A sustainable, waste-free solar industry may be cultivated through solar panel recycling. This week, we spoke to Dr. Pablo Dias, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of SOLARCYCLE about how solar panel recycling can play a role in reducing environmental challenges of renewable energy.
Carbon dioxide is both a potent greenhouse gas and a necessary input into the natural process of photosynthesis in plants. This week, we spoke with UC Berkeley researcher Dr. Peidong Yang, whose artificial leaves replicate photosynthesis to generate products currently dependent on fossil fuels.
On this week’s Climate Break, EarthJustice’s Vice President of Litigation for Climate and Energy, Jill Tauber, discusses the role of public utilities commissions (PUCs) in shaping clean energy infrastructure, policy, and development. As states increasingly look to transition to clean energy, PUCs can help transform the energy grid to become more energy efficient, cost-effective, and renewable.
The expansion of renewable energy is heightening the need for improved transmission capacity of our electrical grid. Unfortunately, rapid grid expansion to meet this demand faces funding and cost allocation obstacles. Large-scale reconductoring of advanced conductor systems has been proposed as an alternative. We spoke to Umed Paliwal, a researcher from UC Berkeley, to learn more about the process and benefits of reconductoring.
How can local governments can help advance clean energy technology? Investor-owned utilities dominate the electricity market in the United States, but community choice aggregators let municipalities control their own energy strategy.
As the world explores the promising prospects of mainstream sustainable energy, many have looked towards solutions that optimize carbon footprints and conversion rates. We spoke to Jun Yao, Professor of Engineering at the University of Massachusetts who led the Air Gen project, about the scientific breakthroughs his team have made on air humidity energy conversion—using air filters to capture water particles and taking advantage of their natural charges.
Electricity providers can meet renewable energy portfolio standards while still relying on fossil fuels during high-demand hours. But by matching renewable energy supply to demand every hour of the day, San Mateo County’s Peninsula Clean Energy seeks to fully decarbonize the grid. We spoke with CEO Jan Pepper to learn more.