Saudi Arabia is an interesting country when it comes to energy. First of all, they have more oil than anyone else. They also get a huge amount of solar energy, approximately 2200 kWh per square meter. At the same time, they have tremendous energy demands, both for air conditioning and desalination. It is, after all, not an inherently hospitable environment. Until quite recently, they mostly used oil to generate electricity, since it was so plentiful and cheap there. But, given that oil production has now peaked and with the price of oil going up now, along with increased demand, they are looking in to other alternatives.

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Jesse Morris, Ned Harvey and Dan Seif of Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) held an online chat session on the Forces Affecting the Solar Market last week that was chock full of useful information. The session was held in a Q&A format.

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Having recently unveiled its fully integrated, turnkey concentrated photovoltaic energy system, Fremont, California’s GreenVolts announced the commissioning of a fully warrantied 288-kW CPV system that should provide more than 80% of peak electricity needs at Beneficial Insectary’s production facility in the Shasta Valley.

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This post outlines key considerations for property owners to evaluate when leasing their land for renewable energy development. There are pros and cons to leasing your property to a renewable energy developer and/or owner to earn revenue. It is important to understand how to navigate the complexities of benefits and risks when dealing with newly emerging renewable energy development land leases.

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Solar thermal technology (ie, solar hot water) provides space heating and/or hot water and is a frequently forgotten member of the solar power family. These highly effective systems are popular in many parts of the globe, from China to Canada to Zimbabwe. The panels are typically 70%-90% efficient, compared to around 20% efficiency for solar photovoltaic (pv) [...]

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The dark side of trying to jump start renewable energy in a cash-poor economy is playing out with reports that Spain is under heavy pressure to reverse or tone down plans to reduce its special ‘feed-in tariffs’ (FiTs) for photovoltaic energy operators. The reductions are intended to staunch some heavy and unanticipated monetary bleeding caused [...]

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Ten out of fourteen companies selling solar thermal water heaters in the United Kingdom “exaggerated potential savings to consumers,” during an undercover sting conducted by Which? magazine, a sort of Brit Consumer Reports, only edgier. Solar thermal hot water systems use sunlight to heat water for home or pool use. The technology is simple and [...]

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Installed solar panel capacity in the United States will grow by 48-50 percent or more each year for the next three years, according to a new report from GTM Research, the research arm of Greentech Media. By 2012, PV capacity in the U.S. could surpass Germany, the current global leader. The predict growth, extrapolated from [...]

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Boston-based non-profit New Generation Energy has launched a program to provide small businesses and community based organizations with loans of $5,000 to $100,000 for renewable energy and energy efficiency upgrades. The program adds to a small but growing pool of money available for businesses, individuals and local governments looking eager to upgrade their energy infrastructure, [...]

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