Alternative Energy Press

(St. Louis) Wind Capital Group (WCG), one of America’s fastest-growing independent developers of wind energy, announced today that it has sold its 200 megawatt Buffalo Creek Wind Farm in Franklin County, Iowa, to Interstate Power and Light Co. (IPL), a subsidiary of Alliant Energy Corporation.

(Bali, Indonesia) Today at the UN Climate Change Conference in Bali, Indonesia, Primafuel, bioenergy-specialist situated in Signal Hill (California, USA) presents a new and innovative approach for the production of zero-carbon fuels. Primafuel develops technology for the biofuel industry, reducing the carbon output along every step of the fuel supply-chain. In November Primafuel was named a 2008 Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum (WEF). The WEF awards companies which have developed ground-breaking technologies in the categories Energy, Biotechnology, Health Care and IT.

The More Powerful People Feel, The Less Power They Use. "Living Diary" Market Research Finds Generational Differences and Inspirational Approaches to Real World Solutions and Energy Conservation. (WASHINGTON, DC) On December 6, 2007, SmartPower, the nation’s leading non profit marketing organization dedicated to promoting clean, renewable energy and energy efficiency, released a landmark study on how to inspire and encourage consumers to conserve energy. (The study and its results are embargoed until December 6, 2007.) SmartPower (www.smartpower.org) retained the award winning marketing firm, RealityCheck (www.realitycheckinc.com), to conduct and manage a series of “Living Diaries” to study how to message and create a marketing campaign that would change consumer behavior.

CNN Democratic Debate in Las Vegas Co-Sponsored by Coal Industry Interests! (Washington, DC) "Does Wolf Blitzer have the courage to ask the tough questions America really wants answered? Or will he give in to the debate's corporate sponsor tonight?" stated Brian Keane, CEO of SmartPower.

Ohio Democrat is the First Presidential Candidate to Sign Declaration! Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) became the first presidential candidate to sign the SmartPower 'Declaration of Energy Independence.' Kucinich, the 6-term Ohio Congressman, signed the document in his Manchester, NH campaign headquarters. SmartPower is the national, non-profit marketing organization that is leading the creation of a voluntary market for clean energy and energy efficiency.

A ceremony today in Newmarket, Ontario marked the start of construction on Canada's greenest low-rise development. The 34-unit development by Rodeo Fine Homes is one of only a few developments in North America to be built entirely to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) platinum specifications, which is now a world-wide sustainable building rating system.

British tidal energy company Marine Current Turbines Ltd, the developer of SeaGen, the world’s largest and most advanced tidal stream energy system, has signed a cooperation agreement with Canada’s BC Tidal Energy Corporation to deploy its SeaGen tidal energy technology in waters off Vancouver, British Columbia. The announcement comes hot on the heels of the company’s agreement, announced on October 30th, to develop a tidal power project in Nova Scotia’s Bay of Fundy, on Canada’s eastern seaboard.

(Toronto, Ontario) Ontario's Chief Energy Conservation Officer, Peter Love, released his 2007 annual report, Taking Action, urging the Ontario government to adopt 12 key recommendations to achieve a "culture of conservation" throughout the province. Codes and standards are among the most effective ways to achieve the province's conservation goals, Love emphasized, saying that the OPA will be pursuing enhanced codes and standards in 2008. As a means of extending the provincial drive to the local government level, he said he would be encouraging the appointment of municipal energy conservation officers to empower all of the province's communities to conserve energy.

75 million euro investment creates 180 new jobs. Today, SCHOTT, the technology group based in Mainz, Germany, inaugurated industrial mass production of thin-film solar modules in Jena by its subsidiary, SCHOTT Solar. By investing a total of 75 million euros towards a state-of-the art manufacturing facility with a module capacity of 33 megawatts (MW) per year, SCHOTT will be creating an additional 180 jobs at its Jena site.

(Nova Scotia, Canada) British company Marine Current Turbines, the developer of SeaGen, the world’s largest and most advanced tidal stream energy system, has signed an agreement with Canada’s Maritime Tidal Energy Corporation to harness the huge tidal currents of the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia, Canada.

(Toronto, Canada) Three green building gurus-Peter Love, Janis Kravis and Doug Pollard-received Lifetime Achievement Awards today at the 3rd Annual Toronto Regional Green Building Festival at Ontario Place. "The Lifetime Achievement Awards celebrate the success of visionaries who recognized the importance of sustainable buildings and energy efficiency years ago, and have been working to make green building a reality today," said Tom Ponessa, Director of Programs, Sustainable Buildings Canada. "I'm honoured to present these awards to our winners."

