While the western world is lingering in a limping economy and a chaotic political scene, China has used that advantage to invest in clean technologies around the world. Today it is considered to be the leading force in International cleantech investments. China Takes the International Lead on Clean Energy Investment A PDF report by the
According to the Danish municipal organisation kommunen.dk a total of 4 relativly new and perfectly functional small scale solar installations on public buildings in Copenhagen are being dismantled right now due to complex and utterly silly regulatory legislation. Silly legislation The rules are different for municipal buildings than state owned buildings, and amongst other nifty
Will adding solar to your property save you money monthly, and will it increase the resale value of your house? It’s important to dig into the details about how much you might expect to see as added property value for using solar panels. There are so many benefits of solar power at home. The most important
If you need a primer on how solar energy and solar panels work, read on.
When energy is accessible to everyone, it will solve many of the world’s problems, and storage through renewable energy batteries has the potential change the future for the better.
Hawai’i has long, sunny days and the capability to produce lots of solar energy. Why, then, is solar production so contentious in Hawai’i?
Argentina has awarded a total 1.1 GW of renewable energy projects in its first auction round of the RenovAR program. Of this total, 400 MW of solar electricity projects. The government has also announced a second round (“Round 1.5”) in November which will include a quota for 200 MW of PV projects. The RenovvAR program,
Germany’s Federal Network Agency has announced a cross-border auction for ground-mounted photovoltaic installations in cooperation with Denmark. As reported by Energy Business Review, this auction will mark the first time Denmark jointly participates in a German auction. Rainer Baake, State Secretary in the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, said: “With this first cross-border auction
The Public Utility Authority (PUA) of Israel has announced it plans to issue more than 1GW of a new solar tender following a two-year hiatus from any new solar development. This anticipated plan represents an effort to boost this nation’s renewable electricity production and distribution. As reported by PVTech, the planned tender is being authorized
UtilityDIVE reports Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) has released a draft solar incentive program supporting the addition of 1.6 GW of solar power to the state. If enacted, this program will replace the state’s expiring solar incentive program, which uses solar renewable energy credits (SRECs) and is known as SREC-2, with a tariff program. The current SREC-2 program
Turkey has announced a new solar tender to be launched by the end of the year. Initial information gives some clues as to what this tender might include. The country’s energy minister Berat Albayrak recently stated Turkey plans to launch new tenders for coal and solar power capacity by the end of the year. He spoke
The National Energy Administration (NEA) of China has published its draft version of proposed 2017 feed-in tariff (FiT) levels for ground mount and distributed generation PV power plants. The lowered tariffs represent significant cuts to both sectors and overall curtailment of installations. According to PVTech, the Asia Europe Clean Energy (Solar) Advisory (AECEA) has estimated
Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has awarded 450MW of solar capacity in the state of Maharashtra, with the lowest collective set of bids involving viability gap funding (VGF) to date. The low bids add emphasis to significant solar electricity activities occurring within this nation’s borders. A total of two foreign firms won significant capacity in
New York City mayor Bill de Blasio has issued aggressive targets for New York City electricity storage and solar capacity, totaling 100MWh of storage by 2020 and 1GW of solar capacity by 2030. Tracking the development of NYC solar capacity PVTech reports the city will issue permits for more than 3,000 solar panel installations this
Plan on solar-powered electricity in Indonesia to grow markedly in the next few years using FiTs. As reported by SolarServer, the Ministry of Energy & Mineral Resources (ESDM) has issued a Government Decree to provide support mechanisms for utility-scale solar photovoltaic systems, exhibition and management services. The driving support mechanism will be the solar FIT priced
In spite of recent news from the government of Portugal stating solar subsidies are not needed to advance industry growth, José Manuel Medeiros Pinto, general secretary of the Portuguese Renewable Energy Association (APREN) responded, saying solar cannot work without financial support in current market conditions. Following Portugal approving 180MW of unsubsidized solar PV production, Pinto sees subsidized
Solar-powered electricity has claimed the biggest share in the renewable energy mix of Ukraine, closely trailed by wind energy production. As reported by pv-magazine, the total capacity of renewable energy plants in Ukraine in midyear had reached 1,028 MW. According to a report released by the SEF-2016 KYIV International Forum of Sustainable Energy in Ukraine,
Originally published on EdenKeeper.org Interfaith solidarity in Malaysia’s culture is so strong it extends to providing free solar power, “regardless of creed or race.” A recent donation sees a Chinese temple, a Christian church, a Muslim mosque, and a Chinese primary school going solar together in the town of Kota Belud, Sabah. These four special
When in Indonesia, add a government decree to the formula for boosting solar energy, and all things begin to look more attractive to clean electricity developers and investors. Until now, the solar market of Southeast Asia has been tepid, at best. But a new decree from Indonesia’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources is set
