On October 3, 2008, President Bush signed into law HR 1424, which includes the Energy Improvement and Extension Act of 2008. The Act extends the Production Tax Credit and Investment Tax Credit that are essential to the growth of renewable energy in the United States. The looming expiration of those credits had the renewable energy industry buzzing with speculation.

Continue reading "Renewable Energy Tax Credits Extended as Far as 2016" »

The CalCEF Clean Energy Angel Fund's announcement earlier this month -- that Matthew Lecar will henceforth manage the fund -- is good news for the cleantech industry. Lecar combines Sand Hill investment savvy with energy industry expertise. That means entrepreneurs will meet an investor who understands the value of transformational clean energy innovations, and sees through those that aren't really.

Continue reading "New Leadership at CalCEF Angel Fund Means New Opportunities for Cleantech Startups" »

In Beijing China, 17,000 athletes from around the world are staying at a LEED Gold Olympic Village, their temporary home for the 2008 Olympic Games. The U.S. Green Building Council announced this week that the Village has been awarded LEED Gold certification under a pilot LEED for Neighborhood Development certification program.

Continue reading "Beijing Olympic Village Certified Green; Vancouver Seeks Twin Golds for 2010" »

The Yancey brothers' family feud over wind turbines is back in the news. Move over, boys. The future knocked, and your father let it in.

Continue reading "Yancey's Family Wind Woes In the News Again" »

A space-based solar power system would require building large solar energy collectors in Earth's orbit. Outside the atmosphere, in constant daylight, the panels would harvest more energy than land-based units.

Continue reading "Harvest the Sun -- From Space (NY Times)" »

HelioVolt and Architectural Glass & Aluminum Co. today announced a partnership to incorporate solar energy systems directly into standardized curtain wall products, the exterior glass facades that dominate modern urban construction.

Continue reading "HelioVolt Partners with AGA to Manufacture BIPV" »

Suniva's investors have put US $55 million of venture capital into a startup whose technology promises to achieve high efficiencies with low-cost monocrystalline silicon solar cells. Denis Du Bois interviews founder and solar pioneer Ajeet Rohatgi about the future of the PV industry and the meaning of his company's name. (podcast)

Continue reading "Lower Solar Cost and Higher Efficiency is "Gift from the Sun"" »

Energy Minute: Biomass is slowly gaining popularity for space heat -- in part because it's a renewable energy source, and in part because it's less expensive to operate than a conventional furnace. (podcast)

Continue reading "Biomass for Central Heat" »

Energy independence comes in many forms. We look at a commercial office example and a residential example that demonstrate how solar helps owners to be self-sufficient in ways that match their values. The California Healthcare Foundation covered the roof of their newly renovated offices with solar panels. Going solar is consistent with their mission to improve the health of Californians. Borrego Solar co-founder Chris Anderson built a new home for himself and went off-grid. He wants to show Northeasterners that a home can be energy independent and comfortable at the same time. Renewable energy isn't the only green-building feature of these two projects. (podcast) (photos)

Continue reading "Energy Independence at the Office and at Home - Building Priorities Briefing" »

You can't be in the solar power business without racking up airline miles to Germany, Spain and Asia. But for U.S. solar buyers, the conferences are coming here. Whatever you're looking for in solar, you'll find it, without a passport.

Continue reading "World-Class Solar Conferences Crystallize on California Coast" »

RENEWABLE ENERGY WORLD 2008 -- Day4 Energy of Canada is one of the almost 200 exhibitors at the conference. Economic woes don't seem to dampen this company's enthusiasm. With a fresh IPO and a sold-out production run, Day4 is just trying to keep up with demand for its innovative photovoltaic modules. Denis Du Bois interviews Day4's Jake Brown at REW. (podcast) (photo)

Continue reading "Day4 Energy Rides Rising Global Demand for Solar Power" »

RENEWABLE ENERGY WORLD 2008 -- Adding solar power to your building is getting easier, thanks to a financing model borrowed from utility-scale renewable energy projects. Power purchase agreements are now an option for getting your own clean energy source, without laying out the capital. But even big projects don't happen without the right incentives in place. Some important federal subsidies are due to expire if Congress doesn't act soon to extend them. Will that happen in an election year? Does this dark cloud cast gloom on renewable energy's future? Denis Du Bois asks Mark McLanahan of MMA Renewable Ventures about his expectations for the production tax credit, the investment tax credit, and the global economy.

