THE MILITARY SALUTES NEW ENERGY

Renewable Energy for Military Applications; Solar, Wind, Biomass, Geothermal, Hydrokinetic Energy, Biofuels and Synfuels, Fuel Cells, Microgrids, Smart Meters, and Energy Efficiency: U.S. Market Analysis and Forecasts3Q 2012 (Pike Research/Navigant) “As the largest single consumer of energy in the world, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) is one of the most important drivers for the cleantech market today. The DOD has developed a comprehensive...

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JERSEY BUYS 15 MW DELAWARE SUN

PSEG Solar Source Buys 15 MW Delaware Project25 September 2012 (Solar Industry) “PSEG Solar Source has completed the acquisition of a 15 MW solar project in Milford, Del., from juwi solar Inc. (JSI)… JSI will engineer, procure and oversee construction of the facility, as well as perform operation and maintenance services…[Construction] will begin this month. click to enlarge“The project has a power purchase agreement in place for energy and solar...

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GE AND WIND BUILDERS BREAK TEXAS WIREJAM

GE Working With ETT On Upgrades To Texas Transmission System21 September 2012 (North American Windpower) “GE…is working with Electric Transmission Texas LLC, a joint venture between subsidiaries of American Electric Power and MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co., on upgrades to the Texas transmission system that will allow more wind energy to be transmitted from rural generation facilities to high-demand urban areas. “As a part of the $7 billion Competitive...

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COLLABORATION TO ADVANCE ENERGY STORAGE

Energy-Storage Companies Partner To Tackle Renewable Energy Integration21 September 2012 (North American Windpower) “Energy-storage providers Altair Nanotechnologies Inc. and EnerDel Inc… have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to co-market and cross-sell each other's product portfolios. “Each company will now be able to offer a much broader line of lithium-ion-based energy-storage systems from individual cells and modules in order to complete...

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BIGGEST ONLAND WIND GOES ONLINE

Caithness Shepherds Flat Commences Official Operations; Becomes One of the World's Largest Wind FarmsSeptember 22, 2012 (PR Newswire) “Caithness Energy announced…its Shepherds Flat Wind Farm is operational and generating up to 845 Megawatts of clean wind energy…” “Located in northeastern Oregon…the project – one of the world's largest wind farms – will play an important role in harnessing the power of wind energy…The project's output is contracted...

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THE REAL COSTS OF ENERGIES REVEALED

'Hidden Costs' Revealed: Where Does Solar Rank Among Energy Sources?20 September 2012 (Solar Industry) “Solar power's detractors frequently describe solar as "secretly" non-environmentally-friendly. They point to the PV module manufacturing process, utility-scale arrays' potential impacts to land and wildlife, and concentrating solar power (CSP) plants' on-site water usage as examples of attributes that negate the environmental benefits of deploying...

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BIG MONEY IN SOLAR SERVICING

PV Installed Base in US Offers New Revenue Prospects for Systems Providers; Post-Installation Service Contracts Adding Thousands of New Sales Prospects in the Near TermSeptember 11, 2012 (SolarBuzz) “Previously over-looked opportunities are now emerging for photovoltaic (PV) systems providers within the United States by addressing the growing requirement for post-installation service contracts across multiple installation sites, such as municipalities...

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EVERYBODY WANTS MORE WIND

19 Companies, Including Starbucks And Levi Strauss, Urge Congress To Extend Wind Tax CreditStephen Lacey, September 18, 2012 (Climate Progress) “A group of 19 leading companies has sent a letter to Congress asking lawmakers to immediately extend a key tax credit for wind that is set to expire at the end of the year. The diverse coalition of firms, which includes Ben & Jerry’s, Johnson & Johnson, Levi Strauss, Starbucks, and Yahoo!, says that...

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BUSINESS FACES CLIMATE CHANGE

Starting to tackle climate changeTrish Wheaten, September 20, 2012 (The Hill) “…Corporate America is warming to the idea that profitability and environmental sustainability are not mutually exclusive. The world will not be able to stave off the environmental calamities threatening our planet --like climate change -- without a strong commitment from America's business community...[Profit is] an incentive to make that commitment. “The threat climate...

