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Articles on Finance and Investment

• Southern Africa Financing Electrification Dialogues take place in Zimbabwe
  July 10, 2013- Global Sustainable Electricity Partnership
  
  Together with the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP), the Global Sustainable Electricity Partnership (GSEP) hosted a high-level dialogue aimed at the transfer of expertise for the financing of sustainable electrification projects in Southern Africa in Harare, Zimbabwe, from July 8-10, 2013.
  
  
• Investment continues in major transmission projects
  Mar 3, 2013 - engineerlive.com

  Prysmian Group has inaugurated its new submarine cable plant at Pikkala in Finland. The EUR40m investment will allow the plant to increase production of transmission cables that use high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) technology to transmit large amounts of energy over long distances.
  

• More than 1,000 new coal plants planned worldwide, figures show
  Nov 19, 2012 - Damian Carrington - guardian.co.uk
  
  More than 1,000 coal-fired power plants are being planned worldwide, new research has revealed.
  
• OCI and CPS's 400MW project will drive US$700 million into Texan economy
  Jul 24, 2012 - Nilima Choudhury - pv-tech.org
  
  Endemic overcapacity and continued price declines within the polysilicon sector impeded Korean OCI Company’s previously announced plans for the construction of two plants in May. Nevertheless, its North-American arm, OCI Solar Power, has signed a landmark deal with CPS Energy in San Antonio, Texas, to develop more than 400MW of projects. The contracts are based on a 25-year power purchase agreement.
  
  
• New Database from NREL Makes Costs of Energy Technologies More Transparent
  Jul 16, 2012 - nrel.gov
  
  A new web application collects cost and performance estimates for electric generation, advanced vehicles, and renewable fuel technologies and makes them available for utilities, policy makers, consumers, and academics. The Transparent Cost Database (TCDB) app provides technology cost and performance estimates that can be used to benchmark company costs, model energy scenarios, and inform research and development decisions. 
  
  
• JBIC extends credit line for ICICI Bank of India
  Jul 4, 2012 - Anne Zimmermann - pv-tech.org
  
  The Japanese Bank for International Cooporation (JBIC) has signed a general agreement with ICICI Bank (Bank of India) for an export credit line of up to US$30 million to fund a variety of renewable energy projects, it has been announced. Other private Japanese institutions will also co-finance the loan, adding another US$50 million to the credit line, making the credit a total of US$80 million.
  
  
• Los Angeles Approves US $3 Million FiT Programme
  April 4, 2012 - Nilima Choudhury - pv-tech.org
  
  Los Angeles city council has approved a feed-in tariff programme to generate 10MW supplying 10,000 households a year. The city’s Department of Water and Power will raise US$3 million each year through the scheme to help the utility develop a pricing plan for residents. This pilot programme will take effect in the coming months.
  
  
• Ingenostrum Announces Plans to Invest US $2 Billion in Chilean Solar Projects
  April 4, 2012 - James Williams - pv-tech.org
  
  Spanish solar operator Ingenostrum has revealed plans to construct six solar power plants in Antofagasta, northern Chile, the Latin American Herald Tribune has announced. The power plants could generate up to 688MW of clean energy and the total cost for the development is expected to be around US$1.9 billion.
  
  
• POWER EXPORT TO COST BILLIONS
  Mar 21, 2012 - bhutantoday.bt
  
  The Royal Government of Bhutan’s (RGoB) ambition to harness and export 10,000 megawatts of hydroelectric power to India by 2020 will be a mamoth task looking at projected figures.
  
  
• President Obama Launches EV-Everywhere Challenge as Part of Energy Department’s Clean Energy Grand Challenges
  Mar 15, 2012 - energy.gov
  
  At an event today at the Daimler Truck factory in Mt. Holly, N.C., President Obama launched EV-Everywhere, the second in a series of Energy Department “Clean Energy Grand Challenges” aimed at addressing the most pressing energy challenges of our time.
  
  
• Power of Supportive Policy: California Could Get 66% of Electricity From Renewables, Double It's Already Aggressive Goal
  Mar 15, 2012 - www.sustainablebusiness.com
  
  Thanks to prescient policies, California could achieve double its already aggressive goal of 33% of electricity from renewables by 2020.
  
  
• France endorses “Made in Europe” FiT bonus
  Mar 7, 2012 - Nilima Choudhury - pv-tech.org
  
  Previously announced in February, the French government has confirmed PV power plants will be eligible to receive a 10% bonus on top of the feed-in tariff if at least 60% of the installation’s modules are made in Europe. The law will come into effect shortly before the first round of presidential elections in April.
  
  
• Haiti seeks to rebuild, or just build, power grid
  Mar 7, 2012 - Trenton Daniel - ajc.com
  
  Sometimes it seems as though the people here have only the sun and moon: the blinding sun that bakes their mud homes and moonlight that with flickering gas lamps fights against the dark of night.
  
  
• UN urges Africa to facilitate private investment in clean energy production
  Mar 7, 2012 - power-eng.com
  
  India, Feb. 26 -- Government policies that facilitate private sector investment in energy markets are crucial to help tap Africa's massive renewable energy potential, which can fuel the continent's poverty reduction efforts and put it on a path to sustainable development, according to a United Nations report released today.
  
  
• India's Soaring Energy demands strain national grid
  Mar 2, 2012 - John Daly - oilprice.com
  
  As the “Third World” races to industrialize, rising population demands for reliable energy place increasing stress on a country’s power generating capabilities, and nowhere is this more evident than in BRIC nation India.
  
  
• German government cuts FiT from March 9
  Mar 1, 2012 - Mark Osborne - pv-tech.org
  
  Due to an aggressive FiT cut of between 20% for residential and 30% for large-scale PV installations, the German government will introduce the FiT cuts from March 9, 2012 to eliminate a rush of installations to beat the tariff change.
  
  
• Nicaragua powers up on green energy
  Feb 23, 2012 - PRONicaragua - renewableenergyfocus.com
  
  What was once a weakness has become one of the country's strengths. The transformation of Nicaragua's energy sector could well become a case study for other countries.
  
  
• GE to construct 10,000mw power plant in Nigeria
  Feb 23, 2012 - www.businessdayonline.com
  
  General Electric (GE), a leading global company, originating from the USA, is to construct a 10,000 mega watts power plant in Nigeria, Minister of Power, Barth Nnaji has said.
  
  
• Analysis: As Solar Panels Eclipsed, Installers In Limelight
  Feb 23, 2012 - Matt Daily - planetark.org
  
  A steep decline in solar panel prices is helping solar installers attract new capital, a trend likely to trigger consolidation in the fragmented industry and drive down the cost of putting the renewable energy system on rooftops.
  
  
• 2012: A Breakthrough for Renewable Energy?
  Feb 23, 2012 - Manish Bapna - http://insights.wri.org
  
  In his annual State of the Union address, President Obama declared: “I will not walk away from clean energy.”
  
  
• Could a Russia-US rail tunnel be built?
  Feb 2, 2012 - bbc.co.uk
  
  Russian officials have backed the idea of a rail tunnel linking Russia and the US.
  
  
• EIB supporting €100 million funding for renewable energy projects in South Africa
  Feb 2, 2012 - Mark Osborne - www.pv-tech.org
  
  With almost perfect conditions for solar technology deployment, a significant energy need and weak infrastructure, South Africa, as highlighted in a detailed EPIA report last year, should be one of the best emerging markets. However, lack of financial support was said to be the key obstacle. That may now be changing with support from the European Investment Bank and Investec to the tune of €100 million for the promotion of clean energy generation and energy efficiency initiatives in South Africa.
  
  
• US Could Achieve Over $80 Billion In Lower Energy Costs By Focusing On Safer, Renewable Energy
  Dec 1, 2011 - energy-daily.com
  
  It is a myth that switching to safe, renewable energy would mean an unreliable U.S. power supply that also is too expensive to afford. That is the major conclusion of a new Synapse Energy Economics report prepared for the nonprofit Civil Society Institute that details a future with more energy efficiency and renewable energy and less reliance on coal and nuclear power.
  
  
• Butte College to Become First Grid-Positive College in the US
  Nov 4, 2011 - sustainablebusiness.com
  
  Butte College, located in Northern California and resting on a 928-acre wildlife refuge, has been recognized over the last few years as a national community college leader in sustainability. By May 2011, the college will move to the head of its class--as the only college in the nation that is grid positive--producing more clean energy from sustainable on-site solar power than it uses.
  
  
• Jeremy Rifkin: The 'Democratization Of Energy' Will Change Everything
  Oct 20, 2011 - huffingtonpost.com
  
  Rampant unemployment, rising food prices, a collapsed housing market, ballooning debt -- to Jeremy Rifkin, the American economist and president of the Foundation on Economic Trends, these are not simply symptoms of a temporary economic malaise. Rather, they are signs that the current world order -- long infused with and defined by fossil fuels -- is collapsing around us.
  
  
• China Remains Atop Quarterly Renewable Energy Index
  Oct 5, 2011 - renewableenergyworld.com
  
  Ongoing debt worries from the United States to Europe, and austerity measures that aim to drastically slash government spending in those countries, continue to impact financing of renewable energy projects. China, meanwhile, is moving ahead with its accelerated growth as renewables continue to figure prominently into its energy future.
  
  
• SolarCity’s new pricing plan undercuts utility grid electricity in Hawaii
  Oct 5, 2011 - Chris Whitmore - pv-tech.org
  
  The US Department of Energy has finalized another loan guarantee, this time for $90.6 million to Cogentrix for the 30MW Alamosa Solar Generating Project, which uses Amonix high-concentration PV dual-axis tracker systems. When the utility-scale installation is completed next year, the site will be the largest CPV-based power plant in the world.
  
  
• DOE finalizes $90.6M loan guarantee for 30MW Alamosa solar power plant, featuring Amonix CPV systems
  Oct 5, 2011 - Tom Cheyney - pv-tech.org
  
  The US Department of Energy has finalized another loan guarantee, this time for $90.6 million to Cogentrix for the 30MW Alamosa Solar Generating Project, which uses Amonix high-concentration PV dual-axis tracker systems. When the utility-scale installation is completed next year, the site will be the largest CPV-based power plant in the world.
  
  
• Energy-Savvy Military Base Bumps Up Against Calif. Cap-And-Trade Law
  Oct 5, 2011 - Annie Snider - nytimes.com
  
  TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. -- With fields of solar panels and a pilot microgrid project, the sprawling Marine base here is at the forefront of U.S. military efforts to lessen its reliance on the vulnerable civilian power grid.
  
