The tallest hurdle the average homeowner faces when considering whether or not to invest in a renewable energy system for their home is the up-front cost of installing such a system. However, an announcement by Arizona electric utility company APS has turned that around and put solar and wind energy within reach of hundreds of state residential homeowners.
The new GEOSmart loan is designed to eliminate the up-front cost of installing a renewable energy system which will enable more APS customers to take advantage of federal and state rebates and tax …

You see them everyday and everywhere. Large retail outlets like Walmart, Kohl’s, and Whole Foods Market with vast floor space. They’re so big that by the time you’re finished shopping in one of them you’re exhausted and ready for a nap. But, have you ever thought about their roofs? Chances are you haven’t, but large-scale retailers are beginning to realize that they can put that square-footage to work for them. How? By installing solar energy systems to generate a substantial portion of their electricity needs.
For instance, Kohl’s last year began …

A research team at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) has found a way to use the solar heat energy absorbed by asphalt.

Mountain View, California, based Google said that it’s philanthropic arm, Google.org, has invested $10.25 million in Enhanced Geothermal Systems, or EGS. Included in the investment are funds for research into next-generation geothermal technology which will focus on geothermal resource mapping and will help to develop information about the process and to form a policy agenda for geothermal energy.
Being touted as a “breakthrough energy technology”, EGS exponentially increases the potential of geothermal energy. Traditionally, geothermal energy has relied on finding naturally occurring pockets of steam and hot wate and then tapping into …

Two companies tobuild solar power plants that are 10 times bigger than the largest now in service.

As famous for winning the Noble Peace Prize and for winning an Academy Award for his documentary An Inconvenient Truth as he ever was being vice-president of the United States, senior statesman and CO2 arch-enemy Al Gore has purchased what the company that sold it to him calls the Toyota Prius of boats. That means it’s friendly to the environment.
The large houseboat is moored on a lake in Smithville, Tennessee is called “Bio-solar One.” It runs on bio-fuels and only needs to be filled up once a year. Also, solar …

The International Energy Agency (IEA) warned on Tuesday that the conflict in Georgia threatens a strategic world global energy region. Just hours before, British oil giant British Petroleum closed two more oil and gas pipelines blaming the smoldering conflict.
“Recent escalation in military engagement between Russia and Georgia poses a threat to certain key oil and gas pipelines which transit Georgia,” the IEA said. Meanwhile, Georgia claimed Russian aircraft had attacked the region’s main oil transportation vein known as the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline but did not know if any damage had …

A lot of folks have spent this weekend at a campground somewhere in Utah, or in another state in the West, staying in tents, or campers, or some sort of recreational vehicle.
But we know for a fact they aren’t living in an RV that we saw this weekend. It is definitely a one-of-a-kind model.

Outdoor enthusiast Brian Brawdy always attends the Outdoor Retailer Trade Show, which is going on right now at the Salt Palace. He usually drops by to tell us about the latest products or give our viewers some …

Congratulations to Advantage BMW of Houston who will on Tuesday unveil a shiny new solar panel-covered roof which it says will make it Houston’s first solar-powered car dealership.
Installed by Houston-based Standard Renewable Energy LLC, the photovoltaic solar electric power system is expected to produce 18% of the electricity required to run Advantage BMW’s Midtown location. It is expected that the 30.75 kilowatt system will reduce the dealership’s carbon footprint by more than 2 million pounds of CO2.
James Rodriguez, Houston city councilman, will join officials of Advantage BMW and Standard Renewable …

MIT scientists have come up with a new solar energy they believe will replace conventional storage technology.
A new revolution in solar power is set to bring energy from the sun into the night. A major barrier to large-scale solar power is having a way to store the sun’s energy so that it can be used at night or when skies are cloudy.
Solar power has historically been restricted to being a daytime source of energy as conventional photovoltaic solar panels produce energy only when the sun is shining. Storing solar …