Environment

September 16th, 2020 by Press Release  The wind market in the USA is entering a new phase, where demand will be driven by wind energy’s cost-competitiveness, the phase out of the production tax credit (PTC), and states looking to address the climate crisis. In this changing and growing market, Vestas must execute at unprecedented levels

ivanastar | iStock Unreleased | Getty Images The Lego Group is planning to invest as much as $400 million across three years in order to “accelerate sustainability and social responsibility initiatives.” The company’s plans, announced Tuesday, are wide-ranging and cover a number of areas. Among other things, the toy-making giant said it would look to

Electrify America has announced a significant update to its pricing structure resulting in lower prices — mainly through the introduction of kWh-based pricing. With the charging industry still being somewhat recent, charging networks are trying to navigate a complex market that involves working closely with electric utilities and automakers. Now after operating and growing its

September 16th, 2020 by Zachary Shahan  We’ve been covering floating solar power for years, but I’ll admit it — when we started covering the concept in 2012, it seemed like a cool idea with many benefits, but I wondered if it would end up being commercially competitive enough to grow to a large scale. Not

An aerial view of a crude oil storage facility is seen on May 5, 2020 in Cushing, Oklahoma. JOHANNES EISELE | AFP via Getty Images Oil prices rose on Wednesday, extending gains from the previous session, as a hurricane disrupted U.S. offshore oil and gas production and an industry report showed a big drop in

Tesla is building a new massive Supercharger station that will likely become the new biggest station on Tesla’s network worldwide. With Tesla’s fleet growing at a fast pace, the automaker is trying to keep up its infrastructure, like service centers, mobile service fleet, and charging infrastructure. The latter mainly consists of the Supercharger network, arguably

September 15th, 2020 by Jennifer Sensiba  With home/rooftop solar, a growing number of EV drivers are doing most of their driving on home-generated solar power. Solar panels mounted on vehicles themselves, on the other hand, have been the subject of well-deserved skepticism. But is this skepticism still well deserved in 2020? Photo provided by James

Nikola Motor Company Two truck Source: Nikola Motor Company Shares of electric truck maker Nikola fell Tuesday after Bloomberg news reported that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is examining short-seller claims that the company misled investors. Short-seller Hindenburg accused Nikola founder Trevor Milton of making false statements about the company’s technology in order to grow the company and

SINGAPORE — The next big shock to the oil industry could be yet another hit to demand, analysts said. That would add to the destruction already seen this year as measures taken to combat the pandemic prevented people from commuting and traveling – drastically reducing oil usage. Speaking at S&P Global Platts’ Platts Asia Pacific

One in four cars produced in Europe will be fully electric by 2025, according to a new study. The UK’s All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Environment makes the Green Alliance its secretariat. Scotland makes its interest-free Low Carbon Transport Loan available for used electric vehicles. Arcadia Power is committed to making clean energy work for the planet

September 15th, 2020 by Guest Contributor  By Yu Sun Chin, Solutions for Our Climate, Seoul, South Korea 2020 has been called a defining moment to fight the climate crisis, and many tech companies are amping up their efforts to do so. This year, Apple announced that it would cut its emissions by 75 percent and

The Wilmington ARCO refinery is seen before dawn on December 19, 2003 in Los Angeles, California. David McNew | Getty Images Oil prices inched lower on Tuesday as a bleaker outlook for global fuel demand prompted fresh selling, but short-covering ahead of a meeting later this week of OPEC and its allies, known as OPEC+,

The latest drone flyover of Tesla Gigafactory Berlin shows some impressive progress, as the novel construction technique is already producing large buildings. It has been a month since we shared a Tesla Gigafactory Berlin construction update, and a lot of progress has been made in the last month. Tesla’s factory under construction is subject to

September 14th, 2020 by Zachary Shahan  I’m changing the format for these weekly updates on the most popular CleanTechnica stories of the past week. From now on, I will highlight exclusive and highly original stories before listing the top 20 stories from the past week. I hope you enjoy the new format! ⚡️ Our most

French President Emmanuel Macron (R) welcomes Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (L). Chesnot | Getty Images News | Getty Images LONDON — The European Union will not go as far as to impose sanctions on Turkey, one regional expert told CNBC, despite Ankara’s controversial activity in the Mediterranean Sea.  Turkey, Greece and Cyprus have been