  
• Rooftop Solar Could Power 20% of D.C. and Save Ratepayers Money
  Oct 5, 2011 - John Farrell - renewableenergyworld.com
  
  For many years the citizens of Washington, D.C. struggled for the basic right to elect their own leaders. In 2011, they should use their political home rule to maximize the economic benefits of local renewable energy with “electricity home rule.”
  
  
• MarketsandMarkets: Global Solar Energy Market Will Reach $75.2 Billion With Annual Installations Reaching 227 GW by 2016
  Oct 5, 2011 - Pangea - worldofrenewables.com
  
  According to a new market research report, "Solar Power Market by PV, CSP Technologies by Installations, Price, Cost, Trade Trends & Global Forecasts (2011 - 2016)", published by MarketsandMarkets (http://www.marketsandmarkets.com), global solar energy market will grow from around $39.6 billion in 2011 to $75.2 billion in 2016 with a compound annual growth rate of 13.7% during the same period.
  
  
• SunShot seed corn: DOE sows projects from cheaper BIPV shingles to Shockley-Queisser limit busters
  Oct 5, 2011 - Tom Cheyney - pv-tech.org
  
  Still smarting from the wounds of loan guarantee recipient Solyndra’s shutdown and imminent Chapter 11 filing, the US Department of Energy kept its eyes on the SunShot Initiative prize last week, announcing more than $145 million in awards to be spread across 69 projects run by companies, national and private labs, and universities. The efforts encompass a half-dozen categories, including big R, little d and little r, big D accelerants on the cell, module, and inverter technology, balance of system cost reduction (actually, cost reduction is a recurring theme among all categories), grid integration schemes, building integrated PV, and a chunk of change for IT-laden moves to cut nonhardware costs down significantly. Here’s a closer look at some of the players, numbers, and threads that emerge from the latest DOE innovation seed-corn distribution.
  
  
• Order Focus: First Solar lands 100MW supply agreement for Reliance Power’s Jaisalmer project
  Oct 5, 2011 - Syanne Olson - pv-tech.org
  
  Upon the US Export-Import Bank approving a US$84.2 million direct loan last month to Reliance Power’s Dahanu Solar Power unit, the company was able to secure an agreement with First Solar for the delivery of 100MW of solar modules. Under the supply contract, First Solar will deliver 40MW of its thin-film modules to Reliance Power by the end of the year, with the remaining 60MW delivered in 2012. The solar modules will be used for Reliance Power’s Jaisalmer solar project, which will supply solar electricity to Mumbai. The companies claim that this is the largest PV module supply agreement in India to date.
  
  
• World Bank grants 99m dollars for Nepal-India power project
  Sept. 30, 2011 - energycentral.com
  
  The World Bank (WB) has provided 7.024bn rupees (99m dollars) for to implement the Nepal India Electricity Transmission and Trade Project (NIETTP).
  
  
• India Expects $6.5 billion to be Invested in Renewable Energy
  Sep 27, 2011 - Rakesh Sharma - wsj.com
  
  NEW DELHI -- India expects investments of 300 billion rupees ($6.5 billion) in renewable energy projects in the current financial year, the minister for renewable energy said Friday.
  
  
• Pakistan Offers Renewable-Energy Incentives to Tackle Shortages
  Sep 27, 2011 - Haris Anwar - bloomberg.com
  
  Pakistan will announce its first tariff policy for clean-energy producers next month, offering premium payment rates as it seeks to attract investors to help overcome power shortfalls.
  
  
• Guest Post: The $200 Billion Energy Question
  Sep 27, 2011 - Rosalind Jackson - greentechmedia.com
  
  The U.S. stands at an energy crossroads. With or without new direction from policymakers, huge sums will be invested in the electricity system as aging infrastructure is replaced and new infrastructure is built to meet our country’s growing energy needs. In the 11 states that comprise the Western Interconnect, that amounts to more than $200 billion over the next two decades.
  
  
• 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.
  
  
• Mitsui, Toshiba join forces to build 50MW PV plant in Japan
  Sep 21, 2011 - Chris Whitmore - pv-tech.org
  
  Mitsui and Toshiba are joining forces to build Japan’s largest PV system, according to financial newspaper Nikkei. With a capacity of 50MW, the plant will be considerably bigger than any other in Japan and cover 800,000m2 of Mitsui-owned land in the Aichi Prefecture.
  
  
• Return to London please, via Moscow: Kremlin paves way for East to West rail link after after 'approving' $99bn Bering Strait tunnel
  Sep 21, 2011 - Will Longbottom - dailymail.co.uk
  
  The prospect of an epic train journey from New York to London might seem like a distant dream for those seeking the ultimate railway holiday.
  
  
• 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.
  
  
  
• ADB plans to lend $1.5b to ratchet up connectivity, energy co-op in S Asia
  Sep 12, 2011 - Nazmul Ahsan - thefinancialexpress-bd.com
  
  The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is planning to lend $1.5 billion to improve cross-border connectivity and increase energy cooperation among five South Asian countries -- Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan over a period of three years (2012-2014).
  
  
• Solar power boost to National Grid
  Sep 12, 2011 - Chamikara Weerasinghe - dailynews.lk
  
  Power and Energy Minister Champika Ranawaka yesterday said they have arranged to introduce the first main grid connected solar power plant in the Hambantota District.
  
  
• Desert Sunlight solar project gets go-ahead from Department of Interior; construction to begin soon
  Sep 12, 2011 - Tom Cheyney - pv-tech.org
  
  US Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar has greenlighted the Desert Sunlight Solar Farm, a 550MW (AC) solar power project to be developed, built, and operated by First Solar on 4100 acres of public lands in the California desert outside Joshua Tree National Park. Construction on the site could begin within days.
  
  
• South Korea's green energy exports top $4.5 bln in 2010
  Sep 8, 2011 - yonhapnews.co.kr
  
  SEOUL, Aug. 8 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's clean, renewable energy sector has grown significantly over the last three years with both its sales and exports jumping roughly seven fold, the government said Monday.
  
  
• Wind doing just fine
  Sep 1, 2011 - Bill Opalka - energybiz.com
  
  The U.S. wind industry declined by half last year, but a new report puts the development slowdown in a different. Yes, 2010 wasn't so great, but the U.S. is still a world leader for the technology.
  
  
• ABB wins $1 billion order for offshore wind power connection
  Sep 1, 2011 - abb.com
  
  Zurich, Switzerland, Aug. 2 2011 – ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, has won an order worth around $1 billion from the Dutch-German transmission grid operator TenneT to supply a power link connecting offshore North Sea wind farms to the German mainland grid.
  
  
• U.S. BLM Approves Four Projects Use of Public Land to Connect Renewable Energy to Power Grid
  Aug 19, 2011 - Eboom Staff - energyboom.com
  
  The United States Department of Interior's Bureau of Land Management approved four new projects to run transmission lines through public land to transport electricity from large-scale renewable energy projects to the power grid.
  
  
• 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.
  
  
• 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.
  
  
• Australia's solar industry welcomes new carbon tax
  Aug 9, 2011 - Emma Hughes - pv-tech.org
  
  Following months of tense negotiation between the minority Labour Government and the Green and independent MPs, Australia's prime minister Julia Gillard yesterday revealed the 'Strong Growth, Low Pollution' report, which models how the country's economy can continue to grow at the same time as reducing carbon pollution with a carbon price. The new tax, which will come into effect from July next year, will hit Australia's top 500 emitters with an AUD$23 per tonne carbon tax.
  
  
• Department of Energy Commits Support for Landmark Rooftop Solar Project
  Aug 9, 2011 - globalenergywatch.com
  
  Largest Rooftop Project in U.S. History Will Enable Wide Distribution of Solar Power Across Country While Creating at Least a Thousand Jobs
  
  
  
• Q-Cells guides almost flat sales in 2011; CIGS modules achieve 13.4% new efficiency world record
  Aug 5, 2011 - Mark Osborne - pv-tech.org
  
  Although there were no specifics mentioned in the financial forecast for 2011 provided by Q-Cells as it announced full year financial results, sales are set to be at around the same level as last year. As previously reported, Q-Cells sales increased by 70% to €1.35 billion in 2010. In its annual report, 2011 sales guidance is between €1.3 billion and €1.5 billion.
  
  
• China Sunergy to invest US$277 million in 1GW cell manufacturing expansion
  Aug 5, 2011 - Chris Whitmore - pv-tech.org
  
  Two China Sunergy subsidiaries are investing RMB1.8 billion (US$277 million) in a new 1GW solar cell manufacturing facility in Yangzhou, China. The joint venture will concentrate on the production of China Sunergy's newly-developed Quasar cells, with the first 500MW batch set to be delivered in the first half of 2012.
  
  
• New York's Latest Energy Bill Better for the Environment and the Economy
  Aug 4, 2011 - Nathanael Baker - energyboom.com
  
  The Governor of New York has signed a new law which promotes the adoption of low carbon energy and energy efficient technologies through all sectors of the economy.
  
  
• First College in US Generates Income Selling Solar to the Grid
  Aug 3, 2011 - sustainablebusiness.com
  
  Butte College, near Sacramento, California is the first college in the US to be ‘grid positive' - it generates more electricity than it needs from its solar arrays and thus can deliver energy to the electric grid, making a tidy profit.
  
  
• OPIC approves $123 million for pair of 20MW PV power plants to be built by T-Solar in Peru
  Jul 20, 2011 - Tom Cheyney - pv-tech.org
  
  The board of the Overseas Private Investment Corp. (OPIC) has approved $123 million in financing for the construction of two 20MW solar power plants in Peru, said to be the first large-scale solar power project in the Latin American country. Along with the involvement of Peru's ProInversion investment promotion agency, the ground-mount-based projects will be developed by T-Solar and use silicon thin-film panels made by the Spanish company with Applied Materials SunFab technology.
  
  
• Report: New Transmission Translates Into Jobs
  June 4, 2011 - renewgridmag.com
  
  U.S. annual investment in new electric transmission facilities could soon reach $12 billion to $16 billion, resulting in $30 billion to $40 billion in annual economic activity, says a new study conducted by The Brattle Group and commissioned by WIRES. This translates into support for 150,000 to 200,000 new full-time jobs in the U.S. in each of the next 20 years and between 20,000 and 50,000 new jobs each year in Canada, the report adds.
  
  
• Alternative Energy Watch: China Plans to Spend Big on Grid; Equipment Maker Gets Big Order (SOLR, AMAT, LDK, CREE, VECO, AMSC)
  May 21, 2011 - 247wallst.com
  
  Alternative energy news today begins with a new order for sapphire crystallization furnaces and ends with a story on development in China’s national electricity grid.
  
