Renewable Energy Focus

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My biomass breakfast or how I learned to love wood pellets

Have you ever witnessed the delivery of wood pellets to an on-site boiler? I thought not. Well, you are fortunate that your blogger here was invited to a “Cool Heating Biomass Breakfast” at the Maidenhead Rugby Club, no less, not to view some rugged males battling it out but to hear fro ...

Posted 23 June 2011 by Elizabeth Block

tags: biomass , bioenergy

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Pie in the Sky - Taster of the Renewable Energy Focus U.S. May/June issue

There is nothing like cold, homemade pie for a summer picnic, and although yours truly could not help dreaming about this whilst putting the magazine together, it is an altogether different pie on the menu for the solar industry. Over the years, the focus for renewable energy has gone from proving ...

Posted 06 June 2011 by Kari Williamson

tags: renewable energy , solar pv , wind , google

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All-Energy – Laughing about NIMBYism and nearly talking to a weather celebrity

In my wanderings around the show floors, I met with some interesting people. One was a chat with S&C’s Andrew Jones on what S&C does to help balance the grid by applying various storage solutions and using voltage control. It was an inspiring chat, and after the close of the official i ...

Posted 19 May 2011 by Kari Williamson

tags: All-Energy , wind , renewable energy

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All (about renewable) Energy – Faulty lifts and a renewable salmon(d)

This year’s All-Energy in Aberdeen, Scotland, kicked off with a 25% increase in exhibitors with 580+ from over 20 countries, and over 7000 pre-registered attendants. The opening session saw an impressive panel chaired by Andrew Jamieson, Chairman of RenewbleUK and Regulation and Markets Direc ...

Posted 18 May 2011 by Kari Williamson

tags: All-Energy , renewable energy , offshore wind

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Which countries are winning the race to invest in renewables?

NB: this is my editorial from the March/April issue of Renewable Energy Focus magazine, which is now out. If you don't subscribe yet, it's free, so feel free to subscribe here. Global clean energy finance and investment grew significantly in 2010 to US$243 billion, a 30% increase from 2009, accord ...

Posted 27 April 2011 by David Hopwood

tags: not tagged.

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Spring has arrived and the U.S. March/April issue is close by!

To give you a little taster of the March/April issue of Renewable Energy Focus U.S., I'm posting my editorial to wet your appetites. If you have not already done so, sign up for your free copy here! Here in the office, spring has finally arrived – the sun is shining, the pollen is spread ...

Posted 31 March 2011 by Kari Williamson

tags: renewable , energy

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Will the oil shock translate into "banker shock..."?

I was just about to write about the soaring oil price, due mainly to the turmoil in Libya and other oil-producing countries, along with the threat of revolt spreading to Saudi Arabia, when an email came in from Jeremy Leggett, the famous oil man turned solar guru. Here in Britain, the last few week ...

Posted 08 March 2011 by Elizabeth Block

tags: oil , solar

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The last winter month – now out chasing spring

We have just put the last winter month behind us, and here at Renewable Energy Focus, we are rolling up our sleeves to meet the spring. At the moment, we are busy booking tickets for shows starting with EWEA 2011 next week in Brussels. It is a busy calendar looking ahead, and we look forward to see ...

Posted 07 March 2011 by Kari Williamson

tags: renewable , solar , wind , news

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Pennies from Heaven

Pennies from Heaven? BBC feature foreshadows early FIT review The BBC’s Newsnight is one of Britain’s most respected TV news programmes, and its main presenter, Jeremy Paxman, is famous for his ferocious interviewing style. So when I heard that solar energy was to be featured on 3rd Feb ...

Posted 08 February 2011 by Elizabeth Block

tags: not tagged.

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January 2011 – A New Year with new hopes?

This January has been pretty much like any other January – the reports about markets, revenues, and forecasts for what’s to come has been flooding our inboxes here at Renewable Energy Focus. But in between the ‘business as usual’, some news stories have stood out and stuck in ...

Posted 31 January 2011 by Kari Williamson

tags: renewable , feed-in tariff , wind , obama

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Why did I not make the Zayed Prize shortlist...?

As your hard-working blogger, I thought that I would surely have made the Top 40 list for the Zayed Future Energy Prize, the biggest environmental prize on the planet. In fact, I was not even nominated but I hope you will all do better next year. How big is the grand prize, you ask? Well, it’ ...

