electricity
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Solar companies fight to the death
Are we done mourning the death of Solyndra yet? Because, according to solar executives, it's just going to be the first victim in a Highlander-style fight among solar companies to prove who is best. One Chinese exec predicts that two-thirds of solar companies could disappear by 2015. Part of the story here is that certain […]
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Snowstorm took it to the trees
Up and down the East Coast, millions of people are without power after the weekend's snowstorm. But the most severe damage the storm wreaked was on trees. Snow is particularly harsh on trees that still have green leaves on them: It's as if a person were caught out in a snow storm wearing a light […]
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Solar panels under power lines could be a major electricity source
Moving toward renewable energy won't require massive solar projects. We could get 20 percent of our power just from solar panels under power lines.
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SolarShare bonds let citizens make money by financing local solar
You’re an earth-friendly person and want to go solar, but a large tree shades your house; or you’re a renter; or you don’t have $20,000 to drop on a solar power system. Or maybe you just want to get more than 0.5 percent interest on your savings account while getting a piece of the clean […]
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Does energy storage compensate for water-thirsty concentrating solar thermal power?
This post originally appeared on Energy Self-Reliant States, a resource of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance’s New Rules Project. Concentrating solar thermal power has promised big additions to renewable energy production with the additional benefit of energy storage. But with significant water consumption in desert locations, is the energy storage benefit of concentrating solar enough […]
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New York City's Solar Windfall Illuminates America's Clean Energy Future
This post adapted from Energy Self-Reliant States, a resource of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance’s New Rules Project. A recently released solar map of New York City found enough room on building rooftops for solar panels to power half the city during hours of peak electricity use. Taking advantage of this solar windfall could allow […]
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Why we should democratize the electricity system – part 4
A serialized version of ILSR‘s new report, Democratizing the Electricity System, Part 4 of 5. Click for Part 1 or Part 2 or Part 3. Roadblocks to Distributed, Local Renewable Energy Despite technology’s march toward more efficient and distributed energy production, there’s a substantial tension between the decentralized opportunity and the institutional and policy inertia […]
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Could California Save 30 Percent or More on Solar Power?
This post originally appeared on Energy Self-Reliant States, a resource of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance’s New Rules Project. The Golden State has covered over 50,000 roofs with solar PV in the past decade, but could it also save 30% or more on its current solar costs? Renewable energy guru Paul Gipe wrote up a […]
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The Political and Technical Advantages of Distributed Renewable Power
A serialized version of ILSR‘s new report, Democratizing the Electricity System, Part 3 of 5. Click for Part 1 or Part 2. The Political and Technical Advantages of Distributed Generation While technology has helped change the economics of electricity production (in favor of renewables and distributed generation), this new dynamic can as easily be controlled […]