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Zonamerica looks beyond Latin America for expansion opportunities

Uruguay-based Zonamerica has successfully expanded into Colombia and China, and is now looking to export its model to other parts of Asia and Africa.




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How venture capital helps start-ups expand globally

Venture capital funding has reached record levels in recent years, enabling start-ups to expand across borders – but their ability to do this depends on their type of business, and where they are founded.





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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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India wins trade dispute with US over solar-panel incentives

A series of U.S. renewable energy incentives violated international trade rules, according to the World Trade Organization, threatening to stoke tensions between the two countries as President Donald Trump prepares to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday.




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Builder of Saudi Aramco oil rigs plans to expand into wind power

An Abu Dhabi-based company that builds drilling platforms for oil giant Saudi Aramco plans to diversify into renewable energy by supplying gear for offshore wind farms.




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New solar permit software could reduce costs and expand residential markets

Solar Foundation and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) are joining the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), several national residential solar companies, and other nonprofit organizations to develop new automated permit software for distributed solar and storage, reducing the cost of solar installations and saving resources for local governments and taxpayers.




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AI-powered storage company enters Northeast market with “front-of-the-meter” solution

This week artificial intelligence (AI)-driven energy storage services provider Stem said that it had formed a partnership with New York-based private equity company Syncarpha Capital to build 28.2 megawatt-hours (MWh) of large-scale storage projects co-sited with solar in Massachusetts.





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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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Company trying to tackle renewable energy curtailment enters European market

This week, Scottish software company Smarter Grid Solutions (SGS) announced that it will be expanding into Europe after completing successful trials with a utility company in Germany.




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Japanese businesses test blockchain to trade renewable energy

This week independent power producer Marubeni and LO3 Energy said they have started a pilot project in Japan where LO3 will administer an energy marketplace using blockchain to connect a number of Marubeni’s power production facilities, including renewables, with offices and factories around Japan in a virtual marketplace. The project will simulate energy transactions to test the viability of the concept with the ultimate goal of creating a full-scale commercially operational network in the future.




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Hawaiian Electric Companies achieve 27 percent renewable energy in 2018 despite loss of geothermal

In late February, Hawaiian Electric Companies announced that they have achieved a consolidated 27 percent renewable portfolio standard in 2018, even with the loss of Hawaii Island’s geothermal resource for most of the year following the Kilauea volcanic eruption. Hawaii has a goal of reaching 100 percent renewable energy by 2045.




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SunPower releases most efficient residential solar panel on the market

Today SunPower is launching its next generation solar panel called A-series, which boasts 400 or 415 watts, in the United States. A new 400-watt product, Maxeon 3, is available in Europe and Australia.




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Can this online startup change how companies buy renewable power?

It was a milestone deal, not for its size but for the number of parties. In January, five big companies, each with differing energy requirements and renewable strategies, agreed to pool their investment and collectively purchase 42.5 megawatts from a North Carolina solar project.




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Goldman Sachs sees solar panel prices stabilizing

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. sees an end to the gloom for solar manufacturers as demand in China stabilizes and free-falling panel prices bottom out.




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In Illinois, storage is among the next hurdles for renewables expansion

ComEd sees a significant role for energy storage on Illinois’ electric grid as the state works toward realizing its ambitious renewable goals.




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Oil companies join corporate lobbying push for U.S. carbon tax

Oil companies, automakers and consumer products manufacturers will unleash a campaign for a U.S. tax on carbon dioxide emissions even though it may lead to higher prices for their products.




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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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India wins trade dispute with US over solar-panel incentives

A series of U.S. renewable energy incentives violated international trade rules, according to the World Trade Organization, threatening to stoke tensions between the two countries as President Donald Trump prepares to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday.





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Singapore-based Blockchain Company Sparks Interest from TEPCO

According to Martin Lim, COO of Electrify.Asia, a company facilitating peer-to-peer energy trading across the distribution grid, blockchain technology doesn’t take utilities out of the equation, but rather it adds another layer of potential revenue for them and helps reduce the cost of delivering energy to homes and businesses.




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EV Charging Infrastructure Company Attracts Largest Funding to Date at $240M

This week, Electric Vehicle (EV) charging network provider, ChargePoint, announced that it has raised $240 Million in Series H funding, which is more capital than any other EV infrastructure company in the world, surmising in its press release that the move to electrify transportation is accelerating.




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Five Companies You’ve Definitely Heard of Join Up to Buy Solar Energy in Aggregation Deal

It’s hard to find a common thread between the business models of Gap, Bloomberg, Cox, Salesforce and Workday but today they are announcing that they all have one big thing in common: their desire to clean up their organizations’ energy supply by using renewable energy.




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Japanese businesses test blockchain to trade renewable energy

This week independent power producer Marubeni and LO3 Energy said they have started a pilot project in Japan where LO3 will administer an energy marketplace using blockchain to connect a number of Marubeni’s power production facilities, including renewables, with offices and factories around Japan in a virtual marketplace. The project will simulate energy transactions to test the viability of the concept with the ultimate goal of creating a full-scale commercially operational network in the future.




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Companies explore how to make your home smart and 100% renewable-powered

Big Oil wants to put a box in your hall closet that works like a human brain, can cut the lights, stop the refrigerator and will know how you move about in the privacy of your home better than you do.




