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Why 2016 looks set to be the year the tide turns decisively in favour of fuel cell electric vehicles

Dr Henri Winand – CEO of Intelligent Energy, UK Dieselgate is catalyst for change There is little doubt that the fallout is continuing to be felt from the revelations of emissions-rigging in the automotive industry. The ‘Dieselgate’ scandal, combined with growing public concern i ...

Posted 21 March 2016 by Steve Barrett

tags: Power generation , Fuel cells , Fuel cell electric vehicles , FCEVs , Hydrogen energy , Clean energy

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Smart grid technology innovation is gathering momentum

Patent filings research carried out by UK-based intellectual property firm, Withers & Rogers, has revealed that innovation activity in the area of energy storage – and smart grid technology in particular – is gathering momentum. This is partly due to the UK government’s decisio ...

Posted 08 January 2016 by Steve Barrett

tags: Smart grids , Patents , Intellectual property (IP) , Energy storage

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Guest Blog: Learning from India’s power revolution

Dr Henri Winand – CEO of Intelligent Energy, UK Given the relative state of their power grids, it would seem that the UK has little to learn from India when it comes to efficiently providing and delivering electricity. But when it comes to renewable energy, India is paving a path from which t ...

Posted 21 October 2015 by Steve Barrett

tags: Power generation , India , Fuel Cells , Hydrogen energy , Renewable energy , Telecoms

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Guest blog: Picking winners

BY ROLAND JOEBSTL For those who dare to look into the future and see a low-carbon society powered by renewables with global warming kept below the 2°C threshold, the message is clear: it is time to pick the winners, throw off our shackles of the past and do it right, writes Rola ...

Posted 02 July 2015 by Steve Barrett

tags: low carbon , climate change , COP21 , renewable energy , energy efficiency , investment

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New AWEA Board Chair: "It's time for presidential candidates to back American wind power for its economic benefits."

BY MIKE GARLAND Coming off a year in which the industry added 23,000 jobs and put $23 billion of private investment behind 100 wind projects, the American Wind Energy Association declared it’s time for the industry to start flexing its muscle. “From the smallest companies to the largest ...

Posted 22 May 2015 by Reg Tucker

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Debunking the latest spin from the anti-wind lobby

BY JIM REILLY. Thomas Pyle’s group is funded by the Koch brothers and other fossil fuel interests working against wind power. So, it’s no wonder that he opposes the key incentive for this energy source. Pyle’s latest spin that a bill to retroactively change the rules for th ...

Posted 15 May 2015 by Reg Tucker

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Alternative funding opportunities for renewable energy projects

BY TOMAS GARDFORS AND ANN VESELY. Infrastructure projects are seeing greater opportunities to access a wider and more diversified pool of potential capital. This is particularly clear in the context of a long-term contraction in bank lending and the increased pressure on alternative lender ...

Posted 06 May 2015 by Reg Tucker

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The state of IPOs in the renewable energy sector

BY ANDY CURRIE. The renewable energy sector has been consistently growing. According to data from the United Nations Environment Programme and Bloomberg New Energy Finance, investment in renewable energy projects is now outpacing investment in new fossil fuel-powered generation capacity. We are seei ...

Posted 21 April 2015 by Reg Tucker

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Collaboration is key to continued growth of the UK's offshore renewable industry

BY CHRIS JARVIS. Research conducted at Wave & Tidal 2015, held in Edinburgh in February, reveals that industry experts fear the UK offshore renewables sector is not making the most of its current leading global position in the field. 1 Furthermore, observers say, the sector risks being overtaken ...

Posted 16 April 2015 by Reg Tucker

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Biofuels poised for growth in the Middle East

BY IMRAN KHAN. Consumers worldwide are witness to the fluctuations in the fuel prices recently, and the Middle East is no exception. This raises the question, “Why do fuel prices rise and fall?" In the long term, the greatest single factor influencing fuel prices is the cost of crude oil. ...

Posted 01 April 2015 by Reg Tucker

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A holistic view of how solar plus storage can be embraced by utilities and energy consumers alike for the benefit of all.

BY KENNETH MUNSON, Sunverge CEO. In this blog, the author explains how using energy storage can build resilient utility business models, capture benefits across the energy supply chain and cope with demand disruption. Customer-sited energy storage technology has now been proven throug ...

Posted 25 March 2015 by Reg Tucker

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New energy, old problems: How to keep contract disputes from derailing your energy infrastructure project

By Todd Conley. Retail electricity sales could grow by 25 per cent by 2040, and renewable energy generating capacity is expected to follow that trend, growing by 52 per cent itself over the next 25 years, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. This massive shift in energy productio ...

