A Science Daily report that came out this week reported that researchers whose study was published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology ran the numbers on regions around the globe to see where might be the best place to generate renewable solar energy. They used a technique that accounts for the way that temperature can affect solar sells, and came up with some interesting findings. Namely: many cold regions at high elevations get loads of sunlightplaces in the Andes, the Himalayas, and even Antarctica.

Unless you have some alpine real estate, this news probably wont affect...

If you werent able to make it to the Solar Decathlon in Washington D.C. that happened over the past several weekends, youre in luck. Intrepid bloggers for Renewable Energy World did a top-ten list from the entire event.

My favorite out of their list? Probably the solar-powered houses built specifically for FEMA to use in disaster-relief situations. The home design students built for the multi-day Decathlon showcasing solar home solutions is elegant and simple, but definitely appealing. Now those who suffer from the unlucky strike of a natural disaster will be able to return to normalcy in...

The smaller the world gets, the more we should regard our fellow humans as neighbors rather than far-off, distant people. The solar industry is taking off in part because of the low prices made possible by fierce competition between manufacturers around the globe. While consumers are happy about low prices, the shortcuts some companies are taking to make those prices possible should not be accepted by anyone as the cost of progress. For example, in China, hundreds of villagers shut down JinkoSolar in the province of Zhejiang after the plant was suspected of causing the death of a large...

If you want to be an informed and engaged citizen, keep reading. According to information supplied to Renewable Energy World by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, Californians pay much more up to 30 percent more per kWh of solar power compared to Germans. Why? Likely causes include inefficient federal tax credits that artificially inflate the cost of the US dollar; banks offering financing for solar leasing at overstated prices; complex state and federal incentives and a lack of guaranteed interconnection with the grid, making taking on solar projects risky; and by inconsistent local...

Renewable Energy World carried an article on New York Citys solar potential, sharing the exciting findings that during peak electricity use hours, rooftop solar panels could power up to half the city (if panels were in place where rooftop space allowed). This solar power potential illustrates a larger reality in the US: at present many of us are consumers, but if the right changes are made in the US electricity system and regulations, in many areas solar prices are competitive with retail electricity costs. Regional planning authorities under the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission are...