Contrary to figures published by Bloomberg early last week announcing global clean energy investment was down by 22% Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2) has published a report in defiance stating that nearly 50,000 clean energy jobs have been created in the US alone, through approximately 137 project proposals in Q1 2012.
EDF Energies Nouvelles has awarded EPC company Bechtel a contract to partner with EDF’s subsidiary enXco’s on its Catalina Project in Kern County, southern California. Bechtel will also build the 7.2 mile transmission line to connect the facility to a nearby substation. The 110MW facility is to be built on 1,100 acres to produce enough energy to power approximately 35,000 homes.
A new survey by the Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA) has ranked Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) as the US’s top electric utility in the amount of solar power added to its system in 2011. PG&E is first in the Annual Solar Megawatts category of the more than 240 utilities that participated in SEPA's 2011 Utility Solar Rankings survey.
Istanbul, Turkey-based HITTITE Solar Energy has been confirmed as a sponsor of the Solar Technology Acceleration Centre (SolarTAC). HITTITE is currently developing a comprehensive solar thermal system.
Subsequent to the announcement last week of Los Angeles’ approval of a feed-in tariff, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has signed an ordinance authorizing the city’s Department of Water and Power to now establish a pilot program. Approval of the program by the Board of Water and Power Commissioners has been scheduled for April 17.
Despite our reports in March and earlier this month, the Brazilian Secretary of Energy Planning and Development of the Ministry of Mines and Energy, Altino Ventura Filho, has announced that solar energy will not form part of auctions in order to augment generation of solar power.
In the first quarter of 2012, financial investment in clean energy has been the weakest since 2009, states Bloomberg New Energy Finance. The figures published demonstrate investment was down 28% from Q4 2011 to just US$27 billion – 22% lower than the equivalent figure in the first quarter of last year. This includes venture capital, private equity, public markets and asset finance, but excludes small-scale projects and corporate and government RD&D.
The research team at Helmholz-Zentrum, Berlin, Germany, published last month that Beneq produced positive results on the performance of its thin-film PV solar cells manufactured with TCO-glass (transparent conductive oxide). Produced by Beneq nAERO technology, the results show that nAERO-coated TCO glass is a definite candidate for cell manufacturers in need of high-quality fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) TCO glass at an affordable price.
UK-based Oxford Instruments Plasma Technology (OPIT) has promoted Dan Ayres to managing director, effective immediately. Last summer Ayres was appointed to the newly-created role of general manager having already worked at the company for over ten years. He has been based in operations, product management and project management.
