Sometimes when one gets so focused on the daily tasks at hand, it’s easy to lose sight of the big picture around us. But when you take a step back, it is an impressive canvass. Thanks to the hard work of everyone at the Department of Energy over the past year, we’ve made remarkable progress in laying the foundation for a new energy future, advancing groundbreaking
Last month, The Economist told us that changes on the scale necessary to prevent even a two-degree rise in global temperatures are a “wishful dream.” The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s 2007 Report on Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability concluded that the poorest regions in the world were going to suffer the most. And as the world keeps
By helping stand up responsible large-scale renewable energy projects on America’s public lands and oceans, the Department of the Interior is playing a leading role in fulfilling President Obama’s vision for a new energy future.
As America’s principal public lands management agency with stewardship
As Argonne National Laboratory Director Eric D. Isaacs noted in his recent Huffpo op ed, the U.S. must have a 21st-century energy grid if clean, renewable energy technologies like solar are to thrive.
The Argonne Lab is one of 21 laboratories operating under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to identify,
Check out Google Earth – the ‘view from above’ of your favorite American city. And look at the roofs of the office buildings, warehouses, shopping centers, and even the homes. Most of them are probably pretty dark in color – and this means they heat up a lot when the weather is warm – up to 50 degrees hotter than light roofs. All of those dark roofs mean that as a nation
Despite a slower market, California solar developers are still cashing in on state and federal incentives. In fact, the West Coast is slated to get another 250 megawatts of clean, renewable energy in San Luis Obispo County.
Under NRG Solar and SunPower Corporation, the California Valley Solar Ranch is slated for an area known as the
America is at a “Sputnik moment”, Energy Secretary Stephen Chu said today, and the government’s next moves will determine whether the country leads the global cleantech race or loses it to China.
“This is the threat that I see,” Chu said in a speech at the National Press Club in Washington D.C. “The U.S. still has the
Last month, the Department of Energy announced $57 million in awards to 33 small businesses dealing in the world of clean energy production in order to “accelerate commercialization of clean energy techniques, increase American competitiveness and create jobs.” The money is intended to help businesses
This month one of the biggest proposed sustainable business projects in the world cleared another hurdle, when it secured a $1.3 billion stimulus loan from the US Department of Energy. Once complete the Shepherds Flat Wind Farm, to be located in eastern Oregon, will consist of 338 wind turbines capable of generating 845 megawatts of electricity—more than the
Last week Secretary Chu invited you to submit your questions on home energy efficiency and the response was tremendous. We sifted through your questions and recently discussed many of them with the Secretary.
Here are the resources that the Secretary referenced during the discussion:
Several stories recently have highlighted the other side of the regulatory coin–regulations are only effective if they are enforced.
On Monday, the Department of Energy issued 27 penalty notices to companies for failure to meet energy efficiency and water conservation standards.
Universities in the United States have led the world in scientific research for a century. Sometimes however, innovators, including universities, struggle to translate research ideas into technologies that satisfy real world needs. Universities across the country have embraced the need to address climate and energy challenges, and now we need to effectively harness the resources and intellectual capital of our world’s leading research institutions. The wealth of ideas originating from our university laboratories will help build innovative cleantech
What two countries lead the world in energy consumption, energy production and greenhouse gas emissions? The United States and China. Can our two countries work together to help lead the world in a transition to clean energy? A recent announcement by U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu is an important step in that direction.
As suspected, Energy Star appliances do not always live up to their energy savings claims, according to preliminary results of laboratory tests reported his week by the US Department of Energy (DOE).
The DOE began testing the appliances after watchdogs raised serious questions about the federal labeling program. The