Posted 16 December 2010 by Elizabeth Block

tags: zayed future energy prize , renewable energy , world future energy summit

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Can global knowledge transfer speed grid parity?

What happens when Hillary Clinton, US Secretary of State, drops in to Australia’s first carbon-neutral office building to meet Prime Minister Julia Gillard? While they might have exchanged a few private words about the exhilaration of smashing glass ceilings, the topic of the day was not women ...

Posted 22 November 2010 by Elizabeth Block

tags: solar , pv , csp , cost , innovation

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High-efficiency crystalline silicon designs – high efficiency meets “ease” in 2011 By Guest Blogger, Shalom Goffri, Managing Consultant, Energy, Navigant

During fast and heated growth in 2010, the solar market has seen its share of technology shake-ups as well. In July, Applied Materials made headlines by discontinuing new sales of it SunFab thin-film silicon line after production had fallen woefully behind cost and efficiency expectations of the mar ...

Posted 15 November 2010 by Paula Mints

tags: Crystalline , c-Si , Solar , efficiency , Applied , Innovalight , Solar , PV , Photovoltaic , Technology , EWT , 2011

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Day 3 RenewableUK 2010 – Vessels, Clipper, two unknowns and 30 business men with silly glasses

My third and last day at the show was spent walking the floor of the main exhibition trying to soak up some of the atmosphere. I had several informal chats with a range of companies from crew transfer vessel suppliers to wind farm developers and marine surveyors. Around lunchtime I met up with BMT ...

Posted 05 November 2010 by Kari Williamson

tags: RenewableUK , wind , onshore , offshore , power , clipper

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Day 2 RenewableUK 2010 – Bearings, risks, limpets, dopey politicians ... and little green men?

The second day at RenewableUK has been even more hectic than day 1. I hope to have time to take a good stroll among the exhibitors tomorrow, because today I have been running around between meetings and conference sessions. A luxury problem, really :). There is no way to start a day like getting a ...

Posted 04 November 2010 by Kari Williamson

tags: RenewableUK , wave , wind , tidal , power , onshore , offshore , risk

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Day 1 RenewableUK 2010 – Fun, funding, finance, and 42% whisky

The first day at RenewableUK’s annual conference and exhibition 2010 was just as eventful as expected with meetings, an entertaining keynote by Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond and a range of conference topics to meet almost any interest within onshore and offshore wind, wave and tidal ene ...

Posted 03 November 2010 by Kari Williamson

tags: RenewableUK , wind , offshore , onshore , wave , tidal

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CSP – is it time? Coverage of CSP Today's CSP Project Development USA Conference

Amid optimistic announcements for gigawatts of CSP installations over the next few years, stage whispers of the barriers this industry continues to face continue. At CSP Today’s Project Development conference held in Denver on October 25 and 26, Stephen Mullennix, Partner at U.S. Renewables Gr ...

Posted 01 November 2010 by Paula Mints

tags: csp , solar , pv , permitting

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Leaks and politics enliven EFEF

Wow, another big conference in London. This time it’s the 2nd annual European Future Energy Forum, a Masdar-sponsored event that had its debut in Bilbao last year. And it lasts three whole days. So we have 3713 registered delegates, though fewer than 900 actually attended, and 112 speakers (m ...

Posted 27 October 2010 by Elizabeth Block

tags: renewable energy , Zayed Future Energy Prize , feed-in tariff , budget

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Who says there's no early money...?

Who says there’s no early money…? On Monday, 27 September, I went to Cambridge for the launch of the Low Carbon Innovation Fund (LCIF). This new fund has been set up by the Low Carbon Innovation Centre at the University of East Anglia with £8 million splashed out by the European ...

Posted 01 October 2010 by Elizabeth Block

tags: funding , investment , renewable energy

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Husum WindEnergy day 3 – Sprouting supply chain and big fat cigars

The morning was spent talking to the various interest and industry associations seeing what they have planned for next year, exchanging some views, and catching up since the last time we met. A recurring theme was the uncertainty about financial and policy support for wind and renewable energy with ...

Posted 24 September 2010 by Kari Williamson

tags: husum , windenergy , wind , power , supply chain

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Husum WindEnergy day 2 – From jack-ups to wind power wasps

Late buses seem to be a recurring theme here at Husum – the hotel shuttle left quite a bit after it should have done, and I could only register that the promised 9.30 arrival at the fair was not going to happen. But at least I was not the only one – nor did I have any early-morning meeti ...

Posted 23 September 2010 by Kari Williamson

tags: husum , windenergy , wind

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Husum WindEnergy day 1 - Blades, lubrication, AMSC and Jimi Hendrix

My first day of Husum WindEnergy started by missing a Vestas press conference due to a late bus from the airport, but never mind. I’m going to pester their PR lady later today to see if I can get a briefing nonetheless. The day could only get better from such a starting point, and indeed it d ...

Posted 22 September 2010 by Kari Williamson

tags: wind , energy , husum windenergy , turbines

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What is more economic - biomass power or biofuels?

Author: Guest Blogger Rakesh Radhakrishnan, Ph. D. | Associate Director| Energy | Navigant Consulting, Inc. A short and very unsatisfactory answer to this question is, “Well it depends!” In reality, there actually are some critical details that must be understood before a decision is m ...

Posted 15 September 2010 by Paula Mints

tags: Biomass , Biofuels , Navigant , Renewables , RE , climate change , renewable

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How much to install PV on a royal roof...?

How much to install PV on a royal roof? Wow, big news: HRH The Prince of Wales has got consent to install 32 solar panels on the 123 ft2 roof of Grade II-listed Clarence House. In late August 2010, nationals such as the Daily Telegraph, the Daily Mail and The Independent gave this major development ...

Posted 13 September 2010 by Elizabeth Block

tags: solar , pv , fit

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AltaTerra FiT freak gives web conference

Rats! I missed it. I planned to dial in to Palo Alto-based AltaTerra’s web conference last month on feed-in tariffs (FiT) but it started at 2pm eastern time, 7pm here. Events, dear e-reader, got in the way. Of course, it was no problem as it’s almost impossible to “miss” any ...

Posted 03 September 2010 by Elizabeth Block

tags: FiT , solar , pv , feed-in tariff

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What does it take to bring you your solar news...?

Following an April 2010 visit to Syria in which I became the first, OK, maybe the second person on the planet to express any interest in Syrian renewable energy, a local Arabic-speaking friend in Damascus emailed me that a notice had gone up at the Japanese Embassy there: a whopping $6 million to go ...

Posted 03 September 2010 by Elizabeth Block

tags: solar , syria , renewable energy

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California’s FiT and Persistent Faith in the Rational Market Theory, among other things

So much happening in California, much of it crucial to the forward progress of solar in the biggest market in the USA. First, unemployment remains high, the budget remains in limbo with outgoing governor Schwarzenegger willing to let the situation pass on through to the next administration, while i ...

Posted 31 August 2010 by Paula Mints

tags: feed-in tariff , FiT , solar , california

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Look! Up on the roof! Is it a technology? Is it a commodity? Is it an appliance? Yes, it’s all of these things! It’s a Solar Panel!

Caught ya – this is really an article about branding. You know, that marketing function that turns needs into wants and functions into attributes – or, scares the heck out of you and then turns around and offers you a safe place to land while it makes you love being scared. The fu ...

Posted 20 August 2010 by Paula Mints

tags: solar , panel , pv , energy , power , renewable

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Ontario: A complicated new frontier for PV

First came the announcement, then came optimism, then came the announcements, then came the reality checks and finally, the changes to Ontario’s wildly anticipated feed-in tariff; not to kill it off, but to control it and, hopefully, help develop a sustainable market. Historically, Canada has ...

Posted 11 August 2010 by Paula Mints

tags: feed-in tariff , solar , pv , fit , transmission

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Checklist for Developing Your Feed-In Tariff

Look around the FiT landscape and if you can, find one that created a healthy, sustainable market that did not overburden those who are paying for it; Yes, I mean remember the ratepayers; Look around again; Yes, I mean remember the ratepayers, you do not want to make them mad; ...

Posted 31 July 2010 by Paula Mints

tags: feed-in tariff , fit

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Do you need to Speak Solar to Thrive in the Solar Industry

There is a wave of new business professionals in the solar industry – and not all of them speak solar. Every industry has its own language along with a host of acronyms to go along with it. The specific language of business can actually obliterate understanding, but, there is no getting aroun ...

Posted 27 July 2010 by Paula Mints

tags: Solar , PV

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May 2010 summary: Wind and Hydro sparkle in alternative energy

The alternative energy industry witnessed a marginal decrease in the number of deals, but a huge increase in deal value in May 2010. The market reported 212 deals worth US$39.2 billion in May 2010 compared to 219 deals worth US$27.4 billion in April 2010 - an increase of 43% in terms of deal value a ...

Posted 07 July 2010 by GlobalData deal analysis

tags: not tagged.

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April 2010 summary: decreased deal activity

The alternative energy industry witnessed a decrease in the number of deals and deal value in April 2010. The market reported 194 deals worth US$24.4 billion in April 2010, compared to 240 deals worth US$24.9 billion in March 2010. This was a decrease of 19% in terms of the number of deals, and a m ...

Posted 11 June 2010 by GlobalData deal analysis

tags: investment , alternative energy , deals

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Zayed Future Energy Prize sends a message to the transport sector

Taken at face value, the news that the winner of the Zayed Future Energy Prize 2010 (and with it a cool US$1.5 million) is Japanese car manufacture Toyota for its groundbreaking third generation Prius may raise a few initial eyebrows. But the message it sends is an interesting one. There's no doubt ...

Posted 20 January 2010 by David Hopwood

tags: WFES , Toyota Prius , Zayed Future Energy Prize

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Back home again...

Well, it’s finally over. I’m back here at my desk in Amsterdam, and looking through the all-but-final documents on the UNFCCC web site. You can find details of the ‘Copenhagen Accord’ about which we put out a statement early this morning. The ‘legally binding’ la ...

Posted 05 January 2010 by Steve Sawyer

tags: COP15 , Copenhagen , Climate change

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COP15: The (anti) climax

19 December, 2.30 hours: A few hours ago, around 30 countries agreed on a Copenhagen Accord. In a press conference for Washington reporters at the Copenhagen airport, US president Obama talks about ‘a meaningful and unprecedented accord’, but also about being ‘a first step’. ...

Posted 22 December 2009 by Rolf de Vos

tags: COP15 , Copenhagen , Climate change

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COP15: Copenhagen Accord adopted, but not by all

19 December, 12.30 hours: Although discussions are still going on, the Copenhagen Accord will most likely be approved by most of the 193 countries that are part of the COP15. No unanimous approval has been achieved, but the UN Conference of Parties officially ‘take note’ of the Accord. C ...

Posted 22 December 2009 by Rolf de Vos

tags: COP15 , Copenhagen , Climate change

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COP15: Still waiting for the (anti)climax

18 December, 17.30: The process of negotiations by delegates, ministers and heads of state will not end in a mature political treaty. At the time of writing this news report, the final official meeting – a signing session - should have started, but a final Copenhagen Declaration has not been p ...

Posted 22 December 2009 by Rolf de Vos

tags: COP15 , Copenhagen , Climate change

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COP15: Are things finally ready to pick up?

17 December: On Wednesday morning, Connie Hedegaard resigned as the COP President in favour of Danish Prime Minister Rasmussen, and in the obviously tense handover between the two, they made the huge blunder of announcing that there would be ‘new text’ from the Danish Presidency released ...

Posted 18 December 2009 by Steve Sawyer

tags: COP15 , Copenhagen , Climate change

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COP15: World leaders enter the stage

16 December: The Copenhagen Summit gradually reaches its summit. Most Ministers from 193 countries are working hard, while security prepares for the invasion of 115 heads of state. Hugo Chavez of Venezuela took his time during the official opening event, and even Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe announced ...

Posted 17 December 2009 by Rolf de Vos

tags: COP15 , Copenhagen , Climate change

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COP15: The row is over, but not completely

15 December: In the last couple of days, the Danish presidency met quite some criticism. COP president Connie Hedegaard’s action this Sunday, to call 48 Ministers for a special informal consultation, was heavily disputed by Bernaditas de Castro Muller. De Castro Muller is a former diplomat fro ...

