Archive for the ‘Renewable Energy’ Category
Friday, October 30th, 2009
An important and troubling issue from one of the closing sessions at this week's Solar Power International conference reveals that industry leaders are divided on the political feasibility and efficacy of Feed-in Tariffs..
Industry leaders discussed the issues and probability of Solar Feed-in Tariffs at state and national levels. Stephen ...
Posted in Commercial Solar, Commercial Solar Finance, Commercial Solar Ventures, Energy Policy, Feed-in Tariffs, Renewable Energy | Comments Off
Tuesday, October 27th, 2009
As Congress begins debate on the Climate Bill, those attending Solar Power International 2009 got an update on solar progress in Washington. The 11:00 am session on issues that affect everyone in the industry was surprisingly under-attended. Perhaps that reflects a dazzling exhibition hall and our perennial frustration with Congress.
John ...
Posted in Cap and Trade, Commercial Solar, Commercial Solar Analysis, Commercial Solar Finance, Department of Energy, Energy Policy, Feed-in Tariffs, Renewable Energy, Solar Cash Grants, Utility-scale Solar Power | Comments Off
Monday, October 26th, 2009
Co-authored by David M Adams of Buildings and Energy and Norman Brand, Ph.D., J.D, with support from Marsha Shenk, a pioneer of Business Anthropology
As tens of thousands arrive in Anaheim, California for the Solar International Convention there is lots to talk about: Renewable Portfolio Standards, Feed-in Tariffs, the Stimulus Package, ...
Posted in Cap and Trade, Commercial Solar, Commercial Solar Finance, Commercial Solar Ventures, Department of Energy, Energy Policy, Feed-in Tariffs, Renewable Energy, Solar Cash Grants, Utility-scale Solar Power | 1 Comment »
Monday, October 19th, 2009
Will Cap and Trade legislation, often called 'The Climate Bill', effectively enable new renewable energy power plants like wind and solar? Or, will a complex system of pollution permits and permit-trading actually favor upgrades to existing fossil fuel technologies?
Last Friday, GWF Energy LLC, an independent power producer, announced a ten-year ...
Posted in Cap and Trade, Energy Policy, Renewable Energy, Uncategorized, Utility-scale Solar Power | Comments Off
Thursday, October 1st, 2009
Urban environments can be a challenge to solar development. When evaluating a building's solar power potential, solar installers and consultants often turn to Google Earth or Bing Maps to get an early impression of the building; it's the analog of real estate 'drive-by'. Even knowing the pitfalls, it's hard to ...
Posted in Commercial Solar, Commercial Solar Analysis, Green Buildings, Renewable Energy, Urban Planning and Solar | Comments Off
Monday, September 21st, 2009
On Thursday, September 17, BrightSource formally announced that they are abandoning efforts to build a solar farm on 5,000 acres of public land in the Mohave desert near Ludlow, California. Though the announcement ended months of contentious - and at times, bitter - conflict between a well funded and well ...
Posted in Department of Energy, Energy Policy, Renewable Energy, Solar Cash Grants, Utility-scale Solar Power | Comments Off
Friday, September 18th, 2009
In a September 15th NY Time op-ed piece, Thomas Friedman makes that case that innovative solar technology is invented in the US, but only finds manufacturing customers overseas, primarily in China and Germany.
Applied Materials, he writes, is a US company that makes the machinery that produces microchips and another silicon ...
Posted in Commercial Solar, Commercial Solar Finance, Commercial Solar Ventures, Department of Energy, Energy Policy, Green Jobs, Health Insurance Reform, Renewable Energy, Solar Cash Grants, Utility-scale Solar Power | Comments Off
Tuesday, September 15th, 2009
Oregon, ranked 27th by population, is ranked 9th in US solar energy according to the Solar Energy Industry Association. At the close of 2008, Oregonians had installed 4.8 MW, a 330% increase over 1.1 MW in 2007. Oregon is 7th overall in cumulative US installations with 7.5 megawatts.
This is due ...
Posted in Commercial Solar, Commercial Solar Analysis, Commercial Solar Finance, Commercial Solar Ventures, Energy Policy, Oregon, Portland, Renewable Energy, Solar Cash Grants, Utility-scale Solar Power | Comments Off
Thursday, September 3rd, 2009
All across the West, firefighters are forging through a long hot summer of wildfires. Along with their boots, helmet, Nomex clothing, fire shelter, and canteen they carry a pocket-sized reference of "Ten Standing Orders" and "Ten Situations that Shout Danger."
A red skull and crossed bones smiles at them from ...
Posted in Commercial Solar, Commercial Solar Analysis, Commercial Solar Finance, Commercial Solar Ventures, Department of Energy, Energy Policy, Renewable Energy, Solar Cash Grants | Comments Off
Monday, August 31st, 2009
What's the cost of installing a solar power system - on or adjacent to a commercial building - and how much energy will you save?
As always, location is a key factor. Below are the numbers for a small 2,800 SF office building in Portland, Oregon.
Basic Cost & Payback
In Oregon, a ...
Posted in Commercial Solar, Commercial Solar Analysis, Commercial Solar Finance, Department of Energy, Oregon, Portland, Renewable Energy, Solar Cash Grants | 2 Comments »