Solar – Energy Transition https://energytransition.org The Global Energiewende Thu, 16 Mar 2023 12:52:46 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.1.1 EU smashes renewable records as it urgently breaks free of Russian fossil fuels https://energytransition.org/2023/03/eu-smashes-renewable-records-as-it-urgently-breaks-free-of-russian-fossil-fuels/ https://energytransition.org/2023/03/eu-smashes-renewable-records-as-it-urgently-breaks-free-of-russian-fossil-fuels/#respond Thu, 16 Mar 2023 08:00:57 +0000 https://energytransition.org/?p=28007 Since Russia’s February invasion of Ukraine, European Union member states have been feverishly reworking their energy policies to reduce their reliance on Russian gas, coal, and oil. To help accelerate the shift, energy developers are rapidly increasing investments in solar and wind power. This summer, solar, helping the EU tackle not only its energy problem but also soaring inflation.

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]]> https://energytransition.org/2023/03/eu-smashes-renewable-records-as-it-urgently-breaks-free-of-russian-fossil-fuels/feed/ 0 South Africa secures international aid at COP27 to champion the coal to renewables shift https://energytransition.org/2023/02/south-africa-secures-international-aid-at-cop27-to-champion-the-coal-to-renewables-shift/ https://energytransition.org/2023/02/south-africa-secures-international-aid-at-cop27-to-champion-the-coal-to-renewables-shift/#respond Tue, 28 Feb 2023 08:00:54 +0000 https://energytransition.org/?p=27889 South Africa’s ambitious plan to transition away from coal was endorsed at the recent COP27 climate conference in Egypt where officials from Britain, France, Germany, the United States, and the European Union signed pledges of $8.5 billion to help fund its initial steps. Currently South Africa relies upon coal to generate up to 87% of its electricity, but by the end of the decade the nation wants...

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]]> https://energytransition.org/2023/02/south-africa-secures-international-aid-at-cop27-to-champion-the-coal-to-renewables-shift/feed/ 0 Appalachian Phoenix: solar rises in the heart of the United States’ dying coal industry https://energytransition.org/2023/02/appalachian-phoenix-solar-rises-in-the-heart-of-the-united-states-dying-coal-industry/ https://energytransition.org/2023/02/appalachian-phoenix-solar-rises-in-the-heart-of-the-united-states-dying-coal-industry/#respond Tue, 21 Feb 2023 08:00:06 +0000 https://energytransition.org/?p=27869 Closed and abandoned surface mines, often flattened, despoiled and desolate, can make ideal sites for re-purposing into clean energy centers. For over a decade, the Environmental Protection Agency has recommended that renewable energy projects be installed on former mined lands, particularly closed mountain top removal sites. Though solar is the fastest growing source of new electricity across the...

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]]> https://energytransition.org/2023/02/appalachian-phoenix-solar-rises-in-the-heart-of-the-united-states-dying-coal-industry/feed/ 0 Brown to Green: Germany’s pockmarked Lausitz becomes a solar powerhouse https://energytransition.org/2023/02/brown-to-green-germanys-pockmarked-lausitz-becomes-a-solar-powerhouse/ https://energytransition.org/2023/02/brown-to-green-germanys-pockmarked-lausitz-becomes-a-solar-powerhouse/#respond Tue, 14 Feb 2023 08:00:38 +0000 https://energytransition.org/?p=27859 Hands down, Germany has become the world leader in transforming its post-coal mined lands into solar farms, particularly in the nation’s eastern Lusatia region, where more than a century of intense surface mining has despoiled much of the landscape. According to a 2018 report, region-wide there are some 9 GW of solar project potential across nearly 50,000 hectares of torn up land.

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]]> https://energytransition.org/2023/02/brown-to-green-germanys-pockmarked-lausitz-becomes-a-solar-powerhouse/feed/ 0 Brownfields to greenfields: repurposing coal mines worldwide into renewable centers https://energytransition.org/2023/02/brownfields-to-greenfields-repurposing-coal-mines-worldwide-into-renewable-centers/ https://energytransition.org/2023/02/brownfields-to-greenfields-repurposing-coal-mines-worldwide-into-renewable-centers/#respond Tue, 07 Feb 2023 13:47:23 +0000 https://energytransition.org/?p=27843 For decades, energy transition experts called for transforming post-mined lands into renewable energy hubs. To bolster their arguments, as part of their “Sunshine for Mines” project, a decade ago the pioneering Rocky Mountain Institute began tracking the few “lighthouse” projects that then existed. At the time, renewable capacity on mine sites stood at just over 600 megawatts worldwide.

