Tag Archives: forecast
New Project Will Forecast Solar Generation
The California Energy Commission (CEC) has awarded $1.7 million to a partnership between Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Cool Earth Solar Inc. (CES) to conduct a community-scale renewable energy integration demonstration project at the Livermore Valley Open Campus. The central idea of the project is to use solar forecasting to make photovoltaic power generation more [...]
NREL Gets 2nd Solar Canopy
The U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) now has a second Envision Solar International Solar Tree array at its Vehicle Testing and Integration Facility. Envision completed the installation of the solar EV charging canopy at NREL’s Golden, Colo. facility in mid-April. “I’m proud that we have been chosen again by NREL. They are delighted the [...]
CSP: 11% of Global Energy by 2050
There are reports that global concentrated solar power (CSP) is growing at a quick pace. Global Information predicts that CSP could provide 11% of global electricity by 2050 – with 9.6% from solar power and 1.7% from backup fuels (fossil fuels or biomass). Global Information has been trying to rally business executives to take advantage [...]
Solar Junction Achieves 44% Solar Cell Efficiency
A California-based company has broken its own world record in solar cell efficiency. Solar Junction has achieved 44 percent at 949 suns, beating the Silicon Valley company’s record of 43.5 percent at 418 suns it set in April 2011. Both records were verified by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). “Breaking our own world record [...]
Group Net Metering: Community Solar’s Golden Ticket
Almost every state in the country has net metering laws on the books. But only a few states allow a lesser-known policy that is critical for the expansion of distributed renewables, particularly community-scale solar— that’s aggregate, virtual, or group net metering. And there are a lot of good reasons to want to see its expansion. [...]
FORECAST: 2030 OECD Energy Consumption
How many countries in the OECD will increase energy consumption as fast or faster than China? Okay, here goes. Take a deep breath and follow the bouncing ball… In 1980 the OECD consumed 178 quads. By 2008 that had climbed to 243 quads. The U.S. DOE projects OECD energy consumption at 279 quads in 2030, [...]
Geothermal Energy Market Forecast for 2012
Although wind and solar energy steal most of the headlines, geothermal energy is enjoying significant growth. The past five years have seen accelerated geothermal development in countries like New Zealand, Indonesia and the US. But geothermal is also growing in new markets including countries like Australia and Germany. We have seen growth in conventional hydrothermal [...]
2012 U.S Solar Energy Forecasts
The solar sector will face some intense headwinds in 2012. Despite obstacles, the solar market may add at least 25 GW of new capacity in 2012. In North America the market for photo voltaic solar panels has a projected compounded annual growth rate of 42 percent between 2011 and 2015. Last year was tough for [...]
Jim Boyden on Clean Energy
Jim Boyden earned his Ph.D. in physics from Cal Tech the same year I graduated from kindergarten (1960). I joked with him during our interview this morning: “So, while I was trying to master the alphabet, you had risen to a somewhat loftier academic level — and the subject of your dissertation was…. ?” “High [...]
Solar Energy World Forecasts 100% Installation Growth
Maryland-based Solar Energy World, a residential and commercial solar installer operating primarily in Maryland, New Jersey and Washington, D.C., anticipates that its sales in 2012 will double compared to its sales in 2011. The company attributes the anticipated growth largely to decreased prices of modules and more interest in solar. The projected growth for Solar [...]
Green Jobs in 2012
The green economy is picking up momentum. The year 2012 holds great promise for people looking for green jobs. People across all segments of the United States are beginning to see the importance of environmental sustainability. Government, private industry, entrepreneurs and regular citizens have begun to take up the challenge to take action to save [...]
China Presses The Go Button for Solar
When China announced its 12th Five Year Plan last year, it made some bold goals in sustainable energy: cutting energy intensity by 16%, carbon intensity by 17% and boosting non-fossil fuel sources to 11.4% of primary fuel consumption. Nearly one year on and there has been significant progress. China is well on the way to [...]