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THE PROGRESS OF OFFSHORE WIND

Wind power study touts value of offshore power generationSeptember 14, 2012 (Power Engineering) “…[The Turning Point for Atlantic Offshore Wind Energy from the National Wildlife Federation] notes that the United States generates no power from offshore wind at present, but that…actions by the federal government, along with bipartisan leadership from coastal state officials, have put critical building blocks in place…to finally tapping this massive...

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LOAN GUARANTEE ACT PASSES HOUSE, DIES

'No More Solyndras' Act Approved By House; Would Terminate DOE Program14 September 2012 (Solar Industry) “The U.S. House of Representatives has approved H.R. 6213, known as the "No More Solyndras Act," by a vote of 245-161…The [anti-renewables] legislation - introduced by Reps. Fred Upton, R-Mich., and Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., in July - would phase out the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) loan guarantee program by prohibiting the issuance of any new...

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ALMOST 1,100 JOBS FROM THE AVERAGE WIND PROJECT

Average U.S. Wind Farm Creates 1,079 Jobs, Report FindsEhren Goossens, September 11, 2012 (Bloomberg BusinessWeek) “…A 250-megawatt project generates 522 construction jobs, 432 positions in manufacturing, 80 for planning and development, 18 sales slots and 27 for operations, [according to a report from the Natural Resources Defense Council]… “If Congress fails to extend the production tax credit, a federal incentive that’s scheduled to expire Dec....

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TOO MUCH SILICON MEANS LOW SOLAR PRICE

Solar Polysilicon Glut Persists As Suppliers Consider Production Cuts14 September 2012 (Solar Industry) “With pricing for photovoltaic polysilicon declining at an accelerated rate in August, there are no signs that the glut plaguing the industry has abated, behooving tier-one suppliers to consider reducing production in order to stabilize market conditions…PV polysilicon prices last month fell at a faster rate in August than they did in July, continuing...

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PEOPLE STILL WANT NEW ENERGY

Global Study Finds 85% Of Consumers Want More Renewable Energy14 September 2012 (North American Windpower) “…[Global Consumer Wind Study performed by TNS Gallup and commissioned by Vestas] reveals that 85% of consumers want more renewable energy, and 49% are willing to pay more for products made using renewable energy… “…74% of respondents said they would have a more positive perception of a brand if wind energy were its primary energy source, and...

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EFFICIENCIES FOR VEHICLES

Stop-Start Vehicles; Micro Hybrid Technologies, Batteries, and Ultracapacitors: Global Market Analysis and Forecasts3Q 2012 (Pike Research/Navigant) “During the past decade, driven largely by an effort to meet legislated carbon emissions reduction goals for vehicle fleets, automakers have introduced technologies that enable internal combustion engines (ICEs) to turn off automatically when vehicles are stopped… “…[S]top-start vehicles are also known...

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HOW THE EV WILL GROW

Electric Vehicle Geographic Forecasts; Plug-in Electric Vehicle Sales Forecasts for North America by Metropolitan Area, State/Province, Region, and Selected Utility Service Territories3Q 2012 (Pike Research/Navigant) “Plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) are forecast to reach 400,073 annual sales in the United States and 107,146 in Canada by 2020, but the real story of these sales is in the cities and utility service territories where the vehicles will...

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WIND EXPELS EXELON

An Argument Over WindMatthew l. Wald, September 14, 2012 (NY Times) “…Last week, the American Wind Energy Association expelled [major energy secotr player] Exelon [which owns some two percent of U.S. wind capacity] as a member because the company opposed a renewal of the [production tax credit]…The association says that if the tax credit expires, some 37,000 jobs will be eliminated next year and that deliveries of new turbines will spiral to zero…...

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THE 7 POINT NEW ENERGY FUTURE

Claiming the Future: A Seven-Point Action Plan for Repowering AmericaRon Pernick, September 4, 2012 (Clean Edge) “Mitt Romney’s acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention…ought to serve as an urgent wake-up call to anyone that cares about America’s energy, environmental, and economic future…[C]lean tech is…the stuff of major multinationals such as GE, Toyota, and Siemens who are investing and making billions of dollars…[and of startups]...

