Japan’s struggle over its energy future was on display over the last two days as the government okayed restarting operations at two nuclear power plants while also approving an ambitious renewable energy feed-in tariff in which utilities will pay a premium for electricity generated by solar, wind, and geothermal power.
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Solar
Yesterday our friends at SEIA and GTM Research released their latest report on American solar market trends. U.S. Solar Market Insight: Q1 2012 found that solar growth continued its breakneck pace, with installations for the quarter 85% higher than last year this time – making it highest first quarter in history. Cumulatively, the U.S. has installed nearly 5,000
First Solar and Intermolecular yesterday announced a collaboration and licensing agreement aimed at accelerating the efficiency roadmap for First Solar’s cadmium-telluride (CdTe) photovoltaic (PV) technology. First Solar is the world’s largest thin film PV solar module manufacturer and the leader in thin film PV utility-scale solar power plants.
Renewable Energy Investments Grew by 17 Percent in 2011, Reports Say
written by Yale Environment 360
A surge in investment in renewable energy in India, coupled with strong green energy growth in the U.S. and China, led to a 17 percent global surge in alternative energy investments last year, according to reports by the United Nations Environment Program and another organization.
What if the European Union solved the triple crisis – economy, energy, environment – by solving the financial one? Alice Stollmeyer sent me last week a link of project to do just that.
Some European nations – Greece, Spain, Ireland, Portugal – are owing more and more money to the European Central Bank and other debtors. What if
CA Shared Solar Bill Would Mean 12,000 Jobs, $7.5 Billion in Economic Activity
written by Walter Wang
We released a new report yesterday shining light on how California legislation to expand access to rooftop solar and other renewables would create thousands of local jobs and deliver impressive economic benefits more broadly.
Clean energy is one of the fastest growing sectors of California’s
eSolar is a Burbank, California, solar thermal company that makes solar power plants using flat mirrors, or heliostats, to concentrate sunlight onto a centrally located water tank suspended on a tower. This type of structure is known as “power tower” architecture.
The company owns U.S. Trademark Registration No.
A new report finds that an unexpectedly large number of UK farmers have installed renewable energy systems such as solar panels and wind turbines on their properties, a trend that could increase the profitability of the agricultural sector and help the UK achieve its green energy targets.
Billions of people live without access to modern electricity services and clean energy could lift them out of the economic exclusion zone, improve their education and make their lives generally better. It can also save some lives, literally.
Of all the reasons to advocate clean energy, this may
On the heels of a decision that imposed a tariff of up to 35 percent on some Chinese solar panel manufacturers, the U.S. Department of Commerce has now ruled that wind turbine towers made in China also benefited from unfair subsidies and has imposed duties ranging from 13.7 to 26 percent on those towers.
This is a question that many of us who follow the clean energy industry may have asked ourselves: which one represents more value for money, wind or solar power? Surely they are both alternative energy types that we should embrace in order to break ourselves from our oil addiction.
Here at Vote Solar we work day in and day out on the policies that help solar thrive. We are passionate about our work – but it’s easy to get buried in a world of regulatory dockets and draft legislation. Which is why we sure appreciate a reminder of what solar power means to the daily lives of those it touches.
The standard solar cell uses silicon oxide, which is expensive and environmentally toxic. One of the promising alternatives is the so-called “Grätzel cell”, a cheaper, cleaner alternative based on more abundant titanium oxide. However, they don’t last long because this type of dye-sensitized cell uses an electrolyte made
Europe’s ‘economic powerhouse’ can add solar to its epithet. Germany’s solar power plants reached a generation milestone of 22 GW of electricity per hours. That is the same as 20 nuclear power stations at full capacity.
According to a Reuters report, that amount of