Weatherizing homes to create thousands of jobs - if stimulus works Rita Price, The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio March 21, 2009 - Columbus, Ohio Think of the federal home-weatherization program as a $5 billion rock. It's about to be tossed into the stimulus pool, and supporters hope the ripples last for years. "We want them to go through Ohio as deeply and as widely as possible," said Phil Cole of the Ohio Association of Community Action Agencies. The state expects to receive $267 million to insulate, seal and otherwise improve home energy efficiency for thousands of low-income Ohioans over the next three years. Cole said the government spent less than that on weatherization programs for all 50 states last year. http://www.energycentral.com/functional/news/news_detail.cfm?did=12254658
LEED green-building program being revised Mar 11 - Rex Springston Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va. The LEED program, which builders and property owners enter into voluntarily, certifies that a building is constructed in ways that help the environment -- by saving energy, for example. Changes in the portion of the program that applies to commercial buildings, such as stores, offices hotels and schools, will be effective in late April, said Taryn Holowka, a spokeswoman for the building council. This is the first major revision in the program since 2000. Among other changes, the online process of getting LEED certification will be streamlined. http://www.energycentral.com/functional/news/news_detail.cfm?did=12181071
Nuclear waste has no place to go Mar 11 - Michael Hawthorne Chicago Tribune President Barack Obama's proposed budget all but kills the Yucca Mountain project, the controversial site where the U.S. nuclear industry's spent fuel rods were supposed to end up in permanent storage deep below the Nevada desert. There are no other plans in the works, meaning the waste for now will remain next to 105 nuclear reactors scattered across the country. http://www.energycentral.com/functional/news/news_detail.cfm?did=12181154
Province of British Columbia: New Training Opportunities In B.C.'S Green Economy Mar 11, 2009 -- VICTORIA, M2 PRESSWIRE The $370,000 Energy Efficiency Employment Development Initiative will create new sustainable employment opportunities for British Columbians in the province's green economy, announced Blair Lekstrom, Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources. Funding for the partnerships is provided by the Government of Canada through the Canada-B.C. Labour Market Agreement. http://www.energycentral.com/functional/news/news_detail.cfm?did=12181743
Study: Solar water heating good investment Mar 10, 2009 -- MAHARASHTRA, India, UPI Scientists in India say they have analyzed the engineering and economics of a solar water-heating system and determined it is a good investment. Vivek Khambalkar, Sharashchandra Gadge and Dhiraj Karale at the Deshmukh Agricultural University in Maharashtra, India, determined the 264,172-gallon (1,000 liter) solar water-heating system at a university hostel had a payback period of only two years. http://www.energycentral.com/functional/news/news_detail.cfm?did=12178765
Energy Costs Take 20% Bite From Average Wallet ALEXANDRIA, Va., March 9, 2009 /PRNewswire American families faced the biggest increase in energy expenses on record last year, in large part because of costs for transportation fuels driving global demand. According to a study released today by the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE), for the half of the U.S. families earning $50,000 or less, energy costs consumed 20 percent of after-tax income in 2008. The study also reveals energy costs consumed a quarter of after-tax income when families made $30,000 or less. http://www.energycentral.com/functional/news/news_detail.cfm?did=12169494
China's New Generation: Driving Domestic Development Are the Chinese favouring home-produced turbines for their accelerating wind power industry? If so, what does this mean for foreign investment and overseas manufacturers? by Louis Schwartz, China StrategiesMarch 10, 2009 - London, UK [Renewable Energy World Magazine] Inevitably the international financial crisis, which has reverberated deeply into China's economy, has had an impact on the Chinese wind power sector in a number of ways. For instance, it has contributed to declining prices for certified emissions reduction credits (CERs) under the CDM Kyoto Protocol framework, a key subsidy for wind farm development. In addition, it has caused some foreign companies to exit the Chinese wind farm development business as oil prices have declined and credit has become more difficult and costly to acquire. It has also brought on the recession that has resulted in declining energy use and falling power prices throughout China. http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2009/03/chinas-new-generation-driving-domestic-development?cmpid=WNL-Wednesday-March11-2009
Renewables More Suitable, Says Expert: Cost, Time Drawbacks of Nuclear Power Mar 09 - Bangkok Post, Thailand The Thai government should narrow down its strategies to promote renewable energy and rethink moves towards nuclear power, according to international expert Prof Dr Michael Nobel. Wind, solar energy and biomass should be the focus for Thailand in raising the contribution of renewable energy to overall power production, said Dr Nobel, chairman of the Sweden-based Nobel Charitable Trust. http://www.energycentral.com/functional/news/news_detail.cfm?did=12171667