Posted 04 March 2015 by Reg Tucker

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Results of UK’s first Auction for Contracts for Difference draw mixed reviews

More than a year after the Contract for Difference (CfD) regime1 was instituted — courtesy of the 2013 Energy Act, the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has released the results of the first round of the Contracts for Difference allocation. According to the DECC, Contracts f ...

Posted 01 March 2015 by Reg Tucker

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Future prospects for tidal energy and wave power in the UK

BY STUART BRADLEY. Tidal stream energy can have a significant role to play in the UK’s future energy system and has the potential to compete with other low carbon energy sources on cost. 1 However, the future for a cost competitive wave energy industry is less certain and the industry needs a ...

Posted 25 February 2015 by Reg Tucker

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Could wave power be the most efficient energy alternative to fossil fuels?

BY MIKE JAMES. It has been persistently argued that marine energy converters could offer a more reliable source of energy in comparison to alternative clean energy sources. Now researchers have come forward from the College of Engineering at Oregon State University with new analysis that sug ...

Posted 19 February 2015 by Reg Tucker

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Clean Energy Group proposes collaboration on distributed energy policies

WRITTEN BY LEWIS MILFORD, SETH MULLENDORE AND TODD OLINSKY-PAUL. Clean Energy Group (CEG) has released a new report calling for more collaboration on policies to promote emerging distributed energy storage technologies. In ‘Distributed Energy Storage: A Case for National and International Coll ...

Posted 04 February 2015 by Reg Tucker

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The politics of clean energy

In the immediate aftermath of the recent mid-term elections here in the States, pundits focused their attention on the shift of power in the Senate and the implications on key issues such as health care, immigration reform and the broader US economy. But what’s also at stake is the future dire ...

Posted 09 January 2015 by Reg Tucker

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Pondering the future for the bioenergy sector in the UK

WRITTEN BY EBRI. Experts from Aston University's European Bioenergy Research Institute (EBRI) recently shared their views of the UK’s nascent bioenergy sector with Renewable Energy Focus magazine. The expert contributors included: Professor Tony Bridgwater, director; Dr Jim Scott, research a ...

Posted 25 December 2014 by Reg Tucker

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The role of renewable energy in the growth of Sub-Saharan Africa

BY GIULIA MENICUCCI. It could be called Sub-Saharan Africa’s energy's paradox: despite the countries that have a large diffusion of oil fuels, the region has the lowest electricity access rate in the world. Roughly one-fifth of Sub-Saharian Africa’s population has access to electricity, ...

Posted 17 December 2014 by Reg Tucker

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US Department of Energy wants solar industry to "shine." Energy Secretary Dr. Ernest Moniz explains.

Last month the US Department of Energy announced more than $53 million for 40 innovative research and development projects that aim to drive down the cost of solar energy, tackling key aspects of technology development in order to bring innovative ideas to the market more quickly. ...

Posted 12 December 2014 by Reg Tucker

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The ABCs of green cars

BY CARA WAGNER. Most people consider their cars as a vital way to get themselves from A to B. However, some cars can be harmful to the environment. This is where green cars come in; they are environmentally friendly and have less polluting emissions because of their sustainable fuel resources. &n ...

Posted 09 December 2014 by Reg Tucker

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SEIA urges ‘collaborative approach’ to solving America's problems

BY RHONE RESCH. With widespread voter dissatisfaction evident in Tuesday’s national and state elections, Rhone Resch, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), urged Republicans, Democrats and Independents to take a more “collaborative approach” to ...

Posted 05 November 2014 by Reg Tucker

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Majority of US voters support biodiesel tax incentive and renewable fuel standard

Policies supporting biodiesel production would win a resounding vote of confidence if they were on the ballot in next week’s elections, according to a nationwide survey1 commissioned by the National Biodiesel Board (NBB). According to the survey, three out of four voters support a tax incentiv ...

Posted 28 October 2014 by Reg Tucker

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Feeding off solar’s global momentum

This month, representatives from across the solar industry supply chain will convene in Las Vegas for SPI 2014. I fully expect the mood of many attendees to be positively upbeat in light of some very encouraging reports and forecasts. Several newly released industry reports provide concrete evidenc ...

Posted 15 October 2014 by Reg Tucker

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For Europe’s PV industry, non-compliance with WEEE has serious consequences

WRITTEN BY PIA ALINA LANGE. “I am not a producer because I do not manufacture.” “I am not a producer because my foreign supplier is member of a take-back scheme.” “I am not a producer because this brand is already listed with a take-back scheme.” Does any of t ...

