Renewable Energy News

img hspace="10" vspace="5" align="left" src="http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2013/3/20/body-germany-moves-to-tackle-rising-renewables-costs.jpg" /pProposals for reforms to Germany's renewable energy support policy have been tabled by the country's conservative federal environment minister Peter Altmaier./p

img hspace="10" vspace="5" align="left" src="http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2013/3/26/body-the-good-and-bad-news-of-doe-fiscal-year-budget-request.jpg" /pThe good news is the Department of Energy (DoE) FY 2013 budget request of $2,337 million for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy programs (EERE) shows a 29 percent increase from the enacted FY 2012 budget. The bad news is the FY 2013 has not been approved by Congress, as of this writing, see Table 1 below.  Table 1: FY 2013 DoE Budget Request   /p

img hspace="10" vspace="5" align="left" src="http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2013/3/26/body-asia-report-australia-backs-renewable-energy-targets.jpg" /pFor now Suntech is still going about its business after the company's major debt default and restructuring. But a major concern is already playing out: customers concerned about product warranties are already exploring different supplier options. "For any developer, it's pretty impossible to put that technology in a project now because lenders are going to want to see a financially stable entity standing behind the warranty," said Recurrent Energy president Arno Harris./p

img hspace="10" vspace="5" align="left" src="http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2013/3/26/body-new-solar-cell-design-based-on-dots-and-wires.jpg" /pUsing exotic particles called quantum dots as the basis for a photovoltaic cell is not a new idea, but attempts to make such devices have not yet achieved sufficiently high efficiency in converting sunlight to power. A new wrinkle added by a team of researchers at MIT — embedding the quantum dots within a forest of nanowires — promises to provide a significant boost./p

img hspace="10" vspace="5" align="left" src="http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2013/3/21/body-cape-wind-finds-financing-partner-enters-home-stretch.jpg" /pOne of the final steps for the Cape Wind offshore wind project in Massachusetts is being made, with the signing of Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (BTMU) to arrange debt financing. BTMU itself is pitching in "a significant amount of debt capital" which will go toward development and construction costs. (Barclays will continue to advise Cape Wind, while the group and BTMU nail down the rest of the needed financing.)/p

img hspace="10" vspace="5" align="left" src="http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2013/3/21/body-ladwp-to-eliminate-coal-fired-power-from-energy-mix-by-2025.jpg" /pFollowing a recent pledge made by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to wean the city off of coal-fired generation within 12 years, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) has unveiled its ambitious plans to abandon the use of coal-fueled generation for its service area by 2025./p

img hspace="10" vspace="5" align="left" src="http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2013/3/21/body-suntech-insolvent-yingli-links-with-gcl.jpg" /pThe inevitable has finally happened at tanking former solar star Suntech (NYSE: STP), which has been forced into bankruptcy ending a months-long battle between the company's founder Shi Zhengrong and just about all the company's other stakeholders. In the meantime, I would be remiss not to mention another solar news tidbit that has panel maker Ying/p

img hspace="10" vspace="5" align="left" src="http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2013/3/21/body-independence-would-damage-scotlands-renewables-growth-says-ed-davey.jpg" /pUK Energy Secretary Ed Davey has said that Scotland's renewable energy industry would be damaged if it were to become independent from the rest of Britain./p

img hspace="10" vspace="5" align="left" src="http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2013/3/21/body-two-ways-americans-may-get-more-ownership-of-their-energy-future.jpg" /pThree years ago, the prospects for Americans to own their energy future seemed relatively bleak.   There were almost no replicable models for doing community-based energy projects or investment, despite falling costs and technology — solar and wind — that lend themselves to local development. But thanks to recent opportunities in community solar an/p

img hspace="10" vspace="5" align="left" src="http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2013/3/20/body-germanys-grid-expansion.jpg" /pUntil some years ago, the electricity in German grids flowed in only one direction – from a large-scale power station to transformer stations and from there to nearby consumers./p

img hspace="10" vspace="5" align="left" src="http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2013/3/21/body-greening-city-grids-for-evs.jpg" /pShort of putting a windmill on top of a car - a parody vehicle that became a source of political jesting during the 2012 U.S. presidential election - electric vehicle (EV) owners have little control over the ultimate emissions profile of their cars. An EV is only as clean and green as the last charging station it visited. And in most cases, that charging station is only as green as the electric grid that feeds it./p