Continue reading "Solar Financier's Outlook is Bright; Tax Credits' Future is Cloudy" »

RENEWABLE ENERGY WORLD 2008 -- If the global economy coughs, will it choke off the flow of capital into the solar energy sector? Or does this hot industry have a special antibody that makes it immune to a recession? The prospect of a slowdown is a global issue. For a global perspective, Denis Du Bois interviews Peter Bostock of Solaicx, a company that ships its ingots and wafers to major photovoltaic cell manufacturers all over the world. (podcast)

Continue reading "Solaicx Anticipates Growth, Even if Economy Slows" »

RENEWABLE ENERGY WORLD 2008 opened earlier this week with keynote addresses by two well-known Nevada dignitaries. This is the fifth year for the conference and expo formerly known as Power-Gen Renewable Energy and Fuels. More than the name has changed. This article is your gateway to our coverage of this all-renewables conference.

Continue reading "Renewable Energy World Conference Is Changing with the Industry" »

RENEWABLE ENERGY WORLD 2008 -- As oil prices closed above $100 a barrel for the first time, the Renewable Energy World 2008 conference and expo opened in Las Vegas, Nevada, today with a keynote address by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. (photos)

Continue reading "Senator Reid Opens Renewable Energy World Conference with Call for Policy Changes" »

Austin, Texas will be the site of the first manufacturing facility for HelioVolt Corporation, a producer of thin film solar energy products. The site was announced this morning. HelioVolt is headquartered in Austin, home to several clean-tech companies.

Continue reading "Austin Clean Tech Hub Expands: HelioVolt To Build Thin-Film Solar Factory" »

Fat Spaniel Technologies today announced a new web-based monitoring service for commercial-scale solar hot water installations. FST also announced a new integration with Outback equipment for off-grid and grid-tie photovoltaics. The news indicates the company is expanding its market focus into emerging niches of renewable energy information and analysis. (photos)

Continue reading "Fat Spaniel Spreads Out To Cover Solar Thermal Monitoring" »

Solaicx is a manufacturer of silicon ingots and wafers for photovoltaics, and the company recently opened a new manufacturing facility in Portland, OR. The plant will start out producing about 32 megawatts per year, and at full capacity it expects to employ 180 skilled workers and churn out 180 megawatts per year. Solaicx says its proprietary manufacturing technology yields low-cost, high quality cells that are optimized for solar energy applications. Why locate in Oregon, and not Asia? What is it about the Solaicx process that could make solar "affordable?" Denis Du Bois interviews the company's CEO, Bob Ford. (podcast) (photos) (transcript)

Continue reading "Solaicx Begins Full-Scale Production of "Solar-Optimized" Silicon Wafers in Oregon" »

Not only is China doubling its nuclear energy capacity by 2020, it's on a hydro spree that appears to abandon the ecological values we take for granted in the developed world.

Continue reading "Patrick Moore Should Be Proud of China's Energy Plans (NY Times)" »

The renewable energy industry's leading podcast series ran a segment I recorded at Greenbuild. It's an excerpt of an audio package I produced when I visited the exhibits of the major energy-related exhibitors there. (podcast)

Continue reading "Solar at Greenbuild: Audio Tour (Inside Renewable Energy)" »

Continue reading "Solar Decathlon 2007 Winners" »

Continue reading "Solar Decathlon 2007 Draws 100,000 To See Energy-Efficient Homes" »

Let me be the first to point you to next week's Fortune magazine. Marc Gunther's "The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades" shines 4 pages of praise on solar module manufacturer SunPower.

Continue reading "SunPower's Shades of Fortune" »

Benefuel, Inc. and its customer Seymour Biofuels announced plans this morning to build a biodiesel refinery based on technology that converts low-grade fats and vegetable oils into biodiesel.

Continue reading "Seymour Refinery To Tackle Key Flaws in Biodiesel Production" »

SOLAR POWER 2007 -- The sold-out Solar Power 2007 conference rocked Long Beach CA. If you didn't make it to the conference, this article is your info gateway to catch up on the happenings there. Essential links to sound bytes from the keynote presentations, stories from the expo floor, an inside view from the Press Room, webcasts of the conference, and more.

Continue reading "Solar Power 2007 Round-Up" »

If I were to sum up the message of the opening remarks from the Solar Power 2007 conference, it would be simply: "We have arrived." Plus, Ted Turner's unabashed remarks were the talk of the conference. (Includes a sampling of his more memorable sound bytes.) (podcast)(photo)(transcript)

Continue reading "Solar Power 2007 Conference Keynote Presentation Themes" »

SOLAR POWER 2007 -- At the expo I spoke with Paul Wormser, Senior Director of Product Development for Sharp Solar. Sharp introduced a new mounting system at the conference. This is part of a trend I call the "Macintosh approach," a trend that will change the game for solar manufacturers.

