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 …

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 …

To the consumer, the microgrid market will simply appear one day. Like the IPhone or the Kindle or solar panels, it will be the latest cool wonder of our high tech society. But those behind the scenes know that most products are many years in the making. Electricity innovation is no different, except perhaps that industry gestation requires a lot of government …

Is an Electric Car Right for You? Operating a car without needing to visit a gas station is intriguing idea to many American drivers.  After all, the pumps can be a painful place—gas prices have been on a roller coaster ride the past few years.  But in the minds of many American, electric cars are nothing more than glorified golf …

 Industry needs early funding, risk mitigation to thrive Last week, the Geothermal Energy Association hosted the GEA International Geothermal Showcase, bringing together 250 participants from 36 countries and representing more than half of all geothermal projects worldwide. Together, these projects could mean over 10,000 MW of new geothermal power and would represent around $45 billion in new investment.   “The …

New Worldwatch Institute analysis examines the trends in global biofuel production In 2012, the combined global production of ethanol and biodiesel fell for the first time since 2000, down 0.4 percent from the figure in 2011. Global ethanol production declined slightly for the second year in a row, to 83.1 billion liters, while biodiesel output rose fractionally, from 22.4 billion …

Though the first official assessment that climate change was caused by human activity came in 1988, with NASA scientist James Hansen’s famous testimony to the U.S. Congress, the “carbon neutral” concept, which refers to achieving net zero carbon emissions, is a relatively new one. The non-profit Climate Neutral Network, which developed the Climate Neutral Certification, was incorporated in 1999; the …

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 …

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 …

New White Paper Report on Racking Reliability for Residential Rooftop Solar Released Today Report Highlights How to Scale Residential Solar While Minimizing Potential Pitfalls and Rooftop Damage Today, Solar Marketing Group announces the release of a new white paper on improving quality control in residential rooftop solar installations. The white paper entitled: “The Importance of Reliable Solar Mounting Systems” was …

It seems hard to believe that we have come so far in the adoption and acceptance of solar energy in our country both on the commercial power development side and on the home solar power side that a dispute like the one brewing the St Louis area could still be happening. CLARKSON VALLEY • The fuss over the solar panels remains …

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, …

Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) Visualizes Smart Grid with Space-Time Insight’s Situational Intelligence Software Correlation and Analysis of Smart Meter, Distribution, Outage, and Environmental Data Leads to Faster, Smarter Decisions Space?Time Insight, the leading provider of next?generation situational intelligence solutions, today announced that the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) has implemented Space-Time Insight’s geospatial and visual analytics software. The software facilitates faster and …

Did I Just See Energy History Made in Atlanta? Every once in awhile, after  a lot of humdrum news, something really cool comes along, the kind of thing that can reshape the energy industry. That’s what might have happened last week in Atlanta at the 27thAnnual Campus Energy Conference of the International District Energy Association (IDEA). IDEA members formed a …

Excess Wind Power Turned into Gas in Denmark Using Hydrogenics Technology Hydrogenics Corporation (NASDAQ:HYGS; TSX:HYG),  a leading developer and manufacturer of hydrogen generation and hydrogen-based power modules, today announced that it will be a participating partner of the Power-to-Gas Biological Catalysis (“BioCat”) Project in Denmark. The “BioCat” installation will use hydrogen made ??from excess wind power to convert biogas from sewage sludge …

Two Billion Kilowatt Hours of Environmentally Friendly and Efficient Fuel Cell Power Generation Major Operating Milestone Reached From Growing Installed Base of Ultra-Clean, Efficient and Reliable Fuel Cell Power Plants 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 significant operating milestone with the …

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, …

USDA Grant Aims to Convert Beetle-Killed Trees into Biofuel The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced today that it has awarded nearly $10 million to an academic, industry, and government consortium led by Colorado State University to study the major challenges limiting the use of insect-killed trees in the Rockies as a sustainable feedstock for bioenergy. The award was made …

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 …

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 …