May 20, 2022-The European Union wants to accelerate a large-scale rollout of solar energy while also rebuilding Europe’s solar manufacturing industry. The plan is part of the bloc’s strategy to end its reliance on Russian fossil fuels, especially natural gas, by 2030. The EU currently gets about 40% of its gas from Russia at a cost of over $110 million a day.

May, 18, 2022 -Installed by Renu Energy Solutions, the rooftop solar system features 1,063 modules capable of generating an estimated 620,000 kWh of electricity annually, about 10% of the onsite energy needs for New Belgium's brewery, water treatment plant, and tasting room.

The 420W modules were manufactured by Hanwha Q CELLS.

May 10, 2022 -Two tugboats are currently moving a vast array of 12,000 solar panels, the size of four football pitches, to their mooring on the reservoir.

Built by EDP, the country's main utility company, on Western Europe's biggest artificial lake, the shiny floating island is part of Portugal's plan to cut reliance on imported fossil fuels whose prices have surged since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

May 9, 2022 -Texas is a land of contradictions and extremes. Our power grid is no different. It is, simultaneously, both an exemplar of innovation and a complete mess.

Texas is number one for wind power and is soon to be tops in solar. It's also #1 in coal.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) market is wide open. The regulatory and permitting burdens that stop projects in their formative stages in other states, barely exist here. Things get built in Texas and we’re going to need to build a lot more things to transition to a cleaner resource mix.

May 6, 2022 -Perovskite materials may hold the potential to play an important role in a process to produce hydrogen in a renewable manner, according to analysis from scientists at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

May 6, 2022 -Hundreds of feet below a remote forest near Hudson Bay, Serge Abergel inspected the spinning turbines at the heart of the biggest subterranean power plant in the world, a massive facility that converts the water of the La Grande River into a current of renewable electricity strong enough to power a midsize city.

Yet today, work on the $1 billion project is at a standstill.

May 2, 2022 -To achieve our nation’s clean energy and carbon reduction goals, we will need to deploy much more solar power. That includes projects of all sizes and in all market segments. We need solar on rooftops and parking lots. We need utility-scale solar plants. And we need to step up deployment in a crucial but underserved market segment, community solar.

Apr. 28, 2022 -The "dragonscale" project, as it came to be known, would generate more than 7 MW of energy, enough to cover 40% of Google's needs. It would also serve as an introduction to Swiss building-integrated solar module maker SunStyle.

Apr. 25, 2022 -The Brutalist Pirelli building was once voted the ugliest structure in Connecticut. Now the hulking 1970 mid-rise has earned a new superlative: the most energy-efficient hotel in the United States.

The Marcel—named for its celebrated modernist architect Marcel Breuer—opens in New Haven in May as an all-electric hotel that generates its own power with a rooftop solar array and solar parking canopies. It holds lithium-ion batteries that store power created during the day to use at night.

Apr. 22, 2022 -Amazon is adding 37 renewable energy projects totaling 3.5 GW of capacity to its global portfolio, the company announced.

Amazon was already the top corporate buyer of renewable energy according to the Clean Energy Buyers Alliance. In 2021, the company procured 2.85 GW of renewable energy, topping Meta, Verizon, Google, and Microsoft.

Apr. 19, 2022 -Los Angeles once again leads U.S. cities in total installed solar capacity, while Honolulu, Hawaii ranks highest for solar capacity per capita, according to a new report.

Environment America released its eighth annual Shining Cities report, which ranks U.S. cities based on total installed solar capacity and capacity per capita. The report found that 121.4 GW of solar PV capacity is now installed in the U.S., enough to power more than 23 million homes.

Apr. 18, 2022,-The German word Dunkelflaute means “dark doldrums.” It chills the hearts of renewable-energy engineers, who use it to refer to the lulls when solar panels and wind turbines are thwarted by clouds, night, or still air. On a bright, cloudless day, a solar farm can generate prodigious amounts of electricity; when it’s gusty, wind turbines whoosh neighborhoods to life. But at night solar cells do little, and in calm air turbines sit useless. These renewable energy sources stop renewing until the weather, or the planet, turns.

Apr. 14, 2022-China is set to install a record amount of wind and solar power capacity this year as the country strives to meet climate goals while reducing its reliance on the rest of the world for energy.

China will add 140 gigawatts of capacity from the clean energy sources, said Tao Ye, a researcher with the National Development and Reform Commission, the country’s top economic planning agency. That’s more than the rest of the world combined in 2020, according to BloombergNEF data.

