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.
Renewable Energy Nears 60% of German Electricity
By
Paul Gipe
In what was once unthinkable, renewable energy from sun, wind, water, and biomass has generated 59.1 percent of German electricity …
Balcony Solar May Become a Reality in California
By
Paul Gipe
Balcony solar, or plug-in solar for us Yankees, may actually become a thing in California. The state legislature passed plug-in …
EVs and the Grid: Supporting Resilience, or Driving Defection?
By
External Source
EVs are giant batteries on wheels. They could smooth out the daily and seasonal variations of energy flows on the electric grid, making the grid more reliable and everyone’s electricity cheaper. But a self-serving alliance of disparate interests is working hard to discourage EV adoption. One front of their many attacks involves apocalyptic tales of grid collapse.
How British solar farms are returning shedloads of money to consumers
By
David Toke
Solar farms given contracts by the British government to supply electricity to the grid are paying larger and larger sums to electricity consumers. Far from being given subsidies by consumers, they are subsidising the consumers. They will also act to depress electricity prices in general.
CA governor candidate Xavier Becerra proposes free ‘power hour’ electricity plan
By
External Source
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra is proposing free electricity for millions of California households during part of the day, arguing the plan could help lower-income residents save money while encouraging energy use when solar power is most abundant. Becerra unveiled the proposal Tuesday at POLITICO’s Sacramento Summit, saying his plan would offer free electricity during a designated midday window. The Democrat said he would work with the regulators, energy providers and other stakeholders to determine how this would be paid, but didn’t outline a funding plan.
The ‘Guerrilla Solar’ Era Has Arrived, and Here’s What to Know
By
External Source
Morris explained that the main benefit he sees with plug-in solar is that consumers are taking greater control of their energy costs and becoming participants in the transition to clean energy. He views this as part of creating and maintaining a political consensus that supports the transition, which is good for everyone. He also sees land-use benefits, with plug-in solar occupying otherwise unused spaces in yards and on roofs and balconies. His organization has calculated that widespread adoption of plug-in solar would meet about 2 percent of Germany’s electricity demand, which would reduce the need to build new power plants on undeveloped land.
Donald Trump, Champion of Renewable Energy
By
External Source
The whole world now knows that relying on imported fossil fuels is a major economic and security risk. By contrast, the sun will shine and the wind blow whatever may be happening overseas. Renewables were already rapidly becoming cheaper than fossil fuels. Now it’s clear that they are also far safer. Thus Donald Trump has in practice become the world’s green energy champion.
24/7 renewables: The economics of firm solar and wind
By
External Source
The analysis shows that the cost of firm renewable electricity has declined rapidly across all major technologies and markets. In high-quality solar and wind resource regions, co-located hybrid systems can already deliver round-the-clock electricity at costs competitive with – and in many cases below – those of new fossil-fuel generation. China currently defines the global cost floor, while costs in Brazil, India, South Africa, Australia, and the Gulf region are declining rapidly towards fossil-fuel cost parity.
Wind and solar have saved UK from gas imports worth £1.7bn since Iran war began
By
External Source
The UK has avoided the need for gas imports worth £1.7bn since the start of the Iran war, as a result of record electricity generation from wind and solar, reveals Carbon Brief analysis. The surge in wind and solar output is cutting the need for gas-fired generation, which has been nearly a third lower than last year and fell to record lows in both March and April 2026.
The New Geography Of Wind Power In Canada
By
Michael Barnard
Ontario’s return to renewable procurement is the clearest sign that one of Canada’s largest electricity markets has accepted a reality it spent years resisting. The timing is propitious as I prepare to provide an update to a global audience on North American wind energy through the World Wind Energy Association. Electricity demand is rising as transport, buildings, and industry electrify. Refusing wind and solar in that environment was never a long-term strategy. It was a pause wrapped in politics.
