Alternative Energy HQ solar power for homes, wind energy, and bio fuel issues

Solar Modules Prove Long-Term Reliability in Colorado Mountains KYOCERA modules continue performing efficiently after 10 to 22 years in the field Kyocera Solar Inc. today announced that its solar modules installed on three individual sites in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains have demonstrated long-term reliability and longevity despite extreme circumstances including a racking failure, high irradiance, freezing temperatures and heavy snow for …

New Worldwatch Institute study examines the global market for solar and wind energy production Global use of solar and wind energy continued to grow significantly in 2012. Solar power consumption increased by 58 percent, to 93 terrawatt-hours (TWh), and the use of wind power increased by 18 percent, to 521 TWh. Although hydropower remains the world’s leading renewable energy, solar …

SolarCity to Provide Solar Electricity to 7,500 Military Homes at Island Palm Communities at Multiple Army Bases in Hawai’i One of Largest Solarstrong Projects to Date Expected to Add 12.8 Megawatts of Generation Capacity Throughout Oahu, Including Fort Shafter and Schofield Barracks SolarCity today announced plans to add 12.8 megawatts of new solar generation capacity to provide solar power to up …

The European Union’s antidumping tariffs are spurring an increase in prices for Chinese solar modules, marking the end of a period when available inexpensive photovoltaic (PV) devices enabled fast growth of installations in the region. After declining for 48 months since the first quarter of 2009, with a seasonal uptick in February 2013) , average pricing for Chinese crystal polysilicon …

Been asking yourself that question? Then take a look at a report released this week by the Carbon War Room that honestly investigates what bolsters energy efficiency markets, what doesn’t and why. We all know that energy efficiency is one of the big business opportunities of our time. By 2020 it could become a $245 billion per year global market, …

Replacing synthetic fertilizers with organic ones could help reduce climate impacts and improve agricultural systems By Deirdre Lockwood In efforts to mitigate climate change, we’re more likely to think about changing how we power our cars than how we grow our food. But as University of Washington geologist David R. Montgomery likes to remind people, farming has a huge impact …

Combined heat and power, or CHP, continues to be one of those great ideas that can’t seem to get traction. In fact, the technology has lost ground, according to a recent energy efficiency report. The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy found that CHP installations fell 1.5 percent at industrial facilities from 2010 to 2011 in the July 2, 2013 …

North American Wood Stove Program Focuses On Clean Air Effort–  This summer, Jøtul North American (Jøtul) is spearheading an effort focused on removing non-EPA-certified wood stoves from communities around North America.Jøtul is the first wood stove manufacturer in the hearth industry to implement a program encouraging wood stove users to get rid of their old wood stoves and replace them …

Gerard D’Aboville is an experienced navigator — he’s rowed alone across both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. He’s accustomed to monitoring the wind and the current. But as the captain of the Turanor PlanetSolar, the world’s largest solar-powered boat, he’s had to factor in something else: the sun. And he marvels at its power. “I can feel it some days,” …

Electric cars have gotten all the attention lately, but they’re far from the only vehicles that run on electricity. In fact, the first electric motorcycle appeared in the pages of Popular Mechanics over 100 years ago. However, like early electric cars, they were basically forgotten once gasoline became cheap and easy to get. Now that gas is expensive and people …

FUTURE LOOKS BRIGHT FOR CARBON NANOTUBE SOLAR CELLS In an approach that could challenge silicon as the predominant photovoltaic cell material, University of Wisconsin-Madison materials engineers have developed an inexpensive solar cell that exploits carbon nanotubes to absorb and convert energy from the sun. The advance could lead to solar panels just as efficient, but much less expensive to manufacture, …

Geothermal Energy’s Environmental and Health Benefits Worth $117 Million Annually Benefits of geothermal energy touted in air emissions analysis The Geothermal Energy Association (GEA) has released an Air Emissions Comparison and Externality Analysis showing geothermal energy provides significant benefits to public health and the environment as one of the least-polluting and most environmentally friendly forms of energy. The analysis found …

Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) announces that it has installed a Smart Mobility Park electric mobility charging station at Toyota Ecoful Town, its low-carbon society model district located in Toyota City. While functioning as a hub for electric mobility sharing, the Smart Mobility Park can also generate and store electrical power, making it possible to reduce the burden on the electricity …

ABB demonstrates technology to power flash charging electric bus in 15 seconds No overhead lines and ultrafast charging times at selected bus stops enables new opportunities for next generation silent, flexible, zero-emissions urban mass transportation. ABB, the leading power and automation technology group has developed a new technology that will help power the world’s first high-capacity flash charging electric bus …

Japan Set to Become World’s Largest Solar Revenue Market in 2013 as Installations Boom in Q1   Japan’s solar installations surged by a stunning 270 percent (in gigawatts (GW)) in the first quarter of 2013, positioning the country to surpass Germany to become the world’s largest photovoltaics (PV) market in terms of revenue this year.   Although Japan is forecast …

This is a thought provoking article about electric cars by a self professed fan of these new alternatives to driving that don’t use gas. He goes through the sales of electric cars and what it means to the market development. What do you think about the potential for electric cars if these sales reports mean cars companies are struggling to get them out on the market? …

Responding to a challenge by California Gov. Jerry Brown, more than 500 of the world’s top global change scientists have outlined the main environmental issues – from climate change to pollution and population growth – that policy makers must address immediately to avoid an approaching global tipping point. Gov. Jerry Brown discussing Earth’s tipping point with UC Berkeley professor Tony …

With turbines operating in extreme wind regimes such as the Caribbean and northern Scotland, Northern Power Systems today announced that its fleet of gearless turbines that experience hurricane-speed winds has achieved 1 million run time hours, all without incident. That is equivalent to a cumulative 114 years of continuous, safe, high-performance operation. Proper design and control are essential for a …

Back in time, there were many simple and sustainable things you could do to keep the sweats at bay when the heat was bearing down, but these days we simply flip a switch and indulge in the coolness, and guzzle up huge amounts of energy while we do so. We are forgetting the fact that we survived well enough before …

Looming on the horizon is a future of high gas prices and disuse for most cars on the road today. More and more drivers are getting on board with alternatively-powered vehicles, and thus, more manufacturers are offering vehicle models outfitted with alternative engines to feed the demand. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, in 2010, vehicle dealers in the U.S. …