Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy News Feeds

DOE has offered $59 million in conditional loan guarantees to Nordic Windpower USA and Beacon Power. Nordic Windpower's loan guarantee will support the expansion of its assembly plant in Pocatello, Idaho, while Beacon Power's loan guarantee will support a 20-megawatt flywheel-based energy storage plant in Stephentown, New York.

While energy consumption for the United States contracted by 2.8% in 2008, China increased its energy use by 7.2%, tipping the scales for energy consumption toward developing countries for the first time. That's just one of the conclusions of the 2009 BP Statistical Review of World Energy, released on June 10.

If your gas-guzzling vehicle is on its last leg, but you've been putting off buying a new, more fuel-efficient car, new federal rebates of up to $4,500 might be the incentive you need to head to your local dealer. That's the thought behind a new federal program that runs from July 1 to October 31, or until the money runs out.

DOE has delivered more than $304 million in Recovery Act funds to Georgia, Illinois, and New York, allowing those states to improve the energy efficiency of 85,000 homes of families with low incomes.

The states of Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, Washington. and West Virginia have received $454 million in Recovery Act funds through DOE's State Energy Program.

The U.S. Department of Labor has released five solicitations for grants that will improve and expand the training opportunities for people seeking work in the fields of energy efficiency and renewable energy. The application due dates for the grants run from August through October.

The Interior Department has identified 24 large tracts of public land that could potentially host utility-scale solar power plants. The agency is studying the environmental and resource suitability of the tracts, located in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah, with the intent to speed the development of solar power facilities in the West.

U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced on June 30 up to $32 million in Recovery Act funding to support the deployment of turbines and control technologies that will increase power generation and environmental stewardship at existing non-federal hydroelectric facilities.

President Barack Obama and U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced on June 29 aggressive actions to promote energy efficiency and save U.S. consumers billions of dollars per year.