January 5th, 2011

This week brought news that Texas will likely be opening its nuclear waste dump in Andrews, near the New Mexico border, to radioactive waste from states across the nation.

Meanwhile, China announced that it has developed new technology to reprocess used fuel from nuclear power plants, potentially greatly extending the amount of power that existing nuclear plants can generate, according to an AP news report. The story noted that the U.S. stopped reprocessing nuclear fuel in the 1970s because of fears that freed plutonium would add to nuclear weapons proliferation. (That was a legitimate concern, but no end run around the problem was ever developed in the interest of keeping our nuclear power processes up to date.)

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September 22nd, 2010

Senate energy committee chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-New Mexico) yesterday introduced bipartisan legislation to create the first-ever national renewable electricity standard (RES). Under the proposal, electric utilities would be required to produce at least 11 percent of their power from wind, solar, biomass and other renewable sources of energy; the remaining 4 percent could be achieved through energy efficiency improvements.

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September 22nd, 2010

Senate energy committee chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-New Mexico) yesterday introduced bipartisan legislation to create the first-ever national renewable electricity standard (RES). Under the proposal, electric utilities would be required to produce at least 11 percent of their power from wind, solar, biomass and other renewable sources of energy; the remaining 4 percent could be achieved through energy efficiency improvements.

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September 14th, 2010

The Governors Wind Energy Coalition is appealing to Congress to pass a strong Renewable Electricity Standard or RES to “ensure the rapid growth of the nation’s wind and other renewable electricity sources. The coalition, representing 26 Democratic and Republican governors, sees a strong RES as a key way to create jobs and build energy security while also reducing the carbon emissions causing climate change.

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September 10th, 2010

When the boys and girls of Spirit Lake, Iowa, load their backpacks for classes this fall, each child in grades 5 to 12 will be packing a lap top computer provided by the school district.
This bit of good fortune was funded by a special initiative. But it is not the first time Spirit Lake has stepped up to embrace new technology. In 1993 – when “renewable energy” was not widely discussed — it became the first school district in the nation to install a wind turbine, a move that has saved the district some $200,000 in energy costs.
When that pokey Wind World 250 KW turbine, financed by the state and a federal grant, was paid off, Spirit Lake put up another turbine, this one a hefty 750 KW NEGMicon, in 2001.

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July 29th, 2010

Wind is now powering more than two million homes in the United Kingdom, after a surge of growth last year.

Energy statistics released today by the Digest of UK Energy Statistics (DUKES) show that wind power generation increased by 31 percent in 2009 and now represents 2.5 percent of all UK electricity production. The industry trade group RenewableUK welcomed the news, calling the statistics “promising” but urging even faster growth in renewables to meet future energy demands with clean power.

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June 28th, 2010

Clean energy advocates and labor leaders are calling on the U.S. to step up its commitment to wind energy and wind-related manufacturing — or risk losing thousands of jobs to China, Europe and India.

American wind urgently needs strong supports, such as long-term investment tax credits and a Renewable Electricity Standard (RES), to show investors and domestic and global companies that it believes in the sector, the leaders said at a Monday news conference. A RES would signal that the U.S. wants to incubate developing firms and build everything it needs — from wind towers and blades to the highly evolved nacelles that keep the turbines turning.

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June 15th, 2010

Well, blow us over, it’s Global Wind Day, a time to celebrate a part of nature that humans have yet to destroy and also the energy potential that rides on the breeze.

This second annual event, begun by the European Wind Energy Association, is being noted in Europe, Asia, Australia and North and South America, where dozens of activities, from workshops to commemorations, are planned.

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April 22nd, 2010

A poll comissioned by the American Wind Energy Association shows that an overwhelming majority of Americans, 89 percent, support the development of more wind power.

A majority of U.S. citizens also want a strong Renewable Electricity Standard (RES) that would set targets and deadlines for getting more of our energy from renewable sources like wind, solar and geothermal power production.

The poll querying 600 likely voters was conducted in late March by two firms, Bennet, Petts & Normington and Public Opinion Strategies.

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April 8th, 2010

By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now

Wind energy grew in the U.S. in 2009, despite the economic downturn, adding jobs, turbines and enough new power to run 2.4 million homes, according to the American Wind Energy Association’s annual report released Thursday.

The wind sector installed more than 10,000 Megawatts of new wind power capacity in 2009, experiencing its largest growth and keeping America at the top of the list of wind-generating nations worldwide.

But the U.S. will not remain a leader in the global race to build wind power, several experts warned, unless the federal government passes clear targets for renewable energy that will encourage and support the industry.

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October 22nd, 2009

By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now

The Roscoe, Texas, project became the world's largest win farm.

The US wind industry will finish 2009 ahead of projections for wind installations, though the numbers will still fall behind the industry’s record-breaking year in 2008.

“It’s not a bad year given the financial crisis,” said Liz Salerno, director of industry data and analysis at the American Wind Energy Association, in a news conference this week.

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