January 05, 2017 John Moore Part of NRDC’s Year-End Series Reviewing 2016 Energy Developments As 2016 fades away in the rear-view mirror, we reflect on a year of increasing tensions between the wholesale electricity markets – where utilities and other power suppliers purchase, sell, and trade energy to meet our energy needs – and our ever-growing appetite for cleaner, carbon-free …

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 …

Infusing more energy efficiency into the US economy could ease pressure on coal states that feel under attack by pending federal greenhouse gas rules, says a new study. The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy outlines four energy efficiency strategies that could reduce carbon dioxide emissions 26 percent below 2012 levels in Change is in the Air: How States Can Harness Energy Efficiency …

UPDATED FUKUSHIMA CIVILIAN PANEL REPORT HIGHLIGHTS LARGELY UNADDRESSED “HUMAN FACTORS” AS IMPORTANT AS EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMI IN 2011 REACTOR DISASTER Lessons Unlearned? As Third Year of Anniversary Nears, Expanded Version of Fukushima Review Panel Report Published in English in Book Form by the Bulletin of Atomic the Scientists. An extensively updated and expanded version of the Independent Investigation Commission on …

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 …

The Geothermal Energy Association today released a new report showing continued strong growth signals in the international market for geothermal power. The report, 2013 Geothermal Power: International Market Overview, identifies 70 countries moving forward with nearly 700 geothermal power projects. “The number of geothermal projects continues to grow as more and more countries recognize the potential economic and environmental benefits that geothermal …

Sometimes energy makes headlines, sometimes it doesn’t.  But it almost always has important implications for the global economy, the environment, and our day-to-day lives. Here are 10 energy statistics from 2012 that capture some of the most noteworthy trends of the year, and that will shape the energy world in the years to come. Natural gas, one of the three key fossil …

By Michael Gorton, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Principal Solar Despite the sluggish economy, the US solar industry has seen massive growth in the past two years, creating jobs across the country, driving innovation and attracting investors. In fact, solar installations reached 742MW in the second quarter, up 45 percent over the prior quarter, and a 116-percent increase over …

U.S. ENERGY POLICY IS “ALL WET” WHEN IT COMES TO HIDDEN COSTS 100,000 Gallons of Water to Produce a Single Megawatt Hour of Electricity? In a Time of Drought and Growing Water Shortages, “Business As Usual” Energy Approach Ignore Huge Water and Other Hidden Costs. Huge demands on increasingly scarce water are a major hidden cost of a “business as …

California’s big solar farms have surpassed a new milestone amid the late summer heat, reaching one gigawatt of electrical generation capacity, the state’s main grid operator said Tuesday. The state’s large-scale solar fields hit a new peak in production on Friday at nearly 1.1 gigawatts, or 1.1 billion watts, according to the California Independent System Operator. That peak output, which …

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 …

The wind blows. In some places it blows reliably and steady. In others the wind comes and goes with varying speeds. The growth of the wind energy industry has meant there is a greater need for pin pointing where and when the wind will blow so that operators will know how to integrate that produced wind energy into the electrical …

Washington Out of Step With Public? Little Confidence Seen in National Lawmakers Finding Solutions is Evident in Across-the-Board Political Support for Grassroots Drive to Take Back Issue. Clean energy issues and solutions. Majorities of Republicans, Independents and Democrats agree that the United States should move away from its reliance on dirty energy sources that foul the air and water and …

With More than 15 Times the Solyndra Loan Guarantee on the Line, U.S. Taxpayers Being Kept in the Dark About Huge Vogtle Risks; Nine Groups Cite NRC Law Violation in Going to Court to Block Vogtle Licensing. WASHINGTON, D.C. – February 16, 2012 – If you are a taxpayer who liked the less than half a billion dollar Solyndra federal …

SolarReserve Reaches Major Construction Milestone in Completing Tower for World’s Largest Molten Salt Solar Tower Plant Nevada project represents leading solar thermal technology worldwide – integrated energy storage provides predictable and zero-emissions electricity day or night to meet peak demands SolarReserve, a U.S. developer of large-scale solar power projects, today announced completion of the 540-foot solar power tower for its …

By: Dr. Michael T. Gamble So much sound and fury over the Higgs Boson, signifying what? A complete understanding of the fundamental constituents of the world in which we live? Of the universe of which we are an integral part? No … and yes. High-energy physicists at CERN, the European Center for Nuclear Research, announced this week they are closer …

Sometimes you just have to scratch your head and wonder. We currently have a politico climate where there is great debate over the Solyndra bankruptcy and the money they got from the US in support of the solar energy products they were developing. While I am not one to sneeze at $500 million it just seems like we have gone …

This is the kind of study and information that needs to get out to the mainstream public. They need to understand that we cannot and should not blindly listen to the oil companies or for that matter our politicians when it comes to energy policy and benefits. We clearly need to look at using renewable energy sources to wean our …

Department of Energy Finalizes a $967 Million Loan Guarantee to Support the Agua Caliente Solar Project Arizona Project Expected to Generate Approximately 400 Solar Related Jobs Washington D.C. – U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced that the Department of Energy finalized a $967 million loan guarantee to Agua Caliente Solar, LLC. The loan guarantee will support the construction of …

the report shows that in 2010, renewable energy supplied an estimated 16% of global final energy consumption and delivered close to 20% of global electricity production. Renewable capacity now comprises about a quarter of total global power-generating capacity. Including large and small hydropower (an estimated 30 GW added in 2010), renewable energy accounted for approximately 50% of total added power-generating capacity in 2010. In 2010, existing solar water and space heating capacity increased by an estimated 25 gigawatts-thermal (GWth), or about 16%.