France’s Total is converting its petroleum processor in La Mède to make biodiesel. This news release says the $216 million conversion will make the facility France’s first biorefinery and will stop refinering petroleum by the end of 2016. “There are three possible responses to the crisis in the European refining industry. The first is to throw in the towel. The …
Aemetis to Sell Biodiesel to India Tourism Buses
California-based Aemetis, Inc. will start selling biodiesel to travel bus operators in India’s tourism industry. This company news release says a move by India government that allows biodiesel manufacturers such as Aemetis to sell to customers directly helped make the deal possible. According to a study carried out by Nielsen Research for the Department of Petroleum Planning and Analysis, Ministry …
Burundi Moving Towards Solar
Burundi is moving towards solar. Via the Power Africa and Power Africa’s Beyond the Grid sub-initiative, Gigawatt Global has been awarded two grants to bring solar to the country, where only four percent of the population has access to residential power. The proposed project, a 7.5 Megawatt (MW) solar field, will increase the country’s generation capacity by 15 percent. Currently, …
Egypt Solar Energy Market Report
The Egypt Solar Energy Association (ESEA) has a released a report detailing the growth of the Egyptian solar industry: “Egypt’s Solar Energy Market – FiT Program and Beyond 2015”. Over the past several weeks, solar has made gains with the announcement of 2.3 GW of power to be generated by photovoltaic energy within the next few years. In addition, leading …
Solar Impulse 2 Takes to the Skies
Solar Impulse 2 has set off on a 35,000-kilometer journey around the world, powered only by solar energy. Schindler, a leading global elevator and escalator provider, is one of the project’s four main partners and welcomed the aircraft as it stops over at the Mandalay International Airport in Mandalay, Myanmar. The Solar Impulse 2 is a single-seater aircraft made of …
UK Opens Its Largest Biomass Plant
The largest biomass plant in the United Kingdom has opened in Scotland and promises to help the UK meet a goal of 11 percent of non-electrical heat demand by renewable sources by 2020. This story from the BBC says the RWE Markinch Biomass plant in Glenrothes replaces the former 1950s coal and gas-fired power station on the site of Tullis …
Solar Plant Opens in Northern Cape Province
Abengoa and state-owned financier, the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), together with KaXu Community Trust have launched a 100 MW solar plant – KaXu Solar One – near the town of Pofadder (Northern Cape Province). The new solar facility will power 80,000 homes in South Africa. The Department of Energy of South Africa awarded Abengoa the project. The power will be …
Rwanda’s Prez Paul Kagame Calls for Clean Energy
The 140 MW Oklaria 1 geothermal plant was recently commissioned in Naivasha, Kenya and Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame was on hand for the event. He is advocating for more investment in renewable energy as Africa struggles with lack of electricity, and said this is a must for the country, and for Africa, to see an economic transformation. “European countries are …
KenGen Commissions Geothermal Plant in Kenya
Kenya continues to rise as one of the leading countries tapping into geothermal energy. The Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) has inaugurated the 140 MW Oklaria 1 power plant, the last phase of the 280 MW geothermal facility. KenGen believes the additional electricity produced will help further stabilize volatile electricity costs throughout the country. H.E President Paul Kagame of the …
Tanzania Action Roadmap for Energy Access
A recent two-day workshop held in Tanzania and hosted by the United Nations Foundation’s Energy Access Practitioner Network and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) gathered support of the UN’s Sustainable Energy for All initiative’s (SE4ALL) 2030 objectives delivering access to modern energy services for all. If the goal is met, it will double the rate of energy efficiency …