Good News Notes: “For the first time ever, California, the world’s fifth-largest economy, was powered by 100% clean energy on Saturday, April 30. That milestone was driven largely by solar power. California’s 100% clean energy milestone Energy demand statewide reached 18,672 megawatts at 2:45 pm, with 37,172 MW available. (Excess is exported to neighboring states.) 101% of…
Tag: wind
Ultrathin “honeycomb” solar panels achieve record efficiency
Good News Notes: “One day, cities and hopefully everything else will be powered by renewable resources like wind and solar. To do that, though, we will need to continue to improve on our renewable tech, like creating solar panels that can absorb solar energy in many different levels of sunlight. A new development out of England may…
Can shore-based wave power unlock clean, affordable…
Good News Notes: “Many have tried to harness the ocean’s power to generate electricity, resulting in several embarrassing failures and little tangible success. Startup Eco Wave Power hopes to transcend that tempestuous legacy with a radically simple idea: capture the ocean’s energy closer to shore. This approach sacrifices the greater energy potential of larger offshore waves, but…
Germany Targets 100% Renewable Power Generation By 2035
Good News Notes: “Germany will target to have all its electricity provided by renewable energy sources by 2035, according to a new draft policy that speeds up the timeline for ending fossil fuel-powered generation before 2040. Germany, the largest economy in Europe, said in a major shift of energy policy this weekend that it would…
We’re going to need a lot more grid storage. New iron batteries could help.
Good News Notes: “One of the first things you see when you visit the headquarters of ESS in Wilsonville, Oregon, is an experimental battery module about the size of a toaster. The company’s founders built it in their lab a decade ago to meet a challenge they knew grid operators around the world would soon…
The Century-Old Renewable You’ve Never Heard Of
Good News Notes: “Japanese island of Kumejima to work as an English teacher after graduating from a business school in landlocked Arizona. Now he runs a power plant fueled by ocean water. “I don’t have an engineering degree, and I do all the maintenance for our electricity,” he said. “It’s relatively easy.” The plant, which…
‘Ocean battery’ targets renewable energy dilemma
Good News Notes: “A wind turbine sitting idle on a calm day or spinning swiftly when power demand is already met poses a problem for renewables, and is one researchers think can be tackled under the sea. In one vision, offshore wind farms could use seawater to essentially store energy until it’s needed, helping wean humanity off fossil fuels….
New York City is banning natural gas hookups for new buildings to fight climate change
Good News Notes: “The New York City Council on Wednesday voted to pass legislation banning the use of natural gas in most new construction, a move that will substantially slash climate-changing greenhouse gas emissions from the country’s most populous city. The bill now goes to Mayor Bill de Blasio’s desk for signature. Once signed, the…
Google updates Maps, Search, Shopping, Nest for sustainability
Good News Notes: “On Wednesday, Google launched a suite of changes to many of its core products to help consumers make sustainable choices more easily. “Today, climate change is more than a threat,” Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google and parent company Alphabet, said in a prerecorded video during a virtual press event Tuesday. “It is a…
Illinois becomes 1st Midwestern state to pass a law to phase out fossil fuels
Good News Notes: “At a time when the Midwest is being battered by more severe storms due to climate change, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a landmark law this month that will transition the state to 100 percent clean energy by 2045, with benchmarks along the way. While the effort has largely escaped national media attention, it…