Posts tagged clean energy

SmartReads: Week of May 25

We know you can’t catch every article during your busy week, so we’ve consolidated the recent top energy news stories for you in one easy list. Share your favorite energy, environment and efficiency articles with us on Twitter using the hashtag #SmartReads. 

CLEAN ENERGY

Forbes: Solar Power More Competitive Than Decision-Makers Or Consumers Realize – Are the decision-makers entrusted with determining the future of energy infrastructure operating under an outdated understanding of the cost-competitiveness of solar power? In many cases, the answer is yes, according to a paper released last week by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF). [May 24, 2012]

Boston.com: Connecticut subsidies seen spurring home solar power – Installing solar panels could cost, on average, $35,000, according to a state energy agency spokesman. [May 20, 2012]

TreeHugger: Solar Backpacks to Charge Marines in the Field – In an effort to reduce the energy supply needs and lessen the risks of U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) forward deployed forces, researchers at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) have prototyped and are field-testing one solution: A mobile solar power pack, with high efficiency, flexible solar cells coupled to a high capacity rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack. [May 24, 2012]

Boston Herald: Obama calls for keeping production tax credit to save clean-energy jobs – From a wind-power factory in this battleground state, President Barack Obama urged Congress to extend tax credits he said would save jobs in the field of clean-energy production. [May 24, 2012]

Huffington Post: Saudi Arabia Eyes Solar Power For Future – Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, may finally be getting serious about overcoming the technical and financial hurdles for tapping its other main resource: sunshine. [May 23, 2012] 

Earth Techling: Robot To Wash Solar Panels Among Winning Student Inventions – Students took home $200,000 in prizes for green ideas at an awards ceremony recently held at California Institute of Technology for a Department of Energy competition. [May 19, 2012]

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

SmartPlanet: All-in-one ‘V-Pole’ charges electric cars, lights the street – Who says a street lamp should just light our city streets?… At the top of the pole there’s an LED street light, and built into the pole there’s Wi-Fi, technology to wirelessly charge your electric car, and cell phone infrastructure [May 25, 2012]

Los Angeles Times: Nissan Leaf’s U.S. sales may jump after production starts here – Nissan sold just 370 Leaf electric vehicles in the U.S. last month and only 2,103 so far this year. To put this in perspective, the U.S. auto industry has sold almost 4.7-million vehicles this year. But as Andy Palmer, executive vice president of Nissan’s Yokohama, Japan-based global operations, notes, the U.S. sales numbers don’t provide much of a marker for the success of the first mass-market electric car in several generations. [May 24, 2012]

New York Times: Cramming for Degrees in Hybrids – LIKE many college students, Katherine Bovee, a master’s degree candidate at Ohio State University in Columbus, struggled to find a focus for her undergraduate studies. Wanting to sample a broad range of possibilities, she enrolled in a mechanical engineering program. [May 18, 2012]

Los Angeles Times: Consumer Reports: Car buyers care most about fuel economy – Fuel economy is the top feature buyers consider when shopping for a new car, according to a recent survey by Consumer Reports. [May 22, 2012]

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

East Hampton-Portland Patch: Neighbor to Neighbor Energy Challenge Rewards Resident for Early Action – Last week, the Neighbor to Neighbor Energy Challenge performed a free LED lighting upgrade — worth more than $1,000 — for raffle winner and East Hampton resident Jamie Owen. [May 21, 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 4

SmartReads is a weekly summary of all the latest clean energy and energy efficiency news. Send us your tips on Twitter using the hashtag #SmartReads.

