http://www.cleanpower.org Feed en-us Sun, 05 Feb 2012 10:38:00 -0600 info@cleanpower.org info@cleanpower.org 40 Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:14:00 -0600 http://cleanpower.org/news/coverage?id=0129 Wind energy now supplies about 5% of CaliforniaaEUR(TM)s total electricity needs, or enough to power more than 400,000 households. http://cleanpower.org/news/coverage?id=0129 Sat, 21 Jan 2012 19:01:00 -0600 http://cleanpower.org/news/coverage?id=0128 Two federal agencies and Southern California Edison say they're close to ending a long impasse that has made renewable energy projects sit unused. Negotiations with a third agency are tougher. http://cleanpower.org/news/coverage?id=0128 Fri, 16 Dec 2011 02:10:00 -0600 http://cleanpower.org/news/coverage?id=0127 The Obama administration finished crafting tough new rules Friday curbing mercury and other poisons emitted by coal-fired utilities, according to several people briefed on the decision, culminating more than two decades of work to clean up the nationaEUR(TM)s dirtiest power plants. http://cleanpower.org/news/coverage?id=0127 Wed, 07 Dec 2011 16:17:00 -0600 http://cleanpower.org/news/coverage?id=0126 First Solar Inc. is selling one of its large California solar farms to MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co., ending the solar-panel maker's search for a buyer. The sale places MidAmerican Energy, a unit of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc., in the solar-power business for the first time. MidAmerican operates fleets of wind farms and conventional power plants. The companies didn't disclose terms of the deal Wednesday, but said the Topaz solar-power plant, in San Luis Obispo County, is worth more than $2 billion. Shares of First Solar rallied nearly 7% on the news, and traded at $49.16, up 6.7%. http://cleanpower.org/news/coverage?id=0126 Wed, 07 Dec 2011 16:10:00 -0600 http://cleanpower.org/news/releases?id=0005 Portland, Ore. -- In response to todayaEUR(TM)s Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) ruling on the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) aEURoeEnvironmental Redispatch and No Negative Pricing policy,aEUR? Rachel Shimshak, executive director of non-profit advocacy group Renewable Northwest Project, issued the following statement: We are pleased that the Commission has ruled on this issue and has determined that BPA's aEURoeEnvironmental Redispatch and No Negative Pricing PolicyaEUR? is discriminatory. With these questions answered, Renewable Northwest Project is eager to continue working with BPA and regional partners toward solutions to over-generation that are economical, equitable and good for the environment. http://cleanpower.org/news/releases?id=0005 Sat, 12 Nov 2011 16:37:00 -0600 http://cleanpower.org/news/coverage?id=0124 A forest of thousands of sturdy metal posts is sprouting in the wide open spaces of California Valley.The posts will eventually support 720,000 photovoltaic panels that will be part of the California Valley Solar Ranch, one of the worldaEUR(TM)s largest facilities to turn sunlight into electricity. http://cleanpower.org/news/coverage?id=0124 Wed, 09 Nov 2011 10:18:00 -0600 http://cleanpower.org/news/coverage?id=0125 California has hit a major renewable energy milestone: 1 gigawatt -- or 1,000 megawatts -- of solar power has been installed on rooftops throughout the state, according to a report to be released Wednesday by Environment California, a statewide advocacy group. One gigawatt is roughly the size of two coal-fired power plants and is enough energy to power 750,000 homes. Five countries have hit the 1 gigawatt installation mark to date: Germany, Spain, Japan, Italy and the Czech Republic. California has installed more solar power than France, China and Belgium. http://cleanpower.org/news/coverage?id=0125 Mon, 24 Oct 2011 12:59:00 -0500 http://cleanpower.org/news/coverage?id=0123 "What the federal government should not do is be in the business of picking winners and losers," proclaims John Boehner, GOP speaker of the House of Representatives. "For the federal government to be out there picking one company over another, one type of energy sources over another I think is wrong." What prompted this espousing of free-market rhetoric so popular with the tea party crowd? http://cleanpower.org/news/coverage?id=0123 Thu, 25 Aug 2011 14:26:00 -0500 