"Energy Secretary Steven Chu has directed the agency to install cool roofs (those of lighter colors or specific coating that reflect heat and save energy & money) wherever possible. It could be a big deal with replacing existing roofs or installing new ones at federal facilities. Here's the memo issued earlier this summer by Chu. He also sent a letter to the heads of other fed agencies, encouraging them to do the same. In a statement, Chu said, "Cool roofs are one of the quickest and lowest cost ways we can reduce our global carbon emissions and begin the hard work of slowing climate change.""

"The owner of a defunct uranium mine leaking pollution along a creek that flows into a Denver Water reservoir has launched a cleanup as ordered, state officials confirmed Thursday. Cotter Corp. installed a system that can pump and treat up to 50 gallons per minute of contaminated water from inside its Schwartzenwalder Mine, west of Denver in Jefferson County. Water tests in 2007 recorded uranium levels in mine water exceeding the human health standard by 1,000 times. Elevated levels in Ralston Creek also were recorded. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment ordered the action. State natural-resources officials also are monitoring the mine, which produced uranium for weapons and nuclear power plants."

"The weaknesses of federal regulatory agencies have been exposed by recent high-profile accidents. Guest columnist Tom Carpenter fears the Department of Energy will reduce its oversight of cleanup at the nation's nuclear waste sites. By Tom Carpenter Special to The Times PREV of NEXT Related Millions of gallons of oil gush continue to rush unabated from BP's mile-deep well in the Gulf of Mexico, and 11 workers are dead from the massive explosion that caused the biggest oil spill in decades. Weeks before this event, the news was dominated by the preventable explosion that killed 29 West Virginia coal miners. In both cases, the not-so surprising news was that the mine and the oil rig had abysmal records of safety violations before the explosions yet were still allowed to operate by the captive regulatory agencies. Where is the government accountability? It is the government's job to assure that ultra-hazardous industries operate safely and responsibly. Is nuclear next? The Department of Energy sits on the nation's biggest nuclear nightmare. Its inventories of highly radioactive and toxic wastes defy comprehension. Washingtonians are familiar with the DOE's No. 1 accomplishment, the Hanford nuclear site, which holds the lion's share of the nation's radioactive detritus. Suffice it to say that the escape of even a small fraction of such material into the environment would constitute a Chernobyl-sized catastrophe."

"The U.S. Departments of Energy and the Interior have picked a former nuclear site in Nevada to be transformed into a zone for testing "cutting-edge" solar energy technologies. The research will take place on 25 square miles of land owned by the Interior's Bureau of Land Management, an area larger than the size of Manhattan, the Energy Department said today in a statement. The area lies in the southwest corner of the Nevada Test Site, about 65 miles (104.6 kilometers) northwest of Las Vegas, where the U.S. military used to detonate atomic weapons. The Energy Department's National Nuclear Security Administration will oversee the project, according to the statement. "

"A new survey conducted by Applied Materials, Inc. reveals that two-thirds of Americans believe solar technology should play a greater role in meeting the country's energy needs. In addition, three-quarters of Americans feel that increasing renewable energy and decreasing U.S. dependence on foreign oil are the country's top energy priorities. According to the survey, 67 percent of Americans would be willing to pay more for their monthly utility bill if their utility company increased its use of renewable energy and 49 percent of consumers polled would be willing to pay $5 or more each month for an increased amount of renewable energy-a 14 percent increase from the results of Applied Materials' 2009 survey. "Americans are becoming more aware of the need for responsible energy solutions, like solar power, and increasingly want their government to drive policy and investment aimed at finding alternative ways to power our homes and economy," said Dr. Charles Gay, president of Applied Solar, a division of Applied Materials. "With the right energy legislation in place, the U.S. could reap the benefits of one of the biggest economic job engines of this century - the clean energy revolution.""

"Oakland, CA - In a rare move for advocacy groups, the SolarontheWhiteHouse.com campaign has created "Power the House," a fun, engaging way to continue fueling buzz and momentum around the national call for President Obama to put solar panels back on the White House. Using Brushfire technology, the game is accessed through social media sites Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and FourSquare where solar advocates can earn points by completing solar missions. Players earn points based on how they virally spread the word about the campaign. Player status levels include Solar Maven, Solar Organizer, Solar Senator and Globamanator. The highest scorers will receive glow in the dark Globama t-shirts and other solar merchandise, and in addition to bragging rights through their social networks, the "Ultimate Solar Advocate" will be named in a nation-wide press release when the campaign reaches 10,000 petition signatures. "As part of our initiative to get solar on the White House we've created a fun, social-media-linked site to help fans get involved and spread the word," said Danny Kennedy, Sungevity Founder. "We like to think of it this as 'campaign headquarters' where advocates and supporters can check in daily and get armed to continue to get the message out that solar starts at home.""