Continue reading "Sharp Solar OnEnergy Marks Trend: PV for the Rest of Us" »

SOLAR POWER 2007 -- Ted Turner was the highlight of the opening day of Solar Power. The straight-talking DT Solar founder and cable TV mogul joined Stewart Brand (of Whole Earth Catalog fame) in a discussion during the opening session, before a packed house of about 2,000 conference attendees.

Continue reading "Solar Power 2007: Renewables Are "Biggest Business Opportunity" Says Ted Turner" »

SOLAR POWER 2007 -- If I were to sum up the message of SEPA Executive Director Julia Hamm’s opening remarks at Solar Power 2007, it would be the phrase: "We have arrived."

Continue reading "Solar Power 2007: "It Is Our Time"" »

SOLAR POWER 2007 -- Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), maintenance contracts, and other long-term solar energy customer agreements all require that someone keep a vigilant watch over system performance. That's not easy for operators with long lists of systems to monitor. Fat Spaniel today announced Insight Manager, designed to monitor multiple sites in a single, web-based dashboard.

Continue reading "Fat Spaniel Launches Insight Manager Multi-Site Dashboard at Solar Power 2007" »

SOLAR POWER 2007 -- Sometimes the best location for a camera, sensor, or area light is unfortunately not pre-wired for electricity. At the Solar Power 2007 conference in Long Beach, California, today Carmanah introduced a self-contained, solar-powered energy source for this very situation. (photo)

Continue reading "Carmanah Introduces EverGEN Small "Solar Engine" at Solar Power 2007" »

Home builder Peter Erickson used some innovative business ideas to allow homeowners to share in the incentives and financial benefits of harnessing solar energy.

Continue reading "Affordable Solar: High-Performance Housing + Smart Investing (Home Power)" »

Geothermal energy is one of the most intriguing renewable sources for me. Humans have used natural hot springs for millenia. A recent AP article reports on the latest efforts in Europe to tap hot rocks deep underground as a way to heat water to produce energy.

Continue reading "Energy Search Goes Underground in Switzerland (AP)" »

Energy Minute: A small region of Spain is far ahead of almost everyone in its use of renewable energy. It uses wind, solar, biomass and hydro to produce 60 percent of its power. (podcast)

Continue reading "Spain's Navarre Region Runs with Renewable Energy" »

Solar thermal doesn't get enough attention. Its energy output is used for building space heating, refrigeration and air conditioning, hot water, steam for industrial processes, drying, and electric power generation.

Continue reading "Solar Thermal Energy an Option in Large Facilities (WAPA)" »

PepsiCo announced the purchase of renewable energy certificates (RECs) to match 100 percent of the purchased electricity used by all of its US-based manufacturing facilities, headquarters, distribution centers and regional offices. The EPA says the purchase marks the largest REC deal to date. The deal is for 1 billion kWh per year for three years. How much is that in real money?

Continue reading "PepsiCo Makes Largest Corporate Purchase Yet of RECs" »

The DOE's NREL has released its 2007 ranking of leading utility green power programs. Utilities are ranked according to green energy sales, number of participants, and the lowest premium charged per kWh.

Continue reading "Green Power Programs: These Utilities Have the 10 Best (NREL)" »

Energy Minute: Rooftop concentrating solar is a scaled-down version of the technology behind the largest utility-class solar power plants. A handful of companies are working on innovative approaches. They promise to have products on the U.S. market by 2008. (podcast)

Continue reading "Rooftop Concentrating Solar" »

When you decide to put a solar power system on the roof of your building, the next question is, "what kind?" There are conventional silicon modules, a technology that hasn't changed dramatically since the first lunar landing. There are thin film solar sheets that add a layer of protection and insulation to the roof, while they generate power -- although not as efficiently. Soliant Energy is working on a form of concentrating solar technology for commercial rooftops. Energy Priorities interviews CEO Brad Hines. (podcast) (photo)

Continue reading "Soliant Energy Targets Commercial Rooftops with its Concentrating Solar Platform" »

Energy Minute: The U.S. Department of Energy announced $168 million in funding to accelerate solar energy technology development. This brief podcast explains what the research will accomplish and how it will happen. (podcast)

Continue reading "Solar America Initiative" »

Energy Minute: Demand response programs ask customers to stop buying as much power during periods of peak demand, because there's not enough energy to go around. This "triple-shot" Energy Minute examines whether those customers, or the utilities, could somehow use renewable energy instead. (podcast)

Continue reading "Can Renewable Energy Help Manage Peak Demand?" »

The U.S. Department of Energy announced $168 million in funding to accelerate solar energy technology development, positioning the money as a giant boost to the future of photovoltaics. Will this really make solar cost-competitive with grid power in the next eight years? How meaningful is this announcement to businesses?

