Environment

January 14th, 2021 by NRDC  Originally published on the NRDC Expert Blog.by Robert Harding & Rebecca Behrens To stave off the worst effects of the climate crisis, we must urgently transition from polluting fossil fuels to emissions-free energy. The large-scale deployment of renewable energy to replace polluting power plants and rapid electrification of our buildings, vehicles and industries

January 14th, 2021 by Zachary Shahan  Sungrow is apparently the world leader in solar power inverter solutions, and it announced recently that it crossed 10 gigawatts (GW) of cumulative inverter shipments in the Americas before the end of 2020. The company boasts that this demonstrated “its role as a big game-changer for renewable energy across

Offices of energy company Equinor photographed in Norway on February 6, 2019. Odin Jaeger | Bloomberg | Getty Images Norway’s Equinor has been awarded a major contract to provide renewable energy to New York state from two huge offshore wind farms located in waters off the East Coast. In an announcement Wednesday, the firm said

Workers take down a Belt and Road Forum panel outside the venue of the forum in Beijing on April 27, 2019. Greg Baker | AFP | Getty Images SINGAPORE — U.S. President-elect Joe Biden’s pledge to prioritize fighting climate change could turn up the pressure on China’s massive Belt and Road Initiative — which has

January 13th, 2021 by Johnna Crider  In New York, traditional auto dealers have been fighting against both Tesla and other automakers from allowing their customers to buy directly from them. It’s a tale as old as the EV movement — the dealerships don’t want Tesla or other automakers to sell directly to their customers. These

January 13th, 2021 by Johnna Crider  I fully agree with Bernie Sanders that the minimum wage needs to be raised. I can’t agree enough. But he brought Elon Musk into this topic and I wanted to point out that Elon isn’t responsible for raising the minimum wage. Elon doesn’t work for the government and I

Last year’s worst is now this year’s best. Energy is the top-performing sector now, up nearly 15% since Jan. 1 amid falling U.S. crude oil inventories. The group suffered a horrible 2020, losing over 37%. Though energy’s long-term outlook is dimming, the sector isn’t void of opportunity, Mark Tepper, president and CEO of Strategic Wealth

January 12th, 2021 by NRDC  Commercial buildings in NYC. Image by CleanTechnica. Originally published on the NRDC Expert Blog.By David B. Goldstein  A critical tool for cutting greenhouse gas emissions is buried in the fine print of the massive “Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021,” signed by President Trump. This tool is a provision that offers permanent tax

General Motors plans to launch a new all-electric van called the EV600 by the end of this year. The first 500 vehicles will be sold to FedEx. GM General Motors said Tuesday it plans to launch an all-electric van called the EV600 this year. The van – part of GM’s plan to invest $27 billion

January 12th, 2021 by U.S. Energy Information Administration  Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory, October 2020 According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) latest inventory of electric generators, 9.1 gigawatts (GW) of electric generating capacity is scheduled to retire in 2021. Nuclear generating capacity will account for the largest share of total capacity

January 11th, 2021 by U.S. Department of Energy  Zach Berzolla at VERMOD Homes, a project that he sought out, which was inspired by his Solar Decathlon work. Image courtesy of Zach Berzolla/DOE. Resilient Home 411: Strategies to Weather and Recover from Natural Disasters Thursday, January 21, 2021, 1–2 p.m. E.T. Learn more about this webinar

January 11th, 2021 by Zachary Shahan  At the end of 2020, I published a report on solar power, wind power, and fossil fuel power market share changes from 2010 to 2020. A helpful reader, Mike Dyke, directed me to UK data for the same period. Below, you can see how wind power and solar power

LafargeHolcim’s logo displayed at its offices in Switzerland, September 2019. Stefan Wermuth | Bloomberg | Getty Images Cement maker LafargeHolcim has agreed to buy specialist roofing company Firestone Building Products for $3.4 billion, in the latest example of shifting priorities within the building industry. In a statement issued last week, LafargeHolcim — which is the

January 10th, 2021 by Jennifer Sensiba  Image: Zach Shahan, CleanTechnica If 2021 were given to all of us on a 7-day trial, most of us wouldn’t have kept the subscription. Violence, political strife, and worse have given all but Trump’s most loyal supporters a bad taste in their mouths. I know he didn’t want to

January 10th, 2021 by Jennifer Sensiba  Irish researchers recently figured out where a lot more rare earth minerals could be found, which could make a big difference for renewable energy technologies. Why Rare Earth Elements Matter Rare earth minerals are a big part of today’s renewable energy technologies. Metals like ytterbium, scandium, and neodynium are

Important note but not a very important one and you don’t have to read this: Elon Musk was not actually wearing a CleanTechnica shirt at the Model Y reveal event. Photo by Chanan Bos, CleanTechnica. It may feel like 2020 just grew a tumor, but we are indeed in a new year. That means it’s