When we think of solar power, we usually are talking about the panels that generate electricity using the photovoltaic effect. These panels are on millions of rooftops around the world and in utility-scale solar farms. There are also solar water heating systems that use the sun’s heat to provide hot water for homes and businesses.
The Caribbean is home to nearly 30 island nations and more than 7,000 individual islands with a combined population of around 40 million. All of the islands are susceptible to disasters such as hurricanes that can leave residents without electrical power for extended periods of time.
It is increasingly clear that the rate at which carbon dioxide emissions are being reduced is not sufficient to prevent dire consequences of climate change. It appears that it will be necessary to try to actually remove carbon dioxide from the air. Such actions are termed “negative emissions.”
There used to be a lot of talk about peak oil. Peak oil was the theorized point in time when the maximum rate of extraction of petroleum was reached, after which there would be a terminal decline. It was often presented as a looming catastrophe for civilization.
California put in place a cap-and-trade program in 2013. In such a program, companies pay penalties if they exceed a cap in carbon emissions but can buy and sell allowances that permit them to emit a given amount. Trading gives companies a strong incentive to save money by cutting emissions. Since taking effect, the California program has raised more than $6.5 billion and is the fourth largest in the world.
California has led the way in deploying and committing to clean energy for a long time. In August its legislature strengthened that commitment by passing a bill to stop using fossil fuels entirely by 2045. It is the second state to do so, following Hawaii. The bill still needs to be passed by the Senate and signed by the governor. Both actions are expected to occur.
Back in the 1930s, building Hoover Dam was a public works project likened to the pyramids. Hoover Dam helped transform the American West, harnessing the force of the Colorado River to power millions of homes and businesses.
Commercially-available solar panels are composed of solar cells that are most often made from various forms of silicon. Some panels use thin-film cells made from other semiconductor materials. Solar cells utilize a property of semiconductors that allows them to convert light energy into electrical energy.
A recent study published in Nature Climate Change looked at what emission reductions are needed to meet the climate targets of the Paris Accords. The results are sobering.
A new report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance takes a long-term look at the world’s energy production. According to the report, renewable energy, mostly in the form of solar and wind power, is set to provide close to 50% of the world’s energy by the year 2050.
With the United States backing away from the Paris climate agreement and with Europe taking a less active role in climate negotiations, China has become the bellwether on global climate change. Recent climate negotiations in Bonn, Germany were rather acrimonious as countries accused other countries of not doing their part or keeping their promises.
Nine years ago, engineer Richard Jenkins broke the world land speed record for a wind-powered vehicle with a sailboat on wheels driving across a dry lakebed at 126 miles per hour. After years of engineering development, his technology has now taken on the form of a saildrone that can autonomously sail the sea gathering ecologic, oceanic and atmospheric data.
According to a new report by the International Renewable Energy Agency, more than half a million new jobs were generated by the renewable energy industry last year, an increase of 5.3% when compared with 2016. The total number of people working in the renewables sector – which includes large hydropower facilities – has now exceeded 10 million people worldwide.
In May, California became the first state in the U.S. to require solar panels on almost all new homes. Under new standards adopted by the California Energy Commission, most new homes, condos and apartment buildings built after January 1, 2020 will be required to include solar systems.
The total amount of solar power capacity installed in the world reached 100 gigawatts in 2012. Getting to that amount took decades. But things have changed in dramatic fashion in recent years.
If we want to avoid drastic global warming this century, we need to sharply reduce greenhouse gas emissions over time. For the previous three years, emissions had been holding steady, but last year, global emissions from the use of coal, oil and natural gas increased by 1.4%. According to the International Energy Agency, this unfortunate new data should serve as a strong warning that we need to increase our efforts to combat climate change.
Last spring, we talked about a solar-powered water harvester designed to pull water out of even dry desert air. The prototype device was described in a paper by scientists at UC Berkeley and MIT in the journal Science.
As low-cost solar and wind energy become increasingly pervasive, the prospects for hydrogen-based transportation systems are improving. The reason is that cheap electricity makes it practical to produce hydrogen by breaking down water rather than getting it from reforming natural gas, which results in carbon dioxide emissions. The real goal is for hydrogen to be a renewable and carbon-free fuel.
The phenomenon of urban heat islands has been well known since the 19th century. The materials from which city buildings and roads are made reflect much less solar radiation and absorb more of it than the vegetation they have replaced. The absorbed energy is then radiated in the form of heat into the surrounding air making cities warmer.
Cities are responsible for 70% of the world’s energy-related CO2 emissions and it appears that they are taking responsibility for reducing them. Over 7,000 mayors around the world have signed up to the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy, thereby pledging to act on climate change.