http://cleanpower.org/news/coverage?id=0122 Concerns about frackingaEUR(TM)s environmental impactaEUR"not to mention a scene from fracking documentary Gasland, where a man lights methane-heavy water coming out of his kitchen faucet on fireaEUR"is reason for alarm. And such concerns have led to improved regulation in other states. But in California, the stateaEUR(TM)s regulating agency, the Division of Oil, Gas & Geothermal Resources, has maintained fracking is used too infrequently to be a concern, and therefore needs minimal oversight. http://cleanpower.org/news/coverage?id=0122 Thu, 18 Aug 2011 05:35:00 -0500 http://cleanpower.org/news/coverage?id=0121 Solar Trust said today that it will convert a 500-megawatt solar thermal power plant it had been planning in Blythe, California into a 500-megawatt plant made from photovoltaic panels. The shift comes because of "improved market conditions" for building power plants with PV modules. http://cleanpower.org/news/coverage?id=0121 Wed, 10 Aug 2011 16:48:00 -0500 http://cleanpower.org/news/coverage?id=0118 WASHINGTONaEUR"The Interior Secretary Wednesday approved the highest capacity solar-panel plant ever constructed on public-owned land. The approval cleared a permitting hurdle for First Solar Inc.'s 550-megawatt Desert Sunlight project, which needed to pass an environmental review from the Interior Department because it is being built on federal land. http://cleanpower.org/news/coverage?id=0118 Wed, 03 Aug 2011 07:28:00 -0500 http://cleanpower.org/news/coverage?id=0119 Tokyo Electric Power Co. reported its second deadly radiation reading in as many days at its wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant north of Tokyo. The utility known as Tepco said yesterday it detected 5 sieverts of radiation per hour in the No. 1 reactor building. On Aug. 1 in another area it recorded radiation of 10 sieverts per hour, enough to kill a person aEURoewithin a few weeksaEUR? after a single exposure, according to the World Nuclear Association. Radiation has impeded attempts to replace cooling systems to bring three melted reactors and four damaged spent fuel ponds under control after a tsunami on March 11 crippled the plant. The latest reading was taken on the second floor of the No. 1 reactor building and will stop workers entering the area. http://cleanpower.org/news/coverage?id=0119 Thu, 28 Jul 2011 00:26:00 -0500 http://cleanpower.org/news/coverage?id=0117 A report issued Thursday counted 298 green-job training programs in California, most of them created within the last five years. They train between 12,600 and 15,100 students per year -- numbers that are probably too low, because the study's authors couldn't get complete enrollment data for most of the programs. http://cleanpower.org/news/coverage?id=0117 Wed, 27 Jul 2011 21:00:00 -0500 http://cleanpower.org/news/coverage?id=0120 A new statewide survey of environment issues conducted by the Public Policy Institute of California found more residents favor climate change policy, want to cut greenhouse gas emissions and believe they are already experiencing the effects of global warming. "This is a clear mandate that people want to move beyond dirty energy,aEUR? said David Graham-Caso, Los Angeles Sierra Club spokesman. The survey, the 11th since 2000, sampled more than 2,500 people and found Californians are strongly supportive of policies that encourage fuel efficiency and renewable energy, according to Mark Baldassare, president and CEO of PPIC. http://cleanpower.org/news/coverage?id=0120 Fri, 22 Jul 2011 19:55:00 -0500 http://cleanpower.org/news/coverage?id=0115 Federal energy regulators approved a major rule change that they said would lead to more big electricity transmission lines getting built in the U.S. The new order, adopted Thursday, should particularly benefit wind- and solar-energy projects, which are often located in remote places that are poorly served by existing interstate transmission lines, said Jon Wellinghoff, chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. http://cleanpower.org/news/coverage?id=0115 Thu, 21 Jul 2011 19:59:00 -0500 http://cleanpower.org/news/coverage?id=0116 WASHINGTON aEUR" Federal regulators laid down principles on Thursday for planning and paying for new power lines, part of a long-term policy effort to help the nationaEUR(TM)s electricity grid grow enough to meet the demands of renewable energy and a competitive electricity market. http://cleanpower.org/news/coverage?id=0116 Thu, 21 Jul 2011 19:49:00 -0500 http://cleanpower.org/news/coverage?id=0114 Federal regulators finalized far-reaching rules today that revamp how the United States plans, builds and allocates costs for new power lines. