Latest News
City wants wind turbines on buildings
Washington Square News
By Vanessa Liu and Rob Wang
Published: September 19, 2008
Mayor Michael Bloomberg, seeking to make good on his promise to make New York City green by the year 2030, proposed last month at the 2008 National Clean Energy Summit to develop off-shore wind farms and put wind turbines atop some of the city’s tallest bridges, buildings and skyscrapers. Though specific structures have not yet been named, buildings such as the Empire State Building, which reaches a height of 1,250 feet, more than meet the requirements to generate sustainable wind power.
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Opinion: Detroit's blackmail attempt is beyond shameless
The Wall Street Journal
By Paul Ingrassia
Published: September 8, 2008
It was only a matter of time, unfortunately. And now that Michigan is an election-year swing state and Detroit's auto makers are posting sales declines topping 20% each month, the time has arrived. The issue of a government bailout for General Motors, Ford and Chrysler is moving to center stage.
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Congress feeling pressure for action on oil prices
The New York Times
By Carl Hulse and David M. Herszenhorn
Published: July 9, 2008
Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, said anxiety over fuel oil costs is at crisis proportions in her state. Senator Amy Klobuchar, Democrat of Minnesota, said oil drilling advocates weighed in from the sidelines as she marched in a Fourth of July parade. Senator Bob Casey, Democrat of Pennsylvania, heard it even closer to home, from his own teenager. “My daughter said, ‘Dad, what are you going to do about gas prices?’ ” Mr. Casey said. After spending a week in their states and districts with angry and frightened consumers, many lawmakers have returned to Capitol Hill convinced that Congress cannot afford a prolonged stalemate over energy policy.
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Johnson City explores feasibility of Buffalo Mountain wind farm
Kingsport Times News
By Corey Shoun
Published: December 22, 2008 Johnson City is in the midst of a study to determine if wind power is a feasible local energy source. On Buffalo Mountain, the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy will be testing “available” wind for most of the next year. “Buffalo Mountain came to mind after a similar study in Jonesborough that didn’t pan out,” Johnson City Public Works Director Phil Pindzola said. “We just want to see if there is enough wind generation up there to create a revenue stream that would justify placement of wind turbines.”
Published: December 22, 2008 Johnson City is in the midst of a study to determine if wind power is a feasible local energy source. On Buffalo Mountain, the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy will be testing “available” wind for most of the next year. “Buffalo Mountain came to mind after a similar study in Jonesborough that didn’t pan out,” Johnson City Public Works Director Phil Pindzola said. “We just want to see if there is enough wind generation up there to create a revenue stream that would justify placement of wind turbines.”
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Opinion: Catalyzing the clean-energy economy
The Boston Herald
By Nick d’Arbeloff and Hemant Taneja
Published: December 22, 2008
A key issue facing the nation, and one that must be addressed by Steven Chu, President-elect Obama's pick for secretary of energy, is how best to transform the nation's energy infrastructure, catalyze the clean-energy economy, and reach Obama's stated goal of creating 2.5 million green jobs.
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Schwarzenegger's green challenge
CBS News
Published: December 21, 2008
President-elect Obama is 30 days from office. For a window on his future, turn west for a moment to a chief executive who is already up to his neck in the nation's troubles. This month, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger warned of financial Armageddon, as California faced a potential $40 billion deficit that threatened jobs, roads, schools and public safety. At the same time, he's pushing some of the world's toughest environmental laws to make California a leader on climate change.
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Many local officials helped land HSC
The Leaf-Chronicle
By Mark Hicks
Published: December 21, 2008
When the $1.2 billion Hemlock Semiconductor plant was announced Dec. 15, local, state and federal officials praised each other for a job well done, and rightly so. But a legion of behind-the-scenes people helped get the deal together. Locally, the Regional Planning Commission played a role in getting vital information to various people and departments, as did the county's Building Codes Department.
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Editorial: Clarksville plant is a major step forward
The Tennessean
Published: December 21, 2008 Other states must be looking at Tennessee in amazement. In one of the bleakest economic years in recent memory, this state has landed a $1 billion Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga and a $1 billion semiconductor plant in Clarksville. To be sure, the state sweetened the pot with attractive incentives, but those investments look very wise in establishing job magnets at a time most of the nation is seeing jobs being lost at alarming rates.
Published: December 21, 2008 Other states must be looking at Tennessee in amazement. In one of the bleakest economic years in recent memory, this state has landed a $1 billion Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga and a $1 billion semiconductor plant in Clarksville. To be sure, the state sweetened the pot with attractive incentives, but those investments look very wise in establishing job magnets at a time most of the nation is seeing jobs being lost at alarming rates.
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Opinion: We need to position state for 'green jobs'
The Tennessean
By Gov. Phil Bredesen
Published: December 21, 2008
Last Monday, it was my privilege to join the CEOs of Hemlock Semiconductor and Dow Corning in Clarksville to announce Hemlock's decision to invest $1.2 billion in a new facility in Tennessee for the manufacture of polycrystalline silicon, a primary component in the construction of solar panels and other electronic devices.
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Opinion: We should invest in next generation
The Tennessean
By Stephanie A. Burns, Ph.D.
