CleanTechnica » Research http://cleantechnica.com Clean Tech News & Views: Solar Energy News. Wind Energy News. EV News. & More. Tue, 30 Dec 2014 18:48:25 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=4.0.1 A Bipartisan Group Of Senators Is Pushing For Distributed Wind — Here’s Why It Matters http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/29/bipartisan-group-senators-pushing-distributed-wind-heres-matters/ http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/29/bipartisan-group-senators-pushing-distributed-wind-heres-matters/#comments Mon, 29 Dec 2014 19:20:20 +0000 http://cleantechnica.com/?p=76916 By Nick Blitterswyk, CEO, UGE International. A group of Senators recently urged the US Department of Energy to continue funding programs for the domestic distributed wind energy industry. The bipartisan group, led by Sen. Al Franken, wrote a letter highlighting the clear potential for distributed wind power to “contribute many gigawatts of electricity similar to

A Bipartisan Group Of Senators Is Pushing For Distributed Wind — Here’s Why It Matters was originally published on CleanTechnica.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/29/bipartisan-group-senators-pushing-distributed-wind-heres-matters/feed/ 9 Scotland’s Solar Power Capacity Grew 32% In 2014 http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/29/scotlands-solar-power-capacity-grew-32-2014/ http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/29/scotlands-solar-power-capacity-grew-32-2014/#comments Mon, 29 Dec 2014 19:00:48 +0000 http://cleantechnica.com/?p=76910 A number of organisations based out of Scotland on Monday called for the Scottish Government to “do all it can to help encourage the roll-out [of] more solar power” in Scotland, following the publication of figures which showed Scotland’s solar capacity had increased by 32% during 2014. WWF Scotland published the figures from Ofgem, the

Scotland’s Solar Power Capacity Grew 32% In 2014 was originally published on CleanTechnica.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/29/scotlands-solar-power-capacity-grew-32-2014/feed/ 21 Norway’s Statkraft To Invest $8 Billion In Renewables http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/29/norways-statkraft-invest-8-billion-renewables/ http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/29/norways-statkraft-invest-8-billion-renewables/#comments Mon, 29 Dec 2014 10:58:13 +0000 http://cleantechnica.com/?p=76893 Norway’s state-owned power company Statkraft announced earlier in the month that it intends to invest heavily in renewable energy both in Norway and abroad, to the tune of 60 billion kroner, or just over $8 billion USD. The announcement comes following the Norway Government’s decision to bolster the energy company’s equity by 5 billion kroner, pushing

Norway’s Statkraft To Invest $8 Billion In Renewables was originally published on CleanTechnica.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/29/norways-statkraft-invest-8-billion-renewables/feed/ 2 Report: Distributed-Renewables Disruption Will Reduce Utility Revenues By Up To $123 Billion A Year By 2025 http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/29/report-distributed-renewables-disruption-will-reduce-utility-revenues-us123-billion-year-2025/ http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/29/report-distributed-renewables-disruption-will-reduce-utility-revenues-us123-billion-year-2025/#comments Mon, 29 Dec 2014 09:44:19 +0000 http://cleantechnica.com/?p=76886 The ongoing growth of distributed renewable energy generation throughout the US and Europe will see utility-company revenues reduced by as much as $123 billion a year by 2025, according to a new report from the consulting company Accenture. That new report — titled the Digitally Enabled Grid report — clearly states that if the utilities wish to

Report: Distributed-Renewables Disruption Will Reduce Utility Revenues By Up To $123 Billion A Year By 2025 was originally published on CleanTechnica.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/29/report-distributed-renewables-disruption-will-reduce-utility-revenues-us123-billion-year-2025/feed/ 30 Renewable Cities Conference in Vancouver — Be There! http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/27/renewable-cities-conference-vancouver/ http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/27/renewable-cities-conference-vancouver/#comments Sat, 27 Dec 2014 17:02:33 +0000 http://cleantechnica.com/?p=76855 There are a lot of good cleantech conferences out there. It is quite hard for us to choose which ones we attend and which we skip. Clearly, I’m a big fan of the World Future Energy Summit (+ Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week as a whole) and EVS. But another big one that is new to

