Retail outfitter L.L.Bean is turning to the power of the sun for its flagship store. The company says it has used stimulus bucks to install a 180-tube solar hot water collector array that provides 100 percent of the hot water to the Freeport, Maine outlet: The Efficiency Maine Commercial Grants funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) …
Energy Use Down But Wind, Solar Power Production Up
The U.S. is using less energy, but more of it is coming from renewable sources, such as wind and solar. CNN Money reports a new report from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) says the 5 percent drop in American energy usage during 2009 is the largest annual drop on record. But wind energy production alone rose more than one-third …
Powers Energy of America Looks to Add Solar
Last year, Powers Energy of America announced that it would build a $254 million waste-to-energy ethanol plant in Schneider, Indiana. According to an article published in the Post-Tribune, the bioethanol plant has received full commitments for funding. In addition to funding this plant, the investors have also now committed to supporting a $75 million solar plant. The solar plant will …
AZ Congresswoman & DOE Zoi Attend Solar Events
Yesterday, Arizona Rep Gabrielle Giffords attended three solar events to promote solar development in her state. The first event took place at Global Solar, located in Tuscon, where Giffords toured the facility along with Cathy Zoi, Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy for the U.S. Department of Energy. From there, the two visited several projects underway on the …
USDA Proposes Blending Solar and Wind Power
A USDA scientist believes wind and solar power generating systems could be set up to complement each other. A study by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) agricultural engineer Brian Vick at the agency’s Renewable Energy and Manure Management Research Unit in Bushland, Texas says that by using solar power during doldrum days and wind at night could help offset the two …
DOE’s Loan Guarantee Program to Receive Cuts
At a time when the alternative energy industry is calling for the Department of Energy (DOE) to follow through on loan guarantees, the U.S. House of Representatives is attempting to pass a Senate bill that would cut the program’s budget by $1.5 billion. According the the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), this move is part of a $26.1 billion package …
San Jose Becomes Top Solar Community in California
The California Public Utilities Commission has reported that San Jose is now the largest installer of solar power in the state of California. Today, the city’s newest and largest solar installation was unveiled that included more than 2,500 solar panels covering 44,448 square-foot parking lot. The building that is now solar powered is Power Integrations’ headquarters in the Edenvale Technology …
Renewable Energy Progress
Earlier this month, the 25x’25 Alliance released a progress report on where the nation is in terms of the goal of meeting 25 percent of our energy needs with renewable resources by 2025, and they held a press conference with representatives of all the major renewable energy sectors to talk about the report and what still needs to be done. …
Feds Give $228 Mil. for Sun- and CO2-to-Fuel Projects
The federal Department of Energy is giving $228 million for projects that will turn sunlight directly into fuel and carbon dioxide (CO2) into fuel and other products, such as plastics, cement and fertilizers. This article from Biofuels Digest says $122 million will go to start an Energy Innovation Hub for the sun projects, and $106 million for six projects dealing …
Green Scissors 2010 Calls for Cut in Wasteful Spending
At the helm of Friends of the Earth, a new report was released today highlighting government programs and subsidies that are wasteful to taxpayers, harmful to the environment and bad for consumers. The Green Scissors 2010 report targeted four major areas for budget cuts including energy, agriculture and biofuels, infrastructure, and public lands. Many of the recommendations of this report …