The Brazilian real has declined 17 percent since Oct. 31, when more than a gigawatt of solar farms won contracts in the country’s first-ever national solar auction and with the slumping currency driving up import prices, developers are holding off on signing supply deals for PV panels. Manufacturers that were considering setting up shop in Brazil are having second thoughts. All of that is threatening President Dilma Rousseff’s goal of increasing the use of solar power more than 100-fold and creating a domestic solar industry.

In the wake of Tesla’s recently announced entrance into the stationary energy storage market, there has been a wave of analysis of what this might mean for residential and commercial utility customers. The bulk of the headlines have centered on the sleek residential Powerwall, but far fewer have investigated the implications of Tesla’s commercial-s

As most of the world has heard by now, Tesla and its founder, Elon Musk, launched Tesla Energy and its new battery system for homes and businesses. The event received international coverage from the media, social media, and the general public, so despite some last minute technical glitches, there’s no question that this launch was an absolute succe

European Union negotiators are endorsing an accelerated overhaul of the bloc’s carbon market after the price of emission rights fell to levels that fail to deter polluters.

Solar energy is a booming business across North America. Installations grew 30 percent across the United States in 2014 for the industry’s biggest year yet, but industry expansion also brings consolidation – Ernst & Young reports industry deal values hit a four-year high of $177.1 billion in 2014, with investment and acquisitions both predicted to

Solar energy is a booming business across North America. Installations grew 30 percent across the United States in 2014 for the industry’s biggest year yet, but industry expansion also brings consolidation – Ernst & Young reports industry deal values hit a four-year high of $177.1 billion in 2014, with investment and acquisitions both predicted to

Hold onto your hats, y’all — it’s going to be a wild year for North Carolina solar. Last week, the North Carolina legislature passed a bill offering a soft landing to the official end date for the state’s 35 percent state tax credit.  While the tax credit cliff is scheduled for December 31, 2015, new legislation will extend eligibility for projects

For at least the next 10 years, when considering new capacity, there should be little doubt that renewables will be the generation method of choice. Utility PV, solar thermal (especially with molten salt storage as a baseload source), wind, rooftop solar and biomass will be the highlights, along with contributions from biogas (sewage, landfills and

I recently had the great honor of being one of nine small business principals invited by the White House Business Council to attend a briefing with senior Administration officials including Valerie Jarrett, Assistant to the President for Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs, and Jeff Zients, Director of the National Economic Council.  Th

A $2 trillion push in the U.S. to blend renewable energy into the power supply and fortify transmission lines against extreme weather means that Americans must act more like Europeans to keep their power costs down.