Apr. 14, 2022,-Regulators approved a $4.5 billion transmission line that will deliver Canadian hydropower to New York City, a key component of the Empire State’s efforts to eliminate carbon from its power grid by 2040.

Apr. 12, 2022,-American companies are beginning to take steps to make their warehouses more energy efficient, including upgrading building materials. And some warehouse owners are even turning the rooftops into solar farms that can power the building’s operations and, in many cases, lower utility costs for nearby homeowners and businesses.

Apr. 8, 2022-If we had to point out a pitfall of solar energy, that would be the fact that electricity can only be generated during the day.

Now, a new development hopes to change this. Engineers at Stanford University have come up with a type of solar panel that works at night, during which time it is capable of generating enough power to charge a phone or run a LED light.

Apr. 1, 2022,-Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, said it is advancing its clean energy and sustainability goals with plans for a net-zero data center in Missouri and a solar farm in Tennessee.

Meta said it would offset 100% of the energy consumption at the planned 1 million sq. ft., $800 million data center in Kansas City with renewable energy. The data center is expected to be operational in 2024.

Apr. 1, 2022-Ten years ago, solar and wind didn’t even make up 1% of our global energy mix. Now, in just a decade, they’ve reached 10%. It may not seem like much, but becoming such a significant part of the global energy mix in such a short time is remarkable — though there’s still a long way to go.

Mar. 30, 2022,-A study by researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory takes a fresh look at what could become the first step toward a new generation of solar batteries.

Mar. 30, 2022-In a decision that could dramatically reduce solar imports to the U.S. and undercut President Joe Biden’s ambitious climate goals, the Commerce Department said Monday it is investigating whether imports of solar panels from Southeast Asia are circumventing anti-dumping rules that block imports from China.

Mar. 24, 2022-Solar panels sit in the elements for decades, dealing with whatever nature has to offer.

Despite the challenges of being outside all the time, many panels come with 25-year warranties, and manufacturers say the equipment is capable of operating at a high level for 30, 40 or even more years into the future.

Mar. 21, 2022-Researchers at the MIT have developed a method for cleaning solar panels that could potentially save billions of gallons of water.

“The water footprint of the solar industry is mind boggling,” said MIT Professor of mechanical engineering Kripa Varanasi. “So, the industry has to be very careful and thoughtful about how to make this a sustainable solution.”

Mar. 17, 2022- A public-private-academic partnership plans to install solar panels over water canals in California in a bid to produce clean energy and help preserve the state's dwindling water resources.

Construction of Project Nexus, the “first-ever solar panel over canal development in the United States,” will start next fall and is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2023.

Mar. 17, 2022-Research led by members at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Samueli School of Engineering has successfully developed a manufacturing adjustment that will prevent perovskite crystals — the active material in thin-film solar cells — from degrading when exposed to sunlight.

Mar. 15, 2022-Honda will begin testing its zero-emissions fuel cell power station at its corporate campus in Torrance, California in early 2023, the company announced.

The fuel cell system is expected to serve as a proof of concept for the backup power generation technology in hopes of reaching future commercialization. Honda said it will use the system to back up a data center.

Mar. 13, 2022-In the Gold Rush, Northern California attracted prospectors looking for financial independence. Now, this area is at the vanguard of a new movement — people seeking to use only the energy they produce themselves.

Mar. 8, 2022-Sometime in the coming month, a South Korean clothing manufacturer plans to flip the switch on a pair of solar power projects on the rooftops of two of its factories in southern Vietnam. The $5.6 million project won’t cost Hansoll Textile, the manufacturer, a penny.

In fact, Hansoll, a company that makes clothing for dozens of well-known brands including Under Armor, Walmart and Victoria’s Secret, anticipates saving more than $250,000 in the coming year.

Mar. 8, 2022-U.S. solar module manufacturers are asking for President Biden to back legislation that would bolster the domestic supply chain, calling the current moment "an inflection point" for the industry.

The Solar Energy Manufacturing for America Coalition asked Biden in a letter to put the weight of the White House behind long-term incentives for domestic manufacturing included in the Solar Energy Manufacturing for America Act.

Mar. 8, 2022-The Florida Legislature has passed changes to the state's net metering policy that has solar advocates warning of "nightmare" impacts to rooftop solar customers.

House Bill 741 directs the Public Service Commission to revise the state's net metering policy by Jan. 1, 2024.

