While renewables accounted for just 1.5 percent of total energy production last year, the Obama administration has approved at least 29 green energy projects on public lands as part of its “All-of-the-Above” initiative. If all projects are completed, the renewable projects will produce more than 6,500 megawatts of electricity, or enough to power more than [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Photovoltaic’
DOE’s SunShot Initiative Announces Funding Opportunity for “Plug and Play” Photovoltaic Systems
May 4th, 2012 
Chris DeArmond The Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) SunShot Initiative is an ambitious program that aims to dramatically reduce the cost of solar energy. By the end of the decade, one of SunShot’s official goals is to cut the cost of photovoltaic (PV) systems by 75 percent, or to about 6 cents per kilowatt-hour. Besides making the cost [...]
2012 HGTV Green Home Unveiled
April 28th, 2012 Eric Wilson This year’s 2012 HGTV Green Home, a sweepstakes give away, is located just south of Atlanta, Georgia. Individuals may enter twice a day at either HGTV.com/greenhome or HGTVremodels.com. June 1st at 5pm ET is the deadline for entering the sweepstakes, valued at roughly $800,000. A car (from sponsor GM), the house, and $100,000 comprise the [...]
Posted in Eric Wilson, Green Building, Local Energy/Food, Real Estate, Renewable Energy 
Tags: HGTV, Organic, Photovoltaic, Wastewater 
No Comments »America’s Largest Solar Panel Producer Struggles to Remain Sustainable
April 23rd, 2012 Chris DeArmond As we have become somewhat accustomed to bad news in the solar panel industry, it is hardly surprising to hear that some companies are struggling to remain profitable. Earlier this week, First Solar, America’s largest solar panel producer, announced a plan detailing significant cutbacks to its workforce and production. The announcement came just weeks after [...]
Posted in China, News, Renewable Energy Tags: Chris DeArmond, Photovoltaic, Solar Energy No Comments »An Unusual Two For One: Controlling Weeds While Generating Energy
April 16th, 2012 Justin Manger Working with Coretec Inc., a manufacturer that specializes in energy-saving machinery and systems, Fuji Electric announced last December that they had come up with a weed-control mat that is now getting attention as a possible new application for photovoltaic power. Municipalities in Japan occasionally use weed-control mats over soil to keep unused or sloped areas [...]
Eco-Marathon Challenges Students to Create Ultra Fuel-Efficient Transport
April 9th, 2012 Eric Wilson When energy efficiency and fuel economy come to mind, big oil is not always the first image that pops up. However, Shell Oil has been supporting the Eco-Marathon, a competition for “high school and college student teams from around the world to design, build and test energy efficient vehicles.” The current record is held by [...]
Posted in Energy Efficiency, Eric Wilson Tags: Battery, Fuel Cells, Hydrogen Economy, Oil Consumption, Peak Oil, Photovoltaic, Plug-in Hybrid, Solar Energy No Comments »US Imposes Tariffs on Chinese Solar Panels
March 21st, 2012 Eric Wilson ABC News and The New York Times are reporting that yesterday, the United States’ Commerce Department has levied a small (2.9 to 4.73 percent) tariff on imported Chinese solar panels. Last year American producers of solar technology pushed the Commerce Department to pursue a case against the Chinese. Their argument was that Chinese manufacturers “may [...]
Posted in Business, China, Clean Technology, Eric Wilson, News, Policy, Renewable Energy Tags: Photovoltaic, Solar Energy No Comments »February 2012 Clean Energy and Sustainability Events
February 1st, 2012 Eric Wilson With an extra day this year, February gets its quadrennial opportunity to step up and fill its 29 days with as many events as possible. With that in mind, there are a number of domestic events jammed into February. These include two here in Denver, one of which I will attend at the end of [...]
Posted in Agriculture, Conferences, Education, Eric Wilson Tags: Calendar, California, Denver, Film Series, Florida, Organic, Photovoltaic, Solar Energy No Comments »52 Japanese Municipalities Now Energy Independent
January 24th, 2012 Justin Manger Given the dearth of natural resources, new concerns over nuclear power, and a “mottainai” mentality, it seems natural that Japan should look to put in place policies and develop technologies in order to increase renewable energy. A non-profit organization called Institute for Sustainable Energy Policies, in conjunction with a research lab at Chiba University, completed a study [...]
NREL Announces Breakthrough in Solar Cells
December 26th, 2011 Eric Wilson According to a news release from the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) in Golden, Colorado, researchers “have reported the first solar cell that produces a photocurrent that has an external quantum efficiency greater than 100 percent when photoexcited with photons from the high energy region of the solar spectrum.” What this means is that more [...]
