U.S. Wind Industry First Quarter 2014 Market Report
The U.S. now has an installed wind capacity of 61,327 MW. There are over 13,000 MW currently under construction, an industry record.
Vocational Training for the Renewable Energy Industry
We are preparing our students for the careers of today and tomorrow. It may seem controversial to say but the truth is not everyone needs a college degree.
California Dreamin' Makes Hydrogen Future a Reality
Until the throughput at these stations increases with automakers rollout of their FCEVs in larger amounts, the state's subsidies and funding support are crucial and have helped make California an example to the world on how to move forward towards a cleaner transportation future.
Case Study - Windward Nazarene Bay View Golf Course
In total, the site connected 5 systems to 5 meters in order to generate over 85% of the net energy needed by the course.
Moving from Silicon Solar Cells to Thin Films - Studying the Changing Face of Solar Power
Though silicon cells dominate the current chapter of the solar power industry, the efficiency and cost effectiveness of thin film cells will surely succeed in the times to come to build a better environment, while fulfilling the energy needs of the consumers and industry.
Advantages of HDPV Inverters with Ampt Optimizers
The HDPV™ Alliance brings solar industry equipment manufacturers and solution providers together around a common vision for the development and adoption of lower cost and higher performance PV systems.
The US Military Could Drive Solar Energy Growth
Demand for solar energy is heating up across the United States, and the nation's military is becoming one of the sector's major customers. The Department of Defense wants renewable energy to make up at least one quarter of its total energy use by 2025, and solar energy is squarely within its sights.
The Military just recently began construction of a solar power plant at Fort Huachuca in Arizona, where solar panels will be installed over 68 acres, constituting the largest solar array of any military base in the U.S. According to the commanding general of the base, Maj. Gen. Robert Ashley, the project reflects the military's commitment to energy security.
Whether it be engaged in disaster relief, humanitarian missions or in military operations, the military needs reliable energy that is "off the grid," since public electrical utilities are vulnerable to adverse weather conditions and potential sabotage. The military also needs to be ready for possible disruptions to the oil supply, which could cripple it and the nation's economy.
Such risks to national security are turning the armed forces into a vast laboratory for the development of solar technology and the creation of "net-zero" environments, where energy consumption equals the energy created on-site. The military already used solar arrays at fixed-site locations in Afghanistan.
By moving to solar power, the military could also avoid the high costs of transporting gasoline to remote areas of the world. In the past, moving gasoline to bases in Afghanistan could cost up to $400 per gallon.
Feds Fund 12 Offshore Wind Turbines
The Obama administration has announced funding for three offshore wind power projects off the New Jersey, Oregon and Virginia coastlines. The administration has pledged up to $47 million for each project to bring a total of 67 megawatts (MW) of green power online.
The price tag for all this green power: a staggering $11.75 million per wind turbine. In terms of energy, the twelve offshore wind turbines will cost $2.1 million per MW. But the high price tag has not deterred the Obama administration from funding the costly wind projects.
“Offshore wind offers a large, untapped energy resource for the United States that can create thousands of manufacturing, construction and supply chain jobs across the country and drive billions of dollars in local economic investment,” said Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz.
According to Windustry, a utility scale wind turbine cost from $1.3 million to $2.2 million per MW. Most “commercial-scale turbines installed today are 2 MW in size and cost roughly $3-$4 million installed.”
The Energy Information Administration (EIA) says that the costs of offshore wind power are still high at $204 per megwatthour (MWh) — compared with the costs of onshore wind power at $80 per MWh.
This Parking Lot Is Paved With Solar Panels
The Idaho couple who created an innovative road surface made of solar panels is back with a prototype, and they’re looking to Indiegogo for additional funding.
Scott and Julie Brusaw want to replace traditional asphalt and concrete with impact-resistant solar panels that do double duty as a road surface and an energy source. When the solar roadway concept debuted in 2010, it caught the interest of futurists and government officials. Now the Brusaws have a working prototype covering a 12- by 36-foot parking lot outside the couple’s electronics lab in Idaho.
