World energy leaders discussed a path forward to accelerate a global clean energy revolution

More than 20 countries from six continents met recently at the sixth Clean Energy Ministerial, or CEM, in Mérida, Mexico and agreed on  the importance of supporting the rapid growth of  global clean energy economy, in particular, energy efficiency and a diversity of renewable resources such as solar, wind, hydro, sustainable biomass, and geothermal.

New tidal energy system

Conventional propeller-type tidal turbines  can be used in waters at least 30 meters deep. The THAWT (Transverse Horizontal Axis Water Turbine) technology, by contrast, is designed for deployment in shallower, lower velocity, tidal waters. 

Swiss researchers tested solar-powered aircraft

An experimental solar-powered aircraft Solar Impulse 2 has large fixed wing covered from tip to tip with 17,000 photovoltaic cells providing 340kW of electric power. The aircraft is powered by taking off in the daylight and rising to an altitude of 9,000m as the sun charges its batteries.

New energy efficiency business model with no upfront costs

Historically upfront costs were the greatest barrier to energy efficiency upgrades. The Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program in California created the ability to use energy cost savings as a source of cash.

University of California study says high-elevation California forests fires are likely driven by climate change

A team of researchers from the Institute of the Environment at the University of California analyzed data for the last 105 years and found that high-elevation California forests fires have seldom happened in the past.

Lessons to be learned from the failure of the UK’s Green Deal residential weatherization program

Last month, the U.K. stopped  the Green Deal, an ambitious energy efficiency program that never took off the way the government had hoped. The U.K.’s government wanted to build a public-private partnership that would give homeowners £10,000 to support energy efficiency improvements, with no upfront costs.

EU is the largest donor of official international development assistance and the top contributor in tackling climate change

According to European Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development Neven Mimica, EU is the biggest donor in the world, collectively providing over €58 billion in Official Development Assistance (ODA) in 2014,  and it is expecting to mobilise €100 billion through blending by 2020.

IEA's chief economist warns about risks of investments in fossil fuels when ignoring climate change

Speaking at a major climate science conference in Paris IEA chief economist Fatih Birol said that the world’s fossil fuel companies risk wasting billions of dollars of investment by not taking global action to fight climate change seriously.

Mexico’s solar and wind sectors have experienced triple-digit growth rates over the last 10 years

The country will require an additional 22 gigawatts of power generation in the next ten years and its government is set on transforming the country’s power mix in order to reach the goal of generating 35 percent of total electricity from clean sources by 2025. 

Facebook and Apple want to be powered by renewable energy

Both companies invest heavily in renewable energy to cut costs. Facebook says that its new data center in Fort Worth, Texas, like the Iowa one, will run on 100 percent renewable energy, powered by wind turbines only 90 miles away.

UN reached an Agreement on New Sustainable Development Agenda to be adopted in September

Earlier this week the 193 Member States of the United Nations reached a consensus on ambitious new agenda which would end poverty by 2030 and universally promote shared economic prosperity, social development and environmental protection. The new sustainable development agenda builds on the success of the Millennium Development Goals, adopted in 2000, which helped more than 700 million people escape poverty, slash hunger, disease, gender inequality, and access to water and sanitation by 2015.

U.S. clean power plan as strongest ever climate action

The new targets in the Clean Power Plan demand carbon emissions from the power sector be slashed 32 per cent from 2005 levels by 2030 – that is 2% more than in the original proposal that was released for consultation a year ago. Washington has promised to slash greenhouse gas emissions economy wide by 26 to 28 per cent below 2005 levels by 2025, and will do so partly by focusing on the 40 per cent of US carbon-dioxide emissions that come from power stations.

Germany met 78% of the day’s electricity demand using renewable energy sources

It is happened on July 25 due to a sunny conditions in southern Germany (where most of the country’s solar panels reside), and storms across northern Europe (most of Germany’s wind turbines have been installed in the north). On that day wind and solar generated 40.65 gigawatts (GW) of power.