Ontario entrepreneur, Jim Shaban, announced last week that he plans to take part in the province’s growing solar economy with a 500 kW rooftop solar installation on the sound stage of the film studio he intends to build near Windsor. The installation will create temporary jobs for graduates of Ontario’s solar power (more…)

On Thursday, December 16th, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) was scheduled to vote on two provisions that will affect current and future solar energy projects in the Coachella Valley. That vote is still delayed, and apparently will remain so until the end of the month.

The CPUC is the regulatory arm that (more…)

Over the last few days, I’ve come across a number of items documenting the exciting technological breakthroughs occurring within the battery industry. While batteries have continued to evolve at a remarkable pace, the cost associated with these new technologies remains the predominant barrier preventing the widespread commercialization of battery- and fuel (more…)

On the typical American roadway, it is not uncommon to see large advertising billboards. Even looking out my office window, I see two of them: one for an insurance company, and the other with a scantily clad woman (not exactly sure what that ad is for). These types of billboards have been around for a long time, but are slowly being replaced with new flashy (more…)

Hot on the heels of the announcement of Russia’s first ever electric vehicle hybrid another announcement came about the bolstering of Russia’s green transportation systems. According to the announcement that came from Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, the country is preparing to begin serious work towards a high speed rail system. Russia isn’t alone on this plan either. Many (more…)

The plastic booms used to absorb oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico earlier this year will be recycled for use as parts in the plug-in electric Chevrolet Volt. General Motors officials say the recycled oil extracted from the booms will be converted into 100,000 pounds of plastic resin pellets that will ultimately be mixed with recycled tires to create the parts that protect the Volt’s (more…)

In a recent article in the Financial Post the authors make the case that while the Ontario government and its feed-in tariff (FIT) program quickly make the province a leader in renewable energy, other, traditionally “greener” economies are shifting away from subsidizing the industry. “Across the world,” says the sub-heading, “unsustainable subsidies for wind and solar (more…)

Australia installed more solar power in 2010 than it had during the previous decade, says a Clean Energy Australia report.
There were more than 100,000 solar power systems installed during January – October 2010, compared with a total of 81,232 between 2000 and 2009. It also became more affordable, the report says.

“Over the past year more than 100,000 (more…)

Good news out of Los Angeles, where the completion of a 1-megawatt (MW) solar power system covering 71,500 square feet will now allow ships docked between cruises to access some 1.2 million kilowatt-hours of clean, renewable solar power instead of using their diesel generators for shore-side energy needs.

(more…)

More than $88 billion will be invested in desalination technologies worldwide from 2010 to 2016 as regions face dwindling supplies of freshwater and steep population growth, according to a new report. Declining costs associated with several key desalination technologies — including reverse osmosis — will make saltwater- (more…)