Category: Articles
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When it comes to land impact, does solar, wind, nuclear, coal, or natural gas have the smallest footprint?
Renewable energy technologies like solar, hydro, and wind require a lot of land. But, how does their impact…
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Will rooftop solar drive up the cost of electricity, particularly for low income households?
Will your neighbor’s solar panels make your electric bill higher? We take a look at the research, data,…
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Myth busting the politics of renewable energy: Do conservatives really oppose renewable energy?
This is the second in our series. See part 1 here: Myth busting the crazy politics of clean energy:…
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An interview with Dr. Markus Fischer on the declining costs of solar energy
Bill traveled to Germany to meet with Dr. Markus Fischer, one of the world’s foremost experts on the…
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What is a Megawatt-Hour?
A megawatt-hour is one of the most common measures of electricity. What is it, how does it relate…
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A decade of trends points to local solar + battery becoming the cheapest source of electricity
Nuclear and coal plants cost more to build. Transmission investments have grown 10x over the last decade. But…
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Technology makes things cheaper… except for the grid
Thanks to technology, industries like transportation, food, and data processing are more affordable than ever before. But there is…
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Will the growth of solar power crowd out farmland?
As solar power continues its rapid growth, will its large land requirements crowd out land otherwise needed for…
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Do we have enough silver, copper, and other materials to keep up with the growth of solar?
Will growing demand for solar panels put pressure on commodity supply chains, driving up costs, and even disrupting…
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Freeing Energy Founder, Bill Nussey, interviewed on Jason Jacobs’ podcast
Successful startup CEO turned climate entrepreneur, Jason Jacobs interviews Bill Nussey on his podcast, My Climate Journey. Bill…
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Understanding the basics of electricity by thinking of it as water
Part of our Freeing Energy 101 series: a basic introduction to electricity. The article uses water as an…
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Puerto Rico after Maria: From generator island to a solar microgrid revolution (part 2)
In the aftermath of Hurrican Maria, Puerto Rico was left in darkness for months. Many communities responded by…
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Six months without electricity – stories from Puerto Rico and Hurricane Maria (part 1)
Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico on Sept 20, 2017 and resulted in the worst blackout in American History.…
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How electric vehicles will drive over the electric monopolies, part 2
Electric vehicles will unleash a new set of competitive forces that will reshape the century-old electric monopoly business…
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How electric vehicles will transform the grid, part 1
Electric vehicles (EVs) will transform transportation, and along the way, they will also transform the electric grid, in…
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Does the intermittency of solar and wind make electricity more expensive?
Energy from the wind and sun is intermittent and often unpredictable. Critics point to this as the fatal…
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Will waste from retiring solar panels overrun our landfills?
As solar continues to increase its share of global energy production, people are starting to wonder what we’ll…
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A simple and affordable plan to address the intermittency of solar and wind
A future powered by clean energy requires batteries to balance the intermittency of solar and wind. Experts say…
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100,000 coal jobs have disappeared since 1980. Where did they go?
Were coal jobs the victims of a political war on coal or the result of over-zealous regulation? The…
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The earth gets more solar energy in one hour than the entire world uses in a year
Earth’s continents receive 23,000 terawatt hours of solar energy each year, compared to the 18.5 terawatt hours used…