alternative energy – News Stories About alternative energy - Page 2

Feb 23, 2010 11:42 AM CST

'Bloom Box' Could Soon Power Your Home

Miracle power cells already installed at Wal-Mart, Google, eBay

(Newser) - Two boxes the size of your fist could soon power your entire house—at least according to Silicon Valley startup Bloom Energy. After 8 years toiling in secret, the well-funded firm is suddenly on a media blitz to show off its creation. The “Bloom Box” is a self-contained, silent,...

Obama Budget
Winners
and Losers

Feb 2, 2010 6:26 AM CST

Obama Budget Winners and Losers

Education, R&D are up, oil and gas companies down

(Newser) - The 2011 fiscal budget says much about the state of the country—and the state of the president. "Like any politician, he’s focused on rewarding friends and not enemies," write Eamon Javers and James Hohmann for Politico . A look at this year's winners and losers: Winners

Education:

...

Spoiled Wine Used to Generate Electricity

Dec 16, 2009 10:54 AM CST

Spoiled Wine Used to Generate Electricity

Scientists turn wine waste into energy

(Newser) - Scientists have found a way to turn bad wine into good energy, a step, they hope, toward a new, cost-effective way to treat wastewater generated by wineries. The process, currently being tested in Napa, uses a common bacteria to turn unwanted vinegar and sugars into electricity and hydrogen. This should...

Denmark Goes All-In
on Electric Cars

Dec 2, 2009 9:52 AM CST

Denmark Goes All-In on Electric Cars

Deal with Better Place aims to make it a 'laboratory country'

(Newser) - Denmark is so gung-ho about electric cars that it’s giving its people a $40,000 tax credit to buy one, and planning to line the streets with charging and battery-swap stations. They’re even keeping free parking open for them in downtown Copenhagen. Yet consumers, and some industry experts,...

Recession Trims
Carbon Emissions 3%

Oct 6, 2009 6:20 PM CDT

Recession Trims Carbon Emissions 3%

There's less industrial activity, and more countries look to alternative fuels

(Newser) - The recession will help the world achieve something this year few laws have been able to: cut the output of greenhouse gases. Emissions will be down 3% mainly due to lower industrial activity, the International Energy Agency said today, with countries also helping by switching to alternative energy sources.

Questionable Projects Gobble Stimulus Funds

analysis

Jun 14, 2009 12:20 PM CDT

Questionable Projects Gobble Stimulus Funds

Report skeptical of $2M dance center, $1M Okla. guardrail

(Newser) - The economic stimulus is funding a variety of projects, but some possibilities—like a $1.1 million move to fix a guardrail no one uses—don’t seem to fit President Obama’s vision for the money, the Los Angeles Times reports. Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn will question such projects...

Michael Moore:
9 Ways to Rise
From GM's Ashes

OPINION

Jun 1, 2009 1:25 PM CDT

Michael Moore: 9 Ways to Rise From GM's Ashes

Let's use their facilities to overhaul America's transit

(Newser) - The end of General Motors is an opportunity for an America that now owns 60% of the company, writes Michael Moore. Let’s take advantage of the death of a firm that built poor cars, battled environmental rules, and shipped jobs away by using its facilities to implement a new...

Recession
Dims Lights
on Solar Sales

May 11, 2009 9:52 AM CDT

Recession Dims Lights on Solar Sales

Banks, government cut funding for industry

(Newser) - After a bright 2008, things are looking gloomy for the solar power industry amid the recession, the Wall Street Journal reports. Banks have cut funds for some projects, and the government of Spain, the second-biggest solar power market, has shrunk subsidies. Solar-cell sales are expected to fall by some 20%,...

100 Days:
Biggest Promises Kept, Broken

analysis

Apr 29, 2009 8:39 AM CDT

100 Days: Biggest Promises Kept, Broken

The economy has changed the stakes since the campaign began

(Newser) - One way to judge President Obama's first 100 days in office is to look at his rhetoric on the campaign trail. Taking into account the fallout from the economic crisis, PolitFact came up with the most crucial promises Obama has kept and broken. His vow to beef up alternative-energy investment...

Obama's Earth Day Pitch: 'New Energy Economy'

Apr 22, 2009 3:45 PM CDT

Obama's Earth Day Pitch: 'New Energy Economy'

America must choose a 'new energy economy,' he says

(Newser) - President Obama returned to Iowa—his crucial campaign battleground win—for Earth Day, hailing the “new, clean energy economy” and unveiling an offshore wind project. “It is time for us to lay a new foundation for economic growth by beginning a new era of energy exploration,” he...

