Clean Energy

Coal Mining Museum Welcomes Solar Panels

Thu, 20 Dec 2012 12:02:00 +0000

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Good morning. I'm David Greene. It's the dawn of a new era at the Big Pit National Coal Mining Museum. The former mine in Wales celebrates the fossil fuel that sparked the Industrial Revolution. Now it's embracing solar energy. Renewable Energy World reports that 200 newly installed solar panels could save the property as much as $650,000 over 25 years on power. Put another way, the museum celebrating coal won't have to dig so deep to pay the electric bill. It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

From Beer Brewers to Veterans, Groups Urge Renewal of Wind Tax Credit

Grace Hood — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 21:02:03 +0000

As Congress debates how to solve the looming fiscal cliff, time is also running out for renewal of a tax credit promoting wind energy production.

Spain Expands Renewables With Wave-Powered Electricity Plant

Mon, 26 Nov 2012 21:51:00 +0000

Waves constantly thrash the fishing village of Mutriku on Spain's northern coast. Records from the 13th century describe the dangerous surf and shipwrecks here. Until recently, water occasionally hurled debris through windows of homes, before the local government built a cement breakwater to shelter the harbor.

Now, this town's few thousand residents have a small beach that's protected from raucous waves that roll in off the Bay of Biscay. They can stroll down a pier and out over the breakwater.

A 'Green' Gold Rush? Calif. Firm Turns Trash To Gas

Christopher Joyce — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 08:18:00 +0000

Second of a two-part series. Read Part 1

California starts the ball rolling Wednesday on a controversial scheme to keep the planet from overheating. Businesses will have to get a permit if they emit greenhouse gases.

Some permits will be auctioned today; the rest are free. The big idea here is the state is putting a ceiling on emissions.

It's a gamble.

Wood Energy Not 'Green' Enough, Says Mass.

Elizabeth Shogren — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 20:20:00 +0000

Transcript

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

When it comes to renewable energy, wind and solar get a lot of attention. But wood actually creates more power in the U.S., and Massachusetts state officials are scaling back their efforts to encourage wood power. It may be a renewable resource, they say, but that doesn't mean it's good for the environment.

NPR's Elizabeth Shogren has that story.

ELIZABETH SHOGREN, BYLINE: Power plants that turn wood into electricity aren't anything new. They're called biomass plants. They've become more popular as states have tried to reduce the use of fossil fuels.