Category Archives: Alternative Energy

CASE Responds to Damaging Solar Tariff Decision

WASHINGTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Leaders and member companies of the Coalition for Affordable Solar Energy (CASE) today responded to the preliminary Anti-Dumping ruling by the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) with the following statements:

“Ultimately, free global competition is good for American consumers and American workers. That’s why all of the major segments of the American solar industry, including solar manufacturers, have united to oppose SolarWorld’s reckless and hypocritical campaign to raise solar prices”

Jigar Shah, the President of CASE, stated, “Today SolarWorld received one of its biggest subsidies yet – an average 31% tax on its competitors. What’s worse, it will ultimately come right out of the paychecks of American solar workers. Fortunately, these duties are much lower than the 250% tax that SolarWorld originally requested. This decision will increase solar electricity prices in the U.S. precisely at the moment solar power is becoming competitive with fossil fuel generated electricity.”

“At the same time, CASE recognizes that today’s decision is ‘preliminary.’ Between now and a final decision before the end of the year, there are many issues that will be addressed and whose resolution would lead to a significantly lower tariff. CASE will continue to fight SolarWorld’s anti-consumer and anti-jobs efforts to ensure a better result for America’s solar industry,” continued Shah. Continue reading

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Anti-Dumping Duties against ‘Big China Solar’ Step toward Restoring Industry Competition

HILLSBORO, Ore.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The U.S. head of SolarWorld voiced confidence that today’s announcement of preliminary U.S. anti-dumping duties on imports of solar cells and panels from China’s state-sponsored manufacturers could begin to help restore legal and fair global competition and revive growth in U.S. solar-industry manufacturing and jobs. The duties were calculated to counter the Chinese industry’s illegal practice of dumping products, or selling them at artificially low prices, in the United States to seize market share here.

The U.S. Department of Commerce issued anti-dumping duties of 31.14 percent on imports of solar cells and panels from Suntech, 31.22 percent from Trina Solar, 31.18 percent from other companies that had requested but not received individual duty determinations and 249.96 percent from all other Chinese producers, including those controlled by the Chinese government.

The department also announced that in light of a massive, evasive surge of imports ahead of the determination, these new duties would apply retroactively 90 days. As a result of this determination of so-called critical circumstances, importers of Chinese solar products must post bonds or cash deposits in the full amounts of anti-dumping duties on imports from now forward as well as back to mid-February. Continue reading

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Mining Industry Investment in Renewable Energy Will Reach Almost $20 Billion by 2020

These are critical times for the mining industry.  Even as demand for mineral resources rises, driven by emerging economies, mining companies are under ever-increasing pressure from governments, customers, and other stakeholders to operate in a sustainable manner.  Many of the key industry players in the mining sector have developed energy saving strategies and are investing directly into renewable energy infrastructure.  According to a new report from Pike Research, worldwide investment by the mining industry on renewable energy and energy conservation will reach approximately $8.4 billion by 2016 and nearly $20 billion by 2020.

Under a more aggressive scenario, in which the global economy expands more rapidly and policy mandates pertaining to climate change are more robust, spending could reach $15.6 billion by 2016 and $30 billion annually by 2020, the cleantech market intelligence firm forecasts.

“Buoyed by consistent increases in major mining commodity prices, overall market capitalization in the mining industry has soared by 26%, and mining company executives are becoming increasingly more sensitive about rethinking traditional mining industry approaches to obtaining and consuming energy,” says research director Kerry-Ann Adamson.  “Accordingly, the mining industry is positioned to address energy costs and climate change from a position of economic strength.” Continue reading

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Intel Sets 2020 Environmental Goals

SANTA CLARA, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Building on nearly 2 decades of reporting on its environmental commitments and performance, Intel Corporation today released its 2011 Corporate Responsibility Report, which includes new 2020 environmental goals to drive continuous improvement in the company’s manufacturing operations and the energy efficiency of its products. Intel’s new 2020 environmental goals include:

“From product to customer to employee to environment, corporate responsibility allows Intel to have a greater and more influential impact on industries, communities and the global economy.”

  • Reduce direct greenhouse gas emissions by 10 percent on a per chip basis by 2020 from 2010 levels1.
  • Design all new buildings to a minimum Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver Certification between 2010 and 2020.
  • Increase the energy efficiency of notebook computers and data center products 25 times by 2020 from 2010 levels2.
  • Achieve additional energy savings of 1.4 billion kWh from 2012 to 2015, and publish additional energy conservation targets for 2016–2020 in its 2012 report.
  • Reduce water use on a per chip basis below 2010 levels by 2020.
  • Achieve zero chemical waste to landfill by 2020. Continue reading
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ISO Helps Advance Mini-Solar Plants and Other Distributed Generation

FOLSOM, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Commercial rooftop solar arrays and other small scale generation will find it easier to connect directly to local electricity grids. The California Independent System Operator Corporation (ISO) Board of Governors today voted to streamline the process for interconnecting distributed generation, which includes renewable projects.

