This week in cleantech news, Facebook switched it’s power supply to 100% renewable energy! Similarly, General Electric announced that they will ramp up electric vehicle production from now on. U.S. solar has increased 4,5o0% in the last decade, which makes the next story less surprising. Renewable energy accounts for 25% of the world’s power- and only increasing! Tesla and Puerto Rico may link up to provide hurricane relief, but the partnership would be historical in the push for resiliency. Finally, a new technology emerging from the University of Central Florida boasts that it can produce hydrogen fuel from sea water.

What news have you been reading this week? Share with us @GreentownLabs!

 

The Almanac– Facebook opts for 100% green energy

• Facebook has switched all of its electric accounts to the 100 percent renewable energy option offered by Peninsula Clean Energy, a public energy provider governed by a San Mateo County joint power authority.

“Facebook’s decision sets “an important example that clean energy makes good business sense.’”

 

CleanTechnica– US Solar Increased 4,500% & Wind 350% Over 10 Years, Claims NRDC

• The US National Resources Defense Council claims that the country’s solar energy capacity increased by 4,500% between 2006 and 2016, while the country’s wind capacity increased by 350%.

“America’s clean energy revolution proves that we don’t have to choose between the environment and a booming economy.”

 

Grist– Renewables now provide a quarter of the world’s power

• A new report from the International Energy Agency surveys the growth of hydropower, wind, and other forms of renewable energy and finds they’re catching up to coal (still the world’s largest source of electricity). At this rate, renewables are expected to provide 30 percent of power generation by 2022.

“Hydropower provides the most renewable energy, but the growth is in solar.”

 

The Verge– Elon Musk offers to rebuild Puerto Rico’s power grid using solar

• A casual comment on Twitter by Tesla CEO Elon Musk about rebuilding Puerto Rico’s power grid using solar technology is being treated seriously by the storm-ravaged island’s top elected officials.

“The company says it has powered small islands, such as Ta’u in American Samoa. There, it installed a solar grid which can power the entire island and store enough electricity for three days without any sun.”

 

Futurism- A New Material is Able to Create Hydrogen Fuel From Seawater

• Previously, it has been cost-intensive, inefficient, and harmful to the environment to create hydrogen fuel. But a new technique developed at the University of Central Florida efficiently creates hydrogen fuel from seawater.

“We’ve opened a new window to splitting real water, not just purified water in a lab,’ Yang said. ‘This really works well in seawater.”

 

Wired – General Motors Goes All Electric

• After more than a century peddling vehicles that pollute the atmosphere, General Motors is ending its relationship with gasoline and diesel.

“’General Motors believes the future is all-electric,’ says Mark Reuss, the company’s head of product. ‘We are far along in our plan to lead the way to that future world.’”