A group of businessmen, farmers and renewable energy advocates who met today to support Alex Sink for Governor, were abruptly met with an attack from the Rick Scott campaign.
What about a recently laid-off woman who now pushes a reel mower yard to yard to make money? Would lawn lady’s be a green job created, a general job lost, or would the two cancel one another for a net job gain of zero?
The evolving discussion over renewable energy technologies has a tendency to get a bit technical. Most of us who work in the renewable energy space take for granted that many potential customers, investors and partners haven’t spent any time in academia studying photovaltaics or wind turbines. In fact, they may not have a background in general energy metrics. Terms that once belonged to the realm of industry-insider jargon are quickly becoming standard. Thus, anyone who wants to follow the renewable versus traditional energy debate needs to know what we mean when we say “watt.” Here, then, is a brief crash course in energy lingo.
A significant piece of good news for the ambitious €400 billion (Dh1.87 trillion, US $509 billion) scheme came in April, when one of its members, Germany’s Solar Millennium, said its 150 MW Kuraymat project in Egypt was nearing completion and could serve as a template for other north African solar farms.
A new low-cost etching technique developed at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory can put a trillion holes in a silicon wafer the size of a compact disc.
Heslin Rothenberg Farley & Mesiti P.C. is pleased to announce the Shine-On Solar edition of the Clean Energy Patent Growth Index (CEPGI) by the firm’s Cleantech Group.
In what they are calling a “clear and easy choice” for the future of the renewable energy industry, the Florida Alliance for Renewable Energy (FARE), announced today their endorsement of State CFO Alex Sink for Governor and encouraged every organization, business and individual involved in the renewable energy industry to do the same.
Remember back in the good ‘ol days of 2008 when manufacturing solar PV below a dollar a watt was a big deal? How quaint that vision seems today.
From PV data and market growth to state solar and regulatory policies, from DOE and Solar ABCs updates to clean energy workforce development and credentialing, IREC has again assembled some of the best in the business to share the latest information on these issues at its 2010 Annual Meeting on Monday, October 11, in Los Angeles.
Remember back in the good ‘ol days of 2008 when getting solar PV production costs below a dollar a watt was a big deal? How quaint that vision seems today.
The sub-one dollar production cost is still a major milestone. But as more companies approach or cross the threshold, the solar industry is starting to compete at a much different level.
This week, the amorphous silicon thin film company Oerlikon Solar announced that its new fab line could produce solar modules for below 70 cents a watt.
The news sounds monumental. But is it really as big as it seems? We’ll take a look at what it takes to compete in today’s solar industry.
Inside Renewable Energy is a weekly audio news program featuring stories and interviews on all the latest developments in the renewable energy industries.
As more wind turbines are developed closer to communities, a number of homeowners within close range are complaining about noise. Some wind advocates label these people “anti-wind.” At the same time, anti-wind advocates latch onto the sound issues, saying they are a public health problem. Surely, there’s a middle ground.
Unfortunately, no one has done a comprehensive study on the impact of wind turbine noise on people. Without an objective examination of the issue, miscommunication and mistrust will likely continue.
In this podcast, we’ll go to the island of Vinalhaven off the coast of Maine to hear about the complaints of a group of homeowners who are aggravated by the noise of three 1.5 MW wind turbines in their backyards. We’ll ask, “is it okay to sacrifice a few people for the greater good of the many?”
We’ll talk with Jim Cummings, founder of the Acoustic Ecology Institute, about how widespread complaints about noise are. He’ll also talk about the various trade-offs when making concessions to homeowners.
Finally, we’ll go to one small town in Texas and hear about the positive economic and cultural impact of the world’s largest wind farm.
Inside Renewable Energy is a weekly audio news program featuring stories and interviews on all the latest developments in the renewable energy industries.
We are living in an unprecedented time in history when the theory of unlimited economic growth is running into the reality of limited energy. Many people think that renewables are simply a drop-in replacement for oil, gas and coal – but it’s clear that is not the case.
Renewables offer less “net energy” than fossil fuels have historically delivered. We have grown our global economy on the assumption that we’d always have abundant energy. However, with renewables, which are less energy dense and more diffuse, we may have to re-evaluate our vision of growth.
In this podcast, we’ll look at the “Renewables Gap,” and what it means for the transition away from fossil resources.
Author and Activist Bill McKibben talks about what society will look like on this new “Eaarth” being formed by climate changes and limited energy resources.
Lionel Badal talks about his adventures as a student uncovering a peak oil conspiracy at the International Energy Agency.
Energy expert Vaclav Smil gives some historical context to the current energy transition.
Author and speaker Jeff Vail talks about his worries that the “Renewables Gap,” will hinder the transition to cleaner sources of energy.
Writer and Financial Analyst Tom Konrad talks about why he’s a technological optimist, but a social pessimist.
And Jack Oswald, the CEO of Syngest, outlines his scenario of future “Energy Abundance.”
Inside Renewable Energy is a weekly audio news program featuring stories and interviews on all the latest developments in the renewable energy industries.
The sluggish economy has hurt renewable energy project developers. In many cases, it’s incredibly difficult for companies to sign contacts to sell power. So why is the solar PV market going to grow by 100% globally this year?
Solar PV is starting to enter a “sweet spot.” Because the technology is falling so dramatically in cost, is less capital intensive to develop, is more adaptable and requires less permitting, investors are taking a keen interest in solar PV projects. In this podcast, we’ll examine the factors that make the market so attractive.
Jack Ehnes, the CEO of California’s second-largest public pension fund, CalSTRS, talks about the need for fund managers to look at broader sustainability issues in order to limit risk. The interview comes from the Ceres Sustainability Podcast.
