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RssAs the new year approaches, it's time to think about what will come for green energy next year. On the small scale, I happen to agree with a commenter on this DailyGreen call for 2009 green predictions. The commenter predicts that solar bags will be the big trend of '09. I hope so — they're just barely short of great right now.
But let's go to the big picture.
1. CLEANTECH STARTUPS WILL KEEP IT UP
TreeHugger calls out six cleantech startups to watch in 2009, saying that they'll build on the strength of a good 2008 for such companies. That's saying a lot — 2008 was inconceivably terrible for just about everyone else.
One excerpt:
OptiSolar: Planning one of the largest PV solar projects in the world, this start-up is one to follow in the upcoming year. We've seen OptiSolar do a few noteworthy things, and they're likely to make more big moves, especially as solar power increases in efficiency and ranking as an alternative energy source.
And that brings us to an interesting (and exciting) point, originally brought to our attention by the American Wind Energy Association:
2. COMPANIES WILL FIGHT FOR BIGGEST WIND AND SOLAR TITLES
"The world's largest operating wind power project" will be a hotly contested designation this year: At least one new project may soon surpass FPL Energy's 736-megawatt (MW) Horse Hollow wind farm, which has been the world's largest for three years running.
With companies vying for the title of largest operating wind power project and largest solar project, you'd think that wind could start to supply more than the current 1 percent of US power — and that solar would register somewhere, too. More stats from the AWEA:
Wind is now a mainstream option for new power generation, second only to natural gas plants in new capacity built from 2005 through 2007, and probably again in 2008, pending year-end figures. Measured by market share, wind provided 35% of all new generation added in the U.S. in 2007. And with 7,500 MW of new capacity expected when 2008 figures are released, wind is likely to contribute at least 35% of new capacity added this year.read more
Posted via email from Jay’s posterous
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