What's New?

Sept. 1, 2010 -- Portugal has made dramatic changes in its energy policy over the last five years under the government of Prime Minister José Sócrates. The country's installed renewable energy capacity more than tripled between 2004 and 2009, from 1,220 megawatts (MW) to 4,307 MW, and renewables now represent roughly 36 percent of electricity consumed. <<Read more>>

Sept.1, 2010 -- The Peace Corps announced late last month that the U.S. Department of State will provide $1 million to fund the program in support of the Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas (ECPA). The money will help Peace Corps efforts that increase rural access to energy, mitigate the effects of climate change, and support the use of renewable energy and energy efficient technologies in Central and South American communities. <<More>>

Aug. 31, 2010 -- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Tuesday a nationwide renewable-electricity standard, or RES, is “absolutely” in the mix as he tries to salvage energy legislation this year — possibly in a lame-duck session. <<Read more>>

Aug. 31, 2010 -- Brown is proposing to create 20,000 megawatts renewable electricity by 2020 and calls for placing solar panels on major thoroughfares across the state. <<Read more>>

Aug. 31, 2010 -- Exelon Corp., the largest U.S. utility owner, is making its first purchase of wind-power plants, agreeing to pay as much as $900 million for Deere & Co.’s renewable-energy unit. The 735 megawatts of wind capacity, enough to power as many as 220,000 homes in eight U.S. states, will add to 2012 profit and advances Exelon’s 2008 promise to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions... <<Read more>>

Aug. 30, 2010 -- After years of legal entanglements arising from environmental messes and increased scrutiny of banks that finance the dirtiest industries, several large commercial lenders are taking a stand on industry practices that they regard as risky to their reputations and bottom lines. <<Read more>>

Aug. 30. 2010 -- It's no secret that employers and workers alike are facing the worst economy since the Great Depression. But innovative businesses across the country are proving how the clean energy economy can give all workers a shot at the American Dream. <<Read more>>

Aug 30, 2010 -- The Environmental Protection Agency has recognized Framingham-based Staples, Inc., as one of the top 50 organizations in the U.S. taking voluntary steps to use and buy "green" power. This is the sixth consecutive year the EPA has recognized Staples, which buys more than 146 million kilowatt-hours of energy from renewable sources. That's enough to meet more than 20 percent of the company's purchased electricity use, the EPA said. <<Read more>>

"... I cannot figure out why people who call themselves 'conservatives' would say solar or wind power is 'speculative...' Today, around the world, more than a million people work in the wind and solar business. Many more receive their power from solar." <<Read full post>>

Aug. 27, 2010 -- Fernando Galembeck, of the University of Campinas in Brazil, presented a report at the 240th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society that detailed a future where every house has a device on its roof that pulls cheap, clean electricity out of the air. ”Just as solar energy could free some households from paying electric bills, this promising new energy source could have a similar effect,” he said. <<More>>

Aug 27, 2010 -- San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) today announced that it has signed and submitted for approval a second 20-year power-purchase agreement with an LS Power subsidiary to procure up to 45 megawatts (MW) of solar energy from the proposed Centinela Solar Energy facility, to be located 90 miles east of San Diego in California's Imperial Valley. <<More>>

Aug, 27, 2010 - A massive $736 billion energy investment plan could make China the world leader in renewable energy and help meet global CO2 emissions targets, but turning words into action might prove challenging, the chief economist with the International Energy Agency said on Friday. <<More>>

Aug. 27, 2010 -- "Wind promotes national security because it diversifies our energy portfolio. It also has the tremendous potential to create jobs — jobs that deliver clean, affordable, reliable domestic energy to promote economic vitality and environmental quality besides our national security." <<Read full post>>

In recognition of their integral role in developing innovative solutions in energy efficiency, alternative power generation, energy management and storage, and climate modeling and environmental protection, Lockheed Martin is ACORE’s newest Member of the Month.

“As a global security company, Lockheed Martin recognizes the economic and strategic challenges posed by a dependence on foreign oil, the potential destabilizing effect of climate change, and the vulnerability of our nation’s aging power grid,” says Jim Kohlhaas, the Corporation’s vice president of energy initiatives. “That is why we are investing our talent to innovate new technologies to improve energy efficiency and advance renewable energy.”

" The first time I wrote an outlook on solar PV was in a study published in 1978 for the DOE Policy Office, funded by the White House Energy Office... My outlook now, 32 years later and ten years into the 21st Century, is that the market for solar energy technologies will be similar to the markets for personal computers and cellular phones in the past 30 years: it will be stunningly big and fast..." <<Read full post>>