Posted 17 December 2009 by Rolf de Vos

tags: COP15 , Copenhagen , Climate change

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COP15: Wind power most visible climate solution

16 December: Amidst the up-and-down of the climate negotiations and the chaos of the registration system to get people into the building, at least one thing is going to plan: The wind industry’s efforts to make wind power highly visible to negotiators and media during the climate summit. Wind ...

Posted 17 December 2009 by Steve Sawyer

tags: COP15 , Copenhagen , Climate change

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COP15: The calm before the storm…

15 December: After a manic first week or 10 days, things are a bit less hectic in the Bella Center today. After 9 days of largely circular discussions, I believe the negotiations at official’s level have gone as far as they can go. We have a couple of draft texts (on the Kyoto Protocol a ...

Posted 15 December 2009 by Steve Sawyer

tags: COP15 , Copenhagen , Climate change

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COP15: Africa walks out, and in, and…

14 December: This morning the African countries put an extra edge to the Climate Summit by threatening to walk out if the richer countries would not pay more attention to their binding targets. As I wrote earlier, the developing countries want to continue the Kyoto Protocol into a second commitment ...

Posted 15 December 2009 by Rolf de Vos

tags: COP15 , Copenhagen , Climate change

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COP15: a damaged chair?

10 December: Denmark, the chair of the present climate policy negotiations, suffers from some serious loss of trustworthiness. A draft negotiation text circulating in the first couple of days of COP15 was heavily criticised by the developing countries and environmental organisations, urging UNFCCC&r ...

Posted 10 December 2009 by Rolf de Vos

tags: COP15 , Copenhagen

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COP15: The bright side of life

8 December: After one day of mainly plenary sessions, the Copenhagen COP15 ran into technical details and working groups today. Yesterday’s key note speeches from people like the Danish Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen and COP President Connie Hedegaard expressed hope. Meanwhile the ...

Posted 10 December 2009 by Rolf de Vos

tags: COP15 , Copenhagen , Climate change

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COP15 in a nutshell

The much talked about UNFCCC COP15 Climate Change Summit in Copenhagen is now underway. If you, like us, have been completely overwhelmed with all the news; views; predictions; doom and gloom; excitement; not to mention political machinations, possibilities and stall setting of the last few months l ...

Posted 08 December 2009 by David Hopwood

tags: COP15 , Copenhagen , Climate change

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COP15: Starting point is + 3.5°C

4 December 2009: Except for India, all countries in the world have now laid a number on the table regarding their ambition for greenhouse gas emissions reductions in the next few decades. The accumulation of these pledges is expected to give rise to a 3.5°C increase of the average global tempera ...

Posted 08 December 2009 by Rolf de Vos

tags: COP15 , Copenhagen , Climate change

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COP15: China and US make their moves

27 November 2009: The temperature is rising, 9 days before Copenhagen. The hope I expressed last week about a secret China-US scheme for Copenhagen was satisfied within a week. Yesterday both China and the US published their first bids in the negotiations. That cannot be a coincidence. You can be qu ...

Posted 08 December 2009 by Rolf de Vos

tags: COP15 , Copenhangen , Climate change

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COP15: deadlock until mid December?

19 November 2009: Last week, the world’s leaders present at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Singapore, and the environment ministers at the pre-COP15 in Copenhagen, publicly confirmed a downgrading of the Copenhagen summit. A ‘legally binding agreement’ about clima ...

Posted 08 December 2009 by Rolf de Vos

tags: COP15 , Copenhagen , Climate change

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COP15: Heads of State book their tickets

13 November 2009: The most important news of the past week was the announcement from several important Government leaders that they will show up in the Danish capital in December. This is definitely feeding some optimism about the Copenhagen outcome, after a week of negative signs from Barcelona. A ...

Posted 08 December 2009 by Rolf de Vos

tags: COP15 , Copenhagen , Climate change

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COP15: Summit downgraded

6 November 2009: Less than five weeks ahead of the start of the Convention of Parties nr. 15 (COP15) in Copenhagen, the Summit has been watered down to an ‘Intermediate Summit’ – at best. A legally binding agreement has become almost impossible, said UN Climate chief Yvo de Boe ...

Posted 08 December 2009 by Rolf de Vos

tags: COP15 , Copenhagen , Climate change

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