Climate Change is Here Now
Richard Hughes-Political as hell! Climate change is happening and has been happening for some considerable time. The Climate Deniers have gone to great lengths attempting to convince us that it…
solar
Solar Power Rising in the Gulf
2013 saw great things happen on the Arabian Peninsula in relation to energy production. The region has invested heavily in installing solar power plants and reducing their own reliance on…
In One year, Rooftop Solar Power Doubled in California
In one year California was able to increase power output from solar panels installed on roofs from 1,000 MW to over 2,000 MW. This is impressive and hopefully this trend…
In Plant Photosynthesis, Scientists See Clues for Improving Solar Energy Cells
Solar cells optimized to suit local light conditions, or made more efficient by using a broader part of the solar spectrum, are among the imaginative applications foreseen from ground-breaking new…
Solar Glass Can Make Entire Buildings Power Plants
Oxford Photovoltaics is a UK-based company that wants every building to have the potential to generate electricity using the solar power. They have created a solar cell that is transparent…
German Coal and Gas Power Plants Closing Due to Cheap Renewable Energy
Germany has been so effective in tranisitioning from unsustianble (econmically and environemntally) energy sources to renewable ones that it is uncompetitive to burn fossil fuels for power! “Due to the…
New Solar Powered Vehicles Seemingly from the Future
Last month an airplane known as Solar Impulse completed a fully solar-powered flight across the USA as a demonstration of current solar solutions. In the video above you can see…
Global Solar and Wind Energy Production Continues to Grow
The sustainable energy market consistently needs to prove its worth despite the obvious benefits, whats worse is that the industry as a whole is up against the subsidized fossil fuel…
Electron democracy
A long-belated companion to Steven Chu’s “Time to fix the wiring” essay I posted earlier, this is the white paper I co-authored for the same McKinsey & Company series. Given…
New Homes in Lancaster, California Required to Produce Solar Energy
Lancaster, California has nearly half a million citizens and they want to reduce their carbon footprint. Their most recent step to being a green city is a world’s first as…
A Solar Structure That Cools in the Sun
Keeping buildings cool in the summer is hard enough as it is and we have access to air conditioning technologies. Now, there’s a better way to keep buildings, cars, and…
Burning in the Sun: The Small Solar Industry in Africa
A few years ago in Mali some filmmakers went to chronicle what’s going on in the country and ended up making a documentary about solar energy. Daniel Dembele is an…
Steven Chu’s “Time to Fix the Wiring” at four years
Former US Energy Secretary Steven Chu’s recent resignation — his farewell letter is here — is no doubt celebrated in the fuel cell quarters as passionately (or more so) than…
Our Renewable Future part 1: clearing “myth”conceptions
With Obama talking the talk on climate action in his State of the Union address yesterday, now seems a good time to start compiling a planned set of blog entries…
Winning Cleantech by Design
Being able to get across a green product’s essence to consumers and investors is a key that can turn it from a fringe interest to mass market success. Design can…
A Solar Powered Combustion Engine May Be in Your Future
This may sound counter-intutitive, but researches have begun a project to build an internal combustion engine (a common car engine) that runs off of solar power. Instead of using gas…
Eventually people will have to get it through their heads that…
Eventually people will have to get it through their heads that cleaner alternative energy isn’t just for tree-hugging hippies. Eventually these energy sources — along with energy conservation, reducing/re-using other…
Pacific Island 100% Solar Powered
Tokelau is a small island in the Pacific that has switched it’s entire power grid to solar, this is the first of a few islands in the region that will…
Solar Panels Break 1/3 Record
Photovoltaic solar panels are measured in terms of how efficient they are at converting light into electricity. Obviously potential energy is lost when this conversion occurs and it has long…
Tesla Motors Builds Solar Charging Stations
Tesla, the electric car company, has unveiled solar powered electric charging stations in the USA. This is a good step toward sustainable personal transportation. Not only has Tesla created battery…