Tag: solar

Study Grades Natural Gas as Best Source for Reliability, Affordability and Environmental Impact

Just the News
Natural Gas Pawer Plant

A new study finds that natural gas is the most effective energy source meeting growing energy demands affordably and reliably, while balancing environmental and human impact.

The “Grading the Grid” study by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a pro-free market nonprofit, and Northwood University rates natural gas, coal, petroleum, nuclear, hydroelectric, wind, solar and geothermal generation sources on their reliability, environmental and human impact, cost, innovation and market feasibility.

Read the full story

Red Tape Closes Pennsylvania Power Plants Before Replacements Ready

The Center Square
Power Plant

Despite the key positions states like Ohio and Pennsylvania hold to solve future energy problems, shifting the power grid from coal and natural gas to wind and solar isn’t as easy as flipping a switch.

A cadre of Pennsylvania legislators trekked to Columbus for a joint meeting of three House and Senate committees from the two states to be advised by energy officials on PJM, the regional power grid to which both belong.

Read the full story

Commentary: The Delusions of Davos and Dubai Surrounding Wind and Solar Energy

Admin
Solar Energy

In the most recent “Conference of the Parties,” otherwise known as the United Nations extravaganza that convenes every few years for world leaders to discuss the climate crisis, several goals were publicly proclaimed. Notable were the goals to triple production of renewable energy by 2030 and triple production of nuclear energy by 2050. Against the backdrop of current global energy production by fuel type, and as quantified in Part One, against a goal of increasing total energy production from 600 exajoules in 2022 to at least 1,000 exajoules by 2050, where does COP 28’s goals put the world’s energy economy? How much will production of renewable energy have to increase?

To answer this question, it is necessary to recognize and account for the fact that most renewable energy takes the form of electricity, generated through wind, solar, or geothermal sources. And when measuring how much the base of renewables installed so far will contribute to the target of 1,000 exajoules of energy production per year in order to realize—best-case scenario—800 exajoules of energy services, the data reported in the Statistical Review of Global Energy is profoundly misleading.

Read the full story

Georgia Regulators Want More Authority over Rooftop Solar Sales People

The Center Square

The chair of Georgia’s Public Service Commission wants state lawmakers to give more authority to the state board that oversees companies that sell rooftop solar panels.

“I do want to take this opportunity on the record to encourage the Georgia General Assembly to look into increasing the capabilities of the electrical licensing board so that we can cut down the number of consumer complaints that we receive from the rooftop solar industry,” PSC Chair Tricia Pridemore said during a hearing last week.

Read the full story

Commentary: Solar’s Lofty Ambitions Are Consuming Ever-Larger Expanses of Land Down Below

RealClearWire

Wedged in the southern flank of Virginia, Charlotte County is home to some 11,500 people who live amidst rolling hills and family farms, pastures and sawmills, a historic Civil War battlefield, and four townlets tinier than many suburban subdivisions.  

But this pastoral tableau will be swept up in the green revolution when construction begins here on the nation’s largest solar power facility east of the Mississippi River. The planned 800-megawatt Randolph Solar Project in Charlotte County will replace a commercial lumber farm of loblolly pines with 1.6 million photovoltaic panels covering an area equivalent to seven square miles. 

Read the full story

Solar Company Joins Multibillion Green Investment Spree in Republican States

Admin

First Solar announced plans to invest $1.2 billion into production of U.S.-made photovoltaic (PV) solar modules in Ohio and the southeastern U.S., joining a growing list of companies developing green energy initiatives in Republican-controlled states.

First Solar announced that it would invest $185 million into “upgrading and expanding” its manufacturing capabilities in three factories in northwestern Ohio, which the company describes as the “largest vertically-integrated complex of its kind in the Western Hemisphere,” as well as investing $1 billion in a new plant in the American Southeast, according to a press release. The solar company is the latest in a slew of billion-plus-dollar investments in green energy initiatives, spearheaded by automakers, seeking to take advantage of tax credits offered under the Inflation Reduction Act by constructing or retrofitting production facilities in Republican-controlled states.

