Conventional hydropower fell from its perennial perch as the source of the majority of U.S. renewable energy in 2014, yet another sign of the rise of a new wave of renewables – wind and solar, especially – on the U.S. electrical grid. Data released Wednesday by the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed hydropower with net… Keep reading →
The geothermal industry’s efforts to grab a bigger slice of the growing renewable energy pie met with some success in 2014, though that wasn’t reflected in the United States, where questions remain as to when – or if – geothermal might become more than a relatively small, regional player. Previewing its latest annual report, the… Keep reading →
The numbers are still pretty small, but the latest data compilation from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory shows renewable electricity generation rising steadily in the United States. Here’s a key chart from NREL’s just-released Renewable Energy Data Book, which includes data through the end of 2013. Capacity is the amount of total power that… Keep reading →
Many of the things that arguably make wind and solar less than perfect energy sources don’t seem to trouble geothermal energy. Bird kills, intermittent output, low capacity factors, lack of dispatchability – no issues there with geothermal. Yet while wind and solar have sprinted forward in the past decade in the United States, geothermal has by comparison stood still.… Keep reading →
For months now there has been much secrecy and mystery surrounding the location of electric car revolutionary Tesla’s new $5 billion Gigafactory. The factory will supply cheaper batteries for the company’s Model 3 electric car and will be large enough to manufacture more lithium-ion batteries than the entire industry produces now. Due to its sheer… Keep reading →
On August 11, 2014, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto enacted secondary energy reform legislation, thus concluding a legislative process to overhaul Mexico’s energy sector that stems from a December 20, 2013 decree modifying several energy-related provisions contemplated under the Mexican constitution, a topic about which Nexant has blogged in the past. While the press has focused its… Keep reading →
This summer, the Mexican Congress is finally expected to approve the secondary legislation tied to Mexico’s energy reform. Prior to the announcement of energy sector reforms, Mexico was characterized by a very closed oil sector regime alongside a rudimentary electricity sector. While most industry observers focus their attention on the oil sector – conceiving Mexico’s… Keep reading →
People who agree that climate change is a dire problem often disagree about how to solve it. In recent months, once-private disagreements have ballooned into a public spat between pro-nuclear and anti-nuclear climate activists. Depending on whom you ask, nuclear power is either “essential” or “ill-suited” to efforts aimed at staving off climate disaster. Nuclear… Keep reading →
“You’d think the thrill might wear off this whole renewable energy investing thing after a while. Nope—we’re still as into it as ever.” This week, Google announced an $80 million equity investment in six solar photovoltaic projects being developed by Recurrent Energy in Arizona and California. The deal marks the company’s 14th investment since it started eyeing project-level… Keep reading →
Siemens’ financing arm is seeing a shift in project finance from a focus on renewables to a more even mix of renewable and fossil fuel generation, according to US chief executive Kirk Edelman. “What we’re seeing now is a little bit of a shift away from a lot of focus on renewables to a more… Keep reading →
