Mar. 11, 2025 -The U.S. power grid added more capacity from solar energy in 2024 than from any other source in a single year in more than two decades, according to a new industry report released on Tuesday.

The data was released a day after the new U.S. energy secretary, Chris Wright, strongly criticized solar and wind energy on two fronts.

Mar. 6, 2025 -The people who work for utilities have a lot on their minds these days. It’s not exactly a cakewalk to simultaneously integrate a slew of new renewable generation sources, harden an aging grid against digital and weather-related threats, and address unprecedented load growth while maintaining reliability.

Duke Energy, one of the largest utilities in the United States, serves more than 7 million customers across six states: North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky. The actions the utility takes to modernize during this time of transition will likely serve as examples for its peers across the country, so it’s pretty important to get stuff right.

Mar. 3, 2025 -China’s takeover of nearly every technology needed for the green energy revolution happened gradually — then all at once.

China now eclipses every other country when it comes to installations of wind and solar power, a striking transformation from 15 years ago. It was fueled by a gold rush of entrepreneurship and unwavering government support, including through hundreds of billions of dollars in subsidies.

Feb. 27, 2025 -Vietnam is revising its energy plans to focus more on large solar farms and less on reliance on coal and natural gas. The fast-growing economy now aims to get 16% of its energy from the sun — more than triple its earlier target of just 5%.

A draft of the new policy outline, likely to be finalized in coming weeks, scraps plans to build offshore wind turbines, instead building more onshore wind capacity, rooftop solar and energy storage.

Feb. 17, 2025 -Most countries are ramping up their renewable energy sector. More and more solar panels are popping up, often covering land that was used for farming purposes. As solar panels stretch across former farmland, questions arise about their impact on biodiversity. Are these energy hubs disrupting wildlife habitats or, with the right management, could they serve as sanctuaries for declining populations?

A recent study published by researchers from the RSPB Centre for Conservation Science and the University of Cambridge has found that solar farms, particularly those designed with nature in mind, can enhance bird diversity and abundance — offering a surprising win-win for both renewable energy and wildlife conservation.

Feb. 6, 2025 -The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Solar For All program, funded through the Inflation Reduction Act’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund with the aim of delivering residential solar to low-income and disadvantaged households, has seen its funds frozen as part of President Donald Trump’s overall halt on certain IRA disbursements.

Though all IRA funding was approved by Congress, and the freeze has been subject to temporary restraining orders from two federal judges, funding associated with the Solar For All program remains frozen, said Vote Solar’s executive director Sachu Constantine.

Feb. 3, 2025 -A domestic U.S. solar supply chain is slowly, but surely, taking shape.

ES Foundry, an American company onshoring crystalline solar cell production, recently celebrated the grand opening of its “cutting-edge” manufacturing facility.

With the ribbon cutting at its more than 400,000-square-foot facility, which is on track to employ approximately 500 employees by June 2025, ES Foundry could become the largest producer of high-quality crystalline silicon photovoltaic (PV) solar cells in the United States. The facility is expected to reach a shipment capacity of 3 gigawatts (GW) by Q3 2025.

Jan. 31, 2025 -This week, top officials from dozens of African countries convened with major international lenders to commit to the biggest rollout of renewable energy in the continent’s history.

The $35 billion in loans from The World Bank, African Development Bank and other financial institutions, at below-market interest rates, are aimed at getting electricity to half of the 600 million Africans without it. About half the money will go toward village-level solar grids.

Jan. 30, 2025 -In a suburb about an hour north of New York City, a former dairy farm is now producing solar energy.

Some of the people who will benefit live nearby, while others are dozens of miles away in Yonkers, which borders the Bronx, or in Downtown Brooklyn.

The 20-acre farm, in Yorktown, N.Y., is part of a community solar initiative, which allows people without their own solar power installations to opt into systems in other neighborhoods or towns.

Jan. 29, 2025 - Eversource has broken ground on the Greater Cambridge Energy Program (GCEP), a $1.5 billion transmission initiative meant to address increased electric demand in the region by adding new transmission lines and constructing an underground substation, a first for the utility. It is slated to be the largest underground electrical substation in the United States once it is completed.

The GCEP project will enable the interconnection of more new clean energy resources, necessary to support a strained grid amidst a nationwide increase in electrification across sectors. as customers adopt technologies like EVs and heat pumps.

Jan. 29, 2025 - Maryland’s clean energy ambitions are crumbling under the weight of its policy missteps, environmental advocates suggest in a new report.

Established 19 years ago, the state’s premium renewable energy program, known as the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), was supposed to remake Maryland’s energy system by replacing fossil fuel sources with renewable electricity.

Jan. 27, 2025 -Step aside, Three Gorges Dam. China’s latest colossal infrastructure project, if completed, will be the world’s largest hydropower dam, high up in the Tibetan plateau on the border with India.

China says the Motuo Hydropower Station it is building in Tibet is key to its effort to meet clean energy targets. Beijing also sees infrastructure projects as a way to stimulate the sluggish Chinese economy and create jobs.

Jan. 27, 2025 -The leaders of more than half of Africa’s nations gathered this week in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania’s sprawling seaside metropolis, to commit to the biggest burst of spending on electric-power generation in Africa’s history.

The World Bank, African Development Bank and others are pledging at least $35 billion to expand electricity across a continent where more than a half-billion people still don’t have it. About half of the money will go toward solar “minigrids” that serve individual communities.

Jan. 20, 2025 -A new program promises free solar photovoltaic (PV) and battery energy storage systems for many Texas homeowners, breaking down any lingering cost adoption barriers standing in the way of tapping into the benefits of behind-the-meter distributed resources.

Solar and battery system financer SOLRITE Energy and Sonnen, a global energy storage and virtual power plant (VPP) wrangler, are launching the world’s first VPP power purchase agreement (VPA) in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) market. It actually does intend to distribute residential solar and storage at no upfront cost, but of course, there’s no such thing as a free lunch.

Jan. 17, 2025 -In the foothills of the Himalayas, a group of villagers hauled a sturdy metal waterwheel into place. Its horizontal blades soon caught the rushing water of the stream directly below it. The machine began to spin, and electricity began to flow.

The roughly 2-metre-tall waterwheel, installed in a village in Kashmir, India, was the result of years of design work and development by researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and partners.

Jan. 17, 2025 -The new guy starts on Monday, so the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Loan Programs Office (LPO) has been burning the candle at both ends lately, especially this week, rushing to allocate unspent Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funding on promising clean energy and grid infrastructure projects.

How does a 27-state virtual power plant (VPP) sound?

Jan. 16, 2025 - Agrivoltaics, the fine art of developing land for both agricultural use and clean energy generation, is becoming more commonplace, emerging as a workable compromise for farmers concerned over potentially losing acres of crops to solar development in America’s heartland. And somebody needs to get ahead of wrangling all the sheep.

Eyeing a set of industry standards, the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) are teaming up to figure out best practices for harvesting the fruits of nature- in all their forms.

Jan. 15, 2025 - With peak demand growing, utility capital investments rising, and a growing number and severity of extreme weather events, the U.S. electrical grid needs all the help it can get. If the DOE has anything to say about it, a good portion of that help should come in the form of virtual power plants (VPPs).

A new report from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Pathways to Commercial Liftoff: Virtual Power Plants 2025 Update, provides a fresh look at the DOE’s roadmap for the public and private sector to accelerate the commercialization of virtual power plant (VPP) technologies, given the constantly evolving landscape that is the U.S. energy market.

Jan. 14, 2025 -According to the South China Morning Post, senior rocket scientist Long Lehao is spearheading a project to deploy large-scale solar power stations in orbit.

“We are working on this project now. It is as significant as moving the Three Gorges Dam to a geostationary orbit 36,000km (22,370 miles) above the Earth. This is an incredible project to look forward to,” said Long Lehao, a rocket scientist and member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE).

Jan. 14, 2025 - Idaho Power Company has tapped Prevalon Energy to supply what is slated to be the state of Idaho’s largest battery energy storage system (BESS), a 200 MW/800 MWh project. The BESS would enhance grid resiliency as a net peak solution, helping the utility maintain reliable power during periods of high demand.

It is the second storage deal between the Mitsubishi Power Americas spinout and Idaho’s largest utility, following a similar arrangement for a 328 MWh BESS announced last May.

Jan. 6, 2025 - It takes approximately 700,000 megawatt hours of electricity to power Chicago’s more than 400 municipal buildings every year. As of January 1, every single one of them — including 98 fire stations, two international airports, and two of the largest water treatment plants on the planet — is running on renewable energy, thanks largely to Illinois’ newest and largest solar farm.

The move is projected to cut the carbon footprint of the country’s third-largest city by approximately 290,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide each year — the equivalent of taking 62,000 cars off the road, according to the city.

Dec. 30, 2024 - NuVision Solar (NS) intends to establish an annual nameplate manufacturing capacity of 2.5 gigawatts (GW) of heterojunction technology (HJT) solar cells and modules under one roof in West Palm Beach, Florida. NS anticipates creating more than 500 direct jobs and is eyeing module production by the fourth quarter of 2025.

NS plans to supply utility, large-scale commercial, and residential sectors with bifacial modules up to 800 watts, offering a 35-year performance warranty and a 20-year product warranty. NS’s modules will meet domestic content requirements, enabling end-users to qualify for an additional 10% bonus as part of the Inflation Reduction Act.

Dec. 27, 2024 - China is pressing ahead with plans to construct a mega-dam near its contested border with India, a colossal undertaking that could generate three times as much power as the Three Gorges Dam.

The Chinese government approved the construction of “a hydropower project” in the lower reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo river in Tibet, the official Xinhua News Agency reported, without elaborating.

Dec. 19, 2024 -On Wednesday the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) Board of Trustees approved two battery energy storage contracts in Suffolk County, New York that will provide much-needed reliability to LIPA grid.

