News and Events

Liz Robinson Liz Robinson

Assessment of Solar Development on Previously Impacted Mine Lands in PA

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Energy Programs Office, in partnership with a project team from the Eastern Pennsylvania Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation (ECAMR) and LaBella Associates has conducted an Assessment of Opportunities for Grid-Scale Solar Development on Previously Impacted Mine Lands in Pennsylvania.

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Liz Robinson Liz Robinson

Four Southeastern Pennsylvania Counties Unite to Purchase Wholesale Energy

(Philadelphia, PA) – Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery Counties have partnered to take a wholesale market approach to purchasing electricity for county operations. Over the past week, each county’s Board of Commissioners voted to form the Southeast Pennsylvania Energy Board. They will work together with the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) to access low and stable energy prices, access renewable energy in the future, and use resources more efficiently.

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Liz Robinson Liz Robinson

The Power of Partnerships | DOE's Schools Programs

The US Department of Energy (DOE) is hosting a webinar on Thursday, November 16th, to highlight different partnership models that can help school districts move forward making energy improvements. It will provide examples of community-based partnerships, and partnerships with energy service companies, universities, and utilities.

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Liz Robinson Liz Robinson

DOE to Fund Research to Reduce Costs of High-Voltage Direct Current Transmission

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Wind Energy Technologies Office (WETO) and Office of Electricity (OE) plan to fund research to drive innovation and reduce costs of high-voltage direct current (HVDC) voltage source converter (VSC) transmission systems. HVDC transmission systems are more efficient than traditional alternating current (AC) transmission systems for transmitting electricity over long distances while minimizing power losses.

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Liz Robinson Liz Robinson

Agrivoltaics finds new fans in US Senate

Agriculture and solar: a winning combination for farmers, the climate and now — thanks to two recently introduced bills — maybe the Senate, too.

U.S. senators on both sides of the aisle have recently proposed two bills to boost agrivoltaics, the double-duty climate solution that pairs solar panels (photovoltaics) with agriculture — or closely related land uses that benefit farmers and ecosystems.

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Liz Robinson Liz Robinson

Hyper-efficient solar panels are 1000X > powerful!

Researchers at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) have discovered a new method to increase the efficiency of solar cells by a factor of 1,000. The team of scientists achieved this breakthrough by creating crystalline layers of barium titanate, strontium titanate, and calcium titanate, which were alternately placed on top of one another in a lattice structure.

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Liz Robinson Liz Robinson

Solar Energy Technologies Office

Did you know that transitioning to a clean energy economy protects every American’s fundamental human right to a clean, healthy environment?

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Liz Robinson Liz Robinson

Bipartisan Bill Introduced to Support Agrivoltaics R&D

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies, and U.S. Senator Mike Braun (R-Ind.), a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee and the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Food and Nutrition, Specialty Crops, Organics, and Research, are introducing the bipartisan Agrivoltaics Research and Demonstration Act of 2023.

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Liz Robinson Liz Robinson

US invests in alternative solar tech, more solar for renters

The Biden administration announced more than $80 million in funding Thursday in a push to produce more solar panels in the U.S., make solar energy available to more people, and pursue superior alternatives to the ubiquitous sparkly panels made with silicon.

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Liz Robinson Liz Robinson

Annual Report: Use of SolarAPP+ Doubles Across the Country

By the end of 2022, the Solar Automated Permit Processing Plus (SolarAPP+) online permitting software had eliminated 134,000 days of delays for solar adopters, according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL) annual performance report.

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Liz Robinson Liz Robinson

PA Bill to Replicate Steelton-Highspire Schools' Solar Array

A new bill making its way through the Pennsylvania legislature would create a solar energy grant program to fund projects like the solar array located next to a high school in Steelton-Highspire School District.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler, D-Philadelphia, (pictured speaking at Steelton-Highspire School District's field of solar panels on April 25 discussing her legislation), encourages state investment in hopes of qualifying for solar project funding through the federal Inflation Reduction Act. She said that federal money could provide as much as 30 percent to 50 percent of a project’s cost.

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