Thursday, February 9, 2012

More investment to spur further Solar Energy Sustainable Solutions



After the recent news that the U.S. is becoming more domestically Energy Independent; EERE announced yesterday — as part of the Obama Administration's blueprint for an American economy built to last, today U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced over $12 million to speed solar energy innovation from the lab to the marketplace through the Energy Department's SunShot Incubator program. The funding will accelerate American innovation in solar energy and manufacturing by supporting advancements in hardware, reductions in soft costs, and the development of pilot manufacturing and production projects.
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Friday, February 3, 2012

Red Tide report for the Gulf Coast



Yesterdays report from via FWC — Background concentrations of K. brevis were detected in one sample collected alongshore of Sarasota County.  Yet, with medium to high concentrations of K. brevis present last week along Lee and Collier counties, it is possible that patches are still present in unsampled (offshore) areas of these regions.

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Eco Programs: Hydrogen Learning Demonstration

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and its National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) will be hosting a webinar titled "National Hydrogen Learning Demonstration Status" on Monday, February 6 from 12:00 to 1:15 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. During the webinar, NREL researchers will report on progress the lab has made in deploying fuel cell electric vehicles and hydrogen fueling stations through DOE's National Hydrogen Learning Demonstration. This webinar will also update participants on the metrics used by DOE and industry to evaluate the performance of fuel cell electric vehicles and fueling infrastructure in terms of fuel economy, fuel cell durability, refueling time, and fueling station use.

Student Teams, New Location for Solar Decathlon 2013


Energy Department Announces Student Teams, New Location for Solar Decathlon 2013


January 26, 2012

At an event today in Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced the 20 collegiate teams selected to compete in the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2013 and unveiled the competition's location, the Orange County Great Park in Irvine, California. The 20 teams from colleges and universities across the United States and from around the world will now begin a two-year process to build solar-powered, highly energy-efficient homes that combine affordability, consumer appeal and design excellence. Throughout the two-year process, the teams will design, construct, and test their homes before reassembling them at the Solar Decathlon 2013 competition site. As part of the Solar Decathlon, teams compete in ten different categories—ranging from best architecture and engineering to energy production for heating and cooling—while gaining invaluable real-world experience in a growing global industry.
"As President Obama made clear in the State of the Union address this week, we need to ensure that the next generation of America's architects, engineers and entrepreneurs have the hands-on experience and training they need to lead our nation's clean energy future," said Secretary Chu. "The Solar Decathlon will unleash the ingenuity, creativity, and drive from these talented students to demonstrate new ideas for how families and businesses can reduce energy use and save money with clean energy products and efficient building design."
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