Because of all the media attention about solar power, most people think of photovoltaic (PV) solar panels. People in or on the fringe of the clean energy business might know about the Chinese’ so called “dumping” of low cost PV panels onto the U. S. market; about how schools … [continued]
If it wasn’t already apparent, China’s latest Five-Year Plan highlights the vast differences between the Chinese and US economic systems and political economy. When it comes to solar PV, solar energy and trade, China plays by its own rules, and that spells more trouble for foreign competitors and trade partners.
Ernst & Young released its quarterly Country Attractiveness Indices report (CAI) for renewable energy today. There are some quite interesting observations regarding the state of and projections for renewable energy (and specific renewable energy sectors) within the report, but the ranking of the top countries in the index remains the same: … [continued]
Other than our own stories on these topics and more, here’s some top clean energy news from around the internet from the past several days. News on solar energy, wind energy, clean transportation, clean energy policy, wave energy, energy efficiency, and cleantech innovation. Solar Energy Average prices for crystalline-silicon … [continued]
Can you guess where the largest electric bus and electric taxi fleet is? If you guessed Kalamazoo, Michigan, I’m sorry, but you’re wrong (why you would have guessed that, I don’t know). However, if you guessed Shenzhen City, China, you were right on point (and I guess you probably knew … [continued]
South Africa this week proposed a national carbon tax as part of the country’s national budget, becoming the latest major economy to move toward charging for emissions. But, a large swath of emissions would be exempt until 2020.
Greenpeace has just released a new renewable energy doc that touches on growing renewable energy around the world and the potential to provide the world with 95% of its power by 2050 (38% by 2020). Here are a couple of nice quotes from that doc you might like to … [continued]
Imagine confusion, trying to navigate streets in a Chinese haze where you can’t see across the street. It is like being in a dense fog where you are afraid to breath. Street signs are invisible even if you could understand them. Crossing the street on foot is more a matter of trust or hope than observation. The situation is in many ways similar to our gaze into a murky transportation future. “Is that an EV or a too silent hybrid bearing down on us out of the gloom? Do we hear the clatter of a diesel engine approaching or is that a familiar gasoline powered car about to run us over?” An unknown future creates anxiety.
The Devil is always in the details. It is being widely reported on the web that a new University of Tennessee study shows that, when electric cars are charged by grid power where the energy mix is 90% coal, they are more polluting than petrol vehicles. But when we take a look at the actual study, several clarifications come to light that tend to discredit the study and marginalize the results.
Some more top cleantech news of the past couple weeks, to go along with the 60+ articles we’ve published. 1. Despite recent/upcoming solar feed-in tariff cuts, UK energy minister Greg Barker announced a ramp-up of the UK’s solar power ambitions last Thursday. Barker thinks the UK will have 4 … [continued]
