SGD

The statistics are more than compelling -- and for those of in Southern California, they are all too familiar with the silent assassin that clouds over Los Angeles every day, challenging the fate of everyone in it’s midst.

Shares of energy efficiency solutions company Ameresco, Inc. (NYSE: AMRC) are down slightly in early trading today after closing four percent lower Thursday and recovering from an 11 percent dip earlier Thursday in reaction to the company's announced Fiscal 2010 financial results that had strong revenue and earnings growth, lower earnings for Q4, and less-than-inspiring 2011 guidance.

Here are the Top 10 Renewable Energy News Stories You May Have Missed this Week:

U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu Friday announced that $27 million will be awarded to nine new projects as part of the government’s $200 million per year “SunShot” initiative to bring the total costs of utility scale solar energy systems down about 75 percent -- to roughly $1 a watt  - by 2020.

Solar panel manufacturer Evergreen Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: ESLR) (NASDAQ: ESLRD), based in Marlboro, Massachusetts, said yesterday it was closing its nearby Devens manufacturer plant and laying off 800 employees by the end Q1 2011 because it can’t compete with low-cost Chinese manufacturers.

Shares of Suzlon Energy Ltd. (BSE: SUZLON.BO), India’s largest wind turbine manufacturer, are trading down two percent today after the company issued a statement denying that Spain’s Gamesa Corporacion Tecnologica, SA (OTC: GCTAF.PK) may buy a majority stake in the company for about $1.9 billion.

Meanwhile, Sinovel Wind Group Co., China’s largest wind turbine manufacturer, announced Tuesday it plans to raise up to $1.4 billion in an initial public offering (IPO) of its shares on the Shangai exchange. 

The newest report from GTM Research shows that the United States is now a net exporter of solar power, via solar panels, solar cells, and such peripheral supplies as inverters, solar trackers, charge controllers and racking systems.

It is pretty clear that the economic viability of wind and solar energy and the extent to which they will contribute significant power to the grid depends on being able to generate electricity intermittently -- when the sun shines and the wind blows -- and store it for use when it needed and/or when the sun is not shining nor the wind blowing.

The elephant in the solar power industry, First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR), announced yesterday it was anticipating a gangbusters 2011 with revenue to be almost 50 percent higher than 2010. Since First Solar operates at all levels of the industry -- from thin-film photovoltaic modules to complete solar power plants -- this is encouraging news for the entire solar sector. 

Of course, when you are number one, you have a big bull’s eye on your back -- and apparently the U.S. government is keen to help potential competitors hit the target.

Another week and another report on the prospects for commercial algae-based biofuels. 

• Last week, research/marketing consulting firm Pike Research, based in Boulder, Colorado, predicted that 61 million gallons of algae-based biofuels per year at a market value of $1.3 billion ($21 a gallon) would be produced by 2020. 

• On Tuesday, the Energy Biosciences Institute (EBI) in Berkeley, California, funded by BP plc (NYSE: BP), conjured a scenario in which algae-based oil could be produced at $5.71 to $7.86 per gallon.