Posts tagged aol energy
SmartReads: Week of June 15
It’s been a big week for clean energy, as the stories below indicate! Share your favorite clean energy and efficiency articles with us on Twitter using the hashtag #SmartReads.
The Huffington Post: Renewable Energy Investment Set Record In 2011 – Global investment in renewable energy reached a record of $257 billion last year, with solar attracting more than half the total spending, according to a U.N. report released Monday. [June 11, 2012]
Reuters: Renewable energy grows despite financial crisis – Renewable energy sources supplied 16.7 percent of global energy consumption in 2011, but the $257 billion of investment in the sector was still 15 percent lower than into fossil power generation, two influential bodies reported on Monday. [June 11, 2012]
Reuters: U.S. solar installations jump in first quarter – Solar installations in the United States jumped 85 percent in the first quarter of 2012 from the previous year, according to an industry report that prompted a research firm and a lobbying group to raise their capacity forecasts for the year. [June 13, 2012]
The Washington Post: American homes are getting bigger, but energy use is shrinking – American houses are getting more massive. They’re becoming more plentiful. We’re cramming their outlets with an ever-expanding array of power-hungry electronics — from large flatscreen TVs to multiple smartphones to the occasional iPad. [June 8, 2012]
E & E Publishing: For energy efficiency, Chu’s law is on the way – Stand aside, Moore’s law. Here comes Chu’s law. [June 14, 2012]
The New York Times: Banks Look to Burnish Their Images by Backing Green Technology Firms – Call it the greening of Wall Street. In the wake of a $30 billion commitment to new environmental investments by Wells Fargo in April and a $40 billion promise from Goldman Sachs this month, Bank of America will announce a 10-year, $50 billion initiative of its own on Monday. [June 10, 2012]
NRDC: How to Save a Trillion Dollars – According to the latest forecast from Weather Channel meteorologists, most of the country is in for a hot summer this year. This is more than a matter of personal discomfort. It also means skyrocketing energy bills, lost work days due to air pollution, and possibly heat-related deaths. [June 11, 2012]
The Huffington Post: Team Energy Star Focuses on a New Audience to Save Energy: Kids – Using energy efficiently starts at home with simple actions like turning off the lights or computer when they’re not being used. The challenge is getting people — especially kids — to flip that switch to “off.” [June 11, 2012]
Aol Energy: Seeking a Bridge to the Renewable Energy Finance Future—T here simply couldn’t be a better time to talk about how renewable energy is financed, and how changes in financing are affecting the entirety of a market that has matured at a rapid pace. [June 11, 2012]
The Wall Street Journal: Navy Sails to Greener Future – Next month, in naval exercises off the coast of Hawaii, five U.S. warships will make history: They will be the first to use biofuels to power their huge turbines, as well as the jet planes screaming off a carrier’s deck and helicopters hovering overhead. [June 14, 2012]
Washington City Paper – Kennedy Center Looking To Build Biggest Solar Array in D.C. – The Kennedy Center has a big flat roof. Perfect for solar panels, in fact—and it may soon be put to use. [June 8, 2012]
Boston.com: Capped landfills add new shine – Several communities south of Boston have joined a growing trend to turn capped landfills from generators of environmental guilt to generators of green power by installing solar panels. A single landfill can generate millions of watts of power each year and save cities and towns hundreds of thousands on their power bills. [June 14, 2012]
ELECTRIC VEHICLES
Scientific American: A Tale of 2 Transit Systems: Battery-Powered Buses Enter the Mainstream - Better lithium ion batteries have led to an explosion in availability of plug-in passenger cars. And now, thanks to relatively cheap electricity and the simplicity of the electric drivetrain, electric vehicles have even more potential for use in the extremely cost-sensitive public transportation arena—a concept that is only just taking root. [June 11, 2012]
SmartReads: Week of June 8
From the “Most Innovative Campaign” of 2011 to the first intercontinental trip attempted by a solar-powered plane, SmartPower has all of the week’s top energy news for you. Share your favorite energy articles with us on Twitter using the hashtag #SmartReads!