Posted 03 September 2014 by Reg Tucker

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Is 100% renewable energy really an achievable goal?

WRITTEN BY TIM BROWN. The UK would, in theory, have the conditions required to rely heavily on renewable energy now and in the future. Being an island, hydro and wind power can be harnessed to a great extent — though the same can’t be entirely said for solar power, as the sun can be ...

Posted 19 August 2014 by Reg Tucker

tags: UK , renewable energy targets

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Encouraging prospects for creating renewable energy fuel from microalgae

WRITTEN BY ANDREW MOURANT. The race to create renewable energy fuel from microalgae – of potential huge significance – is leading research teams around the world in diverse directions. The science is becoming better understood, but no one can yet say what will be the best model for ...

Posted 09 July 2014 by Reg Tucker

tags: algae , biofuels

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Use of critical feedstock in biofuel threatens a bio-industry

WRITTEN BY CHARLES MORRIS The production of biofuels has long been mired in controversy – especially over the highly contentious issue of which feedstocks are appropriate to use in making the fuels. Indirect land use change (ILUC) has been a hot topic since it became clear that using edibl ...

Posted 24 June 2014 by Reg Tucker

tags: biofuels , policy

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Advocating the Obama Administration's Clean Power Plan

US EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy expands on the Obama Administration's Clean Power Plan in the wake of the release of the proposed guidelines for cutting carbon emissions from existing power plants. Following are excerpts of her comments: About a month ago, I took a trip to the Cleveland ...

Posted 02 June 2014 by Reg Tucker

tags: pollution , USA , Clean Power Plan

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Pondering the future of the wind power industry in the UK

WRITTEN BY DAVID TAYLOR. Climate change is a very serious issue, and it was only recently that Prime Minster David Cameron said he believed man-made climate change to be ‘one of the most serious threats that this country and this world faces’. It is, therefore, no surprise, that th ...

Posted 28 May 2014 by Reg Tucker

tags: wind power , UK

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Cleantech finds an unlikely ally — war

BY AARON LIM. The race towards building a world not dependant on fossil fuels has a powerful, but silent ally in the global military apparatus. For the Pentagon, clean energy and sustainability isn’t about saving whales or hugging trees — it’s about improving combat efficiency. ...

Posted 12 May 2014 by Reg Tucker

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5 Reasons the Cleantech Industry is Stronger Than Ever

WRITTEN BY VIC SHAO. Green Charge Networks CEO Vic Shao, comes to the defense of the ‘cleantech’ industry by providing clear evidence on an industry on the rise — not in decline, as some critics have argued. In his words... As a cleantech CEO who has received $12 ...

Posted 07 April 2014 by Reg Tucker

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Examining the relationship between 'green energy' and 'green engineering'

WRITTEN BY CONOR MACGUIRE. Can a green engineering application, system or process be really ‘green’ without manufacturers and service providers first making sure that the energy input too is green? The answer to that rhetorical question is a resounding "no!" The relationship ...

Posted 31 March 2014 by Reg Tucker

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PV recycling mandate: Industry needs to adapt as new rules take effect

WRITTEN BY JAN CLYNCKE. It’s no longer just a green thing to do: starting in February the collection, transport and recycling as well as its related financing and administration of discarded end-of-life photovoltaic panels is EU law. One of the most significant changes in the European ph ...

Posted 20 March 2014 by Reg Tucker

tags: PV , recycling , photovoltaic , EU

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Beware the pitfalls of media 'spin'

BY REGINALD TUCKER. The recent 60 Minutes piece on the “Cleantech Crash” reminds us that the proper “context” in reporting the news is just as important as “content”— if not more so. By now I’m sure most industry watchers have seen (or hea ...

Posted 10 February 2014 by Reg Tucker

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Thermal stores – the answer to getting the most from renewable energy

Thermal stores are the key to getting the best from renewable energy. Here Mark Wozencroft, Managing Director of Minus 7, explains how they work and the benefits. Energy storage A crucial part of getting the most from renewable energy is the correct storage of the energy you have harvested. This i ...

Posted 04 February 2014 by Steve Barrett

tags: Renewable energy , Energy storage , Thermal storage , Heat energy

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Key issues affecting acceptance and integration of renewable energy technologies in the US

Written by Alex Nicholsen, P.E., Nicholsen Engineering Services, Sunland, California. I would like to point out that the green revolution and in particular, renewable and clean energy products such as solar power, wind turbines, geothermal and algae-based bio-fuels are not waiting for viable t ...

