Grist | Topics | 159 Results

RESULTS		Results 1 – 25 of 159
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Headline	Author	Published	Section
Suns going solar Phoenix NBA team to add solar system to arena's roof	Adam Browning	05 Sep 2008	Gristmill
Going solar is a slam dunk for the Phoenix Suns, who are installing a 196 kW solar system on their arena's roof. This installation was made possible by the state's Renewable Energy Standard and Tariff, which was implemented by the state's Corporation Commission and is currently under threat on several fronts. Arizona's primary was last Tuesday, and it appears that those would-be commissioners who were running on a platform of junking the renewable rules will not mak ...
Topics: renewable energy, solar voltaic power, business, green living, sports, energy (all these topics)

Takin' a Shine to You Ginormous solar plants to be built in California		15 Aug 2008	News
Posted at 8:34 AM on 15 Aug 2008 Two gigantic solar plants will be built in California under deals announced Thursday between utility Pacific Gas & Electric and companies OptiSolar and Sun Power. Together, the plants could generate 800 megawatts of electricity at peak capacity, enough to power 239,000 homes. (Perspective: The total peak capacity of every photovoltaic panel in the U.S. as of last year was 750 MW.) The lar ...
Topics: business, California, energy, news, progress, renewable energy, solar voltaic power (all these topics)

Southern exposure The hybrid solar home, part 2	biodiversivist	14 Aug 2008	Gristmill
My thoughts have turned lately to the challenge of heating and powering residential homes in the Pacific Northwest with renewable energy. My goal was not to just find a way to reduce fossil fuel use, but to eliminate it. When I started this exercise I wasn't at all sure it could be done (in an affordable manner). Here in the Seattle area we average a little more than two clear days a month for six months of the year! Back in January, I mulled over the concept of a ...
Topics: green building, green living, hybrids, Seattle, solar voltaic power (all these topics)

Solar discord The New York Times blows the solar PV story	Joseph Romm	13 Aug 2008	Gristmill
It would seem like an easy story for the paper of discord record: In recent months, chains including Wal-Mart Stores, Kohl's, Safeway and Whole Foods Market have installed solar panels on roofs of their stores to generate electricity on a large scale ... In the coming months, 85 Kohl's stores will get solar panels; 43 already have them. 'We want to keep pushing as many as we possibly can,' said Ken Bonning, executive vice president for logistics at Kohl's.Macy's, whic ...
Topics: business, electricity, energy, mainstream media, solar voltaic power (all these topics)

The solar billionaires' club First recorded solar billionaire in China, U.S. billionaires persue wind	Joseph Romm	07 Aug 2008	Gristmill
This post is by ClimateProgress guest blogger Bill Becker, executive director of the Presidential Climate Action Project. ----- Hunter Lovins is one of the country's premier prophets of the prosperity we can achieve if we move quickly to establish a post-carbon economy. Vast new markets and investment opportunities are opening worldwide for clean technologies. 'Those who recognize this opportunity will be the first to the future and the billionaires of tomorrow ...
Topics: business, energy, investing, renewable energy, solar voltaic power, wind power (all these topics)

I Wear My Sunglasses at Night With research breakthrough, solar power could work when the sun don't shine		01 Aug 2008	News
Posted at 10:51 AM on 01 Aug 2008 Wind and solar energy face a distinct hurdle: sometimes the wind don't blow and the sun don't shine. But new research from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology suggests a breakthrough in the intermittency problem. In a study published Friday in Science, researchers demonstrate a photosynthesis-inspired process to use electricity from renewable sources t ...
Topics: energy, innovation, news, progress, renewable energy, scientific research, solar voltaic power (all these topics)

Backscratching	Adam Browning	31 Jul 2008	Gristmill
If you are interested in distributed solar generation, you really should get the Interstate Renewable Energy Council's newsletter. I say this because they do critical work on net-metering and interconnection standards. They were also kind enough to publish a profile of our work, so props in return seems only right.
Topics: energy, renewable energy, solar thermal power, solar voltaic power (all these topics)

Invade in the Shade Trees win in California solar panels vs. redwoods dispute		23 Jul 2008	News
Posted at 10:40 AM on 23 Jul 2008 Trees have emerged victorious in a California dispute that pitted redwoods against solar panels. Six months ago, Silicon Valley residents Richard Treanor and Carolynn Bissett were criminally convicted because their redwoods shaded the 10-kilowatt solar system on neighbor Mark Vargas' roof. Ultimately, Treanor and Bissett were forced to trim their trees and paid $37,000 in legal fees. T ...
Topics: Arnold Schwarzenegger, California, energy, energy at home, green living, insanity, litigation, news, renewable energy, solar voltaic power (all these topics)

