U.S. carbon emissions reach lowest level since 1992 - report

As of the first quarter of 2012, the carbon emissions of the United States dropped to its lowest since 1992, according to a recent report released by its Energy Information Administration.Overall emissions from the country’s energy consumption were at 1.34 million metric tons this period, marking decline by nearly 8 percent from the same period last year.

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Dual Power locomotive makes first run in New Jersey

A dual power locomotive that can run on both diesel power and electric power has been delivered in New Jersey. Transportation engineering firm STV is working with New Jersey Transit to conserve fuel and reduce emissions through the use of the ALP-45DP from German company Bombardier. The ALP-45DP is the first locomotive in the United States to be powered by two modes.

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Every state has potential for R.E. generation – NREL

Every state in the United States has available location and resources for generating clean energy according to a study from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. NREL took a look at the achievable energy generation each state could have given resource availability, topographic limitations and environmental and land-use constraints of each locality.

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Bicycle repair, chemical-free house cleaning determines ‘eco-friendliness’

The United States, the world’s second largest carbon emitter, had been pressed to make efforts to minimize their climatic impact. With this, Americans are now becoming more environmentally conscious with their daily living, especially the ones in the urban areas, and this idea leads to the growing need for “green” services across the country.

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U.S. releases ‘roadmap’ for solar development in public lands

The United States Department of Energy and the Department of the Interior will release a “roadmap” for solar energy development in public lands, which will push for the creation of utility-scale solar energy on public lands throughout the west. Called the “Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement,” the guiding document will cover six southwestern states – Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah.

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NRG and GenOn announce merger

American energy companies NRG Energy, Inc. and GenOn Energy, Inc. are merging to create the largest competitive generator in the United States. The merger will give both companies around 47,000 megawatts in asset concentrations in the East, Gulf Coast and West and a combined enterprise value of $18 billion. According to a Reuters report,

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U.S. needs more R.E. to meet next decade’s energy challenges – Frost & Sullivan

The United States’ increasing need for energy will drive growth in the renewable energy sector as well as energy-efficient technologies and improvements to the national grid. A new analysis from Frost & Sullivan sees U.S. energy consumption increasing by 7.3 percent during a 10-year period over 2010 levels. To meet this need, the market will witness strong growth in renewable technologies with solar and wind power representing more than 40 percent of electricity generation capacity by 2020, the analyst thinks.

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Brownfield in Massachusetts to generate money by producing solar power

A 15-acre brownfield outside the town of Canton in Massachusetts is getting a second lease in life as a solar power project that will generate around $16.3 million in revenue. The projects such as the one in Canton effectively revitalize abandoned, underused industrial areas and convert them into economically productive, clean power generating sites.

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California home solar market already at 80 percent increase

The California home solar market has already grown 80 percent so far this year compared with 2011 for the same period, a report from home solar company Sunrun and PV Solar Report shows. For the first five months of 2012, reservations reached 77,473.9 kilowatts compared with 42,933.4 kW for the same time period in 2011. The number of new reservations increased by 68.4 percent at 13,103 kW, from 7,782 kW last year.

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Recurrent Energy sells Ontario solar projects to Japanese firms

Recurrent Energy said it is selling half its portfolio of solar photovoltaic projects in Ontario to Mitsubishi Corporation and Osaka Gas. The transaction involves approximately 100 megawatts of solar power from projects currently under development. The projects will provide enough power for approximately 10,000 homes, which will be purchased by Ontario Power Authority.

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