This was going to be the year that offshore wind energy made a giant leap in the United States. Then the coronavirus arrived.

An offshore wind trade group said its main concern is the health of its workers, but the group also worries that the virus will slow or stop work throughout the chain of suppliers and other service providers.

As the United States and world head into an economic downturn fueled by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, federal officials are enacting direct subsidies to consumers and businesses to stave off recession.

The U.S. wind industry's chief trade group released its first estimate of the impact of the new coronavirus yesterday, finding that almost a third of U.S. industry jobs and $43 billion in industry investments could be endangered from the pandemic.

In a letter to House and Senate leadership, seven clean energy trade groups asked lawmakers to extend deadlines that would allow their projects to qualify for generous wind and solar federal tax credits despite delays caused by the spread of the coronavirus across the globe.

Despite recent stock market plunges and growing fears of economic fallout from the coronavirus epidemic, the global solar market is on track to expand by about 20% this year, according to Chinese manufacturer JinkoSolar Holding Co. Ltd.

Disruptions to trade and manufacturing from the coronavirus are coming at a critical time for the US renewable energy industry as project developers race to take advantage of expiring government incentives.

One of the last pieces of the puzzle for net-zero-carbon power generation is falling into place. Lithium-ion batteries, the most popular technology of the moment for large-scale electricity storage, are getting cheaper. According to research by Bloomberg New Energy Finance, the average levelised cost of energy for battery storage worldwide fell by more than three-quarters between 2012 and 2019, faster than that of onshore or offshore wind.

Officials at the Greater Augusta Utility District said months ago they were interested in finding out what benefits solar energy might offer the utility.

Now, along with the city of Augusta and the Kennebec County commissioners, the utility district has signed a 20-year contract to allow 3.91 megawatts of electricity to be generated from a solar array to be installed on utility district property in East Winthrop.

Rope Partner Inc is an international leader in wind turbine blade repair, maintenance and performance-enhancing services. In the last decade, the global wind market has rapidly expanded, with the majority of operating capacity installed since 2009. Providing the required operations and maintenance (O&M) services for these existing turbines as they enter the second half of their design life creates an evolving need for high-quality wind technicians to efficiently and safely service this sector.

Rope Partner, an international player in wind turbine blade repair, maintenance and performance-enhancing services, has been acquired by funds advised by Magnesium Capital (Magnesium). Rope Partner is headquartered in Santa Cruz, California, USA.

Encore Renewable Energy has brought aboard Doug MacDonald as engineering manager. MacDonald comes to Encore with more than 20 years of experience in renewable energy power systems and will add more in-house engineering expertise to further refine the commercial designs that define Encore’s success to date.

Rope Partner, a leader in wind turbine blade repair, maintenance and performance-enhancing services, has been acquired by funds advised by Magnesium Capital LLP.

In the last decade, the global wind market has rapidly expanded, with the majority of operating capacity installed since 2009. Providing the required O&M services for these existing turbines as they enter the second half of their design life creates an evolving need for high-quality wind technicians to efficiently and safely service this sector.

Rope Partner Inc., an international company specializing in wind turbine blade repair, maintenance and performance-enhancing services, has been acquired by Magnesium Capital LLP.

This investment will support Rope Partner’s continued work to provide the expanding market with high-quality services critical to supporting and accelerating the transition to a clean energy economy. This includes strategic growth plans in North America and abroad, with Europe and Latin America already identified as key growth markets.

Renewable energy resources have become a bigger part of the grid in recent years, competing with traditional generation sources. With flat load growth, falling costs and the expansion of the energy storage sector, this trend is only expected to rise.

Highview Power and Encore Renewable Energy have announced plans to jointly develop the first long duration, liquid-air energy storage system in the United States. To be located in northern Vermont, the new facility will supply a minimum of 50 MW over a period of at least 8 hours.

Highview Power Storage and Encore Renewable Energy have announced plans to build what they claim will be the first long-duration, liquid air energy storage system in the US.

The facility, which will have a capacity of at least 50MW, is to be located in northern Vermont.

The technology uses excess or off-peak electricity to clean and compress air at subzero temperatures – when electricity is in high demand and more valuable, the pressurised gas is allowed to warm, turning a turbine as it expands and generating energy in the process.

Highview took an important step in that direction by securing the first cryogenic storage deal in the U.S., in partnership with Encore Renewable Energy. The project will serve the Vermont grid with at least 50 megawatts/400 megawatt-hours, the companies said earlier this month.

That brings us to Vermont. The UK company Highview Power is bringing its long-duration energy storage technology to Vermont in partnership with one of the top 20 solar developers in the US. That would be Vermont-based Encore Renewable Energy. For those of you keeping score at home, Encore won the #19 slot in Solar World’s “Top Solar Contractors” list.