American Solar Energy Society

Fossil fuels brought us modern life. Coal jumpstarted the industrial revolution. More recently, oil and gas greatly advanced mobility and revolutionized agriculture. But today, fossil fuels are at the center of wars, major environmental damage, income inequality, and a host of other ills. It’s way past time to retire them. We can start the process …

Continue reading "Driving on Sunshine: A Primer"

The solar industry’s rapid evolution is a story of innovation, fierce competition, and dramatic exits. As countries have moved toward decarbonization and grown the share of renewable energy in the total energy mix, the commercial solar panel sector has seen both meteoric rises and sudden declines among its most prominent brands. The major implication? Supporting …

Continue reading "The Evolution of Commercial Solar: Lessons from Discontinued Solar Brands"

If you ask ten solar professionals how to orient a rooftop array in the Northern Hemisphere, most will answer the same way: face it south. And for many projects, that remains a solid default. A south-facing array typically squeezes the most energy out of each panel. But on many commercial roofs, and especially on flat …

Continue reading "East–West vs. South-Facing Solar: When “More Panels” Beats “Perfect Direction”"

Over the past decade, one of the defining shifts in the solar industry has been the move toward a more geographically diverse supply chain. And while this transition has taken time, it has unlocked significant sustainability benefits – gains that are now shaping the industry’s long-term trajectory. Necessity, as the saying goes, is the mother …

Continue reading "The Power of Local"

As the solar and energy storage industries continue to evolve, new technologies are reshaping how homeowners generate, store, and utilize electricity. One of the most promising yet still unfamiliar solutions is vehicle-to-home (V2H), an idea that has existed for over a decade but is only now becoming practical. Electrical Vehicle (EV) adoption in the United …

Continue reading "V2H: Vehicle-to-Home Bi-Directional Charging"

A pioneering collaboration between UAB Sustainability and Huffman High School is giving students hands-on experience in solar technology while expanding Alabama’s model for resilient, off-grid communities. Students at Huffman High School in Birmingham are building a solar-powered tiny home — a first-of-its-kind collaboration for the University of Alabama at Birmingham aimed at preparing teens for …

Continue reading "Building Brighter Futures:"