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission voted 5-0 to approve rules calling for transmission providers to participate in regional planning and cost-allocation methods and to consider state and federal goals for expanding the use of renewable energy. The rule will take effect 60 days after it is published in the Federal Register, and transmission developers must then provide plans that comply with principles outlined in the final rule. http://cleanpower.org/news/coverage?id=0114 Thu, 21 Jul 2011 19:07:00 -0500 http://cleanpower.org/news/coverage?id=0113 New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he will donate $50 million to the Sierra Club, an environmental advocacy group, to promote the organizationaEUR(TM)s fight against coal-fired power plants. http://cleanpower.org/news/coverage?id=0113 Thu, 21 Jul 2011 19:00:00 -0500 http://cleanpower.org/news/releases?id=0004 aEURoeAWEA applauds FERC for its leadership in finalizing reforms that could serve to cut the Gordian knot that is blocking investment in our aging power grid. This is an important step toward removing the main hurdle: how to make sure all users pay their fair share of new lines. Preventing free-riding will help improve grid reliability, and reduce electricity bills by facilitating access to lower cost resources, including wind energy." http://cleanpower.org/news/releases?id=0004 Mon, 18 Jul 2011 18:50:00 -0500 http://cleanpower.org/news/coverage?id=0111 Japanese agricultural officials say meat from more than 500 cattle that were likely to have been contaminated with radioactive cesium has made its way to supermarkets and restaurants across Japan in recent weeks. Officials say the cattle ate hay that had been stored outside and exposed to radiation. http://cleanpower.org/news/coverage?id=0111 Sat, 16 Jul 2011 18:55:00 -0500 http://cleanpower.org/news/coverage?id=0112 Radioactive cesium exceeding the government standard has been detected in shiitake mushrooms grown indoors in 2 cities in Fukushima Prefecture, about 60 kilometers from the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. This is the first detection of radioactive cesium exceeding the standard in produce grown in greenhouses in the prefecture since the nuclear accident. http://cleanpower.org/news/coverage?id=0112 Thu, 14 Jul 2011 16:34:00 -0500 http://cleanpower.org/news/coverage?id=0109 The renewable energy projects that Salazar announced today - two utility-scale solar developments in California, a wind energy project in Oregon, and a transmission line in Southern California - together will create more than 1,300 construction jobs, provide a combined 550 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 185,000 to 380,000 homes, and generate several million dollars annually in local government tax revenues. The projects are part of InterioraEUR(TM)s aEURoeSmart from the StartaEUR? approach to processing existing applications for renewable energy development on public lands in a coordinated, focused manner with full environmental analysis and public review. http://cleanpower.org/news/coverage?id=0109 Wed, 13 Jul 2011 10:43:00 -0500 http://cleanpower.org/news/coverage?id=0110 Nationwide, 2.7 million people work in the "clean economy," according to a new study. It employs nearly 320,000 people in California. In the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the sector accounts for about 90,000 workers. http://cleanpower.org/news/coverage?id=0110 Tue, 21 Jun 2011 17:12:00 -0500 http://cleanpower.org/news/coverage?id=0108 California Gov. Jerry Brown, just a day after vetoing the Democrat-backed state budget, on Friday used the backdrop of the future site of one of the world's largest solar plants to issue a call for fiscal responsibility and investment in a green economy for the state's future. http://cleanpower.org/news/coverage?id=0108 Tue, 21 Jun 2011 16:00:00 -0500 http://cleanpower.org/news/coverage?id=0107 'You got pipes that have been buried underground for 30 or 40 years, and they've never been inspected,' whistleblower says http://cleanpower.org/news/coverage?id=0107