Home: Renewable Energy News: October 2009

Renewable Energy News

OCTOBER 2009 | View archive list |

Friday 30 October, 2009

Cars To Help Power Our Homes?
A road trial of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) is being conducted by the CSIRO Energy Transformed Flagship program in order to determine if power from the PHEV batteries could be used to help provide electricity to homes.

Thursday 29 October, 2009

Clean Coal Not Viable For 20 Years - Report
The Federal Government's own global carbon capture and storage institute; which costs the Australian taxpayer $100 million a year, has acknowledged that controversial "new generation coal" and "clean coal" power will likely not be commercially viable until 2030.

Australia's Solar Hot Water Rebate - For How Much Longer?
With Renewable Energy Certificates flooding the market and some blaming the popularity of solar hot water systems for the situation; there is speculation the premature end of the $1600 solar hot water rebate may be in sight.

Japanese Team Wins Australia's Solar Car Race
A Japanese solar car yesterday won the Global Green Challenge race from Darwin to Adelaide after averaging just over 100 kilometres an hour over the duration of the race, which started on Sunday.

Wednesday 28 October, 2009

Australian Solar Power In The Maldives
Australian solar power company Energy Matters has its sights set on assisting the Maldives in making the switch to renewable energy.

US Solar Bill Of Rights Proposed
Speaking at the General Session of Solar Power International 2009 today, Rhone Resch, President and CEO of the US Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), proposed a solar bill of rights for the USA.

Tuesday 27 October, 2009

SMA Announces Solar Inverter Plant For The USA
SMA announced today the development of a new solar inverter production facility in Denver, Colorado. The annual production capacity of the new facility will be around one gigawatt with an option for expansion.

SunPower's Mega Solar Panel Achieves Record Efficiency
SunPower Corp. announced today that it has achieved a world-record for a solar panel with a 20.4 percent total area efficiency.

Monday 26 October, 2009

Sharp Achieves 35.8% Efficiency With New Solar Cell
Sharp Corporation has claimed to have achieved the world’s highest non-concentrator solar cell conversion efficiency of 35.8% using a triple-junction compound solar cell.

UK Wind Power Industry Gearing Up For 60,000 Jobs
Meeting late last week in Liverpool at the British wind industry's annual conference, leaders from the UK power sector business, government and academia signed up to a new sector training and skills route map to train up to 60,000 new technicians and engineers.

Friday 23 October, 2009

Victoria's Smart Meter Rollout Update
Electricity distributor SP AusNet yesterday announced its partners in the rollout of more than 680,000 'smart meters' to homes and small businesses across eastern and north eastern Victoria.

Thursday 22 October, 2009

Australian Solar Power Incentives For Business Go Begging
Many Australian business owners are missing out on numerous incentives available for making the switch to solar power

Electric Car Battery Recycling To Benefit Solar Power
Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. and Sumitomo Corporation recently announced an initiative to recycle lithium-ion batteries from electric cars for use as energy-storage solutions in applications such as solar power systems

Wednesday 21 October, 2009

$2 Billion Solar Farm For US Army
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has selected Acciona Solar Power and the Clark Energy Group to develop a 500MW solar farm project at Fort Irwin military complex, located in the Mojave Desert, California.

Dell's Car Park Solar Farm
The computer giant, Dell, has announced the completion of construction of a new 516-panel solar farm at its Round Rock, Texas headquarters.

Tuesday 20 October, 2009

Wind Power To Bypass Nuclear Power In UK By 2012
When the current round of UK wind farm projects is completed by 2012, wind energy in the nation will have overtaken nuclear power in installed capacity.

Solar Panel Myths - Climate Change Contributors
Solar power is often the victim of detractors; sometimes drawing ire from those with a vested interest in maintaining fossil fuel based economies, but also from uninformed parties perpetuating myths or sowing seeds of doubt in relation to renewable energy.

Monday 19 October, 2009

The 11kW Solar Powered House
A German entry in the U.S. Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon 2009 produced a surplus of power even during three days of rain.

Preventing Solar Panel Theft
Solar panels are big business and as with any valuable piece of equipment, they are attracting attention from the darker elements of society. Solar panel theft is on the rise; particularly in the USA.

