This article was published on bloomberg.com on May 19, 2020. Spanish wind turbine manufacturer, is to build what will be the world’s biggest windmill, by the thinnest of margins. The 14-megawatt machine with a rotor diameter of 222 meters (728 feet) will be just two meters bigger than General Electric Co’s own massive turbine. It’s another … Read more
This article was originally published on greentechmedia.com on May 15, 2020. Dramatic reductions in the cost of wind and solar have led to optimism that they can be primary contributors to low-carbon electricity grids. But there’s an important obstacle to their profitability: revenue decline. Adding wind and solar to the grid tends to reduce electricity prices during the … Read more
Ryan Pollin, ERS, for Zondits Coober Pedy is currently playing out a worst-case scenario for energy transition, and it behooves us all to understand what led them there. The South Australian mining town currently operates a very costly 3.9 MW diesel power plant to supply power to the region. After making the seemingly wise choice … Read more
Clean Energy Investments Pay Off Big Time, New Study Shows NRDC, November 15, 2016 Some have contended that driving down climate-altering carbon pollution inevitably means hefty cost penalties for utility customers, as renewable energy and energy efficiency replace fossil-fueled power plants (many on the verge of extreme old age), but my former NRDC colleague Sierra … Read more
Waiting for a Rockefeller: Meet the Next `Supermajors’ of Energy Bloomberg, April 3, 2016. Image credit: geralt Clean power remains a tumultuous and fragmented business, crowded with companies grabbing for slices of an emerging market that aspires to reshape how the world meets its energy needs. They rise and fall as technology advances and demand seesaws. … Read more
Ryan Pollin for Zondits, January 15, 2016. Image credit: Jeremy Levine Utility-scale solar has been growing like a weed in California, and their latest milestones are in the CA Independent System Operator’s 2015 year-end figures. More energy was provided by solar than by wind sources in the state (a first) or by hydroelectricity (also a first). … Read more
Wind, Solar, and the Renewable Energy Tax Credit ACHR News, August 31, 2015. Image credit: Tax Credits An existing federal tax credit for residential renewable energy systems, specifically solar, wind, and geothermal, is set to expire at the end of 2016. The NEWS has covered what this means for the burgeoning geothermal market extensively, but the … Read more
This Big Texas City Will Soon Be Powered Entirely By Wind And Sun Think Progress, June 11, 2015. Image credit: geralt Located about 30 miles north of the Texas capital in a deeply conservative county, the city of Georgetown will be powered 100 percent by renewable energy within the next couple years. Georgetown’s residents and … Read more
Solar panels helping RI to meet renewable energy goals Turn to 10, May 20, 2015. Image credit: afrndz About 1,600 solar panels now sit on what was once vacant town-owned land, generating enough electricity to power 100 homes, and bring in $3,000 in annual tax revenue to the town of Richmond. With more states offering … Read more
Wind industry sees ‘political interference’ in Maine PUC’s move to reconsider 2 projects Portland Press Herald, February 20, 2015 Maine’s reshaped Public Utilities Commission wants to reconsider two proposed wind projects it approved two months ago, a move critics say would damage the integrity of the regulatory process and scare off future renewable-energy investors. The … Read more