US renewable energy sources continued to grow in 2014, as reported by Breaking Energy, with data from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission showing that “15,384 megawatts of new generation went into service in 2014, and 49.9 percent of [all that capacity] came from wind, solar and other renewables.” According to the International Renewable Energy Agency… Keep reading →
The growth in installed solar power capacity over the past several years is nothing short of astonishing. Decreased costs and innovative financing mechanisms, along with supportive policy at national, state and local levels has helped solar power take off. Traditional fossil-based power generation sources like coal and natural gas had a huge head start and… Keep reading →
Apple, Inc has finalized an historic $850 million agreement to purchase solar power from First Solar, the largest solar developer in the United States. “The deal will supply enough electricity to power all of Apple’s California stores, offices, headquarters and a data center, Cook said Tuesday at the Goldman Sachs technology conference in San Francisco.… Keep reading →
Is that massive Apple solar play that made news on Tuesday burnishing the tech titan’s green cred? It might be, but environmentalists aren’t thrilled about the whole thing. Not that they’ve got anything against Apple – or solar power, they say. Kim Delfino is California director of the group Defenders of Wildlife, an organization that has… Keep reading →
Citigroup predicted the recent increase in oil prices is a temporary lull in the downward price trajectory. The bank lowered its crude oil price forecast. “Despite global declines in spending that have driven up oil prices in recent weeks, oil production in the U.S. is still rising, wrote Edward Morse, Citigroup’s global head of commodity… Keep reading →
Crescent Dunes will be generating electricity before the end of March, and SolarReserve’s south-central Nevada solar project won’t stumble out of the gate the way power-tower forerunner Ivanpah did, CEO Kevin Smith said in an interview with Breaking Energy. It would be an understatement to say there’s a lot riding on him being right. Crescent Dunes,… Keep reading →
Desert Sunlight is online and the U.S. Department of Energy has dropped the mic. The world-record-tying 550-megawatt photovoltaic solar plant in Southern California, formally dedicated on Monday, is the last of the big PV plants supported through the DOE’s loan guarantee program, the one that Republicans love to malign but which keeps showing solid results.… Keep reading →
It’s been a great year for the solar energy industry. By the end of 2014, solar deployment is slated to be up nearly 40% over 2013. Today, the booming demand for solar energy supports more than 173,000 jobs and the U.S. has become the third largest solar market in the world. You can find solar… Keep reading →
Former Shell Oil President John Hofmeister predicts U.S. prices oil could increase from the current levels under $48 a barrel to $80 by this fall just as consumers have been taking advantage of record low prices at the pump. “That would force gas prices to double, from the current $2 to a whopping $4 by… Keep reading →
The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System had a good November, and by the end of the month the controversial “power tower” plant in the Mojave Desert had topped 400,000 megawatt-hours of electricity generation since beginning operation in January 2014. New data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration shows that the three ISEGS units pumped out… Keep reading →