The new panels look quite different from the prototype we saw almost four years ago. The latest design is hexagonal, which allows for better coverage on curves and hills. They’re also heated for easier snow and ice removal, and include LEDs that can display road markings or even messages.
According to the Brusaws, the new glass-covered panels have been tested for traction and impact resistance, and can sustain a 250,000-pound load. They’ve even got a video of a tractor driving over the parking lot prototype. This is also the first time the panels have been subjected to real-world road conditions, and the parking lot includes a dedicated channel for drainage and utilities.
Up until this point, the project has been financed through a $50,000 private grant and two phases of funding from the Federal Highway Administration. Now, the Brusaws have launched an Indiegogo campaign to raise $1 million for commercialization of their prototypes.
WindPower 2014 - AWEA lauds state policies but PTC still high on agenda
US Wind power's role in addressing climate change and renewable portfolio standards were major themes at today's opening session of the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA)'s annual conference in Las Vegas.
The industry has "huge potential" under the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s new proposed regulations on emissions from existing power plants, said Tom Kiernan, CEO of AWEA, at Windpower 2014.
EPA’s proposed regulations will be unveiled next month, and finalised in June of 2015, Shaun McGrath, administrator of the agency’s Region 8, told the conference. EPA is part of the Obama administration, which has vowed to slash carbon emissions.
Wind is currently at a "crossroads", added AWEA’s Kiernan. Next week, an extension of the valuable production tax credit may reach the Senate floor, he noted.
And he reiterated the lobbying group’s long-time demand - that wind needs policy stability.
Solar News - New cheap, environment-friendly solar cell developed
In a breakthrough, scientists have developed a new low cost, efficient and environment-friendly solar cell that uses tin instead of the hazardous lead.
Researchers from Northwestern University are among the first to create a solar cell that uses a structure called perovskite, with tin as the light-absorbing material instead of lead.
"Exculding the use of lead is a quantum leap in the process of creating a very promising type of solar cell called a perovskite," said Mercouri G Kanatzidis, an inorganic chemist with expertise in dealing with tin.
"Tin is a very viable material, and we have shown that it works as an efficient solar cell," said Kanatzidis.
Lead perovskite has achieved 15 per cent efficiency and tin perovskite should be able to match - and possibly surpass - this level of efficiency, researchers said.
Perovskite solar cells are being touted as the "next big thing in photovoltaics" and have reenergised the field.
Wind companies ready to brave the capital markets
Finance experts expect more initial public offerings (IPO) in the wind energy sector in 2014 after a year in which half a dozen companies on both sides of the Atlantic successfully raised nearly $2.3 billion by tapping the public equity markets.
"It is hard to really predict how many will come out of the gate and actually get done. But there are 10-20 companies out there working on it, wondering if this is good source of low-cost capital for them and if they have what it takes to make a placement like this," says Michael Eckhart, global head of environmental finance with Citigroup.
British fund Greencoat UK Wind started a wave of IPOs in March 2013, raising £260 million ($433 million). NRG Yield in the US and the Renewables Infrastructure Group (TRIG) in the UK followed in July with offerings of $431 million and £300 million, respectively. Canada's TransAlta Renewables completed a C$221 million (US$200 million) share sale in August, California-based Pattern Energy raised $352 million in October, and the UK's Infinis rounded up the year with a £234 million share sale in November.
Solar Energy Index Outperforms S&P in Q1 2014
Lincoln International's Renewable Energy Group is pleased to present the latest Q1 2014 Solar Energy Stock Index Report, which tracks relevant solar company metrics in this growing industry.
More than 250MWp of transactions registered last year on the photovoltaic secondary market in Italy
It is of interest to note how the large majority of plants, in terms of numbers of single plants, is skewed towards projects with a size lower than 3MWp, represented by more than 5'000 plants.
Renewable electricity generation projections sensitive to cost, price, policy assumptions
This Issues in Focus article is intended to emphasize that there is a great deal of uncertainty related to factors such as policy, project costs, and natural gas prices—and that a shift in any of these factors could significantly change EIA's renewable projections, generally in the positive direction.
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