February 15, 2008

President Bush's positions on the environment and the development of clean energy technologies have evolved during his seven years office. In his last year, he seems determined to be remembered as a leader who fostered more renewable energy while pushing the traditional fuels to be cleaner.

In his State of the Union address to the nation, the president said that the country would invest $2 billion over three years into a global energy fund to advance new technologies to slow the growth of global warming emissions. Since Bush took office, the federal government has committed nearly $18 billion to research, develop and promote clean and efficient technologies and help get them to market, his office says. The private sector has responded in kind with significant investments, ranging from corporate research and development to the venture capital markets.

We've included the February 11, 2008 edition of the 'Buildings.com @ the Moment' newsletter with three very interesting and informative articles relating to energy usage.  The archives and other articles in the newsletter also contain some fascinating topics.

• 11 Surprising Ways that Your Building Wastes Energy
• New Publication Provides Energy-Efficiency Guidance for K-12 Schools
• Moving LEDs into the Mainstream

and more...

View complete articles

February 13, 2008

The big investment banks may rise from the depths of their despair. But the lifeline that is being extended is under question. Sovereign wealth funds that are set up by national governments are investing billions in those distressed institutions.

Advocates say that it is a function of free commerce, facilitating the flow of capital across national boundaries as well as the technical know-how needed in many burgeoning industries. To impede that would send chills down the spines of investors and thereby deflate the entire global economy.

Skeptics, however, take a more sobering view, noting that sovereign wealth funds originated in the Middle East and are now prominent in China and Russia. Critical questions therefore arise and most notably whether key American businesses want to become obligated to foreign nationals that can't be properly monitored.

February 11, 2008

In nearly every community across the United States, utilities are visible and participating in the common good. It's about corporate social responsibility -- or the idea that companies and the cities in which they prosper are irrevocably linked.

Some might call it public relations. But it's a new era and one that is still reeling from the high-flying 1990s when illicit corporate conduct seemed to have run amok.

Companies may find adherence to federal regulations cumbersome, but no entity wants to be front page news -- with the masses watching their corporate brass hauled off in handcuffs. Their business reputations have currency and as such they must project a positive public image.

Sterling Planet supplies certified renewable energy certificates

ATLANTA, GA, January 28, 2008 -- Sterling Planet, a leading supplier of renewable energy, energy efficiency and low-carbon solutions, today announced that Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) has become the largest purchaser of certified renewable energy certificates (RECs) in the United States. Under a multi-year contract, Sterling Planet was selected to provide Intel with an annual volume of 1.3 billion kilowatt hours.

"Intel has a long history of commitment to the environment, and we're excited to be partnering with Sterling Planet and the EPA on this important announcement," said Marty Sedler, Global Utilities Director for Intel. "This is part of a broader plan to continue to reduce our overall impact to the environment, which also includes reducing the actual energy we do use."

Under proposal, 10% of Michigan's electricity by 2015 would come from renewable sources.

LANSING -- Within eight years, 10 percent of the electricity sold to Michigan consumers would have to come from renewable energy sources such as wind under bipartisan legislation passed Wednesday by a state House committee.

The standard would nearly triple by 2015 the amount of renewable energy being sold by utilities and other power producers in the state.

Because renewable energy can be more expensive to produce, the higher standard could cost residential customers an extra $36 a year, commercial customers an extra $199 and industrial customers an extra $2,250.