KQED: Ivanpah Solar Project Faces Risk of Default on PG&E Contracts

Energy production has picked up at the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System in the Mojave Desert, but not enough to allow the plant’s owners -- which include Google and Oakland-based BrightSource Energy -- to avoid the risk of defaulting on their contracts to deliver electricity to Pacific Gas & Electric.

Majority owner and plant manager NRG Energy said in its most recent quarterly report that it won’t be able to deliver the electricity promised in its power-purchase agreements with PG&E. The agreements cover output from two of Ivanpah’s three units.

AFP: Costa Rica Boasts 99% Renewable Energy in 2015

Almost all of Costa Rica's electricity came from renewable sources this year, making it one of a few countries in the world to eschew fossil fuels in energy generation, the state electricity agency said Friday.

The Costa Rican Electricity Institute said in a statement it achieved "99 percent renewable electricity generation" this year.

It also said for 285 days this year, the country managed to power its grid on 100 percent renewable sources.

The Hill: Agency Turns Over Subpoenaed Climate Documents

Federal officials are turning over scores of emails and documents related to climate science research in response to a subpoena from a House committee.

A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) official said Thursday that the agency provided about 100 documents to the House Science Committee this week.

The documents relate to an investigation kicked off by the committee's chairman, Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), into NOAA’s climate science research, specifically a study that concluded there has not been a 15-year “pause” in global warming.

Silicon Valley Business Journal: Energy Management Startup BuildingIQ Raises $20M in Australian IPO

Energy management software startup BuildingIQ raised $20 million in its IPO on Wednesday and began trading on the Australian Securities Exchange.

The company offered almost 20 million securities listed at $1 each with an indicative market capitalization of approximately $85 million (Australian dollars) on a fully diluted basis. The securities closed on the first day of trading at the same price, with about 2.8 million securities changing hands, according to Australia’s SBS News. Prior to its IPO, the company had raised $23.4 million from investors such as Aster Capital, Paladin Capital Group and Siemens Venture Capital.

Wall Street Journal: Japanese Towns Bank on Renewable Energy

Japanese cities are entering the renewable-energy business, the latest phase in a shake-up of the nation’s power sector in the aftermath of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear crisis.

So far, about 14 cities have formed companies to generate clean energy from local resources and sell it to area businesses and homes. With full deregulation of the nation’s electricity markets set to begin next year, the government aims to have 1,000 such city-operated companies up and running by 2021 in a direct challenge to regional power monopolies.