President Obama has released a budget plan for the 2014 fiscal year that increases funding for the development of clean energy. Before you break out the champagne, however, keep in mind that this is just a proposal by the President and must still be approved by Congress. The plan, which was released on April 10, would:… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Clean Energy
Subscribe to Clean Energy RSS FeedElectric Vehicles, Hybrids and Bicycles Need to Pay Their Share
Posted in Clean Energy, Electric Vehicles, Fuel Efficiency, TaxI am a huge fan of plug-in hybrid and electric cars. I bought a plug-in hybrid in early January and have filled its tank twice now. The last time was a couple of weeks ago and since then I’ve driven 250 miles on about three gallons of gasoline. I think everyone should have one; although,… Continue Reading
Sequestration and Renewable Energy Financing
Posted in Clean Energy, Renewable EnergySequestration was not supposed to happen, but it did. We have heard the litany of horrors that will now be visited upon us: longer lines at airport security, the closing of airport runways causing flight delays, shorter operating hours at national parks and so on. Sequestration has resulted in indiscriminate across-the-board spending cuts that affect… Continue Reading
Why Electric Cars Require Us to Get Electric Rates Right Now
Posted in Clean Energy, Electric Vehicles, Renewable EnergyI got gas a couple of weeks ago. Ok – mostly that wouldn’t be worth reporting. But it was the first time for my new Ford C-Max Energi plug-in hybrid. Kathleen Petrich reported on January 9 that I had bought a new car. I had been nursing my 13-year old VW Beetle, hoping that before… Continue Reading
Governor Inslee is Doubling Down on Clean Transportation
Posted in Clean Energy, Energy ConservationGovernor Inslee released his February clean energy policy brief last week. It was full of references to clean transportation—as a means for economic development as well as reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. While there are many aspects that are worthy of highlighting, I am highlighting just a few items in Governor Inslee’s brief. Washington spends… Continue Reading
Governor Inslee Announces Policies That Will Make Washington a Clean Technology Leader
Posted in Clean EnergyI attended the Washington Clean Tech Alliance Clean Energy: The New Public Policy conference yesterday. Governor Jay Inslee was invited to speak at the end of the conference and he announced an exciting eight-point policy plan to make Washington a clean energy leader, stating that “it’s our season: (clean) technology has arrived and the people… Continue Reading
A New Kid on the Block (Ford C Max Energi Plug-In Hybrid)
Posted in Clean Energy, Electric VehiclesI was hoping to be the first person on our GreenTech team to buy a plug-in vehicle. But someone in our group—that would be Elaine Spencer– beat me to the punch—and with a new plug-in that wasn’t around until very recently. Elaine bought a Ford C Max Energi. Great ride, deceptively ‘roomy’, and lots of… Continue Reading
The Blessing and Curse of Low BPA Electric Rates as the Northwest Moves Towards a Clean Energy Future
Posted in Clean Energy, Electric Vehicles, Energy ConservationBPA Administrator Steve Wright was in Seattle in early November as part of a victory lap prior to his announced retirement next February. The victory lap is well deserved. He is the longest-serving administrator of the Bonneville Power Administration, having joined BPA in 1981, coming up the ranks until he was named Acting Administrator in… Continue Reading
Cleantech a Big Winner in 2012 Presidential Election?
Posted in Clean Energy, Green JobsBoth candidates in this year’s presidential campaign described the 2012 election as a “stark choice” between two different paths to rebuild and strengthen our nation’s economy. More than any time in recent memory, a whole host of competing initiatives and priorities hung in the balance as the ballots were counted—everything from “Obamacare” to Wall Street… Continue Reading
FTC’s Green Guides Brown the Water for Eco-Friendly Companies
Posted in Clean Energy, Electric Vehicles, Renewable EnergyAs politicos debate the role of government regulation in this election season, clean technology companies have new reason to take notice. On October 1, 2012, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) released its Guides for the Use of Environmental Market Claims, dubbed the “Green Guides.” The FTC is the federal government’s consumer watchdog organization, and its… Continue Reading
Transportation is About to be Transformed in the Northwest – Part One
Posted in Clean Energy, Electric Vehicles, Energy Conservation, Entrepreneurs, Events, Fuel Efficiency, Renewable Energy, Technology, UncategorizedOn September 7, 2012, Steve Marshall, executive director of CATES (Center of Advanced Transportation and Energy Solutions), Next 50, and Washington Clean Cities hosted the Beyond Oil: Transforming Transportation in Century 21 conference at the Seattle Center. Amory Lovins, chief scientist at the Rocky Mountain Institute, and Bob Lutz, former vice chairman of GM (North… Continue Reading
Sustainability 3T: Transforming Tomorrow’s Transportation
Posted in Alternative Fuels, Clean Energy, Electric Vehicles, Fuel Efficiency, TechnologyI believe that we are on the cusp of the next great NW economy: the transportation economy. We have had a lumber/natural resource economy, an industrial economy, a software/information economy (of which we are thankfully still in), and we are about to witness the rise of a great transportation economy as drivers naturally adopt more… Continue Reading
Liaoning Province, Washington State, and UniEnergy Technologies
Posted in Clean Energy, Energy Conservation, Entrepreneurs, TechnologyA high-level delegation from Liaoning Province, a major industrial center in Northeast China, and officials from Washington and the City of Bellevue recently conducted two days of meetings in Seattle, Bellevue, and Mukilteo, Washington, to foster collaboration between the two economic areas on the development and commercialization of clean technology including advanced energy storage. The… Continue Reading
Energy Subsidies – Et Tu
Posted in Clean Energy, Legislation, Natural Resources and Environment, Renewable Energy, SolarTremendous progress has been made in the development of renewable energy in recent years. Wind, solar, biomass and geothermal energy, as well as biofuels, are providing an ever increasing share of the energy consumed in this county. Moreover, the cost of producing energy from renewable sources has come down rapidly. Yet it remains an inescapable… Continue Reading
Energy in Iceland – Too Good To Be True?
