Paul.Karrer

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Paul.Karrer

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Paul.Karrer

On January 14, a bill (HB 264) was introduced in the Alabama State Legislature that would provide a process for adoption and compliance with codes required under federal law (Recovery Act). On January 26, the House passed the bill unanimously. The bill would:

• Replace the Alabama Energy Code Board with the Alabama Energy and Residential Codes Board, giving the new board sole authority over adoption and implementation of the state’s energy codes

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Renewable portfolio standards (RPS) are policies designed to increase electricity generation from renewable resources, including wind, solar, geothermal, and biomass. While there is no National-level renewable portfolio standard, many States have set renewable portfolio standards.

The importance of hydropower as a source of electricity generation varies by geographic region. While hydropower accounted for 6% of total U.S. electricity generation in 2010, it provided over half of the electricity in the Pacific Northwest. Because hydroelectric generation relies on precipitation, it varies widely from month to month and year to year.

The major energy sources in the United States are petroleum (oil), natural gas, coal, nuclear, and renewable energy. The major users are residential and commercial buildings, industry, transportation, and electric power generators. The pattern of fuel use varies widely by sector. For example, oil provides 94% of the energy used for transportation, but only 1% of the energy used to generate electric power. Understanding the relationships between the different energy sources and their uses provides insights into many important energy issues.

Michelle Resnick

This week, Amanda highlighted the Energy Savers seasonal website as a great place to get tips to save money and energy in any season. We want to know which winter energy savings tips you've tried. Have you covered your drafty windows, added weatherstripping to your doors, or opened your south-facing window curtains during the day? How well have these tips worked for you?

We want you to share your own favorite tips and tricks with us. What have you done to save energy and money in your home this winter? Tell us!

Each week, you have the chance to share your thoughts on a question or frequently-asked-question about energy efficiency or renewable energy for consumers. Please comment with your answers, and also feel free to respond to other comments.

Energy Savers

At an event today in Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced the 20 collegiate teams selected to compete in the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2013 and unveiled the competition's location, the Orange County Great Park in Irvine, California. The 20 teams from colleges and universities across the United States and from around the world will now begin a two-year process to build solar-powered, highly energy-efficient homes that combine affordability, consumer appeal and design excellence. Throughout the two-year process, the teams will design, construct, and test their homes before reassembling them at the Solar Decathlon 2013 competition site. As part of the Solar Decathlon, teams compete in ten different categories—ranging from best architecture and engineering to energy production for heating and cooling—while gaining invaluable real-world experience in a growing global industry.

"As President Obama made clear in the State of the Union address this week, we need to ensure that the next generation of America's architects, engineers and entrepreneurs have the hands-on experience and training they need to lead our nation's clean energy future," said Secretary Chu. "The Solar Decathlon will unleash the ingenuity, creativity, and drive from these talented students to demonstrate new ideas for how families and businesses can reduce energy use and save money with clean energy products and efficient building design."

In fall 2013, the student teams will showcase their solar-powered houses at the Orange County Great Park, highlighting renewable energy systems and energy-efficient technologies, products and appliances that are already available to homeowners. The selected teams and their proposed projects represent a diverse range of design approaches, building technologies, target markets, geographic locations, climates, and regions, including urban, suburban, and rural settings.

Since 2002, the National Mall in Washington, DC, has been the venue for five successful Solar Decathlons. For 2013, Solar Decathlon organizers decided to extend the competition's reach beyond Washington and showcase energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies to a new group of visitors and sponsors. The Orange County Great Park, located between Los Angeles and San Diego, is a dynamic venue that can accommodate the 20 competition houses and the special needs of the Solar Decathlon event—featuring flexible space, ample visitor parking, existing facilities for large special events, and nearby services for visitors. With direct freeway and rail access and generally favorable weather conditions, the park will also ensure that residents across Southern California have an opportunity to experience the Solar Decathlon.

• More photos of the Great Park venue are available.
• A map of the Great Park venue is available.

