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Articles on Renewables in Europe

• EU sets 2030 renewable energy target of 27%
  Oct 24, 2014 - Peter Bennett - pv-tech.org

  The European Council has reached an agreement over the 2030 climate and energy policy framework.

• Turning Humble Seaweed to Biofuel
  Oct 22, 2014 - Nancy Bazilchuk - renewableenergyworld.com

  A Norwegian research group has been able to achieve bio-oil yields of 79 percent from a common kelp, much higher than other attempts. The secret is to heat the kelp very quickly and bring it to the right temperature within seconds.

• Cheap African solar energy could power UK homes in 2018
  Oct 20, 2014 - Matt McGrath - bbc.com

  Investors are seeking funding from the UK government for an ambitious plan to import solar energy generated in North Africa.

• Solar to beat wind to wholesale grid parity in Europe - report
  Oct 7, 2014 - Andy Colthorpe - pv-tech.org

  Solar PV will narrowly beat onshore wind to wholesale grid parity in Europe, according to a new report.

• Renewable energy covers 42 pct of Spain's electricity needs in 2013
  Jul 3, 2014 - Xinhua News Agency - globalpost.com

  MADRID, July 3 (Xinhua) -- A study published by the Spanish Electricity Network (Red Electica Espanola) on Thursday showed renewables covered 42.2 percent of the demand for electricity in mainland Spain in 2013 with wind energy the main contributor.
  

• UK Approves World's Largest Offshore Wind Farm
  Jun 25, 2014 - Katherine Tweed - spectrum.ieee.org

  The United Kingdom’s Department for Energy and Climate Change approved the East Anglia ONE offshore wind farm last week, paving the way for the construction of the world’s largest wind farm.
  

• Press Release: FOSG proposal for EU specific interconnection objectives by 2030
  Jun 19, 2013 - elia.be
  
  "No transition without transmission" - Europe’s leading grid initiative calls for a clear commitment to a single electricity market to deliver real benefits to Europe's consumers.
  
  
• Minimum CO2 price of $32 needed to curb warming, study shows
  Jun 16, 2014 - Yahoo.com
  

  Paris (AFP) - A global carbon price of at least $32 (24 euros) per tonne is needed by 2015 to apply an effective brake on global warming -- almost five times today's European market rate, a study said Monday.
  

• US$53 trillion energy investment needed to head off climate change: IEA
  Jun 3, 2014 - Ben Willis - pv-tech.org
  
  Investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency will fall well below what is required to head off dangerous global warming without a breakthrough in the Paris climate change talks next year, the International Energy Agency has warned.
  
  
• Germany Sets New Record, Generating 74 Percent Of Power Needs From Renewable Energy
  May 13, 2014 - Kiley Kroh - thinkprogress.org
  
  On Sunday, Germany’s impressive streak of renewable energy milestones continued, with renewable energy generation surging to a record portion — nearly 75 percent — of the country’s overall electricity demand by midday.
  
  
• Germany’s storage subsidy yields 4,000 systems in first year
  May 13, 2014 - Andy Colthorpe - pv-tech.org
  
  In the year that has passed since Germany began offering subsidies for lithium-ion battery systems for residential use, around 4,000 solar-plus-batteries have been installed, the country’s Federal Solar Industry Association (BSW Solar) has announced.
  
  
• Norway to pour billions more into climate fund
  May 10, 2014 - Xinhua - china.org.cn
  
  The Norwegian government will increase its contribution by 12.75 billion Norwegian kroner (about 2.16 billion U.S. dollars) in the next three years to a national fund aimed at efforts to mitigate climate change, Prime Minister Erna Solberg announced on Friday.
  
  
• More Than 120 Large-Scale Solar PV Farms Approved for Construction in the UK
  Apr 29, 2014 - World of renewables
  
  Santa Clara, Calif., April 28, 2014—The United Kingdom is forecast to be the largest solar photovoltaic (PV) market in Europe in 2014, fuelled by the rapid growth in ground-mounted solar PV farms. More than 120 large-scale solar PV farms in the UK have recently received project-planning approval, and many of them are targeting completion within the next 12 months, according to the new NPD Solarbuzz UK Deal Tracker report.
  
  
• British gov't unveils eight renewable energy projects
  Apr 23, 2014 - English.news.cn - xinhuanet.com
  
  LONDON, April 23 (Xinhua) -- Eight major renewable power projects were given approval by the British government on Wednesday, as part of the country's electricity reforms aimed at boosting green growth and jobs.
  
  
• The UK’s rooftops to become power stations
  Apr 7,2014 - Photovoltaics Today
  
  Plans to turn the Government estate as well as factories, supermarkets and car parks into “solar hubs” have been outlined in a new strategy by Energy Minister Greg Barker today.
  
  
• UK launches Europe’s first dedicated solar strategy
  Apr 4, 2014 - Peter Bennett - pv-tech.org
  
  The UK has become the first European government to publish a dedicated solar PV strategy.The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) published the long-awaited Solar Strategy today, designed to enact a “further step change in deployment” for solar in the UK.
  
  
• Norway's sovereign wealth fund renews commitment to renewable energy investment
  Apr 4, 2014 - Conor Ryan - pv-tech.org
  
  Just a few weeks after news broke that Norway’s oil-generated sovereign wealth fund, Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG), would focus 5% of its NOK5 trillion (US$800 billion) on the renewables sector, a new report was published to the Norwegian parliament on 4 April that expands on the new mandate.
  
  
• Renewable electricity at record level in Scotland
  Mar 27, 2014 - English.news.cn - xinhuanet.com
  

  EDINBURGH, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Renewable electricity energy delivered a record-breaking 46 percent of Scotland's gross electricity consumption in 2013, new official figures showed on Thursday.
  

• 'Two-thirds of German PV installers now offering storage'
  Mar 13, 2011 - Andy Colthorpe - pv-tech.org
  
  Over two-thirds of German PV installers are now offering their customers energy storage options, while their British and Italian counterparts are beginning to follow suit, according to a new report from EuPD Research.
  
  
• This Is What the Utility Death Spiral Looks Like
  Mar 4, 2014 - Stephen Lacey - greentechmedia.com
  
  In Germany, utility revenues are spiraling down the rabbit hole. Will American power companies follow?
  
  
• Panel of experts recommends ending Germany’s renewable energy support
  Feb 27, 2014 - Andy Colthorpe - pv-tech.org
  
  The Commission of Experts for Research and Innovation (EFI), a panel appointed to make top-level recommendations to the German government, has suggested that state support for renewable energy should be curtailed.
  
  
• High voltage transmission line to link Albania, Macedonia
  2014-02-17 13:52:35 GMT2014-02-17 21:52:35(Beijing Time)
  
  TIRANA, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) -- An agreement on construction of an interconnection line between Albania and Macedonia is expected to be signed later this year as Albania is seeking to increase its electricity transmission capacities by building more high voltage transmission lines with the neighboring countries, according to ATA.
  
  
• EU outlines 2030 climate goals
  Jan 22, 2014 - bbc.co.uk - Matt McGrath
  
  The European Commission has outlined its plans for climate and energy policy until 2030.
  The Commissioners want a binding target to reduce carbon emissions by 40% from 1990 levels.
  
  
• Deutsche Bank hails second solar ‘gold rush’
  Jan 07, 2014 - Mark Osborne - pv-tech.org
  
  In a new detailed report by Deutsche Bank’s US-based solar industry analysts, the PV industry is said to be heading into its “second gold rush” with a base demand of 46GW in 2014, topped by an expected 56GW of demand in 2015.
  
  
• Siemens Study By 2030, worldwide power sector could cut CO2 emissions by amount equivalent to EU's total annual emissions
  Nov 16, 2013 - Daegu - Siemens.com
  
  Global power demand is set to increase on average by nearly 3 percent per year over the current and next decade. Cumulatively, this moderate growth will cause overall power demand to rise by more than half of its current level between now and 2030.
  
  
• EU fast tracks grid and storage projects
  Oct 15, 2010 - John Parnell - pv-tech.org
  
  The European Commission has announced a list of 140 electricity projects that will be fast tracked and have access to a funding pot of €5.85 billion (US$7.9 billion).
  
  
• Thousands of German Cities and Villages Looking to Buy Back Their Power Grids
  Oct 11, 2013 - Matthias B. Krause - greentechmedia.com
  
  What do Boulder, Colorado and Hamburg, Germany have in common? Boulder, Colorado and Hamburg, Germany don't seem to have too much in common. One is a small, green-minded city at the foothills of the Rockies, the other one is the second biggest metropolis in Germany with almost 1.8 million people, defined by its busy harbor.
  
  
• Reykjavik Geothermal Agrees to Build 1,000 Megawatts in Ethiopia
  Oct 4, 2013 - Justin Doom - renewableenergyworld.com
  
  NEW YORK CITY -- Reykjavik Geothermal, the Icelandic company that’s helped build power plants in more than 30 countries, agreed to develop as much as 1,000 megawatts of projects in Ethiopia over the next 10 years.
  
  
• Securing the World’s Largest Wind Turbine
  Oct 1, 2013 - Jim Bell, Managing Director, FoundOcean - renewableenergyworld.com
  
  At 7 megawatts (MW), Samsung Heavy Industries' S7.0-171 is the world's largest offshore wind turbine. The 196-metre tall structure is being installed 20 metres offshore in Fife, Scotland, with a connecting walkway to enable visitors to get up close to the structure.
  
  
• Scotland Greenlights Europe's Largest Tidal Energy Project
  Sep 19, 2013 - sustainablebusiness.com
  
  After approving a wave energy project earlier this year, the Scottish government has given the go-ahead for Europe's largest tidal energy project.
  
  
• UK Government: Renewables to Deliver Over 30% of Electricity Supply by 2020
  Jun 27, 2013 - By James Herron and Cassie Werbe - wsj.com
  
  A raft of new financial guarantees unveiled Thursday will ensure the U.K. generates more than 30% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020, the country's Department of Energy and Climate Change said in a briefing document.
  
  
• Int'l energy forum stresses role of sustainable energy in development agenda
  May 29, 2013 - English.news.cn - xinhuanet.com
  
  The Vienna Energy Forum, an international energy event sponsored by the United Nations and Austria, opened here Tuesday with a focus on promoting the role of sustainable energy in the post-2015 development agenda.
  
  
• Germany: 100% renewable energy and beyond
  Jul 8, 2013 - CleanTechnica - reneweconomy.com
  
  While many countries still discuss whether or not a 100% renewable energy system – or “just” a 100% renewable electricity supply – is even theoretically possible, Germans seem no longer bothered by such unscientific doubts.
  
  
• Europe’s largest solar rooftop complete
  Aug 15, 2013 - Lucy Woods- pv-tech.org
  
  Eleven hectares of PV roof solar has been installed in Germany with the project becoming the largest self-consumption solar plant in Europe.
  
  
• New developments in high-voltage DC electronics could herald an epic shift in energy delivery

  Apr 29, 2013 - Peter Fairley
- spectrum.ieee.org
  
  Stuttgart is one of the last places you’d expect to find in a power pinch. This south German city’s massive automotive plants run 24-7 without a hiccup, efficiency measures have held industrial power consumption flat, and solar panels flash from atop its major buildings.
  
  
• Record-breaking Portugal generates 70 percent of power from renewables
  Apr 11, 2013 - igpn.org
  
  Almost three quarters of the electricity consumed in Portugal during the first quarter of the year came from renewable sources, according to new figures from the country’s grid operator REN.
  
  
• Press Release: “Policymakers putting Europe’s leadership in low carbon grid at risk”, say industry leaders
  Mar 20, 2013 - elia.be
  

  Speaking at Supergrid 2013 on 19 March Friends of the Supergrid Chairman, Mr Marcello del Brenna, called on EU policy makers to deliver a single market in electricity this decade, and to put in place the regulatory framework to enable large scale interconnection between Member States. This will provide real benefit to consumers across the EU, and capture significant economic benefit for European industry.
  

• Baixas-Santa Llogaia HVDC link: doubling the interconnection capacity between France and Spain
  Mar 6, 2013 - cigre.org
  
  The whole project has been financed through the European Energy Program for recovery subsidy (European commission)
  
  
• Scotland's power to be 100 pct generated from renewables by 2020
  Mar 28, 2013 - Xinhua - china.org.cn
  
  The Scottish Government on Thursday said it aimed to meet the equivalent of 100 percent of gross annual electricity demand from renewables by 2020.
  
