The news last week that the Australian Newcastle city council had voted to divest from fossil fuel stocks was one of those signposts that historians will some day cite to mark the greatest economic transition in human history. A young councillor, Declan Clausen, was able to grasp the truth that eludes the Australian federal government […]
Demand for Tesla Energy’s revolutionary battery “has been crazy,” according to the company’s founder and CEO Elon Musk. Yesterday, in a second quarter earnings call, Musk revealed there have been more than 100,000 reservations (roughly worth $1 billion) of the rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, which have sold out through 2016. Barely a week after Tesla’s Powerwall […]
Hawaii made waves earlier this year with the announcement that it plans to transition its electric grid to 100 percent renewables by 2045. This is the most aggressive target in the U.S. and it means that the state will serve as a testbed for bringing large amounts of variable renewables onto the grid. It should be watched […]
The long-awaited final Clean Power Plan rule was released yesterday by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. “Suddenly I had this weird feeling, like I couldn’t breathe” —@POTUS on running in L.A. in 1979 #CleanPowerPlan http://t.co/0mjv24on1Z — The White House (@WhiteHouse) August 3, 2015 The summary of the final rule, states that the EPA is establishing: carbon dioxide […]
Germany’s transition from coal- and oil-fired power to carbon-free electricity hit a new milestone on July 25 when solar, wind, and other sources of renewable energy met 78 percent of the day’s energy demand. Germany gets much of its renewable energy from wind farms, including this one in a farmers’ field. Photo credit: Shutterstock That beat the old record […]
Last month was the hottest June ever on record, and scorching heat is often accompanied by sweat-inducing electricity bills. With air conditioning, fans and other summer necessities driving up energy consumption, it can be tough on both budgets and the environment. If states plan ahead and invest in clean energy now, not only can they […]
In yet another clear indication of the nation’s energy future, renewable sources—biomass, geothermal, hydropower, solar, wind—accounted for nearly 70 percent (69.75 percent) of new electrical generation placed in service in the U.S. during the first six months of 2015. New capacity from renewable energy sources during the first half of 2015 is 904 times greater […]
The skies are looking bluer. Today we announced the 200th coal plant to be retired since the Beyond Coal campaign began working with local communities to shut down old and outdated power plants. Since the current goal of the campaign is to retire half of the nation’s more than 500 coal plants, you can see […]
Elon Musk’s $5 billion Tesla “Gigafactory” in Story County, Nevada isn’t just going to be big, it’s going to be the biggest in the world. Tesla broke ground on its Gigafactory in June 2014 outside Sparks, Nevada. Photo credit: Tesla Motors At least that’s the word on the street after Story County official Dean Haymore revealed that the […]