Recharge: Solar a "Scary" Competitor to Wind in Growth Markets, Says Nordex CEO

Solar is becoming a “scary” competitor for the wind industry, particularly in many of the emerging markets that turbine suppliers are counting on for growth, said Nordex chief executive Lars Bondo Krogsgaard yesterday.

“One of the biggest challenges wind energy will have in the future is not coal or gas -- increasingly we have to drive down our costs to match solar PV,” Krogsgaard said at the opening session of WindEurope Summit.

Speaking later to reporters, Krogsgaard added: “For the world, it’s a fantastic thing to have renewables technologies competing like this. But when you look at the way the cost curve is coming down [for PV], it’s quite a scary pace from our perspective.”

Forbes: Renault Beats Tesla and GM to the Punch With 250-Mile Range EV "Available Now"

There is one thing Tesla can be proud of: Automakers around the world are getting off their duffs. Today, French carmaker Renault announced at the Paris auto show that its fully electric “ZOE will be available for immediate sale with the Z.E. 40 battery enabling it to travel 400km NEDC.” The car is just one in a wave of longer-range EVs, launched by major automakers to compete with Tesla’s Model 3, which is not expected to appear in serious quantities before 2018.

RenewEconomy: Coalition Launches Fierce Attack Against Wind and Solar After Blackout

The Coalition government launched a ferocious attack against wind and solar energy after the major South Australian blackout, even though energy minister Josh Frydenberg and the grid operators admit that the source of energy had nothing to do with catastrophic outage.

Frydenberg, however, lined up with prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce, One Nation’s Malcolm Roberts, independent Senator Nick Xenophon and a host of conservative commentators, including Andrew Bolt, Alan Moran, the ABC’s Chris Ullmann, and Fairfax’ Brian Robins to exploit the blackout to question the use of renewable energy.

Frydenberg used the blackout to continue his persistent campaign against the renewable energy targets of state Labor governments in South Australia, Victoria and Queensland, saying that the blackout was proof that these targets were “unrealistic.”

PV Magazine: Solaria Files IP Lawsuit Against GCL Over Module Production Infringement

Solaria, the California-headquartered solar cell and module developer, is suing GCL Solar Energy – a subsidiary of China’s GCL-Poly Energy Holdings -- over alleged misappropriation of trade secrets pertaining to the company’s module development techniques.

Solaria has filed a lawsuit against the Chinese firm for breaching the terms of a 2014 non-disclosure agreement signed by the parties. It is alleged that GCL Solar gained an unfair advantage in using Solaria’s patented techniques to produce their own shingled modules.

Tvo: Why Did the Liberals Backtrack on Their Renewable Energy Plan?

The Liberal government, which has emphasized its commitment to green energy, has publicly and loudly backpedaled on one part of that commitment, announcing it is nixing a planned second round of renewable energy procurement that would have added 1,000 megawatts of wind and solar power to the province’s grid.

The Liberals, still on the defensive about rising electricity costs, say foregoing the construction that would have been required to bring that new green energy on-line will save consumers $2.45 a month by 2032.

Minister of Energy Glenn Thibeault announced the reversal at Queen’s Park Tuesday morning, then followed up with a speech later that evening to the Ontario Energy Association, in which he stressed that the government wants to keep energy prices from growing even higher.