55 gigawatts of solar PV will be installed globally in 2015, up 36 percent over 2014

With an expected 55 gigawatts set to be installed, the global PV market will grow 36 percent in 2015, according to GTM Research’s latest report. That’s up significantly from the market’s 2 percent growth in 2014. Led by China, the Asia-Pacific region will install more than half of all global PV this year. Europe will begin an upswing, and North America, primarily the U.S., will continue its year-over-year growth.

UBS analysts find that solar will become the ‘default technology of the future’

Within a decade, solar photovoltaics could account for 10 percent of electricity supply globally, beating out coal and nuclear as "default" power generation technologies. That's the conclusion of a new analysis from investment bank UBS, which found that global installed solar capacity will more than triple between now and 2025, and then triple again between 2025 and 2050. By the middle of the century, UBS estimates that nearly 3,000 gigawatts of solar will be installed worldwide. Investments in solar could amount to more than $3 trillion over the next three-and-a-half decades.

Emissions from energy have slowest gain since 2009 drop, BP says

Carbon dioxide emissions from energy use had the slowest growth last year since a drop in 2009 as Chinese consumption of coal flattened, according to BP Plc. Output of the greenhouse gas from burning fossil fuels rose 0.5 percent from the previous year, London-based BP said Wednesday in its annual Statistical Review of World Energy. That was the smallest increase for any year since 1998, with the exception of 2009, when emissions fell 1.5 percent, it said.

Obama climate goal riding on new truck, aircraft proposals

The Obama administration is adding crucial elements to its campaign against climate change this month with proposals to limit carbon emissions from trucks and aircraft, two of the heaviest fuel users. Following earlier rules to boost the mileage of cars and cut use of coal to make electricity, the initiatives on tractor-trailers and airplanes are key to reaching President Barack Obama’s pledge to cut emissions by 26 percent by 2025, researchers say. It also lays the groundwork for United Nations climate negotiations set to conclude in Paris this December.

California wants all new homes to be net zero in 2020

The California Public Utilities Commission and the California Energy Commission have launched a residential Zero Net Energy Action Plan to build a self-sustaining market for all new homes to be net zero energy by 2020. Zero net energy buildings produce as much energy as they consume, usually through a mix of high efficiency and clean onsite generation. In California, homes consume nearly one-third of the energy used in the state.

CPUC approves 42.6 megawatts of rooftop solar for SCE program

The California Public Utilities Commission has approved 22 solar projects totaling 42.6 megawatts of direct current power for Southern California Edison (SCE). The rooftop projects selected are distributed throughout SCE's service territory and were proposed by two different developers, Borrego and SunEdison.

SunPower breaks ground on 102-megawatt Henrietta solar project

SunPower has started construction on the 102-megawatt Henrietta solar project in Kings County, California. SunPower is employing its Oasis block-based power plant design at the approximately 670-acre Henrietta site. The technology includes a robotic solar panel cleaning capability that the company says uses 75 percent less water than traditional cleaning methods and can help improve system performance by up to 15 percent.

L.A. won't buy power from Mojave Desert solar plant, after all

The City of Los Angeles has dropped plans to buy electricity from a controversial solar plant proposed for the Mojave Desert, delivering a serious blow to the most environmentally sensitive renewable energy project in the state. City officials said Thursday that the Soda Mountain Solar Project would be too damaging to bighorn sheep, desert tortoises, and other wildlife near the site along Interstate 15, less than a mile from the Mojave National Preserve. The decision was made after a Department of Water and Power review found that other proposed renewable energy projects would charge the city less for electricity and would have fewer challenges in delivering the power to Los Angeles. Bechtel Corp., developer of the plant, had hoped that Los Angeles would buy most of the power.