Renewables-info.com

According to a review by the SUN DAY Campaign of data just released by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), renewable energy sources (i.e., biomass, geothermal, hydropower, solar, wind) dominated new U.S. electrical generating capacity additions in the first eight months of 2020. Combined, they accounted for 63.3% - or 10,445 megawatts (MW) - of the 16,499 MW of new utility-scale capacity added during the first two-thirds of this year.

FERC's latest monthly "Energy Infrastructure Update" report (with data through August 31, 2020) also reveals that natural gas accounted for 36.5% (6,029 MW) of the total, with very small contributions by coal (20 MW) and "other" sources (5 MW) providing the balance. There have been no new capacity additions by oil, nuclear power, or geothermal energy since the beginning of the year. Moreover, all of the 2,781 MW of new generating capacity added this summer (i.e., June, July, August) was provided by solar (1,448 MW), wind (1,309 MW), and hydropower (24 MW).

Renewable energy sources now account for 23.2% of the nation’s total available installed generating capacity and continue to expand their lead over coal (20.1%). [1] The generating capacity of just wind and solar is now at 13.3% of the nation’s total … and that does not include distributed (e.g., rooftop) solar. For perspective, five years ago, FERC reported that installed renewable energy generating capacity was 17.4% of the nation's total with wind at 5.9% (now 9.2%) and solar at 1.1% (now 4.1%). By comparison, in August 2015, coal's share was 26.5% (now 20.1%), nuclear was 9.2% (now 8.7%), and oil was 3.9% (now 3.3%). Only natural gas has shown any growth among non-renewable sources - expanding modestly from a 42.8% share five years ago to 44.6% today.

The main reason why solar panel manufacturers choose silicon solar panels are because they are relatively affordable. However, the main issue with silicon solar panels is that they convert only around 20% of available sunlight into usable electricity.

The recent study conducted by the University of Illinois claims that the answer for improving the solar energy efficiency may lie in multilayered solar panels.

According to this study by using a precisely controlled fabrication process, manufacturers can produce multilayered solar panels with the potential to be 1.5 times more efficient compared to traditional silicon panels.

Can hydrogen really become No.1 source of clean energy in the future? Well, still difficult to say but there is definitely a huge potential.

Hydrogen, unlike fossil fuels, burns clean, meaning there are no greenhouse gases that cause climate change and air pollution. This means that from an environmental point of view hydrogen remains one of the best energy sources that would allow switch to clean energy future.

The most recent breakthrough research comes from the scientists in Japan who have successfully split water into hydrogen and oxygen using light and meticulously designed catalysts with almost 100% quantum efficiency.

This gives hope that the scalable, economically viable hydrogen production could be well achievable in years to come.

Worldwide Covid-19 crisis could actually lead to more renewable energy sources in years to come. Why? Because renewable energy sources such as solar and wind are far more resilient to the massive energy shock caused by coronavirus pandemic than fossil fuels.

Recent report by International Energy Agency (IEA) states that the coronavirus crisis will cause the most severe decline in energy demand since the second world war. It has been estimated that the demand for oil and other fossil fuels will decline seven times greater than it was during the global financial crisis.

In the meantime, renewable energy development is expected to grow regardless of this crisis.

The more you use cooking oil, the more you realize that it changes color as well as the emergence of bad smells. Worst still are toxicity and flammability that result from oil. Hydrogen sulfide (H₂S), that the oil submits, leads to these unwanted effects.

You don’t have to experience these. You can seek services of an expert recycling firm of used cooking oil. However, you need to identify a company that preaches quality. Again, an expert recycler values environment as well as sustainability.

You should be aware of every nitty-gritty as far as used cooking oil collection is concerned. Besides, you should equip yourself with knowledge as far as collection is concerned. Let’s dive right in.