A Clean Energy Uprising in California

This is fascinating to me. A little old fashioned David vs. Goliath or raw mutiny. The people of San Francisco are trying to oust Pacific Gas and Electric as their utility provider. That's right, the people! want PG&E to go bye bye because they don't provide enough of their electricity from renewable sources. Dare to dream big kids. California already does.

Wind Turbine Blade Crashes Down in Illinois Field

Ouch. If there's one thing that cannot happen (like skyscrapers falling down for no reason or automobiles blowing up on impact) is a wind turbine blade cracking and falling off. I betcha they'd be a lot better off if they would've gone with wind turbines built in the Vestas plants right here in Colorado, as opposed to the turbines from India they used. Note to self, buy local.

Coal Versus Wind in West Virginia: From the Old Habits Die Hard Edition

In-depth article on the insatiable greed of mountain-top coal removal and the desire by the locals in West Virginia for something cleaner and more responsible. I've never been to West Virginia, so all I have is the news reports or stories I've heard over the years that have revealed the inner workings of the coal business and how it affects the residents. In the past I've tended to cut coal-mining some slack because it provided jobs (although extremely dangerous) for the local residents and their families. This in turn provided tax revenue to fuel their schools, roads, and businesses. So coal was a ticket to a better life in some respects and coal provides a lot of our electricity (around 50%). However, I also understand the complete and utter environmental devastation that is caused by both typical coal-mining and mountain-top coal removal, not to mention the by-products of burning the coal to produce electricity. Doesn't there come a time when quality of life trumps money? I think that the folks of West Virginia are beginning to see the light. We'll see if they can prevail over big business and provide a cleaner future for themselves and subsequent generations.

Xcel Energy Lowers Solar Credits, Angering Solar Installers

Well it was expected that Xcel would reduce the amount paid for solar renewable energy credits (they dropped it to $1.50 from $2.50). On the one hand I don't blame them for doing it since the Federal government extended solar credits in the recent financial bailout bill. Also, according to Xcel's calculations with the $1.50 per watt credit the consumer would have to come up with about $425 out of pocket to pay for a 4.5 kilowatt system. However, the amount of notice for the credit reduction that Xcel gave to the community and solar installers was too short and on the sly. Perhaps it's time to start another ballot initiative that requires Colorado to get 40% of their energy from renewable sources by 2020, instead of the current 20% by 2020? That might bring back the $2.50 per watt credit, eh?

The Big Difference in Obama's and McCain's Plans for Our Energy Future

Great article on the difference between Obama's and McCain's energy plans. Both plans do not go far enough in my opinion, but there is one plan that is heads and shoulders above the other. Read the article and find out who you should vote for.

U.S. Forest Service Turns to Cow Power

Kudos to the U.S. Forest Service for finding alternative methods of creating electricity. Now, methane is still a fossil fuel, but this cow power plant is capturing the methane from cow manure and other agricultural waste to burn it in order to generate electricity. If the methane wasn't captured it would just waft into the air and contribute to greenhouse gas emissions (the article says that methane is 20 times more harmful than CO2 in trapping heat in the Earth's atmosphere). So I can't complain too much. I betcha we could capture a lot of that there methane up in Greeley, Colorado.

Momentum Slows for Alternative Energy

I've been watching gas prices fall with trepidation for a couple of months now. It's always the same in this short attention span and myopic theater of a country. When our pocket books are lifted in the form of higher gas prices we scream like newborns. Then when gas prices go back to "normal" we act as if nothing happened and quickly forget the pain that we were supposedly feeling at the time. There's no planning for the future. There's no thinking about the "what ifs." It's sad really.

I haven't given up hope for investment in renewable energy and for America to one day be the RE capital of the world. But as gas prices plunge and as our economy keeps slipping into a deep recession, I realize that it is going to take longer than I would like and a longer amount of time than we can afford.

UN Says Their "Green Economy Initiative" Can Save World's Economy

The UN's "Green Economy Initiative" sounds like a great plan. Well researched and well thought out. There is no reason why we can't create a global, cleantech economy, which would go a long way to easing the recession that we are now in. So check it out and see what you can do to contribute to a renewable energy economy.

Funds, Too, Are Mining New Energy Sources

Good article in the NY Times on, "exchange traded funds" which are beginning to focus on alternative energy sources. There aren't a lot of these type of funds yet but they have proliferated over the last year. Let's hope that with the increasing price of oil (and dwindling supply) the alternative energy market will take off here in the States.

Oh, and at the top of the article check out the picture of a Vestas wind turbine blade plant in Colorado.

Aurora, Colorado Lands Massive Solar Project

Another article on the, "Solar Technology Acceleration Center" to be built in Aurora, Colorado. I am getting more excited with each article I read on this center. You and I will be able to see and use cutting edge solar technologies faster with this testing facility. Sweet.