Free Republic

Yesterday Fox News host Sean Hannity devoted a segment of his show to make the argument that President Trump should reject proposals for trade action by Suniva and SolarWorld, calling any proposed remedies a “bailout” for failed, foreign-owned manufacturers.

A big player in the solar-energy installation market has closed, according to PSEG Long Island and several former employees. Level Solar, which operated offices in Hicksville and Ronkonkoma, terminated employees Tuesday, according to a copy of a note sent to one of the employees. The company’s website has been suspended, and calls to the company’s Long Island and Manhattan offices were not answered. In 2015, the company reached an agreement to borrow up to $25 million from the state’s Green Bank program.

Solar panel units for the roofs of Norwegian homes are to be sold in-store for the first time by electronics retailer Elkjøp. The electronics chain has noticed a strong growth in demand for the solar units in its online stores, reports Dagens Næringsliv. Now the technology will be available in physical shops for the first time. Solar panel power in Norwegian homes has tripled in the last year in terms of overall effectivity, according to the report. […] The technology developer said that he wanted to take solar power from the “niche market to the mass market”. …

In 2001, Colorado electricity consumers enjoyed some of the lowest electric rates in the country. The 15 years since haven’t been so kind to ratepayers. For more than a decade, elected officials, PUC commissioners, industry and advocates have told Colorado ratepayers that they could transform the state’s electricity generation away from coal and toward industrial wind, solar and natural gas with little cost to ratepayers. However, the actual numbers tell a much different story. Colorado electricity rates have risen sharply – 62.1 percent – across residential, commercial and industrial sectors, despite a slight decrease in recent years. Colorado electricity rates...

Solar farms are cropping up in Will County As harvest season approaches, some Will County farmers may already be considering alternatives to the future of their corn and soybean fields. They are learning that the sun they now rely on to produce vegetables, could be harnessed into a new cash crop. Empowered by Illinois' new Future Energy Jobs Act, solar companies have approached area farmers in recent weeks about converting a portion of their property into solar farms. Cypress Creek Renewables, which currently operates solar farms in eight states, has an agreement with a landowner in Crete Township to convert...

Today we bear witness to precisely how much control man has over God’s universe:That’s right, exactly…none. But hey, if any of the brilliant scientists who believe we can slow down, reverse, or halt global warming/cooling want to take a crack at stopping the eclipse, be my guest. Could be a good trial run to see how well toilet paper restrictions, cow fart mediation and forced public transportation will work to stop climate change in its tracks.Shot by MOTUS on I-80, Saturday, August 19, 2017, somewhere in Wyoming along the path of totality. My initial thoughts: (trigger warning - micro-aggression ahead!)...

Solar energy is not always a fraud. If you live off the electric grid, and you have a reasonable amount of sunshine, solar power, backed up by batteries, can be a good option for getting a modest amount of electricity. It will not be cheap electricity. Solar is good for powering equipment in remote locations. It is excellent for powering spacecraft. It is good for direct heating of swimming pools. Passive solar in the form of buildings designed to utilize sunshine for warmth and light can save energy. But, do not think that it is advisable to put solar electricity...

COLUMBIA, SC — Elephants, flamingos, giraffes and gorillas will share top billing with the darkened sky at Riverbanks Zoo during next month’s solar eclipse. Zoo officials plan to study 12 types of animals and birds to see if they act differently before, during and after the Aug. 21 eclipse. The effort is intended to show what impact, if any, the temporary mid-afternoon blackout has on some of the zoo’s 2,000 animals. Little is know about how animals behave during eclipses, zoo officials say. “It’s an opportunity to do a little bit of science instead of relying on anecdotes,” said Ed...

KNOXVILLE (WATE) — While East Tennesseans are keeping an eye on the sky, there’s going to be plenty of action on the ground at Zoo Knoxville as the total solar eclipse passes through on August 21. There are more than 700 animals at the zoo and staff plans to observe them during the time of totality. The phenomenon is raising questions like, how will animals react when their daily routines are driven by the cycles of night and day? “We don’t know what’s going to happen,” said Phil Colclough, with Zoo Knoxville.

