science and technology

BP Scraps Renewable Energy Goal After Investing $8.3 Billion

BP Plc, recovering from an oil spill that may cost it as much as $42 billion, said it hasn’t set a new target for investing in renewable energy after investing $8.3 billion in the business.




science and technology

Suez Environnement to Build Waste-to-Energy Plant in China

Suez Environnement, Europe’s second-biggest water company, and Chinese partners agreed to build an incinerator near Shanghai to treat hazardous and medical waste that will generate steam and supply energy.




science and technology

Germany’s $2.8 Billion Power Link With Norway Threatened

Talks between Germany and Norway about how to boost the trading of electricity from renewable sources are being held up by concerns that the power cable running under the North Sea won’t ever make money.




science and technology

UK Renewable Electricity Generation Rose 28 Percent in 2013

U.K. renewable power generation rose 28 percent last year as more wind farms and solar plants came online, the Department of Energy and Climate Change said.




science and technology

Greenpeace Praises Apple's Increased Commitment to Renewable Energy

Greenpeace issued its annual report on the energy efficiency of Internet companies, praising Apple Inc., Facebook Inc. and other major providers of online services for improved use of energy resources.




science and technology

Clean Energy Investment Rises in Several Countries Amid Global Decline

Three G-20 nations saw an increase in clean-energy investments last year even as funding declined globally for the second consecutive year, according to The Pew Charitable Trusts.




science and technology

DSM to Make Biofuel by July as US Considers Cutting Renewable Fuel Standard

Royal DSM NV, the world’s largest vitamin manufacturer, expects to begin producing cellulosic ethanol in the U.S. by July as the government considers reducing the amount of renewable fuel that oil companies will be required to buy.




science and technology

Japan Energy Policy Stops Short of Setting Renewables Targets

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government stopped short of setting goals for renewable energy in the final version of a draft plan that reinforces atomic power’s role in Japan’s energy future, calling it a vital source of generation.




science and technology

Utilities Threatened by Competitive Renewable Energy Growth

Technology is catching up with Thomas Edison’s electricity industry, eating away at the utility business model that hasn’t changed much in a century.




science and technology

Capital for Clean Energy Easier to Find as Investors Seek Simplicity

Simplifying finance vehicles for renewable energy will lure more investors and lower the costs of capital.




science and technology

Post-Fukushima Japan Taps Coal Over Renewables

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is pushing Japan’s coal industry to expand sales at home and abroad, undermining hopes among environmentalists that he’d use the Fukushima nuclear accident to switch the nation to renewables.




science and technology

Global Renewable Energy Should Triple to Save Climate, UN Panel Says

The world needs to triple the energy it gets from renewables, nuclear reactors and power plants that use emissions-capture technology to avoid dangerous levels of global warming, United Nations scientists said.




science and technology

CEO of German Utility RWE Says It Should Have Invested in Renewable Energy Sooner

What’s a beleaguered utility to do when forced by the government to close its profitable nuclear power plants?




science and technology

Clean Energy Investment Rises 9 Percent, Led by Solar-Power Demand

Clean energy investment rose by 9 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier on surging demand for rooftop solar panels from the U.S. to Japan.




science and technology

Ukraine Seeks Renewable Energy Investors to Loosen Russia’s Grip

Ukrainian officials say they’ve found a way to protect the nation from Russia: Go green.




science and technology

China Reiterates Plans to Boost Clean Energy

China, the world’s biggest investor in renewable energy, reiterated plans to boost construction of solar and wind power plants along with projects to transmit electricity from the clean sources.




science and technology

German Utilities Fight Renewable Energy Shift

Germany’s biggest utilities face dwindling market shares as the shift to renewable energy spurs regional power generation and storage technology, a senior member of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party said.




science and technology

Hydro technology information and research reports for April 2014

Collection of articles related to hydropower technology from April 2014




science and technology

UK Awards First Guaranteed Power Price Contracts to Biomass, Offshore Wind Projects

Drax Group Plc, Dong Energy A/S and SSE Plc will get guaranteed power prices for U.K. biomass and offshore wind plants, the first renewable energy projects to benefit from a new aid program.




science and technology

Africa to Quadruple Renewables on ‘Huge Potential,’ Irena Says

Africa’s renewable energy capacity is expected to quadruple to about 120 gigawatts by 2030 if investors dedicate “substantial flows” of funds to the region, the InternationalRenewable Energy Agency said.




science and technology

Obama May Consider Power Plant Rule That Tests Clean Air Act

The Obama administration is considering cutting greenhouse-gas emissions from power plants by reaching beyond the plants themselves — an unusual approach that could run afoul of anti-pollution laws.




science and technology

Obama Bid to Cut Greenhouse Gases Divides Utility, Coal Industries

Bracing for greenhouse-gas rules from the Obama administration, two industries are staking out different positions. Coal companies are pledging to sue. Electric utilities are ready to talk.




science and technology

Australia Renewable Target Cuts Would Deter Investment, Say Manufacturers

Vestas Wind Systems A/S said scaling back Australia’s renewable energy target would cut the value of more than A$10 billion ($9.4 billion) in large projects across the industry and discourage international investors.




science and technology

Ohio Ready To Halt Its Renewable Portfolio Standard

Ohio is debating the sharpest break from a three-decade campaign by 29 U.S. states to reduce reliance on fossil fuels by promoting power from renewable sources.




science and technology

UK Green Investment Bank Aims to Spend $1.2 Billion This Year

The U.K. Green Investment Bank aims to boost the capital it commits to carbon-cutting projects to 700 million pounds ($1.2 billion) this year as it chases deals in offshore wind, waste and energy efficiency.




science and technology

Former Banker Will Now Oversee Renewable Energy in India

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi appointed a former banker to oversee coal, power and clean-energy reforms in a move aimed at resolving fuel bottlenecks and chronic blackouts hampering economic growth.




science and technology

Is Natural Gas Sucking Investment from Renewable Energy?

