When nearly 5,000 South Dakota fourth graders return to school after the holidays, they will be getting some new lesson plans. They will be learning about alternative energy including ethanol, wind and hydroelectricity as well as conservation and other green practices. The lessons have been added to the 2011 “South Dakota Road Trip,” a 13-week virtual tour of the state …
Wind Industry Forecast Looks Good as Year Ends
The wind industry has gained some momentum as the year comes to a close. Last Friday, President Obama signed into law the tax bill that includes a one-year extension of the 1603 investment tax credit for developing renewable energy sources including wind. Denise Bode, the CEO of the American Wind Energy Association said of the event, “This is a great …
Victory on the Hill
The solar energy industry has a reason to smile this morning as the Congress passed the tax bill with amazing speed late last night. Today, the Solar Energy Industries Association’s (SEIA) President and CEO Rhone Resch said of the passage of the one-year extension of the Treasury Section 1603 program, “After a year’s worth of effort, we are now close …
Stability Returns to Global R&D Funding
According to an analysis performed by Battelle Memorial Institute and R&D Magazine, the global research and development (R&D) outlook for 2011 will be more stable and positive and is emerging from one of the worst recession eras in recent times. With this in mind, R&D managers are prepared to see moderate, but sustainable growth and more global competition for resources …
The Hail Storm Against the Tax Package Intensifies
While many in the domestic U.S. energy industry were giving sighs of relief yesterday after the Senate passed the one-year extension of the tax package, others were not so calm. Two organizations in particular that are not happy with the renewal of the biofuel portion of the tax package were the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association (UNICA) and Friends of the …
New Pickens Plan Leaves Out Wind
A couple of years ago, T. Boone Pickens unveiled a plan that would use wind energy and natural gas to help America kick its foreign petroleum habit. But after a couple of setbacks trying to start a mega wind farm in Texas (and now possibly in Canada), the billionaire oilman is changing gears, and Mother Nature Network reports he is …
TVA Adds More Wind to Portfolio
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is adding more wind energy to its growing renewable energy portfolio. It has contracted with Horizon Wind Energy LLC in Iowa to supply 44 megawatts of wind energy per year by 2012. Horizon will supply TVA with electricity generated by 50 Vestas 1.65-megawatt turbines at Horizon’s Pioneer Prairie wind farm in Howard and Mitchell counties. …
Investments in G-20 Clean Power Projects Could Top $2.3 Trillion
Private funds have been difficult to secure in the U.S. for clean energy programs for the past year; however, on a global scale, private investments in G-20 clean power projects could total more than $2.3 trillion by the end of this decade alone. This figure was released as part of a new report from the Pew Charitable Trusts this month: …
Exelon Completes John Deere Renewables Purchase
Exelon Corporation today announced that the previously announced acquisition of John Deere Renewables has been completed. The acquisition of Deere’s wind energy business gives Exelon 36 wind projects in eight states that will now be called Exelon Wind, a division of Exelon Power. The projects amount to 735 operating megawatts of clean, renewable energy – enough to power 160,000 to …
Is Natural Gas A Viable Partner In the Low-Carbon Future?
Is, and should, natural gas be a viable partner in the movement to a low-carbon future? This was the question asked and answered in a new report published by the Worldwatch Institute and authored by Worldwatch Sustainable Energy Fellow Saya Kitasei. “Powering the Low-Carbon Economy: The Once and Future Roles of Renewable Energy and Natural Gas,” concludes that natural gas …