Thursday, January 23, 2014

Alternative Clean Energy Roundup: 23 January 2014

Renewable electricity generation rises driven by the wind and the sun
January 20, 2014 - Utility-scale renewable electricity generation grew by 23 percent between 2009 and 2012, led by wind and solar as renewables became a bigger part of the U.S. generation.

“Wind comprised the majority of the net generation increase supplied by renewables, adding 74%, or 66,717 GWh, of the increase, while solar saw tremendous percentage growth over the period,” according to an analysis by SNL Energy. The total increase equaled 90,329 Gigawatts.

Renewable generation capacity – including hydropower, biomass, geothermal, wind and solar – has grown from 9 percent in 2000 to 12 percent in 2012 to 16 percent of all generating capacity last year, according to federal Energy Information Agency figures. read more>>>

SolTech's Beautiful Glass Roof Tiles Heat Your Home With Solar Energy
01/20/14 - SolTech Energy, a Swedish company selling solutions for clean solar power, has developed a unique home heating system contained within roofing tiles made out of ordinary transparent glass. The attractive house-warming tiles (somewhat ironically) give roofs a beautiful, icy appearance quite unlike anything else we’ve ever seen before.

In 2009, the SolTech Energy System was selected by a jury and nominated among nine as the year’s “Hottest New Material.” Based on votes by the people, the company’s glass tiles were awarded with a gold medal from the North Building Fair, Nordbygg. “The winning entry combines an attractive design with essential functions for clean and sustainable energy. It is an innovative product that is well in time,“ said the chairman of the jury, PhD. Bengt Toolanen. read more>>>

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SolarBuzz Reports That UK Large-Scale Solar Photovoltaics Grew by 600% in 2013
01/20/14 - A new report from SolarBuzz shows that large-scale solar PV installations in the UK have grown by an incredible 600% during the past 12 months, driving the UK to a record 1.45 GW of new solar PV capacity. According to the report, ground-mounted installations accounted for over 90% of new large-scale solar PV added in the UK in 2013. As a result, the UK is now ranked sixth globally for large-scale solar PV, and it’s one of six countries that approached a GW-level large-scale solar market in 2013.

In a statement on SolarBuzz’s website, Finlay Colville, Vice President said: ‘The fact that the large-scale segment grew by 600% in 2013 is largely a consequence of 2012 being low and 2013 being high. It also hides the outstanding dilemma for the UK solar PV industry that is the large-scale rooftop segment (better broken out when analysing the UK PV marketplace). read more>>>

An energy harvesting breakthrough
January 20, 2014 - MIT researchers have developed a new approach to harvesting solar energy that could improve efficiency by using sunlight to heat a high-temperature material whose infrared radiation would then be collected by a conventional photovoltaic cell. This technique could also make it easier to store the energy for later use.

According to the researchers, such a system combines the advantages of solar photovoltaic systems, which turn sunlight directly into electricity, and solar thermal systems, which can have an advantage for delayed use because heat can be more easily stored than electricity. The new solar thermophotovoltaic (STPV) systems could provide efficiency because of their broadband absorption of sunlight, scalability and compactness, and ease of energy storage. read more>>>

Developing countries get $41 million for renewable energy projects at IRENA conference
20 January 2014 - The International Renewable Energy Agency and the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development have announced approximately $41 million in concessional loans for renewable energy projects in developing countries.

The financed projects have a combined total capacity of 35 MW and will bring reliable and sustainable power to rural communities that are currently lacking access to modern energy services. The loans go to a geographically diverse set of countries, including the Republic of Ecuador, Sierra Leone, the Maldives, Mauritania, Samoa, and Mali. read more>>>

Swiss solar PV almost doubled during 2013 according to trade association
17 January 2014 - Solar power production in Switzerland during 2013 almost doubled according to estimates of the Swiss solar energy association Swissolar

Solar power plants in Switzerland constructed during 2013 covered an area of approximately 2.1 square kilometres contributing about 1 percent of the solar electricity supplied to the country’s national grid, according to the Swiss Solar Energy Association (Swissolar). This is almost double that supplied to the grid the previous year.

Swissolar expects the market for solar for the current year to remain flat with future progress depending on political decisions taken over the next few weeks. read more>>>

Shop For Green Products Now To Save The Rainforest!

State of Green Business Report 2014
January 21, 2014 - State of Green Business, our seventh annual assessment of corporate sustainability trends and metrics, paints a picture that is both optimistic and highly problematic — a perfect metaphor for the sector.

Are we sinking, swimming or just treading water? Download the report to find out.

This year's report is available in both PDF and iPad format. read more>>>

New Energy Demonstrates Versatility of SolarWindow™ Electricity-Generating Coatings
January 21, 2014-- New Energy Technologies, Inc. (OTCQB: NENE) developer of the world's first-of-its-kind, see-through technology capable of generating electricity on glass and flexible plastics, announced today that the Company has achieved compatibility of the SolarWindow(TM) architecture with a variety of active layer electricity-generating coatings. In organic photovoltaic (OPV) devices, the active layer plays a critical role in determining a number of the key properties of the device, including: color, amount of visible light transmission (VLT), wavelength response, and power production.

"The compatibility of SolarWindow(TM) with a variety of active layer materials ensures we can give building engineers, architects, and end-users alike the flexibility to choose the color and power output that meets building power offsetting requirements," said Mr. John Conklin, President and CEO of New Energy Technologies, Inc. "These choices are critical to ensuring market adoption, as every building is unique, with different aesthetic characteristics." read more>>>

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V.C. Summer a "nuclear debacle"
January 22, 2014 - South Carolina Electric & Gas' V.C. Summer reactor project is coming under fire as a "nuclear debacle," with claims of half a billion dollar cost overruns, pushed-back end dates for project completion and significant construction challenges. The ire comes from Friends of the Earth.

"As construction becomes more complex and schedule delays mount, V.C. Summer is emerging as an epic mistake at least as big as Vogtle. We have already seen six pay-in-advance rate increases in the state attributed to the V.C. Summer project, and we estimate it already accounts for a whopping 11 percent of the total utility bill -- the charges in which are only for financing costs," said Tom Clements, Friends of the Earth representative. read more>>>

NYSSGC: Governor's energy strategy shows leadership, vision
January 22, 2014 - The New York State Smart Grid Consortium (NYSSGC), a public/private partnership devoted to statewide implementation of the smart grid, is praising Governor Andrew Cuomo for his vision on energy issues, his foresight in recognizing the importance and urgency in upgrading New York's electric grid, and his leadership in advancing community-based microgrid solutions. These strategies are outlined in Governor Cuomo's "Reimagining New York for a New Reality" strategy.

"Community grids protect people, businesses and infrastructure from the devastation of extreme weather and from extended power outages as were experienced following Superstorm Sandy, Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee," said James T. Gallagher, executive director of the New York State Smart Grid Consortium. read more>>>


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