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Solar Energy

Protests Against Duke Energy Blocking Solar Energy in NC

March 9, 2016 Alex Kotch, www.desmogblog.com , , ,
By Alex Kotch for Desmog - Around the nation, big utility companies are successfully lobbying lawmakers and regulators to restrict individual and corporate access to solar power, denying people significant savings on electricity bills and the opportunity to take part in the growing green energy economy. In third-party solar financing, a non-utility company installs solar panels on a customer’s property at little or no up-front cost, sometimes selling the solar energy back to the customer at rates typically lower than a utility would charge.

Red Lake Band to Go Fully Solar Within Five Years

February 27, 2016 Michael Meuers, www.indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com , ,
By Michael Meuers for Indian Country Today Media Network - The Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians has signed a formal agreement with the Winkelman Building Corp. and Innovative Power Systems Inc. to design, engineer, procure, construct and manage solar energy projects for the three Red Lake casinos and various other tribal government buildings. Red Lake will install 15 megawatts—equal to 15 million watts—worth of solar panels across the rooftops of the band’s largest buildings. When they’re done, the panels will generate enough power to light every bulb in the tribe’s three casinos, the tribal college and all government buildings.

World’s Largest Solar Plant In Morocco Has Gone Live

February 22, 2016 Staff, www.answersafrica.com ,
By Staff of Answers Africa - Morocco has activated the world’s largest solar power plant in the Sahara desert, near the city of Ouarzazate. According to Climate Investment Funds (CIF), the plant is capable of powering over one million homes by 2018 and will also reduce carbon emissions by 760,000 tons per year. The plant which is called the Noor-Ouarzazate power complex uses concentrating solar power (CSP) which enables energy to be stored and used for nights and cloudy days.

Newsletter: Why Protests Will Continue To Grow

January 16, 2016 Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers, www.popularresistance.org , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
By Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers for Popular Resistance. This week the reason that there are a growing protest movement and growing disenchantment with government was put on display. The divergence between government and reality was thrust in our faces. The entire government came together, Members of Congress, the Cabinet, military leaders, the Supreme Court, Vice President and President (minus the 'selected survivor' in case the Capitol was attacked, the head of Homeland Security) to hear the State of the Union. The choreographed self-praise of people who will spend $5 billion this year of mostly big business money to get re-elected was evident from the moment the door was opened. Hugs and kisses, backslapping all around, required applause as the President approached the podium, more staged applause when he was introduced and then, as if they were trained, dozens of standing ovations on cue – 89 times in a 58-minute speech the President was applauded.

Solar Chased Out Of Sunny Nevada

January 10, 2016 Michael Graham Richard, www.treehugger.com , , , ,
By Michael Graham Richard for Tree Hugger. To drive out solar power companies out of sunny Nevada, you have to do something pretty bad. This is exactly what happened while most of us weren't paying attention, enjoying the holidays (or stressing out, depending...). The Nevada Public Utility Commission (PUC) changed its rules surrounding net metering and increased fees charged to the owners of solar systems (who said the sun was free?): "The base service charge is rising from $12.75 to $17.90 per month [a 40% increase] for southern Nevada solar customers and from $15.25 to $21.09 [a 38.2% increase] for northern Nevada customers. The changes also reduce the amount the utility pays to buy power back from rooftop solar panels, from 11 cents a kilowatt hour to 9 cents [an 18.2% decrease] in southern Nevada and from 12 cents to 10.5 cents [a 12.5% decrease] in the north.

Navajo Nation ‘Goes Green’ With New Solar Plant

January 2, 2016 Mark Richardson, www.nmpoliticalreport.com ,
By Mark Richardson for NM Political Report - The Navajo Nation is going green by building its first utility-scale solar farm on tribal property. The facility, to be located on 300 acres near Monument Valley, is expected to generate enough power for 7,700 homes in New Mexico, Arizona and Utah after it is completed in late 2016. Deenise Biscenti, public affairs director for the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority, said building the solar plant is part of a long-term strategy to change the way the tribes deliver power. “For the past several years, NTUA has explored renewable-energy resource possibilities,” she said. “This solar farm is our move into that field, to establish a green economy for the Navajo Nation.”

Community Solar Brings Renewable Energy ‘To The Masses’

December 19, 2015 Lynne Peeples, www.huffingtonpost.com ,
By Lynne Peeples for The Huffington Post - Solar panels aren’t just for Arizonans living in sprawling ranch houses anymore. Homeowners who lack adequate roof space or who enjoy the shade of big trees -- even condo owners and renters such as Joe and Vanessa Goldberg of notoriously rainy Seattle -- are now teaming up with their neighbors to buy electricity from shared solar power projects. "Because we rent, we don't really have the option of putting solar on our house," said environmentally conscious Joe, 35, who once made a local move using only bike trailers.

U.S. Solar Market Prepares For Biggest Quarter In History

December 11, 2015 Staff, www.seia.org ,
By Staff of SEIA - BOSTON, Mass. and Washington D.C. – A new report shows 2015 shaping up to be the United States solar market’s best year in history with record-breaking fourth quarter projections. The U.S. installed 1,361 megawatts[i] (MW) of solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity in the third quarter of the year. According to GTM Research and the Solar Energy Industries Association’s (SEIA) U.S. Solar Market Insight Report, Q3 2015, this marks the eighth consecutive quarter in which the U.S. has installed more than a gigawatt (GW) of PV capacity.

