In one of the largest investments of wind energy by a U.S. retailer, mega-seller Wal-Mart has announced it will buy 226 kilowatt-hours of wind power from Duke Energy for about 360 stores and distribution centers in Texas… around 15 percent of the electricity those places use. The Washington Post reports that the the four-year agreement will take out of the …
California Ups Renewable Energy Ante
The Governator wants his state to get more of its energy from renewable sources. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has issued an executive order that ups his state’s renewable energy goal from 20 percent by 2010 to a full one-third by 2020. His press release has details: “I am proposing we set the most aggressive target in the nation for renewable …
Alternatives Helping Drop Oil Prices
This past summer, when oil prices were skyrocketing past $145 a barrel, one man was saying that the price would fall back to $60. People laughed and said we had seen the end of less-than-$100-a-barrel oil. Well, that price has dropped below $60, and 82-year-old oil analyst Henry Groppe has proved his critics wrong… again. So, when Groppe says in …
Oklahoma Potentially Alt Energy Leader
While it might have a past deeply rooted in petroleum, attendees of the Oklahoma Biofuels Conference in Oklahoma City this week were told renewable energy has a huge future in the Sooner State. This story from Forbes says a huge wind corridor in the western part of Oklahoma, along with perennial native grasses for biofuels, gives the state a great …
Harnessing the Wind Without a Breeze
One of the knocks against wind energy is that you don’t have power if you don’t have wind. Well, an energy company in the Upper Midwest might have the solution. This story from the Minneapolis (MN) Star-Tribune says Xcel Energy Inc. has teamed up with the state of Minnesota and a Virginia-based technology firm to test the first battery in …
Vestas Fueling NW Wind Enegy Development
A major maker of wind turbines has announced a major order for a wind farm in the Pacific Northwest. Vestas-American Wind Technology, the Portland, Oregon subsidiary of the Danish wind turbine giant Vestas A/S, has announced in this press release that it has received an order for 22 units of the V80-2.0 MW wind turbine for Puget Sound Energy’s Wild …
Renewables Have Mixed Results at Polls
Renewable energy proposals had mixed results in yesterday’s elections, with Missouri easily passing one measure but California rejecting two others. This entry from the InformationWeek blog has details: In Missouri, Proposition C was passed, requiring investor-owned electric utilities “to generate or purchase electricity from renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, biomass, and hydropower with the renewable energy sources equaling …
Biodiesel, Wind & Solar Powered Hotel Offers True “Green” Acres
Looking to get away from it all… including the dependence on foreign oil? Well, a cozy little hotel on Virginia’s Eastern Shore might just be the ticket for you. This story from The Chief Engineer says Thomas “Spess” Neblett, the owner and creator of The Neptune Vacation Suite Apartments in the quiet little town of Onley, Va. (population 450), says …
New York Looks to Regulate Wind Energy
Wind energy is a popular alternative energy source… so popular that New York’s Attorney General wants to make sure it’s done legally. This story from WRGB-TV in Albany, NY has details: Cuomo announced Thursday a new Wind Industry Ethics Code to ensure that development of alternative energy continues in New York properly and legally. “Wind power is an exciting industry …
Wind Turbine Maker Locates in Arkansas
A German maker of wind turbines is locating to Arkansas, part of that state’s growing wind turbine manufacturing industry. This article from the Northwest Arkansas Morning News says Nordex USA Inc will build a $100 million plant, employing 700 people in Jonesboro and beginning production in January 2010: Nordex is an original equipment manufacturer, meaning some of its parts and …