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Debt-ridden and sclerotic Japan hasn’t been the go-to example of smart foreign governments since about 1991—that slot is now occupied by China—but there’s one program from Tokyo that the U.S. would be wise to copy. It’s called Top Runner, and it helps explain why Japanese appliances perennially top the table when it comes to energy [...]
The solar industry in the U.S. has been holding its breath over a much-delayed review by the Commerce Department over allegedly unfair trade practices by Chinese solar panel makers. A few solar manufacturers—notably SolarWorld, an American arm of a German manufacturers—complain that the Chinese government is deeply subsidizing national solar panel makers, enabling them to [...]
President Obama has been talking tough about what he sees as unfair Chinese trade policy since at least this year’s State of the Union speech, when the President boasted that his Administration had brought up trade cases against China at nearly twice the rate of his predecessor. (In former President George W. Bush’s defense, there was [...]
In 2009, when policymakers in New Delhi set a goal to produce 20,000 megawatts of solar energy by 2020, few gave India more than a slim chance. The world’s solar-savvy countries put together were generating that much solar power at the time, and India was contributing virtually nothing. But today, with acres of land in [...]
My weekly Going Green column is up on the Time.com mainpage, and I take on the worrying state of the U.S. renewable energy industry. It’s not worrying now—2011, like the last few years, has been great for the wind and solar industries, as prices drop and installations spread. But that growth was driven in part by [...]
You might remember that a few weeks ago the U.S. Commerce Department opened up an investigation into alleged unfair trade practices by Chinese solar manufacturers. The investigation — instigated at the behest of some, though not all, U.S. solar manufacturers — had been brewing for some time, as Chinese solar companies were accused of essentially [...]
Nature is amazing. Take the humble leaf—it’s capable of absorbing the sunlight and converting it into the chemical energy that fuels the growth of plants. Photosynthesis is one of the fundamental forces of life, and it’s far superior to our technological efforts to harness sunlight. A photovoltaic solar panel can transform sunlight to electricity, [...]
I’ll be honest—I don’t pay close attention to space weather. I’m busy enough trying to figure out how scared I should be—and how scared I should make you—of regular old Earth weather, like hurricanes, floods and droughts. But maybe I should start keeping tabs on what’s going on above us. On September 24 the sun [...]
The story around Solyndra—the failed solar company that took hundreds of millions in government loan guarantees—is not getting better for greens. Earlier this week Solyndra CEO Brian Harrison let Congress know through his lawyers that he wouldn’t be answering any questions at a House investigation hearing set forFriday. “Mr. Harrison intends to invoke his Fifth [...]
In some ways, the days are bright right now for solar power. The average price of solar modules has fallen 30% this year, continuing a steep reduction from the year before. New installations more than doubled last year, enough to make solar a $60 billion market. If you’re in the market for rooftop solar panels [...]
