Energy News from other Sources

NLP Solar Sales Training May 29 & 30 - New Bonus for Contractors & Sales Teams

EU Should Scrap Energy Subsidies to Fight Warming, Poland Says

The European Union should scrap fossil fuel and renewable energy subsidies and set a target to cut oil imports to remain the leader in the fight against global warming, according to Poland's environment minister.

Senate Committee Passes Geothermal Leasing Measure

The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources met Thursday, May 16th, to vote on a series of measures that included S. 363, The Geothermal Expansion and Production Act. The legislation was sponsored by Senator Wyden (D-OR), and co-sponsored by Senators Murkowski (R-AK), Begich (D-AK), Crapo (R-ID), Risch (R-ID) and Merkley (D-OR).

Fracking and Solar: Friends, Foes or the Bridge to Clean Energy Adoption?

Hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” has been widely criticized by environmentalists who cite concerns with water pollution and methane leakage from this high-volume method of extracting natural gas. However, the burning of natural gas is undoubtedly better for the planet than the burning of coal. Some experts are now saying that — toxic chemicals an

Brazil Auction Rules May Boost Price of Wind Power 15%

Prices for wind energy in Brazil, currently the lowest in the world, may rise at least 15 percent due to government policies designed to make the nation's power grid more reliable.

No Easy Fix for Broken Wind Turbine at US High School

It's status quo for the Portsmouth High School wind turbine. On Monday night, town planner Gary Crosby informed the Town Council that negotiations ceased with two possible developers interested in fixing or replacing the 336-foot-high turbine, which has been broken since June 2012.

Breakdown: Penetration of Renewable Energy in Selected Markets

The penetration of renewable energy into the electricity supply mix has been much in the news recently. During the first quarter, Portugal generated three-quarters of its electricity with renewable energy. Meanwhile, in Germany, one-fifth of all electricity was generated with renewables, most of that from new sources of renewable energy, such as wind and solar. And recently, at a conference in San Francisco, attendees heard calls for generating not just 100 percent of electricity supply with renewable energy, but far more — 200 percent to 300 percent of generation — in order to meet the need for heating, cooling, and transportation as well.

Solar Under Assault Again in Louisiana

A slew of bills introduced in Louisiana’s legislature this year were challenging the state’s solar incentives. At least one of which, House Bill 705 to gradually phase out the state’s solar and wind tax credits by 2020, has moved forward. While that bill might make some sense, other bills, like a bill to eliminate tax credits immediately, seem to b

Moniz Unanimously Confirmed As New DOE Chief

Ernie Moniz has been unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the next Secretary of Energy, in a 97-0 vote (with three nonvoters). He succeeds Stephen Chu who held the position for four years.

SolarCity Scores $500 Million from Goldman Sachs for Solar Leasing

SolarCity Corp. (SCTY), a solar-energy developer chaired by billionaire Elon Musk, won financing from Goldman Sachs (GS) Group Inc. for more than $500 million in rooftop solar systems that the company will complete this year.

China Solar Update: Trina Improves, Suntech Scores Extension, Beijing Awaits EU Tariff Decision

Several news bits from the solar sector show more signs of stabilization after a 2-year-old downturn, even as an ongoing trade war looks set to escalate. The big picture in these news bits does seem to reflect some cautious optimism returning to the sector after the prolonged downturn due to massive oversupply. But that turnaround remains very tent

US Solar 2013 Halftime Update: Victories and Ongoing Initiatives

2013 is nearly halfway through, so we'd like to share an update of Vote Solar initiatives and notable industry happenings from net metering to innovative financing.

Are Run-of-River Hydroelectric Systems Ready to Ride US Currents?

Reaping renewable energy from un-dammed portions of great American rivers like the Mississippi, Ohio, or even the Columbia is an idea that has been bandied about for decades.

SunPower To Launch Solar Leases Overseas

Distributed generation and international markets will be the twin focus for SunPower over the next few years as the company makes a big push for using its concentrating PV technology and selling residential leases abroad, SunPower executives said during its analyst day presentations Wednesday.

U.K. Delays Smart Meter Rollout by a Year on 'Challenge'

The U.K. postponed its mass installation of "smart" energy meters by a year as suppliers struggle with design glitches and testing is delayed.

Solar PV Inverter Giant SMA Cutting Workforce Amid Sales Slide

Global inverter leader SMA AG cast a downward glance in its fiscal 1Q13 results today, and is preparing for what could be major layoffs in the face of the global PV market's first decline in many years.