If granted final approval from the Towns of Islip and Brookhaven, battery energy storage developer Key Capture Energy will build and operate a utility-scale lithium-iron-phosphate battery energy storage system (BESS) in Hauppauge, New York, and another in Shoreham, NY, both under long-term contracts with LIPA.

Dec. 18, 2024 -Leading community solar developer Nexamp is partnering with retail behemoth Walmart to develop 31 community solar projects across five states, expected to generate more than 120 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy.

In addition to millions of dollars in estimated consumer savings for local businesses and about 8,000 residential customers, these projects are expected to create more than 1,500 jobs throughout their construction in Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Illinois, and Minnesota.

Dec. 18, 2024 -They are easy to install, and knock chunks off electricity bills. It may not be Romeo and Juliet, but Spain’s balcony scene is heating up as the country embraces what has hitherto been a mainly German love affair with DIY plug-in solar panels.

Panels have already been installed on about 1.5m German balconies, where they are so popular the term Balkonkraftwerk (balcony power plant) has been coined.

Dec. 18, 2024 -Ontario’s Minister of Energy and Electrification has directed the Ontario Energy Board to amend Hydro One’s transmission license to develop and construct a new priority transmission line project in northeast Ontario.

The proposed project is a new, 260-kilometer (161-mile), 500-kilovolt (kV) transmission line, initially energized at 230 kV. It is expected to be in service by the end of 2030.

Dec. 17, 2024 -California utility Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) has a pretty ambitious wish list this holiday season, but fortunately, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Loan Program Office (LPO) is feeling particularly generous ahead of President-elect Trump retaking office.

Today the LPO announced a conditional commitment for a low-interest loan guarantee of up to $15 billion for PG&E’s Project Polaris, which was submitted to the feds for consideration in June 2023. If finalized, the loan guarantee will support a portfolio of projects to expand hydropower generation and battery storage, upgrade transmission capacity through reconductoring and grid-enhancing technologies, and enable virtual power plants throughout PG&E’s service area.

Feb. 17, 2025 -Air source heat pumps are the darlings of the clean energy world, a high efficiency, all-electric heating and cooling device that allows homeowners to ditch fossil fuels. But there’s a catch. When temperatures plummet, their efficiency can also tank, causing electric bills to soar as the devices’ compressors and fans have to work harder to pull what little heat remains in outdoor air.

Jan. 29, 2025 - Ditch fossil fuels in less than half the time and save half a billion dollars or more on what you would otherwise spend to decarbonize. That’s the pitch a group of students, alumni and faculty will make to administrators at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology at a campus decarbonization forum today.

The proposal, officially known as the MIT Thermal Energy Network (MITTEN), calls for an advanced heating and cooling system that uses low-temperature thermal energy from pipes connecting campus buildings.

Jan. 18, 2025 - The future is bright for a little known yet highly efficient method of heating and cooling, a new report by the U.S. Department of Energy concludes.

Ground source heat pumps could heat and cool the equivalent of 7 million homes by 2035—up from just over 1 million today, according to the report.

Jan. 16, 2025 -The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) has announced $30 million to increase geothermal power production by unlocking “superhot” reservoirs deep within the Earth.

Currently, geothermal baseload production in the U.S. is limited to 4 gigawatts (GW). ARPA-E’s Stimulate Utilization of Plentiful Energy in Rocks through High-temperature Original Technologies (SUPERHOT) program aims to provide access to superhot reservoirs capable of producing 10-20 GW of reliable baseload power at a “competitive cost” of less than $30 per megawatt hour (MWh) by 2040. As the demand for power increases in the U.S., driven primarily by data centers and manufacturing, DOE argues that expanding geothermal power production could play an important role.

Dec. 11, 2024 -For decades, geothermal energy has been the shy cousin of the renewable energy family. While solar and wind power scaled up dramatically, geothermal has remained niche, delivering only a fraction of the world’s electricity. Its Achilles’ heel has always been geography — those pockets of underground heat are mostly found near volcanic regions.

But what if we could tap into Earth’s heat nearly anywhere? A new study out of Cornell University suggests we can. The answer may lie in something called superhot rock energy.

Sep. 25, 2024 -The Geretsried Project is among a new generation of “geothermal anywhere” efforts. This rests on the simple observation that heat percolates upward from the Earth’s 5,000°C molten iron core every-where around the world. The crust is somewhat thinner and hotter beneath the Western U.S. than it is under the East Coast or Western Europe, but on average the temperature rises around 30°C for every kilometer down you dig. So why can’t it be tapped everywhere, too?

Click now for more of the rest of the story.

Aug. 26 2024 -Big tech companies across the United States are struggling to find enough clean energy to power all the data centers they plan to build.

Now, some firms are betting on a novel solution: harvesting the heat deep beneath the Earth’s surface to create emissions-free electricity, using drilling techniques from the oil and gas fracking boom.

(Heat Map News), Mar. 15, 2024, Senators Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, Mike Lee of Utah, and James Risch of Idaho have found themselves crossing party lines, working together on a bill to encourage more production of geothermal energy, which the unique contours of this area make (potentially) especially abundant.