  
• Government approves $1.24 billion carbon capture project
  May 14, 2011 - Canada NewsWire - energycentral.com
  
  The Government of Saskatchewan has approved construction of the Boundary Dam Integrated Carbon Capture and Storage Demonstration Project - among the first commercial-scale carbon capture and storage facilities in the world.
  
  
• Solar Homes Sell at a Premium
  May 14, 2011 - Bill Opalka - renewablesbiz.com
  
  A new Berkeley Lab report, “An Analysis of the Effects of Residential Photovoltaic Energy Systems on Home Sales Prices in California,” provides some evidence that a significant benefit comes with selling a home with a solar power system.
  
  
  
• ADB pledges US$150 million in credit guarantees to bolster solar power development in India
  May 14, 2011 - Syanne Olson - pv-tech.org
  
  The Asian Development Bank (ADB) revealed plans to offer up to US$150 million in credit guarantees to local and foreign commercial banks to encourage the development of solar power as a renewable energy in India. The credit will cover 50% of the payment default risk on bank loans made to solar project developers with an aim to secure long-term funding for solar energy development in the country.
  
  
• If You Like Solar, Tell Your Utility To Publish This Map
  May 11, 2011 - renewableenergyworld.com
  
  Distributed generation (like solar) brings unique and valuable benefits ($$$) to the electric grid. But capturing those benefits means solar and other renewable energy developers must find the best places to plug in to the grid, e.g. where demand is high or infrastructure is stressed. The cost to connect distributed generation may also be lower in these areas. Unfortunately, data about a utility's grid system is rarely public.
  
  
• Google invests $168M in solar energy project
  May 04, 2011 - energycentral.com
  
  Google Inc. is investing $168 million in an alternative power project that aims to produce enough solar energy to light 140,000 homes.
  
  
• GE to build 400MW CdTe thin-film module plant: NREL verifies 12.8% aperture area efficiency
  May 01, 2011 - Mark Osborne - pv-tech.org
  
  With the acquisition of US-based CdTe thin-film start-up PrimeStar now behind GE, the conglomerate is planning to expand its investments in PV with the building of a 400MW manufacturing plant, potentially bringing its total investment in the sector to over US$600 million. GE also announced that NREL had verified that CdTe thin-film modules from PrimeStar’s 30MW manufacturing line in Arvada, Colorado have achieved 12.8% aperture area efficiency. NREL had transitioned the technology to PrimeStar through a cooperative research and development agreement signed in 2007.
  
  
• ABB wins $180 million order for Norway-Denmark power transmission link
  Feb 26, 2011 - abb.com
  
  ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, has won an order worth about $180 million from utilities Statnett of Norway and Energinet.dk of Denmark to supply an HVDC Light® (high-voltage direct current) converter solution to support the interconnection of the Norwegian and Danish power grids.The 500 kV (kilovolt) link is a new record in transmission voltage using this technology.
  
  
• Investments in renewable energy grow 25%
  Feb 13, 2011 - zawya.com
  
  Estimates show that investments have reached $200bn in 2010
  
  
• 2010 Clean Energy Investment Hits a New Record
  Jan 19, 2011 - RenewableEnergyWorld.com
  
  Surprise, surprise: The 800-pound dragon in the room, China, has propelled global clean energy investment to record levels.
  
  
• Spanish Government Cuts Solar Subsidies for New and Existing Plants
  Jan 13, 2011 - Emma Hughes - PVTech.org
  
  On Christmas Eve the Spanish Government made the controversial decision to again cut the financial support offered to solar power generators.
  
  
• Huge Renewables Expansion Coming
  Dec 27, 2010 - Bill Opalka - RenewablesBiz.com
  
  Even with policy uncertainty, markets expected to explode.
  
  
• Pew: Clean Power Industry Worth Trillions by 2020
  Dec 16, 2010 - RenewableEnergyWorld.com
  
  A new study by Pew Charitable Trusts shows that private investments in global clean energy projects could top $2.3 Trillion in 10 years. Most investment will be in Asia but policy plays a key role.
  
  
  
• Department of Energy Pours Funds into Cleantech Industry
  Dec 08, 2010 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Energy Central
  
  When Congress passed the landmark stimulus bill in 2009, more than $90 billion was targeted at clean energy -- the largest investment of federal dollars in the energy sector ever. Nearly $3 billion was awarded to the Bay Area from the Department of Energy alone.
  
  
  
• Report Says Clean Energy Gets Fewer Subsidies, Less Investment than Fossil Fuels
  Dec 07, 2010 - Los Angeles Times
  
  Energy from fossil fuel gets 12 times more in subsidies worldwide than sustainable energy, says a new report from the USC Marshall School of Business.
  
  
• New Report from World Bank Highlights Five Steps to Confront Climate Change
  Nov 09, 2010 - Energy Central
  
  The World Bank's Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) released a new report Thursday after reviewing the Bank's efforts in mitigating climate change, stressing five measures that offer attractive local benefits while fighting climate change. The report, named The Challenge of Low Carbon Development, notes that carbon finance has yet to realize its promise of catalyzing large scale new investments in renewable energy.
  
  
  
• China leading the world in clean energy investment
  Oct 29, 2010 - Juliet Eilperin - washingtonpost.com
  
  As weary visitors wait to enter the Shanghai Corporate Pavilion at Expo 2010, a sprinkler system using recycled rainwater and powered through a solar thermal system cools them off with periodic misting.
  
  
  
• Greece targets to invest in green development program
  Oct 22, 2010 - Xinhua
  
  Greece aims to secure investments up to 44 billion euros (60.9 billion U.S. dollars) and create 200, 000 new job positions by 2015 in green development projects, said on Wednesday Greek Environment, Energy and Climate Change Minister Tina Birbili in Athens.
  
  
• S. Korea to invest 36 bln U.S. dollars in renewable energy
  Oct 20, 2010 - Xinhua
  
  South Korea will pour a total of 40 trillion won (36 billion U.S. dollars) into renewable energy development by 2015 in a bid to enhance the local renewable energy sector, the government said Wednesday.
  
  
• ADB allocates $122 million to upgrade Tajikistan's power grid
  Oct 18, 2010 - Asia Pulse
  
  The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Tajik government have signed a grant agreement worth $122 million to expand and upgrade the electricity transmission system in Tajikistan, which will help increase the level of energy trading with neighboring countries and cover the country's electricity shortages in winter.
  
  
• DOE Funding Smart Grid, Advanced Solar Start-ups
  Sep 28, 2010 - Washington, DC - DOE
  
  The US energy department announced $188 million for clean tech startups, with $73 million coming from the Recovery Act.
  
  
• Round-up of global electricity developments
  Aug 11, 2010 - Tamsin Carlisle - The National
  
  Last Updated: July 24. 2010 6:46PM UAE / July 24. 2010 2:46PM GMT
  
  
• More Ugandan Villages to Access ElectricityAug 6, 2010 - East African Business Week - Energy Central
  
  The Ministry of Energy and is to start implementation of a new rural electrification project in March 2011, officials have said.
  
  
• CHINA INVESTS US$34.6 BLN IN RENEWABLE ENERGY INDUSTRY IN 2009
  Jul 30, 2010 - AsiaPulse - energycentral.com
  
  China has invested US$34.6 billion in renewable energy industry in 2009, making the country the biggest investor in the industry in the world, said Li Junfeng, deputy director of the Energy Research Institute of the National Development and Reform Commission.
  
  
• Impressive growth in renewable energy capacity continues
  Jul 30, 2010 - Datamonitor - energycentral.com
  
  New UN figures show that, despite the global recession and lackluster climate change talks, 2009 saw more renewable power generation capacity installed than traditional fossil fuel capacity. Having already negotiated such a difficult period, fears that the clean energy investment bubble is about to burst are unfounded.
  
  
• Green energy market 'resilient' to downturn in 2009, according to U.N.
  Jul 26, 2010 - Matthew Knight - CNN.com
  
  The creation of new power capacity from renewable energy has exceeded new fossil fuel power generation in the United States and Europe for the second year running, according to two United Nations reports published Thursday.
  
  
• Gates seeks more spending on clean energy research
  Jun 21, 2010 - Frederic J. Frommer - AP
  
  Billionaire Bill Gates is urging the government to triple spending on what he says everyone, rich and poor, will need in the future: clean, cheap energy.
  
  
• Study: With $27 trillion global market at stake, it's time for the U.S. to lead in clean technology
  May 25, 2010 - Lynn Englum - climateprogress.org
  
  A new WWF report has come out further emphasizing the great need for the US to do more to seize its fair share of the growing multi-trillion dollar clean energy export market. This repost by Lynn Englum from WWF’s blog gives an overview.
  
  
• Sanyo reveals three-year mid-term management plan
  May 18, 2010 - Emma Hughes - Cell Processing - pv-tech.org
  
  Japan's Sanyo Electric, majority owned by Panasonic, has announced plans to invest 170 billion yen ($1.8 billion) in capital spending for its rechargeable battery and solar cell operations for the next three years.
  
  
• Global Investments in Renewable Energy are expected to reach $653.35 billion by 2015
  May 14, 2010 - Sriram Peri - GBI Research - altenergymag.com
  
  GBI Research, the leading business intelligence provider, has released its latest report “Renewable Energy Investment Opportunities in Emerging Economies” that gives an in-depth analysis of the emerging economies as upcoming renewable energy hotspots and provides investment forecasts up to 2015.
  
  
• ADB to begin solar initative for 3,000MW
  May 14, 2010 - Syanne Olson - Power Generation - pv-tech.org
  
  The Asian Development Bank (ADB) announced its new solar initiative, Asia Solar Energy Initiative (ASEI), which over the next three years will generate 3,000MW of solar power with large scale solar projects.
  
  
• Samsung will invest $21bn in future growth drivers, including solar cells
  May 13, 2010 - Emma Hughes - pvtech.org
  
  Samsung has announced that it will invest US$21bn in renewable energy and healthcare over the next decade, identifying solar cells as one of its future growth drivers...
  
  
• CEE next big market for renewable energy
  Mai 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.
  
  
• GE's leader issues an energy warning
  Apr 30, 2010 - L.M. Sixel Houston Chronicle - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News
  
  While the rest of the world invests in renewable, nuclear and cleaner energy sources, the U.S. continues to fall further behind, General Electric's chairman and CEO said Wednesday in Houston.
  