Senergy Limited, the Aberdeen based oil and gas consultancy, has strengthened its energy capabilities with the appointment of Nial McCollam as a consultant on alternative energy. Highly regarded in the sector, Nial will be focusing on developing a strategy for Senergy beyond the oil and gas sector.

Currently the US and the rest of the world are frantically searching for solutions on how to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Switching to renewable energies is quickly emerging as the best solution and sadly US corporations are currently lagging behind Europe (and specifically, Galicia, Spain) in regards to global expansion of these renewables.

(Sydney, Australia) NSW renewable energy company Epuron today announced its proposal to develop Australia’s largest wind farm near Broken Hill in western NSW. In a typical year the wind farm would be able to contribute up to 4.5% of the total energy needs of NSW and would be amongst the largest projects anywhere in the world. "Our wind monitoring equipment north of Silverton in western NSW has revealed an amazing wind resource which will power between 400-500 wind turbines when completed,” Martin Poole, Executive Director of Epuron said.

SmartPower Criticizes White House Summit's Focus on Economy over Climate. (Washington, DC) Some of the world's largest industrialized nation and some of the world's developing nations also happen to be the world's biggest polluters. But the majority of these same nations attending President Bush's Energy Security and Climate Change Summit in Washington have maintained that their economies are more important than the pending disaster of global warming.

(Washington, DC) Today SmartPower issued a statement reminding mainstream America that the easiest way to stem the catastrophic tide of global warming was to increase our use of clean energy and increase our use of energy efficiency products and practices. That statement included reference to the dire prediction of animals drowning being just one of the possible consequences of the melting of the Arctic sea ice, which is occurring much more rapidly than previously predicted. The statement was in response to a recently completed National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), on the study of Artic sea ice published it on September 8th.

(DANBURY, Conn.) FuelCell Energy, Inc. (Nasdaq:FCEL), a leading manufacturer of ultra-clean power plants using renewable fuels for commercial, industrial, utility and government customers, today announced the appointment of two new directors to its Board of Directors, Glenn H. Epstein, 49, previously Chairman and CEO of Intermagnetics General Corporation, and Richard A. Bromley, 72, recently retired as Vice President -- Law and Government Affairs at AT&T.

Scotland’s AWS Ocean Energy is to receive significant further support from the Carbon Trust in the development of the company’s Archimedes Wave Swing (AWS), the world’s first submerged wave energy system. The support is part of the Marine Energy Accelerator Programme, the Carbon Trust initiative to accelerate the commercialisation of the marine energy sector in the UK. The announcement was made last night (September 24th) by the Carbon Trust at the Labour Party Conference in Bournemouth.

(Philadelphia, PA) Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell will keynote the 12th National Renewable Energy Marketing Conference October 21st - 24th in Philadelphia. SmartPower, the non-profit marketing organization that is leading the creation of a vibrant, voluntary market for clean energy, is proud to be a platinum sponsor of this important event. SmartPower is Proud to be a Lead Sponsor of Important Renewable Energy Conference.

(Washington, DC) Today SmartPower released the following statement voicing their disappointment with the bi-partisan Lieberman-Warner global warming proposal. Along with much of the environmental community, SmartPower does not think the proposal goes far enough in the amount of the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions it proposes, nor does it mandate the reductions quickly enough. SmartPower is the national, non-profit marketing organization that is leading the creation of a vibrant, voluntary market for clean energy and promoting energy efficiency measures.

(Ottawa, Canada) The Government of Canada is once again facing a legal challenge for failing to take action on global warming -- this time for refusing to respect a federal law that requires reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. Late yesterday an Application for Judicial Review was filed with the Federal Court seeking to force the Government to comply with the Kyoto Protocol Implementation Act. Filed by eminent Canadian lawyer Chris Paliare and Ecojustice (formerly Sierra Legal) on behalf of Friends of the Earth Canada, the application alleges that the federal Minister of the Environment is ignoring the rule of law by failing to comply with the Act, passed by Parliament in June 2007.

(Toronto, ON, September 17, 2007) The Community Power Fund has launched today a new $3 million fund to support community-owned renewable energy projects in Ontario. This fund is the first of its kind in Canada. Eligible renewable energy projects include those involving wind, solar photovoltaic and solar thermal, small-scale hydro, geothermal and biogas technologies. Incorporated groups, including farmers, First Nations and community groups, can apply.

