Energy

First Nations Peoples are now Key to Australia’s clean Energy Revolution, after 65,000 Years of Caring for this Land

By Heidi Norman, UNSW Sydney (The Conversation) – Australia is on the cusp of a once-in-a-generation transformation, as our energy systems shift to clean, renewable forms of power. First Nations peoples, the original custodians of this land, must be central to – and benefit from – this transition. That is the key message of the […]

Corporations

The American Oil Industry’s Playbook, Illustrated: How Drillers Offload Costly Cleanup Onto the Public

ProPublica

by Mark Olalde. ( ProPublica ) – In December 1990, officials in the federal agency tasked with regulating offshore oil and gas drilling received a memo with a dire warning: America faced a ticking time bomb of environmental liability from unplugged oil and gas wells, wrote the agency’s chief of staff. Those wells and their […]

Climate Crisis

Egypt opens 500 MW Solar Plant, Plans Factory with Sweden to Manufacture Photovoltaic Panels

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Egypt is perfect for solar power, even though the country has not implemented much of it yet. The Egyptians had installed 1.8 gigawatts of solar by the beginning of this year, most of it at the Benban Solar Park some 400 miles south of Cairo in the Aswan Governorate. But […]

Featured

Türkiye reaches 18.7 GW Photovoltaic Capacity, shows how Solar can meet Growing Air Conditioning demand

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – One of the paradoxes of human-made climate change is that as we heat up the planet by burning gasoline, coal and fossil gas, it makes the summers hotter. These torrid months impel people to run the air conditioner nonstop, which requires burning more coal or fossil gas, which causes it […]

Donald Trump

Trump is Already Rewarding Fossil Fuel CEOs; That’s not Good for Consumers or the Planet

Sonali Kolhatkar

If you think fossil fuel profits lead to better prices, then look again at the Biden administration. ( Otherwords.org ) – During his campaign, Donald Trump publicly promised to reward oil and gas executives handsomely in exchange for funding his campaign. Within weeks of winning the election, he’s making good on his promise by tapping […]

Climate Crisis

In Sunny Spain, cheap Solar Power set to overtake Wind Generation, backed by Socialist Government and Co-ops

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Spain’s photovoltaic electricity production is set to surpass its wind power, according to China’s Xinhua news agency. Spain is Europe’s champion at producing solar power, because some of its regions are especially sunny — think Seville. The Global Energy Monitor puts it this way: “The country has more utility-scale solar […]

Featured

Consumer Solar Surge: Pakistan Shows you Don’t Need Government Programs to Green the Grid

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – While no one was looking, the Pakistani public took matters into their own hands, adding 17 gigawatts of solar power this year. These installations are mostly in the form of Chinese panels for rooftop or ground level solar in towns and villages. Pakistan has abruptly become the world’s sixth-largest consumer […]

Featured

Morocco to double Green Energy in Sahara in anticipation of 2030 World Cup

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The World Cup, disputed territory and green energy are three of the things that increasingly make the world go round, and they are coming together in Morocco. Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner is even in the background of it all. Morocco’s Atalayer reports that Rabat will attempt to double sustainable energy […]

Climate Crisis

China opens World’s Largest offshore Solar Power Facility, as U.S. Falls Farther Behind

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Solar panels are great sources of energy. We have them on our roof and they have saved us a lot of money, especially in spring-summer-fall. Some observers complain about their bulk compared to the energy they put out, though. I’ve had engineers argue to me that there just isn’t space […]