Scenarios for a low carbon, no-nuke future Renewables and efficiency would provide more GDP than fossil fuels	Gar Lipow	14 Jul 2008	Gristmill
The attached Excel spreadsheet takes specific technologies, the known cost of implementing them, and various scenarios for responses to such implementation and technical improvements (including no technical improvement!) and calculates costs and benefits. This is intended to be an open source model. The comment section will be used to revise the spreadsheet with links to the old versions added to the bottom of this post as revisions are made (for the sake of transparency.) ...
Topics: energy, energy efficiency, renewable energy, solar thermal power, solar voltaic power, wind power (all these topics)

The Window to the Sol Your windows could collect solar energy, says study		10 Jul 2008	News
Posted at 3:49 PM on 10 Jul 2008 Have windows? Then you could collect solar energy, says a new study published in the journal Science. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed a light-absorbing dye that, when painted on a window, transfers energy via the glass into solar cells at the window's edges (through a process we don't pretend to understand). If the dye-coated glass is placed atop a s ...
Topics: energy, innovation, news, renewable energy, scientific research, solar voltaic power (all these topics)

On a Clear Day, You Can AC Forever Toyota may put solar panels on new Prius to power air conditioning		07 Jul 2008	News
Posted at 8:47 AM on 07 Jul 2008 A Japanese newspaper is reporting that Toyota plans to install solar panels on its next model of the popular Prius hybrid. If the company follows through, it would be the first major automaker to incorporate solar power into its vehicles. Even with the panels, though, the pimped-out Prius wouldn't actually run on solar power (it's still a gasoline-electric hybri ...
Topics: business, cars, energy, news, Prius, solar voltaic power (all these topics)

The Electric Slide BLM reverses stance on solar-project moratorium		03 Jul 2008	News
Posted at 7:12 AM on 03 Jul 2008 The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has reversed its recent moratorium on new applications for solar-energy projects on public land, allowing companies to keep submitting proposals for new solar projects. The solar-project freeze had been instituted in late May while the BLM began conducting a two-year study on the potential environmental impacts of solar projects on public lands; the agency said ...
Topics: Bureau of Land Management, news, public lands, solar thermal power, solar voltaic power, United States (all these topics)

Power from rooftops could replace coal More than half of today's electricity, more than 16 percent of today's energy	Gar Lipow	30 Jun 2008	Gristmill
Enough sunlight strikes unshaded U.S. rooftops to replace all the coal and some of the natural gas we use to make electricity. Backup via ground source heat pumps, and smart grid technology would allow this variable energy source to displace base-load coal with today's technology. Whether this is the most cost effective way to displace coal is another question. Also rooftop solar is a silver BB rather than a silver bullet: Even after massive efficiency improvements we wi ...
Topics: coal, energy, renewable energy, solar thermal power, solar voltaic power (all these topics)

Sun block Bush places moratorium on new solar projects on public land	Joseph Romm	27 Jun 2008	Gristmill
In a parting shot at the competition for its fossil fuels supporters, the uber-lame (duck) Bush administration 'has placed a moratorium on new solar projects on public land until it studies their environmental impact, which is expected to take about two years.' Drilling for oil and gas, even in pristine areas -- hey, we�re former oil company executives. Leveling mountains in beautiful West Virginia -- we�re all for it. Toxic metals from mining -- bring �em o ...
Topics: George Bush, politics, public lands, solar thermal power, solar voltaic power (all these topics)

Check Out Our Ray-Bans! Feds freeze new solar projects on public land, pending review		27 Jun 2008	News
Posted at 8:27 AM on 27 Jun 2008 The Bush administration has put a moratorium on new solar projects on public land pending large-scale study of their environmental impacts, a process which could take about two years. Since 2005, over 130 solar-plant proposals have been filed for large-scale solar projects that together would cover some 1 million acres of BLM land, if approved. Officials at the Interior Departm ...
Topics: energy, news, public lands, solar thermal power, solar voltaic power, United States (all these topics)

Landmark solar bill in Hawaii All new homes to sport solar hot water	Adam Browning	26 Jun 2008	Gristmill
Hawai'i is highly dependent on imported oil for its electricity needs -- I've heard Jeff Mikaluna, Director of the Hawai'i chapter of the Sierra Club, quip that the state is one supertanker accident away from becoming Amish. Which makes this press release great news:Every new home to have solar Landmark Solar Roofs law -- the first of its type in the nation -- escapes veto list Honolulu -- Hawai'i will become the first state in the nation to make solar water ...
Topics: energy, green building, Hawaii, legislation, renewable energy, solar voltaic power (all these topics)

McKinsey on the economics of solar Business consulting firm projects robust growth for solar and grid parity in many locations by 2020	David Roberts	24 Jun 2008	Gristmill
McKinsey has a great new analysis piece: 'The economics of solar power.' Overall it's extremely optimistic, saying that despite uncertainties around technology and policy, growth in the solar sector is all but certain to be robust. Here's a interesting chart. The size of the yellow ball is the size of the solar market in TWh. The upper right of the chart is 'grid parity' -- i.e., solar electricity selling for roughly the same price as fossil electricity. Notice tha ...
Topics: economy, energy, renewable energy, solar thermal power, solar voltaic power (all these topics)

