Virtual power plant: that sounds like part of a video game like “SimCity” or “Cities: Skylines” — but it’s not. The virtual power plant (VPP) is a real, up-and-coming energy source. It’s a widespread collection of modest power systems with one control site that runs them like a single power plant. The control room increases or decreases production or …

Flight to the future: Solar Impulse shows we can run the world without consuming the earth Embed from Getty Images By Ulrich Spiesshofer, President and CEO, ABB Solar Impulse has made history by completing the first flight around the world in a plane powered only by energy from the sun. Its achievement is a tremendous success for clean technologies and …

Go turn off all your lights. Feel better? You should, because you just saved some money on energy. Sure, we might be talking just a few cents, but those cents add up. Keep those lights burning around the clock and watch how your power bill will skyrocket. Turning off lights is not only a fast fix for saving on energy …

The practice of harnessing clean, renewable energy from the sun to power homes and businesses is gaining popularity as improved technology and business models are reaching consumers. Solar energy is harnessed using photovoltaic (PV) panel systems that convert sunlight directly into electrical energy that can be used to power your home’s heating, cooling, lighting and appliances. PV panels are easily …

KYOCERA TCL Solar Completes 8.5MW Solar Power Plant on Reclaimed Island on Japan’s Largest Lake Underutilized land repurposed with solar installation to provide equivalent power for roughly 2,900 average households Kyocera Corporation (President: Goro Yamaguchi; herein “Kyocera,”) and Century Tokyo Leasing Corporation (President: Shunichi Asada; herein “Century Tokyo Leasing”) announced today that Kyocera TCL Solar LLC (herein “Kyocera TCL Solar”), …

The City of Santa Monica’s Big Blue Bus (BBB) announced today that it has become one of the country’s first municipal transit authorities to convert its fleet to renewable natural gas (RNG), rated 90% cleaner than diesel and is considered the cleanest transportation fuel available. Earlier this year, BBB modified  its original agreement with Clean Energy Fuels Corp (Nasdaq: CLNE) …

The power flickered off four times in the 2 ½ hours that Darren Hammell waited at Cuba’s Santa Clara airport for his return flight to the United States last month. This departing experience underscored what he had learned on his trip: There is work for U.S. energy companies in the Caribbean’s largest island. But how quickly that work materializes remains …

This is an interesting new technology out of Australia that uses the motion of the ocean (wave motion) to create energy in a non invasive way and out of sight as well just below the surface of the ocean. How does it work? Watch below. or this for more tech details. According to Carnegie Perth Wave Project: This project will be …

Retail residential electricity prices across the U.S. rose in the first half of this year, averaging 12.3 per kilowatt hour, a 3.2 percent price hike from the same period last year. This is the largest six-month rise since 2009, the U.S Energy Information Administration has reported. Factors that affect your electricity bill There are two main components that contribute to …

Yes it is true. You may not have heard of this company or the buses they are already turning out for use on public streets but electric public transit is here and could be in a town near you in the not too distant future. Watch the video below to see how it works. From the company: Bus travels more than 700 …

Nearly 70 years after Ball State University installed its four coal-fired boilers, school employees have stopped shoveling and the old system has gone cold as the university embraces renewable energy with world’s largest district closed geothermal energy system. Jim Lowe, director of engineering, construction and operations, watched the historic event. He’s overseen the $80 million geothermal project — consisting of …

New Worldwatch Institute analysis examines the trends in global biofuel production In 2012, the combined global production of ethanol and biodiesel fell for the first time since 2000, down 0.4 percent from the figure in 2011. Global ethanol production declined slightly for the second year in a row, to 83.1 billion liters, while biodiesel output rose fractionally, from 22.4 billion …

Though the first official assessment that climate change was caused by human activity came in 1988, with NASA scientist James Hansen’s famous testimony to the U.S. Congress, the “carbon neutral” concept, which refers to achieving net zero carbon emissions, is a relatively new one. The non-profit Climate Neutral Network, which developed the Climate Neutral Certification, was incorporated in 1999; the …

Californians consume the least electricity per-person of any state in the country, according to new 2014 state energy rankings from EnergyTrends.org. Behind California, Hawaii, Rhode Island and New York used the least electricity per person. Meanwhile, Californians consumed the fifth-lowest total energy per person of any state. This ranking has remained unchanged in recent years – and shows California’s residential …

Even in Disaster, Lumos LSX Solar Modules Shine at Western Disposal HQ Colorado’s Largest Solar Awning Supports Clean-Up following Floods Completed before the epic Colorado floods, Western Disposal’s 198kW PV solar awning is a solar milestone as Colorado’s largest solar awning. The awning stands over 30 ft tall and has been built to shade Western’s large natural gas fueling station. The durability …

The energy efficiency  industry is mad for data, especially anything that will give insight into what spurs consumers to save energy or buy green products. But unfortunately, not all data is good data and some leads the industry astray. Take for example the oft-cited surveys that consumers are willing to pay more for green energy. This led several utilities to …

New Worldwatch Institute study examines the global market for solar and wind energy production Global use of solar and wind energy continued to grow significantly in 2012. Solar power consumption increased by 58 percent, to 93 terrawatt-hours (TWh), and the use of wind power increased by 18 percent, to 521 TWh. Although hydropower remains the world’s leading renewable energy, solar …

New Worldwatch Institute report examines global consumption and installed capacity of hydropower and geothermal energy sources Although the global consumption and installed capacity of hydropower and geothermal technologies have increased steadily since 2003, both types of energy saw slower growth in 2011, according to new research conducted by the Worldwatch Institute for its Vital Signs Online service (www.worldwatch.org).Global installed capacity …

The Top 10 predictions for the global photovoltaic market in 2013, from the IHS Solar service at information and analytics provider IHS. “The photovoltaic industry is in the midst of wrenching change—buffeted by government incentive cuts and nose-diving prices that has hurt solar suppliers worldwide, rocked by trade disputes among its major players, and hamstrung by a sputtering global economy,” …

TAKING BACK AMERICA’S ENERGY FUTURE FROM THE LOBBYISTS: 1 MILLION AMERICANS TO FIGHT INDUSTRY EFFORTS TO KILL CLEAN ENERGY AGENDA Three Dozen Citizen Organizations From Across Nation Take on Undue Influence of Energy Company “Goliath”; Push Reflects Views of 83 Percent of Americans That a “New-Grassroots Driven” Effort is Needed. Fed up with the undue influence of the energy companies, …