While we’ve still got our eye on the prize of unleashing real solar market growth with the New York Solar Jobs Act, our work to improve New York’s existing PV incentive program keeps on truckin.

New York’s Public Service Commission recently released its 2010-1015 plans for the customer-sited program under the (more…)

Here is a startling fact: US power plants waste more energy than many countries use, including advanced economies like that of Japan. The wasted energy is in the form of heat thrown off when power plants produce electricity.

This is one of the points being brought to light by the International District Energy (more…)

What you don’t know will hurt you. That’s the message in Michael Lewis’ new book, “The Big Short,” which traces today’s worldwide economic downturn to a single problem: the secretive nature of prices in the subprime mortgage bond markets.

What’s this got to do with energy? Our industry has its own opaque corners that can cause widespread damage. This week the International Energy Agency (IEA) is attempting to focus light on a big one: energy subsides for fossil fuels. (more…)

There has been a ton of money floating out of Washington the past couple of years. Much is going toward propping up state governments with budget shortfalls, helping those who cannot find work by extending unemployment benefits and COBRA health insurance coverage, and a ton of dough is going to the banks.

This leaves a lot of us wondering, where is my stimulus package?

As an avid reader of current events and a novice financial expert, my opinion is perhaps literally worth two cents. As a renewable energy professional who has spent the past two years learning about solar energy and energy efficiency through community college courses and technical schools, I can tell there is a lot of money going to the right places.

In addition to extending unemployment benefits, there is a good deal of money flowing into community colleges and renewable energy. For example, I was able to get reimbursed from my state, New York, for the classes I took on energy efficiency. (more…)

Suppose your CEO calls tomorrow and asks, “What are we doing about power consumption?” What will you say?

Reducing consumption by turning off computer monitors and equipment requires lifestyle changes to be adopted through the entire organization. These are easy choices to make but they are hard to implement and substantial return on investment is not assured.

Proven, existing efficiency technologies — in everything from lighting to climate control and voltage regulation — can unlock the untapped reserves of efficiency gains buried in many non-residential buildings. Plus government incentive programs remove the barriers to implementation by making the up-front costs and payback periods affordable.

(more…)

Turkey’s alternative energy potential is huge, but it remains locked – at least so far. Earlier this month, Ankara hosted the International Energy Congress on Renewable Energy where the Turkish energy sector was the main discussion point. The congress attracted a record number of participants from public and private sectors, including the Turkish Minister of Energy and members of the country’s Parliament. It was once more observed that the potential of investments in Turkey is by far exceeding the enthusiasm of the bureaucrats and the readiness of the Turkish infrastructure.

(more…)

The Turkish Statistical Institute announced that the Turkish economy shrank 13.8% and that the unemployment rate increased to 14.9% in the first quarter. Despite these difficult economic conditions, the Turkish wind industry is still one of the fastest growing industries in the country. One reason is that Turkey may face electricity shortages in the near future, furthermore Turkey has just ratified [the] Kyoto agreement which is going to result in carbon emission reduction targets for the post 2013 period.

Among other renewable resources, wind has been the most popular and most approachable power source in the last four years. The use of wind power started around 1,000-1,200 AD in Anatolia, as early as in other European countries. However, Turkey’s development throughout the centuries has not been as fast as that of its counterparts. At the time when Turkey installed its first 0.5 MW wind turbine in Izmir in 1998, Germany had already installed almost 3,000 MW.

(more…)