Posts Tagged ‘Solar’
You are my sunshine … in Southwest Virginia
Last week we co-hosted the first annual Solar Fair in Wise County along with our partners in the Solar Workgroup of Southwest Virginia — all to showcase the economic benefits of energy from the sun.
Read MoreSolar Jobs on the Rise
By Elizabeth E. Payne In 2016, a record number of jobs were created to make, sell and install solar panels across the United States, according to a new report by The Solar Foundation. There were 260,077 jobs in the solar industry last year, representing a nearly 25 percent increase from the year before. According the…
Read MoreSolar Jobs Overtake Oil and Gas, Coal Mining in China, Methane Leak in California
News briefs from across the energy sector
Read MoreEnergy Efficiency Made Affordable
From electric cooperatives with solar farms to a smart energy finance program in Benham, Ky., communities are putting clean energy within reach.
Read MoreSchools Do the Math and Go Green
Regional schools are finding that solar power and energy efficiency can help reduce electric bills, cut greenhouse gas emissions, and provide a valuable learning opportunity.
Read MoreWho’s casting shadows over N.C. solar?
When it comes to jobs, pollution, and sustainability, energy from the sun beats energy from fracked gas hands down. So why are N.C. legislators and Duke Energy casting shadows over the state’s potential to become #1 in solar?
State Legislative Updates
While lawmakers in Washington, D.C., might get most of the spotlight, the legislators in state capitols across the region are busy making — and blocking — laws that affect Appalachia’s land, air, water and people. Here’s the latest updates from state legislatures around the region
Read MoreMany roads lead to clean energy
Utilities are cranking more and more electricity onto the grid on extremely cold or hot days — but too much of that ends up leaking out windows and doors in lower-income housing. As the NAACP points out, energy efficiency and other distributed energy sources are safer, healthier, and more equitable ways of providing electricity, and they have the added bonus of bringing much needed economic opportunity to communities of color.
Looking on the bright side, states seek solar benefits
U.S. jobs grew nearly 20 times faster in the solar industry than the whole economy’s national average, reports The Solar Foundation, and some southeastern states are catching the rays of the burgeoning industry with policies encouraging growth in both privately-owned and utility-scale solar.
Read MoreDecent news for N.C. solar power
The N.C. Utilities Commission’s decision to renew a set of rules governing the contracts between electric utilities and independent power producers allows the state’s solar developers to begin the new year on steady footing.