solar

The renewable energy sector employed 9.8 million people in 2016, up 1.1% percent from 2015, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency’s (IRENA’s) “Renewable Energy and Jobs Annual Review 2017”, released May 24. “Renewable energy employment worldwide has continued to grow since IRENA’s first annual assessment in 2012, but the last two years have seen […]

Neoen, the premier French independent power producer and Schneider Electric, the global specialist in energy management and automation, have signed a 750 MW Conext SmartGenTM multi-year framework agreement on three continents.  The scope includes: conversion stations composed of 1500V inverters, medium voltage switchgear, transformers, and complete monitoring and control system, as well as lifecycle maintenance […]

Program Provides Utility Customers Credits for Surplus Electricity Generated by Their Residential or Commercial Solar Installations DENVER and KAILUA, Hawaii, April 17, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Sunetric, a wholly-owned subsidiary of RGS Energy (NASDAQ:RGSE), is preparing to address the growth opportunities created by the decision made last week by the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission (PUC) […]

Kumagaya, Saitama, April 10th 2017 – Hergo Japan G.K., a subsidiary of Infrastrutture Group, selected by Mega Solar Power Committee of Kumagaya Municipality, Saitama Prefecture, completes solar photovoltaic plant of 3,5 MW in Japan. After the great earthquake and with the launch of the Renewable policies of the Japanese government in the last few years […]

The U.S. should capitalize on China’s formidable experience to put its own domestic solar power sector on a more “economically sensible” path, researchers from Stanford University said in a new report. The March 21–released report, “The New Solar System,” which was funded by a research grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), offers a […]

Shanghai, China, 27 March 2017. The Schletter Group has installed its newly developed mounting solution for greenhouse solar PV systems for the first time in China. A 20 MWp large-scale photovoltaic system was installed for the “Jiangs-North Greenhouse Project” in a vegetable cultivation plant in the province of Sihong for the project developers, Nanjing QDC. […]

Company’s installed capacity to surpass 400MW in Australia SYDNEY–(BUSINESS WIRE)–First Solar, Inc. (Nasdaq: FSLR) today announced that financial close has been reached for the Manildra Solar Farm in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. First Solar will leverage its expertise in utility-scale solar development to deliver the 48.5 megawatt (MW)AC project, which will utilize approximately 466,000 First […]

  The firms will each build four of the eight new solar power plants FPL is planning for the next 12 months – Combined, the sites are expected to employ an estimated 1,600 people during peak construction – Solar projects are among the lowest-cost solar ever built in America – Savings on avoided fuel consumption and other generation […]

There’s a new sheriff in town—Washington, D.C., that is. President Donald Trump has taken the reins from Barack Obama, and he’s come out with guns blazing. It’s true—the new administration has wasted little time shaking things up since taking office. While hundreds, if not thousands, of pages have been written by the media about President […]

Rolls-Royce SMR Design Gets Research Center’s Technology Support. Efforts to bring a proposed small modular reactor (SMR) developed by Rolls-Royce to the UK market will have the backing of the Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (Nuclear AMRC), a collaboration of academic and industrial partners underpinned by the University of Manchester, and other industry partners, including […]

The boom in renewable energy, spurred by dramatically falling costs, has led some experts and political figures to begin talking seriously about what was once science fiction: A world powered entirely by renewable generation. But is it truly feasible or economic? One series of studies suggests it is—with some important caveats. In the first half […]

– Expanding on its recently announced plan to build four new universal solar power plants this year, FPL is now effectively doubling its near-term commitment – bringing more solar energy to its customers sooner – With FPL’s ability to build large-scale solar cost effectively, the new solar power plants are expected to produce millions of […]

Pairing energy storage with rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) systems has been widely touted as the path for greater deployment of renewable energy, but a new study from researchers at the University of Texas suggests doing so may actually increase overall energy consumption and emissions. The study, “The Impacts of Storing Solar Energy in the Home […]

As one of its first announcements under the Trump administration, the Department of Energy (DOE) will invest up to $30 million in new projects to support the integration of solar into the nation’s electric grid. The agency’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy announced the measure as part of its SunShot Initiative, which the […]

Solar roadways—roads that incorporate embedded photovoltaic cells—have piqued interest for several years. A few examples are finally being rolled out, though their practical applications are still being evaluated. On December 20, global transport infrastructure group Colas completed installing a solar panel paving system it calls “Wattway” (Figure 5) over 50 square meters (m2) at the […]

