Category: solar energy

Biden Admin Launches $7 Billion Residential Solar Grant Scheme

The Biden administration on Wednesday announced a $7 billion grant competition for low-income communities to expand residential solar energy. The competition, called Solar for All, will award up to 60 grants to expand the number of low-income communities primed for solar investment, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The grants will cover programs that provide…


Rooftop Solar Feed-In Charges ‘Unlikely’ in Qld

Queensland is “unlikely” to charge homeowners for feeding solar power back to the grid, the government says, amid concerns it may follow similar proposals in New South Wales (NSW). Solar Citizens wants the state government to rule out feed-in charges it says are being pushed by private electricity network operators over the border. Energy Minister…


Renewable Power Projects Slow in US Over High Costs and Community Opposition

The installation of wind and solar power projects is slowing down in the United States, with some projects being canceled over persistent cost issues and community animosity. New utility-scale solar installations are estimated to have fallen by 40 percent in 2022 compared to the previous year, according to a report from research firm Wood Mackenzie….


China’s Solar Energy Tycoon Detained by Authorities: Reports

Li Hejun, the founder of China’s solar energy giant Hanergy Thin Film Power Group, was taken away by police in China’s northeastern Liaoning Province on Dec. 17, according to Caixin, a major Chinese financial news portal.  Li was detained by police to “assist investigators” and hadn’t been seen as of the time of reporting, Caixin…


Solar’s Lofty Ambitions Are Consuming Ever-Larger Expanses of Land Down Below

Wedged in the southern flank of Virginia, Charlotte County is home to some 11,500 people who live amidst rolling hills and family farms, pastures and sawmills, a historic Civil War battlefield, and four townlets tinier than many suburban subdivisions. But this pastoral tableau will be swept up in the green revolution when construction begins here on…


How China’s Solar Domination Challenges the World

Commentary To appreciate how China’s technological authoritarianism threatens the world, consider solar energy. What’s seen as a clean, modern and relatively high-tech alternative to fossil fuels has become another example of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) strong-arm approach to bullying other countries and dominating an industry. Worse yet, many American investors are willfully blind to…


Why Is China Shunning Solar Energy?

Commentary Solar is the future, we’re told. It’s risk-free, we’re assured. But it’s not. Solar energy is inefficient. It’s also costly, not just financially but also environmentally. The world is in the midst of a food security crisis. Now, in an effort to combat this escalating crisis, China, the most populated country in the world,…


US Solar Prices Soared Over 8 Percent in 2nd Quarter: Report

U.S. solar energy prices rose 8.1 percent in the second quarter as projects were stalled by a Commerce Department investigation into tariffs on products from Southeast Asia and soaring input costs, according to a report published late on Wednesday. The increase during the period contributed to a whopping 29.7 percent rise in the combined price…


Solar Tech Powers Up: Researchers Develop Method of Harnessing Solar Energy at Night

Researchers from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) have discovered a way to generate electricity from solar energy at night, potentially overcoming the problem of intermittency in solar renewable power. During the day, the Earth heats up as sunlight hits the planet, and at night this heat radiates out into the cold outer space…


Western Australia’s Rottnest Island to Be Powered by 75 Percent Renewable Energy

The Western Australian (WA) government has committed $62 million (US$43.7 million) from the upcoming state budget to upgrade Rottnest Island’s energy and water infrastructure, with a view to running the tourist destination on 75 percent renewable energy. According to a government release on Friday, with eco-tourism a growing sector and more travellers choosing destinations that…