IKEA State’s Largest Solar Owner

Solar panels sit atop roof of an IKEA store in Bloomington, MN. Nearly twice the size of what sits on the Minneapolis Convention Center's roof.

IKEA, the world’s leading home furnishings retailer, today officially plugged-in the solar energy system installed at its store in Houston, Texas – which, when combined with IKEA projects atop stores in Frisco and Round Rock, will make IKEA the state’s largest solar owner. IKEA Houston’s 116,400-square-foot PV array consists of a 813-kW system, built with 3,388 panels. The program will produce approximately 1,152,464 kWh of clean electricity annually, the equivalent of reducing 795 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2), eliminating the emissions of 156 cars or powering 99 homes yearly (calculating clean energy equivalents at www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-resources/calculator.html ). … Continue Reading

U.S. Clean Energy Policies Risk Losing Lead Over China

Alex Morales, Bloomberg News  – The U.S. government is creating a “boom and bust” in renewable energy investment that threatens to undermine its lead over China, the Pew Charitable Trusts said in a report.

U.S. investment reached $48.1 billion in 2011, largely in wind and solar power, the Washington-based research group said last night in a report based on Bloomberg New Energy Finance data. Those funds trumped the $45.5 billion China allocated to renewables, for lead for the U.S. since 2008. … Continue Reading

Greek Hopes Rest on Solar Power for Economic Recovery

The "Helios" solar power plane on first test flight over Niihau after take off

Greece, perhaps more than any other country in the EU, has been the worst hit in the Euro-zone crisis. However, the Greek Prime Minister has declared that renewable energy investments will prove to be crucial to the country’s recovery. … Continue Reading

New Mexico among solar energy leaders

Visual of First Solar, Southern Co. and Turner Renewable Energy project that will add 30 megawatts of utility-scale solar power to the New Mexico electric grid.

SANTA FE, N.M.—A new report says New Mexico is among the nation’s leaders in production of electricity from solar power. … Continue Reading

North America’s Largest Rooftop Solar Power Plant Formally Completed

The Riverside Project calls for the installation of 27528 photovoltaic rooftop solar - that's plenty of jobs created and energy being saved.

GLOUCESTER CITY, N.J., PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — U.S. Rep. Robert Andrews, D-N.J., today presented Gloucester Marine Terminal officials with an award letter announcing an $11 million federal tax credit rebate for the recently-completed groundbreaking new rooftop solar power plant project, the largest of its kind in North America. … Continue Reading

India: New 40MW solar energy plant starts power production

Reliance Group firm RPower has received an $87 million loan from the US Ex-Im Bank for a 40-MW solar plant being set up in Rajasthan.

JAISALMER, India: The desert state on Saturday achieved the glory of having the country’s biggest solar power generation plant. The 40MW plant has been set up at Dhoodsar village near Pokhran in Jaisalmer district and the plant started power generation from Saturday. … Continue Reading

Winds of change blow through China as spending on renewable energy soars

China's Gobi Desert is becoming a home for its massive renewable energy transformation.

Jonathan Watts (guardian.co.uk) in Jiuquan – World’s biggest polluter spends £4bn a year on wind and solar power generation in single region as it aims to cut fossil fuel use

The remote, wind-blasted desert of northwestern Gansu could be the most unloved, environmentally abused corner of China. It is home to the country’s first oilfield and several of the coalmines and steel factories that have contributed to China’s notoriety as the planet’s biggest polluter and carbon dioxide emitter.

But in the past few years, the landscape has started to undergo a transformation as Gansu has moved to the frontline of government efforts to reinvent China’s economy with a massive investment in renewable energy. … Continue Reading

Cheap Solar Power at Night

Solar storage: The beads in these vials are made of two types of glass that can store heat up to 1,200°C. Halotechnics

Solar power has two main problems: it’s expensive, and it’s intermittent, since the output of a solar power plant depends on the time of day and cloud cover. Halotechnics, an early-stage solar-thermal startup, could help solve both problems.

The company has developed new heat-storage materials that promise to not only make solar-thermal power plants more efficient, but also reduce the cost of storing energy from the sun for use when it’s most needed. … Continue Reading