The Geothermal Energy Optimization Act, introduced last week, is a kind of test case for how a bipartisan energy policy could work.

Mar. 12, 2024 -With November’s presidential election looming large, the Biden Administration is highlighting the successes of its climate policy. In a sprawling fact sheet, the White House says “President Biden has delivered on the most ambitious climate, conservation, and environmental justice agenda in history—taking bold action to reduce climate pollution across every sector of the economy, protecting more than 26 million acres of lands and waters, and restoring the vital role of science in guiding federal decision-making.”

Click now to read on.

Jan 31, 2023 -Wind and solar supplied more of the EU’s electricity than any other power source for the first time ever in 2022, new analysis finds.

They together provided a record one-fifth of the EU’s electricity in 2022 – a larger share than gas or nuclear, according to a report by the climate thinktank .

SOLAR UNITED NEIGHBORS], Aug. 21, 2023 -The Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) offers federal grants and loans to help farmers and rural small business owners go solar. REAP grants have helped thousands of these business owners across the country reduce their energy costs and improve their energy security with solar. Download our guide, Your Rural Business Can Go Solar: A Guide to Applying for a Rural Energy for America Program Grant, to learn more about how your business can go solar with REAP today.

July 3, 2023 -Most individuals are fine with just knowing that the panels are made of a special material that’s able to absorb and use the power of the sun, even storing it for use during periods when the sun isn’t shining, such as cloudy days and, of course, at night.

But if you really want to know more about solar panels and the materials that are used to construct them, click now to learn more.

May-June 2023 Issue *by Bill McKibben- The United States is on the brink of its most consequential transformation since the New Deal. Read more about what it takes to decarbonize the economy, and what stands in the way, here.

Click now to learn more about these Microgrids.

May-June 2023 Issue *by Michael Mechanic- The transition to clean power will require massive solar expansion—not just home rooftop arrays but photovoltaic installations near population centers. Where to mount all the panels? One answer seems obvious: over parking lots, which also bake during the summer, contributing to dangerous “heat island” effects. Shading Walmart Supercenter lots with PV canopies, for instance, would generate loads of power and allow stores to entice shoppers with free EV charging and cooler lots. And a cool customer is a happy customer.

May-June 2023 Issue *by Michael Mechanic- The transition to clean power will require massive solar expansion—not just home rooftop arrays but photovoltaic installations near population centers.

Where to mount all the panels? One answer seems obvious: over parking lots, which also bake during the summer, contributing to dangerous “heat island” effects. Shading Walmart Supercenter lots with PV canopies, for instance, would generate loads of power and allow stores to entice shoppers with free EV charging and cooler lots. And a cool customer is a happy customer.

May-June 2023 Issue *by Michael Mechanic- Microgrids are poised to take off. If you’ve never heard of them, you will soon. “A microgrid,” as journalist Lois Parshley explains in her accompanying story for our Electrify Everything package, “is basically a relatively small, local system that can generate, store, and/or distribute electricity, and can function off of the main grid if need be.

They can be public or private, and consist of anything from a couple of neighbors sharing a solar panel to a bitcoin mine powered by its own wind farm.”

Mar. 21, 2023 -Manufacturing all silicon solar panels to be deployed in the United States domestically would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 23% and energy use by 4% compared to outsourced manufacturing, according to a new analysis. The findings suggest that “reshoring” solar panel production could help the country decarbonize faster.

Sep. 27, 2022 -You can still have all the benefits of solar power in your home without disfiguring it. Thanks to advances in solar technology over the last decade or so, there are now alternatives to traditional solar panels.

Specifically, building-applied photovoltaics (BAPVs) are a discreet way of installing solar technology in your home – no one will even be able to detect them.

Oct. 29, 2022 -Table of Contents:
Solar Myth #1: Solar panels are too expensive.
Solar Myth #2: Solar panels are not reliable.
Solar Myth #3: Solar panels require a lot of maintenance.
Solar Myth #4: Solar power doesn’t work in cold climates.
Solar Myth #5: Solar panels take up too much space.
Solar Myth #6: Solar power is unreliable because it depends on the weather.
Solar Myth #7: Going solar will cause my energy bills to go up.
Solar Myth #8: Solar energy is not safe

Pager Power, Oct. 6, 2021 -Agrivoltaics is the practice of using the same area of land for both solar photovoltaic power as well as for agriculture, which implies that solar panels and crops will share sunlight.

This type of co-development is not new to the industry. Often terrain used for agriculture purposes is also used by wind developers to harness the power of wind, or animals grazing in farms help controlling the height of the grass in solar photovoltaic fields.

Mar. 17, 2022, (The Conversation) -The UK government is reportedly considering a £16 billion proposal to build a solar power station in space.

Yes, you read that right. Space-based solar power is one of the technologies to feature in the government’s Net Zero Innovation Portfolio. It has been identified as a potential solution, alongside others, to enable the UK to achieve net zero by 2050.

But how would a solar power station in space work? What are the advantages and drawbacks to this technology?

