Blog Archives

Solar Photovoltaics — Ostensible Breakthrough

Frequent commenter and all-around good guy Tim Kingston sent me this video on an ostensible breakthrough in solar PV for my comment. I see claims like this constantly, and I’m never sure exactly how to evaluate them, since this isn’t

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Posted in Photovoltaics

Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Power Sources

Here’s a report on the amount of CO2 associated with various power sources.  It’s not uncommon for the nuclear industry to seize upon reports like this, and say, “Ya see?  We’re clean energy too.”  Of course, that’s true, and I wouldn’t have

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Posted in Renewables - Business

Brown Goes Green

I often mention FedEx and how impressed I am with some of their more progressive efforts in corporate sustainability.  I should also mention that their rival, UPS, is working hard in the same direction.  As noted here, “Brown” is currently

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Posted in Photovoltaics

From Guest-Blogger Faith: Micro Inverters – Why They Simply Are Not Suitable for Australian Conditions

If a solar company has advised you to switch to a micro inverter and you live in Australia, you should think twice. The fact of the matter is that micro inverters simply aren’t suitable for harsh Australian conditions. Whatever advantages

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Posted in Photovoltaics

U.S. President Obama's “All-of-the-Above” Energy Strategy

A friend of mine who had made some energy-related suggestions to President Obama just received a very thoughtful and well-written note in response, talking up the “all-of-the-above” strategy.  I respond: That’s great.  From here, I’d like to see some real

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Posted in Renewables - Politics

From Guest Blogger Mathias: Germany`s Solar Capacity Up 50% Since 2011

Even though Germany has recently cut their national feed-in tariff scheme between 20-30 percent from April this year, the solar industry has flourished in the first nine months of 2012.  The nation`s utilities say the capacity of solar power has

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Posted in Photovoltaics

From Guest Blogger Mathias: New Report Suggests Solar Will Grow 50% in the Next 3 Years

The new study published by Infiniti Research this month has found that the worldwide solar panel market likely will grow at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 15.3 percent from 2011 to 2015. In other words, the study suggests

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Posted in Photovoltaics

Solar Photovoltaics in Textiles

Here’s the latest in a series of updates I just received from a colleague in Philadelphia, outling the progress that is being made in creating fabrics that contain solar photovoltaics.  One day you’ll be able to charge your cell phone

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Posted in Photovoltaics

Energy Policy – Hitting the Broad Side of the Barn

I’ve been thinking about my up-coming meeting with Dr. Raj Pachauri, who, among other things, serves as the chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).  Pondering this in advance of the meeting, I wonder what I would do,

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Posted in Sustainability

Electric Transportation and Solar Energy

A reader asked that I comment on this fairly euphoric piece, suggesting that the world economy can and will be revived with the aggressive adoption of electric transportation and photovoltaics. Here are a few bits and pieces of my reaction.

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Posted in Photovoltaics
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