jobs were at risk if clean energy tax credits were not extended past the end of this year.
Solar Photovoltaic Companies Shifting From Focus on Market Share Growth to Profitability in 2012
Planned Production Revised Downward; Market Growth Shifting Away from Europe, NPD Solarbuzz Reports
Unlock the Secret to Selling to the Military
Selling to the military is not easy, but if you are persistent and take one step at a time, asking questions along the way, military sales can add substantially to your bottom line.
Solar Thermal (Hot Water) - The Other Type Of Solar
Just like PV solar panels, solar thermal systems are tax credit eligible on both state and federal levels. And, just as there are utility rebates for installing a new, more energy efficient water tank, most power companies also have special incentives for installing solar thermal, as high as $450 dollars per solar thermal installation!
Interview - Energy Monitoring with PowerTrack
By monitoring and measuring energy production, consumption and portfolio performance, budget conscious users, installers, developers and financiers are discovering production increases and cost savings that they could never see before.
China to build its biggest offshore wind farm
China will construct an offshore wind farm with an installed capacity of 300 megawatts (MW) in Leting County, North China's Hebei province, making it the country's largest such project. The feasibility report for the wind farm located near Puti Island in Bohai Sea has recently passed expert reviews that were commissioned by the National Energy Bureau (NEB). Under the program, the wind farm, built with a total investment of 5.76 billion yuan ($914 million), will comprise 100 units of 3MW offshore turbines. The approval authority will complete relevant procedures to sanction the project at the end of this year, and the project will be connected to the grid before the end of 2015. When it goes into operation, the wind farm will generate 752 million kilowatt-hours (kwh) of electric power annually, as well as 730 million yuan in annual sales revenues. It was also pay 58 million yuan in taxes to the local government.
Vestas Jobs Threat Pressures Obama to Extend Tax Break
Vestas Wind Systems A/S's threat to fire 1,600 workers in the U.S. undermines President Barack Obama's goal of creating green jobs and adds to pressure on Congress to extend a tax credit that the industry relies on.
The world's biggest maker of wind turbines said yesterday it will probably reduce its staff beyond the 2,335 posts it's eliminating worldwide if the U.S. doesn't renew the so-called Production Tax Credit, which expires at the end of this year.
"We will evaluate it during 2012 depending entirely on how the political situation evolves," Chief Executive Officer Ditlev Engel said in an interview in Copenhagen. U.S. jobs will be scrapped "for sure" without the credit, and a decision is due "no later than the fourth quarter," he said.
Renewable energy passes nuclear as U.S. power source
Renewable energy sources -- wind, water, solar and others -- passed nuclear generation as a share of U.S. power in September, according to the Energy Information Administration. In the EIA’s latest report on energy sources and usage in the United States, which covers the nine months ended September, the nine-month total for both renewable production and consumption were higher than those for nuclear power.
Renewable energy projects in California go unused
Millions of dollars in renewable energy projects intended to provide power to facilities in California's national parks and forests are sitting idle because of a years-long squabble with Southern California Edison.
A new $800,000 solar project at Death Valley National Park, photovoltaic panels at the state-of-the art visitors center at Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area and a solar power system at the U.S. Forest Service's new facility at Mono Lake are among dozens of taxpayer-funded projects in Southern California on hold as the federal agencies try to hash out an agreement with SCE to tie the projects to the state's electrical grid.
The apparent stumbling block involves contract restrictions imposed by federal law, but utilities elsewhere in California have signed similar agreements with the agencies with few problems or delays.
Scientists work to help electric utilities forecast and handle 'ramp events'
Wind energy is notoriously mercurial, with patterns shifting drastically over the course of years, days, even minutes. These changes make scheduling power much more difficult for utilities that rely on wind turbines to serve an increasing percentage of their power demands. Because wind power in some places is now as cheap as or cheaper than coal-fired power, future profits and challenges for the industry will be written on the wind and how well they can use it. So scientists are stepping in with new measurements and models that may help them manage their power more effectively. "Wind energy often has ramp events where energy increases or decreases by a large amount or in a short time. If there is an overload, there is excess energy on the grid," explained Chandrika Kamath, a researcher at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
Utilizing Panel-Level Monitoring to Improve Project ROI
Panel-level monitoring is a new and valuable weapon for array owners and O&M companies to improve financial performance and reduce risk in owning and operating large-scale solar arrays. The accuracy and insight from this new technology, coupled with intelligent Cloud-based analysis and diagnostics, bring many opportunities to improve energy output and improve efficiency in O&M activities.
Alternative Energy in Rhode Island
The Renewable Energy Fund (REF), managed and administered within the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation (RIEDC), has historically been the state's sole, dedicated source for renewable energy funding. The program provides grants, recoverable grants and loans for commercial, municipal and housing projects, as well as feasibility studies.
Energy Storage for the Grid
Currently, the PowerCube™ is configured as a behind the meter resource. In essence this means that Axion acts as a virtual generator by curtailing load. When the PowerCube is commanded to take load from the grid it uses that power to charge its battery. When commanded to discharge, the battery is discharged into the plants load effectively reducing or curtailing its power consumption.
IHS iSuppli Teardown Analysis of Solar Inverter, Identifying the Cost-Reduction Opportunities
In its first-ever dissection of a solar power inverter, IHS has determined the bill of materials (BOM) of a major manufacturer's product, providing a path-setting benchmark for cost reduction in a market expected to undergo rapid price erosion in the coming years.
Massive battery energy storage station kicks off in China
China could be the largest market for grid energy storage technology, and now, according to battery maker BYD and China's State Grid utility, the country's potentially got the world's largest battery energy storage station in Zhangbei, Hebei Province. See photo above of the building with rows (bigger than a football field) of BYD's Iron-Phosphate batteries that make up the 36 MW-hours of energy storage along with what looks like rooftop solar panels. A lot of companies have been trying to break into China's grid energy storage market including lithium ion battery maker A123 Systems , flow battery marker ZBB Energy, and even U.S. power producer Duke Energy. China is expected to embrace grid energy storage, as a way to more reliably install the 100 GW of variable clean power that the country wants.
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