States Promoting Solar Energy

RALEIGH, N.C. — Some focus on the sun, others on the wind, and at least one includes a role for pig power.

While the particulars vary, state laws requiring electric utilities to use renewable energy sources to help curb greenhouse-gas emissions and meet growing power demands are rapidly becoming the norm.

Laws in Washington, New Hampshire and Oregon are less than a year old. On Monday, Gov. Mike Easley signed a bill into law in North Carolina. Exactly half of the states are now on board, and Congress is mulling a national measure.

The new law in North Carolina, like many of the others, will mean that a percentage of the electricity powering homes five years from now will come from the sun and other renewable sources, including, in this case, pig waste.

Following the states' lead, the House of Representatives voted this month for a 15% standard for electric utilities nationwide. The requirement would go to President Bush for approval if it makes the cut when the House and Senate merge their energy legislation.

from usa today

Stunning Solar-Powered Homes - Forbes Magazine

Sun-reliant energy systems allow some homeowners to turn a profit by selling excess power to local utilities.
By Matt Woolsey
8/16/07

Owners of solar-powered homes sleep easy all summer. And it's only in part because they can keep their houses cool without paying obscenely large electricity bills.

Rather, by opting for a photovoltaic (PV) solar-power system, which relies on roof-top solar panels to convert sunlight directly into electricity, a homeowner can, depending on the time of year and the climate in which he lives, cover his monthly energy bill and in some cases, even sell surplus energy back to the grid.

This is due in large part to state and federal subsidies, which homeowners are increasingly embracing. Residential solar installations have tripled since 2002, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), a trade group for solar energy-related businesses.

Full story at: http://www.forbes.com/2007/08/16/solar-energy-homes-forbeslife-cx_mw_0816solarrealestate.html?partner=email

House shifts $16 billion toward renewable energy

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives on Saturday passed a Democratic rewrite of U.S. energy policy that strips $16 billion in tax incentives away from Big Oil and puts it toward renewable energy sources like wind and solar power.

The 786-page bill, passed in a rare Saturday vote, was a top priority for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and is an amalgam of bills assembled by about a dozen of the chamber's committees in recent months.

Republicans called it a "no-energy bill" because it lacks new drilling incentives, and they derided the new emphasis on renewables as "green pork." The White House threatened to veto the bill on concerns that it could boost energy prices.

OPINION: It's time for Washington to get green. Here's a proposal - cut military spending in half, then redistribute the money to clean power, health and education initiatives worldwide.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070805/bs_nm/usa_energy_house_dc_3

Clean tech becomes big business

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Clean technology is evolving from environmental issue to big business, opening a world of opportunities for companies, entrepreneurs and investors who see a chance to -- yes -- clean up, says a new book.

"Clean technology is everywhere," write Ron Pernick and Clint Wilder in "The Clean Tech Revolution: The Next Big Growth and Investment Opportunity" (Collins, $26.95).

They describe clean tech as "any product, service, or process that delivers value using limited or zero nonrenewable resources and/or creates significantly less waste than conventional offerings."
The main force pushing clean tech from "utopian dreams" to new Silicon Valleys and Wall Street is simple economics: "Clean-energy costs are falling as the costs of fossil fuel energy are going up," the authors write.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070804/bs_nm/us_books_cleantech_dc_1