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House debate to feature rifts over renewables, climate
The White House is likely to issue a veto threat over the bill’s rejection of the administration’s Mission Innovation initiative to double energy research and development funding over five years. The House spending bill would fund the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at $1.825 billion, about a billion below the White House request. [ read more … ]
The growing battle between Wyoming lawmakers and the largest wind developer in America
State lawmakers and the developer of the largest onshore wind farm in America are increasingly at odds these days. The subject of their strife: a proposal to raise Wyoming’s wind-generation tax. Power Company of Wyoming officials say the measure puts in limbo their plans to build 1,000 turbines in Carbon County. The 3,000 megawatt project — enough to power nearly 1 million homes — will be left at a disadvantage relative to renewable producers in other states, they argue. Wyoming is already the only state in the country with a wind-generation tax. [ read more … ]
China’s largest wind company blows into Texas
China-based Goldwind, the world’s largest wind turbine manufacturer, is buying into Texas for the first time with its largest wind farm in the U.S. Rapidly growing Goldwind just surpassed Denmark’s Vestas Wind Systems as the world’s top wind turbine supplier, according to a new report Wednesday from Navigant Research. Other giants like Germany’s Siemens and General Electric ranked just behind. [ read more … ]
New Solar Plants Generate Floating Green Power
“The fish are happy, the frogs are happy, the ducks came back. It’s a very healthy pond.” In two years, if construction goes as planned, 50,904 panels will float atop the reservoir, generating enough electricity to power almost 5,000 homes, according to Kyocera, the company building the solar plant. The project, once completed, will be the largest installation of its kind in the world. But floating solar arrays are becoming more popular, with installations already operating in Australia and the United States, and more planned or under construction.
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Record-smashing solar cell raises commercialization hopes
There’s a new world record for solar cell efficiency. Engineers at the University of New South Wales in Australia announced this week that they had turned 34.5 percent of unconcentrated sunlight into electricity, blowing away the old world record by 44 percent. Previously, scientists had achieved an electric conversion rate of more than 40 percent, but only by using mirrors that concentrate light. There’s never been such a high electricity conversion rate tapping regular sunlight without concentrators, according to the university.
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