EERE Network News
January 18, 2006
News and Events
California Approves $2.9 Billion Solar Energy Initiative
The new $2.9-billion California Solar Initiative aims to encourage the installation of 3,000 megawatts of solar power on the state's rooftops by 2017. The new initiative provides rebates for solar power systems and will soon offer rebates for solar hot water and solar heating and cooling systems.
Walgreens to Install Solar Power on 112 Stores
More than 100 Walgreens stores in California and New Jersey will soon draw on solar power for 20 to 50 percent of their electricity needs. The solar power systems will produce electricity using ImaginIt's proprietary solar roof tiles.
DOE Selects 20 Teams for the 2007 Solar Decathlon
Sixteen teams from 13 states—California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas—will join teams from Puerto Rico, Canada, Germany, and Spain in next year's solar home competition.
Whole Foods Market Buys 100 Percent Wind Power
Whole Foods Market is now that only Fortune 500 company to offset all of its electricity use with wind power. The grocer has made the largest purchase of renewable energy credits (RECs) in the United States, buying more than 458 million kilowatt-hours of RECs from wind power facilities.
EPA Proposes Lower, More Realistic Fuel Economy Estimates
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to revise its fuel economy estimates to better reflect how people drive. The changes will drop estimates for city driving by as much as 20 percent while dropping highway mileage estimates by as much as 15 percent.
USDA Offers $19 Million for Businesses, Emphasizing Renewables
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is offering $19 million in grants to support agricultural business ventures, and will give priority to proposals that spend more than half the grant money on biomass energy projects. To date, the USDA program has provided $20.5 million for renewables.
Energy Connections
NOAA, NASA: 2005 Ties with 1998 as Hottest Year on Record
Within the limits of statistical uncertainty, 2005 ties with 1998 as the hottest year on record for the globe, according to new analyses from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