GENERAL GREEN
Living Green Magazine: “America’s Next Eco-Star” Contest Judged “Most Innovative Campaign” – A national youth energy contest called America’s Next Eco-Star by the nonprofit SmartPower has been awarded “Most Innovative Campaign” by IHS The Energy Daily. The winning campaign involved a nationwide search for the standout among the next generation of energy leaders. [June 7, 2012]
Bloomberg: UN study foresees job gains with greener policies – Some 15 million to 60 million jobs could be created worldwide over the next two decades if nations took better care of the planet, according to a U.N. study released Thursday ahead of an international summit on sustainable development. [June 5, 2012]
CLEAN ENERGY
USA Today: Technology saves energy with ‘intelligent efficiency’ – The United States is using technology to develop “intelligent efficiency” that could save as much energy as produced by natural gas, coal or nuclear power, a new report says. [June 5, 2012]
New York Times: How to Make Renewable Energy Competitive – Renewable energy needs help. Technological innovation has significantly reduced the cost of solar panels, wind turbines and other equipment, but renewable energy still needs serious subsidies to compete with conventional energy. [June 1, 2012]
National Journal: Insiders Support Military’s Renewable-Energy Push – Nearly two-thirds of National Journal’s National Security Insiders agree with the military’s push for renewable energy, siding with the Obama administration over some Republicans in Congress who have charged that the Defense Department should not spend money on expensive alternative fuels at a time when the nation needs to cut its trillion-dollar deficit. [June 4, 2012]
New York Times: Solar Panel Payments Set Off a Fairness Debate – In California’s sun-scorched Central Valley, the monthly electric bill can easily top $200. But that’s just about what George Burman spent on electricity for all of last year. [June 4, 2012]
AOL Energy: Can DOE’s Sunshot Challenge Fast-Track Grid-Parity Solar? – In about a week, some of the brightest minds in government, industry, and academia will gather in Denver, Colorado, to talk about what the U.S. can do to play catch-up in the global clean energy race. [June 7, 2012]
The Hill: Senators say tweak to tax code would boost renewable energy – Sens. Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) say a small change to the U.S. tax code would provide a big boost to renewable energy projects. [June 7, 2012]
Time: Solar-Powered Plane Attempts Intercontinental Trip – Pilot Bertrand Piccard says his solar-powered plane isn’t as much for carrying passengers as it is for carrying a message about the future of clean energy. [June 5, 2012]
National Geographic: Solar Power Is Generating Social Change – U.S. Navy veteran Elmer Rankin, 71, has a failing heart, prostate cancer and arthritis that keeps him in a wheelchair. Last year, Rankin, who survives on his Social Security checks, could no longer afford the mounting costs to heat his home and power the oxygen tank he uses every night. He turned down the heat and got so cold that he wound up in the hospital. Fortunately, while Rankin’s health remains precarious, today he’s no longer scrambling to pay for power. [June 5, 2012]
Bloomberg: Ascent Jumps 48 Percent On Solar Charger For Apple’s iPhone – Ascent Solar Technologies Inc. (ASTI), a thin-film solar panels, rose the most in nine months after it announced a solar-powered charger case for Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s iPhone. [June 6, 2012]
New York Times: The People’s Choice: An All-in-One, Mobile Utility Meter – The people have spoken, choosing VELObill as their favorite app among the 50-plus entries in the Energy Department’s Apps for Energy contest. [June 6, 2012]
EarthTechling: HelioWatcher Allows Solar Panels to Track the Sun: They’re called solar panels for a reason: they need the sun in order to generate electricity. Whether we’re talking about pocket-sized, portable solar chargers or massive rooftop arrays, direct sunlight is the must-have ingredient on which all other elements of solar-energy production depends. [June 6, 2012]
ELECTRIC VEHICLES
USA Today: Honda Fit electric gets record 118 mpg-e rating – The electric version of Honda’s new 2013 Honda Fit has received the highest fuel-efficiency rating ever given by the Environmental Protection Agency: 188 mpg-e in mixed city-highway driving. [June 6, 2012]
Clean Technica: Midwest Cities Planning for EVs – Independence, Missouri, is the kind of place where when someone buys an electric car it’s unusual enough that the local newspaper writes a story about it. [June 7, 2012]
SmartReads: Week of June 1
Catch the latest in this week’s clean energy and energy efficiency news, and share your favorite energy articles with us on Twitter using the hashtag #SmartReads.
