By Dr. Kathleen Saul World Bank data assure us that 100% of people in the United States have access to electricity.[1] Yet, as the Center for Biological Diversity reports, families in this country have had their electricity turned off more than 3.6 million times since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.[2] And that figure only […]
Read More »Seoul 1 GWp ‘Solar City’ Highlighted at Mayors Forum
The 2019 Mayors Forum (part of IREC held in Seoul in October) featured Seoul’s 1 GWp Solar City Initiative. FREE helped the City to design this ambitious program as part of the FREE-Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). Dr. Byrne delivered the keynote at the Forum, which drew 37 mayors from 25 countries. […]
Read More »California’s Bold Solar Energy Vision
By Joseph Nyangon How California’s New Rooftop Solar Mandate Will Build Additional Value for Its Customers The boldest new plan yet to increase electricity generation from noncarbon-producing sources has been announced by California. Highly regarded as a trendsetter and vanguard of progressive energy policies, California became the first state to require solar power installed on all […]
Read More »FREE Facilitates Tour by the Seoul Energy Corporation of U.S. Energy Innovations
FREE facilitated a coast-to-coast tour of innovative energy applications for a delegation from the Seoul Energy Corporation (SEC). Spearheaded by CEO Jin Sub Park, the visiting team included: Jung Min Yu, Chang Woo Cho, and Yong Dae Kim. SEC is responsible for the supervision of and investment in energy policy programs in South Korea’s capital […]
Read More »Sustainable Energy Utilities and ESCO Financing Can Save Money and Reduce Carbon Footprints
By Kathleen Saul – Master of Environmental Studies Faculty at The Evergreen State College Reprinted with permission from: https://www.evergreen.edu/sustainableinfrastructure “The quickest way to double your money is to fold it over and put it back in your pocket.” —Will Rogers William Penn Adair, aka Will Rogers, lived at a time before the spread of electric lights, before highways […]
Read More »The Scale of the Energy Access Gap
By Benjamin M. Attia Access to electricity is a key catalyst correlated with economic development. The International Energy Agency (IEA) recently estimated that over 1.5 billion people do not have access to affordable electricity, representing one quarter of the world’s population [1]. In the absence of aggressive new policies and significant financing, it is estimated that […]
Read More »Post-Paris Agreement: FREE’S Focus on Subnational Climate Action
By Job Taminiau and Joseph Nyangon Accelerating climate action and finance at subnational level based on the Paris Agreement. The 21st Conference of the Parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, or COP 21 (also known as the Paris climate summit) closed in Le Bourget, France after two weeks of intense negotiations, with negotiators agreeing on […]
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