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Huge municipal solar energy program launched in Los Angeles

solar-feed-inLos Angeles Celebrates Launch of Largest Municipal Solar Program in U.S.http://www.enn.com/business/article/45915 Bonnie Hulkower, Triple Pundit, April 29, 2013 Los Angeles, a city more often known for its celebrity sightings and Hollywood stars, also shines bright in the solar arena. The City of Angels has dazzled in the last decade with a strong record of sustainability. So much so that on April 19th, local and national government representatives as well as business leaders gathered to celebrate the launch of the city’s solar Feed in Tariff (FIT) program (Clean L.A. Solar Program) at the Los Angeles Business Council’s (LABC) Sustainability Summit. The program focused on how to harness sustainability programs and regulatory initiatives for job growth.Essentially, the idea of the FIT is to make solar competitive in what naturally is one of the nation’s sunniest communities. Similar to President Kennedy’s mission to the moon, L.A.’s moonshot moment is to benefit from solar energy in a region blessed with sunny weather year round. Solar energy is especially appropriate in hot climates, as air conditioning demand coincides with the period of peak solar radiation.

L.A.’s FIT program will be the largest municipal commitment to solar, but not the first. Continue reading →

April 30, 2013 Posted by | renewable, USA | Leave a comment

Safe and clean – solar-powered mosquito traps

Solar Power Helps In The Battle Against Malaria http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=3711 29 April 13, The Netherland’s Wageningen University is leading a project to install 4,000 solar powered mosquito traps on the Kenyan island of Rusinga. Continue reading →

April 29, 2013 Posted by | decentralised, Kenya | 1 Comment

Even US conservatives supporting fair tax deal for renewable energy

renewable_energyLevel Playing Field for Renewable Energy Design Build, By Marc Howe, 27 April 13 Conservative politicians in Washington have expressed strong support for legislation which will put renewable energy companies on a level playing field with fossil fuel providers.

The new legislation proposed by Senators Christopher Coons, D-Del., and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, will expand the use of “master-limited partnerships” (MLPs), which confer major tax advantages to companies from oil, natural gas and coal mining projects to renewable energy projects as well.

MLPs are taxed only once via shareholders, as compared to listed limited liability corporations, which are taxed at both the shareholder and corporate levels.

Conservatives have come out in support of the bill, despite a recent stoush with President Barack Obama over his support for California solar power company Solyndra, which gave the impression that the GOP harboured strong reservations about renewable energy. Americans for Prosperity, a political advocacy group founded by the arch-conservative Koch brothers is a prime example. The group castigated Obama over Solyndrda and has expressed unwavering opposition to climate change legislation, yet is all for the extension of MLPs to renewable energy firms.

“There should be a level playing field and people should have access to similar tax and business structures,” says James Valvo, director of policy for Americans for Prosperity.

 “MLP’s are the place where renewables really are being disadvantaged.”…… Republican representatives are throwing their weight behind the move. Texas Republican Representative Ted Poe is a co-sponsor of the House bill for expanding MLPs to include renewable energy, while Republican Mike Pompeo, US Representative for the Kansas congressional district which his home to Koch Industries, has also voiced his support.

“I support including all energy sources, including renewables, in the definition of entities eligible for the [MLP] tax treatment,” Pompeo said. http://designbuildsource.com.au/level-playing-field-for-renewable-energy

April 28, 2013 Posted by | renewable, USA | Leave a comment

Oil and gas lobbies losing their war against renewable energy?

The Oil And Gas Industry’s Assault On Renewable Energy, Environmental Defense Fund Jim Marston  April 26, 2013  Renewable energy enjoyed a record year in 2012 – the U.S. wind industry surpassed 50,000 megawatts of electrical power generation capacity and solar proved once again to be the fastest growing energy source in the United States.  That’s a milestone worth celebrating, since greater use of clean, homegrown energy resources creates jobs, cuts foreign oil imports, stabilizes prices, makes our system more resilient and reduces harmful pollution.  The list of benefits is vast.  So who could possibly be upset?

Well, some utilities that own old and often dirty fossil fuel power plants are upset that renewables are making it harder for their older, polluting units to stay in business.  Then there are oil and gas industry association leaders like American Petroleum Institute (API) president Jack Gerard, who often talk about wanting a “level playing field” – implying that policies promoting renewable energy are unfair to fossil fuels.

Don’t be fooled.  Renewable investments pale in comparison to the amount of money poured into fossil fuel companies since 1918 to fatten their bottom lines and crowd out competition.  Fossil fuels have received around 75 times more subsidies than clean energy.  Up to 2011 (adjusted for inflation), the oil and gas industry received $446.96 billion in cumulative energy subsidies from 1994 to 2009, whereas renewable energy sources received just $5.93 billion.  An industry that has been enjoying federal tax subsidies for over a century has no standing to argue for a level playing field.   Heavily subsidized fossil fuels may have made sense 100 years ago, when we were racing to build the energy infrastructure of the last century.  But today we’re racing to build the clean energy infrastructure of the new century — and we need to support a new set of industries.  And we’re making real progress.

