Global Energy Watch

Amsterdam, The Netherlands -  The global geothermal power installed capacity was 11,086 MW in 2010 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 12.7% to reach 36,538 MW in 2020. North America is the leading market for geothermal power, with most of the existing geothermal potential in North America restricted to the US and Mexico. The US Dominates Global Geothermal Power The US continues to be the world leader in terms of total installed geothermal energy capacity and the generation of electric power from geothermal ener...

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today released two nationwide resource assessments showing that waves and tidal currents off the nation's coasts could contribute significantly to the United States' total annual electricity production, further diversify the nation's energy portfolio, and provide clean, renewable energy to coastal cities and communities. These new wave and tidal resource assessments, combined with ongoing analyses of the technologies and other resource assessmen...

Sophia Antipolis, France  -  ETSI has recently published two specifications for Smart Grid that will help drive the development and deployment of open, interoperable smart grid technologies internationally. As the smart grid evolves, it will become commonplace for utilities to cooperate with grid-aware systems and devices to reduce power usage intelligently, giving commercial, industrial and municipal users reduced rates in exchange for lower consumption while increasing grid reliability and the use of renewable ene...

SAN JOSE, Calif. -  SunPower today announced that the company has broken ground on a 13.78-megawatt (DC) solar photovoltaic (PV) power system at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake (NAWS China Lake) in California. The plant is expected to create 140 jobs during construction, and generate the equivalent of more than 30 percent of NAWS China Lake's annual energy load, helping to reduce costs by an estimated $13 million over the next 20 years. The plant is financed through a solar power purchase agreement ...

SAN JOSE, CA -  Cisco CSCO +0.96% today announced additional solutions and services to its Connected Grid portfolio that will help utilities modernize the electric grid with built-in flexibility, security and interoperability enabled by the power of the network. Cisco's new technology architecture, solutions and related services address key utility concerns around cost, reliability and scalability in their communications infrastructures. As the electric grid becomes more intelligent and complex, utilit...

Abu Dhabi -  Torresol Energy, a joint venture between Masdar – Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy company and SENER – the Spanish engineering and construction firm, announced today at the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi that the Valle 1 and Valle 2 plants - two identical 50 MW parabolic trough plants, located in Cadiz, in the South of Spain, have commenced commissioning on January 2012. The plants are equipped with thermal storage which will allow them to continue to produce power, eve...

SHANGHAI -  JinkoSolar, a fast-growing, vertically integrated solar power product manufacturer based in China, recently announced that the 18 MW project developed by China Guangdong Nuclear Solar Energy Development Co., Ltd.(CGN-SEDC) is now connected to the grid. JinkoSolar provided all the modules for this project in Dunhuang, Gansu Province in west China. Located in the solar base of China Guangdong Nuclear Power Company in Dunhuang, the solar power plant covers an area of 400,000 square meters an...

London -  Global energy demand will continue to grow over the next twenty years, albeit at a slowing annual rate, fuelled by economic and population growth in non-OECD countries. Increased energy efficiency and strong growth for renewable energy are also forecast in BP’s latest Energy Outlook 2030, which is published today. Global energy demand is likely to grow by 39 per cent by 2030, or 1.6 per cent annually, almost entirely in non-OECD countries; consumption in OECD countries is expected t...

San Donato Milanese (Milan) - Saipem has been awarded new E&C Offshore contracts worth $1.8 billion which will be carried out by the newly-built Castorone pipelay vessel. In Australia, Saipem has signed an EPCI contract with INPEX for the Gas Export Pipeline (GEP) on the Ichthys LNG Project. Saipem's scope of work will include the Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Installation of 889 kilometres of a 42-inch-diameter subsea pipeline, in water depths of up to 275 metres, connecting the offshore central process...

Abu Dhabi, UAE - Siemens Energy and Masdar Institute of Science and Technology in the UAE have signed a one-year agreement for cooperation in solar energy technology research and development to enhance the use of photovoltaic (PV) panels in the Middle East region. Joint testing and research activities will focus on investigating the properties of solar panel coatings. The surfaces of solar panels at PV plants are regularly exposed to sand, dust and other forms of soiling. Under the R&D agreement, Siemens and ...

