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Is Cleantech Coming of Age?

Analysis of investment data from the Cleantech Group i3 platform.

Private investment flows into cleantech reveal consistent signs of maturation. Cleantech is becoming more mature, diverse, and in some sectors – perhaps such as utilities – increasingly “conventional.”

EDF Renewable Energy Signs Agreement to Supply Google with 201MW of Wind Power

Google signed a deal with EDF Renewable Energy (EDF RE) to purchase renewable energy for its data center. The PPA will provide Google with the full output of the 201-MW Great Western Wind Project located in Woodward and Ellis counties near the base of the Oklahoma panhandle. The project will commence construction in the first quarter of 2016 and be fully operational by end of the year. Great Western will be comprised of 30 V117 (unit capacity of 3.3 MW) and 51 V100 (unit capacity of 2.2 MW) wind turbines supplied by Vestas.

Solar Shines As Regulatory Battles Abound

A tough legal and financial terrain is confronting producers, utilities and regulators.

State commissions are challenged to find the sweet spot whereby utilities can afford to maintain their systems and homeowners are motivated to go green.

Google to Buy into Africa’s Largest Wind Farm in Northern Kenya

Google plans to buy Vestas’ 12.5 percent share in Lake Turkana Wind Power, Africa’s largest wind park, when the project is complete in 2017. The share purchase agreement is in connection with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's Climate and Clean Energy Investment Forum and builds on a relationship between Google and Vestas, which also includes the 270-MW Alta Wind Energy Centre in southern California and the powering of a Google data centre in Finland. The Lake Turkana wind park is owned by Lake Turkana Wind Power.

Rethink Your Marketing

Your customers are going mobile. So should your ad dollars.

Just how are utilities getting out the word? Legacy media is important but the use mobile devices are gaining ground.

Vivint Solar Teams Up With Google for Project Sunroof

Vivint Solar teamed up with Google for the newly announced Project Sunroof, a new online tool created by Google that provides homeowners with custom solar information for their home. The tool uses high-resolution aerial mapping to help calculate a roof's solar energy potential, without having to climb up a ladder. The online tool is being tested in San Francisco Bay Area, Fresno, and greater Boston.

Google Chooses TVA Site for Next Data Center

Google chose Tennessee Valley Authority's Widows Creek soon-to-be retired coal plant site in North Alabama to build its newest data center. TVA's board of directors approved the closure of Widows Creek earlier this year following EPA's release of coal combustion rules requiring additional environmental and financial requirements. Google will invest $600 million in this project and will bring jobs to northern Alabama and the TVA region.

Digest (November 2014)

Siemens will provide the grid connection for an offshore wind farm off the coast of the U.K.; ABB will supply gas-insulated switchgear for substations in New Jersey; A team from the Microgrid Institute will design, simulate, and test microgrid control systems for two Maryland suburbs; Plus solar power developments by Xcel Energy, SunEdison, ReneSola, and Duke Energy; and others…

Google Executes $145 Million Investment in SunEdison’s Largest Solar Plant In North America

Google agreed to provide $145 million in equity financing for the Regulus, SunEdison's largest developed and constructed project in North America. Located in Kern County, Calif., the Regulus plant will begin operation later this year, and will supply power to Southern California Edison through a 20-year PPA. SunEdison developed, designed, executed the structured financing and is constructing the Regulus project, which was contributed to TerraForm Power.

Start the Conversation

The regulator’s role in a world divided by distributed generation.

A state utility commissioner urges her colleagues to begin planning now for distributed generation – before it’s too late.