Solar and Renewable Energy in the News:
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December 31, 2010 – Ten Green New Year’s Resolutions
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December 27, 2010 – A drive in India to light up homes and businesses through solar energy has been picking up speed since 2007 and has no signs of slowing down.
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December 21, 2010 – Poll: Fracking for Natural Gas Is No Longer Obscure in the US
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December 20, 2010 – Proposed Wind Farm in Deep Water off the U.S. Eastern Coast would generate tremendous renewable energy
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November 29, 2010 – NY State Assembly approves moratorium on gas drilling in NYC’s watershed
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September 8, 2010 – Schools Go Solar at No Upfront Cost!
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May 13, 2010 – EPA Announces Rule to Regulate Greenhouse Gases in Effort to Pressure Congress to Act on Climate Legislation
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April 28, 2010 – Environmental Groups Divided on Senate Climate Bill
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April 22, 2010 – Solar Power on the Rise
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April 2, 2010 – Is the US Losing the Clean Energy Race?
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March 14, 2010 – Public University Students in Texas Pass a Green Fee by Student Referendum
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March 9, 2010 – NY Times Highlights Solar in Spain
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February 15th, 2010 – Con Edison call for Expanded NYC Solar Program
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January 27, 2010 – Governor Paterson Announces Largest Solar Project in NY History. The New York Power Authority is seeking proposals from solar developers to install 100 MW of solar capacity on public buildings and open spaces State-wide. This large-scale investment promises to stimulate rapid growth in New York’s solar capacity, which currently trails far behind neighboring state New Jersey. Hey New Yorkers, are we really going to let Jersey beat us?! Hopefully not for long…
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December 6, 2009 – Copenhagen steps up security for UN Climate Summit. This week, world leaders and tens of thousands of climate change activists will convene in Copenhagen to discuss international climate legislation. The high profile event on this contentious issue promises to attract activists with varying (and strong) opinions and mindsets. Security preparations highlighted in this NY Times article include building temporary prisons for holding more than “350 potential trouble makers.”
Climate activists may see the irony in this number: according to leading climate scientists, 350 parts per million (ppm) is the maximum safe concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere (Hansen et al. 2008). 350.org has rallied environmental activists around this number, because it highlights the urgency of taking action: current levels of CO2 are over 385 ppm! As security personnel at the UN Climate Conference are taking action to prepare for more than “350 potential trouble makers” (PTM), it is world leaders’ turn to take action to protect the stability of our climate and get us down to 350 ppm.
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October 27, 2009 – Con Edison to Receive $136 Million from Department of Energy for Smart Grid in NYC
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October 19, 2009 – check out video from the 2009 Solar Decathlon, a competition between universities from around the world where student design and build solar powered concept houses. This year’s event wrapped up this weekend, and the next competition is in 2011 – wouldn’t it be great for CUNY or New York City to have a team?
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October 13, 2009 – NY Times article Cleansing the Air at the Expense of Waterways looks at pollution generated by coal burning power plants. Many coal burning power plants have installed scrubbers in response to law suits regarding public health problems caused by air pollution. These scrubbers remove toxins from the smokestack using chemicals, trapping them before they are released into the air. This sounds like a victory, but now the same pollutants are being released into waterways.
Rather than moving pollutants from one media to the next, we call on our leaders to invest in real clean technologies such as wind and solar. Find out how you can help advance renewable energy policy by signing up for action alerts with Vote Solar or Solar Nation.
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September 29, 2009 – Ontario’s solar market set to explode as the Canadian province establishes an aggressive feed-in-tariff. What is a feed-in-tariff? It is a guarantee that owners of renewable energy systems will be paid a set amount of money for the electricity they produce ($/kWh). Want to learn more? Check out this paper on feed-in-tariffs published by the National Renewable Energy Lab.
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September 22, 2009 – Once a novel technology only available to the wealthy, recent developments in solar have led to a dramatic drop in costs, allowing for projects such as this, which deliver clean solar energy to low-income residents in Richmond, California. The solar panels will reduce residents’ bills and their CO2 emissions – kudos to Sun Light and Power for completing America’s largest solar array on affordable housing!
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September 12, 2009 – This NY Times article is a great reminder of why transitioning to renewable energy is so important; fossil fuel extraction, processing and consumption creates local public health problems while jeopardizing the stability of our global climate Clean Water Laws are Neglected at a Cost to Health
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August 17, 2009 – Solar and Renewable Energy Minor at University of Nevada, Las Vegas
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August 4, 2009 – CUNY and Con Edison Launch Smart Grid Pilot in Queens
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July 30, 2009 – White Roofs Catch On as Energy Cost Cutters
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June 20, 2009 – Duke Energy Smart Grid Pilot Program
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June 2, 2009 – San Francisco Unveils Solar Bus Shelters
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May 15, 2009 – Governor Paterson Announces Biggest Solar Project in NY State History
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May 07, 2009 – NY Installs Large Scale Solar Upstate
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May 06, 2009 – Federal Government Invests in Renewable Research & Development
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April 17, 2009 – EPA Rules that Greenhouse Gases are Hazardous to Human Health
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March 29, 2009 – Renewable Energy Heats Up on Campus
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March 13, 2009 – Gainesville, FL announces exciting new solar incentive – USA’s first feed-in tarrif: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/13/business/energy-environment/13solar.html
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OSU to Harness the Power of its Students – Literally
February 16, 2009
Oregon State University is one of the first universities in the country to tap into the kinetic energy generated by people involved in daily exercise routines. By retrofitting 22 elliptical machines, energy generated by exercise is collected and fed back into the grid.
