In a state dominated by a coal-centric utility and with no real renewable portfolio standard, Utah is a surprise candidate for a utility-scale solar boomlet. But it’s happening, thanks to SunEdison, big solar’s tiny price tag, the continuing impact of the federal investment tax credit and – here’s the unique Utah twist – an… Keep reading →
It’s inevitable. In comments to nearly every story about California’s drought, someone will rage that if Gov. Jerry Brown really wanted to do something to save water, he’d put an end to fracking in the state. This line of thinking was highlighted on social media recently when the Sierra Club tweeted a link to a… Keep reading →
From March 25 to 27, the Wall Street Journal brought energy stakeholders from around the world to Santa Barbara, California. Titled “ECO:nomics 2015,” the program focused on the biggest issues confronting business and the environment, including investing trends, the latest innovations and market disruptions, the environmental movement’s future, the horizon of energy policy, and the meaning of “sustainability.”
Since the dawn of the 21st century, wind power has grown from providing less than one-third of 1 percent of U.S. electricity generation to 4.4 percent in 2014. And there’s reason to believe it could become much bigger – the cost of wind energy has declined and the U.S. Department of Energy recently laid out… Keep reading →
President Obama announced a new program that reflects his conviction that climate change poses one of the greatest threats to future generations. The “Solar Ready Vets” program aims to train 75,000 workers, including veterans, to enter the solar industry by 2020. The Department of Energy will join the Pentagon to run the training program which… Keep reading →
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 →
The first natural gas-fired turbine for US power generation and one of today’s state-of-the-art designs currently live a couple hundred yards apart on GE’s massive 413-acre Greenville, South Carolina campus. The fact that both machines convert natural gas into electricity is pretty much where the similarities end. The first gas turbine used for electric utility… Keep reading →
Global growth in renewable energy sources – especially wind and solar PV installations – continues to break records while the installed capacity of these systems steadily increases. Wind and solar power still account for a small share of the overall power generation mix, but the growth of these energy sources continues to impress analysts and… Keep reading →
Doesn’t anyone remember LIMPET? Agucadoura? Despite what you might have read, the Carnegie Wave Energy project at Garden Island, off Perth, Australia, is not the world’s first grid-connected wave power station, nor the first grid-connected wave power array. The 500-kilowatt-rated LIMPET – that’s Land Installed Marine Power Energy Transmitter – commissioned in spring 2001 on… Keep reading →
Washington State Must Step up Renewable Energy Game
By Bryce SmithAs the CEO of a Seattle-based solar company, I know that our state’s forward-looking clean energy policies are a major reason why cutting-edge businesses have decided to set up shop here in Washington. But in the past decade, other states have caught on. They’ve learned from our example. They’ve learned that investing in clean tech… Keep reading →