Palestine has licensed its first solar power plant in West Bank. According to pv-tech and Saur Energy International, the 5.7MW solar PV project represents the first utility-scale solar electricity project to get a license in Palestine. The Palestine Energy Ministry has granted licensing and permits for its first large-scale solar power plant near the city of
Chile has aggressively moved forward on an electricity transmission law which benefits solar, as well as other sources of energy. Following the Chilean Congress’s passage of a major electricity transmission law, experts contend this will help the development of both renewable and non-renewable energy projects in the country. Under the adopted policy, a new national
As many celebrate the shuttering of coal-fired electricity generation facilities, a call for retraining this former energy workforce from coal to solar is opening the eyes of some. In a study published in Energy Economics, researchers from Michigan Technological University and Oregon State University see a bright spot for coal workers targeting high-quality employment in
Applications to the 2016 micro-FiT program in Ontario are now being accepted. As reported by pv-magazine, the Canadian province of Ontario would launch version 4.0 of its micro-FiT program, even though installation levels are significantly lower than those last year. Ontario’s electricity authority announced that it would re-open its feed-in tariff program for solar PV
According to Bloomberg, Brazil has rejected requests from developers seeking more time to complete the country’s first large-scale solar farms. Brazil’s energy regulator Aneel reportedly sent a statement to a group of solar developers scheduled to completing solar farms by 2017, denying their request for extensions of as long as two years. Brazil economy blamed Financing
Chile is reported to have an oversupply of solar electricity — so much it is said to be giving away free solar electricity. This is a problem many cloudier nations would be more than happy to trade for. Chile is now giving away solar energy for free, states a recent Bloomberg report. This may be
In an agreement announced this week by Total and SunPower, Chile’s Metro de Santiago is ready to feature the world’s first metro to run on solar electricity. The clean energy public transit system became official when SunPower signed a power purchase agreement for the supply of 300 gigawatt hours of solar electricity annually to Metro
Solar incentives are getting a long-sought-after boost in Ghana. According to PVTech, if all goes as planned, Ghana will soon update its solar feed-in-tariff (FiT) program with payment contracts which last for 20 years as opposed to the current 10-year length. Wisdom Ahiataku-Togobo, director of renewables and alternative energy at the Ministry of Power Ghana,
Arizona solar advocates and lawmakers have negotiated a compromise, leading them to drop competing solar ballot initiatives to amend the state’s constitution. According UtilityDIVE and PV-Tech, this cease-fire allows both sides to reach a compromise which boosts solar while addressing the concerns of utilities. A ceasefire between SolarCity and Arizona Public Service Company has the two sides
Other than large hydroelectric plants in Russia, all other forms of renewable energy accounts for less than 1% of power generation capacity. These metrics come from Russia Direct, which reports when it comes to wind, solar and geothermal energy, Russia’s renewable potential is terrifyingly underdeveloped. Russia’s economically viable wind resources are situated along coastal areas –
This month, GRID Alternatives launched its free national technical assistance and turnkey solar design/install service for multifamily affordable housing in California. This nonprofit solar installer announced it has expanded its multifamily solar program to now include free technical assistance nationally for affordable housing owners, developers, and operators. This technical assistance service, which was launched to coincide with
As reported by Havasu News, UniSource Energy Services is seeking approval from the Arizona Corporation Commission ACC) to put “mandatory demand charges” on residential electric bills. Public hearings are scheduled March 31st in the Kingman and Lake Havasu City areas. Interested parties may find more information on Facebook for Kingman and Lake Havasu. Kingman – 1:00
Originally published on CleanTechnica A historic net metering revision for distributed electricity is now in play in Brazil. Planned revisions to Brazil’s net metering program for small-scale distributed electricity generation systems came into force today. These changes were approved in November 2015 by Brazil’s energy regulator National Electric Energy Agency (ANEEL). The change was described at the
Originally published on Cost of Solar. A rooftop solar mapping and assessment tool developed at MIT could eventually make it dead simple to discover the solar potential of every single rooftop in a city. The tool, called Solar System, uses high resolution mapping data to create a 3D model of the entire community, including roofs
You may well ask why PlanetSave, a blog usually dedicated to positive developments and actions to save the earth, is reporting news about ExxonMobil and a Russian arctic oil well. The oil discovery appears to have nothing to do with solar or wind or most of our usual topics—we’re talking fossil fuels here, which have caused much
This year, we have seen the largest-ever outpouring of reporting and planning for inevitable climate change in the Anthropocene. One of the latest studies, REthinking Energy, draws on worldwide research and financial analysis to form some conclusions about changing our mix of energy, one of the major drivers of the phenomenon, as earth’s population continues to
By now, many of us have heard that the President spent a little time this morning at a Wal-Mart store in in Mountain View, California, near San Jose. Solar deployment and energy efficiency were the two main thrusts of his speech. He spoke about more than 300 recent private and public sector commitments to create
You want solar power? These guys seem unlikely to provide it. (Found on Facebook—thanks to Greenpeace UK.)
