Forty-five years ago, when I began work at the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Solar Energy Research Institute (SERI), we were keen on figuring out ways to get solar panels on as many residential rooftops as possible. By Meteor Blades Just as the solar panels President Jimmy Carter had installed on the White House roof and President Ronald Reagan later […]
More than half of new US generating capacity this year will be SOLAR – The U.S. Energy Information Administration, part of the Department of Energy, has long tracked energy production and consumption and made forecasts in its Annual Energy Outlook and its International Energy Outlook. While its tracking of what’s already happened has been uniformly excellent, critics […]
Wind and solar supplied more of the EU’s electricity than any other power source for the first time ever in 2022, new analysis finds. They together provided a record one-fifth of the EU’s electricity in 2022 – a larger share than gas or nuclear, according to a report by the climate thinktank Ember. By Daisey Dunne Carbon Brief Record […]
A new analysis of federal data shows that wind and solar alone could generate more electricity in the United States than nuclear and coal over the coming year, critical progress toward reducing the country’s reliance on dirty energy. By Jake Johnson Common Dreams The SUN DAY Campaign, a nonprofit that promotes sustainable energy development, highlighted […]
Driven significantly by dramatically reduced fossil fuel imports following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, solar production soared nearly 50% in the European Union this year—with even greater growth forecast for 2023, a report published this week by an industry group revealed. By Brett Wilkins Common Dreams SolarPower Europe said in the introduction to a new report that “2022 was […]
Hurricane Ian’s catastrophic winds and flooding are likely to bring long-lasting power outages to large parts of Florida. The storm is the latest in a line of hurricanes and extreme heat and cold events that have knocked out power to millions of Americans in recent years for days at a time. Will Gorman, Lawrence Berkeley […]
Five years after Hurricane Maria wreaked havoc on Puerto Rico, Hurricane Fiona has killed at least four people, caused widespread flooding and left hundreds of thousands of residents without water or power. Maria caused extensive damage to Puerto Rico’s power grid in 2017 that left many residents without electricity for months. Rebuilding it has been […]
If the U.S. media had spent half as much time covering the 3,000 deaths and nightmare aftermath in Puerto Rico from Hurricane Maria in 2017 as it has covering the death of Queen Elizabeth II and the uncertain destiny of the various surviving British royals, perhaps it might have spurred action to prevent a repeat. […]
Energy efficiency can save homeowners and renters hundreds of dollars a year, and the new Inflation Reduction Act includes a wealth of home improvement rebates and tax incentives to help Americans secure those saving. It extends tax credits for installing energy-efficient windows, doors, insulation, water heaters, furnaces, air conditioners or heat pumps, as well as […]
The 2022 U.S. Energy and Employment Report (USEER) from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is a comprehensive study designed to track and understand employment trends across the energy sector and within key energy technologies. The report covers 2021, an unprecedented and unpredictable year for American families and businesses as the country began its slow […]
In a profession dominated by men, solar training nonprofits and trade unions are providing networking opportunities, creating caregiving pilots and training men to be better allies against harassment. By Jessica Kutz The 19th news When Anna Bautista was studying electrical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, she didn’t know she would soon find herself […]
UN Sustainable Development Goal 7 aspires to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all by 2030. But in Africa, around 600 million people continue to live without access to electricity. Seeking to reach as many of these people as quickly as possible, African governments are signing agreements with foreign firms to […]
Recent extreme weather events have underscored the need to cut the CO₂ emissions that are driving up global temperatures. This requires a rapid transition of the energy economy to renewable energy sources, the cheapest being solar photovoltaics (PV). And our newly published research points to a way we can drive down costs of the shift […]
The Biden administration on Wednesday announced a new initiative to bring solar power to low-income families across the U.S. By Jenna McGuire Common Dreams The new measures will be available to the over 4.5 million families that are served by U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) programs, helping them transition their homes to community […]
Curtailment has a special meaning in electric power systems. It describes any action that reduces the amount of electricity generated to maintain the balance between supply and demand – which is critical for avoiding blackouts. By Theodore J. Kury, University of Florida The Conversaiton Recently, curtailment has made news in states like California and Texas […]