Renewable Energy

November 19, 2013
The Arizona Corporation Commission resolved the dispute over net metering policies between the solar energy industries and utility companies late Thursday evening.  In what the Associated Press reports as “a major win” for the solar industry, the commission voted to adopt a $5 monthly fee for solar panel users, instead of the $50-$100 monthly rate sought by...
Renewable Energy
January 6, 2014
A new study released by a Stanford professor suggests that giant offshore wind farms, in addition to providing electricity, could also help protect cities from hurricanes, reported Climate Central.  In early December, civil and environmental engineering professor Mark Z. Jacobson and his research team reported that the offshore wind farms would lessen the force of...
Renewable Energy
December 19, 2013
San Francisco may become the first major metropolitan area in the United States to ban the sale of plastic water bottles, reported the San Francisco Chronicle.  Board of Supervisors President David Chui introduced a bill last Tuesday that would eliminate the sale of plastic water bottles on public property, including parks, concerts, large events and mobile food trucks....
Renewable Energy
December 12, 2013
President Obama has ordered federal agencies to more than double their renewable energy use over the next seven years, reported the Los Angeles Times late last week.  In a presidential memorandum that was released on Thursday, Obama asked federal agencies to receive 20% of their energy from renewable sources by fiscal year 2020.  According to the Times, Obama’s...
Renewable Energy
December 10, 2013
Members of the European Parliament passed a rescue plan for the European Union’s carbon trading system on Tuesday, reported the New York Times.  The lawmakers are attempting to restore the price of carbon credits, which have fallen so low in recent years that the system no longer creates adequate incentives for industries to cut back on their emissions of greenhouse...
Renewable Energy
December 2, 2013
The largest solar energy installation in New York City will be built at Freshkills Parks on Staten Island, announced Mayor Michael Bloomberg in a statement last week.  After a competitive bidding process, SunEdison was selected to design and operate a solar power facility on 47 acres of land which will be comprised of approximately 30,000 to 35,000 solar panels.  The...
Renewable Energy
November 22, 2013
Duke Energy Renewables Inc., a subsidiary of Duke Energy Corp., based in Charlotte, N.C., pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Wyoming today to violating the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) in connection with the deaths of protected birds, including golden eagles, at two of the company’s wind projects in Wyoming, said the U.S. Department of Justice in a...
Renewable Energy
November 12, 2013
The governors of California, Washington and Oregon allied with the premier of British Columbia last week to forge a new climate and energy plan, Examiner.com reported.  The “Pacific Coast Action Plan on Climate and Energy” strives to combat climate change and promote clean energy. The leaders met in San Francisco to finalize and sign the pact.  California...
Renewable Energy
September 27, 2013
A new energy bill passed by California legislators on Monday could affect millions of Southern California residents as well as the renewable energy industry, the Los Angeles Times reported on September 9.  AB 327 authorizes the Public Utility Commission to change the energy pricing tiers for California residents, which have been frozen since the blackouts and rolling...
Renewable Energy
October 10, 2013
GRID Alternatives is an environmental not-for-profit organization which leads teams of volunteers and trainees to install solar electric systems exclusively for low-income neighborhoods, thereby providing low-cost and clean energy to those who would otherwise be unable to afford it, writes the Huffington Post.  Since 2004, GRID Alternatives has installed more than 10 MW...
Renewable Energy