Although Trans-Elect and Good Energies will have some ownership in the new project, Google will own more than one-third of the project. The initial phase will cost around $1.8 billion and will cover 150 miles of federal waters running between Delaware and New Jersey. The project is scheduled to be completed by 2016.

This latest project isn’t the first green investment for Google. The company has already invested over $38 million in two wind farms located in North Dakota. As the company’s dependence on data centers to index information on the internet keeps increasing, they have been developing ways of creating more renewable energy sources.

You can read the entire story at NYTimes.com

“The traditional view is that the cost of offshore wind becomes increasingly expensive as turbines are located in deeper water, due to the additional costs of supporting traditional turbine structures,” said ETI chief executive Dr David Clarke.

“The cost of foundations does get more expensive as you go into deeper water, but the wind speeds in much of the UK’s deep water are significantly stronger and more consistent, which results in a more reliable and higher energy output. Over time, this more than outweighs the additional foundation costs and gives an overall lower cost of energy.”

Two more studies concerning the feasibility of floating wind turbines are currently being conducted. One study, the Helm Wind Project, is looking at the viability of making some changes to the basic design of offshore farms. The other study, the Nova Project, will be looking at the potential of using vertical axis wind turbines.

Offshore wind power may get a big boost from the studies being conducted in the UK. After the studies are concluded, the ETI may look at ways to fund demonstration projects. It is hoped that soon focus will shift from offshore drilling and become more focused on clean energy efforts.

The high demand for biodiesel has led researchers to look for most cost efficient ways to produce the green fuel. Sunflower seeds, soybeans and several other food crops have been used, but they are too expensive to be economical. Sewage sludge makes the perfect alternative. Each year, the United States produces around seven million tons of sludge.

To boost the production of biodiesel, treatment plants could make use of microorganisms that will produce higher amounts of oil. That one step could boost the production of biodiesel to 10 billion gallons. However, the report also warns that there are some huge challenges that still exist. Gathering the sludge, separating the biodiesel from the other materials, maintaining quality and regulatory concerns still need to be addressed.

“Biodiesel production from sludge could be very profitable in the long run,” the report states. “Currently the estimated cost of production is $3.11 per gallon of biodiesel. To be competitive, this cost should be reduced to levels that are at or below the recent costs of $3.00 per gallon.”

China has enstated measures that encourage renewable energy, while at the same time imposing taxes on dirtier forms of energy such as burning coal. “China is leading and taking responsibility,” Erwin Jackson, director of the Climate Institute told Bloomberg Media on Tuesday, pointing out China’s “surprising” dominance.

“If you look at it, they’re doing it because it’s in their economic interests. They are now commanding the largest market share of clean energy investment at a global level as a result.” According to the economics report, the driving force of China’s performance is their commitment in closing over 100 small coal fired power plants and replacing them with cleaner coal station by next year.

One the facility is installed it will be one of the largest photovoltaic solar systems in the United States. The new project will create over 550 new local jobs during the construction phase and will ultimately be capable of generating enough solar power to supply over 4,5000 homes. The facility will be located on 145 acres. Construction is slated to start during the first quarter of 2011 and reach completion later in the year. The production facility will be owned and operated by Arizona Public Service.

The project will consist of SOLON’s Velocity MW Solar System that will provide 10 1 MW modular solar fields that are reconfigured. Each solar field is specifically designed to help the utilities quickly scale to capacity. In total, the company will provide APS with 108 SOLON engineered single axis trackers that utilize more than 75,000 industrial, high efficiency solar modules.

With some of the European markets declining, it is anticipated that the United States will be making up for some of the slumping demand globally. For the first time, the American PV market could surpass the 1GW barrier this year. A lot of the companies have moved into the United States so that they will be able to produce modules that are compliant with the American made requirements of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The facility consists of 117,000 square foot and will be producing Suntech’s 280 watt Vd-series modules. These modules are mainly used for utility scale and commercial projects. Suntech has announced that they will be expanding the facility with another 50MW next year. The expansion will increase the number of employees from 75 to 150. The companies future plans are to increase the facility to 120 MW.

The Science journal, recently published an article from two European researchers. The article outlines the resources that are needed to make the fuel economically feasible in the European markets in a decade. According to fuel consumption calculations based on European consumption, over 2 billion gallons of biodiesel will have to be replaced.

In order to supply the European market, the algae yields would have to exceed 4,400 gallons of fuel for each acre every year. That would require around 22 million acres of land, an area that is as large as Portugal. In comparison, just one acre of palm oil will yield around 600 gallons for each acre and corn will yield around 270 gallons for each acre of land.

By examining all of the technologies that exist today and modeling various commercial scale plants, they determined that it would tak at least a decade for algae biodiesel to be produced economically in Europe. However, there are some good signs that the industry is reaching the necessary scale they need to become competitive.

Some algae players claim that they are in the range of producing the target goal of 4,4000 gallons per acre. Companies like OriginOil, Solix and Solazyme say they are on their way to producing between 2,000 and 5,000 gallons per acre. And, Solazyme recently announced that they delivered 20,000 gallons to the U.S. Navy. They have now signed a contract to provide 150,000 more gallons to the Navy.

As of now, SCE is on step 5 of the California Solar Initiative. This means that for every watt of solar capacity that you install, California will pay you $1.55. The program is in its fourth year and has reached almost half of the 1,750 MW goal. You can get more information on the CSI rebate program at ResidentialSolar101.

If you live in southern California and are a SCE customer you can take advantage of these generous rebates. The first step is to obtain some solar power quotes and determine whether it’s best for you to lease or buy. Residential101 has a free evaluation form that you can fill out to receive solar quotes. They will have qualified installers contact you and there’s no obligation to purchase.

The Ivanpah project, will use fields of mirrors that will concentrate sunlight to a central receiver. This new project will bring the total of federally approved solar projects up to 1,124 MW. The companies will need to start moving on the new projects so that they will be able to qualify for the Treasury grant program, which expires at the end of this year.

SolarWorld Americas, in California has created a new program called SolarWorld Financial Solutions that will help potential customers have access to solar energy without any upfront money. The company’s authorized dealers and customers located in select Western states will be able to lease Sunkits solar systems. And, they will also have the choice of deferring payments until incentives at both the state and federal levels can be realized.

Non-profit organizations and commercial customers will have the choice of several leases as well as a power purchase agreement. Banks that will be providing the capital have not been disclosed, but SolarWorld announced that it is hoping to inform the public of at least one of the financial partners that will be involved in the program in the near future.

United Solar, a Michigan based company announced a pilot program for the east coast. The new program will provide 30 residents of New Jersey the access to low monthly rates. Under the program, NJR Home Services will be installing Uni-Solar’s integrated PV modules at around 30 residential homes. NJR will be covering the upfront costs of installation and maintenance and will then lease the panels to individual homeowners for $8.66 per KW>

The average system size for the pilot program will be 3 KW and have a fixed lease payment of $26 a month over 20 years. The new pilot program is the first opportunity that customers will have to install Uni-Solar’s BIPV product, the PowerShingle ro the EnerGen from CertainTeed Corporation. Both products are installed right on the rooftop. However, in some cases it will replace the traditional roof shingles with PV.