"Carbon neutrality by 2030 is the new standard for climate policies, and again the UK is leading North America in the climate debate with a bold national-level proposal about how to get there. The Centre for Alternative Technology just launched zerocarbonbritain2030 (ZCB2030), a collaborative project showing one possible scenario for making the entire UK carbon-neutral by 2030. ZCB2030 is a well-researched, well-written, and well-designed report on a set of possible pathways to a zero carbon Britain by 2030 (The goal, though bold, is not unique: Alex Steffen called for a very similar position for Seattle, a target which the Seattle City Council has included in their legislative priorities this year; and a variety of other nations and cities are approaching the same target, from Copenhagen to New Zealand). In 384 pages, CAT presents a comprehensive look at the kind of systemic changes needed to achieve dramatic emissions reduction in just 20 years in such areas as farming, energy generation, building codes, transportation planning, and economic frameworks. This report truly addresses the scope, scale and speed of the climate crisis and the solutions needed to create a bright green future. "

"The Silver State-based company has developed the Faulkner 1, a 49.5 MW geothermal power project at NGP's Blue Mountain site in northwestern Nevada. Currently, the project is planning two new injection wells to enhance the distribution of injected fluids and further augment the plant's power output. As such, the DOE is acting as loan guarantor for up to 80 percent of the $98.5 million loan to NGP for the scheme. As part of the Obama administration's Recovery Act, alternative energy has seen a real increase in investment with projects such as the Cape Wind Farm being finalized. Recent tragedies such as the Gulf of Mexico oil spill have only solidified support for alternative energy. Geothermal projects haven't dominated headlines like solar and wind projects have, but US Senator Harry Reid hopes to see that change. Speaking about the DOE's support, Senator Reid said, "I am glad to see economic recovery funding being used to put Nevadans to work on a project that will help us achieve energy independence" He went on to say, "Northern Nevada is the Saudi Arabia of geothermal energy.""

"BrightSource Energy's planned Ivanpah plant will be one of the world's largest solar farms and possibly its most efficient. When the solar-thermal plant is built on the edge of the Mojave National Preserve (construction is expected to start this year), it will operate at 18 percent efficiency and earn a capacity factor of 30 percent."

"To see the future of solar power, take an hour-long train ride inland from Shanghai and then a horn-blaring cab trek through the smog of Wuxi, a fast-growing Chinese city of five million. After winding through an industrial park, you will arrive at the front door of Suntech Power, a company that in the few years since its founding has become the world's largest maker of crystalline-silicon solar panels. Solar panels cover the entire front face of the sprawling eight-story headquarters. Nearly 2,600 two-meter-long panels form the largest grid-connected solar façade in the world. Together with an array of 1,800 smaller panels on the roof, it can generate a megawatt of power on a sunny day. It's expected to produce over a million kilowatt-hours of electricity in a year--enough for more than 300 people in China. In 2001, when Suntech was founded, all the solar-panel factories in China operating at full capacity would have taken six months to build enough panels for such a massive array. Suntech's first factory, which opened in 2002, cut that time to a little more than a month. Today, the company can make that many panels in less than one 12-hour shift. By the end of this year, the workers could be done by lunchtime. Suntech's production capacity has increased from 10 megawatts a year in 2002 to well over 1,000 megawatts today. Chinese solar manufacturing as a whole has increased its capacity from two megawatts in 2001 to over 4,000 megawatts."

"In the remote county of Tongyu in northeast China's Jilin Province, 14-year-old Li Ruixue has more memories about sandstorms rather than colorful flowers and clean rivers, due to the howling winds that sweep the area from spring to winter every year. Sand-filled winds from Horqin often leaves local farmers' land barren and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has described the county as being one of the areas of the world most unfit for human living. But the Chinese government's new strategy to find more renewable energy might provide one of the country's poorest counties with the opportunity to improve its way of life. The reason for hope is a wind farm with a combined installed capacity of 1.9 million Kilowatt that will soon be completed in the county."

Ecogeek has a post on an offshore wind farm planned for the US great lakes - Nation's First Freshwater Offshore Wind Farm Planned for Lake Erie. It's an exciting time in wind energy these days. The U.S. will be getting its first offshore wind farm thanks to Cape Wind's long-awaited approval, and now plans for the first freshwater offshore wind farm in the U.S. have been announced as well. The Lake Erie Energy Development Corp has signed a deal with GE to purchase five offshore wind turbines destined for the Ohio waters of the lake. The 4-MW turbines will be placed three to five miles offshore though their exact planned location isn't known. This is expected to be the first order of many from the development corp that has made a goal of having 1 GW of freshwater-based wind energy online by 2020."

"t is a crucial, if geekish, point: Wind and solar power are NOT intermittent, they are VARIABLE. If someone talks about problems with the intermittencies of wind and solar energies, it is out of ignorance or to intentionally discredit them. Obviously, the sun does not always shine and the wind does not always blow but those things can be scheduled and forecasted and are no reasons whatsoever not to keep building wind power and solar energy as fast as is humanly possible. The Western Wind and Solar Integration Study, from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), says transmission system tools are now available that would allow the Mountain West and Southwestern states to get 35% of their electricity from wind and solar energies by 2017. All it will require, aside from the building of the wind and solar production capacity, is a change in the WestConnect group of grid operators' standard operating procedures."

