Sometime early in May, the United States installed its one millionth solar energy system. Achieving this milestone took the solar industry about 40 years to accomplish. Because of the phenomenal growth of solar power in this country, industry experts predict that it will only take two more years to reach the second million and there are predictions that by the year 2025, there will be one million new installations in the U.S. each year.
renewable energy
Too Much Of A Good Thing
Germany has continued to be the most aggressive adopter of renewable energy among large industrial nations. The country has the goal of shifting to 100% renewables by 2050. Its continuing embracing of solar and wind generation resources over the past decade has resulted in renewables supplying a third of the country’s power on average.
Solar Power And Drinkable Water
According to a report from the International Food Policy Research Institute, more than half the world’s population will be at risk of water shortages by 2050 if current trends continue. As the climate continues to change, severe droughts are becoming increasingly commonplace.
Solar Rooftops Looking Better Than Ever
The price for installing solar panels continues to get lower and lower as volumes increase and technology improves. There are also more ways than ever to get solar installed with leases and other creative financial arrangements.
Recycling CO2
The X Prize Foundation provides financial incentives for innovative solutions to various technical challenges. Topics have ranged from developing spacecraft to trying to create a real-world version of the Star Trek tricorder. Last year, the foundation launched a $20 million challenge to come up with technologies by the year 2020 that turn carbon dioxide captured from the smokestacks of power plants into useful products.
Mandatory Solar In San Francisco
California leads the nation in the use of solar energy with well over half the country’s solar electric capacity. The state is the home of several of the largest thermal solar generating plants in the world and between those and multiple utility-scale photovoltaic plants, California utilities get more than 5% of their power from the sun.
Electric Car Boom
The introduction of the Tesla 3 and the 400,000 advanced orders for the vehicle have put the spotlight on electric cars recently. But despite all the buzz, electric cars are sill only a tiny piece of the US car market: about 0.66 percent last year.
Scottish Coal
The Scottish government has an ambitious plan to meet 100 percent of its demand for electricity from renewable sources by 2020. Like much of the world, Scotland has produced significant amounts of its electricity by burning coal for more than 100 years. But no longer.
A Floating Wind Farm
The world’s first floating wind farm is being built 15 miles off the northeast coast of Scotland. The Hywind pilot park, expected to come online late next year, will generate enough power for 20,000 homes. The location will take advantage of average local North Sea wind speeds in excess of 20 miles per hour.
A Wind-Solar Streetlight
The Caribbean island nation of Grenada has installed a wind and solar powered off-grid streetlight. An Irish company called airsynergy has developed the underlying technology which it calls a Remote Power Unit or RPU.
Tomato Energy
People continue to find new ways to generate energy from unusual sources. A team of scientists at several universities recently reported on a new fuel cell that uses tomato waste left over from harvests in Florida.
Coal And Water
We recently highlighted how safe drinking water is in short supply. According to research published in the journal Science Advances, at least two thirds of the global population – more than four billion people – live with severe water scarcity for at least one month every year. And 500 million people around the world face water scarcity all year.
Long Island Wind
The Interior Department has recently defined a “Wind Energy Area”, consisting of about 81,000 acres, located 11 miles south of Long Island. The designation is a first step to opening up the acreage for large-scale, competitive wind energy leasing through the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
Old-School Companies And Renewable Energy
The biggest Internet companies have been embracing renewable energy for years now. The company that bought the largest amount of clean energy last year was Google, which has three times the renewable capacity of the next biggest user. Other familiar names in the top ten companies in total wind and solar capacity include Amazon, Facebook, Microsoft, and Apple. These companies have been ahead of the pack in looking for sustainable ways to meet their substantial energy needs.
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Big Solar Is Booming
When we think about solar power, we mostly think about rooftops covered with solar panels. And indeed, there are more than 800,000 solar rooftops in the U.S. and the numbers are growing.
Powering Fuel Cells With Wastewater
There are many renewable energy sources to be exploited. Solar and wind power justifiably get the most attention, but they are not the only game in town. There is a growing sustainability movement to capture energy from various kinds of waste, including even the wastewater we flush down the toilet.
River Conservation And Hydropower
Rivers concentrate the water and resources of an entire region. They are literally the lifeblood of much of the world’s fish population. They are also the fuel for hydropower, a critical energy source for human civilization.
Solar Roadways
France’s roadways are known both for their historic cobblestone streets and infamous traffic jams. But French officials recently decided to forgo the traditional brick and pavement in order to capitalize on all the vehicle traffic.
