Home: Renewable Energy News: March 2010

Renewable Energy News

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Thursday 18 March, 2010

SHCP Solar Rebate Related Installation Bottleneck Looms - A recent meeting of the PV Directorate revealed there are still 42,000 solar power installations to be executed under the old Solar Homes and Communities Program rebate (SHCP) and at current installation rates, some may not be completed by the Government's July deadline.

Wednesday 17 March, 2010

Suntech Supplying Panels To Taiwan's Largest Solar Farm - Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. has announced it will supply over 16,000 280 watt solar panels for a new 4.7MW solar farm in Taiwan

Tuesday 16 March, 2010

Sanyo HIT Solar Panels Power Electric Bike Parking Lots - Sanyo has announced completion of two Sanyo HIT solar panel powered parking lots for electric bicycles and provision of 100 of its Eneloop hybrid bikes in Setagaya, Tokyo Japan.
Free Home Sustainability Assessments - Still Worth Having Done? - Major recent changes to the Australian Green Loans program that stripped away the possibility for interest free financing for solar power systems has left some householders asking whether a home sustainability assessment is still relevant. According to accredited assessor James Gregory, an assessment is still worth getting done.

Monday 15 March, 2010

Solar Electricity And Hot Water Hybrid Panel - Solar panels generate a great deal of waste heat, so why not use that heat to perform another task solar energy has been used for decades to do - heat water.
USD$500 Billion Being Spent on Fossil Fuel Subsidies - While the amount of money being spent in relation to solar power and other renewable energy subsidies is sometimes criticised, a recent study on energy subsidies found that the world could be spending USD$500 billion annually to subsidise fossil fuels - the majority from subsidised end-user prices.

Sunday 14 March, 2010

Tasmania's Greens Tout Gross Solar Feed In Tariff - Late in February we reported that even with a looming election in Tasmania, none of the parties appeared to have addressed the lack of a suitable feed-in tariff for solar power in the state as an election issue. That situation changed last week with Tasmania's Greens announcing their "Electrifying Tasmania" pledge.

Friday 12 March, 2010

SunPower Inks 200 MW Solar Panel Deal - SunPower announced yesterday it had secured a contract to provide its solar panel technology for generating up to 200 megawatts, or 80 percent, of the solar power capacity needed for Southern California Edison's (SCE) major solar photovoltaic installation program.

Thursday 11 March, 2010

Crocodile Dundee's "Nugget" Gets A Life And Goes Solar - Australian actor Gerry Skilton, who played Nugget in all three Crocodile Dundee movies, is currently filming a new TV series called "Nugget's Get A Life" - with a little help from solar power and Energy Matters.
Kyocera To Begin Making Solar Panels In USA - Where Suntech led, Kyocera is now following. The company recently announced plans to begin manufacturing solar panels in California to serve the local U.S. market's booming demand for modules.

Wednesday 10 March, 2010

Australian Solar Rebate Instability Continues - Government rebates and incentives certainly help make acquiring a system much cheaper and speed up return on investment; but solar rebates and incentives in Australia have been somewhat a moving target over the last 10 months, causing confusion for consumers and industry alike.
The Windbelt Windcell Panel Power Generator - When we think of wind power, we often conjure up images of windmill type turbines or vertical wind turbines called VAWTs. Soon we may see a new type of device on the market, the Windbelt by Humdinger Wind Energy.

Tuesday 09 March, 2010

Solar Cell Made From Pea Plant - Science has endeavouring to help unlock the secrets of how plants so efficiently turn the sun into energy in order to mimic that process. Once the code is cracked, one application is the production of cheap and more efficient solar cells.
Australian Energy Resource Assessment - Renewable Generation "Modest" - The first Australian Energy Resource Assessment, described as a national prospectus for energy resources, has been released. While 7% of Australia's electricity is now generated by renewable means, the majority of that figure is hydro-power. Wind energy is making inroads, but solar power only accounts for around 0.1 per cent of Australia’s primary energy consumption

Monday 08 March, 2010

Early Start To Australia's Small Scale Renewable Energy Scheme? - The Rudd Government says it will set a minimum value of $40 on Renewable Energy Certificates from January 1 next year. The Opposition wants to bring that forward to July this year. National solar power provider Energy Matters isn't willing to wait even that long. The company has announced it will pay the $40 per REC to purchasers of systems acquired through Energy Matters, effective immediately.
Coal's Legacy : Mercury Contamination - Australia has a set a target of just 20 percent renewable energy generation by 2020; so even after that date, coal will still feature heavily in our energy mix. The use of coal and its role in greenhouse gas emissions is well known, but an issue often overlooked is the subject of mercury.

Friday 05 March, 2010

Coal Tax To Help Fund Renewable Energy In India - Issues relating to renewable energy and coal featured heavily in India Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s Union Budget speech late last month.

Thursday 04 March, 2010

Electricity Retailers Undermining Australia's Solar Power Future? - Through feedback from clients, national solar power solutions provider Energy Matters has been made aware some Australian electricity retailers appear to be making it extremely difficult for people to fully benefit from solar feed in tariff programs.
Solar Power Assisted Bus Hits California Roads - California-based Sunpods Inc. has announced the first solar power-assist system for buses, designed to help transportation companies strict anti-pollution standards set by the State of California.

Wednesday 03 March, 2010

Greens Lash Out At NSW Coal Power Push - The NSW government is believed to be on the verge of granting approval for the development two giant coal or gas fired power stations, drawing criticism from renewable energy supporters in the state and the Australian Greens.
ETU Report Backs National Solar Gross Feed In Tariff - A report by Access Economics Pty Limited for Electrical Trades Union, Victoria (ETU) has shown that a national gross feed in tariff for solar power in Australia would have far better outcomes for the same money that has been spent over the last 18 months by the Federal Government on the now defunct Solar Homes And Communities Plan.

Tuesday 02 March, 2010

Caltech Creates Solar Cell Using Silicon Wire Arrays - Researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have created a new type of flexible solar cell using arrays of long, thin silicon wires embedded in a polymer substrate; requiring a fiftieth of the silicon used by conventional silicon solar cells.
Prepare To Lose Off-Peak Electricity - And Solar Power Isn't To Blame - Several media reports in the last week have stated that by making the switch to solar power, some householders are losing their off-peak electricity benefits. Solar power isn't to blame and the loss of traditional off-peak rates is inevitable for all Australian households.

Monday 01 March, 2010

Green Loans For The Rest Of Us - While the Australian Federal Government's Green Loans program is headed for the scrap heap, Australian financial institutions are recognising there is an increasing demand for solar power systems and creating low interest green loan products for the purposes of purchasing solar power systems.
Solar Powered Marines? Ooh-rah!* - The US Marines are going GREENS. No, that's not a typo. The Ground Renewable Expeditionary Energy System (GREENS) uses stackable solar panel arrays and deep cycle batteries to provide electricity for essential functions in the field.

News archive for 2010

News archive for 2009