clean energy
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A ramped-up plan would target plug-in capability for new vehicles by 2035, with a transition to 100 percent renewable energy by 2050.
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Energy Dept stops tracking green energy, electric-car progress; NRDC picks up slack
There's a lot of good data to be found in public reports from national labs and other government research papers, but it's not always easy to find or easy to parse. For years, federal Department of Energy collected and published that information—but it has eliminated that effort under the...
Eric C. Evarts -
Effect of Trump solar-panel import tariffs on clean-power growth debated
A majority of the photovoltaic solar panels used in the U.S. are imported from such countries as China, Malaysia, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam. Now, environmentalists and energy analysts worry that the new 30-percent tariff on solar-panel imports announced last Monday by President Donald...
Aaron Cole -
Tesla builds world's largest lithium-ion battery, for utility use, in Australia
Tesla CEO Elon Musk made a bet that he'd build the world's largest lithium-ion battery in Australia in 100 days. If his company failed, Musk would personally pay for the project, but the battery is now ready for its first test ahead of full operation—and on schedule. The massive...
Sean Szymkowski -
U.S. energy sources and uses: everything you need to know in one lovely chart
One of the interesting side effects of plug-in electric cars turns out to be a greater awareness of energy sources and uses. A 2012 California study, for instance, showed roughly four out of 10 electric-car drivers either had or were considering solar panels to provide electricity to their home...
John Voelcker -
Soaring growth of solar power demonstrated in one chart (updated)
Sometimes a picture is truly worth a thousand words. In the case of the rapidly rising rate of solar installations for electricity generation, numerous forecasts by internationally respected bodies have proven woefully conservative. The chart in the tweet below, created by Auke Hoekstra at the...
John Voelcker -
Although claims of imminent volcanic eruption are likely exaggerated, any eruption of what's known as the Yellowstone Supervolcano would cause global chaos. Through intense monitoring programs, scientists have a clear idea of the Yellowstone volcano's behavior. Now NASA scientists are exploring a radical idea that could one day neutralize the threat of eruption altogether. DON'T MISS: Clean energy to grow, coal to fade, regardless of Trump EPA plans The agency proposed a theoretical initiative to gradually cool the supervolcano and extract its heat, not only to reduce the threat of a...
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Two-thirds of world's new energy capacity in 2016 was renewable: IEA
For years, renewable energy has been cast as the most expensive option to reduce emissions and the world's reliance on fossil fuels. But 2016 may have marked a turn for the renewable energy sector, with solar energy in particular rising significantly in output. For the first time in history...
Sean Szymkowski -
Senate panel rejects clean-energy cuts, boosts DoE funding instead
The Senate Committee on Appropriations recently exhibited a quality somewhat rare in U.S. politics these days: bipartisanship. The committee released a lengthy report on the 2018 fiscal year budget for the Department of Energy that walks away from the Trump Administration's efforts to defund clean...
Sean Szymkowski -
Chevrolet Colorado ZH2: first ride in hydrogen fuel-cell Army truck
Olive drab isn't the only green thing in the U.S. Army. Currently undergoing testing at Fort Carson in Colorado, the Chevrolet Colorado ZH2 hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle illustrates the unlikely intersection between eco-friendly powertrains and the demanding needs of a vehicle that may be deployed to...
Andrew Ganz -
What Trump's 'Energy Week' policies actually mean
The White House declared this past week "Energy Week" and offered up a few key points on which the Trump administration plans to focus to unleash what it calls a new American dominance in energy. However, neither the initiatives nor the proposed policy changes hone in on where the world is heading...
Sean Szymkowski -
Clean energy provides far more U.S. jobs than fossil fuels: analysis
Yesterday, U.S. president Donald J. Trump signed an executive order to begin the process of rolling back pretty much every vestige of U.S. efforts to address climate change. In both his campaigning and since his inauguration, Trump has claimed that his government and its actions focus on creating...
John Voelcker -
No matter how you measure it, 2016 was a major year for solar energy. More solar-generating capacity was added last year than either natural gas or wind, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. A study by investment bank and research firm Lazard found that utility-scale solar has now become the single cheapest form of unsubsidized electricity in the U.S. DON'T MISS: When lauding renewables, look at utilization, not just capacity But wait, there's more. For the first time ever, solar ranked as the number-one source of new electric-generating capacity in the U.S. on an annual basis. Last...
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When lauding renewables, look at utilization, not just capacity
The news on the renewable energy front continues to be good, with the costs of wind and solar generation falling steadily. By some measures, large-scale renewable energy is now cost-competitive (or close) with the most efficient natural-gas electric plants. Moreover, the amounts of clean generating...
John Voelcker -
More solar energy was added in 2016 than natural gas or wind
Renewable-energy growth has accelerated in 2016, but this may go down as a milestone year for one renewable-energy source in particular. Together, all renewable-energy sources are expected to account for 8 percent of U.S. electricity-generation capacity in 2017, according to the Department of...
Stephen Edelstein -
Tesla, SolarCity, and Ta'u: sun, storage batteries, clean energy (video)
Tesla and SolarCity collaborated on a renewable-energy project in American Samoa.
Stephen Edelstein -
Renewable energy to hit 9 percent of U.S. total in 2017
Renewable energy will hit 9 percent of the total U.S. generating mix in 2017, according to the Department of Energy.
Stephen Edelstein -
Coal in China: huge problem for clean power, climate efforts
Chinese coal demand will continue to rise despite efforts to promote renewable energy, a new report says.
Stephen Edelstein -
Reservoirs could be responsible for significant methane emissions, according to a new study.
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China ratchets down green-energy growth for first time ever
China is expected to slow renewable-energy growth for the first time ever.
Stephen Edelstein -
Know what a 'baller' is? Wanna be one for clean energy?
A new Energy Department campaign promotes electric cars in a questionable way.
Stephen Edelstein -
More than half of millennials say they want solar panels: study
Any automotive journalist has, by now, sat through many lengthy presentations from carmakers on Millennials and what they want. Some are insightful, a few are cringeworthy, but the basic message seems to be that they're very, very different and hard to understand. We'd suggest that's the way of the...
John Voelcker -
Solar panels at Toyota's new Texas HQ to provide 25 percent of its electricity
Toyota's new Texas headquarters will feature solar panels on parking garages.
Stephen Edelstein -
Chile is giving away solar energy, for free, because it has so much
Chile has significant excess solar capacity.
Stephen Edelstein