Under the legislation, the commission would phase down credits for owned or leased systems interconnected in 2024 and 2025 to 75%, to 60% in 2026, and to 50% for systems installed in 2027 and 2028.

Mar. 8, 2022-Renewable energy and electric vehicles received the bulk of the overall clean energy investing capital, which increased 11% year-over-year in BloombergNEF's 10th annual Sustainable Energy in America Factbook.

Apr. 14, 2022,-Regulators approved a $4.5 billion transmission line that will deliver Canadian hydropower to New York City, a key component of the Empire State’s efforts to eliminate carbon from its power grid by 2040.

Apr. 7, 2022,-As the largest energy consumer in the U.S. and one of the largest in the world, the Department of Defense (DOD) has the ability to influence markets and achieve near-immediate scale for emerging technologies.

The DOD's interest in geothermal energy could be a shot in the arm for the firm, clean energy resource that has often lagged behind technologies like wind and solar in the U.S.

Mar. 16, 2022 -Newberry Volcano — the largest one in the Pacific Northwest — is the site of an experiment that’s aiming for a breakthrough in geothermal energy.

The experiment is one small step in the high-risk, high-reward world of next generation

Dec. 8, 2021- There’s enough heat flowing from inside the earth to meet total global energy demand twice over. But harnessing it requires drilling deep underground and transforming that heat into a usable form of energy. That’s difficult and expensive, which is why geothermal power—sometimes called the forgotten renewable—makes up only about 0.3% of electricity generation worldwide.

Oct. 15, 2021 -From Iceland to Alaska to France, NREL geoscientist Amanda Kolker has studied geothermal energy all around the world. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in geology, Kolker went to study volcano and glacier interactions in Iceland but was quickly distracted by Iceland’s vast geothermal energy systems.

Oct. 10, 2021 -The US has yet to tap its vast geothermal energy resources, and a movement is finally afoot to kick the domestic industry into high gear. That includes the iconic coal and gas producing state of West Virginia. I know, right? Shocker! The Mountain State’s geothermal gold mine may come as a surprise to some, but there it is, and it could help grow a whole new job-creating field in the energy business.

June 15, 2021, by John Benson -Geothermal Power, a renewable energy source that was first used to generate electricity in Larderello, Italy, in 1904, and thus is one of the oldest renewable energy sources. It has been used in my home state (California) to generate a significant amount of our electric energy since the early 1960s.

In 1985 I became heavily involved with the Geysers Geothermal Generating Field, what is now (still) is the largest in the world by several metrics.

However I have never posted a paper about Geothermal Power. I have decided to rectify this failure and write this post. As I started researching this, I found that this technology has not only been amazing in the past and present, it will be important to our efforts to overcome climate change in the future.

June 14, 2021 -The New York Power Authority (NYPA) announced this week that it will launch a project with the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) to explore the use of crushed rock thermal energy storage to provide reliable and effective energy storage in a market with significant renewable energy resources.

The project will be led by EPRI and funded by a $200,000 U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) grant. It will investigate the feasibility of a thermal energy storage (TES) technology developed by Brenmiller Energy, an Israeli developer and manufacturer of thermal energy storage systems.

If determined to be feasible, the investigation team will pilot the technology and evaluate its ability to provide effective and economical energy storage at NYPA’s Eugene W. Zeltmann Power Project in Astoria.

June 10, 2021 -Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced a new Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for up to $14.5 million to support active field testing of enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) technologies and techniques within existing wells. EGS, like all geothermal resources, supplies secure, resilient renewable electricity and heating and cooling that is always-available regardless of weather, and with a small environmental footprint.

June 9, 2021-Enel Green Power has published an article noting the use of 3D printing in their flagship Geyser project at Santa Barbara metallurgy labs in Cavriglia, Italy.

The idea to use 3D printing to repair essential components was spawned at a roundtable discussion organized by the project Geyser team. A group of technicians and experts from the geothermal, thermal and hydroelectric sectors gathered to discuss how to optimize the management of geothermal plants.

“It all started from our curiosity and desire to use the 3D printer that we had in-house,” says Nicoletta Mazzuca, Enel Green Power’s project manager for Geyser. “We wanted to repair parts that were going to end up in landfills because they couldn’t be fixed with conventional forging techniques.”

June 8, 2021 -It sets into motion Phase II of the $70.4 million contract. KenGen’s managing director and chief executive officer, Rebecca Miano, through a statement, said the works began over the last weekend in May.

