photovoltaics
A Texas-based firm is providing a German research organization with a “continuous solar simulator” to enable testing of photovoltaic (PV) modules. Atonometrics says its Light Soaking Chamber and Continuous Solar Simulator provides “simulated sunlight exposure for steady-state testing of photovoltaic (PV) modules. The system can be used for various tests
concentrated solar power
A concentrated solar power plant in Spain has just supplied its first uninterrupted day of electricity to the network, providing energy to the grid even after sundown thanks to molten-salt storage. Located in Fuentes de Andalucía (Seville), the Gemasolar plant is property of Torresol Energy, a joint venture between Masdar
utilities
Constellation Energy has doubled the size of its residential customer base with the acquisition of MXenergy, a Connecticut-based supplier of natural gas and electricity with about 540,000 customers in North America. The $175 million transaction brings Constellation’s residential customer base up to around 900,000 and broadens the
wind energy
A Rhode Island Supreme Court ruling paves the way for Deepwater Wind to move forward with permitting and development of its planned Block Island Wind Farm, which remains on track to be the first offshore wind farm in the US. The court upheld Deepwater Wind’s power purchase agreement with
water
Having completed early tests of an energy-saving method for turning saltwater into clean drinking water, Siemens is preparing to take its technology to the product development phase. The technology, which uses half as much energy as other desalination processes, was tested at a demonstration plant built in Singapore. Siemens now
carbon emissions
If Volkswagen is Darth Vader, Greenpeace International is hoping there’s some good in it yet. The organization has launched a campaign urging the car company to “turn away from the dark side” and stop opposing Europe’s greenhouse gas reduction targets. Greenpeace’s VW Darkside website features a short
smart metering
As smart energy meters are rolled out to every household in Britain, consumers should be ensured that they’re still able to easily switch utilities and have their rights protected, says energy regulator Ofgem. The agency says it is updating its existing rules to increase consumer protection, especially for the
energy storage
The University of Wisconsin is looking to new support from a battery company to help it become a leader in energy storage research. Global automotive battery supplier Johnson Controls is endowing a professorship, research labs and graduate studies in energy storage at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of
smart metering
Pacific Gas and Electric Company says its newly released smart-grid deployment plan isn’t just a roadmap for modernizing the energy grid but represents “a fundamental change to the way PG&E uses technology to serve its customers and operate its business.” The 290-page document sets out plans to
smart buildings
The US is banking on public-private partnerships to help make buildings across the country more energy efficient and save billions on energy costs. The Better Buildings Challenge, announced by President Barack Obama in February aims to improve the energy efficiency of commercial buildings across the US by 20 percent, a
low carbon economy
Britain’s “greenest government ever” remains anything but, with a new report to Parliament showing the UK’s emissions rose by 3 percent in 2010. The report from the Committee on Climate Change offers a little encouragement by noting that last year’s emissions were still within the UK’s
energy monitoring
Is it a bad omen for the home energy management sector that, within a span of just over a week, both Google and Microsoft have killed off their energy monitoring tools? First, it was Google’s PowerMeter, heading for the virtual glue factory as of Sept. 16, 2011. And now
