News
Category:
General and USA
The quality concerns have emerged just after a surge in solar construction. In the United States, the Solar Energy Industries Association said that solar panel generating capacity exploded from 83 megawatts in 2003 to 7,266 megawatts in 2012. "We need to face up to the fact that corners are being cut," said Conrad Burke, general manager for DuPont's billion-dollar photovoltaic division, which supplies materials to solar manufacturers.
Also filed under [
Technology]
DOE to recast landmark 20% wind energy report; Study looks back, ahead
May 15, 2013 by Mark Del Franco in North American Windpower
May 15, 2013 by Mark Del Franco in North American Windpower
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Wind Program is revisiting the conclusions from its 2008 study that contemplated the technological and regulatory road map for the U.S. wind industry to achieve 20% wind energy by 2030.
Latest cleantech funding woes spark fears of industry slide
May 11, 2013 by Peter Delevett in Mercury News
May 11, 2013 by Peter Delevett in Mercury News
The problem, he said, is that those big investment firms tend to focus on mature companies that are generating significant revenue, and there are few of those in cleantech. Meanwhile, more government investment seems increasingly far off as congressional Republicans demand answers about the failure of Fisker Automotive.
Also filed under [
California]
Oil and gas drillers make technological leaps, while renewable energy industry struggles
May 4, 2013 by Associated Press in Washington Post
May 4, 2013 by Associated Press in Washington Post
But the outlook for wind, batteries and biofuels is as dim as it's been in a decade. Global greenhouse gas agreements have fizzled. Dazzling discoveries have been made in laboratories, and some of these may yet develop into transformative products, but alternative energy technologies haven't become cheaper or more useful than fossil fuels. ..."In many cases, renewables aren't ready for primetime yet."
"We are VERY unappreciative of this symbol being used by the USPS for Earth Day," Marie McNamara recently emailed postal officials in Washington. "Thanks for putting us on record as strongly objecting to the symbol of industrial wind turbines as a postmark. Thanks for putting us on record as wanting to see the postmark go away immediately."
Also filed under [
Minnesota]
The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) this week released a new proposal to share the "oversupply costs" that pile up when there is not enough demand for all the electricity produced by hydroelectric dams and wind-power producers.
During these oversupply periods, when wind-power producers may be asked to shut down, the plan would compensate them for lost revenue, according to Doug Johnson, a BPA spokesman.
Also filed under [
Oregon|
Washington]
BP selling its entire U.S. wind power Business; will focus on oil and gas for future growth
April 3, 2013 by Matt Cover in CNS News
April 3, 2013 by Matt Cover in CNS News
“BP has decided to market for sale our U.S. wind energy business as part of a continuing effort to become a more focused oil and gas company and re-position the company for sustainable growth into the future.” BP said that selling its entire U.S. wind operations would make the company more profitable.
BP (BP.L) has put its U.S. wind farm operation, one of the largest in the country, up for sale, marking the continued retreat of big oil companies from renewable energy investments while oil and gas projects offer them better returns.
Despite a recent report trumpeting a record year for wind power in 2012, the numbers are not as encouraging as they seem.
Because even though total wind power capacity grew by 30 percent last year, with 13,000 megawatts in new wind turbines, the actual portion of our electricity coming from wind energy did not increase proportionally.
PCW originally planned to file the application on Jan. 21, but decided to wait to apply to see what would happen with Senate File 49, which, if passed, would have required projects requesting a permit from the ISC to spend 25 percent of anticipated project funds during the first two years of the project.
Also filed under [
Wyoming]
Cape Wind construction could begin off Massachusetts coast by year-end
March 19, 2013 by Scott DiSavino in Reuters
March 19, 2013 by Scott DiSavino in Reuters
BTMU is providing a significant amount of debt capital that will be used to pay for development and construction of the project, Cape Wind said. The company could not say how much BTMU was expected to raise.
Also filed under [
Massachusetts]
Some companies - including GE, the world's largest wind turbine manufacturer in terms of megawatts installed in 2012 - have expressed concerns about where the wind power market is headed for the remainder of 2013, as the PTC's eleventh-hour extension came too late.
The approvals were for two solar and one wind projects, including NextEra Energy Inc's 750-megawatt McCoy Solar Energy Project in Southern California, the 150-megawatt Desert Harvest Solar Farm proposed by EDF Renewable Energy, also in Riverside County, and the 200-megawatt Searchlight Wind Energy Project in Nevada, south of Las Vegas. Searchlight, which is being developed by Duke Energy Corp, will use Siemens wind turbines.
Also filed under [
California|
Nevada]
While wind power could help retard climate change by reducing carbon emissions, the authors-one at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and the other at Harvard-note that it actually generates some warming of its own through its effect on wind and turbulence.
Rethinking wind's impact on emissions and cycling costs
March 1, 2013 by David Wagman in Power Magazine
March 1, 2013 by David Wagman in Power Magazine
Recent reports by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and others suggest that the emissions-reducing benefits of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar may have been overstated and the cost of cycling fossil-fueled plants underestimated. These findings may change how utilities and policymakers weigh the costs and benefits of wind and solar energy.
Ralls sues to void U.S. wind-farm purchase Obama blocked
January 30, 2013 by Andrew Zajac in Bloomberg News
January 30, 2013 by Andrew Zajac in Bloomberg News
Ralls is asking U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson to declare the Ralls-Terna transaction invalid and block Terna from selling collateral because of Obama's order. The Ralls lawsuit challenging Obama's power to block the Oregon wind project also is before Jackson.
Colorado Energy Office misspends millions in stimulus funds
January 29, 2013 by Michael Sandoval in The Foundry
January 29, 2013 by Michael Sandoval in The Foundry
Twenty of 22 contracts administered by the agency contained incorrect or missing information in the state contract database, with six missing performance elements and another 13 missing contractor progress reports. ...The audit also discovered that as many as 16 travel and other expenditures "lacked appropriate approval and justification documentation." This included a line item for a $25,000 expenditure listed only as "2008 Membership."
Also filed under [
Colorado]
Altamont Pass turbines kill fewer birds
January 29, 2013 by David R. Baker in San Francisco Chronicle
January 29, 2013 by David R. Baker in San Francisco Chronicle
The tall, grassy hills, raked by stiff winds in spring and summer, offer prime hunting territory for owls, hawks and eagles. Focused on spotting prey, many birds soar straight into the spinning blades of turbines.
But efforts to curb the bloodshed may be starting to work.
Also filed under [
California]
New York Times dismantles its environment desk
January 11, 2013 by Katherine Bagley in New York Time
January 11, 2013 by Katherine Bagley in New York Time
The New York Times will close its environment desk in the next few weeks and assign its seven reporters and two editors to other departments. The positions of environment editor and deputy environment editor are being eliminated. No decision has been made about the fate of the Green Blog, which is edited from the environment desk.
Wind company leaves Hammond; will pursue project in Clayton
January 9, 2013 by Pam McDowell in Thousand Island Sun
January 9, 2013 by Pam McDowell in Thousand Island Sun
Iberdrola Business Development Manager Jenny Briot has stated that her company is canceling 100 projects in the United States, according to leaseholder James Pitcher, who had been in conversations with her regarding the future of wind in Hammond and elsewhere.
Also filed under [
New York]