Marketplace: Unemployed Oil Workers Find New Home in Solar Industry

Eighty thousand workers have been laid off across the country as the price of oil has plummeted. In Texas, some out-of-work rig hands, pipe fitters and engineers are finding employment in solar energy.

David Webster has been managing the Mission Solar warehouse in San Antonio since February. Before finding work in the solar sector, Webster spent 10 years shipping oil out of rigs all over the world. Now, he makes sure that the solar panels are packaged and distributed to customers across the U.S.

Transitioning to solar energy was an adjustment.

Bloomberg: Saudi Arabia Scales Back Renewable Energy Goal to Favor Gas

Saudi Arabia is curtailing renewable-power targets as the world’s biggest oil exporter plans to use more natural gas, backing away from goals set when crude prices were about triple their current level, according to Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih.

The kingdom aims to have power generation from renewable resources like the sun make up 10 percent of the energy mix, a reduction from an earlier target of 50 percent, Al-Falih said in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Al-Falih provided new details of the country’s solar power program as he joined other ministers to announce parts of a plan adopted by the cabinet on Monday to overhaul the country’s economy.

Forbes: The Elusive Search for Clean Coal

“I want clean coal, and we’re going to have clean coal and we’re going to have plenty of it. We’re going to have great, clean coal. We’re going to have an amazing mining business.” -- Donald Trump

The first thing that may come to mind when reading this recent quote from Donald Trump is that it is a passage from a Dr. Seuss book on energy. Once you realize that it is actually how Mr. Trump plans to revitalize the coal industry, you may wonder “Just what is clean coal?” You have surely heard the phrase, but you may not be familiar with the details. You may also wonder about its economic viability. Today we will cover both aspects.

Autocar: Mercedes-Benz to Preview New Electric SUV

Mercedes-Benz will unveil a electric-powered SUV concept at the upcoming Paris motor show, which high-ranking insiders describe as its first step into a broad electric vehicle strategy.

The new concept, currently undergoing construction at Mercedes' prototype workshop on the outskirts of Stuttgart in Germany, is said to provide “a clear insight” into the external appearance, interior appointments, technical layout and overall dimensions of the German car maker’s first truly dedicated electric vehicle -- a uniquely styled SUV conceived to take on the Tesla Model X as well as new electric SUVs planned by Audi and Jaguar.

Climate Progress: A Million New Solar Homes Projected With India-U.S. Announcement

President Obama is doing everything he can to solidify the Paris Agreement before he leaves office. And the Indian Prime Minister’s visit to Washington, D.C. this week afforded him yet another opportunity to do just that. The White House on Tuesday announced a slew of new initiatives and agreements with India, including major steps on clean energy finance.

“The Indians have agreed to develop, long term, a low greenhouse gas emissions development strategy,” White House spokesperson Brian Deese said on a call with reporters Tuesday. “That is something that the Paris agreement invited countries to do, to put together a mid-century low greenhouse gas emissions strategy. The Indians, for the first time, are signaling their commitment to develop such a strategy.”