  
• Barclays Capital analyst raises 2010 global solar installation forecast to 11GW, Germany to 5.8GW
  Apr 26, 2010 - Mark Osborne - pv-tech.org
  
  Industry demand checks and recent German PV installation figures have seen Barclays Capital analyst, Vishal Shah raise his forecast for global solar installations for 2010.
  
  
• Photon Consulting: Get ready for US$1.00 per watt across all solar PV technologies
  Apr 26, 2010 - Mark Osborne - pv-tech.org
  
  According to the latest report from Photon Consulting the ‘true cost’ of solar power has fallen rapidly in the last year, driven by low cost producers in both China and Taiwan in particular.
  
  
• U.S. Department of Energy to invest more than $200 million in solar power technologies
  Apr 26, 2010 - Syanne Olson - pv-tech.org
  
  This past Earth Day was not only an anniversary of the celebration's 40th birthday, but also a step forward by the U.S. Department of Energy for the advancement and expansion of solar power technology.
  
  
• German investment in renewables to double by 2020: study
  Apr 20, 2010 - Xinhua
  
  Germany's annual investment in renewable energy will be doubled to 28 billion euros (37 billion U.S. dollars ) by 2020, and the industry will become a main creator of jobs and an investment growth point.
  
  
• World Bank urges East Asia to invest $180 billion a year in clean energy
  Apr 20, 2010 - The Associated Press
  
  East Asia needs new investment of $180 billion a year in clean energy technology to stabilize its greenhouse gas emissions from 2025, the World Bank said in a report Monday.
  
  
• Energy start-up to construct $500m PV manufacturing plant in Rio Rancho
  Apr 9, 2010 - Emma Hughes - pv-tech.org
  
  Start-up energy company Green2V has announced that it will spend US$500 million over the next five years to build a 1 million-square-foot plant in Rio Rancho that will potentially provide 1,500 jobs in the area.
  
  
• South Africa’s Eskom to build 100MW CSP power plant with World Bank funds
  Apr 9, 2010 - Mark Osborne - pv-tech.org
  
  As part of a US$3.75 billion loan from the World Bank to help South Africa achieve a reliable electricity supply, the country’s electricity provider, Eskom is to build a 100MW concentrated solar (CSP) power project with storage in Upington, South Africa.
  
  
• Ontario announces 184 large-scale renewable energy projects
  Apr 8, 2010 - EnergyCentral.com
  
  More Ontario homes and businesses will soon be powered by green energy with the awarding of contract offers for almost 2,500 megawatts of renewable energy announced today by Ontario's Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, Brad Duguid.
  
  
• Report: Cost of electricity could go down in 10 years
  Apr 6, 2010 - Bob Audette - Brattleboro Reformer, Vt.
  
  If the state of Vermont were to pursue an aggressive policy to put in place regulations that would encourage the expansion of renewable energy sources in less than 10 years, state ratepayers might actually pay less for electricity than they do now.
  
  
• Getting green for going green
  Apr 6, 2010 - Danny Barrett Jr. - Associated Press
  
  Renewable energy was already a household practice for International Paper when the company signed up last year to be a bioconversion facility so its suppliers could reap benefits of a new federal program aimed at using nonfood crops as biofuel.
  
  
• Institutional Investors New Embrace
  Apr 5, 2010 - Gary M. Stern - energybizinsider
  
  When major institutional investors and venture capitalists start investing in alternative and low-carbon energy companies, it is noteworthy.
  
  
• Designate renewable energy zones across US, suggests think-tank
  Mar 30, 2010 - The Milken Institute - renewableenergyfocus.com
  
  A US think tank says creating ‘competitive renewable energy zones’ would be a solution to raise the private investment that is needed to update transmission infrastructure, increase capacity for renewable energy and move toward the ‘smart grid.’
  
  
• Pew report: China leading in clean energy spending
  Mar 25, 2010 - Elaine Kurtenbach - The Assocoated Press
  
  China has taken the lead in investments in clean energy, spending nearly double what the U.S. did in 2009, as it ramps up projects in both renewable and traditional energy, a report said Thursday.
  
  
• World Bank Invests $400 Million in Indonesian Geothermal Energy
  Mar 24, 2010 - Voice of America News
  
  The World Bank has announced $400 million in funding to help double Indonesia's geothermal energy capacity. It says the investment is an effort to assist developing countries produce clean energy and reduce carbon emissions.
  
• Indonesia to double geothermal capacity
  Mar 17, 2010 - renewableenergyfocus.com
  
  A new climate investment fund plan will double the capacity of geothermal energy in Indonesia.
  
  Treasury Creates Safe Harbor for Smart Grid Investment Grants
  Mar 11, 2010 - stoel.com
  
  The U.S. Department of Treasury and the U.S. Department of Energy yesterday jointly announced the issuance of guidance regarding the federal income tax treatment of Smart Grid Investment Grant payments
  
  
• NRG Energy to get up to $154M from government to install carbon dioxide capture system
  Mar 10, 2010 - Elisabeth Souder and Dave Michaels - dallasnews.com
  
  NRG Energy Inc. won up to $154 million in funding from the Department of Energy to install a system to capture carbon dioxide from a coal-fired power plant.
  
  
• 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.
  
  
• EU money for electricity interconnection
  Mar 5, 2010 - renewableenergyfocus.com
  
  The European Commission has allocated €910 million for 12 electricity interconnection projects as part of its broader European Economic Recovery Plan.
  
  
• Wind Gets Boost from EU Transmission Investment
  Mar 4, 2010 - RenewableEnergyWorld.com
  
  The European Commission this week allocated over €903 million to electricity interconnection projects as part of its broader European Economic Recovery Plan, injecting new impetus into long standing electricity grid development plans within the EU. Nine projects received funding, including the vital France-Spain interconnection, which has been planned for a long time.
  
  
• ARPA-E: $100 Million for Buildings, Energy Storage, Dispatchable Energy
  Mar 2,2010 - Michael Kanellos, Rick Thompson, David Leeds
  
  Chu and Majumdar lay out the agenda in D.C.
  
  
• Blackstone’s Transmission Developers plans $3.8bn clean energy power line
  Feb 25, 2010 - AltAssets
  
  Blackstone portfolio company Transmission Developers (TDI) is planning to develop a renewable power transmission line supplying New York and New England from the US-Canadian border.
  
  
• ADB grants Laos 20 mln USD for building power transmission facilities
  Feb 25, 2010 - Xinhua
  
  The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will grant 20 million U.S. dollars to Laos to help the country build power transmission facilities in the northern part, Lao newspaper the Vientiane Times reported Thursday.
  
  
• ADB with Japan help Lanka improve power transmission
  Feb 23, 2010 - The Sunday Observer Colombo
  
  The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of Japan will provide assistance to the Government of Sri Lanka to improve the nation's power transmission system and to expand rural electrification, and thus will contribute toward the Government's goal of widening public access to electricity services from 80% to 98% by 2016.
  
  
• Bonds authorised for renewable energy
  Feb 17, 2010 - Renewable Energy Focus
  
  The US government has funded 16 native tribes to issue bonds for renewable energy facilities.
  
  
• New Study: Cape Wind Will Reduce Regional Electricity Prices by $4.6 Billion
  Feb 10, 2010 - Busniness Wire
  
  Cape Wind will reduce wholesale electric prices for the New England region by $4.6 billion over 25 years, according to a new report published today by Charles River Associates, a leading economic consulting firm.
  
  
• Global clean energy investment: US$145bn
  Feb 9, 2010 - renewableenergyfocus.com
  
  China’s investment in wind energy last year kept the world’s overall investment in clean energy to 6.5% below the 2008 record, despite the worst recession for 60 years.
  
  
• 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.
  
  
• Renewable energy jobs and the future
  Feb 4, 2010 - Julie Schmit - USA Today
  
  The number of clean-energy jobs in the U.S. would more than double by 2025 if the nation adopts a plan to get 25% of its electricity from renewable energy sources, says a report backed by energy firms.
  
  
• Juan de Fuca Cable - Project Status Review - US Loan Guarantee Application
  Jan 27, 2010 - PR Newswire
  
  The Juan de Fuca Cable is a proposed 550 MW submarine interconnection across the international Strait of Juan de Fuca, between Port Angeles, Washington, and Victoria, British Columbia, providing a new link between the northwest terminus of US federally- owned Bonneville Power Administration's grid, and the southwest terminus of the provincially-owned system in British Columbia, Canada.
  
  
• Fund commits €10m for clean energy in southern Africa
  Jan 27, 2010 - renewable energy focus
  
  The Global Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy Fund (GEEREF) will commit the funds to the ‘Evolution One Fund’ that is dedicated to clean energy investment in Southern Africa.
  
  
• Clean-Tech Job Forecast 2010
  Jan 22, 2010 - Kevin Brown and Steve Kyryk - Clean Edge
  
  With their fingers on the pulse of clean-tech hiring trends, we asked Senior Partner Kevin Brown and Vice President Steve Kyryk of Hobbs & Towne Executive Search (HTI) to provide insight into the impact of the 'Great Recession' on the industry and areas for opportunity in 2010.
  
  
• NREL invests US$12 million in early stage solar development
  Jan 21, 2010 - Emma Hughes - PV-tech.org
  
  The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) will invest up to US$12 million in total funding in four companies to support the development of early stage solar energy technologies and help them advance to full commercial scale. The money will go towards expanding the U.S. clean energy economy and the development of solar energy as a more cost-competitive source of electricity.
  
  
• UK Energy Regulator Confirms Potential GBP1 Billion Network Investment
  Jan 19, 2010 - Selina Williams - Dow Jones Newswires
  
  U.K. energy regulator Ofgem Tuesday confirmed a potential GBP1 billion additional investment in Britain's high-voltage electricity networks to aid the connection of new renewable generation as part of the country's targets to cut emissions.
  
  
• Investors Representing $13 Trillion Call for Climate Action Now
  Jan 14, 2010 - ENS News
  
  New York, January 14, 2010 (ENS) - The world's largest investors today issued a statement calling on the United States and other governments to "act now to catalyze development of a low-carbon economy and to attract the vast amount of private capital necessary for such a transformation."
  
  
• Major Investor Groups Urge Tougher Action On Climate Change
  Jan 14, 2010 - Naureen Malik - Dow Jones Newswires
  
  Investor groups representing $13 trillion in assets Thursday urged the U.S. and other governments to put in place stronger policies to curb climate change, warning political uncertainty surrounding the issue stunts development and exposes companies to considerable risk.
  