So it is no surprise that we are seeing a well-funded, industry-backed effort to roll back the policies that have been so successful in developing and deploying renewables.  Take, for example, the latest assault on a series of state laws around the country that have increased the amount of clean, renewable energy these states produce. …….. http://www.edf.org/blog/2013/04/26/oil-and-gas-industry%E2%80%99s-assault-renewable-energy

April 28, 2013 Posted by | renewable, USA | Leave a comment

The Clean Energy Economy is Growing Fast

The Oil And Gas Industry’s Assault On Renewable Energy, Environmental Defense Fund  Jim Marston  April 26, 2013    “…….. In Texas – a state deeply rooted in oil and gas, where an ALEC-backed bill has been introduced to eliminate the state’s RPS entirely (though the legislation would leave in a similar portfolio standard for natural gas) – renewable energy is booming.  Texas blew past the RPS goal set for 2015, and now more than 1,300 companies employ more than 100,000 in industries directly and indirectly related to renewable energy.  The state’s own Republican Comptroller has noted that, “After the RPS was implemented Texas wind corporations and utilities invested $1 billion in wind power, creating jobs…and increasing the rural tax base.”

Colorado’s RPS, which is also being targeted by ALEC as well, has been very successful.  The American Wind Energy Association estimates that the state’s RPS is supporting at least 5,000 direct and indirect jobs and generating a billion dollars in annual wages along with millions in leasing revenue for landowners who benefit from the policy.  Between 2006 and 2011, the Denver-metro area saw a 35% increase in direct employment growth in the clean energy sector; today more people are employed by the solar industry than the coal mining or steel manufacturing industries.

So you can see why some in the oil, gas and coal industry might be getting nervous. … http://www.edf.org/blog/2013/04/26/oil-and-gas-industry%E2%80%99s-assault-renewable-energy

April 28, 2013 Posted by | renewable, USA | Leave a comment

Boulder, Colorado makes a break for wind energy

wind-turb-smBoulder Wants More Wind Power, and Wants It Now, Triple Pundit,  By  | April 25th, 2013 Earlier this year, we noticed that the residents of Boulder, Colorado have been moving forward with a plan to break away from their current electricity company, Xcel Energy, in order to establish a new municipal utility. The goal is for the city to provide its utility customers with more wind power and other forms of clean energy. In the latest development, just last week the Boulder City Council voted to move ahead with the final steps. Continue reading →

April 26, 2013 Posted by | renewable, USA | Leave a comment

Skyrocketing investment predicted in renewable energy by 2030

sun-championAnnual Renewable Energy Investment Set To Sky-rocket By 2030, Cleantechnica April 25, 2013 The next 15 years and more are going to be interesting ones for the renewable energy industry, as the cost of manufacturing and installation drop and the public face of fossil fuels continues to be tarnished. Specifically, the rising popularity and efficiency of wind and solar energy will push the renewable energy industry as a whole into a new era of prominence.

According to new research from Bloomberg New Energy Finance, the future of the renewable energy sector is a jump of 230% in annual investment to $630 billion per year by 2030.  Continue reading →

April 26, 2013 Posted by | 2 WORLD, renewable | Leave a comment

Investors attracted to renewable energy projects

solar-panels-and-moneyRenewable energy projects gaining investor appeal Arab News REUTERS 26 April 2013  FRANKFURT: Renewable energy production and infrastructure are gaining investor appeal as they become less dependent on government support in more European markets, the asset management arm of insurer Allianz said.

Allianz, Europe’s biggest insurer, has been investing billions of euros of policy holder funds in renewable energy.
“These investments either offer attractive feed-in tariffs, are already at grid parity (competitive with conventional energy) or are going in that direction,” Armin Sandhoevel, chief investment officer for renewables at Allianz Global Investors, told a press briefing in Frankfurt.
“That is also the future of the market, it will make it bigger and more comfortable for institutional investors.”
Spanish and Italian wind or solar installations were the most advanced in terms of profitability while those in the Nordic countries, Britain, Germany, France and the Benelux would be catching up, he said….

