Reuters

By Stuart McDill

Published: February 11, 2009

 

Can algae save the world again? The microscopic green plants cleaned up the earth's atmosphere millions of years ago and scientists hope they can do it now by helping remove greenhouse gases and create new oil reserves. In the distant past, algae helped turn the earth's then inhospitable atmosphere into one that could support modern life through photosynthesis, which plants use to turn carbon dioxide and sunlight into sugars and oxygen.

The Associated Press

By Duncan Mansfield

Published: February 11, 2009

 

Gov. Phil Bredesen is sold on switchgrass and now is looking to the sun. The governor proposed in his State of the State address Monday night that Tennessee build on its fledgling biofuels initiative for turning switchgrass into non-food ethanol and create a solar power research center to spur green energy jobs.

The Tennessean

By Michael Cass

Published: February 11, 2009

 

Metro government produces about 5 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions generated in Nashville, according to an inventory ordered by Mayor Karl Dean. The inventory, which the city plans to release today, also shows that the city is slightly above the national average and below the state average for emissions produced by each resident. The findings are expected to spur recommendations of steps the city can take to reduce its impact on the environment.

The New York Times

By Charlie Savage and David D. Kirkpatrick

Published: February 11, 2009

 

To rally support for his administration’s economic recovery bill recently, President Obama invited about a dozen chief executives, seven of them from technology and energy companies, to the Oval Office. Some of their industries’ top lobbyists, meanwhile, gathered in another office where Jason Furman, a top White House economic adviser, delivered a private briefing for groups expected to benefit most from the stimulus bill.

Business Week

By Anselm Waldermann

Published: February 11, 2009

 

Germany's renewable energy companies are a tremendous success story. Roughly 15 percent of the country's electricity comes from solar, wind or biomass facilities, almost 250,000 jobs have been created and the net worth of the business is €35 billion per year. But there's a catch: The climate hasn't in fact profited from these developments. As astonishing as it may sound, the new wind turbines and solar cells haven't prohibited the emission of even a single gram of CO2.

The Associated Press

By H. Joseph Hebert

Published: February 11, 2009

 

Environmental advocates urged Congress on Wednesday to reinstate the broad moratorium on offshore oil drilling, but a key congressman said on that issue, "The ship may have already sailed." Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, said the political reality is that the broad moratorium across 85 percent of the country's Outer Continental Shelf _ lifted by Congress last fall _ is unlikely to be reimposed.

The Tennessean

By Anne Paine

Published: February 10, 2009

 

The Tennessee Valley Authority estimates it would cost $1.8 billion to comply with a federal judge's order to clean up air pollution from power plants near North Carolina, according to a document filed with the SEC yesterday. That's how much would be spent through fiscal year 2014. The agency planned to put $0.8 billion into improvements at the plants before the ruling from the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, the document said.

The Associated Press

By Duncan Mansfield

Published: February 10, 2009

 

The cost of coal-fired energy is rising rapidly for the nation's largest public utility after losing a North Carolina air pollution lawsuit and suffering a massive coal ash spill in Tennessee. The Tennessee Valley Authority said in a filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday that a federal judge's accelerated deadline for reducing smokestack pollutants blowing into North Carolina would cost $1.8 billion — or about $1 billion more than TVA planned to spend on such efforts — through fiscal 2014.

The Christian Science Monitor

By Elizabeth Armstrong Moore

Published: February 10, 2009

 

Everything about this place seems clean: the straight-line architecture of the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry; the brightly outfitted cyclists gliding quietly past in their wide, well-marked bike lane; the gentle, lapping sounds of Willamette River, its murky waters conveniently just out of view. As if to complete the picture, John R.A. Benson, a self-described garage tinkerer, bends over a free charging station in the museum’s parking lot and connects his orange 1970 Porsche 914, which he converted to electric in 1997.

Knoxville News Sentinel

By Scott Barker

Published: February 10, 2009

 

The cleanup of the Kingston fly ash spill will take years and could cost hundreds of millions of dollars, a Tennessee Valley Authority spokeswoman told a group of Knoxville engineers and other technophiles Monday. TVA spokeswoman Barbara Martocci gave an update on the cleanup during a luncheon of the Technological Society of Knoxville at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. TVA officials have submitted a Phase I dredging plan for the Emory River but haven’t forged a long-term plan, Martocci said.

