Small and medium sized solar thermal power stations have a larger application potential than often thought, according to the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE). 11 August 2010
The renewable energy industry in the UK is positive overall, to the announcements from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC). 28 July 2010
Renewable energy topped fossil fuels and nuclear for the second year in a row in the USA and Europe in 2009, according to the Global Wind Energy Association (GWEC). 16 July 2010
The UK Government will help communities become heat and power self-sufficient through the use of renewable microgeneration, amongst other things, says Climate Change Minister Greg Barker. 12 July 2010
A ban on councils in the UK selling green electricity into the national grid is to be overturned, UK Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne announces. 08 July 2010
The "Renewable Energy Snapshots" report, published today by the EU Joint Research Centre's Institute for Energy (IE), shows that renewable energy sources accounted for 62% (17GW) of the new electricity generation capacity installed in the EU27 in 2009. 07 July 2010
D Light Design of India was selected as the overall Gold Award winner in the 2010 Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy. 05 July 2010
Intersolar Europe, the exhibition for solar energy, saw a 23% increase in visitor numbers to 72,000 visitors from around 150 countries this year in Munich, Germany on 9-11 June. 14 June 2010
This year’s Intersolar AWARD for innovation and improvements in solar power went to ABB Schweiz AG, Gehrlicher Solar AG, SMA Solar Technology AG, FSAVE Solartechnik GmbH, InvenSor GmbH, a research collaboration, Festo AG & Co. KG, GEMO-TEC Ltd, and Gebr. Schmid GmbH + Co. 11 June 2010
The ScottishPower Energy People Trust has donated £90,000 to Lister Housing Co-operative in Scotland for the installation of solar water heating. 08 June 2010
Trina Solar Ltd and the Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (SERIS) will cooperate on an all-back-contact high-efficiency silicon wafer solar cell using Trina Solar's monocrystalline wafers. 07 June 2010
The European solar thermal market decreased by 10% in 2009, according to the report ‘Solar Thermal Markets in Europe – Trends and Market Statistics 2009’ from the European Solar Thermal Industry Federation (ESTIF). 04 June 2010
Dubai’s first solar cooling plant is in operation at the new offices of welding products supplier ESAB. 04 June 2010
The UK Department of Energy and Climate Change’s Energy Bill will implement a ‘green deal’ for energy efficiency, and says it will deliver low-carbon energy. At the same time, DECC is cutting £85 million in spending... 28 May 2010
North America’s first large-scale seasonal storage solar system will source 90% of its heating needs from solar collectors within two years. 27 May 2010
The world will install 107 GW of green power by 2035, up from 44 GW in 2007. 27 May 2010
German Phaesun GmbH have installed off-grid solar power plants for police barracks in Liberia in West Africa and trained Liberian electricians on site. 21 May 2010
An immediate ban on further support payments under the German incentive scheme for solar heating, biomass and heat pump installations has been ordered by the German Ministry for Environmental Affairs. 18 May 2010
Wind energy developer West Coast Energy Ltd and micro-generation energy company Ensign Energy Ltd have formed a joint venture (JV) for renewable micro-generation projects in the UK. 22 April 2010
Suntech Power Holdings Co Ltd has completed a 1 MW solar panel installation at Harrah's Rincon Casino in Southern California. 12 April 2010
The pan-Indian not-for-profit body Solar Thermal Federation of India (STFI) has been launched to provide a voice and platform for the Indian solar thermal industry. 08 April 2010
The New York State Public Service Commission has approved US$279 million over five years for renewable energy projects, part of the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS). 26 March 2010
Solar power could meet 10% of energy needs in the United States by 2030, and reduce the US$350 billion to import oil every year. 19 March 2010
The German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety BMU is promoting a widespread test for solar air-conditioning, also known as solar cooling systems. 16 March 2010
The Government of Australia has released its first national Energy Resource Assessment, concluding that wind energy and other renewable energy sources are expected to become increasingly significant. 10 March 2010
Targets for climate change are ambitious but are achievable if the Scottish Government considers support for green heat and other non-traded energy. 01 March 2010
A US-based provider of renewable energy assessment and power forecasting tools has completed a tool to identify and map the world’s wind and solar resources using a globally-consistent methodology. 25 February 2010
Boots on the Roof, a US provider of renewable energy training and education, is now offering a Master Certificate in Renewable Energy programme. 24 February 2010
Solar’s Smart’s solar thermal collectors have received formal Solar Rating and Certification Corporation (SRCC) industry certifications. 24 February 2010
Fraunhofer has expanded its former Testing Centre for Thermal Solar Systems with increased capacity and more flexible measurement equipment. 17 February 2010
The UK and India have announced two research programmes to develop cost-effective and efficient solar energy solutions, totalling £10 million. 16 February 2010
A US Senator has introduced legislation to incent more than 10 million solar electric and solar thermal systems over the next decade. 11 February 2010
AREVA is acquiring the US-based provider of large-scale concentrated solar power solutions for electricity generation and industrial steam production, Ausra. 10 February 2010
Interested in financial renewable energy news and stocks? Renewable Energy Focus has launched a finance section with real-time financial data and news. 10 February 2010
Twelve UK communities have received grants to install solar panels, wind turbines and other renewable energy technologies, under a national challenge to reduce carbon emissions. 09 February 2010
Hawaii has introduced legislation to create a green jobs sector through the establishment of a ‘Hawaii Clean Energy Investment Bonds’ programme for renewable energy. 09 February 2010
Abener will develop a molten salts storage project for parabolic trough solar collectors and gas chambers (CCP) in an experimental solar plant in Almeria, Spain. 02 February 2010
The US federal budget proposes that the USA should be “the global leader in the new energy economy by developing new ways to produce and use clean and renewable energy.” 02 February 2010
The UK renewable energy industry welcomes today’s announcement of the feed-in tariff for renewable and low carbon electricity, and the plans for low carbon heating incentives. 01 February 2010
The UK Government has announced its feed-in tariffs for small scale renewable and low carbon electricity starting from 1 April. 01 February 2010
As solar companies set up manufacturing facilities in Arizona, Clean Energy Pioneers says there are now job and revenue opportunities in the Arizonan solar industry. 29 January 2010
Intel Corp says new contracts are in place to incorporate 2.5 MW of solar electric projects at corporate locations in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Oregon, USA. 27 January 2010
EarthSpark International, a US-based non-profit operating in Haiti, is raising money to send solar lamps to the country to assist in disaster relief efforts after the earthquakes. 22 January 2010
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has established a California Solar Initiative (CSI) Thermal Program to promote the installation of solar water heating systems in new and existing homes and businesses in the territories of Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), Southern California Edison, San Diego Gas and Electric Company (SDG&E), and Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas). 22 January 2010
Four community groups in Britain will share £1 million in prize money for reducing their carbon emissions by up to one-third in the past year through use of renewable energy and efficiency measures. 20 January 2010
Toyota Motor Corporation has been awarded the 2010 Zayed Future Energy Prize for its third-generation Toyota Prius, the world’s first mass-produced hybrid vehicle. 20 January 2010
The government of Canada will invest C$146 million to support 19 clean and renewable energy projects which include solar, wind, tidal and geothermal energy. 13 January 2010
Almost 17 million ft2 of solar thermal collectors were shipped in the United States in 2008, but that level was 18% below 2006, according to government data. 12 January 2010
The US$2.3 billion in tax credits for clean energy manufacturing is being allocated on a competitive basis. 11 January 2010
The siging of a political declaration in early December last year will see the countries cooperate on the development of a North Sea supergrid joining up clean energy projects scattered in and around the North Sea. 07 January 2010
The Board elected Dr. David Renné of the USA as President for the term from 01 January 2010 through 31 December 2011. He is the 26th President of the Society and successor of Ms. Monica Oliphant of Australia. 07 January 2010
Germany has received the top grade for solar power policies in the Global Solar Report Card released by Global Green USA on behalf of President Gorbachev’s Green Cross International (GCI). 29 December 2009
Two dozen solar energy associations from around the world have told the United Nations at COP15 in Copenhagen that a significant portion of GHG emissions could be eliminated through an accelerated deployment of solar energy. 15 December 2009
Check out what our bloggers have to report... 15 December 2009
The United States remains the most attractive country overall for renewable energy, but China has moved ahead of Germany to take second spot in the rankings released by Ernst & Young. 07 December 2009
Europeans consider climate change to be the second-most serious problem facing the world today, but paying for green / renewable energy or installing solar panels or wind turbines are the least popular method to address the challenge. 04 December 2009
Xavier Noyon has been unanimously appointed new Secretary General of the European Solar Thermal Industry Federation (ESTIF). 30 November 2009
Funding to the Clean Technology Fund (CTF) Investment Plan in South Africa will allow the country to move towards its goal of 4% of electricity from renewable energy by 2013. 25 November 2009
Helene Pelosse, interim Director General of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) is confirmed as one of the guest speakers for Renewable Energy Focus’ next interactive webinar taking place on Wednesday 9 December (10.00 EST/15.00 GMT/19.00 UAE), in association with the World Future Energy Summit. 25 November 2009
The best prospects for large-scale renewable energy production and net-energy performance remain wind and certain forms of solar, according to a study released by two California-based think tanks. 18 November 2009
Morocco plans to have 2 GW of solar power by 2020 representing investment of US$9 billion. 16 November 2009
Men are more likely to say they support the use of renewable energy than women, according to an opinion survey conducted by the UK Department of Energy & Climate Change. 16 November 2009
Wind energy will receive US$80 million in federal government funding appropriations, a 45% increase over the last fiscal year. 10 November 2009
A SolarWall perforated transpired solar collector (pTSC) solar air heating system has been installed at Jaguar Land Rover Training Academy in Gaydon, Warwickshire, UK, helping the building to save more than 80 MWh per year. 04 November 2009
3TIER has announced that its advanced solar map and dataset - previously available for the Western Hemisphere - now includes Asia, the Middle East, and Oceania. 03 November 2009
The US Department of Energy (DoE) has announced an online resource for local governments that assists community leaders and local stakeholders in building sustainable local solar markets with best practices from 25 Solar America Cities. 02 November 2009
The US Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA) and Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) have formed a new jointly-owned legal entity, Solar Energy Trade Shows LLC. 28 October 2009
Rhone Resch, president and ceo of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), has called on the solar industry to "enlist" in the fight to secure a policy environment that allows solar to compete with other forms of energy. 28 October 2009
Renewable energy could reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by 2741 Mt by 2030 under accelerated environmental policies, according to the International Energy Agency. 26 October 2009
The demand across Canada for financial subsidy for green heat systems has exceeded expectations, but the programme is still under-allocated. 23 October 2009
3TIER has unveiled a suite of solar assessment products that give utility-scale developers a higher degree of certainty in the availability of solar resources, and a more complete picture of the production potential of their projects. 21 October 2009
The International Solar Energy Society (ISES) has called for the use of feed-in tariffs worldwide at its solar world congress (SWC) in Johannesburg, South Africa. 21 October 2009
A student team from Darmstadt, Germany, has designed, built and operated the most attractive and efficient solar powered home in an international solar competition. 19 October 2009
What were the top 5 stories at www.renewableenergyfocus.com during September? 07 October 2009
India is one of the latest countries to make the strategic move to a comprehensive system of feed-in tariffs to develop its renewable energy potential. 05 October 2009
Solar could see an annual growth of 25-30% per year, according to Winfried Hoffmann, President of the European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA), at the opening of the European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition (EU PVSEC) in Germany. 21 September 2009
The organisers of the Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy is seeking entries from "inspirational and innovative" local sustainable energy programmes from Asia, Africa and Latin America. 12 September 2009
Intersolar is expanding into India. It will be organised in association with SOLARCON® India, in Hyderabad, 9-11 November 2009. 11 September 2009
Organisers of the prominent global renewable energy awards report that nominations are reflecting the structural changes to clean energy markets… 10 September 2009
Masdar Institute of Science and technology has welcomed its first intake of 92 graduate students, representing 22 different nations. 10 September 2009
The US$2.2 million Zayed Future Energy Prize awarded every year for innovation, long-term vision and leadership in renewable energy and technologies is open for nominations until 16 October 2009. 04 September 2009
What were the top 5 stories at www.renewableenergyfocus.com during August? 03 September 2009
David MacKay, Professor in the Department of Physics at Cambridge University and author of the influential book ‘Sustainable Energy - without the hot air' has been appointed Chief Scientific Advisor to the UK's Department of Energy and Climate Change. 03 September 2009
Intertape Polymer Group (IPG) has announced plans to develop further products designed for the wind, solar, geothermal and biofuel generation markets. 25 August 2009
India is targeting 20GW of solar power as part of its climate and energy strategy. 10 August 2009
Edwards has introduced iXL500, the first in a line of dry vacuum pumps designed for load lock applications in solar cell and flat panel display manufacturing. 29 July 2009
Atlantic Wind and Solar (AWSL) and Centripetal Dynamics (CDI) are to collaborate on hybrid wind/solar energy projects in Ontario, Canada. 23 July 2009
According to the latest statistics from the European Solar Thermal Industry Federation (ESTIF), the European solar thermal market is worth €3 billion and provides over 40,000 full time jobs in Europe, where the industry has forged a "clear technological lead in generating solar heating and cooling". 17 July 2009
theEnergyCrowd.com, the crowd-source based developer of renewable energy technologies, is publishing performance data from theEnergyCrowd's experimental domestic passive solar energy and heat storage system on Twitter. 09 July 2009
Some – most notably Al Gore - are hailing the decision as the most important legislation Congress will ever pass. It sees the US pledging to cut emissions by 17% (below 2005 levels) by 2020, and 83% by 2050. 01 July 2009
What were the top 5 stories at www.renewableenergyfocus.com during June? 01 July 2009
Speaking at the Renewable Energy Finance Forum in New York City, International Energy Agency (IEA) Executive Director Nobuo Tanaka, said that renewable energy sources have a "key role to play with respect to both energy security and climate change". 29 June 2009
In a presentation before US policymakers and analysts, leading clean energy CEOs, venture capitalists and academics unveiled the “Gigaton Throwdown,” an assessment of the US’ clean energy potential. 24 June 2009
The United Arab Emirates (UAE)'s bid to host the headquarters of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) is a major boost for the developing world in the global quest for a sustainable future, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair said. 05 June 2009
The US Department of Energy’s (DoE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN) will cooperate on renewable energy research areas such as policy studies, energy analysis, wind energy and solar photovoltaic (PV) energy. 04 June 2009
Intersolar 2009, the trade show for solar technology, saw visitors numbers swell to around 60,000 representing 150 countries on 26-29 May in Munich, Germany. 01 June 2009
NEP Solar's solar process heat collector has won the 2009 Intersolar Award in the solar thermal category. 29 May 2009
Aerowest GmbH, National Semiconductor and SOLON SE in the PV category; and NEP Solar Pty Ltd, RESOL – Elektronische Regelungen GmbH and Ritter Energie- und Umwelttechnik GmbH & Co KG for the solar thermal category. 28 May 2009
The European Solar Thermal Industry Federations (ESTIF) says the EU and Swiss solar thermal markets grew 60% to 3.3 GW in 2008. 28 May 2009
Renewable Energy Focus will be at Intersolar 2009 on 27-29 May to talk to representatives of the international solar energy industry. 26 May 2009
A hybrid air-conditioning system running on solar thermal energy and/or electricity has been launched by DuCool. 14 May 2009
A solar water heating programme has been launched in Ottawa, Canada, by Canadian renewable energy electricity provider, Bullfrog Power, together with Enbridge Gas Distribution, EnerWorks, and the Government of Canada. 13 May 2009
The year ahead will be tough for wind energy whereas solar power will experience an uptick in 2009, according to analyst Emerging Energy Research (EER). 30 April 2009
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released a list of the USA’s top green power purchasers. 28 April 2009
Renewable Energy Focus has now joined the twitter network... 19 April 2009
Renewable Power Solutions, a provider of solar energy installation services, has been awarded the first exclusively solar apprenticeship programme by the State of California. 16 April 2009
The Hydrogen Education Foundation, part of the National Hydrogen Association, has announced the winners of the 2008-09 Hydrogen Student Design Contest. 13 April 2009
Ontario has proposed feed-in-tariffs (FiTs) for renewable energy generated from sources such as onshore and offshore wind, hydroelectric, solar, biogas, biomass and landfill gas. 24 March 2009
The International scientific congress Climate Change: Global Risks, Challenges & Decisions has voiced the possibility of 40% of the world’s power coming from renewable energy by 2050 with adequate financial and political support. 20 March 2009
Irish Energy Minister Eamon Ryan has announced measures to encourage the on-site generation of electricity in homes and farms across Ireland. 11 March 2009
Ontario, Canada, is proposing sweeping new legislation to attract new investment, create new ‘green economy jobs’ and better protect the climate. 09 March 2009
Eight wind turbines have been erected in Antarctica providing power for the International Polar Foundation’s Princess Elisabeth Station. 24 February 2009
Surface Power has launched its solar hot water panels saying they are more efficient than similar products on the Irish market. 24 February 2009
The US$789 billion economic stimulus bill, which includes provision for renewable energy, has been passed by the US Congress and endorsed by President Barack Obama. 17 February 2009
The Danish Government will be providing R60 million to support renewable energy projects at local government level in South Africa. 13 February 2009
Oerlikon is planning around 1,000 layoffs following other similar announcement in the solar industry. 23 January 2009
As 2009 gets underway, all eyes are turned towards the US, a market poised to begin a dramatic transition in energy and climate policy, but facing decisions still steeped in political wrangling, according to analyst Emerging Energy Research. 19 January 2009
Elsevier is launching a ‘one-stop’ site for energy researchers covering all aspects of energy including renewables. 16 January 2009
Tata Power will explore the possibility of setting up a 5 MW geothermal power plant and a 5 MW solar power plant in Gujarat, India. 15 January 2009
The World Future Energy Summit (WFES09) will see 132 solar-related companies exhibiting on January 19-21, 2009. 14 January 2009
Clean energy shares have been benefiting from an 'Obama Bounce', surging from their lows in November last year, according to leading analysis company New Energy Finance. 13 January 2009
Recruitment company Resourcing Solutions predicts the renewable energy industry will have a growing importance in the UK job market. 12 January 2009
In a speech on 8 January, President-elect Barack Obama made it clear renewables would play an important part in saving the US economy. 09 January 2009
Fourth quarter data from Greentech Media show that venture capital (VC) investment in green technologies exceeded US$2.5 billion in the fourth quarter of 2008, down 1.4% from Q3. 08 January 2009
According to the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the Japan Photovoltaic Energy Association (JPEA) will start accepting applications for the residential solar generation installation subsidies from mid-January as part of the implementation of the Japanese residential solar generation installation subsidy programme, which was incorporated in the supplementary budget for this fiscal year. 07 January 2009
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