Engine economics limit biofuels in U.S.
When it comes to ethanol, the United States may have reached its limit — at least for now. In 2007, Congress passed a law that would require the nation to use more ethanol and other biofuels each year. But for reasons of chemistry and economics, ...
Arizona has permitted its largest utility to charge a monthly fee to customers who install photovoltaic panels on their roofs, a move that may threaten the surging residential solar market. The Arizona Corporation Commission, which regulates utilities in the state, agreed in a 3-to-2 vote ...
Ethanol from cellulose falls short of expectations
In Emmetsburg, Iowa, America's largest maker of ethanol for motor fuel is putting the final touches on a manufacturing plant that will rely not on corn, but on the stalks and cobs left behind. Trucks have already dropped off 2,600 tons of big bales at ...
'Perfect' winds give Brazil another option for power
Wind is emerging as a prize for energy planners in Brazil who see the howling gusts that arrive from the east as a way to offset the fresh limits imposed on hydropower. A string of wind-turbine parks is being erected in Brazil's windiest stretches, in ...
Renewable energy push blunted as ad-hoc rules stymie private upstarts
An oversight in the "feed-in tariff system" for promoting renewable energy is allowing major power companies to shut out independent upstarts eager to sell electricity.
Jimmy Carter first installed solar panels in 1979. Ronald Reagan called them a joke and had them removed in 1986. And this week, nearly three years after promising to restore them as a sign of the administration's commitment to renewable energy, President Obama is ...
Britain's ports put wind in investors' sails
Methil port north of Edinburgh, once the focus of Scotland's coal exports, is set to tap a greener kind of energy as Samsung Heavy Industry Co. constructs the world's biggest wind turbine in the town's faded harbor. The 7-megawatt model with a span of 171 ...
Feed-in tariffs ready to make Japan world No. 2 solar market after China
Japan will probably become the largest solar market in the world after China this year, boosted by an incentive program that offers above-market rates for energy from renewable sources. Commercial and utility-scale projects will boost solar installations to a range of 6.1 gigawatts to 9.4 ...
Panasonic Corp. said its solar-panel operation will probably remain profitable amid growing demand from domestic homeowners. Shipments in February reached a record level as the nation's feed-in-tariff system for electricity triggered demand for rooftop systems, Kazuhiro Yoshida, who heads the business, said in Tokyo on ...
