Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick will turn on the state’s largest privately-owned solar energy park in Westford, Massachusetts. The 4.5 megawatt park is situated on a 22-acre site and will soon be generating power. Swampscott, Mass. and Constellation Energy have also completed an aggregate 450-kilowatt solar generation project at Swampscott Middle School and Swampscott High School.
The Obama administration is working to set limits on heat-trapping pollution from new power plants. Opponents of any regulation on power plants have said that the measure threatens the use of coal, and will raise electricity prices. However, the proposed legislation dose not limit future carbon emissions from new plants until carbon capture technology is [...]
In order to streamline costs and improve performance, more state and local governments are looking at smart grid technology. In order to meet that demand, companies are adapting enterprise technology to provide real-time monitoring for infrastructure systems. Real-Time Innovations (RTI) has launched RTI Connext™ a real-time Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) platform that can be used [...]
Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin set an ambitious goal for his state – 100% broadband coverage by 2013. The state is close to meeting that goal with over 90% wired for access. Now, officials are allocating capital and resources to improve mobile and wireless access points statewide.
Maryland is creating its first long-range plan for sustainable growth. “PlanMaryland,” is the culmination of state mandate first outlined in the 1970s. The plan is designed to combine smart growth projects more effectively with state government programs to facilitate a coordinated public and private process.
Illinois lawmakers are pushing ahead on a smart grid initiative that passes most of the cost of the project on to the taxpayer. Under the terms of the bill, consumers will face increased surcharges on their utility bills to pay for the cost of a switch to a smart grid system. Governor Pat Quinn opposes [...]
The US Department of Energy (DOE) is making a big investment in electric cars nationwide. The investment is part of DOE’s Clean Cities initiative which is supporting the growth of energy efficient and renewable energy measures in America’s cities. Awards were given to 16 electric vehicle projects in 24 states and Washington DC.
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has awarded Kentucky $500,000 in grants to fund rural renewable energy projects throughout the state. The grants will go to 43 farm families and rural small businesses to cover the cost of implementing new renewable energy and energy efficiency measures in their operations.
Illinois passed two new laws designed to further wind energy in the state. The new laws will create a council to study offshore wind energy projects in Lake Michigan and allow for more wind energy projects throughout Illinois. The bills are part of a broader state initiative to support renewable energy statewide.
Washington broke ground on a project that will expand broadband access statewide. The Northwest Open Access Network (NoaNet) began construction on a massive project that will bring nearly one thousand miles of broadband service to nearly every unserved community in the state. Washington was awarded $140 million in federal stimulus grants for the project.
