Colorado won solar plant due to tech know-how and available plant space

Colorado won the PrimeStar Solar plant because it had a technology head-start and a facility that could quickly be turned into a factory, said Victor Abate, head of the renewable energy business for General Electric Co., PrimeStar’s owner. The technology to be used in the factory was developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in […]

Continue reading


CSU among nation’s top four public universities for solar power

FORT COLLINS – Colorado State University is one of the top four major public research universities for solar power, according to a report by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. AASHE also listed CSU as having two of the top 10 largest photovoltaic installations at a four-year university. Overall, the university […]

Continue reading


Google invests in US residential solar market

The renewable energy sector – solar in particular – is becoming increasingly popular at Google, which has up to now invested more than US$850 million in the renewable energy sector. The latest US$75 million investment is in Clean Power Finance’s ‘white label’ financing solution for the US residential market for solar PV installations. The Clean […]

Continue reading


Survey says Coloradans are fed up with oil companies, want more renewables

Coloradans blame market speculation and oil companies for high gas prices, and the vast majority say the best way to bring prices down is to crackdown on market manipulation, according to a poll released Tuesday. The Checks and Balances Project commissioned Colorado pollster Chris Keating to conduct research that shows that 79 percent of Coloradans […]

Continue reading


Renewable Energy Projects Under Pressure from Feds and Environmental Groups

At the close of 2010, the Obama administration announced an ambitious plan to preserve massive amounts of land, particularly in the West. Pursuant to a regulatory change instigated by the administration, the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has been instructed to survey its vast holdings – some 250 million acres – and designate […]

Continue reading


Solar companies learn to play nice with environmentalists

As more solar farms arise in the sunny corners of the U.S., it’s inevitable that solar developers will have to play ball with environmental groups. First Solar and SunPower announced an agreement on Tuesday with the Sierra Club and others to add thousands of acres near their proposed projects for wildlife protection. The agreement calls […]

Continue reading


U.S. Debt Deal Kills Off Prospects of Renewable-Power Support

Via Bloomberg U.S. government support for renewable energy may plunge from record levels, setting back the use of wind and solar power before they can compete on their own with oil, gas and coal. Direct spending, tax breaks and research funding pushed federal renewable-energy subsidies to $14.7 billion in 2010, according to Alan Beamon, director […]

Continue reading