When you live far from the sprawling fields befitting utility-scale solar and wind farms, it’s easy to feel like clean energy isn’t coming online fast enough. But renewables have grown at a staggering rate since 2014 and now account for 22 percent of the nation’s electricity. Solar alone has grown an impressive eightfold in 10 […]
Green Energy
Department of Energy announces $60M investment into essentially endless source of energy: ‘These projects will help us advance’
The U.S. Department of Energy is investing $60 million to demonstrate the efficacy and scalability of enhanced geothermal systems to help tap into the heat trapped underground, which can be used as clean, renewable energy. The agency selected three projects to receive the funds — Chevron New Energies, Fervo Energy, and Mazama Energy. Chevron’s pilot […]
Why aren’t there solar-powered cars?
Solar cars exist. The best place to see them is the World Solar Challenge, a race that’s held every two years in Australia. Competitors have to drive about 1,870 miles (3,000 kilometers), from Darwin on the country’s north coast to Adelaide on its south coast, using only energy from the Sun. Many cars that compete in […]
Can wind energy help fix Louisiana’s vanishing coast? One plan would change the constitution
Money to address Louisiana’s land loss crisis will soon be in far shorter supply as oil spill money runs dry. But part of the solution may be arriving with the winds. One state representative is proposing a constitutional amendment that would dedicate future revenue from offshore wind and other alternative energy to Louisiana’s coastal fund. […]
Is It Time To Abandon the Idea of Phasing Out Oil and Gas?
Despite feigning interest, Big Oil still appears to oppose the global green transition and could well stand in its way. As Saudi’s state oil company leader condemns the green transition and calls for long-term oil production, other major industry players are voicing their scepticism around renewable energy and clean tech. Despite large investments into green […]
US renewables’ installed generating capacity beats coal
Solar capacity additions hit the ground running in 2024, pushing renewables’ installed generating capacity past coal, according to new US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) data. FERC reports in its latest “Energy Infrastructure Update,” with data through January 31, 2024 (which was reviewed by the SUN DAY Campaign) that solar accounted for 2,527 megawatts (MW) […]
The first entirely US-made crystalline solar panels are coming to market
All US-made solar panels featured only imported solar cells until now, but two US manufacturers just struck a three-year, $400 million deal. Canada-headquartered Heliene, which makes solar panels in Minnesota, will incorporate Georgia-based Suniva’s US-made monocrystalline silicon solar cells into its panels, and those “Made in the USA” panels will hit the market in mid-2024, […]
Your whiskey may soon be made with a huge ‘brick toaster’ battery
Alcoholic drinks giant Diageo will replace natural gas-fired heat with Rondo Energy’s Heat Batteries at its production sites in Kentucky and Illinois. The US Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded the Diageo–Rondo Energy project up to $75 million. That money comes from the Biden administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act. It’s part of […]
Walmart just funded 15 community solar projects across the US
Walmart is investing in 19 solar projects under development across the US, including 15 community solar projects. Walmart’s strategic tax equity investment will drive the construction, operation, and maintenance of solar projects across five states – Illinois, Colorado, Maryland, Delaware, and California. As the American Council on Renewable Energy explains, tax equity investors provide funding […]
New Solid-State EV Battery Just Tip Of Energy Storage Iceberg
The Intertubes are practically on fire with news of the latest development in solid-state EV battery technology, supported with funding from the European Union’s HELENA project. As for how all those new EV batteries will charge up, long duration energy storage is part of the answer, and another organization with Helena in its name has […]