Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Charles Grassley (R-IA) have introduced a bill to extend the expired biodiesel tax incentive for three years. The bill, S. 2021, would extend the tax incentive until 2017. In response to the bill’s introduction, the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) called on Congress to move swiftly on the tax legislation. “On behalf of biodiesel producers across …
Crescent Solar Energy Project Commissioned
SolarReserve has confirmed that the 110 megawatt (MW) Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project located near Tonopah, Nevada, has entered the plant commissioning phase. According to the company, Crescent Dunes is the first utility-scale facility in the world to feature advanced molten salt power tower energy storage capabilities. The Crescent Dunes Project is more than five times the capacity output of …
BioEnergy Bytes
JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. has announced that it has supplied solar PV modules to CSEM-uae, an independent, non-profit Swiss-UAE joint venture company for applied research. The modules will be used for CSEM’s Solar Outdoor Laboratory, an R&D and innovation center for renewable energy in Ras al-Khaimah, UAE. Located in the northern Emirate of Ras al-Khaimah and built to develop and …
U.S. Utlility-Scale Solar 60% to Goal
The U.S. solar industry is more than 60 percent of the way to achieving cost-competitive utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) electricity – only three years into the Department’s decade-long SunShot Initiative, reports the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). To help continue this progress, the DOE announced $25 million in new funding to strengthen U.S. solar manufacturing for photovoltaic and concentrating solar …
Clean Energy for Resilient Communities
“Resilient communities need resilient power. Without dependable power, a community can be brought to its knees, and the most vulnerable will suffer the most,” was written in a new report, Clean Energy for Resilient Communities. Based on the success of Baltimore, the report is a blueprint for how a city could become more “power resilient” and details how cities use …
Rep. Loebsack Introduces Infrastructure Re-FUEL Act
Congressman Dave Loebsack (D-IA) has introduced the Renewable Fuel Utilization, Expansion, and Leadership (Re-FUEL) Act. The goal of the legislation is to create a competitive grant program to assist fuel retailers with investments in renewable and alternative fuel/energy sources. The program would be administered through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and will help create new and retrofit existing infrastructure, …
Heliae Algae Techology Headed to ASU
Heliae’s algae production technology is heading to Arizona State University’s (ASU) algae testbed facility. The company is partnering with SCHOTT North America to install a Helix photobioreactor at ASU’s Department of Energy (DOE)-funded algae testbed facility. Over the next several years, algae research staff at ASU will leverage the Helix photobioreactor, built by Heliae, for pioneering research that will forward …
BioEnergy Bytes
New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, Power Infrastructure Tracker in East Africa, finds that the demand for electricity in East Africa is expected to grow at approximately 5.3 percent per year till 2020. To meet these requirements, generation capacity would have to increase by 37.7 percent in Uganda, 96.4 percent in Kenya, 75.3 percent in Tanzania and 115 percent in …
Albion Community Power Invests in Wind
Albion Community Power (ACP) has invested £1.5m in partnership with Welsh developer Infinite Renewables to fund the development of a 500kw single wind turbine in Blaencilgoed, in South Wales. The wind turbine, which is the first investment made by ACP, will supply electricity to a local quarry. It is expected to begin producing power in September 2014 and is estimated …
Keep Our Tax Breaks: We Only Make $93B in Profit
Dear Congress, Please keep our millions of dollars in tax breaks in place. We only make $93 billion in collective profit per year. This is not enough money to operate our businesses and overcharge our customers. We’re sure you will make the right decision. Yours truly, Big Oil This is what a letter to Congress might look like from Big …