Florida Biodiesel Brings Green Fuel to Africa

John Davis

Biodiesel-brewing equipment maker Florida Biodiesel, Inc. is sending another one of its biodiesel processors to Africa. Back in April, we told you about the company’s B-500 biodiesel plant was sold to the Lorymat Corporation in the Ivory Coast. Now, Florida Biodiesel has sold a B-60 biodiesel plant sale to Avandith Energy in Lagos, Nigeria. Avandith Energy has chosen the B-60 …

Biodiesel, International

Amyris & GOL Take to the Skies with Biojet Fuel

Joanna Schroeder

Amyris along with Brazilian airline GOL have flown the industry’s first commercial flight with farnesane, a recently approved jet fuel. Flight 7725 left from Orlando, Florida July 30 at 5:15 pm ET and landed in Sao Paulo, Brazil. GOL committed to fly its Boeing 737 fleet with up to a 10 percent blend of the renewable farnesane fuel starting with …

advanced biofuels, biojet fuel, International, Video

Martifer Solar Completes Ukraine PV Project

Joanna Schroeder

Martifer Solar has completed a 8 MW solar power project in the Vinnytsia region of Ukraine. The project, known as Shargood, was developed during what the company said was amid complex political and economic events that occurred in the country. The Shargorod plant is located less than 300 km southwest of Kyiv in the Vinnytsia Oblast of Ukraine. Martifer Solar …

Electricity, International, Solar

New Anti-Dumping Tariffs Will Slow U.S. Solar Industry

Joanna Schroeder

The U.S. Department of Commerce has imposed new anti-dumping tariffs as high as 165.04 percent on imports of solar products from China and 44.18 percent on imports from Taiwan. It should be noted, that China has instituted anti-dumping tariffs on solar panels entering their country as well. In response to the announcement, Jigar Shah, president of the Coalition for Affordable …

International, Renewable Energy, Solar

Rwanda Set to Commission Solar Plant

Joanna Schroeder

The first utility-scale solar PV power plant is set to go online in early August 2014 in East Africa. The 8.5 MWp solar farm will be commissioned by the Government of Rwanda and is currently in its testing phase. Today less than one in five households in Rwanda have access to electricity. The new solar project will increase the country’s …

Electricity, International, Renewable Energy, Solar

Panasonic Corp Installs Power Supply Container

Joanna Schroeder

Panasonic Corporation has developed an interesting offshoot of solar energy: Power Supply Container. The stand-alone photovoltaic power package was installed for the National Elementary School Karimunjawa 01 in Karimunjawa Island, Jepara District, Central Jawa Province, Indonesia. The Power Supply Container is equipped with 12 Panasonic “HIT(R)240” solar modules that the company said has high conversion efficiency and can generate approximately …

Alternative energy, Education, Electricity, International, Solar

UN: Biofuels to Grow Faster than Food Crops

John Davis

Two United Nations agencies say biofuel production will grow faster than food crops. This report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations says prices for the major crops worldwide have dropped significantly from record highs in the last couple of years due to the recent bumper crops …

biofuels, International

Bringing Solar Power to Rural India

Joanna Schroeder

The Sierra Club and the Center for American Progress (CAP) have launched a new video series, “Harnessing the Sun to Keep the Lights on in India”. The series documents the health, economic, and environmental benefits to local communities living in Uttar Pradesh, India, a rural, low-income, off-the-electric-grid region that is rapidly becoming a hotbed of solar activity. The film provides …

International, Renewable Energy, Solar, Video

DNV GL Identify Solar Module Quality Leaders

Joanna Schroeder

DNV GL has released its new PV Module Reliability Scorecard 2014, that found that nearly 2/3 of the cumulative 130 gigawatts of installed solar photovoltaic modules in the world were produced in the last three years. This period marked record module price reductions as well as module manufacturers’ aggressive cost reductions. This cost reduction, finds the Scorecard, has led to …

International, Renewable Energy, Solar

Wind Power Growth Surging Where Supported

Joanna Schroeder

According to Worldwatch Research Associate Mark Konold and Climate and Energy Intern Xiangyu Wu, double-digit growth continued in the global wind market in 2013. In the latest Vital Signs, the writers state that there are 318 GW of wind capacity online today with 35 GW added in 2013. However, the growth was a significant drop from the average growth rate …

International, offshore wind, Renewable Energy, Wind