With GE’s software, stored wind can increase three revenue streams. After premiering its 2.5-megawatt, 120-meter rotor Brilliant wind turbine in February, GE is now announcing the commercial installation of the first three models that will integrate energy storage capability. GE’s (NYSE:GE) engineering advances have long been moving toward two broad objectives: achieving a more rapid… Keep reading →
What do Lockheed Martin, the city of Austin in Texas and Intel have in common? They all invest in renewable energy, alongside major consumers like the Department of Defense and major consumer brand companies like Whole Foods.
The business case for these projects and for ownership of renewable generating capacity is clear, Navigant Consulting Director Andrew Kinross told Breaking Energy in this video, but clear policy has also lent appeal to the sector and prompted creative financing for projects that in turn boosts employment. Financing around projects and structures like third-party ownership of solar energy assets by private equity firms or pension fund investors has been particularly interesting, Kinross says. Keep reading →
In the noisy back-and-forth of the presidential elections, it can be difficult to remember that many other offices are highly contested – positions that in many ways could have a more direct influence on the energy business than high-profile but more general US federal policy or international treaty efforts.
Elected officials need to take down the barriers that make it hard for cities to innovate, C40 Climate Leadership Group Director Michael Marinello said in this video panel discussion with Breaking Energy. Cities have in many cases proven that they can move ahead with technology implementation and market changes at the local level; federal officials who can’t help need to get out of the way, he says here. Keep reading →
Often implementing programs that create meaningful change don’t involve pure innovation, groundbreaking technology or original approaches. In many cases – in both the private sector and across regulatory spheres – the best implementations rely on learning from leaders and applying established solutions to new environments.
With cities driving the global economy and the world tipping further into being a more thoroughly urbanized place, urban energy leaders in both the private and public sector world are trying less often to “reinvent the wheel” as they are learning from what C40 Climate Leadership Group director Michael Marinello says in this video is a “network effect.” Keep reading →
The US wind industry is on track for a record-breaking year. In August, the American Wind Energy Association announced a milestone 50 GW of capacity and installations will this year beat previous records.
Matt Kaplan, US wind analyst at IHS Emerging Energy Research, estimates that 12 GW will be installed this year. Keep reading →
For renewable energy, the 2012 presidential race reveals the downside of being championed.
President Barack Obama channeled a historic amount of money into green energy in his first term and made it a centerpiece of his jobs platform. As a result, renewable energy is big target for those taking aim at Obama. Keep reading →
The US wind power industry has lived and died by production tax credits over the years, and with the prospect of expiration finally looming at the end of this year, industry players are working hard to build a future without it.
US installations are set to fall off a cliff in 2013 with Navigant Consulting estimating additional incremental capacity between 1 and 4 GW, down dramatically from >9 GW in 2012. Keep reading →
The US wind industry, seeking to prolong its decade-long construction boom, wants renewable energy subsidies added to any deal between Congress and the White House that extends a payroll tax cut through the rest of this year.
“This is our best chance to get this done,” says John Purcell, a vice president at Leeco Steel, a Chicago-area company that makes the steel used in wind-turbine towers. “It’s today, it’s this payroll tax cut bill.” Keep reading →
Although solar photovoltaic (PV) panel prices are rapidly dropping, integrating a high quality solar energy into the grid will have added costs, particularly because solar is an intermittent resource with highly variable output and repercussions for transmission grids.
To assess the issue, the US Department of Energy and Nevada’s utility, NV Energy, jointly sponsored a study conducted by Navigant Consulting on what the integration of solar in Nevada will mean for the utility. Download the full study here. Keep reading →
Despite a slow start for the US solar photovoltaic (PV) market, the year will recover sharply to end with “frantic buying”, according to a leading analyst.
“2011 could very well be a US 1.7 [gigawatt] inventory for the US that flows into 2012,” Paula Mints, principal analyst at Navigant Consulting, said. Keep reading →