Renewable Cities Conference in Vancouver — Be There! was originally published on CleanTechnica.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/27/renewable-cities-conference-vancouver/feed/ 4 Photovoltaics Discovered In 1875: Interview With Author John Perlin http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/27/photovoltaics-discovered-1875-interview-author-john-perlin/ http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/27/photovoltaics-discovered-1875-interview-author-john-perlin/#comments Sat, 27 Dec 2014 08:30:22 +0000 http://cleantechnica.com/?p=76851 This CleanTechnica miniseries about photovoltaics, celebrating the UN’s 2015 Year of Light, is the fourth article of seven. We continue our dialogue with physicist John Perlin, author of Let It Shine: The 6000-Year Story of Solar Energy. Perlin’s expertise on the subject provides an excellent archive for any person wishing to keep abreast of today’s

Photovoltaics Discovered In 1875: Interview With Author John Perlin was originally published on CleanTechnica.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/27/photovoltaics-discovered-1875-interview-author-john-perlin/feed/ 1 Average US Car Now Older, Resulting In More Air Pollution http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/26/average-us-car-now-older-resulting-air-pollution/ http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/26/average-us-car-now-older-resulting-air-pollution/#comments Fri, 26 Dec 2014 09:18:53 +0000 http://cleantechnica.com/?p=76610 Researchers at the University of Denver found that the US on-road freeway fleet age increased due to the global recession from 2008–2010. To put it simply, because consumers had less money available to purchase new vehicles, they hung on to the ones they owned, thus increasing the average age of vehicles being driven today. There

Average US Car Now Older, Resulting In More Air Pollution was originally published on CleanTechnica.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/26/average-us-car-now-older-resulting-air-pollution/feed/ 3 Tar Sands Companies Potential Climate Change Emissions Increased Five Times http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/23/tar-sands-companies-potential-climate-change-emissions-increased-five-times/ http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/23/tar-sands-companies-potential-climate-change-emissions-increased-five-times/#comments Tue, 23 Dec 2014 14:55:05 +0000 http://cleantechnica.com/?p=76385 As if we needed any more convincing of how harmful pollution from tar sands oil production is, a new finding has indicated that the potential climate change emissions have increased by 5 times for the top 20 public companies working in that sector. Processing tar sands produces quite a bit more greenhouse gas emissions compared

Tar Sands Companies Potential Climate Change Emissions Increased Five Times was originally published on CleanTechnica.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/23/tar-sands-companies-potential-climate-change-emissions-increased-five-times/feed/ 5 Wind & Solar = 77% Of New US Electricity Generating Capacity In November (Exclusive) http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/23/wind-solar-account-70-new-us-generating-capacity-november/ http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/23/wind-solar-account-70-new-us-generating-capacity-november/#comments Tue, 23 Dec 2014 13:53:30 +0000 http://cleantechnica.com/?p=76745 Editor’s Note: Upon repeated reader request and my own interest in seeing more accurate numbers, I have included an estimate of non-utility-scale solar (i.e., residential and commercial solar) in the numbers below. I will do this from here on out. Assumptions* and sources for these estimates are at the end of this article. If you think you’ve

Wind & Solar = 77% Of New US Electricity Generating Capacity In November (Exclusive) was originally published on CleanTechnica.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/23/wind-solar-account-70-new-us-generating-capacity-november/feed/ 60 Emerging Economies See Wind Growth As Technologies Evolve & Innovate http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/23/emerging-economies-see-wind-growth-technologies-evolve-innovate/ http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/23/emerging-economies-see-wind-growth-technologies-evolve-innovate/#comments Tue, 23 Dec 2014 10:54:57 +0000 http://cleantechnica.com/?p=76744 Emerging economies in the Middle East and Africa will have installed almost 3 GW of wind power by the end of 2014, with more than 58% of that being installed in the last two years. This is according to new analysis from MAKE, which follows on from recent and numerous additions to its wind power analyses, including an

