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Initial agreement signed for mega solar project in India

A group of state-owned Indian companies have signed an initial agreement for setting up what the government says is the world’s largest solar power plant. The 4,000-megawatt plant in the northwestern state of Rajasthan would be spread across 19,000 acres. "The MOU signed today will have to get the approval of the Cabinet and then the project will move forward," Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Praful Patel said at the signing ceremony in New Delhi Wednesday, Press Trust of India reports. The consortium of six state-run companies includes Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, known as BHEL, and Power Grid Corporation of India Limited. Construction for the first phase of 1,000 megawatts is expected to start in about three years. The plant will rely on crystalline silicon technology. The Hindu newspaper cited New and Renewable Energy Minister Farooq Abdullah as saying at the […]

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China May Have Deployed More Solar in 2013 Alone Than America Has Installed Altogether

China has the fastest train in the world, the most megacities in the world, and the biggest population . Now China can boast a new record: It has installed the most solar PV in one year. Preliminary figures released by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF)  show that China installed 12,000 megawatts of solar in 2013 — beating Germany’s record of 8,000 megawatts in 2010. These figures merit a major caveat, however. China is a very tough country to track and estimates differ significantly. China’s Renewable Energy Industries Association puts its preliminary estimate between 9,500 megawatts and 10,660 megawatts. GTM Research has not released its figures yet; it’s waiting for a final number on actual grid connections. The range of projections varies, but they all tell the same story: China’s domestic solar market is now a major force. In comparison, the booming U.S. market […]

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U.S. solar sector expanding, study finds

U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said the number of jobs created in the U.S. solar power sector suggests it is an "exciting time" for the industry. A report published by The Solar Foundation, a 37-year-old non-profit focused on solar power, said there were 142,698 people in the United States employed in the solar industry as of November, a 19.9 percent increase since September 2012. "This is an exciting time for the solar industry in the United States, made even more clear by the latest industry job figures," Moniz said in a statement issued Monday after the report was released. The report said the employment rate in the U.S. solar industry grew 10 times faster than the national average. The Solar Foundation’s census report for 2013 finds 77 percent of the jobs reported in the sector since September 2012 were new jobs. Employment in the […]

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U.S. Ethanol Exporters Search for a Port

U.S. ethanol makers are banking on export markets as they grapple with Obama administration plans to cut U.S. consumption requirements, but the industry is hampered by a distribution structure built almost exclusively around the domestic market. Archer Daniels Midland Co. , Green Plains Renewable Energy Inc. and other ethanol producers are trying to boost sales to Brazil, Mexico, Asia and the Middle East, in part by cutting costs to make the corn-based biofuel more price-competitive overseas. Exports could reach one billion gallons this year, increasing their share of U.S. output to 7% from 5%, as lower corn prices help producers sell ethanol more cheaply to foreign buyers, according to the Renewable Fuels Association, a trade group. But the $44 billion industry’s efforts to expand could be limited, analysts say, because the bulk of U.S. ethanol plants are located in the Midwest to be close to the corn supply rather […]

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Mideast looks at $50B to spend on solar power by 2020

The Middle East, spearheaded by the oil-rich Persian Gulf monarchies, could spend up to $50 billion on developing solar power over the next seven years, says the Middle East Solar Industry Association. The MESIA group based in Dubai, financial center of the United Arab Emirates, estimates the region will install 12,000-15,000 megawatts of solar power by 2020, with another 22,000-25,000 gigawatts from other renewable energy sources such as wind and hydro-power. The rapid expansion of power generation is a critical issue for governments and rulers across the region in the coming decade as populations swell and industrialization spreads, particularly in the petrostates of the gulf which have found their oil exports are suffering because they’re diverting too much oil to power plants. “It is estimated that installed generating capacity in the region will be required to double by 2020 to […]

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BlackLight Power, Inc. Announces the Game Changing Achievement of the Generation of Millions of Watts of Power from the Conversion of Water Fuel to a New Form of Hydrogen

