According to market analysis conducted by IMS Research, the price of solar photovoltaic (PV) modules is dropping as a result of record high inventory levels.

Global PV module...

By Nathanael Baker, May 30, 2011

Bowing to Koch pressure, NJ governor announces plan to withdraw from Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative

Christie:  “In the past I’ve always said that climate change is real and it’s impacting our state.  There’s undeniable data that CO2 levels and other greenhouse gases in our atmosphere are increasing. This decade, average temperatures have...

New rule approved by Obama administration could speed up offshore wind projects by up to a year.

Identifying that it needs to speed up the regulatory process for permitting offshore wind farms, the U.S. Department of Interior  announced last November that it would be...

Last week, a commission appointed by Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel recommended that the country shut down all of its nuclear plants by 2021 and instead rely on other forms of power for its electricity, including renewable energy. This analysis finds that phasing out nuclear power would be 4.5 times harder than meeting Germany's ambitious 2020 emissions reduction goals for the electricity...

Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Transportation announced new, improved fuel economy and pollution labels for new cars. These labels, while not perfect, are an improvement over the current obsolete versions. These revised labels are good, but stronger standard are the best, most proven way to expand consumer choice for cleaner, more efficient cars.

Thanks to President Obama’s decision in 2009 to strengthen...

If you tuned in to the House Natural Resources Committee yesterday expecting to learn about roadblocks to wind and solar development, you may have been surprised to hear yet again about how to grow the profits of Big Oil companies.

Chairman Doc Hastings’ (R-WA) Natural Resources Committee bumped the hearing entitled “Identifying Roadblocks to Wind and Solar Energy on Public Lands and Waters – The Wind and Solar Industry Perspective.” They replaced it with part three...

The ...

...

The devastation of Joplin, MO has led to a super-storm of media stories on the link between climate change and extreme weather, including tornadoes.  After April saw records set for most tornadoes in a month and in 24 hours, I examined the link in great detail here, looking at...

Like the natural gas sector, which has experienced an incredible boom due to new drilling techniques that allow companies to cost-effectively access unconventional gas, the geothermal sector is going through a renaissance that may open up a vast new set of resources.

Traditional utility-scale geothermal, often called hydrothermal, utilizes hot water or direct steam beneath the earth to run a turbine and generate electricity. While there’s only about 11 GW of capacity built around the world (the PV industry built 17 GW in 2010 alone), the actual...

In the spring of 1519, Hernán Cortés landed with a fleet of 12 ships near present day Veracruz, Mexico.  The flotilla held 500 Spaniards, a dozen horses and a few cannons.  Cortés’ aim was to conquer the Aztec Empire and take possession of its great wealth.  Many of Cortés’ men, impressed by the 25,000,000...

When I returned to the United States after a 15-year hiatus last year, I was dismayed to find that the New York prewar building in which I bought a co-op kept the heat on at full blast from October to March, regardless of the weather. Since I had no control over the heat in my unit, I had to keep my windows wide open all winter long to avoid roasting. This profligate use of energy was particularly disturbing because I had alighted from London where, as...

Can’t invest in your own clean energy system? If you’re a customer of one of the 850 utilities offering Green Power Programs around the U.S., you can just purchase the renewable energy directly from them.

Here’s how to make sure that the clean energy power you buy is

1. from new renewable energy projects
2. is verified by an independent audit
   
3. has...

There’s good news and bad news from opposite ends of the earth on the condition of the ozone layer.  Overall, these scientific findings show that the ozone layer is starting to recover, thanks to the Montreal Protocol, the treaty responsible for the phasing out chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and other ozone-destroying chemicals.  But we’re not out of the woods yet.

A thin layer of ozone in the stratosphere protects life on earth by screening out dangerous ultraviolet (UV) radiation...

Solar photovoltaics (PV) is one of the hottest high-tech areas around.

For instance, 3-D technology is all the rage these days.  Now, one company thinks it can bring the concept to solar too.

Santa...

Friends,

Boy, do I feel better now that The Donald is not running for President.  He never had the hair anyway when you compare him to Mitt and Newt.  Knowing the field must have four-letter names that end in "t", he converted his and it said "Dont".  That may have been the deciding factor.    

By Bill Becker

“A ship is safe in harbor, but that’s not what ships are for.” – William Shedd

Here is a trick question: Now that the 2012 election campaign has begun, should you vote Republican or Democrat?

The correct answer: Neither of the above. In this election, probably more than ever, it should be courage...

By now it is becoming common knowledge that around 40% of energy is consumed by the built space in the United States. (In New York, the nation’s densest living space, the figure is 80%). It is also broadly accepted that reducing energy consumption is a comparatively achievable, low-tech value proposition. And it is one whose value will further rise in a generally energy cost-rising environment. Yet in spite of partial progress, this low-hanging...

The famous project to install 130 massive industrial wind turbines in the Nantucket Sound off of the coast of Massachusetts has hit another stumbling block. Financing for the project was dependent on approval of an application for a large Department of Energy loan guarantee, but the project has been notified that their application is no longer being considered at this time. The...

In its latest energy roadmap, the ...

Our guest blogger is Bill Becker.

Whatever else we might say about Big Oil in the United States, we have to give the industry credit for one thing: It has mastered the art of scamming us with a perfectly straight face.

The scam has been underway for...

About four years ago I started a project to reduce my household water usage. I first...

Later this month the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) will launch a very substantial report on Renewable Energy and Climate Change. In advance of that, a “...

My friend Steve Mouzon has built an iPhone application that aggregates hand-picked news and discussion about sustainable cities, towns, neighborhoods, and buildings.  Check out the Original G app at the iTunes store, here.