Posted in Alternative Fuels, Clean Energy, Natural Resources and Environment, Renewable EnergyLast Wednesday I wrote about Iceland’s impressive development of renewable energy sources which provide 100% of electricity production from hydropower (80%) and geothermal (20%) sources. There is no doubt that Iceland is blessed with massive amounts of clean energy. While Iceland has garnered vast praise for its development of clean, renewable energy, some environmentalists question its… Continue Reading
The State of Cleantech in Washington, Part I: Clean Energy Leadership
Posted in Clean Energy, Energy Conservation, LegislationInnovate Washington – Have you heard of it? In one of our earlier posts in October 2010, Elaine Spencer reported on the findings and recommendations of the Washington Clean Energy Leadership Council (CELC), as presented in the Council’s Clean Energy Leadership Plan Report. The CELC had been created by our state legislature in 2009 and… Continue Reading
Sustainable Transportation Visions
Posted in Clean Energy, Electric Vehicles, TechnologyLast week I went to the WCTA sustainable transportation meeting and got pretty jazzed by a rousing discussion. The main presenter was Mark Frohnmayer, CEO/Founder of Portland-based Arcimoto. Arcimoto’s mission is sustainable transportation. Its concept is a 3-wheeled EV offering called the SRK that is designed for everyday use for the short term driving (think… Continue Reading
On Disappointment
Posted in Capital and Funding, Clean Energy, Events, Smart Grid, TechnologyVery early in the morning on November 17, 2011, long before the sun came up, the president of smart grid company GridMobility and I drove from San Jose to SFO for a first flight back to Seattle. The prior two days, the CleanTech Open had held its national business competition. The vehicle was thick with… Continue Reading
Litre of Light — A Novel and Inexpensive Way to Bring Light to the Masses
Posted in Alternative Fuels, Clean Energy, TechnologyAs I have written about new innovations in light sources in the past, someone close to me told me about a BBC story in which 2 litre plastic bottles are cheaply being made into “solar light bulbs” in poor but sunny regions of the world. And it apparently works great: these solar light bulbs each… Continue Reading
Clean Tech Funding Becomes Battleground in Latest Congressional Budget Fight
Posted in Capital and Funding, Clean EnergyA Department of Energy clean tech initiative known as the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing (ATVM) program became the battleground earlier this week in the latest round of congressional budget fights. The dust-up started when the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced that its disaster relief fund would run out of money some time this week…. Continue Reading
Green Happenings at Bumbershoot this Weekend [September 3-5, 2011]
Posted in Clean Energy, EventsIf you are going to Bumbershoot Festival [the annual Seattle music and arts festival over the Labor Day Weekend at Seattle Center] this weekend, check out the Toyota Prius Playground and its gigantic energy generating human hamster wheel, where a human produces its own energy. It’s a fun way to think creatively about energy production… Continue Reading
The 12th Annual Clean Air Excellence Awards Program – A Chance to Honor the Builders of a Clean Future!
Posted in Clean Energy, Events, Sustainable BusinessBy Denny Wong and Jonathan Smith* The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is now accepting applications for the 12th Annual Clean Air Excellence Awards Program. The program was established at the recommendation of the Clean Air Act Advisory Committee (CAAAC) and helps recognize some of the most innovative and successful programs, projects, technologies, and individuals that… Continue Reading
Where Does Washington Rank in Clean Energy Leadership?
Posted in Clean Energy, LegislationBy Zach Hiatt and Matt Viers* According to a recent study by the consulting firm Clean Edge, Washington ranks a respectable sixth among all states in clean energy leadership. The second annual U.S. Clean Energy Leadership Index (CELI) concludes, however, that the Evergreen State lags significantly behind its west coast counterparts in clean energy promotion… Continue Reading