A special note here: an election is happening right now in California that has huge ramifications for clean energy and the climate. Just as they did in 2003, California Republicans managed to get the required 3.7% of the state’s voters to demand a “recall election,” a weird stipulation in California law that makes a standing
Environment
Footprint Project, a nonprofit organization based in Minneapolis whose mission is to provide cleaner energy for communities in crisis, recently joined Rent.Solar on a trip to Louisiana to help those hit hardest by Hurricane Ida. The two brought 4 solar trailers and 60 portable charging stations. The mobile solar unit is paired with battery storage
In this article BRK.A MAERSK.B-DK whitemay | iStock Unreleased | Getty Images Denmark’s Maersk has invested in WasteFuel, a California-based start-up centered around the conversion of agricultural and municipal waste into fuels, in order to “develop green bio-methanol production in the Americas and Asia.” In an announcement Wednesday, the world’s largest container shipping firm explained
Several organizations are bringing solar to New Orleans restaurants in an effort to “Stay Lit” as a part of hurricane preparedness, Big Easy Magazine reports. Feed the Second Line and Glass Half Full NOLA are collaborating on an initiative known as Stay Lit. The goal is to crowdfund an installation of solar panels and batteries
Solar power keeps getting cheaper and keeps growing year after year, now accounting for nearly half of new power capacity in the United States. But coal and fossil methane (also deceivingly called “natural gas”) power plants need to be retired more quickly than they have been. We need to cut emissions more quickly than we
choja | E+ | Getty Images The White House on Wednesday outlined a plan for solar energy to supply nearly half of the nation’s electricity by 2050. The ambitious goal would see solar rising from 3% of generation in 2020 to 40% by 2035 before ultimately hitting 45% by 2050. Heavy spending across industries will
Originally published on ILSR.org Residents of Puerto Rico are ready for energy democracy. Specifically, a resilient, renewable electricity system with equitably shared benefits. Is this vision possible for the island, whose democratic power is limited to begin with? For this episode of the Local Energy Rules Podcast, host John Farrell speaks with guest Ingrid Vila, environmental
In this article NES.N-CH The CEO of consumer goods giant Nestle told CNBC Thursday that sustainability concerns among its younger customers were “off the charts” and a major influence on purchasing decisions. “If you win their hearts and minds, I mean, this is the future growth of the business,” Mark Schneider, a founding member of
Microgrids are all the rage, and they have been for a few years. Who doesn’t like the idea of a little self-sustainable, independent grid that ropes in solar power, wind power, battery energy storage, EV charging stations and perhaps a tad of some other less common electricity solutions? It sounds simple: tie them all together
In this article DVN RRC COG AR LNG Flames from a flaring pit near a well in the Bakken Oil Field. The primary component of natural gas is methane, which is odorless when it comes directly out of the gas well. In addition to methane, natural gas typically contains other hydrocarbons such as ethane, propane,
Streetlights, headlights, and apartments with lights on around noon on Sept. 9, 2020, in Russian Hill, San Francisco. Christina Farr | CNBC One year ago today was the most terrifying day of my life. I’ve faced personal tragedies and professional setbacks, but there are templates to deal with those. You rely on friends and family,
Agriculture accounts for about 90% of total water consumption in the western United States and around 80% in the rest of the country. This year, droughts, ferocious wildfires, and extreme heat waves are turning farmlands dusty and ranchlands into grass stubble too short to feed livestock. Without adequate water supplies, farmers and ranchers are suffering, facing unprecedented restrictions on
Energy Vault, which recently raised $100 million in Series C funding, has achieved another milestone. The technology company, which uses gravity-based grid-scale energy storage to accelerate global decarbonization, will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) through a merger with Novus Capital Corporation II. The two companies jointly announced that they’ve entered into
The CFS and MIT teams working on the magnet. Credit: Gretchen Ertl, CFS/MIT-PSFC, 2021 Fusion took a key step forward in its movement from the lab to commercial viability with the successful test of a key technology — a very powerful magnet that uses very little energy. Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s
CleanTechnica has been actively educating people about cleantech for more than a decade now. I don’t know about you, but I genuinely feel it’s time to blow the lid off and truly accelerate the cleantech revolution. With that in mind, we are going to start seeking equity investment for the first time ever, and hope
In this article HOL.N-CH GE SGRE-ES ENR-DE RWE-DE Wind turbine in backlight Jorg Greuel | DigitalVision | Getty Images Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy said Tuesday it had launched a recyclable wind turbine blade, a move which represents the latest example of how the industry is attempting to find ways to re-use materials. In a statement,
In this article 7267.T-JP 7203.T-JP BMW-DE The Hyundai Xcient Fuel Cell truck on display during the 3rd China International Import Expo (CIIE) at the National Exhibition and Convention Center on November 5, 2020 in Shanghai, China. Zhang Hengwei | China News Service | Getty Images The Hyundai Motor Group plans to develop hydrogen fuel cell
Everybody is talking about a new EU clean power project that pairs floating solar with offshore wind turbines, but they’re missing half the story. Wave energy is also part of the project. The wave part is not getting much attention, probably because wave-to-electricity conversion has fallen behind wind and solar in the renewable energy race.
