Renewable Energy News

img hspace="10" vspace="5" align="left" src="http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2013/1/31/body-an-interview-with-scott-wiater-president-of-standard-solar-what-now-solar.jpg" /pI always enjoy sitting down with solar industry leaders and discussing their perspectives on where solar is headed. Last fall, I had the opportunity to sit down with Scott Wiater, President of Standard Solar. Standard Solar has seen a lot of change in the solar industry—and for itself. Founded in 2004 before the 2007 solar boom, Standard has…well… /p

img hspace="10" vspace="5" align="left" src="http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2013/1/31/body-greece-sees-impressive-solar-pv-growth-despite-banking-crisis.jpg" /pDespite on the ongoing financial tragedy that has gripped Greece for the past three years, the country has risen Phoenix-like from the ashes to become one of the world's largest markets for solar photovoltaics (solar PV)./p

img hspace="10" vspace="5" align="left" src="http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2013/1/31/body-argentina-suspends-wto-complaint-after-spain-ends-biofuels-curbs.jpg" /pArgentina suspended a trade complaint against the European Union over Spanish biofuel curbs after Spain dropped its plan./p

img hspace="10" vspace="5" align="left" src="http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2013/1/31/body-how-chinese-import-duties-could-help-polysilicon-suppliers-and-hurt-everyone-else.jpg" /pPolysilicon used in solar panels is set to extend its rebound from a decade low as China moves to impose duties on importers such as Germany's Wacker Chemie AG. Spot prices will jump as much as 39 percent this year to $22 a kilogram ($9.98 a pound), according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of seven analysts. The commodity hit a low $15.83 in December, the cheapest price since at least 2000, according to data compiled by Bloomberg./p

img hspace="10" vspace="5" align="left" src="http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2013/1/31/body-6-mw-wind-turbines-installed-off-the-uk-coast.jpg" /pConstruction on DONG Energy's Gunfleet Sands demonstration project, 8.5 km off the English coast in 13-metre waters, is now complete following the installation of two 6-MW Siemens wind turbines, the company has announced./p

img hspace="10" vspace="5" align="left" src="http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2013/1/31/body-u-s-wind-market-boomed-in-2012.jpg" /pWind power remains the king of renewable energy generation in the United States. Project developers installed 13.1 GW of wind turbines in 2012, a 28 percent growth from the year before, according to the American Wind Energy Association./p

img hspace="10" vspace="5" align="left" src="http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2013/1/30/body-us-elections-behind-a123-sale-moves-ahead.jpg" /pAfter a stormy 2012 that saw growing trade friction between China and the US, I'm happy to see that 2013 is getting off to a better start with Washington's approval of a potentially sensitive sale of a bankruptcy US technology firm to a Chinese buyer. Many readers will know that I'm talking about the case of A123 Systems, a former high-flying U.S. /p

img hspace="10" vspace="5" align="left" src="http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2013/1/30/body-wanxiang-wins-u-s-government-approval-to-buy-battery-maker-a123.jpg" /pWanxiang Group Co., China's biggest auto-parts maker, won approval from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. to buy most of the assets of A123 Systems Inc., the bankrupt electric-car battery maker backed with U.S. government funds./p

img hspace="10" vspace="5" align="left" src="http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2013/1/30/body-jpmorgan-buys-stake-in-eight-geothermal-power-plants-from-ormat.jpg" /pJPMorgan Chase Co. paid about $35.7 million for an interest in eight Ormat Technologies Inc. geothermal power plants in California and Nevada./p

img hspace="10" vspace="5" align="left" src="http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2013/1/29/body-latin-america-report-illuminating-countries-solar-energy-plans.jpg" /pLatin America and the Caribbean has long been viewed as a key growth region for renewable energy. More than 450 MW of grid-connected solar photovoltaics are anticipated to be installed in 2013, up from 100 MW in 2012. More than 8 gigawatts (GW) of large-scale solar projects have been announced in the past year; annual installations will exceed 5.7 GW by 2017, bringing cumulative grid-tied solar capacity to 13 GW over that five-year period, according to GTM Research, which outlines the market opportunities for solar energy in Latin American markets in a new report./p