CLEAN ENERGY
Grist: The truth about renewable energy - Inexpensive, reliable, and inexhaustible – We’ve all heard the common myths about renewable energy: It’s expensive; it can’t be relied upon; there just isn’t enough of it to meet our energy needs. But as technological advances and plummeting costs drive explosive growth — U.S. installed wind capacity has grown sevenfold to nearly 47 gigawatts in the last seven years — real-world experience is shattering long-held assumptions every day. [May 29, 2012]
San Jose Mercury: California poised to require ‘solar ready roofs’ on new homes and buildings – State regulators with the California Energy Commission are expected to approve stringent energy efficiency standards for new residential and commercial buildings Thursday. [May 30, 2012]
Reuters: Germany sets new solar power record, institute says – German solar power plants produced a world record 22 gigawatts of electricity - equal to 20 nuclear power stations at full capacity - through the midday hours on Friday and Saturday, the head of a renewable energy think tank said. [May 28, 2012]
Boston.com: Solar energy industry is flourishing in Massachusetts – Massachusetts is no California when it comes to sun. But that isn’t stopping the solar energy industry from flourishing here. [May 27, 2012]
TreeHugger: Last Weekend, Half of Germany Was Running on Solar Power – Here’s how they did it, and how we can too [May 28, 2012]
Technology Review: In Pictures: The World’s Largest Solar Thermal Power Plant – The outlines of a massive solar thermal power plant—the largest ever—are starting to appear in the wilderness outside of Las Vegas. The $2.2 billion project, which is being built by Oakland, California-based BrightSource, stretches over 3,600 acres near Ivanpah, California. When it’s finished, it will generate 370 megawatts of electricity on sunny days. [May 28, 2012]
ELECTRIC VEHICLES
The Hill: Senate charges up electric cars, clears energy nominees – The Senate approved a plan late Thursday that would make it easier for lawmakers and staff to drive plug-in electric vehicles to work. [May 25, 2012]
Newsday: Nissan electric vehicles tested in New York – Nissan is supplying New York City with fuel-efficient cabs, including six electric cars for testing, but acknowledged uncertainties Tuesday about an ongoing “debate” over charging standards for electric vehicles. [May 29, 2012]
Nine MSN: Tesla to launch electric sedan in US – Tesla Motors says it will begin deliveries of “the world’s first premium electric sedan” on June 22, slightly ahead of schedule. [May 27, 2012]
Earth Techling: Nissan’s Next Electric Vehicle Frontier The e-NV200 – Nissan, looking to push further into the electric vehicle market it currently inhabits with its Leaf passenger vehicle, is next aiming for the light commercial vehicles space via its new e-NV200. It is being built in Barcelona, Spain, and will begin production there in the 2013 financial year. [May 25, 2012]
GENERAL GREEN
Mansfield-Storrs Patch: Mansfield Schools Take on Energy Challenge – Southeast Elementary and the Green Thumbs Club helped the Neighbor to Neighbor Energy Challenge celebrate Earth Month in April by hosting joint-assemblies with Vinton Elementary and Goodwin Elementary Schools. [May 30, 2012]
SmartReads: Week of May 18
In this week’s SmartReads, read about the countries, companies and entrepreneurs continuing to advance clean energy projects across the world. Share your favorite energy, environment and efficiency stories with us on Twitter using the hashtag #SmartReads.
