Vattenfall building 10-MW wave energy device with Pelamis

Swedish state-owned utility Vattenfall is working with Scottish wave energy technology company Pelamis to build a wave energy farm off the southwestern Shetland coast of Scotland. The wave energy project, a joint venture called Aegir Wave Power, will use 11 Pelamis Wave Energy Converters. These will produce 10 megawatts of capacity serving 8,500 households.

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Hydropower most used ‘renewables’ source through 2020 – report

Hydropower still remains the most widely used renewable energy source and its installed capacity is expected to grow steadily up to 2020, according to GBI Research. According to their new report, hydropower’s cumulative installed capacity is expected to grow from 739.2 gigawatts in 2010 to 1,051.1 GW by 2020, while power generation will grow from 2,483.5 GWh to 3,491.8 GWh in the same period.

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Wello’s Penguin wave energy device to be tested in Orkney

Finnish renewable technology developer Wello Ltd. is ready for full-scale deployment of their Penguin wave energy converter at the European Marine Energy Center in Orkney. The company has been granted permission for full-scale deployment by Marine Scotland following verification by certification body Det Norske Veritas.

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Siemens acquires Marine Current, adds tidal power to portfolio

German conglomerate Siemens is adding the power of the tides to their renewable energy product mix with its acquisition of a majority stake in Marine Current Turbines Ltd., a developer of tidal power generation projects and one of the first to have such a project producing power for the grid.

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Scotland opens $10 million fund for wave and tidal power

Scotland is again helping out its local wave and tidal energy companies develop their devices to full-scale testing with a new $9.5 million fund. The “Waters 2” program follows an initial £13 million fund launched in March 2010 by Scottish Enterprise to develop testing of new wave and tidal prototypes in the seas around Scotland, particularly Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters.

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Tidal power said to reach 2.4 gigawatts of capacity in 2017

Tidal stream energy generation is poised to take the lead in an industry boom that will see the marine and hydrokinetic market’s generation capacity increase from 760 megawatts to 5.5 gigawatts in just five years, according to Pike Research. "Although wave energy has received the most press coverage, our research shows that tidal energy is shaping up to be the lower cost option, and therefore the closest to large-scale deployment," said research analyst Dexter Gauntlett.

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U.S. thin-film PV companies boost efficiency, module strength

Santa Clara, California-based Alta Devices has achieved 23.5 percent efficiency for their gallium arsenide solar panels, paving the way for commercialization according to the company. Meanwhile, in Colorado, thin-film cadmium telluride photovoltaic manufacturer Abound Solar is beginning production for 82.8-watt modules in their factory in Longmont.

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New York’s first tidal energy project acquires FERC approval

New York-based Verdant Power, Inc.’s planned 1-megawatt tidal energy project in the East Channel of New York’s East River was issued the first pilot license of its kind in the state by the United States Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

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U.S. Department of Energy releases national wave and tidal energy study

Harnessing the power of the waves and the tides along the coastal United States can provide approximately 1,420 terawatt-hours of energy a year or 15 percent of the nation’s energy needs by 2030. This is the finding of the United States Department of Energy which released two nationwide resource assessments of the energy potential of America’s wave and tidal resources.

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Croatian hydropower project gets E.B.R.D. financing

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is lending up to 123.2 million euros ($164 million) to Croatian state-owned electricity utility Hrvatska Elektroprivreda to finance the construction of a hydropower plant.

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