What just happened in solar is a bigger deal than oil exports: Interesting how the BIG move in solar/wind in the USA is so tied to subsidies. At least for the next 5 years. But, soon, especially with the volume of growth encouraged by the subsidies, there will no longer be a need for subsidies. The really big loser all around is (dirty) coal. Once the health and environmental costs of coal are factored in,…
http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/10/opinions/cop21-facebook-chat/index.html This has been some of the clearest points about renewable energy, and why it is so important.
Climate Leadership | Climate Leadership Plan | Alberta.ca: WOW. On the eve of the humongous climate meetings in Paris next week (week after Thanksgiving in USA), Canada has stepped up to the plate on addressing climate changes. Alberta is the home of Coal and Oil Sands: two of the great game changers in addressing pollution in general and Greenhouse Gas emissions (GHG). There are several reports, but one is to simply charge a tax per…
Elon Musk and SolarCity Unveil ‘world’s Most Efficient’ Solar Panel: Wow. Greater than 22% efficient from solar panels. Far better than the lonely plant with about 5% efficiency from photosynthesis. This is impressive. Combine very efficient and affordable power generation with some great battery storage technology and suddenly the solar starts to become an irrefusable option: gotta do it because it is the best available option where the sun shines regularly! Maybe the batteries should be…
Solar and wind just passed another big turning point: So solar and wind power generation is reaching a threshold where renewable energy is cheaper than fossil fuel-based power in Germany and UK. That is before counting the subsidies for renewables, and ignoring the massive externality costs of our historically favorite dirty black fuel. Note the discussion of the virtuous cycle of renewable fuels. As base load power moves up from 5% renewables the costs of traditional power…
Wind And Solar Will Soon Become The ‘Least-Cost Option’ – Yahoo Finance: It is interesting how quickly the prices of wind and solar have been dropping and are expected to continue. Obviously, these must be only a part of the solution, unless batteries get to be a whole lot better, a whole lot faster. (Maybe?). The wind doesn’t always blow, and the sun doesn’t always shine. One savings for solar, is that it doesn’t need…
