News
Making the Equipment Tick
The growing interest in combining residential rooftop solar panels with battery-based storage often overlooks a critical piece of equipment: the inverters that are key to making such combinations work. Inverters today are the…
Solar of the North: Great Lakes States Embrace PV
Snowy Midwestern states bordering Canada might not seem like the place to bet on solar, but, in fact, Great Lakes states are aggressively ramping up their use of power from the sun. These states anticipate a sharp increase in…
The Wasatch Group, sonnen, and Rocky Mountain Power Launch First of a Kind All-Electric Apartment Community, including Battery Storage for Utility Grid Management
The unique partnership between sonnen, the Wasatch Group and Rocky Mountain Power provides a first-of-a-kind network of solar powered battery storage systems, better known as a Virtual Power Plant (VPP), fully managed by…
Report: U.S. Solar Has Grown 40-Fold Since 2009
Since 2009, the U.S. has increased its solar power generation 40-fold and upped its electric production from wind by more than 270%, according to a new report released by Environment America Research & Policy Center and Front…
Congress Moves to Extend Solar Investment Tax Credit
Federal support of solar power has been an unpredictable ally over the years, as politics have more than once cast a long shadow over the renewal of tax credits. This year, members of Congress have taken steps to remove that…
Storage Installations to Multiply Exponentially, Says BNEF
As demand for energy storage continues to rise and as battery costs fall and renewable energy proliferates, storage installations around the world will “multiply exponentially,” according to the Bloomberg New Energy Finance…
Experiments show dramatic increase in solar cell output
Researchers have demonstrated a method for getting high-energy photons striking silicon to kick out two electrons instead of one, opening the door for a new kind of solar cell with greater efficiency than was thought possible…
‘Simple Laws of Economics’ Doom Remaining US Coal Plants as Solar and Wind Are Now Cheaper for American Households
In propping up the coal industry, the Trump administration is not only contributing to dangerous pollution, fossil fuel emissions, and the climate crisis, it is also now clinging to a far more expensive energy production mode…
Getting Closer to 100% National Renewable Portfolio Standards
To date, 29 states have legally binding renewable portfolio standards (RPSs) or policies that require electricity suppliers to source a certain portion of their electricity from renewable resources or related eligible technol…
Senators Propose National Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard
Many states have adopted renewable energy portfolio standards (RPS). Now, the federal government may step in where other states have not.…
Plugging In: More Homeowners Are Choosing Home Battery Systems
The overall market for battery-based energy storage doubled in 2018 and is expected to do so again in 2019. Sales of home-based systems are growing even faster and actually quadrupled in 2018. Increasingly, homeowners, utilit…
New Solar + Battery Price Crushes Fossil Fuels, Buries Nuclear
Los Angeles Power and Water officials have struck a deal on the largest and cheapest solar + battery-storage project in the world, at prices that leave fossil fuels in the dust and may relegate nuclear power to the dustbin.…
Promoting Clean Energy to the Residential Market
According to the just-released ninth annual "Deloitte Resources 2019 Study,” the knowledge gap between business customers and residential customers related to the benefits of clean energy is continuing to widen.…
California Changes Utility Regulations Due to Wildfires
Changes in California’s utility regulations are coming about because of last year’s devastating wildfires. Some regulations, including enhancements to utilities’ mitigation plans, are expected, and some are controversial…
Solar Power for All: Madison, Wis. Provides Solar Grants for Low-Income Residents
In Madison, Wis., wealth is no longer a prerequisite for adding solar panels on your roof. The city’s new Backyard Solar grant program helps low-income residents and neighborhood organizations participate in the solar energy …
Largest Clean Energy Storage Project in World Announced
In many parts of the western United States, there are times of the day when demand for electricity is lower than the production of renewable energy, which leads to curtailment of renewable generation and negative electricity …
Microgrids Are Shifting From Unique to Mainstream
A new initiative offered by Duke Energy, and recently approved by the State of North Carolina Utilities Commission, may be a template for things to come with other utilities that are tasked with serving remote locations in…
Discovery to Make Lithium-Ion Batteries Safer
In April, an explosion at a utility-scale lithium-ion battery facility owned by Arizona Public Service (in place to store power from a solar energy array) sent eight firefighters to the hospital. The firefighters were there…
Los Angeles Launches Its Own Green New Deal
The plan includes a commitment to uphold the Paris Climate Agreement; promises to deliver environmental justice through an inclusive green economy; proposes to create good paying, green jobs; and expresses a determination to …
California May Go Dark This Summer, and Most Aren’t Ready
A plan by California’s biggest utility to cut power on high-wind days during the onrushing wildfire season could plunge millions of residents into darkness. And most people aren’t ready.…
Washington State Enacts 100% Clean Electricity Law
The new law mandates phasing out coal from Washington’s grid by 2025, achieving a carbon-neutral electricity supply by 2030 and transitioning to a 100% clean electricity supply by 2045.…
U.S. Reaches 2 Million Solar PV; Expected To Double by 2023
The solar energy market has hit a remarkable milestone, hitting 2 million solar photovoltaic installations (residential, commercial and utility-scale solar), representing 70 gigawatts across the United States this year.…
