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Spanish wind power companies in the world's third-largest producer expect steady growth in capacity this year despite the credit crunch due to long-term investments, an industry spokesman said on Monday. Wind power business group AEE tallied 16,740 megawatts in installed capacity in Spain at the end of 2008, a rise of 1,609 MW for the year. "We expect a similar amount (of growth) this year," AEE president Jose Donoso said at a news conference.

A new way of making LEDs could see household lighting bills reduced by up to 75% within five years. Gallium Nitride (GaN), a man-made semiconductor used to make LEDs (light emitting diodes), emits brilliant light but uses very little electricity. Until now high production costs have made GaN lighting too expensive for wide spread use in homes and offices. However the Cambridge University based Centre for Gallium Nitride has developed a new way of making GaN which could produce LEDs for a tenth of current prices.

Fast Company and New Scientist have reports predicting that cheap GaN based LED lights may soon make both ncandescent and compact fluorescent light globes obsolete - Better, Cheaper LEDs Ringing Death Knell of Fluorescent Bulbs. LED lighting has long been viewed as a superior alternative to compact flourescent bulbs. Although flourescents are more electrically efficient than old-fashioned incandescent bulbs, producing them requires a complex procedure that uses a little mercury--a big environmental and health no-no. Indeed many are questioning whether CFLs are actually an environmentally-friendly choice at all.

The sun blasts Earth with enough energy in one hour-4.3 x 1020 joules-to provide all of humanity's energy needs for a year (4.1 x 1020 joules), according to physicist Steven Chu, director of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The question is how to most effectively harness it. Thin-film solar cells may be the answer: One recently converted 19.9 percent of the sunlight that hit it into electricity, surpassing the amount converted into power by mass-produced traditional silicon photovoltaics and offering the potential to unleash this renewable energy source.

The Orange County Convention Center's massive rooftop will soon shoulder the largest solar project in the Southeast. County officials approved a $7.3 million plan Tuesday to blanket the roof of the nation's second-largest convention center with panels that can turn sunshine into energy, without producing pollution.

What began as a project to make the company's new headquarters as energy-efficient as possible blossomed into an endeavor that created the first net-zero electric commercial building in the country. Net zero means that the building produces all the elec

Our story of energy begins when humans discovered the secret of fire. We burned wood and brush to protect ourselves from predators, cook food, and, later, to survive the ice age. In 12th-century Europe, with the forests fast disappearing, we started burning the strange black stones we called coal. Later, we used coal to produce steam, launching the Industrial Revolution.

DONG Energy, E.ON and Masdar have announced that they will invest EUR 2.2 billion (US $3 billion) in building the first 630-megawatt (MW) phase of the London Array offshore wind farm in England's Thames Estuary. The wind farm is set to be build the world's largest offshore wind farm. The consortium hopes the first phase of 630 MW will be completed and generating in 2012. The first phase will consist of 175 turbines. The announcement comes after the UK Government's recent proposal to increase its support for offshore wind power. The partners are satisfied that the project is now financially viable and are now keen to push ahead with construction and to produce the first renewable power in 2012. Onshore work is now due to start in the summer, with offshore work due to start in early 2011.

Large-scale solar power is beginning to take on the job of meeting the demands made by California's air conditioners for electricity. Pacific Gas & Electric and Brightsource Energy today announced they have expanded a series of solar power contracts for a total of 1,310 megawatts of electricity - enough to power 530,000 California homes during peak hours with energy from the Sun. Completion of the first project will nearly double the amount of solar thermal electricity produced in the United States.

Jerome a Paris has an excellent (and long) article at TOD about the economics of wind power - The cost of wind, the price of wind, the value of wind. I'd like to try to clear some of the confusion that surrounds the economics of wind power, as it is often fed and used by the opponents of wind to dismiss it. As I noted recently, even the basic economics of energy markets are often wilfully misunderstood by commentators, so it's worth going in more detail through concepts like levelised cost and marginal cost, and identify how different electricity producers have different impacts on electricity (market) prices (which may or may not be reflected in retail prices) and have different externalities. Value for society of a generation source may also include other items that are harder to acount in purely monetary terms (and/or whose very value may be disputed), such as the long term risk of depletion of the fuel, or energy security issues, such as dependency on unstable and/or unfriendly foreign countries or vulnerable infrastructure.

