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US wind farm activity by Fortune 500 breaks records

The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) has released data for Q2, indicating activity rose to new heights in the wind development sector.





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In battle to break up utilities, Arizona steps to the front line

Of all the efforts to break up utility monopolies in the U.S., the one unfolding in Arizona may be the most important to watch.





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BNEF says corporate energy market is strong

Coming on the heels of Gap’s announced 90-MW PPA with Enel Green Power, BloombergNEF released its 2H 2019 corporate energy market outlook in which it said that corporations signed contracts to purchase 8.6 GW of clean energy in 2019 through July, up from 7.2 GW at the same time last year.




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On the brink of blackouts, Texas makes case for power plant boom

It may be time to start building power plants in Texas again.




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London finds no easy answers after once-in-a-decade blackout

When two U.K. power plants shut down almost simultaneously in London’s first major blackout for a decade, it triggered a storm of questions about how to avoid another failure.




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Net zero carbon emissions ‘impossible’ without hydrogen says UK energy alliance

The UK’s North West Hydrogen Alliance (NWHA) is calling for government investment in hydrogen projects to meet ambitious carbon reductions targets in Britain.




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Softbank invests $110M in new energy storage system

Energy Vault, the creator of a new way to perform utility-scale energy storage, announced that SoftBank Vision Fund (Vision Fund) invested $110 million in its Series B funding round. Energy Vault will use the funds to accelerate global deployment of its technology, which enables renewables to deliver baseload power for less than the cost of fossil fuels 24 hours a day, said the company. As part of the investment, Andreas Hansson, Partner for SoftBank Investment Advisers, will join the Energy Vault board of directors.




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Virginia looks to New York green bank for possible clean energy financing

Virginia’s energy office is exploring whether to align the state with a billion-dollar New York clean energy financing program.




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New study shows benefits of local renewable energy marketplaces

The financial benefits of buying and selling locally produced energy from rooftop solar, wind turbines and batteries within communities have been revealed in a test case run by energy tech firm LO3 Energy.




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University of Notre Dame breaks ground on 2.5-MW hydroelectric generation facility

The University of Notre Dame and South Bend’s Venues Parks & Arts have broken ground on a 2.5-MW hydroelectric generation facility at an existing city-owned dam on the St. Joseph River in downtown South Bend, Ind.




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Walmart sues Tesla over fires linked to rooftop solar systems

Walmart Inc. sued Tesla Inc., claiming it failed to live up to industry standards in the installation of solar panels on top of hundreds of stores, resulting in multiple fires across the U.S.




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Lekela reaches financial close for its West Bakr Wind project

Lekela announced that it has reached financial close on its first wind project in Egypt, West Bakr Wind. Construction will begin shortly, delivering 250 MW of clean, reliable power at a highly competitive price.




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Can Italy strike twice?

Italy’s National Energy Strategy aims to increase wind and solar power’s share of gross final energy consumption by 2030. The country boasts a track record of meeting past renewables targets, but can it be successful once more? Stefania Belisario, associate director, Infrastructure, S&P Global Ratings, assesses the factors either driving or impeding progress.




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Largest Cherokee County wind farm now under construction

After a 23-year wind farm construction hiatus, work on a 2nd Cherokee County wind farm has begun. Developed by San Diego based EDF Renewables, the 200-megawatt (MW) Glaciers Edge Wind Project north of Marcus is scheduled to be on line by the end of 2019.




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Hydrogen is expected to account for 10% of China’s energy network by 2050

The Chinese government recently issued a whitepaper on the status and prospects of the hydrogen fuel and fuel cell sectors, indicating that energy derived from hydrogen will become an important part of the Chinese energy network.




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Trump says he’s unwilling to risk US energy wealth for windmill ‘dreams’

President Donald Trump said he was not willing to sacrifice the abundant fossil energy wealth of the U.S. on “dreams” such as renewable power.




