September 16, 2010

China will produce half of the world's solar panels this year, muscling its way into a young but sure-to-be significant generation resource in coming decades. And it will also produce half of the globe's wind turbines this year, dominating an already important segment of the power industry.

Some are charging that China may have leaped to the front of the renewables sector through massive subsidies that may violate international agreements.

Sep 13, 2010

The buzz right now is centered on all-electric cars and the latest hybrids. But down the road, the hope is that the hydrogen economy will arrive. Those fuel cell powered vehicles would have no pollution with the only emission being distilled water.

Right now the car companies in conjunction with the major oil conglomerates are working to make the hydrogen economy real. But it is difficult to store hydrogen, which is the chief obstacle when it commercializing the concept.

September 01, 2010

You can't miss it -- 213 solar panels and a battery the size of a tractor trailer sit alongside one of Duke Energy's electric substations on Charlotte, North Carolina's Highway 51.

And that is intentional, said Paige Layne, Duke Energy's corporate communications manager. "We found because the solar panels are out there on one of the busiest highways in Charlotte, people call in and ask us about them."

August 23, 2010

Hydropower may be green energy's forgotten cousin. But industry representatives are keen to push it hard now that the U.S. Congress is grappling with energy legislation. They say that hydro holds great potential, noting that despite being an emissions-free source only 3 percent of 79,000 U.S. dams are capable of producing such energy.

Producing electricity from dams is one way to increase the hydro sector's prominence. Generating power from smaller hydro units is another way. Such facilities are less disruptive environmentally but useful in supplying electricity to remote areas. All told, researchers say that almost 60 percent of the nation's water energy resources are potentially available for development using new technologies.

August 18, 2010

The renewable movement has gotten the green light. Now it's a matter of crafting the right policies to ensure that projects get built in a cost-effective and consumer-friendly way. Californians think they have the answer.

After getting tested by their domestic utilities, the California Public Utility Commission has come up with a "marketplace tariff" that fits with national laws. Basically, California's utilities have to buy green energy to meet the states renewable portfolio standards. But they don't have to do it at state-controlled prices. Instead, producers will bid into a system -- one that requires those utilities to buy at the lowest cost.