Posted 13 January 2014 by Reg Tucker

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From the Sewer to the Glass – How did we get here?

The idea of reusing wastewater is not a new one. For decades governments and environmentalists have been pushing the idea of treating wastewater for other uses. In some instances, treated wastewater has been accepted without much fuss – like for irrigation and cooling industrial plants. As we ...

Posted 16 December 2013 by Alan Burrows

tags: Microfiber , wastewater , Commercial Industrial Supply , smart water usage , reverse osmosis , UV treatments

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Anaerobic digestion: getting your hands dirty (guest blog)

Written by Andrew Mourant. It’s hard to imagine a more unsavoury sight than mounds of rotting household rubbish or piles of farmyard dung. And so few prospects are more appealing than turning these into a source of renewable energy. The worldwide demand for anaerobic digestion (AD) plants t ...

Posted 28 November 2013 by David Hopwood

tags: anaerobic , digestion , feedstock , research

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Energy storage solutions to enhance grid economics

By Nick Ni – Verde LLC, Massachusetts, USA Renewable energy has grown at a dramatic rate in recent years. The US Energy Information Administration has recently reported that renewable energy sources provided 9.81% of US energy consumption and 11.82% of domestic energy productio ...

Posted 31 October 2013 by Steve Barrett

tags: hydrogen , energy storage , renewable energy , total system levelized cost , wind energy , batteries , fuel cells , electrolyzers , electrolysis , solar PV , renewable hydrogen , green hydrogen , economic benefits

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Hydrogen for fuel cell electric vehicles

By Nick Ni – Verde LLC, Massachusetts, USA The concept of fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) has been promoted for several years. Compared to conventional vehicles, fuel cell powered vehicles generate zero greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutants at point-of-use. In addition, they can gre ...

Posted 19 September 2013 by Steve Barrett

tags: hydrogen , fuel cells , fuel cell electric vehicles , fuel cell vehicles , FCEVs , FCVs , hydrogen storage , hydrogen fueling , hydrogen stations , fuel cell catalysts

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Guest Blog: If only - my rewrite of the PM's shale gas article

by Elizabeth Block We cannot afford to miss out on renewables. Safe development of renewable energy will cut energy bills and create wealth without ruining precious countryside, writes David Cameron, or so I wish (We cannot afford to miss out on shale gas, The Telegraph.*) Britain has led t ...

Posted 12 August 2013 by Elizabeth Block

tags: shale gas , Elizabeth Block

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Guest Blog: My 2nd Biomass Breakfast – Aston University seeks to transform life in rural India

By Elizabeth Block Faithful readers of this blog will remember my first biomass breakfast – out at a rugby club somewhere where wood pellets were on the menu, as it were. Actually there were bacon sandwiches, no pellets – and an opportunity to “see” wood pellets whisked in ...

Posted 09 August 2013 by Elizabeth Block

tags: Aston University , biomass , India , EBRI , Elizabeth Block , Pyroformer , bioenergy

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Time to end the guilt on incentives and start fighting

The last month has brought another depressing piece of news: This time the potential demise of Suntech, a pioneer credited with helping scale up the PV industry, on the verge of bankruptcy. The recent turmoil being suffered by module and cell manufacturers in the PV industry is well documented (Pau ...

Posted 10 April 2013 by David Hopwood

tags: renewable energy , incentives

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10 clean energy investments from Google

The past few years has seen Google embark on an ambitous program of investment in the renewables space, the most recent announcement seeing Google investing $200 million in a Texas wind farm. So where else has Google been putting its money? Spinning Spur Wind Farm: West Texas wind In December 2012 ...

Posted 31 January 2013 by David Hopwood

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Top 10 trends for the fuel cell industry in 2013

Around this time of year everyone and their dog does a review of the year just gone, or a preview for the year to come, often in the form of a ‘Top 10’. Even so, it’s interesting to see what analysts at Pike Research highlight in a white paper that identifies the 10 most notable a ...

Posted 30 January 2013 by Steve Barrett

tags: fuel cell , fuel cells , hydrogen , hydrogen energy , hydrogen fuelling , hydrogen infrastructure , fuel cell vehicles , platinum , palladium , energy storage

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EWEA 2013 conference - hot topics

EWEA 2013 is just a few weeks away. So what can conference delegates expect to be the main topics up for debate? Event launch and keynotes The EWEA 2013 conference will open with a series of high-profile speakers addressing important political and business issues affecting the European wind indust ...