  
• Polysilicon producers top U.S. federal tax credits
  Jan 12, 2010 - Mark Osborne - Fab and Facilities - PV-tech
  
  In respect of the US$2.3 billion U.S. federal tax credits issued last week for job creation, two key trends have emerged. As already highlighted, the solar sector garnered approximately US$1.0 billion of the credits allocated. However, another trend emerged whereby three major polysilicon producers garnered the most from the credits in the solar sector.
  
  
• Solar and Solyndra top venture capital funding in 2009, says Cleantech Group report
  Jan 08, 2010 - Mark Osborne - PV-tech.org
  
  According to new figures from the Cleantech Group and Deloitte, VC investments in companies in the solar sector, reached US$1.2 billion or 21% of the share in 2009, making it the largest ‘Cleantech’ sector for investment. Clean technology venture investments in North America, Europe, China and India totalled US$5.6 billion in 557 deals. However, as these figures are preliminary, the firms expect the final figures could be up by as much as 10%.
  
  
• 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.
  
  
• 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.
  
  
• Renewable energy projects will get swift U.S. permitting
  Dec 30, 2009 - Matthew Preusch The Oregonia - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News
  
  The Bureau of Land Management has chosen 31 renewable energy and transmission projects, including one in Oregon, for expedited permitting in order to make them eligible for stimulus funding.
  
  
• China advances up renewable energy league – Ernst & Young
  Dec 18, 2009 - focus.com
  
  China is now one of the top two most attractive locations in the world in which to invest in renewable energy projects, according to Ernst & Young's latest global renewable energy country attractiveness indices.
  
  
• South Korean polysilicon manufacturer OCI to invest $858.5 million in new plant
  Dec 11, 2009 - Tom Cheyney - PV-tech.org
  
  In a bid to join the leading global producers of polysilicon, South Korean chemical manufacturer OCI plans to restart construction on a new poly plant inside its existing facility in Gunsan in January.
  
  
• FPL to spend $2 billion on wind energy in 2010
  Dec 6, 2009 - Steve Gelsi - Market Watch
  
  Lewis Hay III, the chairman and chief executive of FPL Group Inc., plans to steer the electricity giant toward a $2 billion investment in wind energy in 2010, despite uncertainty surrounding a pending rate case involving the big power company.
  
  
• GE Wins $1.4 Billion Turbine Order for Biggest Wind Farm So Far
  Dec 10, 2009 - Rachel Layne and Christopher Martin - Bloomberg
  
  General Electric Co. won a $1.4 billion contract to supply turbines and services for an Oregon wind farm that would be bigger than any completed so far and supply a tenth of Southern California Edison’s renewable energy.
  
  
• Philippines doe to award more renewable energy contracts next month
  Nov 30,2009 - AsiaPulse - Manila
  
  More renewable energy contracts will be awarded next month, Philippines Energy Assistant Secretary Mario Marasigan said.
  
  
• Country to Set Up $2 Billion Energy Fund
  Nov 30, 2009 - The Nation - All Africa Global Media
  
  Kenya will with the support of donors set up a $2 billion (Sh150 billion) revolving fund to lend those investing in climate-friendly green electricity generating projects. The Ministry of Finance said World Bank, French Development Agency, KfW of German and African Development Bank had agreed to help the government set up the fund.
  
  
• India to Spend $900 Million on Solar
  Nov 20, 2009 - Vakas Bajaj - New York Times - Green Inc.
  
  Ending months of speculation about exactly what it was planning to do to boost the use of renewable sources of energy, India said this week that it will spend about $900 million on solar energy.
  
  
• Six renewable energy sources judged to be best prospect for future, says report
  Nov18, 2009 - RenewableEnergyFocus.com
  
  The best prospects for large-scale renewable energy production and net-energy performance remain wind and certain forms of solar, according to a study released by two California-based think tanks.
  
  
• Suntech to bring manufacturing jobs to Phoenix, Arizona
  Nov 16, 2009 - Syanne Olson - PV+Tech Newsletter
  
  Suntech announced at the US China Green Tech Summit that its first US manufacturing facility will be built in the greater Phoenix, Arizona area. The company hopes for the plant to begin production in the third quarter of 2010 with an initial capacity of 30MW. No specific location has been decided upon yet, but the company aims to make its final decision in the coming weeks.
  
  
• $500 Billion Per Year More = How Much It'll Cost Us to Keep Delaying Climate Change Action Beyond 2010
  Nov 10, 2009 - Matthew McDermott - Treehugger.com
  
  Here's a quick one on how much more it's going to cost us all financially to keep putting off taking definitive action on climate change. Reuters reports that the IEA estimates that for each year of delay past 2010 it adds $500 billion to the global warming bill:
  
  
• Africa to receive 1.1 billion dollars in new financing for climate action
  Nov 05, 2009 - Xinhua
  
  African efforts to invest in clean energy and prepare for the devastating consequences of climate change have received a boost with six countries set to receive 1.1 billion dollars in new financing for climate action, the World Bank said on Thursday.
  
  
• Treasury Department Allocates $2.2 Billion in Bonds for Renewable Energy
  Nov 4, 2009 - EERE News
  
  The U.S. Department of Treasury announced on October 27 a new allocation of Clean Renewable Energy Bonds (CREBs) totaling $2.2 billion for 805 recipients across the country. These energy bonds are designed to help government agencies, public power providers, and cooperative electric companies obtain low-cost financing for clean energy development projects. Drawing in part upon funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the bonds function as "tax credit" bonds, which means that the bondholders receive a federal tax credit in lieu of a portion of the interest on the bond. That, in turn, keeps the interest payments low for the project owner. For this round of CREBs, the federal tax credits will cover 70% of the interest on the bonds. Because the Treasury Department has a limit on the tax credits it can provide to such CREBs, it must allocate the bonds in advance.
  
  
• DOE Awards $151 Million in Recovery Act Funding for ARPA-E Projects
  Oct 28, 2009 - U.S. Department of Energy
  
  DOE awarded $151 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds on October 26 for 37 energy research projects under the recently-formed Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy ("ARPA-E"). ARPA-E's mission is to develop inventive approaches to transform the global energy landscape while advancing U.S. technology leadership by creating jobs and cutting carbon pollution. This first round of grants will go to researchers and inventors in 17 states and will support the research and development of new renewable energy technologies for solar cells, wind turbines, geothermal drilling, biofuels, and biomass energy crops. The grants will also support a variety of energy efficiency technologies, including power electronics and engine-generators for advanced vehicles, devices for waste heat recovery, electrically controlled windows and control systems for smart buildings, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), reverse-osmosis membranes for water desalination, catalysts to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, improved fuel cell membranes, and more energy-dense magnetic materials for a variety of electronic components. Six grants will go to energy storage technologies, including an ultracapacitor, improved lithium-ion batteries, metal-air batteries that use ionic liquids, liquid sodium batteries, and liquid metal batteries.
  
  
• U.S. electrical grid gets $3.4 billion jolt of stimulus funding
  Oct 28, 2009 - Michael A. Fletcher - The Washiongton Post
  
  ARCADIA, FLA. -- President Obama stepped up his promotion of the job-creating potential of the $787 billion economic stimulus package Tuesday, announcing $3.4 billion in grants to improve the nation's electrical grid.
  
  
• Solar Leaders Applaud New PV Cost Study That Shows Government Policies Reduce Installed Costs, Expand U.S. Solar Market
  Oct 21, 2009 - Business Wire
  
  Today researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab released "Tracking the Sun II: The Installed Cost of Photovoltaics in the U.S. from 1998--2008." The new report found that the average cost of going solar in the U.S. declined by more than 30 percent from 1998 to 2008, a trend that can be largely attributed to the success of market-building policies at the state and local level. Findings also show that, after a three-year plateau, costs decreased by 3.6 percent from 2007 to 2008, marking a pivotal year for the American solar industry.
  
  
• Hidden Costs Of Energy Production And Use
  Oct 19, 2009 - Science Daily
  
  A new report from the National Research Council examines and, when possible, estimates "hidden" costs of energy production and use -- such as the damage air pollution imposes on human health -- that are not reflected in market prices of coal, oil, other energy sources, or the electricity and gasoline produced from them. The report estimates dollar values for several major components of these costs. The damages the committee was able to quantify were an estimated $120 billion in the U.S. in 2005, a number that reflects primarily health damages from air pollution associated with electricity generation and motor vehicle transportation. The figure does not include damages from climate change, harm to ecosystems, effects of some air pollutants such as mercury, and risks to national security, which the report examines but does not monetize.
  
  
• What is the real cost of power production?
  Oct 19, 2009 - Katie Howell - Scientific American
  
  Market prices don't reflect hundreds of billions of dollars in hidden costs of energy production to human health and the environment, a National Research Council panel said in a report released today.
  
  
• ComEd Awarded $4 Million in Federal Economic Stimulus Funding To Expand Green Vehicle Fleet and Test Impact on Electric Grid
  Oct 16, 2009 - PRNewsWire
  
  ComEd today announced it has been awarded a total of $4 million in federal economic stimulus funding to expand one of the nation's largest private fleets of alternative-fuel vehicles and test solar-powered vehicle charging infrastructure as part of its study of plug-in electric vehicle usage and its impact on the electric system.
  
  
• Soros to Invest $1 Billion in Clean Energy, Form Advisory Group
  Oct 12, 2009 - Katherine Burton and Jim Efstathiou Jr. - First Enercast Financial
  
  Billionaire George Soros, looking to address the “political problem” of climate change, said he will invest $1 billion in clean-energy technology and donate $100 million to an environmental advisory group to aid policymakers.
  
  
• Iberdrola Creeps Into Solar Technology Development
  Oct 9, 2009 - Jennifer Kho - greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com
  
  The renewable energy venture arm of Iberdrola, the big Spanish utility, has made a small investment in a Toronto photovoltaic solar company — a sign that the company is stepping up its role in developing, and not just deploying, renewable-energy technologies beyond wind power.
  
  
• Rust Belt sunshine: Silicon Valley solar firm gives autoworkers green jobs
  Oct 9, 2009 - Alex Salkever - dailyfinance.com
  
  the hope for redeploying industrial America likely lies in with technologies more similar to that of Skyline Solar. The array in Santa Clara puts out 27 kilowatts, enough to power a small- or medium-sized office building. That is the market Skyline is targeting, a space that includes office parks, churches, schools and state and local governments.
  
