Features for October 2008
As one of the largest wind events on the global stage approaches, the big wind companies continue to flex their muscles on the offshore wind stage.
01 October, 2008
Just as one Texan gets ready to leave office - unlikely to be missed by many in the wind and solar community - another is emerging as unlikely hero of the wind movement, despite a long history in oil. Who'd have thought it, asks Steve Sawyer.
01 October, 2008
Up until now, renewables projects have been viewed as an expensive way for companies to generate carbon credits. But according to one recent report, the era of cheaper projects may be coming to an end.
01 October, 2008
Times of global economic gloom have proved tricky for the perceived riskier stocks, as the Wilderhill New Energy Global Innovation Index (NEX) demonstrated clearly in June and July.
01 October, 2008
Small wind turbines have been hyped in the recent past, leaving a string of disappointed consumers and the perception that small wind technology is not as feasible for the householder as PV or solar thermal. Despite this, there are signs that given certain measures it can pay dividends, as George Marsh discovers.
01 October, 2008
What does an electricity structure which seamlessly incorporates multiple sources of generating technology - including renewable energy - look like and crucially, how can it be achieved? Polly Higgins looks at liberalisation, long distance transmission, HVDC and supergrids.
01 October, 2008
Concentrated solar power (CSP) is not new on the scene. So the question is, do latecomers still have a bright future and can they deliver solar power on a global scale that we can all afford? Graham Ford of Heliodynamics looks at linear fresnel CSP.
01 October, 2008
The wind industry's race to increase the power generated by each wind turbine is leading to a vast increase in the size and scale of blades being built. This creates major manufacturing challenges for the companies charged with building them. George Marsh gives an overview of some of the tooling required to produce today's increasingly enormous wind turbine blades.
01 October, 2008
Dye-sensitised cells (DSCS) have emerged alongside organic solar photovoltaics (PV) as a technology that might just transform solar energy prospects by delivering cheap "commodity" PV. George Marsh investigates.
01 October, 2008
US states need a coherent action plan in order to develop solar PV markets fully, especially if they are able to match the growth markets in Europe. The Clean Energy Group recently released a report aimed at bringing solar PV into the US mainstream. Mark Sinclair summarises the main findings, together with the best practice from some leading states.
01 October, 2008
Making sense of UK renewable energy policy has been tricky in recent times. There remains a contradiction between the challenging target the Government has signed up to, and the sluggishness with which policies are put into place. But as David Hopwood found out on a recent trip to the north east UK, regional development in renewable energy technologies is still taking place, something which is vital to the UK's chance of catching up with countries like Spain and Germany.
01 October, 2008