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EU Debate Over Climate Change Policy Could Dampen Renewable Energy Growth
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Europe's program to halt climate change is in disarray with lawmakers in the region expressing concern the drift is undermining the planet's most significant effort to combat global warming.
Distributed Energy Storage Benefits on Both Sides of the Meter
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Solar and wind are excellent sources of clean, renewable energy, but as they contribute a larger share to the generation fleet, their integration will become increasingly challenging. The reason: solar and wind cannot be dispatched in the same way as other sources of energy, such as nuclear, hydro, and fossil fuels. Because the grid must operate “j
Renewable Energy Supporting Virginians Are Being Shackled By Dominion Power
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Sandwiched between several clean energy-happy states in the mid-Atlantic, Virginia is battling the shackles of overwhelming utility influence. Sixty-nine percent of Virginians support requiring utilities to generate a greater share of electricity from renewable energy. The Virginia legislature enjoys bipartisan support for clean energy and sees it
Kenyan Island to Fight Malaria Using Solar Power
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Since solar photovoltaic panels were first invented they have been used for many purposes and will no doubt continue to do so over the coming years. It is always good to hear of them being installed for a worthwhile cause over and above the usual benefits that they provide to the environment. A Kenyan island is gradually having solar panels fitted
Three Unequal Choices for a Local (Renewable) Energy Future
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Earth Day highlights the need for a sustainable energy future, and experience suggests that there are only three meaningful choices for communities trying to increase local control of a greener energy future. But the three policies – deregulation (“customer choice”), municipal aggregation (“city choice”), and municipal utilities (“city ownership”)
The Greenest Organizations in the US: Who Uses the Most Renewable Energy?
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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released the updated list of the top 50 organizations in the US that get their electricity from "green power." The rankings are listed in order of annual green power usage in kilowatt-hours (kWh), though there's enough data to call attention to groups in different ways, for how effectively they've brought renewable-generated electricity into their usage profile, and whether they've taken further steps to generate their own renewable energy power.
Renewables Are "Bright Spot" in Bleak Low-carbon Outlook
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Today in New Delhi the International Energy Agency (IEA) revealed the latest figures from its annual report on global progress towards a low-carbon future. The agency addressed its report to a meeting of the Clean Energy Ministerial, a group of ministers representing nations that collectively emit four-fifths of global greenhouse gases.
VC Funding in Renewable Energy: Tracking the New Normal
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Clean energy investments worldwide slid 22 percent in 1Q13 to $40.6 billion, their lowest level in four years, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF). The biggest declines were in the U.S. (54 percent), Europe (25 percent), and China (15 percent), while investments in Asia were robust: $8.2 billion in Japan, and the rest of Asia ex-India and China increased 47 percent to $10.1 billion. Asset finance (equity, debt, and balance sheet funds) for utility-scale projects dropped off 34 percent to $19.3 billion. VC and private equity (PE) funds fell 29 percent year-on-year to $1.3 billion.
2030: A Future Roadmap for Renewables?
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A recent European Commission Green Paper seeking views on the development of intermediate renewable energy and climate targets for 2030 has prompted calls from the industry to adopt a three part approach, targeting renewable energy, energy efficiency and emissions reduction. Formally opening an ongoing debate, the consultation — the Commission says
Drip, Drip, Drip: How to Effortlessly Educate Solar Customers with a Few Mouse Clicks
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One of the responses I received from my ongoing solar marketing survey was from an installer who said that they didn’t have enough time to educate all of their customers. That’s understandable if you’re a small solar shop with a few sales people. One solution is what’s called an email marketing “drip campaign.” An email marketing drip campaign is b
Australia Backs Renewable Energy Targets
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In response to a statutory review, The Australian Government's Climate Change Authority has committed to maintaining its renewable energy target (RET) of 20 percent of the nation's electricity (roughly 41,000 GWh) coming from renewable sources by 2020. The Government also emphasizes that 20 percent is only a minimum target, and leaves "the way open for improvements in energy efficiency to deliver a higher share of renewable energy."
The Good and Bad News of DoE Fiscal Year Budget Request
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The good news is the Department of Energy (DoE) FY 2013 budget request of $2,337 million for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy programs (EERE) shows a 29 percent increase from the enacted FY 2012 budget. The bad news is the FY 2013 has not been approved by Congress, as of this writing, see Table 1 below. Table 1: FY 2013 DoE Budget Request
For Renewable Energy, Hands-on Learning Can't Be Beat
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I’m a reader. I love sitting down with a great book or an in-depth report full of charts and graphs and really digging in. SEIA and GTM Research just released their Solar Market Insight Report with staggering figures about solar installations in the U.S. in 2012. If you, like me, love to learn about the global growth of renewable energy, you shou
15, Count 'Em, 15 Must-Have's for Any Modern Residential Solar Website
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A lot of residential solar companies contact me about programs for them, and one of the first things I do is look at their websites. Some are okay, but often they’re outdated and missing several key elements that every modern website should have. So, for the benefit of not repeating myself and helping these installers to at least look modern, her
Community-Owned Transmission?
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The enormous growth in local renewable energy is decentralizing the electricity system, often supplanting energy from centralized power plants. But not all renewable energy is built locally, even in a country like Germany with massive local ownership of its renewable energy systems. The Germans are undergoing significant upgrades to their electri
12 Things You Can Do in One Day to Market Solar
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This Solar Fred marketing post is inspired by a recent Seth Godin blog post. I really think Godin captures the spirit of how small but consistent efforts can make a difference — without having a million dollar ad budget. Below is my adaptation of Godin’s one-day-effort bullet points for solar marketing and innovation. Each of these 12 ideas can be
The Rise of Green Mobile Telecom Towers
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Recent developments in renewable energies might overthrow the diesel generator as the technology of choice for off-grid mobile base stations. Renewable energy has evolved considerably over the last couple of years. So much, in fact, that solutions recently deemed to be unfeasible might now warrant a second look. Take mobile telecom operators, for
German Compromise Limits Power-Price Increases, Ensures Election-Year Battle
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Germany's environment and economy ministers, coalition partners from different parties who have clashed over the country's shift from nuclear power, forged a joint plan to slow power-price increases caused by subsidies for renewable energy.
Weighing Obama's SOTUS Proposal: More Oil Drilling to Fund Clean Energy?
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President Barack Obama's proposal to fund clean-energy research with fees paid by oil and gas producers is renewing a debate over whether the promise of innovation tomorrow is worth expanding drilling today.
California's CEC Adds Renewable Energy Expertise
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In his State of the State address a few weeks ago, Gov. Jerry Brown indicated his intention to "make California again a leader" in, among other things, renewable energy and state-of-the-art efficiency.