SoloPower, a manufacturer of flexible thin film solar cells and modules announced that it has received a conditional commitment from the U.S. DOE for a $197 million loan guarantee. The funds will be used to help complete construction of their manufacturing facility located in Wilsonville, Oregon, when complete, will produce around 400 MW of thin film photovoltaic (PV) modules each …
Flat Water Wind Project Completed in Nebraska & Kansas
The Flat Water Wind project has been completed in Southern Nebraska’s Richardson County and Kansas’ Nemaha County. This 60 megawatt (MW) wind farm is comprised of 40 1.5 MW GE wind turbines and was completed on November 15, 2010 – one month ahead of schedule. The wind farm was developed and constructed by Renewable Energy Systems Americas Inc. (RES) for …
Trojan Battery Sponsors PV Solar Training Program
Trojan Battery Company has become a new sponsor of the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP). This is an entry-level certification program for renewable energy professionals based in North America. One of Trojan’s goal’s with this sponsorship is to provide support for the continuing development of industry standards for certification of photovoltaic (PV) system professionals. The company believes …
Alt Energy to Get $300M from GE, ConocoPhilips & NRG
Alternative energy technolgies, including biodiesel and ethanol, natural gas, smart grids, solar, and hydro power, will share in $300 million in capital from a new joint venture involving General Electric Co., ConocoPhilips and NRG Energy Inc. This article from Bloomberg says the investment company, Energy Technology Ventures, will be backing about 30 startups over the next four years: Collaborating with …
Part 1: An Overview of Waste-to-Energy
Earlier this week, I announced that I was kicking off a series on waste-to-energy and many people have already expressed comments and feedback on the subject. It is probably no coincidence that the hot button was the term incineration, aka combustion or burn. No one can see this term and not think pollution. While incinerators are still in use today, …
With a Little Help From My Friends
I’m feeling a bit nostalgic this first week of 2011 for the days of affordable energy prices, environmentalists who still understood change for the greater good and for a biofuels industry that not only got along but were actually friends. We’re only four days into the new year and some energy economists have declared that $3.00 per gallon gas prices …
Southwest Windpower Launches Home Wind Turbine
Southwest Windpower has released the Skystream 600 – their most efficient and small wind turbine product. The Skystream is designed to provide personal wind energy for homeowners and businesses. According to the company, the Skystream 600 produces 74 percent more energy than its predecessor, which makes it the most efficient power grid-connected turbine in its class. On average, it can …
Joanna’s Best Books of 2010
There are a few things I have learned over the last two years of reviewing books. First, no matter how much you “dislike”, or disagree with an author, you always learn something from him or her – always. Second, there are always two sides to every story and we all need to do a better job of learning more about …
Offshore Wind Could Boost Ontario’s Economy
In a new study released by The Conference Board of Canada and financed by the wind company Vestas Offshore, the development of offshore wind farms could boost Ontario’s economy by $4.8 billion to $5.5 billion a year between 2013-2026. During the same time frame, development could lead to a total of $10 billion in capital investment and operations spending and …
IPF Releases Economic Report of 31 Energy Projects
The Iowa Power Fund released a report today that details the economic impact of 31 projects from 2008 through September 2010. Each of the projects has received monetary funds from the program. One project that has received funding from the Iowa Power Fund is Project LIBERTY, POET’s project to develop cellulosic ethanol from corn cobs and light corn stover. The …