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News and Events DOE Awards $100 Million for Hydrogen Fuel Cell Research DOE Awards $8.6 Million for Alternative Fuel Projects EPA Encourages the Use of Biofuels to Transport Freight DOE Offers $17 Million for New Cellulose-Fermenting Organisms Partnerships Indicate Growing Interest in Cellulosic Ethanol U.S. Wind Power Industry Tempers its 2006 Forecast Slightly Energy ConnectionsOil Companies Increase Investment in Canadian Oil Sands News and EventsDOE Awards $100 Million for Hydrogen Fuel Cell ResearchDOE announced last week that it is providing $100 million for 25 hydrogen research and development projects. The cost of the projects will total approximately $127 million, with the additional $27 million covered by the applicants. Fuel cells use hydrogen and oxygen to create electricity and effectively produce zero emissions, with only water and heat as byproducts. They can be used in various applications, from portable devices to buildings to vehicles. The new projects will focus on fuel cell membranes; water transport within the stack; advanced cathode catalysts and supports; cell hardware; innovative fuel cell concepts; the effects of impurities on fuel cell performance and durability; and fuel cell demonstration projects to build international and intergovernmental partnerships. These projects will directly address the goals of the President’s Hydrogen […]
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News and EventsDOE and EPA Release the 2007 Fuel Economy Guide Honda Takes Fuel Economy Sky High with New Light Jet Transit Administration Awards $49 Million for Fuel Cell Buses Ford and BP Open Hydrogen Fueling Station in Michigan Google and Fort Bliss Launch Record-Setting Solar Power Projects FPL Energy Dedicates the World’s Largest Wind Power Plant Energy ConnectionsFederal Regulators Propose to Approve 83 Reliability Standards News and EventsDOE and EPA Release the 2007 Fuel Economy GuideDOE and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have released the 2007 Fuel Economy Guide, which provides listings of the 2007 model year vehicles that are fuel economy leaders, both overall and by vehicle class. Hybrid vehicles lead the way for overall fuel economy with the Toyota Prius, Honda Civic Hybrid, Toyota Camry Hybrid, and the front-wheel-drive version of the Ford Escape Hybrid topping the list, and the four-wheel-drive version of the Ford Escape Hybrid tying with the new Mercury Mariner Hybrid in tenth place. And while the 2006 list included three diesel vehicles from Volkswagen, on the 2007 list those vehicles have been replaced by the new generation of small cars, including the Toyota Yaris, Honda Fit, Hyundai Accent, and Kia Rio. An […]
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TIAA-CREF, the leading provider of retirement savings services in the academic, medical and cultural fields with over $380 billion in assets, has announced a landmark commitment to microfinance – the practice of loaning small amounts of money to people to help them develop their own businesses.Rather than giving loans, however, TIAA-CREF is breaking ground with its new $100 million Global Microfinance Investment Program (GMIP), which will take equity stakes in selected Microfinance Institutions (MFI’s) around the world. The first investment is a $43 million private equity stake in ProCredit Holding AG, one of the world’s leading microfinance companies. In another precedent-setting move, TIAA-CREF announced that funding for the ProCredit investment would come from its mainstream branch, TIAA Traditional – a guaranteed fixed annuity account with nearly $160 billion and 2.3 million investors – rather than from its $8 billion socially responsible investing option, CREF Social Choice Account. By using assets from its larger, traditional accounts, TIAA-CREF is taking a major step in mainstreaming microfinance.“We subscribe to the view that microfinance investing can contribute to a double bottom line,” said Ed Grzybowski, TIAA-CREF’s Chief Investment Officer. “GMIP, and this investment in ProCredit, gives us an opportunity to seek competitive returns through […]
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After 15 years of relative inactivity, utility-scale solar power projects are gaining considerable momentum globally.With higher energy costs and new regulatory support, concentrated solar power (CSP) technology, using the sun’s thermal energy to generate electricity from steam, has re-emerged as a competitive power generation option, particularly in arid regions where power demand peaks during the heat of the day.Currently over 45 CSP projects are in the planning stages globally with a combined capacity of 5,500 MW, according to Emerging Energy Research, an advisory and consulting firm that tracks emerging technologies in global energy markets. Four projects are anticipated to begin commercial operation in the next 18 months in the US and Spain.“Beyond wind, solar CSP represents the scalable renewable investment opportunity with the most potential to be competitive with peak power prices in the medium term,” according to EER senior analyst Alex Klein. “With more than 5,000 MW of projects in the pipeline, the CSP market is positioned to boom if regulatory and planning support continues to grow in the short term, allowing the industry to mature.”While today all of the world’s commercially operating CSP power plants are cited in southern California, the technology’s growth prospects are just as bright […]
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Despite the wave of immigrants investing in Costa Rica, the country is cash-strapped. This local real estate company is helping while growing its business.
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Sustainable REITs are hard to find. Trizec, one of the largest office real estate investment trusts in the U.S., views energy efficiency as a smart strategy.
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The Timberland Company, selected for our SB20 list for several years, has come up with an innovative way to increase its environmental leadership. Shoes will now be sold in boxes that carry a “nutrition label” that details the company’s environmental and community footprint.Says Jeffrey Swartz, Timberland President and CEO, “We believe we’re going to see an industry shift towards greater product transparency for consumers and that they’ll come to expect that from all of the companies they do business with. Consumers deserve the most information possible to make intelligent purchasing decisions. We hope other retail companies will see the importance of these practices.” Starting this year, the “Our Footprint” label – similar to a food nutrition label – will appear on the side of each footwear box. It will consists of three sections:– Environmental Impact: the average amount of kilowatt hours (kWh) needed to produce a pair of Timberland footwear and how much of Timberland’s energy use comes from renewable energy sources.– Community Impact: the percentage of factories assessed against the company’s code of conduct; Timberland’s no child labor policies; and the total hours volunteered in the community by Timberland employees– Manufactured: Lists the name and location of the factory […]
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A new nonprofit – the Hybrid Owners of America – has launched to organize and advocate for the interests of the roughly 500,000 Americans who are saving money on gas, reducing America’s dependence on foreign oil, and reducing global warming pollution by driving hybrid cars and other gas/electric vehicles.In addition to tracking federal, state, local and private sector incentives to keep hybrid car owners armed with the latest information, HOA is encouraging hybrid vehicle drivers to get involved by urging Congress and the White House to embrace a five-point “hybrid friendly” agenda:1. Broaden the federal tax credit for hybrid vehicle purchases so that more vehicle types are eligible for the credit faster and so that popular hybrid credits do not fade out so quickly. The current federal tax cap on the hybrid tax break is arbitrary, confusing and will not work to promote the maximum number of hybrid purchases.2. Create a new and additional tax incentive that provides further assistance to individuals who convert existing hybrids into plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) in order to further increase fuel efficiency and decrease oil consumption and pollution output. 3. Provide tax and other incentives to businesses that help employees to buy hybrids, […]
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Organic Exchange is a successful model for creating a new marketplace, in this case for organic cotton fiber.
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Who would think toxic photography waste could be recycled into clean fertilizer? This company's done it.
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