Colleges and universities are bustling with activity. Among the conversations on campus: the call from students to sell endowment investments in the fossil fuel industry. Stanford has eliminated its coal investments, and a small number of other universities have divested to varying degrees.
Wind power continues to increase its contribution to the US power grid. The second quarter of this year saw almost 1.7 GW of new turbines come on line and there are almost 14 GW under construction.
More and more cities, states and even entire countries are setting goals to use 100% renewable energy. For the most part, these goals relate to electrical power, which is the energy need most attainable via renewable sources. But ultimately, we would like to cover all of our energy needs – electrical power, heating and cooling, and transportation – using sustainable renewable resources.
There is lots of talk about hydrogen cars these days. Toyota is introducing their Mirai fuel cell car this fall. Proponents tout hydrogen as the best way to fuel environmentally-friendly cars.
Towns and cities are increasingly aware of the value of gaining control over their energy supply in order to make sure it is clean, efficient, reliable and secure. The central concept of what may become a local power revolution is the microgrid.