Emerging Economies See Wind Growth As Technologies Evolve & Innovate was originally published on CleanTechnica.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/23/emerging-economies-see-wind-growth-technologies-evolve-innovate/feed/ 1 Smart Thermostats To Reach $2.3 Billion In Annual Revenue By 2023 http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/23/smart-thermostats-reach-2-3-billion-annual-revenue-2023/ http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/23/smart-thermostats-reach-2-3-billion-annual-revenue-2023/#comments Tue, 23 Dec 2014 10:52:27 +0000 http://cleantechnica.com/?p=76697 Ever since Nest “redeveloped” the thermostat to be a “smart thermostat,” the consumer technology industry has been well aware of clean technology. This awareness will lead to substantial growth, according to Navigant Research, which released a report predicting the smart thermostat market will reach nearly $2.3 billion in annual revenue by 2023. Nest may not

Smart Thermostats To Reach $2.3 Billion In Annual Revenue By 2023 was originally published on CleanTechnica.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/23/smart-thermostats-reach-2-3-billion-annual-revenue-2023/feed/ 3 Surprises In NREL State Study Of Where Solar Is Most Economical http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/22/surprises-nrel-state-study-solar-economical/ http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/22/surprises-nrel-state-study-solar-economical/#comments Mon, 22 Dec 2014 20:00:58 +0000 http://cleantechnica.com/?p=76634 Originally published on Solar Love. State by state, the effects of going solar are influenced by much more than how much the state naturally enjoys sunshine throughout the year. Going solar, according to new research by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, might be a more beneficial economic energy choice in states one does not expect to see at the top

Surprises In NREL State Study Of Where Solar Is Most Economical was originally published on CleanTechnica.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/22/surprises-nrel-state-study-solar-economical/feed/ 13 European Offshore Wind Industry Looks Forward To Healthy 2015, Stark 2016 http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/22/european-offshore-wind-industry-looks-forward-healthy-2015-stark-2016/ http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/22/european-offshore-wind-industry-looks-forward-healthy-2015-stark-2016/#comments Mon, 22 Dec 2014 13:19:37 +0000 http://cleantechnica.com/?p=76699 The European offshore wind industry has been a darling of the global industry for some time now, with countries such as the UK and Germany pioneering massive amounts of offshore energy. However, according to new analysis from MAKE, even with a healthy 2015 ahead, the European offshore wind industry may be heading towards a 2016 cliff.

European Offshore Wind Industry Looks Forward To Healthy 2015, Stark 2016 was originally published on CleanTechnica.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/22/european-offshore-wind-industry-looks-forward-healthy-2015-stark-2016/feed/ 7 EV Battery Experts Discuss Battery Costs & More (Interesting Video Discussion) http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/21/ev-battery-costs-battery-experts-video/ http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/21/ev-battery-costs-battery-experts-video/#comments Sun, 21 Dec 2014 20:53:43 +0000 http://cleantechnica.com/?p=76694 Today is clearly a video catchup day for me. This last one of the day is a super interesting discussion about electric vehicle (EV) batteries. It includes the CEO of LG Chem (which provides EV batteries to GM for the Chevy Volt and Renault for its electric vehicles, as well as others), Prabhakar Patil; the

EV Battery Experts Discuss Battery Costs & More (Interesting Video Discussion) was originally published on CleanTechnica.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/21/ev-battery-costs-battery-experts-video/feed/ 41 JB Straubel Interviews & Presentations http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/21/jb-straubel-interviews-presentations/ http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/21/jb-straubel-interviews-presentations/#comments Sun, 21 Dec 2014 19:32:29 +0000 http://cleantechnica.com/?p=76691 Following up on the Elon Musk interviews and videos I shared earlier today, I’ve also got a couple of great ones featuring Tesla co-founder and CTO JB Straubel, who I think really doesn’t get enough credit for his brilliance and passion. The Economist Here’s a great quote buried in an article in The Economist for which JB Straubel was