Calif. Utility Aims to Buy
Power From Space

Apr 14, 2009 2:48 PM CDT

Calif. Utility Aims to Buy Power From Space

Orbiting solar farm planned for 2016

(Newser) - California’s Pacific Gas and Electric is seeking approval for its commitment to buy electricity from an innovative source, the San Francisco Chronicle reports: an orbiting solar power array that would beam electricity back to Earth. Solaren Corp. plans to deploy the satellite sometime before 2016; PG&E has signaled...

Gas-Guzzling Pentagon
Turns to Green Energy

Apr 13, 2009 4:50 AM CDT

Gas-Guzzling Pentagon Turns to Green Energy

Fuel is costing the military in money and lives

(Newser) - The nation's biggest gas guzzler, the Defense Department, is trying to kick its oil habit and use alternative energies—not to support the green movement or save money, but to save lives, the Washington Post reports. Half of US casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan are from IEDs deployed on fuel-carrying...

Big Oil Blows Off Obama's Clean-Energy Push

Apr 8, 2009 8:18 AM CDT

Big Oil Blows Off Obama's Clean-Energy Push

Firms say alternatives won't replace oil anytime soon

(Newser) - As the Obama administration seeks to spearhead a $150 million clean-energy overhaul, oil firms are conspicuously not getting on board—they're staying on the sidelines and, in many cases, betting against it, the New York Times reports. Shell is freezing its development work on wind, solar and hydrogen power, after...

Clean Coal Myth
Proves Industry
Is Declining

OPINION

Mar 28, 2009 4:35 PM CDT

Clean Coal Myth Proves Industry Is Declining

(Newser) - Clean coal is a myth, and the companies selling it “have their heads stuck in the mine,” Thomas Kostigen writes on MarketWatch. Although Americans generate close to 50% of their energy from coal, the technology is so yesterday—and the industry is not poised to move forward. It...

Plans for Clean Energy Get Dirty in Transmission

ANALYSIS

Mar 23, 2009 3:54 PM CDT

Plans for Clean Energy Get Dirty in Transmission

Firms use green hype to build power lines that could carry electricity from coal

(Newser) - Plans to green the US power supply are in full swing, with the Obama administration working toward the goal of doubling the current supply of alternative energy over the next 3 years. But, some complain, power companies are using the popularity of green power to push through a needless—but...

AT&T Will Spend $565M to Green its Vehicle Fleet

Mar 11, 2009 3:45 PM CDT

AT&T Will Spend $565M to Green its Vehicle Fleet

(Newser) - AT&T pledged to spend $565 million to replace its current vehicle fleet with models that run on alternative fuels, the Detroit Free Press reports. The firm will buy over 15,000 hybrid and natural-gas-powered cars, mainly from Ford. AT&T billed the move as not only environmentally responsible but...

Howard Dean: Dems Must
Not Cave on Health Care

Mar 10, 2009 2:55 PM CDT

Howard Dean: Dems Must Not Cave on Health Care

(Newser) - Howard Dean didn't get the health cabinet post he wanted, and doesn't want the job that's open—surgeon general—but is pushing President Obama's health-care plan just the same, the Washington Times reports. "Democrats can’t cave," says the former doc. Obama’s plan is "perfect,"...

New Energy Draws Obama
to Colo. to Sign Stimulus

Feb 16, 2009 9:53 AM CST

New Energy Draws Obama to Colo. to Sign Stimulus

Highlights

(Newser) - Last week Barack Obama's team chose Denver for the site of a stimulus rally like the one in Elkhart, Ind., but now that the bill’s been passed, the visit Wednesday has been repurposed as a bill signing. In both cases, the point of picking Colorado was to highlight what...

Ethanol on Tap
From Beer Dregs

Feb 3, 2009 5:50 PM CST

Ethanol on Tap From Beer Dregs

Brewer Sierra Nevada gets in on plan to produce alternative fuel

(Newser) - Brewer Sierra Nevada is part of an effort to turn byproducts of the beer-making process into usable, alternative fuel, CNET reports. E-Fuel sells a $10,000 portable ethanol refinery that the brewer will feed with its yearly output of 1.6 million gallons of “bottom of the barrel” waste....

Electric Motorcycles Closing Gap
on Speed

Jan 28, 2009 5:45 PM CST

Electric Motorcycles Closing Gap on Speed

Brit creates all-battery bike for the racetrack

(Newser) - An English entrepreneur is developing an all-electric motorcycle he says can compete on the racetrack, Wired reports. Well, in the near future. His prototype—the bike is expected to be for sale next year and will be legal for street use—can go from 0 to 60 in 3.8...