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View from the Americas: new perspectives in a time of pandemic

The coronavirus pandemic could change human behaviour more permanently in future.




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Latin America prepares for sharp drop in FDI amid coronavirus pandemic

The fallout from the pandemic looks set to stall trade and investment to Latin America.




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New Remote Bug in OpenSSH v3.3 and Below





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FDI health checks could boost emerging markets

US-led vetting and certification of big-ticket projects may go a long way to allaying western investor concerns about rule of law and transparency issues, says intelligence firm Alaco’s head of content.




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Latin America embraces China's Belt and Road with enthusiasm

Up to 18 countries across Latin America have joined China’s new Belt and Road Initiative, hoping to boost their infrastructure development and investment.  




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Siemens inaugurates world’s largest electrothermal energy storage system

Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) said that is has begun operation of its electric thermal energy storage system (ETES), a milestone in the development of energy storage solutions, according to the company.




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Remote Chinese region looks to set new clean-power record

A sparsely populated Chinese province that’s home to the headwaters of the Yangtze and Yellow rivers is attempting to set a new record for clean energy use, serving as a test bed for the entire country.




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Sweden's EV boom under threat as electricity demand outstrips capacity

Sweden’s ambitious plan to drastically cut emissions from transport by bringing millions of electric cars onto the road could be derailed by a lack of power capacity for new charging stations in major cities.




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Trump exempts bi-facial solar modules from import tariffs

In an announcement that was celebrated by the solar industry, yesterday U.S. trade officials said that bi-facial solar modules, which are solar modules that produce energy on both sides of the panel, would be exempt from import tariffs.




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Renewable energy market employs 11 million in 2018 – IRENA

Eleven million people were employed in renewable energy worldwide in 2018 according to the latest analysis by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).




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Top 5 ways the UK government can support onshore wind and meet net-zero emissions by 2050

In early June, the UK enshrined into law a commitment to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050, making Britain the first major economy to do so. Meeting this target will require substantial reliance on renewable energy from solar, tidal, hydro, and wind sources, both onshore and offshore.




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Power companies in New England tapping residential batteries to reduce peak demand

Here’s the latest wrinkle in the battery boom: National Grid Plc is paying consumers to tap electricity from their power-storage systems.




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November fest: POWERGEN University offerings now on tap

POWERGEN International Week truly begins Monday, Nov. 18 with POWERGEN University. This year’s set of three, four and eight-hour PGU classes include detail educations on crucial power generation topics such as effective project management, gas turbine long-term service agreements, safety processes, digitalization, business plans for emerging markets, microgrids, cogeneration, machine learning, boiler technologies, building the generation fleet of the future and the consideration of natural gas vs. diesel for on-site power gen-sets.




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San Diego Airport installs 2 MW/4 MWh storage system to complement existing PV array

Yesterday, ENGIE Storage announced that San Diego International Airport (SAN) installed a 2 MW/4 MWh GridSynergy energy storage system. Paired with the airport’s existing 5.5 MW of solar capacity, the new energy storage system will reduce energy charges during peak demand, which according to ENGIE equate to approximately 40 percent of the airport’s monthly electricity costs. The system is expected to begin operation in early 2020.




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PNM plans early retirement of coal plant with massive addition of solar + storage

On July 1, Public Service of New Mexico filed a plan with regulators in the state for how it plans to get to a 100 percent emission-free power by 2040. The utility reviewed four scenarios, all of which involved the early retirement of the San Juan Coal Plant, to arrive at its recommended path forward.




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Massachusetts incentivizes energy storage systems for commercial property owners

Commercial property owners with existing energy storage systems, or owners considering implementing an energy storage system, may be able to benefit from a recent order by the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU) allowing utility companies to pay customers who agree to rely upon their energy storage systems and dispatch the energy during peak events.




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Hanergy to deliver 400 MW of solar to Democratic Republic of Congo

Chinese solar company Hanergy Thin Film Power Group has won a deal to build the first solar PV plants in the Democratic Republic of Congo.




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Utility partners with climate experts on new carbon emission goals

Community stakeholders and climate experts from the University of Arizona are helping Tucson Electric Power to build an energy portfolio that supports reliable, affordable and increasingly sustainable service over the next 15 years.




