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RenewableEnergyWorld.com’s Most Popular Stories of 2013

As editors we delight in learning which of the stories that we wrote or commissioned were most popular with our readers. That’s why at the end of each calendar year, we pull reports that tell us which stories we posted got the most shares, the most views, the most comments, etc. We also look at which videos were watched the most. Often, we post articles that we know will be a big hit: like explanations of controversial solar legislation. But other times you surprise us, readers, by taking great interest in articles that we felt were solid but not necessarily ground-breaking.




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Renewable Year-end Focus: Poland

As the renewable energy market shifts and evolves each year, industry experts need to know where the next hot region will be in order to keep up with the changing tides.




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Renewable Energy’s Hottest Conversations of 2013

Here at RenewableEnergyWorld.com, we pride ourselves on our active community of readers who click, share, and comment on the articles that we post every day. While we don’t always agree with their take on the pieces we post, we always value constructive feedback and the high quality discussion that sometimes ensues.




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RenewableEnergyWorld.com's Top 10 Blogs of 2013

We here at RenewableEnergyWorld.com value each and every one of our excellent contributors that share their important and thought-provoking insights with our readers. But we have a special affinity for our outstanding blogging community.




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Danish Pension Fund To Invest in Renewable Energy Projects in Developing Nations

PensionDanmark A/S and other Danish pension investors backed a state fund to finance emission-reduction projects in developing countries as the Scandinavian nation seeks to export its climate know-how abroad.




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Cameron Tells EU Renewables Goal May Cost UK 9 Billion Pounds

Prime Minister David Cameron urged the European Commission to reject calls for a renewable energy target, saying such a plan may cost U.K. consumers 9 billion pounds ($14.8 billion) a year by 2030.




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Renewable Energy Loses Out in Europe's "Lame-Duck" Climate Plan

Wind and solar power producers say they're at risk of losing investment after the European Union's executive arm scrapped proposals for a mandatory target on renewable energy use in 2030.




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Citi Sees Capital Markets Reviving Renewables as Banks Bow Out

Renewable energy companies will derive more of their funding from bond markets as banks curb lending to the industry, Citigroup Inc.’s head of environmental finance said.




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Europe Divided on Supply Security as Renewable Energy Grows

European Union governments and the bloc’s executive arm are splitting over how to guarantee electricity supply as the region builds more renewable power.




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Renewable Energy Generation to Expand UK Waste-fired Bioenergy Plan

Renewable Energy Generation Ltd., a British low-carbon asset developer backed by BlackRock Inc., will build six waste-to-power plants with Caterpillar Inc. and Finning U.K. Ltd. in an expansion of plans published last month.




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Musk Says Renewable Energy Shift to Bring ‘Strife’ for Utilities

Tesla Motors Inc. Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said shifting to greater use of solar and wind power will challenge utility companies.




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The latest hydroelectric power news and information

The latest hydroelectric power news and information for March 2014




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Renewable Energy in MENA Area to Double Next Year, Desertec Says

Clean energy assets in the Middle East and North Africa will more than double in capacity by the end of next year, the Dii GmbH industry association said.




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Will UK Carbon Emission Rules Lead to Energy Shortages?

The U.K. risks power shortages because utilities may react to Europe’s toughest carbon emissions rules by closing plants without replacing them.




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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.




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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.




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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.




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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.




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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.




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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.




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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.




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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.




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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.




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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.




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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?




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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.




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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.




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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.




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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.




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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.




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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.




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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.




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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.




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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.




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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.




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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.




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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.




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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.




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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.




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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.




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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.




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News and information on small hydropower projects from around the world

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




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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.




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The latest hydroelectric power news and information

The top hydroelectric power news for July 2014




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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.




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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.




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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.




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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.




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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.




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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.