News & Articles on Solar Energy
While I have primarily worked with wind energy, I have long been a proponent of renewable energy in the broadest sense. This includes solar energy. My work in Canada, especially Ontario, stressed inclusion of solar energy because it had been previously overlooked. At one time Ontario was one of the leading jurisdictions in North America developing solar photovoltaics due in part to the programs I and others pushed. The political winds changed and these policies were abandoned and with it Ontario’s progress toward a renewable energy future.
SPP: UK solar PV industry reaches 5GW installed capacity
By
Finlay Colville
This makes the UK only the sixth country to have more than 5GW capacity. Germany remains the undisputed leader with more than 36GW. China, Japan, Italy and the US each have more than 10GW installed.
Barrons: China Solar: New 13GW Target
By
Shuli Ren
Allowing projects located in abandoned land, ponds, lakes, etc. with <20MW of size, grid connection at <35kV, and electricity generated to be consumed locally to receive the feed-in-tariff.
SEIA: Solar Energy Support in Germany–A Closer Look [at FITs]
By
This report is a comprehensive study taking an in-depth look at Germany’s solar support programs and how the United States can benefit in the long term from the experiences of the world’s leading solar producer. . . “By and large, the German path has been remarkably successful, given the goal – shared by a great majority of the population – of ‘de-fossilizing’ Germany’s electricity sector.”
Renewables International: Germany hits 50 percent solar, Ireland 50 percent wind
By
Craig Morris
Interestingly, Ireland recently saw its share of wind power peak at 50 percent of power demand, an issue that went largely unreported (why is everyone so focused on Germany?).
Renewables International: Grid parity still doesn’t matter (but grid defection does)
By
Craig Morris
Germany is now focusing on the direct consumption of solar power, which remains prohibitively expensive. But a recent survey found that PV + storage could be competitive with power from the grid by 2020. The result could be a disastrous wave of grid defection.
Renewables International: Solar Roadways needs to be stopped
By
Craig Morris
Solar Roadways is one of the most successful crowd funding campaigns on the Indiegogo platform ever. But don’t believe the hype – this idea is going nowhere, and no one is going anywhere on “solar roadways.” But the bad-mouthing of the good stuff we have takes things too far and cannot stand.
Lenz: “Security Concerns” Keep White House Solar at Minimal Size
By
Karl-friedrich Lenz
In comparison, the German Chancellor’s office (Bundeskanzleramt) has a 150 kW installation. That’s at least by a factor 10 more than what Obama has installed.
The State Of The Chinese Solar Market and FITs
By
Trefis Team
Last year, China installed a total of about 12 gigawatts (GW) of new solar capacity, up from just about 3 GW in 2012, making it the worlds largest solar market by far. . . At present, the country offers a feed-in-tariff for both utility-scale power plants as well as distributed generation installations.
Gainesville Sun: As feed-in tariff takes a backseat, solar industry adjusts
By
Anthony Clark
Gainesville’s solar feed-in tariff spurred businesses and residents to install more than 18 megawatts of solar projects since 2009 — enough to supply electricity to more than 1,400 homes and provided a boom in business for installers.
SPP: UK to become number one European PV market in 2014
By
Finlay Colville
The small feed-in tariff (FiT) markets remain buoyant, with the residential and sub-50kW commercial rooftop markets successfully navigating FiT degression phases.
