Electricity

Solar is breaking records after records

According to Cleantechnica : ” Solarbuzz recently reported that world solar PV power capacity grew by a record 9,000 megawatts (MW) in the 1st quarter of 2014. However, that record isn’t likely to last long. “ ” The solar market research company forecasts that every quarter this year will be higher than the one before it. ” Yes, …

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European Investment Bank to provide France 750 million Euros for renewables

I often have my home country, France, is beginning to lag dangerously on renewable energy sources and the energy transition, and this albeit I have witnessed interesting development. But could this change. As I wrote for Cleantechies : ” Covering European environmental and energy policies for Cleantechies got me thinking lately how France is lagging …

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European Union gets 23.4% of electricity from renewables

Here is another article on Cleantechies focusing on another success story, but this time a European one as clean energy sources are pursuing their rise. The energy transition is slowly taking place. Here is the introduction : ” According to official statistics from Eurobserv’ER, 23.4 percent of the electricity in the European Union came from …

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Should solar panels really face west ?

It is almost common knowledge that solar panels should face South as it maximizes the amount of energy the panels can produce. However a study from Pecan Street Research Institute show some interest in pointing solar panels west. Solar panels facing in this direction produce more electricity when demand peaks, thus reducing the need for …

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The energy transition has reached the French countryside

While I was away for a few days in the Lorraine village where my mom’s family comes from, I noticed a few hints that the energy transition is already taking place and has reached even this quite secluded place. The first one was both solar thermal and photovoltaic panels sprouting on roofs. While I counted …

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King Coal is dying in China and the USA

While coal might still be the first source of energy for electricity generation in the world, the tides may be turning in two of its largest markets, the People’s Republic of China and the United States of America. Several facts are pointing to that conclusion.While China consumes now as much of the black dirty stuff …

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Wind energy was top energy source in Spain in 2013

Many European nations have seen a boom in their renewable energy sources in the past few years. Among them is Spain. Here is the introduction to an article on that topic I wrote for Cleantechies : ” 2013 was an excellent year for wind energy in Spain as this renewable energy source became the first …

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Nicaragua develops its renewable energy potential

According to El Pais, Nicaragua and its six million inhabitants could get 90 % of its electricity from renewables by 2020. To date, the country is already getting 58 percent of its electricity from clean sources. Enjoying huge amounts of sun and wind it could also benefit from large reserves of geothermal energy. Indeed, if …

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The fortune at the bottom of the pyramid

While reading Richard Branson’s latest book, Screw Business As Usual, I came across an interesting concept : the fortune at the bottom of the pyramid. The term refers to the basic goods and services to sell to the poorest people. To a report from the World Resources Institute quoted in Branson’s book,  the Bottom of …

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Could Australia axe its carbon tax ?

For the past weeks I have collected quite an impressive amount of articles on Australia, as its recent elections have brought to power a Conservative Prime Minister, Tony Abbott. A climate denier backed by fossil fuels interests, Mr Abbott is willing to axe the country’s carbon tax. As the Guardian reported, this would cost the …

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