Renewable Energy

They are asking for it, really asking for it

LADWP asks public for input on solar plans 0
Posted 2 months, 1 week ago When it comes to sustainability, Los Angeles has its work cut out for it.
Conservative French Government again proposes higher solar PV tariffs 1
Posted 2 months, 2 weeks ago
For the second time within twelve months the French Government of conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy has proposed raising the feed-in tariff for solar PV in the coming year.
Does the Wall Street Journal employ anyone who understands energy markets? 14
Posted 2 months, 4 weeks ago
Actually, I think they do.
Wind in Wall Street's Sails

Investment rushes into wind, but can we make it last? 2
Posted 2 months, 4 weeks ago
After falling into the doldrums for the past six-months, the wind industry is roaring back to life thanks to direct public investments enacted in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Quest for Storage -- "Holy Grail" of New Energy Economy -- Nears Goal

Enabling wind, sun to be our main power supplies 5
Posted 3 months ago
As the world meets this December to set plans to halt global warming, it is expected America and other industrial nations will commit to a daunting task: reduce CO2 emissions 80% by 2050. In just 40 years, a complete revolution in how we use and supply our power must happen, or the world will face catastrophic effects of runaway climate changes.

As a new power plant typically lasts 40-50 years, many scientists are now arguing we must simply stop building new power systems that use significant amounts of fossil fuels. They argue we must move to a high reliance on the wind and the sun for our electricity.
Visions of the Green Future

California students take Refract House to Solar Decathlon 5
Posted 3 months ago
On the Silicon Valley campus of Santa Clara University, workers are building a contemporary wood-clad home that wouldn't look out of place in the pages of Dwell or another shelter magazine for the po-mo, Tesla-driving, little-square-eyeglasses-wearing set. Which is exactly the idea. The home is California's entry into the U.S. Department of Energy's biannual Solar Decathlon and is a collaboration between undergraduates at Santa Clara University and the California College of the Arts in San Francisco.
On the faux mathematics of large decisions

Could we replace the nation’s pavement with solar panels? 30
Posted 3 months ago
A while back I mentioned Solar Roadways, a clean energy idea that appears kind of kooky, at least on the surface. (See what I did there?) The notion is to replace paved surfaces with rugged, specially built solar panels.

The Solar Road Panels would contain not just solar panels but LED lighting (to enable real-time communication with drivers), heating units (to prevent icing), high-voltage power transmission lines, and even electric vehicle recharging stations. It's transportation, power, and grid infrastructure in the same place.
A market-based feed-in tariff

California proposes new program for 1 GW of renewables 2
Posted 3 months ago
The California Public Utilities Commission issued a new proposal today designed to significantly increase the amount of solar energy installed in the state. It is kind of like a feed-in tariff, but different. Call it a feed-in tariff v2.0.
Will Skyscrape for Wind

Portland’s newest high-rise has wind turbines on the roof 1
Posted 3 months, 1 week ago
It's so brilliant we wish we'd thought of it: wind turbines on skyscraper roofs. Will a new building in Portland pave the way?
Snow jobs

The nefarious net-effect argument: Recent conservative studies on clean energy jobs miss the mark 0
Posted 3 months, 1 week ago
Proponents of clean energy have long argued that investment in solar, wind, and other renewable sources creates domestic jobs. In the past few years, however, critics of renewable energy have responded -- with considerable success -- by arguing that the net effect is actually negative.

The concept of "netting" the effect of investments (including government subsidies) on the job market is legitimate when used correctly; when not used correctly, it is disingenuous.
Windfall prophet

South Dakota Sen. Johnson comes out in favor of passing climate bill 1
Posted 3 months, 1 week ago
South Dakota Sen. Tim Johnson (D), considered to be a fence-sitter on climate legislation, seems to be taking more of a strident stance in favor of passing a bill this year.
Mission possible

Veterans push for climate bill with new ‘Operation Free’ coalition 1
Posted 3 months, 1 week ago
A new coalition of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans is hoping to counter the oil industry–backed "Energy Citizens" rallies with its own call to pass a climate bill and end dependence on fossil fuels.
The bank job

If progressives want a Clean Energy Bank, they need better economics 5
Posted 3 months, 1 week ago
One of the most unquestionably excellent pieces of the climate bill now awaiting defenestration at the hands Senate Blue Dogs is its creation of a Clean Energy Bank that would help finance nascent clean energy projects. Naturally, conservatives are now coming out in opposition to it.
Power hungry? Eat here!

The top 10 sources for energy 1
Posted 3 months, 2 weeks ago
When you take global warming, air pollution, vehicle power, and other factors into account, which energy sources come out on top? Hint: Not oil or coal.
Can't we all be friends?

Solar wars 4
Posted 3 months, 2 weeks ago
Note to utilities: solar is popular with your customers.
And definitely cheaper than terraforming Mars

Solar is getting cheap 14
Posted 3 months, 2 weeks ago
Much of the rhetoric against energy legislation of any kind—and at any level—centers on cost. So advocates spend a lot of time explaining why continuing with the status quo is not a low cost option.
tasty tariffs

North American feed-in tariff policies take off 0
Posted 3 months, 2 weeks ago
Clean energy advocates in Europe have long considered the feed-in tariff as an antidote to the industrial world's fossil fuel dependency. Now, the United States and Canada are starting to catch on as well.
Having an IMPACT on Senate Climate and Energy Legislation

Ohio’s Sen. Brown calls for investments in clean energy manufacturing 1
Posted 3 months, 2 weeks ago
Seeking to have an IMPACT on climate policy, Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) formally introduced legislation this week to strengthen America's efforts to cut emissions and build a prosperous clean energy economy.
CURRENT EVENTS

If the site is right, researchers could bring tidal energy to Puget Sound 1
Posted 3 months, 3 weeks ago
The problem with wind power—one of them, anyway—lies in the phrase "fickle as the wind." Ocean tides, by comparison, are a paragon of reliability. Grist's Jon Hiskes spent a day on the Puget Sound recently talking with researchers building a pilot tidal energy project.
By the numbers

Renewable energy is more exciting than cap-and-trade! 3
Posted 3 months, 3 weeks ago
When asked their preference for addressing energy needs, a dominant plurality of Americans identified increasing use of renewable energy (34%), with only 9% preferring the cheapest energy sources.