  
• More effort needed to meet 2020 clean energy goal -EU Commission
  Mar 27, 2013 - reuters.com
  
  EU risks missing 20 pct clean energy target in 2020
  
  
• EU-urged-to-adopt-Europe-wide-renewables-policy
  Mar 25, 2013 - Nilima Choudhury - pv-tech.org
  
  The European Union should introduce universal renewable energy support mechanisms for all member states to reduce tension between conflicting policies.
  
  
• Iceland Looks to Export Power Bubbling From Below
  By ANDREW HIGGINS - Feb 20,2013 - nytimes.com
  
  KRAFLA, Iceland — Soon after work began here on a power plant to harness some of the vast reserves of energy stored at the earth’s crust, the ground moved and, along a six-mile-long fissure, began belching red-hot lava.
  
  
• Global PV demand in 2013: The highs and lows of scenario forecasting
  Mar 18, 2013 - Finlay Colville - pv-tech.org
  

  European PV demand will be the key swing factor for final global PV demand during 2013. Sound familiar? Demand from established ‘Western’ PV territories (Europe and North America) may comprise as little as 49% of global demand, but as much as 57%. Whether we end up closer to the upper end of this range or the lower range will ultimately shape the outcome of the PV industry this year.
  

• German Renewables Reach 25 Percent
  Mar 16, 2013 - Bill Sweet - spectrum.ieee.org
  
  The latest issue of the IEEE Power & Energy magazine (March-April) is devoted to photovoltaics, with substantial articles on the U.S. SunShot vision, integration of solar energy in one important U.S. grid, the solar picture in Germany, development of performance metrics on the basis of a 1 MW Tennessee plant, and the PV outlook in post-Fukushima Japan.
  
  
• ABB breakthrough could enable European electrical supergrid
  Mar 1, 2013 - Stephen Harris - theengineer.co.uk
  

  European electricity grid operators have entered ‘serious negotiations’ with the developers of a technology that could enable the creation of a continental supergrid.
  

• European Project Seeks To Aid Renewable Energy Integration
  Feb 13, 2013 - renewgrid.com
  
  A dozen electricity distribution and research institutions have launched a project that aims to improve the reliability, stability and quality of the European electric distribution grid as it integrates larger amounts of renewable energy.
  
  
• Colourful 'solar glass' means entire buildings can generate clean power
  Feb 12, 2013 - Adam Vaughan - theguardian.com
  

  A solar power company capable of "printing" colourful glass that can generate electricity from the sun's energy announced a £2m funding boost on Tuesday.
  

• Scotland aims to cut power carbon emissions by four fifths by 2030
  Feb 12, 2013 - renewableenergyfocus.com
  
  Scotland has set a new decarbonisation target to cut carbon emissions from power generation by over four fifths by 2030, in an effort to optimise Scotland’s huge potential for offshore wind beyond 2020.
  
  
• EWEA predicts wind power for 9 million households in Eastern Europe by 2020
  Feb 5, 2013 - renewableenergyfocus.com
  
  Wind power in Central and Eastern Europe will become a significant source of electricity production by 2020 and Turkey’s wind power generation capacity will grow even faster, provided there is a stable legal framework in each country, according to a new report from the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA).
  
  
• Europe's Biggest Energy Storage Project (Yet)
  Aug 05, 2013 - sustainablebusiness.com
  
  The largest European energy storage experiment so far – involving a 6-megawatt (MW) lithium-ion battery - is under way in the UK.
  
  
• Siemens: Europe can save €45bn by optimising renewable energy generation
  21 May 2013 - Josie Le Blond - renewableenergyfocus.com
  
  In a six stage discussion tour to conclude with the World Energy Congress (WEC) in Daegu, South Korea in October 2013, Siemens will discuss the findings of an ongoing study with the Technical University of Munich to examine energy systems worldwide - with the aim of ascertaining their utilisation rate of resources, reliability of supply, sustainability and cost-efficiency.
  
  
• What Future for the North Africa-to-Europe Power Super-Grid?
  Dec 30, 2012 - Dr. Daniel Novotny - The North Africa Post
  
  With the EU aiming to increasingly meet its energy needs from renewable sources – 30 per cent by 2020 and almost 100 per cent by 2050 – a great portion of this renewable power will have to come particularly from large-scale photovoltaic (PV) installations in sunny regions of the North Africa.
  
  
• Solar Grid Parity Comes to Spain
  Dec 26, 2012 - Peter Kelly-Detwiler- forbes.com
  
  Bloomberg reported last week that a number of solar developers in Spain have applied for permits to connect to the country’s electric grid and sell solar power at market prices. Taken together the permit requests total 37,5 gigawatts (GW = 1,000 megawatts). Clearly, not all of these proposed facilities will get built.
  
  
• ABB wins $170 million contract for world’s longest high voltage subsea AC cable
  Zurich, Switzerland, Dec 6, 2012 – ABB.com

  Zurich, Switzerland, Dec. 6, 2012 – ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, has won a contract worth $170 million from Subsea 7, to build a power link between a new oil and gas field being developed by Total E&P Norge AS in the North Sea and the Norwegian power grid.
  

• Iceland--an Example of the High Penetration of Renewables in the Modern Era
  Nov 6,2012 -wind-works.org
  
  Iceland's famous for its breathtaking scenery, its geysers, its Blue Lagoon--and for sitting astride the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Among energy wonks, Iceland is also well known for using its abundant renewable energy, and especially for tapping the volcanic roots of the island in developing its geothermal resources.

• Germany installs record amount of PV in 1H'12
  Aug 3, 2012 - Emma Hughes- pv-tech.org
  
  The latest installation figures from the German Federal Network Agency show that the country’s mid-year subsidy change for rooftop installations has caused a surge in solar demand for the first half of 2012, with more than 4.3GW installed in a period of just six months. This figure compares to just 1.71GW installed in the same period last year.
  
  
• Greece adds 97MW of PV capacity in June 2012
  Aug 1, 2012 - Julia Chan - pv-tech.org
  
  According to Hellenic Transmission System Operator SA (HTSO), Greece has installed an additional 97MW of grid-connected PV capacity in June 2012, bringing its total PV capacity to 724MW. HTSO also revealed that the country’s PV systems generated 161.5 GWh of electricity in the same month.
  
  
• Envision Solar announces development initiatives in Middle East, Spain
  Jul 26, 2012 - Syanne Olson - pv-tech.org
  
  Shaded parking array designed and developer, Envision Solar International, has announced that through a new partnership with Aconfort, it will be developing new business initiatives through the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Spain. Aconfort is a member of Al Habtoor Enterprises and is based in the UAE and Spain.
  
  
• France offers €1 billion investment opportunity
  Jul 30, 2012 - Nilima Choudhury - pv-tech.org
  
  Perhaps not in the way Enerplan wished in a statement to France’s new president, Francois Hollande, but the country is pushing forwards with its plans for renewable energy generation. Delphine Batho, the new minister for ecology, sustainable development and energy, announced the results of two tenders for solar plants.
  
  
• IEA warns Ireland to invest even more in renewables to meet 40% by 2020 target
  Jul 11, 2012 - renewableenergyfocus.com
  
  Ireland must invest even more in renewable technologies, expand grid integration and improve energy efficiency, the International Energy Agency says in a review of Irish energy policies, published today.
  
  
• SunEdison sells 98MW of European PV projects
  Jul 9, 2012 - Anne Zimmermann- pv-tech.org
  
  SunEdison has sold a total of 98MW of European PV projects, the company has announced, closing three transactions last week. The projects include a 60MW PV plant in Karadzhalovo, Bulgaria, which was sold to a consortium of investors including the First Reserve Energy Infrastructure Fund, Saudi Arabian developer ACWA Power and Turkish private equity firm Crescent Capital. The plant was connected to the grid in March 2012 and had been funded by an IFC €155 million debt financing agreement. ACWA subsidiary NOMAC and SunEdison will operate and maintain the plant under a joint vernture agreement.
  
  
• Conergy installs 1MW PV rooftop system in Greece
  Jul 4, 2012 - Anne Zimmermann- pv-tech.org
  
  Conergy has connected a 1MW PV plant in Greece to the grid, the company has announced. The company has been responsible for the design and construction of the plant and has also supplied 13,000 thin-film PV modules for the installation. N. Kornilakis MEPE, a Greek logistics company, had the system installed on its 68,000m² warehouse roof.
  
  
• Russia offers $500m for electricity import project
  June 29, 2012 - paktribune.com

  Russia has offered an investment of $500 million in establishing a transmission system for the Central Asia South Asia 1,000-megawatt (CASA-1,000) power import project, which will bring electricity from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to Afghanistan and Pakistan.
  

• MOU Signed with Iceland for Geothermal Advancement; Geo Could Meet 20% of UK Power Needs
  Jun 6, 2012 - Leslie Blodgett - renewableenergyworld.com
  
  Energy Minister Charles Hendry of the United Kingdom and Iceland's Finance Minister Oddny Haroardottir signed a memorandum of understanding in late May to explore options in bilateral energy affairs, including an electricity connection as well as information-sharing on deep geothermal development.
  
  
• Germany Plans 3800-Kilometer, $25 Billion Transmission Network for Wind Power
  May 30, 2012 - Dave Levitan - spectrum.ieee.org
  
  Fresh off the record-setting solar weekend in Germany, the country's transmission operators say plans are in the works for a huge transmission line buildout to accommodate growing wind power resources.
  
  
• Last Weekend, Half of Germany Was Running on Solar Power
  May 28, 2012 - treehugger.com
  
  That's right—half of all of Germany was powered by electricity generated by solar plants. That's incredible. It was also world record-breaking. Germany is pretty much singlehandedly proving that solar can be a major, reliable source of power—even in countries that aren't all that sunny.
  
  
• Is Desertec The Answer To Europe And Africa's Energy Woes?
  Mar 22, 2012 - forbes.com
  
  Standing on the shores of the Mediterranean, anywhere from Tangiers to Istanbul, it’s not exactly difficult to imagine the region’s renewable potential.
  
  
• Turkey sets renewable energy targets up to 2023
  Mar 8, 2012 - renewablesbiz.com
  
  Turkey aims to make more use of renewable energy resources by 2023, according to a research of Energy and Natural Resources Ministry.
  
  
• New grid under-sea cable to connect England and Scotland
  Feb 23, 2012 - theenergycollective.com
  
  While politicians talk of Scottish independence from England, a world-beating €1.1 billion contract has today been announced to make the two countries even more interconnected.
  
  
• German Village Produces 321% More Energy Than It Needs!
  Feb 2, 2012 - Timon Singh - inhabitat.com
  
  Ok, those Germans are just showing off now. Not only has the nation announced plans to shut down all of its nuclear power plants and started the construction of 2,800 miles of transmission lines for its new renewable energy initiative, but now the village of Wildpoldsried is producing 321% more energy than it needs! The small agricultural village in the state of Bavaria is generating an impressive $5.7 million in annual revenue from renewable energy.
  
  
• Germany sets timeline for all nuclear plant shutdowns: puts pressure on PV to cut costs
  Jan 31, 2012 - Mark Osborne - pv-tech.org
  
  A dramatic u-turn by German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been officially proclaimed with the announcement that all nuclear plants in the country will be shut down permanently by 2021. Initially, eight of Germany’s oldest nuclear plants will shut down immediately and the remaining plants will be phased out over the next 10 years. However, three plants could remain operational until 2022 to allow for the possibility of delays occurring in the addition of new energy sources - mainly renewables - as a replacement.
  
  
• Germany Passes More Aggressive Renewable Energy Law
  Nov 3, 2011 - Paul Gipe - renewableenergyworld.com
  
  Despite widespread rumors in North America that Germany was abandoning its system of Advanced Renewable Tariffs, the country's upper chamber of parliament, the Bundesrat, approved the latest revision of its pioneering Renewable Energy Sources Act on July 8.
  
  
• Italy Passes 7,000 MW of Total Installed Solar PV
  Nov 3, 2011 - Paul Gipe - renewableenergyworld.com
  
  The interactive web page Atlasole created by Italy's Gestore dei Servizi Energetici (GSE) indicates that the country surpassed 7,000 MW of total installed solar photovoltaics (solar PV) from nearly one-quarter million systems sometime mid-year.
  