A oil tanker goods train passes towards Nizamuddin Railway Station near Ashram in New Delhi on July 30, 2020. Mayank Makhija | NurPhoto via Getty Images LONDON — OPEC has cut its forecast for oil demand growth this year, citing a weaker-than-expected recovery in India and other Asian countries, and warned risks remain “elevated and skewed to

Tesla is starting to partner with other companies to install solar roof tiles and deploy the new solar product faster. In October of last year, Tesla launched version 3 of its Solar Roof tiles, which is now also known as Solarglass, and it saw a significant price decrease through optimization and faster installation. We posted a Tesla

September 14th, 2020 by Zachary Shahan  At the end of last week, I reported on new power capacity installed across the United States in the first half of 2020. The data for that report came from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). However, FERC’s dataset is incomplete. It does not include rooftop solar power and

South Belridge Oil Field is the fourth-largest oil field in California and one of the most productive in the U.S. David McNew | Getty Images Oil prices were mixed on Monday with U.S. crude rising as a tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico forced rigs to shut down, but the gains were kept in

Kenworth, one of the biggest American truck manufacturers, is launching today two new electric trucks with up to 200 miles of range. The two trucks are electric versions of its K270 Class 6 and K370E Class 7 trucks now called K270E and K370E. According to a press release, the trucks are equipped with 141 kWh

September 13th, 2020 by Paul Fosse  Image Credit: ERCOT In this article, I’ll talk about what Texas is doing with utility-scale solar and how the motivation is different than many other states. I was inspired to research and write about this subject after hearing Jigar Shah talk about the subject on the Energy Gang podcast,

Award-winning Pro-rider Angelle Sampey is no stranger to putting down fast track times. And now we’re getting a chance to see her put her skills to the test on a Harley-Davidson LiveWire electric motorcycle, ultimately coming away with a new record-breaking performance. Sampey is a Harley-Davidson Screamin’ Eagle/Vance & Hines team rider, and last weekend took to

September 12th, 2020 by Zachary Shahan  Last weekend, I wrote an article about the fact that the cost of solar power has dropped significantly in recent years. I started off by looking at the average price of solar PV panels alone, which were 12 time more expensive in 2010 and 459 times more expensive in

Listen to a recap of the top stories of the day from Electrek. Quick Charge is available now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn and our RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players. New episodes of Quick Charge are recorded Monday through Thursday and again on Saturday. Subscribe to our podcast in Apple Podcast or your favorite podcast player to guarantee

September 12th, 2020 by Zachary Shahan  Following up on our report on US power capacity additions in the first half of 2020, this article covers electricity generation in the first half of 2020. It splits out electricity generation by source. It also compares those numbers to the same electricity generation split in the first half

Tesla is reportedly in talks to secure a nickel supply for batteries produced in a carbon-neutral way from a Canadian mining company called Giga Metals. During Tesla’s last earnings call in July, CEO Elon Musk pleaded with mining companies to increase their nickel production: Well, I’d just like to re-emphasize, any mining companies out there,

September 11th, 2020 by Frugal Moogal  Note: Nothing below is investment advice. I appreciate how many comments my articles tend to get, and I try to read them all, even though I rarely reply. And there’s a reason for that: The comments I find most interesting deserve long replies which aren’t so great for comment

This week on the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy, including the Nikola and GM partnership, the unveiling of the Lucid Air, Tesla exporting the Model 3 made-in-China exports, and more. Sponsored by Electrify America: Discover all the new and innovative ways that Electrify America is providing

September 11th, 2020 by U.S. Energy Information Administration  In its latest Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) forecasts that electricity generation from hydroelectric power plants in the United States will grow by 4% in 2020 from 2019 levels, to 280 billion kilowatt-hours, despite current drought conditions and extensive wildfires in parts of

Tesla is preparing to export its made-in-China Model 3 cars to Europe and other markets, according to two new reports despite Elon Musk saying that Tesla wasn’t going to do just that. When Tesla started building its Gigafactory in Shanghai, in an attempt to reassure people that the automaker wasn’t just shifting production capacity to

September 11th, 2020 by Frugal Moogal  Note: Nothing below is investment advice. I’ve been thinking about writing this article for a while, but have held off because of how enthusiastic the overall market has been about the potential for Tesla to be included in the S&P 500. I’ve avoided addressing it in my other articles

Offshore oil platforms are seen on April 20, 2020 in Huntington Beach, California. Michael Heiman | Getty Images Oil prices extended declines on Friday, under pressure from a surprise rise in U.S. stockpiles and ongoing weak demand from the coronavirus pandemic. Brent crude was down 8 cents, or 0.2%, at $39.98 a barrel by 0110

