Photo courtesy of Shutterstock A public-private partnership will bring a boost in renewable energy to some of the poorest communities in Kenya. Thirteen Kenyan communities with about 200,000 residents are slated to receive refurbished wind turbines from Vestas, a Danish manufacturer that is working with Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy company, Masdar, to provide power to areas that need it […]
The U.S. should remain dedicated to wind power installations if it wants to realize a massive reduction in carbon dioxide emissions, a new report suggests. The Environment America Research & Policy Center released its second Wind Energy for a Cleaner America report today as both a testament to the industry’s growth and a plea for […]
Though the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) officially launched LEED v4—the organization’s updated green building program—today at the annual Greenbuild International Conference and Expo in Philadelphia, more than 100 companies and organizations have already been operating under the new standards. Labeled beta projects, 122 structures around the world already use LEED v4. The first certifications of […]
Efficient lighting systems, solar panels and job opportunities are coming to tribal lands across the country, along with funds to support them. The Obama Administration announced this month that it would fund nine clean energy projects on tribal lands from New York to Arizona with $7 million through the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The awards will help American […]
In Arizona, contractors won’t be only ones collecting money from those with solar panels. The state’s largest utility can impose a fee of about $4.90 a month on customers with solar systems, following the Arizona Corporation Commission’s (ACC) 3-to-2 vote in favor of Arizona Public Service Co (APS). The collections will begin next year for residents who […]
November marks another month and another substantial renewable energy investment for Google. The Web company has plans to invest $80 million in six solar facilities under construction in California and Arizona. The announcement comes a little more than a month after Google invested $103 million in Silver Ridge Power’s 265.7-megawatt (MW) Mount Signal Solar project. To date, […]
Photo courtesy of Shutterstock The Sacramento Superior Court upheld California’s cap-and-trade program just five days before the fifth scheduled carbon auction. The California Chamber of Commerce and Pacific Legal Foundation filed lawsuits claiming the one-year-old program, which auctions off the right to emit greenhouse gases, was unconstitutional. The court sided with the state, which countered that auctioning carbon permits […]
By Rob Perks Photo courtesy of Shutterstock I recently returned from a transportation conference in Raleigh, North Carolina on the economic benefits of building a light rail system to connect the Triangle region (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill). The event—dubbed the “Transit Makes $ense” summit—was organized by the area’s leading “good growth” advocacy group WakeUP Wake County. The event featured more than 250 […]
By Tara Lohan Photo courtesy of Shutterstock The environment is one bad news story after another. The Pacific Ocean is warming at a rate faster than anything seen in the last 10,000 years and we may have the warmest Arctic in the last 120,000 years. We’re told to brace for more and worse droughts, floods, heat waves, […]