FERC is asking for comment on a study conducted to identify the tools needed to manage electric grid operations and expansion to ensure grid reliability. Comments should be filed by March 5, 2011.
Bloom Energy today announced a new program designed to attract new customers who can't or don't want to invest in the spendy fuel cell equipment. Bloom is offering those customers the option of paying only for the electricity produced without making the initial investment in the equipment.
Turns out 2010 was a banner year for smart grid venture capital investments and mergers and acquisitions. Venture capital funding almost doubled compared to 2009, said consulting company Mercom Capital Group. And not a bad year for wind and solar, either.
Investments in clean-tech such as renewable energy and other smart grid technologies and equipment reached a record level of $243 billion globally in 2010, according to a new study report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
The global vehicle-to-grid market should grow at an astonishing pace, hitting $2.25 billion in 2012 and $40.4 billion in 2020, according to a new report. But Jesse Berst is advising caution and spells out why.
A new report says the U.S. and Canada continue to be the frontrunners in smart grid development in the Americas, but increased demand and the need to integrate renewables has sparked several South American countries to step up their grid modernization initiatives.
New Jersey's Public Service Electric and Gas Company is taking green one step further by developing solar plants on brownfields the utility owns. The utility is building solar farms on three such sites.
The controversial Cape Wind offshore wind farm took one step closer to becoming the country's first offshore wind producer when Massachusetts regulators OK'd a contract allowing it to sell power to National Grid. But there's still a lot of grumbling about the project.
Southern California Edison is making a move toward smaller photovoltaic and concentrating photovoltaic power plants as solar panel prices drop. The utility recently signed contracts for 239.5 megawatts of power to be provided by 20 small solar farms.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has proposed rule reforms intended to make integration of variable renewable energy sources like wind and solar into the electric grid more efficient while maintaining grid reliability and bringing possible cost savings to customers.
DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy will get some outside help in managing its wide-ranging portfolio of activities in the form of a volunteer advisory committee of experts from a variety of disciplines, including industry, education, regulation and science.
Not only is UK-based Ecotricity developing an electric sports car that get its power from wind turbines, but it's also touting its plans to use it to break the British land speed record of 139 mph next year.
Solar panel maker Solyndra, faced with serious price competition, has announced plans to shutter an older manufacturing plant and lay off workers. The company also will delay expansion of a new state-of-the-art factory, a project that had won a $535 million DOE loan guarantee last year.
With 45 wave and tidal prototypes slated for ocean testing this year and next, IHS Emerging Energy Research says the ocean power market looks poised for take off.
An alliance of clean tech organizations have formed U-Launch to provide commercialization assistance for early-stage start-ups and university-originated clean energy technologies.
Biofuels are getting a shot at the big time. The U.S. Navy is planning to roll out about 10 ships, planes and submarines powered by a blend of biofuels and nuclear power.
The global wind energy market could take a turn for the better now that the technology to forecast fluctuations in wind speeds over several years is available. That's reasonably good news against the backdrop of a flat 2010 predicted for the wind energy industry, though production is expected to start growing again in 2011.
The solar industry and electric utilities should work more closely together as they look for ways to integrate renewable energy and smart grid technologies. That's the word from said Hamm, President and CEO of the Solar Electric Power Association.
Wind turbines and solar panels aren't going to be enough to reach renewable energy goals. According to a Brattle Group official, the U.S. is going to have to sink between $50 billion and $100 billion into transmission for renewable integration to succeed.
There are signs that the United States is losing ground - and investment dollars - to other countries with stronger government mandates for smart meters and renewable energy standards. Do you agree? Click inside and weigh in.
A proposal for a 350-mile underwater transmission backbone to link future offshore wind farms miles off the East Coast looks promising and could make it easier and cheaper to bring clean energy to the mainland, industry and government officials say. But they also agree technological, regulatory and other challenges could be daunting.
With the solar industry gathered in Los Angeles this week, expect a flurry of product announcements and enthusiasm about where things are headed. But the gray cloud hovering over utilities is how to support higher penetration levels and get more value from distributed assets like photovoltaics. We’ve pulled together research from EPRI plus recent developments that help shine light on the issues.
The Energy Department has made a conditional commitment to guarantee 80% of a $1.3 billion loan for what is so far the world's largest wind farm, Caithness Energy's Shepherds Flat project in eastern Oregon.
Cape Wind, the country's first large-scale offshore wind farm, got formal approval from the Department of the Interior this week after nine years of legal and regulatory turmoil.
We're getting mixed signals about the vitality of the smart grid market. On the one hand, the recent DistribuTECH conference was one of the most successful ever. On the other, a well-known Wall Street analyst recently told his clients that the smart metering sector is "facing several headwinds," including weak regulatory support in the U.S. and delays in European adoption. Taking the pulse of the smart grid industry is this week's Tuesday Topic.
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