March 26, 2022 - The solar industry has come a long way in just the last few years. The latest developments and breakthroughs in solar technology include longer-lasting solar cells, solar cells that you can print onto flexible surfaces, solar panels that track the sun from east to west throughout the day, and solar power plants that work at night.

Mar. 28, 2022, (gtm)-Policymakers looking to speed up renewable energy deployment have a best-practice case study to look to: Australia is rolling out renewables 10 times faster than the global average, offering lessons as to what factors can improve the uptake of clean energy.

Mar. 21, 2022, (orbitalmarine.com)-Manufactured and launched in Dundee earlier in the year before being towed up to Orkney, the O2 is Orbital’s first commercial turbine and represents the culmination of more than 15 years of world leading product development in the UK.

The 74m long turbine is expected to operate in the waters off Orkney for the next 15 years with the capacity to meet the annual electricity demand of around 2,000 UK homes with clean, predictable power from the fast-flowing waters. In a further ground-breaking element of the project, the O2 is to provide power to EMEC’s onshore electrolyzer to generate green hydrogen that will be used to demonstrate decarbonization of wider energy requirements.

Dec. 1, 2021, (POWER)- The vision sounds far-fetched: If a kilometer-scale satellite could be outfitted with a hybrid array of photovoltaic (PV) and concentrating solar power (CSP) panels and launched into orbit 22,400 miles above Earth, it could continuously harvest 3.4 GW of solar power and beam it down to Earth via microwave radiation for grid consumption, potentially delivering 2 GW of dispatchable and baseload power.

But according to a “whole systems” set of detailed engineering and economic feasibility studies conducted by systems, engineering, and technology-oriented Frazer-Nash Consultancy for the UK government, this concept of a typical space-based solar power (SBSP) system is both technically and economically feasible—and it can be achieved within the next 18 years.

October, 2017, (THE VERGE)The wings of a butterfly have inspired a new type of solar cell that can harvest light twice as efficiently as before and could one day improve our solar panels.

Solar panels are usually made of thick solar cells, and are positioned at an angle to get the most amount of light from the sun as it moves throughout the day. Thin film solar cells, which can be only nanometers thick, have a lot of potential.

June 18, 2021 (Scientific American) -Restrictions on land use for greenfield solar projects, roof orientation, and inherent technical advantages, may prove floating solar, or floatovoltaic to be a viable energy alternative.

When it comes to large-scale solar projects, the most common alternatives to rooftop solar panel systems include ground mounts or solar canopies. There’s a newer alternative that’s making quite the splash in the solar industry: floating solar.

Floatovoltaic is defined as solar panels arrayed to float on the top of a lake or reservoir, placed on a buoyant sub-structure, and anchored with a measure of flexible movement. The technology is relatively-new starting in 2008 with China, Japan, and the U.K. as the early adopters.

-Studio Solarix makes coloured solar panels and facade systems by doing this we can make buildings more sustainable, both in new construction and redevelopment. To this end, it designs, researches and develops aesthetic, sustainable and energy-generating facade elements.

It originated from a joint ambition of Reinier Bosch (product designer, artist) and Marloes van Heteren (architect). With a great deal of substantive knowledge, they are the initiators of Solarix in the market of architecture, product development, design and sustainability; a beautiful facade panel that provides energy to people.

July 27, 2021 (CleanTechnica) -A hydrogen fuel cell is an electrochemical power generator that combines hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity, with water and heat as by-products. Simply put, hydrogen fuel cells form energy that can be used to power anything from commercial vehicles to drones.

Hydrogen fuel cell technology offers the advantages of a clean and reliable alternative energy source to customers in a growing number of applications – electric vehicles, including forklifts, delivery vans, drones, and cars – primary and backup power for a variety of commercial, industrial, and residential buildings; and more futuristic-sounding applications like air taxis.

Click now to learn the 5 things.

1. Is your location’s climate suitable for solar?

2. Is your home suitable for solar panels?

3. Do you have access to solar financial incentives?

4. How much do you pay for electricity?

5. Have you found a solar installer?

Chris Lord’s FREE Site Lease vs. Buy Modeling Calculator allows users to compare a lease rate against a potential purchase of a solar PV site where the lease rate (including escalator) is known.

Mar. 31, 2021(INHABITATs), -France keeps making green headlines lately… the Eiffel Tower’s wind turbines, the tree-shaped wind turbines being installed in Paris, and now an exciting new law that is sure to have a huge environmental impact in urban centers.

Every new commercial building in France must meet a new building requirement; the roof must be at least partially covered in either solar panels or plants.

Environmental activists had originally called for all for all rooftops to be 100% green, but the Government limited the scope of the law to include commercial buildings only. In an effort to make it less onerous for businesses, the rooftops will also only have to be partially green.

(AE News), Apr. 13, 2020 -German Architect Andre Broessel believes he has a solution that can “squeeze more juice out of the sun”, even during the night hours and in low-light regions. His company Rawlemon has created a spherical sun power generator prototype called the beta.ray. His technology will combine spherical geometry principles with a dual axis tracking system, allowing twice the yield of a conventional solar panel in a much smaller surface area. The futuristic design is fully rotational and is suitable for inclined surfaces, walls of buildings, and anywhere with access to the sky. It can even be used as an electric car charging station.

