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Solar energy- a new economy for Navajo tribes

There’s a strong desire in Indian Country to step out of the role of just a landlord that is collecting rents to being involved in the equity ownership,” MacCourt said.Erny Zah, spokesman for Navajo

The 30-megawatt solar photovoltaic plant planned for the outlying Navajo community of To’Hajiilee would cover more than 200 acres.

Navajo community banks on proposed solar array, Bloomberg, By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN, 26 April 12, TO’HAJIILEE, N.M.  This flat, dusty stretch of prairie in central New Mexico is where the leaders of a remote, sparsely populated American Indian community envision a sea of solar panels capable of producing enough electricity for more than 10,000 homes miles away from the reservation.

The To’Hajiilee solar project is one of 19 energy projects that will share in $6.5 million recently awarded by the U.S. Department of Energy to spur renewable energy development on tribal lands. About two-thirds of the money is earmarked for tribes in the West, and most of that will be going toward getting projects in New Mexico andArizona off the ground…… At stake is a wealth of untapped potential. Continue reading →

April 27, 2012 Posted by | indigenous issues, renewable, USA | Leave a comment

35 Indian villages get solar street lighting

Solar street lights to illuminate 35 villages, Times of India, Kapil Dixit, TNN | Apr 27, 2012, ALLAHABAD: Finally, the wait is over. Solar streetlights are being installed in 54colonies of 35 villages spread over 13 blocks of the district.
With Center and state government authorities’ sanctioned adequate funds to install as many as 256 solar street lights, the UP New & Renewable Energy Development Authorities has done a remarkable job to illuminate villages with solar run streetlights in identified colonies.

The installation of solar streetlights have been taken up at Chaka, Dhanupur, Handia, Kaurihar, Koroan, Kotwa, Manda, Meja, Phulpur, Pratappur, Ram Nagar, Saidabad and Shankargarh blocks. The UPNEDA officials have taken up the project to install solar run street lights after identifying a total of 54 colonies/localities which lack proper lighting arrangements for years, and this was the first time, when such measures were being taken up to illuminate these colonies….. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/allahabad/Solar-street-lights-to-illuminate-35-villages/articleshow/12888592.cms

April 27, 2012 Posted by | decentralised, India | Leave a comment

UK poll shows overwhelming support for renewable energy

Poll: Nine out of 10 people want more renewables Friends of the Earth survey latest to show public support for renewables as green group launches new Clean British Energy campaign  BusinessGreen  23 Apr 2012 
Almost nine in 10 people want to see the government ramp up the UK’s use of clean domestic energy and reduce the country’s reliance on imported gas, a new YouGov poll reveals.
Just under two-thirds of the 2,884 people questioned on behalf of campaign group Friends of the Earth listed wind, wave, solar, or tidal as power sources they wanted to see playing a greater role in the UK’s electricity mix over the next decade, while just two per cent backed an increase in gas capacity.  The survey is the latest to signal strong public backing for renewable energy, following Sunday’s YouGov poll for Scottish Renewables that found 71 per cent of Scots supported wind power, and a separate Ipsos MORI survey last week that reported 67 per cent of respondents were in favour of using more wind power…..  http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2169394/poll-people-renewables

April 23, 2012 Posted by | renewable, UK | Leave a comment

Nuclear power had had its day, as wind energy blows in worldwide

Small-scale wind power facilities could be used in developing countries and in remote areas. In developed countries, small-scale wind power turbines are also gaining in significance with consumers because the electricity generated with them costs less than that offered by many energy providers. Experts see a long-term growth potential in small wind technology.

More than half the wind turbines in Germany are run by private citizens, farmers and local communities.

  Wind energy blowing away nuclear power, by  Gero Rueter http://www.dw.de/dw/article/0,,15903703,00.html  23 April 12, Wind energy supplies 3 percent of global electricity needs and will soon supply more electricity than nuclear power. In 2011, some 50 billion euros were invested in wind, leading some to say it’s cheap and creates jobs.

Wind energy is booming and it is gaining in significance worldwide. It supplies some 20 percent of electricity in Spain and Denmark as well as about 10 percent in Germany. By 2020, the share of wind energy will have risen to between 20 percent and 25 percent in Germany, according to estimates.