“The exercise started on May 29, 2021, whereby the first hole section was drilled to 29 meters within eight hours. So far, drilling operations are running smoothly as the team moves to the next hole section. Drilling a single well takes about two months to complete. We however hope to shorten this period despite the prevailing circumstances brought about by COVID-19),” she said.

Apr. 30, 2021 -The US geothermal energy industry has been left at the starting gate as wind and solar race ahead, but it looks like the geothermal tortoise is finally putting one foot ahead of the other. In the latest development, the iconic coal state of West Virginia just nailed down federal funding that will help West Virginia University shut down a coal-fired cogeneration plant on campus and switch to renewable energy.

Mar. 16, 2021 -Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recognized Iron Mountain Data Centers for its commitment to energy efficiency through DOE’s Better Buildings Challenge. Since joining the program in 2016, Iron Mountain met its first energy-savings goal of 20% and has now set a new goal of improving data center power usage efficiency (PUE) by 30% over a five-year period across three data centers — or nearly 600,000 square feet of built space.

Mar. 7, 2021 -The geothermal energy industry has never realized its true potential in the US, despite the seemingly magical promise of nonstop, 24/7 renewable energy sitting just below the surface of the Earth. However, it seems like things are finally starting to gel. No, for real!

For the inside scoop on the prospects for a geothermal revolution CleanTechnica sought out Nneka Uzoh, the director of energy innovation at the climate-tech accelerator Elemental Excelerator.

Mar. 3, 2021 -Renewable energy businesses can be promising investments for larger companies looking to improve their carbon footprints. Sometimes, what some might assume to be the least likely investors will pour funds into renewables. That’s the case with Eavor Technologies’ most recent round of fundraising.

Oil giants BP and Chevron were among the chief investors in the $40 million funding round for the Canada-based geothermal startup.

Feb. 24, 2021 - The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced that its Frontier Observatory for Research in Geothermal Energy (FORGE) Initiative at the University of Utah has selected 17 projects to receive up to $46 million in funding for cutting-edge, domestic, and carbon-free geothermal projects with potential to supply power to homes in the United States.

(NBC News), Jan. 4, 2021, -Ecotricity is to buy the electricity generated by Geothermal Engineering's United Downs Demonstration Project in Cornwall under a power purchase agreement (PPA), the first time that geothermal electricity will be produced and sold in the UK.

The PPA follows the latest round of successful testing at the deep geothermal site, Geothermal Engineering said.

Under the terms of the deal, Ecotricity will receive a minimum of 3MW of baseload electricity.

Dec. 14, 2020 -The Ministry of Mines and Energy of Colombia announced the publication of a draft decree that promotes the use and exploitation of clean energy from geothermal energy.

Below we will observe the main aspects of the draft which is available for consultation and comment:

Legal entities that acquire the Geothermal Registry prepared and required by the MME will be able to carry out the activity of exploiting geothermal resources; this person will be called the Developer. This Register is independent of each activity, that is, a Register will be required for the exploration activity and another Register for the exploitation activity.

Sept. 19, 2020 - That means the electricity it provides is dispatchable whenever it is needed regardless of how windy or sunny it is. Deep Earth Energy Production (DEEP) is a Canadian company that wants to use the hot water located beneath the Deadwood Formation in Saskatchewan to produce geothermal energy. The temperature of the brine sequestered beneath the surface averages 122º C.

Engineering reports indicate the Deadwood Formation aquifer is capable of supporting multiple geothermal generating facilities but first a plan has to be created to collect the groundwater, bring it to the surface, use it to generate electricity, then inject it back underground to be reheated. The process uses advanced drilling techniques developed by the fracking industry.

DEEP says it has completed a preliminary subsurface design that optimizes the well spacing and configuration to produce 20 MW of geothermal power using ten horizontal wells — 6 producers and 4 injectors.

by Jay Dauenhauer -Sept. 4, 2020, I don’t mean to pick favorites, but geothermal is definitely near the top. It is renewable, base-load, and potentially abundant.

The problem is that we have only been accessing geothermal energy where there is naturally occurring underground water and geology to allow it to pass.

Enhanced Geothermal Systems artificially add water and fractures to the geology to create far more geothermal potential.

July 19, 2020 -Scientists at the KIT Energy Center at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology say there is enough lithium dissolved in the groundwater extracted by German geothermal heating and electricity installations to meet the needs of most if not all of the battery manufacturers in the country.

