Posts tagged the hill

SmartReads: Week of August 10

Good morning, and welcome to this week’s special edition of SmartReads. We have an exciting spotlight on the solar industry this week, as photovoltaics shine in The New York Times Magazine, CNBC, The Hill and more. This week’s edition is also special as our team here celebrated SmartPower President Brian F. Keane’s birthday yesterday. In honor of him and his upcoming book, we have included the latest review of Green Is Good from Yoko Ono Lennon! Read on!

The New York Times Magazine: The Secret to Solar Power — Though the failure of Solyndra has dominated the political and social discourse around solar power, the reality of the industry — as evidenced by the enormous investments that companies like Google and Bank of America are making in residential solar power — is that it has rapidly become a smart, practical and profitable investment. [August 9, 2012]

CNBC: APS Seeks New Solar Energy Project Request for Proposal Issued — Arizona Public Service Co. announces a Request for Proposal (RFP) from solar developers and installers to construct a 32-megawatt (MW) solar photovoltaic facility in Gila Bend, Ariz. This project will be financed by APS through the company’s AZ Sun Program. [August 8, 2012]

The Hill: White House to seek $7B in green energy contracts for military — The White House announced Tuesday it is inviting contract proposals from green energy firms to boost the Army’s use of renewable energy. The administration is making $7 billion available for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to spend on locally-generated biomass, geothermal, solar or wind energy for up to 30 years. [August 7, 2012]

Las Vegas Review Journal: Former President Clinton urges more cooperation in developing clean energy — “We need a bias for action, a bias for cooperation and a bias for thinking big, even if we have to act small,” Clinton said, speaking to the fifth annual Clean Energy Summit at Bellagio. [August 7, 2012]

Reuters: China hikes 2015 solar power target by 40 pct — China has hiked its 2015 target for solar power capacity by 40 percent to 21 gigawatts (GW), a government agency said on Wednesday, with falling costs and new regulations boosting growth in the sector. [August 8, 2012]

NPR: Mitt Romney’s Green-Jobs Criticism Carries Risks — A Gallup poll in March found Americans nearly twice as likely to favor wind and solar energy as coal or oil. The American Wind Energy Association released a poll last month showing that more than half of Iowa’s voters say they would not back a presidential candidate who did not support expanding wind power. A January poll by Colorado College found that a majority of voters in six Western states believe that expanding renewable energy will create more jobs. [August 7, 2012]

CNN: July average tops U.S. temperature record, NOAA says — The July heat wave that wilted crops, shriveled rivers and fueled wildfires officially went into the books Wednesday as the hottest single month on record for the continental United States. [August 9, 2012]

SmartPress: Yoko Ono Lennon Endorses Green Is Good — “The Imagine Peace Tower in Iceland uses geothermal power to send a beam through the universe. That beam represents love of each other and of mother earth. It’s an absolutely pure message! Brian Keane’s message about clean energy is as important, and it must travel as far. Love and Peace, Yoko Ono Lennon”

EarthTechling: Arizona Gains Its First Net Zero School — There’s the Lady Bird Johnson Middle School in Irving, Texas, and the offices of George V. Leyva Middle School in San Jose, Calif. Now Arizona has a net zero middle school building to call its own in the Colonel Smith Middle School in Fort Huachuca, currently the 12th certified net zero energy building in the nation. [August 6, 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 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]