Concentrating solar thermal power has promised big additions to renewable energy production with the additional benefit of energy storage. But with significant water consumption in desert locations, is the energy storage benefit of concentrating solar enough to compete with the dramatically falling cost of solar PV?
While technology has helped change the economics of electricity production (in favor of renewables and distributed generation), this new dynamic can as easily be controlled by the incumbent utilities as the old paradigm of centralized fossil fuel power generation.
An innovative new way to store wind power has been invented by researchers at the the University of Nottingham. Literally in inflatable bags under the ocean. A university spinoff, NIMROD Energy Ltd, has been launched by Professor Seamus Garvey, based on the research. Next month a prototype is to be tested in seawater.
French startup McPhy Energy may be making a fortune soon due to a hydrogen storage system it has just developed that could solve problems posed by the intermittent nature of renewable energy.
Yesterday Attorney General Jerry Brown announced a completely new kind of renewable energy legislation, introduced by State Assembly member Nancy Skinner (D) – designed to add more renewable energy storage to the grid. [social_buttons] You’ve heard of Renewable Energy Standards. These are (state level only, so far) rules that require … [continued]
Hudson Clean Energy Partners (HCEP) set a $1 billion target for its first fund, a new clean energy investment fund, and just announced this week that it has reached its target despite the difficult economic conditions worldwide. Led by two industry veterans with much individual success, HCEP is looking … [continued]
Where is the grid going, big or small?
One of the biggest roadblocks to a future of renewable energy production is the ability to store such generated electricity. The current networks of power supply and storage simply have no chance of being able to provide necessary storage capacities for renewable sources such as solar and wind, given the … [continued]
Rock Port, Missouri is the first 100% wind powered city in the US. Loess Hill Wind Farm, with four 1.25 MW wind turbines is estimated to generate 16 gigawatt hours (16 million kilowatt hours) of electricity annually. 13 gigawatts hours of electricity have historically been consumed annually by the residents … [continued]
