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Category: News

Heat Pump installed on home
News
Daren Wang
Good Energy: Heat pumps and LED lights are more and more common. Do they make a difference? 

Maine’s quick adoption of heat pumps proves they’re ready for cold climates. Also, LEDs have rapidly decreased how much energy we need to power our lights. Is America finally ready to embrace heat pumps? In the wake of the scorching summer of 2023 and increasing concerns about climate change, many homeowners are searching for ways…

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Close up of Benjamin Franklin
News
Daren Wang
Good Energy: The Inflation Reduction Act turns one. Also, Enphase Energy goes all in on American manufacturing 

The IRA is reshaping the American economy and reinvigorating manufacturing. Also, Enphase has opened three U.S. manufacturing facilities already this summer. On the first anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act A little over one year ago, on August 16, 2022, President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) into law, ushering in a new…

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Plastic Bottles
News
Daren Wang
Good Energy: Can we turn plastic back into petroleum? Also, the Biden Administration is investing big in carbon capture technology. 

Recycling plastic back into fuel may have just gotten a lot more cost effective. Also, is carbon capture a good idea? Can you run your car on a Coke bottle? Few things make environmentalists throw up their hands in despair more than plastic. Plastic waste is everywhere—we even have microplastics in our bloodstreams. (1) And…

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Montana State Capital of Helena 
News
Daren Wang
Good Energy: The pesky duck curve is getting worse. Also, kids in Montana just added a new legal tool against climate change

As we add more solar to our grid, flattening the duck curve is becoming a bigger challenge. Also, Montana kids win a big lawsuit against their own state in a precedent-setting case. What is the duck curve and what can you do about it? For much of America, ducks are seen as cute waterfowl that…

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EV charging
News
Daren Wang
Good Energy: Why is everyone talking about hydrogen? Also, GM wants its cars to power your home

The U.S. is investing in hydrogen technology at a record pace and it might be the missing link in greening the grid. And with GM supporting V2G technology, you’ve got new options for keeping your home powered in a blackout. Why a clear, invisible gas like hydrogen comes in colors like green, grey and blue…

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Barbie's
News
Daren Wang
Good Energy: Barbie has a carbon problem. Also, the Starfire Mine used to be a mountain, but it will soon be a solar farm

The plastic used to make Barbie has a big carbon impact and recycling isn’t a solution. And a Kentucky coal mine gets a new life as a massive solar farm Recycling plastic isn’t a solution Everybody’s favorite pink summer blockbuster, Barbie has renewed interest in Mattel’s perennial bestselling plastic toy. But even as Barbies have…

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solar farm
News
Daren Wang
Good Energy: Did fossil fuel energy generation peak in 2022? Also, geothermal energy is going to be a thing. A big thing. 

Fossil fuel prices keep going up while solar keeps going down. And a startup geothermal company reports a major breakthrough Are we finally using less fossil fuel? One of the dirtiest little secrets about the clean energy transition is that we keep using more and more fossil fuels. The problem is that even as we…

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Utility Lines
News
Daren Wang
Good Energy: Solar to the rescue in Texas. Also, can bricks get us to net zero? 

When Texas faced the biggest energy demand in history, it was renewable energy that stepped up. And storing energy in heat form may be the most economical solution available. Texas gets by with a lot of help from renewable energy When it gets hot in Texas, locals sometimes say, “It’s so hot the hens are…

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World’s First Flying Electric Car
News
Daren Wang
Good Energy: Finally, we have flying cars! Also, how leasing might be the best choice for EV shoppers. 

Are we finally getting flying cars? One Bay Area startup is already selling them. Also, there’s an EV leasing loophole that can solve your car shopping headaches. Flying to work? The fantasy of a flying car just got real Few things signify mid-20th-century America’s optimism and early-21st-century disappointment than a flying car. In 2017, there…

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blimp
News
Daren Wang
Good Energy Blog: Airships might be the next (really) big thing. Also, what if we put carbon-rich oil back in the ground? 

The legend is that Keith Moon, drummer for the rock band The Who, saw a certain four-piece blues ensemble in 1967 and said, “These guys are going to go over like a lead Zeppelin.”. As it happened, Led Zeppelin went on to sell more than a few records over the ensuing decade, but the band’s…

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Jet Propulsion Laboratory
News
Daren Wang
Good Energy Blog: Microwaving energy from orbit. Also, using sunlight to make drinking water

Caltech scientists are beaming solar energy from a satellite to earth using microwaves. Also, hydro panels can use the power of the sun to draw drinking water out of the air. Microwaving solar power from orbit to the Earth’s surface Experimental microwave-powered invisible energy beams transmitted from space to strike American soil has been a…

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3D printer
News
Daren Wang
Good Energy Blog: A tour through a solar panel factory. Also, a big leap forward for battery technology.

We get a close up look at how solar panels are manufactured at Silfab’s factory. And Manufacturer CATL expects to change the battery industry by the end of 2023. Silfab Solar walks us through what goes into a solar panel The beloved sci-fi author Arthur C. Clarke once wrote that “Any sufficiently advanced technology is…

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