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New Solar PV Installations to Double to 73.4 GW in 2020

Despite waning government support, the threat of international trade wars, and high-profile bankruptcies, the solar photovoltaic (PV) market continues to grow. Solar PV technology costs have steadily declined, and pathways to further cost reduction are being pursued.

11 Nov 2013

Wind Energy Facilities Causing Large Number of Bat Deaths

A new estimate of bat deaths caused by wind turbines concludes that more than 600,000 of the mammals likely died this way in 2012 in the contiguous United States. The estimate, published in an article in BioScience, used sophisticated statistical techniques to infer the probable number of bat deaths at wind energy facilities from the number of dead bats found at 21 locations, correcting for the installed power capacity of the facilities.

11 Nov 2013

Max Planck Honors Climate Change Scientists with Research Prize

Chris Field and Markus Reichstein will be presented with the Max Planck Research Prize on November 13, 2013 in Berlin. The two scientists are honoured for their research into the impact of climate change on ecosystems. Chris Field is founding director of the Department of Global Ecology at the Carnegie Institution for Science and Professor at Stanford University, Markus Reichstein director at the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry.

11 Nov 2013

CO2CARE EU Project Discusses Technologies for Safe Closure of Geological CO2 Storage Sites

At the final conference of the EU project CO2CARE - CO2 Site Closure Assessment Research - at the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences from 04 to 06 November 2013 more than 60 experts from academia, industry and regulatory authorities from 13 countries discussed technologies and procedures for a safe and sustainable closure of geological CO2 storage sites.

11 Nov 2013

AMT II and Adherent Enter Agreement to Market Carbon Fiber Waste Recycling Technologies

AMTII Corporation and Adherent Technologies, Inc. (ATI) announced today their agreement in principle to partner in order to bring Adherent's Recycling of Carbon Fiber waste and Reactive Fiber Sizing technologies to market. They anticipate opening their first plant in the Oklahoma or Kansas area in 2014 that will service the significant industrial and aircraft manufacturing centers located in the region.

8 Nov 2013

NSF Awards UTSA Researchers $400,000 to Pursue Critical Wind Energy Research

Although wind resources in the U.S. are abundant, the cost of generating wind energy is still prohibitively expensive when compared to natural gas and fossil fuels. Researchers have documented that one of the key reasons the costs remain high is because wind turbines have shorter lifespans compared to other energy-producing technologies, which can be directly linked to wear and tear caused by turbulence.

8 Nov 2013

USDA Awards Grant to Develop Beetle-Killed Wood as Sustainable Feedstock for Distributed Bio-Refineries

Cool Planet Energy Systems, a developer of small scale bio-refineries for the conversion of non-food biomass into biofuels and soil enhancing biochar, as a member of the Bioenergy Alliance Network of the Rockies (BANR), was awarded a grant by the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) to develop the scientific underpinnings for using beetle-killed wood as a sustainable feedstock for distributed bio-refineries.

8 Nov 2013

Challenges to Climate Change Preparedness

Changes are already happening to Earth's climate due to the burning of fossil fuels, deforestation and large-scale agriculture. As changes get more pronounced, people everywhere will have to adjust. In this week's issue of the journal Science, an international group of researchers urge the development of science needed to manage climate risks and capitalize on unexpected opportunities.

8 Nov 2013

Changes in Solar Activity Do Not Have a Significant Role in Global Warming

Changes in solar activity have contributed no more than 10 per cent to global warming in the twentieth century, a new study has found.

8 Nov 2013

EPFL Installs Dye Solar Cell Glass Façade at SwissTech Convention Center

EPFL’s new convention center is being equipped with an impressive glass façade composed of dye solar cells. The first architectural integration of this technology is a new step in Romande Energie and EPFL’s partnership to develop a large-scale solar park and conduct research and development projects.

8 Nov 2013

NRG Business Solutions to Provide Renewable Energy to Pennsylvania Convention Center

The Pennsylvania Convention Center announced today that NRG Business Solutions, a part of NRG Energy, Inc., will be powering its facilities with a portion of renewable energy beginning next year. The Convention Center chose renewable energy as part of its ongoing commitment to sustainability.

From NRG Energy, Inc. 8 Nov 2013

UCSB Earns National Recognition for Innovative Advances in Water Conservation

Long lauded for its commitment to the environment and all things sustainability, UC Santa Barbara has earned another such accolade: national recognition for its innovative and "remarkable" advances in water conservation.

8 Nov 2013

Using Mobile Catalytic Pyrolysis Technology to Produce Bio-Oil from Wood Chips

Battelle engineers and scientists have developed a mobile device that transforms unwanted biomass materials such as wood chips or agricultural waste into valuable bio-oil using catalytic pyrolysis.

From Battelle 8 Nov 2013

SunEdison Secures OPIC Funding for Boshof Solar Park Project in South Africa

Leading global solar energy services and technology provider SunEdison, Inc., through its South African affiliate, (collectively "SunEdison") today announced it had secured R1.8 billion (US$185 million) in foreign debt funding from the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC). This amounts to 75% of the R2.4 billion project cost for the Boshof Solar Park Project ("Boshof"), located in South Africa's Free State province near Kimberley.

7 Nov 2013

XChanger Receives US Patent for HVAC Energy Efficiency Technology

XChanger Companies, Inc., announced it has received its first of multiple patents from the United States Patent Office for its HVAC, energy efficiency technology. Their products have consistently been shown to increase the energy efficiency of a building's heating and cooling systems by more than 30 percent.

7 Nov 2013