Renewable Energy Focus - Blog

My biomass breakfast or how I learned to love wood pellets

Thu, 23 Jun 2011 12:58:19 GMT

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 t ...

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

Mon, 06 Jun 2011 16:23:10 GMT

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 fro ...

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

Thu, 19 May 2011 13:49:21 GMT

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 officia ...

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

Wed, 18 May 2011 21:43:53 GMT

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, Cha ...

Which countries are winning the race to invest in renewables?

Wed, 27 Apr 2011 16:18:58 GMT

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 clea ...

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

Thu, 31 Mar 2011 15:47:00 GMT

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!

...

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

Tue, 08 Mar 2011 09:56:36 GMT

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 las ...

The last winter month – now out chasing spring

Mon, 07 Mar 2011 15:43:00 GMT

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 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 non ...

What is more economic - biomass power or biofuels?

Wed, 15 Sep 2010 16:12:27 GMT

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 underst ...

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

Mon, 13 Sep 2010 14:38:51 GMT

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

AltaTerra FiT freak gives web conference

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 13:13:12 GMT

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& ...

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

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 13:03:19 GMT

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 ...

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

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 22:49:44 GMT

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 administratio ...

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!

Fri, 20 Aug 2010 20:57:48 GMT

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.
...

Ontario: A complicated new frontier for PV

Wed, 11 Aug 2010 22:42:33 GMT

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, ...

Checklist for Developing Your Feed-In Tariff

Sat, 31 Jul 2010 18:07:59 GMT

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, ...

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

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 20:16:20 GMT

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 get ...

May 2010 summary: Wind and Hydro sparkle in alternative energy

Wed, 07 Jul 2010 11:35:08 GMT

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 valu ...

April 2010 summary: decreased deal activity

Fri, 11 Jun 2010 12:23:26 GMT

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 deal ...

Zayed Future Energy Prize sends a message to the transport sector

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 09:29:26 GMT

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 UNFCCC web site.

You can find details of the ‘Copenhagen Accord’ about which draft negotiation text circulating in the f ...

COP15: The bright side of life

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 16:42:34 GMT

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 e ...

COP15 in a nutshell

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 13:20:52 GMT

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 ...

COP15: Starting point is + 3.5°C

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 12:18:45 GMT

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 ...

COP15: China and US make their moves

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 12:05:55 GMT

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 ...

COP15: deadlock until mid December?

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 11:50:41 GMT

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 confirm ...

COP15: Heads of State book their tickets

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 11:16:22 GMT

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 wee ...

COP15: Summit downgraded

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 10:56:02 GMT
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 bi ...