Hey, another US EIA brief fits into “real work”. More recycling raises average energy content of waste used to generate electricity Most municipal solid waste (MSW) used to generate electricity contains both biogenic and non-biogenic components. As consumers recycle or recover more biogenic waste (such as food waste and yard clippings) and discard more non-biogenic […]
US Energy Information Administration
At this month’s Western Planner Conference, I noticed a lot of the presenters (more than one) used a lot of data and graphics from the US Energy Information Administration, when they were talking about energy development. Now, I pride myself on being a data geek, but I had not heard of this federal font of, […]
Western Planners Get Smart About Energy, Revitalization and Transportation
Energy development, smart growth and transportation planning were the topics of choice at the 2012 Western Planner Conference in Billings, Montana. Western Planner brings together professionals from just west of SRDC’s borders to Alaska, many of whom work in small towns and rural areas. Former Maryland Governor Parris Glendening, now President of the Smart Growth […]
GreenStep Cities
[v=AcJJhhf5GS4] Minnesota GreenStep Cities is a voluntary challenge, assistance and recognition program to help cities achieve their sustainability goals through implementation of best practices. These actions are tailored to all Minnesota cities, focused on cost savings and energy use reduction, and encourage innovation. GreenStep Cities is a partnership of Minnesota’s Clean Energy Resource Teams (CERTs), […]
FourSquare for Your Square
FourSquare for Business webinar, Thurs 10 Nov, Noon CST. The information superhighway was supposed to knock down the barriers of distance, putting rural communities on a level playing field with our urban brethren. And it has… except where it hasn’t. For every web app that lets rural entrepreneurs compete globally it seems another online trend […]
Beacon Power Pulls the Plug
It may be darkest just before the dawn, but it doesn’t seem like there’s much of any light shining out of the US Department of Energy’s Energy Policy Act loan guarantee program. First solar energy manufacturer Solyndra went lights out in September. The end of October, now, brought us news that energy storage (back-up power supply) firm Beacon […]
The Junk Science of Ethanol-Food Price Pressure
With harvest wrapping up here in the Upper Midwest, I wanted to share this Op-Ed from Iowa’s Secretary of Agriculture, Republican Bill Northey. It came out last spring, but is still timely this fall. Rising Food Prices: Don’t Blame Ethanol By Bill Northey, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Food prices are rising here in the United […]
Post-Solyndra Solar Looking Up
Fast Company magazine offered an upbeat rejoinder this to the post-Solyndra solar funk that I should have included in that post: The solar industry has been in the post-Solyndra dumps. But here comes a timely ray of light: news that solar companies are adding jobs faster than the rest of the economy, and now employ more than […]
Solyndra’s Broken Windows
In the spirit of broken windows posing as “economic development,” lets take a peek at the recent disaster named Solyndra. Solyndra was a California company founded in 2005, that designed, manufactured and sold rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) panels. The company’s solar panels featured a unique design with racks of cylindrical tubes and a mounting system […]
Wind Energy Looking Up For 2011
Press Release U.S. wind energy industry finishes 2010 with half the installations of 2009, activity up in 2011, now cost-competitive with natural gas Industry weathers latest boom-bust cycle as utilities move to lock in more wind power at favorable long-term rates Washington, D.C. – America’s wind industry built 5,115 megawatts of wind power last year, […]
