Kawa Capital Management has completed the purchase of Conergy. Together with the closing of the transaction, Kawa appointed the new Conergy holding company Management Board. Alexander Gorski remains Chief Operating Officer (COO) and will take over the position of the CEO Europe. Marc Lohoff will continue to be responsible for the Asian and Australian growth markets region as CEO Asia …
Google Invests $80 Million in Six Solar-Power Plants
Google has made a $80 million equity investment in six solar-power plants – five located in California and one in Arizona. All six of the solar projects are expected to begin operations in January 2014 and provide enough electricity to power 17,000 homes. Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP represented Google who partnered with leading private equity investor KKR & …
World Energy Scenarios Report: More Must Be Done
COP-19 is taking place in Warsaw, Poland and today the World Energy Council (WEC) released a new report, “World Energy Scenarios: Composing energy futures in 2050.” The world is set to face several significant challenges in balancing global energy needs in addressing the triple challenge of the energy trilemma. The WEC study assesses two policy scenarios: the more consumer-driven Jazz …
Solar Thermal Capacity Set to Double
According to a recent Today in Energy published by the U.S Energy Information Administration (EIA) with the expectations that several large, new solar thermal power plants will come online by the end of 2013, solar thermal generating capacity in the U.S. will more than double. The projects feature different solar thermal technologies and storage options. For example, Abengoa’s Solana plant, …
Eight Gas Stations in St. Louis Go Solar
Eight gas station and convenience stores owned by Home Service Oil Company, along with its headquarters in the St. Louis, Missouri area are going solar. Real Goods Solar has been selected to design, install, monitor and maintain the solar power systems. When combined, the solar systems will provide an estimated 378 kW of power and generate nearly 478,000 kilowatt hours …
November 2013 Short-Term Energy Outlook
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) has released its November 2013 Short-Term Energy Outlook and Winter Fuels Outlook. The report comes at the same time the 2013 World Energy Outlook was released by the International Energy Agency. Here are some highlights from the report: The weekly U.S. average regular gasoline retail price has fallen by more than 40 cents per …
Football for Hope. Energy for Hope.
Yingli Solar has announced a milestone in its work with Federation Internationale de Football Association’s (FIFA) Football for Hope program. The 16th center has been officially inaugurated in Alexandra, South Africa. To honor the occasion, Deputy Minister of Sport and Recreation, Mr. Gert Oosthuizen, FIFA’s General Secretary, Mr. Jerome Valcke, representatives of the non-profit organization Grassroot Soccer (GRS), the South …
World Energy Outlook 2013 Released
According to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) 2013 edition of the World Energy Outlook (WEO-2013), technology and high prices are opening up new oil resources, but this does not mean the world is on the verge of an era of oil abundance. The report also finds that the Middle East, the only large source of low-cost oil, will take back …
Xcel Continues to Attack Rooftop Solar
Xcel energy has been fighting the loss of market share through its efforts to curb rooftop solar in areas in Colorado. The Alliance for Solar Choice is striking out against the utility for disregarding consumer choice in what they call “an attempt to protect its monopoly status and inflated profit margins.” This would occur if Xcel were able to eliminate …
Largest Solar Plant in Japan Launched
A 70 megawatt (MW) solar power plant in Kagoshima Prefecture, southern Japan has come online. The Kagoshima Nanatsujima Mega Solar Power Plant went online officially on November 1, 2013 and is being operated by a special purpose company established by Kyocera Corporation and six other companies to sell the electricity to a local utility under Japan’s feed-in-tariff (FIT) program. An …