Solar Energy

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – With the prospect of new Iranian nuclear power plants looking dim after Israeli and American bombing of its civilian nuclear enrichment sites, and with a need to export its fossil gas rather than consuming it domestically, the Tehran leadership is at last turning to renewables for electricity generation. President Masoud […]

Featured

Morocco Produces 1 gigawatt of Solar Panels Annually, as it turns to Floatovoltaics

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Morocco continues to be a pioneer in renewable energy in Africa and the Arab world. The International Trade Administration notes of Morocco, “Total installed capacity from renewable energy sources stands at 4,550 MW, corresponding to 38.2 percent of total installed electrical capacity.” The country plans to generate 56% of its […]

Climate Crisis

Global Solar skyrockets 64% in H1, as Trump SecEnergy Wright gets Schooled

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Ember energy consultancy reports that in the first half of 2025, the world put in 380 gigawatts of new solar capacity. That compares to 232 gigs in the first half of 2024, for a 64% increase. By the end of June, 2022, the world had only installed 90 new […]

Climate Crisis

When even Saudi Arabia Jumps into Solar and Wind Power, You know Change is Here

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Saudi Arabia’s massive oil deposits and its 9.53 million barrels per day (bpd) of petroleum production make it an enormous carbon polluter and the foremost enemy of climate science and of electric vehicles. Some 38% of Saudi power plants use petroleum and 62% of electricity generation is done by domestically […]

Climate Crisis

America may have invaded Iraq for its Oil, but Solar Power is what Iraqis now Want

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Iraqi farmers, tired of high electricity bills and frequent blackouts, are turning to solar panels, according to Khalid Al-Mousuly at Reuters. Farmers need electricity to run water pumps for irrigation. It isn’t just the farmers. With nearly a gigawatt annually in solar panel imports, Iraq has emerged as the third-largest […]

Agrovoltaics

How Wind and Solar Power Keeps America’s Farms Alive

The Conversation

By Paul Mwebaze, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (The Conversation) – Drive through the plains of Iowa or Kansas and you’ll see more than rows of corn, wheat and soybeans. You’ll also see towering wind turbines spinning above fields and solar panels shining in the sun on barns and machine sheds. For many farmers, these […]

Agrovoltaics

Solar Power: California Farmers identify a hot new Cash Crop

The Conversation

By Jacob Stid, Michigan State University; Annick Anctil, Michigan State University, and Anthony Kendall, Michigan State University (The Conversation) – Imagine that you own a small, 20-acre farm in California’s Central Valley. You and your family have cultivated this land for decades, but drought, increasing costs and decreasing water availability are making each year more […]

European Union

Solar Power outstripped all others in Europe last Month for First Time

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – As the Trump Department of Energy and the Republican tax bill try to kneecap solar energy in the United States, Europe and China are making impressive strides in this sector, with economic and environmental benefits of which the US seems bent on depriving itself. The Ember energy consultancy just announced […]

China

America’s worsening Solar Gap with China, which installs 100 Panels per Second

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – According to Asia Society Policy Institute Senior Fellow Lauri Myllyvirta, China installed 93 gigawatts of solar in May, along with 27 gigawatts of wind. She points out that this is equivalent to 100 solar panels being put in every second. China has passed the 1 terrawatt milestone for installed solar […]