Agora Energiewende this week released the results of a cost analysis of four different CO2-free power scenarios in Europe. Says Patrick Graichen, executive director of Agora: Wind and solar systems will dominate the power system in increasingly more countries. The battle for the cheapest CO2-free power mix is decided. In the future wind and solar
If you’re in Florida and hope to live a more sustainable “off the grid” lifestyle that’s free from the influence of energy companies and massive agricultural conglomerates by adding solar panels to your home, harvesting rainwater, and planting an organic garden on your property- watch out.
Premium hydroponic-grown, pesticide-free vegetables and herbs growing in the U.S. Gotham Greens facility (from eponline.com). Two entrepreneurs have recently made London the home of a very creative architectural reuse for food production—underground. Steven Dring, a former executive with Bunzl, an international provider of food-related products and services, and his friend and business partner Richard Ballard,
Mesocore offers a container-sized housing solution that purifies rain water and is solar-powered. The potential return on investment for donating one to a family in need is very large. If you consider that there are millions of people around the world living without housing, electricity or clean drinking water, Mesocore self-contained micro homes could drastically
If you’ve ever wondered about the composition of the electricity delivered to your home (most of us have no clue), there’s one quick and easy way to find out. The EPA’s ‘Power Profiler’ tool has apparently been around for at least 2 years, but I only discovered it recently. Although the data used to generate
Editor’s Note: Thought solar panels were just useful for creating electricity or heat for hot water? Apparently not. Stanford researchers have found a way to create “solar cooling panels” or “radiative cooling panels” that shoot heat away from the building. According to the researchers, just covering 10% of a roof covered by these solar cooling
Clean energy is in everyone’s best interests. Not only does it save you money, but it also helps to save the future of the earth’s resources and ecosystem. Finite energy sources will not be around forever, and their production is harmful to the earth’s atmosphere. Luckily, some real progress has been made regarding clean energy,
Samsung has built solar-powered Internet schools for use in a rural region of South Africa (notably, with careful consideration of potential problems, such as a special design material to protect the panels from theft). The schools are literally modified shipping containers equipped with seats, desks, laptop computers, Galaxy tablet PCs, and an Internet connection.
Everyone loves solar. Well, ok, not everyone, but the HUGE majority of people. It’s been like this probably as long as the idea of solar power has been around. Thomas Edison was clearly a huge fan: Now, a new study conducted by Hart Research on behalf of the Solar Energy Industries Association, shows that Americans of
If you hadn’t noticed from the obvious green theme in Avatar, and if you don’t keep up with director James Cameron news, you probably don’t know that prolific director James Cameron (of Avatar, Titanic, and plenty of other films) is a full-blooded environmentalist now. But I’m telling you, so now you know. 😀 […]
According to a new survey on clean energy, nearly 9 out of 10 (89%) adults in the U.S. think that renewable energy sources, like wind and solar power, should become a larger portion of the U.S. energy supply. The new poll was conducted by the company Ipsos on behalf of Sungevity, a globally recognized
