Politics in the Zeros

Advances in solar photovoltaic technology has boosted output of the panels so that (finally) solar PV is a net producer of electricity. Until until now, PV panels took more electricity to manufacture than the panels generated. That has finally flipped. The amount of energy generated by all of the world’s installed solar PV panels finally [...]

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Sheerwind says their innovative design for wind power is more efficient than traditional wind turbines at a cost equal to hydropower and natural gas. Conventional wind turbines use massive turbine generator systems mounted on top of a tower. INVELOX, by contrast, funnels wind energy to ground-based generators. Instead of snatching bits of energy from the [...]

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Should big hydropower be counted as renewable energy towards meeting a Renewable Portfolio Standard for a state? It generally isn’t, but that could be changing as states scramble to meet their RPS goals. Construction of big dams is indeed destructive to surrounding area. Really massive dams can heighten the risk of earthquakes. However, virtually all [...]

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Renewable Energy World explores the growing solar photovoltaic trade war between the EU and China, which is also happening here. The EU and US accuse China of dumping solar panels and are imposing punitive tariffs. China, of course, responds by imposing its own punitive tariffs. All of this may help solar PV manufacturers in the [...]

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The Enercon E-126 is the biggest wind turbine and the first with 7.5 MW rated power. The rotor diameter is 413 ft and hub height is 450 ft. Thus, both measurements are considerably longer than a football field. Think about that… One megawatt is enough electrical capacity to power 1,000 average California homes. (Assuming a [...]

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Green Mountain Power in Vermont has an innovative program called Cow Power where they create electricity using methane produced from cow manure from 10,000 cows. Users who opt into the program pay a little extra. Farmers get extra money and use excess heat from the process to heat buildings. [a farmer says] “With excess heat [...]

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Republicans in North Carolina introduced a bill to kill that state’s renewable energy plan. Mega utility Duke Energy didn’t support it and while the bill did pass a committee, it still has to pass both houses. Duke has a fast growing renewable energy subsidiary which is non-regulated. Apple and Google have ginormous data centers in [...]

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Instead of disposing of whiskey by-products in the traditional (and expensive) manner of burning or landfilling it, distilleries in Scotland are using the leftovers in biomass power plants to generate electricity, generate heat, and produce animal food. “This is renewable energy in action using innovative technology to provide enough power for 9,000 homes, and produce [...]

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Attention Third World nations: climate change means you can’t have what we developed nations have. Social justice will just have to take a hike. We’re sorry. The environmental left too often advocates a back-to-nature, pastoralist approach to climate change which sandbags the developing world and bolsters the very corporatism they claim to oppose. So says [...]

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More than half the U.S. states with laws requiring utilities to buy renewable energy are considering ways to pare back those mandates after a plunge in natural gas prices brought on by technology that boosted supply. Sigh. California is still charging ahead with renewable energy but too many other states are reversing. Having said that, [...]

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