Category: News

December 5 2017

First Solar Bets Its Future on a New Panel

First Solar Inc. is poised to take the wraps off the Series 6 panel Tuesday, a long-awaited product rollout that has huge implications for the biggest U.S. solar manufacturer. It’s not a stretch to say that Tempe, Arizona-based First Solar has bet its future on the success of this product. As solar panels get cheaper and […]

December 4 2017

A $12 Billion Clean-Energy Tool That U.S. Tax Reform Could Kill

The tax-reform proposal moving through the U.S. Senate would hobble — and potentially cripple — the supply of tax-equity investment, an esoteric but critical source of clean-energy finance. About half the companies that invest in tax equity for solar farms, and a majority of wind investors, may find the new tax policies make these deals irrelevant, according […]

November 30 2017

California Is Plenty Green But Iowa Has the Cleanest Power

California may be America’s clean-energy capital, but let’s give Iowa and North Dakota some credit too. Aggressive environmental polices under Governor Jerry Brown have given rise to vast wind and solar farms, allowing California to generate almost one-third of its electricity from renewable sources. Meanwhile, Iowa has one of the nation’s least ambitious clean-energy targets […]

November 29 2017

There’s Now a Vessel That Produces Zero Pollution

Cie. Maritime Belge SA has built the first commercial ship that runs on hydrogen and produces zero pollution, taking the world a step closer to cargo without emissions. The Hydroville passenger shuttle can operate on compressed hydrogen as well as regular fuel oil, according to the Belgian company. The ship was recently certified to operate […]

November 29 2017

Why Battery Cost Could Put the Brakes on Electric Car Sales

Battery prices need to drop by more than half before electric vehicles will be competitive with cars powered by internal-combustion engines, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, whose two-day Future of Energy summit in Shanghai concludes on Wednesday. That’s likely to happen by 2026, when the cost for lithium-ion battery packs is projected to fall […]

November 29 2017

Electric Vehicles Could Displace 8 Million Barrels of Oil Per Day by 2040

An energy transition is underway. Solar and wind are being added in ever-greater numbers. Electric vehicles are becoming more commonplace. Meanwhile, policy makers are grappling with the right mix of policies to pay for it all. Bloomberg New Energy Finance’s conference on the future of energy in Asia assembled industry executives, policy makers and bankers […]

November 29 2017

Solar’s Tumbling Costs Start Claiming Victims

Solar auctions are having their intended effect: Prices for developers are tumbling across Asia. While that’s good news for consumers, solar companies might have to reconsider the economics of projects already under way. That was the message from the world’s biggest solar panel maker, Trina Solar Ltd., during the second and final day of Bloomberg […]

November 28 2017

Toyota Clings to Hydrogen Bet While Electric Sales Soar

Toyota Motor Corp., which has made a big bet on hydrogen-powered cars, is looking more isolated as industry rivals double down on plug-in electric vehicles as the dominant technology in the emerging post-fossil fuel era. Three years ago, Toyota President Akio Toyoda, grandson of company founder Kiichiro Toyoda, unveiled the Mirai, a four-door family sedan […]

November 28 2017

The Way Asia Pays for Clean Energy Is Being Upended

China’s electricity price on a solar deal for Inner Mongolia plunged 44 percent last year. In India, prices to supply wind energy dropped to a record low in October. And Japan last week cut its solar-industry support by as much as 28 percent. In all three cases, the government had adopted an auction system to […]

November 27 2017

German’s Respite for Coal May End as Talks Resume With Merkel

The future of Germany’s coal industry is moving back into the spotlight as Chancellor Angela Merkel restarts talks on forming a new coalition government, with pressure building for stricter limits on the most polluting fuels. Two months after national elections, discussions aimed at forging a novel four-party government collapsed at the weekend in Berlin. While […]