Clean Energy Funding Trumps Fossil Fuels – Green Inc. – The New York Times

Renewable sources accounted for 56 percent of investment dollars, worth $140 billion, while investment in fossil fuel technologies was $110 billion, the U.N. program said in a report, Global Trends in Sustainable Energy Investment 2009, released on Wednesday and produced in collaboration with New Energy Finance, a research company based in London.

Real Goods Solar gets $30 mln contract, shares jump – Reuters

Solar energy integrator Real Goods Solar (RSOL.O) said it received a contract worth more than $30 million to design and install solar electric systems totalling 3.65 megawatts, sending its shares up 56 percent.

Siemens Blows Into Chinese Wind Market – Matter Network

Germany’s Siemens (NYSE: SI) broke ground on a new wind turbine manufacturing plant in Shanghai, marking the company’s entry into China’s wind energy market. Siemens Wind Power Blades (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., with an initial investment of RMB 581 million (EUR 64 million), is expected to begin operation in the second half of 2010. The new production site will initially produce blades for 2.3 and 3.6 megawatts (MW) wind turbine plants, and plans include produce turbine nacelles at a later stage.

In Renewable Energy Legislation, Nuclear Power May Find Exemptions – redOrbit

In a law that would mandate utility companies to generate a certain amount of electricity from renewable sources, U.S. legislators are trying to increase incentives for the use of nuclear power and energy efficiency.

Nuclear power, however, is not currently considered a renewable electricity source according to the terms laid out in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee bill. If the bill becomes law, a predetermined percentage of every U.S. utility company’s total power output would have to be dedicated to renewable energy sources.

Thin-film solar cells flex into the future – The Daily Texan

Thin-film solar technology, a process that involves coating surfaces with inky, light-absorbing materials, could reduce solar energy costs by a factor of 10, said chemical engineering professor Brian Korgel, who oversees research in the field.

“We’re essentially making material you can paint onto a [surface] and make solar cells that way,” Korgel said. “With our process, you can basically print solar cells like you print newspaper.”