San Antonio is one of the leading cities for solar energy in the United States, with photovoltaic systems on nearly 2,500 roofs and a solar farm in the works that will power the equivalent of 70,000 homes. Leading the effort … Continue reading
Creating a sustainable long-term distributed photovoltaic (DPV) market will require aligning the interests of utilities, solar companies, technology providers, and customers. Aligning those interests does not mean discarding the business models that have served the solar market until now. Rather, … Continue reading
Commercial building deep-energy retrofits provide substantially greater energy savings—often reducing a building’s energy consumption by up to 50 percent—than traditional retrofits. Yet they offer more than just a low utility bill. When planned and executed properly, a deep retrofit can … Continue reading
Climate: Now or Never Here’s why something as basic as a battery both thrills and terrifies the U.S. utility industry. At a sagebrush-strewn industrial park outside of Reno, Nevada, bulldozers are clearing dirt for Tesla Motors Inc. (TSLA)’s battery factory, … Continue reading
A new kind of battery that stores energy from solar and wind power cheaply and cleanly has hit the market. It is by far the cheapest of a new generation of large, long-lived batteries that could make it possible to … Continue reading
Reinventing Fire: Electricity – YouTube. … Continue reading
Solar power generates electricity with no global warming pollution, no fuel costs, and no risks of fuel price spikes, and has the potential to help move the country toward cleaner, reliable, and affordable sources of electricity. Small-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) … Continue reading
Assessing the benefits and costs of distributed solar PV Earlier this month, the decision of APS—Arizona’s largest electric utility—to propose two major changes to its net metering program, one which would do away with the program entirely, has become the … Continue reading
Renewables scored a major victory recently in the natural gas heartland that is Texas. In a resolution adopted by the Austin City Council on August 28, the city declared solar energy its default generation resource, in part noting “that solar … Continue reading
Solar Continues Trumping Fossil Fuel Pricing, With More Innovations To Come Solar power has come a long way in a short period of time. Just five years ago, the bulk of the energy community viewed it as being unreliable, expensive … Continue reading
Five real estate executives weigh in on what it will take to unlock $1.4 trillion in net energy savings through commercial building efficiency. RMI’s Reinventing Fire analysis shows how to tap into $1.9 trillion in saved energy costs in U.S. … Continue reading
Earlier this year, the internet swooned over the idea of turning everyday roads into solar energy systems that could power cities. The tagline of the inventors: "solar freakin' roadways." Those without a deep background in energy or materials wondered what … Continue reading
The huge price paid for one of Melbourne’s landmark green buildings attests to the premiums that sustainability can provide to property owners. – See more at: http://sourceable.net/sustainability-reaps-giant-profits-in-melbourne/#sthash.vAFKjMex.dpuf The huge price paid for one of Melbourne’s landmark green buildings attests to … Continue reading
Distributed electricity generation, especially solar PV, is rapidly spreading and getting much cheaper. Distributed electricity storage is doing the same, thanks largely to mass production of batteries for electric vehicles. Solar power is already starting to erode some utilities’ sales … Continue reading
Imagine if several of the world’s largest companies joined together to make clear their common interests in accessing renewable energy. Such an accord, if it contained actionable intent, would send a potent signal to the energy market that corporate renewable … Continue reading
When Wes Kennedy started engineering solar systems in the mid-1990s, he pretty much had one integration option: batteries. At that time, Kennedy designed and installed systems for Jade Mountain, a Colorado-based distributed energy retailer that eventually merged with Real Goods … Continue reading
Brundage Management Co. has accepted the Bill Sinkin Solar Award for the company’s work in advancing the adoption of solar energy in San Antonio. San Antonio-based Brundage installed 825 kilowatts of solar energy systems on 11 of the company’s A-AAAKey … Continue reading
Like many consumers, David Polstein had already done much to reduce energy use in his large Victorian home in Newton, Mass. He replaced his appliances with energy-efficient models, installed better heating and put in new insulation. But he was unable … Continue reading
CPS Energy has dropped its proposed fees for solar customers — either for the time being or altogether. The utility detailed the proposal for the City Council last week, with council members raising concerns about whether the fees would discourage … Continue reading
Mahatma Gandhi once said, “India is to be found not in its few cities, but in its 700,000 villages.” Though that may at one time have been true, it is no longer the case. With about 30 country dwellers moving … Continue reading