In what is emerging as a major green IP story, not just of technology but of international intrigue, American Superconductor (AMSC) recently filed two lawsuits against its erstwhile customer, Chinese wind energy system maker Sinovel.

Both cases involve allegations that a former AMSC (more…)

With the celebration of Labor Day in early September came a report of Americans having the highest rating of dissatisfaction with their job in modern history. Given the muddled state of our national economy, maybe it’s not such a surprise. And it’s certainly not hard to imagine jobs in which the hours of 9–5 are a grind, (more…)

Good news. The Arizona Supreme Court recently upheld the legality of Arizona’s Renewable Energy Standard and Tariff. An activist group had filed serial legal challenges over the years, and this may finally put the issue to rest. Read about it here.

Note that this decision–and the ACC’s actions–are (more…)

A new report from the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory shows that electric vehicles could aid in expanding renewable energy sources like wind in the Pacific Northwest. This region of the United States is increasingly looking at wind power to satisfy their growing energy demands. (more…)

Wind mills are a clean alternative energy supply but not everyone agrees. The Rhode Island General Assembly’s newly enacted laws facilitating the siting, construction and power-purchase agreements for commercial-grade renewable energy projects took a big hit this week. On September 12th, the town of (more…)

Small wind generation with vertical axis turbines, also known as VAWT, is one of the most exciting recent developments in small scale alternative energy generation.

Last week we caught wind that Sauer Energy, which develops VAWT systems, has attracted huge interest (more…)

When I meet people and tell them what I do at Xcel Energy (environmental communications manager), they often get excited and volunteer that they have seen the wind farm off state Highway 93, outside of Golden, Colo. And being a know-it-all, I’m quick to correct them that it’s not really a wind farm, but the (more…)

A new advocacy film called Freedom wants Americans to wean themselves off oil and embrace alternatives to fossil fuels, which it says is killing us.

Freedom adopts an unabashedly patriotic approach to sustainability advocacy. The trailer includes shots of graveyards where soldiers who’ve died in oil wars (more…)

Three days ago, much of the American East Coast experienced a 5.8 magnitude earthquake. Fortunately there was not much damage, but the ghost of energy blackouts reared its ugly face when nuclear reactors in Virginia were powered off automatically by safety systems. Meanwhile, wind turbines continued to spin (more…)

My husband, a proud Colorado native, has shared with me that one day he will pack his bags, grab his buddies and a cowboy hat and saddle up for a true “City Slicker” adventure on a working Colorado cattle ranch.

While living out his cowboy dream is something that (more…)