Yes we need land for solar panels, wind farms, batteries, pumped hydro, transmission lines and so on. But the amount of land is surprisingly small, when you do the sums. Here’s why.
New research shows densely populated countries in Southeast Asia and West Africa could harvest effectively unlimited energy from solar panels floating on calm tropical seas near the equator.
U.S. solar installations had been rising quickly until the threat of new tariffs darkened the 2022 outlook.
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Only 13% of US solar industry jobs are currently in manufacturing. The Biden administration hopes the sector will grow fast, but that might not be so simple.
South Africa’s well positioned to adopt electric vehicles but this isn’t a solution in itself because the vehicles would still depend on electricity generated from carbon-emitting coal power stations.
Australia is in the midst of a solar energy boom, yet it is lagging behind other countries when it comes to ‘building-integrated photovoltaics’ - solar cells built into the very fabric of buildings.
These photovoltaics panels provide this village with energy now, but they could become obsolete when the main grid arrives.
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Small-scale renewable energy projects can power rural areas not connected to the main grid. But investors may hesitate if future electrification remains unpredictable.
What if it were a lot easier to install solar power?
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Silicon is cheap and a good semiconductor, but it’s bulky and rigid. Using organic polymers as semiconductors could yield solar panels with the physical characteristics of plastics.
Solar photovoltaics and wind power are on track to supplant fossil-fuel-based electricity generation by the 2030s. The only thing holding back the renewable revolution is politics.
Researchers talk to Bruny Islanders who have signed up to an experimental new method of managing energy.
Chris Crerar
Our energy system puts consumers more or less at the mercy of business and regulators. What if the future of energy meant putting the power back in the hands of households?
Dedicating a 31-kilowatt photovoltaic array at Rainshadow Community Charter High School, in Reno, Nevada.
BlackRock Solar
What’s at stake as the Trump administration imposes trade sanctions on imported solar panels? A look at the US solar energy industry, which generates more than twice as many jobs as coal energy.
The price of new-build renewable energy is expected to fall significantly relative to new-build coal energy in coming years.
AAP Image/Lucy Hughes Jones
The price of renewable energy will fall significantly relative to new-build coal in coming decades, making an all-renewable electricity system more desirable, both economically and environmentally.
The rays of hope are there, if you look for them.
Marcelo del Pozo/Reuters
Photovoltaics and wind energy now have such a large head start that no other low-emission generation technology has a reasonable prospect of catching them.
Titanium ore can be used to develop lithium ion batteries and supercapacitors, which can aid South Africa’s energy problems.
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Electric utilities want to quash distributed solar because they don’t want the competition, right? Perhaps, but if you rely at all on the grid, you have a stake in this fight, too.