No, not my misspelling the title of the John Wayne classic that somehow came to mind when recently prompted by a survey in the UK Renewable Energy Installer magazine to respond to the question: “Solar experts predict the UK could achieve PV grid parity as early as 2014. Do you agree – Yes/No?” After I recorded my Yes, the poll return after 100 votes was 26% Ayes against 74% Noes. I had expected more optimism. (more…)

The world has changed considerably in recent times, whether you are a consumer, solo entrepreneur or a business owner. While not all of the individual changes that have unfolded during this time have been favorable, the majority have improved the efficiency with which tasks are completed and the subsequent distribution of energy. (more…)

Shading, ownership issues, limited space and many other factors means that most American households simply aren’t suitable for solar panels. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory estimated that as much as three-quarters of residential buildings have physical restrictions to going solar. (more…)

With the shutdown of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station and Once-Through-Cooling plants, Southern California Edison has serious local capacity constraints. So much so that that SCE is warning their customers that blackouts will result if they don’t conserve energy. The question is: what’s the long term solution? Will it be increased renewable distributed generation and (more…)

With passage of California’s 33% renewable energy law (RPS) in 2011, the state’s publicly owned utilities were obligated to meet the same renewable requirements at the major investor-owned utilities (PG&E, SCE and SDG&E) for the first time. That’s no small step forward for renewables in the state! Together the state’s 10 largest publicly owned utilities deliver (more…)

Malaysia is a country located in Southeast Asia and shares land borders with Brunei, Thailand, and Indonesia, as well as maritime borders with the Philippines, Vietnam, and Singapore. It is located in the tropics region and is considered a “megadiverse country” because of the large number of endemic fauna and flora. Because of its heavy biodiversity along with a (more…)

In all the hubbub about Germany’s new feed-in tariff (FIT) law, you may have missed an unusual announcement coming out of Germany. One of the “big four” utilities here, RWE, has committed 170€ million over three years for distributed solar, small wind, and CHP. With a goal of 1 GW solar for this year, they already have 200 MW in signed contracts. And this just a few (more…)

The Supreme Court (SCOTUS) and its role in the everyday lives of the America people has been on full display as the justices declined to hear the appeals case challenging the authority of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). (Oh, and there was something about healthcare.) (more…)

Japan’s struggle over its energy future was on display over the last two days as the government okayed restarting operations at two nuclear power plants while also approving an ambitious renewable energy feed-in tariff in which utilities will pay a premium for electricity generated by solar, wind, and geothermal power. (more…)

The Chinese government has increased its solar energy target for 2015 by 50 percent, setting a new goal of 15 gigawatts annually, state media reports.

The new target, which was reported by China National Radio, follows a rapid surge in Chinese solar power installation in recent months after the (more…)