Then we’ll have a roundtable discussion on how solar companies are engaging the financial community.
Dan Alcombright, vice president and general manager of Solon North America, talks about the company’s vertical strategy to manufacture panels, develop projects and work with financiers to fund the PV plants.
Wim Goethals, managing director of Enfinity Americas talks about the “brain damage” involved in financing projects of all sizes.
And Marie Schnitzer, director of solar services at AWS Truepower, explains why it’s important for the solar community to keep educating investors.
Inside Renewable Energy is a weekly audio news program featuring stories and interviews on all the latest developments in the renewable energy industries.
This is a unique time in history for energy inventors and entrepreneurs. As the need for clean, renewable sources of energy becomes more important, investors are looking for unique “Black Swan” technologies that could revolutionize the sector. The trouble is, they’re not exactly easy to find or create.
In this podcast, we’ll talk to a couple inventors who are riding the new wave of innovation and trying to bring their early-stage technologies to scale. We’ll also talk with about the need to be realistic in our view of groundbreaking (if not sometimes completely nuts) inventions.
David Doty, founder and CEO of Doty Energy, tells us about his production of “WindFuels,” a variety of hydrocarbon fuels made from wind electricity and recycled carbon dioxide. He’ll talk about how the fuel is made and how much it will cost to produce.
Scott Brusaw, president and CEO of Solar Roadways, talks about why putting solar panels on roads could actually be a good idea. He’ll tell us how he first got the idea and why he believes the concept could work on a mass-scale.
And Eric Wessoff, an editor and analyst with Greentech Media, describes the fine line that investors and journalists walk when evaluating new technologies. He’ll also outline a common mistake that people make when thinking about how to bring new energy technologies to market.
Inside Renewable Energy is a weekly audio news program featuring stories and interviews on all the latest developments in the renewable energy industries.
Vertical-axis wind turbines have been around for thousands of years, yet we still haven’t seen modern turbine producers make a dent in the wind market. Why is that so? In this podcast, we’ll find out.
Most wind experts say that vertical-axis turbines are simply inferior to traditional three-bladed horizontal-axis turbines. That’s why the technologies only make up one percent of the small wind market. The industry has also been dominated by sketchy companies and “inventors” who pushed fraudulent or under-performing technologies to unsuspecting consumers.
Nick Blitterswyk, CEO of Urban Green Energy, talks about the reasons why the vertical-axis wind industry has gotten a bad name.
Walt Borland, CEO of WindSpire Energy, discusses the need for third-party testing to help investors make good choices.
And Wind Expert Ian Woofenden shares his thoughts on why he thinks vertical-axis wind turbines will never compete with traditional horizontal-axis wind technologies.
Inside Renewable Energy is a weekly audio news program featuring stories and interviews on all the latest developments in the renewable energy industries.
How do you make a renewable energy business work is such a challenging economic environment? In this show, a group of CEOs tells us how.
We’ll hear from a range of executives in the solar PV, concentrating solar power, wind and biofuels sectors who are making difficult decisions to get their companies through this difficult period.
We’ll also speak with renowned journalist Vijay Vaitheeswaran about his take on the renewable energy market.
Inside Renewable Energy is a weekly audio news program featuring stories and interviews on all the latest developments in the renewable energy industries.
Renewables are big business. Almost every major financial institution and energy company is involved with the industry in some way. And this year’s Renewable Energy Finance Forum proves once again that is the case.
In this podcast, we’re in New York City talking to a number of financial experts on the health of the renewable energy industry. There are many factors working both in favor and against renewables. If you want to get a clear picture of how the industry if fairing today around the world, you have to follow the money. And that’s what we’re doing at REFF.
Inside Renewable Energy is a weekly audio news program featuring stories and interviews on all the latest developments in the renewable energy industries.
The world is running out of water. By 2030, the UN projects that 60 percent of the global population will face water shortages, increasing social unrest and creating additional risk for companies.
As demand for water increases, so too will demand on the energy system. Technologies like desalination require enormous amounts of fossil energies to process water. But burning more fossil resources exacerbates climate change, thus making water shortages more severe. And more severe water shortages mean that we’ll need yet more fossil energies to process water.
In this podcast, we’ll look at how companies are implementing new technologies to lower the energy intensity of desalination, monitor water use, and create new ways of generating energy at wastewater treatment facilities and desalination plants.
GG Pique, CEO and president of Energy Recovery Inc., describes how his company’s pressure exchanger recycles 85% of the energy used by a reverse osmosis desalination plant.
Reka Sumangali, a water analyst with Lux Research, talks about how the desalination market has evolved to become less energy intensive.
Dallas Kachan, managing partner of Kachan and Co., discusses the potential of Osmotic Power, an up-and-coming form of baseload generation that can be sited alongside desalination facilities.
And Peter Williams, the CTO of IBM’s Big Green Innovation program, describes how the global water shortage will impact the way multi-national companies like IBM will do business in the future. His interview comes to us from the Ceres Sustainability Podcast.
Inside Renewable Energy is a weekly audio news program featuring stories and interviews on all the latest developments in the renewable energy industries.
Faced with such a challenging market for wind, companies are being forced to innovate in order to differentiate themselves and bring the cost of wind down. The problem is, it’s difficult to innovate during economically stressful times.
In this podcast, we’ll look at how the economic environment is impacting R&D efforts in the wind industry. The picture is mixed. Many of the big players are undertaking greater R&D programs; however, some companies trying to bring new technologies to market are finding it very hard.
Inside Renewable Energy is a weekly audio news program featuring stories and interviews on all the latest developments in the renewable energy industries.
