The costs of wind and solar energy keep falling; installing a new wind turbine costs about a third of what it did in 2008. Solar prices fell by 88 percent during that time. In fact, renewable energy is so inexpensive, utilities have found that they can save customers money by closing coal plants early and replacing them with wind and solar power.
Some state solar markets are created with a single legal keystone, creating market exuberance where there once was dust. New statistics that now show Nevada leads the nation in clean job growth did not arise from a roll of the dice in Las Vegas.
Reading a recent World Resources Institute blog post on fire, I began exploring an interactive map referenced in it, Global Forest Watch Fires. It is an interactive online platform with diverse skills and strengths. It will identify active fires as they start and alert you as they develop in your area.
For CleanTechnica readers not based in the US or unfamiliar with the US presidential election process, there is an odd system that is used that is not a simple one-person-one-vote system. Electoral College (EC) electors are used to represent the states. The number of electors are distributed unevenly, giving low populous states more votes than high populous states. This is an anachronistic holdover from a couple of centuries ago when newspapers were delivered by horse power … the old, original form of horsepower.
Which US state is greener? Which is not very electric vehicle (EV) friendly? Such were the questions CarMax asked in its recent survey of the top 10 states for sales of these eco-friendly vehicles in 2018.
Tesla is looking to the local community for future employees through its Manufacturing Development Program, which is being offered through Nevada’s Jobs for America’s Graduates program. The program aims to connect high school graduates in Nevada with the skills required to land a job or move forward with postsecondary education. Naturally, it connects nicely to the high-tech manufacturing jobs at Tesla’s booming Gigafactory outside Sparks, Nevada.
Charging an electric truck or bus at a fleet depot—or an electric car at an apartment, workplace, or a public fast-charging station—should be far cheaper than filling up on gasoline or diesel. Unfortunately, that’s often not the case at sites that receive electricity under utility rates designed for commercial buildings and industrial operations that don’t reflect the flexible nature of electric vehicle (EV) charging. To remedy this mismatch, Southern California Edison (SCE) and Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), two of the largest utilities in the nation, have developed an innovative suite of rates designed specifically for commercial EV charging, providing significant fuel cost savings to customers who charge EVs in a manner that supports the electric grid.
The Nevada Office of Economic Development says Tesla has exceeded virtually every promise it made to secure incentives for the Gigafactory. The factory has had a dramatic impact on the economy of northern Nevada.
Moving forward with our monthly What Changed … ? feature, below is a rundown of notable solar energy news — changed in the solar industry — during the month of November.
Nevada voters approved a measure (Question 6) to increase the renewable energy portfolio standard for state utilities from 15% in 2025 to 50% by 2030, a goal for which NV Energy is preparing with $2 billion worth of requests for proposals this year.
