New SolarCity Product Makes it Possible for Businesses to Significantly Increase Solar Output From Each Rooftop Incredibly Lightweight, “Snap Together” Mounting System Allows Businesses to Fit 20-50 Percent More Solar Panels on Each Roof, Promises to do for Commercial Solar What Zep Has Done for Residential SolarCity (Nasdaq:SCTY) unveiled a new product in its Zep Solar line of solar products today–a flat roof solar …

Energy efficiency advocates have argued for years that energy efficiency should be a first fuel – considered before others in portfolio planning.  Today, they appear victorious with the release of the US’ first-ever carbon dioxide restrictions for existing power plants. The draft rule places energy efficiency in good position to be a top choice as states set strateagies to meet …

Geothermal power potential in California still largely untapped, says industry group As the California Air Resources Board (CARB) is examining their new scoping plan for implementing the state’s ambitious climate law, the leading geothermal industry group has issued a status report on California’s geothermal resources that says they are still largely untapped. Geothermal power is “a viable, cost effective, and …

This chart shows the production tax credit at its most recent level (dashed lines). The credit is currently worth 2.3 cents per kWh for ten years, or about 1.6 cents per kWh when levelized over the 20-year life of a typical wind contract.    The costs of using wind energy and natural gas for electricity are virtually equal when accounting for …

Microgrids, Money and the Utility ‘Death Plunge’   This is the second part of our coverage on microgrids from last week’s Northeast Sustainable Energy Association BuildingEnergy 14 conference in Boston. Read Part I here. If distributed generation is accelerating the utility death spiral – as some say – will microgrids cause a total utility plunge? That’s the question Galen Nelson, director …

 Slowed by Birds, Bombs, Sharks Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg A boat passes between wind turbines at the London Array project, the world’s largest… Read More Birds, sharks and unexploded bombs from World War II are being blamed for holding up offshore wind farms, raising doubts about the costs of the technology. Three utilities yesterday scrapped an expansion of the world’s biggest offshore …

Still Largely Untapped, Industry Group Tells CARB As the California Air Resources Board is examining their new scoping plan for implementing the state’s ambitious climate law, AB 32, the leading geothermal industry group has issued a status report on the state’s geothermal resources that says they are still largely untapped. Geothermal power is “a viable, cost effective, and plentiful renewable energy …

World’s Largest Fuel Cell Park Completed in South Korea FuelCell Energy, Inc. (Nasdaq:FCEL), a global leader in the design, manufacture, operation and service of ultra-clean, efficient and reliable fuel cell power plants, today announced a series of updates about the Asian market including completion of the world’s largest fuel cell park in South Korea, the sale of 3.7 megawatts of …

Set to Boom in the Coming Years After years of slow progress, the global market for concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) systems is entering a phase of explosive growth, with worldwide installations set to boom by 750 percent from 2013 to the end of 2020. CPV installations are projected to rise to 1,362 megawatts in 2020, up from 160 megawatts in 2013, …

Icebreaker’ Foundation adapts well-proven monopile design to address Lake Erie’s soil conditions and harsh winters The Lake Erie Energy Development Corporation (LEEDCo) announced today that it has completed a thorough analysis of four different conceptual offshore wind foundation designs and has selected the “monopile” concept to further develop for the Cleveland-based non-profit’s offshore wind project on Lake Erie. “We picked …

Zero-Down Solar Leasing for New Homes The solar PV market has been though a lot of changes in the last couple of years. Since Solarcity introduced the model of zero-down solar leasing back in 2006 many solar providers (including SunRun, Sungevity, SunPower and Real Goods Solar) have followed suit. Third-party-ownership has become the preferred way to go solar in many of …

Investors to earn returns from solar panels on a major U.S military base Mosaic, America’s first online marketplace to offer solar investments to the public, presents the first major US military solar project to be funded by the public. This is a historic opportunity for Americans to invest in the nation’s energy independence and troop preparedness. Online today, investors large and small …

Investors to earn returns from solar panels on a major U.S military base Mosaic, America’s first online marketplace to offer solar investments to the public, presents the first major US military solar project to be funded by the public. This is a historic opportunity for Americans to invest in the nation’s energy independence and troop preparedness. Online today, investors large and small …

The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, Soitec, CEA-Leti and the Helmholtz Center Berlin jointly announced today having achieved a new world record for the conversion of sunlight into electricity using a new solar cell structure with four solar subcells. Surpassing competition after only over three years of research, and entering the roadmap at world class level, a new …

Geothermal Energy’s Environmental and Health Benefits Worth $117 Million Annually Benefits of geothermal energy touted in air emissions analysis The Geothermal Energy Association (GEA) has released an Air Emissions Comparison and Externality Analysis showing geothermal energy provides significant benefits to public health and the environment as one of the least-polluting and most environmentally friendly forms of energy. The analysis found …

Looming on the horizon is a future of high gas prices and disuse for most cars on the road today. More and more drivers are getting on board with alternatively-powered vehicles, and thus, more manufacturers are offering vehicle models outfitted with alternative engines to feed the demand. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, in 2010, vehicle dealers in the U.S. …

New study shows food and fuel are top of mind for Americans Sustainable America, a Stamford, Connecticut-based non-profit focused on the intertwined issues of food and fuel, announced today that its latest survey results show Americans are feeling pinched by high food and fuel costs but don’t fully understand the connections between the two. Sustainable America is leading the effort …

A pretty big wad of money – $40 billion – is hiding somewhere inside the lights, AC, thermostats, furnaces and fans of our offices, stores, hospitals and schools. That’s the amount of money the federal government estimates we can save annually by reducing energy use in commercial buildings 20 percent by 2020. To achieve the goal, the Obama administration in …

Benefits of geothermal energy touted in air emissions analysis The Geothermal Energy Association (GEA) has released an Air Emissions Comparison and Externality Analysis showing geothermal energy provides significant benefits to public health and the environment as one of the least-polluting and most environmentally friendly forms of energy. The analysis found binary geothermal plants produce virtually no greenhouse gases (GHG) and …

KYOCERA and ProVision Solar Help Auto Businesses in Hawai’i Say Aloha to Renewable Energy Four of eight total installations already utilizing sunshine power in Hilo, Kamuela and Captain Cook Kyocera Solar Inc. announced today that it supplied Kyocera solar modules to ProVision Solar that will power a total of eight auto businesses on the Big Island of Hawai’i, making it …