Indiana

One day away from Super Bowl XLVI, one of the biggest annual sporting events in North America, many in the United States are anxiously counting down the hours and minutes until their national anthem is heralded and the first whistle blows. Unbeknownst to many, however, another kind of Super Bowl countdown has been marching down this week - the event's carbon impact.

On Thursday, lithium-battery developer Ener1, Inc. (NASDAQ: HEV) filed a voluntary petition in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

BP plc and Sempra Energy have announced plans to make a combined investment of $1 billion dollars to develop two wind farms.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has officially issued the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) for power plants - the first standard of its kind in the nation's history.

As part of the RE-Powering America’s Land Initiative, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which manages the Superfund reclamation initiative, and the U.S. Department of Energy, or DOE, are considering using brownfields and closed landfills to develop renewable energy projects.

Indiana Michigan Power (I&M), an operating company of American Electric Power Company (NYSE: AEP) (market cap $18.46 billion), said Friday it is adding 100 megawatts (MW) of wind power to its generation portfolio as part of a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) reached with E.ON Climate and Renewables.

Power and gas utility Dominion Resources, Inc. (NYSE: D) said today it has received regulatory approval to close two of the four units at its Salem Harbor Power Station in Salem, Massachusetts, by the end of the 2011 and plans to retire all four units on June 1, 2014, because pending environmental regulations and market conditions are making the power station uneconomical to operate.

Here are the Top 10 Renewable Energy News Stories You May Have Missed this Week:

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Thursday announced a total of more than $410 million in financing incentives for three large cellulosic ethanol projects and for small producers in 33 states. 

In a separate announcement Thursday, the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) offered a loan guarantee of $241 million to finance a renewable diesel plant.

Shares of Ener1, Inc. (NASDAQ: HEV) closed up 14 percent Tuesday (down from 25 percent earlier in the day) after announcing prior to the market open that it had signed a joint venture agreement with Wanxiang Electric Vehicle Co., Ltd. to co-manufacture lithium ion cells and battery packs for the Chinese market. 

Ener1 shares are up 43 percent over the past six months, but down 19 percent over the past year.