(Los Angeles, CA) Empire Solar Solutions (www.empire-solar.com), specializing in providing solar electric systems to residential and small commercial consumers that desire to capitalize on the environmental and economic benefits of renewable resources, announces it is bringing its services to the greater Los Angeles area. Empire Solar Solutions is an affiliated partner company of Empire Today, one of the Nation’s leading home improvement companies – ranked one of the Top 200 Brands in the U.S. by Advertising Age, and an award winner for exceptional customer service and business ethics.

ON THE AMERICAN OPEN ROAD, U.S.A. -- What’s lime green, more than 20 years old, and smells like french fries? Sports fans across the nation are seeing - and smelling - for themselves because the 2007 AutoTrader.com Green Power Sports Tour (http://www.greenpowersportstour.com) is in progress and coming to a sports town near you. Freelance sports writer Joe Connor of San Diego, backed by sponsor support that also includes MapQuest and StubHub, will visit more than 100 premiere college and pro football, hockey and basketball venues over the next four months, showcasing the slick, lime green, renewable energy machine during tailgating before games. The 1984 Mercedes Benz runs on vegetable oil and biodiesel, and the tour officially began Dec. 30 in Denver at Invesco Field at Mile High, home of the two-time Super Bowl champion Broncos. This will be the second, cross-country journey for Connor, who in 2006 visited 272 baseball parks over an entire baseball season of 215 days (lots of doubleheaders!). Connor is chronicling the journey for his weekly hometown newspaper as well as via a blog on the Internet at http://www.greenpowersportstourblog.com.

A series of 21 "Sustainable Energy Studies" compiled by the SUN DAY Campaign. These "studies" are summaries of recent reports produced by various governmental, business, academic, and non-profit organizations. Each provides information and analyzes about the near-term potential and/or status of renewable energy and energy efficient technologies. Collectively, they document how it is possible to use sustainable energy technologies to meet U.S. energy needs while simultaneously reducing energy imports, phasing-out nuclear power, and cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

The California State Legislature, a leader among states in forging new energy policy, has voted to support legislation pending in Congress that calls on the United States to meet at least 25 percent of the country's total energy consumption with renewable resources by the year 2025. In doing so, California becomes the 12th state legislature to endorse the 25x'25 renewable energy goal.

A report released today by the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration (EIA) projecting the economic impacts of a 25-percent renewable energy future underscores the fact that "increased reliance on renewable energy will provide important benefits to the nation at low cost to consumers," says Ernie Shea, project coordinator for the National 25x'25 Initiative.

SmartPower Serves as a Platinum Sponsor of 12th National Renewable Energy Marketing Conference. (Washington, DC) "Why are people buying clean energy?" That is one of the questions to be answered during the 12th National Renewable Energy Marketing Conference, held next month. SmartPower, the nationally recognized leader in creating a vibrant, voluntary market for clean energy, is proud to once again be the platinum sponsor of the upcoming 12th National Renewable Energy Marketing Conference, to be held October 21-24, 2007 in Philadelphia. This conference is the premiere renewable energy marketing conference in the United States.

(DANBURY, Conn.) FuelCell Energy(r), Inc. (Nasdaq:[[FCEL]]), a global leader in the development and manufacture of fuel cells for Ultra-Clean electric power generation, announces the launch of a new web site at www.fuelcellenergy.com. The new site contains extensive information on the company's patented Direct FuelCell(r) (DFC(r)) technology, and also provides a comprehensive overview of the benefits fuel cell power plants offer for a wide variety of markets and industries such as wastewater treatment, manufacturing, food/beverage processing, and utility/grid support. The new web site provides information on FuelCell Energy's global power plant fleet and contains the information, resources, and products customers need to implement reliable, Ultra-Clean power for their 24/7 baseload power requirements.

Plant expected to return 13,000 MW back into the grid annually. (Sudbury, ON) Greater Sudbury Utilities (GSU) will be launching the Greater Sudbury Landfill Gas Generation System, the first of its kind in Northern Ontario, on Thursday, September 6, 2007 at 12:00 pm. Provincial and local politicians as well as environmental and GSU representatives will be on hand to celebrate the generation facility that uses methane gas produced by garbage deposited at Sudbury's municipal landfill to produce electricity.