Financial Times (June 14)
“The slow pace of the shift away from fossil fuels is evidence of their compelling advantages in terms of cost and convenience. Tackling the threat of catastrophic climate change cannot rely on wind and solar power alone but requires multiple changes, including a shift within fossil fuels away from coal towards gas.”
Tags: Advantages, Climate change, Coal, Convenience, Cost, Fossil fuels, Gas, Shift, Solar, Wind power
LA Times (March 12)
“California leads the pack with the share of electricity from renewable sources, more than doubling from 12% in 2008 to 25% today. In that period, private companies invested more than $20 billion in new renewable power plants here. California is home to the largest geothermal, wind, solar thermal and solar photovoltaic power plants in the world.” By2030, California is aiming to reach 50% renewable energy, after which fossil fuels will become “the alternative energy.”
Tags: Alternative energy, California, Electricity, Fossil fuels, Geothermal, Photovoltaic, Power plants, Renewable sources, Solar, Thermal, Wind
Business Green (April 18)
A new report from McKinsey “predicts solar power will be cost competitive with fossil fuels in hot countries within two to three years.” Capacity is likely to double within five years. The consulting firm’s report also predicts that costs will decrease 10% annually through 2020 when “costs could decline to $1 per watt peak (Wp) for a fully installed residential system.”
Tags: Capacity, Costs, Fossil fuels, McKinsey, Solar
Bloomberg (May 26)
Solar is sliding down the cost curve even as cell efficiency climbs. Solar may soon beat the electricity rates set by utilities. “The cost of solar cells, the main component in standard panels, has fallen 21 percent so far this year, and the cost of solar power is now about the same as the rate utilities charge for conventional power in the sunniest parts of California, Italy and Turkey.”
Tags: Cost, Efficiency, Electricity, Solar, Utilities
New York Times (October 28)
In 2005, Congress decided public land should be used to build enough solar, wind and other sustainable energy projects to power 5 million homes. Yet, almost nothing was done. Real action is now being taken, but the U.S. has “fallen far behind Europe and China, which are investing heavily in the industries that manufacture wind turbines and solar panels.” The New York Times calls on President Obama and the Congress to pick up the pace because “no industry has greater potential to create jobs than clean energy.”