NEW YORK, Aug. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- GameChange Solar CEO Andrew Worden today issued a statement voicing deep concern about the ITC 201 trade case which threatens the US solar industry and if passed by the Trump administration, could trigger the loss of 88,000 or more of the 374,000 American jobs in the industry. Solar manufacturing is the fastest growing employment sector in the country over the last five years with jobs surging by 58%. This is due to the rapidly dropping costs of solar power which created a surge in demand for the equipment that goes into building solar...

Fake Solar Eclipse Glasses Are Flooding the Market: How to Stay Safe By Mike Wall, Space.com Senior Writer | If you're planning to view the total solar eclipse on Aug. 21, make sure you've got the right safety gear. Phony eclipse glasses are currently flooding the marketplace, according to the American Astronomical Society (AAS). This counterfeit equipment falsely claims to meet the international standard for safe solar viewing, which is known as ISO 12312-2 (also written as ISO 12312-2:2015). So how do you know that your eclipse glasses or handheld viewers are safe? The AAS has done some legwork and identified...

We’re approaching another minimum in the 11-year sunspot cycle, predicted for the years 2019 and 2020, and so the number of visible spots on the sun has been low. But there’s a nice, big, visible spot on the sun now, plus an Earth-facing coronal hole seen by spacecraft. Because this hole in the sun’s atmosphere faces Earth – and because it releases a high-speed solar wind – experts say there’s a 60% chance this weekend of minor G1-class geomagnetic storms, which could causes auroras. The coming full moon, of course, might interfere or might give you an opportunity for some...

after 8 long years of solar energy businesses being promoted by the U.S. government, hard numbers and real work experiences are causing people to reassess just how “green” solar energy is. To begin with, it appears that solar panels create 300 times more toxic waste per unit of electricity generated than nuclear power plants.... And while nuclear energy production does generate radioactive wastes, the sheer volume difference shows that the nuclear energy is more efficient at energy production. And while “toxic” may seem less hazardous than “radioactives”, heavy metals are forever whereas radioactive particles decay over time. Chronic exposures to...

Last November, Japan’s Environment Ministry issued a stark warning: the amount of solar panel waste Japan produces every year will rise from 10,000 to 800,000 tons by 2040, and the nation has no plan for safely disposing of it. Neither does California, a world leader in deploying solar panels. Only Europe requires solar panel makers to collect and dispose of solar waste at the end of their lives. All of which begs the question: just how big of a problem is solar waste? Environmental Progress investigated the problem to see how the problem compared to the much more high-profile issue...

The solar-energy industry has been touted for years as the environmentally safe alternative. After all, solar panels merely absorb the sun’s energy and transfer it to consumers. No oily pipelines, no obstructions to the nation’s waterways. But it appears all is not well for fans of the industry. Discarded solar panels, piling up around the world, are detrimental to the environment, according to a new study by Environmental Progress. And carcinogenic. And teratogenic. While environmentalist have warned for decades of the hazard of nuclear power, solar panels produce 300 times more toxic waste per unity of energy than nuclear power...

The sun is heading into a period known as solar minimum, during which activity at the surface will ‘change form.’In this time, certain types of activity, such as sunspots and solar flares will drop – but, it’s also expected to bring the development of long-lived phenomena including coronal holes. According to NASA, solar minimum could also enhance the effects of space weather, potentially disrupting communications and navigation systems, and even causing space junk to ‘hang around.’

t’s clear once again that Trump doesn’t really understand how solar works. From his words, he appears to believe the mere production of energy will somehow generate revenue, ignoring the fact someone has to buy the energy it produces. He didn’t explain who would be dong that – was he planning to sell the power to Mexico? The poor residents of south Texas border towns? Who will be purchasing the electricity and at what price?

California is the poster child for solar energy: in 2016, 13% of the state's power came from solar sources. According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, California is in the lead for the cumulative amount of solar electric capacity installed in 2016. In fact, the California is generating so much solar energy that it is resorting to paying other states to take the excess electricity in order to prevent overloading power lines. According to the Los Angeles Times, Arizona residents have already saved millions in 2017 thanks to California’s contribution.

Bruce Blakeman of Sustainable Technology, Inc. provides insight