Solar power

Solar generators are increasingly replacing noisy and dangerous gasoline/diesel-powered generators for emergency use. And unlike those fossil fuel-powered generators, solar generators have the added benefit of being great for daily use as well. Now the portable power station company Jackery has just announced its largest solar setup yet, the Jackery Solar Generator 2000 Pro.

In order to understand the impacts of adopting rooftop solar in the United States, customer review and consumer news platform ConsumerAffairs polled 1,000 US homeowners about their views on and overall experience with solar panels. Here’s what the homeowners said.

New capacity for generating electricity from renewables such as solar, wind, and other clean energy increased to a record level worldwide in 2021. And clean energy will continue to grow in 2022, according to the Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA).

The US achieved a new record in April 2022 – for the first time, the US generated 20% of its electricity from wind and solar power, according to new data released today from global energy think tank Ember.

To me, using portable solar generators are like playing life with cheat codes on. I can have my electricity literally anywhere I want it, whenever I want it. If I run out, I can just make more for free (after shelling out for the gear, of course). Having tested the Mars 1000 portable power station from LiPower, I’m happy to see that prices for such cool and useful technology are headed in the right direction, namely down. And with LiPower offering an exclusive discount for Electrek’s readers, a portable power station of this capacity has never before been this affordable.

Europe’s largest floating solar farm – which is on the Alqueva hydroelectric dam’s reservoir in Portugal – is ready to produce power in July.

US Department of Energy-funded solar marketplace EnergySage and nonprofit accreditation body The North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) just released the results of the 2021 Solar Installer Survey, which polled more than 500 residential and commercial solar installers across 43 states, Puerto Rico, and Washington, DC. Here’s what they said.

Mexico’s largest opposition party proposed installing rooftop solar on houses for free on Sunday. That pitch was in response to a run-in with the president’s party over a constitutional overhaul of the power market.

The US Department of Commerce (DOC) is investigating whether Southeast Asian solar cell manufacturers are using parts made in China that would normally be subject to a tariff. A group of bipartisan senators today joined most of the US solar industry in asserting that the DOC investigation will devastate solar businesses, as they rely on solar module imports to meet growing demand.

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.

Last month, the US generated 18% of its electricity from wind and solar (59 TWh) for the first time. That beat the previous record set in March 2021 (53 TWh), according to new data from global energy think tank Ember.

Florida governor Ron DeSantis (R) vetoed a bill, which the state’s Republican-majority House and Senate passed, that would have slashed rooftop solar credits in the state. It would have denied many homeowners net metering in the Sunshine State, and harmed its solar industry.

The Biden administration set a goal of permitting 25 gigawatts (GW) of solar, onshore wind, and geothermal energy on public lands by 2025. It’s well on its way to exceeding that goal.

A 10.5 gigawatt (GW) solar and wind farm will be built in Morocco’s Guelmim-Oued Noun region, and it will supply the UK with clean energy via subsea cables. The twin 1.8 GW high voltage direct current (HVDC) subsea cables will be the world’s longest.

First Solar, the largest US-owned solar panel manufacturer, today announced that it’s going to provide 260 megawatts (MW)DC of Ohio-made solar modules to Nevada Gold Mines, the single largest gold-producing complex in the world.

Boston-based solar company ClearPath Energy and Maitland, Florida-based Castillo Engineering, a solar engineering firm, are building six community bifacial solar farms in New York State.

West Virginia’s largest solar farm will sit on the site of the 5,800-acre Hobet Mine, one of the state’s largest former coal mines, which went bankrupt in 2015.

Germany’s economy and climate ministry today announced a more ambitious target of clean energy making up 80% of its power mix by 2030 – a bump up from its previous target of 65%. Currently, 40.9% of Germany’s power mix consists of clean energy.

In the landmark Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report released today, there’s good news and bad news. We’re spotlighting the good news: EVs and clean energy can help us limit climate change.

Wind and solar, the fastest-growing sources of electricity, reached a record 10% of global electricity in 50 countries in 2021, according to a report released today by independent energy think tank Ember. Overall, clean sources generated 38% of the world’s electricity in 2021, beating coal, at 36%.

Infant electric boat manufacturer, ZEN Yachts, has announced its first US order for its flagship ZEN50 solar electric catamaran. The zero-emission sailing yacht is currently under construction in Europe and will arrive with some pretty luxurious features including two kitchens, a high-tech fully-automated wingsail, and Starlink internet from SpaceX.