The free solar energy that hits the Earth each day can keep us warm, light our homes, grow our food, and generate clean renewable electricity, so we often invite it into our lives. But when the weather heats up in the summer, the sun can actually cause us to use more energy, because we then need to Read More...
One of the main problems with solar rooftop installations is they can be quite heavy on the pocket, at least in the short run. The average cost of a residential rooftop solar system today is about $2.98 per watt, $1.00 out of which goes to so-called soft costs – things like design, sales Read More...
In an attempt to show that transitioning to a global 100 percent renewable energy system is no longer a matter of technical feasibility or economic viability, but one of political will, a Finnish university has published a comprehensive global roadmap on how the world can reduce its carbon Read More...
Making transportation greener has been a central theme to today's Optimist Daily. We've had a story on cargo ships, another on planes, and now another about electric busses. According to research, electric buses alone will save an astounding 270,000 barrels of diesel demand in 2019 – every single Read More...
The green energy transition is essential in our fight against climate change, but to make the transition we need more corporations to get on board! In order to make it easier for companies to switch to renewable energy, some of America's top tech firms, manufacturers, and consumer companies are Read More...
While there are plenty of reasons not to love energy giant Shell, they are taking major steps towards implementing more renewable energy. An example of which takes place in the UK where more than 700,000 homes in Britain are now enjoying 100 percent renewable energy thanks to Shell. The move Read More...
Policy experts in Wales have set out a new ambitious energy plan that could put the country on the track of achieving 100 percent electricity from renewable sources by 2035. The transition process is expected to create over 20,000 new jobs and deliver a $10 billion economic boost for the Read More...
With Germany getting set to give coal the boot by 2038, its renewables are proving to be more than capable of mitigating the country’s dependence on fossil fuels. Just last week, thanks to strong gusts, wind energy provided half of the country's energy. Together with solar panels and other clean Read More...
Many centuries ago, ancient civilizations would produce homes using cob—a mixture of clay-based subsoil with sand, straw, and water. Cob is absolutely a sustainable option for building, but one that doesn’t meet the contemporary standards of architecture. To bring cob up to date, British and Read More...
Conventional solar panels on the market collect sunlight on their entire surface, converting it to electricity at 15 to 19 percent efficiency – meaning about 85 percent of the energy is lost in the process. There are more efficient cells out there, but they generally come at a great cost. Swiss Read More...