Climate Energy

Should California adopt the German solar model?

When it comes to luxury cars, beer, chocolate, and solar power, we should just acknowledge that Germans do it better. But if sunny California adopts their tariff system, they could pay even less for solar energy than cloudy Deutschland.

Anatomy of a solar PV system

Solar photovoltaic gets a lot of attention compared to other forms of clean energy, but the attention is deserved.

Nuclear power is fine — it's corporate power that's dangerous

In the Guardian, George Monbiot argues that nuclear power was the least of Fukushima's problems. Sure, the nuclear industry is corrupt and regulation-resistant -- but name a power industry that isn't. When it comes to health threats, says Monbiot, the conscienceless scumbags in the nuclear industry are miles ahead of all the other conscienceless scumbags.

Despite recession, Californians install solar panels at record-breaking pace

While the drill-baby-drill contingent was bitching about reliance on foreign oil, that hacky-sack full of smelly Nancy-Pelosi-electing hippies known as California quietly installed more solar in 2010 than any other state, ever.

500 MW of distributed solar could have prevented blackout that affected 55 million

The massive blackout of 2003, which affected 45 million people in the northeast United States and 10 million more in Ontario, could have been prevented by just 500 megawatts of distributed solar, says John Farrell of the Institute for Local Self Reliance. For reference, California installed almost 200 megawatts of distributed solar in 2010 alone.

World's first fracking bans come through in France and New Jersey

While we were all distracted by the possibility that New York State will allow fracking for natural gas, two big milestones in the battle to restrict the notoriously environmentally destructive process arrived on successive days:

New Jersey bans fracking

On June 29, New Jersey became the first state in the Union whose legislature passed a ban on fracking.

Too little, too late? Some Democrats seek investigations of gas industry claims

A group of energy companies -- like, say, the natural gas industry -- would never, ever mislead the public and politicians about how profitable it could be over the long-term. Obviously, we should just believe the natural gas industry's financial projections, which promise that any negative environmental impacts will be worth the jobs, the profits, and the energy security that come with the promised national gas boom.

That's basically been the stance of most legislators in Washington when it comes to natural gas. The picture the industry painted of huge supplies of low-carbon fuel proved really compelling. But now a few lawmakers are starting to worry that the government hasn't really looked into the reality of the situation. And they're asking agencies like the Security and Exchange Commission, the Energy Information Administration, and the Government Accountability Office to check up on the industry's claims about profitability and supply.

New York City's massive solar opportunity

Solar power on New York City rooftops would provide half the city's peak power and lower residents' electricity bills.

Are renewable portfolio standards worth it?

Renewable portfolio standards may increase ratepayers' electricity bills, but that's a small price to pay for moving toward renewable energy.

In the worst drought in Texas history, 13.5 billion gallons of water used for fracking

Texas is experiencing the driest eight-month period in its recorded history. But in 2010, natural gas companies used 13.5 billion gallons of fresh water for hydraulic fracturing, and that could more than double by 2020. Where's all this water coming from? Oh, it was just lying around, in these aquifers! You guys weren't using it to drink or irrigate or anything, right? Guys?