How the Oil Price Slump Helps Renewable Energy
Geoffery Styles, The Energy Collective - Intuition suggests that the current sharp correction in oil prices must be bad for the deployment of renewable and other alternative energy technologies. As the Wall Street Journal's Heard on the Street column noted Wednesday, EV makers like Tesla face a wall of cheap gasoline. Meanwhile, ethanol producers are squeezed between falling oil and rising corn prices. Yet although individual projects and companies may struggle in a low-oil-price environment, the sector as a whole should benefit from the economic stimulus cheap oil provides.
The biggest threat to the kind of large-scale investment in low-carbon energy foreseen by the International Energy Agency (IEA) and others is not cheaper oil, but a global recession and/or financial crisis that would also threaten the emerging consensus on a new UN climate deal. We have already seen renewable energy subsidies cut or revoked in Europe as the EU has sought to address unsustainable deficits and shaky member countries on its periphery.
Earlier this week the World Bank reduced its forecast of economic growth in 2015 by 0.4% as the so-called BRICs slow and the Eurozone flirts with recession and deflation. The Bank's view apparently factors in the stimulus from global oil prices, without which things would look worse. The US Energy Information Administration's latest short-term forecast cut the expected average price of Brent crude oil for this year to $58 per barrel. That's a drop of $41 compared to the average for 2014, which was already $10/bbl below 2013. Across the 93 million bbl/day of global demand the IEA expects this year, that works out to a $1.4 trillion savings for the countries that are net importers of oil--including the US. This equates to just under 2% of global GDP. Cont'd...
Reflections from Breakthrough Marine Energy Trials
The marine power plant Deep Green has now been producing electricity for more than a year, and Minesto's founder and CEO Anders Jansson shares his experiences from the trials in this article.
Case Study - 28kW Custom Carport in Frederick, MD
The PV Racking clamp-free rail was a great solution for this carport, as it helped to eliminate rain water leaking through the arrays in comparison to a traditional clamp-based system.
Upcoming Tradeshow, Conference & Exhibition Summary
March, April, May 2015
2015 promises to be another banner year for the Renewable Energy Industry. Solar and Wind will continue to grow and Energy Storage will continue to dominate the conversation. April offers up some great Energy Storage events here in North America and Europe.
Gov. Brown's renewable energy plan could boost solar, wind industries
Gov. Jerry Brown's proposal this week to significantly boost the amount of energy California derives from renewable sources could reinvigorate the state's utility-scale solar and wind industries, as well as launch another land rush in the Mojave Desert.
In his inaugural address, Brown didn't say how the state's Renewables Portfolio Standard could be raised to 50% by 2030 — the previous benchmark was 33% by 2020 — but his commitment was clear:
"This is exciting, it is bold, and it is absolutely necessary if we are to have any chance of stopping potentially catastrophic changes to our climate system," the governor said.
He also outlined a plan to reduce petroleum use in cars and trucks by 50% and double the energy efficiency of new buildings in the state.
The reverberation was instantaneous.
"Is it significant? Absolutely. Will it stimulate the market? Absolutely," said Jerry R. Bloom of the Los Angeles law firm Winston & Strawn, who guides renewable energy developers through the financing and permitting processes.
REBOUND IN CLEAN ENERGY INVESTMENT IN 2014 BEATS EXPECTATIONS
World clean energy investment rebounded strongly in 2014, boosted by demand for large-scale and rooftop solar photovoltaics on the back of its greatly improved competitiveness, and by the financing of a record $19.4bn of offshore wind projects.
Authoritative annual data, published today by Bloomberg New Energy Finance, show that global investment in clean energy was $310bn last year. This was up 16% from a revised $268.1bn in 2013, and more than five times the figure of $60.2bn attained a decade earlier, in 2004, albeit still 2% below the all-time record of $317.5bn reached in 2011[1].
The jump in investment in 2014 reflected strong performances in many of the main centres for clean energy deployment, with China up 32% to a record $89.5bn, the US up 8% to $51.8bn (its highest figure since 2012), Japan up 12% to $41.3bn, Canada up 26% at $9bn, Brazil up 88% at $7.9bn, India up 14% to $7.9bn, and South Africa up 5% at $5.5bn. Europe, despite the flurry in offshore wind, was a relative dull spot overall, investment there edging 1% higher to $66bn.
Renewable Energy Roundup
The world will need as much capacity as it can get from all fuel sources to satisfy the demand of growing populations.
9 Things You Need To Know About 2014 And Beyond
It's an exciting time to be in the solar industry, both for what we've accomplished in 2014 and what we will accomplish in the coming year.
Aarsleff Goes Green with Modern Hybrid Power
Clayton Power made it possible for Per Aarsleff to both go green and reduce costs by clever implementation of mobile hybrid power systems based on lithium technology.
Top 5 Innovations of the Decade in Renewable Energy
According to TMR, the global green energy market will reach a value of USD 831.99 billion by 2019.
The Eight Best Things To Happen To Renewable Energy In 2014
2014 brought us plenty of news to be unhappy about. The year had barely begun when a major chemical spill poisoned the water of 300,000 West Virginians, a disaster that left residents worried about the safety of their water for months. Not even a month after the spill, tens of thousands of tons of coal ash spewed into a river in North Carolina, the toxic waste product piling as high as five feet in some places. 2014 saw crippling drought in California, devastating flooding in India, and climatic changes that threw many members of the animal world into disarray. To top it all off, 2014 could very well turn out to be the hottest year on record.
But 2014 saw some good news too — and a lot of it was in the form of advancements in renewable energy. Here are eight news stories from 2014 to remind you that, at least for the renewable energy sector, this past year wasn’t so bad.
World’s First Solar Road Opens In Netherlands
Researchers Reach A Record In Solar Conversion Efficiency
Scotland Has An Amazing Month Of Wind Energy Production
World’s Largest Solar Plant Comes Online
The World’s Largest Tidal Array Gets The Green Light
Researchers Continue To Develop New Ways To Use Solar
World’s Largest and Most Powerful Wind Turbine Comes Online
Solar Car Hits Speed Record, Could Soon Hit The Streets
Read More...
Turquoise calls for clarity on UK energy goals
Turquoise International has called for more clarification concerning the prioritisation of technologies in the UK energy sector.
First Solar Strategic Investment in Clean Energy Collective (CEC)
This partnership marks an important milestone in the quest to significantly broaden the availability of affordable, local clean energy production to residential and commercial ratepayers.
Energy Freedom Loan
The Energy Freedom Loan is a turnkey financing solution that benefits both homeowners and installers.
No, cheap oil will not kill solar power
As the price of oil has tumbled to five-year lows, solar stocks have fallen with it: First Solar was trading near $72 in mid-September; now it's around $44. Solar City has around $65; now it's close to $50.
Solar energy investors seem to be running for the doors, fearing that cheap oil will erase demand for alternative energy. But it won't, say industry analysts. Oil and solar serve two different customers.
Oil dominates energy demand in transportation fuels, but solar power customers are primarily of two types: public electric utilities and large corporations. Neither of those use oil to generate electricity, and they are not about to start doing so, say analysts.
Less than 5 percent of the world's electricity comes from oil; most of it comes from coal, natural gas, nuclear and, increasingly, solar power. Public utilities sign long-term agreements with solar providers, sometimes spanning 20 years. Those deals are unaffected by oil price changes, said Jeff Osborne, an analyst with Cowen Group.
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