CLEAN & RENEWABLE ENERGY

SEIA: New Study Shows US Solar Energy Could Employ Hundreds of Thousands of Americans by 2020 – A new independent research report released today by the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, found that solar energy is following the same path to commercialization as other traditional energy sources spurred by federal incentives. [May 1, 2012]

Think Progress: Three Charts That Illustrate Why Solar Has Hit A True Tipping Point – A new report from the prominent global consulting firm McKinsey shows why solar photovoltaics have hit a tipping point. [April 30, 2012]

Forbes: Morgan Stanley Backs $300 Million Fund To Install Residential Solar – Clean Power Finance – a San Francisco startup that offers software tools and financing to solar installers – Morgan Stanley’s MS Solar Solutions Corp, Zions Bancorporation and solar installer Main Street will create MySolar, a lease program to finance up to $300 million of rooftop solar arrays for homeowners in California and Arizona. [May 3, 2012]

Los Angeles Times: SolarCity makes IPO plans – SolarCity Corp., a Bay Area solar panel developer and installer whose chairman heads Tesla Motors Inc., is planning an IPO. The San Mateo company’s intention to go public come as other alternative energy firms are backing away from similar growth plans, even after the industry reported record growth last year. [April 30, 2012]

AWEA: AWEA U.S. Wind Industry First Quarter 2012 Market Report – During the first quarter of 2012, the U.S. wind industry installed 1,695 megawatts (MW) across 17 states. This brings cumulative U.S. wind power capacity installations to 48,611 MW through the end of March 2012. [May 3, 2012]

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

Green Biz: How EVs are changing driver behavior: 7 lessons from 24 million miles – In the world of electric vehicles, nothing attracts as much speculation or disagreement as the debate over exactly how EV drivers behave. [May 1, 2012]

AOL Energy: Ford Powers into Electric Car Business – If it’s true that it takes a crisis to force change then the US car manufacturing sector understands this better than anyone. Detroit has undergone a renaissance in the wake of the global economic and financial meltdown, broadening their offerings to include more fuel efficient passenger vehicles, hybrid models and electric cars. [April 30, 2012]

GENERAL GREEN

KEYT: America’s Next Eco-Star Has Roots in Santa Barbara – A Santa Barbara woman receives a major, national title and comes back home to share her success story, and her vision for the next generation. Katie Romanov won the title of ‘America’s Next Eco-Star’ in a contest sponsored by SmartPower, a non-profit in Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Energy Department. [April 28, 2012]

National Defense Industrial Association: Panetta Touts Pentagon Investments in Green Energy – The Defense Department sees climate change and rising oil prices as national security concerns, and intends to play a leading role in the nation’s energy future, said Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta. [May 3, 2012]

SmartReads: Week of April 13

SmartReads is a weekly summary of all the latest clean energy and energy efficiency news. Send us your tips on Twitter using the hashtag #SmartReads.

CLEAN ENERGY

Huffington Post: America’s Pastime and Its Clean Energy Future – Baseball is back and the outfield has never looked so green! [April 10, 2012]

Yahoo! News: US grabs lead over China in clean energy race – The United States has regained the lead in the clean energy race, investing $48 billion last year to surpass China, which held the world’s top spending spot since 2009, said a study Wednesday. [April 11, 2012]

Pew Report: Global Clean Energy Investment a Record $263 Billion in 2011 – Global clean energy finance and investment grew to $263 billion in 2011, a 6.5 percent increase over the previous year, according to new research released by The Pew Charitable Trusts. [April 11, 2012]

Arizona Republic: Arizona’s solar energy plans vex military – A solar tower nearly twice the height of the Empire State building. Hundreds of spinning 200-foot-tall wind turbines. A 500-mile high-voltage power line from central New Mexico to southern Arizona. Those are among the projects the renewable-energy industry sees in Arizona’s future. [April 7, 2012]

SmartPlanet: How is the US Air Force adapting to renewable energy? – For fuel-consumptive industries, the shift to renewable energy can be an expensive process — one that requires extensive planning, investment, and occasionally battles in the political arena. [April 11, 2012]

The Guardian: Windfarms do not cause long-term damage to bird populations, study finds - A major new study has quashed fears that onshore windfarms are causing long-term damage to bird populations, but found new evidence that some species are harmed when windfarms are built. [April 12, 2012]