CLEAN ENERGY
Bloomberg: Solar Power Prices More Competitive Than Thought – Power from solar panels is much closer to price competitiveness with fossil fuel-generated electricity than many policy-makers and investors realize, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. [May 16, 2012]
Reuters: Asia to overtake Europe as global solar power grows – The world’s solar power generating capacity will grow by between 200 and 400 percent over the next five years, with Asia and other emerging markets overtaking leadership from Europe, a European industry association said on Monday. [May 7, 2012]
Forbes: Saudi Arabia Plans $109 Billion Boost for Solar Power – Saudi Arabia is seeking investors for a $109 billion plan to create a solar industry that generates a third of the nation’s electricity by 2032, according to officials at the agency developing the plan. [May 11, 2012]
Reuters: Mexican wind energy boom plays out on gusty shores – On an arid plain where sudden gusts of wind can rip roofs off buildings and knock over tractor trailers, Mexico is building a new engine for its energy future. [May 14, 2012]
Forbes: Sean Tufts: Ex-NFL Linebacker now Tackling Wind Energy Projects – Remote sites for potential wind farms are not exactly the types of fields you picture a retired NFL linebacker scouting. But Sean Tufts is not your typical retired football player. Nor is he your classic promoter of wind energy as the nation’s primary source of renewable energy. [May 15, 2012]
AOL Energy: Geothermal, Solar Power Unite In First Of Its Kind Facility – U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu earlier this month heralded the creation of a new geothermal-solar power plant in Fallon, Nevada, which he said was “the first of its kind in the world.” [May 16, 2012]
Boston.com: Walmart to install solar panels on 27 stores in Mass. – Retail giant Walmart said it plans to install solar panels on top of about half of its roughly 50 Massachusetts stores as early as August as part of an expansion of solar power in the state. [May 15, 2012]
ELECTRIC VEHICLES
Forbes: The Global Electric Vehicle Movement: Best Practices From 16 Cities – Global leaders want to have 20 million electric vehicles (EVs) on the road worldwide by 2020. Last year, some 40,000 EVs and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) were sold around the world. [May 11, 2012]
Bloomberg: Ferrari Plans to Replace Iconic Enzo With Super Hybrid –Ferrari SpA will turn to fuel-saving hybrid technology to create its most powerful and expensive model, showing that even elite performance cars are under pressure to get greener. [May 14, 2012]
Business Insider via Houston Chronicle: Ford Is Finally Putting A Focus On Electric Cars – After test-driving the soon-to-go-on-sale Ford Focus Electric at a promotional event downtown on Thursday, Matt Hrna was impressed with its quick acceleration. [May 15, 2012]
ENERGY EFFICIENCY
Daily Pound Ridge: Program Aims to Make Pound Ridge a Little Greener – Homeowners in Pound Ridge now have opportunity to make their houses more energy-efficient and save some money on their utility bills, all while making the town a little greener. [May 13, 2012]
Fox Business: Gadgets that Zap Energy Wasters in Your Home – Common problems like leaky windows, drafty doors and power-hogging appliances can waste energy in your home and lead to unnecessarily-high utility bills. [May 16, 2012]
TBD: Washington, D.C. now sports 1,360 LED street lights in its alleyways – Mayor Vince Gray will venture into a Columbia Heights alleyway to replace the last of about 1,360 old alley street lights with newer energy-efficient LED lights expected to save 591,000 kilowatt hours of electricity a year as well as reduce carbon-dioxide emissions by 719 tons. [May 14, 2012]
FRIENDS OF SMARTPOWER
Hartford Courant: Keri Marries Kerry After A Long, Adventurous Friendship – Check out this story about Former SmartPower employee Keri Enright! [May 13, 2012]
SmartReads: Week of May 11
This was a big week in general news, but it was just as big of a week in green news! This is our longest SmartReads to date, so we hope you’ll find plenty of great reads, from improvements in solar financing to the top green gifts for Mother’s Day. Share your favorite green articles with us on Twitter using the hashtag #SmartReads.
