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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 […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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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 […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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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 […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Utilities Feeling Rooftop Solar Heat Start Fighting Back

If you wonder why America’s utilities are rattled by the explosive growth in rooftop solar – – and are pushing back — William Walker has a story for you. A flip-flop wearing Walker stands in his driveway pointing to a ubiquitous neighborhood feature – solar panels on the roofs of five of six houses nearby. He lives in Ewa Beach, a development on the sultry leeward coast of the Hawaiian island of Oahu built on land cleared of sugar cane fields. Shade is scarce and residents here call their homes “hot boxes,” requiring almost round-the-clock air conditioning. Hawaii , which imports pricey oil to power its electricity grid, has the highest utility rates in the nation — at 37 cents a kilowatt-hour, they’re more than double California and triple the national average. With bills for 1,600 square foot houses like these running as high as $400 a month, solar […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Saudi Arabia, Emirates lead charge on Mideast solar power

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates, Nov. 1 (UPI) — Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, two of the world’s leading oil producers, are spearheading a Middle Eastern drive to develop solar energy, with plans for projects requiring $1.5 billion in investment by the end of 2014. The program, designed to free up for export increasing amounts of oil and gas being used domestically for power generation, got a major endorsement from the Arab Forum for Environment and Development Monday. It urged Arab states to re-evaluate their relationship with oil, the economic mainstay of the Arab world since the 1950s, and phase out state energy subsidies to focus investment in developing renewable energy. “Oil and gas are important, they will continue to be important,” said Najib Saab, the forum’s secretary-general. “We call for more careful use of oil and gas and for more serious development of renewable energy.” Saudi […]

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Solar Rebound Beating Dot-Com Recovery as Demand Surges

Solar industry manufacturers are rebounding from a two-year slump faster than technology companies recovered from the dot-com bubble of the late 1990s. The benchmark BI Global Large Solar Energy Index of 15 manufacturers, which slumped 87 percent from a February 2011 peak through November 2012, has regained 55 percent of its value in the past year. The technology-dominated Nasdaq Composite (CCMP) index reached its post-bubble low in October 2002 and regained 37 percent of its March 2000 peak value in the next year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Suppliers including California ’s SunPower Corp. (SPWR) , which has gained more than fivefold this year, and China ’s Yingli Green Energy Holding Co. (YGE) are driving the rally as panel prices stabilize. Installations at power plants and on roofs will swell 40 percent this year from a 6.1 percent pace last year. “The worst is probably behind us,” Jenny […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple