Renewable Energy World - Hydro Power

Renewable energy in the United States is at a crossroads. With several federal tax grants set to expire by the end of 2012, utilities are trying to decide if the falling prices of solar and wind technology makes renewable energy competitive enough to invest in despite vanishing federal aid.

Twenty years ago, international leaders descended on Brazil to lay the groundwork for what would eventually become the Kyoto Protocol. This summer, a 20-member United Nations panel will once again head to Rio de Janeiro with an even more ambitious agenda.

Due to growing urbanization and resulting environmental threats, China has invested nearly US$50 billion annually into its renewable energy sector since 2009. China's five-year investment in environmental protection is on track to reach 3.1 trillion yuan (US$454 billion). By 2015, its environmental protection industry is expected to top 2 trillion yuan (US$317 billion).

In recent years, run-of-the-river hydropower projects have emerged as a viable, low-impact alternative to existing large-scale projects. Run-of-the-river facilities use conventional hydropower technology to produce electricity by diverting river flow through turbines that spin generators - before returning water back to the river downstream.

Solar players on both sides of the Pacific have been warily anticipating the Feb. 13 deadline when the Department of Commerce was set to announce whether it would impose duties on solar cells and modules coming in from China.

During the fourteen years that I've lived in Switzerland, the Germans have been the world's staunchest supporters of green power and alternative energy. Their aggressive development of wind power was breathtaking, as was their warm embrace of photovoltaic power.

When Frank Zammataro thinks about water pressure, he sees an opportunity to create electricity. Zammataro, 53, is President and Co-Founder of Rentricity—a New York City energy company that has discovered a new way to tap into the excess pressure in water-treatment plants, reservoirs, and factories to help power our water infrastructure, which consumes four percent of America's electricity.

Securitizing renewable energy networks from cyber-attacks is not complicated by their oft-cited operational headache of intermittency, but rather by their separation from a utility's control system, said smart grid executives at the Gridwise Global Forum in Washington, DC in early November. Though renewable intermittency adds to the challenge of stabilizing a grid, the forum revealed new evidence of real-world smart grid load shifting that continues to chip away at the tired argument that renewable energy cannot successfully integrate into a legacy grid.

Kevin Frank was named chief executive officer and president of Voith Hydro Inc. in November 2010. Frank discusses technology, policy and the factors driving the hydropower market.

So far, the complaint by American wind tower manufacturers against their competition from Asia has mirrored the solar industry petition filed in October.

Chile is built for renewable energy. The seemingly unending coastline that runs the length of its boundary is prime real estate for wind development, and eventually the offshore wind projects, that could power the cities found along its spine. The nation's solar resources, especially in the northern regions, are among the best in the world. And its place along the ring of fire means its geothermal potential is vast, yet untapped.

If there was one key takeaway from the most recent RenewableEnergyWorld.com and Solar Power-gen webcast it was that the year ahead will be difficult for large-scale solar power development due to poor access to capital, an uncertain policy landscape, the pending trade case against China and module prices that are too low to support a healthy indust

Weeks after the end of the U.N. climate talks, international leaders from across the world are meeting again on the world stage to discuss fossil fuels, nuclear energy and the growth of renewables.

With a glut of shale gas on the market, natural gas prices continue to tumble in the U.S. And they'll only fall more throughout the year.

The 2.3 MW Paul Wilson Station now operating in New Zealand is one of the few hydro facilities in the country to be privately financed, developed and operated. The developers began working on the project in 2007, and it was commissioned in September 2010.

Nominations have been submitted, finalists have been chosen, and now it's your turn to help pick a winner.

Building transmission to accommodate utility-scale renewable energy generation in the U.S. is seen as essential by much of the renewable energy industry. But can it be justified? Doing so will necessarily involve constructing some of the longest stretches of wire ever undertaken in this country. Much of the best wind and solar resource is located quite distant from the load. Ultimately, thousands of miles of huge power lines will have to be built. It is not illogical to ask whether investment in such massive infrastructure "costs too much and provides too little." It is also not illogical to answer "no," not if the value proposition is laid out appropriately and a well crafted policy and regulatory approach can be established that effectively addresses the issues.

After months of speculation, it now appears that Germany's SolarWorld will file a trade complaint that targets Chinese companies selling their products in Europe.

To achieve a modest reduction in atmospheric carbon dioxide emissions, global investment in renewable energy assets would need to increase from current levels of about $100 billion per year to $500 billion per year. Some of this increase can be accomplished by investment in existing, commercially proven technologies; but to meet the challenge of rapidly scaling renewable energy, we also need to roll out cutting-edge technologies.

With the strident partisanism in Washington (clean vs. dirty energy) and the international solar trade debate (China vs. America) in mind I believe President Carter's words ring true today: "Energy will be the immediate test of our ability to unite as a nation, and it can also be the standard around which we rally. On the battle field of energy we can win for our nation a new confidence, and we can seize control again of our common destiny."