Green Options

In a plan released on Tuesday, federal agencies will work with western leaders to designate tracts of U.S. public lands in the West as prime zones for utility-scale solar energy development, fund environmental studies, open new solar energy permitting offices and speed reviews of industry proposals.

This column highlights the top economic stories of the week.

General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt is on a mission to improve U.S. exports. That’s because General Electric doesn’t just sell light bulbs and refrigerators to the American public. The company is a global giant in energy, transportation and financial services. More on this story here.

With a full House vote expected this week on the American Clean Energy [...]

One of the overarching political themes coming from the mouths of oil industry representatives these days is that the industry has generally done a bad job of engaging, educating and communicating with the public.

On an unusually warm and sunny April Sunday, Portland Mayor Sam Adams accepted a Solar America Cities Award from the Department of Energy and pledged to greatly expand the amount of solar power in the city. Portland was one of 25 cities to have earned the Solar City award in 2007-8 which included a matching grant of $200,000 to be used for outreach to consumers about the viability of solar in the often cloudy Northwest, and to work with private [...]

On Thursday, the U.S. Government established a streamlined process by which Interior’s Minerals Management Service and the FERC will lease, license and regulate all renewable energy development activities on the OCS.

This weekend, more than 10,000 young people will descend upon the nation’s capitol for four days of workshops, panels, lobbying, skills training, and a bit of music. That’s right, this isn’t exactly your parents’ environmental movement.

In Washington, D.C. today, governors from the 23 states that make up the Governors’ Wind Energy Coalition released a report outlining the benefits of wind energy for their states and the country.

On Friday, Canadian Environment Minister Jim Prentice jumped the gun when he said the capture and sequestration of carbon dioxide is already proven and being applied on a commercial basis.

A featured guest post by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom on the city’s important first step toward creating the electric vehicle infrastructure of the future.

Two freshmen U.S. senators—who also happen to be cousins—have introduced a bill that would create a national renewable energy standard (RES) of twenty-five percent by 2020.

President Obama’s stated desire to invest in smart-grid and broadband infrastructure syncs nicely with Google’s desire to improve the nation’s broadband infrastructure and build a smarter grid.