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.

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.

Ireland is set to add 5.8 GW of non-hydro renewable power capacity over the next decade to reach a total 9.6 GW by 2030.

Bernie Sanders wants renewable energy to power U.S. homes and vehicles by 2030 -- and he wants to do it by enlisting the federal government in building and running new solar, wind and geothermal electricity projects.

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.

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.

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.

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.

With its original commissioning dating back to 2008, NextEra’s 150-megawatt (MW) Endeavor Wind Energy Center I & II projects in Osceola County are undergoing a prudent re-powering process. Blattner Energy construction crews moved into the Osceola County wind farm area this spring and started work. Blatter Energy is an Avon, Minnesota based heavy construction contractor.

The U.S. land-based wind industry installed 7,588 MW of capacity last year, bringing the overall utility-scale total to more than 96 GW. 

This week Aman, Jordan-based Philadelphia Solar announced that the 8.2-MW solar PV project that it installed at the Abdali Medical Center in Jordan has entered commercial operation.

Last week, the Hawaiian Electric Companies began Hawai‘i’s largest procurement effort for renewable energy resources to end the use of coal and reduce reliance on imported oil for power generation, moving the state closer to its goal of using 100 percent renewable energy by 2045.

Brazil has included four hydropower plants among the projects that will receive support as part of the country's investment partnerships program, called Programa de Parcerias de Investimentos or PPI. 

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.

Renewable energy, particularly solar, is poised for significant growth in the southeastern United States. The Southeast has also mostly retained a vertically integrated utility model, and most utilities in the region have not joined a Regional Transmission Organization or Independent System Operator (collectively known as, RTO). Recent developments have led stakeholders and policymakers in the Southeast to rethink whether it is beneficial for some utilities to join RTOs – something that is generally seen as a positive development for renewable energy.

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.

Hydro Tasmania says it is accelerating detailed investigation of three key opportunities for pumped storage hydro development in the state as part of the Battery of the Nation initiative. Work has begun on a full feasibility assessment of pumped hydro development opportunities at Lake Cethana and Lake Rowallan in the northwest and near Tribute Power Station on the West Coast.

MORE THAN 170 NEWS OUTLETS from around the world have now signed up for Covering Climate Now, a project co-founded by CJR and The Nation aimed at strengthening the media’s focus on the climate crisis.

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.

Europeans can massively expand low-cost solar generation just by tapping the space over their heads.

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.

Last week, Houston, TX Mayor Sylvester Turner announced that Sunnyside Energy, led by developer Dori Wolfe of Wolfe Energy LLC, has won a competition to be considered to repurpose a 240-acre former landfill in Sunnyside. Subject to meeting certain terms and conditions, the team will construct one of the largest urban solar farms in Texas., if not the largest.

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.

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.

It will be used to supplement electricity from the grid, as well as cogeneration from biogas, which is already generated on-site from wastewater treatment

New Mexico’s newest wind power facility is now up and running. Pattern Energy Group 2 LP (Pattern Development) announced it has completed construction and begun operations at its 220-MW Grady Wind facility located in Curry County, New Mexico. This is the third and final phase of a 544-MW suite of wind projects, which now represent the largest investment in clean power in the history of New Mexico, according to Pattern.

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.

California’s energy storage incentive program has been a great success, with more than 11,000 battery storage systems installed to-date. The problem is, it’s not reaching the state’s most vulnerable communities. A new proposal from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) aims to fix some of the barriers preventing disadvantaged communities from participating in the program, and it allocates $100 million to a new program designed to offset the cost of battery storage systems for populations threatened by wildfires and related utility power shutoffs.

NorthWestern Energy has announced plans to upgrade its 8-MW Madison Powerhouse with the installation of four new turbine-generator units.

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.

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.

The Clean Energy Regulator of Australia has approved enough capacity to guarantee that the large-scale Renewable Energy Target of 33,000 GWh of additional renewable energy will be met in 2020.

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.

Kansai Electric Power Co. Inc. announces that the 290-MW Nam Ngiep 1 hydropower plant has begun commercial operations.

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.

The world’s largest battery could soon be storing solar energy deep in the heart of Texas oil country.

This week, Canadian Solar said that it has won three solar power contracts with Alberta’s Ministry of Infrastructure, for a total of 94 megawatts (MWp) of solar power system in southeast Alberta, with an average contracted PPA price of 48.05 Canadian dollars [US 36.27] per MWh. When in operation in 2021, these solar plants will provide 55 percent of the electricity needs for Alberta provincial government.

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.

This week ComEd said that it’s furthering innovation in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood with the installation of renewable energy powered lights along the walkway to the Beethoven Elementary School. Bronzeville is home to the first “microgrid cluster” in the United States.

Under a 20-year agreement, AES will provide APS with the storage capabilities powered by Fluence’s Advancion platform.

Plenty of people, it seems, have plans for PG&E Corp. Even before the California utility giant filed for bankruptcy facing $30 billion in potential liabilities from wildfires, state regulators began studying whether it needed to be reformed, restructured or even taken over by the government. They asked interested parties -- city officials, unions, consumer groups and trade associations -- to chime in.

California-based solar developer Sunpin Solar said that Direct Energy Business, a subsidiary of Centrica PLC, signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) for the full output of the recently completed 96.75-MW DC / 74.8-MW AC ColGreen North Shore Power Plant.

Unusually still weather in the upper Midwest and Great Plains in late 2018 has already taken a bite out of earnings at NextEra Energy Inc. and Avangrid Inc., which both operate large wind farms. Other wind generators have yet to report fourth-quarter results, including Pattern Energy Group Inc., TerraForm Power Inc. and Clearway Energy Inc.

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.

South Africa plans to expand use of renewable power as the coal-dependent nation expects traditional, centralized generation plants to “disappear,” Energy Minister Jeff Radebe said.

As renewable energy proliferates, major players like Hitachi, ABB and GE are seeing value in combining grid and generation business units.

An onsite solar PV system in now operational at the most advanced cement factory in Cambodia.

While solar roads have been criticized as impractical and inefficient, a Georgia foundation says they will continue to be part of its research lab for greener highways.

Pennsylvania is promoting a new roadmap to electrify transportation by designing policies and setting targets to get more electric vehicles on the roads.

This week JinkoSolar held an opening ceremony at its new manufacturing facility in Jacksonville, Florida. The facility made headlines when it was announced due to the fact that the Chinese company decided to set up manufacturing in the U.S. in response to solar tariffs that are put on solar cells and modules imported from China. To date, Jinko is the only Chinese-owned solar manufacturer to set up a facility in the U.S.