The Ten Essential Renewable Energy News Stories This Week

By Nathanael Baker on September 10, 2010

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

1. Koch Industries Donates $1 Million to Prop 23 Effort To Kill California Climate Law - David and Charles Koch, the billionaire brothers bankrolling the front groups behind the Tea Party and climate denial movement, have added another 'cause' to their philanthropic endeavors, donating $1 million to the Proposition 23 fight to kill California's landmark 2006 climate change legislation.

2. Caught in Photographs: Emergency Response to Vermilion Oil Platform Fire - The fire on Mariner Energy's oil platform took over five hours to extinguish. Greenpeace USA photographer Andy Levin was able to capture the emergency response in action.

3. Tarballs Washing Up on Resort Beach, This Time in Goa, India - Reminiscent of the major oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, tar balls are washing up on beaches in Goa, India, making it a nasty time for tourists showing up for sun and fun in the popular summer holiday region.

4. EBoom Capital: Blame Game Aside, BP and Transocean Shareholders are Big Losers - BP’s recently released report on the Gulf oil spill ignited another round of the blame game and makes it the perfect time to consider how the stock markets have treated the companies involved -- and their competitors -- since April 20.

5. U.S. Solar Energy, Seeing the Cup as Half-Full - Although the rate at which tracts of land are being leased by the U.S. government to large-scale solar developers is glaringly slow, Jeanne Roberts highlights several reasons to be excited by the U.S. solar industry.

6. Solar Roadways Offer Immense Potential - The Solar Roadway is a series of structurally-engineered solar panels that are driven upon. The idea is to replace all current petroleum-based asphalt roads, parking lots, and driveways with Solar Road Panels that collect energy to be used by homes and businesses.

7. Buckeye Bullet Sets Electric Vehicle Speed Record - Every day seems to find news about record progress in the development of better electric vehicles (EV). Now the Venturi Buckeye Bullet 2.5 has set a new world EV speed record.

8. Center for American Progress Reports 625,000 New Jobs Possible - A new report this month, under the auspices of the Center for American Progress and Energy Resource Management Corp., states that energy efficiency is one of the most promising paths to jumpstarting the faltering economy and creating jobs.

9. People Heat From Paris Subway to Warm Housing Project - It seems futuristic, and a little unbelievable, but a Paris Habitat project plans to use the combined warmth generated by humans waiting in the Rambuteau Metró subway station to heat a public housing project.

10. Spain's Gamesa to Enter Brazilian Wind Market - Gamesa Corporacion Tecnologica SA, Spain's biggest wind-turbine maker, has been selected to supply a unit of Iberdrola Renovables SA with 129 turbines for nine forthcoming new wind farms in Brazil, a regional wind energy hotspot.

That's it, you've been briefed for the week. Remember, the best way to stay connected with renewable energy news is to follow EnergyBoom on Twitter and Facebook.

Nathanael Baker is the Managing Editor of EnergyBoom. He has researched and reported on the issues of renewable energy, sustainability, and climate change for over two years. He has provided research to the New York Times and The Economist, as well as being published on different media outlets including, The Energy Collective.