The following teams have been selected from around the world to compete in Solar Decathlon 2013:

• Arizona State University and the University of New Mexico (Tempe, Ariz., and Albuquerque, N.M.)
• Czech Technical University (Prague, Czech Republic)
• Hampton University and Old Dominion University (Hampton and Norfolk, Va.)
• Middlebury College (Middlebury, Vt.)
• Missouri University of Science and Technology (Rolla, Mo.)
• Norwich University (Northfield, Vt.)
• Queens University, Carleton University, and Algonquin College (Kingston and Ottawa, Ontario, Canada)
• Santa Clara University (Santa Clara, Calif.)
• Southern California Institute of Architecture and California Institute of Technology (Los Angeles, Calif.)
• Stanford University (Palo Alto, Calif.)
• Stevens Institute of Technology (Hoboken, N.J.)
• The Catholic University of America, George Washington University, and American University (Washington, DC)
• The University of North Carolina at Charlotte (Charlotte, N.C.)
• The University of Texas at El Paso and El Paso Community College (El Paso, Texas)
• University of Calgary (Calgary, Alberta, Canada)
• University of Louisville, Ball State University and University of Kentucky (Louisville, Ky.; Muncie, Ind.; and Lexington, Ky.)
• University of Nevada Las Vegas (Las Vegas, Nev.)
• University of Southern California (Los Angeles, Calif.)
• Vienna University of Technology (Vienna, Austria)
• West Virginia University (Morgantown, W. Va.)

Follow the progress of Solar Decathlon 2013 on Facebook, Twitter, and U.S. Department of Energy website. To learn more about the Solar Decathlon and take a virtual tour of Solar Decathlon 2011, visit the Solar Decathlon website.

DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy invests in clean energy technologies that strengthen the economy, protect the environment, and reduce America's dependence on foreign oil. The Solar Decathlon supports the Administration's goal of creating a clean energy economy, while saving American families and businesses money and reducing our dependence on fossil fuels. Learn more on the Solar Decathlon website.

Originally posted on Energy.gov. View original.

Energy Savers

If you're like me, it sometimes feels overwhelming standing at the store and staring at a big wall of light bulbs, trying to understand all the lighting choices. With new lighting standards taking effect this year, now's a great time switch to energy-saving incandescent, CFL, and LED light bulbs, which are available in most hardware and home improvement retailers. They all are more energy-efficient than traditional incandescent bulbs, and upgrading 15 of the inefficient incandescent light bulbs in your home could save you about $50 per year.

I've learned that when I'm shopping for light bulbs, it's most important to compare lumens to be sure I'm getting the amount of light, or level of brightness, I want. More lumens means it's a brighter light; fewer lumens means it's a dimmer light.

The brightness, or lumen levels, of the lights in your home may vary widely, so here's a rule of thumb:

• To replace a 100-watt (W) incandescent bulb, look for a bulb that gives you about 1600 lumens. If you want something dimmer, go for less lumens; if you prefer brighter light, look for more lumens.
• Replace a 75 W bulb with an energy-saving bulb that gives you about 1100 lumens.
• Replace a 60 W bulb with an energy-saving bulb that gives you about 800 lumens.
• Replace a 40 W bulb with an energy-saving bulb that gives you about 450 lumens.

To help people like you and me better understand the switch from watts to lumens, the Federal Trade Commission will require a new product label for light bulbs in the coming months. It will help people buy the light bulbs that are right for them.

The Lighting Facts label will help consumers understand what they are really purchasing. The label clearly provides the lumens—or brightness—of the bulb, the estimated operating cost for the year, and the color of the light (from warm/yellowish, to white to cool/blue).

Download our placard Lumens: the new way to shop for light to see how to use the Lighting Facts label to buy the right light bulb for your needs.

For more information:

• View the Energy 101: Lighting Choices video
• Learn about the new lighting standards and how they affect you
• Find out how to shop for energy-efficient lighting
• Get answers to frequently asked questions.

Chris Stewart is a senior communicator at DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory, which assists EERE in providing technical content for many of its websites.

niketa.kumar@hq.doe.gov Energy Department, Volvo Partnership Builds More Efficient Trucks and Manufacturing Plants

niketa.kumar@hq.doe.gov City of Houston Joins Better Buildings Challenge, Partners with Energy Department to Reduce Energy Waste and Boost Efficiency

niketa.kumar@hq.doe.gov Energy Department Announces Student Teams, New Location for Solar Decathlon 2013

One dollar per watt: that's the mark the solar industry is hoping to hit in order to become cost-competitive with conventional energies. In a bid to reach this magic number in the next two years, various Asian manufacturers are striving to reduce costs by increasing volume production. An alternative direction that will benefit the industry in the long term is to target increased efficiencies primarily through new manufacturing processes, new higher-quality materials for metallization and changing the structure of the cell. Nanotechnology companies have developed these new materials and processes that enable manufacturers to both increase quality and lower-cost production, bringing the era of solar grid parity closer than ever before.