Walker's World: The big spenders by Martin Walker (UPI) Mar 9, 2009 - Brussels, And the winner is ... Saudi Arabia. Of all the countries taking part in the Group of 20 financial summit in London on April 2, the calculations of the International Monetary Fund find that Saudi Arabia is making the biggest single contribution in stimulus spending. The desert kingdom pumped 2.4 percent of GDP into stimulus in 2008, and is spending 3.3 percent of GDP in 2009 and 3.5 percent in 2010.This is more than double the average stimulus spending for the G20 countries. The next big spender on stimulus is the United States, pumping in 1.9 percent of GDP this year and 2.9 percent next year. It is followed by China, pumping in 2 percent of GDP this year and next. http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Walkers_World_The_big_spenders_999.html
Green Power Forecast: Partly Cloudy -- For the Short Term By Sarah Fister Gale March 9, 2009 - The sagging economy continues taking its toll on renewable energy spending, with solar and wind projects across the country shutting down or getting delayed as financiers reassess the benefits of investing in new energy technology as their bottom lines shrink. The lower price of oil isn't helping. When oil prices spiked last summer, investment in any renewable energy project seemed like a prudent, and even necessary decision. Within months, however, the cost of oil dropped, the economy tanked, and priorities shifted. http://greenbiz.com/feature/2009/03/09/green-power-forecast-partly-cloudy
Gainesville Reaches 4 MW in Solar Reservations by Paul Gipe, Contributing Writer Renewable Energy World March 3, 2009 -- Gainesville Regional Utilities (GRU) has announced that it has reached its first year solar PV reservation target with a groundbreaking feed-in tariff. Gainesville's program went live on March 1. The 2009 solar PV tariff of $0.32/kWh for twenty years will remain in effect for 2010 reservations. The Florida municipal utility will continue accepting reservations for an additional 4 megawatts (MW) in 2010 on a first come first serve basis. http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2009/03/gainesville-reaches-4-mw-in-solar-reservations?cmpid=WNL-Wednesday-March4-2009
Spanish Solar Company To Become One Of Largest In USA by Staff Writers, Madrid, Spain (SPX) Mar 03, 2009 -- Fotowatio has agreed to purchase the core US solar power assets - including the largest US solar photovoltaic installation (14MW), at Nellis Air Force base - of San Francisco-based MMA Renewable Ventures. http://www.solardaily.com/reports/Spanish_Solar_Company_To_Become_One_Of_Largest_In_USA_999.html
Preparing for the future How to combat climate change by going green in Peterborough 2009-02-27 By Joel Wiebe Despite the high up-front cost of going green, Prof. Stephen Hill says it makes us more competitive in the long run because money previously spent on fuel can go to other things. http://www.mykawartha.com/news/article/37436
Economic Stimulus, Clean Energy and the Scale of Our Challenge: Grading the Stimulus Energy Investment The Huffington Post Professor Gregory Bothun and Jesse Jenkins February 19, 2009 -- What does $80 billion really mean in the context of the 21st century United States energy system? Is this a significant investment or merely the first step on the long road to a green economy? In order to answer those questions, we'd better brush up on our energy literacy and get familiar with the scale of our energy system. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jesse-jenkins/economic-stimulus-clean-e_b_168325.html
L.A. to Green Streetlights in the Largest LED Retrofit to Date LOS ANGELES, Calif. February 19, 2009 -- Los Angeles' 140,000 streetlight fixtures will be replaced with LED units over the next five years with help from the Clinton Climate Initiative in the most extensive municipal green lighting retrofit thus far. www.greenbiz.com/news/2009/02/19/la-green-lighting
DOE Secretary Chu Announces Changes to Expedite Economic Recovery FundingRestructuring will lead to new investments in energy projects within months WASHINGTON D.C. February 19, 2009 -- Two days after President Obama signed the historic American Recovery and Reinvestment Act into law, Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced a sweeping reorganization of the Department of Energy’s dispersal of direct loans, loan guarantees and funding contained in the new recovery legislation. The goal of the restructuring is to expedite disbursement of money to begin investments in a new energy economy that will put Americans back to work and create millions of new jobs. http://www.energy.gov/news2009/6934.htm
A Source of Energy Hiding in Plain Sight Efficient use of energy would save money and create jobs Marilyn A. Brown and Benjamin K. Sovacool YaleGlobal, 18 February 2009 ATLANTA: Imagine an energy resource so revolutionary it could improve energy security, strengthen the economy and protect the environment simultaneously. http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/display.article?id=11978
Potential Application of Renewable Energy on Brownfield Sites: A Case Study of Michigan Land Policy Institute, Michigan State University January 27, 2009 - Conversion of brownfields into solar and wind power sites can create jobs and attract investment in addition to enabling expedited development, according to a study by the Land Policy Institute at Michigan State University. Researchers studying Michigan's brownfields found that converting them to renewable energy facilities would generate 5,855 megawatts, some 17,500 jobs and more than $15 billion in investments. www.greenbiz.com/resources/resource/brownfield
SunEdison Announces Larges Solar Distributed Generation Program BELTSVILLE, MD January 7, 2009— SunEdison, North America’s largest solar energy services provider, today announced the largest solar distributed generation program with Developers Diversified Realty (NYSE:DDR), a Cleveland-based real estate investment trust (REIT) actively engaged in the development and management of shopping centers. www.sunedison.com/images/press/010709-DDR.pdf