Read the full story

Whaley Energy Plan for Ohio Excludes Fossil Fuels

Bradley Vasoli

Ohio Democratic gubernatorial candidate Nan Whaley this weekend took to Twitter to promote an energy plan for the Buckeye State that excludes fossil-fuel production in favor of renewables.

“Check out mine and [running mate Cheryl Stephens’s] energy plan…,” she wrote. “1. Reform the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) so consumer interests are at its core; 2. Spur innovation & create good-paying, union jobs in clean energy; 3. Build climate resilient communities.”

Read the full story

Commentary: Solar Panel Programs Increase Your Electricity Bill

RealClearWire

Why are electricity prices rising so fast?

Over the past quarter century, electricity prices across America have increased by an average of 1.8 percent per year, from $8.38 per kWh in 1994 to $13.01 in 2019. Then in January this year both Entergy and Mississippi Power increased their rates by $7.81 per month and $5.27 per month respectively, affecting over half a million Mississippi residents.

Read the full story

Commentary: Energy Myths Are Triggering a New Dark Age in Europe

RealClearWire

Europe has an energy crisis. Factories are halting operations in the face of soaring energy prices; families are paying 50% more for heating (or opting to freeze in their homes), and  Europe as a whole continues to destabilize its political position by making itself dependent on Russia for natural gas.

Europe shows what happens when you adopt policies based on false ideas—myths about energy that all but guarantee high prices, power blackouts, and a crashing economy.

Read the full story

Nashville Metro Water Services Opens First ‘Net Zero Energy’ Building

Morgan Nicole Veysey

Councilman Freddie O’Connell tweeted this week that Nashville Metro Water Services had officially opened its first net-zero energy building. O’Connell said the location was in Salemtown, where the Metro Water Service is also planning a new multiuse path. 

“The electric meter literally runs backward on a sunny day!” O’Connell tweeted. He added the price of solar for residential properties had decreased 80 percent in the past decade. 

Read the full story

Solar And Wind Produced Just Three Percent of Global Energy

Admin

by Michael Bastasch   Wind and solar energy generation is growing, but it’s still an incredibly small part of the global energy mix, according to statistics compiled by the oil giant BP. Meanwhile, fossil fuels — coal, natural gas and oil — accounted for 85% of global energy consumption in 2018, BP reported Tuesday as part of its annual energy report. In fact, BP reported the U.S. led the world in oil and natural gas production growth. U.S. petroleum output saw the biggest annual growth ever recorded in any country, BP said. In other words, shale is booming. The U.S. surpassed Saudi Arabia and Russia in 2018 to become the world’s largest oil-producing nation. “Oil remains the most used fuel in the energy mix,” BP reported in its annual energy review. “Coal is the second largest fuel but lost share in 2018 to account for 27%, its lowest level in 15 years. The share of natural gas increased to 24%, such that the gap between coal and gas has narrowed to three percentage points.” “The contribution of hydro and nuclear remained relatively flat in 2018 at 7% and 4%, respectively,” BP reported. “Strong growth pushed up renewables share to 4%,…

Read the full story

DFL Senators Author Bill to Make Minnesota ‘First State in the Nation to Use Only Renewable Energy’

Anthony Gockowski

Three DFL state senators have co-authored a bill that aims to “make Minnesota the first state in the nation to use only renewable energy.” Senate File (SF) 425, set to be introduced Thursday and referred to the Energy and Utilities Finance and Policy Committee, was co-authored by Sens. John Marty (D-Roseville), Nick Frentz (D-Mankato), and Chris Eaton (D-Brooklyn Center). “The Department of Commerce Division of Energy Resources, in consultation with other state agencies and the Legislative Energy Commission, must develop a framework for the state of Minnesota to transition to a renewable energy economy that ends Minnesota’s contribution to greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels within the next few decades,” SF 425 states. In creating a renewable-energy framework, the Division of Energy Resources would be asked to consider a number of various factors, including the “economic and environmental costs of continued reliance on fossil fuels,” and the “creation of jobs and industry in the state that result from moving ahead of other states in transitioning to a sustainable energy economy.” Additionally, it must account for “the appropriate energy efficiency and renewable energy investments in Minnesota to reduce the economic losses to the Minnesota economy from importation of fossil fuels.” “The…

