Energy

Tremendous savings can be made on the cost of energy when customers band together to bid down the price, says Jeffrey D. Hiatt, and there are other ways to save, too.

In today’s economic climate, it’s vital to reduce expenses without impacting operations or service. In this regard, business owners in states where deregulation exists have an ace up their sleeve in the form of ‘reverse energy auctions’.

Alan Swaby looks at a Chilean coal project that is going to create a greater level of energy security while increasing the economic activity of a region that has long been stagnated.

A solar-powered plane the size of a jumbo jet landed in Morocco last night following a 19-hour flight from Madrid.

Pilot Bertrand Piccard landed in Morocco’s Rabat-Salé international airport at 23:30, completing the world’s first intercontinental flight in a plane powered by the sun.

The plane, named the Solar Impulse, was powered by 12,000 solar cells turning four electrical motors.

Achieving energy independence has become a top priority for the country, said Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovych during a meeting in Washington, DC.

The meeting of the working group on energy security was co-chaired by the Ukrainian Energy and Coal Industry Minister Yuriy Boyko and Special Envoy of the United States Secretary of State for Eurasian Energy, Richard Morningstar. 

In one of the first major solar energy projects in the Middle East, Bahrain plans to implement a solar smart grid in Awali.

"The Middle East has for some time evaluated the integration of solar energy for reduction of reliance on non-renewable energy sources,” said Marty Youssefiani, CEO of Caspian Energy Holdings. “However, Bahrain is among the first in the region to implement a project of this kind, demonstrating a serious commitment to long term solutions."

One of the great things about Tanzania, says Clive Jones, the managing director and co-founder of Power Providers, is that it allows you to reinvent yourself endlessly—and his life and company both testify to that.

The companies competing for awards in concentrated solar power at CSP Today USA 2012 next month have now been announced.

On June 27 in Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas, the CSP Today USA 2012 awards dinner will recognize the achievements of companies in five categories, with only one of them taking the prestigious title and award for 2012. CSP Today has announced the following finalists:

CSP Technology and Supplier Award Finalists:
Schott
FosterWheeler
Flowserve

South Africa’s Department of Energy has approved 19 proposals for renewable energy projects in the second round of its request for bids.

The Department of Energy received 79 bids in total for the second round, of which 51 met the qualification criteria. However, given the MW limitation and competition, only 19 bidders were selected as preferred.

Together, the second round proposals represent almost R28 billion in investment.

German utility company E.ON has sold its gas transmission company in Germany, Open Grid Europe, to a consortium for €3.2 billion.  

The consortium consists of Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund 4, Infinity Investments, British Columbia Investment Management Corporation, and MEAG MUNICH ERGO Asset Management.

The green light has been given for an onshore wind farm in Wales, to be developed by Sweden’s Vattenfall.

The 76-turbine Pen y Cymoedd Wind Energy Project was granted development consent yesterday, by Charles Hendry, energy minister at the Department of Energy and Climate Change. The wind farm is located on publicly-owned land managed by Forestry Commission Wales in the south of the country.

Once operational, it is hoped that Pen y Cymoedd will increase Welsh renewable electricity by 37 per cent.