Los Angeles is becoming the nation's largest city to ban plastic bags at grocery stores in an increasingly widespread move to protect the environment. The City Council voted 13-1 to approve a policy that would ban single-use plastic bags later this year after an environmental impact report is completed and an ordinance is adopted. More...

General Electric Co. has agreed $3.6 billion of sales for a wind turbine model it began selling a year ago that generates higher-than-normal energy output.GE expects to install more than 1,500 of the 1.6-100 model turbines by next year in countries including Brazil, Turkey, the U.S. and Canada. More...

Southern California Gas Co. will present a series of free informational workshops about solar water heating systems and the rebates available through the California Solar Initiative- Thermal Program for qualifying systems in single-family residences. Attendees will learn the basics about solar water heating technology and the various aspects of the CSI-Thermal rebate program as they apply to single-family homeowner customers. More...

Across the valley, cities, agencies, nonprofits and small businesses are lining up to submit their proposals for $53 million in grant money coming to the region to offset emissions from a natural gas power plant now under construction in Palm Springs.The plant was required to buy offsets for more than 112,000 pounds per year of small particle pollution - called PM10, a key source of air pollution in the region - according to figures from the California Energy Commission. It could also emit more than 1 million tons of carbon dioxide per year. More...

Environmentalists in Los Angeles say they have a new approach to cleaning up some of the city's most polluted neighborhoods. The pilot project called Clean Up Green Up aligns environmental interests with those of local businesses. More...

 

Nations are making "significant" progress on just four of 90 environmental goals, with little advance on tackling climate change, replenishing fish stocks or stopping deserts from spreading, said the United Nations. The UN is calling on nations to redouble efforts to meet climate and sustainability targets two weeks before it hosts a conference in Rio de Janeiro, where world leaders will debate steps to curb poverty while stemming environmental degradation. More...

 

Coal's fall from favor among utilities, compared to 2011, is the survey's most significant finding. The percentage of respondents who said they saw a future for coal in the U.S. "when all fiscal realities are fully considered" plummeted from 81.5 percent in 2011 to 58 percent in 2012. An additional 17 percent said coal only had a future overseas, and 15 percent replied coal "is rapidly fading into the past." More...

Analyzing the inventor location of patents filed in the three major patent exchanges in the world, the United States, European Union, and Japan, we found that the United States is the global leader in clean energy patents filed since 1990. In 2008, the U.S. led all patent filers followed closely by Japan and with nearly double the amount of patents of the next closest country, Germany. Interestingly, China does not make our top ten list of innovators despite China's lead in manufacturing renewable energy technology. More...

Energy sourced from tapping into heat deep underground could produce up to a fifth of the UK's electricity and heat millions of homes, a report said today.Deep geothermal energy could be exploited across the UK, with 'hotspots' including Cornwall, East Yorkshire, Hampshire, Northern Ireland and Scotland, according to the study. More...

The solar industry scored a major win Thursday when California regulators more than doubled the number of homeowners and businesses who will get full financial credit for the surplus electricity that their rooftop panels produce. More...

The DOE's SunShot initiative looks to reduce the total costs of photovoltaic solar energy systems by about 75 percent so that they are cost-competitive with other forms of energy without subsidies before 2020. Steve Chu, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy, is targeting $1 per watt for the total system, which he said corresponds to roughly 6 cents per kilowatt-hour. More...

An 11th hour withdrawal from a long-anticipated initial public offering could be a potentially damaging blow for a cleantech startup trying to raise additional capital from the public markets. BrightSource, the concentrating solar power startup with 9 GW of projects in the pipeline, has not ruled out another attempt at a public launch. More...

June 7, 2012. This TRIO Symposium is brought to you by the Emerging Technologies Coordinating Council sponsored by the California utilities, California Energy Commission and California Public Utilities Commission, and sponsored by Southern California Edison. The agenda will be a full day of interactive discussions with utility company representatives responsible for the assessment and adoption of new energy efficiency and demand response technology. The Technology Resource Incubator Outreach Symposium is a statewide initiative by the members of the ETCC designed to accelerate market introduction of energy efficient products and services by providing information, training, and access to energy utility resources. More...

June 10, 2012. Structure Home is proud to partner with Green Builder® Media in the development of VISION House® Los Angeles. This home is located at 1162 Via De La Paz in Pacific Palisades and will demonstrate a vision of the future, featuring improved products, building practices, systems and solutions that enhance energy efficiency, air and water quality, durability and resource preservation. Be sure to stop by for a free self-guided tour and learn about some of the advanced technology (Solar Panels, Radiant Flooring, Advanced Framing, etc) within the home. More...

June 30, 2012. Win a chance to pitch your innovative business to the senior leadership team of Saint-Gobain. Compete live at Greenbuild 2012 in a fast pitch/speed dating format. Saint-Gobain offers public recognition, cash prizes, and the power of a partnership with the world's largest building materials company. More...

August 20 - September 2, 2012. Meet with key buyers and distributors in six major Chinese cities with huge environmental needs - Hong Kong,Chengdu, Qingdao, Nanjing, Yixing and Shanghai. In pre-arranged meetings and site visits, learn about cleantech business opportunities, and present your firm's products and services to local and provincial decision-makers. Benefit from on-site support by El Camino College Center for International Trade Development, U.S. Department of Commerce, Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) and China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT).  More...