Tag: industry news

24
Nov

World’s first power-to-liquids production plant opened in Dresden

A Power-to-Liquids (PtL) demonstration rig which is the first of its kind in the world was officially inaugurated on 14 November by Dresden-based sunfire GmbH. The ceremony was attended by German Federal Minister of Education and Research Johanna Wanka, Board Member Pieter Koolen of venture capitalist Bilfinger (in which Total and EDF participate) as well as a number of other

Read more

24
Nov

Where battery storage will take over from backup power plants

Although the growth in renewables has led to the shutdown of many gas- and coal-fired power plants, power producers believe their plants will still be needed to provide backup capacity. But grid storage batteries are becoming increasingly competitive with ‘peaker plants’, says Paul Siblerud of US storage company ViZn Energy Systems in an interview with Roy L. Hales of The

Read more

24
Nov

SunPower: “solar the greatest market opportunity world has seen”

The head of one of the world’s leading solar PV manufacturers and developers, SunPower’s Tom Werner, predicts that solar will be a $US5 trillion industry within 20 years, and represents one of the greatest ever opportunities in the history of markets. Giles Parkinson of Reneweconomy.com reports on a recent investment briefing given by Werner. “We’ve just scratched the surface of

Read more

24
Nov

The “historic” US-China climate change deal confirms that we are failing in the fight against climate change

The US-China Joint Announcement on Climate Change made on 11 November, has been hailed by many as a historic breakthrough in the fight against climate change, but it has also met with quite a bit of scepticism. Robert Wilson, who publishes the blog The Energy Transition on the website of The Energy Collective, argues that the agreement between the two largest economies

Read more

24
Nov

Ron Baron: “All Of Us Will Likely Be Tesla Customers In 25 Years”

One of the more successful investors/hedge fund managers of recent years, Ron Baron, recently made comments about Tesla Motors blowing up over the next few years, and that “all of us will likely be Tesla customers in 25 years.” While the words that come out of the mouths of those involved in the financial industry should always be taken with a

Read more

24
Nov

India Eyes 100 GW Solar Power Capacity By 2022

While we have reported recently that India has hiked its solar power capacity target by five times and seeks to install 100 GW capacity by 2022, we’ll now consider some of the aspects of this enormous target. India’s recently announced target to install 100 GW solar power capacity by 2022 could make it one of the largest solar power markets in the

Read more

24
Nov

India’s Largest Power Producer Expands Solar Energy Plans

State governments across India are implementing highly ambitious plans to rapidly expand solar power generation capacity. While a few are roping in private sector companies, most are opting for large government-owned companies with proven track records in the power sector. Odisha, a southeastern state in India, has asked the country’s largest power producer, NTPC Limited, to set up an ultra mega

Read more

24
Nov

Stung By Rising Coal Prices, India’s Tata Power Plans Renewable Energy Acquisitions

Private sector power companies in India seem to have realised the business case behind the fuel cost advantage of renewable energy projects over conventional power projects and are now looking to expand their renewable energy portfolios. The second-largest private sector power generating company in India, Tata Power, is planning to expand its renewable energy portfolio through its subsidiary Tata Power Renewable

Read more

22
Nov

Subminiature Switches Reduce Manual Assembly Time

TE Connectivity (TE) announces its new ALCOSWITCH Subminiature Series of switches. The new switches add to the extensive product portfolio of 4,000 ALCOSWITCH switches that provide a cost savings for switching power in set-top boxes, control panels, light fixtures and industrial machinery. The compact, reliable, high-performance mechanical switches are ideal for space-sensitive applications, and are available in pushbutton, toggle and

Read more

22
Nov

High-Voltage IC Building Blocks Simplify SMPS Design

International Rectifier Corp (IR) announced the introduction of IR’s µHVIC™ family of general purpose high-voltage and low-voltage integrated circuits that simplifies power system development by offering easy-to-implement building blocks for frequently used circuit elements. The new family of µHVIC devices includes the IRSxx752L 100V, 200V and 600V single channel high-side drivers; the IRS25751L high-voltage start-up IC; the IRS44273L single channel

Read more