Blogs & Ecology

Last week I spoke to a small group of investors about renewable energy, and the potential we see for certain renewable energy stocks in 2009. Now I don't typically do a lot of these types of meetings. Maybe four or five a year. To be honest, I'd rather these folks just read my weekly updates. This way, I don't have to jack up my carbon footprint by flying all over the country. However, for investors that are new to this sector, certainly it helps when you can ask direct questions and get direct answers.

Image source: The Guardian

On the heels of Governor Schwarzenegger announcing state renewable energy standards for on Monday November 17, the Santa Clara City Council elected on Thursday November 20th to take the standards and raise them. The local utility already provides 28.5% of the city's power from renewable sources and sees no problem of meeting the state goal of 33% by 2020. ...

Last weekend, President-elect Obama announced his plans for the economic stimulus plan. He says it's going to be big, green, and expansive. But is it truly green, or just greenwash?

Economics and Green

photo: Chris

As part of its efforts to become the world’s first carbon neutral state (a much easier proposition for a nation only 108 acres in size and with 800 citizens), the Vatican has completed installation of a 5,000 square meter rooftop solar array.

photo: Patrick Finnegan

There’s a bit up in the air on this one, all the more so since it concerns financing, but Finavera Renewables has announced that it plans to develop four wind power projects in northeast British Columbia, with a combined capacity of 295 megawatts.

photo: Daniel Figueroa

Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has unveiled a solar power plan for the city that the LA Times is right to call ‘ambitious’: The plan the calls for the city to get 1,280 MW of power from solar panels by 2020.

The financial analysis of the solar plan, and what (if any) rate increases that LA electric customers will pay, will be done over the next 90 days. Here’s how the plan would work:...

How, and How Not, to Heat a Swimming Pool Using the Sun
Soundtrack or no soundtrack, who’d have thought that watching water boil could be so interesting? There’s something endearingly geeky about the folks at Green Power Science – from their impressive demonstrations of

Connecticut state capitol building photo: Jim Bowen

In a move which Connecticut governor Jodi Rell says will help position Connecticut as “the preferred location to grow clean tech jobs”, the state has launch the Connecticut Clean Tech Fund to invest $9 million in seed and early-stage companies working on technology to conserve energy and resources, protect the environment or eliminate harmful waste.

Garth Sundem presenting his foolproof gift-giving, budget dividing mathematical formula. Image: The Science Channel

What should the TV science aficionado being doing this Friday night, November 28th at 10pm? Tuning into the premiere of The Science Channel's new series Brink, of course.

photo: einalem

Who says that wind power can’t provide large parts of a nation’s electric needs? For a brief period on Monday, November 24th wind power provided 43% of all of Spain’s demand for electricity, according to the Spanish wind power association. (AFP/Yahoo News) At around 5 AM, wind power generated 9,253 megawatts of power out of a total demand of 21,264 megawatts. ...

Spanish Concentrated Solar Thermal Plants Set to Grow Exponentially

Image: Associated Press (AP)

A Spanish town outside of Barcelona has found a way to make the best of a cramped situation: lacking sufficient flat, sun-soaked land to implement their renewable energy program, they opted to install solar panels in their local cemetery.

Photo via Powered Green

Two students from the University of Wisconsin decided that the most important holiday gift to give is renewable energy. So they figured out how to make it a tangible gift. ...

Photo via James JHS

The Smart Grid industry. The move to a smart grid is inevitable and experts estimate that the current $42 billion market for smart grid technologies, from software to hardware, from energy generation to energy storage, will grow to $65 billion by 2013.

But the kind of investment needed to see huge growth is equally as enormous. ...

image: Solix

Though the first phase of the Solix Biofuels facility outside of Durango, Colorado won’t be up and running for another 12-18 months, the Fort Collins-based company is wasting no time in touting the benefits of its technique for turning algae into biofuel. According to Solix CEO Doug Henston, Solix will be able to cut the cost of growing algae by 90-95%. (Greentech Media) Here’s how they’ll do it:...