JB Straubel Interviews & Presentations was originally published on CleanTechnica.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/21/jb-straubel-interviews-presentations/feed/ 1 4 Elon Musk Interviews, Tons of Awesome Quotes http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/21/elon-musk-interviews-quotes/ http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/21/elon-musk-interviews-quotes/#comments Sun, 21 Dec 2014 16:38:17 +0000 http://cleantechnica.com/?p=76673 I’ve been saving up a number of Elon Musk interviews for awhile but haven’t been able to get to them. So, now I’m getting to them all at one time. Below are links to the full interviews, or videos of the interviews when they were videotaped, but I’ve also gone ahead and pulled out some of

4 Elon Musk Interviews, Tons of Awesome Quotes was originally published on CleanTechnica.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/21/elon-musk-interviews-quotes/feed/ 30 Siemens & Duke Energy Show Off Lower-Cost Smart Charging Technology For EVs http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/21/siemens-duke-energy-showoff-lower-cost-smart-charging-technology-evs/ http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/21/siemens-duke-energy-showoff-lower-cost-smart-charging-technology-evs/#comments Sun, 21 Dec 2014 11:13:02 +0000 http://cleantechnica.com/?p=76642 A recent 18-month-long research partnership between Siemens Energy Management Division and Duke Energy, created with the intent of reducing EV charging technology costs, has borne fruit, according to a new press release. The two companies recently demonstrated the results of the collaboration at the Duke Energy Envision Center in Erlanger, Kentucky — utilizing a Ford

Siemens & Duke Energy Show Off Lower-Cost Smart Charging Technology For EVs was originally published on CleanTechnica.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/21/siemens-duke-energy-showoff-lower-cost-smart-charging-technology-evs/feed/ 1 Least Financially Risky Electricity Projects: Solar & Wind http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/20/solar-wind-power-financial-risk/ http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/20/solar-wind-power-financial-risk/#comments Sun, 21 Dec 2014 00:38:35 +0000 http://cleantechnica.com/?p=76656 David Roberts of Grist recently dug into a couple of academic papers on the topic of cost overruns in the electricity sector. I had been saving the story for someone from our team to cover… but no one was picking it up, so I decided to do so a bit midnight (here in Europe) on this Saturday before Christmas. (You

Least Financially Risky Electricity Projects: Solar & Wind was originally published on CleanTechnica.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/20/solar-wind-power-financial-risk/feed/ 19 Mercedes S 500 PHEV Slashes Lifecycle CO2 Emissions Up To 56% http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/19/mercedes-s-500-phev-slashes-lifecycle-co2-emissions-56-compared-s-500/ http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/19/mercedes-s-500-phev-slashes-lifecycle-co2-emissions-56-compared-s-500/#comments Fri, 19 Dec 2014 13:11:44 +0000 http://cleantechnica.com/?p=76558 The Mercedes S 500 plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) can lower the user’s full-lifecycle CO2 emissions by up to 56% as compared against the gas-powered version of the S 500, according to the life cycle assessment environmental certificate awarded by TÜV SÜD. The figure of 56% refers to the emissions cut when the Mercedes S

Mercedes S 500 PHEV Slashes Lifecycle CO2 Emissions Up To 56% was originally published on CleanTechnica.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/19/mercedes-s-500-phev-slashes-lifecycle-co2-emissions-56-compared-s-500/feed/ 0 US Solar + Storage Market To Go Beyond $1 Billion A Year By 2018 http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/18/solar-storage-market-go-beyond-1-billion-year-2018/ http://cleantechnica.com/2014/12/18/solar-storage-market-go-beyond-1-billion-year-2018/#comments Thu, 18 Dec 2014 17:08:19 +0000 http://cleantechnica.com/?p=76544 Originally published on Solar Love. SunPower and Sunverge just announced a big solar+storage partnership, which follows a partnership between SolarCity and Tesla as well as the announcement of several energy storage companies beginning to hit the market. If you thought solar power was disruptive (it is), wait until solar + storage beat the price of

US Solar + Storage Market To Go Beyond $1 Billion A Year By 2018 was originally published on CleanTechnica.

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