Green Options

This is exciting stuff: Xcel Energy is going to test 80-ton batteries the size of two semi-trailers to capture the power generated from its wind turbines.

The utility is testing 20 such batteries with an 11-megawatt wind farm in southwestern Minnesota. There’s a test phase set for this spring and then the batteries are expected to go online in October.

The challenge with wind power, explained an Xcel Energy representative, [...]

The National Governors Association (NGA) pretty much agrees that global warming is a problem that needs action, but they’re hardly at a consensus on what to do about it.

NGA chairman, Governor Tim Pawlenty (R-MN) launched a year-long initiative called, “Securing a Clean Energy Future,” that outlines how to diversify the U.S.’s energy sources. The Governors agree that more clean technology - like wind power and solar power - will have to [...]

Saudi Arabia makes more than 10 million barrels of oil a day, but it may be turning an eye on a cleaner, brighter prospect: solar power.

Oil minister Ali al-Nuaimi told French media that the oil-rich nation is researching how it can become a center for solar energy research and eventually become a “major megawatt” exporter in the next 30-50 years. He also said that Saudi Arabia is ready to invest in carbon [...]

Every time I turn around, it seems like a new state or new nation is building the world’s largest solar power plant! So here’s the latest one: Australia will break ground next year on a 154-megawatt solar plant in Victoria. That’s nearly twice the size of the largest solar plant in the U.S.

Once it’s up and running in 2013, the it could generate enough power for about 45,000 homes. It’s a very small percentage [...]

Cambridge Energy Research Associates - called “as close as it gets to a proxy for conventional wisdom within Big Oil” by a Wall Street Journal blogger - just finished a new report that says global warming represents the world’s first serious challenge to the dominance of fossil fuels. Companies know this and are starting to do more about it.

While fossil fuels aren’t going away tomorrow, there’s ‘lots the government [...]

Renewable energy generates clean power, and the fuel is often free: There’s no cost to make the wind blow or the sun shine. But just as many people advocate for considering the full cost of fossil fuels in the price of electricity (the cost of the pollution, mining, etc), so too must the full cost and impact of renewable energy be accounted for.

A new life-cycle assessment study from the Brookhaven National [...]

Bank of America may name carbon dioxide (CO2) - a major contributor to global warming - a potential liability when it considers financing utility sector projects. Chief executive Ken Lewis has also called for a national cap-and-trade policy at the 2008 Emerging Issues Forum.

You can listen to Lewis’ remarks to the forum .

I just had two super-efficient compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs) burn out on me, which surprised me since they’re only about a year old. Then again, my husband does leave the bathroom light on a lot…. At any rate, the rest of my bulbs are still going strong, even after several years for most of them. Here’s a great video on CFL 101.

Tip of the hat to Dave over at e-Strategy blog.

Last week, 350 wine makers and scientists from around the globe discussed how global warming is effecting their wines and how they can adjust their productions to emit less emissions themselves. Carbon sequestration was a hot topic, whereby carbon dioxide (CO2, a major contributor to global warming) is captured and stored underground, instead of letting it escape up into the atmosphere.

One admirable entrepreneur explained how he’s trying sequestering the CO2 himself:

Spanish producer Miguel Torres

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I remember graduating from college and having that feeling in the pit of my stomach “Damn, now what?” Well, if you’re into clean energy, you may have some good prospects.

Renewable energy businesses are booming, but they’re competing quite intensely for talented people. Writing for Renewable Energy Access, Dawn Dzurilla noted that the “triple bottom line” of People, Planet, and Profit are motivating job seekers to enter the industry. Its rapid growth [...]