Renewable energy advocates have long argued that subsidies for wind, solar and other forms of clean power would eventually drive down their costs and allow them to be competitive with conventional, dirty energy (itself often subsidized).
100% electrics were up 457.48% in August 2013 compared to August 2012. And they were up 515.51% January through August 2013 compared to January through August 2012. PHEVs are also up considerably, as are conventional hybrids.
We just told you that if current rates hold, there will be one new solar installation built in the U.S. every 83 seconds by 2016, for a total of 9 gigawatts.
CarbonTrust.com tells us that UK-based companies will have to report annually on their businesses environmental impact and their progress regarding gender and human rights progress.
On a loud, hectic street in Albany, CA, just north of Berkeley, Eric Steen and Jeffrey Dietrich step tentatively into a dusty warehouse, gingerly avoiding the detritus of previous tenants.
Germany’s renewable energy industry has again shown its strength, shattering through another solar power record, as utility company RWE announces it will close fossil fuel power plants as they are no longer competitive.
Plans for a Western Australia wave energy project to combine power and freshwater production look to be firming up, with a large-scale, state-owned seawater desalination developer signing on to support the scheme.
Imagine these formerly dumb systems gone smart: a roof that announces when it’s about to spring a leak; a garden that monitors moisture on its own and applies just the right amount of water when it’s needed;
Ere many generations pass, our machinery will be driven by a power obtainable at any point of the universe. Throughout space there is energy. -- Nikola Tesla, 1892
The cost of solar power has been dropping fast! You can see on this very important graph that the reduction in cost has even accelerated lately, making clean power from the sun more cost-competitive with fossil fuels.
In the World Bank’s latest policy directive, Energy Sector Directions Paper, the organization said that in an effort to bring energy access to the more than 1 billion people that live without it, the priority would be affordable and reliable energy.
The award-winning UNSW Solar Racing Team, Sunswift, is making a big transition this year – from racing a solar module on wheels to what team members think might be the future of the car; a solar electric hybrid vehicle.