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 →
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 →
Actually, California Got 7.4 Percent of Its Electricity from Solar in 2014 Federal energy number-crunchers reported on Tuesday that in 2014, California became the first state to generate 5 percent of its electricity from utility-scale solar power. A decade ago, in 2005, solar’s contribution in California was just 0.26 percent of generation, so ramping… 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 →
US solar giant SolarCity today announced the launch of a microgrid product with built in energy storage capability. SolarCity is going after the commercial market, targeting municipalities, which is a segment the company views as underserved. Extreme weather events have been increasingly disruptive for municipalities in recent years. See Hurricane Sandy as an example.… Keep reading →
Two years ago, before it was even built, the Macho Springs Solar Facility in New Mexico made headlines thanks to a 20-year, 5.7-cents per kilowatt-hour power purchase agreement with El Paso Electric. The 30 percent federal investment tax credit and a generous New Mexico production tax credit helped make that price possible, but another factor… Keep reading →
Conventional hydropower fell from its perennial perch as the source of the majority of U.S. renewable energy in 2014, yet another sign of the rise of a new wave of renewables – wind and solar, especially – on the U.S. electrical grid. Data released Wednesday by the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed hydropower with net… Keep reading →
India’s new Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set ambitious new targets for reducing coal consumption and scaling up renewables. India will double the tax on coal production, promote renewable energy projects and electric vehicles to balance out emissions from coal-fired power plants. “With regard to coal, there’s a need to find a balance between taxing… Keep reading →
Opinion: Why it’s Okay to Hate Solar
By Philip HallIt’s Okay to hate solar. I don’t, but I can see why some people might. It is after all a form of insurance – and who likes insurance? Solar is our planet’s insurance policy. While technology can help hedge against the negative impacts on the environment as a result of climate change, solar does it… Keep reading →