Renewables

Speaking at the Energy Innovation Symposium in Washington D.C. on July 23, Southern Co. CEO Tom Fanning said that he would love “to announce another nuclear plant” later this year. But Fanning made it clear during his keynote address to attendees at the Bipartisan Policy Center’s American Energy Innovation Council–sponsored event that he favors an […]

The California Energy Commission (CEC) issued a solicitation for proposals earlier this month to fund projects that will demonstrate the feasibility of renewable energy and storage–powered microgrids. A total of $26.5 million in funding is available for three groups of potential projects: low-carbon-based microgrids for critical facilities, high-penetration renewable-based microgrids, and advanced smart and bidirectional […]

Over the past week, the Department of Energy (DOE) made available $4 billion in additional loan guarantees for U.S. renewable energy and energy efficiency projects as it slashed application fees by more than a third for its $8 billion Advanced Fossil Energy Projects Loan Guarantee Solicitation.  The agency on July 3 issued a loan solicitation to […]

The White House on Wednesday threatened to veto a proposed $34 billion House bill setting FY 2015 spending for the Department of Energy (DOE), the Department of Interior, and the Army Corps of Engineers, saying it “significantly underfunds” investments to develop clean energy technologies.  The 2015 Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (H.R. […]

Fourteen members of the World Trade Organization (WTO)—including the U.S., China, the European Union (EU), and Japan—on Tuesday launched negotiations to eliminate tariffs or custom duties on wind turbines, solar products, and other environmental goods.  The first phase of negotiations between the 14 WTO members, which make up 86% of the global environmental goods trade, […]

Nevada utility NV Energy’s net metering program does not significantly impact homeowners without rooftop solar, according to a study prepared for the Nevada Public Utilities Commission (NPUC) this month.  The study was conducted by San Francisco–based Energy and Environmental Economics (E3) at the request of the NPUC after the passage of a Nevada law last […]

National Hydro Power Corp. (NHPC) and the Renewable Energy College (REC) of Kolkata have partnered to develop a 50-MW floating solar photovoltaic (PV) plant in the Indian state of Kerala, according to a report in the Economic Times. The project would represent the largest floating solar PV plant in the world, dwarfing a 1.2-MW plant […]

Continually falling costs and tightening emissions regulations are set to drive huge growth in global renewable energy capacity despite flagging support for subsidies in Europe and the U.S., says a new report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF). The BNEF report projects global spending on new power generation will be around $7.7 trillion through 2030, […]

Under rules proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on June 2, 2014, existing fossil fuel–fired U.S. power plants must comply with state-specific goals to lower carbon pollution from the power sector by 2030, while modified and reconstructed power plants will be subject to technology-based performance standards. The EPA’s “Clean Power Plan” rule affecting existing […]

RWE AG is Europe’s third-largest electricity and fifth-largest gas marketer, with holdings in upstream oil and gas production, power grids, and energy trading. Its German power subsidiary has been the utility poster child for the effects of the Energiewende, the transformation of the Germany power system away from nuclear and coal toward renewable energy and […]