Bloomberg: Wind Power Seen Surging as Custom Barges Cut Set-up Costs – Offshore wind-power producers from Dong Energy A/S to RWE AG (RWE) are building custom ships at record rates to reduce the cost of the technology that’s three times as pricey as electricity from coal plants. [April 10, 2012]

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

New York Times: Real-Time Data to Reduce Electric Use – WHEN Max Dunn walks through his kitchen in San Jose, Calif., he often glances at the home energy monitor that sits on the countertop. The monitor resembles a car’s GPS device and connects wirelessly to the home’s power meter. [April 10, 2012]

Treehugger: How Smart Meters Transform Our Relationship to Energy - From a DIY remote to turn off any TV to the notion of outlawing standby buttons on electronics, we’ve seen plenty of novel ways to cut back on pointless use of energy. But how much do we actually spend on energy that is literally doing nothing for us? [April 6, 2012]

GAS PRICES

LA Times: Higher gas prices cause less public anger this time – Gas prices have soared about 15% in the last six months, hitting $3.94 a gallon on average nationwide, and $4.29 in California. [April 6, 2012] 

SmartReads: Week of March 23

SmartReads is a weekly summary of all the latest clean energy and energy efficiency news. Send us your tips on Twitter using the hashtag #SmartReads. 

CLEAN & RENEWABLE ENERGY

Huffington Post: Top 10 Green Spring Cleaning Tips by SmartPower’s Brian F. Keane – Since we survived winter — if you can call it that — and have already begun the transition to spring, I wanted to share some of my favorite green, spring cleaning tips. And of course, with Saint Patrick’s Day just behind us… what better time to be green? [March 19, 2012]

AOL Energy: Wall Street Speaks On Renewable Energy: Focusing On Fundamentals – As some of the most tempting government financial incentives begin to fade from the renewable energy space ahead of deadlines at the end of 2012, bankers and project developers specializing in renewable energy projects are reworking their models. [March 20, 2012]

New York Times: Obama’s Energy Blitz – After taking heat over gasoline prices, President Obama visits a photovoltaic plant in Nevada and oil fields in New Mexico to underline his “all of the above” energy policy. [March 21, 2012]

Bloomberg: Solar 15% Returns Lure Investments From Google to Buffett – U.S. solar developers are luring cash at record rates from investors ranging from Warren Buffett to Google Inc. (GOOG) and KKR & Co. by offering returns on projects four times those available for Treasury securities. [March 19, 2012]

GAS PRICES

NPR: What’s Making Americans Less Hungry For Gasoline? - The price of gasoline keeps rising for Americans, but it’s not because of rising demand from consumers. [March 22, 2012]

Huffington Post: U.S. Oil Drilling May Not Improve Gas Prices, Study Says – It’s the political cure-all for high gas prices: Drill here, drill now. But more U.S. drilling has not changed how deeply the gas pump drills into your wallet, math and history show. [March 21, 2012]

GENERAL GREEN

Politico: ‘Global Warming’ Gets A Rebranding – Shhhh! Don’t talk about global warming! There’s been a change in climate for Washington’s greenhouse gang, and they’ve come to this conclusion: To win, they have to talk about other topics, like gas prices and kids choking on pollutants. [March 21, 2012]

MSNBC: Could This $30 Million Green Tower Be the Future of World Cities? – An office building that lasts 250 years with no monthly electricity or water bills? It may sound like an environmentalist’s pipe dream, but it will soon be a reality, say the builders of what they hope will be the biggest office tower in the nation that produces as much water and electricity as it consumes. [March 20, 2012]

EPA Names Top Green Power Purchasers

For stats on the country’s largest purchasers of clean energy, look no further than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s latest listing of Top Green Power Purchasers.

Once again, department store chain Kohl’s leads the Retail Top 20, with Wal-Mart, Whole Foods, Starbucks, and Staples rounding out the top five spots. Perhaps not surprisingly, the U.S. Department of Energy leads the federal government in green power purchasing, with the U.S. Air Force and U.S. EPA not far behind. 

