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.
ILSR: The High Cost of the Solar Middleman
By
John Farrell
In other words, we pay twice for bad solar policy in America. Complicated tax incentive, interconnection, and contract policy makes solar cost more to install than in mature markets like Germany. Solar leasing middlemen simplify the complications, but at a price premium to (complicated) individual ownership.
Solar Plan for Oregon Calls for Feed-in Tariffs
By
Chris Robertson
Establish a Feed-In-Tariff mechanism to pay for the energy (MWh) produced by Solar systems. Price to be paid for solar energy production covers debt service, operating expenses and a reasonable, risk-adjusted return on investment. . . Pay enough, but don’t overpay. Follow the proven principles from the German Feed-In Tariff regime–transparency, longevity and certainty.
Kazakhstan Solar and Wind Power Markets. New feed-in tariffs and very good opportunities for 2014
By
Renewable Energy Market Watch
Kazakhstan has also adopted at the end of August 2013 a new feed-in tariff law – “On Supporting the Use of Renewable Energy Sources” – that will provide support to renewable energy producers. The EBRD has worked with the Ministry of Industry and New Technologies and the Ministry of Environmental Protection to help develop various aspects of the new legislation, beginning with the model for determining the feed-in tariffs. The cost of the programme is estimated at KZT1,100 bn (€ 5.3bn).
Renewables International: Socrates didn’t invent solar architecture–Review of John Perlin’s Let it Shine
By
Craig Morris
The knowledge from Faust’s book was translated into an active solar building program in the 1820s through the 1850s in Lower Bavaria, Hessen and Prussia. . . Faust’s ideas were implemented in Bavaria, where the first solar schools were built. Faust’s Sonnenstadt plan was an ideal solar city, and the frontispiece to his book became a reality as the inspiration for the rebuilding of La Chaux-de-Faunds, Switzerland in the 1850s. In 2009, the United Nations chose the city as a World Heritage Site.
My Indecent Offer to the Chancellor–Because We Cannot Let the Energy Transition Fail!—A Review
By
Paul Gipe
I’d already marked up my version of Matthias Willenbacher’s book My Indecent Offer to the Chancellor in the faint hope …
Greentech Media: Japan’s Solar Market Surge Blows Away Earlier Forecasts
By
Herman Trabish
“The Japanese feed-in tariff is one of the most lucrative in the world,” explained Adam James, GTM Research Solar Analyst for Global Demand. “As a result, there has been a gold rush. In the first half of 2013, we saw twice as much solar installed in Japan as in all of 2012. From 1.7 gigawatts last year, we expect the Japanese market to grow to well over 6 gigawatts of installed capacity in 2013.”
IEA Says Feed-in Tariffs Driving Force in Solar PV Worldwide
By
Paul Gipe
IEA: FITs Not a Subsidy—But Tax Credits are IEA: Net-Metering only 2% of World Market The International Energy Agency (IEA) …
Renewables International: German PV roars on
By
Craig Morris
Germany’s Network Agency has announced the PV installation figures for August, confirming that the country remains on course to greatly exceed the government’s target corridor of 2.5-3.5 gigawatts per year. Nonetheless, proponents of solar – including our German sister publication – ignore this continued success, complaining instead that the market is being cut in half.
Providence Journal: R.I. tries to play catch-up with law that boosts solar arrays
By
Alex Kuffner
Under the program, a state board sets ceiling prices that developers can charge for renewable energy. The prices vary based on the type of system and its size by taking into consideration the costs of individual technologies, returns on investment and economies of scale. Projects bid within their classes with prices that do not exceed the ceiling. The winning bids are rewarded with 15-year contracts with National Grid.
CleanTechnica: Japan Solar PV Industry Reaches 10 GW Milestone
By
Joshua S Hill
Japanese solar photovoltaic “PV” installations have now passed 10 GW for cumulative PV capacity, only the fifth country to reach the mark.