Click now for the story
with photos and videos.

(The Guardian), Dec. 8, 2020 -The race is on to find a steady source of lithium, a key component in rechargeable electric car batteries. But while the EU focuses on emissions, the lithium gold rush threatens environmental damage on an industrial scale

Click now for more.

(greener ideal), Oct. 19, 2017 -After solar power, solar water heating is often the next step that homeowners take to make their home more sustainable.

A solar water heating system works by converting sunlight into heat using a solar thermal collector. This heat is then used to heat water in homes and swimming pools.

If you plan to install a solar water heating system in your home, make sure to include domestic hot water as well. There’s little point in installing a solar water heating system if you can’t benefit from domestic hot water which is a necessity all year round.

Jan. 31, 2020,(SAGE journals) -Over recent years, few areas of international development research have seen as much transformation as those relating to energy access and low carbon transitions. Ghana, amongst other African economies, has seen an increase in energy demand surpassing the supply of energy in the last decade. The incorporation of the incorporation of renewable energy into the mix is, therefore, seen as a significant role in addressing the energy needs by replacing conventional fuels with clean and reliable domestic electricity with the advantage of local economic opportunities.

The country has adopted the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG); SDG goal 7 targets ensuring universal access to affordable, reliable and modern energy services. This target presents a formidable challenge to Ghana because the country still relies mainly on non-renewable energy sources. The country has a huge potential for renewable energy that remains underexploited. This study, therefore, seeks to assess the current renewable energy resource situation, examine the trend in Ghana’s energy consumption and undertake a comprehensive review and critical evaluation of Ghana’s renewable energy drive and policies.

April 1, 2020 (AENews)-Since 2011, French Company Ciel & Terre has been developing large-scale floating solar solutions. Their innovative Hydrelio Floating PV system allows standard PV panels to be installed on large bodies of water such as: drinking water reservoirs, quarry lakes, irrigation canals, remediation and tailing ponds, and hydro electric dam reservoirs. This simple and affordable alternative to ground-mounted systems is particularly suitable for water-intensive industries who cannot afford to waste either land or water.

The main float is constructed of high-density thermoplastic (HDPE) and is set at a 12 degree angle to support a standard 60 Cell PV solar module. A secondary non-slip HDPE float is then used to link the main floats together and provide a platform for maintenance and added buoyancy as illustrated when you click on the link to the story.

Dec. 16, 2019  (ScienceDaily)- Artificial Intelligence may be just the thing to accelerate spray-on solar cell technology, which could revolutionize how consumers use energy.

It's a stunning example of how 3D printing is not only a viable and affordable construction method of the future but also a revolutionary system that can help reduce plastic waste.

A research team at the University of Central Florida used Machine Learning, aka Artificial Intelligence to optimize the materials used to make perovskite solar cells (PSC). The Organic-Inorganic halide perovskites material used in PSC converts photovoltaic power into consumable energy.

Sept. 18, 2019 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)-In 2018, about 4,178 billion kilowatthours (kWh) (or 4.18 trillion kWh) of electricity were generated at utility-scale electricity generation facilities in the United States.1 About 63% of this electricity generation was from fossil fuels (coal, natural gas, petroleum, and other gases). About 20% was from nuclear energy, and about 17% was from renewable energy sources. The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates that an additional 30 billion kWh of electricity generation was from small-scale solar photovoltaic systems in 2018

Bright Hub -One of the most beneficial ways of increasing the efficiency of a wind turbine is to modify the design of the turbine blades. Although there are already many types of blade designs already in the market, only a few designs have turned out to be useful.

Whalepower, a Canadian company that uses bio-mimicry, a concept of adapting the designs of nature into developing mechanical machine, has changed the design of the conventional turbine blades from flat smooth blades to a ridged design similar to that of whale fins. The blades of whale power turbine features a series of ridges just like the tubercles or bumps found on the humpback whale fins.

Apr. 4, 2019 (Power Technology) —How are modern stadiums using renewables as a source of energy and which are the best stadiums for renewable energy in the world?

Sports stadiums require a huge amount of power, in particular on match-days when lighting, air-conditioning and video screens all electricity, along with a vast multitude of other energy-intensive demands. Even when not in use, stadiums and other sporting arenas need large amounts of power for maintenance.

The possibilities for incorporating renewable energy technology into stadiums and the surrounding areas provide a huge opportunity for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This can include placing solar panels on roofs and on the roads leading towards the arenas.

In the U.S. several landfills have already been converted into solar farms. The project also provides the opportunity to convert an unusable land and turn it into something that can become the asset of the community.

Water is a finite resource, as water wars in California can attest. Reducing our water footprint is essential to conserving this life-giving substance.

Solar Thermal Magazine Feb.10, 2019 -You would think that a state that refers to itself as the sunshine state would be rushing to install solar power technology. I mean with all that sunshine ( not to mention wind, wave and tidal energy) available why buy electricity from out of state.

