Energy Commission Approves Biomass System in Shasta County and Zero-Percent Loan for Solar System in Soledad Schools New energy standards approved for Lancaster SACRAMENTO – The California Energy Commission today approved a $1.5 million grant to demonstrate a containerized biomass-to-energy system in Shasta County as part of the state’s effort at creating economic drivers to support renewable energy that also benefits California’s forest health crisis. The Berkeley-based …

WASHINGTON (August 31, 2017) – In comments submitted today to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Corn Growers Association asked the Agency to maintain the proposed amount of conventional ethanol blended into the nation’s gas supply for 2018, and to raise the amount of cellulosic, advanced, and total biofuels. In a letter to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, NCGA …

Recently, Tesla announced that orders would begin to be accepted for the long anticipated solar shingles Elon Musk has been promising. Despite the hype, our analysts have concluded that solar roof shingles are not presently an efficient or cost-effective way for homeowners to go solar. This article will explain why. Starting later this summer limited test systems will be installed …

Although mainstream usage of solar panels used to be limited to the modern pocket calculator, the technology has advanced enough to accommodate the needs of today’s homeowner. While the current generation of panels may be quite affordable and efficient, there are a number of crucial decisions to be made before committing to a home renovation project of this scope and …

2017 United States Solar Power Rankings (click the image for a larger version) Welcome to our annual state rankings report Hey folks! 2016 was a hell of a year, huh? Nowhere was that statement more true than in the solar industry. We’ve been through the ringer this year, with some big victories and big defeats. We began the year with …

What Stands in the Way for 2017? December 20, 2016 By Elisa Wood Microgrid opportunity grew in 2016 and next year looks even better. But government policy isn’t keeping up with grassroots demand, said Randy Grass vice president at POWER Engineers. Randy Grass, POWER Engineers Grass, who manages the transmission and distribution (T&D) division for the global consulting engineering firm, …

SolarWorld to supply 17.5 megawatts of solar panels for Nevada desert project Project will be built from U.S.-made components   HILLSBORO, Ore., April 12, 2015 – SolarWorld, the largest U.S. crystalline silicon solar manufacturer for more than 40 years, is supplying 17.5 megawatts of its high-efficiency 72-cell solar panels for a project that the Valley Electric Association (VEA) is undertaking …

Thanks to Solarize Hastings-Dobbs Ferry, 85 more homes in the two villages will be generating their own solar power in coming months. The Solarize Hastings-Dobbs Ferry campaign, which launched in October 2015, just concluded the residential part of its program, but commercial property owners still have until April 30 to sign a contract for solar. Solarize Hastings-Dobbs Ferry is a community program created to encourage …

“enera” model project selected by German government for up to Euro 50 million grant / Younicos to provide storage expertise and software Storage pioneer Younicos has been chosen to help create the blueprint for the next phase in Germany’s energy transition, or “Energiewende”. The German Ministry for Economics and Energy selected the “enera” consortium, which includes Younicos, for the flagship …

We can save land and water by building floating solar panels   Singapore, a country half the size of Los Angeles, is home to 5.4 million people. This makes the island city-state one of the most densely populated countries in the world, with roughly 7,500 people packed into each square kilometre. When almost your entire population lives in a high-rise, …

West Fraser’s 2×13 MW biomass power plants operating commercially since beginning of 2015. Maine Wood Pellet’s 8 MW power unit to start up early in 2016 in the United States.   Brescia, October 7th, 2015 – Turboden, a group company of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), leader in Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) power systems for distributed generation from renewable sources and …

Via Modernize   The recent solar boom has led to advancements in solar technology that homeowners are increasingly able to take advantage of. Residential solar allows individuals to save money on their monthly energy bills, greatly reduce their negative impact on the environment, and even look forward to selling their home at a prime price when ready. To top it …

Kyocera, Gaia Power, Kyudenko and Century Tokyo Leasing Announce Construction of 92MW Solar Power Plant in Japan One of Japan’s largest solar installations to provide equivalent power for roughly 30,500 households Kyocera Corporation (President: Goro Yamaguchi, herein “Kyocera”), K.K. GAIA POWER (President: Koji Fujisaki, herein “Gaia Power”), Kyudenko Corporation (President: Matsuji Nishimura, herein “Kyudenko”), and Century Tokyo Leasing Corporation (President: …

  WELTEC BIOPOWER Builds 500-kW Biogas Plant for Vegetable Producer In January 2015, WELTEC BIOPOWER started building an anaerobic digestion plant in Loughgall, Northern Ireland. The customer and operator of the 500-kW plant is the vegetable producer Gilfresh Produce. The enterprise produces numerous field-grown products and processes them into food. „For WELTEC, this is the third plant in Northern Ireland …

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 …

 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 …

  Microgrids are among 15 opportunities that can fix some big, world problems. That’s the word from DNV GL in a new report that looks at five global threats and the doors they open for innovators. One of the threats is our reliance on fossil fuels, says Global Opportunity Report 2015. Microgrids or “energy autonomy” offers an alternative path. “This …

With the flip of a switch, PermaCity Solar and American fashion retailer Forever 21, powered-up a massive 5.1-megawatt (DC) high efficiency SunPower solar power system, crowning the construction project that employed many local workers. The system at Forever 21’s headquarters in the Lincoln Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles is now the largest single-rooftop solar power system in Los Angeles County …

A funny thing happened to Urban Green Energy (UGE) on the way to becoming a small wind turbine manufacturer. The New York company discovered that demand was limited for its product on a stand-alone basis. But combine small wind turbines with solar, storage and some intelligence – into a remote microgrid – and the market is vast. This is especially true …

Distributed Generation and New Technologies Are Improving Energy Efficiency, Reducing Need to Replace Generation Capacity Black & Veatch‘s 8th annual Strategic Directions: U.S. Electric Industry report shows that many retiring nuclear and coal power plants may not need to be replaced on a megawatt-to-megawatt basis. New technologies and distributed generation (DG), coupled with soft energy demand growth, enable utilities to replace …