December 29, 2010

A federal effort to spur offshore wind power now aims to guide developers through the process in about two years.

That's lightning speed for a process that in its play-it-by-ear initial run took almost a decade.

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, in a recent speech, unveiled his `Smart from the Start' wind energy initiative for the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf to facilitate siting, leasing and construction of new projects, spurring the rapid and responsible development.

December 28, 2010

Senator John Thune had a challenge for renewable energy developers the other day - to work to remove regulatory barriers to clean energy development. The problem would have widespread support in any forum since projects take years to develop and exorbitant costs drive up project prices and delay deployment.

But there's a catch. Thune said those same barriers apply to "traditional" energy sources, though he didn't specifically mention coal, oil and natural gas.

December 17, 2010 - The world war on renewables is on. China. India. And the United States - along with Denmark and others - are out to battle for supremacy in what will be the next turn in the industrial revolution.

China is on its way to dominating the global wind generation business after a strong early assist through the adoption of policies that favored Chinese wind turbine manufacturers - and probably violated international trade rules. In the process, the New York Times reported this week, Chinese companies now control half the global $45 billion annual wind turbine market.

December 02, 2010

The United States has a ton of wind potential and especially offshore. But its inability to develop a reliable energy policy is not just hurting the wind sector, it's also working to benefit the coal industry. That's the view from one manufacturer, which also says that the recession has taken its toll.

Tough times have dented economic production and thus affected energy consumption. But coal has proved itself to be among the most durable fuel. If wind is prioritized, the industry says that it could surpass the expectations. That would entail the new Congress extending the favorable tax breaks that are now given to developers as well as enacting a renewable portfolio standard that mandates more green energy.

November 29, 2010

Several decisions go into a utility's decision to acquire solar energy, including the operations and maintenance costs of ownership. The Electric Power Research Institute has considered the issue with a recent report on the industry's best practices.

Utility scale solar photovoltaic (PV) sites have a cost, unrelated to those associated with energy.

Sure, a utility could rely on a third party power purchase agreement (PPA) as it formerly did. But as they contemplate ownership of both central and distributed solar-based generation, they now must consider system performance, reliability, and asset management priorities.