With the surprise UK general election only a few weeks away, the country’s renewable energy trade organisations are rushing to add their voices to the mix, laying out renewable energy “manifestos” and “plans” and “visions” for the resulting UK government to implement upon victory.
Australia installed another 71MW of small scale rooftop solar (systems under 100kW) in April, extending its record start to the year as households and business continued to respond to high electricity prices, easing solar module prices and the rapid falls in battery storage.
It’s no secret that solar PV is now the cheapest form of new-build utility-scale power generation around, but we’re not far from the point when it will also be cheaper that incumbent fossil fuel generators.
Florida has many faces. One face strives to support clean energy and jobs being lit by the sun. In spite of the fact that a group of people cast their votes in this swing state toward a tragically absurd direction (choosing a political leader who is ecologically unaware, deaf, and blind), the state continues to move towards renewable growth — solar in particular. The Palm Beach Post reported that a bill to implement the constitutional amendment designed to expand the use of solar and other renewable energy devices is ready to go to Governor Rick Scott. It is now delivered to the governor’s desk. Time to act swiftly, governor.
The question of scale economies in solar has been both a technological and an economic one. As mentioned before, the contention in the late 2000s was that concentrating solar thermal power plant technology would outstrip solar photovoltaics (PV) because the latter was marginally more efficient (at the point of generation) and could incorporate energy storage.
2017 could be a big year for the development of microgrids in remote and non-electrified regions and countries, with storage companies and technology behemoths leading the way on installing and investing in storage micro-grids and solar for regional and island countries and communities.
A new research note from MAKE Consulting has confirmed what many have said before, the record low prices being awarded at renewable energy auctions across the world throughout 2016 and 2017 are indicative of the increasing competitiveness of renewable energy technologies globally.
We’ve written a few times about how China has the opportunity (and seems to be taking it) to increase its global influence and power thanks to the Trump presidency. There are various avenues for achieving that, but the largest of them seems to be Trump’s science denial and absurd ideas regarding global warming and sensible climate action.
Now, another global superpower is following suit with this opening, but much more directly.
This morning (or late last night, depending on your location), Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted that the Tesla Solar Roof was ready to go on sale (today) and more details would follow in the afternoon. It’s the afternoon, and as promised, the Tesla Solar Roof site is now live. Preliminary details include what homeowners should expect to pay for such a roof as well as how much money they might save as a result of the solar generation.
Jamaica is looking to mobilize a substantial investment into its renewable energy sector as it recognizes the global movement towards a low-carbon economy.
