How Solar Power Can Help Coal Fired Power Plants Burn Less Coal

The sun can help coal fired power plants burn less coal by pre-heating the water used to make high pressure high temperature steam during periods when the sun is shining. In other words the sun would do part of the work of producing high pressure/ high temperature steam and in this manner the overall hybrid solar/coal power plant would use less coal than a coal only power plant would need to produce the same amount of electric power.

DOE Doles Out $300 Million in Clean Cities Grants to Support Clean Fuels, Vehicles, and Infrastructure Development

Last week, Secretary Chu announcen nearly $300 million in Clean Cities grants to support clean fuels, vehicles, and infrastructure development. The projects are designed to create jobs, limit pollution, and reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil.

Retrofitting Buildings will Create Green Jobs

Retrofitting 50 million buildings in the United States, about 40 percent of the building stock, by 2020 to make them energy efficient would create 625,000 permanent jobs, John Podesta, CEO of the Center for American Progress, told CNBC. “There’s probably a $500 billion investment that’s needed, but the vast majority has to come from the private sector,” Podesta added. “The government has a role to play in orienting policy toward getting the financing right.”

Consumers are Concerned, Yet Clueless, on ‘Green’ Technology

A recent global survey of 10,000 people in 21 countries reveals that most have a guilty conscience about their carbon footprint when using their home and office technology. However, the majority of respondents cannot identify their largest potential environmental impact points when it comes to printing, and that women are more knowledgeable and guilt-ridden about their green practices than men. The Lexmark sponsored study revealed a number of surprising results. Eight-five percent would often choose the most environmentally conscious printing option if given a “one-click” or “one-push” solution and 84 percent are more likely to buy a product if the manufacturer shows more responsibility and concern regarding recycling. Seventy-Five percent reported feeling guilty about printing unnecessary pages. Despite the high level of environmental consciousness, 64 percent INCORRECTLY think that the disposal of ink cartridges is the largest cause of pollution from printing.

Who are The Top 50 U.S. Green Power Purchasers?

EPA today released a list of the nation’s top green power purchasers. These organizations are all participants in the EPA’s Green Power Partnership. The Green Power Partnership is a voluntary program that encourages organizations to buy green power as a way to reduce the environmental impacts associated with purchased electricity use. The Partnership currently has hundreds of Partner organizations voluntarily purchasing billions of kilowatt-hours of green power annually. Partners include a wide variety of leading organizations such as Fortune 500 companies, small and medium sized businesses, local, state, and federal governments, and colleges and universities. The list this year’s top green power purchasers is led by Intel Corporation, PepsiCo, Kohl’s Department Stores, Dell Inc., Whole Foods Market, The Pepsi Bottling Group, Inc., Johnson & Johnson, U.S. Air Force, Cisco Systems, Inc. and the City of Houston.