Further advantages of a move to green systems were the decoupling from rising global fuel costs and proven viability of the new technologies, which ensured long-term cash flows.
Institutional investors such as pension funds were looking for a diversification away from government bonds at a time of unattractive yields, Allianz executives said.
“Renewables and infrastructure represent a good match with insurers’ and pension funds’ long-term obligations to policy holders,” said managing director Tobias Pross…… http://www.arabnews.com/news/449434

April 26, 2013 Posted by | 2 WORLD, renewable | Leave a comment

Plan for storage of offshore wind energy

Wind Power Storage, Environmental Network News, 26 April 13 One of the problems with wind power is that when there is no wind then there is no power. Offshore wind could provide abundant electricity — but as with solar energy, this power supply can be intermittent and unpredictable. A new approach from researchers at MIT could mitigate that problem, allowing the electricity generated by floating wind farms to be stored and then used, on demand, whenever it’s needed….. http://www.enn.com/energy/article/45904

April 26, 2013 Posted by | energy storage, USA | Leave a comment

Large photovoltaic solar farm now operating in Thailand

Thailand’s Largest Solar Farm Powered By REC Panels by Energy Matters, 25 April 13  Renewable  Energy Corporation  has arrived in Thailand in a big way – supplying panels for the country’s largest solar power station.

The 9.5 MW Chiang Rai installation commenced operations last month. 41,000 REC Peak Energy Series solar panels are now generating enough electricity to provide the power needs of 7,200 Thai households and will avoid the production of 9,000 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide annually…. http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=3710

April 26, 2013 Posted by | ASIA, renewable | Leave a comment

The Google Renewable Energy Solution

Google pushes new plan for utility-supplied renewable energy, REneweconomy By  on 21 April 2013 Cleantechnica

In a new post on Google’s blog, Google Director of Global Infrastructure Gary Demasi has just put forth a plan that could really blow up the domestic renewable energy market. Continue reading →

April 26, 2013 Posted by | renewable, USA | Leave a comment

Renewable energy provides 70% of Portugal’s electricity

renewable_energyPortugal Provides 70% of Electricity Using Renewable Energy , Design Build, 19 April 13, By Marc Howe Figures from Portugal’s electricity network operator indicate that 70 per cent of all electricity consumed in the country during the first quarter of this year was derived from renewable energy sources, leading to a marked decline in the usage of conventional fossil fuels for power generation purposes.

The record-breaking levels of renewable energy usage were heavily abetted by favourable weather conditions, expediting generation by hydro power facilities and wind turbines and bringing about declines in electricity consumption by Portuguese citizens. Continue reading →

April 20, 2013 Posted by | EUROPE, renewable | Leave a comment

India’s Green Power Market Development Group is expanding

renewable-energy-picture Green Power Market Development Group Announced at Clean Energy Ministerial World Resources Institute April 19, 2013 Business group will help increase the uptake of renewable energy sources in India

A group of leading businesses and organizations announced the expansion of India’s Green Power Market Development Group(GPMDG) at the Clean Energy Ministerial in New Delhi. The objective of the GPMDG is to transform energy markets and enable corporate buyers to access reliable and clean energy, diversify their energy portfolios with green power, and reduce their impact on climate change.

According to the latest reports, clean energy investment dipped in 2012, but it still was nearly $270 billion, which is a five-fold increase over the past decade…… Continue reading →

April 20, 2013 Posted by | India, renewable | Leave a comment

Solar power developments in Japan: battery storage

Japan To Implement 60,000 kWh Capacity Battery http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=3697 19 April 13 The Japanese government plans to install a massive battery at an electrical substation on the island of Hokkaido.

According to the Japan Times, the country’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) says the battery will be put in place by the end of the first quarter in 2015 to help develop a stable electricity supply generated by solar and wind power sources.  The battery system will have a storage capacity of around 60,000 kWh and will use up a large portion of  ¥29.6 billion earmarked for battery projects.

Hokkaido is Japan’s second largest island and the largest and northernmost of Japan’s 47 prefectures. It has become  a hive of renewable energy activity due to the availability and low prices of suitable land. According to Bloomberg, the island’s power infrastructure is approaching its limit for handling the amount of clean electricity being generated.

Japan has seen solar uptake skyrocket since the introduction of a feed in tariff scheme, currently paying 38 yen per kilowatt hour (around AUD 38 cents) for rooftop solar power systems under 10kW and slightly more for larger systems.

In other renewables news out of Japan, METI states based on data compiled by the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy (ANRE), the total combined new renewable energy capacity added between April 1, 2012, and January 31, 2013,reached 1,394,000 kW .

Photovoltaic power facilities accounted for 1,329,000 kW, with household solar panel systems making up 1,023,000kW of that amount. METI notes that 37,000kW capacity was added by January 31  – with all of that being added after June 2012.

METI also announced Japan and India have decided to hold the “India-Japan Energy Forum 2013” in September in New Delhi and Greater Noida, which aims to reinforce the two nation’s cooperation in the field of energy.

April 19, 2013 Posted by | energy storage, Japan | Leave a comment

Saudi Arabia to spend $109 billion on renewable energy projects

Saudi Arabia To Add 50GW Of Renewables By 2030 http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=3693  17 April 13 Saudi Arabia plans to spend $109 billion on renewable energy projects over the next 20 years, installing more solar and wind power capacity than the rest of the world to date. Continue reading →

April 18, 2013 Posted by | renewable, Saudi Arabia | 2 Comments

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