Last year, new wind power plants with a total capacity of some 40 gigawatts (GW) were installed worldwide, according to the World Wind Energy Association (WWEA). This puts wind energy’s global capacity at 237 GW by the end of 2011- the equivalent of what some 280 nuclear power plants generate. Currently, there are some 380 nuclear power
plants producing electricity worldwide. Continue reading →

April 23, 2012 Posted by | 2 WORLD, decentralised | Leave a comment

India’s glowing renewable energy future

Sun shines over renewable energy Business Line, N. RAMAKRISHNAN 22 April 12,  Wind energy continues to be the single largest component of the RE portfolio, accounting for nearly 70 per cent of all Green power. The Indian renewable energy industry has never had it so good. Wind power installations in 2011-12 were the highest in a single financial year, at 3,163 MW, taking the total installed capacity to 17,320 MW.

The Centre has announced an ambitious national solar mission under which 20,000 MW of solar power capacity will be added in the next decade. The first phase of the solar mission envisages 1,000 MW of capacity, both solar thermal and solar photovoltaic. The installed renewable energy capacity in the country at the end of March 2012 stood at 24,500 MW, about 12 per cent of the total installed power capacity of 2,00,287 MW…..
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/features/article3342620.ece

April 23, 2012 Posted by | India, renewable | Leave a comment

India’s Gujarit solar park- even bigger than China’s Golmud Solar Park.

Asia’s largest solar field switched on in India, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS April 19, 2012,   By KATY DAIGLE Bloomberg,  BUSINESSWEEK NEW DELHI The west Indian state of Gujarat is flipping the switch on Asia’s largest solar power field as part of its 600 megawatt solar energy addition to India’s power grid.

The Gujarat Solar Park, spread across a desolate 3,000-acre (1,200-hectare) swath of desert, can supply 214 megawatts of electricity, making it larger than China’s 200-megawatt Golmud Solar Park. Continue reading →

April 21, 2012 Posted by | India, renewable | 1 Comment

Nuclear and coal energy in ‘cloud computing’

Apple, Twitter, Microsoft using ‘dirty’ cloud technology: Greenpeace, By Sheila Dabu Nonato, Postmedia News April 17, 2012 Cloud computing — the rapidly expanding practice of delivering data and applications over the Internet — is being fuelled by “dirty” energy, including coal and nuclear power, with some industry leaders like Facebook, Google and Yahoo leading the way in making the technology greener, while other big names such as Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Twitter are lagging behind, Greenpeace says in a report released Tuesday. Continue reading →

April 18, 2012 Posted by | 2 WORLD, ENERGY | Leave a comment

Australia launches renewable energy fund

$10b fund for renewable energy firms http://www.perthnow.com.au/business/b-fund-for-renewable-energy-firms/story-e6frg2r3-1226330084361   AAP April 17, 2012 COMPANIES involved in renewable energy will soon be able to tap into a $10 billion federal pool. The Gillard government released today an independent review into the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC), which is due to start operating from July 2013.

The government accepted all recommendations made by the review.

The CEFC will provide $10 billion worth of financing to companies involved in renewable energy, low-emissions and energy efficiency technology. The review was led by Reserve Bank of Australia board member Jillian Broadbent.
The CEFC will encourage private investment and help overcome capital market barriers for cleaner energy technologies, the government said in a statement today.

The fund will apply “commercial rigor” to its investment decisions to make sure companies have a positive rate of return and are able to repay the loans.

April 18, 2012 Posted by | AUSTRALIA, renewable | Leave a comment

Smart grids – we’d be dumb not to use them

Clever energy: why smart grids matter. The Green Piece.  17 April 2012.  Smart grids-they’ve been in the news a lot lately and their importance is ever growing. The UK, like countries around the world, is seeking to increase the share that renewable sources play in its energy mix, while also striving for cleaner forms of transport such as electric
vehicles.

As a result, smart grids are set to play an important role in how we manage these changes to our energy generation and use. With increasing reliance on intermittent sources of power such as wind and solar, and increased demand on electricity supplies through the use of battery-powered cars, it is going to become ever more important to properly manage our energy use.
According to a new report from IDC Energy smart grid spending will increase 17.4 per cent globally between 2010-2015; with overall spending set to reach close to $46.4billion in 2015. What is a smart grid? Continue reading →

April 18, 2012 Posted by | 2 WORLD, ENERGY, technology | Leave a comment

Farmers boost their income by also farming sunlight

“It is the sweet spot,”.. it doesn’t interfere with existing farming or grazing on prime lands. “It’s a way of getting yield from land that’s not paying enough.”…..

 the benefits of generating green energy are great, but the best part is that once the 20-year solar lease expires, the land can return to agricultural use….. “Years down the road it could revert to [agricultural] land,” .. “It was a win-win for everyone.”