TWO RIVERS, Wis., Jan. 30, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — WPPI Energy and NextEra Energy Resources, a subsidiary of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE), today announced plans to build a 100-megawatt solar energy center – Wisconsin’s largest – with a capacity to serve more than 23,000 people with affordable, clean energy. “This solar energy center adds diversity to […]

Amazon’s latest wind farm in coastal North Carolina has completed construction and is weeks from beginning operations—and state legislators have just asked the incoming Trump administration to shut it down. The $400 million, 208-MW, 104-turbine project, built by Apex Renewables near Elizabeth City and backed by financing from Iberdrola Renewables, is supposed to power Amazon’s […]

For the third straight year, renewable generation accounted for the majority of new utility-scale capacity additions in the U.S. during 2016, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on January 10. The EIA estimated that the U.S. added 24 GW of new utility-scale generation in 2016, of which 63% was renewables, almost all of it wind […]

China rolled out its latest five-year energy development plan, detailing the country’s aim of investing about 2.5 trillion yuan (more than $363 billion) through 2020 in the development of renewable energy resources. Yang Li Zhe, deputy director of China’s National Energy Board, explained the country’s vision during a press conference held in Beijing on January […]

In a finding that is likely to boost controversy over the future of U.S. energy policy, a comprehensive study of the full levelized cost of energy (LCOE) from various sources of electricity conducted by the University of Texas (UT) at Austin’s Energy Institute found that wind turbines and natural gas combined cycle power plants (CCPPs) […]

A 52.5-MW solar photovoltaic (PV) plant commissioned this October in Jordan will generate about 1% of the Middle Eastern nation’s power (Figure 5). 5. Solar carpet. The 52.5-MW Shams Ma’an Solar Power Plant in Jordan was commissioned this October. Courtesy: Business Wire The plant uses more than 600,000 Series 4 thin-film modules manufactured by Arizona-headquartered […]

Cuba is in the midst of a renewable revolution to transform, update, and adapt its fossil fuel–dependent power mix to its current energy needs. Because Cuba has a relatively high solar potential (~ 5 kWh/m2/day), and it is feasible to adapt solar photovoltaic (PV) technology to rural areas, islands, and isolated communities, commercial interest in […]

Owner/operator: SolarReserve Three-and-a-half hours north of Las Vegas, in a rocky, desolate stretch of Nevada desert, an innovative solar-storage plant has nearly completed a year of commercial operations. It also may have delivered proof of round-the-clock dispatchable solar energy. The Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project, a concentrating solar power (CSP) plant built by Santa Monica, […]

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (Nov. 3, 2016) – With the sun shining brightly above, Xcel Energy broke ground on the first Solar*Connect Community project in Eau Claire today. Mark Stoering, president, Xcel Energy, Wisconsin; Kerry Kincaid, president, Eau Claire City Council; Dale Peters, Eau Claire city manager; and Troy Helming, CEO, Pristine Sun, addressed a large […]

As installed capacity in the U.S. continues its breakneck growth, the solar photovoltaic sector is poised for another leap forward with a variety of new technologies—if increasingly ill-suited regulations and rate designs can be updated to keep pace. The global solar market has moved beyond its early, uncertain days. The luxury of behaving like start-ups […]

Dreams of a future of round-the-clock dispatchable solar energy may have become reality at the Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project in Nevada.

The push for clean energy notwithstanding, no silver bullet can cure the challenges that our continued use of carbon engenders. Every form of energy production, green or black, clean or dirty, presents downsides. Siting an energy facility—whether clean energy, hydro, natural gas, coal or nuclear—inherently imposes some form of environmental harm. For renewables, one of […]

New York City is aiming to have 100 MWh of energy storage by 2020 under an unprecedented target set by Mayor Bill de Blasio on September 23. The city’s first-ever energy storage deployment target will help reduce reliance on the grid by making variable sources of energy production, such as solar panels, usable for more […]

Global resources of variable renewable energy—primarily wind and solar—despite breakneck growth over the past two decades, are beginning to run up against technological and policy limitations on further deployment, and future growth will depend on significant changes in policy and grid design, according to a new report. Released on September 20, Variable Renewable Energy Sources […]

After years of incremental advances, a variety of innovations both simple and exotic are promising to boost the output of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems as much as 30% over current technologies—if the market can be convinced to adopt them. The Dawn of SiC For a generation, silicon has been the go-to material for semiconductor substrates. […]