Some places attempt to be green using advanced technology to compensate for what would otherwise be unsustainable design or circumstances.  To imagine an extreme hypothetical example, what if the indoor ski slope in desert-hot Dubai (yes,...

Last week I blogged on the major new climate report from the National Academy of Sciences, which called on nation to “substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions” starting ASAP....

Over the last several years, oil prices, geopolitical events and environmental concerns have driven the Defense Department’s strong interest in domestic alternative fuels. And with good reason. Our petroleum addiction appears more burdensome every day, exposing the nation to price volatility and natural or manmade events that are simply beyond our control.  And increasingly, military and security experts view global warming as a national security threat multiplier that can exacerbate...

CAP’s Jorge Madrid, in a WonkRoom cross-post.

Addressing the right-wing think tank American Action Forum last week, Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY)...

...

“It’s always important to remind people that under business as usual, we’re losing jobs, including manufacturing jobs, every day. But where we have strong policies to create continued demand, we’re seeing actual job growth,” notes CAP clean energy expert Kate Gordon.

California, which has had the most aggressive and consistent renewable energy target, has seen a big increase in clean energy manufacturing jobs: Between 1995 and 2008, green jobs grew three times faster than the job rate in the state as a whole, and...

Last week I had the opportunity to hear His Royal Highness Prince Charles speak at a conference on sustainable agriculture at Georgetown University. Together with several leaders—including author Wendell Berry, Senator and dry-land farmer John Tester of Montana, and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack—he called for...

If an airline claims to be “green”, but is actively working to gut carbon pollution standards what would you do?  Since that is exactly what America, Continental, and United airlines are doing, major environmental groups sent a letter to the airlines asking them why they are spending their customers’ money on lawyers and lobbyists in an effort to thwart crucial carbon pollution cuts.

In the letter, NRDC, Environmental Defense Fund, Center for Biological Diversity, Earthjustice, Environment America, and the Sierra Club urged the airlines to “drop the...

American Electric Power is shopping a bill around Capitol Hill that would weaken and delay federal clean air standards. These safeguards are designed to protect Americans from pollutants that endanger our health, but AEP wants to block the rules.

The company drafted the language in the bill and now it is trying to get lawmakers to sign on. NRDC and other environmental groups have launched a campaign to ask Members of Congress—and additional utilities—who...

*assuming you are an average American and not a tax dodger.

Exxon Mobil Corp.’s robust balance sheets have become a poster child for what The New York Times dubs the “paradox of the United States tax code.”  CAP’s Valeri Vasquez has the story...

The current tax credit for blending grain ethanol into gasoline, the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC), has outlived its usefulness. That's not just because I consider it unwise to subsidize any industry to such a generous extent for more than thirty years, but also because the passage of the ambitious federalRenewable Fuels...

I am delighted to announce that ClimateProgress has a new journalist/blogger/podcaster-extraordinaire, Stephen Lacey.  He’ll is joining us after 5 years at renewablenergyworld.com,  be reporting and pod-casting on a range of issues, but focusing especially on the reality of clean energy today — how it...

The first weekend in May can really only mean two things: Mint Juleps (click there for a great recipe) and the Kentucky Derby.  I became an expert on the "most exciting two minutes in sports" when I was press secretary to Rep. Hal Rogers.  In that job, not only do you have...

According to a huge new Pew Study, support for renewables exists across nearly all of the political spectrum.  Energy and climate were one small component of the survey (which featured a large 3,000 person sample, plus 1,400 person follow-up), but Pew’s attempt to classify American voters by political leanings add a layer of nuance to this issue that is very helpful in illustrating just how broad U.S. voter support is for alternatives to fossil fuels such as wind and solar.

In...

Facing pressure from Republican primary voters, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty attempted to apologize during Thursday night’s GOP debate for his past ...

Good unbiased data on the recent growth of renewables in the U.S. can be difficult to find.  One helpful option is the Energy Information Administration (EIA), which puts out monthly generation figures for all energy technologies.  Its most recent release included December 2010, giving us a chance to aggregate 2010 data, and compare back a few years.  Generally, EIA is the...

CAP’s Kristen Bartoloni in a Wonk Room cross-post.

...

Last Thursday, the Energy Information Administration (...

Actual NY Times caption:  “A church made an apt request.”

Media miscoverage of climate change comes in many forms.  We still have false balance between...

I was at an event recently about Plug-In electric...

Nice story from E&E today (linked via the Times**) about what Phoenix (and other cities) are doing to draw in renewable energy companies, the jobs that the cities are gaining as a result, and even a hint of thawing in the local political climate. 

Eleven solar manufacturers...

^{A Conoco Phillips gas station is seen in Denver. The company devoted $1.6 billion of its $3 billion first-quarter earnings to stock buybacks—more than 50 percent of its profits.}

David Roberts writes in Popular Science about the Atlantic Wind Connection (AWC), a proposed $5 billion undersea power grid. The plan by Maryland-based Trans-Elect would provide the infrastructure for wind farms stretching hundreds of miles down the Mid-Atlantic coast, from northern New Jersey to southern...

Rising gas prices virtually assure that, whatever the logjam in Congress in 2011, there will be a new energy bill.  For the past two years the Great Recession has held down petroleum prices.  The recession is over and oil prices, driven by diminishing reserves and uncertain supply, have resumed their inevitable long term climb...

In mimicking what plants do best, a group of MIT chemists led by ...

Historic town changes mind about historic bottled water ban... in unhistoric fashion

One year after making international headlines as the first town in the United States—and possibly the world—to...

The following post was written...

A group of ten senior U.S. Senators visited China this week (the largest delegation of elected U.S. officials ever to visit the country). Their take-away? China is taking the lead on clean energy and giving the U.S. a run for its money on innovating the next generation of competitive industries.

...