Industry news

If Nelson Mandela were alive today, he would be proud of the rapid growth of solar power in his beloved South Africa. It’s been nearly a year since he passed, and during that time, several hundred megawatts’ worth of photovoltaic projects have moved from the development pipeline to actively powering the country’s strapped national grid. The latest South African solar

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The Los Angeles Air Force Base last week became the first federal facility to replace its entire fleet with plug-in electric vehicles, the majority of which also have bidirectional capability that enables them to participate in California’s energy markets. The 42-vehicle fleet includes both pure electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, including sedans, trucks and a twelve-passenger van. Thirty-six of the

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Before the New York Public Service Commission’s vision of a grid operated by Distributed System Platform Providers (DSPPs) can become a reality, there are just a few points to hammer out — to say the least. The Public Service Commission envisions that DSPPs will upgrade the distribution network and then “create markets, tariffs and operational systems to enable behind-the-meter resource

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The Wisconsin Public Service Commission recently voted 2-1 to allow We Energies to increase fixed charges on all residential bills, decreasing the financial benefit for customers who use less energy. The PSC also granted the utility permission to pay less for the power generated by customers with rooftop solar. But the story doesn’t end there. Cleantech advocates are now preparing

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Fuel cell electric vehicles have taken their fair share of hits over the past couple of years, but auto manufacturers are still plugging away at those pesky little buggers. The question is, why? When you consider how far fuel cell EV technology lags behind battery EVs, it looks like the chances are pretty slim for getting a foothold in the

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The largest truck in the world is a monster. It’s crazy big and weighs a modest 360 tons when empty, or up to 800 tons. The GVW BelAZ 75710 is a mining truck and it, of course, uses the power of an electric motor… or four of them. Somehow, over the years, electric cars got the reputation of being small,

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One of the most compelling reasons to switch to an electric vehicle or a hybrid is to get away from paying for gasoline. Not necessarily to get away from burning gasoline for transportation needs, but to get away from paying for it. Yes, the environment is a concern, but it’s hard to think you’re making a real difference when, big

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RALEIGH, N.C. — Drivers know a dead car battery is an inconvenience, but for most it doesn’t happen very often. Those with electric cars, who have to recharge almost daily, face that risk more often. It’s a problem that researchers in Raleigh are trying to solve. Bruce Moore is one of those electric car drivers. He loves his all-electric Nissan

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Finally, there is an all-electric car for people who thought they would never want one. The 2015 Kia Soul EV is a normal-looking Soul with a useful travel range of nearly 100 miles on a single charge, stable ride and handling, generous and flexible cargo space, comfortable seating and fast-charge capability. Indeed, the built-in, direct-current, fast-charge port in the Soul

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While Tesla Motors’ (NASDAQ: TSLA ) monstrous $30 billion market capitalization (more than half that of both Ford and General Motors) suggests the electric-car maker is well known to the general public, there is actually still much confusion surrounding the company. In fact, some of the most important facts about Tesla are often overlooked. Of course, we shouldn’t be surprised

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