  
• Show Me the Money: Loan Guarantee Solicitation for Commercial Technology Applications
  Oct 7, 2009 - Stoel Rives
  
  In a much-awaited move, the Department of Energy ("DOE") has issued another solicitation under its Section 1705 Loan Guarantee Program (the "Section 1705 Program"). Unlike other solicitations under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act ("ARRA"), this solicitation is not aimed at the borrowers or the developers — it is open to lenders only and invites them to apply for a partial, risk-sharing loan guarantee under the Department of Energy's ("DOE") Section 1705 Loan Guarantee Program for Commercial Technology Renewable Energy Generation Projects. This solicitation provides up to $750,000,000 of the $3.95 billion made available to support debt financing of U.S. renewable projects. The solicitation appears to be DOE's answer to the inability of eligible borrowers to meet the cost-share requirement.
  
  
• IEA calls for $10 trillion to be spent on renewables, nuke energy to stave off climate change
  Oct 6, 2009 - Michael Casey - The Associated Press
  
  The International Energy Agency said Tuesday that a $10 trillion investment in renewable energy, biofuels and nuclear power over the next 20 years is necessary in order to stabilize greenhouse gas emissions.
  
  
• Financing Heating Up For Solar Industry
  Sep 29, 2009 - Donna Howell - Investor's Business Daily
  
  Lending is starting to flow a little more freely toward solar-power projects and providers, after a stall.
  
  
• VC in greentech back with a vengeance
  Sep 29, 2009 - Eric Wesoff - Greentech Media
  
  After a weak first quarter that had everyone grinding their teeth and a modestly improved second quarter, venture capital investment in green technologies roared back with $1.9 billion invested in 112 deals in the third quarter of 2009. That's up from $836 million in 59 deals in the first quarter of 2009 and $1.2 billion in 85 deals in the solid second quarter.
  
  
• Risky business: insuring countries against climate catastrophe
  Sep 28, 2009 - Reenita Malhotra - CNN.Com
  
  The last 50 years have borne witness to a spate of climate-related disasters across the world causing over 800,000 fatalities and $1 trillion in economic losses.
  
  
• FPL Group and Duke Energy Investing $600 Million to Convert Vehicles to Plug-in Hybrid or Electric by 2020
  Sep 24, 2009 - Business Wire
  
  FPL Group, Inc. (NYSE:FPL) and Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) today announced a commitment to transition their company cars and trucks to plug-in hybrid or all-electric vehicles.
  
  
• 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.
  
  
• World bank pledges support for DRC's Grand Inga dam
  Sept 11, 2009 - Bank Information Center
  
  Observers, however, are skeptical that the proposed project presents a solution to Africa's energy problems and whether the millions of Africans without access to electricity stand to benefit.
  
  
• Clean energy bank could drive $200 billion in investment, generating over 2 million jobs
  Aug 11, 2009 - Climate Progress.org
  
  A little-discussed provision in the clean energy bill, the Clean Energy Deployment Administration, would have a huge impact on the U.S. clean tech industry, as this guest post by CAP’s Jake Caldwell explains.  Yet the EIA didn’t even model the clean energy bank in its recent climate bill analysis.  Combined with all the other provisions in the bill, plus the stimulus and the Administration’s other clean energy and climate policies, Obama would easily meet his promise of $150 billion in U.S. government investment in clean energy over 10 years — and in fact will ultimately drive some $100 billion a year in total U.S. investment in clean energy.
  
• Recovery Act Announcement: President Obama Announces $2.4 Billion in Grants to Accelerate the Manufacturing and Deployment of the Next Generation of U.S. Batteries and Electric Vehicles
  Aug 5, 2009 - EERE
  
  Further accelerating the manufacturing and deployment of electric vehicles, batteries, and components here in America, and creating tens of thousands of new jobs, President Obama today announced 48 new advanced battery and electric drive projects that will receive $2.4 billion in funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. These projects, selected through a highly competitive process by the Department of Energy, will accelerate the development of U.S. manufacturing capacity for batteries and electric drive components as well as the deployment of electric drive vehicles, helping to establish American leadership in creating the next generation of advanced vehicles.
  
  
• Obama Administration Announces $30 Billion in Loan Guarantees for Renewable Energy Projects and to Modernize the Grid
  Jul 31, 2009 -Wind Today
  
  Washington, DC--U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced July 29 that the Department of Energy will provide up to $30 billion in loan guarantees, depending on the applications and market conditions, for renewable energy projects.
  
• Putting the cost of going green in context
  Jul 15, - 2009 Kurt Zenz House - Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
  
  Over time, the global energy infrastructure must change because the continued combustion of fossil fuels is altering Earth's climate in potentially dangerous ways and because the large wealth transfer from mostly democratic oil-importing countries to mostly autocratic oil-exporting countries is propping up repressive regimes worldwide. So, we know that the world's energy infrastructure must change. But, the interesting questions are: how big an investment are we willing to make to bring about that change and how fast are we willing to make that investment?
  
  
• South Korea to Invest a Whopping $85bn on Green Technology in ‘Green New Deal’
  Jul 6, 2009 - Andrew Williams - CleanTechnica.com
  
  South Korea yesterday announced plans to invest a staggering Won107,000bn ($85 billion) on ‘green growth’ industries over the next five years.
  
  
• Green power takes root in the Chinese desert
  Jul 2, 2009 - Keith Bradsher - New York Times
  
  As the United States takes its first steps toward mandating that power companies generate more electricity from renewable sources, China already has a similar requirement and is investing billions to remake itself into a green energy superpower.
  
  
• Dependence on big oil, dirty coal could cost U.S. $30 trillion by 2030
  Jun 30, 2009 - Environment America
  
  Between 2010 and 2030, the United States will spend as much as $30 trillion on oil, coal, and other fossil fuels - nearly four times the total earnings of all American workers in 2007.  At the same time, pollution from fossil fuels is the number one source of air and global warming pollution and a leading source of water pollution, said Environment America in a new report analyzing government data on energy.
  
  
• Hawaii Gov. Lingle signs 3 clean energy bills
  Jun 27, 2009 - The Associated Press
  
  Three measures aimed at increasing the state's reliance on solar, wind and other clean energy sources are now law.
  
  
• Top 25 green energy leaders
  June 15, 2009 - Katherine Harmon - Scientific American
  
  Forward-thinking companies, universities and municipalities are finding creative ways to run on renewable power
  
  
• China's economy transforming in green revolution
  Jun 11, 2009 - Xinhua
  
  China's economy is going greener as the world's third-largest economy makes resolute efforts to save energy and reduce pollution.
  
  
• Show Me the Money: DOE Announces $256 Million Investment to Improve Energy Efficiency of the American Economy
  Jun 11, 2009 - Stoel Rives
  
  On June 1, 2009, the Department of Energy ("DOE") announced plans to deploy $256 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act ("Recovery Act") to be used to improve the energy efficiency of the American economy. Three recent DOE Funding Opportunity Announcements ("FOAs") have been issued in conjunction with this Recovery Act announcement.
  
  
• Clean Energy Grows Economy Faster Than Traditional Sources
  Jun 10, 2009 - Energy Central
  
  As the state grapples with a multibillion dollar deficit, a new study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, to be released today examines the economic impacts of different energy pathways for California and finds that continuing on a business-as-usual energy path risks greater economic insecurity, while aggressive acceleration of clean energy assures faster and more sustained economic growth. Relying on renewable sources for 50 percent of California's electric power, combined with increasing energy efficiency by 1.5 percent a year will generate half a million new jobs with over $100 billion in cumulative payrolls over the next 40 years, according to the study.
  
  
• 12 pc rise in investment in India's renewable energy: UNEP
  Jun 07, 2009 - Asia Pulse Data Source - Chennaionoine.com
  
  New Delhi, June 7 India saw a 12 per cent rise in investment in clean renewable energy like wind, solar, biomass and small-hydro projects with USD 4.1 billion being pumped into this sector last year, according to a UNEP report.
  
  
• India, where the renewable energy business potentialities grow aplenty
  Jun 5, 2009 - Ramamathan Menon - Energy Pulse
  
  Many reasons make India a great investment destination for new and renewable energy firms from all over the world, especially the size of its market, its speeding growth, its future potential and its political and economic stability.
  
  
• Global trends in sustainable energy investment 2009
  Jun 4, 2009 - UNEP
  
  Analysis of trends and issues in the financing of renewable energy and energy efficiency.
  
  
• G20 renewable energy aid not enough: IEA
  Jun 1, 2009 - Reuters
  
  Renewable energy's sliver of the multi-trillion dollar economic stimulus announced by the world's biggest economies falls far short of the investment needed to meet carbon emissions targets, the head of the International Energy Agency said on Monday.
  
  
• Energy Law Alert: Energy financing opportunities in the 2008 Farm Bill
  Jun 1, 2009 - Stoel Rives
  
  Lately, a lot of attention has been focused on energy financing opportunities in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (the Stimulus Bill) (see our recent publication Show Me the Money: The Law of the Stimulus). However, there are still exciting opportunities for financing renewable energy systems contained in other existing sources. One such act with enormous potential is the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (the "2008 Farm Bill").
  
  
• New Energy Finance Cleaning Up 2009 Report Now Avaliable
  May 13, 2009 - Clean Edge Alert
  
  New Energy Finance is pleased to release the Cleaning Up 2009 report, which provides an in-depth analysis into VC & PE clean energy investment, highlighting the key investment trends of 2008 and offers predictions for 2009 and beyond. While difficult economic conditions led to the contraction of most asset classes in 2008, venture capital and private equity investment held strong with $32.4bn of investment in companies and projects.
  
  
• Recession Opportunities: Green Investing
  May 13, 2009 - Farnoosh Torab - MainStreet.com
  
  For those with some money to invest, and an appetite for a little risk, it's easy being green. The green industry, which not long ago was “getting hugged to death" by investors (at least according to one financial analyst), is very much in growth mode, despite an overall volatile investment atmosphere in 2009.
  
  
• Show Me The Money: An Economic Stimulus Funding Guide
  May 4, 2009 - Stoel Rives, LLP
  
  Stoel Rives LLP, a full-service U.S. business law firm, today announced the publication of a guide to federal clean energy funding opportunities under the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act ("ARRA").
  
  
• Taiwan pledges $1.3 billion green investment
  Apr 23, 2009 - The Associated Press
  
  Taiwan will invest 45 billion New Taiwan dollars ($1.3 billion) to expand and upgrade the island's solar and wind energy industries and help reduce the use of fuel, the Cabinet said Thursday.
  
  
• 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.
  
