In This Issue:

Offshore wind power capacity to boom in the next six years, research finds; RENEWABLE ENERGY FOCUS - UN report: Renewable energy supply could outstrip demand within 40 years; Report: U.S. urged to adopt wind-turbine standards; USDA, DOE invest $47M in bioenergy R&D projects; White paper explores pros and cons of energy storage; California accounts for nearly half of domestic solar generation; Analysis: Despite roadblocks, renewable energy expected to boom in Inland Empire; Developer transforms Mojave Desert ghost town with solar energy; Thousand Oaks officials refuse second solar project of 2011; Unirac debuts mobile apps for solar installers; Utah geothermal company goes bankrupt; NOTABLE RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS AND DEALS - Total to purchase 60% stake in SunPower; SunRun, U.S. Bancorp team up to buy $200M worth of residential solar systems; Constellation Energy to acquire 30 MW solar installation in Sacramento; California solar firm to use Echo First technology for residential installations; Vestas gets 102MW order for California wind farm; and GE expects $21B in clean-tech revenue in 2011.

Offshore wind power capacity to boom in the next six years, research finds

Pike Research - Apr 29

A report from Pike Research forecasts that investment in offshore wind power will surge in the next several years and as a result, total installed power generation capacity will increase by a factor of seventeen between 2011 and 2017, rising from just 4.1 GW of installed capacity to 70.1 GW by the end of the forecast period. The report indicates that tidal power turbines are likely to be far larger than land-based turbines as a cost-saving measure, as the cost of installing offshore wind farms can be double or triple that of conventional windpower installations.