SAN RAMON, Calif. - Chevron said that an extensive search and rescue effort continues for two contractors who remain missing after yesterday's fire aboard the K.S. Endeavor, a drilling rig offshore Nigeria operated by FODE Drilling Nigeria Limited. While Chevron's highest priority remains the rescue of the missing contractors, the company continues to devote the necessary resources to resolve the rig incident in a responsible and timely manner. As previously reported, the K.S. Endeavor was drilling a natural gas...

Burlington, Vt. - Rock Point, often referred to as the best kept secret in Burlington, Vt. now boasts another exciting addition - a solar installation of 35 solar trackers that will produce 205,000kWh of power each year-- representing 60-75 percent of all energy used on the property. The 147kW solar installation is a joint project between Rock Point School and the Episcopal Diocese of Vermont as part of a larger commitment by both of these organizations to energy efficiency, real life education and stewardshi...

SHANGHAI  - Upsolar, a leading international provider of solar PV modules, today announced the completion of the initial life cycle assessment (LCA) of the production of its two best-selling PV modules, UP-M185M and UP- M230P. The company holds the distinction of being one of the first China-based module suppliers to undertake a comprehensive study on the environmental impact of its business. Completed over the course of 10 months with the technical assistance of Bureau Veritas CODDE (the eco-design cent...

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Solar Frontier and enXco, an EDF Energies Nouvelles Company, announced today that they have signed a module supply agreement for up to 150 megawatts peak (MWp) of Solar Frontier's CIS solar modules. A firm order for 26 MWp was completed and delivered in the last quarter of 2011 for the Catalina Solar Project located in Kern County, California. When completed, the project is set to become the world's largest CI(G)S installation and will rank among the largest solar installations of any type glo...

SOFIA - Bulgarian lawmakers slapped on Wednesday a ban on shale gas exploration and production, bowing to strong public pressure over environmental concerns. In a special resolution, the parliament "banned the use of the method of hydraulic fracturing for natural gas and oil exploration on Bulgarian territory and its Black Sea waters." It also specifically banned "shale gas exploration using the above mentioned method." Violators risked fines of 100 million leva (50 million euros, $65 million) ...

MUMBAI - Reliance Industries could be set to conduct India's largest ever buyback of shares, analysts said on Wednesday, in a move to boost investor confidence after a steep fall in its share price last year. India's largest private firm said in a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange that it would "consider a proposal for buyback of shares" at a board meeting on Friday, when quarterly earnings are due. No further details about the buyback were provided but the announcement cheered investors, push...

PIPESTONE, Minn. - Juhl Wind the Leader in Community Wind Power, today announced the signing of a Development Services Agreement with the Black Oak Wind Farm located near Ithaca, NY. The project is a proposed 15 to 30 MW facility with expectation of the project being online during the third quarter 2013. Juhl Wind will be serving as a development partner for the project. "We are very excited to be expanding our development services outside of the Midwest region. The Black Oak Wind Farm is made up of a group of...

Abu Dhabi, UAE - Joule today announced the closing of a $70 million third round of funding, supporting its aggressive timeline to commercialization and bringing its total to $110+ million raised to date. The round included investments from both new and prior undisclosed institutional and private sources that joined Flagship Ventures, Joule's founding venture capital investor. The news was released in conjunction with Joule's participation at the World Future Energy Summit, where President and CEO William J. Sims...

MOSCOW - Russia on Wednesday accused Western powers of trying to "suffocate" the Iranian economy and incite popular discontent with new sanctions such as a proposed oil embargo. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said all sanctions aimed at winning more transparency from Iran concerning its nuclear programme had "exhausted" themselves and new measures threatened to only hurt the Iranian people. "Additional unilateral sanctions against Iran have nothing to do with a desire to ensure the regime's commitm...

Rochester, N.Y. - Arista Power, Inc. ("Arista Power" or the "Company") (OTCBB: ASPWD), a manufacturer, designer and integrator of renewable energy generation, management and distribution systems, announced today that it has been awarded a $922,000 U.S. Army contract to be the prime contractor to complete Phase One activities for the development of a new Intelligent Micro-Grid. The Intelligent Micro-Grid will be designed to seamlessly integrate both renewable and traditional energy sources to provide the scalab...