Home: Renewable Energy News: June 2010

Renewable Energy News

JUNE 2010 | View archive list |

Wednesday 30 June, 2010

Sydney City Council Promotes Local Clean Energy Production
NSW households and businesses are bracing themselves for the first in a series of price hikes that will see the cost of electricity increase 42% over the next three years. Sydney City Council says that expanding decentralised energy production and energy efficiency measures could ease the financial blow and slash greenhouse gas emissions.

Water And Solar Powered Elevator
An elevator has been unveiled at the London Festival of Architecture that is powered by a solar water pumping system.

Tuesday 29 June, 2010

Australian Greens Push For Carbon Price
With the Greens possibly holding the balance of power after the next election, the stakes are high for the Australian Government.

More Renewable Energy Wanted By More Americans
A recent survey by Applied Materials of 1,000 American adults has found just over two thirds of respondents believe solar power needs to play a bigger role in meeting the nation's energy needs.

Monday 28 June, 2010

Small Town, Big Batteries
The small West Texas town of Presidio recently installed a 4 megawatt sodium sulfur battery system to help smooth out it's unreliable power supply. The same battery system also has applications for renewable energy storage.

Sunday 27 June, 2010

Enhanced RET Provides Big Rebates For Off Grid Solar
Australia's Enhanced Renewable Energy Target (eRET) legislation passed last week offers greatly increased rebates for people installing off grid solar power systems.

Friday 25 June, 2010

Supercapattery - Supercapacitor Battery Hybrid
Another solution for storing electricity generated by renewable sources such as wind and solar power is being developed by researchers at The University of Nottingham - the supercapattery.

Thursday 24 June, 2010

Australia's Enhanced Renewable Energy Target
Long awaited changes to Australia's Renewable Energy Target were finally passed on Thursday, changes some are calling the biggest climate change reform in Australia's history.

Wednesday 23 June, 2010

Biodegradable Pens Made With Wind Power
In a throw-away society, disposable pens make a significant contribution to our waste stream and the production of pens is an energy intensive process. US company DBA has taken steps to address both these issues with its "98" product.

Tuesday 22 June, 2010

Sharp Building Solar Farms In Germany
Sharp Energy Solution Europe has announced it will build two solar farms consisting of 17,000 Sharp silicon-based thin-film solar panels for energy providers in Germany.

Australia's Renewable Energy Target - Further Proposed Amendments
The Government has announced further proposed amendments to the Renewable Energy Target a short time ago.

Monday 21 June, 2010

Solar Powered Hamburgers
Burger King Corp, known as Hungry Jacks in Australia, last week unveiled a restaurant partially powered by wind and solar energy.

New Safety Rules For Solar Panel Installations In Australia
Companies seeking to install solar panels under the Government’s Renewable Energy Target (RET) will have to comply with more stringent safety and compliance requirements from today.

Sunday 20 June, 2010

Solar Power Brings FIFA 2010 World Cup To Villages
FIFA World Cup fever is gripping the world once again and even more people are able to watch the soccer matches thanks to solar power and German company, SolarWorld.

Thursday 17 June, 2010

Solar Powered Mole Repeller
While moles aren't a problem in Australia, these cute creatures appear to be a real pest in the UK. Control methods can sometimes be quite brutal, but solar power has come to the rescue with a more humane mole control device.

Reports : Renewable Energy Target Legislation Stalled
Several sources are reporting the Federal Government has withdrawn legislation related to a revamp of Australia's Renewable Energy Target (RET) and that it may not be presented again until after the next Federal election.

Wednesday 16 June, 2010

Budget: Will Tasmania Get A Proper Solar Feed In Tariff?
Tasmania's government is due to hand down its budget Thursday and sources say there will be announcements related to renewable energy. Solar power supporters in the state are hoping that among them will be an announcement of a proper solar feed in tariff for Tasmania.

Obama Speech : BP Oil Spill And Clean Energy
In the first Oval Office address of his presidency, U.S. President Barack Obama outlined his commitment to fighting the full impacts of the BP oil spill and reaffirmed his goals for a clean energy future for his nation.

Tuesday 15 June, 2010

REC Solar Officially Launches Peak Energy Solar Panels
REC Solar has officially launched its REC Peak Energy series solar panels at the Intersolar event in Munich - and Australians won't have to wait long before the panels are available in Australia.

