Renewable Energy News

img hspace="10" vspace="5" align="left" src="http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2013/4/1/body-gov-cuomos-ny-sun-competitive-solar-program-off-to-a-bright-start.jpg" /pGovernor Cuomo just announced the first round of awards for the NY-Sun Competitive PV Program – and boy is it looking bright! The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) awarded $46 million for 76 large-scale projects totaling 52 megawatts (MW) of new solar capacity, enough to power nearly 9,000 New York homes. We're excited about the early results of the program and the state's continued commitment to bringing reliable clean power and local solar jobs to New York./p

img hspace="10" vspace="5" align="left" src="http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/assets/logos/9745.gif" /

img hspace="10" vspace="5" align="left" src="http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2013/4/1/body-japans-marubeni-taps-geothermal-power-as-nuclear-alternative.jpg" /pMarubeni Corp., the biggest investor in electricity generation among Japan's trading houses, is working on how to revive the geothermal industry and tap heat that powers volcanos as an alternative to nuclear reactors./p

img hspace="10" vspace="5" align="left" src="http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2013/4/1/body-solar-freds-guide-to-getting-diy-customer-surveys-and-feedback.jpg" /pI recently had some car battery trouble, which was taken care of by AAA. They did a good job, and after testing my battery and giving me a jump, the AAA service person gave me his card and told me that I may receive a customer survey. That survey hasn’t come in yet, but it’s a reminder that solar companies in all sectors need to send these out too./p

img hspace="10" vspace="5" align="left" src="http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2013/3/28/body-measuring-the-potential-of-switchgrass-pellets.jpg" /pPresident Barack Obama wants U.S. scientists to pursue an "all-of-the-above" strategy in developing new sources of domestic energy.Agricultural Research Service agronomist Paul Adler is providing complete cost-benefit breakdowns for using switchgrass pellets instead of fuel oil to heat homes and businesses in the Northeast./p

img hspace="10" vspace="5" align="left" src="http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2013/3/28/body-remember-esolar-the-startup-wants-to-raise-30m.jpg" /peSolar was a high-profile startup five years ago when concentrating solar power (CSP) or concentrating solar thermal power, drew huge interest from U.S. utilities and the company touted a design that aimed to build power plants efficiently. Then it became fairly quiet in the past two years./p

img hspace="10" vspace="5" align="left" src="http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2013/3/28/body-maine-introduces-feed-in-tariff-legislation.jpg" /pAfter a long period of quiescence, Maine's state legislature has again taken up feed-in tariffs. Legislative document 1085 to establish the Renewable Energy Feed-in Tariff was introduced 19 March 2013 and referred to the Committee on Energy, Utilities and Technology./p

img hspace="10" vspace="5" align="left" src="http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2013/3/28/body-u-k-renewable-power-grows-20-percent-on-new-offshore-wind-farms.jpg" /pU.K. renewable power generation surged 20 percent last year, boosted by new offshore wind farms, the Department of Energy and Climate Change said./p

img hspace="10" vspace="5" align="left" src="http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2013/3/28/body-resolutions-to-reverse-the-unsustainable-solar-industry.jpg" /pViewing the solar industry (and all of its technologies) from the outside an observer would be confronted by two distinct views. View number one: THIS IS THE GREATEST TIME IN THE WORLD FOR SOLAR. GROWTH IS OFF OF THE CHARTS. THIS IS THE BEST YEAR YET. View number two: This is the worst time for manufacturers of photovoltaic technology. Enter at your own risk and consider failure the likely outcome./p

img hspace="10" vspace="5" align="left" src="http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2013/3/27/body-bulgaria-to-suspend-up-to-40-of-wind-solar-power-capacity.jpg" /pBulgaria may suspend as much as 40 percent of wind and solar power capacity as part of its effort to stem oversupply and stabilize electricity generation/p

img hspace="10" vspace="5" align="left" src="http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2013/3/28/body-solar-cooperative-gets-panels-on-1-in-10-roofs-in-mt-pleasant-neighborhood-of-dc.jpg" /pWhat began as a group of neighbors hoping to reduce their impact on global warming has since become a major force for solar advocacy in Washington, DC. The Mount Pleasant Solar Cooperative was started by two teenage boys who wanted to make solar power convenient and affordable through a bulk-purchase program. Along the way, the cooperatives new mem/p