ACEEE Report Says Prioritize Energy Efficiency Over Solar PV
The best way to promote the growth of energy efficiency is to focus on effective building codes and standards. "For the U.S. residential sector, building codes like the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) and volunt…
In Norway Electric Vehicles Outsold Gasoline Cars for First Time in History and Other EV Success Stories
One way to boost the ecological benefits of driving an EV even further is to manufacture these cars using net carbon zero techniques. Audi’s factory in Brussels aims to do just that.…
Virtual Power Plant Breaks Records in Southern California
In March, the online energy software firm, Advanced Microgrid Solutions (AMS) announced in a press release its virtual power plant in Southern California had broken a new record for power delivered by this type of system.…
Montecito Fire Protection District Solar Microgrid to Be a National Model
In February, the Montecito Fire Protection District agreed to enter into a memorandum of understanding to proceed with a unique community microgrid project. The project represents the first building block in the Montecito Com…
Don’t let PG&E’s perfectly good bankruptcy go to waste
Pacific Gas and Electric Co.’s structure and regulatory framework are barriers to California’s clean energy future.Now, with PG&E in crisis, is the perfect opportunity to get the 21st century electric utility California needs…
California Opening Up to Independent Developer Distributed Energy Storage Projects
A recent administrative law judge ruling in California may pave the way for more private-sector development of the state's mandated distributed energy storage system projects.…
Mayor Garcetti: LADWP will Phase Out Natural Gas Operations at Three Power Plants
Mayor Eric Garcetti took a powerful step forward in L.A.’s movement toward renewable energy, announcing today that the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) will not repower three coastal natural-gas power plants.…
A Bright Spot for Employment: Careers in Renewable Energy
As renewable-electricity generation continues to expand across the United States, related employment opportunities are growing, as well. …
How to Make Your Home More Energy Efficient, and Smart
The average US home uses around 867 kilowatt hours per month, with the greatest share of that energy being spent on basic utilities like heating and lighting. Luckily, new smart home tech makes it possible to trim that usage.…
The Big Questions Raised by PG&E’s Coming Bankruptcy
How will costs be spread? Are legacy solar and wind PPAs at risk? And how can California policymakers and its largest utility reorganize to cope with a future severely impacted by climate change?…
Solar panels unveiled at Chernobyl nuclear power site
Ukraine launches its first solar plant in the abandoned area around the former nuclear power station.…
Governor Brown Signs 100 Percent Clean Electricity Bill, Issues Order Setting New Carbon Neutrality Goal
Reaffirming California’s global climate leadership, Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today signed Senate Bill 100, authored by Senate President pro Tempore Emeritus Kevin de León, setting a 100 percent clean electricity goal...…
Lithium-ion chemistry: What solar + storage installers should know
When it comes to lithium-ion batteries, reports of spontaneous fires in phones, cars and laptops have become all too common. But not all lithium-ion batteries pose a fire danger.…
Edison to Shut Down Power During Extreme Fire Weather
Southern California Edison has implemented a controversial public-safety strategy of shutting off power when the weather turns dangerous. A Public Safety Power Shutoff is a “mitigation of last resort,” Chiu emphasized.…
Integrating Solar into New Construction Makes Dollars and Sense
If you are involved in constructing a new building, most likely installing solar panels was mentioned at some point in the process. Solar panels are being integrated into more and more new constructions, and some cities...…
With Rapidly Falling Prices, Renewables Set to Outcompete Fossil Fuels by 2020
A new report showing that renewable prices may soon out-compete fossil fuels offers just the latest evidence to bolster demands that oil, gas, and coal to be left "in the ground." …
Advancing Clean Energy at the State Level – An Imperative
In the wake of President Trump's recent decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement, one thing seems abundantly clear, and that is that the role of states in advancing clean energy becomes even…
Fossil Fuels Have Lost. The Rest of the World Just Doesn’t Know It Yet
Fossil fuels have lost,” argues Eddie O’Connor, chief executive of Irelands’s Mainstream Renewable Power company, before adding: “The rest of the world just doesn’t know it yet.”…
Solarize Santa Barbara Launches Program to Help Residents Go Solar
The gigawatt of solar energy generated by the Tri-County region is enough to power a quarter of a million homes for a year, said Jefferson Litten…
Microgrid Sales Rise – A boon to Solar Power
The periodic blackouts in Cassina Tarsia's Oceanside neighborhood meant the 71-year-old couldn't charge her cellphone or electric wheelchair…
Grid-Tie Solar Electric Home Owner Speaks Out
On Sunday, February 17, over 50,000 people attended two rallies in Washington, DC and San Francisco. Focused on raising awareness of the need to act now on climate change, it was the single-largest collective demonstration on…
Renewable Energy Capacity Doubled in last 5 years
The U.S. is increasing its share of renewable energy while decreasing its overall energy consumption and emissions, finds a new report released jointly…
Santa Barbara Solar Energy
People want to put solar on their homes. They just don’t know how to take that first step,” said 2nd District Supervisor Janet Wolf…
Santa Barbara Solar
The sun was shining down on Daniel Emmett’s solar-powered home when the Community Environmental Council announced Tuesday at his home its new Solarize Santa Barbara program…