Solar Energy

Solar Panels are the Cheapest Energy in World History, but they Can be Even more Efficient and Inexpensive

By Renate Egan, UNSW Sydney | – The cost of turning sunlight into electricity has fallen more than 90% over the last decade. Solar is now the cheapest form of newly built energy generation. Job done? Not quite. Right now, solar works well at cost-competitive prices and can help us cut emissions significantly. But with […]

Climate Crisis

Solar Farms foster Wildlife and Biodiversity. Not a Blight on the Landscape

The Conversation

By Angie Turner, Keele University; Eleanor Harrison, Staffordshire University; and Zoe Robinson, Keele University | – Liz Truss, the new UK prime minister, isn’t a fan of solar farms. In 2014, when she was environment secretary, she described rows of panels arranged in a field to capture energy from the sun as a “blight on […]

Climate Crisis

In Berlin, German Post Office to use Solar-Powered Riverboats on the Spree to deliver Mail

Clean Energy Wire

By Julian Wettengel | – ( Clean Energy Wire ) – German postal service Deutsche Post DHL is testing emission-free delivery on Berlin’s Spree river with a solar-powered ship. The pilot project in the capital is an addition to the company’s existing CO2-neutral delivery fleet consisting of electric trucks and bicycles, and “shows we are […]

Batteries

In Irony, $9.7 bn. GigawattFactory Hub for Battery, Renewables, to be Built by Coal Firm on Wasteland its Open Mining Created

Clean Energy Wire

By Edgar Meza | – ( Clean Energy Wire ) – German energy group LEAG, the country’s second biggest electricity producer and a key lignite company, plans to build the country’s largest renewable energy site in the eastern Lusatia coal mining region with the establishment of a 7 gigawatt (GW) hub by 2030. LEAG estimates […]

Australasia

There’s a huge Surge in Solar Production under Way – and Australia could show the World how to use It

The Conversation

By Andrew Blakers, Australian National University | – You might feel despondent after reading news reports about countries doubling down on fossil fuels to cope with energy price spikes. Don’t. It’s a blip. While the Russian invasion of Ukraine has led to a temporary fossil fuel resurgence, it also accelerated Europe’s renewable ambitions. And the […]

Climate Crisis

All the Ways Decarbonizing will Save us Loads of Money and Create all Kinds of Jobs

The Conversation

By Aled Jones, Anglia Ruskin University | – The three most prevalent myths about tackling climate change allege that transitioning to renewable energy jacks up household bills, requires massive amounts of government subsidy and creates mass unemployment. These concerns are all (thankfully) false. With fellow academics, I studied instances from the past 30 years when […]

Climate Crisis

Solar Power Record Year for Germany: Unprecedented 51 Terawatt Hours already Reached in September, ’22

Julian Wettengel

By Julian Wettengel | – ( Clean Energy Wire ) – 2022 will become a record year for solar power generation in Germany, data by research institute Fraunhofer ISE’s Energy Charts suggests. “By mid-September, solar plants in Germany had already generated more electricity in 2022 than in the whole of 2021 or 2020,”Bruno Burger of […]

Climate Crisis

Top Six Astounding Signs of Solar Progress in US, as this Source accounts for 45% of New Power Installations in 2021

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Berkeley Labs has brought out its report on utility-scale solar power in the United States during 2021. Here are some headlines from the report: 1. Utility-scale solar and distributed solar came to 45% of all new electricity-production capacity added to the US grid in 2021. In contrast, wind was 32% […]

Climate Crisis

Germany to turbocharge Rooftop Solar by Slashing Taxes, Red Tape amid Ukraine War Energy Crisis

Clean Energy Wire

By Sören Amelang | – dpa / Süddeutsche Zeitung / Clean Energy Wire. ( Clean Energy Wire ) – The German government is introducing tax breaks for the operation of small-scale photovoltaic systems and removing other bureaucratic hurdles to speed up the rollout of renewables. Income from systems with a capacity of up to 30 […]