  
• Germany keen to buy solar-generated electricity from Greece
  Oct 20, 2011 - google.com
  
  ATHENS — Greek Prime Minuster Georges Papandreou confirmed Sunday that Germany was keen to import solar-generated electricity from debt-ridden Greece.
  
  
• Will Germany Become First Nation with a Hydrogen Economy?
  Sep 27, 2011 - scientificamerican.com
  
  Germany will become the first country completely accessible to fuel cell vehicles in 2015, when carmaker Daimler and the Linde technology group will build 20 new hydrogen filling stations. The result will quadruple the number of public stations available and make it possible for a fuel cell vehicle to reach any location in the country.
  
  
• Europe's renewables investors need more certainty
  Sept. 23, 2011 - Power Engineering International - energycentral.com
  
  In order to incentivize the mass roll-out of renewable sources of power generation, many governments have offered generous subsidy schemes to utilities, developers and homeowners. Increasingly, however, many nations have pulled in their horns due to austerity measures and as European governments tighten their belts, renewable energy companies are feeling the impact. After much messing about, Italian legislators finally delivered on 5 May a revised subsidy programme that outlines a structure of additional cuts until 2016. Under the new solar decree, a transitional period with gradual cuts in incentives will start from June 1 and run to 2013, after which the incentives will automatically be linked to reaching a certain level of installed capacity.
  
  
• Iberdrola and Areva to develop offshore wind projects in France
  Sept. 23, 2011 - oilandgasobserver.com
  
  The partners will compete for two of the country's five offshore zones offered in a first phase of bidding.
  
  
• Large scale energy storage technologies to capitalise on renewables
  Sept. 20, 2011 - engineerlive.com
  
  All Western European countries have targets aimed at boosting the contribution of renewable energy. Such high use of renewable energy is possible through efficient energy storage methods, creating huge opportunities for market growth.
  
  
  
• Algeria urges Europe to remove constraints for exporting solar power
  Sept. 20, 2011 - tmcnet.com
  
  ALGIERS, Jun 21, 2011 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- CEO of the Algerian state run electricity and gas distributor Sonelgaz Group, Noureddine Bouterfa, has urged Europe to remove all constraints hindering exporting Algerian solar power to Europe.
  
  
  
• IEA urges more use of geothermal energy
  Sept. 16, 2011 - upi.com
  
  VIENNA, Tapping into geothermal energy could allay some climate concerns though not without better regulatory mechanisms, the IEA said from Vienna.
  
  
  
• Germany Decides to Abandon Nuclear Power by 2022
  Sept. 16, 2011 - abcnews.go.com/Business
  
  Europe's economic powerhouse, Germany, announced plans Monday to abandon nuclear energy over the next 11 years, outlining an ambitious strategy in the wake of Japan's Fukushima disaster to replace atomic power with renewable energy sources.
  
  
  
• Power Import Options for a Nuclear-free Germany
  Sep 12, 2011 - Harry Valentine - energypulse.net
  
  Germany's influential environmental movement has responded to the fallout of Japan's recent nuclear problems. They successfully lobbied their federal government and Germany's Chancellor has announced the phase-out of nuclear power generating in that country. Germany will seek to use domestic and imported wind, hydroelectric, solar and other forms of renewable power. That choice opens new opportunity for Iceland and also Greenland that urgently seeks foreign investment to build their national economies.
  
  
• Co2 Emissions Said Historic High
  Sept. 07, 2011 - upi.com
  
  PARIS, May 31 (UPI) -- Energy-related carbon-dioxide emissions in 2010 were the highest in history, the latest estimates from the International Energy Agency in Paris indicate.
  
  
• Germany's latest EEG draft includes further solar subsidy cuts
  Sept. 07, 2011 - Chris Whitmore - pvtech.org
  
  Germany's solar industry is to be subjected to four subsidy cuts over the next 12 months, according to the revised draft of the country's Renewable Energy Act [EEG]. The final two of these reductions had not been included in the original amendment to the bill and their addition is a major blow to the country's solar industry.
  
  
• Switzerland to gradually decommission all nuclear plants by 2034
  Sept. 07, 2011 - BNO News - wireupdate.com
  
  BERN, SWITZERLAND -- Swiss Energy Minister Doris Leuthard on Wednesday announced the gradual decommission of all Switzerland's nuclear power plants by 2034, the Swissinfo news agency reported.
  
  
• More Than 1200 MW Set To Enter European Grid
  Sep 1, 2011 - Meg Cichon - renewableenergyworld.com
  
  Grid connectivity is a lingering issue for renewables. Many ideal sources for renewable power tend to be in remote areas with no line access or densely populated areas with undersized, or already over-powered transmission.
  
  
• UN says green energy investment at record level
  Aug 11, 2011 - google.com
  
  PARIS — Investment in renewable energy last year amounted to a record 211 billion dollars, a rise of 32 percent over 2009 and 540 percent over 2004, a UN-backed report said on Thursday.
  
  
• Merkel: binding, verifiable climate targets needed
  Aug 11, 2011 - cbsnews.com
  
  (AP) BERLIN (AP) — All nations must commit to binding and verifiable goals to reduce their carbon emissions to reach a new international climate agreement as the Kyoto Protocol expires next year, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Sunday.
  
  
• Green Jobs Are Real: German and American Solar Industry Both Employ More People Than U.S. Steel Production
  Aug 9, 2011 - Stephen Lacy - renewableenergyworld.com
  
  Washington, D.C., United States – With roughly 93,500 direct and indirect jobs, the American solar industry now employs about 9,200 more workers than the U.S. steel production sector, according to 2010 Bureau of Labor Statistics. The American steel industry has historically been a symbol of the country's industrial might and economic prosperity. But today, the solar industry has the potential to overtake that image as we build a new, clean-energy economy.
  
  
• N.J. and France Ban Fracking While N.Y. Is About to Lift Fracking Moratorium
  Aug 9, 2011 - powermag.com
  
  Last week, New Jersey's Legislature passed legislation that affirmed the state's involvement in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) and banned the natural gas drilling technique known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. Neighboring New York, meanwhile, is poised to lift a moratorium on new shale gas drilling, and France has become the first country to ban fracking.
  
  

• IRAN TO GENERATE OVER 5,000 MW OF ELECTRICITY BY 2015
  Aug 5, 2011 - steelguru.com
  
  Press TV reported that Iran plans to generate more than 5,000 MW of electricity from renewable energy resources by 2015.

• Scottish 2020 Routemap for 100% renewable electricity
  Aug 5, 2011 - renewableenergyfocus.com
  
  The Scottish Government has released its 2020 Routemap for 100% renewable electricity and 30% overall renewable energy in Scotland by 2020.

• Italy’s new austerity plan could hit solar with further cuts
  Aug 4, 2011 - Chris Whitmore - pv-tech.org
  
  The final version of Italy's deficit-reduction plan has imposed further reductions on renewable energy incentives, reports Reuters. If confirmed, the new legislation could see incentives to renewable energy companies paid for by consumers on their electricity bills slashed by as much as 30%.
  
  
• Can North Africa Light Up Europe With Concentrated Solar Power?
  Jul 21, 2011 - Lisa Friedman - nytimes.com
  
  HAMBURG, Germany -- Twenty-five years after Gerhard Knies conceived of powering Europe with the Sahara Desert's sun, the North Africa Solar project has grown into something considerably more than a mere mirage, but it's still less than a reality.
  
  
• Plugging High-Speed Rail Into Germany’s Power Grid
  Jul 13, 2011 - Michael Scott Moore - miller-mccune.com
  
  Using rail lines for the energy grid may help a suddenly nuclear-shy Germany transition to wider use of renewable sources.
  
  
• All-Energy: Scotland aims for 100% renewable energy
  Jun 23, 2011 - renewableenergyfocus.com
  
  Salmond said in the opening session: "Because the pace of development has been so rapid, with our 2011 target already exceeded, we can now commit to generating the equivalent of 100% of Scotland's own electricity demand from renewable resources by 2020. By then we intend to be generating twice as much electricity as Scotland needs – just over half of it from renewables, and just under half from other conventional sources.



• Desertec first pilot project in Morocco
  June 8, 2011 - aufait
  
  The first pilot project Desertec megaproject, which aims to supply Europe and the MENA (Middle East, North Africa) in renewable energy from the deserts of the latter will be in Morocco, said on Thursday, Klaus Schmidtke, Head of Communication Desertec Industrial Initiative. La capacité de production du projet sera de 500 MW d'énergie solaire. The production capacity of the project will be 500 MW of solar energy. L'exploitation débutera en 2016 et l'appel d'offres sera lancé en 2013. The operation will begin in 2016 and the tender will be launched in 2013.
  
  
  
• Historic climate change deal with legal powers agreed by Cabinet
  June 4, 2011 - just4theplanet.com
  
  Chris Huhne will announce a long-term programme that will put Britain at the forefront of the battle against climate change
  
  
  
• Importing solar energy to Britain from abroad
  June 4, 2011 - Martyn Oates - renewablesbiz.com
  
  In future Britain should consider importing solar energy from as far away as North Africa, according to a new report from the Committee on Climate Change.
  
  
• Solar PV could reach 130-200 GW by 2015
  June 4, 2011 - renewableenergyfocus.com
  
  According to EPIA’s latest Global Market Outlook, the global cumulative solar PV market reached 40 GW at the end of 2010 with 16.6 GW added in 2010 alone. Solar PV is thereby now potentially producing around 50 TWh annually.
  
  
• Italy has a new FiT
  May 25, 2011 - Mark Osborne - pv-tech.org
  
  Consultations and deliberations are now over as the Italian Council of Ministers signed on a new Conto Energia IV, effective on June 1, 2011. Since a review was announced the Italian market has effectively been frozen, especially for commercial and utility-scale projects, causing the PV supply chain to balloon with module inventory some market researchers have put at between 2 - 3GW. The situation was exacerbated by the slow start in PV installations in Germany this year.
  
  
• A Buoyant Future for Floating Wind Turbines?
  May 22, 2011 - Andrew Williams - renewableenergyworld.com
  
  London, UK -- In recent years there have been two significant trends in the wind industry: developers seeking higher quality wind resources and turbines growing in size. In response to these developments, the idea of 'floating' offshore wind turbines is becoming increasingly popular. Because they float, these turbines can provide developers with better access to offshore wind resources, unconstrained by water depth. Done right, they include a support structure able to accommodate today's large, and tomorrow's even larger turbines.
  
  
• centrotherm, Kinetics Germany to build Africa’s largest module production facility
  May 21, 2011 - Chris Whitmore - pv-tech.org
  
  centrotherm photovoltaics and Kinetics Germany have signed an agreement with Société Nationale de l'Electricité et du Gaz (Sonelgaz) to build an integrated solar module manufacturing facility in Rouiba, Algeria. When completed, the 43,000-square-metre site, located 30 km east of Algiers, will be home to Africa’s largest solar module factory and have an annual production capacity of around 116MW.
  
  
• Bulgaria to encourage energy production from renewable sources
  May 15, 2011 - Xinhua - energycentral.com
  
  A new law that encourages energy production from renewable sources entered into force in Bulgaria on Tuesday.
  
  
• Connecting Britain To A European Supergrid
  May 11, 2011 - Damian Carrington - sustainablecitiesnet.com
  
  It stretches 260km under the North Sea, contains 23,000 tonnes of copper and lead, and may represent the first step towards a renewable energy revolution based on a European electricity “supergrid”. The £500m BritNed cable, which has just entered operation, is the first direct current electricity link from the UK to another country in 25 years. The high voltage cable, a joint venture between the UK National Grid and the Dutch grid operator TenneT, has a capacity of 1,000MW, the equivalent of a nuclear power station. It runs from the Isle of Grain in Kent to Maasvlakte, near Rotterdam, in the Netherlands.
  
  
• Can a Country Get 90 Percent of Its Power From Renewables?
  Mar 30, 2011 - electricenergyonline.com
  
  Seder Boqer, Israel --- Renewable energy is often intermittent and unreliable, but with the right storage technology, it can become a substitute for baseline power.
  