Efficiency New Brunswick Cuts Geothermal Energy Incentives

Throughout Canada, energy efficiency retrofit grants have helped stimulate the geothermal industry and have made geothermal heat pumps more popular than ever before. The introduction of these substantial financial incentives on both a provincial and federal level have been a boon for the geothermal industry and the energy efficiency retrofit indust

Ireland Keen to Hit 2030 Renewable Targets, Says EU Ambassador

Irish Ambassador to the European Union Tom Hanney is in the throes of a six month stint at the heart of decision making in Brussels, as Ireland currently holds the EU Presidency. The Deputy Permanent Representative says holding the Presidency is "a marathon, from January to June."

SolarCity Earnings: Mixed Results, Good Prospects

SolarCity (SCTY) has been one of the hottest alternative energy stocks since its Initial Public Offering five short months ago. Yesterday it shot up 24% in one day, on the largest one-day volume since it opened, in anticipation of its quarterly earnings release. It is up 95% in the past three months, and has more than tripled from its initial trading price. As of this writing SCTY has given back about a third of yesterday's stratospheric gains.

The Economic Case for Divesting from Fossil Fuels

Securities of fossil fuels firms, as an economic sector, may soon be on the decline.

NLP Solar Sales Training May 29 & 30 - New Bonus for Contractors & Sales Teams

EU Should Scrap Energy Subsidies to Fight Warming, Poland Says

The European Union should scrap fossil fuel and renewable energy subsidies and set a target to cut oil imports to remain the leader in the fight against global warming, according to Poland's environment minister.

Fracking and Solar: Friends, Foes or the Bridge to Clean Energy Adoption?

Hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” has been widely criticized by environmentalists who cite concerns with water pollution and methane leakage from this high-volume method of extracting natural gas. However, the burning of natural gas is undoubtedly better for the planet than the burning of coal. Some experts are now saying that — toxic chemicals an

Breakdown: Penetration of Renewable Energy in Selected Markets

The penetration of renewable energy into the electricity supply mix has been much in the news recently. During the first quarter, Portugal generated three-quarters of its electricity with renewable energy. Meanwhile, in Germany, one-fifth of all electricity was generated with renewables, most of that from new sources of renewable energy, such as wind and solar. And recently, at a conference in San Francisco, attendees heard calls for generating not just 100 percent of electricity supply with renewable energy, but far more — 200 percent to 300 percent of generation — in order to meet the need for heating, cooling, and transportation as well.

Solar Under Assault Again in Louisiana

A slew of bills introduced in Louisiana’s legislature this year were challenging the state’s solar incentives. At least one of which, House Bill 705 to gradually phase out the state’s solar and wind tax credits by 2020, has moved forward. While that bill might make some sense, other bills, like a bill to eliminate tax credits immediately, seem to b

Moniz Unanimously Confirmed As New DOE Chief

Ernie Moniz has been unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the next Secretary of Energy, in a 97-0 vote (with three nonvoters). He succeeds Stephen Chu who held the position for four years.

SolarCity Scores $500 Million from Goldman Sachs for Solar Leasing

SolarCity Corp. (SCTY), a solar-energy developer chaired by billionaire Elon Musk, won financing from Goldman Sachs (GS) Group Inc. for more than $500 million in rooftop solar systems that the company will complete this year.

China Solar Update: Trina Improves, Suntech Scores Extension, Beijing Awaits EU Tariff Decision

Several news bits from the solar sector show more signs of stabilization after a 2-year-old downturn, even as an ongoing trade war looks set to escalate. The big picture in these news bits does seem to reflect some cautious optimism returning to the sector after the prolonged downturn due to massive oversupply. But that turnaround remains very tent

US Solar 2013 Halftime Update: Victories and Ongoing Initiatives

2013 is nearly halfway through, so we'd like to share an update of Vote Solar initiatives and notable industry happenings from net metering to innovative financing.

SunPower To Launch Solar Leases Overseas

Distributed generation and international markets will be the twin focus for SunPower over the next few years as the company makes a big push for using its concentrating PV technology and selling residential leases abroad, SunPower executives said during its analyst day presentations Wednesday.

Solar PV Inverter Giant SMA Cutting Workforce Amid Sales Slide

Global inverter leader SMA AG cast a downward glance in its fiscal 1Q13 results today, and is preparing for what could be major layoffs in the face of the global PV market's first decline in many years.

SolarCity Earnings: Mixed Results, Good Prospects

SolarCity (SCTY) has been one of the hottest alternative energy stocks since its Initial Public Offering five short months ago. Yesterday it shot up 24% in one day, on the largest one-day volume since it opened, in anticipation of its quarterly earnings release. It is up 95% in the past three months, and has more than tripled from its initial trading price. As of this writing SCTY has given back about a third of yesterday's stratospheric gains.