Published: December 21, 2008
Last week, I had the pleasure to be with Gov. Phil Bredesen and Sen. Bob Corker and a host of local, state and federal officials and community leaders to herald a new industry for Clarksville: solar silicon manufacturing. Everyone at Dow Corning and Hemlock Semiconductor enjoyed a warm Tennessee welcome.
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Opinion: Plant will give Clarksville a global reach
The Tennessean
By Mayor John E. Piper
Published: December 21, 2008
This past week the seeds of a global revolution were planted in our city. Those seeds came in the form of the announcement by Hemlock Semiconductor Corporation (HSC) that it will make an initial investment of more than $1.2 billion to develop a facility in Clarksville. HSC, a subsidiary of Dow Corning, is the world leader in sustainable polycrystalline silicon materials and technology, which is core, among other things, to providing green energy solutions to the world.
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Editorial: New jobs go green with HSC
The Leaf-Chronicle
Published: December 21, 2008
At a meeting of the Governor's Energy Policy Task Force last week, Gov. Phil Bredesen asked his panel of 17 advisers to step up strategies for attracting clean energy jobs — green-collar jobs — to Tennessee. Clarksville is leading the way in that regard. Hemlock Semiconductor Corp., primarily owned by Dow Corning Corp., starts construction next year on a $1.2 billion Commerce Park plant that will manufacture solar technology components. Operations here are expected to start in late 2012.
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Opinion: Once in a lifetime gift ...
The Leaf-Chronicle
By James Chavez
Published: December 21, 2008 Clarksville and Montgomery County have just received one of the greatest community gifts that could ever be hoped for, with the announcement of a Dow Corning Corporation and Hemlock Semiconductor LLC (HSC) facility. Investments beginning at $1.2 billion, and likely much larger, don't happen every day. In fact, they typically only happen once-in-a-lifetime.
Published: December 21, 2008 Clarksville and Montgomery County have just received one of the greatest community gifts that could ever be hoped for, with the announcement of a Dow Corning Corporation and Hemlock Semiconductor LLC (HSC) facility. Investments beginning at $1.2 billion, and likely much larger, don't happen every day. In fact, they typically only happen once-in-a-lifetime.
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Tax credits for battery technology OK'd
The Associated Press
By David Eggert
Published: December 19, 2008
The Michigan Legislature early Friday approved big tax credits designed to make Michigan the center of U.S. efforts to develop high-tech batteries for electric and hybrid vehicles. A bill approved 31-3 in the Senate and 94-0 in the House would provide tax credits worth up to $335 million from 2011 to 2016.
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Mississippi Power plans clean-coal plant
The Jackson Clarion-Ledger
By Jeff Ayres
Published: December 19, 2008
Mississippi Power says it hopes to be operating within the next decade what it describes as a trail-blazing, clean-coal power plant that will pump millions of dollars into Kemper County and ultimately lower customers' bills. The company is planning to build the $2.2 billion facility, which includes a mine, in the southern part of the county.
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Plan to clean up power plants could create pollution
The Boston Globe
By Erin Ailworth
Published: December 19, 2008
A regional effort by 10 states, including Massachusetts, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from area power plants could actually add to the pollution problem elsewhere, according to a new report from the Union of Concerned Scientists, a Cambridge nonprofit. The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI, is a multistate coalition stretching from Maine to Maryland that requires 233 local power plants to purchase an allowance for every ton of carbon dioxide they emit. The coalition auctioned off allowances for the first time in September, and is expected to release the results of a second auction today.
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Affordable energy saving homes could start new trend
WBIR-TV
By Yvette Martinez
Published: December 19, 2008
Knoxville is leading the way with a new trend in making affordable and energy efficient homes. The first group of seven are in the Five Points area, but everyone involved with the project hopes the concept spreads throughout the city. Ken Block and Bruce Glanville supervised the building of the Energy Star homes.
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E.P.A. ruling could speed up approval of coal plants
The New York Times
By Matthew L. Wald and Felicity Barringer
Published: December 19, 2008
Officials weighing federal applications by utilities to build new coal-fired power plants cannot consider their greenhouse gas output, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency ruled late Thursday. Some environmentalists fear the decision will clear the way for the approval of several such plants in the last days of the Bush administration.
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'Clean Coal' backers pitch project for stimulus plan
The Wall Street Journal
By Siobhan Hughes
Published: December 19, 2008
Backers of a big "clean coal" project scuttled by the Bush administration are banking on President-elect Barack Obama to revive their venture, setting up a fight with the anti-coal wing of Mr. Obama's base. The FutureGen Alliance, a coalition of utility companies and coal producers, is hoping to revive plans to build the first commercial-scale project to capture and store emissions from coal-burning power plants. In one sign of its confidence, the FutureGen Alliance, along with a development group for Coles County, Ill., last week bought a 400-acre site for $7 million.
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Northeast states net $106 Million from carbon auction
The New York Times
By Kate Galbraith
Published: December 19, 2008
Ten Northeastern states took in $106.5 million from their second auction for carbon-dioxide emissions allowances, and much of the money will go toward energy efficiency programs. All allowances on offer were sold, and the clearing price of $3.38 was slightly higher than that of the first auction, in September. (Each allowance corresponds to one ton of carbon emissions.) There had been some fear that economic doldrums could dampen demand, but this did not materialize, although carbon prices in the Northeast remain low relative to Europe.
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