  
• Tunisia, France sign agreement on renewable energies
  Apr 16, 2011 - energycentral.com
  
  An agreement on the development of renewable energies was signed Thursday in Tunis between the Tunisian ministry of industry and technology and the French ministry of economy, finance and industry, reported the official press agency TAP.
  
  
• Tidal stream array approved for Scottish Sound of Islay
  Mar 27, 2011 - renewableenergyfocus.com
  
  The Scottish Government has approved the building of the 10 MW tidal stream array planned for the Sound of Islay.
  
  
• New UK power link may feed Europe, not import
  Mar 27, 2011 - Karolin Schaps - uk.mobil.reuters.com
  
  LONDON (Reuters) - A new cable linking the British and Dutch electricity markets may surprise by exporting, not importing, thanks to Germany's pause on power from old reactors.
  

• Vast and Powerful, but Willing? Russia's Renewable Winter
  Mar 19, 2011 - Andrew Lee - qmags.com
  
  Often hailed as a 'sleeping giant' of renewable energy, nobody doubts that Russia has abundant potential to supply its 140 million citizens with cleaner power and heat. However, questions still remain over the country's political willingness to move the renewable energy agenda forward.
  
  
  
• Update: Italian cabinet decides not to set annual cap for overall PV market—for now
  Mar 12, 2011 - Tom Cheyney - pv-tech.org
  
  As expected, the Italian cabinet signed off on a solar policy without a 8GW annual cap, but did institute a 1MW cap on farmland projects. Under the new policy, projects are required to be connected to the grid before May 31 to benefit from the current feed-in tarrifs. Any new FiT decision for projects beyond May would likely be made by April 30, according to published reports.
  Barclays Capital believes the decision "to be worse than expectations as it increases uncertainty with respect to 2H11 fundamentals and likely increases risk to financing of several ongoing projects." The firm expects "this policy to result in a significant slowdown in the Italian market in Q2 until pricing expectations are reset for a potential 30%-50% FiT cut in 2H11."
  
  
  
• Battle of the Grids
  Feb 26, 2011 - greenpeace.org
  
  As the EU considers how to overhaul its aging and inefficient power system, Battle of the Grids demonstrates how a lasting shift to a grid powered with nearly 100% clean energy can be achieved. Its centrepiece is a map that for the first time charts a supergrid for 2050. The report confirms what the recent economic crisis and accompanying fall in electricity demand has laid bare: a growing clash between flexible renewables and inflexible ‘baseload’ generators like coal and nuclear, a clash which gives the report its title. This clash will only grow and become more expensive unless coal and nuclear are phased out.
  
  
  
• Companies Call for EU Single Energy Market
  Feb 19, 2011 - energycentral.com
  
  Two days before the first-ever EU summit on energy, twenty European companies and associations are calling on EU Heads of State to show the courage and vision to create a single market for electricity by 2015.
  
  
  
  
• Spain generated 3% of its electricity from solar in 2010
  Feb 19, 2011 - Paul Gipe - renewableenergyfocus.com
  
  Despite the reductions in support for solar system, Spanish solar systems now deliver electricity in the TWh range making solar bigger than hydro or coal, and Spain now produces more wind and solar power than California.
  
  
  
• Germany Targets Switch to 100% Renewables for its Electricity by 2050
  Jan 25, 2011 - Reuters - Guardian.co.uk
  
  Germany already leads the world on renewable energy and could become first G20 country to kick the fossil-fuel habit
  
  
  
• Medgrid to Study Developing a Mediterranean Power Grid For Solar Energy
  Dec 28, 2010 - Tara Patel - Bloomberg
  
  A group of utilities, grid operators and equipment makers plans to study developing a network spanning the Mediterranean Sea to link Europe to North African solar-energy projects.
  
  
  
• ABB Secures $580 Million Power Transmission Order in Europe
  Dec 27, 2010 - Energy Business Review
  
  ABB has won orders worth around $580m from Svenska Kraftnat of Sweden and LITGRID turtas of Lithuania to supply a new power transmission link between the Nordic and Baltic regions.
  
  
• Germany's Power Grid Could Handle 1 Million Electric Vehicles
  Dec 08, 2010 - RenewableEnergyFocus.com
  
  Germany’s utilities believe that the Federal Government’s objective of having roughly 1 million electric vehicles on the country’s roads by 2020 would not pose any problems for the electricity grid.
  
  
  
• Offshore Wind, Wave and Tidal can Meet Europe's Electricity Demand
  Nov 17, 2010 - RenewableEnergyFocus.com
  
  Offshore wind, wave and tidal energy could technically provide all of Europe’s future electricity demand, according to a group of industry experts and scientists under the EU ORECCA project.
  
  
  
• Report Card on Renewables: Europe's Getting A's
  Oct. 14, 2010 - Jeffrey Kluger
  
  
  
  According to a new report from the European Commission's Joint Research Center (JRC), fully 62% of new electrical capacity installed in the European Union in 2009 came from renewables.
  
  
  
• Germany Ups Renewable Target--Again
  Oct. 14, 2010 - Paul Gipe
  
  In what is becoming a regular occurrence, Germany has again increased its target for renewable energy.
  
  
• Scotland raises renewable electricity target
  Oct. 12, 2010 - Renewable Energy Focus
  
  By 2020, 80% of Scottish electricity consumption to come from renewable sources.
  
  
  
• Tidal Power Giant Makes Debut
  Aug 18, 2010 - Daily Record - Glasgow - Energy Central
  
  The most powerful and largest tidal turbine ever built was unveiled yesterday in Scotland.
  
  
• Share of renewables in new electricity generation capacity continues to rise
  Jul 12, 2010 - renewableenergyfocus.com
  
  The "Renewable Energy Snapshots" report, published today by the EU Joint Research Centre's Institute for Energy (IE), shows that renewable energy sources accounted for 62% (17GW) of the new electricity generation capacity installed in the EU27 in 2009.
  
  
• Project Focus: Acciona and Dhamma Energy establish utility-scale solar projects in France
  June 3, 2010 - Mark Osborne - pv-tech
  
  Global renewables operator Acciona Energy and the Franco-Spanish group Dhamma Energy will collaborate on a range of utility-scale solar projects in France, with a plan of installing 250MW.
  
  
• Czech Republic in violation of EU directives in order to stop solar boom
  May 26, 2010 - Emma Hughes - PV-tech.org
  
  Leading Czech photovoltaic experts addressed the European Commission with a request to review a brand-new decree of the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MIT) of the Czech Republic regulating the construction of new solar photovoltaic power plants in the country.  Based on this decree, all PV plants installed in the Czech Republic from June onward that have a total output of more than 30kWp will have to adhere to very strict requirements related to using PV modules containing only solar cells with very high conversion efficiencies, namely 22% for monocrystalline cells and 16% for polycrystalline or thin-film cells.
  
  
• CEE next big market for renewable energy
  May 3, 2010 - renewableenergyfocus.com
  
  Central and Eastern and Europe (CEE) is boosting its renewable energy market making it attractive for investors and suppliers, according to analysts Frost & Sullivan.
  
  
• Europe Urged to Share Power Across Continent
  Apr 14, 2010 - James Kanter - nytimes.com
  
  BRUSSELS — Renewable energy in Europe should be generated and distributed on a continental scale to make the greatest contribution toward reducing greenhouse gases, according to a report that raises significant challenges for a fragmented region.
  
  
• Romania fulfills renewable energy drive
  Apr 9, 2010 - Xinhua
  
  Romania may not be a leader in meeting the European Union's targets for renewable energy consumption but it does boast two of the biggest initiatives.
  
  
• Europe could have 100% renewable energy by 2050: study
  Mar 30, 2010 - renewableenergyfocus.com
  
  Europe and North Africa could obtain all of their electricity from renewable energy by 2050, if the concept is supported by a single European power market united with a similar market in North Africa.
  
  
• 100% Renewable Electricity – A roadmap to 2050 for Europe and North Africa
  Mar 26, 2010 - Price Waterhouse Coopers
  
  The study prepared by the European and international climate experts at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, the European Climate Forum, the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and the International Institute for Applied System Analysis, examines the potential for powering Europe and North Africa with renewable electricity exclusively by 2050
  
  
• UPDATE 2-Italy new solar incentives seen in April
  Mar 25, 2010 - Svetlana Kovalyova - Reuters
  
  * Incentive cut slightly below reduction in solar panel cost
  
  Energy and climate to dominate European Council agenda
  Mar 24, 2010 - EWEA
  
  Tomorrow, energy will top the agenda when EU Heads of State meet in Brussels to discuss a new European strategy for jobs and growth, and to follow-up on the failed Copenhagen conference on climate change.
  
  
• India & Turkey on Track To Be Wind Powers
  Mar 19, 2010 - RenewableEnergyWorld.com
  
  India and Turkey are both poised to become world players in the wind industry thanks to good wind resources, growing demand for electricity and emerging political frameworks to support the development of gigawatts of wind projects in the coming years.
  
  
• Scotland rules the waves
  Mar 17, 2010 - Daily Record; Glasgow (UK)
  
  Scotland confirmed its place at the forefront of global wave and tidal energy yesterday when officials unveiled TEN massive projects to generate power off our north coast.
  
  
• Czech politicians give the go-ahead for feed-in tariff cuts
  Mar 17, 2010 - Emma Hughes - pv-tech.org
  
  Lower house politicians in the Czech Republic have now approved a law to cut the incentives for solar energy production in a bid to control the expected rise in solar installations. The Czech Republic's Prime Minister, Jan Fischer, first called for the cuts earlier this month.
  
  
• Spain establishes int'l center for renewable energy
  Mar 16, 2010 -- Xinhua
  
  Spanish Vice President Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega on Tuesday approved the opening of an International Center for Renewable Energy (CICER) in Valencia.
  
  
• First Solar Joins the Desertec Industrial Initiative
  Mar 16, 2010 -- BUSINESS WIRE
  
  First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) on Tuesday announced that it had joined the Desertec Industrial Initiative as an Associated Partner to demonstrate the potential of photovoltaic (PV) solar technology to provide clean, sustainable energy on a vast scale by harnessing the desert sun.
  
  
• How to achieve carbon-neutral power in Europe by 2050
  Mar 11, 2010 - Boothby, Chris - Power Engineering International
  
  Climate change and its impacts have emerged as the most serious environmental challenge of our time
  
  
• SunEdison receives go-ahead for largest plant in Europe
  Mar 11, 2010 - Emma Hughes - PV-tech.com
  
  SunEdison has received final approval from the Italian government to develop and construct what will be the largest solar power plant in Europe. The 72MW project will be based in Northeastern Italy, near the town of Rovigo.
  
  
• Solar Industry Will Grow to $77 Billion in 2015
  Mar 9, 2010 - luxresearchinc.com - The Associated Press
  
  Reeling from a stormy 2009, the solar market will soon see lopsided supply and demand rush back into parity, according to a new report from Lux Research.
  
  
• Maps to reveal hydropower potential in UK
  Mar 8, 2010 - renewableenergyfocus.com
  
  A map revealing potential hydropower hotspots in England and Wales has been published by the UK Environment Agency.
  
  
• European offshore supergrid organisation set up
  Mar 8, 2010 - renewableenergyfocus.com
  
  An organisation to progress policy towards construction of a pan-European offshore supergrid, Friends of the Supergrid, has been set up.
  
  
• Solar Industry Learns Lessons in Spanish Sun
  Mar 8, 2010 - Elisabeth Rosenthal - nytimes.com
  
  PUERTOLLANO, Spain — Two years ago, this gritty mining city hosted a brief 21st-century gold rush. Long famous for coal, Puertollano discovered another energy source it had overlooked: the relentless, scorching sun.
  
  
• Wave and tidal potential assessment
  Mar 5, 2010 - renewableenergyfocus.com
  
  The first full Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) for wave and tidal energy in Wales and England has been outlined, says the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change.
  
  
• UK Government: Assessing English regional renewable potential
  Mar 5, 2010 - M2 Presswire
  
  New guidelines published today will help regional authorities assess the potential for renewable and low-carbon energy in their area.
  
  
• Germany likely to phase out the nuclear phase out
  Feb 17, 2010 -- Datamonitor
  
  Germany's Atomic Exit Law of 2001 is back on the political agenda. Given coal's poor environmental profile and the expensive and intermittent reality of renewable energy, concerns have been raised over whether Germany can afford to phase-out nuclear power generation and still keep the lights on and meet ambitious emissions reductions targets.
  