Read the full story

Bill Gates Reminds People Solar And Wind Alone Won’t Solve Climate Change

Admin
Bill Gates

by Jason Hopkins   Bill Gates, writing in a year-end blog post, shot down the idea that renewable energy alone can sufficiently reduce carbon emissions and address the world’s fight against climate change. “Some people think we have all the tools we need, and that driving down the cost of renewables like solar and wind solves the problem,” the business magnate wrote Saturday in Gates Notes, his personal blog site. “But solar and wind are intermittent sources of energy, and we are unlikely to have super-cheap batteries anytime soon that would allow us to store sufficient energy for when the sun isn’t shining or the wind isn’t blowing.” Instead, the founder of Microsoft touted the potential of nuclear technology. “Next year I will speak out more about how the U.S. needs to regain its leading role in nuclear power research,” he wrote. “Nuclear is ideal for dealing with climate change, because it is the only carbon-free, scalable energy source that’s available 24 hours a day.” The famous business magnate recognized the promise of nuclear energy for a long time. Gates is the founder of TerraPower, a nuclear reactor design company. TerraPower is working on an advanced nuclear reactor that would help innovate industry.…

Read the full story

US Solar Projects Surging After Trump Tariffs

Admin

by Jason Hopkins   Despite apocalyptic warnings from trade experts, the U.S. solar industry has experienced rapid growth since President Donald Trump enacted tariffs on foreign-made solar panels. When Trump fist announced in January that his administration would impose levies on solar panel imports, leaders in the industry predicted doom and gloom. Many critics offered fiery public condemnation of the move. “It boggles my mind that this president — any president, really — would voluntarily choose to damage one of the fastest-growing segments of our economy,” Tony Clifford, chief development officer for Standard Solar, stated at the time. “This decision is misguided and denies the reality that bankrupt foreign companies will be the beneficiaries of an American taxpayer bailout.” Clifford was far from alone in believing tariffs on foreign solar modules would stunt growth. The Solar Energy Industry Association (SEIA), a major trade group in the country, predicted the Trump tariffs would result in 23,000 project managers, engineers and installers losing their jobs. The SEIA believed one-third of the 260,000 U.S. workers in the solar industry would also be at risk of unemployment in the long term. The tariffs — requested by Suniva and SolarWorld, two American companies hit hard by foreign…

Read the full story

The SAT Is Feeding Students Solar Industry Propaganda

Admin
SAT test

by James D. Agresti   The famed SAT, or Scholastic Assessment Test, is a college readiness exam taken by more than 1.6 million students per year. In May of 2018, the College Board, which owns and operates the SAT, required test takers to read an article that claims: the cost of solar energy installations “fell by more than 50 percent between 2010 and 2013.” “solar power is now competitive with other energy sources in many markets.” solar energy is a “ray of sunshine for the U.S. economy.” This article appeared in the reading portion of the exam, which supposedly uses “authentic texts selected from high-quality” sources. Yet, all of the assertions above are rooted in solar industry propaganda that is at odds with the facts. Moreover, this disinformation misleads students in ways that can cause serious harm. Cost Declines In contrast to the SAT’s claim that the cost of solar installations fell by more than 50% from 2010 to 2013, the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory reports that “system prices of residential and commercial PV [photovoltaic solar] systems declined 6%–12% per year, on average, from 1998–2014….” This amounts to a decrease during 2010 to 2013 of 17%…

Read the full story