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Utility device and data management technologies revenue could exceed $22 billion by 2027edit

A new report from Navigant Research released this week says that revenue from device and data management technologies could grow from approximately $14.8 billion in 2018 to more than $22.1 billion in 2027 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.6%.




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Energy CEOs extol virtues of hydropower while bemoaning its lack of public support

Last week at the HydroVision International plenary session, a panel of three CEOs — Darrel T. Anderson, President and CEO IDACORP and Idaho Power, Mitch Davidson, CEO and Managing Partner, Brookfield Renewable Power, and Paul Jacob, President and CEO, Rye Development — along with moderator Elizabeth Ingram, Content Director, Clarion Energy, discussed both the merits and the challenges of hydropower development in the United States and Canada.




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Democratic debate 2019 takeaways

Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders stuck together, Pete Buttigieg took the middle path, Marianne Williamson took on racism and Beto O’Rourke faded into the background.




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A modern Cinderella story: California’s record on wholesale distributed generation leaves much room for improvement

California, long a progressive leader on renewable energy and climate change mitigation, has neglected a key market segment for renewable energy: the “community-scale,” or “wholesale distributed generation” (DG), market. This market segment is defined as projects below 20 megawatts that connect to the distribution grid and export power to the grid for sale.




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Australian brewer eyes thermal energy storage system

South Australian energy storage company 1414 Degrees and Stone & Wood Brewing Company have agreed to undertake a feasibility study for the integration of 1414 Degrees’ electrically charged Thermal Energy Storage System (TESS-IND).




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U.S. announces changes to implementing regulations of the Endangered Species Act

U.S. Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt has unveiled changes to the implementing regulations of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) that Interior says is “designed to increase transparency and effectiveness and bring the administration of the Act into the 21st century.”




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Net zero carbon emissions ‘impossible’ without hydrogen says UK energy alliance

The UK’s North West Hydrogen Alliance (NWHA) is calling for government investment in hydrogen projects to meet ambitious carbon reductions targets in Britain.




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Softbank invests $110M in new energy storage system

Energy Vault, the creator of a new way to perform utility-scale energy storage, announced that SoftBank Vision Fund (Vision Fund) invested $110 million in its Series B funding round. Energy Vault will use the funds to accelerate global deployment of its technology, which enables renewables to deliver baseload power for less than the cost of fossil fuels 24 hours a day, said the company. As part of the investment, Andreas Hansson, Partner for SoftBank Investment Advisers, will join the Energy Vault board of directors.




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Walmart sues Tesla over fires linked to rooftop solar systems

Walmart Inc. sued Tesla Inc., claiming it failed to live up to industry standards in the installation of solar panels on top of hundreds of stores, resulting in multiple fires across the U.S.




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DOE: U.S. onshore wind projects achieving record capacity, employment

The U.S. land-based wind industry installed 7,588 MW of capacity last year, bringing the overall utility-scale total to more than 96 GW. 




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Hawaiian Electric Companies issue largest clean energy procurement to date; aim to end coal use, replace oil

Last week, the Hawaiian Electric Companies began Hawai‘i’s largest procurement effort for renewable energy resources to end the use of coal and reduce reliance on imported oil for power generation, moving the state closer to its goal of using 100 percent renewable energy by 2045.




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More Tesla solar-panel fire incidents emerge in wake of Walmart suit

One evening last year, David Burek noticed charred wood and a burning smell in his attic, near his young sons’ bedroom. He climbed a ladder and saw a melted connector wire from the solar panels installed on the roof of his North Dartmouth, Massachusetts, home. Firefighters rushed over and discovered that flames had burned through the shingles, the roof and a support beam. Luckily, a recent rain had doused it.




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Democratic presidential hopefuls take on climate change, tout goals

Even as they touted ambitious proposals to reduce carbon emissions to a national audience, Democratic candidates for president tried to balance the boldness of their plans with the need for simplifying a complex scientific problem to make it palatable to voters.





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Onsite solar to power Cambodia cement factory

An onsite solar PV system in now operational at the most advanced cement factory in Cambodia.




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Despite criticism, solar roads remain part of Georgia sustainable highway lab

While solar roads have been criticized as impractical and inefficient, a Georgia foundation says they will continue to be part of its research lab for greener highways.




