US shift toward wind and solar will cut coal, make EVs cleaner

Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in United Arab EmiratesIncreased use of renewable energy will help reduce electricity generation from coal and natural gas power plants, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) in turn making EVs cleaner. The EIA forecasts that wind and solar will together account for 16% of total electricity generation in 2023, up from 14% in 2022 and 8% in 2018...

Home solar and electric cars are converging, and it’s about time

SunPower home solar installationElectric cars and home solar complement each other, and a new alliance between solar-energy provider SunPower and charging-equipment maker Wallbox aims to make the most of that. With this alliance, SunPower customers can opt to install a Wallbox home charging station at the same time as their home solar and/or energy-storage system installation...

Vast Nevada solar array on federal land will be biggest ever

Photovoltaic solar power field at Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, TennesseeNevada is set to host the largest solar array in the United States. Last month, the U.S. Department of the Interior approved a proposal for the Gemini Solar Project, a $1 billion solar-generating facility to be located about 30 miles northeast of Las Vegas. The facility, which will be built on federally-controlled land and operated by Solar...

Plunge in demand for oil could be a win for renewables

Mulan wind farm [CREDIT: Global Climate Budget 2018]Decreases in overall energy demand resulting from the global coronavirus pandemic will hit fossil fuels hard, while driving a shift toward renewable energy, according to a report issued last Thursday. The International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts that global energy demand will fall 6% in 2020—seven times the decline seen after the 2008...

Put the EV in the garage: Solar driveways could power entire households

Platio solar drivewayElectric cars and solar power are a perfect combination. Charging an electric car from a solar array reduces its overall carbon footprint. Now a Hungary-based company is bringing these two technologies even closer together with solar driveways. Platio (via Inhabitat) claims to be the first company to embed solar tiles in a residential driveway. A...