“As far as we know, there can be up to 200 milligrams per liter,” says geoscientist Dr. Jens Grimmer of the Institute of Applied Geosciences at KIT. “If we consistently use this potential, we could cover a considerable part of the demand in Germany.”

The implications are enormous.

Sep. 24, 2020 (AENewsa)- Nevada is poised to lead in producing energy from geothermal heat sources in the entire US. Presently playing second fiddle to California, the day is not far off when it will overtake California in converting geothermal heat into electricity.

Nevada is experiencing a rush of developers who have already companies producing power or with projects under development. Projects by people like Enel Green Power and Nevada Geothermal Power are fast putting the state on the road. Veterans and newbie’s vie with each other to start production.

May 1, 2020 - The University of Utah and Utah Frontier Observatory for Research in Geothermal Energy (FORGE) announced FORGE Solicitation 2020-1.

This is the first formal call for research proposals on enhanced geothermal system technologies from the FORGE program. Up to 18 awards are anticipated for up to a total of $46,000,000 and each award has a maximum period of performance of three years.

The topic areas for technology testing and evaluations, their maximum potential funding and potential number of awards can be viewed in the article.

Apr. 24, 2020 -There is a virtually limitless supply of energy right beneath us: geothermal heat. The Earth’s core holds heat that radiates out to the subsurface. This heat can be harnessed for a variety of uses including electricity generation, heating and cooling of buildings, and other industrial and hybrid applications. Geothermal energy is clean, safe, and renewable. Because geothermal electricity is reliable, always-on energy, it is an excellent match for a grid replete with intermittent renewables like wind and solar energy.

Geothermal technologies have been employed for over one hundred years. But while wind and solar energy have grown rapidly over the past few decades, geothermal has struggled to scale up beyond niche applications. Geothermal energy’s relatively slow growth can be attributed to a combination of unmet technical challenges and policy barriers, and an inability to fully leverage state and federal renewable energy policies that have boosted wind and solar energy’s growth.

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.

Visit our Alternative Energy Transport section, filled with photos and information on the latest technology.

Warning: Your'e Going to want one.

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.

(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

(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.

May 11, 2018 -California has faced its fair share of challenges due the climate crisis. But now it’s fighting back with a powerful weapon: renewable energy.

More than that, the Golden State is proving that we can start a renewable energy revolution right now.

With the White House stepping out of the climate fight, California has stepped up in a big way, leading a coalition of 16 states and the District of Columbia suing to prevent the Environmental Protection Agency from weakening fuel efficiency standards.

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. 21, 2018 - A team of talented scientists from Stanford University situated in Stanford, in Silicon Valley, 20 miles (approximately 30 Km) out of San Jose, California, USA have successfully displayed the usage of nanotechnology. The method to manufacture crystalline silicon (c-Si) thin-film solar cells which are being claimed to be more efficient at capturing solar energy.

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.

Nov. 25, 2019  (Environment Florida) —Clean energy is sweeping across America and is poised for more dramatic growth in the coming years.

Wind turbines and solar panels were novelties ten years ago; today, they are everyday parts of America’s energy landscape. As recently as 2010, energy-saving LED light bulbs cost $40 apiece; today, they cost a few dollars at the hardware store. Just a few years ago, electric vehicles seemed a far-off solution to decarbonize our transportation system; now, they have broken through to the mass market.

Virtually every day, there are new developments that increase our ability to produce renewable energy, apply renewable energy more widely and flexibly to meet a wide range of energy needs, and reduce our overall energy use — developments that enable us to envision an economy powered entirely with clean, renewable energy.

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.

Forbes Magazie, Jan. 14, 2019  - Two recent developments in the world of fusion power are giving scientists and policymakers newfound optimism for the elusive ‘holy grail’ of energy technologies. The first is a discovery by the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) which uses radio frequency (RF) technology to greatly reduce so-called ‘plasma disruption’ – the leading challenge to achieving a sustained, net energy gain fusion reaction. This is a key element in making fusion a feasible source of electricity.

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.

Feb. 10, 2017 -From The Greener Ideal: Here is an inconvenient truth that advocates of alternative energy sources are reluctant to admit – traditional solar panels can be a bit of an eyesore.

Especially in a residential setting, bulky solar panels may detract from the aesthetic of any house, no matter how much the owner tries to convince you otherwise.

Think about the streets in your neighborhood, and ask yourself how many of the homes actually have visible solar panels, and you will quickly realize that they are not very popular.