In October 2008, the United States Congress extended both the residential and commercial solar investment tax credits (ITCs) for an unprecedented eight years, lifted the $2,000 cap on the residential credit, removed the prohibition on utility use of the commercial credit, and eliminated...

For better or worse, natural gas has become the fuel of choice for new power plants being built across the United States. According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), natural gas-fired units account for nearly 90% of the total generating capacity added in the U.S. between 1999 and...

The wind power industry in the U.S. has been on a growth binge in recent years, and the rapid pace of development has made it difficult to keep up with trends in the marketplace. Yet the need for timely, objective information on the wind industry and its progress has never been greater. This...

Installations of PV systems have been expanding at a rapid pace in recent years. In the United States, the market for PV is driven by national, state, and local government incentives, including upfront cash rebates, production-based incentives, requirements that electricity suppliers purchase a...

Installations of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems have been growing at a rapid pace in recent years. In 2009, approximately 7,500 megawatts (MW) of PV were installed globally, up from approximately 6,000 MW in 2008, consisting primarily of grid-connected applications. With 335 MW of...

Installations of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems have been growing at a rapid pace in recent years. In 2008, 5,948 MW of PV was installed globally, up from 2,826 MW in 2007, and was dominated by grid-connected applications. The United States was the world's third largest PV market in terms of...

Voluntary markets for ''green'' power, and mandatory policies such as fuel source disclosure requirements and renewables portfolio standards, each rely on the ability to differentiate electricity by the ''attributes'' of the generation. Throughout North America, electricity markets are devising...

Development of renewable energy. Such programs have grown in number in recent years. The design features and effectiveness of these programs varies considerably, however, leading a variety of stakeholders to suggest specific marketing and program design features that might improve customer...

The solar power market is growing at a quickening pace, fueled by an array of national and local initiatives and policies aimed at improving the value proposition of customer-sited photovoltaic (PV) systems. Though these policies take many forms, they commonly include up-front capital cost...

Concerns about global climate change have substantially increased the likelihood that future policy will seek to minimize carbon dioxide emissions. As such, even today, electric utilities are making resource planning and investment decisions that consider the possible implications of these...