SolarReserve can operate potentially 24 hours a day, because its solar tower technology can bank the sun’s energy stored as heat – for as long as two months – which can be used to drive a turbine to make power at any time. At the CPUC site that lists the … [continued]
Bill Gates has started to notice that the climate is a potential problem.”We need energy miracles” he said at TED. “The microprocessor and internet are miracles. This is a case where we have to drive and get the miracle in a short timeline.” It’s always encouraging when someone with the … [continued]
DeSmogBlog has exposed the memo of a U.S. based propaganda plot to coordinate fossil-funded groups to turn public opinion against wind power. The memo crafted by the American Tradition Institute (ATI) was obtained by DeSmogBlog and written up at the British newspaper the Guardian. ATI is the right-wing “think-tank” behind the lawsuit to harass hockey … [continued]
The first solar plant of a 6.5 GW boom in Obama-era projects approved on public lands land was just inaugurated today. Silver State North began generating electricity to the Nevada grid a mere year and a half after getting its initial approval by the Department of the Interior in 2010 … [continued]
An average of LCAs at the Journal of Industrial Ecology finds that burning coal generates 20 times more greenhouse gases than construction projects that generate energy such as solar or wind farms. Wind and solar generate averages from 10-50 grams to coal’s 1,000 grams of CO2 to generate 1 kilowatt hour … [continued]
Retiring Senator Jeff Bingaman has introduced another of his Clean Energy Standard (CES) bills aimed at attracting the needed Republican support to pass. Here’s why this one might work, and why it doesn’t matter that it is so loose in what is allowed. Utilities would have to get CO2 emissions … [continued]
California solar produced on rooftops is about to breach the next limit of 5 percent of aggregate customer peak demand. The effect could be to sunset the incredible growth of distributed solar rooftop power in the state, as utility payments are ended for future rooftop solar production. Why is there a … [continued]
No wonder the push back against clean energy is so strong. A staggering amount of money is at stake. I had not realized quite how much impact that switching to clean energy will have on the dirty energy industry, currently the richest industry on the planet. The IEA 2012 report on … [continued]
Land cools each night when the sun goes down. Hot air rises. Fans circulate air. Wind speeds pick up at night. This combination of familiar facts mean that wind turbine blades move warmer air back down lower than usual over large wind farms. A small study measuring that effect, Impacts of … [continued]
How often we hear of a nuclear plant or a coal plant having been delayed, and with cost overruns, for which the ratepayer must foot the bill. But those projects plow on, costing more and taking longer, as more things go wrong. By contrast, we are not hearing about … [continued]
