Monthly Archives: June 2011
Green Jobs Attract Graduates
By AUSTIN CONSIDINE/NYT WHEN the anchorman Howard Beale uttered his famous vituperations in the 1976 film “Network” (“I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore!”), he was a grizzled, alcoholic veteran of the television rat race, at the climax of a long, slow boil. Enlarge This Image Stephanie Diani for […]
Electric Cars and a Smarter Grid
Peter DaSilva for The New York TimesZapcar electric cars charging in Califorina. Analysts are sanguine about this kind of thing becoming more common — someday. Electric cars and a smart electric grid have a bright future, according to panelists at a roundtable discussion on the subject that I attended last Friday in Boston. “I would say […]
A Private Network for Recharging Cars
A prototype of the charging stations that would be sprinkled across the Houston area. A utility with operations around Texas is planning a network of 50 to 150 charging stations for electric cars in the Houston metropolitan area to eliminate “range anxiety,” and is talking with Nissan, Toyota and others about offering auto buyers […]
A Car Charging Infrastructure Takes Shape
Having shipped hundreds of electric vehicle charging stations, and with repeat orders now coming in from Europe, Coulomb Technologies, a privately-held Silicon Valley company, expects to be profitable by the 2010 introduction of the Chevy Volt, according to its chief executive, Richard Lowenthal. (Mr. Lowenthal appears in the video above, explaining the company’s ChargePoint Network.) “Our […]
Nuclear Plant, Left for Dead, Shows a Pulse
By MATTHEW L. WALD/NYT HOLLYWOOD, Ala. — Spider webs line the 50-story cooling towers, parts have been amputated for the scrap value of their nickel or copper, and the control room still has analog dials at Bellefonte 1, a half-built nuclear plant here that was shelved 23 years ago. This does not seem like a particularly opportune […]
Albany Power Plant Siting Restrictions
Utility customers would be able to pay off the cost of making their homes more energy efficient through charges on their monthly electric bills and the process of getting permits for new power plants would be streamlined under a bill that state lawmakers in Albany were expected to pass on Wednesday night. The bill would […]
For E.V.’s and Hybrids, a Free-Spinning Alternative to Rare Earths
By TUDOR VAN HAMPTON Most hybrid and electric vehicles rely on motors that contain rare earthmetals. The heavily magnetized elements are mined predominantly in China and exported around the world. Building a car like the Toyota Prius hybrid, for example, requires 20 to 25 pounds of rare earths, about twice as much as a standard automobile. A Prius contains more than […]
G.E. Invests in 10 Home Energy Start-Ups
BY EVELYN M. RUSLI General Electric, the huge global conglomerate, has entrepreneurial aspirations. On Thursday, the company announced $63 million of investments in 10 home energy companies as part of its so-called ecomagination Challenge. The initiative, announced last July, is a $200 million commitment to invest and develop partnerships with promising clean technology start-ups. The company […]
Uranium Mine Moratorium Extended at Grand Canyon
Richard Perry/The New York Times Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said the government was awaiting results of a study on potential environmental harm to the region. By JOHN M. BRODER The federal government on Monday extended for six months a moratorium on new uranium mining claims in a million-acre buffer zone around the Grand Canyon as it […]
Tritium leaks found at many nuke sites
In this Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2010 photo, retiree Bob Scamen stands near a discharge pipe for the Braidwood Nuclear Power Station about 300 feet from his property, in Braidwood, Ill., 50 miles southwest of Chicago. In 1998 the pipe poured out 3 million gallons of water but, at first, Scamen did not realize it was […]
Energy 