Research Commercialization Academy (BETA 0.01)

Author: Tina Casey

Source: www.cleantechnica.com

Interest: The U.S. Army has just launched the first in a series of renewable energy contracts that will eventually total $7 billion by the end of this year, using power purchase agreements along with a standard procurement tool that is expected to crush any obstacles that are put in its path. That includes the notorious budget sequester as well as any objections from the anti-renewable energy crowd in Congress, which has already used the budget as an excuse to sink the Navy’s biofuel initiatives.

Link: http://cleantechnica.com/2013/05/09/army-renewable-energy-gets-7-billion-boost/

Author: Scott Gunnerson

Source: www.floridatoday.com

Interest: PORT ST. JOHN — Maureen Rupe teared up on the dais Wednesday as she welcomed back neighbors she had fought with for more than 20 years. Florida Power & Light commissioned a new $900 million natural-gas facility Wednesday that replaced a 45-year-old plant that was built to supply electricity to the space center and became a landmark on the Indian River.

Link: http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20130509/BUSINESS/305090045/Florida-Power-Light-plant-opens-clean-energy-smiles

Author: www.huffingtonpost.com

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Interest: How badly do some people want to kill even a mild form of support for renewable energy in North Carolina? Badly enough that they’re willing to risk cheating on legislative votes. It’s really an extraordinary thing to see: The North Carolina Senate Finance Committee was voting last week on a bill that would gut the state’s renewable portfolio standard.

Link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/08/north-carolina-renewable-energy-standards-under-fire_n_3231652.html?utm_hp_ref=green

Author: Charlie

Source: Clean Energy

Interest: Apparently some in North Carolina are not paying attention to the boom in clean energy businesses and jobs that have sprouted up around the state in recent years. When Senate Bill 3 passed in 2007 in a nearly-unanimous bipartisan vote, it established a Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standard (REPS) requiring the state’s utility companies to provide a portion (12.5% for investor-owned utilities and 10% for municipal utilities and electric coops)

Link: http://blog.cleanenergy.org/2013/04/23/repeal-of-the-reps-will-hurt-north-carolina/

Author: Christopher Martin

Source: www.bloomberg.com

Interest: More than half the U.S. states with laws requiring utilities to buy renewable energy are considering ways to pare back those mandates after a plunge in natural gas prices brought on by technology that boosted supply. Sixteen of the 29 states with renewable portfolio standards are considering legislation that would reduce the need for wind and solar power, according to researchers backed by the U.S. Energy Department.

Link: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-23/u-s-states-turn-against-renewable-energy-as-gas-plunges.html

Author: ALLAN ROTH

Source: www.cbsnews.com

Interest: (MoneyWatch) You can have it all -- you can save the earth and make money by investing in clean energy. At least that's what I've heard said many times. After all, there is a finite amount of fossil fuels on the planet, and any innovator who can develop the next clean and cheap source of energy is likely to become quite wealthy, as will those who are savvy enough to invest in it. The ultimate win-win, right?

Link: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505123_162-57577530/is-investing-in-clean-energy-a-good-idea/

Author: Joshua S Hill

Source: www.cleantechnica.com

Interest: New York-based ResHydro has announced plans to establish operations in Glasgow, Scotland, a move that would make them the first US renewable energy inward investment in Scotland. The news, released by way of a press release on PR Newswire, is hopefully the first of many such more outward US renewable energy investments.

Link: http://cleantechnica.com/2013/04/09/us-tidal-energy-company-first-scottish-renewable-energy-inward-investment/

Author: MICHAEL HILL

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Interest: ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — A new study says New York could get the power it needs from wind, water and sunlight by 2030 with a concerted push, though the state's decade-long effort to significantly boost green energy shows how challenging that could be.

Link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/07/ny-renewable-energy-study_n_3032873.html?utm_hp_ref=green

Author: Cathy Proctor

Source: www.bizjournals.com

Interest: Colorado commercial property owners could get loans for energy-efficiency projects under a proposal approved by the state Senate. The bill, SB 212, sponsored by Sen. Gail Schwartz, D-Snowmass, creates the CPACE program, short for Commercial Property-Assessed Clean Energy.

Link: http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/blog/earth_to_power/2013/04/legislative-proposal-creates.html

Author: http://blog.seattlepi.com/

Source: http://blog.seattlepi.com/

Interest: Student teams from Washington pitched their innovations at the UW Environmental Innovation Challenge yesterday afternoon. All 20 teams did a great job of pitching and demonstrating their ideas, and 5 teams came away with cash prizes.

