Solar Energy

( Foreign Policy in Focus) Over the last six months, the world took a giant step backward in its efforts to address the current climate crisis. In February, after finally reversing its position and pledging to become carbon-neutral by 2060, Russia invaded Ukraine and set off a panic around access to fossil fuels. In March, […]

Climate Crisis

California to Require All New Car Purchases in 2035 to be Electric, in Massive Change for Auto Industry

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The California Air Resources Board has ruled that no all-gasoline cars can be sold new in California by 2035, according to AP. This measure has brought California into line with the European Union, which has the same deadline for going electric, as does Canada. Some 17 other states, including New […]

Climate Crisis

The Inflation Reduction Act’s Incentives are a Start to a Green Energy Revolution, but Now comes the Hard Work

The Conversation

By Daniel Cohan, Rice University | – The new Inflation Reduction Act is stuffed with subsidies for everything from electric vehicles to heat pumps, and incentives for just about every form of clean energy. But pouring money into technology is just one step toward solving the climate change problem. Wind and solar farms won’t be […]

Climate Crisis

Gravity power holds major promise for the decarbonization of electricity grids: Wind and solar energy get a lift from falling-weight technology

contributors

By David Henry | – ( Landscape News) – The Energy Vault Resiliency Center, a scalable gravity-powered energy storage center that holds major promise for supporting clean energy transitions. Business Wire 4 August 2022 David Henry The general workings of gravity are nothing new: What goes up must come down. Over the past decade, scientists […]

Climate Crisis

With Biden’s IRA, Why Homeowners are Costing themselves Money if they don’t Install Solar Panels

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has established a 10-year 30% tax credit for installing solar panels on your roof.It is a worthwhile thing to do if someone is planning on being in their house for the long term. And it isn’t only the panels themselves that the IRA subsidizes through […]

Climate Crisis

The Green New Deal Goes Local

John Feffer

( Foreign Policy in Focus) – Ithaca, a city of 30,000 people in the Southern Tier of New York state, has pledged to be carbon-neutral by 2030. The city government is leading the way by implementing a strategy to achieve full decarbonization, including all areas of the economy. That means vehicles, buildings, the electric grid, […]

Climate Crisis

You know you want an Electric Car. What does the IRA mean for Consumers this Year?

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Thinking of buying an electric car? With the signing by President Biden yesterday of the Inflation Reduction Act, it is a great time to make the move from expensive and destructive gasoline to a much cleaner electric vehicle. But the rules on the $7,500 federal tax break for buying a […]

Climate Crisis

As Last Coal Plant closes, Cheap Solar Power Rescues Hawaii, which has reached ~40% Renewables

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Veteran green energy journalist Julian Spector at Canary Media tells the story of how the last-minute opening this July of the 39-megawatt (MW) Mililani 1 solar farm out near Pearl Harbor — which is hooked up to a 156 MW battery — saved Hawaii from brownouts when its last coal […]

Climate Crisis

Why Fightin’ Joe Biden may be the most Consequential President in Forty Years

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Joe Biden has been easy for the pundit class to write off. He isn’t, unlike Bill Clinton or Barack Obama, a great speechifier. He overcame his childhood stutter, but he still sometimes hesitates just as he gets to an applause line. He is still the little guy who got picked […]