Solar Energy Grows on North American Farms,13 Apr 2012, CNBC.co By: Trevor Curwin, A California solar power project developer is teaming with farmers to expand use of the alternative energy.  “It’s basically an opportunity to farm the sun,” says Recurrent Energy CEO Arno Harris, about his firm’s plans to build 500 megawatts of solar photovoltaic, PV, installations on farms in California and the Canadian province of Ontario.

The firm has contracted dozens of farmers in both areas, building five- to 20-megawatt solar PV installations on otherwise marginal farmland. Continue reading →

April 14, 2012 Posted by | Canada, renewable, USA | Leave a comment

USA States reaping the benefits of renewable energy progress

A spotlight on renewable success, Climate Spectator,  13 Apr 2012, Richard Caperton Center for American Progress New Jersey, Texas, and California have very different energy profiles. They use different types of energy to power their economy. They have
different types of utility systems. And they have different expectations of their energy system.
But these states share one important trait: They’re reaping the benefits of renewable energy. Continue reading →

April 13, 2012 Posted by | renewable, USA | Leave a comment

Renewable energy investment climbing in UK

Renewable energy investment bounces back after 2010 slump UK came 7th in global ranking for investment in clean energy last year, spending $9.4bn – up from $3.3bn in 2010, Madeleine Cuff guardian.co.uk,  11 April 2012 Investment in clean energy in the UK bounced back last year after its 2010 slump, the respected US-based Pew charitable trust has said in a comparison of investment across G20 countries.  A total of $9.4bn was invested in wind, wave, solar and other renewable sources of power compared to $3.3bn in 2010 – a leap of 185%.

The UK came seventh in the global ranking for total investment in the Clean Energy Race 2011 report, below the United States, China, Italy and Germany. In 2010 the UK fell from 3rd to 13th in the world ranking, as investment plummeted from a high of over $11bn in 2009. The reduction was attributed to “uncertainty surrounding the policy perspective of a new government,” according to the 2010 report from Pew…..

Global investment in clean energy rose in 2011 by 6.5% to $263bn, fuelled by rising demand for solar panels, which are becoming ever cheaper to make and install. America is currently top of the clean energy table, but Italy and India saw large increases on their 2010 investment levels. The figures, based on Bloomberg New Energy Finance data released in a less granular form in January, also include finance for improving energy efficiency and research into low carbon technology.

Over half of Britain’s renewable energy comes from wind, and there is growing interest in the development of offshore windfarms. An extra $2.3bn of investment was ploughed into the UK wind sector this year….. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/apr/11/renewable-energy-investment-bounces-back

April 12, 2012 Posted by | renewable, UK | Leave a comment

Many thousands of jobs created by USA’s renewable energy grants program

DOE: Renewable grant program was a big jobs creator Politico,  By ALEX GUILLEN | 4/6/12  A $9 billion Obama administration grant program for renewable energy projects has created tens of thousands of jobs, an Energy Department report out Friday concludes.

The report comes just one week after Speaker John Boehner slammed Energy Secretary Steven Chu over the claim and challenged him to provide proof of the jobs creation. The report — conducted by DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory — concludes that the program supported 52,000 to 75,000 construction and installation jobs on average over the three years it was in effect. Continue reading →

April 7, 2012 Posted by | employment, renewable, USA | Leave a comment

Decentralised energy: solar rooftop array provides electricity to 200 homes

Local solar panel array lights up region, New Bern Sun Journal, April 05, 2012  Eddie Fitzgerald The largest solar energy collecting array in Eastern North Carolina, which is located in New Bern, is now online and producing electricity for Progress Energy. Continue reading →

April 7, 2012 Posted by | decentralised, USA | Leave a comment

Greece gearing up for solar energy export industry

Greece Eyes Jobs, Growth Impulse From Solar Energy Export http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-06/greece-eyes-jobs-growth-impulse-from-solar-energy-export.html  By Paul Tugwell – Apr 5, 2012  A group led by Germany’s Fichtner GmbH & Co. KG was chosen as technical adviser forGreece’s 20- billion euro ($26.1 billion) Helios solar power project, according to the country’s committee on privatizations.

The other members of the venture are all from Greece; Kantor Management Consultants SA, the Centre for Renewable Energy Sources and the National Technical University of Athens, according to a statement from the committee posted on the Greek government’s ministerial decision website.

The Helios project, named after the ancient god of the sun, would install as many as 10 gigawatts of solar panels by 2050, enabling Greece to export power from the natural energy to other European Union countries.

April 7, 2012 Posted by | Greece, renewable | Leave a comment

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