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More Tesla solar-panel fire incidents emerge in wake of Walmart suit

One evening last year, David Burek noticed charred wood and a burning smell in his attic, near his young sons’ bedroom. He climbed a ladder and saw a melted connector wire from the solar panels installed on the roof of his North Dartmouth, Massachusetts, home. Firefighters rushed over and discovered that flames had burned through the shingles, the roof and a support beam. Luckily, a recent rain had doused it.




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Company trying to tackle renewable energy curtailment enters European market

This week, Scottish software company Smarter Grid Solutions (SGS) announced that it will be expanding into Europe after completing successful trials with a utility company in Germany.




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Renewable energy takes center stage at POWERGEN ASIA and Asian Utility Week

In a region of the world where coal is still king, there is room for renewables. This was a takeaway from the Ministerial Address and Joint Opening Keynote at POWERGEN Asia and Asian Utility Week. The two annual events kicked off Tuesday, Sept. 3, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.




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FERC issues license for 5-MW Grant Lake Hydroelectric Project in Alaska

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in the U.S. has issued an original operating license to Kenai Hydro LLC for its proposed 5-MW Grant Lake Hydroelectric Project in Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska.




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Take control of energy usage with LG’s residential solar offerings

In conjunction with North America’s Smart Energy Week, LG Electronics (LG) is underscoring its role as a top player within the U.S. residential solar market at the 2019 Solar Power International Conference.




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Democratic presidential hopefuls take on climate change, tout goals

Even as they touted ambitious proposals to reduce carbon emissions to a national audience, Democratic candidates for president tried to balance the boldness of their plans with the need for simplifying a complex scientific problem to make it palatable to voters.




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Lincoln Clean Energy to build 230-MW wind farm in Nebraska

Lincoln Clean Energy (LCE), Ørsted’s U.S. onshore company, issued the final notice to proceed on its 230-MW Plum Creek wind facility in Wayne County, Nebraska. This follows the final investment decision from Ørsted’s Board of Directors.




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New POWERGEN award program seeks inspirational women of excellent character

In recognition of the widely acknowledged studies that show that organizations with gender equality perform better financially, this year POWERGEN International, along with partner UL, is launching a new awards program that seeks out women of good character.




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Xcel Energy seeks changes as ‘value of solar’ rate spike looms in Minnesota

Minnesota’s largest utility wants to change how the state calculates its trailblazing “value of solar” rate as it faces a potential spike in payments to community solar operators.




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Fifth GE wind turbine collapse leaves worker injured

A utility worker at the Delta 6 wind park in Brazil has been injured following yet another collapse of a General Electric (GE) turbine, bringing the total number of turbines to have failed in the America’s to five in 2019.

 




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UK closes in on first geothermal power after successful drilling outcome

The U.K. could be producing electricity from a geothermal plant for the first time early next decade after drilling at a site in southwest England showed it could become a viable part of the renewable energy mix.




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6 key trends in sustainable and renewable energy

The 2019 Sustainable Energy in America factbook was released this week by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BloombergNEF) and the Business Council for Sustainable Energy (BCSE). The factbook highlights a number of key trends in sustainable and renewable energy growth, emissions and jobs in the sector. Take a glance at the six charts below to learn more.




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Japanese businesses test blockchain to trade renewable energy

This week independent power producer Marubeni and LO3 Energy said they have started a pilot project in Japan where LO3 will administer an energy marketplace using blockchain to connect a number of Marubeni’s power production facilities, including renewables, with offices and factories around Japan in a virtual marketplace. The project will simulate energy transactions to test the viability of the concept with the ultimate goal of creating a full-scale commercially operational network in the future.




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FERC takes a firm stand in PG&E bankruptcy filing

The California-based utility requested that a federal bankruptcy court prevent FERC from enforcing the conditions of the more than 380 power purchase agreements (PPAs) that the utility may want to exit under its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.




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Georgia will be home to largest solar PV project in the US to use bifacial modules and tracking

This week LONGi announced that it would be supplying modules to what it says is the largest “bifacial+tracker” power generation project in the United States. The 224-MW project will be built in Mitchell County, Georgia and is expected to be complete this year.





