Siting Renewable Energy Projects in Ontario, Canada

Written by Bob Chiarelli | 18 June 2013
Posted in Guest Blogs

The new Ontario government is making key changes to increase local control over the siting of renewable energy projects. As a former Mayor and Regional Chair, I understand how important it is for communities to be involved in decision making from the beginning.  Communities spoke, mayors spoke, and we listened.

Selling the Benefits of Solar Energy in Australia

Written by Aidan Jenkins | 21 May 2013
Posted in Guest Blogs

Selling the benefits of solar energy becomes more challenging in Australia simply because the easy sales have already been made to committed environmentalists and forward-thinking technology enthusiasts. Scandals, political changes and misinformation campaigns further complicate the problems of convincing customers to invest thousands of dollars to install solar systems.

Being Conservative in a Liberal Industry

Written by Alan H. Lee | 24 April 2013
Posted in Guest Blogs

The solar industry should be grateful to every government that has given it subsidies.  However, almost every industry should be grateful to the governments that helped them get going with subsidies, and the industries that have been well established that still get incentives should be grateful as well.  In most cases however, incentives do not last forever, and they will decline in the near future. With an imminent decline and end of incentives provided by the California Solar Initiative (CSI), many businesses and consumers who are currently installing or interested in solar installations may be wondering what the end of CSI will mean for them. The key to an incentive is to get your foot into the door, set up your business, and become viable post-incentive.

Hannover Messe 2013: Energy focus with low solar participation

Written by Anne Fischer | 16 April 2013
Posted in Editors Blogs

Hannover Messe, the largest industrial show worldwide attracted some 225,000 visitors to Hannover, Germany, during the five exhibition days; some 50% came from abroad. Although the theme was “Integrated Industry”, renewable energy and sustainability was a strong focus.

Solar in Mexico: High intensity potential

Written by Nancy Hartsoch | 11 April 2013
Posted in Guest Blogs

Significant attention has been focused on the solar market in Mexico of late.  Projections have been for huge solar farms, rapid growth…. basically a gold rush for solar rays.  All of this may be true, but new market development, which is not fueled by government incentives such as feed in tariffs and the like, is very likely to develop at a pace that is less predictable and faced by challenges that are not yet understood.  In the long run, these unsubsidized markets are more sustainable and predictable however.  No doubt the opportunity in Mexico is real and significant; how to capitalize on it is the key.

Energy Storage Summit

Written by Andreas Breyer | 25 March 2013
Posted in Editors Blogs

As storage solutions are seen as a key element to fully exploiting the potential of renewables, the interest in storage technologies has increased tremendously in the last years. The second Energy Storage Summit in Düsseldorf (Germany) is a good example: With some 530 participants coming from 33 countries the conference grew significantly compared to last years’ event. One key message of the conference was that the different disciplines of renewable energy cannot be regarded separately any more.

Unlocking the Next PV Boom

Written by Tucker Ruberti | 11 February 2013
Posted in Guest Blogs

The total installed cost and lifetime levelised cost of energy (LCOE) of photovoltaics (PV) installations continue to improve. These cost reductions are making PV economical to an increasing number of customers and developers, and the industry is continuing to find ways to reduce costs. However, to fully capitalize on PV’s increased viability, these new PV systems must also be able to be grid integrated at a reasonable cost. Furthermore, these new installations must be able to improve the reliability and performance of the overall grid as opposed to introducing additional risks or instabilities. Because of this, it is necessary to leverage learning from international interconnection requirements, emerging domestic standards and new innovations from PV inverter suppliers to unlock the potential of PV to provide an increasing amount of energy into the grid and simultaneously improving grid reliability and power quality.

Reaping the Rewards of Community Solar

Written by Andy Noel and Tom Sweeney | 04 February 2013
Posted in Guest Blogs

Despite its allure, adopting solar remains impossible for a surprising, even overwhelming, number of Americans. In fact, 80% of metered utility customers in the US cannot install solar on their rooftops due to building restrictions, shade on their property, low credit scores, prohibitive up-front costs or the fact that they are renters, among other reasons.