San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) has filed two proposals with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) that, if approved, may allow you to choose electricity generated by solar energy instead of fossil fuel-based energy, whether you own a home or not.

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The drive towards alternative energy continues at full steam in Ontario, Canada.

According to a report in the London Free Press, Ontario Liberals are pressing ahead with 25 wind and solar projects for the Southwestern region.

The announcement was made earlier this week. (more…)

(Reuters) – When Mike Peterson jumped into a colleague’s single turboprop Pilatus and flew over the remote central California valley that he now hopes to turn into a solar plant, he saw sunshine, flat land that would require little grading and two big transmission lines to tap into. “Wow,” he remembers thinking at the time. “God made this to be a solar farm.” (more…)

California may be doing more than any other US state so far to reduce dependence on fossil fuel energy and emissions. This week California yet again took great strides toward a low-carbon economy, cracking down on carbon emissions while also moving to ensure fossil fuels are replaced with renewable power sources. Last week, as I’ve written (more…)

Canadian Solar Solutions, Inc. (Canadian Solar Solutions), has signed an agreement with Sky Power, Ltd. (Sky Power), to add 18.5 MW of solar capacity to Ontario’s green economy. The partners will build two new solar farms in Napanee and Thunder Bay that will collectively produce enough electricity to power nearly 33,000 homes and create potential careers for graduates (more…)

Agris Solar Co-Operative, Inc. (Agris), held a meeting in Chatham in last month to inform farmers and municipal officials about recent progress towards its goal of installing a minimum of 1,000 ground-mounted solar installations on Southwestern Ontario farms.  More than 700 farmers have signed up with Agris to purchase the systems, at a cost of $70,000 (more…)

EDF EN Canada has now begun construction on three photovoltaic solar projects that will produce 36 megawatts total and employ 350 solar installation and engineering professionals.  Originally initiated by the now-replaced Renewable Energy Standard Offer Program (RESOP) (more…)

Good news from the Buckeye State! The legislature passed important tax reform that drops the tax burden for solar farms from upwards of $100,000 per MW to a flat fee of $7,000 per MW. The bill (SB232) – which is expected to be signed by the Governor any day now – removes a major barrier to large-scale solar development in the state.

Existing Ohio tax law added these unreasonably high costs to the price of developing solar and other (more…)

U.S. investors have invested $129.4 million in a promising solar technology that uses plastic lenses to concentrate sunlight onto small but highly efficient solar cells.

The so-called multijunction cells, developed by California-based Amonix, generate more electricity than conventional photovoltaic panels and require fewer costly semiconducting materials, such as silicon.

The company has successfully tested the technology at small solar farms in Spain and the United States. (more…)

Since diving into the deep end when it comes to energy issues, almost every day sees new concepts, approaches, and technologies — fascinating, exciting, even hope-inspiring at times. And, to top it all off, so many of these are truly Energy COOL as well.

Innovative combinations of rather straightforward, well-in-hand technologies can offer real solutions to problems while creating new opportunities.

Several weeks ago, a group of researchers published an article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences documenting how relatively low-powered solar systems offer the potential to increase food supplies in impoverished arid regions while reducing demands for fertilizers and other costly (in fiscal and other terms)additives. (more…)