The solar energy industry is alive and thriving in the United States. Unfortunately, in recent months sensational headlines and political gamesmanship surrounding the failure of Solyndra have cast a shadow over the good news about the solar industry. There’s also a false notion circulating that the U.S. solar energy industry is the primary beneficiary of energy-related federal subsidies and tax breaks. This is simply not the case. (more)
A Daily Caller investigation has found that in addition to the failed company Solyndra, at least four other solar panel manufacturing companies receiving in excess of $500 million in loan guarantees from the Obama administration employ executives or board members who have donated large sums of money to Democratic campaigns. (more)
Last October, the Obama administration announced plans to install solar panels on the roof of the White House by the spring of this year, returning the power of the sun to the pinnacle of prominence a quarter-century after Jimmy Carter’s pioneering system was taken down. (more)
If you are (a) an environmentalist, and (b) a Burkean, how do you establish a position on global warming? Are you conflicted, confused? It so happens I am (a) an environmentalist and (b) a Burkean, and I am neither conflicted nor confused. To the contrary, the precepts of Edmund Burke provide me with a position on the issue that I take to be both sound and clear. Moreover, Burke provides a useful guide to remedial action. (more)
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Tuesday a nationwide renewable-electricity standard, or RES, is “absolutely” in the mix as he tries to salvage energy legislation this year — possibly in a lame-duck session. (more)
In rural communities of Africa — where more than 95 percent of homes have no access to electricity — solar energy has the power to transform lives. (more)
The huge vehicle is as wide as two road lanes and 18 feet tall, carries more than 300 passengers per bus, and its electric motors run partly on solar power. The bus network could carry as many as 1,400 passengers at once. (more)
During his weekly address to the nation over the Fourth of July weekend, President Obama announced that the Department of Energy was awarding $2 billion in loan guarantees to two energy companies — Abengoa Solar and Abound Solar Manufacturing. (more)
Any day now, five people will toss one of the world’s most sophisticated remote-control planes into the air at the U.S. Army’s proving ground in Yuma, Ariz. It’s the latest incarnation of QinetiQ’s Zephyr, a solar-powered, high-altitude unmanned machine that unofficially set the record for the most time aloft in July 2008. It flew for 3.5 days. Now, its creators hope to break that record with the latest design tweaks. Their end goal is to fly for three months. But for this new version’s first test flight, Zephyr’s crew is aiming for two weeks in the sky. (more)
Not so long ago, quantum physics at room temperature was found mostly in classroom discussions or over science-geek cocktails. But the mind-bending mechanics seems to be present in many everyday phenomena — including photosynthesis, the driving force behind life’s harvest of solar energy. (more)
A solar-powered aircraft which one day hopes to circle the globe has started a 24-hour test flight in Switzerland. (more)
The developers of a solar lamp that aims to replace kerosene-burning lights in developing countries have won a prestigious environmental award. (more)
In his weekly address to the nation, President Obama today announced that — in the name of bringing “jobs back to the country” — the Department of Energy has awarded $2 billion dollars to two energy companies. (more)
According to Democratic leaders in the Senate, the 60 votes needed to pass a climate bill may be a lot more difficult to come by than they originally thought. Last weekend, Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), chair of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said, “If you actually have a bill that puts in place a cap-and-trade system or a limit on greenhouse gases and a mandatory reduction in greenhouse gases, I think it’s difficult to see where we get the 60 votes to pass that legislation.” (more)
Last week, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its review of the American Power Act proposed by Sens. John Kerry (D-MA) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT). The analysis is conveniently rosy, and the sponsors are eagerly promoting the EPA’s finding that the average household will face an average estimated cost increase of only $79, to $146. (more)
In the quest for proven, clean, sustainable forms of energy, we have looked to the sky to harness wind; we have looked to the seas and the rivers to harness water; we even looked to space to harness the sun. Billions upon billions of collective dollars, yen, and euros have flowed into finding the next great source of renewable energy. The latest and greatest energy ideas scream at us from every television, bus, and magazine article, proclaiming dominance in a crowded field. One proven energy technology, however, has remained conspicuously missing, yet is essential to enable the proliferation of the better-known renewable technologies. It also happens to be one of the most simple, proven, and cost-saving technologies available. (more)
It’s getting difficult to keep track of all the energy proposals that are on the table. We’ve got Sen. Jeff Bingaman’s (D-N.M.) original American Clean Energy Leadership Act, as well as the Waxman-Markey American Clean Energy and Security Act that passed the House last year with a 20 percent renewable energy standard and ambitious emissions cuts. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) released their CLEAR Act with a cap-and-dividends program shortly before Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) released their American Power Act with a cap-and-trade program. Not to mention, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is attempting to get in the game with greenhouse gas regulations, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and others are attempting to stop them. Who can keep track of all the legislative proposals in the chaos? (more)
There’s a good reason the carbon emissions fell by a record 7 percent in 2009: The trade off for reduced carbon dioxide emissions is reduced economic activity. Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) admitted as much last year, and today he and colleague Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) will unveil a Senate cap-and-trade bill that will call for the same draconian cuts in CO2 as the House version passed last year. (more)
In a single day last week, James Cameron flew from the rain forests of Brazil, where he had been protesting a proposed hydroelectric dam project, to Washington, DC, where he attended an event on Capitol Hill held in his honor. And while the movie director traveled to both places in his capacity as a semi-professional environmentalist, a man so committed to the movement that he once endorsed “eco-terrorism,” a man so in tune with nature he posed for the cover of the New York Times in indigenous face paint, it’s likely Cameron made at least part of the trip in a private jet. (more)
SOLAR power has become an unlovely adolescent. It used to be a sweet little thing, shiny and new and full of promise. One day it will doubtless grow into a solid citizen, quite possibly a person of substance. At the moment it is stuck in between; no longer a child to be coddled and pampered, but not yet able to pay its own way. This presents a challenge both for the governments who want to see it grow up big and strong, and the companies that have been making money out of its progress to date. No one doubts that it will continue to grow; the question is who will suffer most from the growing pains. (more)
