Category: News

August 25 2017

New Kid on Europe’s Power Block Turning Into Giant Killer

Time may soon be up for Europe’s most influential power price. For 15 years, futures based on Germany and Austria’s shared electricity market have dominated power trading and anchored wholesale energy rates across Europe. With the joint price area due to end next year, a successor is emerging. Trading this month in German-only futures for 2020 […]

August 25 2017

China’s Solar Appetite Eats Into India’s Clean Energy Effort

Indian solar projects banking on a continuous supply of ever-cheaper panels are now under threat as China’s appetite props up prices. The global spot market price for solar panels in the second quarter fell at the slowest pace since the three months ended in December 2015, according to data compiled by PVinsights. While the decline […]

August 24 2017

Batteries Can Cut Power Bills for 5 Million U.S. Businesses

More than a quarter of U.S. businesses could lower their monthly power bills if they installed batteries to reduce peak energy demand. Companies that have demand charges of at least $15 per kilowatt would benefit from installing battery systems, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Clean Energy Group found in a study of over 10,000 […]

August 24 2017

This Is What Climate Change Sounds Like

One of the best instruments scientists can use to map climate change is roughly the size of a thumb—and adorable. The humble tree frog (genus Hyla) has proliferated from Florida to Alaska, yet it’s a delicate critter. Its disappearance from a habitat is an early warning that the place is becoming deforested, drier, or simply […]

August 24 2017

Trump’s Coal Push May Be the Disaster Insurance the Grid Doesn’t Need

If all hell breaks loose on the U.S. power grid — a terrorist blows up a key natural gas pipeline, say, in the midst of a frigid winter — how will Americans keep the lights on? The answer is coal, according to a growing collection of the industry’s leaders and lobbyists. Their pitch conveys an […]

August 24 2017

Comcast Solar Marketing Deal Prompts Partner Sunrun to Soar

Sunrun Inc., the residential solar company that’s boosting market-share, rose to a 52-week high Thursday after saying it will tap a partnership with the biggest U.S. cable-TV company to add new customers. Comcast Corp. and Sunrun agreed to a 40-month partnership after a trial showed that cable customers had interest in solar products, according to […]

August 24 2017

Brazil to Crack Down on Ships Sold Into `Toxic’ Scrap Trade

Brazilian regulators are planning to strengthen rules to prevent exporters such as Petrobras and Vale SA from selling aging ships to buyers who offload the vessels in South Asia’s controversial coastal scrapyards.  Earlier this month, authorities decided to develop a legal framework to ensure former Brazilian ships don’t end up with recyclers notorious for using dirty and dangerous […]

August 24 2017

Largest Green-Bond Fund for Emerging Markets Nearing $2 Billion

The World Bank’s International Finance Corp. and European asset manager Amundi SA are targeting year-end to raise $2 billion for what is expected to be the world’s largest green-bond fund dedicated to emerging markets. The fund aims to marry the goals of investors seeking more high-yield opportunities and development banks seeking to expand the green […]

August 24 2017

U.S. Lays Groundwork for Saving Coal Plants With Grid Report

The Energy Department, in a long-anticipated report on the security of the U.S. electric grid, makes the case for rescuing the nation’s coal industry from widespread plant shutdowns, but stops short of an assault on renewable power that environmentalists had feared. The study, commissioned by Energy Secretary Rick Perry who has warned that policies favoring solar […]

August 24 2017

It’s Party Time for the Metals No One Knows About

It’s turning out to be a great year for minor metals. Rechargeable-battery ingredient cobalt has gained 83 percent, while ruthenium, used in the chemical industry and electronics, is up 63 percent. The latest star is vanadium, an obscure silvery-grey metal thought to have been used to harden steel as far back as the Crusades. The metal, […]