Ah, Hawaii. Often have I written about the renewable energy innovations they have underway across the island chain and the new projects they have in the works. This time, however, I get to write about what Hawaii plans to do to bring green transportation to their shores. A power utility company on the island of Oahu and General Motors are partnering up to create (more…)

Advances in solar energy efficiencies have so far been made with irregular surfaces, thinner tabbing between cells, more optically perfect glass and even special coatings, but now Stanford engineers say the best efficiency is via ultra-thin polymer films inside solar cells that allow more “bounce room.”

Add to that a slightly rougher surface, such (more…)

Does the word ‘audit’ give you a warm and fuzzy feeling? Not likely. Yet it’s typically the first service an energy efficiency contractor offers to a prospect. Sometimes the audit is even free, much like the unwelcome kind we receive from the IRS.

Use of words like ‘audit’ ‘retrofit’ and ‘weatherize’ turn off customers. Unless the (more…)

It’s always interesting to get out and interact with different groups who have specific perspectives on the energy industry. And, to that end, I’ve commited to a certain travel schedule that will take me — either as a speaker or as a participant — to a decent number of conferences over the next 12 months.

I enjoyed my trip to Boston earlier in the (more…)

The Scottish first minister said his country wants to be completely powered with renewable energy by 2025.

Alex Salmond was speaking ahead of a renewable energy conference. He said he would like his country to become a net exporter of clean energy as the country has “unrivalled green energy resources”. (more…)