Hydrogen - Fuel Cells News - RenewableEnergyWorld.com

Moniz Unanimously Confirmed As New DOE Chief

James Montgomery, Associate Editor, RenewableEnergyWorld.com — Thu, 16 May 2013 19:55:25 GMT

Ernie Moniz has been unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the next Secretary of Energy, in a 97-0 vote (with three nonvoters). He succeeds Stephen Chu who held the position for four years.

Finland's New Energy Solutions

Tue, 14 May 2013 12:00:00 GMT

You may not know much about Finland, but you certainly know the powerhouse technology company that became a household name across the globe and drove the nation’s economic expansion through the 1990s-2000s. Nokia generated a quarter of Finnish economic growth from 1998-2007, prompting a new term, ‘the Nokia effect’, to describe economic development

The Finnish Hydrogen Roadmap: Hydrogen to Join Electricity in Ending Traffic Pollution

Jussi Solin, Technical Research Center of Finland — Tue, 07 May 2013 12:00:00 GMT

Global expectations for hydrogen are currently sky-high. Transport applications stand at the threshold of commercialisation, while ahead lies an investment boom in the hydrogen distribution network. The changeover to hydrogen based on natural gas would already mean a potential saving of billion in Finland's balance of payments. If hydrogen could then be produced from domestic renewable raw material, our car and bus traffic would eventually be practically self-sufficient and leave a significantly reduced carbon footprint. The above was revealed in the Finnish hydrogen roadmap published recently.

EU Debate Over Climate Change Policy Could Dampen Renewable Energy Growth

Ewa Krukowska and Alex Morales, Bloomberg — Mon, 06 May 2013 13:39:31 GMT

Europe's program to halt climate change is in disarray with lawmakers in the region expressing concern the drift is undermining the planet's most significant effort to combat global warming.

Verizon to Invest $100 Million in U.S. Solar and Fuel Cells

Justin Doom, Bloomberg — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 17:49:17 GMT

Verizon Communications Inc., the second-largest U.S. phone company, plans to spend $100 million on solar systems and fuel cells to power 19 U.S. facilities.

Asia Report: Balancing China's Solar PV Market Volatility

Renewable Energy World Editors — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 12:00:00 GMT

China's solar PV demand sunk 23 percent in 1Q13 to 6.2 gigawatts (GW), driven by seasonality and policy incentive deadlines. Chinese demand largely drove a burnoff in upstream inventory accumulated over several quarters, but repetitive swings in Chinese demand over the next year will emphasize the need for smart capacity utilization and inventory control, according to SolarBuzz analyst Michael Barker in a recent report.

Renewables Are "Bright Spot" in Bleak Low-carbon Outlook

Tildy Bayar, Associate Editor, Renewable Energy World — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 14:00:00 GMT

Today in New Delhi the International Energy Agency (IEA) revealed the latest figures from its annual report on global progress towards a low-carbon future. The agency addressed its report to a meeting of the Clean Energy Ministerial, a group of ministers representing nations that collectively emit four-fifths of global greenhouse gases.

2030: A Future Roadmap for Renewables?

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 12:00:00 GMT

A recent European Commission Green Paper seeking views on the development of intermediate renewable energy and climate targets for 2030 has prompted calls from the industry to adopt a three part approach, targeting renewable energy, energy efficiency and emissions reduction. Formally opening an ongoing debate, the consultation — the Commission says

The Limits of Renewable Energy: A Call for Research and Development

Matthew Stepp, Information Technology & Innovation Foundation. — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 18:50:19 GMT

We're losing the race against global warming. Worldwide coal production increased about eight times faster than solar- and wind-power generation last year. China added more new coal plants in 2011 than are running in Texas and Ohio, even as it leads the world in wind-power capacity. Meanwhile, the United States is only modestly cutting carbon emissions by transitioning from coal to natural gas, which is still a carbon-rich fuel.

Breakthrough in Hydrogen Fuel Production Could Revolutionize Alternative Energy Market

Zeke Barlow, Virginia Tech — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 16:25:51 GMT

A team of Virginia Tech researchers has discovered a way to extract large quantities of hydrogen from any plant, a breakthrough that has the potential to bring a low-cost, environmentally friendly fuel source to the world.

