renewables

In clean energy, the 'growing' outweighs the 'pain'

The renewable energy industry might be suffering growing pains, but the key word there is “growing,” not “pain.” For all the challenges the clean-power sector has faced in the past year — fast-dropping prices for solar panels, stiff competition from Chinese manufacturers and a number of high-profile bankruptcies — renewables have not

renewables

4 US firms honored for making it easier to buy green energy

Four US companies have been recognized by the Department of Energy (DOE) for their work in helping individuals and businesses to get more of their electricity from green, renewable sources. Now in their 11th year, the DOE’s 2011 Green Power Leadership Awards went to: * 3Degrees, a San Francisco-based company

renewables

Small Danish island could help launch smart-grid revolution

A small Danish island in the Baltic Sea is becoming a living laboratory for technologies that could dramatically transform the energy world. Having already developed a substantial supply of renewable energy, Bornholm is now embarking on a test of smart-grid technologies designed to give residents greater insights into how they

renewables

More turbines, more wind, more rain boost UK clean energy

Over the past year, the UK has seen a significant increase in the amount of energy it gets from renewable sources, with one contributing factor being a return to higher, more normal wind speeds and rainfall. Nearly 10 percent of all Britain’s power is now renewably generated. Low wind

renewables

Austin on track to be 30% renewably powered by 2012

Austin Energy expects to get 30 percent of the Texas city’s energy supplies from renewable sources by the end of 2012 — nearly 1000 megawatts (MW) in all. That puts the city well on track to meet its 35 percent renewable energy portfolio goal by 2020, officials say. The latest

renewables

Siemens creates new units for wind, solar/hydro power

As the demand for clean energy keeps growing, Siemens has decided it makes sense to split its renewables business into two independent units: one focused on wind, the other focused on solar and hydropower. “We want to continue our success story in wind power business and establish the basis for

renewables

Smart-grid software firm wins $2m in stimulus funds

A Colorado-based smart-grid company has received $2 million in federal stimulus funds to help continue to develop and market its software platform for utilities. Green Energy Corp. received the loan through the Colorado Governor’s Energy Office Revolving Loan Fund. The funding will provide working capital for Green Energy Corp

renewables

Study aims to link wind & solar power, cloud computing

AMD is working with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), HP and Clarkson University in a research project that looks at the industry-wide challenge of channeling renewable energy directly to data centers. “The distributed computing model of the cloud parallels the distributed power-generation model of solar

renewables

5 more US veterans hospitals to go solar by 2012

The US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) plans to install solar photovoltaic (PV) energy systems at five VA hospitals by next summer. The $56.7 million program is part of the agency’s ongoing energy efficiency and renewable energy efforts. “The benefits of using solar power are profound, from reducing

renewables

New Mexico project eyes smarter energy for Japan

A smart-grid demonstration project in New Mexico aims to find better ways to conserve energy and make wider use of renewable energy sources. The initiative is a collaborative effort between the New Mexico state government, the Los Alamos Department of Public Utilities, a national research center run under the umbrella

renewables

Project to make Spanish island 100% renewably powered

An $87 million project in a small community in the Canary Islands is aimed at providing residents with 100-percent renewable electricity. The Spanish island of El Hierro, about 1,500 kilometers off the Spanish coast, is home to about 11,000 people. The project’s goal is to provide inhabitants

renewables

Renewables could be more reliable than we think

As society works to transition to a low-carbon future, it might be possible to balance the amounts of energy coming from variable, renewable sources like wind and solar more than we’ve thought. Intermittency — the fact that the sun doesn’t always shine and the wind doesn’t always blow

renewables

In renewable energy, we've barely scratched the surface

With the help of the right public policies, the world could get most — close to 80 per cent — of the energy it needs from renewable sources by mid-century, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). A new IPCC report, backed with findings from more than 120 researchers, finds

renewables

Clean-energy future requires more than wind, sun

A new World Economic Forum report argues that scaling up renewables takes more more than public and private infrastructure: it also requires a more flexible regulatory framework and improvements in the electricity grid. “Developing Renewable Energy Capacity” was launched ahead of the coming World Economic Forum on Africa in Cape

renewables

Google helps fund world's largest wind farm

Google has once again poured big money into a renewable energy project … this time, as a part-owner of what will be the world’s largest wind farm, now under construction near Arlington, Oregon. Other companies involved in the 845-megawatt Shepherds Flat project include GE’s Energy Financial Services unit, developer

renewables

Weighing the long-term economics of energy

Analysing the economics of commodities so you can can compare one to another is a tricky business. Make a mistake, and your decision could affect market growth for the worse, generating short-term benefits but long-term losses. Let’s consider some of the difficulties involved in the economics of energy policies,

renewables

Bank reiterates commitment to UK solar

NextEnergy Capital (NEC), the European Merchant Bank with a focus on the renewable energy and clean technology sector, has reiterated its commitment to the development of a UK solar photovoltaic (PV) industry, despite the confusion caused by a surprise “fast-track review” of the UK Feed-In Tariff mechanism. The firm, already

renewables

UK tests grid-connected solar streetlights

A trial of the UK’s first grid-connected solar streetlight has begun in South Mimms, Hertfordshire, undertaken by Connect Plus, the consortium tasked with upgrading and maintaining the M25. If successful, the SunMast “eco streetlight” could reduce the carbon footprint of street lighting by 120 per cent. SunMast uses a

renewables

2011 holds clean-energy hopes, fears

Hopes for a clean-energy, low-carbon economy are looking a bit shaky in some parts of the world for 2011, although a controversial vote by the soon-to-be-replaced Congress provides some encouragement in the US. Included within a legislative package that extends Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthy as well as benefits

renewables

Energy future rests on subsidies, China

Considering the serious energy and climate concerns raised in the International Energy Agency’s latest “World Energy Outlook,” you’d think we as a society would feel a lot more urgency about developing clean, renewable energy sources. Then again, take one look at the lopsided financial picture — $312 billion in

renewables

German grid blinded by the light

Can you ever have too much clean energy? Germany has discovered that you can. And, unfortunately, it’s not likely to solve that problem until we find better and more cost-effective ways to store energy. Germany’s current predicament is an unwelcome side-effect of its successful efforts to boost renewable

renewables

Green fixes for the planet? They're here

The technology exists today that can help us shrink carbon emissions, prevent dangerous climate change and use energy more wisely. The real challenge in achieving those goals lies more with implementing the right technologies to the right degree … that, and finding ways to pay for those technologies. That’s one

renewables

Renewable energy: Not all it's cracked up to be?

A recent bit of news from Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) suggests that James Lovelock, the scientist behind the Gaia theory of Earth and its life systems, might have a point when he criticises most renewable energy sources as inefficient at best and foolish at worst. In its latest interim

renewables

The challenge: Finding $ to turn 'green shoots' into redwoods

The International Energy Agency (IEA) is seeing “green shoots” in the economy again, but one has to wonder whether there’s more wishful thinking than reality involved in that assessment. Yes, global spending on renewable energy like wind and solar “remained broadly stable in 2009 despite the economic downturn,” as

renewables

A clean energy future? The devil is in the details

Who, besides maybe the oil and coal companies and their stockholders, wouldn’t want to move away from fossil fuels and build a future based on clean, renewable energy sources? After all, consider all the potential benefits (as this brilliant cartoon makes clear): less reliance on dangerous or unstable oil-producing