Financial incentives for photovoltaics are incentives offered to electricity consumers to install and operate solar-electric generating systems, also known as photovoltaics (PV). Governments offered incentives in order to encourage the PV industry to achieve the economies of scale needed to compete where the cost of…

Net metering (or net energy metering, NEM) is an electricity billing mechanism that allows consumers who generate some or all of their own electricity to use that electricity anytime, instead of when it is generated. This is particularly important with renewable energy sources like wind and solar, which are…

Renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, tidal, hydro, biomass, and geothermal have become significant sectors of the energy market. The rapid growth of these sources in the 21st century has been prompted by the increasing costs and environmental impact of fossil fuels, which has led to a proposed phase out of…

A Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) is a regulation that requires the increased production of energy from renewable energy sources, such as wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal, which have been adopted in 38 of 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. The United States federal RPS is called the Renewable…

Variable renewable energy (VRE) or intermittent renewable energy sources (IRES) are renewable energy sources that are not dispatchable (adjustable on demand) due to their fluctuating nature, such as wind power and solar power, as opposed to controllable renewable energy sources, such as dammed hydroelectricity or…

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Net metering is a policy by many states in the United States designed to help the adoption of renewable energy. Net metering was pioneered in the United States as a way to allow solar and wind to provide electricity whenever available and allow use of that electricity whenever it was needed, beginning with utilities…

The American multinational retail chain Walmart has received criticism from parties such as labor unions and small town advocates for its policies and business practices. Criticisms include charges of racial and gender discrimination, foreign product sourcing, anticompetitive practices, treatment of product…

Ice storage air conditioning is a form of thermal energy storage in which cooling capacity is stored by freezing water and recovered later by melting the ice. In building applications, the storage can be charged when cooling demand or electricity prices are lower and discharged during periods of higher cooling demand,…

Phoenix Energy (formerly Phoenix Natural Gas) is the largest gas distribution business in Northern Ireland, being the owner and operator of the licence for the distribution network in the Greater Belfast area. The distribution business is responsible for the development of the pipeline network and also for providing a…