Posted 23 January 2013 by David Hopwood

tags: EWEA 2013 , Wind , Wind Power

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We bid an Austrian farewell to EWEA’s man at the top...

The Renewable Energy Focus team – along with many on the wind power side of the renewable energy business – is looking forward to some top wind-related events coming up in the next few weeks and months… First up on the events scene for wind power is the European Wind Energy Assoc ...

Posted 22 January 2013 by David Hopwood

tags: Windpower , renewables , EWEA 2013 , Kjaer

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European partnership pushing ahead with funding of demonstration projects

The European Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU) plays a key role in the development – and in particular demonstration – of fuel cell and hydrogen energy technologies in a wide range of applications. The FCH JU is a unique public-private partnership that was established i ...

Posted 08 January 2013 by Steve Barrett

tags: fuel cell , fuel cells , electrolyser , European Commission , Europe , hydrogen energy , partnership

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Guest Blog: Tragic Fall of a Solar Icon - Sharp sells itself piece by piece

By Sneha Shah. The vicious downturn of the global solar industry has seen innumerable bankruptcies and thousands of job losses. Companies which used to rule the roost in the solar industry like Q-Cells, Evergreen Solar, and Energy Conversion Devices no longer exist today. The most promising o ...

Posted 04 December 2012 by David Hopwood

tags: Sharp Solar , Solar , Photovoltaics , PV

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Guest Blog: driving forward wind and marine in the UK

By Felicia Jackson. The second UK Wind & Marine Energy Business Barometer, covered recently in a UK, The Times newspaper supplement, Wind & Marine Energy, reveals findings from an annual survey of 450 senior executives in the sector. In this guest post, Felicia Jackson, author of Conquering ...

Posted 23 November 2012 by David Hopwood

tags: wind , wind power , wave , tidal power , wave & tidal , marine energy

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Scotland takes advantage of Westminster's mixed messages

In contrast to the mixed messages coming from Westminster in recent times that many believe have constrained renewable energy development in parts of the UK, Scotland has made its renewable energy aspirations clear, with some eye catching announcements. Not least its recent MOU with Areva: The ...

Posted 20 November 2012 by David Hopwood

tags: Scotland , Wind , Windpower , Areva

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Guest Blog: UK developing fuel cell and hydrogen technology manufacturing and supply chain

By Richard Kemp-Harper, Technology Strategy Board Over a number of years, the UK's Technology Strategy Board has built up a good relationship with innovative businesses working in the fuel cell and hydrogen sectors, and has been providing support that suits the needs of this developing industry. W ...

Posted 16 November 2012 by Steve Barrett

tags: fuel cells , hydrogen energy , investment , government , manufacturing , supply chain

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Sign of the times

As we enter 2012 with more talk of funding problems and reduced financial incentives, it is apparent how the dynamics – and drivers – for renewable energy have changed, and relatively quickly at that. When I first took this job a few years ago “climate change” was the buzz p ...

Posted 27 February 2012 by David Hopwood

tags: renewable energy cost

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Risky business

An interesting report from the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) crossed our desk recently. The EIU spoke to 284 senior-level renewable energy executives about the risks in financing, constructing and operating renewable energy projects, as well as the risk management challenges that the renewable e ...

Posted 20 February 2012 by David Hopwood

tags: renewable energy project risk

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Which countries are winning the race to invest in renewables?

NB: this is my editorial from the March/April issue of Renewable Energy Focus magazine, which is now out. If you don't subscribe yet, it's free, so feel free to subscribe here. Global clean energy finance and investment grew significantly in 2010 to US$243 billion, a 30% increase from 2009, accord ...

Posted 27 April 2011 by David Hopwood

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Zayed Future Energy Prize sends a message to the transport sector

Taken at face value, the news that the winner of the Zayed Future Energy Prize 2010 (and with it a cool US$1.5 million) is Japanese car manufacture Toyota for its groundbreaking third generation Prius may raise a few initial eyebrows. But the message it sends is an interesting one. There's no doubt ...

Posted 20 January 2010 by David Hopwood

tags: WFES , Toyota Prius , Zayed Future Energy Prize

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COP15 in a nutshell

The much talked about UNFCCC COP15 Climate Change Summit in Copenhagen is now underway. If you, like us, have been completely overwhelmed with all the news; views; predictions; doom and gloom; excitement; not to mention political machinations, possibilities and stall setting of the last few months l ...

Posted 08 December 2009 by David Hopwood

tags: COP15 , Copenhagen , Climate change

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