Florida Power & Light Company (FPL), already a self proclaimed leader in solar energy, has announced a groundbreaking “30-by-30” plan to install more than 30 million solar panels by 2030 and make the state of Florida a world leader in the production of solar energy.

Jan. 7, 2020 (Arcadia Blog) -One of the most popular clean energy sources in North America, solar power, has skyrocketed in use in the U.S. over the last decade. Current estimates show that the volume of solar energy generated across installations nationally is enough to power 12-million American homes, and that number is only expected to grow.

They’re limited to generating energy during the day — but function less efficiently the cloudier it is outside, collecting an estimated 10 to 25 percent of their typical output on cloudy days.

But recent research from Soochow University in Suzhou, China, stands to change this. In 2018, a research team from the Institute of Functional Nano & Soft Materials crafted a solar cell that simultaneously generates electricity from sunlight and rainfall — allowing solar panels to continue to collect energy at full capacity during storms and subsequently expanding the duration of time at which a panel can function in any given day. Unlike typical solar panels, these panels would continue working on cloudy days and crucially, could even work at night.

January, 2019 Arcadia Power Blog -The fight against climate change is a fight for everyone, from individuals to businesses, national and local governments.

Among many leaders driving change towards a 100% renewable energy future, find these 156 major global companies—each of whom have pledged to go 100% renewable in the near future.

Look for your trusted bank, service, or a favorite brand, and see when and how each of them are working to meet their goals. Click to read on.

Around the world, cities, states, countries, and companies (and people just like you!) are making the switch to clean, renewable energy to help confront climate change – and because it just makes good economic sense.

Renewable energy is both a clean alternative to the fossil fuels driving the climate crisis and an engine for job creation. What’s not to love? But like any new technology, as it starts to take hold, there are bound to be questions.

While it’s hard to miss a massive solar array or a field full of wind turbines, so much of the action with geothermal energy happens out-of-sight that it tends to not generate as much love as its buzzier brothers in the renewable energy landscape.

And that’s too bad, because geothermal energy is pretty awesome. It takes the natural functions of the Earth and puts them to great use heating homes, creating electricity, and helping to propel the global shift from the dirty fossil fuels driving climate change to renewables.

Dec. 22, 2022 -Dec. 23, 2022 -No matter how sustainable, eco-friendly, and clean sources of energy they are, conventional solar panels require a large setup area and heavy initial investment. Due to these limitations, it’s hard to introduce them in urban areas (especially neighborhoods with lots of apartment blocks or shops). But thanks to the work of ingenious engineers at the University of Michigan, that may soon no longer be the case.

The researchers have created transparent solar panels which they claim could be used as power-generating windows in our homes, buildings, and even rented apartments.

Mar. 21, 2022, (Echo Wave Power)-Eco Wave Power (EWP) (Nasdaq US Stock Symbol: WAVE) developed an innovative technology for production of clean electricity from ocean and sea waves.

Echo's aim to generate clean & affordable electricity, using a simple but smart design, allowing our floaters to be attached to existing man-made structures, and thereby simplifying installation and maintenance as well as accessibility.

EWP’s innovative technology has been recognized as a “Pioneering Technology” by the Chief Scientist of the Energy Ministry of Israel and received an Efficient Solution label from Solar Impulse Foundation.

Renewable energy is energy generated from ongoing natural processes like wind or sunlight that are not depleted when used. Unlike fossil fuels, these types of energy are theoretically unlimited. In contrast, fossil fuels like oil and gas are finite resources formed in the earth ove hundreds of millions of years from the remains of plants and animals.

Importantly, and unlike fossil fuels, renewable energy is clean and doesn’t release carbon pollution into the atmosphere (which drives climate change). Burning fossil fuels does.

Nov. 9, 2021, (Washington Post)-Ocean boosters like to compare the kinetic energy stored in the sea to a ginormous oil reserve that’s never going to run dry.

It doesn’t matter if the sun shines or the wind blows. The tides turn. You can set your watch to them. The trick is how to generate cost-effective, renewable electricity from that limitless, ceaseless motion. They’re working on the problem here on Scotland’s Orkney Islands.

Mar. 20, 2018 -Months after Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico is still struggling to become fully energized. A number of grassroots efforts think solar energy can speed the recovery and prevent a total blackout when the next storm hits.

Feb. 27, 2018 -Are you passionate about green energy and protecting our planet? Are you looking for a career you can be proud of that offers possibilities we aren’t even aware of yet? Look no further than the renewable energy industry.

You could be working in wind or solar power in no time with the right education and tools to get you set on this exciting path. Here are some of the best degrees to pursue and the career choices that may come your way.

Here’s a quick primer on what a hydrogen fuel cell is…
Simply put, it’s an electromagnetic cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel (for our purposes, hydrogen) and an oxidizing agent (oxygen) into electricity through a chemical reaction.

Arcadia's Solar Energy Is available to both renters & homeowners - without solar panels. Get renewable energy at home without switching providers or installing any equipment •easy to use dashboard •wind sources •experts on hand.