  
• TVA agrees to pursue renewable energy purchases
  Apr 2, 2009 - Duncan Mansfield - The Associated Press
  
  In the face of looming legislative pressures for cleaner energy, the nation's largest public utility agreed Thursday to buy more than a nuclear reactor's worth of electricity from renewable energy sources.
  
  
• Report: Global clean-energy investment falls 53%
  Apr 2 - Sandy Shore - The Associate Press
  
  New global investment in renewable-energy projects fell 53 percent in the first quarter, an indication money from government stimulus packages has been slow to reach the industry, a report concluded Thursday.
  
  
• Irish firm to invest $1 bn in Chilean wind farms
  Mar 26, 2009 -EFE
  
  Ireland's Mainstream Renewable Power plans to invest more than $1 billion in Chile over the next five years to build wind farms, the company's co-founder and CEO, Eddie O'Connor, said.
  
  
• Qatar to build USD 500 m solar power plant
  Mar 23, 2009 - Asia Pulse Data Source
  
  Qatar is planning to build a major solar energy plant with an aim to generate at least 100 MW of solar power within five years, a news report said today.
  
  
• Clean Energy Trends 2009
  Mar 11, 2009 - Clean Edge
  
  The following is an excerpt from Clean Energy Trends 2009. In last year's Clean Energy Trends report, we noted that 2008 would prove to be another banner year for clean energy even in the face of a brooding economic storm. That prognosis proved correct, with revenue growth among our three key clean-energy sectors expanding by 50 percent globally between 2007 and 2008.
  
  
• Fed eyes renewable energy projects
  Feb 23, 2009 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - James Monteleone - The Daily Times
  
  The federal stimulus bill is anticipated to steer $43 billion in nationwide investments into a yearling renewable energy industry, but the slumped oil and gas industry likely will be left out.
  
  
• Transmission for 20% Wind Would Save Consumers $12B Annually: Study
  Feb 13, 2009 - Wind Energy Weekly
  
  An investment in the power grid to enable wind to supply 20% of the electricity needs of the eastern U.S. would save consumers $12 billion annually, recovering capital costs in as little as seven years while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and making the power grid more reliable, according to a study released this week.
  
  
• PSE&G Proposes $773 Million Solar Energy Program
  Feb 10, 2009 - PRNewswire-FirstCall
  
  Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSE&G) today asked New Jersey regulators to approve a $773-million proposal to bring the benefits of 120 megawatts of solar power directly to communities and customers throughout its service territory.
  
  
• Study: Billions Needed to Deliver Wind Power to Eastern Interconnection
  Feb 9, 2009 - PRNewswire - Reuters
  
  The Joint Coordinated System Plan (JCSP'08), the first step of a transmission and generation system expansion analysis of the majority of the Eastern Interconnection, estimates the electricity sector will need over $80 billion in new transmission infrastructure to obtain 20% of the region's electricity from wind generation.
  
  
• EU to fund renewable energy projects in India
  Feb 7, 2009 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Hindustan Times, New Delhi
  
  The European Union will soon launch a programme, initially through a 300 million euro amount from the European Investment Bank, to invest in renewable energy projects in India. The Czech Deputy Prime Minister Martin Bursik announced this on Friday while visiting New Delhi following the European Union's adoption of its new climate and energy package. The Czech Republic holds the rotating EU presidency.
  
  
• Electric Transmission Investments Needed to Unlock Enormous Wind Power Resources in US
  Feb 2, 2009 - emergingenergy.com
  
  Cambridge, Massachusetts - The electric transmission investments proposed in the new Obama administration’s stimulus plan would have a major impact on wind power development in the US, according to Emerging Energy Research, a Cambridge MA advisory firm in the renewable energy sector. EER has recently profiled nine of the largest transmission initiatives under development in the western United States, which alone are set to unlock 57 GW of new wind power -- more than tripling the existing wind power capacity in the US. While most of these large-scale projects are not scheduled for completion until after 2015, hundreds of smaller transmission lines and grid upgrades can provide a more immediate impact on wind power development in the US.
  
  
• World Economic Forum Report: $515bn per year needed in clean energy investments
  Jan 30, 2009 - News@All-Energy
  
  Clean energy opportunities have the potential to generate significant economic returns. Experts warn against complacency in combating climate change, urging the link of the economy and climate agendas in 2009.
  
  
• Better Place Secures 103 Million Euros for Danish Electric Car Charging Network
  Jan 29, 2009 - Clean Edge News
  
  Better Place, a developer of electric vehicle networks, recently announced in conjunction with DONG Energy, that it has closed approximately 103 million Euros in equity and convertible debt for the initial deployment of their electric car charging network in Denmark.
  
  
• 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.
  
  
• U.S. Electricity Generation and Sales Set New Records in 2007
  Jan 21, 2009 - Energy Information Administration
  
  Electricity generation and electricity sales reached record levels in 2007, according to Electric Power Annual 2007, released today by the Energy Information Administration. Following a year of relatively weak growth in 2006, net generation of electric power increased by 2.3 percent, rising to 4,157 million megawatthours and retail sales rose by 2.6 percent to 3,765 million megawatthours in 2007.
  
  
• Clean energy investment up 4.4%
  Jan 19, 2009 - renewableenergyfocus.com
  
  LONDON, UK - Total new investment in clean energy worldwide rose 4.4% during the course of 2008 and exceeded the US$150 billion mark for the first time, according to full-year figures from New Energy Finance.
  
  
• Astonfield to invest USD two bn in renewable energy sector
  Jan 19, 2009 -- Asia Pulse Data Source
  
  Mumbai - Promoted by a group of Non-Resident Indians (NRIs), Astonfield Renewable Resources Ltd (ARRL), today said it will invest USD 2 billion in India's renewable energy sector in the next two years.
  
  
• Norway earmarks NOK 80 million for global clean energy investment fund
  Dec 12, 2008 - Asia Pulse Data Source
  
  OSLO - Norway earmarked some NOK80 million for the Global Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Fund (GEEREF) to combat climate change and promote clean energy in developing countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced Thursday.
  
  
  
• New Report Finds Green Economy Could Create Millions of Jobs
  Sep 25, 2008 - Voice of America News/ContentWorks
  
  A new study says tackling climate change could create millions of new jobs in both developed and developing countries. At the same time, the report warns there will be job losses in certain sectors as countries adjust to the shift from fossil fuel to renewable energy. The International Labor Organization, the U.N. Environment Program and the International Organization of Employers produced the study. Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from Geneva.
  
  
  
• 2M U.S. jobs seen in clean energy
  Sep 11, 2008 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Monica Chen - The Herald-Sun
  
  Durham, N.C. - A green jobs plan paid for with auctions of carbon permits could net North Carolina $2.9 billion over the next two years and 62,015 new jobs, according to a just-released report.
  
  
• Going green may bring job boom in state
  Sep 10, 2008 - Joe Napsha - The Pittsburgh Tribune - Review McClatchy-Tribune Regional News
  
  Pennsylvania could gain about 86,000 jobs by investing in clean energy technologies, according to a report released Tuesday by a coalition of labor and environmental groups.
  
  
• Carbon Credits Are Financing Renewable Energy Projects in India
  Sep 4, 2008 - Anupam Tyagi - RenewableEnergyWorld.com
  
  Ghaziabad, India - When a firm in India invests in a renewable energy source to meet growing energy needs, it may be able to acquire carbon credits. These carbon credits are sold on international markets generating income for the owner of the credits. Carbon credits, which are issued to organizations based on their efforts to limit climate change, and renewable energy projects are intricately linked in India.
  
  
• Investment in renewables is 'green gold rush': UN
  Jul 2, 2008 - Reuters - ABC News
  
  In what is being called a "green gold rush," global investment in renewable energy have surged some 60 per cent to $155 billion in 2007, a United Nations agency says.
  
  
• 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.
  
  
• 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.
  
  
• 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.
  
  
• $45 tril. needed to halve global CO2 emissions by 2050: IEA
  Jun 6, 2008 - The Associated Press
  
  The world needs to invest at least an additional $45 trillion through 2050 in technology and its deployment to halve global carbon dioxide emissions by that time from current levels, the International Energy Agency said Friday.
  
  
• McCormick says US investment in Clean Technology Fund is 'critical'
  Jun 5, 2008 - Thomson Financial News
  
  WASHINGTON - It is 'critical' that the US support the Clean Technology Fund (CTF), a multilateral initiative that aims to help developing countries fund the additional costs of deploying clean energy technologies over dirtier and often cheaper alternatives, a Treasury official told a House Subcommittee today.
  
  
• 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.

• ADB to help create funds for clean energy projects for Pakistan, other Asian countries
  Apr 18, 2008 - Asia Pulse Data Source
  
  The Asian Development Bank will help establish five private sector funds targeting investments of up to $1.2 billion (750 million euros) for clean energy projects in Asia, the bank said Thursday. The Manila-based bank said it will provide $20 million (euro12.56 million) to each of the five private equity funds, for total seed money of $100 million (euro63 million).
  
  
• ADB to invest 1 billion USD for clean energy in Asia
  Apr 6, 2008 - VNDaily.net
  
  The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is expected to invest one billion USD annually in "clean energy" projects in Asia, the Manila-based bank said. ADB Vice-President for Sustainable Development Ursula Schafer-Preuss was quoted by NAM News Networks as making the announcement at an ADB and US Agency for International Development (USAID) sponsored forum on finding cleaner energy sources for Asia.
  
  
• Clean-Energy Trends 2008
  Mar, 2008 - CleanEdge
  
  Amid a challenging economic outlook—plummeting housing prices, rising foreclosure rates, record-high oil prices, sinking consumer confidence, looming recession—2007 was another banner year for clean energy, with no signs of a slowdown in 2008. Solar, wind, biofuels, geothermal, energy intelligence, hybrid- and all-electric vehicles, advanced batteries, green buildings, and other clean-energy-related technologies and markets provided bright spots in an otherwise sluggish economy.
  
  
• Pressure, private cash driving clean energy
  Feb 6, 2008 - The Associated Press
  
  NEW YORK (AP) -- High oil prices and growing concerns about the environment may drive more than $7 trillion of new investment in so-called clean energy technologies by 2030, an energy research group says.
  
