Last year around this time, clean tech research and publishing firm Clean Edge predicted we'd be talking about flat or even downward clean energy revenue trends in 2009. However, the report the firm issued today, Clean Energy Trends 2010, shows that combined global revenue for three major clean-energy sectors –- solar photovoltaics (PV), wind power and biofuels -– grew by 11.4 percent over 2008, reaching $139.1 billion.

Great idea, Solar Fred. I'll be waiting for my call!

Hi Kriss, I just attended the NESEA Building Energy 10 conference in Boston and found the mood very upbeat. Builders are definitely interested in solar and solar companies (integrators at least) are planning for big growth this year and beyond. The renewable energy sessions that I attended were full of interested developers, architects, financiers and builders. Even the financial folks said that credit is loosening up (just a bit) and more projects are starting to go through. I think what you are seeing is the real tone of the industry right now. Thanks for your post, as always.

A group of wind energy executives as well as the CEO of the American Wind Energy Association called on the U.S. Congress today to quickly enact a strong federal renewable energy standard in order to save American jobs. They also stated that they would fight the recently introduced Schumer legislation that could cripple the industry.

Last week, close to four thousand renewable energy professionals gathered in Austin, Texas to take part in the 7th Renewable Energy World Conference and Expo. Attendees took part in technical tours to places such as the Ercot Control Center and Austin Energy, conference sessions that covered pressing renewable energy topics and walked the show floor where more than 225 exhibitors showed off the latest renewable energy innovations.

Thanks for a great post, Aaron. Now how do we get it done?

Love it! Thanks, Adrian.

Great post, industryeditor One of our commenters used to regularly post poetry related to stories. Adrian, we need a smart grid poem!

Hi SmartGridConsultants! The readers would love to hear your take on the challenges associated with the smart grid today. As experts in your field, it would be appreciated if you could use this blog as a place to post your real thoughts on what is going on in this industry. Post press releases in your press release area. Looking forward to hearing more from you. -- Jennifer Runyon, Managing Editor

It's great to hear about someone taking advantage of a new FIT so quickly! Can't wait to hear about the project. Please keep us informed.

Thanks for the suggestion! We are always on the lookout for promising new technologies that are on the cusp of commercialization. Do you know of any companies and/or research institutions that are working on Airborne Wind Energy?

As 2009 comes to a close, RenewableEnergyWorld.com is reflecting on the year gone by. We're revisiting our most-read stories and highlighting some of our most important accomplishments over the last 12 months.

Spurred by renewable portfolio standards, impending carbon legislation and public concerns about the environment, utilities across the U.S. are considering how they might lower emissions and incorporate more renewable energy into their electricity generation mix. And while wind, solar and other types of renewable energy plants remain on the table as options to explore, one choice they may already be familiar with is biomass.

I think its possible to take climate change out of the equation entirely and still offer very compelling reasons to support renewable energy. How about the fact that the US military is one of the biggest supporters of renewable energy? If the people fighting the wars over oil, (remember this is what Wesley Clark says) think that it would be better if we just produced our own energy, then maybe others will latch on to that argument. Maybe some folks will agree that having energy independence is just as compelling a reason to support renewables as climate change is.

Editor's note: To read more about Solar Training, check out last week's feature article: "Solar Education, Outreach and Training: Moving the Industry Forward." In the article, you'll find links to video interviews with Boots on the Roof, IREC, SEI and other industry professionals on the topic of training in the solar industry.

Since solar energy technology is on solid ground and the finance and policy pieces of the puzzle are being addressed through the stimulus plan, all that's left to make solar energy an integral part of the American energy economy is education, according to Rhone Resch of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA).

According to the American Solar Energy Society (ASES) and Management Information Services Inc. (MISI), 4.5 million jobs will be created in the United States by 2030 if the government gets serious about tackling climate change.

Graham Jesmer is News and Video Editor at RenewableEnergyWorld.com. He not only manages the daily news flow on the site, but also produces and administers the video section and writes feature stories for the site. Graham has covered a broad range of topics for RenewableEnergyWorld.com including market dynamics and renewable energy policy. He graduated from St. Michael's College in 2007 with BAs in journalism and economics. He began his journalism career in the public affairs department at WXXI-TV, a PBS affiliate in Rochester, NY before becoming part of RenewableEnergyWorld.com. Please contact him with any questions, comments, video or story ideas.

