Add Spain to the list of countries that have offshore wind power before the United States. And on this one the U.S. really missed an opportunity. (That’s right, cool though it is, I have decided not to count that scaled-down 20-kilowatt floating turbine demo off Maine as establishment of U.S. offshore wind power.) This is the real thing… Keep reading →
Arguments about expensive, exotic renewables are dated If you are among those who still believes that renewables are exotic, expensive, unreliable, intermittent or whatever, you may be fighting a losing battle. With each passing day, renewables are gaining ground, and their shortcomings, most notably intermittency, diffused energy source and low capacity factor, are getting compensated in ingenious ways.… Keep reading →
Oil prices moved up sharply last week on Opec supply disruptions, Russian crude diverted east as opposed to west and North Sea maintenance. Libyan output fell as the government negotiates with militias, but the Saudis are pumping more. [CGES] A diver was killed during construction of an offshore wind farm in Germany. Last month the… Keep reading →
Any newcomer to the world of clean energy might become quickly lost in the maze of various renewable sources, technologies, incentive programs, efficiency opportunities, and other complexities in what is a very large – and often fragmented – part of the energy landscape. Below are some invaluable resources that offer helicopter-view insights into clean energy… Keep reading →
Renewables suffered their first “serious slowdown” in 2012, as their rapid growth outpaced the capacity of some economies to continue subsidizing them, according to BP Chief Economist Christof Rühl. Global renewables consumption – defined as wind, geothermal, biomass, solar and waste – grew by 15.2% in 2012 over 2011 levels, to 237.4 million tons of… Keep reading →
Texas is a surprising poster-child for robust investment in renewable energy generation. “No other State comes close to Texas’ more than 12 GW [gigawatts] of installed wind capacity,” says economic and financial research firm the Brattle Group in a report for the Texas Clean Energy Coalition, Partnering Natural Gas and Renewables in ERCOT. Both gas and wind… Keep reading →
As an Energy Strategist focused on advanced energy solutions, I’m very excited about the historic floating wind turbine, the first in the U.S., which recently entered the waters off the coast of Maine. However, while much of the focus has been on the 65-foot tall Volturn prototype, I thought it would be useful for readers… Keep reading →
Notable achievements in the world of cleantech We’re just five months into 2013, and we’ve already seen a number of new records in cleantech deployment. Here are five recent stories worth highlighting. Renewables Power Portugal Into 2013 In the first quarter of this year, Portugal got 70 percent of its electricity from renewable sources. That’s three straight… Keep reading →
ExxonMobil Chief Executive Rex Tillerson acknowledged the risks posed by climate change at the company’s annual meeting on May 29, but he stressed that the real-world consequences of rising atmospheric carbon dioxide levels remain unknown. “We view climate change as a serious issue, it does present serious risk,” Tillerson told shareholders. But he cast doubt… Keep reading →
Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz called on the US to use the natural gas boom as a temporary means of cutting CO2 emissions until renewables can capture a greater share of US energy markets in a video released today on his facebook page. Below is a partial transcript of the video, which can be found here:… Keep reading →
