A cricket stadium, Utilita Bowl is to switch to solar power in a bid to become "the greenest cricket ground in the world".

Cricket ground goes green in solar power switch

A cricket stadium is to switch to solar power in a bid to become “the greenest ground in the world”.

Utilita Bowl in Southampton began installing the 1,044 panels in July, after it received planning approval from Eastleigh Borough Council.

The stadium sponsor, Utilita Energy, funded the project which it hopes will cover 25% of the annual electricity used in the venue.

The switch-on will take place before England host Australia in the first of their three T20 internationals this month.

Click here to read the full article
Source: BBC

—

If you have any questions or thoughts about the topic, feel free to contact us here or leave a comment below.

The new technology could revolutionize desalination by offering a cost-effective and eco-friendly alternative to traditional methods.

Solar device makes 20L drinking water a day from seawater with 93% efficiency

Researchers at the University of Waterloo have developed an energy-efficient desalination device that uses the sun’s power to produce clean drinking water from seawater.

This innovative approach could provide a sustainable solution to the global water crisis, especially for coastal and island nations where fresh water is scarce.

The new technology, which mimics nature’s water cycle, could revolutionize desalination by offering a cost-effective and eco-friendly alternative to traditional methods.

Click here to read the full article
Source: Interesting Engineering

—

If you have any questions or thoughts about the topic, feel free to contact us here or leave a comment below.

Amid 100°F heat, California avoided emergencies, thanks to a battery boom that now bolsters the nation's top solar power producer.

Batteries power California’s newly reliable grid

California has long been an easy mark for Republicans eager to criticize clean energy policies.

The nation’s most populous state struggled with rolling blackouts in a 2020 heat wave, handing political fodder to opponents of California’s ongoing transition to a carbon-free grid. Then-President Donald Trump accused Democrats of “forcing Americans in the dark.”

But four years later, how the tables turn.

Click here to read the full article
Source: POLITICO

—

If you have any questions or thoughts about the topic, feel free to contact us here or leave a comment below.

A report published by the SEIA and Wood Mackenzie highlights how effective the administration has been in advancing solar power in the US.

US solar power booms under Biden

,

One of the core areas of focus of the Biden–Harris administration has been growing cleantech — getting more solar power plants build, getting more solar panel factories up and running in the United States, installing more EV chargers, selling more electric cars and trucks, getting offshore wind power going in the country, and much, much more. A report published today by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and Wood Mackenzie highlights how effective the administration has been in advancing solar power in the States, and especially solar panel production capacity.

The big headline: solar panel production capacity has almost quadrupled in the last two years, since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in mid 2022. Solar module production capacity has risen above 31 gigawatts (GW) a year.

Click here to read the full article
Source: Clean Technica

—

If you have any questions or thoughts about the topic, feel free to contact us here or leave a comment below.

Researchers from Purdue University have studied the impact of traditional photovoltaic systems and agrivoltaics deployed in corn croplands.

Assessing viability of agrivoltaics in corn fields

A team of researchers from Purdue University have found agrivoltaics have the potential to increase energy production and reduce carbon emissions while having a minimal impact on crop production.

In the research paper “The viability of photovoltaics on agricultural land: Can PV solve the food vs fuel debate?,” available in the Journal of Cleaner Production, the team analyzed five scenarios featuring corn croplands in the midwest region of the United States.

The first is the baseline scenario, with corn grown over the whole area. The second features a traditional solar system installed on 25% of the area, replacing the corn crop. The other three scenarios feature agrivoltaics with corn growing beneath them, with an estimated 5.5% of the land occupied by solar structures and unavailable for crop growth. A full solar panel density is used in the third system, followed by half and a quarter panel density in the fourth and fifth systems.

Click here to read the full article
Source: PV Magazine

—

If you have any questions or thoughts about the topic, feel free to contact us here or leave a comment below.

The US now has more than 31 GW of solar module manufacturing capacity, almost four times more than before the IRA was passed in 2022.

US solar sector tops 31 GW of module manufacturing in Q2

The US now has more than 31 GW of solar module manufacturing capacity, almost four times more than before the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was passed in 2022, according to a report today by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and Wood Mackenzie.

In the second quarter of 2024, the US solar sector installed 9.4 GW DC of power generation capacity, more than in any second quarter so far, the US Solar Market Insight Q3 2024 report showed. A total of 75 GW of solar was added since the IRA was signed into law.

