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.
Americans’ views on local wind and solar power development
By
External Source
The Pew Research Center survey explores how Americans would feel about a wind or solar power development in their own community. On balance, more think wind or solar development would help rather than hurt their local economy. But large shares think it would make no difference or are not sure. Respondents were asked to consider the prospect of wind and solar developments separately, but views on these two types of renewable energy development are very similar.
Ontario’s New Overnight Power Price Is ‘Rocket Fuel’ for Rooftop Solar
By
Glen Estill
A new electricity pricing program introduced by the Ontario government will be a boon for rooftop solar, even though it was originally designed for electric vehicle owners. The new electricity rate, known as Ultra Low Overnight (ULO) pricing, is meant to shift electricity demand from peak to off-peak hours.
The (currently terrible) mood in renewables…
By
Jérôme Guillet
So, for power generation and the wider energy transition, unexpectedly maybe, small is and will be beautiful, even as the overall volumes are gigantic. For renewables, no headlines is probably a good thing (as most stories seem to be scary ones). And for offshore wind, a lack of “animal spirits” may be a pity, but the sector will remain a niche (very useful in some places) and a relative minnow compared to solar, onshore wind and, increasingly, storage.
Here’s how utility-scale solar farms may just help save the bees
By
Michelle Lewis
A five-year study of solar farms planted with wildflowers and native grasses discovered that native bees showed a 20-fold increase in numbers. Researchers at the US Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory and National Renewable Energy Laboratory wanted to understand how insect pollinators respond to utility solar farms planted with native grasses and wildflowers.
400 GW of Solar PV in 2023!
By
Paul Gipe
Toby Couture of E3 Energy Analytics expects 400GW of solar generating capacity in 2023. The growth of solar PV has been staggering, he says, and presents the following statistics to prove his point. . . in 2023, the world is adding more than 1GW every. single. day.
We Went Solar and What an Education it Was
By
Paul Gipe
Yes, we went solar in late 2021. Pacific Gas & Electric’s rates, already among the highest in the US, kept …
‘Go hard and go big’: How South Australia got solar panels onto one in every three houses
By
External Source
Tristan Edis, an analyst with the consultants Green Energy Markets, said the lesson for those watching on was pretty simple: the generous early subsidies worked. “It really was this fortuitous accident that happened,” he said. “The message from it is pretty clear: go hard and go big, or don’t bother.”
Police investigate death of worker at one of Australia’s biggest solar projects
By
External Source
A 41-year old man has died at the site of Lightsource bp’s Wellington North solar project, which is under construction in western New South Wales, following what is being described as a workplace accident. NSW Police say emergency services were called to the solar farm in Wuuluman on Wednesday morning, following reports a worker had collapsed and died following a “workplace accident”.
Solar Power in The UK – The Fall and Rise of an Industry
By
External Source
The year is 2010 and the UK government is looking for ways to boost the take up of renewables and reduce Britain’s reliance on fossil fuels. By the beginning of 2011 they had 2 schemes running to incentivise both the public and businesses to invest in renewable energy – the Feed In Tariff and the Renewable Obligation Certificate.
Zeroing In: Pathways to an affordable net-zero grid in Alberta
By
External Source
By the end of this year, Alberta will have successfully phased out coal-fired generation, which was the dominant source of electricity just six years ago. Alberta is already becoming the renewable energy capital of Canada. More than three-quarters of solar and wind generation capacity built in Canada last year was in Alberta.
