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Author Archives: Phil Winters
GE Sees Solar Cheaper Than Oil in 5 Years
Solar power may be cheaper than electricity generated by fossil fuels and nuclear reactors within three to five years because of innovations, said Mark M. Little, the global research director for General Electric Co. (GE) “If we can get solar at 15 cents a kilowatt-hour or lower, which I’m hopeful that we will do, you’re going [...]
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Bloomberg: Solar Power May Already Rival Coal, Prompting Installation Surge
Solar panel installations may surge in the next two years as the cost of generating electricity from the sun rivals coal-fueled plants, industry executives and analysts said. Large photovoltaic projects will cost $1.45 a watt to build by 2020, half the current price, Bloomberg New Energy Finance estimated today. The London-based research company says solar [...]
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Ray Anderson and the Power of One
One person at a time: that is all it will take to curb rampant resource consumption. The world changes in a moment, according to Ray Anderson. A female executive from a large customer once visited Interface, the multibillion dollar carpet manufacturer founded by Anderson, with the express purpose of seeing Interface’s achievements in sustainable manufacturing [...]
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Renewables Supplied 75% of Spain’s Electricity on January 6
On January 6, renewable energy made up a record-breaking 75 percent of Spain’s electricity. Over the course of the day, coal only accounted for four percent of the electricity supply. On that day, conditions must have been ideal for renewable energy production, but even on any given day, Spain is cranking out some clean energy. Spanish [...]
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Solar in Ontario: 2011 Preview
Ontario, Canada — Many developments will occur over the coming year that will have long-lasting implications for the solar PV (photovoltaic) market in Ontario. 2009 saw the introduction of the Green Energy and Economy Act that produced a favorable Feed-In-Tariff (FIT) program. 2010 was a landmark year thanks to the approval of several hundred MWs [...]
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Ontario Leaps to Second in North American Solar PV for 2010
Reposted from Paul Gipe – Ontario, Canada — The province of Ontario has leapt ahead of New Jersey to take second place in solar photovoltaic (PV) rankings for 2010. Ontario still trails California. At the current rate of growth, however, the solar upstart could rival California in 2011. Ontario installed 143 MWAC of solar photovoltaic [...]
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Solar Power Cost to Equal Fossil Fuel Expense Within Decade, BP Forecasts
The cost of generating power by capturing the sun’s energy will fall about 10 percent a year in the next decade until it equals the expense of producing electricity by burning fossil fuels, a BP Plc official said. As conventional fuel prices rise and solar power falls, generation costs may reach parity in as little [...]
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Solar Homes Sold 20% Faster, and for 17% More
In by far the most exhaustive and detailed study to date, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) found that solar homes sold 20% faster, for 17% more than the equivalent non-solar homes, across several subdivisions built by different California builders. When Shea Homes put solar PV and solar thermal systems on half the homes in a [...]
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Ontario Solar Feed In Tariff and microFIT Programs Reach First Year Milestones!
Ontario is quickly becoming an internationally recognized renewable energy economy. The past 12 months have seen unprecedented solar activity in our Province, focused on project development, system design and product manufacturing. The economic output (JOBS!) that was envisioned in launching the Green Energy and Economy Act is happening. We estimate that: There are 350+ solar [...]
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Global Carbon Emissions Hit Record High in 2010