The research team behind the project is designing a prototype system which will forecast sunlight and solar power every 15 minutes over specific solar facilities thereby enabling utilities to continuously anticipate the amount of solar energy available. The project is funded with the help of a $4.1 million US Department of Energy (DOE) grant and will draw on cutting-edge research techniques at leading government labs and universities across the country, in partnership with utilities, energy companies and commercial forecast providers.

Much of the work will be focussed on generating detailed predictions of clouds and atmospheric particles that act to reduce incoming solar energy.

The initial strike price for the first generation of tidal arrays should be set at £280-300/MWh, RenewableUK says. For wave technology, the initial strike price should be £300-320/MWh. “This will catalyse the marine energy industry, leading to economies of scale and learning through experience, which will lower the strike price for the second generation of arrays in 2018.” Meantime, under EMR, contracts would only last for 15 years – the report says this should be extended to 20 years to give investors an adequate return – otherwise the strike price would have to be higher.

“The wave and tidal energy industry has reached an exciting period as it moves from single device demonstrator projects to the first small proving arrays,” says Krohn. “However, there are significant hurdles that need to be overcome to ensure the sustained growth of the industry. It’s time to get real about the potential risks so that we can work with Government and others to find the solutions as early as possible.”

Some industry analysts expressed concerns around the government’s goal of reaching an installed offshore wind power capacity of 5 gigawatts by 2015. Yi Yuechun, deputy general engineer at China’s Design General Institute of Hydropower and Water Resources Planning, dismissed these concerns, saying that in addition to concession projects, several demonstration and other projects are on the verge of going live. All that is needed is for the government to be clear about its policies and for the preparatory work in process to come to a state of completion, and the sector should see a huge acceleration in the development of the industry.

The restructuring is necessary to adapt to the “profound crisis” in the wind power sector in Spain, according to the company. Citing an economic crisis and absence of a stable regulatory framework slowing down internal demand as well as limited exports to other markets because of local production requirements and global overcapacity, the company said the changes the changes will help its wind power energy business in Spain adapt to “the new market reality” and guarantee its future sustainability.

London-based analyst Bloomberg New Energy Finance estimates onshore wind currently has a global average levelized cost of energy of about $85.11 per megawatt-hour, a level similar to coal and about 10 percent higher than gas. It puts the cost of offshore wind at $225.80.

Offshore wind power, with its more expensive infrastructure, is still likely to be close to grid parity in the Asia-Pacific region in 2020, according to Make. In Europe, it may reach that benchmark in 2023, and in the U.S., it’ll take until 2026, Make said.

"We lost about 10-20 thousand (dollars) a month from people stealing this oil from behind our restaurant," Lesperance said.  Lesperance said the women use a special apparatus to siphon the used oil from the top of a barrel.  "We call it an octopus, which has small tubes that go in between the grates to then extract the oil," he said.

“It is not unusual for the wind to fall off in the morning at the same time as the morning load picks up,” says the IESO.

At present, the IESO can’t control the flow of wind and solar onto the system in the same way it can control the output of other generators. It all flows onto the grid, and is paid a fixed price.

When there’s more power than the system can handle, the IESO sells it to neighbouring provinces and states — sometimes at a loss, and sometimes actually paying them to take it.

"We’re looking at this as an energy crop," Ford said. His company, which is planning to build energy plants to process biofuels, has looked at sweet sorghum but doesn’t think the yield would be profitable enough. Instead, he has turned to hybrid sugar beets, which will give him sugars that can be turned into ethanol, plastics and flavorings.

But the advantages from hemp would be exponentially greater, Ford said, because hemp oil from seeds could be used for aviation fuel and biodiesel. Other parts of the plant — such as the "hurds" from the woody middle of the stalk — could be used for cellulosic ethanol.

[…]

All the technology exists, said Katherine Andrews, a biochemist who is consulting with Ford on his project.

The renewable-fuel standards — including a push by the Navy for a "green fleet" with at least half of its fuel from non-petroleum sources by 2020 — give Kentucky a window of opportunity to get into biofuels, she said.

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2013/02/26/2532443/hemp-has-untapped-market-in-biofuels.html#storylink=cpy
Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2013/02/26/2532443/hemp-has-untapped-market-in-biofuels.html#storylink=cpy

At the Greener Skies Conference in Hong Kong yesterday, Tony Tyler, IATA’s director-general and chief executive officer, specifically cited the need for greater attention to be focused on the commercialisation of sustainable biofuels and improvements in air-traffic management.At the Greener Skies Conference in Hong Kong yesterday, Tony Tyler, IATA’s director-general and chief executive officer, specifically cited the need for greater attention to be focused on the commercialisation of sustainable biofuels and improvements in air-traffic management.

Since 2011, more than 1,500 commercial biofuel flights have been completed, but the cost is too high and the supply too limited, he said. – See more at: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/IATA-calls-for-biofuel-sustainability-better-air-30200785.html#sthash.9VfXG122.dpuf

Since 2011, more than 1,500 commercial biofuel flights have been completed, but the cost is too high and the supply too limited, he said. – See more at: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/IATA-calls-for-biofuel-sustainability-better-air-30200785.html#sthash.9VfXG122.dpuf

Michigan State University is engineering plants to store lipids in leaves and stems for use as bio-fuel feedstock.