http://www.econewsnet.com EcoNewsNet is a portal to the latest news and information about our environment from the innovators in the industry Copyright (c) 2008 - EcoNewsNet.com Mon, 06 Jun 2011 12:00:01 Mon, 06 Jun 2011 12:00:01 en-us Wind power is cheap, clean, uses no water, and emits no pollutants. Yet wind is far from a perfect source of electricity, since the wind blows when and where it will.]]> Mon, 06 Jun 2011 16:37:06 GMT Create a sustainable home design that heats and cools itself naturally, without the headache of finding an architect or starting from scratch.]]> Mon, 06 Jun 2011 12:18:33 GMT Enphase Energy launches its third-generation microinverter today. the company hopes this will keep it ahead of its competitors in an increasingly crowded market.]]> Mon, 06 Jun 2011 12:00:00 GMT With big government help, a solar thermal power (CSP) technology boom seems to be coming in the United States. Regulators have issued permits for about a dozen power plant projects and construction is underway for a few. But the three main challenges for building a project – permits, finance and technology -- remain big concerns for technology and project developers.]]> Mon, 06 Jun 2011 10:30:00 GMT Sun, 05 Jun 2011 13:48:00 GMT Industry leading, global solar panel manufacturer Trina Solar Limited (NYSE: TSL) has become a sponsor of actor/racer Patrick Dempsey's Dempsey Racing Team. Together, the two organizations have establish a solar charity initiative. The initiative will increase Trina Solar´s brand awareness in the United States through the sponsorship and promotion of Patrick and the other Dempsey Racing drivers as solar ambassadors who will appear at different events, including last week's Indianapolis 500 ("Indy 500"), America's premier and most viewed automobile race.]]> Fri, 03 Jun 2011 21:03:23 GMT The 15th Annual Cool House Tour, a self-guided open house tour featuring 16 of Austin's coolest five-star quality homes utilizing the latest renewable energy and energy efficiency technology to help them stay cool and save on energy costs. At the Cool House Tour you can see how people have taken something ordinary and made it extraordinary … its an adventure of discovery in your own hometown.]]> Fri, 03 Jun 2011 19:18:18 GMT Albert Fong, Managing Director of Albiasa Solar lifts the lid on what could happen to the CSP industry if crucial planning and design is not seen as a priority]]> Fri, 03 Jun 2011 17:03:10 GMT The law firm of Michael Best & Friedrich LLP is pleased to announce Leah Hurtgen Ziemba has joined the firm as an associate in its Madison office, effective May 31, 2011. Ms. Ziemba will join the firm's Energy and Sustainability Industry Team, focusing her practice on the siting and permitting of new development projects, including agricultural and energy projects, and counseling clients on environmental matters.]]> Fri, 03 Jun 2011 14:30:26 GMT The law firm of Michael Best & Friedrich LLP is pleased to announce Mary Ann Christopher has joined the firm as a Partner in its Milwaukee office, effective May 9th. Ms. Christopher will join the Firm's Energy and Sustainability Industry Team as well as the Transactional Practice Group where she will focus on project finance, complex business transactions and mergers and acquisitions.]]> Fri, 03 Jun 2011 14:25:10 GMT YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO — Another Canadian solar project has taken advantage of the many benefits of the Solar FlexRack, a patent-pending product of Northern States Metals. Construction has begun on the Whitewater Solar Farm facility, which is located in the Township of Whitewater, County of Renfrew, about 100 km west of Ottawa in Eastern Ontario.]]> Fri, 03 Jun 2011 13:51:55 GMT Wind energy will benefit from two completely separate initiatives that the U.K. government has agreed to help fund: an innovation center for offshore energy and a "green" bank.]]> Fri, 03 Jun 2011 13:00:00 GMT Next year wind farm owners, operators, manufacturers and contractors can expect at step up in enforcement of employee safety regulations that will not only impact the design of wind turbines, but also the operation and maintenance (O&M) practices.]]> Fri, 03 Jun 2011 12:43:05 GMT Significant additional research efforts in wind energy are needed if the European Commission's goals for wind power are to be achieved. It will mean delivering EWEA's 'high' scenario: 265 GW of wind power capacity, including 55 GW offshore, by 2020; 400 GW, of which 150 GW is to come from offshore, by 2030; and 600 GW, with 350 GW offshore, by 2050, meeting 50% of the EU's electricity demand. Going offshore implies not only new technologies but also an upscaling of wind turbine dimensions and wind farm capacities as well as new electrical infrastructure. Underlying all research activities is a focus on reducing the cost of energy.]]> Fri, 03 Jun 2011 12:12:00 GMT Natural Power have announced the release of a new managed online wind data service – vuWind™ – which draws upon over fifteen years of wind engineering, analysis and consultancy advice to provide customers with 'on demand' wind data through a secure web portal accessed through www.vuwind.com.]]