Solar is really shining in Albany’s Earth Day activities this year. This week, the New York State Senate unanimously passed legislation to extend the successful NY-Sun program for 10 years and make New York a real solar powerhouse – on to the Assembly! Between the Senate vote and the Governor introducing similar legislation of his own earlier this week, there’s serious momentum for (more…)

A city in southern California this week passed a zoning regulation that requires developers to install solar power systems on every new house they build. Beginning next year, all new homes built on lots at least 7,000 square feet in size in Lancaster, Calif. will be required to produce at least one kilowatt of solar electricity. (more…)

The Green Power Hike, which recently took place in Hong Kong, is an annual fundraising event that focuses on environmental conservation and education. It’s a great initiative, but it serves as another reminder of just how inundated my daily life has become by the word “green” and how many different meanings the word has come to adopt. I am beginning to think that (more…)

According to a new study presented by the Renovate Europe Campaign, weatherizing European buildings in an important way could boost local GDP by up to 291 billion Euros ($370 billion) by 2017.

Furthermore, gross annual investments of €41 to €78 billion per year in the EU could bring ongoing annual (more…)

The European Union has been committed for years to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent by 2020 (compared to 1990).

As we have seen in a recent article, reaching such targets is very plausible and wouldn’t need much additional effort from the 15 historic members nor the enlarged 27 countries Union. (more…)

The U.S Presidential Elections have finally come to a close as a victorious Barack Obama gets another four years as President of the United States. A lot of people still have hope that with his re-election, things will change for the better. As a citizen who values the environment, what exactly can we expect from the newly re-elected president? (more…)

Two closely watched state ballot initiatives endorsed by environmental groups went down to defeat on Tuesday, as voters in California rejected a proposal that would have required the labeling of all genetically modified crops and Michigan voters soundly defeated a measure that would have required stricter renewable standards on electric (more…)

Here’s an important white paper that my friend Tim Kingston just sent me, that frankly, I’m unlikely to read.

Say what?

It’s on a financial issue, master limited partnerships (MLPs), that I’ve heard plenty about over the last two meetings of the Renewable Energy Finance Forum, (more…)

Here’s the main reason I couldn’t get within a million miles of an elected position in the US: I wouldn’t vote for the political grandstanding represented by legislation like the “No More Solyndras” Act. I wouldn’t be a part of obscuring from the American people that energy sector loan guarantees from the federal government have resulted in a huge number (more…)

A much anticipated bill that would have expanded access to solar energy to the majority of Californians failed in the final hours of California’s legislative session on Friday.

SB 843, sponsored by Senator Lois Wolk, would have created a 2 GW shared solar program that (more…)