Since the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2009, a temporary, ground-laid electrical grid (or “microgrid”) has connected Solar Decathlon houses with one another and the local utility, writes Carol Laurie for Solar Decathlon. The village microgrid allows excess power generated by the houses’ solar electric systems to be sent back … [continued]
RenewEconomy (See also our update on how wind energy met 91 per cent of demand in South Australia on Wednesday morning). It’s been a big week for wind energy. First was the admission by Tony Abbott’s modellers that the renewable energy target as is will reduce electricity bills, and that the target … [continued]
When I arrived onsite last week, Solar Decathlon Europe 2014 student teams were in the middle of the final phase of heavy construction of their self-designed and self-built project houses, writes Meredith Tunick for Solar Decathlon. The scene was filled with intense energy as students—fully equipped with hard hats, steel-toed boots, and safety gear—moved … [continued]
Scriptogr.am Uber is a mobile application that can turn anyone with a vehicle into an independent cabbie. Excitement around this simple idea has spiraled into a purported market valuation of $18 billion. However in the past month, the business model behind this valuation is facing existential struggle in many cities around … [continued]
The new 600-kW Storms Hog Farm manure biogas-to-electricity plant in North Carolina has just officially passed its proof-of-concept stage, leaving the field wide open to build even bigger hog manure biogas plants in the state.
A new report from the United Nations Environment Programme shows that renewable energy trade between South-South countries has exploded over the past year, led by regional-heavyweight China. The South-South — an academic term for trade between developing countries, also known as countries in the global south — are taking advantage … [continued]
Kinetic energy is a renewable energy resource we don’t give much attention to. Very simply, it is the energy of motion. Capturing this energy and using it to create electricity is possible, and it is done routinely in certain systems. However, for the most part, it is too inefficient of a process to … [continued]
Originally Published in the ECOreport The Energy Information Administration (EIA) has just released two reports on the first four months of 2014, and the US Renewable Usage and CO2 emissions have both substantially increased. “Renewable energy sources (i.e., biomass, geothermal, hydropower, solar, wind) provided over 14% of the nation’s electricity … [continued]
Originally Published in the ECOreport A very promising solar bill is making its way through the California Legislature. AB 2188 calls for a streamlining of the permitting process, and Sunrun has issued a report stating it could deliver an additional $5 billion into the state’s coffers. This bill has already been … [continued]
Originally Published on the ECOreport Battery storage is on the cusp of going mainstream. Thousands of German homes are now obtaining 60-70% of their electricity from solar, and the yield is even higher in the US, where there is more sunshine. (More on that coming soon.) Now KB Home and SunPower are … [continued]
