Sustainable Energy

FILE PHOTO: Tesla's new electric semi truck is unveiled during a presentation in Hawthorne, California, U.S., November 16, 2017. REUTERS/Alexandria Sage/File Photo

reuters.com - by Eric M. Johnson - February 2, 2018

 . . . Reuters has learned that Tesla is collaborating with Anheuser-Busch, PepsiCo and United Parcel Service Inc to build on-site charging terminals at their facilities as part of the automaker’s efforts to roll out the vehicle next year . . .

 . . . Companies that spoke with Reuters said the first step is to install charging equipment on their own premises. The Semis would be limited to routes that would get them back to home base before the batteries are spent, the firms said.

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thehill.com - by Timothy Cama - January 22, 2018

President Trump on Monday imposed tariffs of 30 percent on imported solar panel technology in a bid to protect domestic manufacturers while signaling a more aggressive approach toward China.

The move is a major blow for the $28 billion solar industry, which gets about 80 percent of its solar panel products from imports.

The Solar Energy Industries Association predicted the tariffs would increase prices and kill 23,000 jobs.

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submitted by Bill Sullivan

usatoday.com - by Daniella Cheslow - January 5, 2018

More than three months after Hurricanes Maria and Irma slammed their island, over a million Puerto Ricans are still without reliable power. But one recent day, Rosa López and José Quiñones finally left those ranks.

It happened when four technicians installed a Tesla Powerwall solar battery pack onto a wall in their suburban San Juan home — a 275-pound white metal beast that can store enough electricity to keep a house running from sunset to sunrise.

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Gene Lutz drives an electric fork lift powered by renewable energy at Pitt Ohio, a trucking company with an office in Harmar, Pa. The firm has invested in solar and wind energy, along with a bank of storage batteries, to create an independent microgrid that would hold up in a storm. Researchers hope to build more of these and link them together to create a reliable backup supply.  Daniella Cheslow/NPR

npr.org - by Daniella Cheslow - November 12, 2017

When President Donald Trump announced the U.S. would withdraw from the Paris climate accord, he said he represented "Pittsburgh, not Paris."

Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto disagreed. He traveled to Germany this week as part of an unofficial delegation of more than 100 Americans, American officials and business owners who say they are still committed to climate talks taking place in Bonn. One element of Pittsburgh's climate strategy has been encouraging innovation in a technology known as microgrids.

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