  
• British Airways To Develop Waste-to-Fuel Facility
  Feb 16, 2010 - RenewableEnergyWorld.com
  
  British Airways and the Solena Group plan to develop Europe's first bio-based jet-fuel production facility. British Airways plans to use the fuel to power part of its fleet starting in 2014.
  
• Spain Power Grid Can Feed 10 Million Electric Cars-Iberdrola Chairman
  Feb 9, 2010 - Dow Jones
  
  Spain's electricity system can supply power to some 10 million electric cars if charging were to be made at night when general demand is low, Ignacio Galan, chairman of electricity company Iberdrola SA (IBE.MC), said Tuesday.
  
  
• Wind power tops new EU electricity
  Feb 8, 2010 - renewableenergyfocus.com
  
  Wind power represented the largest share of new electricity generating technology installed in the European Union in 2009.
  
  
• More Wind Power Capacity Installed Last Year in the EU Than any Other Power Technology
  Feb 3, 2010 - Energy Central
  
  More new wind power capacity was installed in the EU in 2009 than any other electricity- generating technology, new statistics published today by the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) reveal. 39% of all new capacity installed in 2009 was wind power, followed by gas (26%) and solar photovoltaics (16%). Europe decommissioned more coal and nuclear capacity than it installed in 2009. Taken together, renewable energy technologies account for 61% of new power generating capacity in 2009.
  
  
• UK renewable industry welcomes feed-in tariff
  Feb 1, 2010 - Renewable Energy Focus
  
  The UK renewable energy industry welcomes today’s announcement of the feed-in tariff for renewable and low carbon electricity, and the plans for low carbon heating incentives.
  
  
• UK feed-in tariff is announced: payback begins April 1
  Feb 1, 2010 - Emma Hughes - PV-tech.org
  
  The UK feed-in tariff rates have now been finalized, offering its residents a financial incentive for producing renewable energy. The government has confirmed the proposed rate, which will begin to take effect from April 1, 2010.
  
  
• Spanish company plans NM solar energy plant
  Jan 27, 2010 - The Associated Press
  
  A Spanish company plans to invest $1 billion to build a large solar energy production plant in New Mexico.
  
  
• German feed-in tariff cut will be 16-17% - updated
  Jan 19, 2010 - Emma Hughes - PV-tech
  
  After a fair amount of digging and the much needed help of our German correspondent we can now confirm that the reports of a 16-17% cut in feed-in tariff rate for Germany were true, and the cuts are to go ahead from April 1, 2010. Click here to see the analyst's thoughts on these cuts.
  
  
• Italy and France Drive Southern Europe Solar PV Markets Forward
  Jan 12, 2010 - emerging energy research
  
  Southern Europe’s long-term growth prospects--with 38 GW of new projects expected by 2020--are expected to help pull the global PV industry out of its current slump, according to a new market study from Emerging Energy Research.
  
  
• UK Takes Energy Leap With Huge Offshore Wind Projects
  Jan 08, 2010 - Dow Jones & Company, Inc
  
  The U.K. took a massive step forward towards boosting its renewable energy capacity Friday after announcing plans to develop 32 gigawatts of new offshore wind energy--cementing its position as the world leader in the sector.
  
  
• UK's Beauly-Denny power line given the go ahead
  Jan 07, 2010 - renewableenergyfocus.com
  
  Plans for a line of giant electricity pylons from the Scottish Highlands to central Scotland have been approved by the Scottish government.
  
  
• Nine EU Governments take first steps towards a Northern European Supergrid.
  Jan 07, 2010 - renewableenergyfocus.com
  
  The siging of a political declaration in early December last year will see the countries cooperate on the development of a North Sea supergrid joining up clean energy projects scattered in and around the North Sea.
  
  
• In Europe, $43B for renewable energy
  Jan 06, 2010 - UPI
  
  Germany's minister for economy and technology said a $43 billion project linking nine countries to renewable energy was "crucial" to Europe's energy goals.
  
  
• Portugal boosts use of wind energy
  Jan 06, 2010 -- BBC Monitoring
  
  For every 100 watts of electricity used last year in Portuguese homes, 15.03 watts came from wind energy - a figure which moves the country from third to second in the world in terms of the use of wind energy. Portugal is now behind Denmark and Spain.
  
  
• Acciona Energia gains financing for 150MW project in Spain
  Jan 05, 2010 - Emma Hughes - pv-tech.org
  
  Reuters has reported the financial close of a combined 150MW project deal for Acciona Energia in Spain. The solar thermal power project involves a deal with 29 banks and is said to be one of the largest single solar financings to date.
  
• EDF taps €1 billion in solar project financing: exclusive use of First Solar modules
  Dec 17, 2009 - Mark Osborne - PV-tech.org
  
  In a significant move by EDF Energies Nouvelles to boost its solar energy portfolio, the renewable energy producer has secured new project finance that is underpinned by a €500 million loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB). EIB is financing 50% of planned projects in both France and Italy through 2012, while commercial banks will support each project with the other 50% of project finance required. EDF is exclusively using First Solar’s CdTe thin film modules for the €1 billion of projects over the next 2-years.
  
  
• Swiss stop pioneering geothermal project
  Dec 10, 2009 - Associated Press
  
  Switzerland has ended a pioneering geothermal project, authorities said Thursday, three years after the deep drilling into the ground caused a series of earthquakes, scaring residents of the northwestern city of Basel.
  
  
• Integrating Wind Power in Portugal
  Dec 4, 2009 - Pedro S. Moura - Renewable Energy World.Com
  
  With a major increase in installed wind capacity planned for Portugal, here are the options available for the successful integration of wind energy into the country's electricity system.
  
  
• European Commission Projects 80% Renewable Energy by 2050
  Nov 16, 2009 - RenewableEnergyWorld.com - Brussels- -Belgium
  
  More than 550 high-level political decision makers at EU, national and regional level, representatives of the renewable energy industry, NGOs and scientists gathered in Brussels for the 3rd European Renewable Energy Policy Conference, organized by EREC as an official event of the Swedish EU Presidency.
  
  
• Bulgaria set for Massive Growth in Wind Power
  Nov 10, 2009 - Sofia, Bulgaria, - PR Newswire Europe
  
  Bulgaria is set to dramatically expand its wind power output in the next 10 years, delegates at a workshop on integrating wind power in Bulgaria heard today. From the current 330 MW installed to over 3,000 MW by 2020, wind energy will meet 13.5% of Bulgaria's electricity demand.
  
  
• Wind Energy Generation Breaks Record In Spain
  Nov 10, 2009 - North American Windpower
  
  Wind generation broke a record in Spain on Nov. 8, delivering 53% of the electricity demand from 3 a.m. to 8:30 a.m., with a total production of around 10,170 MW, according to La Asociacion Empresarial Eolica (AEE), the Spanish wind industry alliance.
  
  
• Bulgaria set for massive growth in wind power
  Nov 10, 2009 - EWEA
  
  Bulgaria is set to dramatically expand its wind power output in the next 10 years, delegates at a workshop on integrating wind power in Bulgaria heard today. From the current 330 MW installed to over 3,000 MW by 2020, wind energy will meet 13.5% of Bulgaria’s electricity demand.
  
  
• Solar power from Sahara a step closer
  Nov 1, 2009 - Ashley Seager - guardian.co.uk
  
  A $400bn (£240bn) plan to provide Europe with solar power from the Sahara moved a step closer to reality today with the formation of a consortium of 12 companies to carry out the work.
  
  
• Decentralizing electricity
  Oct 14, 2009 - Stefan Schultz - Spiegel Online
  
  Electric cars, intelligent washing machines, mini power plants in your basement: Germany is on the verge of an energy revolution. SPIEGEL ONLINE looks at the latest developments in the smart grid and how it will change the relationship between consumers and energy suppliers.
  
  
• Geothermal has great potential as renewable energy source: Iceland FM
  Sep 26, 2009 - Xinhua
  
  Iceland's Foreign Minister Ossur Skarphedinsson said Saturday that geothermal has a great potential as a renewable energy source in many parts of the world.
  
  
• World's First Floating Wind Turbine Swtiches On
  Sep 21, 2009 - Philip Proefrock - ecogeek.org
  
  The energy company Statoil has begun operation of the first full-size Hywind floating wind turbine at a location 10 kilometers off the Norwegian coast. What is remarkable about this turbine is that is is floating in the water, rather than being rigidly attached to the ocean floor.
  
  
• Denmark inaugurates world's largest offshore wind farm- 209 MW horns Rev 2
  Sept 17, 2009 - Matthew McDermott - Treehugger
  
  The world has a new largest offshore wind farm: The 209 MW Horns Rev 2 project, located 30 kilometers off the west coast of Jutland in the North Sea, was inaugurated today by Denmark's Crown Prince Frederik. Constructed by DONG Energy, the project consists of 91 Siemens turbines and is expected to produce about 800 GWh of electricity per year -- enough for 200,000 households.
  
  
• Seven green jobs for every job lost in dirty energy sectors
  Sep 14, 2009 - Greenpeace.org
  
  Brussels/Canberra -Investment in renewables and energy efficiency would create seven times more green jobs over the next ten years than would be lost in the coal and nuclear sectors in Europe, according to a report launched today by Greenpeace and the European Renewable Energy Council (EREC), and backed by trade unions.
  
  
• Munich Re may insure Desertec solar energy project
  Sept 7, 2009 - George Frey - The Associated Press
  
  German reinsurer Munich Re AG said its main role in the proposed Desertec solar energy project is currently as a catalyst and advisor, but could become a bigger investor and possible insurer for the project in future - if and when it gets built.
  
  
• Ocean Says It Has Finished Trials on Power-Generating Prototype
  Aug 24,2009 - Irish Times
  
  Ocean Energy said yesterday it had successfully concluded 2 1/2 years of testing on a system for generating electricity from wave power.
  
• New Record As Wind Power Meets 39 Percent of Electricity Demand
  Aug 06, 2009- Irish Times
  
  A new record for the amount of electricity generated by Ireland's wind farms was achieved last weekend, according to figures released by EirGrid.
  
  
• €400bn energy plan to harness African sun
  Jul 12, 2009 - Tony Paterson - The Independent World
  
  The world's most ambitious green energy project is about to take shape. It is a plan for a chain of mammoth sun-powered energy plants in the deserts of North Africa to supply power to Europe's homes and factories by the end of the next decade.
  
  
• Sahara solar project to move forward at Munich meet
  Jul 9, 2009 - Erik Kirschbaum - Reuters
  
  BERLIN (Reuters) - A group of companies from Europe and northern Africa will meet in Munich on Monday to map out concrete steps for a series of large-scale renewable energy projects worth 400 billion euros ($560 billion) over 40 years.
  
  
• Portugal creates electric car recharging network
  Jun 29, 2009 - The Associated Press
  
  Portugal announced a plan Monday to install about 1,300 recharging sites for electric vehicles over the next two years, part of an effort to create a mass market for environmentally friendly electric cars expected to go on sale next year.
  
  
• Baltic interconnection plan for renewables
  Jun 25, 2009 - Renewable Energy World.com
  
  Eight Baltic Sea states have launched an action plan to connect Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia to EU energy networks, a strategy that should boost opportunities for renewable energy development.
  
  
• European solar power from African deserts?
  Jun 18, 2009 - James Kanter - The New York Times
  
  Germany has become a global leader in solar energy by building up a substantial industry at home. Can the country now repeat the feat in North Africa?
  
  
• Hywind: Siemens and StatoilHydro install first floating wind turbine
  Jun 11, 2009 - Energy Central
  
  StatoilHydro and Siemens installed the world’s first large-scale floating wind turbine. The turbine is located approximately 12 km south east of Karmøy in Norway at a water depth of about 220 meters. The Hywind project was developed by StatoilHydro, and Siemens supplied the SWT-2.3 MW wind turbine with a rotor diameter of 82 meters. Over the next two years the floating wind turbine will be tested to provide a thorough analysis of this innovative concept. The Hywind turbine will be connected to the local grid and is expected to start producing power in mid-July.
  
