News & Articles on Solar Energy
While I have primarily worked with wind energy, I have long been a proponent of renewable energy in the broadest sense. This includes solar energy. My work in Canada, especially Ontario, stressed inclusion of solar energy because it had been previously overlooked. At one time Ontario was one of the leading jurisdictions in North America developing solar photovoltaics due in part to the programs I and others pushed. The political winds changed and these policies were abandoned and with it Ontario’s progress toward a renewable energy future.
After Spain’s blackout, critics blamed renewable energy. It’s part of a bigger attack
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External Source
Last spring, tens of millions of people lost electricity across Spain, Portugal and part of France. Trains stopped in their tracks, and people were stuck in elevators, as southwestern Europe went without power for — in some cases — more than ten hours. Immediately, the finger-pointing began. Many people blamed solar and wind energy. Spain, one of Europe’s front runners in renewable energy, gets about 46% of its power from solar and wind, according to the think tank Ember— sometimes more than 70%.
5 lessons from a house that generates more energy than it uses
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External Source
“It’s one of the first net-zero energy, zero carbon case study houses that was built for less cost than standard construction,” he says, and the remodel involved “standard construction materials and off-the-shelf technologies that anyone can use.Fortunato’s family ended up with a stylish, contemporary, four-bedroom, two-bath home. While a project like this is not for everyone, Fortunato hopes others will learn from his family’s experience and take on similar projects. In that spirit, here are five lessons from the Green Idea House. Fortunato’s family ended up with a stylish, contemporary, four-bedroom, two-bath home. While a project like this is not for everyone, Fortunato hopes others will learn from his family’s experience and take on similar projects. In that spirit, here are five lessons from the Green Idea House.
10 Quick Responses to Common Electric Car & Renewable Energy Myths
By
Zachary Shahan
Solar power and wind power are now the cheapest options for new electricity on the market. For this reason, solar and wind actually dominate new power plant capacity around the world. (Myth: Solar and wind power are expensive.)
Factcheck: 16 misleading myths about solar power
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External Source
This rapid expansion has triggered a backlash, with numerous campaigns springing up to oppose new solar projects from the UK to Australia. These groups frequently draw on misinformation, spread by right-leaning media outlets, anti-renewable energy groups and predominantly right-wing political parties. Increasingly, these narratives are having real-world consequences, with governments restricting or even banning the installation of solar panels across swathes of land. Here, Carbon Brief factchecks 16 of the most common myths about solar power.
IEA: Renewables Will Be World’s Top Power Source “by 2026”
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External Source
Renewable energy will overtake coal to become the world’s top source of electricity “by 2026 at the latest”, according to new forecasts from the International Energy Agency (IEA). The rise of renewables is being driven by extremely rapid growth in wind and solar output, which topped 4,000 terawatt hours (TWh) in 2024 and will pass 6,000TWh by 2026. Wind and solar are increasingly under attack from populist politicians on the right, such as US president Donald Trump and Reform in the UK. Nevertheless, they will together meet more than 90% of the increase in global electricity demand out to 2026, the IEA says, while modest growth for hydro power will add to renewables’ rise.
Solar is EU’s biggest power source for the first time ever
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External Source
Solar became the EU’s largest source of electricity for the first time in June 2025. National records for solar and wind rolled in across EU countries in May and June, pushing coal to an all-time low.
Europe’s $750 Billion Energy Pledge To Trump Is Pure Political Theater
By
Michael Barnard
For President Trump, the deal represented a dramatic political win, as it allowed him to claim a significant diplomatic and economic success before his self-imposed deadline. Yet, upon closer examination, the celebrated energy pledge raises substantial doubts. Analysts widely question its feasibility, suggesting that Europe’s commitments are essentially political theater designed primarily to manage President Trump’s volatile negotiating tactics, rather than realistic economic strategy.
Inside The Iberian Grid Collapse: What Really Went Wrong
By
Michael Barnard
This combination created atypically low wholesale electricity prices, with significant amounts of renewable energy being curtailed, but the blackout was not a renewable-energy-driven event. Rather, it was the result of multiple layers of insufficient planning, inadequate voltage management, and poorly managed grid dynamics. 50% of the allocation of responsibility was to human failures in planning, 30% to legacy generation not performing as it was designed to do, and 20% to renewables exiting the system because they weren’t configured to deal with the scenario, once again a human failure more than a technology failure.
Were cuts in rooftop solar payments legal? California Supreme Court hears arguments
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External Source
Environmental and consumer advocacy groups are seeking to reverse a 2022 decision by state regulators to slash by around 75% the rates paid to compensate customers with solar installations for the excess energy they generate. The move, intended to shield non-solar customers from unfair cost burdens, sent solar hookups plummeting. Three environmental groups bringing the case — the Center for Biological Diversity, The Protect our Communities Foundation, and the Environmental Working Group — argue that the California Public Utilities Commission didn’t properly consider benefits to customers and disadvantaged communities when it changed the program. The commission argued the policy strikes a balance between affordability for all customers and encouraging renewable energy choices.
Two stories: Denmark’s soaring renewable success and global nuclear construction disaster
By
David Toke
Renewables will make up more than of Danish 100% electricity in a couple of years time and just wind and solar not long after that. On the other hand a new study concludes that, around the world, nuclear power projects have cost overruns that are over 100%. Solar and wind have very low, if any cost overruns.
