Worlee-Chemie GmbH, a family-owned company that has produced resins in the city of Hamburg for almost a century, is trying to escape the spiraling cost of Germany’s shift to renewable energy.
Author: Dr. Jim Carey
Belgium Plans to Build Island to Store Excess Wind Energy
As the U.S. progresses inch-by-inch to get a single offshore wind turbine constructed, Belgium announced that it plans to construct an island for the sole purpose of storing its vast amounts wind energy. According to reports, this is part of Belgium’s …
U.S. Wind Power Accounted for 6% of Generation Capacity in 2012
U.S. wind power accounted for 6 percent of the nation’s total electricity generation capacity after developers rushed to finish projects before expiration of a subsidy, Bloomberg New Energy Finance said.
How Ready Are Europe’s Grids for Solar PV Interconnection?
A consortium of European solar groups has updated its data looking at project development processes across Europe, offering a comparative analysis of which countries have the “smartest” processes for PV developers to get projects running and feeding in…
PV Equipment Spending Downturn to Reset Preferred Supplier Lists
PV equipment spending (including c-Si ingot-to-module and thin-film fabs) is forecast to decline to an eight-year low in 2013, as the industry reacts to the dearth of new purchase orders and de-bookings of the past 12 months.
Clean Tech and the Big Turnaround
My wife and I brought in the New Year, let’s just say, in a pretty laid-back manner. We put the kids to bed, watched an episode of Downton Abbey on Amazon Prime, and (don’t tell anyone) were both asleep before midnight. That calm belied the flurry of a…
Power REIT’s First Solar Deal
I first wrote about Power REIT’s (NYSE:PW) plans to invest in renewable energy real estate in May 2012. The intent was to buy the real estate underlying a solar, wind, or other renewable energy project, charging the project owners rent. This can be d…
Energy Secretary Chu Said to Plan Exit From Obama’s Cabinet
U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu, who drew criticism from Republicans over his support for loans to Solyndra LLC before the solar-panel maker went bankrupt, will leave his Cabinet post in President Barack Obama’s second term, according to two people fa…
U.S. Army Dedicates 4.1 LCPV Solar Power Array at White Sands
On Wednesday, January 16th, the U.S. Army dedicated its largest solar photovoltaic system at White Sands Missile Range, in a ceremony led by Brig. Gen. Gwen Bingham, White Sands commander. Bingham was joined by Katherine Hammack, assistant secretary of…
Biogen Plans Food Waste-to-Power Plants in UK on Rising Landfill Tax
Biogen Ltd., a U.K. developer of plants that generate electricity from food waste, plans to start building four to five facilities this year as rising landfill taxes increases the costs of burying waste underground.
Trina, JinkoSolar Plan to Lift Solar Shipments in 2013 as Demand Rises
Trina Solar Ltd., the world’s third- biggest maker of solar panels, and JinkoSolar Holding Co. expect to deliver more products this year as China’s efforts to promote its domestic solar industry take hold.
Video: Our 2013 Solar Energy Outlook Animated Summary
Miss our 2013 solar energy outlook? The folks at RENVU were kind enough to summarize our report into an animated video of what to expect in the coming year. Five minutes of your time will give you a great look at the entire year in solar. Check it out…
FERC Proposes Rule to Speed Up Solar Energy Grid Interconnection
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has proposed changes to a rule that will speed up the process and reduce the costs to interconnect smaller-sized solar power projects to the grid while maintaining system reliability and safety. The chang…
Renewable Energy Provides Half of All New US Electrical Generating Capacity in 2012
According to the latest “Energy Infrastructure Update” report from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s Office of Energy Projects, renewable energy sources (i.e., biomass, geothermal, solar, water, wind) accounted for 49.10% of all new domestic e…
Developers Will Invest 1.9 Trillion in Clean Energy Over Next Five Years
Developers and financiers will invest $1.9 trillion building clean-energy power plants worldwide from 2012 through 2018 as demand for electricity increases, according to The Pew Charitable Trusts.
Latin America Report: Canadian-Led Consortium Taps Solar Power from Ecuador
A consortium of renewable energy developers led by Canadian firms Solexica Energy Corp., JCM Capital, and Radical Energy Inc. has signed a 20-year concession agreement with CONELEC (Consejo Nacional de Electricidad) to purchase electricity generated by…
UN: African Renewable Energy Projects Stagnating Due to Investment Risk
Africa is lagging the rest of the world in obtaining funds for renewable energy projects because development banks aren’t assuming enough of the political risk of working there, United Nations officials said.
Mitsubishi Backs German Offshore Wind Projects With $765 Million
Mitsubishi Corp., Japan’s largest trading house by market value, is investing $765 million to aid Germany’s renewable energy shift by helping TenneT Holding BV connect sea-based wind farms to the power grid.
Financing for Mid-Sized Renewable Energy Projects
Between the residential and utility sized RE projects, there are more and more distributed generation projects in the $100,000 to $1 million range. Rather than paying cash, many customers would prefer monthly lease payments as this reduces the capital…
Why the Renewable Energy Industry Needs Green Banks
On October 25, 2012, the world watched as Hurricane Sandy swept up the east coast. Over these past few years, we have seen storm after storm leave our homes battered, our possessions ruined, and our towns and cities without power for weeks on end. Most of us in the renewable energy world take it for granted that man-made climate change contributes to the increased intensity of these major weather events, and that renewable energy will reduce the already adverse effects of climate change. But the recent barrage of natural disasters has also revealed something else: the utility company model – based on the centralized delivery of a commodity product – leaves something to be desired, and solar power can help there, too.