China Rapidly Expanding Solar, Becoming World Leader

October 28, 2015 Zhang Yuan, www.en.people.cn ,
By Zhang Yuan for People's Daily Online, China’s photovoltaic industry is booming even when the global economy is gloomy. The installed photovoltaic capacity increased 161 percent in the first three quarters year on year. It is predicted that Chinese photovoltaic industry will surge and its cumulative installed capacity will reach 43 million kilowatts. China is likely to replace German to rank first as to photovoltaic application. With the support of related policies, Chinese photovoltaic industry gradually got out of downturn and began to recover in 2015.

Europe Reduces Greenhouse Gas Emissions To Lowest Recorded

October 22, 2015 Tree Alerts, www.PopularResistance.org , , , ,
By Tree Alerts - Greenhouse gas emissions in Europe are at their lowest level ever recorded, while the EU’s economy continues to expand, a new report from the European Environment Agency (EEA) reveals. The bloc has already gone past the 20 per cent cuts pledged for 2020, with emissions down 23 per cent on 1990 levels last year, according to the analysis. The EEA report shows that while emissions have plunged, the European economy has grown by 46 per cent. Renewable energy - which now provides over a quarter of European electricity - both cuts emissions and contributes to Europe’s economy. Last year 1.2 million people were working in the renewables industry in Europe, which is a major exporter and has breathed new life into areas across the continent.

California Trying To Make Solar Energy More Accessible

October 8, 2015 Mike Gaworecki, www.desmogblog.com ,
By Mike Gaworecki for DESMOG, The California legislature has sent a bill to Governor Jerry Brown’s desk that aims to extend the benefits of solar energy to communities that often have no access to clean energy technologies. Assembly Bill 693 would create the Multi-Family Affordable Housing Solar Roofs program, which would be authorized to spend $100 million a year for at least 10 years to install solar panels on 210,000 affordable housing units in the Golden State. It’s estimated that beneficiaries of the program would save more than $38 million per year on their electricity bills and receive another $19 million a year in solar tax credits and other benefits, a total of $1.8 billion over the life of the program, according to Al Jazeera America. Other programs already in place in California have led to the deployment of solar in communities across the state that otherwise would have had little access to solar energy.

Solar Power Just Broke Another Record In The U.S.​

September 11, 2015 Lorraine Chow, www.ecowatch.com ,
By Lorraine Chow in EcoWatch - When it comes to the country’s energy future, the path is looking very bright—especially on rooftops across the U.S. American homes are going solar at rates higher than ever before, according to a new industry report. GTM Research and Solar Energy Industries Association (or SEIA, the national trade organization for America’s solar energy industry) released its Q2 2015 report showing that the country has exceeded 20 gigawatts of solar electric capacity in the first half of 2015—enough power for 4.6 million homes. This could make 2015 on track for another banner year. So while 2014 already smashed records, it looks like 2015 is poised for even better growth. “The second half of the year should be significantly larger than the first in terms of new deployments,” the report said.

The US & WTO Demolish India’s Solar Energy Ambitions

September 6, 2015 Charles Pierson, www.counterpunch.org , , , ,
By Charles Pierson for Counterpunch - 400 million Indians - one quarter of India's population - have no electricity. But as far as the United States and the World Trade Organization (WTO) are concerned, they can keep sitting in the dark. Last month, the news was leaked that a WTO dispute panel had found that India's subsidies for solar power contravene WTO trade rules. India must now remove the subsidies or face trade sanctions. The United States filed the WTO complaint in 2013. The US alleged that India's subsidies for the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (NSM) discriminate against foreign suppliers of solar components. The WTO decision confirms yet again that neoliberalism always favors trade over environmental protection. The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) contains all the same features which enabled the WTO's decision against India's solar subsidies.

Newsletter – Black August, End Neo-Slavery, Resist

August 30, 2015 Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese, www.PopularResistance.org , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
By Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese for Popular Resistance - Black August is coming to an end as we commemorate the ten year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. As many head back to school, a full season of actions are being planned for the fall to stop the corporate takeover of our communities and world and the push toward neo-slavery. There is a lot of resistance going on. We hope that you have an opportunity this summer to relax and build up your energy for the many actions that are being planned for the fall. If you go to a park, there is one more thing you can do: take a moment to think about the people who inhabited the land before it became a park.

Ebook Offers Plans For Fast & Scalable DIY Solar-Plus-Battery System

July 28, 2015 Derek Markham, www.treehugger.com ,
By Derek Markham in Tree Hugger - It's a tiny power plant for a tiny home! This forthcoming ebook promises to help you build a standalone solar power station for hyperlocal clean energy generation. Home solar power is rapidly becoming a reality for many, thanks to great financial incentives, creative financing options, and increasingly affordable components, and the coming solar revolution shows no signs of slowing down. But you don't necessarily have to invest in a whole-house grid-tied solar array to take advantage of clean energy, and you may not even want to if you're looking to electrify an off-grid location or build an emergency power supply. One potential option for the DIY crowd is to build your own standalone solar energysystem, complete with battery storage, which can power a tiny home, act as a backyard power station, or serve as a small step toward energy independence.
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