July, 2020 (NREL)-A floating solar photovoltaic (FPV) system is an emerging technology in which a solar photovoltaic (PV) system is placed directly on top of a body of water, as opposed to on land or on building rooftops. An NREL blog post from Jan. 24, 2017 discussed FPV and was based on forward-thinking state energy offices inquiring about the technology through NREL’s state technical assistance programs. The blog post introduced the technology and discussed the benefits of FPVs, as well as different examples of pilot FPVs in the United States.

Jan. 2, 2018 - From Clean Technica : Not too long ago, the mention of hydrogen, or concentrating solar power, or both at the same time, would be met by a roll of the eye from alternative energy insiders. Hydrogen is an abundant and clean-burning fuel, but the primary source of hydrogen is natural gas. Concentrating solar power has a built-in energy storage element, but it is more complicated and expensive than other solar technologies. Et cetera, et cetera, and so on and so forth.

From Natiional Geographic: There are many benefits to using renewable energy resources, but what is it exactly? From solar to wind, find out more about alternative energy, the fastest-growing source of energy in the world, and how we can use it to combat climate change

Dec. 15, 2017 - From Renewable Energy World: It is easier to believe in the future of solar today than it was decades ago. This article honors eight of the women who believed and persevered and pioneered the PV industry of today and without who it might be a very different industry indeed.

Each woman has in her own way championed the cause of climate change as well as the cause of the solar industry and has worked tirelessly educating, conducting research and deploying solar technologies to ensure the future of the industry.

July 6, 2020,(4C Offshore) -Transmission System Operator (TSO) 50Hertz has launched an economic and climate initiative for the grid area the company is responsible for: the eastern German states as well as the city states of Berlin and Hamburg. With the slogan “From 60 to 100 by 2032: for an economy with prospects”, 50Hertz has set itself the specific goal of getting the electricity demand in its grid area covered – and securely integrated – with 100 percent renewable energies by 2032. In 2019, the annual average share of renewables attained about 60%.

0Hertz stated it will align its entire corporate strategy with this new objective and use all its know-how to that end in the scope of its statutory duty to operate the grid securely and reliably. This involves new approaches to system operation, a consistent digitization of the integration of an increasingly volatile electricity supply as well as the participation in innovative models of sector coupling to generate heat and produce hydrogen from “green” power.

From Wageningen University: Experiments have proven that plants can serve as a source of clean and renewable energy.

As part of the European project PlantPower, researchers are studying whether this technology is suitable for large-scale applications.They are also examining the technical feasibility and the economic profitability.

Scientists all over the world are looking for alternatives to fossil fuels. Plant materials are already used as an energy source through bio-fermentation. Now it appears that living plants can also contribute to energy production. In a plant microbial fuel cell, living plants work together with micro-organisms to create electricity.

This results in clean and renewable energy, while the plant remains alive. The first practical tests have been very promising. In projects supported by the EU and Agentschap NL (an agency of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs), European and Dutch institutes, universities, and businesses are cooperating to gain more knowledge about this technology and its applications.

Sept. 1, 2019 (Union of Concerned Scientists)-Innovative programs around the country now make it possible for all environmentally conscious energy consumers to support renewable energy directly by participating in the "green" power market. The willingness to pay for the benefits of increasing our renewable energy supplies can be tapped within any market structure and by any size or type of energy consumer.

Environment Florida, May 31, 2019  - Solar power is expanding rapidly. The United States now has over 60 gigawatts (GW) of solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity installed — enough to power nearly one in every 11 homes in America. Hundreds of thousands of Americans have invested in solar energy and millions more are ready to join them.

America’s major cities have played a key role in the clean energy revolution and stand to reap tremendous benefits from solar energy. As population centers, they are major sources of electricity demand and, with millions of rooftops suitable for solar panels, they have the potential to be major sources of clean energy production as well.

View a chart showing all of the reported projects in North and Central America that have 100% renewable energy goals, including some you would not have expected.

Feb. 14, 2017 - Here is a vision of the future in a warming world without fossil fuels.

No switching on the air conditioning because your roof re-radiates the sun’s heat back into space.

You don’t have to worry that the current from solar energy will turn off at night, because the same sunlight that powered the refrigerator has also turned two greenhouse gases into hydrocarbon fuel that serves as battery back-up.

The new Solar Farmhouse contains everything the quintessential home possesses -- the quaint front porch, the white wood siding, the gabled roof, and the simple lines -- updated with a slew of net-zero features, including a passive solar design, air-tight building envelope, and open plan.

In 2017 renewable energy represented 17.5 % of energy consumed in the EU, on a path to the 2020 target of 20 %.

The share of energy from renewable sources used in transport activities reached 7.6 % in 2017.

These stats will be updated in Feb. 2020. Stay tuned.

Gardens by the Bay will be Singapore's largest garden project and is central to their continued development of Marina Bay.

There are various incentives being offered. The article explains it in detail.

The world needs widely available reliable, affordable, carbon-free energy. New tools are needed to power the world.

Bill Gates, George Soros and others are behind this.

Affordable, lightweight, and versatile, batteries made of porous materials could soon transform energy storage.