Tag Archives: clean energy
U.S Solar Hits Milestone
According to Solar Energy Industries Association’s (SEIA) and GTM Research’s latest US Solar Market Insight® quarterly report, several new milestones have been set in terms of U.S. solar growth: · 48% of new electricity capacity comes from solar power. · 723 MW of capacity was put on the grid – 179 MW more compared to [...]
The “Renewables Club” Formed by 10 Countries
If an international treaty to cut carbon emissions hasn’t worked how about using the opposite approach? Instead of focusing on ”eliminating the bad” perhaps a shift toward “increasing the good” can accomplish the same goals. 10 countries have formed an international ”Renewables Club” to scale renewable energy worldwide. Proposed by Peter Altmaier, Germany’s environment minister, founding members are: China, India, UK, Denmark, France, Germany, [...]
Australian Scientists Printing Solar Cells Down Under
Scientists have produced the largest flexible, plastic solar cells in Australia—10 times the size of what they were previously able to—thanks to a new solar cell printer that has been installed at Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO). The printer is relatively cheap, uses common industrial chemicals and the resulting solar cells have a [...]
U.S Army Announces $7B in Renewable Energy Projects
The U.S. Army has just launched the first in a series of renewable energy contracts that will eventually total $7 billion by the end of this year, using power purchase agreements along with a standard procurement tool that is expected to crush any obstacles that are put in its path. That includes the notorious budget [...]
Investing in Clean Energy = Investing in the Future
Here’s a puzzler for our new era: Let’s say you want to set aside some money. Where should you put it? Over the last ten years the stock market has become increasingly volatile, and yields for real estate investments, bonds, and CDs are all at or near 10-year lows. The old advice to diversify and [...]
75% of New Energy Investments Are Renewable
In a striking keynote, Michael Liebreich President of BNEF spoke about the continued compound growth in renewables and the disconnect between GDP and electricity consumption. In the last 5 years, Electricity consumption in Australia and California have disconnected from GDP growth and that trend is now spreading through the developed world. Rising efficiency in motor [...]
LDK Solar Defaults on Convertible Notes
On the heels of Suntech’s bankruptcy last month, LDK Solar Company Ltd. (Xinyu City, China) failed to make full payments of $23.8 million-worth of 4.75% convertible notes due this year. LDK was able to reach a private agreement on some cash payments and payment postponement with two other holders of $16.6M in notes. The company [...]
Solarreviews.com: Helping Consumers Find the Right Solar Installer
The solar energy market grew by 76% last year, according to GTM Research and the Solar Energy Industries Association. As solar power becomes an increasingly competitive energy source, more Americans are looking for reputable companies that can meet their solar needs. Up until now, however, consumers have not had the ability to easily access ratings [...]
POLL: Americans Want More Solar
A new poll by Gallup finds that across the U.S. more citizens want a greater emphasis on domestically produced solar, wind and natural-gas fired electricity. Guess which option was the most popular? Solar, by an overwhelming 76 percent. It was the most popular option among more than 1,000 individuals polled across the U.S. by Gallup in [...]
Clean Energy Workers and the Sequester
Now that the Sequester has officially begun, people are wondering what the impacts will be, both long term and short term. The message from the two sides of the political spectrum could not be more opposite. Republicans are confident that the concern is overstated, and the wasteful federal government needs the motivation to start effectively [...]
California Clean Energy: Ready to Launch
Environmentalists and other policy makers have long touted the economic benefits of investing in energy efficiency and renewable projects. For California, that vision is on course to being realized. Yesterday, EDF, Citi and Wilson Sonsini held Innovations in Energy Efficiency Finance II, a sequel to the successful conference we hosted in 2011. That year, we [...]
IEA: Renewables to Grow 40% by 2018
Despite economic uncertainties, global power generation from renewable sources of energy is seen to grow by more than 40 percent to almost 6,400 terawatt-hours over the next five years, or roughly 1.5 times the current electricity production in the United States, according to a report from the International Energy Agency. Renewable energy generation from 2011 [...]