Monday 14 June, 2010

Solar Power Assisted Electricity Line Inspection Robot
A robot assisted by solar power is being developed that will make the task of high voltage overhead power line inspection safer and cheaper.

Sunday 13 June, 2010

Dye Sensitised Solar Cell Inventor Wins Millennium Prize
The prestigious 2010 Millennium Prize was recently awarded to Michael Grätzel for his invention and development of dye-sensitized solar cells, known as "Grätzel cells".

Thursday 10 June, 2010

Australian Cash Splash On Solar Powered Radio Telescope
The Rudd Government announced on Wednesday it will invest $47.3 million in projects to ensure solar energy and geothermal heat power Australia's bid to host the world's most powerful radio telescope.

Wednesday 09 June, 2010

100 Megawatt Solar Farm For Abu Dhabi
Abengoa Solar and Total have been selected by Abu Dhabi renewable energy company Masdar to enter into a joint venture to develop largest solar farm in the Middle East.

Wind Farm Lobbyists Could Harm Australia's Solar Power Industry
Sources say large wind farm developers descended on Canberra last week to lobby members of the Senate to further amend upcoming changes to the Renewable Energy Target - amendments that may negatively impact on Australia's home solar power industry.

Suntech Solar Panels Farmer Friendly
Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. announced yesterday all its solar panels were recently certified by the German Institute for Standardization (DIN) to maintain high performance when exposed to ammonia.

Tuesday 08 June, 2010

Solar Power : Queensland/New South Wales Budgets
Queensland and New South Wales both handed down their 2010/11 financial year State budgets yesterday. Highlights of funding for renewable energy and energy efficiency initiatives.

Monday 07 June, 2010

95% Renewable Energy By 2050 Possible : Greenpeace
Greenpeace's 'Energy [R]evolution: A Sustainable World Energy Outlook' provides an updated, detailed blueprint for slashing carbon emissions while stimulating economic growth by replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy and energy efficiency.

Some NSW Solar Schools Missing Out On Feed In Tariffs
National solar solutions provider Energy Matters calls on the NSW Government to extend feed in tariff eligibility to include all solar power systems installed on New South Wales schools, regardless of size.

Sunday 06 June, 2010

Suntech To Ramp Up Solar Panel Production In Shanghai
Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. yesterday announced the company would ramp up solar panel production capacity at its Shanghai facility by 1,000 megawatts over the next three years to help meet unprecedented demand for its solar modules.

Thursday 03 June, 2010

Solarfun unveils SolarIris BIPV panel
Solarfun Power Holdings Co., Ltd., one of the world's largest manufacturers of solar panels for the commercial and home solar power market, yesterday unveiled its new line of "SolarIris" building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) modules at the International Solar Europe Conference in Germany.

Wednesday 02 June, 2010

Good Vibrations From Wind Power
The Vibro-Wind Research Group at Cornell University in the USA is developing what it says will be an efficient, economical method of converting vibrations from wind energy to electricity.

BP Disaster: Will Big Oil Revisit Solar Power?
As the BP oil leak disaster enters into its seventh week and the company sees its stocks plummet, perhaps some Big Oil executives may reconsider their attitude towards renewable energy.

Sub-Standard Solar Power Installations In Australia
National solar power solutions provider Energy Matters has weighed in on a news item published earlier today about sub-standard solar power installations occurring in Australia.

Tuesday 01 June, 2010

Extreme Solar Power Farms - The Moon?
We've covered space based solar power generation in the past, but here's a concept that takes it a step further (away) - using the moon as a massive solar farm.

Environment Victoria Turns Up The Heat On Hazelwood
Environment Victoria is seeking to mobilise all 5 million residents of the state to take a stand against Hazelwood Power Station - to see it shut down and replaced with clean and renewable energy source power generation by 2012.

Victoria-Suntech Advanced Solar Facility (VSASF) Launch Today
The Victoria-Suntech Advanced Solar Facility (VSASF) will be officially launched today in Melbourne. The project will provide a platform for commercialisation of NANOPLAS, a revolutionary nanoplasmonic solar cell technology being developed at Swinburne.