Renewable energy is often presented as hopelessly contentious in the United States, but there’s a new survey – or maybe we should say, there’s another survey – that shows Americans overwhelmingly believe in the stuff, have a sense it could save them money, and want government to support it. Even Republicans. Solar and wind finished… Keep reading →
A new web-based tool named the “Global Calculator” is designed to interactively raise awareness of looming climate change impacts. A lack of swift and meaningful action on behalf of the international community to implement global mitigation and adaptation strategies is expected to increase the severity of these climate change impacts. An accompanying report with insights from the Global Calculator… Keep reading →
German solar power output of 21.7 GW dropped to a low point of 6.2 GW and then added another 15 GW over the course of the planetary event. During this week’s Energy Gang podcast, energy futurist Jigar Shah said that the March 20 solar eclipse would result in “nothing interesting” for the European electrical grid,… Keep reading →
Clearly, something needs to be done. And the way Clean Energy Group and Navigant see it in a new report, the last best hope for offshore wind power in the United States lies in a robust, new policy collaboration between several Northeast states – Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island. This… Keep reading →
US renewable energy sources continued to grow in 2014, as reported by Breaking Energy, with data from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission showing that “15,384 megawatts of new generation went into service in 2014, and 49.9 percent of [all that capacity] came from wind, solar and other renewables.” According to the International Renewable Energy Agency… Keep reading →
Crescent Dunes will be generating electricity before the end of March, and SolarReserve’s south-central Nevada solar project won’t stumble out of the gate the way power-tower forerunner Ivanpah did, CEO Kevin Smith said in an interview with Breaking Energy. It would be an understatement to say there’s a lot riding on him being right. Crescent Dunes,… Keep reading →
The numbers are still pretty small, but the latest data compilation from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory shows renewable electricity generation rising steadily in the United States. Here’s a key chart from NREL’s just-released Renewable Energy Data Book, which includes data through the end of 2013. Capacity is the amount of total power that… Keep reading →
The first and probably the most relevant constraint to electricity markets is transmission grid capacity. Despite the liberalization of the sector, in many countries congestion continues to be a hindrance for competitive prices. Italy is one such country. Data on day-ahead market prices show a decrease in the last few years which has been principally driven… Keep reading →
In a rare move, Toyota Motor Corp. announced last week that it will allow other firms to use its nearly 6,000 patents related to fuel cells. It said it wants to spread the technology globally while spurring competition for further development. Tesla made a similar patent announcement last year. The success of FCVs largely depends… Keep reading →
50 Percent Renewable Energy for California’s Grid Achievable with Smart Choices
By Michael O’Boyle & Hal HarveyDuring his State of the State address, Governor Brown proposed a goal of 50 percent renewable energy on California’s electric grid by 2030. Since then, State Senators and Assembly Members have introduced bills to turn the goal into law. The bills are quite clear on the 50 percent goal, but scant on details, raising the… Keep reading →