“Distributed generation projects tend to be smaller and more numerous than power plant projects that connect directly to the ISO grid”
The ISO will annually publish information showing quantities of potential distributed generation at various grid locations. The assessment will be used by load-serving entities, resource developers and local regulatory authorities in negotiating renewable energy contracts and developing projects.

“The new approach will align ISO policy with the state’s goal to accelerate distributed generation – smaller scale resources connected to utility distribution systems and located close to customers,” said ISO Board Chair Bob Foster. “This results in a diversified power mix, a key element of transitioning to a greener and more sustainable electricity future.” Continue reading

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The Focus of Green Telecom Programs has Shifted to Energy Efficiency

A range of factors including pledges to reduce GHG emissions, the desire to minimize the impact of rising energy prices, and the decreasing cost of deploying base stations run on clean energy is driving telecom service providers to create more sustainable systems for delivering their services.  According to a new report from Pike Research, however, the pathway to achieving these goals has shifted: The focus of green telecom has swung strongly to energy efficiency.  While clean power is not to be discounted, operators (and thus suppliers) are placing much more emphasis today on curbing power consumption than on deploying green base stations.

By 2016, Pike Research forecasts, sustainable telecom network infrastructure investments will represent over 61% of global telecom capital expenditures, representing a $194 billion market.  Of these investments, 65% will go into mobile networks in 2016.

Green power is not feasible or economical at all locations,” says research director Eric Woods.  “In most cases, some type of green power supply can be deployed, but there are areas where this is not an option or the ROI is too low to justify.  Services such as network and site planning can also reduce the energy needed to run a network, and vendors are also placing more emphasis on their own supply chains to reduce energy consumption and decrease emissions.” Continue reading

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Suniva Named 2012 Cool Vendor in Solar Energy

NORCROSS, Ga.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Suniva, Inc., a U.S. manufacturer of high-efficiency crystalline silicon solar cells and modules, today announced that it has been recognized by Gartner as a 2012 Cool Vendor in Solar Energy.

The Gartner Cool Vendors in Solar Energy 2012 report highlights four vendors whose innovations could have a disruptive impact on the PV solar industry by dramatically reducing the cost of solar-generated electricity. The report highlights that improving the energy conversion efficiency of solar cells can be an effective cost reduction strategy, but only if increases in manufacturing complexity and cost are kept to a minimum. Suniva recently announced that its ARTisun™ Select series solar cells are now averaging 19 percent efficiency in plant-wide production, yielding conversion efficiencies of up to 16.3 percent at the module level.

“The report by Gartner recognizes that the Solar industry will continue to be driven by innovation that produces high efficiency, high performance cells at a cost that is sensible for today’s market conditions,” said John Baumstark, CEO, Suniva. “We’re proud of our inclusion in the report and for the recognition of our pioneering and proprietary work in producing the highest efficiency cells and modules possible through low cost manufacturing techniques.” Continue reading

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Building Information Modeling Market to Reach $6.5 Billion Worldwide by 2020

The market for building information modeling (BIM) software and services is still nascent, but evolving rapidly.  As energy conservation and carbon emissions become increasingly important issues, the adoption of BIM tools and practices will become a higher priority, since they can significantly affect the efficient use of scarce and valuable resources.  According to a new report from Pike Research, annual worldwide revenue for BIM products and services solutions will grow from $1.8 billion in 2012 to almost $6.5 billion in 2020.

“Building information modeling represents one of the most important breakthroughs in building design technology over the last decade,” says senior analyst Eric Bloom.  “The next generation of buildings will be more intelligent and energy-efficient than any before.  However, designing and delivering such buildings requires a level of collaboration that only BIM software can facilitate.”

The market for BIM software tools is led by a handful of well-known names, such as Autodesk, Bentley, Tekla, Nemetschek, and Gehry Technologies.  Small firms that enter the market with an innovative BIM (or other) solution generally do not last long as independent firms because the larger players strategically acquire them to enhance their own product portfolios.  The industry has also seen a spate of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in recent years, as firms prepare for the next phase of BIM technology advancement in areas like BIM to Field solutions, cloud-based solutions, and mobile capabilities. Continue reading

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