A fleet of electric-powered school buses in El Cajon can send electricity back to California's grid, thanks to first-of-its-kind technology developed by a local company and a partnership with San Diego Gas & Electric. The concept is called “vehicle to grid,” making the buses multi-task as energy storage. Nicknamed V2G for short, the bi-directional technology [...]
One kilowatt is about what it takes to heat up some leftovers in a microwave — or to power the largest and most technically advanced telescope ever built. Thanks to its solar array, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope will stay energy-efficient more than 1 million miles (1.5 million kilometers) from Earth. American engineers at [...]
California has been a pioneer in pushing for rooftop solar power, building up the largest solar market in the U.S. Beginning in 2006, the state, focused on how to incentivize people to accept solar power, showered subsidies on homeowners who installed photovoltaic panels but had no comprehensive plan to dispose of them. Now, panels purchased [...]
McCain Foods is renowned as the world’s largest French Fries processor. Founded in 1957 in Canada, McCain took the world by storm, quickly becoming a much-loved brand in the Canadian marketplace. It wasn’t long before it became the world’s most loving brand for great-tasting food. This can be ascertained by the fact that it has [...]
 ||Building Better Bay Area || Perched along the Russian River, the town of Healdsburg is best known for its excellent wine and weekend getaways. But these days, the sun does more than just ripen the grapes. It produces energy in an unusual setting. Healdsburg has now become home to United States’ largest floating solar [...]
After six power plants went down unexpectedly Last Friday — and with hot weather expected across Texas— the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) on Friday evening was seen asking consumers to conserve electricity through Sunday. The sudden drop in electricity supply rattled the system through the weekend.  However, luckily there wasn't any major [...]
CPUC Seeks Industry Feedback  Net metering is a critical policy to advance rooftop solar, and it has been incredibly effective in California. So effective, that it has driven down the wholesale cost of electricity in the middle of the day. However, because it allows customers to effectively turn their meters backward if [...]
Solar adoption continues to grow. The gear needed is still relatively large, though, requiring dedicated space on something like a rooftop. However, innovators around the world have been working on ways to avoid that problem. Some take the approach of building solar panels on existing flat surfaces and some are using entirely different materials. Inventing [...]
An artist’s rendering of a crewed Martian biomanufactory powered by photovoltaics and capable of synthesizing food and pharmaceuticals, manufacturing biopolymers and recycling biological waste. (Artwork credit: Davian Ho) While the debate between solar energy and nuclear energy continues on Earth, some people are looking to the stars. As humanity turns its attention to Mars, with [...]
Seems unrealistic, right? After all, it is one of the biggest drawbacks of solar energy. But thanks to science & engineering, it is well within your reach. At night the lack of sunlight cannot generate electricity - a disadvantage for solar energy. However, what if they worked at night? That’s no joke, according to [...]