> Fri, 03 Jun 2011 10:40:56 GMT With an estimated 40GW of offshore wind set to be installed by the end of the decade in Europe alone, the potential for employee accidents and projects put at risk due to a poor culture of HSE is great.]]> Fri, 03 Jun 2011 09:54:58 GMT Enphase Energy today released field data demonstrating the reliability of its microinverter technology. The data, collected separately and independently by Westinghouse Solar and SunEdison over a two-year period from 2008 – 2010, show the reliability of microinverters is 45 to 70 times greater than traditional central inverters. This level of field-proven reliability allows installers and system owners to benefit from the exceptional system uptime that the Enphase Microinverter System provides.]]> Fri, 03 Jun 2011 00:43:36 GMT —SMA has released its next-generation photovoltaic system design software: Sunny Design 2.0. Available for free download at www.SMA-America.com, Sunny Design 2.0 offers a variety of new features and a user-friendly interface that make PV array planning even easier.]]> Thu, 02 Jun 2011 17:36:55 GMT It is one of the greatest three-word phrases ever. It was most memorably uttered by Woodward & Bernstein's mysterious Watergate source Deep Throat, and repeated by many, including the teacher of a graduate journalism course I took at Boston University in 1985, as the first rule of business reporting: "Follow the money."]]> Thu, 02 Jun 2011 15:19:36 GMT Attend the free webcast, "Brits, Brussels, and Biomass: The European Path Towards Renewable Heating," on Wednesday, June 15 at 12PM ET by the Biomass Thermal Energy Council (BTEC), and hear from three highly distinguished panelists on their countries' paths toward renewable heating and the implications for creating successful state and federal U.S. biomass policies.]]> Thu, 02 Jun 2011 15:00:00 GMT Create a sustainable home design that heats and cools itself naturally, without the headache of finding an architect or starting from scratch.]]> Mon, 06 Jun 2011 12:18:33 GMT Enphase Energy launches its third-generation microinverter today. the company hopes this will keep it ahead of its competitors in an increasingly crowded market.]]> Mon, 06 Jun 2011 12:00:00 GMT With big government help, a solar thermal power (CSP) technology boom seems to be coming in the United States. Regulators have issued permits for about a dozen power plant projects and construction is underway for a few. But the three main challenges for building a project – permits, finance and technology -- remain big concerns for technology and project developers.]]> Mon, 06 Jun 2011 10:30:00 GMT Sun, 05 Jun 2011 13:48:00 GMT Industry leading, global solar panel manufacturer Trina Solar Limited (NYSE: TSL) has become a sponsor of actor/racer Patrick Dempsey's Dempsey Racing Team. Together, the two organizations have establish a solar charity initiative. The initiative will increase Trina Solar´s brand awareness in the United States through the sponsorship and promotion of Patrick and the other Dempsey Racing drivers as solar ambassadors who will appear at different events, including last week's Indianapolis 500 ("Indy 500"), America's premier and most viewed automobile race.]]> Fri, 03 Jun 2011 21:03:23 GMT Albert Fong, Managing Director of Albiasa Solar lifts the lid on what could happen to the CSP industry if crucial planning and design is not seen as a priority]]> Fri, 03 Jun 2011 17:03:10 GMT The law firm of Michael Best & Friedrich LLP is pleased to announce Leah Hurtgen Ziemba has joined the firm as an associate in its Madison office, effective May 31, 2011. Ms. Ziemba will join the firm's Energy and Sustainability Industry Team, focusing her practice on the siting and permitting of new development projects, including agricultural and energy projects, and counseling clients on environmental matters.]]> Fri, 03 Jun 2011 14:30:26 GMT YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO — Another Canadian solar project has taken advantage of the many benefits of the Solar FlexRack, a patent-pending product of Northern States Metals. Construction has begun on the Whitewater Solar Farm facility, which is located in the Township of Whitewater, County of Renfrew, about 100 km west of Ottawa in Eastern Ontario.]]> Fri, 03 Jun 2011 13:51:55 GMT Enphase Energy today released field data demonstrating the reliability of its microinverter technology. The data, collected separately and independently by Westinghouse Solar and SunEdison over a two-year period from 2008 – 2010, show the reliability of microinverters is 45 to 70 times greater than traditional central inverters. This level of field-proven reliability allows installers and system owners to benefit from the exceptional system uptime that the Enphase Microinverter System provides.]]> Fri, 03 Jun 2011 00:43:36 GMT —SMA has released its next-generation photovoltaic system design software: Sunny Design 2.0. Available for free download at www.SMA-America.com, Sunny Design 2.0 offers a variety of new features and a user-friendly interface that make PV array planning even easier.]]> Thu, 02 Jun 2011 17:36:55 GMT