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Floating solar photovoltaic plant to be installed at Kruonis pumped-storage plant in Lithuania

The Lithuanian Business Support Agency (LSBA) has granted €235,000 (US$267,500) to support development of an experimental floating solar photovoltaic power plant at the existing 900-MW Kruonis pumped-storage hydroelectric plant in Lithuania.




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UK local authority to produce all electricity from solar

Two large-scale solar farms are set to make Warrington Borough Council the first local authority in the UK to produce all its own electricity from clean energy.




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Solar EPCs ranked by Wiki-Solar puts First Solar on top

The list of the world’s top solar EPC contractors was released in late February by Wiki-Solar.org. The list ranks the solar developers by number of projects and total installed capacity and reflects about the 30 percent of the market. Wiki-Solar.org says the list shows how the less volatile markets have favored domestic power plant builders. In particular, contractors from India and the US are rising up the ranking. Europeans have, with a few notable exceptions, found it harder to hold their position.




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Why SEPA’s DERMS document is a time- and money-saver for all energy industry stakeholders

In early February, during DistribuTECH, the Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA) hosted a workshop to discuss what requirements are necessary for successful distributed energy resource management systems (DERMS) deployment.




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Utility-linked group seeks to dismantle net metering in Michigan

Nonprofit advocacy groups linked to DTE Energy are waging a public campaign to significantly reduce the amount customers are paid for their solar power, in line with the utility’s request before Michigan regulators.




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SunPower releases most efficient residential solar panel on the market

Today SunPower is launching its next generation solar panel called A-series, which boasts 400 or 415 watts, in the United States. A new 400-watt product, Maxeon 3, is available in Europe and Australia.




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Non-profit urges UK government to make workforce diversity a priority in clean energy

A new paper is being launched today at the House of Lords in London that challenges government, regulators and companies working on clean energy to make gender diversity a key priority. The paper has been produced by the EWiRE network, set up by Regen to provide a vibrant network for women working in clean energy.




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Hanwha Q CELLs files patent infringement case against JinkoSolar, LONGi, and REC Group

On March 4, Hanwha Q CELLS filed a patent infringement complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) against JinkoSolar, LONGi Solar, and REC Group. The company also filed related patent infringement complaints with the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware against the same companies. In Germany, Hanwha Q CELLS filed patent infringement complaints with the Regional Court of Düsseldorf against JinkoSolar and REC Group.




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China to sustain solar growth with new plan, Jinko says

China’s plans to loosen its solar subsidy policy will keep growth of the world’s largest market intact, according to the head of JinkoSolar Holding Co., which is increasing production capacity by as much as 20 percent this year.




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Trump said to again seek deep cuts in renewable energy funding

The Trump administration is again seeking severe cuts to the U.S. Energy Department division charged with renewable energy and energy efficiency research, according to a department official familiar with the plan.




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Storage system built at world’s biggest solar park

An energy storage system has been installed at the largest single-site solar park in the world.




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San Francisco mulls creating its own 100 percent renewables-focused utility from PG&E wreckage

What happens when a famously left-leaning city dives into the buttoned-down business of electric utilities? San Francisco may soon find out.




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U.S. solar market tops 10 GW in 2018, again

For the third year in a row, the U.S. solar industry installed double-digit gigawatts (GW) of solar PV capacity, with 10.6 GW coming online in 2018, according to the latest statistics from Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA).




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Solar and wind take the lead in FERC first infrastructure report of 2019

According to an analysis by the SUN DAY Campaign of data just released by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), new solar and wind generating capacity has taken the lead over natural gas and all other energy sources for the first month of 2019.




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Wind generated more than one-third of electricity last week in the UK

RenewableUK highlighted last week that Great Britain’s onshore and offshore wind farms generated more electricity than any other source of power last week.




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To renew the power supply in national parks, think microgrids

America’s national parks are one of the nation’s greatest assets. They preserve and protect vital ecosystems and offer people from all over the world the chance to experience the beauty and majesty of these great spaces.