This is the biggest solar plant in the United States, located in Kern, California. The Solar Star Plant is over 8 square miles and has a generation capacity of 579 megawatts, powering around 255,000 homes.1 This is impressive, but about 6,500 miles away, in this remote desert,
CES is usually a mixed bag. It’s a great place to see where the tech sector is heading, or at least where it thinks it’s heading. There were several trends from previous years that are starting to pay off in big ways, and some showstoppers that have created
Whenever I cover wind turbines many of you ask about what’s available for home applications. At the moment, I’ve got both good news and bad news. The bad news is that the current market for residential wind is…less than great. The good news? We have a lot
Do not be confused, this is not a video on solar panels, you clicked on the right thumbnail. But, solar panels are a marvel, right? One of the neatest things about them is that they can be used almost anywhere, from big farms, to residential spaces and anything in between.
“So the panel comes at the bottom and the glass comes out at the top?” -Matt Ferrell “Yeah, the plastics and metals come at the bottom there, and then the glass comes at the top here.” -Suvi Sharma “That is insanely cool.” -Matt Ferrell “I know, having been, having worked
In the summer of 2023, the Rijnstate hospital of Elst, The Netherlands opened its doors. What makes this particular campus interesting is how it generates its energy. Heat pumps, PV panels, and an electrolyzer all work in concert to maintain a constant supply of power. The building collects energy from
For my new house I’ve gone all out, and that includes making it smarter than I am. Not exactly a hard feat. From windows that automatically shade themselves to reduce unwanted heat gain into the house, to ensuring my air tight house doesn’t suffocate me in my sleep,
It might surprise you to learn that the basic chemistry of the lithium ion battery at the heart of a brand new Tesla or iPhone hasn’t changed all that much in the last 30 years.1 So, when several of you left comments pointing me in the direction of
Heat pumps are starting to catch a lot more attention for heating and cooling your home now than they have in the past. The same is true for other uses, but … this one really surprised me … what about putting a heat pump in your dryer? There’s some insanely cool,
What’s stopping us from converting the open ocean into a massive solar power plant? To the tune of almost 6 times more energy than the world uses every year. Several companies are trying to do just that by floating solar panels out on the open ocean, but that raises
There is no perfect battery. Every one of them has pros and cons. One might be perfect for electric vehicles, but horrible for another use case because of cost, longevity, or power output. But what if you combined two separate technologies into one package? Better yet, what if you could
Are solar panels on your home worth it? And did I go too far this time? Well, I’ve shared my experiences living with solar panels on my previous home for five years now. Including the pros and cons of it. I just moved into my new factory built home