I am producer and host of the Inside Renewable Energy podcast, a weekly audio news program that covers the latest developments in technology, policy and finance. The show has amassed a dedicated following of industry professionals and consumers, and I'm very grateful for all the listeners who have responded to the show in such a positive way. I also write stories and help edit and manage content for publication on RenewableEnergyWorld.com. I'm always looking to collaborate with others in the industry, so please keep in touch through the blog or podcast!

The Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA) today released its second annual ranking on utility solar integration for 2008, a report that captures information on solar technologies including photovoltaic and concentrating solar power, on both the customer and utility sides of the meter.

Roughly 30 percent of the energy used in the U.S. is for heating and cooling and a large proportion of the energy used for heat, at least in the Northeast, comes from burning oil. While using renewables to generate electricity and solve transportation issues (the other 70 percent of the equation) receives the lion's share of attention from policymakers, the organizers of the first "Heating the Northeast with Renewable Biomass" conference that took place in Nashua, New Hampshire this week are hoping to change that.

Last week's Renewable Energy World North America Conference and Expo proved that utilities are seriously entering the renewable energy game as utility-scale projects and solving problems associated with grid infrastructure, demand response, ramp rates and energy storage dominated many of the discussions.

Next Tuesday in Las Vegas renewable energy industry leaders, experts, companies and other interested participants will meet in Las Vegas to discuss how the industry is faring amidst the current economic conditions during Renewable Energy World North America, the renewable energy's leading expo and conference in North America.

Just one week after U.S. President Obama signed into law the America Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 with billions set aside to promote the build-out of new renewable energy capacity and make the U.S. more energy efficient, Ontario's Premier Dalton McGuinty and Energy Minister George Smitherman unveiled a plan to infuse the Canadian province with green energy and energy efficiency improvements.

Last week the Pennsylvania Energy Resources Group reported on the highly anticipated unveiling of the Pennsylvania Farm Show butter sculpture. This year's sculpture, which was revealed this past Saturday, is dedicated to the National Guard and depicts a Guardsman saying goodbye to his family. About 1000 pounds of butter, donated by Land O'Lakes, went into the sculpture, which will be converted to biodiesel by Lake Erie Biofuels at its biodiesel facility in Erie, Pennsylvania at the end of the show.

To use an old cliche, it's been a banner year here at RenewableEnergyWorld.com. Despite the worldwide downturn of financial markets and the global credit crisis, many Renewable Energy companies continue to thrive and our publication is no exception.

It's been another great year for renewable energy and the technology advances that have been made are astounding. As always, we at RenewableEnergyWorld.com tried to stay on top of all the new developments throughout the year and bring them to you, our readers, as quickly as possible.

An Engineer, if you click on either of the first two links at the bottom of the article (link to the full report or the PowerPoint presentation about the report), you'll be able to see all of the interesting graphics that go with this report.

Thank you, Questioner (comment 8) for pointing out that RenewableEnergyAccess had inadvertently posted the wrong story this week.  There is new research in this area and the story has now been updated. 

The author has added another website to this list: Please take a look at BSP Nepal's website-- http://www.bspnepal.org.np/.

How can one obtain plans for the biogas plant (stove) setup? I would like to try it for an outside grill/stove setup. Maybe it can be adapted to use biomass refuse, such as leaves and weeds (mixed with dung). Jack Guelff Hello Jack and Rod, I can certainly appreciate your curiosity! If there was a hard and fast link to the stoves, we would have provided it. Instead, I pulled up the following sites, which I hope can get you started. --Margaret Gurney for REA.com http://www.winrock.org.np http://www.winrock.org.np/cleanboigas.html http://www.winrock.org/ http://www.icimod.org/snv/snvpapers/HABR.pdf http://www.aepcnepal.org/bsp/imp.php http://www.aepcnepal.org/bsp/part.php (info@allnepalbiogas.com )