Weekly Clean Energy Roundup:June 15, 2005

News and Events 18 Student Teams to Participate in DOE’s Second Solar Decathlon Energy Secretary Bodman Visits “Net-Zero Energy Home” Near Denver USDA awards $4.4 Million for Woody Biomass Projects New Tax Credit Sparks First Biodiesel Plant in Oklahoma University of Waterloo wins First Year of Challenge X Report on Bat Mortality at Wind Plants Yields New InsightsSite NewsDOE Launches New State Portal for Efficiency and Renewable Energy News and Events18 Student Teams to Participate in DOE’s Second Solar DecathlonDOE announced last week that 18 teams from colleges and universities in the United States, Canada, and Spain will participate in the second Solar Decathlon competition in Washington, D.C. The event runs from October 7th through the 16th and requires each Solar Decathlon team to build and operate an energy-efficient solar-powered home on the National Mall, forming a temporary “solar village.” As the name suggests, each Solar Decathlon team will compete in 10 contests that will judge architecture, livability, comfort, and power generation for heating and cooling, water heating, and powering lights and appliances, including an electric car. The event, which is open to the public, will feature cutting-edge architecture, engineering, and technology that could be applied in homes today, allowing […]

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McCain-Lieberman Support Eroding Over Nuclear Provisions

Nuclear power provisions added to Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Joe Lieberman’s (D-Conn.) global warming bill have led to an erosion of support from at least three key Democratic supporters. Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) all said in interviews today that they will not vote for the McCain-Lieberman climate change legislation next week should it include $600 million in incentives for the construction of three new nuclear power plants. McCain and Lieberman added the provision to their mandatory cap-and-trade plan last month with the hope it would spur additional support for a measure that garnered 43 votes the last time it came up on the Senate floor in October 2003. “I wish they hadn’t put that in there,” Cantwell said. While questioning whether any lawmaker would be enticed by the nuclear language, Cantwell added, “I think you might lose some people in the process.” Said Boxer, “I would oppose the building of new nuclear power plants. You’re trading one problem for another.” Feinstein said she planned to raise the issue in discussions this week with McCain and Lieberman. Senate floor debate on global warming amendments is expected next week as the chamber proceeds through […]

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