The Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) has launched a grant program to support the development of offshore wind energy. The Market Entry Assistance Grant Program is the first program born of the Offshore Wind Business Development Fund. The fund is designed to help Maryland businesses become participants in the state’s offshore wind industry. MEA will issue grants to support the immediate …
East Africa’s 1st Utility Solar Project Makes Progress
East Africa’s first utility-scale solar field is making progress. When complete, it is estimated to produce 8 percent of the country’s power generation capacity. The project is going forward due to Dutch solar developer Gigawatt Global Coöperatief having successfully closed on $23.7 million in financing for a 8.5 megawatt solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant from an international consortium of equity …
Renewable Energy Powers Asian Development Bank
Renewable Energy is now powering the Asian Development Bank (ABD). It’s Manila headquarters is now getting 100 percent of its energy from renewable energy including geothermal and solar power. ABD has signed an agreement with AdventEnergy, Inc. Geothermal energy is being delivered from plants in Tiwi in Albay province and Makiling-Banahaw in Laguna province, both of which are on the …
The Sorry State of Corporate Taxes
Citizens for Tax Justice has released a new five-year, comprehensive study of 288 profitable Fortune 500 companies finds that 26 paid no federal corporate income tax over the five-year period; 111 paid no federal corporate income tax in at least one of the last five years, and one-third paid a U.S. tax rate less than 10 percent over the same …
Cali Drought Intensifies, Climate Action Calls Heat Up
As California battles the worst drought the state has seen in centuries, calls for climate action are heating up. During the U.S. Climate Leadership Conference taking place this week in San Diego, California, more than a dozen businesses including Apple, SolarCity, San Diego International Airport, Sapphire Energy and Sungevity signed the Climate Declaration. The declaration urges federal and state policymakers …
Army Awards Renewable Energy Contracts
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville, working with the Army Energy Initiatives Task Force (EITF), has awarded another 20 base contracts to companies in energy-related technologies. The awards are part of the $7 billion capacity, large-scale renewable and alternative energy power production Multiple Award Task Order Contract (MATOC). The 20 contracts are for the following …
Hawaii: Using More Renewables and Less Oil
Hawaii is addressing its lack of fossil fuels by converting its energy to renewables. The state imports nearly all of its energy, including the petroleum that fuels more than 70 percent electricity generation. This effort is the subject of the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) latest Today in Energy report. Another reason the state is attempting to diversify its electricity …
LA Rooftop Solar Program Shining Bright
According to a report from J.R. DeShazo, director of UCLA’s Luskin Center for Innovation, Los Angeles’ new rooftop solar energy program is delivering on its goal of cost-effective, clean power to thousands of electricity customers. The report also finds that the program should be expanded. Under the feed-in-tariff (FiT) program, electric power generated by solar rooftop installations on office and …
West Coast Offshore Wind Project Moves Ahead
The first offshore wind project proposed for federal waters off the West Coast has just taken a big step forward. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell joined by Governor John Kitzhaber and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Director Tommy P. Beaudreau, announced that BOEM has given the green light for Principle Power, Inc. to submit a formal plan to …
New Generation Power Wind Farm Project Kicks Off
New Generation Power Texas has begun the first phase of construction on their 400 Megawatt (MW) Texas Wind Farm. The newly formed subsidiary of Chicago-based New Generation Power started construction on December 11, 2013, which made the wind farm eligible for a Federal Renewable Energy Production Tax Credit (PTC). Located in Haskell County, just northwest of Dallas, Texas, the project …