In San Diego, California, the average Joe can walk into three Home Depot stores and purchase an AstroPower solar energy system for his home! Home Depot provides full-service – financing, installation, and service. What does this mean? Another step toward mainstreaming solar. [sorry this link is no longer available]
Echte Energie, a Dutch green energy company, has entered into an agreement to offer green energy in more than 100 organic food stores that belong to NWO, a Dutch organization of organic food stores. Customers that switch to green energy will receive EUR 20 that can be used in the stores.
Sydkraft, a Swedish energy company, is developing the world’s largest wind turbine park in Denmark. The company expects the 60 – 90 turbines there to produce 25 percent more energy than the 550 wind turbines in Sweden! The park will be completed in 2003 and is expected to be profitable immediately.
Ballard calls it an “historic” development – the company is now producing Nexa fuel cells – 1.2-kilowatt hydrogen fuel cells – to power everything from home offices to lawn mowers. Commercial revenues for Ballard may be just around the corner. The price for the technology will determine how quickly sales will grow. The technology will be available this year in Coleman Powermate, a portable generator used for camping or homes for back-up power.
Seattle’s City Council has authorized the largest single purchase of power from the 450 turbine Stateline Wind Generating Project under construction on the Washington-Oregon border. The contract will begin in January and continue for 20 years. The price – at less than 5 cents/ kilowatt hour – will be competitive with natural gas. [sorry this link is no longer available]
In late September, the European Commission increased the amount of energy each country must generate from renewables to bring the EU to a total of 12 percent by 2010, up from the current 6 percent. The UK, where renewable generation is the smallest, must increase from its current 1.7 percent to 10 percent. The new target for France is 21 percent, up from 15 percent, and for Sweden, a whopping 60 percent for Sweden, up from 49 percent.
The new California Power and Conservation Financing Authority intends to purchase 1000 megawatts of new renewable energy by next summer. It is negotiating with 14 parties, mostly wind and biomass companies, and is requesting bids from fuel cell, microturbine, and PV companies.
” The Power Authority is intent on ensuring that California’ s energy portfolio is diverse enough to meet the state’ s needs, as well as the Governor’ s call for 17 percent renewable energy sources,” says Power Authority Chairman S. David Freeman. ” We are giving renewable energy the first priority for a change…” The authority estimates this will require 3,000 MW of new renewable energy capacity over the next five years. [sorry this link is no longer available]
Siemens Westinghouse Power Corporation is building a 430,000 square foot fuel-cell production
facility near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It will manufacture solid oxide fuel cells to generate electricity for buildings. The company expects the plant to be finished and operating by spring, 2003. 150 people will initially be employed there, possibly rising to 500 people by 2006. [sorry this link is no longer available]
Over 800 homes will open their doors this year in the American Solar Energy Society’s U.S. Solar Home Tour. It’s all day on October 13.
Find the homes near you: [sorry this link is no longer available]
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