Category: Alternative & Renewable Energy

A scientific paper led by two researchers at Harvard University made a splash this week by claiming that a cigar-shaped rock zooming through our solar system may have been a spacecraft sent by aliens. The researchers noted in a pre-print of the article that it was an “exotic scenario,” but that “Oumuamua may be a…

A solar microgrid demonstration project that has been developed and tested over a period of 16 months has successfully delivered electricity to a community in South Africa. On Friday, South Africa’s state-owned utility, Eskom, launched its ground-breaking pilot solar-powered microgrid at Wilhelmina Farm, Ficksburg in the Free State. The microgrid demonstration plant, which was completed…

Presented on October 1 by the Minister of Finance, Colm Imbert, the 2019 budget forecasts GDP to increase by 1.9 percent this year before rising to 2.1 percent by 2021, reversing a trend that has seen the economy contract by 1 percent and 6 percent in the previous two years, respectively. The expansion is projected…

By Nick Cunningham  Petro-states urgently need to begin diversifying their economies, shifting away from oil production, or else they face financial risks in the years ahead. That conclusion comes from the IEA’s new report, “Outlook for Producer Economies,” which warns that a changing energy system threatens the economies of oil-producing countries. The threat comes in…

By Oke Peter The 8th annual Nigeria Alternative Energy Expo (NAEE) opened on Tuesday in Abuja at the Yar’Adua Centre with hundreds of delegates and participants across Africa and industrialized world. The 8th Annual Nigeria Alternative Energy Expo has the theme tagged: ‘Liberating Economic Drive with Clean Energy’. This year’s edition is one of our…

By Oke Peter The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Federal Government have agreed to cooperate in the area of solar energy and artificial intelligence for the mutual benefits of both countries. The agreement was reached during a meeting in Abuja, between the Minister of Science and Technology, Ogbonnaya Onu, and the Ambassador of the…

By Tsvetana Paraskova China wants to launch a world-first ‘man-made moon’ over the southwestern city of Chengdu by 2020 to help illuminate the city at night. If the first artificial moon experiment is successful, China will launch three more ‘moons’ in space in 2022, potentially saving electricity and conserving energy, China Daily reports. The man-made…

By Vanand Meliksetian  Former Vice-President of the United States Dick Cheney once said: “the good lord didn’t see fit to put oil and gas only where there are democratically elected states… Occasionally we have to operate in places where, all considered, one would not normally choose to go. But we go where the business is.”…

By Tsvetana Paraskova  Although government support of renewables in India remains strong, the country faces “a myriad of challenges,” which will likely result in India falling short of its own renewable energy targets by 2022, energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie said on Monday. India has set targets to have 175 GW renewable capacity installed by 2022,…

The International Energy Agency (IEA), as part of the EU4Energy programme, hosted a pair of policy forums in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, this week. The Renewables and Focus on Solar Policy Forum took place from 9-10 October, followed by the Research, Development and Demonstration Policy Forum on 11 October. Over 100 participants attended the three-day event, including…