  
• Marine renewables to expand underwater
  Apr 30, 2009 - M2 PRESSWIRE
  
  English and Welsh waters are to be scoped out, for the first time, for their potential to host marine energy devices. A new study will look at the potential for wave, tidal-stream and tidal range technologies around the English and Welsh coastline.
  
  
• Abengoa Solar Begins Operation of World's Largest Solar Power Tower Plant
  Apr 27, 2009 - PRNewswire
  
  Following the conclusion of the successful three-day production and operational testing period, Abengoa Solar has begun commercial operation of the new PS20 solar power tower plant located at the Solucar Platform, near Seville (Spain). Over the course of the testing period, PS20 surpassed the predicted power output, thus further validating the high potential of power tower technology.
  
  
• Norway to invest up to $3bn in renewable energy projects
  Apr 6, 2009 - New Energy World Network
  
  Norway is proposing to allocate up to NOK20bn ($3bn) for green investments, through a new investment programme from its Government Pension Fund.
  
  
• Spain sets the benchmark for the concentrated photovoltaic industry worldwide
  Mar 27, 2009 - Energy Central
  
  The Concentrated Photovoltaic industry has excited scientists worldwide because of the opportunities it provides to produce cheap energy in large quantities, using relatively simple technology. Currently Spain is the world leader in Concentrated Photovoltaic and is the point of reference for other countries to follow in this sector. In order to maintain this leadership and create a solid industrial infrastructure, an economic stimulus is required such as that given to the thermo-solar energy sector.
  
  
• Tunisia to export green energy to Europe
  Mar 27, 2009 - Tunisia Online News
  
  Private operators will soon be able to export 200 MW of green energy to Europe through the underwater electric connexion set up between Tunisia and Italy, within the ELMED project.
  
  
• UK announces plans to plug offshore wind into electricity grid
  Mar 24, 2009 - New Energy World Network
  
  Plans to connect vast amounts of future UK offshore wind energy to the national grid were firmed up, with the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and Ofgem announcing a new regulatory framework to connect offshore renewable projects to the onshore grid.
  
  
• 106 Members of British Parliment Sign Off on Solar Power and Supergrid
  Mar 15, 2009 - News Blaze - Daily News
  
  More Than 100 MPs Support Concentrating Solar Power and The Supergrid
  More than 100 MPs (106 at the last count) have now signed Early Day Motion 123, calling on the government to put its weight behind the development of concentrating solar power (CSP) in desert regions and a 'supergrid' of low-loss transmission lines spanning the whole of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.
  
  
• Airtricity Obtains Consent to Build Offshore Wind Farm in North Sea
  Feb 26, 2009 - Datamonitor
  
  Airtricity, the renewable energy development division of Scottish and Southern Energy, has obtained consent from the Dutch Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management for the construction of the Breeveertien II offshore wind farm in the Dutch sector of the North Sea.
  
  
• Scottish Turbines Power Antarctic Base
  Feb 17, 2009- Scotsman
  
  Wind turbines from a Scottish micro-generation company are supplying electricity to the first Antarctic base powered only by renewable energy.
  
  
• The Mediterranean Solar Plan – a necessity, not an option
  Feb 16, 2009 - Benita Ferrero-Waldner - egovmonitor.com
  
  Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner articulates why renewable energy especially solar energy is a key part of Europe's external policy development challenges and secure our energy future.
  
  
• Germany looks at tripling of renewable power output while banks resume financing solar projects
  Jan 28 2009 - Síle Mc Mahon - Market Watch
  
  Germany has set a goal to triple its generation of power from renewable energy sources from the current rate of 15.1% to 47% by 2020, according to a Reuters report today.
  
  
• Environmental study to inform location of future offshore energy developments
  Jan 26, 2009 - Dept of Energy and Climate Change (UK National)
  
  A new study of the UK's shores, published today, recommends there's scope for between 5,000 and 7,000(1) more offshore wind turbines, enough to power the equivalent of almost all the homes in the UK and make a massive contribution to renewable energy targets.
  
  
• EU nations agree to phase out standard light bulbs
  Dec 8, 2008 - The Associated Press
  
  BRUSSELS, Belgium - European Union nations agreed Monday to phase out sales of standard light bulbs by 2012 as part of their efforts to save energy and reduce global warming.
  
  
• France plans to ramp up solar energy by 2020
  Nov 18, 2008 -- Reuters
  
  PARIS - France pledged on Monday to multiply by 400 the amount of solar power used in the country in the next 12 years as part of its plan to double the share of renewables in consumed energies to 23 percent by 2020.
  
  
• Brussels debuts plans for green super-grid
  Nov 13, 2008- BusinessGreen.com
  
  European Commission calls for North Sea wind energy grid, tighter building regulations and huge investment in energy efficiency
  
  
• Iberdrola and Tecnalia install first prototype to produce wave energy in Spain
  Oct 16, 2008 - Datamonitor
  
  Iberdrola and Tecnalia have installed, within the framework of the Oceantec Project, the first prototype for producing wave energy on the coast of Guipuzcoa, at the town of Pasajes in Spain.
  
  
• Berlin aims to become solar powerhouse
  Oct 10, 2008 - iNS/news/net
  
  Berlin wants to become a world leader in the solar energy field, both as a user of the sun's rays for energy and as a pioneer in solar technology despite its northern, cloud-covered location, its economy minister said. "You don't necessarily have to have the best natural geographic conditions to be a solar power capital," Harald Wolf told Reuters in an interview, referring to the German capital's 52-degree north latitude and its cloud cover for about two-thirds of daylight hours.
  
  
• France earmarks $549 million for green cars
  Oct 9, 2008 - The Associated Press
  
  French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Thursday pledged 400 million euros ($549 million) in state support for the development of electric and hybrid cars.
  
  
• Step forward for wave energy in Portugal
  Sep 26, 2008 - renewableenergyfocus.com
  
  350,000 homes in Portugal could be powered by electricity harnessed from the power of the Atlantic Ocean’s waves, following the launch of a commercial wave power farm in Póvoa do Varzim, South of Porto.
  
  
• Acciona Delivers Two Solar Gardens to 1,200 Investors in Navarra, Spain
  Sep 25, 2008- Datamonitor
  
  Acciona Solar has delivered two solar gardens to its over 1,200 owners in Corella and Bardenas Reales in Navarra, Spain.
  
  
• Wind shifts, finally, in Romania
  Sep 05, 2008 - New World Publishing
  
  Construction is expected to begin this month in Romania on what backers claim will be Europe's largest onshore wind farm with an expected capacity of 600MW.
  
  
• Solar PV Builds Momentum Across Europe
  Jul 24, 2008 - RenewableEnergyWorld.com
  
  Barcelona, Spain After years of being labeled a German phenomenon, the solar photovoltaic (PV) sector is building momentum across Europe, particularly in Spain. Catalyzed by newly adopted feed-in tariffs, PV development activity in Europe is booming and project size is scaling - causing shifts in competitive positioning along the project development value chain, according to a recent study from Emerging Energy Research, a leading research and advisory firm analyzing clean and renewable energy markets.
  
  
• Solar power from Saharan sun could provide Europe's electricity, says EU
  Jul 23, 2008 - Alok Jha - The Guardian
  
  A tiny rectangle superimposed on the vast expanse of the Sahara captures the seductive appeal of the audacious plan to cut Europe's carbon emissions by harnessing the fierce power of the desert sun.
  
  
• Triple whammy for wind as Europe's biggest onshore project goes ahead
  Jul 21, 2008 - BWEA
  
  Clyde Wind Farm to provide electricity for 250 000 homes, London Array back on track - and wind overtakes hydro as leading source of renewable electricity in the UK.
  
  
• UK Government: North East set to be manufacturing hub for offshore wind
  Jul 21, 2008 - M2 Presswire
  
  Expansion in offshore wind could create up to 30,000 new jobs in manufacturing and bring GBP3 billion of investment to the North East, Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks will say during a visit to Gateshead and Northumberland.
  
  
• Green Power Plant Will Cut Emissions
  Jul 21, 2008 - Evening Times, Glascow
  
  A new GBP100million biomass power plant in Scotland will cut carbon emissions by 250,000 tonnes a year.
  
  
• GM to build world's biggest rooftop solar station in Spain
  Jul 8, 2008 - Yahoo News - energycentral.com
  
  MADRID (AFP) - US automaker General Motors said Tuesday it will equip the roof of its factory in Zaragoza in northeastern Spain with solar panels to create the world's largest rooftop source of power from the sun.
  
  
• Wind power super-grid plans
  Jul 7, 2008 - The Press Association
  
  Ireland could form part of an electricity super-grid on the western fringes of Europe supplying offshore wind power to millions of homes.
  
  
• RTE, National Grid to spend 70 mln euros on France-UK power line maintenance
  Jul 2, 2008 - Thomson Financial News
  
  French grid operator RTE and its British counterpart, National Grid, said they will spend 70 million euros upgrading the high-voltage power line between France and the UK.
  
  
• British PM calls for $200B renewable energy push
  Jun 26, 2008 - The Associated Press
  
  LONDON (AP) - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown called for a $200 billion investment to reduce the nation's dependence on oil and to help meet European targets for developing renewable energy sources.
  
  
• Massive wind farm boost puts Scotland on target
  Jun 26, 2008 - Stewart Paterson - The Herald
  
  A huge increase in the number of wind turbines across the UK will be signaled today as part of a "radical" £100bn blueprint to boost renewable energy.
  
  
• Concentrated Solar Power and the Creation of a High Voltage Direct Current Grid
  Jun 24, 2008 - Howard Stoate - www.parliament.uk
  
  That this House notes that Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) technology, a means of capturing solar energy from deserts, has the potential to generate a substantial proportion of Europe's future electricity needs; notes that it would be feasible and cost-effective to transmit energy derived from desert based CSP plants in North Africa to Europe via the creation of a high voltage direct current (HVDC) super-grid, as this would restrict transmission losses to just three per cent. per 1,000 km; further notes that the cost of collecting solar thermal energy equivalent to the energy output of one barrel of oil is currently about US$50 and is likely to fall to around US$20 in the future, which is substantially less than the current world price of oil; welcomes the work that has been done by the Trans-Mediterranean Renewable Energy Co-operation (TREC) in promoting the development of CSP and an integrated Europe and North Africa-wide HVDC super-grid; and calls on the Government to endorse TREC's proposals formally and to work with its international partners to advance the concept.
  
  
• Iberdrola and Gamesa in Huge Windfarm Deal
  Jun 20, 2008 - The Herald
  
  The renewable energy subsidiary of ScottishPower owner Iberdrola yesterday said it was buying a raft of global windfarm projects from Spanish turbine maker and developer Gamesa for euro65m (GBP51m), including three potential sites in Scotland.
  
  
• Netherlands to invest huge in renewable energy
  Jun 19, 2008 - Xinhua
  
  The Dutch government said it will invest 7.5 billion euros in energy supply between now and 2011 with priority given to renewable energy, energy saving and CO2 reduction in order to reduce the country's dependency on oil and gas, Dutch newspapers reported on Thursday.
  
  
• Eneco submits permit application for second North Sea wind farm
  Jun 10, 2008 - Datamonitor
  
  Dutch utility Eneco has submitted a permit application for the environmental impact assessment for the construction of its second offshore wind farm in the Dutch part of the North Sea.
  
  
• Energy leaders plan shift from high-carbon to low-carbon
  Jun 9, 2008 - renewableenergyfocus.com
  
  LONDON, UK - The world's energy sector is in the throes of a transformation from high-carbon to low-carbon, but the scale of the challenges remains daunting, according to clean energy insiders who attended the first New Energy Finance Summit earlier this year.
  
  
• OpenHydro connects tidal turbine to UK grid
  Jun 2, 2008 - Datamonitor

  Irish company OpenHydro has announced that it has become the first company to complete the connection of a tidal turbine to the UK national grid and commence electricity generation.

• Acciona completes 66% of Amareleja PV plant
  May 27, 2008 - Datamonitor
  
  Spanish renewable energy firm Acciona has stated that the 46MW photovoltaic plant it is building in Amareleja, Portugal, is 66% complete and is expected to be connected to the grid later in 2008.

