Solar Energy

Top 5 Environmental Impacts of Bipartisan Infastructure Bill, from Electric Vehicles to Electric Grid

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Although the the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill passed by the senate on Tuesday has been criticized by environmentalists for not doing enough for green energy and the environment, it should be pointed out that it is the largest investment in those issues ever in U.S. history. It is to […]

Climate Crisis

Germany’s solar PV expansion soars by over 20%, but incoming Government will need to do more

Clean Energy Wire

By Benjamin Wehrmann | – ( Clean Energy Wire) – The construction of new solar photovoltaic (PV) installations in Germany has grown by 22 percent in the first half of 2021 but would still have to be three to four times higher to be in line with the country’s climate targets, solar industry group BSW […]

Climate Crisis

Biden’s Moonshot: America’s Cars are going Electric, “Fast!” with Union Labor

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Joe Biden is good at multi-tasking. His announcement on Thursday that he wants 50% of all cars sold in the US in 2030 to be electric or plugin hybrids will appeal to many environmentalists, or at least the electric part will. But the transcript at rev.com/ demonstrates that President Biden […]

Coal

Renewables for first time on Record generated more Electricity than either Coal or Nuclear in US in 2020: EIA

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Energy Information Administration, the primary authority in the federal government on energy numbers, concludes that renewables, primarily hydro, wind and solar, rose to become 21% of electricity generation in the US in 2020. This is the first time on record that renewables were the second-largest generator of electricity in […]

Featured

Only Electric Cars can save the Planet, with as much as 4/5s fewer Emissions than Gasoline Cars

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – A life-cycle study of automobile emissions in four major new-car markets globally by Georg Bieker of non-profit The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) has demonstrated conclusively that battery electric vehicles (BEVs) are dramatically cleaner than gasoline cars under virtually all circumstances, no matter how dirty the electric grid in […]

Featured

Under Pressure from Biden, Japan pledges to double target for Renewables in energy mix by 2030, to 38%, and to Slash Emissions

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The importance of having a U.S. leader like Joe Biden, who has come to believe in the necessity of drastically cutting the emission of greenhouse gases, was demonstrated Wednesday when Japan announced that it was doubling its proposed cuts to carbon dioxide emissions by 2030. This according to Reuters. Japan […]

China

Shanghai leads way in China’s carbon transition, but Does not have Much Time to Act

China Dialogue

By Shi Yi | – ( China Dialogue ) – Many Chinese cities and provinces are working on plans to hit peak carbon before 2030. Shanghai, China’s most developed city, is set to lead the way. Somewhere on the eastern side of Shanghai’s Chongming Island, 300,000 solar panels lie over rows and rows of aquaculture […]

Solar Energy

Installing solar panels over California’s canals could yield water, land, air and climate payoffs

The Conversation

By Roger Bales and Brandi McKuin | – Climate change and water scarcity are front and center in the western U.S. The region’s climate is warming, a severe multi-year drought is underway and groundwater supplies are being overpumped in many locations. Western states are pursuing many strategies to adapt to these stresses and prepare for […]

Batteries

It Can be Done: California Briefly reaches 94.5% Renewable Electricity

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Sammy Roth at the LA Times/ Boiling Point Newsletter reports that California’s main power grid was powered for several hours last Saturday by 90% renewables. For just four seconds that day, the grid, which covers 4/5s of the state, reached 94.5% generation by green energy. California is the world’s fifth […]