Silicor Materials has announced its plan to achieve a carbon-neutral status at its manufacturing facility in Iceland. To do this, Silicor will fund the planting of over 26,000 trees to offset the yearly production of 2,800 tons of CO2. (Forty-eight tons of CO2 is created during its process of manufacturing solar silicon, … [continued]
Saskatchewan’s public utility has said it has set a goal to generate 50% of its electricity from renewable energy by 2030. Installing about 60 MW of utility-scale solar power will help achieve it, but the overall strategy will include geothermal, wind, hydropower, and biomass. “The province has barely even scratched the surface of … [continued]
Three solar power projects with a combined capacity of 170 MW are being constructed by Zhonghuan Energy in the northern Chinese territory of Inner Mongolia. Apple Inc. is supplying 40% of the funds for the projects, which is about US $103 million. Zhonghuan Energy and SunPower are providing the other 60%. The solar … [continued]
Envirofit, a for-profit social enterprise, has delivered one million clean cookstoves to customers around the world. These devices save money by decreasing annual fuel costs and they reduce exposure to household air pollution, which is a leading cause of death globally. According to the World Health Organization, in 2012 4.3 … [continued]
Cochin International Airport in Kerala, India has a 12 MW solar power plant and generates all of its own electricity. 46,000 solar panels provide the power now, but the airport initially started with just 400 in a pilot project. Once that proved successful, it went all out and created the much larger plant, which … [continued]
The California Public Utilities Commission is evaluating what changes to make to the state of California’s net metering policy. The utilities want to reduce payments to customers who generate electricity from solar power and add fees, but doing so would damage or potentially destroy the California solar power industry, some say. Brad Heavner is … [continued]
The Canadian company Hydrostor has developed a way to store energy using pressurized air kept in underwater balloons and currently has a pilot project in Lake Ontario. The air is used at opportune times to turn turbines to generate electricity. CEO Curtis VanWalleghem generously answered some questions about the technology … [continued]
LG Chem will be installing six 15 MWh batteries in STEAG power plants operated in the North-Rhine Westphalia and Rhineland Palatinate areas. When finished in 2016–2017, the Großbatterie-Systeme will be able to store 140 MWh of electricity, which is enough for about 10,000 homes. 90 megawatts (MW) is the power capacity of the large-scale lithium-ion … [continued]
Governor Andrew Cuomo is reportedly planning to order state regulators to mandate that 50% of all electricity in New York come from renewable sources. Two nuclear power plants will probably be shut down at some point, so the electricity they generate will need to be placed, and it only seems sensible to replace it … [continued]
A research study has found that using more solar power in Arizona could save 15 billion gallons of water annually. Most of the water used in Arizona is for agriculture, but another common usage is for cooling natural gas, coal, and nuclear power plants. Obviously, operating rooftop solar power does not require such water use. … [continued]