Continue reading "Solar America Initiative Starts Not with a Bang, but with a Whimper" »

Life is good for renewable energy companies, but sustained success will require a sustained commitment, says National Renewable Energy Lab director Dan Arvizu. He spoke at the Power-Gen Renewable Energy and Fuels 2007 conference in Las Vegas Nevada last week. Here are the highlights of his keynote address. (podcast) (photo)

Continue reading "NREL Leader Urges Investing with the Long View to Sustain Renewable Industry's Growth" »

Six solar projects make 2006 a milestone year for this renewable-energy finance innovator. Third-party financing removes removes a cost barrier, and power purchase agreements promise predictably-priced green energy.

Continue reading "MMA Renewable Ventures Closes $39 Million in Solar Project Financing for 2006" »

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) launched a "Fortune 500 Green Power Challenge" for 2007. The campaign urges large companies to make a greater commitment to renewable energy.

Continue reading "EPA Launches Fortune 500 Challenge (NW Current)" »

Checking in on a solar array from the office is an intriguing thought for a solar homeowner. But there's a more serious and practical side to monitoring renewable energy systems for businesses, who are demanding accountability from solar installers and integrators. (podcast) (photo)

Continue reading "Monitoring Solar Energy for Fun and Profit: Fat Spaniel's "PV2Web" Displays Real-Time Status" »

A power plant in Connecticut would rather have a pile of garbage than a lump of coal for Christmas. A state-sponsored project turns non-recyclable garbage into fuel for this and four more generating stations. During the holidays, Americans produce more garbage than in any other season.

Continue reading "Connecticut Turns Holiday Trash into Electricity (Waterbury Rep-American)" »

Vodafone Fiji is expanding mobile phone coverage to the outer Fiji islands, relying on renewable power sources to power its stations in off-grid regions. Engineers keep an eye on the newest site via a remote monitoring system from Fat Spaniel Technologies.

Continue reading "Engineers Remotely Monitor Solar at Fiji Mountaintop Cell Tower" »

GREENBUILD -- This is a conference about sustainable building. The host, the US Green Building Council, is an environmental organization with a mission to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through better building practices.

At the heart of this mission is energy efficiency. EP went last week to find out whether energy is of interest to LEED architects and builders. It is. Here's our perspective on the conference and expo. (photos)

Continue reading "Greenbuild 2006: Energy in the Spotlight" »

GREENBUILD -- Building-integrated solar, or BIPV, has caught attendees' attention at the Greenbuild 2006 Conference and Expo. Open Energy, a relatively new company in the space, is exhibiting three types of BIPV for roofs and windows. Their solar building materials are of particular interest to the large audience of LEED-accredited architects here. Open Energy's Howard Gomes talks with us about their products and the return on investment in various parts of the U.S. and the world. (podcast) (photos)

Continue reading "Open Energy's Solar Building Materials Draw Crowds at Greenbuild" »

GREENBUILD-- Interview with John Langdon of HelioVolt, a maker of solar power products that use no silicon. He talks about the applications of the company's photovoltaics for commercial buildings, and the economics of designing solar into a structure. Hear what's now and what's next from this innovative renewable energy company, with a prediction for the future of solar technologies. (podcast)

Continue reading "HelioVolt's No-Silicon Solar Technology -- The Future of Building-Integrated Photovoltaics?" »

The photovoltaics industry's biggest U.S. conference is happening this week in San Jose, CA. Having reached a modest level of maturity, the sector is facing a new array of challenges. What issues stand in the way of widespread success, and what are industry leaders doing about them?

Continue reading "Solar Power 2006 Rallies Vendors, Enthusiasts to Address Industry Challenges" »

Renewable energy sources could soon become significant contributors to the world's growing energy demand -- and they had better, because energy efficiency alone is not enough to counter the alarming trend of climate change.

Continue reading "The Rise of Renewable Energy (Scientific American)" »