Among higher education institutions, the University of Pennsylvania takes first place, getting 48 percent of its energy from solar and wind (including a percentage of on-site generation). And the City of Houston, TX, leads the Top 20 Local Government pack, with 35 percent of its energy coming from wind.

More on the lists, from the EPA’s announcement:

EPA’s Green Power Partnership works with more than 1,300 partner organizations to voluntarily purchase green power to reduce the environmental impacts of conventional electricity use. Overall, EPA’s Green Power Partners are using more than 22 billion kWh of green power annually, equivalent to avoiding the CO2 emissions from the electricity use of more than 1.9 million average American homes.

Check out all the lists on the EPA website.

Obama’s Top 5 SOTU Energy Quotes

President Obama’s State of the Union address included several strong statements on America’s energy future. The president didn’t shy away from the opportunity to tout his successes and ask for more. 

“Because of federal investments, renewable energy use has nearly doubled, and thousands of Americans have jobs because of it,” Obama said. 

Here at SmartPower, we support the president’s message that a diversified approach toward a clean economy is both ideal and achievable. Environmentalists may have cringed at Obama’s remarks about oil and natural gas development, but if we are to ever get to the point where we can rely only on cheap, clean and renewable sources, we must acknowledge that it requires a thoughtful transition with a varied approach.

The following is a list of our top 5 energy quotes from last night’s State of the Union address, starting with this “all-of-the-above strategy”:

1. ”With only 2 percent of the world’s oil reserves, oil isn’t enough. This country needs an all-out, all-of-the-above strategy that develops every available source of American energy. A strategy that’s cleaner, cheaper, and full of new jobs.”

This is important. In order to make the smoothest transition possible to a clean economy, we must be aware of prices and jobs. Renewables are already seeing victories in both of these regards — the falling price of solar indicates a promising future for cost-competitiveness and increased development (JOBS). But we must not be distracted by industry blunders like Solyndra. Just as the president said, “some companies fail”:

2. “Some technologies don’t pan out; some companies fail. But I will not walk away from the promise of clean energy. … I will not cede the wind or solar or battery industry to China or Germany because we refuse to make the same commitment here.”

If the United States is to become an industry leader, it has to step up and lead. Right now, we are in the race, but we are feeling the heat from China and Germany — both with strong innovation and manufacturing in clean energy resources. If we are not going to cede the wind, solar or battery industries to either of these countries, then we must learn from them. We must commit ourselves to the promise of clean energy.

3. We’ve subsidized oil companies for a century. That’s long enough. It’s time to end the taxpayer giveaways to an industry that rarely has been more profitable, and double-down on a clean energy industry that never has been more promising. Pass clean energy tax credits. Create these jobs.

This is the commitment to the promise of clean energy that we must make. We must even the playing field and invest as much in the clean energy industry as we do in fossil fuels. As Obama makes clear, it’s not about the politics. It’s about this country’s future as an innovator and leader:

4. The differences in this chamber may be too deep right now to pass a comprehensive plan to fight climate change. But there’s no reason why Congress shouldn’t at least set a clean energy standard that creates a market for innovation. So far, you haven’t acted. Well, tonight, I will. I’m directing my administration to allow the development of clean energy on enough public land to power 3 million homes. And I’m proud to announce that the Department of Defense, working with us, the world’s largest consumer of energy, will make one of the largest commitments to clean energy in history - with the Navy purchasing enough capacity to power a quarter of a million homes a year.

This administration is willing to act. In fact, it already has. The Department of Defense isn’t wasting any time developing a renewable energy strategy that addresses issues of cost and security. Because when it comes down to it, it’s all about costs:

5. The easiest way to save money is to waste less energy.

We’ve saved the best for last. President Obama used this remark to make a point about cutting businesses’ energy costs by making building efficiency upgrades. Yes, it’s true that we can lower businesses’ energy bills by more that $100 billion with simple upgrades, but it’s also true that homeowners have just as much, if not more to save. 

