BrightSource Energy broke ground on its Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System in Ivanpah, California today. The system is the first to be built on federal land and is one of the largest solar projects in the world, producing 370 megawatts of renewable energy and creating over 1,000 jobs. According to the company, the Ivanpah system [...]
According to a report released earlier this month, failure of the federal government to agree on energy efficiency standards has not stymied states from moving ahead on their own. The 2010 State Energy Efficiency Scorecard, released by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), found budgets remain strong for energy efficiency initiatives, nearly doubling [...]
Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear has directed the state’s Energy and Environment Cabinet to partner with the Kentucky Coal Association in suing the Environmental Protection Agency. In a federal lawsuit filed yesterday, the state is challenging the EPA’s rules, guidance and oversight of coal mining permits under the Clean Water Act (CWA).
According to a survey from IDC Energy Insights, the growing wave of data being generated by transmission and distribution sensors in smart grid projects is being underutilized. The report says less than half of the world’s top twenty utilities and retail energy providers are leveraging the data generated by their smart grid technologies through analytics [...]
Connecticut is partnering with Nissan to further the adoption of electric cars in the state. The Governor has signed a collaborative agreement with Nissan for the LEAF the company’s electric car. The Nissan LEAF goes on sale in limited markets in December and will be available nationwide some time in 2011.
Governors in five Midwestern states have identified six energy transmission corridors that could connect more than 15,000 megawatts of wind development. The five states include North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, South Dakota and Wisconsin and are looking at ways to develop these transmission lines for wind and clean energy in order to bring economic development and [...]
California has adopted a new renewable energy standard that will require one third of all electricity sold in California to come from renewable sources by 2020. The standard was officially adopted by the California Air Resources Board and furthers Governor Schwarzenegger’s agenda of making California a worldwide environmental leader. The Schwarzenegger administration has been focused [...]
The term smart grid is an evolving concept. Some see it as a set of slick home appliances (like refrigerators, dishwashers and dryers) working in energetic lock-step to deliver cost savings and predictable bills. Some envision an intricate transmission grid, able to coordinate power from wind turbines on the coast with coal power from the [...]
Illinois has received funding to build the largest solar field in the Midwest. Wanxiang America Corporation will get more than $4 million in a federal stimulus grant to develop the field. Wanxiang will manage the project through Rockford Solar Partners a joint venture with Chicago-based renewable energy developer, New Generation Power.
Rhode Island and Massachusetts have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which says that the states will work together to coordinate the development of offshore wind projects in Rhode Island Sound. The development of this wind project will take place in federal waters in a 400 square mile area which starts 12 miles southwest of [...]
