I wrote this story for Grist, where it first appeared. In any emerging industry, there are turning points that bear watching. One of those occurred Tuesday when BrightSource Energy, a California developer of solar power plants, announced the appointment of John E. Bryson as its new chair. Bryson is a key player in the energy-enviro-regulatory [...]
Posts Tagged ‘solar energy’
Ex-Edison chief, NRDC founder named chair of solar startup
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged BrightSource Energy, John E. Bryson, solar energy, solar power plants on September 21, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Report: China overtakes U.S. as best for green investors
Posted in alternative energy, green policy, renewable energy, solar energy, tagged China, green tech investment, renewable energy, solar energy, United States on September 13, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
I wrote this story for Grist, where it first appeared. The same day this week that The New York Times published an extensive report by correspondent Keith Bradsher on China’s massive subsidies for renewable energy companies, Ernst & Young released a study showing that, not surprisingly, China has overtaken the United States as the most [...]
Sports leagues team with enviros to push solar on stadiums
Posted in alternative energy, corporate green, corporate sustainability, energy, environment, green tech, Natural Resources Defense Council, renewable energy, solar energy, tagged NBA, NFL, NHL, NRDC, professional sports, solar energy, stadiums on September 9, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
I wrote this story for Grist, where it first appeared. Talk about sporting greens: On Wednesday, all of the United States’ professional sports leagues said they would distribute a guide on how to switch to renewable energy and urge their teams to solarize their stadiums. The guide was prepared by the Natural Resources Defense Council [...]
California bags the plastic bag ban but makes solar leap
Posted in alternative energy, environment, green policy, green tech, renewable energy, solar energy, tagged California, solar energy, solar power plants on September 3, 2010 | 2 Comments »
photo: Southern California Edison I wrote this story for Grist, where it first appeared. The California Legislature started out the week in the green by passing the nation’s first energy storage bill. But legislators quickly ran into the red Wednesday when they failed to approve legislation to impose a statewide ban on plastic bags, or [...]
Solar eBay: California floats utility auction for green energy
Posted in alternative energy, energy, environment, green policy, renewable energy, solar energy, tagged California Public Utilities Commission, renewable energy projects, reverse auction mechanism, solar energy on August 27, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
photo: PG&E I wrote this story for Grist, where it first appeared. It’s been a big week for Big Solar. On Wednesday, the California Energy Commission approved a license for the nation’s first new large-scale solar thermal power plant in two decades. Over the next month, the energy commission is expected to green-light three more [...]
California farmers want to grow electrons to save water
Posted in alternative energy, energy, environment, global warming, green policy, green tech, Natural Resources Defense Council, PG&E, renewable energy, Sierra Club, solar energy, solar power plants, tagged Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club, solar energy, solar power plants, Westlands Solar Park, Westlands Water District on August 12, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
photo: Todd Woody In a followup to my story in Wednesday’s New York Times about recycling farmland and toxic waste sites for renewable energy projects, I take a deeper dive into why some farmers in the California’s San Joaquin Valley want to stop raising crops and start growing electrons: In an article in The New [...]
Recycling farmland, toxic waste sites for solar energy
Posted in alternative energy, energy, environment, First Solar, global warming, green policy, green tech, PG&E, renewable energy, solar energy, solar power plants, SunPower, the green economy, tagged First Solar, Natural Resources Defense Council, PG&E, Sierra Club, solar energy, solar power plants, SunPower, water, Westlands Solar Park, Westlands Water District, Westside Holdings on August 10, 2010 | 1 Comment »
photo: Todd Woody In Wednesday’s New York Times, I write about a growing movement to repurpose farmland and toxic waste sites for big renewable energy projects: LEMOORE, Calif. — Thousands of acres of farmland here in the San Joaquin Valley have been removed from agricultural production, largely because the once fertile land is contaminated by [...]
California sues Fannie/Freddie over PACE solar loans
Posted in alternative energy, energy, environment, green policy, renewable energy, solar energy, tagged Fannie Mae, Federal Housing Finance Agency, Freddie Mac, Jerry Brown, PACE, Property Assessed Clean Energy, solar energy on July 14, 2010 | 1 Comment »
In The New York Times on Wednesday, I wrote that California Attorney General Jerry Brown has filed a lawsuit against Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac over the mortgage giants’ quashing of the PACE solar loan program: The California attorney general’s office on Wednesday sued Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac over actions by the mortgage finance [...]
J.R. Ewing’s back and the Texas oilman has gone solar
Posted in alternative energy, energy, environment, green packaging, renewable energy, solar energy, SolarWorld, tagged "Dallas, J.R. Ewing, Larry Hagman, solar energy, solar panels, SolarWorld on July 13, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
In The New York Times on Wednesday, I write about the return of J.R. Ewing, the oil tycoon villain of the “Dallas” television show. Except this time, he’s pushing solar energy: J.R. Ewing returns to the small screen on Tuesday, and the boys down at the Cattleman’s Club just might need a double bourbon when [...]
California’s photovoltaic push
Posted in alternative energy, energy, environment, green policy, PG&E, renewable energy, solar energy, solar power plants, Southern California Edison, tagged distributed generation, PG&E, photovoltaics, Sacramento Municipal Utility District, SMUD, solar energy, Southern California Edison on July 8, 2010 | 1 Comment »
photo: PG&E I wrote this post for Grist, where it first appeared. Amid the hullabaloo over government-chartered mortgage giants derailing the green financing program known as Property Assessed Clean Energy, or PACE, the march toward distributed generation of renewable energy – that is, generating electricity from decentralized sources such as rooftop solar panels or backyard [...]