Clean energy and energy efficiency haven’t moved to the forefront of the global energy discussion because they are expensive. It’s just the opposite.

In the not-so-far future, the day will arrive when we have an energy portfolio comprised of renewable, reliable, clean and cheap energy. If we act now, we will see this day sooner than later.

Obama Gets It Right With Smart Power Energy Ad

President Obama recently launched a nationwide television ad campaign highlighting steps taken to make the U.S. energy independent and create an economy that’s built to last.

Despite critics’ efforts to knock him down, Obama has a lot to be proud of when it comes to energy policy. He has been a strong proponent of domestic energy production, supporting technology investments that have spurred historic clean energy developments, particularly for solar power. In addition, he has nearly doubled fuel-efficiency standards for cars and trucks, making today’s fleets much cleaner than those introduced before 2008. Because of the progress Obama has made, the United States’ dependence on foreign oil is the lowest it’s been in 16 years.

That’s why the President isn’t giving up. He is surging ahead with his clean energy agenda because it’s working. Let’s continue to create jobs and a better, cleaner future.

Watch the campaign ad here.

SmartPower to Schwarzenegger: You’re dead wrong.

By Brian F. Keane
President, SmartPower 

In a Washington Post op-ed today, former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger argues we should vet all our clean energy investments to get a good return for the American people.

I’m with him there.

But, contrary to how you might think I come down on this issue, Schwarzenegger’s wrong about investing more federal dollars into clean energy subsidies alone. Indeed, as SmartPower’s decade of success marketing clean energy to Americans shows, we should be investing in a national outreach campaign to educate consumers about the benefits of clean energy to our pocketbooks, our communities, and our economy.

Investing in these types of campaigns has exploded demand - and adoption - of solar technologies in Arizona, even outside of available incentives from local utility providers. And it has drastically increased clean energy purchasing in Connecticut, where more than 100 cities and towns have been designated “Clean Energy Communities” for their dedication to renewable power sources.

There is no reason why the entire U.S.A. can’t earn this designation for itself, either. But it won’t happen if we focus on politics, and on policies that are just as reversible as the Carter administration’s White House solar panel installation back in the seventies. All it took for those to come down was Reagan’s entrance - and the clean energy movement was set back for the next 30 years.

Clean energy isn’t a political issue. It’s a consumer issue. So Arnold, let’s focus on what really matters: a balanced, well-informed federal approach.

For Clean Energy, Politics is Bad Business

Allow us to let you in on a well-kept secret:

Energy isn’t a political issue. It’s a consumer issue.

So explains SmartPower President Brian F. Keane in an eloquently worded Huffington Post piece this week. Calling out a recent Washington Post article about the huge gap between Dems and Republicans on clean energy, Keane says the mainstream media is off the mark:

While it makes for a nice headline, this data misses the point. Clean energy isn’t a Democratic issue or Republican issue. It’s a consumer issue - and, ultimately, a jobs issue. According to the Solar Foundation’s 2011 Solar Jobs Census, the solar industry grew 6.8 percent from August 2010 to August 2011, nearly 10 times faster than the overall economy grew during the same period.

Meanwhile, Keane points out, consumers across the country aren’t waiting for Washington:

They’re choosing clean energy because it’s good for their wallets - and good for their communities. In Arizona, which moved from eighth to third in the Solar Jobs Census’s job growth rankings, homeowners of all political leanings are leasing and purchasing solar energy systems for their homes because it’s saving them money and supporting local contractors. Arizona SmartPower’s Arizona Solar Challenge, which encourages solar adoption as a way to put solar on 5 percent of homes by the year 2015, has already signed on 15 communities. Two of those have already met their 5 percent goal - and are forging ahead to achieve even more.

Way to go, Brian! And way to go Arizona SmartPower.