What Utilities Want With Clean Energy

Former CIA Director R. James Woolsey recently told an audience it would be challenging to intentionally design a transmission grid as fragile and vulnerable as the one the U.S. presently relies on. That’s a pretty remarkable achievement, backhanded though it may be.

It therefore should come as no real surprise that for the first time since the 1930s the U.S. has gone 2 consecutive ...

Solar Powered Sports Stadiums

Whether it’s touchdowns, goals or record-breaking sprints, energy efficiency — and solar lighting — is the name of the game in newer pro sports stadiums around the world. More frequently, fans are rooting for their favorite squads in venues that won’t leave the environment on the losing side.

Light Emitting Diode (LED) panels, wind turbines and solar-powered light...

SunEdison to Build Europe’s Largest Solar Plant in Italy

350 Million Reasons for Californians to Go Solar

Californians across the Golden State have additional incentive to consider solar water heating installations in 2010.

This past January, the state Public Utilities Commission approved $350 million in rebates for citizens who install solar hot water systems in their homes . According to experts, the solar hot water rebates could reduce the cost of purchase and installation by 15 ...

Solar Lamps Meet Modern Design

Welcome to the suction cup era of solar lighting .

Just last month, we discovered the PowerPlus Spider Solar Light that uses a triad of suction cups to stick to a south-facing window, providing solar-powered LED lighting at night. Turns out that was only the diminutive preamble, as this week we find the Saint Clair Lamp, a much more modern and less portable design (not for camping trips) f...

India Boosts Support for Solar Energy

The national government of India has added new measures to funding support for solar energy.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy will administer an enlarged national green energy fund, designed to support the National Solar Mission (NSM)—a series of feed-in tariffs designed to ensure 20 GW of solar capacity is installed on the network by 2020. The measures affect plants already in...

Few Utilities Power Ahead with Renewables

SoCal and NorCal Battle for Spot in the Sun

California continues to establish itself as a leader in solar energy innovation and pro-solar policymaking, nationwide.

Many of these efforts have taken place at the state level. Witness  the passage of California bill AB 510 , which boosted the state’s cap on net-metering for solar power installations. But county and city governments have played a prominent role, too. Recently Ge...

RECs Invade California Energy Market

To meet their renewable standards, California utilities are now able to look outside the state. What happens next should be interesting.

California's Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) mandates minimum renewable energy thresholds in a utility company's electricity mix. In California, that minimum is 20% by the end of 2010. Utilities can obtain a three year extension, and most will ask...