renewable energy
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Fossil fuels have been an integral part of the industrialized world since it began 250 years ago. While renewable, carbon-free energy sources have long been viewed as the ideal solution, they were always more expensive than pumping carbon into the air. That may now have changed, according to a new analysis from Lazard published today and reported in the Financial Times (subscription required). DON'T MISS: Proposal: Buy Out, Shut Down U.S. Coal Industry For $50 Billion Specifically, large wind-turbine farms and huge industrial-scale solar arrays are now cost-competitive in the U.S. with...
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Ohio Turns Its Back, Thumbs Its Nose At Energy Efficiency
Ohio's push for renewable energy loses momentum with new legislation.
Stephen Edelstein -
Residential Solar Competitive With Electricity In 25 States Next Year: NRG CEO
Solar power for your home has been around a long time, but for many homeowners, it's required subsidies, special financing arrangements, and still delivered long payback periods. That's changing fast, according to the CEO of a major Texas electric utility. David Crane, who runs NRG Energy, says...
John Voelcker -
Elon Musk Takes Solar City From Silicon Valley To...Buffalo ?!?!?
When he's not running electric-car startup Tesla Motors, its CEO Elon Musk has a couple of other jobs on the side. In fact, he's not only involved in CEO of one startup, but three--the other two being SpaceX (privately-funded rockets) and Solar City (solar-panel leasing), where he's chairman of the...
John Voelcker -
Renewable Energy Won't Cause Electric Utility 'Death Spiral': Study
Solar panels won't destroy electric utilities' business model, a new study says.
Stephen Edelstein -
Oklahoma Adds Fee For Homes To Connect Solar, Wind Power To Grid
Renewable-energy advocates have cranked up the outrage machine at a surcharge imposed by Oklahoma on homes that connect rooftop solar panels or wind-turbine generators to the grid. Ten days ago, the Oklahoma House passed S.B. 1455 without debate, and Governor Mary Fallin is expected to sign it. The...
John Voelcker -
Many among the Detroit auto media were skeptical of Tesla Motors for years, correctly noting just how hard it is to start a car company and build a genuinely appealing product--electric car or not. But as Tesla continues to sell Model S electric luxury sedans, expanding into Europe and China as well as North America, some of those skeptics seem to be coming around. MORE: Tesla Gigafactory Faces Skepticism From Panasonic, Analysts Most recently, John McElroy, a strong proponent of natural-gas vehicles, suggests that Tesla is not in fact only a car company, but an energy-storage enterprise...
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Long-Lived Clean Power: Wind Turbines Last 25 Years, Study Says
A British study claims that wind turbines can last 25 years without the need for upgrades or replacement.
Stephen Edelstein -
World's First Entirely Renewable-Energy Place: Wind-Swept Scottish Island
The island of Eigg plans to become the first in the world to become self-sufficient on renewable energy.
Stephen Edelstein -
Electric Cars & Solar: Will They Make Gasoline & Utilities Obsolete?
These are interesting times in the automotive and electric-utility businesses. While the reasons are different, it turns out they may intersect. It's been quietly discussed among electric utilities that increasing amounts of distributed solar power and other renewable energy may destroy their...
John Voelcker -
Is Tesla's Solar City Sibling The 'Energy Company Of The 21st Century'?
Some solar-energy companies have had a hard time in recent years, but SolarCity may look a little more promising. That isn't just because Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk is the company's chairman, either--though it can't hurt. Instead, says The Atlantic (on Mashable), it's because the company is...
Antony Ingram -
Methanol Made With Renewable Energy Could Power Fuel Cells (Video)
Could a methanol economy replace the hydrogen economy?
Stephen Edelstein -
Spray-on solar cells could make solar panels easier to manufacture and install.
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Toyota: No More Plug-In Electric Cars If Electricity Doesn't Get Cleaner (In Europe)?
European buyers waiting for an electric Toyota may have quite some time to wait--until the electric grid cleans up, basically. That's the word from Toyota Europe, which says it wants to see cleaner electricity generation before it commits to electric vehicles. According to Responding to Climate...
Antony Ingram -
Will Solar Panels Destroy Electric Utilities' Business Model? Yes, They Say
Technology can be a real drag. CDs killed cassettes. MP3s killed CDs. Video killed the radio star. Bummer. Now, a new threat looms in the dark pit we call progress: solar power. According to Grist, utilities are worried that wiring up photovoltaic cells to human ingenuity will soon upset the...
Richard Read -
Diesel Fuel Derived From Algae Now Testing In 2 VW TDI Models
For a century, we've gotten almost all our gasoline and diesel fuel from petrochemicals. Now Silicon Valley startup Solazyme [NSDQ:SZYM] is testing diesel fuel derived from refining renewable oils--produced by specialized algae--in two Volkswagen turbodiesel models. Since July 2012, the VW Passat...
John Voelcker -
Saudi Arabia Uses Your Gas Dollars To Fund...Solar Energy
Renewable energy, especially solar, is making inroads into the U.S. power grid, but it's a very slow process. And especially in the wake of the Solyndra collapse, it's one fraught with political wrangling. But there's another country that plans to invest heavily in solar power, hoping to provide...
John Voelcker -
2013 Chevy Volt, OnStar, Is Smart-Grid Ready: The Utilities Aren’t
Imagine a future where plug-in cars not only know when the cheapest time to charge is, but also work in concert with utility companies to recharge when it is greenest or when grid power demand is the lowest. For years, automakers, charging station manufacturers, utility companies and even the U.S...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Let's face it: political discourse in the U.S. isn't very pretty. It's generally a matter of two large parties -- each backed by an army of fundraisers, copywriters, and statisticians -- shouting at each other in front of sympathetic audiences. Over the past couple of decades, the situation seems to have gotten worse, though that's probably because we've entered the age of the 24-hour news cycle, and pundits have to speak shrilly to get heard. As a result of the country's increasingly partisan atmosphere, most Americans have taken sides. It's very rare to find true "independent" voters these...
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Big Food Steps Up Fight Against Ethanol Mandate (Infographic)
Ethanol continues to be a political football, with the alcohol fuel coming under fire from the auto industry, environmental pressure groups, and others. The latest to line up against the corn-based fuel is a coalition of industrialized livestock and poultry producers that might collectively be...
John Voelcker -
Ethanol Goals Passed By Congress Cannot Be Met: New Study
Ethanol has been problematic for several years now. Promoted as a way for the U.S. to grow its own vehicle fuel, the alcohol was so popular several years ago that Congress passed a Federal Renewable Fuels Standard as part of the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act. Now Hart Energy has issued...
John Voelcker -
Get A Bullfrog With Your Volt? In Canada, It's Not What It Seems
If you think that the Chevrolet Volt Bullfrog Power Edition sounds like a rather odd limited edition model, we can understand the confusion. It's nothing to do with the green, hopping creature though, nor is Bullfrog Power an aesthetically-challenged superhero. Instead, it's a 100 percent green...
Antony Ingram -
For Your Consideration: A Handful Of Energy Facts To Ponder
It's pretty clear that the United States has absolutely no energy policy at the moment. Attempts at long-term planning to reduce energy use are largely stalled in the toxic atmosphere of no-holds-barred politics, with the exception of tougher gas-mileage rules for 2017-2025 vehicles that were...
John Voelcker -
Racing Goes Green: ALMS Focused On Reducing Environmental Impact
The American Le Mans Series is taking steps to promote renewable fuels and alternative fuel sources. Series president Scott Atherton is out to prove that racing can produce environmental benefits.
Kurt Ernst