SolarReserve constructs 540-foot solar power tower
Despite that some solar thermal projects — which use the sun’s heat instead of solar panels — are getting replaced with cheaper solar panels, some developers are still moving forward on massive solar thermal plants in the deserts of the U.S. Developer SolarReserve announced on Thursday that it’s finished building the 540-foot solar power tower that will make up the centerpiece of its 110 MW project in Nevada.
The plant is called the Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Plant and SolarReserve says it’ll be “the largest power plant of its kind in the world.” It’ll also use molten salt for energy storage.
U.S. Grid Energy Storage Market is Strong and Poised for Exponential Growth
Industry Forecasts Strong Investments in Energy Storage Markets
Within the U.S., industry analysts forecast that $240 billion will be invested in storage grid applications over the next 10 years. Overall, government support is strong with the Department of Energy (DOE) Smart Grid Demonstration Grants project investing $772 million. Strong investments from the government and venture capitalists, successful demonstration projects, and recent technological advancements have all contributed to strong growth in the storage market.
Market drivers are energy independence and security; smart grid investments; time of use/peak demand rates; increase in renewables and distributed generation; and government policies, incentives and regulations. Though all sectors of the energy storage market show strong potential, from an application perspective distributed generation devices, renewable systems, and ancillary services show the greatest near term growth potential. Global opportunity over the next 10 to 20 years is estimated at upwards of 300 gigawatts (GW) in size, which translates into $200-$600 billion in value.
ALTA DEVICES SOLAR PANEL RECEIVES NREL VERIFICATION OF 23.5% EFFICIENCY
Alta Devices' most recent solar panel has been verified by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) at 23.5% efficiency. This is the highest solar panel efficiency yet achieved and demonstrates Alta's progress toward its objective of developing solar photovoltaic (PV) solutions that are competitive, without subsidies, with fossil fuels.
Today's announcement is Alta's next step toward commercializing its technology. This new panel uses the same technology as the company announced last summer, which achieved record solar cell conversion efficiencies resulting from key technical breakthroughs in harnessing the high efficiency of gallium arsenide (GaAs) in cost-effective ways (see http://bit.ly/m51A5f ). Alta chose to focus on GaAs because of its intrinsic efficiency advantages as well as its ability to generate electricity at high temperatures and in low light. This means that Alta's panels have substantially higher energy density than other technologies, generating more kilowatt-hours of energy over the course of a year in real life conditions.
U.S. gives green light to offshore wind farms
Lighting Maryland homes with power from giant turbines off Ocean City moved closer to reality Thursday as federal officials announced they are ready to go forward with leasing vast areas along the Mid-Atlantic coast for wind farms. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said at a news conference at Baltimore's Inner Harbor that his staff found that no significant impact to the environment, shipping or other activities would result from letting developers start studies and plans for harnessing ocean winds from New Jersey to Virginia. Salazar, who had pledged more than a year ago to streamline the regulatory process for putting turbines offshore, said his Bureau of Ocean Energy Management would start soliciting bids for leasing up to 80,000 acres off Maryland. Eight companies or partnerships had expressed interest in 2010. "This is not going to be something that's going to be waiting around for multiple years," Salazar said. "We'll have those leases issued by the end of 2012."
Micro-hybrids to Grow to 39 Million Vehicles in 2017, Creating a $6.9 Billion Battery Market
Micro-hybrids will grow nearly eight-fold to 39 million vehicles in 2017 and create a $6.9 billion market for energy storage devices as the fuel-saving alternative technology finds ready adoption, driven by stricter emission standards, according to a Lux Research report titled, "Every Last Drop: Micro- And Mild Hybrids Drive a Huge Market for Fuel-Efficient Vehicles." "Micro-hybrids and, to a lesser extent, mild hybrids, provide a cost-effective solution to fuel savings to bridge the gap to more disruptive technologies like alternative fuels, plug-in vehicles, and fuel cell vehicles."
Micro-hybrids, which use a small battery to provide varying degrees of efficiency-boosting features, will dominate the automotive market, gaining 42% of the overall light-duty vehicle market. Simultaneously, the mild hybrids — superior to micro-hybrids but not as efficient as pure hybrids — will rise from near-zero to 1.5 million vehicles in 2017, accounting for 1.6% of the auto market.
A Look at Green Technology Predictions for 2012
The green landscape will continue to shift and it is important to watch, learn and prepare future leaders. The excitement of clean technology innovation in 2012 and beyond ought to be celebrated by everyone who has a stake in making our world a better place to work, play and live.
2011 Greentech M&A Review
When the dust settled, 353 transactions had been completed for a reported $13.9 billion—down 6% from the $14.7 billion posted in 2010. While greentech funding rose 4% to $10.6 billion, mergers and acquisitions slumped 29% to $3.3 billion.
Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Power - Global Market Size and Key Country Analysis to 2020
The global cumulative installed capacity for solar PV is expected to reach 330,424 MW by 2020, growing at a CAGR of 23.7% during 2011-2020. Europe is the leading solar PV market, with a share of 76.5% of the total cumulative installed capacity, followed by the Asia-Pacific region, accounting for a share of 15.8% in 2010.
Alternative Fueled Vehicles at the North American International Auto Show
Despite all the glamor, the real winner, the game changer, the quantum leaper, the watershed moment was here at the Autoshow and the Mainstream Automotive Writer's completely missed it.
Processing and Disposal of "soft" Municipal Solid Waste and Conversion into Electricity
Ligno cellulose consists of accumulated solar energy, however recovery of this energy is possible only through combustion processes with considerable environmental disadvantages. The proposed technology offers a completely different approach: The input materials are dissolved in a concentrated salt solution.
Durban 2011 - A Second Chance to Climate Change
The Kyoto Protocol, having set binding targets for 37( + 4 that are to be added till the end of 2012) developed countries to reduce GHG emissions to 10-20 percent below the 1990 levels by 2012, however, may lose its significance in the second period since some countries such as Canada, Japan and China were reportedly unwilling to take part.
Case Study - Schumacher Auto Group of Palm Beach
From our research… we cant find a bigger PV solar System (135KW or 576 of PV solar Panels) that has been supplied and installed on an AUTO dealer in Florida or the East Coast of the USA for that matter.
Solar Air Heat, a Proven Renewable Supplement to Residential/Commercial Heating.
A new solar air heater has been engineered to provide homeowners, architects and builders with the performance of a highly efficient solar air heat collector with the look of a conventional skylight.
There's More Green to Vineyards than Just Grapes and the Next Great Harvest
Notable wine regions in Italy, Germany and France already have FIT programs in place, while California and other states offer similar incentives based on government grants and rebates.
Solar Yacht Sails Around the World Powered by Nothing More than the Sun
The yacht carries a huge rack of Lithium-Ion batteries capable of storing up to three days' worth of sailing power, easily enough to allow transit to continue throughout the night, or during overcast skies.
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