New England Clean Energy Council

For more than a hundred years the Mariani Packing Company has relied on the sun to nurture the plums, apricots, blueberries, apples and other fruit that made its products popular on grocery shelves throughout the world. But with a newly constructed 1.1 megawatt solar power system operational at its Vacaville, Calif., headquarters, the company now uses the sun to produce a different type of product; electricity.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced to much fanfare on November 24 that the city's municipal utility would launch one of the continent's largest solar power programs. The mayor's plan would direct the city's municipal utility, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), to build or purchase 1,300 MW of solar energy by 2020.

First Solar, Inc. announced the completion of a 2 megawatt (MW) solar photovoltaic power plant installed on the rooftop of a commercial building in Fontana, California for Southern California Edison (SCE).

EDF Energies Nouvelles announced that it has commissioned the final stage of the Ventominho wind farm in Portugal. With 240 megawatts (MW) in total capacity and a single point of connection to the grid, the onshore wind farm is now fully operational.

Konarka Technologies Inc. announced that Germany's Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is supporting a development project through a consortium that is headed by Konarka.

Plans for a waste-to-energy gasification plant have been unveiled by Energos, part of ENER-G. The facility is expected to supply 9 megawatts (MW) of electricity and 32.8 MW of thermal energy.

The juwi group has struck a deal with Kenersys Europe to buy wind turbines for its projects. Kenersys is the European subsidiary of Indian company Kalyani Group. Under the agreement, Kenersys will supply juwi with up to 35 K-100 wind turbines, each rated at 2.5-megawatts and 100 meter rotor diameter, over the next three years.

Energy and sustainability experts at the Georgia Institute of Technology have taken a leadership role in the U.S. contribution to a 36-nation effort aimed at developing an international standard that would bring consistency to energy management systems worldwide.

Solar Energy International (SEI), the non-profit pioneer in renewable energy and sustainable building programs, offers technical PV trainings for pre-professionals and professionals alike. Throughout the company's 18-year history of providing educational programs to consumers and industry experts, the past year has garnered a record number people studying photovoltaics, with the interest in pursuing a career in the renewable energy industry. Demand is high for renewable energy experts: employers are seeking a workforce skilled in the field, and people are eager to be trained to enter the industry.

Solar Energy International (SEI), the non-profit pioneer in renewable energy and sustainable building programs, is pleased to announce their 2009 Spring workshop schedule. No doubt, this coming year Solar Energy International offers something for everyone, so be sure to checkout what workshops are in store in 2009 for the RENEWABLE ENERGY EDUCATION PROGRAM (REEP).

With the state of today's economy and travel prices rising, Solar Energy International's (SEI) online program offers an opportunity to gain a comprehensive education right from the comfort of your home. SEI's Online Program spans the globe offering online education in Solar Electric Design and Installation and Sustainable Home Design.

The global economic turmoil has started having an impact on the wind energy industry in Europe, new analysis from research firm Frost & Sullivan says. Some companies are cutting down forecasts and production for 2009 and the market is showing the first signs of slowdown, Frost says, although it adds that the situation will have positive effects like a reduction in turbine prices due to falling raw material prices, and the reduction of delivery times of components.

SunPower Corporation, a manufacturer of solar cells, solar panels and solar systems, announced it has signed a customer contract with German solar power plant integrator City Solar Kraftwerke AG. Over the next three years, SunPower will provide City Solar with solar panels and commercial rooftop and ground mounted systems.

Gamesa Corporacion Tecnologica has received several orders from the Spanish utility group Endesa for the supply of approximately one hundred wind turbines, which will amount to the installation of 190 megawatts (MW) of power.

Italy's largest power company, Enel SpA has said that it will establish a joint venture with Sharp to operate as an independent power producer that will develop a number of solar photovoltaic (PV) power plants with a total capacity of 189 megawatts (MW) by the end of 2012.

Masdar PV GmbH, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Masdar, Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, announced that it has entered a strategic alliance agreement with Helmholtz-Zantrum Berlin for Materials and Energie (HZB) to develop technologies that could boost the efficiency of large-area solar photovoltaic (PV) modules.

EDF Energies Nouvelles has commissioned a 70-megawatt (MW) wind farm in Italy. The Campidano wind farm in Sardinia is equipped with 35 Vestas V90 2-MW wind turbines.

Slow-moving ocean and river currents could be a new, reliable and affordable alternative energy source. A University of Michigan engineer has made a machine that works like a fish to turn potentially destructive vibrations in fluid flows into clean, renewable power.

EPV SOLAR Germany GmbH, a wholly-owned subsidiary of US-based EPV SOLAR, Inc., a thin-film solar module manufacturer and photovoltaic systems provider headquartered in New Jersey, USA, announced today that the first amorphous silicon thin-film modules have been produced at EPV SOLAR Germany's Senftenberg factory.

Fronius USA, LLC unveiled their latest product line of grid-connected PV inverters, the IG Plus, at this year's Solar Power International 2008 in San Diego. Scores of curious attendees visited the Fronius exhibit to view the complete IG Plus series, along with the latest in data communication, the Fronius Datalogger web.