"In the wake of the BP Gulf oil disaster, the natural gas explosion in Texas this month and the coal mine diaster earlier this year. It seems like public consciousness is finally shifting. While being green and supporting renewable energy was a good public relations move for the last few years, it now seems like a practical one as well to prevent disasters like these from occurring again. It seems like the mood is ripe for the transition to renewables and other sustainable energy technologies to begin in earnest. I had the chance to sit down with Dr. Amory Lovins, chief scientist and co-founder of the Rocky Mountain Institute, to talk about how the transition to renewables will make the U.S. energy system more secure and stable and where the country currently stands in that process."

"German companies Siemens, RWE and SWE are teaming up to build the world's largest wind park off the coast of Wales in the Irish Sea, they announced together on Friday. * D-Day arrives for Germany's budget - Politics (7 Jun 10) * Westerwelle attacked from within FDP for poor polls and low profile - Politics (24 May 10) * Westerwelle says Nefertiti stays in Berlin - National (23 May 10) The German engineering conglomerate and energy companies have agreed to invest in 160 wind turbines for the Welsh-named "Gwynt y Môr" project, expected to power 400,000 British homes. Located 13 kilometres from the shore of North Wales, the 124-square-kilometre wind park will be completed in 2014, though it will begin providing electricity in 2013. "

"The Ohio Senate went "green" in a bipartisan way on Tuesday, May 18, voting 28-4 for legislation aimed at attracting renewable energy projects such as wind farms and the jobs they create to the state. A vote on similar legislation is expected today, May 19, in a House committee. Backers of the proposals in both chambers are optimistic about getting a final version to Gov. Ted Strickland for his signature before the legislature breaks for the summer. Strickland has called on the legislature to approve such legislation and hopes differences can be worked out, said Amanda Wurst, his spokeswoman."

"Facility Could Meet up to 75 Percent of Cape Cod and Islands' Electricity Demand CAMBRIDGE (April 28, 2010) - Leading environmental organizations hailed today's historic decision by Interior Department Secretary Ken Salazar to provide federal approval for Cape Wind, allowing the country's first utility-scale offshore wind farm to move forward. The announcement signaled the Administration's intentions to support renewable energy development off U.S. shores, a major component of a clean energy economy and reduced dependence on fossil fuels, the organizations said. Today's announcement ends a nearly nine-year environmental review process, much longer than is typical for a traditional coal power plant. The decision clears the way for Cape Wind to begin the permitting process and develop a 130 turbine wind farm in Nantucket Sound, which could meet as much as 75 percent of the electricity demand for Cape Cod and the Islands."

"More than 800 giant wind turbines spin off the coasts of Denmark, Britain and seven other European countries, generating enough electricity from strong ocean breezes to power hundreds of thousands of homes. China's first offshore wind farm, a 102-megawatt venture near Shanghai, goes online this month, with more in the pipeline. Multimedia Map Related * Pressure Is Building on Disputed Wind Farm (April 26, 2010) * Green Blog: Who Will Build the First Offshore Wind Farm in North America? (April 26, 2010) * Times Topic: Wind Power Green A blog about energy, the environment and the bottom line. Go to Blog Enlarge This Image Julia Cumes/Associated Press The secretary of the interior, Ken Salazar, near the site of the Cape Wind project. Enlarge This Image Julia Cumes/Associated Press Supporters and opponents of the wind farm outside the Coast Guard station in Woods Hole, Mass. But despite a decade of efforts, not a single offshore turbine has been built in the United States. "

"We are thrilled - but not surprised - that because of a growth spurt in the development of wind energy, Texas has met its renewable energy goal 15 years ahead of schedule. Each time Texas has set a renewable energy goal, the state has achieved it far in advance of the deadline set by the Texas Legislature. That's because Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) policies are incredibly effective at stimulating new technologies and economic growth. RPS policies are also remarkably successful at reducing air pollution and global warming gases. This program has resulted in 9 million fewer tons of carbon dioxide and reduces emissions of nitrous oxide by more than 15,000 tons a year, and as such should be heralded as one of the state's most effective environmental programs. The success of this initiative goes to show the positive outcomes that can be reached when environmentalists and business communities work together."

"U.S. Wind Market Grew by 39% The U.S. wind industry brought in a historic year in 2009, installing nearly 10,000 MW of new wind. During one of the worst financial crises in recent history, the wind market grew 39% in 2009, bringing new major developers and turbine manufacturers to the market, making the "top ten" rankings an ever-changing list. The AWEA Finance & Investment Workshop offered insights on how to position your company to gain from the tremendous wind industry growth. The expert speakers, presenters, and financial gurus shared the successes of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and how creative uses of new policies could create investment opportunities for 2010. "