Renewable-energy growth has accelerated in 2016, but this may go down as a milestone year for one renewable-energy source in particular. Together, all renewable-energy sources are expected to account for 8 percent of U.S. electricity-generation capacity in 2017, according to the Department of Energy, and solar energy is responsible for most of... More solar energy was added in 2016 than natural gas or wind
Renewable-energy growth has accelerated in 2016, but this may go down as a milestone year for one renewable-energy source in particular. Together, all renewable-energy sources are expected to account for 8 percent of U.S. electricity-generation capacity in 2017, according to the Department of Energy, and solar energy is responsible for most of... 
Which electric model might be the used-car bargain of the year? And exactly what kind of car is a new hybrid we just drove? This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the week ending on Friday, December 30, 2016. Friday, we published our first drive of the 2017 Kia Niro hybrid, which Kia says is a... 
Today, we drive the 2017 Kia Niro hybrid, Tesla uses data to develop self-driving cars, and President-elect Donald Trump's advisors may be against ethanol. All this and more on Green Car Reports. Tesla is just one of many companies working to develop self-driving cars, but could a trove of real-world data give it an advantage? Despite what... 
According to its maker, the 2017 Kia Niro is the first "crossover hybrid vehicle" sold in the U.S.—but what does that really mean? We drove150 miles in two different versions of the top-of-the-line Niro Touring model two weeks ago, and concluded that the Niro represents an interesting package with some pluses and minuses. Our drive at the... ![Electric Avenue charging stations in Portland, Oregon [photo: Portland General Electric]](http://images.hgmsites.net/tmb/electric-avenue-charging-stations-in-portland-oregon-photo-portland-general-electric_100532762_t.gif)
It's clear that after several years of electric-car sales, electric utilities see a role to be played in providing the infrastructure to make them practical. Two weeks ago, California utility PG&E received approved to install 7,500 public charging stations for plug-in vehicles. Now, Oregon's two largest utility companies have filed plans to... 
As President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration draws closer, confusion still surrounds many of his possible energy policies. During the campaign, Trump indicated that he supported ethanol, even while he called for expansion of domestic fossil-fuel production. In January, he said he supported the Renewable Fuel Standard, which mandates that growing... 
The Renault Zoe is the best-selling electric car in Europe, and it has just received a significant battery upgrade. Unveiled at the Paris Motor Show in September, the updated Zoe sports a 41-kilowatt-hour battery pack, up from 22 kwh in earlier versions. Renault says that capacity will allow a range of 300 to 400 kilometers (185 to 250 miles) on... 
Lobbyists for big automakers, both domestic and foreign, make no secret about their desire for lower fuel-economy standards. One argument presented to support a lowering of standards is that the cost of compliance with current rules will be passed on to consumers in the form of higher new-car prices. Carmakers must implement efficiency-boosting... 
In the automotive industry, Tesla is a leader in many respects—but it's hardly head-and-shoulders above the rest when it comes to self-driving cars. The Silicon Valley automaker is developing fully autonomous cars, but it's part of a crowded field that includes many other automakers and a handful of rich tech companies as well. Still...