CENTER AIMS TO PRODUCE LIQUID TRANSPORTATION FUELS FROM SUNLIGHT WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Energy today announced $75 million in funding to renew the Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis (JCAP), a DOE Energy Innovation Hub originally established in 2010 with the goal of harnessing solar energy for the production of fuel. JCAP researchers… Keep reading →
Flattened tiers, minimum bills and time-of-use pricing are coming. This week, California utility regulators issued a long-awaited proposal to reform the complex, multi-tiered rate structures for residential customers of the state’s big three investor-owned utilities. And as solar advocates expected, it contains some good news and some bad news for the economics of customer-owned net-metered… Keep reading →
Solar power is on the brink of becoming profitable in Japan and when it does, the technology will have achieved “commercial viability” in all of the G7 countries, Reuters is reporting. “Solar has come of age in Japan and from now on will be replacing imported uranium and fossil fuels,” said Tomas Kåberger, executive board chairman of Japan… Keep reading →
When SolarCity management had its most recent earnings call, in February, there was a lot of disappointment about deployments in the commercial sector. The company built just 28 megawatts in the final quarter of 2014, less than it had in the same quarter in 2013. On an annual basis, commercial went from 75 out of… Keep reading →
Apple’s renewable energy enthusiasm is spreading to China – that was big news last week. But the story’s more interesting player might be SunPower, with its efforts to expand deployment of concentrator photovoltaics (CPV). The two 20-megawatt plants that Apple and SunPower have partnered on in China will use CPV, long thought to be a… Keep reading →
Pres. Obama declared Saturday he will speak at the Florida Everglades on Earth Day, this coming Wednesday, to discuss the economic threats of climate change. “The Everglades is one of the most special places in our country,” the president said. “But it’s also one of the most fragile. Rising sea levels are putting a national treasure… Keep reading →
Oil has been leaking into the Gulf of Mexico at the site where a hurricane-triggered mudslide toppled a drilling platform off the coast of Louisiana for over a decade, according to an Associated Press investigation. “Evidence that the slow-motion spill is far worse than platform owner Taylor Energy Company has publicly reported during its secretive —… Keep reading →
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 →
The transition from military service into the civilian workforce can be a vulnerable moment. Many veterans indicate that finding a job is one of the greatest challenges they face in their return to civilian life, and one aspect of that challenge is translating military skills and experience in a marketable way for civilian employers. At… 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 →