The New York Times

By Ruth Y. Goldway

Published: February 10, 2009

 

President Obama’s energy plan calls for putting one million electric plug-in hybrid cars on the road by 2015. This ambitious goal could be accomplished more quickly if we invested in converting the largest civilian fleet in the United States — the 219,000 vehicles owned by the United States Postal Service — to electricity.

The New York Times

By Ken Belson

Published: February 10, 2009

 

Public Service Electric and Gas, New Jersey’s largest utility, said it would unveil a five-year, one-of-a-kind plan on Tuesday to install solar panels on 200,000 utility poles in its service territory. The project, which the utility must first present to state regulators for approval, would also include putting solar panels on schools and municipal buildings, low-income housing and areas like closed garbage dumps.

The New York Times

By Matthew Wald and Miguel Helft

Published: February 10, 2009

 

Google will announce its entry Tuesday into the small but growing business of “smart grid,” digital technologies that seek to both keep the electrical system on an even keel and reduce electrical energy consumption. Google is one of a number of companies devising ways to control the demand for electric power as an alternative to building more power plants. The company has developed a free Web service called PowerMeter that consumers can use to track energy use in their house or business as it is consumed.

Reuters

By John Crawley

Published: February 10, 2009

 

Nissan Motor Co. has applied for U.S. government financing to help it make electric vehicles and develop the advanced batteries that power them, the company said on Monday. Nissan, which announced plans earlier in the day to cut 20,000 jobs worldwide in response to declining sales blamed on recession, is the first Japanese automaker to seek taxpayer-funded loans from the Energy Department to facilitate its U.S. manufacturing plans.

 

Green jobs, we're told, will save America. President Obama wants to create millions of jobs for people installing solar panels, brewing up biofuels or making homes more energy efficient. Those jobs, he hopes, will help lift the country out of recession and fight global warming at the same time. But what green jobs are available now? And how do you find them?

The New York Times

By Kate Galbraith

Published: February 10, 2009

 

A document released yesterday by operators of the electricity grid in the Midwest estimated that building transmission lines to take wind power from the middle of the country to the Northeast and other population centers would cost between $50 billion and $80 billion. The variations in the numbers stem from differing estimates of the amount of wind — from 5 percent ($50 billion) to 20 percent ($80 billion) of the United States’ electricity supply — and the document emphasizes that more study is needed.

The Washington Post

By Steve Vogel and Ed O’Keefe

Published: February 10, 2009

 

The economic stimulus packages under consideration on Capitol Hill represent a massive financial windfall for agencies across the federal government. Taken together, they could lead to more spending for "green" initiatives, the upgrading of federal buildings and facilities, and improved health-care services.

Knoxville News Sentinel

By Tom Humphrey

Published: February 10, 2009

 

Gov. Phil Bredesen called Monday for the creation of a "solar institute," perhaps in the Oak Ridge-Knoxville area, to lead national research into harnessing the sun's energy. The proposal was virtually the only new specific proposal in a State of the State speech devoted generally to calling for bipartisanship in the Legislature and laying out broad themes to be fleshed out later.

WAAY-TV

Published: February 10, 2009

 

Gov. Phil Bredesen wants to take advantage of industrial and scientific expertise in Tennessee to establish a solar power research lab and spur green energy job creation. The Democratic governor said in his annual State of the State address Monday night that a Solar Institute could become what he calls "the basic research leader in making solar power practical."

The Tennessean

By Commissioner James Neely

Published: February 10, 2009

 

Over the past 30 years of working with state government, I have seen a great change in Tennessee's work force. We have seen steady declines in manufacturing, and the current recession has cut more deeply into the pockets of employers and workers than I have ever seen before. More than 240,000 Tennesseans are out of work right now, so as I look at opportunities for job growth, "green jobs'' could be a saving grace for many who are out of work or are looking for new avenues to increase their business.