Fergus Ewing, Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Tourism, has confirmed his attendance at Ocean Energy Europe 2014 on October 2, 2014. Mr Ewing opens the conference on Day Two with a Keynote Address which will highlight Scotland’s activities in, and commitment to the ocean energy sector. The Scottish Government is firmly committed to the development of a successful marine renewable energy industry in Scotland. It has committed to achieving the EU 2020 target – 20% of EU’s energy consumption from renewable sources by 2020 – through a stated target of meeting 100% of Scotland’s electricity demand from renewable sources by 2020.- Innovative Solar Systems has recently received a 15 year purchase power agreement from Duke Energy on the company’s IS 41 project, a 48MW(AC) solar farm to be built in North Carolina and be online in late 2015. The project will be constructed on approximately 300 acres of farm land with panels oriented to face due south. Bids are being accepted from some of the largest panel manufacturers in the world for the roughly 200,000 solar panels that will generate enough electricity to power about 10,000 homes in this area.
- Alternative Fuels Americas, Inc. (AFAI) announced that it has signed an agreement to form a Special Purpose Vehicle in partnership with Jatro Greentech, Inc., a Toronto based Jatropha centric agro energy company. The SPV shall be called AFAI Jatro Green Ethiopia and will be a U.S. registered entity with AFAI as majority shareholder. The SPV shall pursue Jatropha planting and biofuels production projects in Africa, particularly Ethiopia.
- A new study says America’s K-12 schools have shown explosive growth in their use of solar energy over the last decade, soaring from 303 kilowatts (kW) of installed capacity to 457,000 kW, while reducing carbon emissions by 442,799 metric tons annually – the equivalent of saving 50 million gallons of gasoline a year or taking nearly 100,000 cars off U.S. highways. Brighter Future: A Study on Solar in U.S. Schools was prepared by The Solar Foundation (TSF) – with data and analysis support from the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) – and funded through a grant provided by the U.S. Department of Energy’s SunShot program.
