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.
Paul Krugman: Renewable Energy and National Security–The wind and the sun don’t need to transit the Strait of Hormuz
By
External Source
Donald Trump’s attack on Iran will have many unintended and unforeseen consequences. One consequence even I wasn’t thinking about, but which is already clear after less than a week, is that Trump has made a strong new case for renewable energy. The usual argument for promoting solar and wind power is that relying on renewable energy avoids the environmental damage caused by burning fossil fuels. This environmental damage includes, but isn’t limited to, climate change. In addition, air pollution imposes shockingly large direct and immediate costs by harming our health and reducing our life expectancy. But now we know that there is another reason for nations to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels: security. In a dangerous world, it’s infinitely safer to rely on the sun and the wind than to depend on fossil fuels that must be transported long distances, from nations that are untrustworthy, often exploitative and located in regions that frequently devolve into war zones. . . Donald Trump, hero of renewable energy? Who knew?
Putin Tried to Freeze Ukraine. Instead, He Sparked an Energy Revolution.
By
Paul Hockenhos
n terms of a new, cutting-edge distributed energy system, Ukraine may be racing forward with the zeal of a new convert, but even the planned rollout of renewables in 2026 won’t keep most of the Ukrainian population safe from Russia’s depredations next winter. Wartime Ukraine has the will but not the financial resources to revamp its energy production on its own. The nation’s largest donor, the E.U., is already contributing nearly $200 billion to Ukraine’s budget for military expenditures and humanitarian aid, including energy. The speed with which Ukraine blankets its territory with distributed energy systems could make the difference between surviving another punishing winter—or succumbing to its cruelty.
How the energy establishment disses solar PV so much it doesn’t even count it properly!
By
David Toke
Readers of this blog will be aware of how the rise of solar PV around the world has taken the energy establishment by surprise. But not everyone knows how they are still dissing the technology. They don’t even count it properly! There’s a reason for that. It does not fit in with their model of how the energy industry works, so information that suggests that the system is radically changing is just being ignored.
Turning Point: Wind and Solar Outstrip Fossil Fuels in Europe for First Time
By
External Source
Beatrice Petrovich at the Ember Energy Consultancy reports that for the first time last year, wind and solar generated more electricity in the European Union than did fossil fuels. It is another clear piece of proof that humanity can get to carbon neutral by 2050 if it wants to. The alternative is very bad for children and other living things. Combined, wind and solar generated 30% of EU power in 2025. That percentage was only 20% half a decade before. Wind, solar and hydro accounted for 47.1% of electricity generation, nearly half, in the Eurozone.
German Renewables Reach New Record–Surpass Fossil Fuels
By
Paul Gipe
Despite the doom & gloom here in the states where renewable energy is under a sustained assault by the Trump …
After Spain’s blackout, critics blamed renewable energy. It’s part of a bigger attack
By
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
By
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
By
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”
By
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.