CLEAN ENERGY
New York Times: Solar Installers Offer Deals, Gaining Converts – Jay Nuzzi, a New Jersey state trooper, had put off installing solar panels on his home here for years, deterred by the $70,000 it could cost. Then on a trip to Home Depot, he stumbled across a booth for Roof Diagnostics, which offered him a solar system at a price he couldn’t refuse: free. [May 9, 2012]
AOL Energy: Shining a Light on the Cost of Solar Installations – As the number of US solar installations soars, installers and developers are seeking opportunities to provide the clean power to institutional clients at rates that will attract financing, supply electricity at below retail rates, and still make a profit. [May 10, 2012]
New York Times: Few Seize on a U.S. Bond Program Backing Green Energy – With the country reeling in 2008 from the financial crisis, Congress created a special program to help struggling local governments finance clean energy projects. Under the initiative, cities and counties could sell bonds to pay for a new wind farm or energy efficient windows at City Hall, and the federal government would help pick up the tab. [May 7, 2012]
Washington Post: U.S., India glimpse a bright future together in solar power – There are few places in the world where the opportunity for solar power is more blindingly obvious than India. There are also few industries where the possibility of collaboration between India and the United States is more tantalizing. [May 10, 2012]
Department of the Interior: Salazar ‘Flips the Switch’ on First Large-Scale Solar Energy Project on Public Lands to Provide Power to the Grid – As part of President Obama’s all-of-the-above approach to energy, today Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar “flipped the switch” on the Enbridge Silver State North solar project, the first large-scale solar energy facility on U.S. public lands to deliver power to American consumers. [May 7, 2012]
Baltimore Business Journal: Johns Hopkins University adds solar panels on seven buildings – Johns Hopkins University has launched its first solar energy initiative, adding about 2,900 solar panels on seven buildings across its Baltimore campuses. [May 7, 2012]
ENERGY EFFICIENCY
The Hill: Republican to revive lightbulb war – A House Republican is planning in the coming weeks to revive the GOP offensive against federal lightbulb efficiency standards. [May 7, 2012]
ELECTRIC VEHICLES
USA Today: U.S., German makers agree on electric-car charging – Major U.S. and German automakers have agreed on a common electric-car charging standard that will speed the recharging of batteries in as little as 20 minutes. [May 7, 2012]
The Detroit News: Tesla to deliver first Model S electric by June – Tesla Motors Inc. said Wednesday it is on schedule to deliver its first Model S electric vehicle by next month — and disclosed it will exhaust its $465 million Energy Department loan within six months. [May 9, 2012]
New York Times: The Battery-Driven Car Just Got a Lot More Normal – CRITICS of electric vehicles say they are too expensive and lack sufficient driving range. But I wonder if those gripes would disappear if the E.V.’s on sale weren’t so — let’s not mince words — homely. I adore my all-electric Nissan Leaf, but its wide rear end, bulging headlights and odd proportions evoke a Japanese gizmo aesthetic that doesn’t necessarily appeal to mainstream American car buyers. [May 6, 2012]
New York Times: Thoughts From a Week in the Ford Focus Electric – Driving the 2012 Ford Focus Electric for a week gave me an opportunity to mull some questions about how a purely electric vehicle ought to behave and look. [May 4, 2012]
GENERAL GREEN
SmartPress: Green Green Gifts For Mother’s Day – Since we did Green Gadgets For Dad on Father’s Day, we thought it only fair to provide some green gift ideas for Mom this Mother’s Day. Share your own green gift ideas with us on Facebook! [May 8, 2012]