Friday 16 October, 2009

Sunswift IV - Solar Powered Car
University of New South Wales' Sunswift solar racing team left for Darwin on the weekend along with their new solar powered car that can attain speeds of up to 115km/h using the same amount of power as some small household appliances.

Thursday 15 October, 2009

NEWSFLASH - National Solar Schools Program Shock Suspension
The Australian National Solar Schools Program (NSSP) that provided grants of up to $50,000 for schools to install solar power systems was abruptly suspended without prior notice by the Rudd government just a few hours ago.

Canada's Largest Solar Farm Officially Opened
Consisting of over 126,000 solar panels situated on 90 acres, Canada's largest solar farm is now producing power for the people of Stone Mills in Ontario.

Victoria's Waubra Wind Farm Connected To Grid
The commissioning of the 192 megawatt Waubra wind farm in the Australian state of Victoria was completed last week after being connected to the mains grid.

Wednesday 14 October, 2009

Solar Powered Cyborg Spy Beetle
That fly on the wall. Is it watching you? Is that a solar panel on its back? Paranoia? No, the concept is now reality.

Australian Off Grid Solar Rebates Review - Call For Submissions
The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) will be reviewing the possibility of providing additional financial support to off-grid renewable power generation and are encouraging input from individuals, businesses and organisations to inform the review process.

Tuesday 13 October, 2009

Australian Greens Unveil Safe Climate Bill
Released yesterday, the Australian Greens' Safe Climate Bill is what the party is calling first legislative attempt to rapidly transform Australia into a "flourishing carbon neutral powerhouse".

Kyocera Donates Solar Panels To Power Uganda Schools
Kyocera Corporation has announced it is donating and installing off grid solar power systems to 15 schools in Uganda over the next five years.

Monday 12 October, 2009

Florida's New 90,000 Solar Panel Power Station
Florida Power & Light Company recently announced its DeSoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center in Arcadia will begin generating electricity later this month.

Friday 09 October, 2009

Wind Power Outlook for North America
A report on the wind power industry in the USA by Pike Research says that while the sector is continuing to grow, it won't be at the pace prior to this year.

Thursday 08 October, 2009

Where's My Solar Rebate? SHCP Government Update
Many of the people who applied for the Solar Homes and Communities Plan rebate are still waiting for the results of their application.

Rechargeable Battery Pre-Charged Via Solar Power
Sanyo's revamped eneloop batteries can be recharged up to 1500 times are now also pre-charged at the factory using renewable energy generated from solar power.

Wednesday 07 October, 2009

All-Energy Australia '09 Conference And Exhibition - Melbourne
The All-Energy Australia ‘09 conference and exhibition is being held in Melbourne today and tomorrow.

Ontario's New Gross Solar Feed In Tariff Pays 84c Per kWh
Ontario's feed in tariff program has been relaunched - and is even more generous than the last. For owners of solar panel systems under 10kW, they'll receive AUD 84c (current exchange rates) per kWh on all power produced.

Tuesday 06 October, 2009

Australian Insulation Rebate Fraud Fiasco Unfolding
Australian Minister Peter Garrett has announced 100 insulation companies will be removed from the Government's $2.7 billion insulation rebate program because of "unscrupulous behaviour", including cases of overcharging and fraudulent invoicing.

Tasmania's Renewable Energy Push
One of the first projects under the new push for clean power in Tasmania is the long term goal for renewable energy to replace diesel based power generation on Bass Strait islands

Monday 05 October, 2009

Premier Bligh Opens Queensland's Solar Powered Bridge
Queensland Premier Anna Bligh yesterday officially opened the new $63.3 million solar powered Kurilpa Bridge in Brisbane's CBD.

Friday 02 October, 2009

Schott Solar AG Extends Solar Panel Guarantees
Schott Solar AG recently announced the extension of guarantees on its solar panels.

Thursday 01 October, 2009

Australia's Smart Grid A Step Closer
The Australian Government yesterday announced the next step in transforming Australia’s ageing electricity grid into a "smart grid" through the release of a report.

Suntech Flips The Switch On 10MW Solar Farm
Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. has announced the completion and grid connection of the first 10 megawatt utility-scale PV-based solar farm in China.

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