The City of Santa Monica’s Big Blue Bus (BBB) announced today that it has become one of the country’s first municipal transit authorities to convert its fleet to renewable natural gas (RNG), rated 90% cleaner than diesel and is considered the cleanest transportation fuel available. Earlier this year, BBB modified  its original agreement with Clean Energy Fuels Corp (Nasdaq: CLNE) …

Semiconductors play a key role in PV inverters, where major power savings can be accomplished The market for semiconductors used in photovoltaic (PV) inverters, which convert direct current (DC) to alternating current (AC) from the PV modules, will continue to expand in the long term. According to IHS (NYSE: IHS), the leading global source of critical information and insight, amid …

Martifer Solar has connected a new solar PV rooftop plant on rooftop in San Salvador, El Salvador, which represents the company’s commitment to grow the market in Central America The PV plant was developed Martifer Solar’s local partner, DESENI and was built for one of El Salvador’s leading distribution companies, DISZASA Martifer Solar, a subsidiary of Martifer SGPS, has completed …

Company celebrates major milestone with event honoring transit agency partners as EV pioneers   North America’s leading manufacturer of zero-emissions battery-electric buses, Proterra Inc., recently congratulated its customers on achieving a major milestone for the EV industry: logging one million miles in revenue service.  The company celebrated this achievement with an event at its plant in Greenville, S.C. honoring its …

Researchers in the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin have used a combination of metabolic engineering and directed evolution to develop a new, mutant yeast strain that could lead to a more efficient biofuel production process that would make biofuels more economically competitive with conventional fuels. Their findings were published online in the journal Metabolic …

Iowa Biodiesel Board says on-farm use has room to grow ANKENY, Iowa – St. Patrick’s Day isn’t the only date for celebration this week – at least not for biodiesel supporters. National Biodiesel Day is March 18, and the Iowa Biodiesel Board is taking the opportunity to remind farmers to ask for and use biodiesel as they head into spring …

Led by Commercial Systems, 9 Percent of Solar PV Systems in North America Will Have Storage Attached in 2018, IHS Says 700 MW of PV systems to be installed with energy storage attached in North America in 2018, compared to 30 MW in 2014 Wellingborough, U.K. (March 16, 2015) — IHS (NYSE: IHS), the leading global source of critical information …

Photovoltaic System Provides 75 Percent of the Winery and Restaurant’s Total Energy Consumption Nestled in the verdant Valle de Guadalupe winemaking region and with an eye on sustainability, El Cielo Winery in Baja California now offsets approximately 75 percent of its energy needs with a new Kyocera solar installation. El Cielo, which translates as “The Sky,” has installed 220 high-reliability …

— Ability to capture up to 90 percent of carbon emissions with a scalable solution — Performance milestones reached for coal and natural gas power plant carbon capture — Cost per ton of carbon captured below U.S. Department of Energy target of $40/ton — Added benefit includes destroying smog-producing nitrogen oxide (NOx) DANBURY, Conn., March 5, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — …

Study finds potential for reduced carbon emissions and lower power costs RICHLAND, Wash. – Large facilities like big box stores or hospitals could keep the lights on by using a fuel cell that runs off the natural gas that already flows in pipelines below most city streets. Instead of drawing electricity from the power grid, facilities could use natural gas-powered …

Lucid Energy Announces Portland Water Pipeline Now Producing Renewable Energy for PGE Customers The Portland Water Bureau “Put a Turbine In It” and began generating renewable energy for Portland General Electric earlier this month. The new four-turbine LucidPipe™ Power System project in Portland, Oregon is the first in the U.S. to secure a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement for renewable energy …

To more fully serve the diverse needs of the North American transit market, Proterra Inc., the leading provider of zero-emission battery-electric buses, has launched a new extended-range product line. With the introduction of the new TerraVolt™ XR extended-range battery, Proterra buses can now be configured to travel up to 180 miles between charges. This newest high energy density battery complements …

Total module revenue of the top 20 global solar PV suppliers in the fourth quarter reached its highest level since 2011, despite the effect of negative exchange rates on average selling prices BEIJING, China (February 10, 2015) — IHS (NYSE: IHS), the leading global source of critical information and insight, today announced that quarterly solar photovoltaic (PV) module revenue (excluding …

By Robert Sanders, Media Relations | February 9, 2015 BERKELEY —Generating electricity from biomass, such as urban waste and sustainably-sourced forest and crop residues, is one strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, because it is carbon-neutral: it produces as much carbon as the plants suck out of the atmosphere. A carbon dioxide injection well in Australia. (Photo courtesy of CO2CRC) …

 A team of University of Wisconsin-Madison engineers has developed a new tool to help plot the future of solar fuels. In a paper recently published in the journal Energy & Environmental Science, a team led by chemical and biological engineering Professors Christos Maravelias and George Huber outlined a tool to help engineers better gauge the overall yield, efficiency and costs …

SHALE-RELATED CONSTRUCTION BOOM IN 2014 MEANS GREENHOUSE GAS EQUIVALENT OF 12 NEW #143744271 / gettyimages.com Because of cheaper fuel prices driven by the shale drilling boom, U.S. companies in 2014 received draft or final permits to build at least 46 new or expanded petrochemical facilities across the U.S. that will produce 55 million tons of greenhouse gases a year, according …

As the installation of photovoltaic solar cells continues to accelerate, scientists are looking for inexpensive materials beyond the traditional silicon that can efficiently convert sunlight into electricity. Theoretically, iron pyrite — a cheap compound that makes a common mineral known as fool’s gold — could do the job, but when it works at all, the conversion efficiency remains frustratingly low. …

SUNRUN UNVEILS THE SUNRUN BRIGHTPATH STATIONÔ FOR CONSUMERS TO RECEIVE AN INSTANT HOME SOLAR QUOTE   Interactive Kiosk Enables Consumers to Learn About Home Solar at Select Retail Locations    Sunrun, the largest dedicated residential solar company in the United States, today unveiled the Sunrun BrightPath StationÔ, an interactive, multi-touch kiosk that enables consumers to pinpoint their home on a …

Station on O’Hare property will offer compressed natural gas (CNG), biodiesel and fast-charge charging stations for electric vehicles. CHICAGO – As part of the ongoing sustainability efforts at Chicago’s airports, the Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA) announced it has contracted with a private company to develop a 4,000-square-foot fueling station and travel center featuring a range of alternative fuels and …

The market for global photovoltaic (PV) solar microinverters and power optimizers is forecast to more than triple in the coming years, rising to more than $1 billion in 2018, as both established and new regions increase their adoption of the emerging technology, according to IHS Technology (NYSE: IHS). Worldwide market revenue for PV solar microinverters and power optimizers, collectively called module-level power …