Alternative Energy

Falling Spot Market Volume Shows Solar Polysilicon Price Crash is Ending Activity has plunged in the global photovoltaic (PV) polysilicon spot market—one of many hopeful signs corroborating IHS’s prediction that prices for the key solar raw material soon will bottom out as supply comes into better alignment with demand. The spot market in December of 2012 accounted for 20 percent …

Caltech Researchers Create Highly Absorbing, Flexible  Cells with Silicon Wire Arrays Using arrays of long, thin silicon wires embedded in a polymer substrate, a team of scientists from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) has created a new type of flexible solar cell that enhances the absorption of sunlight and efficiently converts its photons into electrons. The solar cell does …

We are at one end, striving to get the basic necessities of life and there are people, on the other end, craving for opportunities to multiply their millions. The disparity in the distribution of wealth is gigantic. This scenario creates problems for common people almost everyday. The elite class uses every possible means to make more and more profits, even …

As Residential Solar Leases Become Available in Fourteen U.S. States, GTM Research Releases the Market’s First Complete Vendor Analysis Third-party financing of solar PV has become the predominant business model in some of the largest residential markets in the U.S.; today, third-party financed residential installations comprise greater than 50 percent of new residential solar capacity in California, Arizona, Colorado and …

Energy Focused Grant Applications Rodman & Rodman has prepared numerous 1603 applications and, based on our experience with the application process, we have a come up with a top 10 list of helpful tips.  Listed below are some application tips and additional documentation that we recommend you have on hand, even though the initial application does not require you to …

Three Power Sessions to Address Business Strategies at PV America East 2013 in Philadelphia Brian F. Keane of SmartPower, Scott Klososky of Future Point of View and Glenn Thayer Will Motivate Solar Energy Industry to Explore New Ways to Expand Business Opportunities On February 5, 2013, the solar energy industry descends upon the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia for three …

Lubrication is essential when using a chainsaw; the oil greases the chain and prevents it from seizing up while you work. So-called chainsaw oil ends up getting all over the work site and the sawdust created when you use the chainsaw, which means that it end up in the environment. It doesn’t stay with the saw. When you use a …

After a disastrous third quarter of 2012 featuring extremely low factory utilization rates across the entire photovoltaic (PV) supply chain, a surge in demand was seen in the final quarter of the year for PV modules. A new PV module shipment record of 11 gigawatts (GW) was reached in the fourth quarter according to the IHS Solar Integrated Market Tracker …

$10 million directed to innovative solar projects In support of the Obama Administration’s all-of-the-above energy strategy, the U.S. Department of Energy has announced 10 small business-led projects to speed solar energy innovation from the lab to the marketplace. Through the Department’s SunShot Initiative, this $10 million investment will help significantly reduce the total installed cost of solar energy systems and …

Sometimes energy makes headlines, sometimes it doesn’t.  But it almost always has important implications for the global economy, the environment, and our day-to-day lives. Here are 10 energy statistics from 2012 that capture some of the most noteworthy trends of the year, and that will shape the energy world in the years to come. Natural gas, one of the three key fossil …

‘The challenge of our generation’ – why the Australian government is finally taking climate change seriously Historically Australia has not been particularly proactive when it comes to tackling human-influenced climate change. The country didn’t have a price on carbon pollution or fixed targets for greenhouse gas reduction and the government bowed to increasing pressure from the oil, gas and coal …

Although they seem to be growing in popularity, hybrid cars haven’t taken over the vehicle market just yet. However, it is more than likely that this won’t be the case for long. Hybrids as a whole have been around for a while, one of the first true hybrid vehicles as a Lexus Hybrid released in 2004. 8 years on, and …

U.S. ENERGY POLICY IS “ALL WET” WHEN IT COMES TO HIDDEN COSTS 100,000 Gallons of Water to Produce a Single Megawatt Hour of Electricity? In a Time of Drought and Growing Water Shortages, “Business As Usual” Energy Approach Ignore Huge Water and Other Hidden Costs. Huge demands on increasingly scarce water are a major hidden cost of a “business as …

Obama Administration announces seven major renewable energy projects to be expedited As a part of his We Can’t Wait initiative, President Barack Obama recently announced that seven nationally and regionally significant solar and wind energy projects will be expedited, including projects in Arizona, California, Nevada, and Wyoming. Together, these job-creating infrastructure projects would produce nearly 5,000 megawatts (MW) of clean …

Wind energy industry calls for respectful dialogue after Ontario worker reportedly threatened with death The Canadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA) is issuing a call for a respectful and fact-based dialogue on wind energy after a construction worker on a wind energy project was reportedly threatened with death in West Grey, Ontario, on July 26, by a man armed with a …

IEEFA: U.S. TAXPAYERS LOSE MORE THAN $1 BILLION WITH BLM OK OF PEABODY’S LOW-BALL BID FOR POWDER RIVER BASIN COAL Competitive” Bid Process With Only One Company Underscores Deep Flaws in BLM “Giveaway” Process; Approved Price for U.S.-Owned Coal Well Under Half of Fair Market Value. U.S. taxpayers will lose an estimated $1.2 billion now that the federal Bureau of …

TAKING BACK AMERICA’S ENERGY FUTURE FROM THE LOBBYISTS: 1 MILLION AMERICANS TO FIGHT INDUSTRY EFFORTS TO KILL CLEAN ENERGY AGENDA Three Dozen Citizen Organizations From Across Nation Take on Undue Influence of Energy Company “Goliath”; Push Reflects Views of 83 Percent of Americans That a “New-Grassroots Driven” Effort is Needed. Fed up with the undue influence of the energy companies, …

There’s a lot of moaning and hand-wringing whenever gasoline prices approach $4 a gallon. But all it would take for them to hit $10 a gallon overnight would be hurricanes wiping out a couple of refineries or saboteurs disabling a couple of pipelines, says Dr. R. Paul Williamson, founder and CEO of the non-profit Sustainable Systems of Colorado. “The United …

By Ysabel Yates It sounds like a child’s question: can you generate solar power underwater? The answer, according to Phillip Jenkins and his team at the US Naval Research Laboratory, is yes. The researchers recently demonstrated a method for harvesting solar power underwater at depths of 30 feet. Currently, the only option for underwater energy is batteries, which shortens the …