img hspace="10" vspace="5" align="left" src="http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2013/3/20/body-indias-off-grid-renewables-initiative-is-changing-lives.jpg" /pLadakh, a remote district of India's northernmost state, is currently benefiting from the largest off-grid renewable energy project in the world. The Ministry for New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) is spending INR473 billion (US$88.8 million) on decentralized solar and hydro technologies to bring energy security to this remote mountain region. Why Ladakh?/p

img hspace="10" vspace="5" align="left" src="http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2013/3/20/body-solar-storage-market-set-for-rapid-growth.jpg" /pNews that Germany plans to launch a €50 million solar storage incentive is the latest indicator that solar storage's time has come./p

img hspace="10" vspace="5" align="left" src="http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2013/3/27/body-rwanda-set-to-start-major-geothermal-development.jpg" /pAll eyes are zeroed in on East Africa geothermal development these days as various governments unveil capacity goals and project plans. The most recent announcement comes from Rwanda – it is set to start drilling three exploratory wells near the Karisimbi volcano. The $27 million venture is scheduled to commence April 15th and last six weeks, according to local reports. If the testing is successful, the project is expected to have a capacity of up to 10 MW./p

img hspace="10" vspace="5" align="left" src="http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2013/3/27/body-top-solar-epc-firms-illustrate-asia-growth-megasolar-deals.jpg" /pFirst Solar completed over 500 megawatts (MW) of solar PV projects in 2012, nabbing the top spot among worldwide solar PV integrator/EPC firms (engineering, procurement and construction), according to IHS/IMS Research, which tracks more than 600 EPC firms and nearly 10,000 projects./p

img hspace="10" vspace="5" align="left" src="http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2013/3/27/body-u-k-clean-energy-rules-to-add-36-to-company-power-bills.jpg" /pU.K. measures to curb carbon emissions may raise power and gas bills for the biggest corporate consumers by as much as 36 percent by 2020, the Department of Energy and Climate Change said./p

img hspace="10" vspace="5" align="left" src="http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2013/3/27/body-ldk-solar-takeover-continues-with-share-sale.jpg" /pMost of the attention in the solar sector these last few weeks has been focused on Suntech (NYSE: STP), the former high-flyer that was forced into bankruptcy earlier this month after it defaulted on more than $500 million worth of bonds. But now the similarly struggling LDK (NYSE: LDK) has made it back into the headlines as well, with word that the/p

img hspace="10" vspace="5" align="left" src="http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2013/3/27/body-mascoma-withdraws-biofuel-ipo-citing-market-conditions.jpg" /pMascoma Corp., a closely held biofuel company backed by billionaire Vinod Khosla, withdrew its registration for a planned initial public offering to raise as much as $100 million./p

img hspace="10" vspace="5" align="left" src="http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2013/3/27/body-australia-backs-renewable-energy-targets.jpg" /pIn response to a statutory review, The Australian Government's Climate Change Authority has committed to maintaining its renewable energy target (RET) of 20 percent of the nation's electricity (roughly 41,000 GWh) coming from renewable sources by 2020. The Government also emphasizes that 20 percent is only a minimum target, and leaves "the way open for improvements in energy efficiency to deliver a higher share of renewable energy."/p

img hspace="10" vspace="5" align="left" src="http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2013/3/27/body-green-cards-for-green-watts.jpg" /pIn the 1990 Golden Globe winning film "Green Card," Frenchman (and recent Russian resident) Gerard Depardieu and American Andie McDowell enter into a farcical marriage of convenience so he can become a U.S. resident and she can qualify for a beautiful co-op in New York City. While this romantic comedy is purely fictional (one hopes), it does portray one of the better known, real life residency programs offered by the U.S. Citizen and Immigrations Services (USCIS). Unbeknownst to many, however, is another USCIS residency program that is spurring foreign investment into renewable energy projects in the United States: The Employment-Based 5th Preference (EB-5) visa./p