Renewable Energy

Syndicate content GreenBiz.com
The use of renewable energy, also called green energy or green power, can be a key strategy for businesses looking to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. While fossil fuels, which come from coal, oil, and natural gases, contribute to global warming and cause significant damage to our air, soil, and water, green energy provides clean alternatives that cause little or no pollution at all.
Updated: 1 year 10 weeks ago

Green Technology Will Make Up 40 Percent of Stimulus Orders From Siemens

Mon, 06/22/2009 - 15:32
Wind turbine - CC license by Flickr user Martin Pettitt

Siemens estimates that it will receive $21 billion in new orders as a result of stimulus programs from countries around the world, and expects about 40 percent of those orders to come from wind turbines, building efficiency systems and other green technology.

Six Flags, in the Red, Goes for the Green

Thu, 06/18/2009 - 14:56

The theme park company's enterprise-wide green initiative, announced the same week as it filed for Chapter 11 protection, brings large-scale recycling, LED lights and vegetable oil-powered vehicles -- and hopefully cost savings -- to all Six Flags theme parks.

Sainsbury's Rolls Out Kinetic Energy Generator

Mon, 06/15/2009 - 12:49
Image courtesy of Sainsbury's

New kinetic road plates have been installed at the supermarket giant's new store in Gloucester, U.K. It will harness enough energy from vehicles driving in and out of the store's parking lot to power all check outs.

What Does a Very Low Carbon Utility Look Like?

Mon, 06/15/2009 - 12:00

Most utilities today are rightly concerned about how they're going to reduce carbon dioxide emissions to comply with new energy and climate legislation, while still reliably meeting growing demands for electricity.

Electric Vehicles May Fail to Achieve Mass Adoption Without Support

Thu, 06/11/2009 - 20:00

Automakers are increasingly looking to achieve efficiency gains by developing plug-in electric vehicles. But despite significant support from the Obama administration, electric vehicles are unlikely to grow beyond a minuscule portion of the country's fleets unless city and regional leaders get on board as well.

Clean Energy Creates Jobs, Improves Economic Growth

Thu, 06/11/2009 - 15:55

"Green collar jobs" has been the buzz term in business and policy circles as the solution to rising unemployment and greenhouse gas emissions. Two new reports show that the U.S. and states such as California can improve economic growth by employing clean energy strategies. And one of the reports says "business as usual" could make California's economy worse in the long run.

Of Kites, Coal and the Waxman-Markey Climate Bill

Mon, 06/08/2009 - 14:13

Although the U.S. Congress's new climate change bill may yet result in the kind of emissions cuts we need to stem the tide of severe global warming, its lack of market-based policies could hinder what would otherwise be much-needed progress and innovation.

The Winds of Change Blow Through the Heartland and Beyond

Fri, 06/05/2009 - 07:37
Iowa Wind Farm -- Image CC licensed by Hammer51012.

Twenty years after Field of Dreams brought one of cinema's most famous lines to the American consciousness, political and business leaders from the Hawkeye state and beyond are quoting a new variation. Wind farms: If you build them, jobs will come.

U.S. DOE Earmarks $256M in Stimulus Funds for Industrial and IT Energy Efficiency

Tue, 06/02/2009 - 12:30
Photo by Bernard Blessinger, Courtesy of NREL

The U.S. Department of Energy is providing $256 million in Recovery Act funds to support projects to curb consumption in energy intensive manufacturing and IT industries.

2008 Top Ten Utility Solar Integration Rankings

Mon, 06/01/2009 - 14:01

This report from the Solar Electric Power Association highlights U.S. utilities who are leading integration of solar electricity into the grid and ranks them based on installed solar capacity in several categories, such as watts-per-customer and total megawatts.

Report Ranks PG&E and SCE Tops for Solar

Mon, 06/01/2009 - 11:27
Solar panels -- CC licensed by Flickr user Mountain/\Ash

The Solar Electric Power Association named PG&E the most solar integrated utility in 2008. Cumulatively, Southern California Edison took the top spot.

T. Boone Pickens' Roadmap for Green Entrepreneurs

Mon, 06/01/2009 - 06:27

In an exclusive interview with the billionaire oil-turned-wind power magnate, T. Boone Pickens offers up the six steps to success for any green project.

Waste Management Fires Up New Trash-to-Gas Project

Thu, 05/28/2009 - 16:58

Waste Management already generates renewable energy by incinerating trash and converting methane from its miles of landfills. Now the company is wading into a new venture that can turn garbage into synthetic gas for heating, ethanol or electricity.

Warren Buffet's Big Battery Play

Tue, 05/26/2009 - 08:41

David Sokol, the chairman of MidAmerican Energy (majority controlled by Berkshire Hathaway), is about to start testing a utility-scale battery storage plan that could change the renewables game forever.

Show Me the (Stimulus) Money

Fri, 05/22/2009 - 11:00

A new guide called "Show Me The Money" sheds light on the various programs and potential sources for federal funding for all energy sectors, including wind, solar, biomass, green building and energy efficiency.

Steelcase's Vision for an Eco-Friendly Future: 'Radical Evolution'

Tue, 05/19/2009 - 11:00

The key to Steelcase Inc.'s business sustainability practices -- and its design strategy -- lies in its approach, says Angela Nahikian, the company's director of Global Environmental Sustainability. That approach may come as a surprise to some people who have tracked this industry leader and its nearly 100-year history of innovation. Nahikian tells GreenBiz Radio about her company's outlook and the concept of "radical evolution."

Steelcase Makes a Case for 'Radical Evolution'

Tue, 05/19/2009 - 10:30
The key to Steelcase Inc.'s business sustainability practices and its design strategy lies in its approach, says Angela Nahikian, the company's director of Global Environmental Sustainability. That approach may come as a surprise to some people who have tracked this industry leader and its nearly 100-year history of innovation. Nahikian talks to GreenBiz Radio about her company and the concept of "radical evolution."