U.S. President Barack Obama says natural gas can be a bridge from coal to a cleaner energy future. Investors are showing it’s more likely a bridge to nowhere.




science and technology

Japan Calls US Emissions Plan a Bold Step Away From Coal

Japan said the U.S.’s proposed cuts in greenhouse-gas emissions from its power plants is a bold step to tackle climate change.




science and technology

World Energy Supply Requires $40 Trillion Investment by 2035, Says IEA

Meeting the world’s energy supply needs by 2035 will require $40 trillion of investment, as demand grows and production and processing facilities have to be replaced, the International Energy Agency said.




science and technology

Unique study of net evaporation at a hydroelectric facility in Canada

A first-of-its-kind study of net evaporation at a hydroelectric facility reveals that the project has very little effect on the loss of water to the atmosphere as compared with pre-impoundment conditions.




science and technology

EU Needs Low-Carbon Energy Union, Ministers’ Advisory Panel Says

The European Union needs an ambitious emissions-reduction goal, targets for energy- efficiency and renewables as well as tools to foster investment under its planned 2030 policies, an advisory panel to 14 ministers said.




science and technology

R&D Forum

Research reports and study findings related to hydropower for June 2014




science and technology

New Power Rates Take Effect for Spain’s Clean Energy Plants

Spain set new rates for electricity suppliers that use renewable sources, waste and co-generation based on a “reasonable return,” formally ending a subsidy system dating to the 1990s that had spun out of control.




science and technology

French State Bank Sets Aside 5 Billion Euros for Green Projects

Caisse des Depots et Consignations, a French state bank, is setting aside 5 billion euros ($6.8 billion) for green projects after the government proposed a law to spur use of renewable electricity and boost efficiency.




science and technology

Brazil's Cosan Sees Potential to Triple Biomass Power Generation

Billionaire Rubens Ometto’s Cosan SA has the potential to triple its power generation by burning sugar-cane leftovers if the government offers power-purchase contracts for biomass producers.




science and technology

US Ex-Im Hangs in Balance as Chief Defends Bank Against Critics

U.S. Export-Import Bank Chairman Fred Hochberg mounted a defense of the 80-year-old agency as Republicans weigh eliminating the lender they say backs major corporations with political connections.




science and technology

Renewables to Receive Lion's Share of $7.7 Trillion in Global Power Funding

Renewable energy may reap as much as two-thirds of the $7.7 trillion in investment forecast for building new power plants by 2030 as declining costs make it more competitive with fossil fuels.




science and technology

News and information on small hydropower projects from around the world

The latest news on global small hydroelectric facilities from July-August 2014




science and technology

EU May Renew US-Biodiesel Tariffs Targeting ADM to Cargill

The European Union threatened to renew tariffs on biodiesel from the U.S. for another five years in a sign of persistent trade tensions over renewable energy.




science and technology

The latest hydroelectric power news and information

The top hydroelectric power news for July 2014




science and technology

Japan Bank Sets Aside $2 Billion for Clean Energy

Shinsei Bank Ltd., a lender for Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s clean-energy projects in Japan, plans to provide as much as 200 billion yen (US $2 billion) in loans for renewable developments.




science and technology

The Hydroelectric Production Incentives Program shows promise to encourage hydro development

With its revival for fiscal year 2014, the Hydroelectric Production Incentives Program shows promise as a new federal revenue stream for hydro facilities.




science and technology

EU Approves UK Payments for Renewables, Capacity Guarantees

The European Commission approved the U.K. government’s renewable energy contracts and so-called capacity payments, saying the program that benefits power plants complies with state-aid rules.




science and technology

UK Announces $340 Million Renewable Power Contract Auction

The U.K. said renewable-power projects will compete for guaranteed payments worth more than 200 million pounds ($340 million) a year as part of its first auction of contracts to spur low-carbon electricity.




science and technology

France Spurs Efficiency, Renewables with $13.4 Billion Energy Plan

France’s planned energy law will mobilize about €10 billion (US $13.4 billion) in investment through tax credits and low-interest loans to spur efficiency and renewable power, Environment Minister Segolene Royal said.




science and technology

Gevo CEO Sees Minnesota Biofuels Plant Breaking Even This Year

Gevo Inc.’s biofuels plant in Minnesota, which has suffered production delays because of contamination, may break even by the end of 2014 as output of ethanol and isobutanol from agricultural waste increase.




science and technology

Obama Delay on Biofuel Rule Puts Intended Beneficiaries in Bind

In the arid Imperial Valley of California, Tim Brummels is trying to turn an agricultural cousin of sugarcane into low-carbon ethanol.




science and technology

India to Sart Construction on German-backed $8 Billion Renewable Grid Project

India will begin construction this year on an $8 billion project backed by Germany’s development bank to upgrade its grid to handle a more than doubling of renewable power capacity by 2022.




science and technology

Green Whiskey: Scottish Distillery To Be Powered by Combined Heat and Power Plant

Scotland’s Macallan whisky distillery is set to get most of its heat requirement from a combined heat and power plant part-funded by the government.




science and technology

Australia Chills Hopes for $20 Billion Clean Energy Industry

Australia is frightening developers away from renewable energy even before the government decides whether to overhaul targets for the industry’s growth.