Africa has its fair share of entrepreneurs, and some of them want to break into the emerging renewable-energy market. The South African Renewable Energy Business Incubator — SAREBI — wants to help these bright minds achieve their goals.

Lesson 1 of Expert Advice Series: The Energy of Tomorrow

Companies may have more clout in promoting environmentally friendly business practices than they thought.

Around the world, investment in renewable energy is outpacing investment in fossil fuels. One big reason is that wind and solar technologies are becoming cheaper to produce.

How a Texas town manages business as it transitions to renewable energy

It’s not science fiction, but it sounds like it. The “smart” power grid and the virtual power plants that are being developed to dispatch and manage the flow of electricity into our communities are the avant-garde of an energy revolution.

Like many urban centers, Washington has low-income residents, many seeking good jobs. African American–owned WDC Solar is giving all of them a boost by installing solar panels at no cost to residents and training young men and women in solar installation and maintenance skills. Owner Mark Davis says, “WDC Solar is focused on installing solar …

The coal and oil industries may have fewer jobs than in the past, but the sun is smiling on the renewable energy industry. Solar, wind and other renewable energy companies are staffing up at all levels as demand for workers increases.

Electric cars such as this Tesla Roadster could soon make up most of the traffic on city streets by 2030. (© AP Images) City streets could sound a lot different in the near future, as the roar of internal combustion engines is replaced with the hum of electric vehicles. Up to two-thirds of all cars …

This year, Apple applied to sell excess electricity from new renewable energy installations. Google, Amazon and Walmart started similar programs.

Energy storage is getting better all the time. With efficient storage, electricity generated from solar and wind energy is available after the sun sets and the wind calms. It also helps the power grid deliver a smooth, uninterrupted flow of electricity to customers.

Sub-Saharan Africa has abundant renewable energy resources. The question is how to tap into them and reach the goal of supplying everyone in each of its regions with reliable, clean and affordable electricity. At the 2016 Young African Leaders Initiative summit in Washington, the State Department’s Macon Phillips recorded a podcast with South African Mandela …

Customers who generate their own electricity with solar panels or wind turbines reap benefits when net metering is available. It works like this. An ordinary electric meter keeps track of how much electricity customers use from the power grid. They are billed for it. Net metering uses a meter designed to track the amount of …

The cat is out of the bag – renewable energy is the future. Thomas, the Energy Cat tells us how all the sun and wind around us can power the planet. Using solar and wind technology to generate electricity is becoming cheaper than coal- and nuclear- generated power. And with new ways to store energy, …

Workers install panels at a solar photovoltaic park near Lamberts Bay, South Africa. The park connects to the national power grid. (© AP Images) We all know the sun warms us, it gives us light during the day and it makes plants grow. On top of all its natural benefits, it is now an important …

Wind Energy Facility (State Department) The BioTherm wind energy facility at Klipheuwel-Dassiefontein does much more than generate much-needed electricity cleanly near Caledon in South Africa’s Western Cape province. It also invests in the local community. In the nearby town of Genadendal, BioTherm has trained school principals and provides funding for instructors who teach students critical …

MicroCare: 12V Informal Settlement Power Supply (State Department) Residents of informal communities in Port Elizabeth in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province need electricity as well as jobs. Solar component manufacturer Microcare makes sure they have both by training and employing local workers, while manufacturing hardware for off-grid and grid-connected solar power. “We made it a mandate …

Solar Panel close-up in sunlight (State Department) Knowledge Pele is a road to jobs in Touws River, and the jobs are at the Touws River CPV1 solar power plant just a few miles from this small railway town in a rural area of the Western Cape province of South Africa. Touws River became an economically …

(State Dept./Doug Thompson) Everybody’s seen those tall towers strung with wires that stretch across the landscape. Most people know that those are power transmission lines, but they may not know they are looking at part of the power grid. First you need electricity … The power grid starts in the places where electricity is made. …