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]]> https://energytransition.org/2023/02/brownfields-to-greenfields-repurposing-coal-mines-worldwide-into-renewable-centers/feed/ 0 Harnessing the power of the sun in Greece’s Valley of Tears https://energytransition.org/2022/08/harnessing-the-power-of-the-sun-in-greeces-valley-of-tears/ https://energytransition.org/2022/08/harnessing-the-power-of-the-sun-in-greeces-valley-of-tears/#respond Thu, 18 Aug 2022 10:00:20 +0000 https://energytransition.org/?p=27051 The global energy transition is full of ironies. On the same spring day that Greece inaugurated its largest solar plant, located adjacent to several lignite mines in the coalfields of Western Macedonia, the government announced a short-term increase in mining as it responds to feared fossil gas shortages following Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine. Then in late June, Greece passed a sweeping...

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]]> https://energytransition.org/2022/08/harnessing-the-power-of-the-sun-in-greeces-valley-of-tears/feed/ 0 The world’s biggest trade bloc is born – what does it mean for the energy transition? https://energytransition.org/2021/03/the-worlds-biggest-trade-bloc-is-born-what-does-it-mean-for-the-energy-transition/ https://energytransition.org/2021/03/the-worlds-biggest-trade-bloc-is-born-what-does-it-mean-for-the-energy-transition/#respond Fri, 19 Mar 2021 14:00:52 +0000 https://energytransition.org/?p=24017 The year 2020 brought us a devastating pandemic and an economic slowdown but also some decisive moments for the global energy transition. Last year ushered in a wave of groundbreaking pledges on carbon and climate neutrality. Meanwhile, clean energy investments have proven resilient to the global economic downturn, further shrinking prices for renewable power generation equipment and the ongoing...

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]]> https://energytransition.org/2021/03/the-worlds-biggest-trade-bloc-is-born-what-does-it-mean-for-the-energy-transition/feed/ 0 Good riddance to 2020, but there was still cause for cheer https://energytransition.org/2021/01/23767/ https://energytransition.org/2021/01/23767/#respond Fri, 01 Jan 2021 14:00:12 +0000 https://energytransition.org/?p=23767 Given the flood of media we all experienced in 2020, in particular as we were stuck inside our homes, one of the challenges is finding and holding onto some of the good and positive developments in the stream. For his first blog post in 2021, our leader writer, L. Michael Buchsbaum reviews some of his energy transition highlights from 2020. This is by no means an exhaustive list. Once you’ve read...

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]]> https://energytransition.org/2021/01/23767/feed/ 0 Total solar eclipse in Chile: a brighter outlook for the future? https://energytransition.org/2020/12/total-solar-eclipse-in-chile-a-brighter-outlook-for-the-future/ https://energytransition.org/2020/12/total-solar-eclipse-in-chile-a-brighter-outlook-for-the-future/#respond Tue, 15 Dec 2020 09:00:23 +0000 https://energytransition.org/?p=23701 A total solar eclipse on December 14 th left the Chilean south briefly in the dark. Between local indigenous groups and the solar industry, the event was affronted with respect and ingenuity. Vera Dickhoff takes a closer look. Total solar eclipses are rare at any particular location, as its totality exists only along a narrow path on the Earth’s surface, as traced by the Moon’s full shadow (...

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]]> https://energytransition.org/2020/12/total-solar-eclipse-in-chile-a-brighter-outlook-for-the-future/feed/ 0 How an innovative community overcame Ukraine’s nuclear trauma https://energytransition.org/2020/06/stories-from-the-frontlines-of-climate-hope/ https://energytransition.org/2020/06/stories-from-the-frontlines-of-climate-hope/#comments Mon, 08 Jun 2020 13:00:10 +0000 https://energytransition.org/?p=22465 All over Europe, people are rising up to fix climate breakdown – demanding urgent transformation to a fair, fossil free future. Communities, cities and people are at the forefront of building community-owned renewable energy, creating green jobs, and tackling energy poverty. Here is one such story from the frontlines of climate hope, from Ukraine. Susann Scherbarth reports for Friends of the Earth...

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