U.S. GOVT CUTS USE OF NEXT-GENERATION BIOFUELS
WASHINGTON, June 21 (Reuters) - The dream of making a green motor fuel from switchgrass or wood chips got kicked down the road for a few more years after the U.S. government on Tuesday slashed its proposed mandate for next-generation biofuels.
For the second year in a row, the Environmental Protection Agency cut the amount of cellulosic ethanol that must be mixed into motor fuel.
CLEANPATH SETS $800 MLN FUND TO INVEST IN SOLAR
LOS ANGELES, June 21 (Reuters) - Renewable energy investment firm CleanPath LLC will pour more than $800 million into large photovoltaic solar projects in North America, the company said on Tuesday.
The company's new fund is expected to invest in more than 1,000 megawatts of solar power plants over the next five years. The plants will range in size from 5 MW to over 100 MW.
BONNEVILLE PROJECTS BOOST WIND CAPACITY IN US NORTHWEST
HOUSTON, June 21 (Reuters) - Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) has proposed two power line improvement projects that will allow more electricity produced at wind farms in Montana to flow to markets that need power, the agency said in a release.
The Northern Intertie Reinforcement Project would include substation, line and other equipment upgrades to increase capacity on BPA's link to Canada in coordination with Puget Sound Energy.
WUNDERLICH SEES SOLAR DEMAND SHINING IN 2012 AFTER WEAK 2011
June 21 (Reuters) - Demand for solar energy could shrink over an eighth this year as changes to subsidy plans in Italy will hurt module sales, Wunderlich Securities said but forecast growth over 40 percent next year on high hopes from Germany, the U.S. and China.
The brokerage cut its 2011 demand forecast to just under 16,000 MW, from 16,200 MW earlier.
AMP EYES EUROPE'S OFFSHORE WIND SECTOR
LONDON, June 21 (Reuters) - AMP Ltd , Australia's second-largest wealth manager, sees attractive opportunities for its infrastructure arm in investing in the submarine cables that connect Europe's offshore wind farms to the electricity grid.
The European Union estimates that North Sea offshore wind capacity could reach up to 150 gigawatts by 2030 -- equivalent to 150 of the latest nuclear reactors -- meeting 16 percent of Europe's expected electricity consumption.
CHINA WINDPOWER PLANS SPINOFF TO EXPAND SOLAR BUSINESS
HONG KONG, June 20 (Reuters) - China WindPower Group Ltd , the largest non-state-owned wind farm developer in mainland China, is planning to spin off its tower tube manufacturing business, allowing it to expand into solar-energy equipment manufacturing.
The HK$5 billion ($600 million) company, which invests in wind power plants, said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Monday that the spun off business would be undertaken by two indirect wholly-owned subsidiaries of the company.
UK SOLAR TARIFF CUT TO HINDER COST FALL - REPORT
LONDON, June 20 (Reuters) - The UK government's decision to slash support tariffs for large solar plants will keep the average cost for producing solar power high, consultancy Ernst & Young said in a report on Monday.
Britain's energy ministry will introduce a 40-70 percent cut in subsidies for solar plants larger than 50 kilowatts (kW) from Aug. 1 in a bid to prevent a small number of big projects from scooping up money destined for community and domestic installations, the government said.
US OFFERS $150 MLN LOAN AID FOR SOLAR DEVELOPMENT
WASHINGTON, June 17 (Reuters) - The U.S. Energy Department on Friday offered a $150 million conditional loan guarantee to 1366 Technologies Inc to support development of a "breakthrough solar manufacturing process."
The technology being developed through the company's project could lower the costs of manufacturing wafers for solar energy by 50 percent and dramatically cut the cost of solar power, the department said.
JINKOSOLAR TO INCREASE CELL CONVERSION EFFICIENCY RATE
June 17 (Reuters) - China-based JinkoSolar Holding Co said it is targeting to raise the conversion efficiency rate of its solar cells to more than 18.6 percent by the end of this year to meet demand for cost-effective products.
JinkoSolar -- whose manufacturing operations are based in Jiangxi and Zhejiang provinces of China, and marketing offices in Shanghai, Munich, San Francisco and Bologna -- also said its Chief Technology Officer Guoxiao Yao had resigned for personal reasons.
ITALY SOLAR POWER REFORM PUTS FUNDING AT RISK
ROME, June 16 (Reuters) - A reform of Italy's solar energy incentives scheme has put 1 billion euros ($1.41 billion) of financing for the sector at risk of renegotiation, the director general of Italian banking association ABI said on Thursday.
The association said it was ready to help solar operators renegotiate funding after cuts to spending on generous solar power incentives were approved last month.
STATKRAFT TO BUILD WIND FARMS IN SCOTLAND, SWEDEN
OSLO, June 16 (Reuters) - Norway's state-owned utility Statkraft announced on Thursday it would construct two onshore wind energy projects in Scotland and Sweden that will jointly generate 450 GWh of electricity per year.
Statkraft said its total investment will amount to 250 million euros ($359.4 million).
SEVENTY-TWO FIRMS CALL FOR DEEPER EU EMISSIONS CUTS
BRUSSELS, June 15 (Reuters) - A group of 72 businesses, including household names such as Coca-Cola and Google , joined forces on Wednesday in support of deeper European cuts to greenhouse gases.
They signed a declaration calling for the European Union to extend to 30 percent its planned emissions cuts, which are now targeted at 20 percent below 1990 levels by the end of this decade.
REUTERS SUMMIT-INDIA SET TO PRODUCE 700 MW SOLAR POWER IN 2011
NEW DELHI, June 15 (Reuters) - India is on track to produce 700 megawatts of solar power at a cost of $2.2 billion by December, ahead of an initial target for an ambitious plan that seeks to boost green power generation from near zero to 20 gigawatts (GW) by 2022.
Under India's Solar Mission, investors bid to build solar power plants and the winning bids are determined by the electricity tariff that they accept as viable. Such has been the interest that the government has been flooded with investment pledges for the first batch of projects rolling out in December.
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