Smart Reads: Week of June 22nd
We know you can’t catch every article during your busy work schedule so we’ve consolidated the week’s top articles for you in one easy list. Share your favorite energy, environmental and efficiency news with us on Twitter using the hashtag #SmartReads.
GENERAL GREEN
Grist: Some like it hot (or cold): How weather affects carbon emissions — We need more nuanced ways of figuring out which countries are doing well on carbon. A new paper offers emissions rankings that take local climate into account. [June 21, 2012]
Bloomberg: Chinese Silicon Makers Said To Seek Duties On U.S. Rivals — Chinese polysilicon makers are pressing their government to impose duties on U.S. imports, a move to drive up prices for competing supplies of the material used in solar panels, four people familiar with the issue said. [June 21, 2012]
CLEAN ENERGY
The Wall Street Journal: Power To More People — Africa may be about to get a whole lot more power. Some of the world’s biggest energy companies are thinking on a much grander scale. They’re conducting projects to test the viability—and marketability—of solar-powered systems to provide electricity for lighting and other purposes in villages all over Africa. [June 18, 2012]
The Wall Street Journal: First the iPhone. Now renewables. — A Japanese telecommunications magnate has ambitious plans to remake the country’s energy production. [June 18, 2012]
The Wall Street Journal: The Enlightened Classroom — Solar power has long been touted for its environmental impact. But now it has a new role: saving teachers’ jobs. [June 18, 2012]
NREL: PV for All: Low-Income Housing Residents Going Solar — Low-income housing developments have historically avoided going solar due to the obvious difficulties of incorporating high-cost, discretionary photovoltaic (PV) systems into affordable housing. However, a unique mix of local, utility, and federal support combined with a little financial creativity allowed a community in Colorado to demonstrate the application of PV into a low-income housing program. [June 18, 2012]
The New York Times: EBay Plans Data Center That Will Run on Alternative Energy Fuel Cells — EBay plans to build a data center to handle its billions of dollars in retail transactions that will draw its power from alternative energy fuel cells rather than the national power grid, which is heavily dependent on coal plants. [June 20, 2012]
Solar Daily: Sunrise Global Solar Energy reached 19.65 percent cell efficiency — Sunrise Global Solar Energy (Sunrise) has recently achieved a breakthrough for industrial grade p-type Cz solar cells. A peak efficiency of 19.65% was achieved in pilot production by combining Sunrise’s advanced fabrication techniques and a special plating method. [June 21, 2012]
ELECTRIC VEHICLES
Forbes: An All-Electric Ford Mustang Shelby GT500? — Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford and other top executives flew into California Monday for the official launch of the automaker’s new Silicon Valley technology research lab. At an event at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View near the Googleplex, Ford rolled out more than a dozen electric, plug-in hybrid and hybrid cars that are hitting the market this year. [June 20, 2012]