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YINGLI GREEN COULD BE SUN KING 2012

Yingli Green poised to become the no.1 PV module supplier for 2012Ray Lian, 31 August 2012 (PV Tech) “…[I]t is now becoming possible to form a picture of what the 2012 PV shipment rankings will look like…[T]he landscape of global PV module manufacturing has changed significantly in the past few quarters, with gross margins in the single-digit percentage range at best. So, in such a difficult environment for all upstream PV manufacturers, who will...

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FOR SALE – THE WORLD’S BIGGEST WINDMAKER

Contemplating A Vestas Marriage: Money, Strategy And Legal LoopholesMark Del Franco, 30 August 2012 (North American Windpower) “Embattled wind turbine maker Vestas has been the subject of numerous takeover rumors over the past few years and has been suspected as a takeover target of companies ranging from Chinese manufacturers - such as Ming Yang, Sinovel and Goldwind - to wind turbine suppliers, such as GE and Alstom…Vestas turned away such speculation...

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ELEMENTS OF THE SMART GRID

Smart Grid Requires Utilities To Merge IT And OT Worlds28 August 2012 (Renew Grid) “Uncertainty as to how new information technology (IT) systems should be incorporated into network operations continues to slow the advancement of smart grid technologies and is driving the need for greater collaboration between the IT and operational technology (OT) sides of the business, according to a new report from Pike Research. “The need to support smart meters...

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NEWEST NEW ENERGY R&D FUNDING

Latest SunShot Awards: DOE Doles Out Millions More For Solar Research30 August 2012 (Solar Industry) “As part of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) SunShot Initiative, which aims to drive solar energy to be cost-competitive with other energy sources by 2020, Energy Secretary Steven Chu has announced several new investments focusing on PV and concentrating solar power (CSP) research. “The CSP investments total $10 million over five years for two...

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WORLD’S BIGGEST OFFSHORE WIND

Offshore windfarm plan for over 300 turbines in Moray Firth unveiledAlistair Munro, 31 August 2012 (The Scotsman) “…[A plan for] the world’s largest offshore wind farm off the Scottish coast, with 339 turbines…which has attracted vocal opposition from campaigners including American tycoon Donald Trump…[would cost] £4.5 billion project…[and] could create hundreds of jobs and provide electricity for a million homes. It would also be a major boost to the Scottish Government’s target of generating 100 per cent of the country’s electricity demand from...

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STORING HEAT FOR POWER

Thermal Energy Storage; Thermal Storage for HVAC in Commercial Buildings, District Cooling and Heating, Utility and Grid Support Applications, and High-Temperature Storage at CSP Facilities3Q 2012 (Pike Research/Navigant “Thermal energy storage (TES) is an often unrecognized but important component of the developing market for energy storage systems…[TES is presently most] often used to provide cooling capacity for commercial buildings… “…TES systems...

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Labor Day Reading - GE Still Dominates US Wind Manufacturing but New Faces Are Emerging; Bigger machines and more manufacturers are competing for market share.

Labor Day Reading - GE Still Dominates US Wind Manufacturing but New Faces Are Emerging; Bigger machines and more manufacturers are competing for market share. Herman K. Trabish, May 1, 2012 (Greentech Media) click to enlargeGE remains the dominant supplier of wind turbines to the U.S. domestic market, but competitors are coming at it from every direction of the globe. GE turbines are generating 40 percent -- or 18,873 megawatts -- of the 48,770...

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Labor Day Reading - Solar Tariff Debate: Rule of Law or Open Competition? Blame the Chinese — but at least they are supporting their solar industry.

Labor Day Reading - Solar Tariff Debate: Rule of Law or Open Competition? Blame the Chinese — but at least they are supporting their solar industry. Herman K. Trabish, May 2, 2012 (Greentech Media) click to enlarge The Department of Commerce (DOC) recently ruled that China’s financial support to its solar manufacturers constitutes a violation of World Trade Organization (WTO) rules. DOC imposed protective tariffs of 2 percent to 5 percent. A second...

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