Link: http://blog.seattlepi.com/energy/2013/04/05/22500-awarded-to-university-cleantech-innovators/

Author: Debra Fiakas CFA

Source: www.altenergystocks.com

Interest: Clean Energy Fuels (CLNE: Nasdaq) is building a nationwide network of natural gas stations for fleet vehicles. The company supplies compressed natural gas (CNG) fuel for light, medium, and heavy-duty vehicles; and liquefied natural gas (LNG) fuel for medium and heavy-duty vehicles. While there is a growing number of fleet owners that have invested in natural gas vehicles, Clean Energy has yet to reach the critical mass needed to reach profitability.

Link: http://www.altenergystocks.com/archives/2013/03/betting_on_alternative_fueling_at_clean_energy_fuels.html

Author: Dr. Stephen A. Smith

Source: cleanenergy.org

Interest: Just over a year ago we made the decision to continue to practice what we preach with the installation and activation of our own solar photovoltaic array at our Knoxville, TN office. As part of a series of energy efficiency improvements to our new office, we knew that installing the solar system was the ideal way to raise awareness of solar power in our community, and save money on our electric bills, all while making use of the clean, abundant energy provided by the sun.

Link: http://blog.cleanenergy.org/2013/03/25/sace-solar-array-shines-in-its-first-year/

Author: Jason Verge

Source: www.datacenterknowledge.com

Interest: An aerial view of one of Apple’s two major solar panel arrays in Maiden, North Carolina, which supply electricity to help support the power requirements for a nearby Apple data center. (Photo: Apple) In the wake of pressure from the environmental group Greenpeace, Apple said Thursday that it has achieved 100 percent renewable energy at all of its data centers, including facilities in North Carolina, Oregon, California and Nevada.

Link: http://www.datacenterknowledge.com/archives/2013/03/22/apple-hits-100-renewable-energy-in-its-data-centers/

Author: Heather Taylor-Miesle

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Interest: Senator Carl Levin has announced he will not seek reelection in 2014 and already the succession speculation has begun. Michigan has a deep field of leaders to draw from to run for Levin's seat. Yet whoever steps forward will have to chart their course carefully. Michigan is solidly purple, having voted for Democrats in six of the last ten presidential races, but electing a Republican governor and a Republican legislature.

Link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/heather-taylormiesle/michiganders-for-clean-en_b_2927919.html

Author: Center for American Progress

Source: www.earthtechling.com

Interest: The recently released Senate and House budget resolutions for fiscal year 2014 reflect diametrically opposed visions of America’s energy and climate futures. The Senate budget invests in clean energy technologies that reduce carbon pollution responsible for climate change. The House budget, on the other hand, ignores climate change and defunds clean energy technologies.

Link: http://www.earthtechling.com/2013/03/two-different-federal-visions-of-a-clean-energy-future/

Author: Zachary Shahan

Source: www.cleantechnica.com

Interest: Another day, another story about fossil fuel–funded attacks on clean energy. Thanks to venerable organizations like the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) for getting out there and helping to advance society, rather than send it backwards. This repost below is actually from yesterday, but I think it’s still worth a quick read.

Link: http://cleantechnica.com/2013/03/20/scientists-to-ohio-senators-continue-clean-energy-standards/

Author: Lisa Song

Source: InsideClimate News

Interest: By 2050, New York State could run entirely on energy produced from wind, water and sunlight. That radical finding, which goes further than any other clean energy plan envisioned for New York, comes from a peer-reviewed study published last week in the journal Energy Policy.

Link: http://insideclimatenews.org/news/20130321/scientist-policymakers-clean-energy-could-fuel-new-york-2050

Author: Center for American Progress

Source: www.earthtechling.com

Interest: What do you call a future of dangerous pollution, catastrophic extreme weather events, giveaways to Big Oil companies, and even greater reliance on fossil fuels? If you’re House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI), you call it “The Path to Prosperity.” Not coincidentally, that’s the name of the fiscal year 2014 budget plan Rep. Ryan released this week.

Link: http://www.earthtechling.com/2013/03/rep-paul-ryan-path-to-prosperity-anything-but-for-clean-energy/

Author: Brian Merchant

Source: Motherboard

Interest: The last couple of days have brought a whirlwind of brain-busting news from the energy sector. And for once, most of it's good. No giant nuclear catastrophes, no new coal-gobbling gargantuans. Instead, we've got word of major milestones in worldwide solar and wind power expansion, landmarks in nationwide clean energy generation, and some rosy specs about the future of clean-tech investment.

Link: http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/these-renewable-energy-stats-will-blow-your-coal-powered-brain

Author: www.foxnews.com

Source: www.foxnews.com

Interest: President Obama is pushing Congress to authorize more federally funded research into clean energy technologies that can wean automobiles off oil. Obama proposed the idea of an energy security trust last month in his State of the Union address, but he was putting a price tag on the idea during a trip Friday to the Argonne National Laboratory outside Chicago -- $2 billion over 10 years.

Link: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/03/15/obama-pushes-2b-clean-energy-research-project/