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Hanwha Q CELLs files patent infringement case against JinkoSolar, LONGi, and REC Group

On March 4, Hanwha Q CELLS filed a patent infringement complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) against JinkoSolar, LONGi Solar, and REC Group. The company also filed related patent infringement complaints with the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware against the same companies. In Germany, Hanwha Q CELLS filed patent infringement complaints with the Regional Court of Düsseldorf against JinkoSolar and REC Group.




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Storage system built at world’s biggest solar park

An energy storage system has been installed at the largest single-site solar park in the world.




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World’s largest utility joins EWF’s energy blockchain ecosystem

Last week, the Energy Web Foundation (EWF) announced it had officially signed more than 100 affiliates in an effort to become the world’s largest blockchain ecosystem.




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Can the US government stop utilities from attempting to kill solar in Montana?

In the years since its passage, Section 210 of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA) has provided one of the few options for small producers of renewable energy to access electric generation markets controlled by monopoly utilities. The law requires a monopoly utility to purchase the output of certain small power producers known as “qualifying facilities” (QFs) at the utility’s “avoided cost”—that is, the cost the utility would incur to generate or purchase power in the absence of the purchase from the QF.




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IREC’s career map shows climate change related employment opportunities on the rise

A new career map, Careers in Climate Control Technology, provides a first-of-its-kind interactive, visual tool to showcase the employment opportunities that exist in the swiftly growing HVAC/R industry – Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration. The sector is on track for projected growth of 15 percent from 2016 to 2026.




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Three strategies for building solar and wind energy systems on potentially contaminated lands

Building solar and wind energy projects on potentially contaminated lands can be a golden opportunity, both effective and cost-effective, for developers. The 120-acre Reilly Tar & Chemical Corporation Superfund site was recently redeveloped with a utility-scale solar farm and is a prime example of the reuse potential inherent in thousands of Superfund sites, brownfields, retired power plants, and landfills.




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Demystifying bank solar asset management with U.S. Bank, Wells Fargo, and kWh Analytics

Bank asset management is known to be an opaque subject. Thankfully, Diana Weis and Sarah Disch, each co-heads of the Solar Asset Management groups at their organizations, U.S. Bank and Wells Fargo Bank respectively, shared their expertise with me at SAMNA 2019. They each have over a decade of experience in solar finance. Here are three key takeaways bank asset management experts Weis and Disch shared:




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Machine learning, AI aiding Sempra utilities in solar energy management on the grid

This week Sempra Energy subsidiary PXiSE Energy Solutions announced that Sempra-owned development company Infraestructura Energetica Nova (IEnova) would be using its software at the 110-MW Pima Solar facility located in Mexico to help manage the integration of renewable power to the electric grid.




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EU approves €385 million renewable energy scheme for Lithuania

The European Commission has approved a €385 million (US$429.7 million) renewable energy scheme to support renewables generation in Lithuania, including hydroelectric power.




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Clean energy engineering experts share blueprints for zero-emission buildings

Buildings account for nearly four-tenths of U.S. energy consumption through heating, cooling and other electricity use, according to the Energy Information Administration. And if that energy comes from fossil fuels, it releases more greenhouse gases that drive human-caused climate change.




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EU corporates want renewable energy but bureaucracy and regulations are holding them back

This week energy developer BayWa r.e. published its Energy Report 2019, which surveyed 1,200 European corporations about their attitudes toward renewable energy.




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Doing business better: Empowering women through solar energy

Incredibly, 1.1 billion people – 14% of the world’s population – still live without access to electricity. In rural, remote communities, many people simply have no light after sunset. That makes being productive at night—such as working and learning--extremely difficult. Limiting useful hours of the day by access to daylight holds back personal and economic development and wastes human potential.




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Bermuda Electric Light Company installs 10-MW/5.5-MWh energy storage system

Yesterday, energy storage company Saft said it delivered and installed a turnkey Energy Storage System to Bermuda Electric Light Company (BELCO). The system provides up to 10 MW power for spinning reserves and frequency response to maintain grid stability and has a storage capacity of 5.5MWh, said the company. The official ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on May 16.




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Trump exempts bi-facial solar modules from import tariffs

In an announcement that was celebrated by the solar industry, yesterday U.S. trade officials said that bi-facial solar modules, which are solar modules that produce energy on both sides of the panel, would be exempt from import tariffs.