QUICK NEWS, February 25: THE PLAN FOR 100% NEW ENERGY; THE PROMISE AND UNCERTAINTY OF WIND’S 2014; THE FUTURE OF THIN FILM SOLAR

THE PLAN FOR 100% NEW ENERGY The Plan To Power The US With 100 Percent Clean Energy Is Almost All Wind

February 19, 2014 (MotherBoard)

"If the United States wanted to get 100 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2050, there's an actual, feasible plan it could follow…[according to Stanford University scientist Mark Z Jacobson’s… detailed proposal…In short, the plan is full of wind. And water. And sun. But mostly wind…Clean coal, nuclear power, natural gas and anything utilizing food products like corn and soy are conspicuously absent…Wind, solar or power generated by water means are not only clean, but don’t require as large of a geographic footprint…Jacobson’s proposal is actually thrifty…[E]ach person would save $3,400 on energy costs because cleaner energy is more efficient and that means you’d have to generate less energy to meet current energy demands…” click here for more

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THE PROMISE AND UNCERTAINTY OF WIND’S 2014 Despite Strong Growth Outlook, U.S. Wind Market Faces Several Risk Factors

Luke Lewandowski and Dan Shreve, February 20, 2014 (North American Windpower)

"The wind power industry responded in record fashion to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) 2013 ‘under construction’ deadline for production tax credit (PTC) eligibility…Developers in the U.S. have started construction on 13 GW of wind projects and have contracted 7 GW of firm turbine orders through the end of January 2014…MAKE Consulting estimates nearly 19 GW of wind projects are in active development as a result of these IRS guidelines…[but] is forecasting [only] approximately 16.4 GW of grid-connected capacity from 2014 to 2016 [including nearly 3 GW of hedged projects]…” click here for more

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THE FUTURE OF THIN FILM SOLAR Thin-Film PV is as Simple as ABCD

Finlay Colville, February 13, 2014 (SolarBuzz)

"…[T]he thin-film solar sector…needs a different take at the start of 2014…The industry has moved beyond lists of thin-film companies by technology and assigning production…[and] the exotic process flow variants of the past…[A]ll manufacturers of thin-film solar panels are now fitting neatly into four simple groupings, we have labelled as A, B, C, and D…[T]his provides a means to benchmark thin-film companies (not technologies) based upon their solar modus operandi…[T]he four thin-film categories…[are] Volume manufacturing proven, brand premium and sales pipeline assured…[amorphous silicon (a-Si)] manufacturers located in either China or Taiwan…[A]ll the other a-Si manufacturers…[and] anything else thin-film…[Similar to c-Si issues], it looks like 2015 is going to be the year that thin-film activity once again creates headlines within the PV industry…” click here for more

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