(Reuters) – The U.S. government confirmed on Sunday that BP Plc has succeeded in permanently plugged its runaway Macondo well, closing the first chapter in the worst oil spill in U.S. history.

Here are some questions and answers on how things might play out for BP, the U.S. offshore industry and the Gulf’s fragile ecosystem. (more…)

The image most people have in their minds when they think of wind turbines are the big, white horizontal-axis wind turbines with their massive blades spinning slowly on a wind-swept plain. But the clean energy revolution–if, in fact, it is a revolution–has room for more than just one design of wind turbine.

But vertical-axis wind turbines (VAWTs) are poised to (more…)

Aurora Algae, formerly Aurora Biofuels, earlier this week introduced what the company says is the industry’s first photosynthetic algae-based platform for the production of sustainable products in the fuel as well as pharmaceutical, nutritional supplement and aquaculture markets. The announcement marks Aurora Algae’s transition from pilot technology development (more…)

Several stories recently have highlighted the other side of the regulatory coin–regulations are only effective if they are enforced. 

On Monday, the Department of Energy issued 27 penalty notices to companies for failure to meet energy efficiency and water conservation standards.

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Gosh, it irks me to have our leaders take advantage on our ignorance – but I guess that what they do for a living.

Lisa Jackson, the administrator of the EPA, said recently that the agency will “issue guidance soon that states and polluters may use to implement the agency’s new greenhouse-gas regulations,” and that (more…)

As always, the range of electric vehicles remains one of the primary selling points for any company pushing alternative transportation. In the quest to increase the range more and more, different methods of battery charging has been introduced or methods of keeping a battery at maximum efficiency for as long as possible as been explored. However, some still think it should (more…)

Everyone’s heard of solar, wind, and hydro power, but that hasn’t stopped alternative energy researchers from thinking (way) outside the box for more ways to produce heat and electricity.

Even though the world is still trying to wrap its head around the fact we don’t need oil, coal, or gas to stay warm, light up cities, and power our vehicles, many are looking (more…)

Capitalizing on the success of its Prius hybrid, Toyota, the world’s largest automaker, has announced that it will introduce six new hybrid models by the end of 2012. Toyota, whose Prius is the top-selling car in Japan, is stepping up its competition in the growing green vehicle market by introducing two hybrid versions of its luxury Lexus brand and four new Toyota (more…)

The U.S. consumes a lot of fossil fuels from the burning of electricity inefficiently to driving inefficient cars and trucks on the highway. Politicians, the media, and others in society talk about the need for the U.S. to become energy efficient due to environmental reasons such as the threat posed by climate change if no action is taken. Yet, many policymakers are devoid (more…)

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) report that they have used carbon nanotubes to concentrate solar energy 100 times more efficiently than regular photovoltaic cells. The researchers, reporting in the journal Nature Materials, said that the nanotubes — hollow tubes of carbon atoms — could form antennas that effectively capture and focus light energy, (more…)