• Siemens to supply 140 wind turbines for the world's largest offshore wind farm Greater Gabbard
  May 15, 2008 - Siemens News Release
  
  Siemens Energy has received an order for the supply of 140 wind turbines with a capacity of 3.6 megawatts (MW) each. They will be delivered to the future world's largest offshore wind farm Greater Gabbard located 25 kilometers off the coast of Suffolk in Great Britain. The order also includes a five year service and warranty agreement. The purchaser is Greater Gabbard Offshore Winds Ltd, owned by Scottish and Southern Energy plc (SSE). The delivery of these turbines is scheduled in 2009 and 2010. The order volume for Siemens Energy is approximately EUR800 million.
  
  
• Econcern Aims to Invest $17 Billion in 'Sustainable Energy Projects'
  May 15, 2008 - New Energy Finance - Clean Edge News
  

  Econcern, the privately owned, Utrecht-based renewable power group, is aiming to invest between EUR 10bn and EUR 12bn in "sustainable energy projects" by 2012.

• Green Revolution to Create 50,000 Jobs
  May 13, 2008 - The Scotsman
  
  Scotland is on the brink of a green jobs revolution with 50,000 posts expected to be created in the next decade, careers experts claim.
  
  
• German lighting firm aims to build solar power hubs
  May 8, 2008 - IPS/GIN
  
  Lighting industry entrepreneurs are hoping that alternative devices such as solar-powered LED lights will eventually replace the smoky kerosene lamps that keep the darkness at bay in many of Africa's towns and villages.
  
  
• Pure Power - Wind Energy Scenarios Up to 2030
  May 2, 2008 - RenewableEnergyWorld.com
  
  In its latest report the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) outlines the road towards large-scale wind energy. Presenting three development scenarios for 2010, 2020 and 2030, the report examines in detail the probable impact on electricity, greenhouse gas emissions and the EU economy.
  
  
• German energy giant to bid on Negev solar plant
  Apr 30, 2008 - Lior Baron - Globes - Tel Aviv - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News
  
  The tender to build and operate the Negev solar power station at Ashelim is drawing international alternative energy companies to Israel. Sources inform "Globes" that Germany's Solar Millennium AG (XETRA: S2M), one of the world's top three solar energy companies, plans to participate in the $650-700 million tender. Solar Millennium is considering collaborating with some of the Israeli companies already participating in the tender, and recently met representatives of Israel Corp. (TASE: ILCO) to discuss a possible joint bid in the tender.
  
  
• EU's Piebalgs says grid infrastructure needed quickly for offshore wind energy
  Mar 31, 2008 - Thomson Financial News
  
  BRUSSELS (Thomson Financial) - EU energy commissioner Andris Piebalgs said a maritime grid infrastructure must be developed quickly for the development of offshore wind energy.
  
  
• Abu Dhabi and Spanish entities combine to develop concentrating solar projects
  Mar 21, 2008 - Power News
  
  Spanish engineering group SENER and Abu Dhabi energy company MASDAR have incorporated a new company, Torresol Energy, whose mission will be to develop, build, and operate large concentrated solar power (CSP) plants worldwide.
  
  
• Low-cost Solar Thermal Plants at Heart of Algerian-German Research Push
  Mar 20, 2008 - Jan Burgermeister - renewableenergyworld.com
  
  Vienna, Austria - The development of a new generation of large-scale, low-cost solar thermal power plants is the focus of a joint research agreement signed between Algeria and Germany.
  
  
• Government gives green light to micro wind
  Mar 12, 2008 - energycentral.com
  
  BWEA, the trade association representing the UK’s micro- and small-wind industry, today welcomed the Govt’s decision to relax planning rules for onsite household wind turbines.
  
  
• Portugal's rush to renewables places it in front line of EU's energy makeover
  Mar 11, 2008 - Barry Hatton - The Associated Press
  
  Broad fields of giant solar panels as big as houses tilt toward the sun in this torrid patch of the Iberian peninsula.
  
  
• Wave Farm is Unveiled
  Mar 6, 2008 - Daily Mirror
  
  Ireland has unveiled a new wave farm that will power more than 700 homes.
  
  
• Energy Giant Announces Plans for Tidal Power 'Farm'
  Feb 9, 2008 - Press and Journal, The Aberdeen (UK)
  
  A Scheme to create one of the world's first commercial tidal energy schemes, off the coast of north Wales, was announced yesterday.
  
  
• Spain a pioneer in wind power
  Feb 6, 2008 - EFE
  
  Spain, the United States and China were the world leaders last year in wind power, an alternative energy source whose global installed capacity grew 27 percent, according to Global Wind Energy Council, or GWEC, figures.
  
  
• The Denmark Challenge - Lessons from an Emerging Wind Power (pdf)
  January/February 2008 - Martin Rosenberg - Illustration by Stan Shaw - EnergyBiz
  
  The people of Denmark have a story to tell in their own Nordic unassuming way. You hear it from quietly proud Per Volund, an engineer, as he takes a group of Americans out on a small boat to tour the Middlegrunden wind farm in Copenhagen harbor. Volund, the vicechairman of the cooperative that runs the 20 turbines, pointed out at the arc of units standing in the tides one recent wintry day, providing the Danish capital with 4 percent of its electricity since 2000. “We solved all the problems to make it happen and proved that this is possible and not too complicated,” he said.
  
  
• Islands Seek Aid for Subsea Green-Power 'Export' Link
  Jan 30, 2008 - The Scotsman
  
  FUNDING is being sought to build a subsea power cable to take green energy from the Western Isles to England and southern Scotland.
  
  
• Engineers Test Sea Tidal Power
  Jan 2, 2008 - Liverpool Echo
  
  The ability to harness tidal power for the UK has been boosted after research by engineering specialist Frazer-Nash, which has its north west base in Warrington.
  
  
• France Sets Ambitious Renewable Energy Targets
  Jan 2, 2008 - Jane Burgermeister - renewableenergyaccess.com
  
  Wind and solar power are at the heart of a big new push by the French government to increase the renewable share of the country's total energy consumption from 6.7 percent in 2004 to 20 percent by 2020.
  
  
• German Investments in Clean Alternative Energy Pay Off
  Dec 26, 2007 - Voice of America News/ContentWorks
  
  With virtually no oil or natural gas resources of its own, Germany relies on Russia for 20 percent of its oil and one-third of its gas imports. But with Russia displaying a willingness to use oil as a political weapon, Germany is placing new emphasis on achieving energy independence - especially by developing alternative energy sources. As part of his series on the politics of oil, VOA's Brian Padden reports how German efforts to reduce pollution have led to new ways to produce energy.
  
  
• BP Solar to Build 300MW Solar Manufacturing Plant in Spain
  Dec 11, 2007 - Clean Edge News
  
  BP Solar, a European market leader in the design, manufacture and marketing of photovoltaic solar energy, will begin construction in the second quarter of 2008 of a module assembly factory in the industrial park of La Nava II, in Puertollano (Castilla La Mancha). This represents an investment of around 100m Euros.
  
  
• Britain seeks to build enough wind turbines to power all UK homes by 2020
  Dec 10 - Raphael G. Satter - The Associated Press
  
  Lopngdon - Britain unveiled plans Monday to generate enough electricity through offshore wind farms to power every home in the country by 2020, increasing production more than 60-fold and changing the look of the country's coasts.
  
  
• How Africa's desert sun can bring Europe power
  Dec 2, 2007 - The Observer
  
  A £5bn solar power plan, backed by a Jordanian prince, could provide the EU with a sixth of its electricity needs - and cut carbon emissions
  Europe is considering plans to spend more than £5bn on a string of giant solar power stations along the Mediterranean desert shores of northern Africa and the Middle East.
  
  
• Sweden proposes fourfold increase in windmills - to up to 6,000
  Nov 30, 2007 - The Associated Press
  
  STOCKHOLM, Sweden - Sweden's energy officials on Friday proposed a more than fourfold increase in wind power, which would mean building thousands more windmills in the Nordic country - in a move to meet EU goals for increasing renewable energy.
  
  
• Mather Aims for 50per Cent of Electricity From Renewable Sources By 2020
  Nov 28, 2007 - The Herald, Glasgow (UK)
  
  The Scottish Government yesterday announced higher targets for the amount of electricity that comes from green sources. Ministers want 31 percent of Scotland's electricity to come from renewable sources by 2011, and they have set a target of 50per cent of all electricity from renewables by 2020. That compares with the previous aim of having 40 percent of electricity generated from such sources by 2020.
  
  
• Clean Power from Desert (pdf)
  Nov 26, 2007 - The Club of Rome
  
  The Trans-Mediterranean Renewable Energy Cooperation (TREC) is an initiative of The Club of Rome, the Hamburg Climate Protection Foundation and the National Energy Research Center of Jordan (NERC) in the field of renewable forms of energy. Since it was founded in 2003, it has developed the DESERTEC Concept for energy, water and climate security in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa (EU-MENA), promoting cooperation between countries of the sun-belt and the technology belt. Now TREC is making this concept a reality in cooperation with people in politics, industry and the world of finance.
  
  
• Iberdrola Renewable's Unit IPO Set For Dec 13
  Nov 22, 2007 - Dow Jones News
  
  MADRID -(Dow Jones)- Shares in Iberdrola Renovables, the renewable energy unit of Spanish power utility Iberdrola SA (IBE.MC), are set to start trade Dec. 13, in one of the biggest initial public offerings in Spain.
  
  
• RWE Forms New Renewables Unit,To Invest EUR1 Billion Year
  Nov 21, 2007 - Dow Jones News
  
  FRANKFURT -(Dow Jones)- RWE AG (RWE.XE) Wednesday said it will bundle its renewable energy operations in a new unit from Feb. 1, 2008, amid plans to generate more than 20% of its power production from renewable energy sources by 2020, from 5% currently.
  
  
• Britain to build the world's biggest biomass plant
  Nov 21, 2007 - m2 Presswire
  
  The massive expansion of the UK's renewables sector continues apace today as consent is granted, by the Energy Secretary John Hutton, for a 350MW wood-chipped fuelled electricity generating plant in Port Talbot, south Wales.
  
  
• Vestas Q3 revenue increases
  Nov 7, 2007 - Datamonitor
  
  Vestas, the Danish wind turbine maker, announced revenue of E1.5 billion for the third quarter of 2007, compared to E842 million for the same quarter of 2006.
  
  
• Italy to Build 500 New Wind Plants
  Nov 7, 2007 - Xinhua News Agency
  Italy plans to build 500 more wind plants to become the biggest producer of wind energy, Italian NewsAgency ANSA reported on Tuesday.
  
  
• Endesa starts western Almeria's largest solar farm
  Nov 7, 2007 - Datamonitor
  
  Endesa has connected a new photovoltaic solar farm in the La Redonda industrial park in western Almeria, Spain to the power grid. The photovoltaic plant has a totalled installed capacity of 700KW, which could lead to annual savings in CO2 emissions of 1,170 tons.
  
  
• Norway will solve manure problems by 2010
  Nov 5, 2007 - UPI
  
  Norway is looking to solve a manure problem with a large biogas plant, which will allow farmers to turn their animals' mess into energy by 2010.
  
  
• Boost for Renewables As Minister Hints at Capping Grid Charges
  Oct 10, 2007 - The Scotsman
  
  The UK energy minister yesterday signalled he was prepared to intervene in a row that threatens to damage Scotland's potential to become a green-energy powerhouse.
  
  
• Germany Looks to North Africa's Untapped Solar Thermal Potential
  Sep 27, 2007 - Jane Burgermeister - RenewableEnergyAccess.com
  
  Vienna, Austria - Flabeg has recently developed a mirror that can reflect 93 percent of the sun's rays. A study by the German Aerospace Center estimated that harnessing the sun's energy falling on just 6,000 square kilometers of desert in North Africa would supply energy equivalent to the entire oil production of the Middle East of 9 billion barrels a year.
  
  
• The Mediterranean Photovoltaic Power Plant Revolution
  Sep 25, 2007 - Jane Burgermeister - RenewableEnergyAccess.com
  
  Costs of photovoltaic power plants in Italy could be recouped in as little as 8 to 12 years because of government subsidies and electricity market.
  
  
• EDF enhances its wind energy capacity in Greece
  Sep 18, 2007 - Datamonitor
  
  EDF Energies Nouvelles has announced the entry into service of two new wind farms in Greece, developed by its Greek subsidiary EEN Hellas.
  
