The IEA’s annual World Energy Outlook (WEO) is seen as the most authoritative set of energy scenarios in the world. Yet when we test the forecasts for the growth of renewable energies in the WEO’s main scenario against reality, we find that the WEO consistently comes out too low. Each year from 2006 on the WEO has had to increase
China’s renewable energy revolution is powering ahead, with the year 2013 marking an important inflection point where the scales tipped more towards electric power generated from water, wind and solar than from fossil fuels and nuclear. This means that its energy security is being enhanced, while carbon emissions from the power sector can be expected to soon start to fall.
NEC Corporation has announced the commissioning of an Energy Storage System (ESS) for Enel Group subsidiary Enel Distribuzione, Italy’s largest distribution system operator. The ESS can store two megawatt hours (2MWh) of renewable power for release into the grid as required, making it the largest in Italy and one of the largest in Europe*. The ESS has been connected to
It’s now possible to use solar energy directly to produce some of the most important materials used in solar energy technologies, thanks to a new “breakthrough” from researchers at Oregon State University. The advance means that the costs of some types of solar energy technology could be notably reduced within the near-future, according to the researchers. “This approach should work
Growing agave and other carefully chosen plants amid photovoltaic panels could allow solar farms not only to collect sunlight for electricity but also to produce crops for biofuels, according to new computer models by Stanford scientists. This co-location approach could prove especially useful in sunny, arid regions such as the southwestern United States where water is scarce, said Sujith Ravi,
Experiments at the Vienna University of Technology can explain the behaviour of electrons at tiny step edges on titanium oxide surfaces. This is important for solar cell technology and novel, more effective catalysts. It can be found in toothpaste, solar cells, and it is useful for chemical catalysts: titanium dioxide (TiO2) is an extremely versatile material. Alhough it is used
CYPRESS, CA.–(eSolarEnergyNews)–State-of-the-art Mitsubishi Electric photovoltaic (PV) modules are now powering cutting-edge automotive research and development at Mazda North America’s Research & Development facility in Irvine, Calif. Mitsubishi Electric US, Inc., a diversified global electronics manufacturer, celebrating 40 years in the solar business, supplied Mazda with 1222 PV modules for a 317kW solar electric system that is expected to deliver half
The Vertex Companies, headquartered in Weymouth, Massachusetts, is a leading partner in the development of a 30-megawatt solar electric power plant located in Zacatecas, Mexico. When complete, this project will be one of the largest of its kind in Latin America. The announcement came during a reception held late last month as part of the Massachusetts – Mexico Innovation Partnership
Trina Solar, a global leader in photovoltaic modules, solutions and services, today announced that its State Key Laboratory of PV Science and Technology has developed a new high-efficiency Honey Ultra solar module. Trina Solar’s Honey Ultra monocrystalline silicon module reached a new record of 326.3W, which has been independently certified by TUV Rheinland, a leading authoritative certification institution. This result
India is slowly building upon its installed solar power capacity, thanks to the comprehensive and ambitious National Solar Mission, state solar policies, and relatively increased enforcement of the Renewable Purchase Obligation. The country added almost 950 MW of solar power capacity between April 2013 and March 2014 (that is, FY2013-14). The 56 percent increase in installed solar capacity witnessed in