Solar Energy

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Energy Information Agency of the US Department of Energy announced this week that for the first time in US history, renewable sources generated more electricity in 2022 than did coal. Renewables also outstripped nuclear power generation, for the second year in a row. In fact, renewables are even more […]

Climate Crisis

Netherlands becomes European Leader in Solar Power Per Capita, with 500K Panels on Lakes, Reservoirs and Seas

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Solar panels are like magic, turning sunshine into electricity. They are, however, relatively bulky. We own our own home and have 16 of them on our roof, but renters have often complained to me that it isn’t so easy in an apartment building. There is also a danger that they […]

Batteries

Solar power battery installations increase exponentially in Germany

Benjamin Wehrmann

( Clean Energy Wire ) – The number of household solar power storage installations has grown exponentially over the past four years, with a year-on-year growth of 52 percent in 2022, Germany’s Solar Power Association BSW Solar has said. “Half of private home owners say they would consider storing their homemade solar power,” a survey […]

Climate Crisis

Humanity put out more C02 than Ever Before last Year, but Green Energy Kept the Annual Increase Small

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – This is a bad news, good news story. Cathy Bussewitz at the Associated Press reports that carbon dioxide emissions reached an all-time high in 2022, of 36.8 gigatons. That is more CO2 spewed into the atmosphere by humanity in just one year than ever before. CO2 emissions were up nearly […]

Climate Crisis

Chancellor Scholz on Ukraine: Putin Tried to Blackmail Germany with Fossil Gas, but only Accelerated Energy Diversification

Benjamin Wehrmann

By Benjamin Wehrmann | – ( Clean Energy Wire ) – Russia’s attempt to blackmail Germany and the rest of Europe into giving up its support of Ukraine by cutting energy supplies has failed, chancellor Olaf Scholz has said on the anniversary of Russia’s invasion attempt of its western neighbour. “Those who look at the […]

China

China Dominates Solar and Wind Energy: Can the U.S. and Europe Finally Catch Up?

The Conversation

By Michael Jacobs, University of Sheffield | – Climate change policy has entered a new era. The growing row between the United States and the European Union over the impacts of the new American green subsidy regime makes that all too clear. Yet in many ways, this story is ultimately about China. For the last […]

Climate Crisis

IEA: Renewables plus Nuclear are able to meet 90% of Globe’s New Electricity demand Through 2025

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The International Energy Agency, in a new report that is just out, estimates that 90% of new global electricity demand through 2025 will be met by low-carbon sources — renewables and nuclear. It is mostly renewables, but the report mentions the French bringing their reactors back on line and the […]

Climate Crisis

Rooftop Solar Soared 40% (3 Gigawatts) in Germany Last Year, as Families Flee Unstable Russian Fossil Fuels

Clean Energy Wire

By Benjamin Wehrmann | – ( Clean Energy Wire ) – Solar PV expansion in Germany jumped 28 percent in 2022, with 7.2 gigawatts (GW) of new installations added to the grid in the past year, according to preliminary figures compiled by industry federation BSW Solar. Roof-mounted installations for family homes increased by 40 percent […]

Climate Crisis

Edwards Air Force Base Near LA to host Largest Solar-plus-storage Project in the World

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Edwards Air Force Base in Kern County, California, near Los Angeles and San Bernardino, is now home to the largest solar power array on any Air Force base in the country, as of this past week. Indeed, with a goal of “1,118 MW of solar photovoltaic (PV) and 2,165 megawatts […]