However, the solar industry currently presents many challenges to navigate, said Michelle Davis, head of global solar at Wood Mackenzie and lead author of the report.

Click here to read the full article
Source: Renewables Now

—

If you have any questions or thoughts about the topic, feel free to contact us here or leave a comment below.

The sites fight climate change and can help with another global crisis: the collapse of nature. But so far, efforts to nurture wildlife habitat have been spotty.

Solar farms have a superpower beyond clean energy

It’s not your average solar farm.

The glassy panels stand in a meadow. Wildflowers sway in the breeze, bursts of purple, pink, yellow, orange and white among native grasses. A monarch butterfly flits from one blossom to the next. Dragonflies zip, bees hum and goldfinches trill.

As solar projects unfurl across the United States, sites like this one in Ramsey, Minn., stand out because they offer a way to fight climate change while also tackling another ecological crisis: a global biodiversity collapse, driven in large part by habitat loss.

Click here to read the full article
Source: The New York Times

—

If you have any questions or thoughts about the topic, feel free to contact us here or leave a comment below.

The BLM's updated Western Solar Plan will guide solar energy siting and development across 11 western states for the next decade.

BLM’s solar plan: Balancing efficiency, flexibility, & conservation

A foundation for smart siting of solar power on federal public lands

Today’s publication of the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (FPEIS) for solar energy development represents a new chapter in renewable energy development on federal public lands. With the FPEIS, the BLM has built on the success of the 2012 Western Solar Plan—under which ~40 new solar projects with generating capacity of 9 GW were permitted through 2022—to lay the foundations for federally managed lands to play an important role in responsibly accelerating the clean energy transition.

In 2012, the BLM published planning documents to support the siting and development of utility scale solar projects across six western states. The plan introduced the concept of “Solar Energy Zones” designed to proactively direct and incentivize development to areas the agency felt best suited for energy production and avoidance of resource conflicts. The same document also introduced the “variance area” concept, which created a more flexible approach for developers to submit proposals for development on nearly 19 million acres (about the area of South Carolina) of lands outside of dedicated zones. And finally, the plan mapped “exclusion areas,” or federal lands where certain types of resource conflicts (like endangered species habitat or lands with wilderness characteristics) meant that development was inappropriate or especially harmful.

Click here to read the full article
Source: Clean Technica

—

If you have any questions or thoughts about the topic, feel free to contact us here or leave a comment below.

Jobs in the U.S. clean energy industry in 2023 grew at more than double the rate of the country's overall jobs

US clean energy jobs growth rate double that of overall jobs, report says

Jobs in the U.S. clean energy industry in 2023 grew at more than double the rate of the country’s overall jobs, and unionization in clean energy surpassed for the first time the rate in the wider energy industry, the Energy Department said on Wednesday.

Employment in clean energy businesses – including wind, solar, nuclear and battery storage – rose by 142,000 jobs, or 4.2% last year, up from a rise of 3.9% in 2022, the U.S. Energy and Employment Report said. The rate was above the overall U.S. job growth rate of 2% in 2023. Overall energy jobs rose 250,000, with 56% being in clean energy.

Unionization rates in clean energy hit 12.4%, more than the 11% in the overall energy business, it said. That was driven by growth in construction and utility industries and after legislation passed in 2022 including the bipartisan CHIPS Act and President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, the department said.

Click here to read the full article
Source: MSN

—

If you have any questions or thoughts about the topic, feel free to contact us here or leave a comment below.

Turkey-based Ankara Solar Energy launched its own brand of walkable PV flooring for residential and commercial projects.

Solar PV flooring for residential, commercial use

,

Ankara Solar Energy, a Turkish module manufacturer, has launched PV Floor, a line of solar panel products that double as anti-slip glass flooring. It is targeted at residential projects and commercial applications, such as shopping centers, driveways, parking areas, terraces, decks, and pedestrian zones.

The PV Floor brand was launched in Turkey and Greece in 2022, with European and USA markets now following.

“The return on investment (ROI) for a 1 kW system in Spain or Greece is typically 4 to 5 years,” an Ankara Solar spokesperson told pv magazine. “To complete the PV floor system, adjustable pedestals are required, and we provide these along with the products. There is no need for a steel or aluminum structure.”

Click here to read the full article
Source: PV Magazine

—

If you have any questions or thoughts about the topic, feel free to contact us here or leave a comment below.