Vote Solar and the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) recently published report cards grading each state on policies related to net metering and interconnection—two measures that are critical in utilities allowing people to generate their own power. California, Massachusetts, Oregon and Utah each received “A” grades in both categories of the seventh annual Freeing the Grid report. Only […]
Offshore wind farms are coming to the U.S., the Department of Energy (DOE) announced this month, but nobody is sure just when. Eleven offshore wind projects have reached “an advanced stage of development,” according to the 2013 U.S. Offshore Wind Market and Economic Analysis, published earlier this month by Navigant Consulting. The farms would collectively generate 3,824 megawatts […]
By Paul Brown Photo credit: Shutterstock One of the most oft-repeated arguments of the anti-wind lobby is that turbines produce electricity only intermittently, when there is enough wind to turn them. This, the wind critics argue, means that so much gas has to be burnt to provide a reliable back-up supply of electricity that wind […]
A group of like-minded governors on both sides of the nation pledged this morning to get millions of zero-emissions vehicles (ZEVs) on the country’s roads by 2025. Governors from eight states—California, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Vermont—said they would do their part to encourage drivers to buy ZEVs to total 3.3 […]
Wanting to build on an already growing industry, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) invested $60 million this week in solar energy research and development. The awards were announced at the ongoing, three-day Solar Power International 2013 event in Chicago as a small portion of President Obama’s plan to reduce carbon pollution while supporting clean energy innovation. The […]
If commercial and government buildings are empty for most of the year, why do they consume so much energy? A report from Greensense, an Australian sustainability software developer, estimates that buildings in its country are vacant for about 72 percent of a year, between off hours and holidays. Still, those buildings consume about 55 percent […]
Of the hundreds of people the team at Sprav Water LLC asked, the majority had no clue how much water they used during showers. “More than you probably want to know,” one person responded in a company video. The average U.S. household uses 300 gallons of water per day, and only laundry washing and toilet […]
IKEA has commenced work on a new solar panel array that will double the amount of generation at a store just outside, Boston, MA. The retailer, which installed solar projects on 39 of its 44 U.S. locations last year, recently began work on a 58,575-square-foot addition to its Stoughton, MA location. The addition will make space […]
Though Apple says its data centers and corporate offices are mostly powered by renewable energy, the tech titan looks to become even more sustainable with the hire of Lisa Jackson as its vice president of environmental initiatives. Jackson spent 25 years in the public sector, most recently as the administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection […]