The world installed 31,100 megawatts of solar photovoltaics (PV) in 2012—an all-time annual high that pushed global PV capacity above 100,000 megawatts. There is now enough PV operating to meet the household electricity needs of nearly 70 million people at the European level of use. While PV production has become increasingly concentrated in one country—China—the […] … learn more→

Even amid policy uncertainty in major wind power markets, wind developers still managed to set a new record for installations in 2012, with 44,000 megawatts of new wind capacity worldwide. With total capacity exceeding 280,000 megawatts, wind farms generate carbon-free electricity in more than 80 countries, 24 of which have at least 1,000 megawatts. At […] … learn more→

Wind has overtaken nuclear as an electricity source in China. In 2012, wind farms generated 2 percent more electricity than nuclear power plants did, a gap that will likely widen dramatically over the next few years as wind surges ahead. Since 2007, nuclear power generation has risen by 10 percent annually, compared with wind’s explosive […] … learn more→

The third stop on our renewable energy tour of Germany was the state of North-Rhine Westphalia— the industrial, steelmaking, and coal mining center of the country—where we learned about the economic and social ramifications of Germany’s transition away from coal to renewable energy, and what lessons might be applied to the U.S. Phasing out coal […] … learn more→

In the last few years, the growth in the geothermal power industry in the U.S. has been slow but consistent. Geothermal Energy Association’s recent press release reveals fresh numbers showing a net gain of 91 MW in 2011, making the new total capacity 3187 MW – significantly more than any other country in the world. […] … learn more→

Last fall, I participated in a clean energy/green jobs tour of Germany as part of a delegation sponsored by the Heinrich Böll Foundation and the Blue-Green Alliance. In the second leg of our trip (read my blog about part 1 of the tour), we left Berlin behind and headed north to the state of Schlesswig-Holstein—the […] … learn more→

In the effort to transition the United States to a clean energy economy, comparisons are frequently made with Germany – a nation that is successfully shifting away from fossil fuels and nuclear power while creating a thriving renewable energy industry and maintaining a strong economy. So when invited this past fall to participate in a […] … learn more→

A new picture is emerging in the U.S. power sector. In 2007, electricity generation from coal peaked, dropping by close to 4 percent annually between 2007 and 2011. Over the same time period, nuclear generation fell slightly, while natural gas-fired electricity grew by some 3 percent annually and hydropower by 7 percent. Meanwhile, wind-generated electricity […] … learn more→

A look at the list of the World\’s 50 largest electricity-producing solar power stations is quite startling – every single one of them was completed between 2008 and now. A further look at the pending projects over the next few years shows that this growth certainly isn\’t going to halt anytime soon – there are […] … learn more→