As we come into the final stretch of 2013, my annual model portfolio of Ten Clean Energy Stocks for 2013 looks certain to break its five year winning streak of beating its industry benchmark. As of December 6th, the model portfolio's total return has been 19.0 percent, compared to a sunny 56.1 percent for my benchmark, the Powershares Wilderhill Clean Energy (PBW). The broad market, as represented by the Russell 2000, also resoundingly beat my model portfolio, and is up 37.5 percent. My six alternative picks fared even worse than my top ten.

Developing countries that are interested in geothermal energy may see transformational results by approaching World Bank and other institutions, as Djibouti did. In an interview, the World Bank Djibouti geothermal project team talks about the project investment, lessons from Kenya’s experience, and preparations that are being made for the private sector to take up the next steps.

For those clamoring for (and against) the year-end-expiring legislation, and anyone in favor of some tax-code simplification, today the government has offered an early holiday present: proposed reform for some key areas including the production tax credit (PTC) and investment tax credit (ITC).

European Union leaders intend next month to agree on a timeline for developing energy and climate targets for 2030, delaying a final decision on the polices, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.

Tesla Motors Inc. Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said shifting to greater use of solar and wind power will challenge utility companies.

Simplifying finance vehicles for renewable energy will lure more investors and lower the costs of capital.

General Electric Co. is in talks to buy Alstom SA, the French builder of trains and power plants, people with knowledge of the matter said, in what would be GE’s biggest acquisition ever.

The top hydroelectric power news for May 2014

IHI Corp., a maker of everything from aircraft jet engines to gas turbines, expects the market for small-scale geothermal projects to take off in Japan as the country seeks cleaner sources of energy.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi appointed a former banker to oversee coal, power and clean-energy reforms in a move aimed at resolving fuel bottlenecks and chronic blackouts hampering economic growth.

Research reports and study findings related to hydropower for June 2014

Caisse des Depots et Consignations, a French state bank, is setting aside 5 billion euros ($6.8 billion) for green projects after the government proposed a law to spur use of renewable electricity and boost efficiency.

Shinsei Bank Ltd., a lender for Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s clean-energy projects in Japan, plans to provide as much as 200 billion yen (US $2 billion) in loans for renewable developments.

Australia is frightening developers away from renewable energy even before the government decides whether to overhaul targets for the industry’s growth.

South African Energy Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson said her department wants to address weaknesses in the process of commissioning renewable-power projects.

In the midst of a suburban sprawl halfway between the Eiffel Tower and Paris’s busy Orly airport, a drilling crew works night and day burrowing deep into the Earth’s crust in search of underground heat.

The threat of climate change is driving China and the U.S. — frequent rivals and the world’s two largest greenhouse-gas emitters — to collaborate on dozens of potential clean-energy breakthroughs.

Kyushu Electric Power Co. will suspend responding to applications from renewable-energy producers applying to access its grid while it reviews how much more clean energy it’s capable of handling.

California and Quebec, which together created the largest carbon market in North America this year, may come away empty-handed as they woo northeastern U.S. states to join their system.

Kenya Electricity Generating Co., the East African nation’s biggest power producer, plans joint ventures to complete its geothermal projects in Olkaria, Chief Executive Officer Albert Mugo said.

German electricity consumers will for the first time see a drop in the fee added to their bills to fund renewables, a boost for Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has pledged to curb the cost for voters.

Peru’s government is set to announce plans for a renewable-energy auction during a global climate conference to be held next month in Lima.

President Barack Obama will pledge $3 billion to a United Nations climate-change fund that’s intended to help poor nations boost renewable energy and counter the ill effects of global warming.

Collection of articles related to hydropower technology

Warren Buffett wants to tell you the best time to wash your clothes. Or at least his energy company in the U.K does. Buffett’s Northern Powergrid Holdings Co. is working with Siemens AG to test a so-called smart grid that has the ability to control when consumer appliances will be used in the home.

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.

California Governor Jerry Brown proposed spending $59 billion to fix crumbling roads and raising the state’s renewable energy mandate to 50 percent.

The Brazilian bank Itau Unibanco Holding SA raised 1.05 billion reais ($408 million) to finance renewable energy and water treatment projects.

The Obama administration is proposing a $4 billion fund to reward states that exceed cuts in greenhouse-gas emissions, and wants Congress to back steeper royalty rates for oil, gas and coal extraction from public land.

California’s bet on green energy is paying off, with clean technology companies creating more jobs and investing more money than competitors in any other state.

Enel SpA is putting the final touches on a yieldco that would hold its U.S. renewable energy assets, making it the latest power-plant owner to opt for a structure that frees up capital.

Global emissions were unchanged last year, the first time that’s happened amid economic growth in four decades, according to the International Energy Agency.

Jim Keffer is Republican state lawmaker in Texas with a permit to carry a concealed weapon and doubts about whether human activity is causing global warming.

RWE AG, the German utility whose coal-fired plants make it Europe’s largest carbon emitter, officially started the company’s largest renewables project on Thursday: a wind farm in Liverpool Bay off Britain’s coast.

Trillions of dollars will be invested in renewable energy over the next 25 years, driving some of the most profound changes yet in how humans get their electricity. That's according to a new forecast by Bloomberg New Energy Finance that plots out global power markets to 2040. 

Stanford, Oxford and Georgetown universities have won praise for promising to purge their endowments of direct investments in coal, embracing the fight against climate change.

Long-frustrated wind and solar developers in Australia can now get to work on more than A$14 billion ($11 billion) in projects after a new renewable energy target passed parliament.

German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel said 13 percent of power stations burning lignite, a cheap form of coal, would be phased out by 2021 under a program to cut power industry pollution. The government abandoned talks on proposals to impose a climate-change fee that the industry said would have forced mines and plants to close, threatening jobs.

Less than two weeks after 175 nations signed the pivotal Paris Agreement on climate change, a question lingers: What happens now?

The G20 meeting in Hangzhou, China, this September brings together leaders of the world’s largest economies for the first such gathering since the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate. G20 Leaders Summits traditionally focus on economic growth and financial stability, but since more than 190 countries collectively agreed to greatly enhance mitigation of the causes and impacts of climate change, the need to tackle a changing climate and foster clean energy has become a clear economic and business reality.

Free and fair elections in Afghanistan are crucial for the country's successful future, U.N. deputy envoy Nicholas Haysom said Tuesday.

Iran's deputy foreign minister said nuclear negotiations in Vienna were useful and another round of talks was scheduled over the course of three days in April.

Elections can only be representative if all members of society, including women, play a role, the head of the U.N. mission in Afghanistan said Wednesday.

The Lebanese military is commended for its commitment to peace in light of its vast security obligations, a UNIFIL official said Wednesday.

There's a chance for Iran to reach a comprehensive nuclear agreement that would benefit its people if the rights steps are taken, President Obama said Thursday.

The European Parliament said Thursday it was considering a unilateral move to give Ukraine relief from customs duties.

Employers have a duty to carry out document checks on individuals before employing them.  The aim of the checks is to ensure that individuals have the legal right to work in the UK.  Correctly carrying out document checks gives employers a...

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