img hspace="10" vspace="5" align="left" src="http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2013/1/30/body-switching-costs-personal-identity-and-the-difficulty-of-switching-to-solar.jpg" /pSelf-interest, which does not necessarily mean selfishness, is the primary motivating factor in decision making. When properly stimulated, well, people will buy almost anything. Case in point and rhetorically, who really needs a Bugatti, a Rolls Royce or an Alfa Romeo? Owning one of these vehicles implies something about the buyer though the real point is transportation. Somewhere along the line the need to get from point A to point B began a status game and people who could afford to pay the price (or, go into debt) began plunking down money or credit for the privilege of opening very expensive car doors./p

img hspace="10" vspace="5" align="left" src="http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2013/1/29/body-french-favour-renewables-but-perceive-high-costs.jpg" /pNine in ten people in France are in favour of renewable energy, a survey published on Thursday in Le Monde’s annual special publication Le Bilan du monde found, largely because of their clean and non-polluting image. Moreover, 63 percent of those surveyed said they think that more renewables will be used than traditional fuels in 50 years’ time. Ho/p

img hspace="10" vspace="5" align="left" src="http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2013/1/29/body-optimizing-pv-plant-o-m-requires-focus-on-the-project-lifecycle.jpg" /pA primary objective for any power plant is to ensure it continuously and reliably operates, thereby generating the maximum economic and energy performance, and PV power plants are no certainly exception. The Operation and Maintenance (OM) of large PV plants requires an integrated management system that should be implemented throughout the entire project lifecycle and generation chain to achieve the maximum benefit./p

img hspace="10" vspace="5" align="left" src="http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2013/1/29/body-pg-e-approved-to-buy-power-from-solarreserve-csp-project-with-molten-salt-storage.jpg" /pPGE Corp., the owner of California's largest utility, received approval from regulators to buy power from a 150-megawatt solar-thermal project in the state's Sonoran Desert, the first commercial-scale system in the state to include energy-storage capabilities./p

img hspace="10" vspace="5" align="left" src="http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2013/1/29/body-epa-cellulosic-biofuel-regulation-rejected-by-appeals-court.jpg" /pAn Environmental Protection Agency rule mandating refiners generate or purchase advanced biofuels was overturned by a federal appeals court in Washington, after producers failed to make any commercial supplies last year./p

img hspace="10" vspace="5" align="left" src="http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2013/1/29/body-why-boulder-has-to-buy-out-their-electric-utility-for-a-clean-energy-future.jpg" /pIn late 2011, citizens of Boulder, CO voted to boot their incumbent electric utility, Xcel Energy, and form a municipal electric utility.  It was the culmination of a multi-year battle to get more clean, local energy from their corporate electric overlord.  In the end, city leaders and citizens agreed that the only credible option for significantly/p

img hspace="10" vspace="5" align="left" src="http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2013/1/29/body-cheapest-wind-energy-spurring-renewables-deals-in-brazil.jpg" /pAcquisitions of renewable-energy companies in Brazil will rebound from a four-year low as wind- farm developers seek buyers and European companies expand, the industry's biggest legal and financial merger advisers said./p

img hspace="10" vspace="5" align="left" src="http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2013/1/28/body-rsf-influences-new-high-performance-buildings.jpg" /pThe Research Support Facility (RSF) at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has hosted thousands of visitors since it opened as one of the world's largest high performance office buildings. Generating buzz about the energy savings possible in commercial buildings is exactly what DOE and NREL have been aiming for./p

img hspace="10" vspace="5" align="left" src="http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2013/1/28/body-belgian-and-german-electricity-systems-keep-lights-on-despite-nuclear-turn-off.jpg" /pFreezing temperatures in both Belgium and Germany have put both countries’ power systems to the test this week, but neither country has experienced electricity blackouts despite the lack of nuclear power. Two of Belgium’s seven nuclear reactors — Doel 3 and Tihange 2 — were switched off this summer, following the discovery of cracks, cutting 2,000 /p

img hspace="10" vspace="5" align="left" src="http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2013/1/28/body-china-wont-impose-tariff-on-imported-polysilicon-analyst-says.jpg" /pChina, the biggest producer of solar products, probably won't impose tariffs on imported polysilicon, the main raw ingredient in panels that turn sunlight into electricity, according Aaron Chew, an analyst with Maxim Group LLC./p