Is renewable energy more cost effective than fossil fuels? Or is it more expensive?

Well, a recent Los Angeles Times article reported that, according to the results of a draft report issued by the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) in 2009, incoming governor Jerry Brown’s goal of 33 percent renewables by the year 2020 (more…)

I can understand that certain issues break down along liberal/conservative lines: abortion, health care reform, the death penalty, same-sex marriage, etc. But conservatives almost universally reject the theory of global warming, and, for reasons I’ll get to shortly, that surprises me.

I hope you’ll read the article I’ve linked here, (more…)

(Reuters) – Texas has long been home to Big Oil companies that specialize in extracting petroleum from hard-to-reach places. Now the hip college town of Austin is vying to become the epicenter of a potentially giant market for carbon-free electricity generated by the hot Texas sun.

The rest of Texas may follow, if the state (more…)

On December 17, Heliene, Inc. (Heliene), held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new solar panel manufacturing plant in Sault Saint Marie (the Sault) that will provide much-needed domestic content for projects that take part in Ontario’s feed-in tariff (FIT) program. The company expects the facility to produce 20 MW worth of panels per year and create fifty-seven alternative energy (more…)

A Rhode Island company is planning to use a relatively new design for offshore wind platforms to build a large wind farm 18 to 27 miles off the coast of Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Deepwater Wind’s proposed wind farm, which would use four-legged platforms to support large wind turbines, could be located in water up to 52 meters (170 feet) deep. That is more than (more…)

Solar installation costs are projected to fall even further in 2010, study finds.

A complex mix of market forces and policy incentives contributed to a historic low for the average cost of installing solar panels in the U.S. in 2009, according to a new study. But perhaps the most important finding of the study is that decreases in the (more…)

California may be doing more than any other US state so far to reduce dependence on fossil fuel energy and emissions. This week California yet again took great strides toward a low-carbon economy, cracking down on carbon emissions while also moving to ensure fossil fuels are replaced with renewable power sources. Last week, as I’ve written (more…)

Cereplast, a company that makes starch-based renewable plastics, wants a new bioplastic symbol and has launched a competition that will give $25,000 to the winner. More details will be announced on January 3rd, 2011.

Applications will be judged by none other than Gary Anderson, the designer who in (more…)

With the close of another round of United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) treaty talks, this one held in Cancun from November 29 – December 10, it is important to look at how green patents fared in the negotiations and the final agreement.

But first, some background. (more…)

The Russian automotive industry is not one that is totally familiar with the green changes towards electric vehicles and other models that have been sweeping other countries throughout Europe or the world. In fact, historically, there has never been much to say about the automotive industry as a whole. In past decades car models tended to be outdated while time was spent (more…)