The carbon-fiber Tang launched late September. When under sail, the propellers in the water will turn the motor-generators to charge the batteries.

A hybrid power train in the world’s largest plug-in, hybrid-electric sailboat – a 60-ft Tag Yachts catamaran, will let it run on wind-generated electricity stored in lithium-ion batteries. Christened Tang at her September 21 launching, the carbon-fiber cat is undergoing tests at Tag facilities in St. Francis Bay, South Africa. She’ll set sail later this year to her owner in Florida and will appear at the Miami sailboat show in February.

“This is a transformational combination of technologies,” says Dave Tether, CEO of Electric Marine Propulsion (EMP). “Our E Motion hybrid system converts wind and solar energy into a practical power source for boat motors and auxiliaries. And, International Battery’s lithium cells provide the lightweight, high-capacity storage that really lets us take advantage of it.”

The main renewable ene...

The California Air Resources Board (ARB) on Thursday approved a rule requiring state utility companies to get a third of their electricity from solar power, wind and other renewable sources by 2020. While the decision is not legally binding — and the one-third provision may be suspended if a controversial measure, Proposition 23, is passed in November — the board’s vote is a hopeful sign that California won’t abandon its commitment to clean energy.

“It does send another positive signal that California is being agressive [about renewable energy policy],” Catharina Saponar, a renewable energy analyst at Nomura Holdings, .

California’s main renewable energy standard is underpinned by Assembly Bill 32, which calls for the state to cut greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels over a number of decades. In September of last year, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger issued an executive order raising the renewable energy standard from 20 percent to 33 percent...

A manufacturer of power inverters for the renewable energy industry, California-based Power-One, will open its first North American manufacturing facility in Phoenix. This marks the sixth such company to move to Greater Phoenix since January, drawn by the state’s landmark Renewable Energy Tax Incentive Program.

Production at the Phoenix facility starts October 2010 and will reach a capacity of 1 GW by mid 2011. The company makes Aurora brand power inverters with what they claim is up to 96% efficiency, or 99% when used with wind power.

Power-One manufactures renewable energy and energy-efficient power management equipment and holds 11% of the global photovoltaic inverter market share, according to IMS Research.

The company manufactures a range of inverters, which make electricity from solar and wind sources usable for residential, commercial, and utility-grade solar and wind markets. Power-One’s Phoenix facility will produce its photovoltaic and wind inverters, including single pha...

The eddy GT qualifies for a 30% U.S. federal rebate and possibly additional rebates or tax incentives from state governments, or both. The manufacturer adds that the turbine tolerates wind speeds up to 120 mph (55 m/s) and has an engineered life of 20 years.

Who says turbines can’t be sleek and silent? A manufacturer of vertical axis wind turbines offers a quieter model with an artsy design. After the success of its first model the eddy, Urban Green Energy has released the eddy GT 1-kW turbine.

The unit delivers energy through a grid-tie inverter, but maintains the same key features as the original eddy, including a low start-up speed, whisper-quiet operation, and a vertical axis design, meaning power can be generated regardless of the wind direction. Like eddy, its GT version assembly is said to be under an hour and mounts on either a pole or rooftop.

The turbine has a greater output than the original, and can reduce the amount of energy the customer receives from the grid, accord...