Falling costs of solar energy are making it a viable alternative to power generated by fossil fuels...

India is setting up a company with initial capital of 20 billion rupees ($405.6 million) to build federal solar projects and help the country reach a target of 20 gigawatts of solar energy capacity by 2022.

While only ninth in wind generation added during 2011, with 297 megawatts, it has nearly triple that amount under construction this year, the American Wind Energy Association said Thursday.

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 extended the Production Tax Credit (PTC) to geothermal power projects after successfully kickstarting the US wind industry. Installed capacity for geothermal is around 10.7GW globally, approximately 3000MW of which is... Private Sector Players Stepping Up Pace of Clean Energy Investments CleanTechnica Buffett's MidAmerican Energy Holding Forms Renewables Unit Greentech Media (blog) MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company Launches Renewables Subsidiary EnergyBoom all 3 news articles...

Element Power US LLC announced this week that it got a green light from state regulators to build a 200-megawatt wind farm in north central Ohio. As Sustainable Business Oregon reports, the planned 91-turbine Black Fork Wind Farm received approval from the Ohio Power Siting Board for construction and operation.

In another victory for clean air in the battle against coal-fired plants, First Energy Thursday said it will retire six of its dirtiest power plants in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland by September 1. The Ohio-based utility will retire these plants: Bay Shore Plant, Units 2-4, Oregon, Ohio; Eastlake Plant, Eastlake, Ohio; Ashtabula Plant, Ashtabula,...

An Akron-based power company's plans to shutter four coal-fired power plants in Ohio and two others outside the state will affect 529 workers, the Akron Beacon Journal reports. FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) plans to close plants in Eastlake, Ashtabula, Cleveland and Oregon, Ohio, near Toledo, the newspaper reports. It also will idle plants in Pennsylvania and Maryland, the newspaper reports. FirstEnergy has cited new federal restrictions on mercury and air toxins as the reason for the closures, the newspaper reports...

As Northwest concerns build about global and local environmental issues in the Northwest, a small Oregon port gives its approval to exporting coal to burn in Chinese power plants.

The Obama Administration has announced the launch of new online tools designed to help consumers download household energy use data, and thereby save energy and money. Two California utilities are the first to launch the new online tools, but others are expected to follow later this year.

DOE has released two assessments of potential U.S. electricity production from waves and tidal coastal currents. The reports find the greatest potential for wave energy development along the West Coast and strong tidal resources along both U.S. ocean coasts.

DOE has announced two university research opportunities to advance its SunShot Initiative. One will back university projects to improve heat-transfer fluids for concentrating solar power systems, while the other is a postdoctoral program in solar energy.

ATLANTA – On Thursday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will enter into an agreement with Meharry Medical College to support campus greening and sustainability

(ATLANTA – January 26, 2012) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and CTS Corporation have reached an agreement, an Administrative Order and Settlement Agreement on Consent (AOC), to conduct a Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study (RI/FS) at the CTS of Asheville, Inc

The Education and Local Government Interim Committee held its regular meeting on January 22-23. One of the major items was Family Transfer Subdivision Exemption.

Donaldson Co Inc, a maker of filtration and exhaust control products, said it would double its share count via a stock split and hiked its quarterly cash dividend on a pre-split basis.

The World Economic Forum, meeting this week in Davos, Switzerland, is the biggest annual gathering of influential thinkers and leaders from the worlds of business, politics, media and civil society. WWF Director General Jim Leape explains why WWF is there.

What are the main environmental issues on your mind going into this year’s World Economic Forum in Davos?

There is an ever greater need for a sustainable approach to business – especially regarding resource use, in a world of rapidly increasing consumption. Humanity is already using the equivalent of over 1.5 planets – yet for life we all rely on clean air and healthy freshwater resources, abundant forests and thriving natural ecosystems.

WWF is active in preserving freshwater systems, ocean life and forests; encouraging the use and development of renewable energy; reducing the impact on natural resources of major commodity supply chains like paper, palm oil and soy; and generally lightening humanity’s footprint on the natural world. We envision a future where humans live in harmony with nature, and we partner with major players on the world stage – politicians, civil society, faith groups, labour unions, businesses and many others – in achieving that goal.

The theme of this year’s Davos event is ‘The Great Transformation: Shaping New Models’, and this links closely with WWF’s vision of change that makes room for both social and environmental sustainability. We only have one planet, and a finite bank of precious natural resources. But with bold and thoughtful solutions, there is ample room for green businesses to thrive within a model of global sustainable development.