Sustainable economy 101 Lessons from Europe and Japan	Jon Rynn	23 Jun 2008	Gristmill
The following article appeared in Foreign Policy in Focus, and was reposted at commondreams.org. When New York City wanted to make the biggest purchase of subway cars in U.S. history in the late 1990s -- more than $3 billion worth -- the only companies that were able to bid on the contract were foreign. The same problem applies to high-speed rail today: Only European or Japanese companies can build any of the proposed rail networks in the United States. The U.S. has als ...
Topics: business, economy, energy, greenish companies, renewable energy, solar thermal power, solar voltaic power, wind power (all these topics)

Entreprenews you can use: Sungevity 'Dell of solar' seeks to make it cheap and user-friendly to get rooftop PV	David Roberts	23 Jun 2008	Gristmill
Today, a company called Sungevity announced the availability of what they're calling the cheapest solar system in the world: a rooftop solar panel system, fully installed, for $2,000. That's as much as I paid for my computer. For that price, the average home will save $21,000 in electricity over 25 years -- a 45 percent return on investment. From a simple web interface, customers can plug in their address and Sungevity will use satellite and aerial imagery to asse ...
Topics: business, energy, greenish companies, renewable energy, solar voltaic power (all these topics)

Solar strides in New York Solar proponents in the Empire State eagerly await new legislation	Adam Browning	21 Jun 2008	Gristmill
My colleague, Shaun Chapman, of our New York City office, offers this update on solar policy progress in the Empire State: Though it is the 5th largest solar state (PDF) (as measured by cumulative installed photovoltaic capacity), there have been strong feelings among solar proponents that New York needs to play catch up in the photovolatic market. It is catching up. Fast. Two very important bills just passed the legislature and will immediately be signed by ...
Topics: energy, legislation, New York, politics, solar voltaic power (all these topics)

Too Bad You Can't Make Energy From Fog San Francisco approves giant solar incentive program		11 Jun 2008	News
Posted at 5:22 PM on 11 Jun 2008 San Francisco has become the proud owner of the largest municipal solar program in the United States. The Solar Energy Incentive Program, approved by the city board of supervisors on Tuesday, will provide rebates to home- and business owners who install solar panels on their buildings. Individuals can receive up to $6,000; businesses can be granted $10,000. Supervisors al ...
Topics: energy, news, placemaking, renewable energy, San Francisco, solar voltaic power (all these topics)

Beam me down, Scotty Can we shoot concentrated solar power down from space?	David Roberts	03 Jun 2008	Gristmill
CNN takes a look an energy long shot that could change the game on climate change: space-based solar power. The idea is to launch satellites covered with solar panels up into geosynchronous orbit, where the sun is always shining, and beam the power back down to land-based receivers. A 2007 Pentagon study concluded that 'a single kilometer-wide band of geosynchronous Earth orbit experiences enough solar flux in one year to nearly equal the amount of energy contained wit ...
Topics: energy, innovation, solar voltaic power (all these topics)

Interview with solar champion Hermann Scheer	David Roberts	29 May 2008	Gristmill
NewScientist has a great interview with German Social Democrat MP Hermann Scheer, who chairs the World Council for Renewable Energy and has done as much as anyone alive to spread the word on solar power. Unfortunately, it's behind a subscription wall, so you can't read it. But have no fear! I'll post a big chunk of it below the fold: What did you do about it? Ten years ago, I called for a programme to install solar panels on 100,000 roofs in Germany, so that ...
Topics: energy, Germany, interview, legislation, politics, renewable energy, solar voltaic power (all these topics)

Ray of light Duke Energy goes (a tiny bit) solar	David Roberts	22 May 2008	Gristmill
Yesterday, Duke Energy announced that it will buy the full output of the country's largest PV solar farm, to be built by Sun Edison in 2009, coming online in late 2010 (all modules complete by 2011). According to Duke, the plant will cover between 100-300 acres in an area that enjoys about 60 percent sunny or partly sunny days, and will produce about 16 MW, with a capacity factor of around 20 percent, which translates to around 27 GWh/year in 2011. Sun Edison will b ...
Topics: business, energy, greenish companies, solar voltaic power (all these topics)

Power to the people Neighbors help neighbors get power from the sun	Erik Hoffner	23 Apr 2008	Gristmill
Co-ops are hugely underrated for their potential to make good happen in the world. As an example, the renewable energy co-op I'm a member of in the Northeast, aptly named Co-op Power, had its first 'member to member' solar hot water installation this weekend. The power of this co-op is in its 300-plus members' enthusiasm, and it was in evidence on this day as our trained team hoisted two panels into place, which were making hot water by evening. Photo: Erik Hoffner ...
Topics: energy, energy at home, renewable energy, solar voltaic power (all these topics)

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