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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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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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AI-powered storage company enters Northeast market with “front-of-the-meter” solution

This week artificial intelligence (AI)-driven energy storage services provider Stem said that it had formed a partnership with New York-based private equity company Syncarpha Capital to build 28.2 megawatt-hours (MWh) of large-scale storage projects co-sited with solar in Massachusetts.




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Japan–Australia tech partnership to fire new ideas for health and aged care

Aged care in Australia is set for a digital boost after a Japan–Australia IT group signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Australian universities to solve social challenges common to both countries.




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US biotech company sets up HQ in Australia

Praxis Precision Medicines has chosen Australia to be its Asia-Pacific headquarters and research and development (R&D) centre.




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Japanese manufacturer opens for business in Queensland

Oji Fibre Solutions (OjiFS), the New Zealand subsidiary of Japanese manufacturer Oji Holdings Corporation (Oji Holdings), has opened its A$72 million corrugated box manufacturing facility in the Gold Coast suburb of Yatala.




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Japan's Prime Minister Re-Election Risks Undercutting Clean Energy Push

Shinzo Abe’s re-election as prime minister risks undercutting Japan’s commitment to clean energy at a time when incentives are under review and the nation’s utilities say they can’t accommodate capacity already planned.




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Japan Toughens Rules for Renewable Energy Incentive Payments

Japan’s trade ministry is setting stricter rules for production and sales of renewable energy in what it says is a drive to speed up development of projects and ensure stable power supply.




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An irrigation network in Japan offers more than 1.4 MW of potential generation

The addition of hydropower generating capacity to an irrigation network in northern Japan is one step closer to completion. Several sites have been identified for the installation of VLH turbines, with a total capacity of 1.433 MW.




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Geocaching challenge takes participants to three Pacific Northwest hydro facilities

Visitor centers at large hydro projects in the U.S. nearly became an endangered species after 9/11. Fears about additional attacks on critical infrastructure led to restricting public access to many hydro projects, putting visitor centers in jeopardy.




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Australian Clean Energy Deadlock Spurs Companies to Focus Abroad

Political deadlock over Australia’s clean energy future is prompting companies such as Vestas Wind Systems A/S and Acciona SA to increasingly turn to rival markets for growth.




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Japan Anticipates Clean Energy Will Edge Out Nuclear Power

Japan anticipates that by 2030 clean energy such as solar and hydro will generate slightly more of the nation’s electricity than nuclear power plants.




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Clean Energy Companies Beat the Stock Market

Stocks of clean-energy companies are proving to be better investments than those of companies that produce most of the Western Hemisphere's power, and are outperforming the rest of the stock market as well.

The evidence is found in the New York Stock Exchange Bloomberg Americas Clean Energy Index. Its 141 companies, all based in North and South America, returned 32.62 percent in the past two years. In contrast, the 40 conventional-energy companies in the Standard and Poor's 500 Energy Index returned 1.02 percent over the same period, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Clean energy also is beating the rest of the stock market. The Clean Energy Index is up 6.02 percent so far this year. Lagging behind are both the S&P 500 and the Russell 3000 Index, which gained 3.12 percent and 3.86 percent respectively in 2015.




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Aquatera strengthens marine energy ties in Japan

Scotland-based power and environmental consultant Aquatera Ltd. Has entered into a partnership with the Nagasaki Marine Industry Cluster Promotion Association in an effort to help Japan bolster its marine energy sector through international collaboration.




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Tidal energy company tests prototype in Canadian archipelago, Haida Gwaii

British Columbia-based tidal developer, Yourbrook Energy Systems Ltd., is testing what it calls a prototype of a shallow water tidal-powered generator pump that could one day be used as part of a pumped storage hydroelectric project.
 




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Expanded 350-MW Nedre Rossaga hydropower station now operational in Norway

Statkraft opened its renovated and expanded 350-MW Nedre Rossaga hydropower station on Oct. 18.




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ABB Customer World Panel: The future of mobility favors the electrified, autonomous

Only time will tell whether this is right, but EV adoption is clearly rising both on the individual and fleet fronts. Utilities such as Southern California Edison and Ameren, among many others, are working to build EV charging infrastructure and align power distribution in a way to handle it.




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Grid tech company Kaluza invests in blockchain firm Electron

Grid technology firm Kaluza is investing in British blockchain company Electron.



  • Vehicle to grid

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N.C. bill aims to expand ‘free market’ for electric vehicle charging stations

Hook up your RV at a North Carolina campground or charge your boat at a marina, and you’ll pay for the electricity you consume. Plug in your electric car at a charging station, and you’ll pay for the time you spend at the outlet.




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Can this online startup change how companies buy renewable power?

It was a milestone deal, not for its size but for the number of parties. In January, five big companies, each with differing energy requirements and renewable strategies, agreed to pool their investment and collectively purchase 42.5 megawatts from a North Carolina solar project.




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ArcelorMittal Energy signs landmark PPA for Spanish solar farms

Infrastructure and private equity investment manager Foresight Group has agreed a 10-year corporate power purchase agreement with the energy arm of global steel and mining giant ArcelorMittal for two solar farms in Spain.




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Ford invests $500 million into battery company Rivian

Through a strategic partnership, Ford will develop an all-new, next-generation battery electric vehicle for Ford's growing EV portfolio using Rivian's skateboard platform