Category Archive

The ongoing significant technical advances in solar cells and solar panels over the recent decades have been a key driver in the transformation of solar power into a major source of renewable energy, and a serious alternative to traditionally generated electricity. There are now a distinct set of advantages and disadvantages to using solar cells and solar panels as part …

There is currently a boom underway for employment in the renewable energy sector worldwide, led by the U.S., where more than 769,000 people were employed in renewable energy in the US in 2015. These findings have just been published by the International Renewable Energy Agency in its latest Renewable Energy and Jobs Annual Review. In particular, this report and other …

There is now a significant case to be made for the adoption of solar systems usage in business, with many businesses of all sizes, right up to multi-nationals already reaping sizeable benefits for years. In many cases, the financial case alone wins the day, especially once government subsidies are factored in, alongside depreciation and amortization of upfront costs. Once all …

Solar systems rapid growth has been confirmed once again via the significant gains in 2016, not just in the total amount of solar systems installed, but also their distribution and variety across many types of installations around the world. Solar power systems are now being seen in increasingly diverse solar panel configurations, enabling solar installations on rooftops, in ground-mounted solar …

In October 2016, The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) produced its 5th edition of ‘Solar Means Business, Tracking Solar Adoption by America’s Top Companies’, which examines large corporations’ adoption of solar power. This article focuses on the key findings from that report and analysis from related industry sources. The main conclusions are that there is a continuing strong rate of growth in the …

The solar energy industry has to date been supported significantly by government incentives for solar power, led by Feed-in Tariffs (FiTs) and tax credits. These incentives have been credited widely with having huge positive impacts in kick-starting the adoption of solar power globally. It has also been clear that whenever the future of these incentives has become uncertain, there have …

Like the computer microchip, the evolution of solar panel and solar cell performance has been dramatic and is accelerating. Richard Swanson, founder of SunPower wrote a seminal paper in 2006 where he forecast how a steady and steep fall in the cost of solar panel production over time would lead to a corresponding increase in the deployment of solar panels. …

Due to the non-sustainability of traditional fossil fuels, and the adverse environmental impacts incurred in obtaining these fuels and in using them for energy generation, the world is investing concerted effort and resources into increasing the use of renewable energy sources. Some of these, in particular hydropower, have been in use for many decades, while others are still maturing as …

For the past several decades, there has been a growing awareness of the need for moving away from the dependence on nonrenewable fossil fuels as energy sources, which have been in heavy use for more than a century. The key question has been that of finding renewable sources that could compete at least reasonably well with their fossil fuel counterparts. Although …

It’s a Friday afternoon, and after a busy week, you’re a bit tired, and looking forward to chilling out over the weekend. You gaze out the window of your home office and gaze out across the sunny scene in front of you, just soaking in that sunlight and warmth for a moment, anticipating how good it will feel to bask …