  
• Clean Energy Investment Exceeds $117 Billion in 2007
  Feb 6, 2008 - EERE Network News
  
  The global investment in clean energy grew 41% in 2007, reaching $117.2 billion, according to analysts at New Energy Finance, Ltd. Wind power drew the greatest amount of investments, followed by solar energy and energy efficiency, while biofuels investments slowed due to surging costs for crops. The majority of the funds, $54.5 billion, were used to finance assets such as biorefineries, wind farms, and solar power plants. In fact, nearly half of that went toward wind energy investments. Meanwhile, solar project investments of $5.9 billion represented an 82% increase over investments in 2006, driven partly by large solar energy facilities in Spain and Italy. Solar energy also became the leading clean energy candidate for venture capital and private equity investment, attracting $3 billion of new equity. Much of that went toward solar energy startups in the United States; HelioVolt alone raised $101 million. Clean energy stocks also did well, as thin-film solar power company First Solar led the pack with a nearly 8-fold increase in price.
  
  
• Big banks take issue with coal plants
  Feb 5, 2008 - The Associated Press
  
  Three of the nation's largest investment banks said Monday they've developed new environmental standards to help lenders evaluate risks associated with investments in coal-fired power plants.
  
  
• Abu Dhabi Commits US$15 Billion to Alternative Energy, Clean Technology
  Jan 21, 2008 - PRNewswire - USNewswire
  
  In the opening ceremony of the World Future Energy Summit here today, Abu Dhabi announced the most ambitious sustainability program ever launched by a government -- an initial investment of US$15 billion in projects targeting solar, wind and hydrogen power; carbon reduction and management; sustainable development; education; manufacturing; and research and development.
  
  
• Transmission Congestion And Investment Analysis (pdf)
  2088 - ICF International
  
  Transmission access is central to maintaining workably competitive power markets and to achieving expected returns on power plant investment. Declining investment in transmission capacity in recent years presents risks and opportunities in the power markets for the investors and owners of both generation and transmission assets. The winners will be those who are able to take a forward view of the marketplace and adopt strategies that will minimize risks and maximize value from the ownership and utilization of transmission. ICF International can help you to assess these factors in many ways.
  
  
• Global Trends in Sustainable Energy Investment 2007 (PDF)
  2007 - United Nations Environmental Programme
  
  Analysis of Trends and Issues in the Financing of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency in OECD and Developing Countries. This report was commissioned by UNEP’s Division of Technology, Industry and Economics (DTIE) under its Sustainable Energy Finance Initiative and was produced in collaboration with New Energy Finance Limited.
  

• Cities offer cash, perks to entice residents to go green
  Dec 27, 2007 - Brian Skoloff - The Associated Press
  
  Free hybrid car parking. Cash rebates for solar panel installations. Low-interest loans for energy-efficient home renovations. Tearing up that water-thirsty lawn in the parched Southwest? The check's in the mail, courtesy of a city government.|
  
  
• 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.
  
  
• Renewables Research to Get Boost From Google Goal to Oust Coal
  Dec 6, 2007 - California Energy Markets
  
  Google plans to spend hundreds of millions of dollars in coming years to make electricity from renewable sources cheaper than that generated from coal.
  
  
• Fortis and BBVA to Lead $185 Million Senior Secured Financing for New 164 MW Wind Farm
  Nov 30, 2007 - PRNewswire
  
  NEW YORK - Fortis and BBVA, today announced that they have been selected to be Joint Bookrunners and Joint Lead Arrangers for a $185 million Senior Secured Financing that will support construction and operation of NedPower Mount Storm LLC (the "Project"), a new 164 MW wind farm in Grant County, West Virginia. Shell WindEnergy, a division of Royal Dutch Shell , one of the largest wind farm owners in the world, and Dominion one of the largest producers of energy in the U.S., are sponsoring the Project and will own it on a 50/50 basis. Fortis will also act as Administrative Agent and Security Agent for the Project.
  
  
• 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.
  
  
• Government of Canada Invests in Canada's Largest Wind Energy Project
  Nov 8, 2007 - Marketwire
  
  The Honourable Tony Clement, Minister of Health and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario, was at the Prince Wind Energy Farm today to announce more than $53 million in funding, over ten years, for the largest wind energy project in Canada. Minister Clement, speaking on behalf of the Honourable Gary Lunn, Minister of Natural Resources, was joined by Mr. Harry Goldgut, Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer of Brookfield Power, to make the announcement.
  
  
• U.S. Winds Morph into a European Power Play: EU Firms Are Attracted to Open Space and Generous Subsidies for Green Energy
  Nov 8, 2007 - International Herald Tribune
  
  The European Union has taken the lead on many climate change issues - from ratifying the Kyoto Protocol to passing laws to require and encourage the development of renewable energy. Why, then, are so many European energy companies looking to invest in the United States?
  
  
• 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.
  
  
• Wind Turbine Supply Will Catch Up with Demand - Panel
  Nov 6, 2007 - Wind Energy Weekly
  
  Global supply and demand for wind turbines and related components should begin to balance out in 2009 and into 2010, although the industry value chain is still significantly hindered by policy uncertainty, said panelists in a session that tackled supply chain issues at the AWEA 2007 Wind Energy Fall Symposium.
  
  
• Looking for green returns
  Oct 28, 2007 - San Diego Union-Tribune
  
  Experts urge caution as investors flock to environmentally friendly companies.
  Green is good. At least that's the bet of an increasing number of investment fund managers, retirees and armchair stock pickers who are pouring billions into “green” stocks, and not necessarily for the love of nature.
  
  
• Greening the Grid Gets Green Light
  Oct 17, 2007 - Business Wire
  
  The California Independent System Operator Corporation (California ISO) Board of Governors today approved making changes to its federal tariff that spell out how a new financing tool will work to remove barriers for renewable power trying to access the power grid. If approved formally by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the new financing mechanism will make it feasible for smaller green power developers to hook up to the transmission system and gain entry into the competitive market for energy.
  
  
• FPL Group Plans to Boost U.S. Solar Energy Production
  Sep 26, 2007 - Business Wire
  
  JUNO BEACH, Fla. - FPL Group, Inc. (NYSE:FPL), one of the country's leading generators of renewable electric power, today announced a $2.4 billion investment program aimed at increasing U.S. solar thermal energy output and reducing carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to global warming.
  
  
• Beijing Calls for $265B Investment in Renewable Energy
  Sep 5, 2007 - Red Herring
  
  Shares in renewable energy companies edged up on China's stock exchanges Wednesday following the release of a national plan for reducing fossil fuel-based energy consumption, according to the country's official Xinhua News Agency.
  
  
• Fight against global warming may hinge on 'green' energy investments
  Aug 28, 2007 - The Associated Press
  
  They could be powerful new weapons in the battle against global warming: turbines powered by waves or wind, or technology that scrubs the skies to recapture and recycle carbon.
  
  
• Renewable energy can save Southeast Asia 2 trln usd in fuel costs - Greenpeace
  Aug 23, 2007 - Thomson Financial - AFX News
  
  SINGAPORE - Shifting to renewable energy could save Southeast Asian countries as much as two trillion US dollars in fuel costs over the next 23 years, or more than 80 billion dollars annually, environmental group Greenpeace said Thursday.
  
  
• 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.
  
  
• The KLD Global Climate 100 Index Marks Second Year (pdf)
  Jul 27, 2007 - KLD.com
  
  KLD Research & Analytics, Inc., an independent investment research and index provider, marked the second anniversary of its Global Climate 100 Index (GC100) – the first global index focused on solutions to climate change.
  
  
• Texas oil tycoon plans largest wind farm
  Jun 20, 2007 - The Associated Press
  
  2,000 turbines over 200,000 acres at cost that could reach $6 billion
  LUBBOCK, Texas - Billionaire T. Boone Pickens is planning to cash in on the wind energy boom by building the world's largest wind farm in West Texas.
  
  
• Greece to invest 2.5 billion euros in renewable energy sources by 2010
  Mar 19, 2007 - Xinhua
  
  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.
  
  
• The KLD Global Climate 100^SM Index
  
  The KLD Global Climate 100^SM Index (GC 100) is a specialty index designed to promote investment in public companies whose activities demonstrate the greatest potential for mitigating immediate and long-term causes of climate change. 
  
  http://www.kld.com/indexes/gc100/index.html
  
  
• Renewable Energy Finance & Investment Network (REFIN) (pdf)
  2004 Version - ACORE
  
  A directory of sources of finance for renewable energy and energy efficiency in the United States.
  
  
• Profiting from Transmission Investment (pdf)
  Oct, 2004 - Kojo Ofori-Atta, Elliot Roseman, Bansari Saha, Scott Stuart, Marc Lipschultz & Jonathan Smidt - Public Utilities Fortnightly
  
  The still-fresh memories of last year’s Northeast blackout coupled with rising congestion nationwide have increased awareness of the electric transmission investment shortfall in the United States. Such investment, in the right locations, would have a highly positive benefit-cost ratio. But how much should be spent?
  
  
• Managing Transmission Grid Investment in a Competitive World (1.4 MB .pdf), a GF Energy LLC White Paper
  Feb, 2003
  
  Regulation alone cannot improve operation of our transmission grid to the level required by a 21st Century economy. Success requires experienced visionary grid management teams with a long-term stake in this outcome.
  
  
• Deregulation leaves California powerless
  Jan 11, 2001 - Ron Recinto - Redherring.com
  
  As California goes, so goes the nation. At least, that's what power entrepreneurs hope will happen, since the Golden State's sudden propensity for brownouts might yield a major shift in the way the energy business works nationally.
  
  
• Low-cost called key to renewable energy success
  Nov 30, 2000 - Denver Rocky Mountain News
  
  Increased use of renewable energy is likely to depend more on prices coming down rather than a crisis in natural gas costs and other conventional fuels, an expert said Wednesday.
  
  
• 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.
  
  
• Renewable energy: good for the world, better for the bottom line
  Oct 2, 2000 - Dwane Wilkin
  
  Christian Vachon dropped all the green slogans from his spiel two years ago, when it finally dawned on him that people who buy clean energy really don’t care about the environment. “The bottom line is money,” says Vachon, an engineer whose Canadian company, Enerconcept Inc., sells and installs renewable solar and wind power systems in southeastern Quebec. “That’s the kind of world we live in.”
  
  
• Alternative Energy Sources Heating Up
  Aug 14, 2000 - Jeff McDonald - San Diego Union Tribune
  
  Here's one byproduct of the summerlong run-up in energy costs that might pay big dividends down the road: More and more businesses and homeowners are looking at alternative ways to light their offices, power their PCs and tune in their televisions.
  
  
• U.S. energy secretary positive about opening of Mexican electricity
  2000 - Associated Press
  
  U.S. Energy Secretary Bill Richardson on Friday characterized as "very positive" a proposal by Mexico's president-elect to open this country's electricity sector to private investment.
  

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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