I recently wrote an article about the threat to rooftop solar net metering — and thus rooftop solar power growth — in California. Then, a few days later, one of our editors found and published “347 Organizations Sign Letter to Protect Rooftop Solar Power in California.” In response to the article, an organization called “Solar
Longtime market bull Tom Lee is predicting a profitable period for investors in September. According to Lee, the S&P 500 is positioned to surge more than 100 points this month. However, he warns the positive momentum has an expiration date. “We could have a really strong rally in September,” the Fundstrat Global Advisors’ co-founder and
Last week, Hurricane Ida knocked out all 8 transmission lines into New Orleans. In Baton Rouge, it took out our communications along with our electricity — with the exception of those who had Verizon. Although most of Baton Rouge is getting back online, New Orleans as well as smaller towns and cities still don’t have
Adriana Van De Wal | EyeEm | Getty Images The chairman of the Energy Transitions Commission has highlighted the role both companies and governments can play when it comes to reducing emissions, emphasizing the importance of the upcoming COP26 summit on climate change. In a wide-ranging interview with CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” at the end
Somebody asked me recently why there is so much argument and tribalism on alternative fuels, and it’s a reasonable question. After all, the economics, chemistry, physics, and transitional effort clearly support electrification of everything that can be electrified, biofuels for most of the rest, and hydrogen and synthetic fuels in a handful of niches. But
In this article BAS-DE Wind turbines operated by RWE AG during sunset in Rheinisches Revier, Germany, on Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images Politicians in Germany need to work with industry leaders if the country wants to succeed in reducing its carbon emissions, according to Martin Brudermüller, chief executive of BASF,
2010–2020 Showed Strong Wins For Wind & Solar In China, Nuclear Lagging In 2014, I made the strong assertion that China’s track record on wind and nuclear generation deployments showed clearly that wind energy was more scalable. In 2019, I returned to the subject, and assessed wind, solar and nuclear total TWh of generation, asserting
In this article RWE-DE EQNR-NO RDSA-GB If built, the project would be located in waters off the coast of Ulsan, South Korea. Insung Jeon | Moment | Getty Images A joint venture centered around the development of a massive floating offshore wind farm in waters off South Korea has been formally established. Oil and gas
347 organizations representing a true grassroots movement—spanning business to housing to environmental advocacy groups, issued a statement of support to protect rooftop solar in California. The open letter signed by a diverse coalition of organizations, sent to Governor Newsom and the California Public Utilities Commission, demands state leaders keep solar affordable in California as the
Bitcoin enthusiasts, miners, and oil & gas execs gathered at a meetup in Houston to talk about the future of bitcoin mining. HOUSTON – On a residential back street of Houston, in a 150,000 square-foot warehouse safeguarding high-end vintage cars, 200 oil and gas execs and bitcoin miners mingled, drank beer, and talked shop on
In theory, economics is pretty simple stuff. If Farmer A is selling apples 4 for a dollar and Farmer B is selling them 5 for a dollar, who you gonna call when you need apples? Farmer B, of course. You’d be crazy to pay more for apples than you need to, especially if you hope
In this article F Ford Chairman Bill Ford speaks May 19, 2021 during the unveiling of the electric F-150 Lightning pickup truck outside the automaker’s world headquarters in Dearborn, Mich. Ford DETROIT – A decade ago, Ford Motor was positioning itself to be a leader in electrified vehicles with new global models such as the
Aerial photos of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL) Flatirons Campus near Boulder, Colorado. Photographed from an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). (Photo by Joshua Bauer / NREL) Imagine an electric grid powered by clean, renewable energy. Now imagine that this grid provides all the comfort and convenience consumers have come to expect as well as
In this article XOM A view of the ExxonMobil Baton Rouge Refinery in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, May 15, 2021. Kathleen Flynn | Reuters Activist firm Engine No. 1 after winning three board seats at Exxon is meeting with other oil companies in its climate change fight, a source familiar told CNBC’s David Faber. The hedge
The long-term risks for humanity and nature from global warming are evident. Things that we depend upon and value — water, energy, transportation, wildlife, agriculture, ecosystems, and human health — are experiencing the effects of a changing climate. While perceptions about the consequence of the climate crisis may have advanced, reality has not. The majority