OK, now the details: That 79% describes roofs with access to sufficient sunlight. (Financial returns are a separate matter. Ah, that pesky ROI...) At that link, check out the current map of cities they've analyzed so far. On a related note, NREL's Jan. 2016 report shows that 39% of US electricity needs could be met if ALL rooftops were covered in solar.Learn more.
Off-grid Solar as Asset Class:
Big Dogs Paying Attention
Small solar installations in emerging and frontier markets are growing so quickly that Bloomberg has now issued their first report on the sector. Only $233M was invested last year, mostly in "pay as you go" systems that rely on cell phones. But that volume equals about 75x growth in annual investments since 2012. Based on related work I've done off-grid in Ethiopia and India, I can say that this nascent solar sector is NOT primarily about climate change. Instead, it's about saving money (cash flow positive in 6-12 months), improving health, and avoiding fires related to using kerosene. Learn more.
ENERGY STORAGE | ELECTRIC VEHICLES
State EV Incentives Fall: "Millions of Dollars for Rich Guys"
(Warning: As you read this, you may suddenly picture an ostrich with its head in the sand.) The number of states with incentives to support EV sales is down from 25 to 16. Concerns include social equity and best uses for limited transportation dollars. This is against the backdrop of EV sales growing 70% last year in Canada, France, Sweden, and China (the world's biggest market). Plus, the transportation sector now ranks as the largest contributor to US greenhouse gas emissions. Further, research by the Grantham Institute at Imperial College London projects that EVs will make up 35% of the global vehicle fleet by 2035.Learn more.
Move Over Lithium:
Flow Batteries Get Some Spotlight
Lithium batteries are like an older and more popular big brother overshadowing a more talented but younger sibling. (No, I don't have any scars. Really.) That younger sibling in this case might be flow batteries, which can discharged over much longer periods and last 20 years. In San Diego, a vanadium redox flow battery from Japan's Sumitomo Electric was recently installed. The 2 MW system has enough juice to store solar energy during excess generation and later power 1,000 homes.Learn more.
PRODUCTIVITY |TRIVIA
Stephen Hawking Headed to the Moon:
With Richard Branson's Invite
The billionaire entrepreneur has asked the genius cosmologist and physicist to be among the roughly 500 people to have traveld into outer space. It's so perfect. Want join these two guys? No worries. Tickets are just $250,000. And there are...um...some risks.Learn more.
Work More to Work Less:
Huh?
Lori Greiner -- inventor, author, entrepreneur, and Shark Tank co-host -- offers some great contrarian business perspective. “Entrepreneurs are willing to work 80 hours a week to avoid working 40 hours a week.” To live like few others can, you have to do what few others will. (That's deep, man...so deep...)