The Economic Case for Divesting from Fossil Fuels

Securities of fossil fuels firms, as an economic sector, may soon be on the decline.

US Solar PV Manufacturer Suniva Plans Expansion

It's been a tough several years for solar PV manufacturing. The common refrain has been that Chinese competition has undercut solar cells and modules made elsewhere to the point of market instability. That's why the U.S. laid out penalties on Chinese solar imports last year, and why Europe is positioning to do so now.

Ontario Loses WTO Appeal: What Happens Next?

After a lengthy appeal process, the WTO recently ruled in favour of Japan and the European Union in a case over Ontario's domestic content requirements (DCR) for renewable energy projects under the province's FIT Program. In light of this decision, the DCR, which mandate that project developers procure 50-60 percent of the value of their installations from equipment assembled or manufactured in Ontario, are now effectively illegal under the multilateral WTO agreement. As a result, Ontario's provincial government, which oversees the administration of the FIT Program, is now in a position in which it must make a policy choice which will likely have far reaching political and economic consequences as well as a significant impact on the province's renewable energy industry.

SolarCity Sues Treasury Over 1603 Payments

In an interesting turn of events, solar third-party ownership company SolarCity is suing the Treasury Department in Federal Claims Court, alleging that it received less than expected from the now defunct 1603 Treasury Grant Program. This follows the Treasury investigation of SolarCity over whether or not it correctly valued the solar arrays the com

Fighting Blackouts: Japan Residential PV and Energy Storage Market Flourishing

In the past, a PV system with battery storage was associated with the off-grid system — not connected to the utility grid. The battery stores the energy produced by the PV system and when the sun goes down, electricity is drawn from the battery. In Japan, the battery became attractive to store electricity from "the grid," to reduce electricity bills.

The Future of Solar in Latin America

ClearSky Advisors has recently evaluated the attractiveness of each market in Latin America by quantifying the relevant fundamental and political factors which will drive solar installations over the next several years. Fundamental factors include solar insolation, the cost of electricity and current PV market maturity while political factors include the effectiveness of existing solar policies, new generation required and economic and investment risks.

8 Vivid Charts – 8 Reasons for a Solar Energy Standard in Minnesota

A conference committee is resolving differences between House and (much weaker) Senate versions of a solar energy standard in Minnesota today. Here's eight graphic reasons why the state should go for solar as aggressively as it can.   This post originally appeared on ILSR’s Energy Self-Reliant States blog. 8 Vivid Charts – 8 Reasons for a Solar Ene

Finland's New Energy Solutions

You may not know much about Finland, but you certainly know the powerhouse technology company that became a household name across the globe and drove the nation’s economic expansion through the 1990s-2000s. Nokia generated a quarter of Finnish economic growth from 1998-2007, prompting a new term, ‘the Nokia effect’, to describe economic development

A number of western states increased oil production since 2010

Onshore oil production, including crude oil and lease condensate, rose more than 2 million barrels per day (bbl/d), or 64%, in the Lower 48 states from February 2010 to February 2013, according to recent estimates in EIA's Petroleum Supply Monthly.

Ethanol production capacity little changed in past year

U.S. fuel ethanol production capacity was 13.9 billion gallons per year (903,000 barrels per day), as of January 1, 2013, according to a report released by EIA on May 20, 2013. The report shows a very slight increase in the total capacity of operating ethanol plants compared to January 1, 2012. Most of the existing fuel ethanol capacity is located in the Midwest (PAD District 2).

Mexico Week: U.S.-Mexico electricity trade is small, with tight regional focus

U.S. electricity trade with Mexico represents a small fraction—less than a hundredth of a percent—of total U.S. electricity use. A small amount of electricity trade with Mexico exists in California, New Mexico, and Texas, where transmission lines cross the border.

Mexico Week: Record Mexican natural gas imports include higher flows from U.S.

Mexico imported a record volume of natural gas in 2012, about 2.1 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d), which was up 21% from 2011. Natural gas flows from U.S. pipelines accounted for about 80% of Mexico's overall natural gas imports in 2012; U.S. natural gas exports to Mexico in 2012 were almost 1.7 Bcf/d, more than 24% higher than in 2011.

Mexico Week: Crude oil moving north, products moving south characterizes U.S.-Mexico trade

The United States and Mexico conduct a significant amount of trade in crude oil and petroleum products, with the United States primarily importing crude oil from Mexico and exporting refined petroleum products to Mexico. In 2012, the United States imported nearly one million barrels per day (bbl/d) of crude oil from Mexico, while exporting 600,000 bbl/d of petroleum products to Mexico.