solar power
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Holiday weekend brings good news — and bad — for clean energy
The Fourth of July isn’t quite Earth Day but it’s becoming a favored holiday for companies and policymakers to declare energy independence, as was the case this past weekend. Cypress Semiconductor, kicked things off when T.J. Rodgers, the company’s chief executive, declared at a press conference that the Silicon Valley chipmaker would go completely off […]
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Green tech investment surges
President Obama examines a solar panel with Solyndra executives.Photo and caption: The White HouseGreen tech is back in the green. Global venture capital investment in green technology companies reached $4.04 billion in the first half of 2010, exceeding — slightly — the record set in the boom year of 2008, according to a preliminary report […]
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Clean energy: It’s not about the technology
Suppose two factories produce and sell identical widgets at $1 each. Now, suppose a law is passed to provide one of those factories with $9 of additional revenue per widget. Clearly, this is law will distort markets. The $10 widget manufacturer will attract more investors and it will lobby hard to preserve that law. Meanwhile, […]
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California considers mandating energy storage
The California Assembly has passed legislation [PDF] that takes the first step to requiring that a percentage of electricity generated in the state be stored. Electricity, of course, is the ultimate perishable commodity. If the bill is approved by the California Senate and signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, it would apparently be the first time […]
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Transmission constraints derail solar project
Amid all the hope and hype about the nascent solar boom under way in California, there’s long been an elephant in the room — transmission. Billions and billions of dollars must be spent to build and upgrade transmission lines to connect dozens of proposed solar power plants to the grid. Now that elephant has rolled […]
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Solar panels’ deadly attraction lures some to their demise
masterjack.roger via FlickrPV, I only have eyes for you. It really bugs us that there are (naturally) some down sides to renewable energy solutions, such as solar or wind. Which makes the news that the brilliant shine of solar panels is luring some insects to their deaths sting even more. Wasp could be worse than […]
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Got a clever solar slogan? Tell us!
The New York State Legislature has been debating a big solar program — the New York Solar Industry Development and Jobs Act would add 5 GW of solar to the state’s energy mix — but we’re getting to the homestretch on the legislative calendar, and it’s do-or-die time in Albany. We’d like to send them […]
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Tiny desert town goes solar in a big way
Nipton, Calif. solar arrayGrist’s Dave Roberts sent out a Tweet to his Tweeps today asking which city has installed the most solar. I’ve got an answer for you, Dave: Nipton, California. The desert micropolis — population 38 — announced Thursday that it had installed a solar array that will provide 85 percent of the town’s […]
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Report: New York solar bill could generate 22,000 jobs
Legislation pending in New York that would require the state to install 5,000 megawatts of solar power by 2025 could generate 22,198 jobs and boost the economy by $20 billion, according to a report released by Vote Solar on Wednesday. The cost to consumers would be just a 39-cent a month hike on their utility […]