Australia Backs Renewable Energy Targets

James Montgomery, Associate Editor, RenewableEnergyWorld.com — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 13:02:45 GMT

In response to a statutory review, The Australian Government's Climate Change Authority has committed to maintaining its renewable energy target (RET) of 20 percent of the nation's electricity (roughly 41,000 GWh) coming from renewable sources by 2020. The Government also emphasizes that 20 percent is only a minimum target, and leaves "the way open for improvements in energy efficiency to deliver a higher share of renewable energy."

The Good and Bad News of DoE Fiscal Year Budget Request

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 11:00:00 GMT

The good news is the Department of Energy (DoE) FY 2013 budget request of $2,337 million for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy programs (EERE) shows a 29 percent increase from the enacted FY 2012 budget. The bad news is the FY 2013 has not been approved by Congress, as of this writing, see Table 1 below. Table 1: FY 2013 DoE Budget Request

The Clouds are Getting Greener: Apple Data Centers Powered by 100% Renewables

Meg Cichon, Associate Editor, RenewableEnergyWorld.com — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 13:57:03 GMT

Just one year after Greenpeace called out Apple for its use of fossil fuels in its "How Green Is Your Cloud" report – which graded Apple no higher than a "D" in four categories consisting of energy transparency, infrastructure siting, energy efficiency, and renewables and advocacy – Apple announced that its data centers are now powered by 100 percent renewable energy. In fact, renewables contribute to 75 percent of its entire corporate operations energy needs, according to its website.

For Renewable Energy, Hands-on Learning Can't Be Beat

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 19:16:47 GMT

I’m a reader. I love sitting down with a great book or an in-depth report full of charts and graphs and really digging in. SEIA and GTM Research just released their Solar Market Insight Report with staggering figures about solar installations in the U.S. in 2012. If you, like me, love to learn about the global growth of renewable energy, you shou

10 Tips for Maximizing Trade Show ROI

Mon, 28 Jan 2013 14:00:00 GMT

From strategic plans to comfortable shoes The cleantech and power industries have countless conferences and trade shows that offer networking, business development and educational opportunities. I’m not exaggerating. At Tigercomm, we maintain a database of conference opportunities that expands nearly every day. But tight budgets and competing prior

Developers Will Invest 1.9 Trillion in Clean Energy Over Next Five Years

Justin Doom, Bloomberg — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 15:40:00 GMT

Developers and financiers will invest $1.9 trillion building clean-energy power plants worldwide from 2012 through 2018 as demand for electricity increases, according to The Pew Charitable Trusts.

RenewableEnergyWorld.com's Top 5 Most Read Articles and Blogs of 2012

Renewable Energy World Editors — Wed, 26 Dec 2012 17:49:00 GMT

At the close of each year, we like to take a look back to see which stories made an impact on our readers. This year's most read articles show the many twists and turns that the industry took this year and reveal interesting trends for us as editors and for other industry insiders. Have a look at our most popular articles below. And if there was a story that particularly struck you, please let us know what it was in the comment section below. Happy New Year!

A Cleantech State of the Union

Fri, 05 Oct 2012 15:15:00 GMT

With October now upon us, data providers are beginning to issue their preliminary analyses of cleantech investment in the third quarter of 2012 that just closed. This quarter, the Clean Energy pipeline service of London’s VBResearch is the first to weigh in, counting cleantech venture capital & private equity investment (excluding buyouts) as appro

Unlocking Africa's Renewable Energy Potential

Mark Hankins, Mathias Gustavsson and Federico Hinrichs — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 13:00:00 GMT

Like blind men describing an elephant, African pundits talk about renewables in terms of individual perceptions, needs and inclinations, and often in ways that put the overall issue completely out of perspective.

Look What's Now Patently Obvious in Cleantech

Tue, 02 Oct 2012 04:02:00 GMT

Anyone can look up at the sky and make a guess at tomorrow’s weather. But having actual data informs your opinion and makes your guess a little more accurate. Which is why, as a managing director of a leading cleantech data provider and responsible for the presentation of its quarterly global cleantech data, I developed a real respect for venture i