QUICK NEWS, November 18: FACEBOOK BUYS WIND; EUROPEAN SOLAR TO BOUNCE BACK IN ’14; GROWING MICROGRIDS INTO THE WORLD

FACEBOOK BUYS WIND Facebook Says Iowa Server Farm Will be Wind-Powered

Jason Novet, November 13, 2013 (Data Center Knowledge)

"…Facebook’s data center in Altoona, Iowa, will run exclusively on renewable energy, thanks to a wind project located less than two hours away…The Wellsburg wind farm in Iowa’s Grundy County will be functioning next year, and will produce as much as 138 megawatts for the Iowa grid — more than enough to power up the Altoona facility when it starts handling traffic in 2015…MidAmerican Energy will own the new Iowa wind farm, which Facebook started working on with the wind development company RPM Access. RPM last year received an equity investment from Google, which has a data center of its own in Iowa...[Following strong criticism from Greenpeace, Facebook declared in 2011] a goal of running all of its equipment with renewable energy…” click here for more

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EUROPEAN SOLAR TO BOUNCE BACK IN ‘14 After 18-Month Downturn, European Solar Photovoltaic Demand to Rebound in 2014…European solar PV revival to be driven by Germany, the U.K., Italy, and France

November 6, 2013 (SolarBuzz)

“The European solar photovoltaic (PV) market is poised to recover during the fourth quarter of 2013 (Q4’13), after an 18-month downturn that redefined the role of Europe within the global solar PV industry. Quarterly PV demand from Europe is now set to stabilize at the 2.5 gigawatt (GW) level during the first half of 2014, with moderate growth forecast in the second half…Germany, the U.K., Italy, and France are forecast to drive the European solar PV recovery next year…[with] almost 8 GW… more than 75 percent of the solar PV capacity that will be installed…Solar PV demand from Europe declined significantly during Q3’13…primarily caused by dramatic declines in solar PV demand in Germany and Italy…Year-over-year declines in 2013 are also forecast for Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Greece, The Netherlands, Slovenia, and Spain; however, the severity of the European downturn in 2013 has been softened by strong Y/Y growth from the U.K., Romania, and Austria…” click here for more

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GROWING MICROGRIDS INTO THE WORLD Microgrid Deployment Tracker 4Q13; Commercial/Industrial, Community/Utility, Institutional/Campus, Military, and Remote Microgrids: Operating, Planned, and Proposed Projects by World Region

4Q 2013 (Navigant Research)

“Most microgrids in operation today are essentially retrofit projects that cobble together existing assets and derive revenue from an overlay of controls used to enable legacy technology…[But] microgrids are beginning to move more into the mainstream…As of 4Q 2013, Navigant Research has identified a total of 4,148 MW of total microgrid capacity throughout the world, up from 3,793 MW in the previous Tracker update in 2Q 2013. North America is still the world’s leading market for microgrids, with a planned, proposed, and deployed capacity of 2,712 MW, accounting for 65% of global microgrid capacity…34 projects and 207 MW [added] since the 2Q 2013 update…1,503 MW is currently online and 1,224 MW is in the planned/under development or proposed phase…” click here for more

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