World will get half its power from wind, solar by 2050
Nearly half the world’s electricity will come from renewable energy by 2050 as costs of wind, solar and battery storage continue to plummet.
solar
Solar Wars IX: The saga continues
Previous Solar Wars articles reported on the numerous claims for breach of the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) by EU investors against EU states such as Spain following the curtailment of those states' renewable incentive schemes.
Power-hungry Texas oil drillers get a little help from solar
Texas, home to the world’s largest oil reserve and America’s biggest source of coal-fired power, is on the verge of a clean-energy boom.
Mackie’s Ice Cream and Aberdeenshire Council win £4m grant to reduce emissions
Mackie’s ice cream and Aberdeenshire Council have shared £4million of a £13.4m Scottish Government grant to reduce greenhouse gases.
Race is on to build the world’s biggest solar-storage plant
Last year, a company won a contract to build a 65-megawatt solar and battery farm in Arizona. A month later, the Saudis came out with a $200 billion plan to build the world’s biggest battery-backed solar farm by 2030. Then a firm proposed a nearly 500-megawatt solar-storage site in Texas’s oil patch.
The ethics of energy distribution
The energy market is in a state of change.
Peers condemn ministers over ditching of solar payment scheme
The Government has been accused of throwing the renewables industry "off a cliff" by scrapping an energy payment scheme for householders.
Councils to get subsidy-free power from huge solar farms
Two innovative solar farms will be built to supply a council with 100% green power and generate millions of pounds for local services, it has been announced.
Solar Wars Part VIII: Save us Hungary, you’re our only hope
Previous Solar Wars articles have noted that tribunals hearing Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) claims by an investor from one EU Member State against another EU state had consistently held that the decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in Slovak Republic v Achmea did not apply to ECT claims.
Review of mis-sold solar panel loans passes first hurdle
A Bill ordering the Government to review mis-sold loans to make people's homes more energy-efficient has passed its first Parliamentary hurdle.
Solar outperforms wind on global scale, Fitch says
Solar power is consistently outperforming wind on a global scale, according to Fitch Ratings.
Brexit, the Energy Charter Treaty and Achmea: A ray of light?
In our Solar Wars series of articles we considered the numerous claims brought against Spain, Italy and other EU Member States under the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT), brought by investors following the curtailment of those states' renewable incentive schemes.
Exxon to use wind, solar power to produce crude oil in Texas
Exxon Mobil Corp. will use renewable energy to produce oil in West Texas.
Angus earmarked for joint largest solar energy farm in Scotland
A “speculative” application to construct the joint largest solar energy farm in Scotland is set to go before council planners.
From Google to Facebook, big data is driving green energy shift
Dozens of wind turbines each standing 260 feet tall spin in the breeze on the plains of Oklahoma, feeding electricity for a Google data center about 180 miles away.
Solar Wars Part VII: Attack of the tribunals
Previous Solar Wars articles have considered whether claims by EU investors against Spain and other EU states under the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) would be affected by the decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in Slovak Republic v Achmea (Case C-284/16). That case held that an arbitration clause in bilateral investment treaty (BIT) between two EU states contravened EU law. The decisions in Masdar Solar & Wind Cooperatief U.A. v Spain (see Solar Wars Part V) and Antin Infrastructure v Spain (see Solar Wars Part VI) indicated that ECT tribunals were taking a consistent line in rejecting the application of Achmea to intra-EU ECT claims. Two recent awards appear to confirm this trend.
Firms pledge renewables investment to battle climate change
Major companies are investing hundreds of millions of pounds in schemes to cut emissions, from solar panels to overhauling their lorry fleets, it has been announced.
German breakthrough in harnessing sunlight to generate hydrogen from water
Solar-powered water splitting is a promising means of generating clean and storable energy, say German university researchers.
Octopus forms £107m partnership for UK solar investment
Octopus Energy Investments has entered a £107million partnership with Korean backers to acquire 15 solar assets in the UK.
Graphene opening door to ultra-thin photovoltaics
In 2010, the Nobel Prize in Physics went to the discoverers of graphene, Professors Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov of Manchester University in the UK.
Solar installation firm fined over worker plunge from roof
A Yorkshire solar firm has been heavily fined by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after a worker fell from a roof while completing an installation.
Solar Wars Part VI: Antin Infrastructure Services – may the fourth be with you
Previous Solar Wars articles considered arbitral awards in respect of investors' claims under the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) arising out of the curtailment of renewable incentive schemes in Europe. A recent award handed Spain a fourth defeat and in doing so, extended the protection offered by the ECT's fair and equitable treatment provisions to investments in concentrated solar power (CSP) projects made after Spain had already started reforming its solar incentive scheme.
Solar Wars Part V: Achmea – a phantom menace?
In our previous four Solar Wars articles, we considered arbitral awards in respect of investors' claims under the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) arising out of the curtailment of renewable incentive schemes across Europe and the European Commission's (EC) statements that those claims breached EU law.
Too big to succeed: Solar titans flop when they climb to No. 1
A Chinese company called JinkoSolar Holding Co. is now the world’s largest maker of solar panels.
Solar prices nosedive after China pullback floods global market
Solar panels were already getting cheaper this year, and then China pulled the plug this month on about 20 gigawatts of domestic installations. The result was a glut of global inventories, and now prices are plunging even faster.