Listen to a recap of the top stories of the day from Electrek. Quick Charge is available now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn and our RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players. New episodes of Quick Charge are recorded Monday through Thursday and again on Saturday. Subscribe to our podcast in Apple Podcast or your favorite podcast player to guarantee

September 10th, 2020 by Carolyn Fortuna  Capitalism is running wild because capitalists have hobbled democracy, the author of a recently released book claims. We have in our grasp the ability to improve the human condition while also treading more lightly on the world — to consume fewer resources, use less cropland, reduce pollution, and bring

Tesla has updated and clarified its timeline for the completion of Gigafactory Texas with now a ‘first completition’ aimed for May 2021. Work at the new site that Tesla acquired in Austin, Texas to build its new ‘Gigafactory Texas’ has been going for almost two months. However, it has mostly consisted of moving dirt as

September 9th, 2020 by Tina Casey  A couple of years ago, everyone was all excited about new solar cell technology that could result in costs as low as 20 cents per watt. Yes, 20 cents per watt. There was just one problem. The new device was developed by the Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Lab,

A line handler helps dock the oil tanker, Texas Voyager, as it pulls into its mooring to offload its crude oil at Port Everglades on April 21, 2020 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Joe Raedle | Getty Images Oil futures fell in early trade on Thursday, paring overnight gains, on worries about fuel demand after data

Lucid has finally fully unveiled the production version of its first car: the Lucid Air, a luxury electric sedan. For those of you who have been following our coverage pver the past few months, there won’t be many surprises since Lucid has gradually leaked the most important information, but it’s still worth diving a little

September 9th, 2020 by Steve Hanley  Tesla conducted a survey in Germany last month to determine if its customers would be interested in a plan that would allow the company to tap some of the electricity stored in their car batteries and feed it back into the grid if they could be assured of having

One of the most consistent dividend payers in the history of the energy trade could be in danger of having to slash its payout, according to the options market.  The energy space as a whole has suffered greatly at the hands of the global coronavirus pandemic. Demand for oil has fallen off a cliff, sending

The development is located in the St George area of Bristol, England. Jon Craig Photos Whether it’s sky-high apartment blocks, low-rise housing or converted shipping containers, the buildings we occupy come in all shapes and sizes. In Bristol, England, one development is attempting to address the city’s housing needs through a modular design that places

Lucid has confirmed the price range of its Air electric sedan ahead of the full unveiling today. It will cost between $80,000 and $169,000 before incentive depending on the configuration. The unveiling is set for 4pm Pacific time and there’s a lot of information and the final production design that it is going to be

September 8th, 2020 by Zachary Shahan  Utility-scale solar offers the lowest cost solar power (and often lowest cost power) in the world. Rooftop solar power offers energy independence (or something close to it), and a core component of a no-pollution lifestyle. But there’s something in between that I think is still the most interesting and

An oil refinery is situated along a highway in Big Spring, Texas. Spencer Platt | Getty Images Oil futures fell further on Wednesday after big declines the previous session with Brent sliding below $40 a barrel for the first time since June as Covid-19 cases rebounded in several countries. The biggest global health crisis in

Listen to a recap of the top stories of the day from Electrek. Quick Charge is available now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn and our RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players. New episodes of Quick Charge are recorded Monday through Thursday and again on Saturday. Subscribe to our podcast in Apple Podcast or your favorite podcast player to guarantee

September 7th, 2020 by Zachary Shahan  More than 8 years ago, researchers from the University of Delaware (UD) and Delaware Technical College (DTCC) put forward a rather “radical” idea — to deal with wind and solar power’s intermittency while also acknowledging wind and solar power’s falling costs, why not just overbuild wind and solar power

A view of the Marathon Petroleum Corp’s Los Angeles Refinery in Carson, California, April 25, 2020. Robyn Beck | AFP | Getty Images Oil prices fell on Tuesday amid concerns that a possible rise in Covid-19 cases following the U.S. Labor Day long weekend, which also marks the end of the peak U.S. driving season,

Sergei Karpukhin | Reuters Russia and other major oil producers must regain, and even increase, their share of the oil market once demand returns, Russia’s energy minister has said. “When demand begins to return to pre-crisis levels, it will be extremely important for Russia, like other oil-producing countries, to regain market share as soon as