Michelle Lewis is a writer at Electrek. She has previously worked for Fast Company, The Guardian, News Deeply, Time, and others. She lives in Massachusetts.
*Ad: If you’ve ever considered going solar, make it easy by finding a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing by checking out EnergySage. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online, and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.
In today’s Electrek Green Energy Brief (EGEB):
California-headquartered green power solutions company Jackery is officially releasing the Explorer 1500 on April 5 – its largest solar generator yet. The company asked Electrek if we’d like to try it out, so Jackery sent me a review unit, and I happily put it to the test. Here’s what I found.
Expand Expanding Close
The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced yesterday that it intends to “cut the cost of solar energy by 60% within the next 10 years, in addition to nearly $128 million in funding to lower costs, improve performance, and speed the deployment of solar energy technologies.”
Expand Expanding Close
US Department of Energy secretary Jennifer Granholm announced earlier this month that she will revive the agency’s Loan Programs Office (LPO), which funded Tesla. It has $43 billion in lending authority for large-scale energy infrastructure projects and advanced technology electric vehicle manufacturing.
Expand Expanding Close
In today’s Electrek Green Energy Brief (EGEB):
Singapore-based solar energy provider Sunseap says it has completed construction of a 5MW peak offshore floating solar farm in the Straits of Johor, between Singapore and Malaysia. It’s one of the world’s largest floating solar farms on sea water.
Expand Expanding Close
In today’s Electrek Green Energy Brief (EGEB):
Electrek spoke with Danielle J. Harris, director of mobility innovation at Elemental Excelerator, about innovative mobility industry solutions, how we can build robust electric infrastructure and encourage the mass adoption of EVs, and the importance of equity and access.
Elemental Excelerator is a Honolulu and East Palo Alto, California-based cleantech startup accelerator that finds and funds mobility startups to work with corporates, community-based organizations, and cities. It catalyzes partnerships to equitably and sustainably advance the transportation industry.
Elemental is currently accepting applications for Cohort 10. More information can be found here.
Expand Expanding Close
In today’s Electrek Green Energy Brief (EGEB):
Pennsylvania’s state government will source 50% of its electricity from seven new solar energy arrays. It will go into operation on January 1, 2023.
Expand Expanding Close
In today’s Electrek Green Energy Brief (EGEB):
The Duane Arnold Energy Center in eastern Iowa, the current site of a now-idle nuclear power plant, will soon host a 690-megawatt solar farm. The new solar farm plus storage will replace the single-unit, 615-megawatt nuclear plant, which powered more than 600,000 homes.
Expand Expanding Close
In today’s Electrek Green Energy Brief (EGEB):
A number of utilities in the US Southeast want to create the Southeast Energy Exchange Market (SEEM). They filed a proposal to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in February, and they want an approval by May 13. The nonprofit advocacy group the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE) explained why SEEM isn’t a good move for the transition to green energy or reducing energy costs.
The funny thing about utilities is, the vast majority of the population don’t know a lot about them, yet they directly affect every single person who uses the energy the utilities sell – and that’s why this is important.
Expand Expanding Close
In today’s Electrek Green Energy Brief (EGEB):
E-commerce giant Amazon is now testing its custom-made Rivian electric vans in San Francisco. It’s now the second city where Amazon is using its Rivian vans, behind Los Angeles.
Amazon chose San Francisco as its No. 2 city because it wanted to put its e-vans to the test on the city’s steep hills and in its variable climate.
Expand Expanding Close
In today’s Electrek Green Energy Brief (EGEB):
Duke Energy Florida has announced that it will build two more new solar farms in the Sunshine State. This time, they’ll be in Citrus and Hardee counties.
The utility reported in February that it is investing an estimated $1 billion to construct or acquire a total of 700 MW of solar farms from 2018 through 2022 in Florida and will more than quadruple the amount of in-service solar on the system over the next four years.
Expand Expanding Close
In today’s Electrek Green Energy Brief (EGEB):
The growth in building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) – solar PV modules that are flush with the existing roof and perform the waterproofing function of shingles or tiles – since Tesla announced its solar roof in 2016 has been largely disappointing. Since then, BIPV has been a niche part of the residential solar industry, perceived as too expensive or experimental compared to the cost of separately installing solar on top of a traditional roof.
But big drops in solar cost and an increase in panel efficiency over the past few years, combined with innovation in business models, mean that BIPV could become the most popular residential solar option soon.
Electrek‘s Michelle Lewis spoke with Martin DeBono, president of GAF Energy, about BIPV and the future of residential solar. GAF Energy is part of Standard Industries and is a sister company to roofing manufacturer GAF, the largest roofer in North America.
Expand Expanding Close
In today’s Electrek Green Energy Brief (EGEB):
Researchers at ETH Zurich and Empa have chemically modified wood and made it more compressible, turning it into a mini-generator. When compressed, it generates an electrical voltage. Such wood could serve as a biosensor or as a building material that harvests energy.
Expand Expanding Close
In today’s Electrek Green Energy Brief (EGEB):
Arizona utility Salt River Project (SRP) really wants its customers to drive electric cars, so it’s now offering any customer who buys an EV a $1,000 rebate in a pilot program.
Expand Expanding Close