In recent years, WEF has proved to be an increasingly important place to engage with companies on sustainability. Good initiatives have started to emerge regarding water, agriculture and sustainable consumption – and I look forward to see how these good intentions can become more concrete in the coming days and weeks.

The WEF event in Davos is an opportunity to catch up with business and corporate contacts. How important is WWF’s work with the private sector, and why should businesses care about the environment?

Business and industry have a massive impact on natural resources, and companies have a duty to ensure that they use those resources sustainably. We all benefit from products and services in our daily lives, but the private sector should be encouraged to conduct its business in a way that entails a minimum impact on the natural world and the ecosystems on which we all depend.

Companies that want to be competitive today and tomorrow should be concerned about sustainability. Licence to operate is being increasingly influenced by environmental and social performance – and this trend will only continue.

WWF engages with corporate partners to bring about real change on the ground – supporting responsible businesses to reduce their ecological footprint.

The next big event this year is the Rio+20 summit on sustainable development in Brazil in June. What does WWF hope will come out of that global gathering?

Two decades after the first Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, this year’s Rio+20 conference is a major opportunity for the world to commit to charting a course for creating shared prosperity within the limits of this one planet. Twenty years ago the term ‘sustainable development’ came into currency, but this has still not been followed by sufficient action in making the concept a reality. Rio is an opportunity to put things back on track.

I am hopeful that Rio+20 will prove a catalyst in sparking new commitments and urging major players – including governments, businesses and others – to stretch themselves in aiming for a more sustainable approach to what they do. The WEF in Davos this week is an ideal platform to inspire governments, corporate players and others to step up and prepare the road to Rio.


For more information:
Gemma Parkes, WWF International, Executive Communications Manager - gparkes@wwfint.org, +41 79 253 6386

Sofia, Bulgaria: Bulgarian authorities have confirmed that a one year ban on sturgeon fishing in the Danube river is to be extended for a further four years.  Bulgaria's original ban ended the anomaly of sturgeon receiving protection only on the Romanian side of the Danube, following that country's 2006 announcement of a 10 year sturgeon fishing ban.

“It is of utmost importance that Bulgaria has finally joined Romania in this very important measure”, said Vesselina Kavrakova, Programme Manager of the WWF Danube-Carpathian Programme in Bulgaria. “The Romanian moratorium came into force in April 2006, but considering that the Danube serves as a national border between Bulgaria and Romania, a one-sided ban was not effective”.

Originating 200 million years ago, sturgeons have outlasted the dinosaurs, but today most species are critically endangered according to the IUCN red list. Bulgaria and Romania hold the only viable populations of wild sturgeons in the European Union, but five of the six native sturgeon species in the Danube are critically endangered.

“Overfishing because of persistent illegal trade in their caviar involving Bulgaria and Romania, is the biggest cause for concern, but habitat alteration, including hydropower, and pollution are also contributing causes”, Kavrakova said.

Caviar is one of the most expensive wildlife products. Among the sturgeon species native to the Danube basin is the Beluga sturgeon famous for its expensive caviar.

Dams such as the Iron Gates between Serbia and Romania have cut off the migration routes of sturgeons, which has led to loss of spawning habitats, impacting sturgeon populations. According to the World Sturgeon Conservation Society, the Danube is the only large river system in Europe where protection of existing but dwindling sturgeon stocks is still possible.

“What we need now, is to see various activities conducted in support of sturgeon populations, for example restocking and monitoring of the status of sturgeons. We need to see an effective information campaign among fishing communities and a true enforcement of the ban”, Kavrakova said.

“We want to see that both Romania and Bulgaria raise awareness among enforcement agencies of the illegal caviar trade and strengthen their capacity to control and monitor the trade”, she added.

The Danube, as one of the major feeder rivers and estuaries of the Black Sea, is crucial for sturgeons. Most sturgeons live in estuaries and coastal waters but swim upstream to spawn. The Black Sea is one of the most important sturgeon fisheries in the world, second only to the Caspian Sea.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - California approved aggressive new rules on Friday to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by requiring automakers to put many more electric and hybrid vehicles on the Golden State's roads by 2025.

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil giant BP has lost its attempt to shift over $15 billion of costs related to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill onto contractor Transocean, increasing the possibility BP may have to foot the entire $42 billion clean up bill.