Wind

Energy bill expected to lose renewable energy tax break

Dealing a blow to the solar and wind industries, the U.S. Senate is expected to pass an energy bill later on Thursday that strips out a tax provision to encourage investment in renewable energies.

The House last week passed an energy bill that extended tax incentives beyond 2008 for businesses and consumers who purchase renewable energy systems.

On Thursday, the Senate delayed passage of the bill until later today, a move which will lead to the removal of the tax provision, according to industry executives and published reports.

The centerpiece of the energy bill is an overhaul to the … Read more

Offshore wind: It's not just about wind technology

Last week, I traveled to Berlin with a delegation representing Northern Ohio's Regional Energy Development Task Force to attend the European Offshore Wind Conference and Exhibition, put on by the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA). We visited to learn about the status of offshore wind energy technologies, as part of the Task Force's assessment of the proposed Great Lakes Wind Energy Center, which is envisioned to accelerate the development and emergence of offshore wind in the United States.

With offshore currently just a tiny niche of the booming wind industry, I expected the audience to be on the … Read more

Britain proposes massive offshore wind power investment

The British government on Monday proposed the construction of up to 7,000 offshore wind turbines to accelerate the country's conversion to cleaner power.

The proposal, unveiled by U.K. business secretary John Hutton, is meant to help achieve the European Union's goal of producing 20 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020, according to reports.

Britain will overtake Denmark next year as the country with the most offshore wind power, Hutton said at an energy conference in Berlin.

The country now gets about 2 percent of its energy from renewable sources. The plans call for … Read more

Stanford eyes offshore wind farms for Calif.

SAN FRANCISCO--A Stanford research team has concluded that the ocean not far off the Northern California coastline is the most promising spot for an offshore wind farm to generate power.

Specifically, the researchers concluded that the sea off Cape Mendocino, roughly 150 miles northwest of San Francisco, was their top pick. Wind turbines there could supply 5 percent of California's electrical power needs, they projected.

The researchers plan to present their findings Thursday at the American Geophysical Union conference here Thursday.

There are a number of offshore wind farms--one to the west of Denmark springs to mind--but most of … Read more

Googling clean energy: Green tech week in review

Google to enter clean-energy business. It's a search engine, it's a $700 stock, it's a clean energy investor. Google surprised many this week with plans to get into the renewable energy business. Skeptics and fans await results. Roundup.

Can baking soda curb global warming? A start-up in Texas says it can turn the carbon dioxide emitted by power plants into baking soda. CNET News.com.

Ethanol Craze Cools As Doubts Multiply. Corn-based ethanol is considered renewable energy but it continues to draw fire from environmentalists, locations that host refineries, and, increasingly, investors. The Wall Street Journal.

Cleaning … Read more

MIT launches contest to fire up energy entrepreneurs

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is kicking off a competition to award $200,000 to entrepreneurs in the green-energy field.

The MIT Clean Energy Entrepreneurship Prize, announced Wednesday, combines two existing prizes and increases the prize money.

The revamped contest pulls in sponsorship from the U.S. Department of Energy and NStar, an electric and gas utility based in Massachusetts. In addition to receiving cash or services, competitors will also get mentoring from experts as they develop their business plans.

Sponsors hope the competition will accelerate the pace of innovation and energy.

"We want to help these entrepreneurs get … Read more