Concern about climate change/global warming among online consumers around the world took a back-seat to other environmental issues such as air and water pollution, water shortages, packaging waste and use of pesticides, according to Nielsen’s 2011 Global Online Environment & Sustainability Survey of more than 25,000 Internet respondents in 51 countries. The latest findings, which [...]

Rural advocacy nonprofit Center for Rural Affairs argues that expanding the grid is key to a clean energy future, and will bring more wind energy online, creating rural jobs in both transmission and wind industries.

The Ogle County Board voted this week to extend a moritorium on wind permitting while they consider changes to their ordinance, but not before a large number of residents voiced their opinion that the Board should not consider regulations that will pro…

Heartland Community College in Normal is just over a mile south of NextEra’s White Oak project, and has had a MET tower on campus for over a year, but this week the college’s Board voted to take steps toward constructing a turbine on the site. Accordin…

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has slammed O&M contractor Outland Renewable Energy with a hefty fine for six safety violations at Iberdrola’s Cayuga Ridge project in Livingston County after a worker suffered burns in a nacelle. A…

Joel Smiley, the enthusiastic director of the Lincoln/Logan Economic Development Partnership resigned his post this week, ending three years serving as a strong wind advocate and champion of economic growth in the area.
During his tenure in the positio…

As the Ogle Co Board prepares to hear testimony on the county’s wind zoning ordinance tonight, the President of the Ogle Co Farm Bureau is telling residents that the proposed standards the County is considering would hinder private property rights, dis…

From the Peoria Journal-Star:

In a strongly worded letter to landowners, Iberdrola Renewables said its proposed wind farm near Benson is on hold because of concerns about the new Woodford County Board, which is perceived to be opposed to wind farm …

Saying Illinois and the US need to invest in clean, domestic energy sources, Senator Mark Kirk (D-Illinois) issued a call yesterday for a permanent extension of the renewable energy production tax credits (PTC), a move that again shows the bi-partisan …

The Berwyn shopping center made famous in Wayne’s World and other films for its iconic “Spindle” of cars on a giant spike now has new artwork dominating the building: 12 vertical-axis turbines.
According to a story in the Chicago Sun-Times, the Windspi…

Yesterday was a great day for wind energy in Bureau County. It was a great day for Bureau County in general.
In a move that showed they would not bow to pressure from the small vocal minority making hyperbolic statements about wind energy, the County B…

The Iroquois County Board apparently decided this week that they don’t want to see any more wind farms built in the county, choosing to pass a remarkable 2000-foot setback from non-participating property lines, a move that makes the county’s the most r…

Despite significant challenges in 2010, the U.S. wind industry continued to make good on its promise to strengthen America, and laid the foundation for a strong return in 2011, according to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). As the year closed, industry leaders appealed to Washington to adopt a long-term energy plan so the benefits [...]

Electric vehicles are all the rage at the moment, particularly in policy circles, but the biggest win for the technology in the United States would be to get the Postal Service driving electric delivery trucks. The USPS is the largest single user of gasoline in the country, and one of the largest in the world, [...]

Pressure group Friends of the Earth complains that the biofuels industry has spent $22 million “in recent years” on lobbying and campaign contributions to influence public policy. The report from the anti-biofuel group highlights those legislators that received contributions from the biofuel industry. The top recipients in each side of Congress were from South Dakota [...]

Residents in nearly 170 communities in Massachusetts will be hit by “substantial” rate increases because of the Cape Wind offshore wind project, warns a group called Taxpayers Against Cape Wind. The group is lobbying ahead of the final review of the offshore wind project’s power purchase agreement with National Grid. But in a press release [...]

A group of municipal officials in Riverside, California, is holding a special meeting today to discuss a lawsuit over a canceled $33 million clean energy program. The lawsuit against the California Energy Commission looks very likely to see California losing the funding completely, as the deadline for seeking the federal stimulus money passes. The Western [...]

And we’re back! Many apologies to all our readers for the loss of service over the last few days. We saw our poor servers melt down on Tuesday (October 5) as the demand for the latest news on clean energy in the US overwhelmed our capabilities. We have now moved to a new higher-powered system, [...]

An excerpt from the US Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar’s keynote address at the American Wind Energy Association’s (AWEA) annual North American Offshore Wind Conference in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Even as we transition to a sustainable energy economy, we will continue to rely on oil, gas, and conventional fuels. The Energy Information Agency [...]

This year’s much-trumpeted Comprehensive Climate and Energy legislation died with a wail in Congress this summer – apparently even a major oil spill is not enough to get Senators motivated on fossil fuels. But Obama has now insisted energy will be a “top priority” in 2011. Speaking candidly to Rolling Stone magazine this week, he [...]

Despite the many obvious and fatal flaws of the United States’ reliance on fossil fuels, we continue to depend on them as our primary energy source. These fossil fuels—even as they become increasingly scarce—have proven to be a dangerous and costly way to power our machinery and buildings. The recent economic impacts of the Gulf [...]

Americans love solar energy and 92 percent of them are demanding greater access to it. It’s hard to get that many Americans to agree on anything – let alone something as politically charged as energy. And yet, solar energy generates that kind of support. Americans understand that solar is a solution to many of the [...]

The visual impact of wind farms is one of the key issues in the local permitting process, and many developers try to minimize it with off-white paint or careful positioning. Yet one turbine manufacturer is now going completely against the grain, offering its turbines in a blazing Stars and Stripes motif. Aeronautica Windpower, which is [...]

Hurricane Earl is moving up the East Coast today, forecast to reach Massachusetts waters by midnight. The storm has lost some of its power since traveling up to North Carolina, but is still expected to lash islands like Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard with winds of 100 miles an hour. With developers drawing up plans to [...]