The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today reaches a milestone for the Energy Star program by passing the 1 millionth Energy Star qualified home mark. With more than 15,000 partners in sectors all across the economy, Energy Star has been enormously successful at saving consumers money by reducing the energy usage of products used in the home and office everyday. Since the program began labeling new homes in 1995, Americans have saved $1.2 billion on their energy bills, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 22 billion pounds. This year alone, families living in Energy Star qualified homes will save more than $270 million on their utility bills, while avoiding greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those from about 370,000 vehicles.

Puget Sound Energy’s Wild Horse Wind and Solar Facility is now producing even more energy from the gusty breezes and bright sunshine of Kittitas County, thanks to 22 additional wind turbines that entered commercial operation today. The new wind turbines join the facility’s original 127 turbines, which entered service in December 2006, and raise its capacity to produce clean, renewable power from the wind. In addition, the Wild Horse solar array, already one of the largest in the Northwest, is also expanding with 315 made-in-Washington solar modules totaling 50 kilowatt (kW) of capacity being added to its present 450 kW of generating capability.

Green Star Alternative Energy, Inc.  is pleased to announce the installation of a wind measurement tower just outside the settlement of Ram, located in the 50 MW region of Veliko Gradiste. The terrain had been carefully analysed and months of preparation and licensing have culminated in this deployment. The data gathered will provide the necessary air flow information for Green Star to design, engineer, and optimize this 50 MW potential wind farm.

(http://www.greenstarae.com)

TECH ON - Tetsurou Fukuyama, Japan's Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and upper house member of Japan's Democratic Party, discussed the environmental policies of the Hatoyama administration Nov 5, 2009, at Smart Energy Symposium 2009. Read More