REW reports the world's biggest solar thermal tower has opened in Spain - World's Largest Solar Power Tower Commissioned. Abengoa Solar has begun commercial operations of the world's largest solar power tower plant, a 20 MW installation. The company claims that the performance of the power plant, the so-called PS20, has exceeded its design output in the wake of its three-day production and operational testing period. Located at the Solúcar Platform, near Seville, Spain, PS20 is the world's second power tower plant in commercial use and features a number of significant technological improvements with respect to its predecessor, PS10. These enhancements include a higher-efficiency receiver, various improvements in the control and operational systems, and a better thermal energy storage system. PS20 consists of a solar field made up of 1255 heliostats with a surface area of 1291 square feet each. This reflects the solar radiation it receives onto the receiver, located on the top of a 531 foot-high tower, producing steam which is converted into electricity generation by a turbine. Plant construction was carried out by Abener.

Organically-grown food is differentiated from conventionally-grown produce in the manner in which it is planted, raised, harvested and processed.

$300 million infusion reflects Obama Administration's broad, aggressive research and development strategy WASHINGTON D.C. --- U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced more than $300 million worth of investments that will boost a range of clean energy technologies - including carbon capture from coal, solar power, and high efficiency cars and trucks. The move reflects the Obama Administration's commitment to a broad based strategy that will create millions of jobs while transforming the way we use and produce energy. "There's enormous potential for new jobs and reduced carbon pollution just by implementing existing technologies like energy efficiency and wind energy, but we also need to develop transformative new solutions," said Secretary Chu. "As a scientist, I remain optimistic that these breakthroughs are within our reach, and investments like these are an important part of achieving them." Today's actions include:

The Guardian has an article on a report from Greenpeace, the European Solar Thermal Electricity Association and the International Energy Agency's SolarPACES group on the potential for solar thermal power to supply a large proportion of our energy needs (why they limit it to 25% is a mystery to me) - Concentrated solar power could generate 'quarter of world's energy'. Solar power stations that concentrate sunlight could generate up to one-quarter of the world's electricity needs by 2050, according to a study by environmental and solar industry groups. The technology, best suited to the desert regions of the world, could also create hundreds of thousands of new jobs and save millions of tonnes of CO2 from entering the atmosphere. Concentrating solar power (CSP) uses mirrors to focus sunlight onto water. This produces steam that can then turn turbines and generate electricity. It differs from photovoltaics, which use solar panels to turn sunlight directly into electricity and can operate even on overcast days. CSP only works in places where there are many days with clear skies and is a proven, reliable technology. At the end of 2008 CSP capacity was around 430MW, and worldwide investment in the technology will reach

These wind turbines can produce power 24 hours a day. Maximum energy and efficiency can be extracted from The ARE wind generators.

If you use Compact Fluorescent (DC) bulbs in your home or office, you can save a lot of money as they produce very high illumination by consuming less amount of energy. They are available in 6V, 12V and 24V and can be used in solar powered systems or in any DC set up.

All of the cell phones sold about three years from now will have a universal charger to the benefit of cell phone producers, owners, and the environment.

Growing your own food for your family's personal use is rewarding, but growing organic food products to sell to other families can be as rewarding as well. "Organic food accounts for 1-2% of food sales worldwide."

U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced the release of two Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs) for up to $84 million to support the development of Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS). Geothermal energy technologies use energy from the earth to heat buildings and generate electricity. Enhanced Geothermal Systems offer the potential to extend geothermal resources to larger areas of the western United States, as well as into new geographic areas of the entire country. These projects will help support the Administration's efforts to invest in clean energy technologies, create millions of new jobs, end our addiction to foreign oil, and address climate change. "President Obama has laid out an ambitious agenda to put millions of people to work by investing in clean energy technology like geothermal energy," said Secretary Chu. "The Administration is committed to funding important research like this to transform the way we use and produce energy and reduce our dangerous dependence on foreign oil."