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Oregon reins in renewable tax breaks
Oregonian
11/03/2009
Oregon energy officials released new rules Tuesday aimed at curbing a controversial state program that grants lucrative tax subsidies for wind, solar and other renewable power plants. The changes are intended to rein in some of the runaway costs of the program.
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MEC raises ire of bicycle industry
Toronto Globe and Mail
11/03/2009
Vancouver BC's Mountain Equipment Co-op, which has built its retailing reputation on a feel-good image of environmental and social responsibility, has ignited anger in an unlikely place - the bicycle industry.
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Campbell announces sweeping BC energy policy goals
Vancouver Sun
11/02/2009
BC's premier aims to make the province an international leader in green power development -- both for local energy needs and for export to the US and elsewhere in Canada. He's rolling out the red carpet, seeking proposals from private industry.
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WA, OR on cutting edge for green jobs
Vancouver Columbian
11/03/2009
The green research firm, Clean Edge, has released a study of "clean-tech" jobs, identifying the top 15 metro areas in the US for jobs in fields such as renewable energy and energy efficiency. The Puget Sound region (Seattle, Tacoma, Bremerton) and the Portland-Salem area in Oregon, ranked seventh and eighth, respectively.
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Green energy tax incentives cost Oregon more than predicted
Coos Bay World
11/02/2009
According to an investigation by the Oregonian, OR officials underestimated the cost of Gov. Ted Kulongoski's plan to lure green energy companies to Oregon with big subsidies, resulting in a program that cost far more than expected. Kulongoski's staff says that they had no idea the program would be this popular when they designed the policy.
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BC seeking green energy proposals from private industry
Toronto Globe and Mail
11/03/2009
British Columbia will ask private industry for a new slate of green electricity proposals in the spring, Premier Gordon Campbell says, as the government pushes to more quickly develop clean energy for the province and for export.
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Obama urges 'bold innovative action' to create jobs
Los Angeles Times
11/02/2009
Convening a meeting of his economic advisory board, the president calls for a focus on three areas: increasing US exports, expanding green technology and rebuilding infrastructure.
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Obama to detail stimulus spending on 'smart grid'
Los Angeles Times
10/27/2009
A $3.4-billion chunk will go toward grants to modernize the US power system to more easily use renewable resources. The president will speak at a solar facility in Arcadia, Fla.
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Food plants make comeback in Oakland
San Francisco Chronicle
10/25/2009
At a time when most industries in CA are suffering, Oakland's food business - including everything from tofu to doughnuts - appears to be expanding and hiring workers for living wage jobs.
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WA company crafts a sleeker solar panel
Everett Herald
10/25/2009
Sometimes it's what you don't see that makes a product special. When you stand beneath a solar panel built by Arlington's Silicon Energy, Washington's first solar panel manufacturer, you won't see jumbled, ugly wires or opaque padding. You'll see blue from the silicon cells and sunlight streaming through.
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Looking through green-colored glasses
Willamette Week
10/21/2009
Portland's mayor seeks federal dollars for a sustainability center and the world's first large-scale "net-zero" building. But with projected rents of $30 a square foot, could the pricey building's proposed tenants - non-profits, university groups and sustainability start-ups - afford it?
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Seattle companies produce bio-energy
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
10/19/2009
Two Seattle bio-energy companies, Blue Marble Energy Corp. and Bionavitas, have joined forces to produce biochemicals from microalgae using a Bionavitas process that can greatly increase large-scale algae production.
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Green development practices may rebound
Oregonian
10/20/2009
The recession has temporarily diminished the importance of climate change and alternative energy sources as a factor in commercial real estate investment decisions, but interest is likely to pick up when the market rallies, according to a survey of US financial industry leaders conducted by the Urban Land Institute.
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Target, CVS put plastic bags in the bull's-eye
USA Today
10/20/2009
Just in time for the holidays, reusable shopping bags are about to go decidedly mainstream.
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UN: Solar energy often preferable to biofuels
Recharge
10/20/2009
Photovoltaics (PV) and solar-thermal systems are a more efficient and environmentally friendly way of tapping the sun's energy on abandoned land than crops grown for use in liquid biofuels, according to a new UN report.
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New "green" high-rise opens Tuesday in downtown Missoula
Missoulian
10/13/2009
The architect Kent Bray has designed enough buildings to no longer be surprised when they rise from drawings to finished projects.
But something about Missoula's new First Interstate Bank, which opens downtown on Tuesday, hadn't fully caught his eye.
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White House calls for new energy policy
Oregonian
10/08/2009
Three Oregon companies and organizations attended a Clean Energy Economy Forum at the White House where officials called for a policy that would encourage renewable energy and fight global warming while making US firms more competitive worldwide.
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Apple turns green against lobby firm
ABC News
10/06/2009
It started with electric companies that disagreed with the US Chamber of Commerce, one of the most influential industry groups in Washington, over its stance on climate warming and decided to quit it. Yesterday, Apple became the latest company to join them.
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Is 'cleantech' the next boom?
Seattle Times
10/06/2009
Silicon Valley investors are pointing to "cleantech" - alternative energy, more efficient power distribution and new ways to store electricity - as a candidate for the next economic boom that builds industries, generates jobs and mints fortunes. And while no two booms are exactly alike, some hallmarks are already showing up.
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Views: US chamber is a dinosaur on climate change
Tri-City Herald
10/06/2009
The US Chamber of Commerce, which purports to be the voice of the nation's businesses, has turned into a dinosaur when it comes to clean energy. The chamber's strong opposition to climate change legislation makes clear its allegiance to the destructive oil- and coal-based industries of yesteryear.
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Dow to sell solar shingle, sees huge market
Vancouver Sun
10/05/2009
The new solar shingles can be integrated into rooftops with standard asphalt shingles, Dow said, and will be introduced in 2010 before a wider roll-out in 2011.
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Energy storage key to Canadian electric car plan
CBC BC
09/28/2009
The Canadian Electric Vehicle Technology Road Map, set up to look at what role Canada can play in the electric car market, said earlier that it wants to see at least 500,000 highway-capable, plug-in electric vehicles on Canadian roads by 2018.
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Alternate-energy 'land rush' on across West
San Francisco Chronicle
09/28/2009
Want some solar energy with your geothermal? It's a land rush across much of the West, which offers an abundance of wide-open public lands, steaming geothermal resources, blazing sunshine and unconstrained wind corridors.
Scores of projects -- some speculative, others well-funded and a few quirky -- have surfaced with energy companies eager to take advantage of loan guarantees and tax breaks being promoted by President Barack Obama.
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Universal link to take on smart meter challenge
New Scientist
09/29/2009
A USB-style interface for smart home energy meters could allow them to deliver big savings through greater efficiency.
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Third major utility pulls out of US Chamber
The New York Times
09/28/2009
Exelon, a power company that operates the country's largest fleet of nuclear reactors, announced today that it would withdraw from the United States Chamber of Commerce because of differences with the chamber's climate policy -- making it the third major utility to do so in just over a week.
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