The Senate Finance Committee held a hearing today on Reforming America’s Outdated Energy Tax Code, led by chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR). “It’s past time to replace today’s crazy quilt of more than 40 energy tax incentives with a modern, technology-neutral approach,” said Wyden at the start of the hearing, adding that the disparity in how the tax code treats energy …
EWEA to New Commissioner: Rein in Energy Future
Alenka Bratusek has been named Vice President- and Commissioner-designate for Energy Union and Miguel Arias Canete has been named as European Commissioner-designate for Energy and Climate Action. In response to the news, the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) is calling on the new commissioner to take the reigns of the Europe’s energy future. “We look forward to working with Vice …
Polar Bears to Warm Up Elephants at Oregon Zoo
What in the world do polar bears and elephants have to do with renewable energy? Lots with a creative use of geothermal energy at the Oregon Zoo where an underground heating-cooling system will improve energy efficiency. Polar bears like it cool and elephants like it hot and with the help of “Slinky” or a geothermal loop, the two endangered species …
Plug-In Electric Vehicles Talk in the Cloud
Plug-In electric vehicles (EV) will soon be “talking in the cloud” as Ford Motor Company collaborates with seven of the world’s largest automakers and 15 utility companies to develop technologies for EVs to talk to the utilities via the cloud. According to Ford, this would help manage energy use and improve the efficiency of the power grid. The pilot program …
Mosaic Launches New National Solar Tech Platform
Mosiac is going national. The first solar company to ever use crowdsourcing investments to finance solar projects has just launched another first of its kind technology platform: Mosaic Places. The technology will enable the nation to go solar one location at a time. So how does it work? The public can nominate community centers, schools, libraries and places of worship …
Six ‘Grand Challenges’ Face the United States
There are six “grand challenges” facing the United States over the next decade according to a report from the national Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU). The challenges include sustainability, water, climate change, agriculture, energy and education. The APLU project was co-chaired by W. Daniel Edge, head of the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife at Oregon State University. Edge …
Green Gadgets for Earth Day
What better way to celebrate Earth Day than with some new gadgets? Got an email this morning from an industrious PR person touting a book called “Fool’s Return” by Lynda Chervil, “a thought leader and green technology advocate.” Chervil, who studies the science behind green technology, says environmental awareness has ramped up production of affordable goods that can shrink individuals’ …
Ethanol First Spotlight Topic for MyNewHolland.com
Today is the launch of MyNewHolland.com. This new virtual community is set up to provide a meeting place to share information, contribute to farming related discussions and access premium contents and services. It is very simple to create your account by visiting MyNewHolland.com. Then you’ll have access to the features currently active. A list of features includes: My New Holland: …
OSU Spinoff NuScale Goes Nuclear
Oregon State University (OSU) spinoff NuScale Power has been awarded up to $226 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The company is developing a new form of nuclear power and is a spinoff company based on the pioneering research of OSU professor Jose Reyes. Today Reyes has become one of the international leaders in the creation …
November 2013 Short-Term Energy Outlook
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) has released its November 2013 Short-Term Energy Outlook and Winter Fuels Outlook. The report comes at the same time the 2013 World Energy Outlook was released by the International Energy Agency. Here are some highlights from the report: The weekly U.S. average regular gasoline retail price has fallen by more than 40 cents per …