  
• World's First Major Wave Farm is Set to Get Green Light Off Cornwall
  Sep 18, 2007 - Belfast Telegraph
  
  Funding for the scheme - described as a giant electrical socket on the seabed - has already been approved by the South West of England Regional Development Agency (RDA).
  
  
• Ultra Thin Solar Modules to Make 2008 Debut in Germany
  Sep 7, 2007 - Jane Burgermeister - RenewableEnergyAccess.com
  
  A new generation of ultra thin solar modules that can be integrated into the facades of buildings at low cost is to be produced in Germany next year. The German company Schueco has joined up with E.ON, the country's biggest energy company, to invest 100 million euros [$US 136 million] in the research and production of this new ultra thin solar technology that cuts down on the need for silicon, the costly raw material for solar cells.
  
  
• RWE and EOS sign 10-year power exchange agreement
  Aug 24, 2007 - Alexander's Gas & Oil Connections
  
  German utility RWE and Swiss power company Energie Ouest Suisse have signed a 10-year agreement to exchange hydroelectric and coal-fired power that will come into effect on January 1, 2009. RWE will supply around 1 bn kWh per year of electricity from hard coal-fired power plants.
  
  
• Harvesting the Power of Ocean & Tidal Energy
  Aug 1, 2007 - RenewableEnergyAccess.com
  
  A small team of engineers based in Cornwall, England, have made a breakthrough with the development of a turbine that they claim could solve the commercial viability of tidal power. Known as the Osprey turbine, the technology can be used to create electricity offshore at sea -- or in tidal rivers and inland waterways.
  
  
• E.ON to invest E3 billion in Renewables unit by 2010
  Aug 1, 2007 - Datamonitor
  
  German utility E.ON has pledged to invest E3 billion in renewable energy projects by 2010, and has also announced that it will establish a new business unit for the specific purpose of expanding the company's renewable energy activities in the coming years.
  
  
• Where the Wind Blows
  Jul 26, 2007 - Economist
  
  A grandiose plan to link Europe's electricity grids may recast wind power from its current role as a walk-on extra to being the star of the show
  
  
• Siemens successfully completes erection of 25 offshore wind turbines in Great Britain
  Jul 10, 2007 - Siemens AG
  
  Siemens Power Generation (PG) has successfully completed installation of 25 wind turbines for the Burbo Offshore Wind Farm in Liverpool Bay. The turbines with a capacity of 3.6 megawatts (MW) each were erected in less than 1.5 months, well ahead of schedule. Following commissioning and connection of the offshore wind farm to the power grid the wind turbines will start commercial operation by the end of the year, supplying environmentally friendly power to more than 80,000 households. The Burbo offshore wind farm has a total capacity of 90 MW and will be operated by SeaScape Energy Ltd., a company owned by the Danish utility DONG Energy A/S.
  
  
• Arab countries urge solar future
  Jul 8, 2007 - Vanya Wlaker-Leigh - Times of Malta
  
  Arab energy ministers and some EU politicians attending a high-level conference in this desert oasis town flanked by the ruins of a vast Roman city, announced support for a revolutionary renewable energy electricity supply system proposed by Germany to link both areas. The Damascus Declaration adopted here on June 24 by them as well as the several hundred participants (scientists, industrialists, civil servants) at the Fourth Middle East and North Africa Renewable Energy Conference (MENAREC4) advocated "large-scale renewable energy systems" which would permit solar electricity to the EU. All nations were invited to set national renewable energy targets, and donors were asked to massively increase related assistance.
  
  
• Tidal power trials
  Jun 9 2007 - The Journal
  
  Tidal power pioneers in the North-East yesterday set out their stall in the "green" battle with wind farms. Inventors such as former Swan Hunter naval architect Graham Mackie and his Evopod are bidding for a slice of a £50m Government fund to develop electricity from the ebb and flow of the tide.
  
  
• Tidal barrage moves a step closer
  May 23, 2007 - BBC
  
  Plans for a £14bn barrage that would harness the tidal energy of the Severn estuary have taken a step forward.
  
  
• Spanish Solar Thermal Plant First in World Tied to National Grid
  Apr 24, 2007 - Energy Central
  
  FLORENCE, ITALY A new solar thermal plant in Spain, the largest of its type in Europe and the first in the world to produce power for a national grid, illustrates how technology innovation can be applied to meet the growing demand for cleaner energy. Featuring a specially designed steam turbine-generator supplied by GE Oil & Gas, Planta Solar (PS10), an 11-megawatt solar thermal power plant at Sanlúcar in Spain’s Seville province, was inaugurated March 30. Now producing power for Spain’s electricity grid, it is the first solar plant developed in Spain by the Abengoa Group of Seville.
  
  
• GE Invests, Delivers One of World's Largest Solar Power Plants, Harnessing Portugal's Sunshine, PowerLight's Technology
  Mar 28, 2007 - BUSINESS WIRE
  
  Spread across a hillside pasture amid olive trees, 52,000 shimmering photovoltaic modules in one of the world's largest solar power plants have begun generating enough electricity for 8,000 homes, GE, PowerLight Corp. and Catavento SA announced today.
  
  
• Portugal investing billions in renewable energy by 2012, government says
  Mar 22, 2007 - The Associated Press
  
  LISBON, Portugal: Portugal plans investments of euro8.1 billion (US$10.8 billion) in renewable energy projects over the next five years, a government official said Thursday.
  
  
• Spain's wind energy generation reaches new high, exceeding all other forms
  Mar 20, 2007 - The Associated Press
  
  Taking advantage of a particularly gusty period, Spain's wind energy generators this week reached an all-time high in electricity production, exceeding power generated by all other means, the nation's electricity network authority said Tuesday in a statement.
  
  
• Greece to invest 2.5 billion euros in renewable energy sources by 2010
  Mar 19, 2007 - Xinhua
  
  ATHENS - Greek Development Minister Dimitris Sioufas on Monday signed a ministerial decision on licensing of electricity production from renewable energy sources and high-performance heating electricity co-production in the country.
  
  
• Investment boosts wave and tidal technologies
  Mar 14, 2007 - International Power Engineer
  
  Scotland has increased its funding for wave and tidal power by £5m to meet demand, bringing total investment in the sector up to £13m.
  
  
• Wave Farm Points Way Ahead for Scotland
  Feb 20, 2007 - The Scotsman - energycentral.com
  
  The world's biggest wave-power farm is to be built off Scotland's coast, ushering in a revolution in green energy production, The Scotsman can reveal.
  
  
• SCOTTISH FIRM INTERESTED IN HARNESSING OREGON WAVE ENERGY
  Feb 18, 2007 - The Associated Press
  
  A Scottish firm is the second company to express interest in harnessing wave energy along the Douglas County coastline.
  
  
• OPT Wave Farm in Spain
  Feb 2, 2007 - RenewableEnergyAccess.com
  
  The Ocean Power Technologies (OPT) wave power station to be constructed off the coast of the Cantabria region in northern Spain, which will use OPT's patented PowerBuoy technology, signed an operation and maintenance (O&M) contract following the signing of the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract last July.
  
  
• Largest Onshore Wind Farm Given the Green Light
  Jan 20, 2007 - The Independent, London
  
  Scottish & Southern unveiled plans yesterday to build the UK's largest onshore wind farm - capable of powering a quarter of all homes in Scotland - in the Shetland Islands.
  
  
• Denmark unveils plan to reduce fossil fuels, double use of renewable energy
  Jan 19, 2007 - The Associated Press
  
  The government on Friday unveiled plans to cut the use of fossil fuels by up to 15 percent and double renewable energy sources within 18 years - in a drive for cleaner fuel and greater self-sufficiency.
  
  
• Denmark to Increase Wind Power to 50% by 2025, Mostly Offshore
  Dec 5, 2006 - RenewableEnergyAccess.com
  
  Findings released from eight-year study on offshore wind farms in Denmark show projects "operate in harmony with the surrounding environment."
  
  
• A Study: Deserts offer cheap source of energy = 1/3 the price of oil
  Nov 21, 2006 - Asia Wind - asiawind.com
  
  SAHARA sunshine could provide Europe with clean and cheap energy, according to a study for the German government. Experts said solar energy from north Africa could help to reduce emissions from European power stations by 70 per cent by 2050 as well as providing energy at a cost equivalent to a $20 barrel of oil - about a third of the current price.
  
  
• European renewable energy market growing
  Nov 14, 2006 - UPI
  
  European government promotion of renewable fuels will increase that market's value from $11.39 billion in 2005 to $18.63 billion in 2010, a study said.
  
  
• Scientists detail desert solar power
  Oct 31, 2006 - UPI
  
  A German study suggests Europe can make deep cuts in carbon dioxide emissions and phase out nuclear power at the same time.
  
  
• P.V. Could Supply 2 Billion Households By 2025
  Sep 19, 2006 - Green Building Press
  
  Photovoltaic solar panels could generate enough electricity to supply 2 billion households by 2025, according to a report by Greenpeace and the European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA). The report, Solar Generation, says that the PV industry would be capable of producing 276 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity a year worldwide by 2020, rising to 589TWh by 2025, and cutting carbon dioxide emissions by 350 million tonnes a year.
  
  
• SunPower Celebrates the Dedication of SOLON's Gut Erlasee Solar Park
  Sep 1, 2006 - SunPower Corporation - PRNewswire-FirstCall
  
  World's Largest Solar Electric Power Plant Features SunPower's High-Efficiency A-300 Solar Cells. SunPower Corporation (Nasdaq: SPWR), a Silicon Valley-based manufacturer of the world's highest efficiency, commercially available solar cells and solar panels, celebrated today's dedication of SOLON's Gut Erlasee Solar Park, the world's largest solar electric power plant.

• Let it shine, let it shine
  Aug 14, 2006 - Jon Ortiz - Sacramento Bee
  
  How's this for irony? A massive West Sacramento cold-storage warehouse is being powered by one of California's biggest privately owned solar energy systems.
  

• Club of Rome wants deserts to become source of renewable energy
  Jun 14, 2006 - Refocus Weekly
  
  Hannover, Germany - The world’s deserts could serve as an "overabundant source of clean energy through solar thermal power plants," according to the president of the Club of Rome.

• Former Soviet President Calls for Global Solar Fund
  May 1, 2006 - renewableenergyaccess.com
  
  Geneva, Switzerland and Washington, DC: Calling on leaders of the world's largest industrialized nations (G8) to invest in renewable energy and energy efficiency, former Soviet President Gorbachev marked the 20th anniversary of the world's largest nuclear power plant disaster in Chernobyl with a request for the creation of a $50 billion Global Solar Fund over 10 years.

• Pan-European Wind Energy Grid Proposed
  Jun 1, 2006 - Watthead
  
  As more wind energy projects go online in Europe, concerns remain that additional wind generation will require backup generation from other electricity production to balance out times when the wind isn't blowing.
  
  
• Renewable energies to transform farmers into energy moguls within 20 years.
  Mar 1, 2006 - Refocus Weekly
  
  CAMBRIDGE, UK, Farmers will move into a strategic position in world energy markets within two decades, concludes a British research analysis.
  
  
• Energy from the Desert
  May, 2003
  
  The world's deserts are sufficiently large that, in theory, covering a fraction of their landmass with PV systems could generate many times the current primary global energy supply. Moreover, the energy produced is from solar radiation - a clean and renewable source - hence such systems would have the potential to contribute massively to the protection of the global environment.
  
  
• EU to propose "generous" aid for renewable energy
  Nov 23, 2000
  
  European Union Competition Commissioner Mario Monti said on Tuesday he would put forward proposals to allow generous state aid and tax incentives to promote renewable energy schemes.
  
  
• North Sea's Wind Resources Could Combat Climate Change
  Nov 6, 2000 - dewi
  
  A report released November 6 [2000] in Amsterdam said five North Sea countries (Germany, UK, Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark) have an offshore wind resource that is three times their total electricity consumption.
  

Related GENI Resources

Definition Solar Energy

Renewable Energy Resource Maps

National Energy Grid Maps

GENI Transmission Library

Links

IREC Connecting to the Grid (Interstate Renewable Energy Council)

CIGRE: International Congress on Large High-Voltage Electric Systems

IEEE/PES International Practices Committee panel sessions