1.) “U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, AWEA, Wind Developers Sign Agreement to Promote Endangered Species Conservation,” by Tom Gray on the AWEA Blog: Into the Wind
“The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) and wind energy companies have signed a memorandum of understanding, pledging to work together to develop a wind energy habitat conservation plan (HCP) for the FWS’ Midwest region.”
This is a very encouraging sign for renewable energy developers all across the Midwest. As I’ve discussed before, environmental objections raised by agencies such as U.S. Fish and Wildlife can lead to serious and costly complications for renewable projects. Though the details of the agreement still need to be worked out, I have to believe that undertaking the process of thinking through these issues on a national scale will set us further down the road towards finding workable solutions in the future.
2.) “Turner, Pickens urge quick climate action to save nation, planet,” by Robert Webb of the National Press Club
“Billionaires Ted Turner and T. Boone Pickens called for quick action by Congress and the American people on energy and climate change to help save the nation and planet at an April 19 National Press Club luncheon.”
One of the things that I truly love about working in this industry is that Renewable Energy is a topic that largely defies the normal partisan political divides in our country. Case-in-point, Ted Turner and T. Boone Pickens sat down this week to discuss the importance of rethinking our national energy policy. Granted, the paths that the two men advocate differ in a number of significant areas, but both agree with the basic premise that a significant change is needed to ensure our nation has an economically and environmentally sound future.
3.) “The Plunging Cost of Renewables and Boulder’s Energy Future,” by Anne Butterfield of the Boulder Daily Camera
“In Colorado, plunging costs for renewables are furled against the steady upward march of fossil fuels.”
This fantastic article places the national trend of falling renewable resource costs and increasing traditional energy costs squarely within the microcosm of Colorado. This is obviously a great read for Coloradans, but it also does a great job of placing this state-wide issue within the national and international context.
4.) “Google Continues Clean Energy Spending Spree,” by Chris Barth on Forbes.com
“Right on the heels of announcing a $168 million investment in the Ivanpah solar tower facility, Google announced today that it is investing $100 million more in Shepherds Flat Wind Farm, a wind farm located outside of Arlington, Oregon.”
Wow. Google has certainly been bitten by the Renewable Energy bug. It seems like a day doesn’t go by that I don’t run across some article or blog post about a new multi-million dollar investment by the internet giant in renewable projects around the country. Not only do these huge investments by Google help the industry by providing much needed capital for projects around the country, but it also having one of the largest and best known brands in the world advocating the importance of these projects provides a tremendous public relations benefit.