November 1st, 2019 | by Guest Contributor
In late 2012, I went to the Miami International Auto Show and had my first experience in a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV). My brother-in-law and I took a ride in a Fisker Karma inside the Miami Beach Convention Center. It was an amazing opportunity to experience the future of transport, as we glided silently through a short indoor track
June 6th, 2019 | by Charles W. Thurston
The island of Curacao began a solar net metering program that has inspired close to 800 residential and commercial installations, operating at a cost of 10% less than the fossil fuel generation they replaced, according to a new report by Ronald Lieuw-Sjong at Next Step Consulting, based in Curaçao
June 5th, 2019 | by Charles W. Thurston
The cumulative value of residential solar installations for utilities is comprised of two different parts: the generation of electricity to the grid, and the avoided cost of building new generation. While the former is fairly straightforward and owners are compensated through net metering or other rate schemes, the latter is difficult to assess and thus far homeowners have received little compensation
May 25th, 2019 | by World Resources Institute
In the United States, the falling cost of renewable energy means the economic case for investing in renewables is stronger than ever before. Across the country, from South Carolina to Nevada, states are taking new measures to harness wind and solar power. Since January, more than 10 state legislatures have enacted policies that encourage new renewable energy development
May 14th, 2019 | by Jesper Berggreen
It was the 12th of April. I had waited exactly 3 years and 12 days. That morning, like many before it, I checked the Danish locale of the Tesla Model 3 configurator and there it was: the Standard Range Plus ready to order
April 5th, 2019 | by Nexus Media
For the last forty-odd years, the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC, has been a mainstay of the conservative movement and major force in shaping state laws. The organization brings together state lawmakers and corporate leaders to draft business-friendly policies that are then ferried to statehouses around the country
March 25th, 2019 | by Charles W. Thurston
West Virginia has called for a time-out in its four-year effort to rewrite solar net metering rules to the detriment of both solar hosts and solar installers, thanks to a massive campaign by Solar United Neighbors that mustered over 1,000 public comments
October 5th, 2018 | by Charles W. Thurston
California’s small solar owners pay for the transmission of electricity they don’t use, but relief is on the way
July 27th, 2018 | by Steve Hanley
Green Mountain Power in Vermont says its virtual power plant system that involves up to 2,000 Tesla Powerwall residential batteries, saved it $500,000 during a recent heat wave.
January 7th, 2018 | by Danny Parker
Against complaints of their dismantling efficiency programs, a laudable accomplishment for Florida Power and Light Company (FPL) is their recent plans to greatly increase renewable energy generation. It is true that utility scale solar remains lower cost than rooftop solar for generation when both investments are unsubsidized. Also, it can be seen in the latest third party evaluation of the cost effectiveness of various generation resources that utility scale solar is now cost competitive with natural gas combined cycle generation even though solar will have to be part of a diversified collection of resources to meet 24 hour needs, according to this Lazard analysis
December 12th, 2017 | by Michael Barnard
Bitcoin is very interesting for cleantech for two reasons. One is obvious: the primary currency sucks a lot of electricity, and more electricity demand is good for investment in renewable generation. Of course, a lot of the electricity still comes from carbon-rich fossil fuels too. The second is the underlying technology, blockchain, which has a number of interesting uses emerging in the cleantech space
December 5th, 2017 | by Danny Parker
Florida has been famously known as the Sunshine State — an old nickname that was officially adopted in 1970 by the state legislature. I have been researching the energy use of U.S. homes and how to reduce it for my entire career — nearly 40 years. Most of that time I’ve spent as a researcher at the Florida Solar Energy Center, which is the state’s dedicated energy research institute and part of the University of Central Florida
October 15th, 2017 | by Kyle Field
Residential energy storage has the potential to be one key solution for effectively integrating distributed renewables into the future electricity mix. It is already seeing solid traction and offering respectable returns in some markets around the world. Hawaii and Australia, among others with their high electricity prices and vast solar resources, have become hotspots for residential energy storage
October 14th, 2017 | by Michael Barnard
There’s a lot more to replacing a grid than just solar and storage. Tesla can certainly help Puerto Rico rebuild, but it will be one of many participants in that process. It could easily make a lot of individual residences and office buildings more resilient with rooftop solar and PowerWalls. It could easily double or triple the amount of solar generation Puerto Rico has today. It could easily set up grid storage that would smooth the use of more renewables
October 4th, 2017 | by Joshua S Hill
The United States Solar Energy Industries Association published a new analysis this week which proves that more than $78 million worth of solar projects are currently on hold in Massachusetts due to a failure to extend the state's Net Metering Cap.
August 13th, 2017 | by Guest Contributor
Australia is undergoing something of an energy crisis — growing demand combined with under-investment in the electric grid has recently led to a series of embarrassing blackouts, and electric rates are soaring. South Australia has just overtaken Denmark as the place with the world’s most expensive electricity
June 15th, 2017 | by Kyle Field
Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval signed a handful of new solar and energy related bills today in Carson City to help the state pivot away from the anti-consumer, anti-solar net metering regulation that forced SolarCity out of the state in late
May 15th, 2017 | by Michael Barnard
Major urban low-carbon innovations include net metering, vehicle fleet emissions standards, complete streets zoning, wind-powered trains and electric buses, all driven by regulation and policy
April 23rd, 2017 | by Chris Dragon
Want solar panels? Need info on solar panel prices, installation, installers, rebates, payback period, permits, etc.? This in-depth guide focused a bit on California has megawatts of answers
April 17th, 2017 | by Steve Hanley
The UK wants to back away from the renewable energy commitments it made to the EU while keeping the benefit of cross-border energy trading. EU leaders are not impressed as Brexit negotiations begin.
