While this article certainly does focus on large central inverters, the potential impact of microinverters is acknowledged in para 9, referring to an additional box panel which appeared in the magazine. Please do follow the link at the foot of the piece which will direct you to a recent REW anlaysis of the microinverter sector.

It is perhaps also worth noting that, by any standards, even 20 GW by 2020 is still a very ambitious plan.

Winning bidders for a series of marine energy development sites off Scotland's Pentland Firth and Orkney islands have been named in the world's first commercial wave and tidal leasing round.

Apologies for the typo, you are correct Koh-i-Noor, the figure is 20 GW. The 150 GW refers to the current total installed generation capacity in India, both renewables and other forms of generation.

As any engineer will tell you, developing the engineering concepts for a novel energy production device is an iterative process. For ocean energy, this process is further complicated as any device destined to generate electricity from the marine environment must be sufficiently robust to survive the extremely harsh conditions, all the while maintaining complex operations at sea.

Renewable Energy World unveils a new section that asks leading players in the industry to give their verdict on a key issue of the moment. This time we ask: Given the outcomes at Copenhagen, what are the implications for the global renewables industry in the year ahead?

In the world of photovoltaics, inverters are the gateway through which the energy of the sun is delivered into a usable format. Discrete, unobtrusive and often fairly non-descript boxes, inverters may be low key, but ultimately their efforts are what make a project economically viable.

Some analysts tip 2010 to be a bumper year for renewables investment in the Asia-Pacific region, largely on the back of 2009 government initiatives that are likely to stimulate widespread adoption and investments in R&D and manufacturing capacity. India's ambition to install up to 20 GW of solar photovoltaic and solar thermal capacity by 2022 stands out. Is that ambition credible?

Even as the UK hailed massive plans for expansion of offshore wind that will see capacity boosted by up to 32 GW, the awkward questions began. Will the supply chain be up to the challenge? Will the right turbines be available at the right time? What about the grid?

In the wake of the September 2009 acquisition of ScanWind, GE has confirmed some design details of its forthcoming offshore wind machine, which is set to mark the company's substantive entry into the offshore arena.

Thanks for spotting this error, according to Himin the correct figure is 100 million USD: http://www.himin.com/english/hmnews.asp

In 2008, solar thermal heating and cooling solutions gained favour in more and more countries,’ says European Solar Thermal Industry Federation (ESTIF) president Olivier Drücke. ‘The solar thermal market in the EU and Switzerland grew by over 60% to 3.3 GWth of new capacity, that is 4.76 million m2 of collector area,’ he adds.

Like many of the current crop of ‘cutting edge’ renewable energy technologies, the concept of extracting energy from waves and tides is not a new one. Indeed, it is well over 100 years since the first tidal wheel was built and the 240 MW La Rance tidal barrage project in Brittany, France, has been operating for well over 40 years. What has changed over the intervening years is the level of urgency with which such projects are now being addressed and the technical achievements by some manufacturers which are making tidal and wave energy a reality.

Material of recent biological origin – such as wood which can be either be burnt directly or further processed to provide heat, electricity or fuel – is defined as biomass or biogas in the context of renewable energy systems.

Blessed with one of the longest coastlines of any country in Europe, large tidal ranges and strong winds, it is perhaps obvious that as the home of one of the largest marine energy resources, the United Kingdom should also sport by far the largest concentration of marine power companies in the world.

It is perhaps because of its reputation as a country with a rain-soaked and overcast climate that solar photovoltaic (PV) has so far made only a minor impact on the UK's renewables sector. This is particularly evident when compared with Europe's market leaders Spain and Germany, and new growth in Italy.

Thanks to its long coastline and maritime climate, the UK has the best wind resources in Europe, and some of the best in the world. Reflecting this, over the last few years the country's wind industry has grown rapidly – reaching a capacity of more than 3.5 GW and becoming the global leader in offshore installations.

The term 'biofuels' has generally has come to mean liquid biofuels for use in transport and is applied to a wide range of products. These fuels may be used in internal combustion engines as replacements for petroleum, diesel oil or other additives.

The UK does well in the small wind turbine industry and is host to some genuine world leaders in the field. Indeed, with more than 15 manufacturers based in the UK alone, a wide variety of designs are available and some 10,000 micro and small wind turbines have been installed in the country since 2005.

No typo, 40 is indeed more than 35, but 40 as a proportion of 230 is considerably less that 35 as a proportion of 180. In the first scenario offshore wind accounts for close to 20% of the total, in the later figures this falls to nearer 17%.

It is not a gas appliance and the heat is not transferred. Good Energy assess an individual's solar thermal installation and calculate an expected average annual output. The company then pays the householder a fee for each kWh produced from the system, depending on regular meter readings etc. To qualify for the scheme, owners must sign up for a dual fuel gas and electricity supply contract from Good Energy. The gas supplied, which is used in a conventional boiler for space and water heating, is to some extent offset by the solar thermal installation. A premium on the gas price covers the cost of the reward scheme.

A rough description of the technology may be found at: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/story?id=52037

PS. Good Energy currently pay 4.5p/kWh or about US cent 6.75