img hspace="10" vspace="5" align="left" src="http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2013/3/20/body-suntechs-solar-manufacturing-unit-pushed-toward-bankruptcy.jpg" /pIn the latest twist in the solar industry's consolidation saga, eight Chinese banks have petitioned the local courts to initiate insolvency and restructuring for Suntech Power Holdings' main manufacturing subsidiary Wuxi Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd.. The company says it will not object the filing, which the court could accept within the next few days./p

img hspace="10" vspace="5" align="left" src="http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2013/3/20/body-solar-pv-profits-last-stand.jpg" /pGlobally, average module prices (ASPs) decreased by 42 percent in 2012 from a global ASP of $1.37/Wp in 2011 to $0.79/Wp in 2012. In early 2013, ASPs have already decreased by 18 percent to $0.65/Wp with inventory averages ~$-.58/Wp. Many will proclaim this as progress. Some will say that the ends justify the means. A few will devote a brief paragraph to the losses and failures of manufacturers before going on to write of the hugely successful 2013 to come. Some manufacturers may join the chorus lest they be drowned out by drumbeats broadcasting success./p

img hspace="10" vspace="5" align="left" src="http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2013/3/19/body-clean-energy-trends-the-future-is-all-about-deployment.jpg" /p2012 proved to be an unsettling and difficult year for clean energy. High-profile bankruptcies and layoffs plagued many clean-tech companies, overall venture investments retreated in the face of increasingly elusive returns, and the industry was begrudgingly transformed into a partisan wedge issue during the U.S. presidential campaign. But as we highlight in our just-released Clean Energy Trends 2013 report, the fundamental global market drivers for clean technology remain largely intact./p

img hspace="10" vspace="5" align="left" src="http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2013/3/19/body-asia-report-is-japans-solar-marketoverheating.jpg" /pMost of the projections we've seen for 2013's biggest solar markets (Solarbuzz, IHS iSuppli, Deutsche Bank) put Japan as #4 behind China, the US, and Germany, and ahead of a number of countries led by Italy. Maxim Group and Lux Research have Japan squeaking into third place. But now, one analyst sees Japan's solar market surging in 2013 to an eye-popping 5 GW -- raising questions whether the nation, like others before it (think Spain) is overheating./p

img hspace="10" vspace="5" align="left" src="http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2013/3/20/body-floridas-broward-county-encourages-solar-energy-with-easier-permits.jpg" /pMaking energy from the sun seems a no-brainer for the Sunshine State, but cost has proven to be a hurdle. Broward County has taken a big step to cut costs for solar-panel systems on rooftops and homeowners, businesses and other counties are taking notice, a Go Solar conference showed Friday./p

img hspace="10" vspace="5" align="left" src="http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2013/3/20/body-ready-or-not-arizona-takes-steps-toward-incentive-free-solar.jpg" /pOver the past several years Arizona has become one of the fastest growing solar markets in the United States due in large part to a strong policy framework coupled with excellent market fundamentals. However, as of February 2013 Arizona's solar incentive program was severely curtailed and uncertainty now surrounds the future prospects of the state's solar industry, leaving many wondering what the impact of these cuts will be./p

img hspace="10" vspace="5" align="left" src="http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2013/3/19/body-operations-maintenance-and-solar-sheep.jpg" /pAs gigawatts of commercial- and utility-scale PV power plants spring up around the world on a monthly basis, one critical industry sector that's growing in tandem is operations and maintenance, usually referred to simply as OM. Whether the service is provided by the engineering, procurement, and construction firm or (sub)contracted to an outside vendor, the upkeep, performance, and ultimate profitability of a large solar installation depends in no small way on the competence and experience of the OM team./p

img hspace="10" vspace="5" align="left" src="http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2013/3/20/body-relief-for-indias-wind-industry-as-gbi-returns.jpg" /pIndia's generation-based incentive (GBI) for wind energy was reinstated in late February. The government had repealed the subsidy in April 2012, causing dire consequences for the wind sector. A headline in the Hindu Business Line newspaper said it all: "Wind power heaves a sigh of relief". Some INR8 billion (US$147 million) will now be allocated for the incentive in the 2013-2014 budget./p

img hspace="10" vspace="5" align="left" src="http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2013/3/19/body-china-may-cut-subsidy-for-largest-solar-projects.jpg" /pChina, forecast to become the biggest solar market this year, may restructure its subsidies to favor smaller projects over larger ones to promote new plants in in areas with power shortages, an industry official said./p