Clean Energy Digest

There has been a lot of chatter about feed-in tariffs lately as a way to jump start the solar industry in North America. Here are some recent news links. Feed-in tariff to aid solar weighed Arizona utility regulators are designing rules that would require power companies to buy electricity from solar developers at prearranged prices. [...]

A recent story about how solar power plants are now more cost effective  to build than nuclear power plants in Carolina has created quite a bit of buzz especially amongst staunch advocates of renewable technology. Here’s how the New York Times framed the issue on July 26th. Solar photovoltaic systems have long been painted as [...]

During his Presidential campaign President Barack Obama pledged, “…to transform our entire economy – from our cars and our fuels to our factories and our buildings.” In the last few months President Obama’s administration has made good on that pledge by unlocking billions of dollars in government coffers to benefit companies developing clean energy technologies in [...]

The latest Energy In Brief posting by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) is very instructive on the topic of U.S. government subsidies for energy. I consider it recommended reading for anyone who wants to understand the level of government investment and how it effects energy production in the U.S. In total, renewable energies were subsidized [...]

Leaders from the United Kingdom and France are working on a bold plan that would allow the EU to meet renewable energy targets by importing solar power generated in Africa. According to a story on EurActiv.com, Gordon Brown and Nicolas Sarkozy are supporting a plan that would involve the construction of massive solar plants in [...]

The New York Times reported yesterday that was putting a freeze on solar esolar nergy projects. The story was titled Citing Need for Assessments, U.S. Freezes Solar Energy Projects. While the title plays up the very popular theory that the Bush administration is against new clean energy sources, the facts of the story fail to [...]

Notable clean energy investments for the week of April 27, 2008. Government of Canada Invests Over $13.6 Million in Vancouver’s Fuel Cell Industry “The Government of Canada today announced a $13.6 million investment in the National Research Council (NRC)’s Vancouver-based fuel cell and hydrogen industry and officially opened the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Gateway” DOE [...]

The last week has seen a real spike in activity around solar technologies. Here are some of the headlines. U.S. Department of Energy Invests in Solar Cities – Twelve cities have been selected and will receive $200,000 each, “to integrate a variety of solar technologies, such as solar water heating, solar photovoltaic electric systems, and [...]

A recent news item in the Atlanta Journal Constitution highlights Google’s efforts to create a green campus at their Mountain View, CA headquarters. According to the article titled Google’s Big Bucks Back Green Ideas, “Already, office lights and computers get their power partly from 9,200 solar panels that cover almost every rooftop here, which Google [...]

KQED public radio in San Francisco has a show called Quest that focuses on science and the environment in Northern California. They recently produced this report on California clean energy companies. If you want to hear more about what’s happening on the cutting edge of clean technology then I suggest you give this one a [...]