Marc Lopata says his job is to uncover the dark side of microgrids. And that’s just what the president and principal engineer for Microgrid Solar is doing in a project that combines energy storage and solar energy at Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T). The project is located at the “Solar Village,” which consists of multiple houses built by …

New Energy Unveils Company?s Largest and Highest-Performance See-Through SolarWindow? Capable of Generating Electricity on Glass New Energy Technologies Inc. (OTCQB: NENE), developer of see-through SolarWindow? coatings, capable of generating electricity on glass and flexible plastics, today made public never-before-seen images of the Company?s largest area, high-performance SolarWindow? arrays.  These SolarWindow? arrays measure over 232 cm2 ? a significant achievement for …

Californians consume the least electricity per-person of any state in the country, according to new 2014 state energy rankings from EnergyTrends.org. Behind California, Hawaii, Rhode Island and New York used the least electricity per person. Meanwhile, Californians consumed the fifth-lowest total energy per person of any state. This ranking has remained unchanged in recent years – and shows California’s residential …

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 …

High-Concentration Solar Photovoltaic Systems to Reach Greater Efficiencies, Boosting Appeal Against Conventional Solutions Consistent improvements in technology and gradually lower costs will drive high-concentration photovoltaic (HCPV) systems to superior efficiencies, making HCPV an increasingly viable rival to conventional solar-generating solutions, according to the latest analysis from IHS Technology (NYSE: IHS). The cell efficiency of HCPV systems, currently at 40 to 42 percent, …

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 …

What are Building-Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV)? Some homeowners are turned off by how solar panels affect the appearances of their homes. Building-integrated photovoltaics – basically solar panels incorporated into the construction of new buildings – can eliminate the negative visual impact of traditional solar panels; improve appearance and boost resale value. The installed capacity of building-integrated photovoltaics is expected to boom …

What are Building-Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV)? Some homeowners are turned off by how solar panels affect the appearances of their homes. Building-integrated photovoltaics – basically solar panels incorporated into the construction of new buildings – can eliminate the negative visual impact of traditional solar panels; improve appearance and boost resale value. The installed capacity of building-integrated photovoltaics is expected to boom …

Efficient fossil fuel technologies will drive the ongoing growth of the global thermal power market, with generation expected to hit 19,869.1 TWh by 2020, as countries across the world work towards green, low-carbon and sustainable development, according to a new report from research and consulting firm GlobalData. The company’s latest report* states that recent years have seen heavier investment into …

A new assessment commissioned by the Clean Energy Ministerial’s Super-efficient Equipment and Appliance Deployment (SEAD) initiative finds that deploying super-efficient air conditioners could significantly reduce energy use by 2020 in selected countries, avoiding the need for more than 100 medium-sized (500-megawatt) power plants. Conducted by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Navigant Consulting, the Cooling the Planet: Opportunities for Deployment …

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 …

US-Made Silicon Energy Modules Outperform Top Photovoltaic Companies in Severe Environmental Testing Silicon Energy’s double-glass Cascade Series Photovoltaic (PV) Module outperformed standard PV modules for durability under extreme environmental conditions, in an experimental testing process by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Sustainably manufactured in the US, the company’s Cascade Series PV Modules are built to last using the highest …

The EPA reports that 36 percent of total energy use and 65 percent of electricity consumption comes from buildings. When these numbers approach 0, mankind will have taken a major step towards fossil fuel independence. Exciting new green energy technologies are leading us towards a promising future at a more rapid pace than many have imagined. Recent developments in solar …

Mobile Robots Turn Solar Panels to Follow the Sun IEEE Spectrum Startup QBotix says robots can boost efficiency of solar energy. China Price War Draining Jobs in Germany’s Solar Valley Renewable Energy World When Thomas Behling returned to his home state of Saxony-Anhalt in 2006, he was drawn by a job in the solar industry and the chance to participate …

Push on for ‘green power’ auctions Straight Furrow AS DEBATE rages over the future of a renewable energy target that mainly promotes wind power, a Melbourne think tank is calling for it to be scrapped and replaced with a new scheme to help transform the electricity industry. China Wind Power Provides Default Status Update Marketwire China Wind Power International Corp. …

Solar plane flies to Sahara sun in Ouarzazate, Morocco Highlights World Bank-financed Morocco solar project linking Europe, N Africa to power of Sahara sun After completing its historic 2,500-kilometer intercontinental flight to Morocco earlier this month, the Swiss solar-powered plane, Solar Impulse, lifted off from Morocco’s capital Rabat morning of June 21 on the second attempt at its most challenging …

How to grow a solar energy garden By Elisa Wood Getting energy from the sun is a great idea. However, installing solar panels house-by-house is slow, costly and cumbersome, and downright inefficient if the goal is to bring solar to the masses. This problem troubled Paul Spencer after he built his own uber-efficient, custom solar home near Aspen, Colorado in …

Renewable Energy to go: Fuel Cells (via Work-Bench.Org) (part one of a two-part post) Renewable energy offers much promise, and acceptance is growing: Two thirds of Americans (67 percent) think that “political leaders should help to steer the U.S. to greater use of cleaner energy sources – such as increased efficiency, wind and solar – that result…

One of the most pervasive myths of modern society is that making green choices as a consumer is expensive. The idea that reducing the amount of waste will lead to further costs is an absurd but persistent one. Some green living choices using new technologies will cost a lot on the front end, including the installation of renewable energy sources, …

New Energy Technologies, Inc. and US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory Develop ‘Invisible Wires’ for Transporting Electricity on SolarWindow(TM) New Energy Technologies, Inc. (OTCQB: NENE), a developer of innovative technologies for generating sustainable electricity, announces that Company and NREL scientists collaboratively developing New Energy’s SolarWindow(TM) technology – capable of generating electricity on see-through glass – have successfully collected …