solar
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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 Technical University of Eindhoven, The Netherlands, shows it better than words ever could. DON'T MISS: Big energy hugely underestimates electric cars, renewable power He first tweeted it in mid-May, and it quickly made the rounds of Twitter's renewable energy circles. Hoekstra simply looked at...
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Stella Vie 'family sedan' wins long-distance solar car race
Earlier this month, the 30th World Solar Challenge kicked off in Darwin, Australia, with 42 competitors vying for victory. At the end of the 3,022-kilometer (1,880-mile) race from Darwin to Adelaide, one team emerged victorious in the highly contested Cruiser class. Solar Team Eindhoven, from the...
Sean Szymkowski -
Solar-powered car race kicks off 30 years of World Solar Challenge
Although a car powered solely by solar power is far from reality, the 30th anniversary of the World Solar Challenge showcased just how far the technology has come. World Solar Challenge kicked off its celebrations with this year's iteration of the solar-powered car race in Darwin, Australia, on...
Sean Szymkowski -
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 -
California plans for its post-fossil-fuel future in electricity, cars
For 50 years, the state of California has led the United States when it comes to renewable energy and electric cars. The state features many programs to incentivize electric-car ownership, and 29 percent of the state's 2016 energy production came from solar, wind, and other renewable power sources...
Sean Szymkowski -
Dethleffs solar-assisted electric motorhome concept unveiled
The notion electric cars will become a standard transportation option is slowly being accepted across multiple industries. It hasn't penetrated quite as much in the motorhome world, but now a German company has shown its interpretation of what the future of plug-in motor homes could be. It's called...
Sean Szymkowski -
Solar energy has long generated electricity both on building roofs and in huge "solar farms" for utility companies, but only a few cars have had solar panels on their bodies. Solar roofs aren't a new concept, but Audi and Alta Devices' solution would be the most transparent photovoltaic solar roof implementation yet—literally. The German luxury brand and Chinese solar-cell specialist have developed a translucent solar cell that can capture energy even from glass roofs. DON'T MISS: After Audi e-tron, next electric car to be compact BMW i3 competitor The solar cell is completely...
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California's solar energy grid survived the eclipse without incident
Solar power provides 10 percent of California's energy supply, which meant electric-grid operators had to be prepared for potentially disastrous effects during Monday's solar eclipse. To the surprise of many, there were no serious repercussions as the moon blocked a significant source of energy for...
Sean Szymkowski -
One electric car owner's experiences in adding solar panels: why, what, and how (updated)
The purchase of an electric car that plugs into the power grid to recharge its battery often gets drivers thinking about the source of their energy. We haven't seen data from recent years looking at the overlap between electric-car drivers and home solar panels. But early analyses in California...
John Voelcker -
Can we have fully carbon-free electricity by 2100? Predictions vary
The future of energy production remains in considerable debate, but some new research provides a more optimistic view for a lower-carbon future. Sources for new and replacement energy production remain uncertain, especially the degree to which renewable sources can replace those based on fossil...
Sean Szymkowski -
Montana solar-power law rigging caught on live video, regrettably
The U.S. is coming up to its Independence Day holiday, in which we celebrate the Declaration of Independence from England and reflect on our history and traditions as a nation. This is an interesting time to do that, and there's a cynical argument to be made that backroom politics is as American as...
John Voelcker -
Scientists debate: could renewable energy entirely replace fossil fuels in U.S. by 2050?
Scientists generally debate their studies and projections in relatively civil language, but perhaps the currently adversarial tenor of U.S. politics has spilled over into science. A 2015 study on the potential for renewable energy use in the U.S. has now produced not only a stringent attack, but a...
John Voelcker -
Here's a little quiz on a topic much discussed over the past couple of years: jobs. How many people work in the U.S. coal industry? Not just miners, but office staff, too. And, how many people work for solar-energy companies in the U.S.? DON'T MISS: Clean energy provides far more U.S. jobs than fossil fuels: analysis Coal mining was a mainstay of the energy industry in the U.S. and around the world, used to generate electricity for more than a century. In the U.S., according to Department of Energy employment data, about 160,000 people worked in the coal industry last year. Only 77,000 of...
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Mercedes launches home energy-storage battery, echoing Tesla
As Tesla regularly points out, the lithium-ion battery cells used in electric cars can also serve in home energy-storage units. Now, a Daimler company will go up against Tesla in that field under the branding of its most famous luxury-car make. Mercedes-Benz Energy announced yesterday that it is...
Zach Bowman -
Solar panels, EV chargers required in new homes in Fremont, CA
Half a century ago, the General Motors assembly plant was the largest employer in Fremont, California, and the town was known for its dragstrip. Today, that plant makes Tesla electric cars and Fremont is a part of the San Francisco Bay Area's Silicon Valley, creating advanced technology for the...
Green Car Reports -
What U.S. cities have the most solar power? New report lays it out
Cities across the U.S. are working to limit their emissions of climate-change gases turning to solar power, among other tactics. In 2016, programs focused on bringing the benefits of photovoltaic solar power to business and residents helped to expand that capacity with record-breaking growth...
Green Car Reports -
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 -
Bipartisan governors' group urges Trump to back solar, wind power
The new presidential administration seems poised to take a radically different approach to energy policy than its predecessor. That approach is founded on denial of accepted climate science, and an expressed desire to promote the fossil-fuel industry, including the so-called revival of coal. But...
Stephen Edelstein -
Even before Elon Musk engineered Tesla's acquisition of SolarCity, the two companies were collaborating. SolarCity was already controlled by Musk, who believes its solar-energy business can be reinforced and complemented by Tesla's energy-storage business. Last year, Tesla announced a joint project with SolarCity to install a large battery farm and solar array in Hawaii. DON'T MISS: Hawaii, utility offer $10,000 Nissan Leaf rebate; hope for carbon-free transport That project is now complete, and ready to provide electricity to a Hawaiian utility. Tesla, SolarCity, and partner Kauai Island...
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Solar power hits new U.S. heights: utility use exceeds home panels
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...
Stephen Edelstein -
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 -
We're there! Renewables now cheapest unsubsidized electricity in U.S.
Unsubsidized utility-scale solar power is now cheaper than natural gas, according to new analysis.
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