April 13, 2009

The plug-in hybrid car will accelerate. But it must first cross over some critical bumps. While engineers are preparing such vehicles to meet strict standards, they remain prohibitively expensive and relatively untested.

The automotive business is evolving, but it still relies on the internal combustion engine that drinks gasoline. Certain elements of the industry, however, are intent on making petroleum-based cars a thing of the past and to deliver cars that are environmentally friendly. The sector has henceforth given birth to the plug-in, which will run mostly on electricity and which charges from most any outlet.

April 10, 2009

The dark clouds will subside and give way to blue skies. But the city of San Jose, Calif., isn't waiting. It's taking concrete steps now to prepare for a sustainable future -- a proposition that it says includes creating 25,000 new clean technology jobs and receiving all of its electrical power from renewable energy sources, all within 15 years.

While the city has attributes that most American jurisdictions do not, some of the techniques that it is employing can be applied elsewhere -- and soon will be, as a result of the federal stimulus program. San Jose, though, could be a model as the Silicon Valley, where it is located, is hosting dozens of solar-tech companies, a large solar testing site and is right between well-known national universities. And with a plethora of entrepreneurs and highly educated workers, the city can take on such lofty goals.

April 06, 2009

Solar panels on rooftops are one version. But commercial-scale solar facilities are another. To this point, most of the attention has been on progressive homeowners who make their homes solar friendly. Some key companies, though, are working hard to provide electricity to large blocks of people.

Growth in the sector won't be quick. But concerns over air quality along with government mandates are giving manufacturers the certainties they need to make expensive investments, and to ultimately prosper. That's behind the recent wave of innovation and the proposed build-out of new solar systems throughout the sunny southwest.

March 23, 2009

A federal mandate requiring utilities to acquire increasing amounts of renewable energy could be enacted as soon as this year. President Barack Obama had it as one of his energy campaign planks and in recent years both houses of Congress have passed their own versions -- but never at the same time or ever in any final energy bill.

That is changing this year, renewable energy advocates and a key Senate committee spokesman say. A bill is expected to be passed by Congress this year and signed by Obama, though action was deferred until the economic stimulus package was passed. In recent years, either the House or the Senate has passed a mandate in deliberations of energy legislation, only to have it stripped from the final bill before it reached the White House. Some type of mandate is the law in at least 28 states, so there's widespread support for that measure.

Homer and Linda Bailey recently captivated the House of Representatives Energy and Technology Committee when they told their story about installing a 10kW wind turbine at their home in Cass City. The Bailey's plight opened lawmaker's eyes to the problems associated with installing renewable energy systems; problems Michigan GREEN is working to circumvent as our industry continues its upward growth.

The Bailey's decision to install a wind turbine arises from their commitment to live an environmentally friendly lifestyle, along with combating the continually rising energy costs, and to take advantage of the prevailing winds. Unknowingly, the Bailey's newly established wind turbine put them front and center, according to Linda as "the poster children for reasons not to try renewable energy alternatives."