BlackLight Power, Inc. (BLP) today announced that it has produced millions of watts of power with its breakthrough Solid Fuel-Catalyst-Induced-Hydrino-Transition (SF-CIHT) patent pending technology in its laboratories. Using a proprietary water-based solid fuel confined by two electrodes of a SF-CIHT cell, and applying a current of 12,000 amps through the fuel, water ignites into an extraordinary flash of power. The fuel can be continuously fed into the electrodes to continuously output power. BlackLight has produced millions of watts of power in a volume that is one ten thousandths of a liter corresponding to a power density of over an astonishing 10 billion watts per liter. As a comparison, a liter of BlackLight power source can output as much power as a central power generation plant exceeding the entire power of the four former reactors of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, the site of one of the worst nuclear disasters […]

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Study cautions on sole focus on energy crop biomass yield; perennial grasslands deliver greater ecosystems services than corn

«Study cautions on sole focus on energy crop biomass yield; perennial grasslands deliver greater ecosystems services than corn A study by a team from the DOE’s Great Lakes Bioenergy Center has concluded that focusing on the yield of an energy crop alone can come at the expense of many other environmental benefits. The study, published as an open access paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), found that switchgrass and prairie plantings harbored significantly greater plant, methanotrophic bacteria, arthropod, and bird diversity than corn. Although the corn biomass yield was higher, all other ecosystem services, including methane consumption, pest suppression, pollination, and conservation of grassland birds, were higher in perennial grasslands. Agriculture is being challenged to provide food, and increasingly fuel, for an […]

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Ethanol Discount Shrinks as Snow Delays Deliveries

Ethanol’s discount to gasoline narrowed as ice and snow are slow railroad deliveries across North America. The discount to the motor fuel tightened 2.57 cents to 71.76 cents as ethanol deliveries by rail are taking twice as long as normal, according to Chad Conn, a vice president of operations for Franklin, Tennessee-based Eco-Energy Inc. “Logistical issues are playing a role in the surprising firmness of the market,” said Sean Wever, a biofuels broker at Green Key Markets LLC in Chicago . Denatured ethanol for February delivery gained 1.2 cents, or 0.6 percent, to settle at $1.925 a gallon on the Chicago Board of Trade. Prices have dropped 14 percent in the past year. The cold snap pummeled energy infrastructure and prompted railroad companies BNSF Railway Co., Union Pacific Corp. and Norfolk Southern Corp. to warn customers earlier this week to expect delays. About 70 percent of U.S.’s ethanol is […]

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Ethanol Advances as Frigid Midwest Weather Curtails Supply

Ethanol advanced as icy, snowy conditions sweeping across the Midwest caused rail delays and terminal closures that may force companies to reduce operations. Futures rose 1 percent as Kinder Morgan Inc. said it’s working under force majeure at its Argo, Illinois, ethanol terminal. Union Pacific Corp., BNSF Railway Co. and Norfolk Southern Corp. have also said their operations are affected. Rail is a virtual pipeline for ethanol in the U.S. “They’re having to dial back because they can’t move production quick enough,” said Mike Blackford, a consultant at INTL FCStone in Des Moines , Iowa . “We’ve had rail issues. With this cold snap all of a sudden you’re shutting down truck, too.” Denatured ethanol for February delivery climbed 2 cents to $1.944 a gallon on the Chicago Board of Trade. Gasoline for February delivery gained 3.26 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $2.6786 a gallon on the New York […]

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Toyota opens CES with strong affirmation of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles; “staggering” rate of cost reduction; FCV on sale in US in 2015

Toyota opens CES with strong affirmation of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles; “staggering” rate of cost reduction; FCV on sale in US in 2015 Toyota opened the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) with a strong affirmation of the benefits of and potential for hydrogen fuel cell technology. “ We aren’t trying to re-invent the wheel; just everything necessary to make them turn, ” said Bob Carter, senior vice president of automotive operations for Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), USA, Inc. “ Fuel cell electric vehicles will be in our future sooner than many people believe, and in much greater numbers than anyone expected. ” Toyota showcased both its latest fuel cell vehicle […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple