PV Magazine: Storage Installed With Solar in Germany Increasing by 35% a Year

The number of subsidized solar-plus-storage installations has increased by more than 35% in a year in Germany. Falling prices and the desire for energy independence are fueling this high demand.

In the first seven months of this year, the German development bank KfW has supported 35% more solar energy storage projects than in the same period in 2014. Since the German federal government's launch of the PV storage system support program in 2013, more than 12,000 PV storage systems have been installed.

Houston Energy Insider: Gasoline Prices Are at Their Lowest in Over a Decade

Not since 2004 have gasoline prices been this low. The decline in price is only expected to continue to drop as U.S. oil prices also resume to fall. According to AAA, oil is just slightly more than $38 per barrel as of Monday. The national average, as of yesterday, is $2.59 per gallon of gasoline. This is an 11-year low that is only expected to decrease even as demand has increased and the problems being faced by some refineries continues.

However, it should be noted that it is typical for gas prices to fall in the fourth quarter of the year due to a decrease in demand. The sharp decline in oil prices is, of course, the major contributor to the dip in price. Some analysts have also been on record saying that gas prices would be at $2 if not for some operational and maintenance obstacles that occurred at U.S. refineries. Over the summertime, there was a notable increase in demand, which also was a factor.

Oilprice: Does Arctic Drilling Have a Future With Sub $50 Oil?

Italian oil group ENI is expected to begin production from the Goliat Field off Norway in a few short weeks. The project, which has cost $5.6 billion, is expected to produce 34 million barrels of oil per year by the second year of production.

Yet ENI seems to be bucking the global trend, as would-be Arctic drillers in other parts of the region hand back leases or allow them to expire, citing high risks and high costs as major contributing factors. Successful environmental campaigns as well as an increased global awareness -- and political will -- to address climate change have also been influential.

Washington Post: There's a Big Change Coming to the Way We Power Our Homes

Earlier this year, home energy received its biggest jolt since rooftop solar when Tesla Motors announced a home battery dubbed the Powerwall. Immediately useful for backup during power outages, the Powerwall also open a broader doorway into a world of home energy storage. When paired with rooftop panels, the availability of storage brings us closer to a future in which homes could be generating much of the energy they need during the day, and then storing some of the remainder for use overnight.

But on Wednesday, the Rocky Mountain Institute, a noted energy think tank, released a new report suggesting that there’s a less noticed change underway in how we use energy at home -- and pay for it -- that could have similarly dramatic potential.

UPI: Obama Calls Out Koch Brothers for Opposing Solar Power

President Obama lashed out against critics of his energy policies and high-power conservatives, specifically the Koch brothers, for pushing back against regulations that would enable growth in the renewable energy sector.

"When you start seeing massive lobbying efforts backed by fossil fuel interests, or conservative think tanks, or the Koch brothers pushing for new laws to roll back renewable energy standards, or to prevent new clean-energy businesses from succeeding, that's a problem," he said. "That's not the American way. That's not progress. That's not innovation. That's rent-seeking. That's standing in the way of progress," Obama said.